Is there a place I can look at how many Megabits each Mega Drive game is?

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05-02-2011, 10:37 AM
molotovwars

Is there a place I can look at how many Megabits each Mega Drive game is?

I think that is the right question to ask.

For example is Splatterhouse 3 is a 16 Megabit game and Toe Jam & Earl is an 8 megabit game. Pier Solar is 64 Megabits.

Is there any place I can easily look up that information for each game? I've checked Wikipedia and Guardiana, two large resources I use, and that information wasn't obviously available, except in the case of Strider where it was was part of the advertising for the game.

Specifically I'd like to check the values of The Super Shinobi and Bare Knuckle II, but I'd also like access to a full list.
05-02-2011, 10:40 AM
Zebbe

Quote:

Originally Posted by molotovwars

I think that is the right question to ask.

For example is Splatterhouse 3 is a 16 Megabit game and Toe Jam & Earl is an 8 megabit game. Pier Solar is 64 Megabits.

Is there any place I can easily look up that information for each game? I've checked Wikipedia and Guardiana, two large resources I use, and that information wasn't obviously available, except in the case of Strider where it was was part of the advertising for the game.

Specifically I'd like to check the values of The Super Shinobi and Bare Knuckle II, but I'd also like access to a full list.

The Super Shinobi is 4 MEGA POWER, Bare Knuckle II is 16 MEGA POWER (the first Mega Drive to contain such massive storage, actually).

You can illegaly download a ROM to check how many MEGA POWER a game has. 512 kb = 4 MEGA POWER, 1MB = 8 MEGA POWER and so on.
05-02-2011, 10:44 AM
molotovwars

Hmm, okay and would you happen to know Ghouls N' Ghosts? It should be 4 MEGA POWER but I wanted to confirm it and I don't have any roms currently downloaded.
05-02-2011, 11:27 AM
Zebbe

It's four. Pretty much all releases uptil Strider are 4 MEGA POWER, except for example Phantasy Star II and III which are 6 MEGA POWER, and Flicky which is 1 MEGA POWER.
05-02-2011, 11:44 AM
Foxysen

Also you can look in http://www.segaretro.org/Main_Page as one of opinions if you don't want to download ROMs. It have size information only for few games but still...
05-02-2011, 01:18 PM
Aarzak

Ghouls 'N Ghosts was 5 MEGA POWER actually, quite an uncommon ROM size.
05-02-2011, 01:44 PM
Kamahl

Best way is to download properly dumped rom ( [!] ) and multiply the size by 8.
I'm pretty sure you won't go to jail for checking the size of a file ;)
05-02-2011, 01:49 PM
sheath

Unzip it first.
05-02-2011, 02:22 PM
Melf

I want to eventually add this field to each Master List entry. We need to know all about the MEGA POWAH!
05-02-2011, 02:47 PM
Joe Redifer

Was Phantasy Star 3 actually 6 MEGA POWER? I was pretty sure it was 8 MEGA POWER, or was it released before Strider? Ghouls n Ghosts was 5 MEGA POWER and Fatal Labyrinth was 2 MEGA POWER.
05-02-2011, 02:57 PM
Zebbe

Bloody hell, I stand corrected TWICE in this thread (am I losing it?)... GnG and PSIII are 5 respectively 8 MEGA POWER.
05-02-2011, 03:00 PM
Cornholio857

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zebbe

Bloody hell, I stand corrected TWICE in this thread (am I losing it?)... GnG and PSIII are 5 respectively 8 MEGA POWER.

You probably have a case of the Mondays like me. LOL
05-02-2011, 03:44 PM
profholt82

^
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guv5LUT1AFw&NR=1
05-02-2011, 07:33 PM
roundwars

Quote:

Originally Posted by molotovwars

For example is Splatterhouse 3 is a 16 Megabit game and Toe Jam & Earl is an 8 megabit game. Pier Solar is 64 Megabits.

Man, I always wondered how Toejam & Earl managed to fit so many voice clips on a 4 megabit cart. Turns out it was 8 all along! :p

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Redifer

Was Phantasy Star 3 actually 6 MEGA POWER? I was pretty sure it was 8 MEGA POWER, or was it released before Strider? Ghouls n Ghosts was 5 MEGA POWER and Fatal Labyrinth was 2 MEGA POWER.

Don't forget that Target Earth is also 2.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Melf

I want to eventually add this field to each Master List entry. We need to know all about the MEGA POWAH!

We really do. Not only for comparing individual games, but it'd be interesting to know the overall distribution of file sizes, and how it varies by year or by genre.
05-02-2011, 07:39 PM
retrospiel

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...ga_Drive_games :)
05-02-2011, 08:06 PM
Nobi

Quote:

Originally Posted by Christuserloeser

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...ga_Drive_games :)

Musha is only 4 megs?
05-02-2011, 08:08 PM
retrospiel

Yep. And Golden Axe III is only 8 Megs.
05-03-2011, 02:09 AM
cowboyscowboys

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aarzak

Ghouls 'N Ghosts was 5 MEGA POWER actually, quite an uncommon ROM size.

very uncommon

I wish Sega had more variety you see a lot of Snes games using 10/12 Meg cartridges
I think a lot of Genesis carts could of benefited from a couple extra megs. Genesis mainly went 4/8/16/24 <-- definitely should of bridged the gap better between 8 and 16 Meg carts.

Castlevania Bloodlines is a great game and only 8 Megs a 10/12 Meg cart like Super Castlevania 4 it could have been really epic. Super Castlevania 4 comes out 2 years earlier and has a higher Meg count I call B.S.
05-03-2011, 02:20 AM
cowboyscowboys

Quote:

Originally Posted by Christuserloeser

Yep. And Golden Axe III is only 8 Megs.

They tried to do to much with a small cart a lot of unnecessary moves in the game and they should of went for quality over quantity.

The trouble began when Sega thought it was o.k. to release a Golden Axe 2 on a 4-Meg cart <-- the game is a sequel and a hit none the less but has the same Meg count as the first one. Thus we really got an expansion of Golden Axe 1 not a true sequel IMO.
05-03-2011, 04:20 AM
Zebbe

Quote:

Originally Posted by cowboyscowboys

very uncommon

I wish Sega had more variety you see a lot of Snes games using 10/12 Meg cartridges
I think a lot of Genesis carts could of benefited from a couple extra megs. Genesis mainly went 4/8/16/24 <-- definitely should of bridged the gap better between 8 and 16 Meg carts.

Castlevania Bloodlines is a great game and only 8 Megs a 10/12 Meg cart like Super Castlevania 4 it could have been really epic. Super Castlevania 4 comes out 2 years earlier and has a higher Meg count I call B.S.

More B.S: Sunset Riders gets released for the Mega Drive with 4 wimpy megs in early 1993 - a few months later a SNES version with 8 massive megs shows up.
05-03-2011, 05:13 AM
chessage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zebbe

More B.S: Sunset Riders gets released for the Mega Drive with 4 wimpy megs in early 1993 - a few months later a SNES version with 8 massive megs shows up.

Yes, but the first release overall was in December of 1992. There was roughly a ten month gap between the MD/G and SNES port.
05-03-2011, 05:29 AM
Zebbe

If it was released in August 1993 for the SNES, which Wikipedia states, it's a seven month gap to me. Strider was the first 8 meg game and was released over two years earlier. There is nothing justifying the 4 meg size of MD/G Sunset Riders.
05-03-2011, 07:32 AM
chessage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zebbe

If it was released in August 1993 for the SNES, which Wikipedia states, it's a seven month gap to me.

Nintendo of America says October of 1993.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zebbe

There is nothing justifying the 4 meg size of MD/G Sunset Riders.

Konami was taking advantage of their loose contract with Sega. I bet if they wanted to, they would have squeezed Sunset Riders onto a one megabit cartridge, but then it wouldn't have sold at all.
05-03-2011, 08:36 AM
Zebbe

It was probably released earlier in Japan since that version is uncensored.

What loose contract? And why wouldn't it have sold if it was 8 megs?
05-03-2011, 08:45 AM
retrospiel

Konami was very very careful when they entered the Sega world, all of their first gen titles from 1992 were 4Mbit. Things changed a year later with Rocket Knight Adventures.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cowboyscowboys

I think a lot of Genesis carts could of benefited from a couple extra megs.

Indeed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cowboyscowboys

The trouble began when Sega thought it was o.k. to release a Golden Axe 2 on a 4-Meg cart <-- the game is a sequel and a hit none the less but has the same Meg count as the first one. Thus we really got an expansion of Golden Axe 1 not a true sequel IMO.

I can't even begin to imagine how epic Golden Axe II and III could have been with 8 Mbit and 16Mbit. But GA2 was released during a time when 4 Mbit was still the standard, and when Golden Axe III was released only two 16 Mbit carts existed (Landstalker and Streets of Rage 2, both released a few months earlier).
05-03-2011, 01:14 PM
molotovwars

Ghouls N' Ghosts and its unusual Mbit size is actually one of the reasons I made the thread in the first place. I have been going through my Korean game collection and putting together a master list of the games released in Korea based on the serial numbers and noticed that the first digit or two is always the Mbits followed by the serial number of the game (starting from 001 and building up). The format changed a little in 1993, but either way GnG was the first game I had seen that wasn't 2, 4, 6, 8, or 16. And since I couldn't see the cart first hand I assumed the information was wrong and that it was actually a 4 Mbit cartridge.
05-03-2011, 11:32 PM
kool kitty89

Quote:

Originally Posted by sheath

Unzip it first.

Or scroll the the far right to see the uncompressed file size. ;)

[QUOTE=cowboyscowboys;355714]very uncommon

I wish Sega had more variety you see a lot of Snes games using 10/12 Meg cartridges
I think a lot of Genesis carts could of benefited from a couple extra megs. Genesis mainly went 4/8/16/24 <-- definitely should of bridged the gap better between 8 and 16 Meg carts. [quote]
Odd ROM sizes like that are inefficient and it's usually cheaper in the long run to go up to the next ROM size rather than using multiple ROMs. (only small/short-term production runs or possible some very high volume production runs would be practical for such -low volume due to economies of scale not kicking in for cheaper PCBs and long-term cost with larger ROM chips gettign cheaper; super high volumes because then custom ROM chips of intermediate sizes become viable options -usually you don't know when a game will sell super well, so that's pretty much never the case)

Any ghouls n' ghosts re-releases in the early/mid 90s would have been 1MB (8 meg) carts due to such cost constraints. (even back in the late 80s, the cost savings over using a single 1M ROM were probably rather slim, or 2 512k 8-bit wide ROMs depending on the cost/availability of the time -not sure what GnG used exactly, it may have been 1 512k 16-bit wide chip and 1 128k 16-bit wide chip, but I'd have to see inside one to be sure -much have been more 8-bit wide chips depending on availability) I'm not sure if there ever were re-releases of that game, so that may never have actually been done.

Quote:

Castlevania Bloodlines is a great game and only 8 Megs a 10/12 Meg cart like Super Castlevania 4 it could have been really epic. Super Castlevania 4 comes out 2 years earlier and has a higher Meg count I call B.S.

Castlevania IV is also only 8Mb (1 MB), though being several years older, that's a higher end game than Bloodlines to be sure.

The threshold for such coat advantages would change as time went on. Hence 2.5 and 3 MB (20 and 24 Mbit) games occasionally on the SNES and MD, but mostly 2 and 4 MB (16 and 32 Mbit) for late-gen games with a handful of 5 and 6 MB (40 and 48 Mbit) games between 1994 and 1996. (many late-gen SNES games had added hardware on-cart for on the fly decompression to allow lower ROM sizes and thus lower cost -the added hardware would add some cost, but the lesser ROM would be a much more substantial savings, especially as production volumes of those chips -namely the SA1- went up and cost went down)

It's a shame Sega didn't invest in low-cost embedded coprocessor logic for MD games. That could have allowed a lot more at low cost, doing more with less ROM. (you could have dedicated low-cost decompression logic, or more than that with flexibility for sound, added CPU-type resource, graphics effects, added RAM, etc -at some point it would be more economical to make that into a unified low-cost add-on though, but add-ons require more careful marketing to totally displace on-cart hardware with similar -or greater- success -if most games only needed a narrow selection of enhancement features, simpler, dedicated on-cart enhancement chips could be preferable to a more flexible/universal low-cost add-on -not talking anything near the 32x in cost/complexity, mind you)

Edit:
I sort of ended up back at this discussion topic ;)
http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthr...SVP-Chip/page3
05-04-2011, 04:33 AM
chessage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zebbe

It was probably released earlier in Japan since that version is uncensored.

Japan never received either home console port of Sunset Riders.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zebbe

What loose contract?

Konami was allowed to make their own cartridges. Because of this, it would only make sense that they got to select the ROM size for each of their games, no matter how big or small.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zebbe

And why wouldn't it have sold if it was 8 megs?

You've misread my post:

Quote:

I bet if they wanted to, they would have squeezed Sunset Riders onto a one megabit cartridge, but then it wouldn't have sold at all.
05-04-2011, 01:11 PM
Zebbe

Quote:

Originally Posted by chessage

Japan never received either home console port of Sunset Riders.

OK then. Wikipedia is wrong, which caused me to be wrong too :).

Quote:

Konami was allowed to make their own cartridges. Because of this, it would only make sense that they got to select the ROM size for each of their games, no matter how big or small.

I didn't know Sega had any input on ROM sized unless they were publishers for third party games, but I see your point.

Quote:

You've misread my post:

Doh! I read it as one megabyte.
05-09-2011, 11:44 AM
molotovwars

Guardiana made a news posting about 2 days ago and has now added this information for the majority of their mega drive games.
07-29-2011, 11:07 AM
joe west

tried to email you on the trade for the DS Carts, your box is full.....