Sprite Scaling and the Sega 32X

[@JasonMontell2501]

Omg. Another 32x episode. Mel is on fire!

[@TheRestartPoint]

The Mega CD did some impressive scaling in the Batman Returns driving stages. Baffled why they didn't do it on more Mega CD games. Sega the experts in scaling , barely bothered to use it in their early consoles that could do it. Will never understand that.

[@AlexvrbX]

Yeah very few Sega CD games really taxed the custom ASIC for scaling and rotation. But the ones that did are very impressive... Batman Returns is probably the single greatest example of what the Sega CD's custom hardware could do, I wish someone would explain in detail how they did the impressive wave effects in the water!! Soulstar is also incredible. Thunderhawk and Battlecorps made use of hardware scaling and rotation but they were more basic. Sonic CD had a software bug that made its 3D levels run slower than they should have, but it was an early attempt so meh, at least they tried. Cliffhanger was also pretty technically impressive. Oh and I'm pretty sure Silpheed used the ASIC to handle the scaled/rotated background. A lot of people think they were streaming in a video for that, but that's just not the case. Most of the CD is consumed by the CD audio tracks which are streaming during gameplay. They use the ASIC for the background and the Genesis VDP handles the spritework. Low-poly 3D objects are handled in software obviously, but I don't know if it is done on the sub or main CPU. You can actually see the ASIC struggle a bit on the background rendering in some of the more demanding levels, but its hard to say if that's a limitation of the hardware or the code itself. Either way it's still pretty technically impressive as a complete package. I wish more games used a scaled/rotated background, they could have built a Shining Force title around it, something that would look and feel halfway between SF II and III from a graphical standpoint. Oh and a Streets of Rage using the hardware could have looked and played a bit like a Guardian Heroes title, although not as fancy or colorful.

[@justanotheryoutubechannel]

I think a lot of the issue was bandwidth, in Sonic CD any scenes using the scaling and rotation were limited to 256x224 at 20fps and often only scaled half the screen or less, because of the lack of bandwidth on the expansion port. Batman Returns looks good but even that isn’t a fully 60fps as far as I know, it looks like 30 or less to me. Most games would transfer data from the CD onto the Mega Drive’s RAM during loading screens and the 2D art would be rendered by the MD, removing the bandwidth issue. I also read that one of the reasons why FMV often wasn’t fullscreen was due to the same bandwidth limitations, as well as low CD-capacity and CD-reading speed.

[@maroon9273]

​@@justanotheryoutubechanneldue to the genesis unfriendly and restrictive toward hardware expansion.

[@fattomandeibu]

@@justanotheryoutubechannel Another issue is the Mega CD only has 512kb of RAM to hold game code and sound, with a further 256kb that can only be used as a skip buffer for playback of streaming audio and video, and 256kb of VRAM for holding sprite and background tiles. This was far from enough for anything but the most basic cartridge games, Zangief's sprites alone in Super SF2 were over 300kb. On cart this was fine, as sprites could be loaded in from cart into VRAM at around 2/3 of a screen per frame when running 60fps. On CD that data would need to be completely pre-loaded into VRAM as any CD access will take seconds, never mind frames. Maybe if you could put 4mb RAM on a cartridge and load the game from CD into the cart as required, you might get somewhere, but with a basic Mega CD unit, no chance.

[@Midekai]

Those afterburner and space harrier ports are still so impressive to me all these decades later. I really wish they had marketed the 32x more for accurate arcade classics.

[@worsethanhitlerpt.2539]

Space Harrier identical to the SATURN version.... drool.....

[@jenningsmills5398]

If sega dropped all their super scalers on 32x it would've been a must buy for me.

[@malcolmar]

Agreed!

[@cj694x2]

@Endoe ONE what?!? The fact that it was a strictly 3D system in precisely why PlayStation kicked everyone's ass. And Nintendo 64 did well in the US for the same reason. Your comment might have applied to the Japanese market, but certainly not in the west. 3D games is what everybody wanted at the time.

[@SuperballsSupervidsOnYT]

If they had dropped a Space Harrier/Hang On/Outrun 3-pack, it would have been a killer app.

[@SuperballsSupervidsOnYT]

@@cj694x2 Technically, the Playstation was an advanced 2D system, and a sprite pushing monster. The thing didn't even have a z-buffer, which is why it's geometry warped all over the place.

[@cj694x2]

@Endoe ONE Virtua Racing was in arcades in 1992. Virtua Fighter in 1993. By the time the 32X hit, Daytona, VF2 and Sega Rally were already arcade hits as well. 3D games were definitely a thing, especially for Sega. I don't know where people get the idea that the Saturn was never going to have 3D capabilities, but that's not correct. I read articles back in '93 or '94 that had Sega talking about the Saturn as a machine that would be able to handle Model 1 arcade board games at home. Throughout their entire history, Sega has sought to bring the arcade experience home with all their consoles, so it seems ridiculous to think they would build a console incapable of playing their most current popular arcade games.

[@felman87]

Sprite Scaling is real neat. I never had a 32X but I had a Sega CD. I know hindsight is 20/20 and I'm sure if Sega could, they'd focus less on terrible FMV games and more on the system's capabilities to scale sprites and background (ala the SNES' Mode 7).

[@patfer1189]

Small correction: the concept behind sprite scaling and the super scaler games was not moving the sprite forth or back, since there was no z axis to speak of and we were working exclusively in 2D, but rather 'scale' a sprite in the x and y axes (vertically and horizontally) to simulate the sprite movie towards or away from the player. The marvel of the super scaler games was that the hardware could handle, for the time, a large number of high resolution sprites at blistering speeds, reason why 8 and 16 bit consoles had trouble reproducing anything close to that.

[@ThomasSerruques]

Super scaler had two high frequency 68k to do the bulk of the work i think. Maybe also some hardware sprite scaling chip? Anyway this was much more powerful when it was released than any home system.

[@goatbone]

I have no idea how this person could make so many videos about retro gaming but think scaling means the sprite is moving forwards and backwards in a 3D space wtf.

[@MrShanester117]

You spent all that time on this, and you’re corrected what he said, when he said exactly what you said. 😂

[@MrShanester117]

@@goatbone 0:35 it’s the most embarrassing thing on the internet where people try to get a dopamine rush from correcting the most pedantic things. He says exactly that it’s 2-D. So you’re manufacturing now, pedantic things to correct

[@Tempora158]

@@MrShanester117 Except Sega Lord X didn't say what Pat Fer said. Sega Lord X said sprite scaling is when a sprite moves "forward" and "backward", and that's wrong because there is no "forward" or "backward" of a 2D image (because it has no Z axis). Sprite scaling is making a 2D image larger or smaller, which CAN give the IMPRESSION that it's moving "forward" and "backward", but games like Yoshi's Island has plenty of sprite scaling in it and nothing in that game is going "forward" or "backward" from the screen when a sprite gets larger or smaller.

[@ShamanNoodles]

Wow afterburner looks incredible! Im happy to be able to go back and give these classics the respect they deserve.

[@MaxwellsUnearthly]

Love this episode. Sprite scaling was my true love back in the day and still is today. I love my Genesis and love what it could do with the sprite scaling, but when super Nintendo came out, it really aged the genesis on colors and sprite effects. As a Genesis fan, we need an answer, and when the 32X came out, I thought this was the answer I was waiting for, but soon realized, 32X failed to wow me as a kid. Now I love both SNES and Genesis respectively, because they offer something different to the genre. Great video once again!!

[@sloppynyuszi]

I would agree with you in the early 90s. In hindsight though, I think the scaling was too limited. It was never implemented in racing games. The passing items seemed just Sprite swaps like on the Mega Drive. And Mode 7 aged badly on many games. Street Racer and F-Zero being the exception.

[@nazmulslater8398]

Mega cd should of been the answer to snes

[@peachycreations8787]

@@sloppynyuszi I don't see mode 7 having aged so bad in f zero at all or pilot wings..simple fact was or is that the snes was so much more capable in this area of speciality than the genesis was capable of. I still love the genesis but I'm not blinkered to the obvious as well as failing to see how you can say f zero's scaling etc has aged badly.

[@sloppynyuszi]

@@peachycreations8787 f-zero is the exception I said. I love F-zero! And Street Racer is also very well done. I love Mario-Kart... on everything except SNES. I know it’s sacrilege to say this, but boy do I think Pilot Wings is ugly and not fun to play. My point wasn’t to say the Mega Drive is technically better than the SNES. Just saying that the scaling on SNES was limited and aged poorly. No one can debate the SNES is overall more powerful, and the game library is subjective. But it’s more like in the late 90s you couldn’t get me near a 16bit game after playing the a PlayStation. Now I’ll play a 16bit game over almost any of this pixelated choppy weirdness I used to think was technically amazing.

[@peachycreations8787]

@@sloppynyuszi I can't say I agree regarding pilot wings as if we are taking it on gameplay merit alone it was for me at least magical. Sprite scaling in general was superior on the snes, be that contra alien wars or indeed the likes of axelay or castlevania iv with its amazing use of mode 7. I am Thankful of your reply though as you've kept a level head unlike most who would descend into some kind of fan boy arguments. I love both systems for their different game libraries and what they bought to game history. Incidentally you mentioning street racer made me smile as it was such a fun Mario kart style game. Snes Mario kart itself I loved but to be fair outside of battle mode I was trash at it lol. My love affair with the snes started due to street fighter.

[@gtrzdaddy]

Nothing excites me more than notification pop-up of SLX while waiting for an hour in a long queue.

[@christrainer8168]

I just wanted to say SegaLordX has by far the best gaming content on KZbin. He goes into mind-numbing detail on EVERYTHING. 32x / sega cd comparisons, technical information, rare games, imports, add on devices, hardware, etc. I have no idea how he doesn't run out of ideas for new videos. But coming from myself whose best gaming memory was Xmas 1991 when I got a Sega Genesis model 1 with joe Montana 2 sports talk football, sonic, and batman this is the holy grail of retro gaming channels. I had a Sega Saturn and owned Shining Force 3 and Panzer Dragoon Saga when they came out. I was literally the only person I knew who saw that the Sega Saturn with 4mb ram cart and imports and recognized it was just as good if not better than PSX -> This man is a saint and should be knighted asap.

[@robertpeacock894]

I loved arcade T-Mek. First game I played with great surround sound. So I liked the 32X version just due to being similar enough.

[@douglasbutler1319]

I love you keep finding new content for the 32x! Love to see!

[@EnygmaRecords]

I love how you do in-depth analysis of games like this where specific features are being explored. Keep up the fantastic work!

[@abcmaya]

7:26 i get pumped up everytime i heard that Space Harrier soundtrack.

[@thehumbleone1983]

Agree I love and grew up playing Space Harrier at the arcades and then getting it on my Sega master system. Also love After Burner

[@abcmaya]

It would've been awesome if Outrun And Galaxy Force was released

[@RabidPeanutButter]

This is what I was hoping for back in the day.

[@gamingquarterly6353]

Galaxy force 2 was amazing. My local arcade had the full rotating cabinet. If i ever win the lotto, im buying that thing.

[@abcmaya]

@@gamingquarterly6353 Me too. Galaxy Force was like the Lamborghini of arcade games back in the days. Everything else just pale in comparison.

[@tom11zz884]

I would have loved to have seen a 32X version of OutRun. Probably would have been arcade perfect

[@maxxdahl6062]

@@abcmaya I think super hang on or after burner is the lamborghini of arcade cabinets.

[@adayinforever]

My God I would love to see some homebrew games on the 32x. Maybe some Saturn or Psone ports? I would love to see what the 32x could have been capable of.

[@HellTantrumbull]

I'm still interested in seeing Street Fighter and some Neogeo fights like KoF on the 32X along with both TMNT games and other konami brawlers. I'm even interested in seeing 32X enhanced versions of the Streets of Rage games.

[@maroon9273]

@The Monster Under Your Bed even a GBA game and the cancelled camache for the snes.

[@adayinforever]

@The Monster Under Your Bed I see what you mean. However, every generation of software evolved over time and the 32x never got a chance. Virtua Fighter on the 32x is comparable to Battle Arena Toshinden. And even SLX said the 32x port was better than the Saturn one. I think Virtua Figher 2 could have got a decent port on the 32x. I'm sure it could have easily ran games like Rayman or Gex. Many of the 32x games are comparable to early PS1 games. A decent developer could have definitely pushed the 32x. If they fit Resident Evil 2 on a N64 cart I don't think it would have been impossible to fit Resident Evil on a 32x cart especially with the CD add on utilized.

[@adayinforever]

@The Monster Under Your Bed oh yeah Rayman 2 was too advanced. I just imagine the combo of 32x/cd being capable of amazing things. The 32x could have handled the polygonal characters of, for example, Resident Evil, while the cut scenes and backgrounds could have been handled by the Sega CD. The combination had so much potential.

[@GameSack]

According to my memory (which may be in error) Space Harrier arrived first before After Burner Deluxe. I remember being so excited when I unexpectedly saw Space Harrier for sale at Waldenbooks. I was blown away by how many Megs it had. Then After Burner came with fewer Megs. Not only that but it was a more complex game visually with fewer performance issues than Space Harrier. I feel Rutubo Games was only getting better with experience. Who knows what else they could have achieved had the 32X sold more than 25 units.

[@Carsonj13]

Oh my God Game Sack? I LOVE YOU, JOE!

[@SegaLordX]

Waldenbooks. There's a deep cut. I bought a few Sega CD games from them. I think the 32X could have done a decent Outrun. 30fps but still quite playable.

[@cj694x2]

Forever obsessed with that MEGA POWER!

[@TheMancRetroGamer]

Great video as always mate. If it wasn’t for you Mel I would never have started my channel. You are the standard that we all aspire to reach one day ❤️🎮

[@benprastitis3341]

gonna have to check your channel out. (Despite being a Liverpool fan)

[@TheMancRetroGamer]

@@benprastitis3341 😂😂 Thanks mate

[@adventuretaco7140]

It’s funny that my 2 year old twins learned how to sing the “sega” jingle from your vids first and not from the sonic games lol ... they also love the Batman song at the end .. every single time a video ends they walk right up to the speakers and jam out .. it’s awesome!

[@SuperballsSupervidsOnYT]

LMAO, I literally just commented something similar like 30 seconds ago.

[@adventuretaco7140]

@@SuperballsSupervidsOnYT cool broh!

[@time4advancement244]

0:34 Thanks for actually explaining what sprite scaling is. Content providers often use terms that many do not understand which can spoil the enjoyment of the video

[@PixelsNcreatureS]

Back in 1995/6ish There was a KMart going out of business and had ten 32x systems marked down to $9 each. I bought all 10. I kept one and gave some to friends who had a Genesis and sold the rest. I never played a 32x till then and I was pretty blown away by it. With some sales I got enough to stack up a pretty good library of games that I still have today. Sadly, I wish I paid attention to Spiderman.. I'm still mad I didn't look it up back then. Spiderman/ShadowSquadron/BCracers is all I need for my collection

[@mrnicktoyou]

I loved playing Rad Mobile at the arcade so a home version would have been awesome. I still remember how it appeared in the movie Encino Man.

[@sloppynyuszi]

It was an early Saturn title. I think it was Gael racer or something, but it was Rad Mobile

[@bjraleigh1439]

@@sloppynyuszi and the vehicles were all made with polygons instead of sprites. I remember enjoying it some time back.

[@sloppynyuszi]

@@bjraleigh1439 honestly, I don’t think it’s as bad as people make it out. The polygon textures are so low res I don’t think it looks that out of place. I didn’t notice until a bunch of youtubers pointed it out. When the game was relevant, I just thought it made the Saturn look weak as racing games looked better on PS1, especially until Sega Rally showed up.

[@bjraleigh1439]

@@sloppynyuszi they should have just kept it the same seeing the polygons didn't help the look. No idea how much effort/time went into it, but i think just about anyone would have preferred they just kept it the same and packed in another sega racing game or any sprite scaling sega arcade title with it on the disc. Though, at the time I too probably woudl have thought making the cars polygonal was the right move.

[@JessicaChastainFan]

After Burner on 32X kicked so much ass. So worth it!

[@FiasaPower]

I had a 32x and most of these games, miss them badly.

[@buckroger6456]

What made you get rid of your 32X? I still have mine and love the few games I do have for it.

[@FiasaPower]

@@buckroger6456 back then we didn't give a damn about conserve the systems. I bought a Saturn and literally gave the 32x to another random person. Circa 1995.

[@buckroger6456]

@@FiasaPower I guess I was the odd one out then lol. I made sure to keep my systems.

[@FiasaPower]

@@buckroger6456 wise decision, my friend. 25 yrs after, I regret badly.

[@1080GotIt]

Your almost to 100k... long over due! I been here since 10k. I was definitely a Sega kid growing up, i had a Genesis & a Saturn in the 90s. Congrats on your journey.

[@MikeC-ps1tc]

Anything 32X is worth watching. There could have been so many amazing arcade ports for this! I wanted Power Drift on 32X

[@orderofmagnitude-TPATP]

Power drift you mean? But yes totally!

[@MikeC-ps1tc]

@@orderofmagnitude-TPATP Yes very sorry! Power Drift modifying my post now!

[@orderofmagnitude-TPATP]

@@MikeC-ps1tc lol. You cool.... no apologies needed my guy.

[@BaxterRockyHolly]

I want powerdrift on switch!!! And Outrunners FFS

[@orderofmagnitude-TPATP]

@@BaxterRockyHolly surprised not out yet

[@neilmclean1527]

Why the Super Monaco franchise never got a sprite scaling home console game will alway baffle me.

[@lazarushernandez5827]

This. I played the hell out of that game in the arcade, and was seriously let down by the Megadrive/Genesis version (they used screenshots of the arcade version in some of the print ads) and came to terms with it considering they included a full season of races as well as the arcade mode. A 32X version would have been amazing, that being said I did play the hell out of Virtua Racing Deluxe on the 32X.

[@neilmclean1527]

@@lazarushernandez5827 Same! I think the arcade game was the first game to give the player feedback through the steering wheel and some of the cabinets even shook you. I'd never played a game so immersive! I still enjoyed the MD/G port for the full championship season but since playing Batman Returns on the MCD/SCD I wondered what they could have done with the sprite scaling and that extra processing power. Perhaps by the time the 32X and Saturn came along the ship had sailed for Super Monaco as Sega had moved on to Virtua Racing and Daytona USA. Things moved so fast in the early to mid 90s. Still, it would have been a nice addition to the Astro City Mini but maybe those bikini girls wouldn't go down as well in the 2020s.

[@lazarushernandez5827]

@@neilmclean1527 ha! She should be fine, she was in a full one piece. 😝

[@RolandoMarreroPR]

No love for Super Monaco GP!

[@Goto10Gaming]

Another awesome video covering classic gaming, thank ya sir! 💪🏽👾❤️

[@badcp455]

These are your beat type of videos. Keep doing Sega-related videos like this!

[@slanderman3296]

I had to mow lawns all summer when i was like 8 or 9 just to buy the 32x. I enjoyed it. Virtua fighter blew my RICHARD OFF. The 3d was awesome for young me. But yeah, literally 5 bucks a lawn. Cost 60, but i had 40 so my dad helped me with the last 20. Miss those days

[@rnk99999]

2 weeks with no video. No used to seeing this kind of gap from your channel. Hope to see you again soon.

[@adrianmalkovich7101]

Atari Lynx: "But I came out in 89 and did sprite scaling in a handheld console just a tad larger than a Game boy! Have you seen my version of Stun Runner? It's the best home conversion by far!" Sega 32X: "Yeah, but nobody wanted you. Wait... Dang." Atari Lynx: * cries in corner * Sega 32X: * cries in other corner *

[@Mechanicoid]

Until the Midway Collections, that really was the best way to play Stun Runner. It saddens me how overlooked that game was and still is.

[@buckroger6456]

The lynx has a lot of great games on it.

[@Mechanicoid]

@@buckroger6456 It's one reason I keep lookin at getting an Evercade. Those Lynx collections are a big draw for me, especially on a better screen.

[@buckroger6456]

@@Mechanicoid if you have a laptop or PC just use that and hook it to your tv and use a Xbox or ps controller.

[@MrTBoneSF]

After the Megadrive launched and failed to overtake the PCEngine in Japan, Atari and Sega were in negotiations to team up for the US release of the MegaDrive. Apparently it was Atari marketing that came up with the name 'Genesis'. Epyx (creators of the Lynx) were pissed that Atari let slip a lot of key component details, but Atari thought that Sega might come on board as a software maker for the Lynx. Instead, Sega went to Atari's suppliers of color lcds and converted the Master System into the Game Gear. Imagine a universe where the negotiations didn't break down (if the Tramiels didn't have a reputation of screwing over every business partner they ever had), and we had an Atari-branded Genesis with Sega making After Burner, Outrun, and Space Harrier for the Lynx.

[@gunsrtheanswer]

I had 32X when it was new. I loved it. Played a lot of Doom, Star Wars, Shadow Squadron, and Virtua Racing Deluxe.

[@cireza_]

The SEGA-CD was actually pretty good at scaling as it had the ASIC chip for these operations. I was replaying Batman & Robin yesterday, game is really impressive. Sadly sprite scaling did not interest people much anymore, everything was about 3D 3D 3D...

[@worsethanhitlerpt.2539]

SOUL STAR was a monster game on SEGA CD sprite scaling galore and gothic graphics. Prob the best use of SEGA CD tech

[@morderknodel5281]

I really would like to know how Clayfighter 2 might have looked on the 32x.

[@CubamusPrime]

Imagine if it would of come out on Sega Saturn?

[@morderknodel5281]

@@CubamusPrime That would have been Clayfighter Extreme. Too bad they haven't finished any game in the series for more than 20 years.

[@Kunigun]

Wow. I was waiting for this all my Life

[@atomicskull6405]

Interesting thing about Buck Rodgers and the other games that used that hardware (Turbo and Subroc 3D) they used analog sprite scaling. A bank of voltage controlled oscillators were used to generate the clock signals that read pixel data out of the object ROMs as the sprites were drawn on each scanline. The slower the VCO frequency the longer the object took to read out and the more of each scanline it used, thus the larger it appeared on screen. This method require no specialized ASICs or high speed math, it happened as the object was drawn on the screen by the CRT and was purely an effect of the speed at which the object was drawn to the screen (a "beam racing" effect)

[@buckroger6456]

I'm all ears

[@alopexau]

The fact the 32X had no hardware sprite or scrolling capabilities is ridiculous, the more I read about the thing, the more I am baffled how such ill-conceived architecture even made it to market.

[@lazarushernandez5827]

Consider that in some cases hardware sprite scaling capabilities was little more than an extra/co-processor that excels at doing the math calculations (for example the SNES uses the SuperFX chip to help with polygons in StarFox as well as sprite scaling and rotation in Yoshi's Island), while other times it is custom boards to handle sprites, additional back ground layers etc.. The 32X had 2 32 bit processors running at over 3 times the speed of the MDs 68000 (22-23 MHz vs 7.6MHz), it had 4 math processors; 2 for multiplication and 2 for division, and it had its own graphics chip, which augmented/added to the sprite, polygon and color capabilities of the Mega Drive. It was up to the task. The idea behind it was instead of charging extra for each cartridge that used Sega SVP chip (which bumped the Virtua Racing's price to $100), a one time add-on of $150 dollars that would have enhanced versions of title going forward would be better in the long run...the problem was the 32X didn't even make the short run.

[@Carsonj13]

This is the earliest I've been to a new video on this channel... You should do a video on Sega CD sprite scaling and rotation if you haven't already... So you can talk about Wild Woody again.

[@orderofmagnitude-TPATP]

No!!!!! Not wild woooooooddyyy

[@mr.ufocoloradodisclosuretv4875]

Great channel I grew up on sega I enjoy your videos

[@BeB02090]

Thanks brother for all you do. Pray you having a great time with the family. 👍

[@Rationalific]

Yet another great video! You've been doing this for years, and put them out in quick succession, but you always put your all into them! (By the way, I know you'll be on a much deserved vacation soon, and I hope you really enjoy your time!)

[@loommoon2301]

I really appreciate your time and work on your channel. I really appreciate your point of view. I agree when you mentioned on a previous video about Star Wars KOTOR, best narrative since originals.

[@thehumbleone1983]

I totally agree with SLX as a kid back in the days I was hoping to see more great Sega arcades come home to the 32x. And for the 32x games that got cancelled such as Aliens vs Predetors such a shame

[@mickeysyn8215]

That was a wonderful video. You have excellent narration and a very engaging voice. Your edits are fantastic and clips engaging. Liked and subscribed, I look forward to more content!

[@philmason9653]

The 32X was always going to be an ill-fated platform since no matter what the unit could do, it was bottlenecked by having to run through the Genesis' bus. Still, if Sega had their ducks in a row and shared development of key titles across the 32X & Saturn (your Rad Mobile example was an excellent one), there's absolutely no reason it couldn't have lasted every bit as long as the Saturn did in the West, if not longer. Genesis was still cranking out some impressive stuff in '97. No doubt by that point a Neptune could have been at the $99 mark, and been everywhere. It could've been the de facto SKU for those markets that adopted the Mega Drive late and easily persisted into the 2000s.

[@VictorCaro]

can't believe I've had my 32X for over 2 decades and ONLY have Kolibri :(

[@TheL1arL1ar]

That hummingbird shooter huh.

[@VictorCaro]

@@TheL1arL1ar yes, the hummingbird shooter.... It was the only game the shop I grabbed my 32x from had at the moment....

[@ShinobiWan1]

I still love the way the rocks look in Kolibri!

[@HellTantrumbull]

Had my 32X since 1996 and didn't get any games for it until for it until 2013 since none of the stores I went to back then had any games for it. now I have every game I wanted for it thanks to getting an everdrive x3 cart.

[@lazarushernandez5827]

Shadow Sqaudron was an impressive polygon space shooter on it, Virtua Racing Deluxe, Star Wars Arcade... there are funs games on it.

[@Tboy-y6q]

T-Mek! OMG Completely forgot about that game. Now I've seen the price, I'll forget it again 😂

[@HellTantrumbull]

Thank goodness for everdrive carts when game carts go for way too high a price. 💲💰💸

[@ogre1065]

T-Mek on 32x was ok but couldn’t hold a candle to the arcade cabinet version. With twin stick controls and loud - ass speakers surrounding you (plus a subwoofer in the seat) it was quite an immersive experience that was best played with a friend.

[@geesterfunk]

That after burner theme is part of the Terminator 2 soundtrack for me

[@gens954]

Sega lord is the Sega lord. Awesome 32X vid

[@ghostito]

This is the way Sega should've taken with the 32X, they had lots of unported super scaling games, and this machine was perfect for that, imagine Out Runners being released on launch, it would've been as important as Virtua Racing. Also, like in the Megadrive/MasterSystem era, I think they could've even made a super scaler version of Panzer Dragoon, different machine, different game, how cool that would've been.

[@lazarushernandez5827]

If you think about it, Panzer Dragoon was an evolution on the Space Harrier/AfterBurner formula. Those games were a blast to play, so superscalar Panzer Dragoon could have too.

[@ghostito]

@@lazarushernandez5827 Exactly! Heck, they even made Panzer Dragoon Mini for the Game Gear, the 32X could've done a very cool Panzer Dragoon with super scaling.

[@PodcastOGRU]

Thanks SLX, interesting episode as usual!

[@emmettturner9452]

That’s weird… my NBA Jam TE PC big box specifically distinguishes itself from the console versions by saying it’s the only home version with sprite scaling. I loaded up the Sega CD version to see if it had sprite scaling and it did not. It didn’t even occur to me that the 32X would if the Sega CD didn’t.

[@alfonsobonzo3782]

It might have been the only one when it was released?

[@entertainmentwizard2703]

Agreed the 32X needed more Super Scaler Games, granted I can easily make the same argument about the Sega CD!

[@CubamusPrime]

The Sega CD was weak. If you look at some of them games it ran at 30fps.

[@entertainmentwizard2703]

@@CubamusPrime All the 32x super scalers also ran at 30FPS!

[@CubamusPrime]

@@entertainmentwizard2703 yep so even Saturn scalers some ran at 30fps.

[@entertainmentwizard2703]

@@CubamusPrime Point is I think the Sega CD was under tapped for it's potential, like the 32x!

[@CubamusPrime]

@@entertainmentwizard2703 yeah what a waste. That SOUL STAR was amazing game.

[@FireHawk1988]

Awesome! Love this stuff!

[@yuk2113]

Wish I kept my Genesis mutant. 32x and cd all the wires. I had a lot of games for the 32x Knuckles Chaotix was a favorite MK2 was amazing on it compare to other ports at the time. Zaxxon MotherBase 2000 was a lot of fun also. I also had some 32x CD games like Fahrenheit and Zombie Killer. The 32x could have been so much more especially when combine with the CD rom. But even the AVGN said it looked like the Genesis was on life support. An all in one would have been great towards the Genesis‘s end of life. Shoot I’d buy one now. Many memories playing the classic black console and I use to have a ton of games. Some collector prolly loved all my CIB’s.

[@traptorb]

I’m glad there’s at least one person (being Sega Lord X) who consistently bought and enjoyed SEGA’s consoles while they were in the market despite them going “downhill” in the mid nineties

[@marcomartins1074]

The 32X is more capable then most people think. It is sad that even the SEGA homebrew scene neglect it. Any way it's missing love for years.

[@freddiejohnson6137]

I think the biggest problem with how by the time home games were able to really use spirte scaling to rival or exceed the arcades polygons in games were starting to take over so the home market never really got to see the best of what it could do. That can be said for most sprite based games of the time as the most impressive ones got overlooked for not being next-gen enough not just by the public by the games media too who would often dismiss games like these as being out dated and not worth your time or money. Now as time has went on many have changed their view as these games hold up better today.

[@ps2vhs223]

Hope you’re doing well!

[@Hektols]

I'm pretty sure that all those super scalers in the video could have been released in the Sega CD getting the same or better results, it had specialized hardware for scaling and a format where you didn't have to worry about making cuts due to lack of space, more people would have wanted a Sega CD. The 32X polygonal games could have been released in the Genesis with the SVP chip, they wouldn't have looked as good as the 32X and would have been a bit expensive but they would have sold very well.

[@NotVance]

Second video in as many days that had that Knuckles Chaotix song as background music, it's stuck in my head now 🎶

[@BecauseYNot]

We need some home brew developers to port some other super scalers to the 32X

[@frankiev-tech4630]

I love any content dealing with sprite scaling! Man oh man had the Genesis/Mega Drive was built with 32X hardware internally at launch, all those launch games would've been incredible. I'm sure it would have been way more expensive...but to see a close to arcade port on Super Scaler games or games like Altered Beast,Golden Axe, especially Thunder Blade would've looked close to perfect. I think Genesis wouldn't have much competition and Nintendo would've had to go straight to developing the Nintendo 64...or who knows...Nintendo could've merged with Sony LOL! It would've changed all the outcome on the console wars.

[@garybrown9499]

I miss those times 😭

[@buckroger6456]

90s is the golden age of gaming.

[@jamesmoss3424]

After Burner look good on the 32x.😀👍🎮

[@edwardmcallister3071]

Love your stuff . Keep it up 👊

[@benprastitis3341]

excellent as always. would have liked to have seen the Batman driving stage, but thats a very minro gripe.

[@MrDcow]

Hey dude I’m loving your channel. I’d def watch something about nights into dreams

[@moranetigger]

A monaco gp with super scalling and all the tracks could be so nice... Was expecting it on sega cd, imagine a monaco gp done in the engine of sega cd batman returns car stages s engine?

[@maroon9273]

Shame sega cannot even develop a scaler game until later in the add-on lifespand.

[@skins4thewin]

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if some talented Homebrew developer were to give us 32X ports of those games you mentioned one day. There has been clear signs of talented Homebrew devs out there, so it's definitely a possibility that it could happen one day.

[@lovingthesauce]

Man I love this channel👍👍

[@simonrobinson1566]

Great video - as usual I agree with every word.

[@mctwain5319]

Absolutely love this episode

[@ridiculous_gaming]

Sega CD was a very capable sprite scaler as well as the Atari Lynx handheld.

[@tizianofri3546]

I think the best sprite scaling games on Sega CD are from Core Design. I remember some discussion about the Sega CD Asic, and it was performance limited by mega drive ram bandwith

[@NYCJoeBlack]

Nintendo had Mode 7 on the Super Nintendo, which was very cool at the time. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles In Time and Super Mario World come to mind.

[@mtshark7]

Awesome video man! It's a shame all the missed opportunities Sega could have done with the 32X back in the day.

[@tizianofri3546]

I have often imagined an alternate future. A future where the Sega CD implemented a worthy super scaler, and we would have had some wonderful conversions. Later I imagined the release of the 32bit Neptune, with gorgeous 2d games, super scaler and flat polygon graphics. The next generation would bring a middle ground between Saturn and Dreamcast. The 3d of Ps1 and Saturn had too many compromises, I would have preferred an intermediate generation between 16bit and that of 3d, and only following consoles dedicated to 3d.

[@madmax2069]

8:48 seeing that makes me think what if Road Rash made it to 32x.

[@divingadventures121]

Super Monaco GP, good game.

[@rubendarioreymartinez2073]

cual es ese juego de carros de sega cd que sale despues de outrunners ?

[@Soulintent95]

Sometimes i wonder what gaming would be like if we never switched to 3d and instead perfected sprite scaling. Like, imagine games like skyrim made with an engine similar to the original doom engine. How cool would that be?

[@3diamonds524]

Of all the channels I subscribe to, I get most excited for SLX

[@Infinitrium]

Motocross Championship looks and feels to me like a tech demo that got forced into development so they quickly added a few tracks and a 2 player mode and called it a day

[@skins4thewin]

I do wonder if these 32X ports were running on just one of the CPU's or if they're using both. As you know, the 32X had dual CPU's of the same type but the 2nd CPU was rarely used.

[@pauldavis5665]

Programming on multiple CPU's is difficult and time consuming, and considering how most 32X games had to be rushed out, I doubt its full power was ever truly utilized by developers.

[@skins4thewin]

@@pauldavis5665 That seems to be the case for most. Damn shame honestly, the system had potential had it been perhaps released earlier, maybe bundled in with the Sega CD. They honestly should have foregone the extra Scaler chip in the Sega CD & simply included a single one of these processors. Then we might actually have had something special.

[@Nexus9_KD6-4.8]

With the benefit of hindsight I think the best possible addon scenario for the Genesis would be a hypothetical Sega CD with the dual CPU's and GPU of the 32X instead of the Sega CD we actually got (and maybe throw in that nifty Sega CD sprite scaler hardware for good measure). This would have worked quite nicely if Sega had the foresight to build a video pass-through into the Genesis expansion slot so you could still use the Genesis video output but not necessarily be limited to the Genesis color palette in doing so. Obviously that didn't happen but it's fun to think about.

[@brazilmugenteam]

I still think if Sega had combined Sega CD and 32x on the same machine, things could be different...

[@Hamdad]

That'd just be a Saturn.

[@wyterabitt2149]

@@Hamdad It wouldn't be even close to a Saturn. It would have just been a £500+ console addon that even less people would have bought.

[@brendanroberts1310]

I am sure the did but was only a prototype. could be wrong though

[@orderofmagnitude-TPATP]

I wonder why they didnt do anything with the sega cd 32x other than just fmv improvement games

[@random_gamer_guy82]

Personally I think they got greedy and started with way to many projects without utilising them properly. The sega cd ,32 X and saturn was all penned for a 3/4 years at most capture points and then there's the sega Neptune that was being planned. Definitely a shame but greed on confusion started inside the company,and ultimately effected the saturn brand and even much later the dreamcast.

[@RetroSegaDev]

Because it was to put it bluntly a pain in the arse to develop for...

[@lazarushernandez5827]

@@random_gamer_guy82 Yeah, it was a big ask to have people buy the Genesis, Sega CD and 32X, just to play 32X CD games, at that point people just went for a Saturn or PSX/PS1. The FMV games were easy because they already had Sega CD versions, so porting them was quick (Saturn got many of those as well).

[@random_gamer_guy82]

@@lazarushernandez5827 Big mistake bringing out 32x and announcing saturn on the horizon, I litterly knew nobody who had one but people was huge on PlayStation and a few on saturn.

[@orderofmagnitude-TPATP]

@@random_gamer_guy82 i was a Sega fan boy and a product of divorced parents so i had them all as they released. I was excited for the 32x with doom as my first title. The potential was awesome. Unfortunately I didn't understand things like spritescalin so never bothered with say afterburner as i had it on my mega-sis anyway; plus magazines at the time were slating it as 'old' and 'already done on gene-drive' - clearly they didn't get sprite scaling either....sigh....wish i knew what i knew now. Sadly i had to sell my entire collection due to life circumstances - today its my phone emulatin all my old systems plus mame with an 8bitdo mini controller hangin from my car interior mirror.... got great sound playing the real afterburner in the car with the stereo....i digress.

[@ItsRyan265]

I hope this channel picks up more momentum.

[@mercster]

Thanks little Lordy!

[@T.Sizzle]

Did you ever get experience with the modem for the Genesis? It was practically a mythical device as a kid.

[@JustinLeeper]

You ARE the sprite-scaling aficionado, as far as I’m concerned. Though I don’t love it, I’ll watch to see you talk about your sweet spot. 😉

[@BlockABoots]

odd that they wouldn't release their most well know Super Scaler game, Outrun before Space Harrier and After Buner

[@documentthedrama8279]

Sprite scaling look better than early 3d

[@MaxAbramson3]

And the tragedy was that the criminally underused CD was actually just as capable of scaling and rotation using it specialized ASIC-DSP. Worse, it could help the Genesis draw 256 out of 1536 colors in S/HM at 60fps or even go up to 320x448i with arcade quality sound. Soulstar, AH3, Sonic CD, Cliffhanger, and Batman Returns showed what the existing machine was really capable of: mid-90s AAA titles that would end up on the PlayStation and PC because if Sega's insane decisions and crazy, changing roadmap.

[@andreschiriff4354]

I agree they were supposed to do games like streets of rage outrunners or outrun for the 32x but they didn't it is very unfortunate

[@adammiceli4366]

Nah if they didn't bother with 32x and port all their super scaler on the saturn would of been a better choice.. you have to remember this was a 200 dollar price tag.+ genesis..while the saturn was out in japan. Doesn't matter how much sugarcoating of the 32x there was no point of its existence

[@alextirrellRI]

I got the impression from your previous 32X features that most 60fps games were reduced or locked at 30fps on 32X -- is that an across the board limitation of the hardware?

[@BF4pawntard]

Would love to see a modern day sprite scalling game by sega . Just Imagine what could be done with today’s powerful hardware

[@willrobinson7599]

Sega just had no idea what the buying public wanted.they stumbed from one disaster to another. The 32x was a cheap way to keep the megadrive going which made sense as a very large user base. Lots of arcade games could of been ported and really showed what it could do. But sega just didn't have a clue. Just look at what some dev teams managed to push the megadrive to do. If only the 32x had of been given a chance we could of seen some truly awesome stuff