Post by Gex on Feb 15, 2019 20:18:59 GMT
So my abnormal amount of love for Cadash has always made me curious about the Genesis port. I Finally took some time this weekend and finished a couple back to back comparative playthroughs. Surprisingly they're both extremely different, and to be honest I'm not sure which one I like more. They both have pros/cons which I find to be interesting comparing them to each other.
The Genesis version has less replayability with only two characters, but the mage character proves to be the more honorable choice anyways (Bithead1000, 2008). Playing with any other character besides the mage just felt like I was just cheating myself, especially playing as the ninja. The game felt way too easy with the other characters, so I'm glad the mage wasn't replaced by the ninja or priestess in the Genesis version.
With the Genesis version you can fully see all your stats in the menu screen, something very welcomed and missed in the TG16 port. The stores are also different, as the prices are way more accurate and it’s easy to run out of money and have to grind for more. For example, herbs In the TG16 version herbs only cost 40 coins, while they’re priced at 200 coins in the Genesis version. The Turbografx version I felt like you always had too much money, and you were forced to spend it on life bells so it wasn't wasted at the end of the game. As well, the Genesis port has continues! Just like in the arcade, and you can even buy more continues in a specific shop. But each time you buy one, the price goes up a ton. While in the TG16 version, after your herbs/elixirs run out you're dead as shit.
The graphics and sounds are hard to compare because they're using different hardware, especially the sound. Both versions had sound effects I could have lived without though, or would have liked to hear in the other version. Graphics are also varied, for example in the Genesis version the animation of the final boss was way better. His head graphically blows up, just like something you would see in Splatterhouse. But the TG16 had better animation for every other boss I thought, especially the fire demon in the bandits' hideout. The zombies in the destroyed town looked much better on the TG16, as well as many other enemies. Some backgrounds on the Genesis looked terrible, some of them reminded me of those boring abstract portraits you see in art studios.
TG16 had way better scaling I thought, as some areas on the Genesis were not consistent. You notice this at the bandits' hideout, which the layout/overall proportions reminded me of the Lion King on the SNES/Genesis. You character feels huge in the bandits' hideout, but in the big green area before the gnomes village you feel very small, which didn't fit the layout of any other part of the game, TG16 universally had consistent scaling. Kind of hard to describe.
They took out the optional boss from the TG16 version too (area before the gnome village) which was a little disappointing. Instead of rewarding you with an elixir, I believe they just "hid it" elsewhere else in the level — not a big deal though as the boss was too easy on the TG16 anyways. There were also a couple of secrets they took out of the Genesis version.
Near the beginning of the game on the TG16, I found hitting enemies going downhill was extremely painful if they had shields (the skeletons). I Didn't notice this to be a problem at all on the Genesis, But found it interesting the enemies would chase you down a ladder if you were running away from them. While they did not do this on the TG16. Enemies in the last tower on the Genesis version had some problems spawning as well. Instead of them spawning when you entered a room, they were already there waiting for you to enter — making it impossible to avoid getting hit. I understand why the developers made it this way though, so you wouldn't have to wait each time you entered a staircase. But this something that could have been avoided, as this wasn't a problem at all on the TG16. Another weird flaw with is you can’t heal yourself in between the 2 part final boss battle, something that would have been nice to know before?
The translation Working Designs did was pretty bad, as the Genesis version blows it out of the water. Each piece of dialogue makes sense and has detail the TG16 version did not have. The TG16 translation just feels rough and choppy, you almost read it anticipating mistakes. "I HOPE YOU SAVE TOWN. THANK YOU". is the type of sentences you would expect seeing while playing through. The text is especially disappointing coming from Working Designs. I'm no fanboy or anything, but they've done amazing translations with other games. The best example I can think of the top of my head is when you need caterpillar silk to climb a ledge. On my first playthrough on the TG16 ever, I had no idea what to do with the silk, even though I talked to every NPC possible. The only hint provided was "It can hold a lot of men" or something similarly worded. So I thought you had to tie up a bunch of people or something, never did I think of using it as a rope. Only discovered its actual use by total fluke. While on the Genesis version I believe it's a lot more decisive.
Found a game breaking glitch with the TG16 port that I haven’t come across the Genesis version yet. Even after talking to the lady in the hidden town about the dog amulet, the game wouldn’t register that I had the item and therefore couldn’t speak to the dog and progress through the game. To try and remedy this, I even tried leaving the country a few times hoping I could restart the sequence. But at this point, I was so OP from nonintentional grinding the rest of the game wouldn't have been challenging at all. But, I mean it's a very short game. It's not like it set me back from than 30 minutes.
Any other Cadash fans out there? Curious to hear what other people think.
Ending chick was way hotter on the TG16/PCE
The Genesis version has less replayability with only two characters, but the mage character proves to be the more honorable choice anyways (Bithead1000, 2008). Playing with any other character besides the mage just felt like I was just cheating myself, especially playing as the ninja. The game felt way too easy with the other characters, so I'm glad the mage wasn't replaced by the ninja or priestess in the Genesis version.
With the Genesis version you can fully see all your stats in the menu screen, something very welcomed and missed in the TG16 port. The stores are also different, as the prices are way more accurate and it’s easy to run out of money and have to grind for more. For example, herbs In the TG16 version herbs only cost 40 coins, while they’re priced at 200 coins in the Genesis version. The Turbografx version I felt like you always had too much money, and you were forced to spend it on life bells so it wasn't wasted at the end of the game. As well, the Genesis port has continues! Just like in the arcade, and you can even buy more continues in a specific shop. But each time you buy one, the price goes up a ton. While in the TG16 version, after your herbs/elixirs run out you're dead as shit.
The graphics and sounds are hard to compare because they're using different hardware, especially the sound. Both versions had sound effects I could have lived without though, or would have liked to hear in the other version. Graphics are also varied, for example in the Genesis version the animation of the final boss was way better. His head graphically blows up, just like something you would see in Splatterhouse. But the TG16 had better animation for every other boss I thought, especially the fire demon in the bandits' hideout. The zombies in the destroyed town looked much better on the TG16, as well as many other enemies. Some backgrounds on the Genesis looked terrible, some of them reminded me of those boring abstract portraits you see in art studios.
TG16 had way better scaling I thought, as some areas on the Genesis were not consistent. You notice this at the bandits' hideout, which the layout/overall proportions reminded me of the Lion King on the SNES/Genesis. You character feels huge in the bandits' hideout, but in the big green area before the gnomes village you feel very small, which didn't fit the layout of any other part of the game, TG16 universally had consistent scaling. Kind of hard to describe.
They took out the optional boss from the TG16 version too (area before the gnome village) which was a little disappointing. Instead of rewarding you with an elixir, I believe they just "hid it" elsewhere else in the level — not a big deal though as the boss was too easy on the TG16 anyways. There were also a couple of secrets they took out of the Genesis version.
Near the beginning of the game on the TG16, I found hitting enemies going downhill was extremely painful if they had shields (the skeletons). I Didn't notice this to be a problem at all on the Genesis, But found it interesting the enemies would chase you down a ladder if you were running away from them. While they did not do this on the TG16. Enemies in the last tower on the Genesis version had some problems spawning as well. Instead of them spawning when you entered a room, they were already there waiting for you to enter — making it impossible to avoid getting hit. I understand why the developers made it this way though, so you wouldn't have to wait each time you entered a staircase. But this something that could have been avoided, as this wasn't a problem at all on the TG16. Another weird flaw with is you can’t heal yourself in between the 2 part final boss battle, something that would have been nice to know before?
The translation Working Designs did was pretty bad, as the Genesis version blows it out of the water. Each piece of dialogue makes sense and has detail the TG16 version did not have. The TG16 translation just feels rough and choppy, you almost read it anticipating mistakes. "I HOPE YOU SAVE TOWN. THANK YOU". is the type of sentences you would expect seeing while playing through. The text is especially disappointing coming from Working Designs. I'm no fanboy or anything, but they've done amazing translations with other games. The best example I can think of the top of my head is when you need caterpillar silk to climb a ledge. On my first playthrough on the TG16 ever, I had no idea what to do with the silk, even though I talked to every NPC possible. The only hint provided was "It can hold a lot of men" or something similarly worded. So I thought you had to tie up a bunch of people or something, never did I think of using it as a rope. Only discovered its actual use by total fluke. While on the Genesis version I believe it's a lot more decisive.
Found a game breaking glitch with the TG16 port that I haven’t come across the Genesis version yet. Even after talking to the lady in the hidden town about the dog amulet, the game wouldn’t register that I had the item and therefore couldn’t speak to the dog and progress through the game. To try and remedy this, I even tried leaving the country a few times hoping I could restart the sequence. But at this point, I was so OP from nonintentional grinding the rest of the game wouldn't have been challenging at all. But, I mean it's a very short game. It's not like it set me back from than 30 minutes.
Any other Cadash fans out there? Curious to hear what other people think.
Ending chick was way hotter on the TG16/PCE