The internet lies: cheat code edition

Speaking of games unwinnable by bugs, I came across this claim regarding the Mega-CD version of Samurai Shodown on one of TV Tropes' Porting Disaster pages:



However, from what I'm seeing of longplays of the Mega-CD version on YouTube...the final battle with Amakusa still loads fine? If there's a claim that JVC issued a recall of broken copies then it's something to look into.

 

This Sega-16 review makes a similar claim:



They claim it's after the seventh stage, though. There are twelve characters and you have to fight all of them, so this would be significantly before facing Amakusa. In any case, the TV Tropes page is overstating the case, since the game is definitely beatable (I just played through it in October and have save states for after every opponent).

I found this blog review:



So who knows. It would be weird if multiple people were making the same false claim, but...not that uncommon. Probably not worth worrying about unless someone can find a magazine article discussing the supposed recall.

 

I own the European version of Samurai Shodown for the Mega CD and I only ever had a glitch similar to what this urban legend has stated, but it wasn't before Amakusa's fight. Rather, it was after beating him.

IIRC I was playing with Haohmaru and after Amakusa's dying animation, instead of appearing the ending (which, for some reason, has a yellowish tone in this version, I suspect this version is using video recordings of the endings instead of properly representing them), this glitched animation of Amakusa's dying animation with the same yellowish tone of the endings was played on a constant loop with the ending music played on the background. At first I thought this was the famous glitch, but neither it happens where it is usually pointed out, nor it's something that happens always. I only ever got it once, so it seems it was a rare instance. I wouldn't be surprised if the game is simply glitchy, but randomly, and these reports are due to its unstable nature but it may break in different moments of the game.

Regarding the developer's recollection, Roar Flolo, maybe that's the reason why Samurai Shodown for the Mega CD never got a Japanese release, because of those issues while trying to create it. On the other hand, the Mega CD version of Fatal Fury Special, which is also from the same developer, did have a Japanese release, so it may prove as an evidence as why one of these two conversions clearly developed in parallel by the same people was released there and the other one didn't.

 

Bugs get in sometimes. I remember sending my launch copy of MSR back to Gameplay to be replaced due to some save issue bug that I think also meant you couldn't finish the game and we all know the bug of Croc losing his head on the Saturn version.

It wasn't a bug but I remember buying a brand new Master System game from Toys R Us Cardiff that was Thunderblade only to find out when I got home that despite all the labels and cover art being down as ThunderBlade even on the cart, when I went to play the game it was OutRun
My poor mum had a hell of a job trying to explain and get a refund for it. Obviously, someone put the wrong label on the cart at the warehouse LOL

 

Version code works on the PC panzer dragoon as well, although it doesn't reveal anything unique. There was only 1 pc version and this is it.

 

First pass at Rayman, though I'm sure there's a way of doing something like A+B with the plus being part of the pretty colours rather than standard text.
Rayman/Hidden content - Sega Retro

 

Something is going on with the Full Health cheat (which is probably the most useful of those cheats). It seems that, when activated, it disables further inputs of that same cheat until you restart the game. Either that or it's the most sensitive of those cheats and very hard to enable, but I noticed that the input usually works at the first time (or second time due to its trickiness) and then stops working until you restart the game, so maybe there's something restricting it, similar to the cheats in the Konami shoot 'em ups which are confirmed to have a similar behaviour.

 

Possible its single use to make it less spammy. Is it once per level or once per game?

 

Ok, I rechecked the full health cheat of Rayman and noticed what's really happening.

The cheat extends your life bar from three to five points only once per game, so if you die and respawn, then you are restricted to three points (unless you extend them by normal means, with a power up item) and can't extend them any further until you restart the game, but you can still refill your existing points as many times as you want.

It's still a restriction of sorts and it's odd that it's doing that. Similarly, some of the Konami shoot 'em ups on the Sega Saturn have power up cheats that only seem to work once per level.

 

Regarding Mega CD Samurai Shodown, does anyone know how to make Amakusa playable? He's on the character select screen but when you try to select him, you can't, it doesn't let you highlight him. There was some talk about beating the game on the hardest difficulty to unlock him but I can confirm that didn't work.

I couldn't find a working European rom but the box claims that he's playable... whilst also using screenshots from the Neo Geo version, showing the cut character Earthquake.

 

I assume you found this, https://www.neo-geo.com/forums/inde...akusa-in-samurai-showdown-for-sega-cd.268090/ i haven't tested the code but it seems legit.

 

A weird hybrid of single and repeated use, how odd.