The Megadrive version

[Hau_Ruck]

Hi,
I am just wondering why they didn't choose to remake the megadrive version? I had it as a kid and I have it now on an emulator and it is much better in terms of graphics and sound quality than whatever version they chose here (Amiga?). It was strange to see a remake of a game this old that is actually inferior to the original.

It also has oddly demanding specs for an ancient game, and my crappy PC actually lags when playing it.

[Ishraqiyun]

I thought the same thing (except for SNES). The Amiga version is the 'original' I suppose...

[Lord Schart]

The Amiga version is the better one.

[Hau_Ruck]

Originally posted by sok326:

The Amiga version is the better one.

Whah? Go play the megadrive version, then play this. I'd say the biggest difference is the music. On the megadrive one, it is some of the best game music ever, on this it is just really grating. Im just had them side by side on my PC and the old version is definitely better. I'll try and find some youtube clips to post as an example

[Hau_Ruck]

Compare the megadrive version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-TessrihxI

With the Amiga version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvs8dItr1wY

While the Amiga version is undoubtedly funky as F@#$, it just lacks a certain zazz.

[Tordenskiold]

Oh come on. The Amiga (both the OCS/500 and AGA/1200) version is obviously better, especially the music. Also, the Amiga version is better than this crappy port, though it is based on the Amiga version. The amiga sound channels are split between left and right speaker, so stereo doesnt sound good with headphones. The mega drive music was some of the most ridiculous sounding stuff ive ever heard. Tolerable, but not something one deliberately showcases as a quality.

[Ishraqiyun]

Of it's the music you're looking for, the SNES was incredible.

[Hau_Ruck]

Lol I guess music taste really is subjective. Anyone else here have an opinion? At least we can all agree that this game has awesome music. Not to mention the music evolves depending on where you are and what is hapenning. I don't know of any game back then that did that stuff.

[Tordenskiold]

Yeah, sure, agreed. Except the Amiga music is probably objectively better in the sense that the sound chip has objectively better specs, and that it is the original composition. The mega drive music is just an attempt to plaster the score onto an obviously inferior sound chip.

Here's the Amiga version of the Chaos Engine title score with stereo properly panned for headphones:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3enImd8QVQ4&list=PLA53F7DB52855F1BA

...and equivalent for Mega Drive:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyoDaEzFwpU

I'd claim subjective preference if I was arguing that the latter is better too ;)

[////]

this comparison is not very fair. if fair at all. the only way to listed to and/or record mega drive music is directly from the console, via headphones jack. sadly, it is very unpopular way to do... and i couldn't find music from the chaos engine ripped this way, so i'll throw something else for comparison.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZbWCfSMf7U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rm0eTagViU

i respect amiga for sounding machine-like a lot, but... holy sh*t, mega drive does have style. -_-

[Hau_Ruck]

Originally posted by OnetimeBalloon:

Yeah, sure, agreed. Except the Amiga music is probably objectively better in the sense that the sound chip has objectively better specs, and that it is the original composition. The mega drive music is just an attempt to plaster the score onto an obviously inferior sound chip.

Here's the Amiga version of the Chaos Engine title score with stereo properly panned for headphones:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3enImd8QVQ4&list=PLA53F7DB52855F1BA

...and equivalent for Mega Drive:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyoDaEzFwpU

I'd claim subjective preference if I was arguing that the latter is better too ;)

See I can get where you would say that the quality is better, I just vastly prefer the more electronic sounding megadrive music here over the Amiga version. The Amiga version is more complex but honestly the weird way they do the "siren" effect in the intro music sounds like a dying hippo. The megadrive version just sounds cooler to me. Again, I grew up with it so I'm biased.

[Hau_Ruck]

Originally posted by Hau_Ruck:

Originally posted by OnetimeBalloon:

Yeah, sure, agreed. Except the Amiga music is probably objectively better in the sense that the sound chip has objectively better specs, and that it is the original composition. The mega drive music is just an attempt to plaster the score onto an obviously inferior sound chip.

Here's the Amiga version of the Chaos Engine title score with stereo properly panned for headphones:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3enImd8QVQ4&list=PLA53F7DB52855F1BA

...and equivalent for Mega Drive:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyoDaEzFwpU

I'd claim subjective preference if I was arguing that the latter is better too ;)

See I can get where you would say that the quality is better, I just vastly prefer the more electronic sounding megadrive music here over the Amiga version. The Amiga version is more complex but honestly the weird way they do the "siren" effect in the intro music sounds like a dying hippo. The megadrive version just sounds cooler to me. Again, I grew up with it so I'm biased.

The megadrive version's "funkariffic" levels are off the scale.

[Ishraqiyun]

I tend to think the Amiga versions are worse - especially the CD32 version which sounds worse than the Genesis (and the SNES of course).

[Tordenskiold]

Originally posted by Hau_Ruck:

Originally posted by OnetimeBalloon:

Yeah, sure, agreed. Except the Amiga music is probably objectively better in the sense that the sound chip has objectively better specs, and that it is the original composition. The mega drive music is just an attempt to plaster the score onto an obviously inferior sound chip.

Here's the Amiga version of the Chaos Engine title score with stereo properly panned for headphones:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3enImd8QVQ4&list=PLA53F7DB52855F1BA

...and equivalent for Mega Drive:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyoDaEzFwpU

I'd claim subjective preference if I was arguing that the latter is better too ;)

See I can get where you would say that the quality is better, I just vastly prefer the more electronic sounding megadrive music here over the Amiga version. The Amiga version is more complex but honestly the weird way they do the "siren" effect in the intro music sounds like a dying hippo. The megadrive version just sounds cooler to me. Again, I grew up with it so I'm biased.

Yeah, I grew up with the Amiga version. I think we can all agree that nostalgia is powerful stuff. Especially this game was among the best of the Amiga games that didn't try to achieve something else than being an Amiga game. It was always #1 in the shoot em up genre, even above the Alien Breed series by Team 17. After Doom much of the time by Amiga game developers and gamers was spent trying to match and imitate it. There's a good article series on Amiga gaming, by a Norwegian gaming website, called "Doom killed my girlfriend" actually.

[Hau_Ruck]

Originally posted by OnetimeBalloon:

Originally posted by Hau_Ruck:

See I can get where you would say that the quality is better, I just vastly prefer the more electronic sounding megadrive music here over the Amiga version. The Amiga version is more complex but honestly the weird way they do the "siren" effect in the intro music sounds like a dying hippo. The megadrive version just sounds cooler to me. Again, I grew up with it so I'm biased.

Yeah, I grew up with the Amiga version. I think we can all agree that nostalgia is powerful stuff. Especially this game was among the best of the Amiga games that didn't try to achieve something else than being an Amiga game. It was always #1 in the shoot em up genre, even above the Alien Breed series by Team 17. After Doom much of the time by Amiga game developers and gamers was spent trying to match and imitate it. There's a good article series on Amiga gaming, by a Norwegian gaming website, called "Doom killed my girlfriend" actually.

Personally, it is just nice to know that someone else in the world actually played this game. It was miles ahead of anything else on the megadrive (except maybe the awesome "True Lies" game) and nobody ever mentions it. it had RPG elements, a dynamic soundtrack, AI partners and split screen coop, as well as multiple characters to choose from.... years before that s@#$ became standard. How is this not famous?

[Tordenskiold]

Yeah, Chaos Engine, the enhanced version for Amiga 1200, came in a bundle with Syndicate, Pinball Fantasies and some golf game I didn't care about. For me that bundle exemplified the pinnacle of gaming. I'd even decline partying and drinking in the weekend to sit at home with these games. I wonder if teenagers the same age as I was, 15-16, feel the same way about the current games today. It's probably just nostalgia speaking, but I feel that games of today lack the same spirit as nineties consoles, arcades and home computers (SNES, Megadrive, Amiga, etc.)