Sega Genesis & Mega Drive, 30 years later - Review & Retrospective

The Sega Genesis, known as the Mega Drive outside North America, was the first major competition to Nintendo and beat them to the 16-bit era, utilizing powerful hardware and outrageous marketing to make a permanent mark on gaming history.
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0:00 - Genesis of Genesis
11:57 - Genesis Does What Nintendon't
31:54 - Immoral Kombat
40:29 - Digital Doom
53:58 - Limitless Library
1:07:49 - Exodus of Genesis
Music:
pastebin.com/6...

[@91Tech]

I've been working on this monster of a video for the better part of 6 months! I had a ton of fun putting it all together and I just couldn't believe how much drama surrounded the Genesis, from the console wars to lawsuits to you name it... definitely quite the rabbit hole to go down and I hope you all enjoy watching the video as much as I did making it! Join the discord! --- discord.io/91tech​

[@Acider.]

Hello

[@dannydanny9875]

A +

[@handsomemike1742]

You're mum was cool

[@RWL2012]

Wow, I was wondering if someone would do a "Sega Mega Drive Genesis / Story" film/video! I hope how they were able to get the 68000 CPU by getting it at a massive discount is in here, but not the end of the world if not. Edit: nope

[@James73hsj]

Your the best Josh!

[@semsannen2352]

The production value of this video is insane, you did such a good job!

[@suprememasteroftheuniverse]

If he can't even complete Aladdin, or worse, Sonic II he shouldn't even try to make a video. He knows nothing about the history and never actually played it. Just a millennial 80s kid wannabe. Also Sonic wasn't the first Sega's mascot.

[@nathanmciver6496]

You already know my retort! It wouldn't be the slam people who like games of today, it would be for a good cause! Never forget the hands of new children! They wouldn't even know the compairison between what's lastest within the gaming market making that more than case and point! Excellent research and development as always! I hope to have my daughter join us within all these neat ways to inspire and pass the time

[@andysanchez1215]

91 Tech you did a good job thank you!

[@Nobunaga1983]

Little bias but still really good

[@gershonvillamor4490]

This is the best 90's console war documentary I watched on youtube in a quite long while

[@aimwell8813]

You've never watched Console Wars on Paramount+. Highly recommend.

[@princegroove]

The Genesis, Saturn, and Dreamcast will forever have a special place in my heart.

[@MizfitZer0]

Still my fav console of all time. I absolutely loved growing up with my model 1 mega drive and still play it to this day!

[@M3rtyville]

You and me are pretty similar. I was born in the SNES MegaDrive era, but grew up on an NES instead.

[@iwanttocomplain]

The Genesis actually was more powerful than the SNES and it largely comes down to DMA (direct memory access) which equates to ram/memory speed. The cpu is also far more capable at 16/32 bits to the SNES 8/16 bits. The first number is memory bit depth or ‘external bus’ which is data being moved from the cpu to video and sound units. The Genesis had direct access to the cartridge at higher speeds to the SNES whereas the SNES dma unit was in the cpu itself (Genesis’s dma unit was in the video chip so did not interrupt cpu cycles), also cartridge access was speedier meaning working ram was less relevant as the whole cartridge rom could be used as if it was in the ram itself. Consider Contra on both systems. The SNES has more colour (32,000/15bit) and 16, 16 colour palettes. Each sprite or background tile on both systems has a limit of 16 colours. The Genesis only has 4 palettes and only 9bit/512 colour depth. But when it comes to sprite handling it’s far more complicated than you suggest. The SNES has only square sprites available at 4, 8, 16, 32 or 64 pixel squares available and two kinds usable maximum. The Genesis maxes out at 32px squared but also includes rectangular sizes and no limit of simultaneously used sizes. Also, sprite handling was much more capable overall. Again, look to Contra to see how the game dies not slow down despite a screen full of animated sprites. The SNES often suffered from slowdown due to these dma and cpu issues. Doom 32x plays smoothly and is not full screen but a lot better than the SNES Super FX version due to running smoothly. In terms of sound I disagree it often sounded similar. The 6 sound channels of the Genesis each used 4 oscillators which could be combined in different ways and the software would show a wide range of different implementations of this chip. The SNES 8 channel pcm (samples) sound card only had 64KB if memory and no direct cartridge access. So sound effects and instruments needed to be very small files to fit, leading to a surprisingly limited range of sounds, with a kind of synth-like trumpet/string instrument being found very often. Also, compulsory gaussian filtering prevented clicking and scratchy samples (from the 4bit samples) but resulted in less fidelity. Both systems are very unconventional in their architecture but the Genesis is a lot more powerful in terms of moving sprites, cpu processing and music. The SNES has more colours but is not as capable in any other area. There is a lot of bias in the internet to this matter and probably originated from a Nintendo print advert where they refuted Sega’s claims of technical superiority and claimed to opposite. Presented as a real article, it is very much flagrant lies but was so widely published it has stuck in people’s minds. But in the end the Super Nintendo is less fun to play mostly because of the delayed response on game controls. Not all. But take Lion King. It has a delay in the control responsiveness. This is very common across games on the platform, then add slowdown or an overall more slow moving game and you can’t claim the SNES is more powerful than the Genesis. It has more colour and mode 7, but overall game’s move and respond more slowly. The console market was in the doldrums when the Mega Drive came along. The NES was ancient and gamers were moving to pc. Sonic the Hedgehog changed everything. For the first time there was a game no pc could play even remotely. This lead to interest in games consoles in general and this bled over into Nintendo’s SNES in terms of interest. You could get 1 power adapter with three plugs if you had the Sega tower of power. The Saturn shipped at $399 with two controllers and Virtua Fighter. The PlayStation only 1 controller and no game at $299. A big problem was no good games on Sega CD despite powerful hardware and 32X not being allowed to be the budget Saturn option and not be pulled in fears of hurting Saturn sales. But at $150, the 32X offered great value. However, when the discontinuation was announced, game development was halted across the board and moved to other consoles. As for the Dreamcast that’s the biggest mystery of all. Just 6 months on UK shelves. 10 million sold in its brief tenure and 600 odd (mostly high quality) games. Then removed, pre-emptively, in anticipation of not being profitable in the face of the PS2 is quite difficult to understand. Why did Nintendo still bother with the N64? Why did Microsoft throw it’s hat in the ring if the PS2 is so assures to destroy the competition? The aftermath? 150mill PS2 sales, 22million GameCube’s, 24million Xboxes. But that is with a full 7 odd year lifespan each. In around 1 year the DC had managed half that AND it had online gaming built in. The DC and it’s early removal from the market is the biggest and most unexplained upset and mystery in video game history. The consoles were largely repurposed as Sammy Atomiswave arcade machines (replacing the 1gig gd-roms with cartridges) and went on to be the most successful arcade platform ever. The PS2 moved gaming into the bland, generic brown and grey military shooter. It’s sucky video output quality and complex architecture stymied game development and resulted in long derivative and poorly existed and conceived game design that perceivers to this day. I give the PS2 a 3 out of 10 and the DC a 9.

[@truckercowboyed2638]

See that last part i disagree slightly, while the PS2 wasn't necessarily the best video output or easiest to design games for, it certainly pushed games into a new era and direction, where we got somewhat lifelike environments and people models for the first time.....it certainly outdid anything the PS1 did as far as graphics power.....I'd also say by 2006 around the ps3 launch, some of the best games were on ps2 and it showed.....just thought I'd add something to your ps2 comments....I'd give ps2 a solid 7/10.....

[@iwanttocomplain]

@Burst Your Bubble about five good games is as good as none because you only had shops back then or maybe mail order and you had no way of knowing what the games were like unless you happened to have read a review. So even if a shop did stock Mega CD games there might just be nothing you like. Or maybe you buy Theme Park then realise with considerable annoyance that it pauses every time the music changes. Which is a lot of your moving the screen around in that game. There’s plenty I like on there but it needed something which was way better than even the best Mega Drive game. Like a proper Shining Force sequel with an even bigger story and world with lots of interesting city locations. Not just a long line of battles with gear buying in between like Shining in the Darkness. Ecco: Tides of Time for instance was still available on SMD, just different music. Not good enough. I know now there is BC Racers and Night Striker and Thunderhawk. But they only advertised Sewer Shark and Batman Returns at the time. Road Rash, for instance is just Road Rash 3 but with cd music. It should have used the sprite scaling chip. There is a Shadowrun adventure game that looks nice. Afterburner 3 NEEDED to use that sprite scaling chip but failed. I can’t be held responsible for not paying any attention to fmv nonsense like Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective.

[@iwanttocomplain]

@Burst Your Bubble yeah there’s some really cool games. The advertising was a disaster though.

[@TheSektorz]

bro did you really make an hour-long retrospective of the best console ever? this is epic!

[@Kohen20]

False!

[@TechSpree1]

Great job on this video!! You’ve clearly put so much dedication and thought into it, and as we can see from the sheer quality and crispness, it’s paid off. This deserves so so many more views! Keep it up 🙌

[@lh_a-spec]

I just got mine last week!

[@Haashooo]

Loved playing Sega...especially the lion king it was my go to after school full on play time....played it in 2007 when i was a 7 year old seems like yesterday 🥺💔

[@petercipriano936]

Incredible job with this video! This is probably one of the best of its kind on this subject on KZbin. I was fortunate enough to grow up in the 80s and 90s and lived through and remember all of this. Incredible time to be a gamer and you gave it it’s proper due. Well done!

[@B33FY2011]

I have just found your channel with this video being recommended. This has to be one of the best Sega Genesis retrospective video I have ever seen on KZbin. The production quality is brilliant and second to none. You've just got yourself another subscriber 👏👏👏

[@Charliezard7]

What a great video of gaming history. I hope you keep releasing more of these even though I discovered your channel from the old iPhone unboxings

[@tungus-]

oh my days, an 1 hour 91Tech video! we've been blessed

[@Waifu4Life]

The Genesis' CPU is 7.6 MHz Vs 3.58 MHz for the SNES. While a difference of 4.02 MHz may not seem like anything to someone who was born 20 years ago, back in the days, the was the difference between your game slowing down or keeping it's speed, hence why there was so many slow downs on SNES ports Vs Genesis ports.

[@truckercowboyed2638]

Ah the famous slowdown in the first level of Super Mario World....when too much action was on the screen at once.....caused me many times to get hit or nearly lose my Yoshi....

[@Waifu4Life]

@@truckercowboyed2638 yup

[@truckercowboyed2638]

@@Waifu4Life whereas the sega genesis could handle sonic speed literally all day long lol

[@saurondp]

The clockspeed of the processors can't be directly compared, and has little to nothing to do with slowdown that was often a problem on SNES games. More importantly, the Genesis had a 7.6 Mhz Motorola 68000 processor (same CPU as early Macs, the Atari ST, and Amiga computers) that was a 16/32 bit design (internal 32 bit but 16 bit external), whereas the SNES used a derivative of the WDC 65816 CPU, an 8/16 bit CPU that was essentially a 16 bit version of the 6502 derivative used in the NES. They were two entirely different architectures. While the 65816 could theoretically keep up with a 68000 of double its clockspeed, there were some design flaws which meant that it didn't run at full speed all the time, which gave the 68000 better long-term performance. More specifically, those design flaws of the 65816 were a big reason why the SNES often ran into slowdown issues. As to why Nintendo used that processor instead of the cheap and powerful 68000, it would be my guess that it was largely due to its instruction compatibility with the older 6502, thus giving an easier learning curve to developers who programmed games for the NES.

[@RWL2012]

​@@saurondpthe SFC/SNES was originally going to be backwards-compatible with FC/NES games, but it wasn't in the end for cost reasons of not including NES graphics/sound. the SNES CPU also lacks the unofficial instructions (opcodes?) of the NES CPU that are used by some NES games. if you haven't already, check out Project Nested. It emulates NES games on the SNES, with what CPU backwards compatibility there is doing the heavy lifting.

[@jkingjay9545]

I've watched history of sega genesis from many different KZbin channels... but never from a 23 year old reviewer. You kids are a different breed. The future is in your hands

[@stackthepads1646]

Phenomenal video as always Josh! Incredible to see the amount of effort you put into this. It turned out absolutely fantastic, well done!

[@jdude9314]

Even though I prefer the Super Nintendo, I still love the SEGA Genesis and everything it brought to the table. It has in my opinion the most creative, diverse and out of the box game library of any console I have ever seen. Here’s my personal top 10 favorite Genesis games: 10. Comix Zone 9. TMNT: The Hyperstone Heist 8. Golden Axe 7. Phantasy Star 4 6. Castle of Illusion 5. Castlevania: Bloodlines 4. Disney’s Aladdin 3. Gunstar Heroes 2. Sonic 3 and Knuckles 1. Streets of Rage 2

[@gpl992]

I'm in the same boat,I got mad love for and grew up/had BOTH consoles!But for me I prefer SNES for Adventure and RPG games but prefer Sonic over Mario game from then.

[@jmac79ers]

Great video! You mentioned the cpu difference between the Genesis and Snes not being significant, but the Genesis clock speed was over 7mhz wheras snes was usually close to 3mhz. Ridiculously low clock speeds by today's standards, but notable

[@SEGA128DC]

That's why beat 'em-ups, shoot 'em-ups and sport games, played so smoothly on the Genesis compared to the SNES. The faster clock speed was essential when playing co-op...

[@gamedad7336]

Your both wrong. Uniracers?? Dk country? Killer instinct? Fast, co-op, or 2 player games. I think it's more about pushing sprites. She's could do fast too.

[@jmac79ers]

@@gamedad7336 yeah, I agree, except the me bwing wrong part haha. The snes has many fast moving games, and great co-op but the processor does have a lower clock speed. What developers did with it makes the difference

[@Nobunaga1983]

@@gamedad7336uniracers was not fast lol. Such simple graphics compared to sonic too

[@alainsoucysergerie9879]

I've started the video, told myself "Oh, I already watched this", then pursued to watch the whole thing again. That's quality right there.

[@aprichman]

Just stumbled across this channel, good stuff! Thanks for the trip down memory lane, I was 4 when the Genesis launched. Sadly the folks never upgraded our NES but still had great memories playing it at friends houses and every time we would go to rent videos!

[@bertsvello]

Great content! Feels like a documentary, awesome!

[@claudiosacchi3720]

I grew up with genesis and as action games fan it was the best choice. Some games are still my all time favorites which I like to play every few months...gunstar heroes, musha, thunder force 4, Shinobi 3, streets of rage 2/3, Rocket knight, contra and many more!! When I had the chance to play SNES games i found some other 16 bit classics but the genesis will always be in my hearth and memories. The limited color palette, the crispy sound, tons of sprites and affects on screen makes that hardware unique.

[@user-jh6fr3pu3b]

I was a Nintendo kid growing up. I'm 41 years old now. Even though I always had Nintendos, I always wanted a Sega. Altered Beast and Echo the Dolphin were my favorite Sega games back in the day.

[@AceNX]

Criminally underrated video! Can't wait to keep up on your content

[@GenerationalGamer]

There are about releases for the Model 1. The first three or so have solid sound. The really early ones didn't have TMSS, which provided "Licensed By SEGA" upon each start. The capacitors were flaky as hell, but when it worked, the sound was great. The first six model 1's have the power port right up against the edge of the plastic. The last one, with the worst sound has it pushed over about half an inch with more room at the edge. Model 2s with the smaller motherboards are the best to get. The metal plate only covers about half of the vents on those. Awesome video!

[@SnickterP]

Excellent video. This was my childhood right there, as well as the Master System. Sega fanboy from the beginning. Stayed loyal through the Saturn (do a review, it’s not as bad as you think! Panzer Dragoon Saga is killer). And right through the devastation that was the discontinuation of the Dreamcast.

[@winterwolfryan]

Panzer saga was phenomenal

[@gpl992]

The Dreamcast was awesome and still is too!I just got one and love it.It is definitely a worthy Swan Song for Sega!

[@winterwolfryan]

@@gpl992 I still play soul Calibur to this day…

[@rastusbojangles]

oh man! this is great.

[@91Tech]

Thanks! I think it's a little short but otherwise I'm happy with it

[@nsh040909]

@@91Tech Is the rumored Sega Dreamcast 2 console still a possibility?

[@91Tech]

@@nsh040909 Haha I don't think so. But you never know

[@Andrew982_]

@@91Tech You think it’s a little short? Bro this is like a legit documentary!

[@Subscroof]

I am from brazil I still see the Master System selling around

[@iwanttocomplain]

One other thing... Everyone should go and play Ecco the Dolphin. It has precise and responsive controls, the music is sublime and the artwork is transcendent. Overall one of the most atmospheric and immersive games of it’s time. It’s not too hard but it is hard. Especially having to balance rocks on your nose and move them around. The ice stage is crazy difficult but it’s all the more reward when you succeed. One thing I got stuck on back in the day is a statue you have to sonar to open another passage. But we have walkthroughs now and there’s no shame in using them a bit.

[@rooftopstruggle4360]

The Genesis was my only Sega console, but it was one of my favorite. It held me over until the N64 release, I do wish I could have gotten a Saturn as well, but the gaming parties at my house were lit! My goal is to release a game on the platform. It sucks you didn't speak of any of the newly released titles for the system, the console is very much alive in 2021.

[@truckercowboyed2638]

I remember the Saturn, it was so expensive i think vs say the N64 or Playstation soon to come in '94.....

[@ZachDarvin]

This really has that Gaming Historian feels especially with the length.

[@91Tech]

Huge compliment, love his channel. Thank you!

[@Jferrari427]

The memories and nostalgia are flooding in…wow! Brings me back to my childhood…what a time.

[@hillsongaming2822]

Your Mom rocks bro. Also thanks for taking the time into making those video I sat and listen through

[@Inverse_to_Chaos]

Really liked how you shared your experience with the 16-bit machine. As an ex-Sega fan, it’s pretty easy to look back at the company’s messy history (even in its heyday), but considering today’s aspects in gaming we take for granted, there lies a beauty in the larger than life nature of Sega, Nintendo’s first genuine competition. As someone who stuck with Nintendo throughout my childhood, picking up a Genesis, a Dreamcast, and games for both was an exhilarating moment that I will never forget. Thank you so much for this video! Sega might be practically “dead”, but what came thence has and will forever endure. 🦔 🐬

[@tonyg5597]

The mega drive that you featured was the japanese version. The PAL Mega Drive had a white stripe where it was red in the US and Japanese version, the reset button was white, the gold 16-Bit lettering was smaller (similar size to the Genesis) and the Mega Drive font differs to the font used in the Japanese version which was placed on the bottom right hand corner

[@91Tech]

Yea this is interesting, I had no idea (someone else also mentioned this). Thanks for the cool fact!

[@mutalix]

Fantastic job on this hour+ retro history of Sega and Genesis documentary!! Not to mention the great Genesis ost that played throughout👌 Actually learned a few things I'd never heard before, subbed happily!

[@craigdavidson5613]

I’m a huge fan of the Sega Genesis, or Mega Drive as it was known in PAL regions. I remember my brother used to bring home one of these back in the day. A few years ago, I found an original model Mega Drive at a charity shop here in Australia. It only cost $5AU and worked perfectly. It even came in a Nuby case, with two controllers!

[@Inverse_to_Chaos]

Wow, what a steal!

[@Weather_Nerd]

Please make the Dreamcast video soon! Love these extra long and detailed ones, thank you for the work and massive amount of time required to do so! One of my favorite tech channels by far, to think I only found this channel in the last year or so

[@dad7275]

Great job! You done your homework here and it paid off. Its been very entertaining and enjoyable. Being someone who watched this console war unfold in person this video kinda took me back. Back in the day I had such high hopes and expectations from Sega but I do remember the utter confusion and excitement when they started pushing so many add-ons and consoles. I remember buying and supporting sega products from the Genesis on up. I actually bought the 32x at launch with Virtra Racing Deluxe and wasn't disappointed. Its my favorite version of that game up until this day.

[@Thor-Orion]

For the record, I’m so glad that Sega made the CD and 32x, because I’m developing a game utilizing them both just to show what could have been done with it. And the model one Sega CD is GORGEOUS. It’s not weird looking dude. You’ve never seen it up close. It’s PREMIUM. Sega made a huge mistake not developing serious games for it, they should have done the Super Scroller arcade ports on it. Would have been a huge bonus.

[@LOTR_BTTF]

When he said his mom had a Genesis back in the 90's - did anyone else suddenly feel old?

[@jasonblazgk9973]

Really nicely presented review of the system. Perhaps someone pointed out already, but the HD graphics text = good sound isn't quite accurate. Sega had a number of board revisions, and the last "High Definition Graphics" was revision VA6, which could also be found in many of the earliest units without the High Definition Graphics text. The model to integrate the FM chip was VA7 and beyond. So it is quite possible yours has the discrete Yamaha chip. Know this since I got a Mega Drive (Europe) without the text on ebay recently. Was kicking myself since I didn't research the audio beforehand, and only looked it up AFTER I purchased it. I opened it up and lo and behold, it was VA6 and had all the discrete chips and same audio setup going as the previous model 1 boards! So I looked it up on some of the sega enthusiast forums and yes, this is indeed the case, and seems to be regardless of whether PAL (European) or an American Genesis. I guess the best way to summarise it is, if you get a model 1 with the High Definition Graphics text on it, then you can be guaranteed it has the good audio output. Otherwise it is a gamble..

[@DiscipleMario]

Absolutely incredible video!!! Crazy talented!! Thank you!!! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@Mimikyu_Lov3r]

If you didn’t see and say “SEGA” either out loud or in your head along with the sound then you’re too young to watch this video and I feel sorry for you

[@tonyg5597]

oh wow...i did that back in the day.....funny how there were others that also did this...although in Australia I would have been saying SEE-GA (as it was pronounced over here) rather than the perhaps more universal pronunciation of SAY-GA

[@Inverse_to_Chaos]

I’m 21 now and have been screaming “SEGA!” since I was 14, FYI.

[@jodotarotclub9231]

SEeeeeeeGAaaaaaaaa

[@retrocute]

Thoroughly enjoyed this. Also, cool mom you got there!

[@oAirehko]

I had Strider for the genesis. I got it when I was real young without knowing what it was and to me at the time it felt foreign and eerie somehow. Was fun as hell though. I had only learned many years later that it was a favorite.

[@digitalworms]

Strider was one of the hard hitters in the 80s! The arcade version was the best but for home sega did a great job!

[@oAirehko]

@@digitalworms yeah, I had no idea!

[@joandarc441]

Strider is high tier in Marvel vs capcom game's

[@Sitharii]

*Thanks for the memories , great video* As for the sound-system part @27:06 , yeah , the Genesis/MegaDrive had such a unique electronic/synthesizer capabilities , and my ears loved these sounds !! --P.S. Whoever isn't aware of this @ *the adventures of Batman & Robin* soundtrack ,shows what kind of incredible capabilities SEGA's console had for electronic music. *This game's soundtrack is a landmark in electronic/synthesizer sound and even today still remains flawless* (SEGA's version for this game was created by a different developer than the SNES one , thus the SEGA version is in a league of its own . So superior in everything !!! )

[@Epic_C]

I appreciate that although this system came out 10 years before you were born, you show appreciation for it.

[@elmarakovideo]

Great Video. My favorite Sega CD game Sonic CD was updated in 2011. The digital release made Tails playable with new sprite artwork and you could choose either US or JAPAN soundtrack!

[@Justin-Hill-1987]

It would be Brad Buxer, who worked with Michael Jackson, who'd get most of the credit for the music they contributed to Sonic 3. The music used in Ice Cap Zone is an instrumental version of a previously unreleased song "Hard Times" by Brad Buxer's band, The Jetzons.

[@DrBeaver]

Owned a genesis back in the days! Comix Zone was my favorite game at that time!

[@digitalworms]

Comic zone was a brutal game! Fun as hell but brutal!

[@DrBeaver]

@@digitalworms it was brutal in a good way though

[@digitalworms]

Absolutely! I miss those good gaming days, I enjoy newer games but even the hardest difficulty you can hold out you will succeed! Older games now your learning it and got skill or you would not finish!

[@handsomemike1742]

Great Retrospective 91. I would just add Blast processing is real you can 'blast data at the CPU (*and The SEGA cpu was x3 faster than the snes cpu) to temporarily output a higher colour palette. its just the marketing department made a huge deal out of it

[@danmakuman]

The Genesis didn't had built in instruments. Sound drivers were developed by programmers or composers themselves to have a set of instruments at disposal, but those were done from scratch, by ear, modulating each one of the sound channels. GEMS was one of those sound drivers and was commissioned by SEGA of America (AFAIK) to facilitate the composition and SFX creation process of various developers who didn't had enough experience with the FM and PSG sound chips of the console, but most of them instead of learning how to create new instruments they only used the default ones (Like examples) and in the process a lot of games sounded very samey, and in most cases pretty bad. Maybe you got confused with that, lots of games sounded pretty similar because they used the same instruments from that driver not because the console had them built in. There's a big list you can find on internet of all the sound drivers that were programmed back then and the games that used each one, you'll find a lot of GEMS ones. Mostly japanese developers had the edge using the Genesis sound hardware because FM was very popular there, almost every arcade and PC had FM sound chips, so it was natural for most of them.

[@RWL2012]

exactly

[@SIPEROTH]

As an older guy, whenever people talk about old hardware and consoles i like making a deep look into the distance and say "I was there when it all began".

[@JeanSamyr]

Curiously the Genesis on Brazil had a bank application from Bradesco, a cartridge with a modem to dial-up to consult the account balance and other things. We had too a custom version of the Wonder Boy with comic characters from Turma da Monica.

[@kingsknight7210]

I'm glad gamers like you exist most younger gamers don't understand retro games

[@123rodham]

Brilliant video. Thank you 😃

[@colt5189]

One big reason why people didn't buy a bunch of games back in the day is because most of them were real short. Many you could technically beat in 30 minutes if you were good enough. Though some games like sports games were a type of game you could play over and over again. Whereas modern games are a lot longer, and many are endless type games. And so you pretty much have to buy them today as you really get your money's worth anyways.

[@soundclock2939]

"I don't think theres a better game to represent the 90s.." *Porceeds to look at Doom*

[@Thor-Orion]

17:00 YES THERE WAS. Revenge of Shinobi was the pre-Sonic Sega Mega Drive killer app. An exclusive designed from the ground up for Genesis and a sequel to a very popular arcade game, the arcade sequel was also put on the Genesis. So to adults I believe Shinobi was the mascot before Sonic ever came about.

[@drumcondra1]

I had a sega cd back in the days. Final fight was by far my fav game

[@uthmanbaksh3530]

What I was expecting: A review of a console that came out 30 years ago What I got: A brief history of video games and consoles since the late 80's including how Sega went from the top to now just licensing their titles like Sonic the Hedgehog to other platforms, and how gaming culture evolved over the past 3 decades and how video games went mainstream. This is just simply amazing. Even I learned a lot from this!

[@benicarideo2754]

Love your vids, keep up the good work!

[@SEGAGuys]

Great video, if you haven’t watched/read Console Wars by Blake J Harris, it’s highly recommended (we also interviewed him for our podcast recently, along with Tom Kalinske and Al Nilsen). Such a great time in the industry, and it would have been good if you’d covered more about how Tom was recruited by Nakayama, etc ... still, any Sega content is good Sega content!

[@Ronnie06spartan]

Great retrospective

[@ahmadportee6926]

This was great to watch!! Thank you!

[@sihaynes]

Really enjoyed this, great job man! I’m 28 so mega drive ( I’m English ) was my first home console, you unlocked a lot of good memories 🙂 great job man

[@manzoman96]

Great video man! Really enjoyed it 💯

[@broc1617]

Good work on this video! Entertaining and I actually learned a lot more than I thought I would.

[@MMmmmVarley]

As a 44 year old GenX bastard... who might be a tad drunk on a weekend, I love this so much. Joe Lieberman, I never so much as punched someone thanks to video games. I had sports rivalries mixed with alcohol for that level of stupidity. 1980's satanic panic over D&D all over again. America loves to clutching pearls over media, it is our real national pastime. This was a well produced and in-depth video essay about something I love, I look forward to more. Aloha and Mahalo.

[@DoubleMonoLR]

The Master System was very popular in regions other than North America, so the success of the Mega Drive/Genesis was no surprise here in New Zealand for example. The current Brazilian TecToy Sega consoles are just the equivalent of 'flashback' type consoles sold elsewhere, but openly making it easier to get(or include) more games. They're not using cartridges. The Mega CD addons were later sold at massive discounts here, for what was a bargain $nz50 then, though I still don't think they were very popular. And yes, I wish I bought a bunch and left them in the box.

[@Thor-Orion]

26:24 EXCELLENT CHOICE! Chemical Plant Zone Theme is my jam.

[@imperfectxennial3008]

I had the model 2 in my teens, also had the first SNES, and I played the Genesis more. I also had model 2 SEGA CD and 32X (though I barely played the 32X as I had a hard time finding games and those I did have weren’t that fun).

[@Frieowksf1293]

I recently got a Genesis and now I'm geting games for it

[@winterwolfryan]

Man, those were such better days. I had the tg16 first, then the snes a year or so later, then the genesis. They were all good systems, with real differences between them unlike today. I still play them often - there is just something so charming and fun about them. You need to do a Dreamcast video - Sega’s crowning achievement before they died.

[@sidearmsalpha]

I honestly don't know how you don't have more views on this. This was really well done. I was a teen/young adult around this time and really engrossed in the video game scene having had all three 16-bit consoles. I love the coverage of the game industry coming under fire from the US government. That Howard Lincoln was such a hypocritical douchebag but then again, I'm sure he was just doing his job making Nintendo look innocent.

[@JamesChessman]

Great content, I'm sure we all know that Michael Jackson mystery is deeper than you mentioned: SEGA had advertised that he was helping create Sonic 3, before its release. But then child charges blew up, and the actual release of Sonic 3 lacks any credit to him, but DOES have obvious content from him, while officially Sega denies that any of his contributions were kept in the final product, it's just obviously right there. Sonic 3 alone, ending theme = "Stranger in Moscow" and it's awesome. Knuckles' original theme was from Michael, as well as the songs for: Carnival Night, Ice Cap Zone (or at least his working-partner), Launch Base are all obviously from Michael Jackson. Though it's technically a conspiracy theory to acknowledge that, but it's just so blatantly obvious that his music really IS in Sonic 3 (alone). Interestingly, locking-on Sonic & Knuckles, already starts replacing some of the music from Michael: Knuckles theme is completely different, and no more "Stranger in Moscow" which is really one of the gems of enjoying Sonic 3-alone, you can just keep replaying the end credits, haha. I just wanted to mention in case people don't realize it's way deeper than the video quickly mentioned, mainly it's important to acknowledge that Michael's music REALLY IS THERE in Sonic 3-alone, and Sega just won't acknowledge it, but it's obviously there anyway.

[@bigskybob]

WOW. really awesome and thorough content. Loved this video of yours.

[@Famous_Mist]

It does not matter your age... What does matter is your love and knowledge of the device. And that we can see... Good video

[@Jferrari427]

This is awesome. Make a Super Nintendo one!

[@GenMD]

At 28:15 you said Nintendo lied about the sell of the SNES. Where di you learn about that?

[@iwanttocomplain]

The SNES has 8, 16 colour pallets. The first colour is used for transparency on sprites. So the actual number of colours on screen is 128 (without transparencies). The concept of the 32X is not confusing. It was not difficult to program for. The games sucked because they were rushed when it was decided, almost as soon as it came out, that it was to be discontinued. The concept was sound and poised for success. But following it’s cancellation, it was doomed.

[@RemnantCult]

Howard Lincoln saying that Night Trap would never appear on a Nintendo system to Congress is really funny since you can buy a remaster of the game on the Switch.

[@MrJCellini]

Absolutely outstanding content, as always!

[@Gorilla_Jones]

The original SegaCD was “strange” looking? Hmmmmm

[@seba2366]

10:47 In South America The Genesis 3 was released as the "Sega Family System"

[@zpushy633sora8]

I picked up a Sega Genesis (Model 1) for $40 on OfferUp September 12th 2019 along with Tiny Toon Adventures and Toy Story like Oh My God I love it I got Attached to another Console I've owned it fot 2 Years now. I've been playing it ever since I got it and took it home I've been having that Retro feeling from the 90's (Even though I was Born in 1998) it's the Best feeling I've ever had the Sega Genesis is a Great Console from the Late 80's, Early and Mid 90's I love it ever since I got it

[@RWL2012]

The Genesis' synthesizer itself doesn't have built-in instruments. The "samey" sounding games are due to the use of the same GEMS instruments by different American-developed games (GEMS being the music programming tool released to American developers).

[@damin9913]

Its 2023 and I'm still playing my sega genesis!

[@Ashl3ycastle]

Great video, The Mega-Drive & Dreamcast were awesome. Sega really need to have a change up and get some of their old IPs rebooted while also making sure they give the developers the time needed before releasing.

[@jempio]

Very Indept vid! I enjoyed it

[@Thor-Orion]

1990 Neo Geo was the home console to beat for graphics, but good luck affording one and the library wasn’t nearly robust enough to justify it.

[@Thor-Orion]

There are at least 2 excellent examples of what FMV could have been on the Sega CD; Stalker and Road Avenger. They use Anime instead of live action and I think that’s a great aesthetic choice.

[@Gorilla_Jones]

During the Genesis launch I was a senior in college. I went to ToyWorks with my freshly created checkbook and picked up a Minty Genesis and went home and was blown away. Two weeks later I got a notice from my bank…….OVERDRAFT. I was like “what’s an overdraft” 🤣. I still have that Genesis. I went on to work in the gaming industry. Thanks SEGA! Edit: I miss cartridges so much. DLC, digital distribution, DRM is the biggest scam perpetrated on the consumer. Not to mention that games since the Digital Distribution age have ZERO legacy. It’s not an asset you actually own. I still remember walking into Sears with my mom to pick up our Atari 2600, I remember the sights, sounds, even the smells. Now? “Hey, remember that time we downloaded that digital code?” 🙄 When I was in the industry our CEO who helped found the ESA spoke at these hearings. The politicians were so obtuse and Nintendo were massive opportunists. As for Segas fall, being there, I can tell you it didn’t have anything to do with the SegaCD or 32X. Sony’s marketing and the way they bought retailer space was paramount. They would actually pay retailers to move competing product to lesser traveled parts of retail locations. Segas civil war also was key. I have some great stories of those days. I was in a meeting with Sega America reps about 9 months before the 32X launch. One of them knew about Saturn and let it slip during the meeting. The Japanese rep in the room went absolutely Yakuza on the guy. I was at the Sega Saturn unveiling and was pissed off when they announced the immediate release, we had no idea and our distribution channels were hammering us for info. Then we went to the Sony conference, when we heard “$299” we just said “oh no, Sega” Basically Sony out Sega’d Sega, taking it to them in their advertising. Just FYI, Tom K is not at fault. He actually liked the Saturn, what he didn’t like was the deception of Sega Japan. He said nobody could have marketed the Saturn in the state it launched, very important detail. If SOA and SOJ had been United in efforts the Saturn could have been a success. Finally, just an FYI, Sony and their hype machine killed the Dreamcast. Sony’s corporate pull also made sure they had major retailers limit shelf space of the Dreamcast, also paying developers outright to not release games on Dreamcast. The PS2 hype train killed Sega, not the Saturn, 32x, or SegaCD. Really tired at times when people not alive then and not really informed making revisionist videos. This was a pretty good job.

[@matthewlane518]

I didn't know that 16 bit machines grew on trees

[@buzzyduder3531]

the sega trees are a rare sight, clearly this guy has a few in his yard.

[@matthewlane518]

@@buzzyduder3531 if I plant a copy of Sonic will it grow into a Sega tree?

[@user-lm8ig7os2k]

Dude why does this video has so much less views? This is an absolute gem!

[@CaliPatriot88]

The Sega Genesis, The Lord's Console!

[@sirlancenotalot2765]

Love this video and thanks for all the effort. I would politely disagree that the Genesis/Megadrive was “a near perfect version of the arcade games”. I’m a Sega fanboy but that wasn’t quite the case. The games were just way closer to the arcade versions than any other console or PC at the time😊