As I'm sure you are all aware, Sega uses a Genesis emulator to easily port games to the App Store. A lot of people complain about it, but I don't mind. It runs well (I had minor lag problems on my 1st gen iPod touch, which happened on the original hardware anyway), it has (almost) all of the features of the original cartridge, and best of all, it savestates! I can press the Home button at any time without multitasking, and next time I go back in, it is exactly where I left off. In fact, I have both Sonic 2 and Gunstar Heroes on my iPod, and have no problems whatsoever. Actually, I do. The controls can be irritating in the games that use more than one button (jumping and shooting in Gunstar Heroes? Not happening) and on games with one button, not every option is available (using the sound test cheats in Sonic 2). Still, I want to see more Genesis games on the App Store. Sega, give me Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Streets of Rage 2, Michael Jackson's Moonwalker, and Rocket Knight Adventures! Now!
You're barking orders at the wrong company. Konami is that way. Entirely touchscreen gaming is not suited for this kind of button-based gaming, and the sooner people realize that, the sooner we'll stop having bullshit sensationalist news articles about how the iPhone is going to supplant every handheld gaming console in history. It can do some things well. Gunstar Heroes is not one of those things.
It's not a terrible emulator, but it's far from perfect. The sound can be really messed up on some games. For example, listen to Chemical Plant, starting at 2:58 in this video: Not exactly accurate. :/
Actually, the iPhone does do Gunstar Heroes well, just not as well as it does with tactile feedback. Do I think the iPhone will supplant other handhelds? No. While it does have it's games, it still isn't up to the level of other systems. The DS has Mario, Zelda, Pokemon etc., the PSP has God of War and LittleBigPlanet, and the iPhone has Cut the Rope and Angry Birds as their AAA titles. Each has their specific niche, and fill them well. By the way, I did know Rocket Knight Adventures was made by Konami, but Sega has the emulator. Besides, Sega puts other companies games up on their own. Treasure made Gunstar Heroes, no? One of them needs to give me my portable Sparkster fix.
Annoyingly, just replacing the ROM with a Sonic 3 one doesn't work. Not very flexible it seems (Specific files).
I've got to say that I really don't enjoy S1 or S2 on iPhone as much as on consoles, Sonic just feels better with a controller. I am enjoying Shining Force though, the music seems gimped in some places but other than that the slower pace of an RPG suits the touch control. Your thumb slipping off the on screen d-pad doesn't result in ring loss or a punch in the face (SoR). As for the iPhone as a serious gaming platform? Nah. It's for casuals. Don't get me wrong, there are some excellent games for the iPhone but Angry Birds just isn't the same as sitting down with a proper console and a controller. Perhaps as the platform becomes more powerful we will see improvments. Developer attitude needs to change as well. I would like to see major gaming projects developed for the iPhone rather than just lite versions of existing games with touch controls.
The platform is already capable enough in providing entertaining games. The problem comes from the input method that some of these games employ. Most developers are content with slapping a virtual d-pad and buttons onto the screen rather than actually make use of the new controller options available and design a game around that. These crappy emulation packages don't really help in establishing the iPhone as something that can be taken as a serious gaming handheld device. The blockbuster video games of decades ago are there, but it's not an original game that truly shows what the platform is capable of doing.
Besides, if it's anything like Genesis AD Plus, I don't want any part of it. That's a terrible emulator.
In other news, Sega released Virtua Fighter 2 for the iPhone. Yeah, the shit Genesis one. That they've already rereleased on the Wii and Steam and in Ultimate Genesis Collection (I think?), but insist on constantly shoving down our throats because, well, people liked Virtua Fighter 2, so clearly this is the version they liked and should keep pushing out! :v:
I like it. I hardly ever notice problems except on Spinball, which slows down at the first level, but nowhere other than the beginning. Seems like a fine thing to me, and it definitely controls better than any other emulator I've played on the iTouch.
Why they're using Sonic Advance art to represent the Genesis games is another question entirely, of course. He'd be a bit off-model, considering.
