The 3DO topic

Just got back into 3DO gaming.

There truly werent that many great games for the 3Do that can be played today.

Total Eclipse just may be the best game for the entire system

Every other title was groundbreaking in the early 90s simply because of FMV and sound.

Luciens Quest is a cool RPG with weird graphics

Guardian War would have been ground breaking bak then, now its just weird

Demolition Man is awesome just hard as balls.

Im into the FMV shooters so I probably will play Crime Wars 1 and 2 today

I own and would never give up the 3DO versions of Burning Soldier, Crash N Burn, Flashback, Gex, Need for Speed, Novastorm, Primal Rage, Road Rash, Samurai Shodown, Shock Wave 1+2, Starblade, Star Control II, Star Fighter, Star Wars Rebel Assault, Total Eclipse and Wing Commander III. I also aim to pick up Super Street Fighter 2, The Horde, Alone in the Dark 1+2, Battle Chess, Braindead 13, Cyberia, D, Madden, Killing Time, MegaRace, Myst, Offworld Interceptor, Out of This World, PO'ed, Return Fire, Sewer Shark, Stellar 7, Super Wing Commander, Wacky Races 1+2, and Wolfenstein 3D.

I'm not sure how you define "great games," but the above is as much or more games than I will ever own for my SNES or NES. I don't care whether or not a game looks or plays like games do on HD consoles or PCs today, I just care whether they were well made and relatively glitch free when they were released. If it weren't for the console's original retail price, I would have picked these up years ago and I consistently regret not snagging a 3DO for $40 at Best Buy back in 1997. I really like the 3DO library, it's like a blend of suped up Sega CD FMV combined with a 386 PC from the time.

iv'e not very long got myself a 3do fz 1 console and i got 2 games cannon fodder and super street fighter 2. i cant comment on game play yet as i'm still waiting to find a joypad in the uk which isn't stupidly expensive but i must say street fighter looks awesome and the sound quality for it is amazing best iv'e heard.

I've always discounted the 3DO. It was ungodly expensive and didn't get a ton of software support. But I have to admit that it's a nice machine and it does have some interesting games on it. If I weren't averse to collecting for another system, I'd be tempted to pick one up:)

I can play there best fighting game on my Saturn and it's even better on there.

I have a 3DO FZ-1. The only game I have is Crash N Burn, which isn't really that great of a game. I've always wanted to get my hands on Gex. I loved that wise-ass gecko on the Nintendo 64 so I'd really like to try his first game out.

Out Of This World... BEST VERSION EVER!!! Worth getting a 3DO just for that game!!!

Is there something special about the 3DO version of Out of this World? I wasn't aware of any changes.

New (amazing) sound track, updated backgrounds, much smoother framerate!

I still don't get why so many people bash the 3DO. Sure, it failed miserably on the market, but at least it had many worthwhile games, unlike, say, the CDi. It's the same with the Jaguar, although that one had an horrendous controller.

It has the best versions of games like MegaRace and Cannon Fodder available. It's where Need for Speed was born. If it hadn't been for Way of the Warrior, the Crash series would have never existed.

The 3DO rules.

IMO the Jag's controller is a lot better than the 3DO, especially that terrible daisy chaining idea. I also own a CD-i and its not as bad as as people make out but the 3DO is definately better.

I bought a 3do with a bunch of games last year, and quite frankly I was surprised at how much I enjoyed a lot of the games. Wing Commander 3 is definately my favorite, best version of the game imo.

I still haven't played a lot of the games I got, I need to plug it up.

The 3Do just happens to have one of the better 32 bit Madden games. Well ahead of it's time, with good gameplay, and a shitload of awesome NFL Films FMV.

I had a lot of fun with Lucienne's Quest and SSFIIT. I was dying to play a RPG with 3D graphics at the time and LQ was the perfect entry level game.

Sewer Shark, Rebel Assault.. Best versions ever were on the 3DO!

3DO is one of the most underrated consoles of the 90's. Its a great machine, a great concept and it has alot more good games than people realize. Ive had mine since 94, and have built quite a collection of games and merchandize for it since. Its my favourite system to collect for. I dont play it much anymore, but that has less to do with quality of games, than time to replay stuff, when im now trying out Sega and getting games for that.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Crackdown

IMO the Jag's controller is a lot better than the 3DO, especially that terrible daisy chaining idea. I also own a CD-i and its not as bad as as people make out but the 3DO is definately better.

---

What's wrong with daisy chaining? (it actually seems like a really good idea . . . fewer wires from the system, and effectively longer cables in general if you're using a normal seating arrangement -player 1 obviously must sit closest, 2 has more room to work with, etc, etc)

Definitely a better idea than what the PC Engine did in any case. :p (daisy chaining on that thing would have been a pretty nice arrangement though)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mrbigreddog

Sewer Shark, Rebel Assault.. Best versions ever were on the 3DO!

---

3DO rebel assault is basically identical to the original DOS and Mac versions iirc. (same nasty artifacts from cinepak too . . . one of the better Sega CD codecs probably could have looked better than the PC version :p -of course, they made it look even worse on the MCD using a 16 color cinepak derivative with fixed palette among other issues)

Sewer Shark is true, shame it didn't get a PC (or Mac) version like Night Trap (or 32x for that matter) . . . an upgraded Sega CD release would have been nice too for that matter. (ie re-encoded using the later/better compression schemes . . . maybe re-arrange the music to better use the hardware too -I think streaming audio in-game is impractical due to the nonlinear gameplay -albeit they might have been able to make the game cater to a dynamic soundtrack that wove together fairly well in each clip . . . but that would be tough is possible at all, and I assume the 3DO soundtrack is synthesized too)

Quote:

---

Total Eclipse just may be the best game for the entire system

---

It may be one of the best looking, its plays and sounds like a DOG though imo . Back on topic I love my 3DO its a classic console with some utter gems and should us the future before Model 2, Saturn, and PS came out. Seeing Crash N Burn for the 1st time was a truly incredible moment back in 93 ,and to this day Fifa and Need for Speed (still the best in the series) look great , and back inthe day they looked jaw dropping.

My fav games are Star Control II (so wish it would get a next gen update ) Killing Time and Super Wing Commander . The only issues with the system is its pathetic pad

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Team Andromeda

. The only issues with the system is its pathetic pad

---

waddya mean? its a sega pad!

I dont get the hate of the 3do pad. Its totally fine except it needed to be 6 button instead of 3. It's also one of the only controllers to have a headphone port built into the controler. Do you know how fucking bad ass that was.

THe D-Pad is nowhere near as sensitive and responsive as the Genesis pads are.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by sheath

THe D-Pad is nowhere near as sensitive and responsive as the Genesis pads are.

---

Few D-pads are!

Best version of Wolf3D. I'll give it that.

To be fair, it depends on what pad you have. The Goldstar and most of the generic pads were awful. The Panasonic pad I got with my FZ10 is actually quite good. Not quite as good as a Saturn/Genesis 6 button pad, but better than most others.

There is something about 3do Need for Speed that I just love. It moves slower than most modern racers, but driving in the cockpit view really gives you a sense of really driving the car, feeling the revs climb and shifting just right. The only car in the game I've actually driven is an RX-7, but the interior, sounds, and overall feel for the car is pretty much spot on. Switch over to the...Ferrari, I think... and the game goes to HOLY SHIT mode.

I'd look into one of these if they had 6 button pads. SF w/ 3 buttons?? Maybe anyway though, I've always been curious--not to make it sound like a sexual encounter--but there's something forever intriguing about that high cost system that vanishes from the market before anyone can decide whether to get it or a PS. This all sounds very backhanded, but the slight amount I've played of it has always been at least decent; other than the load times and controller I'd wager it never gets bashed by anybody who's actually sat down to one. Never got to play LC, that would be the main attraction. Plus two of the models are great for display, the standard one like a monolithic vcr, and the other that resembles a Duo.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ShadowHawk

waddya mean? its a sega pad!

---

I take it you never used a 3DO pad then ?. Looking over the lack of 6 buttons, the D-Pad is the worst D-Pad I ever used (right up there with the X-Box and Jag pathetic D-pad's) It is a nightmare to use (so hard to press in the direction you want to go) and hurts your thumb after long periods of use

Quote:

---

It's also one of the only controllers to have a headphone port built into the controler

---

I made that point in the SEGA CD thread, that was nice Shame 3DO took that feature out with the Panasonic F10 model pads

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Team Andromeda

I made that point in the SEGA CD thread, that was nice Shame 3DO took that feature out with the Panasonic F10 model pads

---

I was unaware of these headphone jack pads you speak of... I have a FZ-10 and a couple of controllers, no headphone jack. Do we know if I got some headphone jack pads, will it WORK with the FZ-10?

I think they only work on the first model systems, sorry.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Team Andromeda

I take it you never used a 3DO pad then ?. Looking over the lack of 6 buttons, the D-Pad is the worst D-Pad I ever used (right up there with the X-Box and Jag pathetic D-pad's) It is a nightmare to use (so hard to press in the direction you want to go) and hurts your thumb after long periods of use

---

Huh, I don't have that problem with either of my FZ-JP1X pads. One was a bit stiff at first, but I opened it up and cleaned it, and now it's pretty responsive -- about as good as my 3-button Genesis pads, not as good as my 6-button Genesis pads (which have the best D-Pad I've ever used).

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Team Andromeda

I take it you never used a 3DO pad then ?. Looking over the lack of 6 buttons, the D-Pad is the worst D-Pad I ever used (right up there with the X-Box and Jag pathetic D-pad's) It is a nightmare to use (so hard to press in the direction you want to go) and hurts your thumb after long periods of use

---

I owned an FZ10 in the mid 90s

Later in life owned the goldstar and FZ1, never an issue for me other than crap games and overload on FMV

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Clessy

It's also one of the only controllers to have a headphone port built into the controler. Do you know how fucking bad ass that was.

---

Famicom systems output audio through the secondary controller port. A number of third party Famicom controllers had headphone ports.
There were also controllers for the Mega Drive/Genesis which connected to the headphone port on the system to act as a pass-through so headphones can be plugged into those controllers.
And Hori made a series of controllers for PS2 which utilized a pass-through cable from the AV jack on the back of the system to allow headphones directly into the controller.

And of course there was the epic inclusion of headphone jacks on the original NeoGeo multi cabinets. Pure awesomeness playing Viewpoint in the arcade with a good set of headphones.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Zz Badnusty

Famicom systems output audio through the secondary controller port. A number of third party Famicom controllers had headphone ports.
There were also controllers for the Mega Drive/Genesis which connected to the headphone port on the system to act as a pass-through so headphones can be plugged into those controllers.
And Hori made a series of controllers for PS2 which utilized a pass-through cable from the AV jack on the back of the system to allow headphones directly into the controller.

And of course there was the epic inclusion of headphone jacks on the original NeoGeo multi cabinets. Pure awesomeness playing Viewpoint in the arcade with a good set of headphones.

---

He's on about the Standard controller that's boxed with the machine and the 3DO was the 1st and pretty much the only one

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by goldenband

Huh, I don't have that problem with either of my FZ-JP1X pads. One was a bit stiff at first, but I opened it up and cleaned it, and now it's pretty responsive -- about as good as my 3-button Genesis pads, not as good as my 6-button Genesis pads (which have the best D-Pad I've ever used).

---

You must have Thumbs like Iron. Playing SF II onthe 3DO is a nightmare) playing it on the Mega Dive (with the 3 button pad) is so much better and easier thanks to the D-pad. I'm a huge fan of the 3DO,but it's D-pad was terrible

I've heard of people adjusting the screw tightness on the controllers to help button/d-pad responsiveness. (in some cases it seems to be night and day . . . though -assuming that's accurate- it still shows a major design flaw -though there's also a wide range of different controllers to consider on top of that)

I hear a lot of mixed opinions on the Jaguar pad too . . . some just generic complaints about the keypad and styling, some complaining about the lack of 6 face buttons, some commenting on it being quite comfortable and quite reasonably functional, others complaining about it being unresponsive . . . though that may also be an inconsistent manufacturing quality issue. (and so few have used the pro pads that those are hard to compare)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Team Andromeda

You must have Thumbs like Iron. Playing SF II onthe 3DO is a nightmare) playing it on the Mega Dive (with the 3 button pad) is so much better and easier thanks to the D-pad. I'm a huge fan of the 3DO,but it's D-pad was terrible

---

The d-pad is worse than the Sony pads???? (those are by far the worst pack-in controller d-pads I've used . . . well SMS isn't great but it's more comfortable at least -on that note, the saturn model 1 d-pad isn't nearly as bad as its reputation . . . not great but far more usable than the Sony pads IMO, better for some genres than others too)

Again, there's also extenuating circumstances on the 3do pads. (several different makes/models of pads, inconsistent manufacturing/assembly -screw tightness issue, etc)

Quote:

---

The d-pad is worse than the Sony pads????

---

Yes even worse than the 360 and X-Box D-pads and that's saying something , better than the CD32 though

Quote:

---

I hear a lot of mixed opinions on the Jaguar pad too

---

With Good reason the pad is cheap (feels too hollow) and the D Pad and button placement dire.

My Gamepad6 D-Pad is good enough for Samurai Showdown and all of the other action games I've bought for the 3DO so far. I'm not sure why it would be bad for Super Street Fighter Turbo. It just isn't as responsive as a Saturn or Genesis D-Pad. But as was said, nothing is better than those two.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Team Andromeda

Yes even worse than the 360 and X-Box D-pads and that's saying something , better than the CD32 though

---

Huh, is the xbox d-pad really that bad? I've never had to use it heavily, but it feels OK . . . well the controller S and 360 pads suck, but the duke's has a nice feel to it IMO. (whether it works well is something I can't say)

Anyone remember this?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3DO_Blaster

Creative Labs at one point had a bundle where you buy an ISA card for your PC, which was essentially a 3DO card, and it would let you play 3DO games using your PC. It came with the card and a CD drive. I always wanted one, but I recall them being pretty expensive and didn't even bother asking my parents to buy one... except for maybe once.

I got 3do system w/ all hook ups and game for less then five bucks few weeks ago. However it has no controllers.

The original FZ-1 3do panasonic controller (with audio phone jack) came in two versions. One had the stiff d-pad mentioned here, the revised version had a better d-pad. It can be identified by the red box it originally came with. Then you have the new panasonic controller which came with the FZ-10. The loosening of the screws trick does work abit, but i suggest being careful with that, and also drop abit of loctite (non permanent naturally) on them so they dont work themselves loose when you eliminate the tension from them. There are plenty of 6 button controllers for the 3do however, and also converters for both megadrive and snes controllers. So playing fighting games arnt a problem if you only look for these controllers. They arnt so rare that you cant find them.