The Video Game Critic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxJAI2omTsA

https://www.digitalfoundry.net/2017-08- ... e-part-two

This is a interesting watch as it does show how capable the Sega 32X was in terms of graphics specs/features.

What is weird is the 32x was in raw power more then the Game Boy Advance: http://segaretro.org/Sega_32X#Technical_specifications vs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_Boy_ ... ifications, but the 32X hardware was not as well optimized in terms of hardware being easy to program for/had bottle necks from the Sega Genesis/Sega CD working in conjunction with the 32X/everything was software based and not hardware based from the 32X!

I also find it interesting that the Sega 32X game Shadow Squadron aka Stellar Assault in Japan, had mechanical designs by Artmic:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artmic who is responsible for designing stuff for the 3rd Robotech series based on the Japanese counterpart Genesis Climber MOSPEADA.

John Linneman is such an awesome guy the best Digital Foundry staff hands down!

Crappy sound aside, the 32X would have been a decent successor to the Genesis... as a standalone system... in 1992. But there was just no reason for it to exist in 1994, with the Genesis still selling strongly and the Saturn right around the corner. All it did was cannibalize resources from the Saturn, delaying the systems' American launches and causing shortages of both. And even ignoring how difficult it was to develop for, the hardware was simply weak for 1994 - I'd like to see that "raw power" try to run Descent or System Shock, let alone a Saturn or PlayStation game. The 32X fully deserved its failure, and it's a mystery how anyone at Sega could have thought otherwise.

Does anybody know why the 32X had to have it's own power adapter?

You have to get power to the board in the 32x somehow. Its a lot more than a simple passthrough, like the power base converter is. In some systems, accessories can draw power through a port, but the Genesis was never designed for it.

Very interesting and entertaining videos. I like the 32x myself but I had no idea it struggled with 2D so much.
- No tile based scrolling so it had to rely on the MegaDrive
- Extra colours but usually at the cost of frame rate.
Always wondered why we didn't get a great Street Fighter 2 port or Revenge of Death Adder, this explains why.

As an overview it was great with flat shaded polygons and Sprite scaling but pretty much struggled with everything else.

I have been meaning to post these videos here! Enjoyable watch. I fire up my 32X from time to time.

Sometimes I wish that I could convince Sega to restart Genesis/32X/Sega CD development as follows:

1. Release a HDMI, WIFI ready "Genesis/Mega Drive Mini" that would also accept original carts;
2. Create the "Sega Channel" online store for the Mini to connect to;
3. Release modernized Genesis/32X/Sega CD Dev kits;
4. Have games sell for $10.00 -$15.00 with the option for physical releases;
5. Profit?