How's Your Sega MegaDrive/Genesis Gaming Going On?

[mas]

From what I experienced with the tengen games only grind stormer failed me twice. Once the game did not work at all and the other finally got a copy working and played it a couple times and then it didn't work again.
So only grind stormer failed and the rest of the tengen games worked fine for me

[Gunstar Green]

Now I have a question -- TENGEN and their crusty PCBs... what's the deal? PitFighter Sega assembled so I know it's cool, but stuff like Gauntlet IV and Dragon's Fury and Revenge i want, but I'm paranoid they'd be dead or die on me sooner than later with age. I know you can pop and swap the chips, but I don't have solder removing equipment and supplies, plus I don't think I could do new solder with the stuff I do have without bridging a connection with too much solder and/or a shaky hand. What do you do and what's the odds of getting a crap board?

I haven't personally had any problems but the ones I've heard of crapping out are Dragon's Revenge, Grind Stormer, Ms. Pac-Man and RBI Baseball 93.

I personally own Gauntlet IV (best home version of the arcade game to this day), Ms. Pac-Man, RoadBlasters (fantastic port), Dragon's Fury, Klax and Hard Drivin' with no problems other than Hard Drivin' being a terrible game.

I wouldn't worry about it too much, 99.9% of times I hear about a Tengen cart failing it's Grind Stormer for whatever reason.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Ms. Pac-Man is the only Genesis game I've ever purchased that was DOA. Actually, it's the only non-Atari cart I've ever owned that I never got working.

[strangenova]

I had a light crusader that was dead when I bought it. It would load the sega logo and then go black. No amount of cleaning would save it.

[Tanooki]

Hmm well I guess at worst it would be like my Crystalis thing a few years back buying one at a flea with a dead battery. I sat on it for nearly 3 years before I got the $25 basic Radio Shack total soldering iron kit and tools kit, then ordered some tabbed batteries and it was fixed. If I got the Dragon's pinball games and it failed or came bad I could just use it as an excuse to get the supplies needed to take that step.

Would one need a certain tool or thinner spool of solder to do all those fine tips to put a chip onto a board like that so it's not all blobby causing bridged connections? I've read a bit about flux and desoldering suckers or whatever it was to clean the mess, this I do lack.

[fastbilly1]

Thin solder, a fine tip soldering iron, and a good solder suck are only part of what you need. A PCB holder, helping hands, flux, a lit maginfier, help. But you have to have a steady hand. Period. I cant do fine soldering any more because of this.

[marlowe221]

I have decided that Fatal Rewind makes absolutely no sense.

I got this from My Retro Game Box a few months back and I really don't like it.

Yeah me neither. I picked it up for $3 along with Samurai Shodown for $3 (good but HARD) and Incredible Hulk for $3 (laughably bad game) and.....

An SG ProPad 6 for $2!! I was really excited about this one since I have heard nothing but praise for this third-party pad. It is a nice controller and it appears that I can program the buttons to do... something? No idea how though.

Still, I will use the controller to play games that are actually good!

[Tanooki]

Thin solder, a fine tip soldering iron, and a good solder suck are only part of what you need. A PCB holder, helping hands, flux, a lit maginfier, help. But you have to have a steady hand. Period. I cant do fine soldering any more because of this.

I don't have nerve issues or tremors really, but I do and always have had a minor shake. I can control it to a point, that's why it's a nervous issue doing such work versus just not bothering with Tengen carts (or paying someone to transplant them.) (Edit) I'm going to attempt it if necessary shortly as I've happened into a potentially defective and/or dirty game. If it's over me I'll have to seek help.

[Tanooki]

Well decided to fire up the Genesis today. Pulled out the 6pak and did Streets of Rage, finished it on Easy, not bad. I do have to admit I find the guy with the freddy kreuger claws and the last boss to be fairly infuriating. I can't find a good angle on claws to not lose a life or two with, and the end boss is just a pest but slightly less annoying than the other.

Then I decided to pull out Exile again after a couple weeks this evening. Last time I played i repeatedly got killed in the opening stage of the game because you can't level up and save it, you're stuck. The one time I did, my kid kicks the system and before I could save. It took yet a few more tries, and leveling up to lv4 to do it too which supposedly is overkill? I think not, the game controls are crap when it comes to jump attack, the momentum stops and you drop like a rock which is a problem with a burrowing creature with huge mouth claws that hurt a lot. Just a few blows it's over. Once I cleared it though the game got far more fun and interesting, story develops well, and you can get better gear, more curatives, and save whenever and other areas you can walk out of to save so you're not stuck. You can also game the system, park in a spot enemies will respawn, rubber band down the B button and gain a few levels which doesn't take terribly long. If you have tolerance enough to deal with early bad design on that first stage it's a good game worth trying out.

Also that vague comment I made before, I picked up Grind Stormer for $15 that is likely broken. I'll need to figure out how to un-break it with a donor cart. If my limited skills/equipment allow it will be a weekend project, and if not, someone will have to help me out somewhere.

[marlowe221]

It was almost time to hit the sack last night and I thought, "I'll just play the first couple levels of Shadow Dancer." It's my favorite Genesis game (so far...).

Three hours later I discovered that I still hate the level with the dark patches and it was 2 am... Oops.