Why You Need A Modded Mega Drive! [HARDWARE]

[@alexpine8295]

WOW I’ve never seen Sonic 1 running at 50Hz and even the music sounds off, that’s so bizarre to me! Really glad you’re able to replay all of these games and find a whole new experience! That’s the magic of gaming, isn’t it? For Mega Drive homebrew, there’s a really high-quality port of Cave Story based on the original PC version! I haven’t looked too much into MD homebrew, but you’ve definitely inspired me to look into it more! Might even see about finding a modded Mega Drive myself :D Keep up the great work, Nick!

[@FARDEENKHANQWE123]

You can see 50hz in a 60fps video?

[@remy333]

Awesome. I actually just brought my Dreamcast home from my dad’s place yesterday for the Mode mod.. but now I gotta go fetch one of my Megadrives from the old basement. Nice video. 🍻

[@Tyrelosaurus]

This is such a great video! Your enthusiasm is contagious. I'll be modding my Mega Drive 2 to get the 60hz speed and full screen benefits.

[@ianwagj]

From what I understand about FX Chip games on the SNES is that if you mod a PAL SNES to run at 60hz, the FX Chip, let's say Star Wing, is actually timed for a 50hz screen. The issue is that you have a system running at 60hz, but the FX chip timed at 50hz, causing a timing issue as the FX Chip is working behind the 60hz system, meaning you get bugs and an eventual crash. I assume the same with the SVP chip, it's possible that it has to run at the slower 16-17% speed due to PAL, but you get that graphical glitch because the SVP is not in tune with the MegaDrive running at 60Hz.

[@RetroMoments]

Interesting video! I decided to sell all my Mega Drive PAL games and consoles one year ago to get the Japanese version. As a bonus, it was also modded. So it plays everything, just like yours :D Also got an Everdrive with it, so definitely satisfied for now. Planning to pick up the Japanese games in the future. The artwork also is way better on those games :)

[@skRapKlan]

Whow so many awesome features!! The ultimate MegaDrive console mod.. For a long while now I've been holding out on buying a MegaDrive, but seeing all this cool stuff really tickles my fancy! Thanks for the awesome review!

[@bjornschilling5551]

Cool Video! I modded my Megadrive 1 last year but with 2 Switches (oldschool) for 50-60 Hz and Language. Once you ve played 60Hz, you can never go 50 again thats so true..Back in the days only one friend of mine had a US Genesis and we noticed the big speed and Sound difference in Sonic and other Games. Since then, i always wanted the US Version of every console, cause it was so much nicer to play then lame Pal. Today i played Twin Cobra with my buddy Amazing Soundtrack, worth checking out!!!

[@spegma]

That’s great, man!! I had no idea. Always heard about the difference between 50 and 60 but never actually seen and heard the difference.

[@RetroBreak]

Hey sorry that spam bot got you. Just deleted it. Thanks for watching! Having to deal with 50/60hz back in the day was such a pain! You guys don’t know how lucky you were to have games run at full speed!

[@magicarpet101]

@@RetroBreak hi where can I get this mod?

[@Gaming-Enthusiast]

Great upload and gameplay footage. You are a massive inspiration to us smaller content creators 👍👍

[@JaykPuten]

The modded system or the gen 1 mega drive(Genesis) was always my favorite, when I was a kid it was always cool to stay up late and be able to play a game while using headphones, especially after getting it on Christmas with sonic, I remember staying up long after I should have just to beat it... I know it has nothing to do with a modded console, I just had to throw out the love for the gen 1 system... Plus it had some glitches that some games exploited that by the gen3 mega drive would soft lock those games (*cough* gargoyles) I should also point out I'm an American so, I never really seen how slow 50hz is.. it makes things sound and feel sooo slow

[@bluestreak711]

Apart from the games you already have, "Tom and Jerry: Frantic Antics" was also a part of my childhood. It is one of the games I used to play in cooperation with my grandmother. There was also a movie in the 90's based off of the video game. I suggest playing the game from start to finish before watching the movie because it would heighten the enjoyment.

[@TheHoodeadGamer]

I used to unscrew and remove the top shell of my Megadrive 2 so it could fit Japanese games; works quite well. Hope you do a video on the Mega Everdrive because I'm very interested in buying one myself. Excellent video; enjoyed this one a lot. PS; Wow, an original copy of Pulseman; fantastic game with an amazing soundtrack!

[@TorutheRedFox]

all Sonic games have some timing optimizations for PAL that completely break down when used in 60Hz, and because the game only checks the hardware register at startup, the game stays in 50Hz mode if you hotswap to 60 Sonic 2 and later also run the sound driver twice every 5 frames to speed the music up on PAL

[@dibbsgaming]

Awesome stuff mate, you’ve got a great console there with the overclock switch, it really helps some games. I had the same issue with Virtua Racing and ended up just grabbing a Japanese copy, I just couldn’t get the PAL version to run properly like you encountered. I’m not too sure about PAL optimisation but one thing I’ve found is that a lot of Disney games had their music optimised to play at the correct speed in 50hz, so when you run them in 60hz the music runs way too fast! It’s really noticeable in games like Aladdin I find. I have a feeling Street Fighter 2 also has this with the music too just off the top of my head. I’m not too sure there was much optimisation with games on the Megadrive overall, I think it wasn’t until stuff like VF2 and Sega Rally on the Saturn that we started getting a bit more effort put in for our PAL games. Awesome video mate, the 60hz switch is a must so enjoy your system, it’ll give life to a lot of games to enjoy them at the right speed!

[@xmodsgaming]

Correct me if I’m wrong but I think CRT is in the UK run at 50 Hz because of the power grid then when LCD TVs came out they ran at 60 Hz because of the AC to DC converge that’s only reason why you guys missed out lol

[@alanjenkins8576]

You could just cut the jumpers on the motherboard and get USA 60hz mode but you can only us those cartridges but most work due to no region lockout only a few don't work but just get the American version anyway if it don't . One thing to note is the ossicular chip is still the pal slower one so it's runs in a hybrid mode which I find pretty good

[@MicahBuzanMUSIC]

Seeing Sonic at 50Hz is a mind f. I can't imagine playing it that way.

[@TorutheRedFox]

I prefer patching the game itself and putting it on a flash cart to prevent bugs and issues caused by the game expecting to run on a PAL system with the different timing and all (e.g. sped up music)

[@acecarrera1]

My first game on Megadrive was Dangerous Seed by Namco, it has cool mechanism where you can change your ship configuration and weapon.The music is better than the arcade version too.

[@arnauddemarais9104]

I would love to see The Cursed Knight played on your mega everdrive :)

[@CaseTheCorvetteMan]

Virtua Racing automatically changes the clock speed of the CPU, and the Euro version is optimised for 50Hz. It will not run correctly at 60Hz and will be way too fast.

[@skRapKlan]

I came across a rom hack recently called "TMNT of Rage - The Final Shell Shock". Well worth checking out!

[@jimmyeddy]

It really makes me take for granted how much easier and import friendly NTSC systems are. Even unoptimized PAL games will run at the "proper" speed on NTSC hardware depending on the system.

[@danielfrabotta5501]

If you have a six button controller, my highest recommendation has to go to SEGA's Ranger X which is an action mech game of the highest caliber, absolutely smashing. Do check that one out if you can.

[@jak_1894]

Sonic 2s music is optimised as far as I know, so running it in 60hz should mean it sounds faster than intended. Earthworm Jim's music and gameplay is optimised for 50hz so that game would sound and play faster than intended.

[@professorc-dawgscastle8591]

5:29 I know some UK/European developers actually made their games for NTSC, despite of course living in PAL regions. I think specifically I remember someone from Rare saying they had NTSC hardware in house that they developed for/on.

[@bundjohn]

There’s also an adapter to allow you to plug Japanese games into PAL consoles. I think it might be called the Mega Key? In regards to homebrew Tanglewood, Demons of Asteborg, the demo of AstroBros (still in development)and Xenocrisis. There’s also loads of Romhacks to try out as well but I would need to take a look at my everdrive 😂

[@TFSned]

You can test if a game is PAL optimised by running both versions with the same controller and seeing if they desynchronise. Also, the Road Rash games benefit massively from an overclock. Road Rash 32-bit is still my favourite though 😊

[@thomasp3165]

lol, i like how you put the genesis on top of the ps2 in the beginning of your video. i'm pretty sure they have an adapter so you can use your import cartridges in that model 2.

[@sufamidan1006]

Did you try Castlevania in 60hz? I was getting a bit of slowdown in the area where the creatures jump out of the water early on in the game. Dunno how it would be with the OV switch though,

[@orangehatmusic225]

The megadrive / genesis when it slows down isn't as fun as the sped up version. The CDX was and still is by far the best at rendering genesis games full speed. If you have never played sega games on a CDX then you do not know what the premier way to play genesis / megadrive games actually feels like.

[@cannyfocus]

There's no speed adopted M.D. PAL game out there (unless the music speed in some), besides maybe the Lemmings PAL cartridge none of the other PAL carts -also those wtih region check are not-, so any game only will run @ 60 Hz at their original speesd ! But a PAL Mega Drive on 60 Hz still btw. is not exactly as quick as a US and Jap. M.D. on 60 Hz (same goes for 50 Hz, when you compare both console versions). This is because of the 53,2xx Mhz quarz in a PAL M.D., compared to a 53,7xx MHZ quarz in a US and Jap. M.D. , where the otherwise identical (beside the TV modulator for RF and Composite out) hardware gets its calculations and source from. Sadly, because of this, you will also get tuned down music notes on any PAL M.D. from the synthesizer ICs ! So, a US or Jap. M.D. is the only real way to go, bundeld with "US" or "Jap." or "World "cartridges of the games (because some later PAL carts like Shinobi 3 have region check, and need to run on 50 Hz - which is always a bit of a bad idea, because, though they are with region check, still they were not speeded up in gameplay speed to the original speed of its US or Jap. counterpart of the game). Or to change the 53,2xx MHZ quarz in your PAL M.D. to a 53,7xx MHZ quarz, you will than get a US / Jap. M.D. as a result (but only the RGB out will work as it should regarding the colors, because the TV modulator for the composite and RF out iin a PAL M.D. s only made for a 53,2xx MHZ quarz and will put out drifted away color vlaues then), is the other also real way to go :). On a SNES it's the same, besides Super Matriod and SMW 1 there are almost no other speeded up PAL games out there. So a 60 HZ SNES is the only wy to go. And the same goes for PS1, Sega Saturn and so on. But at least the problem with the tuned down music and sfx notes does not exist on a SNES and all of the other none-synthesizer-IC/chip-based, which the M.D. or a C64 and so on is, consoles.

[@robinhatherall6779]

Was Pulse Man the game that gave Japan kids seizures? Some of the effects are crazy.

[@antonyjcarter]

Ill also mention, that S3&K i found the same think with it only working in 60hz with the lock on adapter, but my region switching machine of choice in the MegaSG and i did not run into that resetting issue, ive played through both games at 60 no problem, wonder if there could be an issue with your mod chip and that particular title

[@Wolfstanus]

You cant get true blast processing at all. No games use it. You can get it through modding. Blast processing does exist but its just an unused "feature" and you can't ran a game with it

[@Amygameing]

My jp mega drive has a built in switch

[@cruxinc]

Wouldn’t you need a ntsc crt as well?

[@javiiermendes]

But Megadrive processing speed are more than enough to handle all the graphics and features Megadrive can offer. Overclock a Megadrive or any other console don't improve their capabilities , also all ancient consoles from this era are now degrades and this accelerate the span live too. If it were possible to put the Saturn CPU into the Megadrive there would be no visual improvement.

[@scbond]

If the PAL systems were 16% slower, you aren’t modding it to run 16% faster. Simple maths.

[@Yipper64]

Sounds like a modded mega drive is mostly good for people who are in PAL regions having to deal with 50hz...

[@MrLazenby007]

There are a handful of games intended to be played at 50hz and were not optimised for 60hz in the North American or Japanese releases. Alien 3 is one.

[@antonyjcarter]

Does not switching from 50 to 60 after the game has booted not mean the music will be running too fast?

[@RetroBreak]

Not all the time, which confused me even more!

[@xyz-ns7ym]

Truxtons awesome

[@StrikerZero6]

When a european finally plays a US/Canadian console

[@obthree2830]

So basically now you’re playing at the same hz as us Americans 😂

[@Blehstor]

50hz sucks, no game plays better or "correct" at that speed..

[@CaseTheCorvetteMan]

Not true, loads of Saturn games ran at a higher vertical resolution on 50Hz and ran at the same speed as the 60Hz version. VF2 and Sega Rally are perfect examples, both were higher resolution in their Euro versions.

[@Blehstor]

@@CaseTheCorvetteMan yeah but they look squished at that resolution, by same speed i guess you mean 30 fps?

[@CaseTheCorvetteMan]

@@Blehstor no, they're full screen. And frame rates are not game speed, a game can run faster at a lower frame rate, that part isn't relevant to pace of the game. The Euro version of quite a few Saturn games were better than the US and Japan versions. Not all were, but those that were done correctly to take advantage of the higher available resolution certainly were. Most arcade games never ran at 60Hz either, let alone 60fps, some Seibu games ran at 53Hz to allow for a higher resolution. A 15.7kHz signal is 15.7kHz regardless of refresh rate, but when you slow it down it frees up bandwidth for higher resolution.

[@Blehstor]

@@CaseTheCorvetteMan are you comparing pace to fps or hz? lol

[@CaseTheCorvetteMan]

@@Blehstor i can see you don't understand the difference. Hence your initial very erronous comment. You have it stuck in your head that 50Hz simply means everything is slower than 60Hz, when it doesn't indicate anything of the sort. Do some research on what refresh rate a lot of 80s and 90s arcade games ran at and why, there are loads that run at lower refresh rates than 60Hz for a good reason, and not because they wanted the game to run slower. Sega Model 2 refreshes at 57Hz, the resolution displayed by Model 2 would not have been posible at 60Hz on a 24.5kHz display. Seibu arcade boards running at 53Hz for that same reason. The lower the refresh rate the more lines can be drawn on the screen per frame. When games are programed with this in mind the results are fairly obvious on a capable analog display. The pace and speed of a game can be exactly the same regardless of refresh rates if programmed correctly.

[@jamesburchill7522]

Ha! PAL losers! (JK)

[@FARDEENKHANQWE123]

Megadrive.not my kinda games.

[@SA77888]

0:04 A grown man PLAYING on something..........and Im not looking down my nose at this guy, Im the same, a grown man who plays games. Our dads were REAL men, they worked 12 hour shifts, fixed cars and...........know about stuff. Most of us dont know F.A - All we know is how to apply a hack to a video game........ya know, a video game, like a CHILD would play. We must be such a disappointment to our parents. Im so sorry for my (not a real word) patheticness.

[@CaseTheCorvetteMan]

Speak for yourself.