When the Sega Genesis Tried to Be the NEO GEO: A Retro Game Comparison

[@ConsoleCombat]

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[@nerdloftgaming]

I loved owning these Genesis ports back in the day. Even though they were obviously toned down from the originals, I definitely felt like I was playing arcade games at home at a young age!

[@brichan1851]

It’s just incredible how much the Genesis was capable of.

[@rustymixer2886]

Esp now

[@brichan1851]

@@rustymixer2886 totally. It’s so cool how new developers are able to optimize the Genesis and SNES with today’s tools. It’s like people buying a Model-T and souping it up with modern parts to make it a speed demon!

[@KaDuWin]

Sega made some impressive hardware for the time. Some of the system tear downs especially the Genisis and Sega CD have components highlighted by electronics experts as they review the processors. Some processors and moduls were literally cutting edge for their day. Sadly Sega had 2 problems: 1.leadership 2 good decision making Together they sunk the hardware division of the company (practically overnight) and damn nearly the whole company.

[@Gorilla_Jones]

Both the Neo geo, and the Sega Genesis are still viable platforms for new games. Indie developers just keep making these machines shine. Not everything has to be an open world game, now that chip prices are so cheap you can get absolutely gigantic Neo Geo in Genesis games that developers of the past could only dream about.

[@THE_MAQ355]

Genesis, the crown jewel of all sega home consoles..

[@francisvebert5830]

And the Dreamcast right after

[@lazarushernandez5827]

Considering the price and cart size difference between both platforms, the Genesis performed admirably. The NEO GEO had hardware scaling, a larger color palette, better sprite handling, faster versions of the same CPU and co CPU (Motorola 68000 and Z-80) and more storage space to work with . The Genesis made the most with what it(and the programmers) was capable of at the time.

[@davidbarlee4722]

In a time where console spec ruled two machines with the same CPU performed very differently.

[@firestar4407]

Why include Mega Bomberman? It is a whole different game from Neo Bomberman. You did the same thing with Super Bomberman 2 for SNES.

[@ConsoleCombat]

My ideas was to show the different approaches to an arcade based system vs a home console using the same IP. It’s not a popular request so I’m no longer doing it.

[@scrapbraintv1733]

Para tratarse de un sistema más limitado (Sega MD/Genesis), además de ser conversiones con menos memoria disponible y programadas por equipos diferentes, el resultado de sus juegos era bastante digno.

[@DawnLong-s3k]

I have the Sega version of King Of The Monsters 2. I absolutely love it!

[@ribenasquash]

It's easy to assume the games released were the best they could be. But when it comes to Neo-Geo ports, they were the best Takara could do with the time and staff they had. When it comes to the relative hardware, the Neo-Geo had unlimited vram because it reads right off the rom chips. The vram hold the sprite attributes and coordinates. But the Mega CD had 256KB of vram which I think Takara did not have access to. Another feature that appears to be unused is the sprite scaling chip, which is not weak by any means and could maybe have replicated scaling games as games from Core show that the scaling chip can almost build a 3D scene out of textured and transformed sprites. Indeed, the MCD scaling chip can skew and rotate, unlike the NG scaling hardware. The Neo-Geo is much more powerful in terms of the video memory, achieving huge sprites with ease. But the SMD + MCD = something not too far off the NG, if it had the engineers and funds for a game with an expensive production. The sound, for instance is far superior when you add 8 channels of 16bit pitched pcm channels.

[@grgmj1980]

Awesome video! Love these comparisons

[@ConsoleCombat]

Glad you like them!

[@pliniomsann]

Samurai on the Genesis forgot to bring the strong sword move from the arcades …

[@geneatsb]

You can really see how much more capable arcade/neo-geo was than the 16-bit consoles by seeing the difference in the size of the characters. They were always smaller on the 16-bit consoles.

[@ssppeeaarr]

but recent homebrew and dev kits proved such huge sprites could have been done on genesis... its quite mind blowing seeing real bout and KOF run on this machine. 16bit era was the golden age of gaming.

[@fhagane6821]

Samurai Shodown was, at its time, the most impressive port available for the console; sprites of that size were not so common on sega genesis back in the days

[@alexojideagu]

The basic hardware was very similar. The Megadrive just didn't have the sprite hardware or Cartridge size. Most arcades were based on the same x68000 CPU at the time. Including the Sega System 16 that the Megadrive is based on. A home version of the System 16 would have been amazing but too expensive.

[@48hourrecordsteam45]

Imagine if sega had uped the specs a little bit before lunch . Added another 32kbt ram to make it, 96-kbt ram instead of 64-kbt. & they added another 8kbt of ram and 2 audio channels to the sound 16-kbt sound ram with 10-audio channels… Swapped out the 9-bit color palette for a 12-bit double the on screen base Now we have 4096-colors with a 128-on screen base Instead of 500 ish with a 64 on screen base

[@OtomoTenzi]

@@48hourrecordsteam45 Plus if they used 512 meg carts.

[@48hourrecordsteam45]

@@OtomoTenzinah mehn .! lol😂 That’s over kill, over expense. But doubling adding a 32kbt to the video ram and work ram would I have done a big big deal. . Then doubling the sound ram & adding 2 more audio Channels -less compressed sound & 2 channels 1 for dedicated instruments, 1 for voice & sfx. . A 12-bit palettes would give more color options and doubled the on screen colors from 64 to 128 Genesis would not have needed the 32x. Plus the sega cd would hv need less hardware , allowing a cheaper launch price of say $150.00

[@OtomoTenzi]

@@48hourrecordsteam45 $150 would be the average retail price of a Genesis port if the games were near-arcade perfect and contained ALL of the content from the Neo Geo originals... That price would be considered a BARGAIN compared to the AES carts; which all started to cost as high as $300 back then at the time!

[@OtomoTenzi]

@@48hourrecordsteam45 The SNES should've gone with a Motorola 68000 clockin' @ 12 MHz... Then they would have NO problems portin' ANY Neo Geo or CPS1 game straight from the arcades. That chip was faster, cheaper, and alot more easier to work with. Ports on the SNES could've been 100% arcade perfect with that Motorola chip. Technically, all they would really need then would be 128/256/512 meg cartridges to hold the games.

[@japangamejunk]

The scrolling issues are a big letdown and take away the "SNK-ness" for me, but cost performance-wise the 16-bit conversions have always been impressive. I still play on the Neo Geo CD more for convenience in game swapping over the ROM system but if I didn't have that I might play more on the Mega Drive. Also Abobo should be in every game ever made

[@Lovesadako1978]

Genesis' Double Dragon is a port of the original arcade game from '87, when Neo Geo didn't even exist. The Neo Geo title is a completely different game that came out years later.

[@deputado]

Except by World Heroes and Fatal Fury 2, MD/GEN usually had better conversions than SNES. Not because of hardware, I guess it was because of programmers' ability to make it work with some soul. SamSho was a masterpiece on it. I wished AoF2 was also converted too. But hey, there was a guy converting REAL FREAKING BOUT SPECIAL for Genesis. It halted because we Brazilians are assholes (someone tried to sell it as a cartridge), but, the last demo was fire.

[@gabrielepasquali5479]

this kind of game on megadrive were well developed. a masterpiece like Super Street Fighter 2 also proves it. considering the price of video games for Neogeo I have never considered it a reasonable choice.

[@javiergonzalezcalvo1544]

Genesis made Great like Snes

[@hermawanho6962]

Why Double Dragon is included 😅? It's totally a different game from different time. It's make me feel this Video is created by AI. (Bomberman too)

[@ConsoleCombat]

@@hermawanho6962 to show that each company had different visions of the same IP. Although I’m not sure your issue with bomberman. They both branded it with their own name (mega bomberman for the MEGA drive and neo bomberman for the NEO geo) it’s still bomberman as we all know it but n spite of them not being one for one recreations.

[@hermawanho6962]

@@ConsoleCombat ok I see

[@illustreightr2630]

Fatal Fury is not a side scrolling beat-em-up.

[@marcoantoniofedericocrespo974]

man, mistaking md double dragon, an arcade conversion of the original game, with the neogeo double dragon one on one spin off based on a movie based on the original game is like having no idea of this era gaming.... even md double dragon v the shadow falls, wich is a total different game, should be better comparison.... then again, including megacd versions is not fair, the add one was kind of expensive, so it should be treated as another console of his own. md neo geo conversions were a mixed bag, some were notable, some were terrible.

[@n64fan60]

IMO - don't use scan lines for these videos. 1) Doesn't look good with YT compression (even at 1080p), and 2) they're not high-quality scan lines. Looks nothing like a real CRT, so it's not having the desired result, even if watched in 4K. Just my two cents. Drop the scan lines and just do raw pixels. Also, if you can - capture and upload at 60fps. Most of these old games run at 60fps, and don't look right at 30fps.

[@Old_Man_Jay]

I agree. There are some really nice crt filters in Retroarch that are very convincing. This video is that not. What you see here are ugly ass scanlines that just make the game look yucky.

[@brianm5563]

Really surprised how close Art of Fighting was on Genesis.. Apart from the zooming effect, Genesis pretty much nailed it.

[@thompsonpatrick79]

In the early 90s nobody complained about a port of an arcade game on Sega Genesis cuz changes are it would be better than anything on NES 😂

[@hardkoregamer1981]

It helps when you use similar hardware components to port over third party games.

[@8bitsnkboy472]

Some interesting comparisons - however Double Dragon is clearly NOT the SEGA Genesis trying to emulate the Neo Geo. You are comparing apples and oranges here, with Techno's original 1987 Double Dragon (released a few years before the Neo Geo hit arcades) and the much later 1995 title (also developed by Technos) which was loosely based on the tie in movie adaptation. I'm also calling foul on the Bomberman comparison. Not because I don't think it's interesting to compare them, but because again, it's not a case of the SEGA Genesis trying to be the Neo Geo. Regardless, despite my user name, I am a big fan of all things SEGA - particularly the Megadrive (genesis for you guys) and the Saturn, which seems to finally be getting some appreciation in recent years. I played a lot of those early Neo Geo games on other consoles and there were definitely some very enjoyable ports and alternative versions out there. Good enough for me to still enjoy, despite owning the originals on Neo Geo anyway. Cheers!!

[@DissociatedWomenIncorporated]

Man, crazy how much better the Sega versions were

[@oukitama]

When I saw the comparison about Double Dragon, I was convinced of the uploader's malicious intention against Sega Genesis.

[@ConsoleCombat]

@@oukitama as far as playability, I think the genesis version is a better game.

[@AnimeHyperDimention]

Genesis has the same processor as Neogeo.. Everyone who had one at home.. had a home arcade.

[@alexojideagu]

Yes, but it was slower. And it didn't have the sprite hardware or Cartridge size. But they were similar yes. Most arcades were based on the same CPU at the time. Including the Sega System 16 that the Megadrive is based on.

[@alexojideagu]

If we had got a home version of the Sega System 16 arcade it would have been even closer. That almost happened but was too expensive.

[@cliffchampion5501]

It wasn’t nearly as good as the arcade I know people are loyal to their brand but sometimes yall over exaggerate the genesis it wasn’t all that impressive

[@AnimeHyperDimention]

@@cliffchampion5501 You are correct, but you will understand that they cannot sell you an arcade for the price of a console. Arcade sound chips, and graphics are expensive in 1991.

[@michaelwhitacre8499]

​@@cliffchampion5501 Genesis was great, basically neo geos little brother as far as hardware specs go. Same processors just at slower speeds. It's still much faster than the SNES was

[@LoveFactorySweatShop]

Samurai Showdown on the Genesis was PAINFUL!

[@zukoulou7464]

No Earthquake in Samurai Shodown Genesis. 😢 Neo Geo games on Sega Genesis : Fatal Fury Fatal Fury 2 Fatal Fury 2 (Mini Megadrive 2 Fatal Fury Special (Sega-CD) Fatal Fury Special (Gape Gear) Art of Fighting Samurai Shodown Genesis Samurai Shodown Mega-CD Samurai Shodown Game Gear Viewpoint

[@ivannanto]

But why Sega didnt get AoF 2?

[@masod9292]

Although the Sega Genesis console is very popular, it is weaker than many consoles in terms of hardware. I wish they designed this console better.

[@1yrFamily]

Sound /music on the Megadrive was horrible 😢

[@joshup1275]

Genesis did good compare to a much more powerful system

[@TChighbury]

Thanks to how successful other games were, the grammatically correct "You won" in this game now sounds weird to English speakers.

[@NeoMoonSevin]

Snes versions were far superior and closer to the snk versions

[@claudiosacchi3720]

Gameplay wise i prefer the genesis version of art of fighting, fatal fury 2 and king of monsters 2.

[@ssppeeaarr]

sega saturn would be a better match tho... ss and neogeo consoles were beasts when it came to 2D. still impressive what genesis put out in ports tho. fatal fury 2 is way better on gens lol. combos.

[@ConsoleCombat]

Great idea. I’ll work on that as my next comparison video.

[@chadbrick67]

Unfortunately nowhere near the neo geo

[@MarcosComentarista-jn2yp]

Art of fighting and World heroes 1 for genesis sucks! Power instinct is missing!

[@sosojerry2421]

Il manque WH

[@daedalus547]

Did the Sega Genesis and Sega CD ever come close to capturing the arcade glory of the NEO GEO? Not even close, they aren't even in the same universe.

[@Gorilla_Jones]

You are totally missing the point of the video. 🤦

[@Old_Man_Jay]

Not close, but some games were fairly decent on the genesis. Samurai Shodown is a good example of a Neo Geo game that was a decent port on Sega's hardware.

[@chadbrick67]

Snes version is better and also art of fighting 2 on the snes not genesis

[@damin9913]

Sega Genesis is a way better version then Neo-Geo

[@katseazzz]

no..they both use the same cpu but neo geo had way more higher speed and had sprite scaling and huge rom cartridges also it is way more colourful as it had 65.000 colors pallete also the sound was 15 channel and had more realistic samples as it can use both sampling from audio and yamaha midi

[@damin9913]

@katseazzz I still like Sega Genesis better you can keep your Neo-Geo

[@TemporaryApe]

Too many folks showing they weren't there at the time. There is no debate over which console is better. Neo Geo was just insanely expensive so most people ran with tendo and sega, while fantasising they could afford a neo geo, yearning for true arcade perfection. EDIT: games on Neo Geo were typically between £200 to £300 each. In nineties money.

[@cliffchampion5501]

Genesis made ports that were kind of a let down to be honest. Art of Fighting on SNES was as Better.

[@Luke-gu2tw]

@@cliffchampion5501 AOF on the Snes isn't good. The only good thing was keeping the zoom effect but everything else is bad, including the gameplay. Now AOF2 was a good port.

[@cliffchampion5501]

@@Luke-gu2tw man you cappin so hard the snes version had great music and gameplay.

[@Bubba__Sawyer]

​@@cliffchampion5501Nintentard detected ⚠️

[@thaiden03]

to be fair. fatal Fury 1 looks azz on both systems.

[@Old_Man_Jay]

Art of fighting also. Though, the camera zoom effect I always thought was pretty kool.

[@thaiden03]

@@Old_Man_Jay No , at least AoF have large Character sprites. And you can see damage when your health depletes. Fatal Fury is the most gross game ever. Im glad Capcom didnt use them for Street Fighter 2. Lol

[@TemporaryApe]

Two of the earliest, and worst fighters on the system imo..