As
far as we know, this FAQ by Gordan Craick and Sylvain De Chantal is the
only comprehensive FAQ available for the Sega 32x. Several versions of
this FAQ can be found on the web; this is the most complete version that
we could find. It is reproduced here in its entirety.
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The Sega 32X Mars
Frequently Asked Questions
Version
X.01 - January 1998
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This F.A.Q. is
based on the Saturn/32x made by Gordon Craick.
Since it wasn't
updated since December 1994, i said to myself "Crap !
It's been more
than 3 years since the last update ! It's time to do a
real update and
how !!!" Don't you agree ??
This F.A.Q. as two
copyrights, one to Gordon Craick and the other to
Sylvain De Chantal.
All rights reserved. This document may be copied,
in whole or in
part, by any means provided the copyright and sections
remain intact and
no fee is charged for the information. Contributors
retain the copyright
to their individual contributions.
The data contained
here in is provided for informational purposes only.
No warranty is
made with regards to the accuracy of some informations.
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Additional contributions
IS welcome!
Please mail additional
information,
opinions, and comments
to : mailto --> "slydc@hotmail.com"
or --> "slydc@videotron.ca"
Where to get this F.A.Q.
FAQ-tory at: "http://pages.infinit.net/slydc/Faqtory.htm"
GameFaqs.Com at
"http://www.gamefaqs.com/"
my Home Page at
"http://www.chez.com/slydc/"
Digital Press "http://www.digitpress.com/"
Sega Sages "http://www.segasages.com/"
SegaNet "http://www.seganet.com"
or sometimes on
the newsgroup "rec.games.video.classic"
and "rec.games.video.sega"
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Welcome to the
Sega 32x Mars F.A.Q.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
-------------------
1.0) The 32x Mars
2.0) 32x specs
3.0) The 32x in other Countrys
3.5) American Games List
3.6) Japanese Games List
3.7) European Games List
4.0) Never Released Games List
4.5) More Inputs
5.0) Credits
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.0) So what is
the 32X?
------------------------
The 32X was released
in late November 1994 in the United States, with
releases in other
countries following in the coming months. What the
32X is an addon
for existing Genesis/Megadrive owners, which, when
plugged into the
cartridge port of the machine, provides extra proces-
sing power, graphical
enhancement and other improvements over your old
machine.
The 32X is a cartridge
and CD's based system, and is not be upgradeable
to the Saturn(which
was first planned with the Jupiter). The 32X also
include less of
the specially designed processors than the Saturn,
allowing it to
be released at a very much cheaper price.
For those who own
a SegaCD the 32X will take advantage of this to
provide 32X CD
games. If you have a SegaCD it will use the extra capa-
bilities of the
machine, in addition to that of the Genesis and itself.
The reason for
this seems to be so that Sega can boost sales of the
SegaCD, while also
cutting prices on the 32X by not having to include
a CD-drive.
How did this come
about? Most believe that Sega initially was at work
on a cartridge
only machine, however due to the market pressure of CD
becoming standard,
Sega was persuaded to integrate CD storage into
their machine.
Rather than waste this technology, they opted to use
some of the technology
in a cheaper, less powerful console that could
remain competitive
for several years, well at least for three years...
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.0) The 32x
Specifications:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PROCESSOR:
Twin Hitachi (SH2) 32 bit RISC processors
- clock speed of 23 MHZ
- 40 MIPS
CO-PROCESSOR(s):
Genesis 68000, Z80, Genesis 32X VDP
Video processor
- 50,000 texture-mapped polygons/sec
- texture mapping
- hardware scaling and rotation
VIDEO:
- 32,768 simultaneous colours on screen
-
Genesis resolution
-
Overlaying over existing Genesis/SegaCD video
MEMORY: 512k (4 MBit) additional RAM to Genesis/SegaCD memory
AUDIO:
Stereo PCM chip
- audio mixing with Genesis sound
- additional 2 channels (therefore 14 all together?)
I/O:
Same as Genesis
- 32X upgradable; can upgrade the 32X
STORAGE:
CD-ROM if you have a SegaCD
- speed same as SegaCD
- compatible with audio CD, CD&G, SegaCD and JVC X'eye
Cartridge
- compatible with Genesis model 1 & 2, JVC X'eye
- can store save game/score information (as with many
Genesis
games)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.0) The 32x in
other Countrys:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The 32X was released
in Japan in a low key launch, even despite the
Genesis relative
lack of popularity in that country. The 32X is also
available in Europe
(aka Mega 32X), Australia, and Canada in limited
numbers. It was
also released in Japan (called the Super 32X) with
very few games
due to lack of popularity of the Megadrive console.
Any more info anyone
???
The lockout chips/compatability
for the European, North American, and
Asian machines
remains incompatible with each other respectively.
These machines
will a combination of hardware 'lock-key' mechanisms to
prevent uncontrolled
importing. These may eventually be circumnavigated
through the use
of converters, as used in the past by some companies.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.5) The CARTRIDGES
& CD'S LIST :
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name
MemSize Manufacturer
Type
============================================================
After Burner
16Meg
Sega
Shooter
B.C. Racers
24Meg
Core Design
Racing
Blackthorne
Sega
Adventure
Brutal:Unleached
Gametek
Fighting
Corpse Killer CD
-----
Digital Picture Shooter
Cosmic Carnage
24Meg
Sega
Fighting
Doom
24Meg
ID Software
Shooter
Farenheight CD
(+ Sega CD)
-----
Sega
Action
Golf Magazine:36
Great Holes 24Meg
Sega
Sports
Kolibri
Sega
Shooter
Knuckle Chaotix
24Meg
Sega
Action
Metal Head
Sega
Action
Mortal Kombat 2
Acclaim
Fighting
Motocross Championship
16Meg
Sega
Racing
NBA Jam TE
Acclaim
Sports
NFL Quaterback
Club
Acclaim
Sports
Night Trap CD
-----
Digital Picture Adventure
Pitfall:the Mayan
Adventure
32Meg
Activision
Action
Primal Rage
32Meg
Sega
Fighting
RBI Baseball '95
16Meg
Time Warner
Sports
Shadow Squadron
16Meg
Sega
Shooter
Slam City CD
-----
Digital Picture Sports
Space Harrier
24Meg
Sega
Shooter
Spiderman: Web
of Fire
Sega
Action
Star Trek:Starfleet
Academy
Sega
Simulation
Star Wars Arcade
24Meg
Sega
Shooter
Supreme Warrior
CD
-----
Digital Picture Shooter
T-Mek
Sega
Fighting
Tempo
24Meg
Sega
Action
Toughman Contest
Boxing
32Meg
Electronic Arts Sports
Virtua Fighter
32Meg
Sega
Fighting
Virtua Racing Deluxe
24Meg
Sega
Racing
World Series Baseball
'95
Sega
Sports
WWF Raw
Acclaim
Sports
WWF Wrestlemania
Arcade
Acclaim
Sports
Zaxxon Motherbase
2000
16Meg
Sega
Shooter
------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.6) Japanese Games
List [the Super 32X]
------------------------------------------------------------
Japanese Name [AKA in the US] Manufacturer Type Date
=========================================================================
After Burner Complete
Sega Shooter
'95.1.13
Chaotix[Knuckle
Chaotix]
Sega Action
'95.4.21
Cyber Brawl[Cosmic
Carnage]
Sega Fighting
'95.1.27
Doom
ID Shooter
'94.12.3
Golf Magazine:36
Great Holes
Sega Sports
'95.2.24
Metal Head
Sega Action
'95.2.24
Mortal Kombat 2
Acclaim Fighting '95.5.19
NBA Jam TE
Acclaim Sports
'95.9.1
NFL Quaterback
Club
Acclaim Sports
'95.7.14
Parasquad[Zaxxon
Motherbase 2000] Sega
Shooter '95.7.14
Sangokushi 4 [Romance
4]
Koei Strategy
'95.7.28
Stellar Assault[Shadow
Squadron] Sega
Shooter '95.5.26
Space Harrier
Sega Shooter
'94.12.3
Star Wars Arcade
Sega Shooter
'94.12.3
Tempo
Sega Action
'95.3.24
Virtua Fighter
Sega Fighting
'95.10.20
Virtua Racing Deluxe
Sega Racing
'94.12.16
WWF Raw
Acclaim Sports
'95.9.1
-------------------------------------------------------------------
3.7) European Games
List [the Mega 32X]
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Name
Manufacturer
=========================================================================
32 Great Holes
starring Fred Couples
Sega
After Burner
Sega
BC Racers
Core
Corpse Killer [Mega
CD/32X]
Sega
Cosmic Carnage
Sega
Darxide
Sega
Doom
id / Sega
FIFA 96
EA Sports
Knuckles Chaotix
Sega
Kolibri
Sega
Metal Head
Sega
Mortal Kombat 2
Acclaim
Motocross Championship
Sega
NBA Jam Tournament
Edition
Acclaim
NFL Quarterback
Club
Acclaim
Primal Rage
Sega
Slam City with
Scottie Pippen [Mega-CD/32X]
Digital Pictures
Space Harrier
Sega
Star Wars Arcade
Sega
Stellar Assault
Sega
Supreme Warrior
[Mega CD/32X]
Sega
T-Mek
Sega
Toughman Contest
EA Sports
Virtua Fighter
Sega
Virtua Racing Deluxe
Sega
WWF Raw
Acclaim
Zaxxon Motherbase
Sega
------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.0) The Never
Released Games List:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Never Released (???)
Manufacturer Type
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
32Xtreme
Sega
Sports
Alien Trilogy
Acclaim
Shooter
Alien vs. Predator
Alone in the Darkness
Apache
Domark
Action
Batman Forever
Action
Bios Fear
C2:Judgement Clay
Interplay
Fighting
Casper
Action
Castlevania
Konami
Action
College Basketball
Sega
Sports
Comix Zone
Sega
Action
Converve City Ball
Tour
Sports
Converse Hoops
Virgin
Sports
Cyber Brawl
Sega
Fighting
Darx Side
Sega
Action
Descent
Dracula X
Konami
Ecco the Dolphin
Sega
Adventure
FIFA Soccer '96
Electronic Arts Sports
Flying Aces
Frank Thomas Big
Hurt Baseball
Sports
Golf Magazine:36
Great Holes CD Sega (released
as cart instead)
Heads on Soccer
Heavy Machinery
Izzy's Quest for
the Olympic Rings
Sports
Judge Dreed
Action
Kingdom of the
Far Reaches
Loadstar
Midnight Raiders
CD
Sega
NBA Action '96
Sega
Sports
Nautilus
Outpost
Power Rangers
Action
Primal Rage CD
Sega (released as cart instead)
Prime Time NFL
Sports
Race Drivin'
Atari
Racing
Rachet & Bolt
Rayman
Ubi Soft
Action
Revolution X
Acclaim
Shooter
Sangokushi 4 [jap]
Sega
Scottish Open
Core Design
Sports
Shadow of Atlantis
Sega
Shell Shock
Sonic 4
Sega
Action
Soulstar X
Core Design Shooter
Spider-Man &
Venom:S.A.
Acclaim
Fighting
Spot Goes To Hollywood
Virgin
Action
Stellar Assault
Sega
Shooter
Street Fighter
the Movie
Capcom
Fighting
Street Racer
Super After Burner
Sega (renamed After Burner)
Super MotoCross
Sega (renamed Motocross Champ.)
Super Space Harrier
Sega (renamed Space Harrier)
Surgical Strike
CD
Sega
Shooter
Tee Off
Sports
Thunderhawk 2
Vara's Code
Virtua Hamster
Sega
Action
Virtual Golf
Sega
Sports
Wirehead CD
Sega
X-Men: Mojo-World
Sega
Action
------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.5) More Inputs:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The 32X was released
in the United States in late November, 1994 and
finally had been
dicountinued late 1995 due to the early arrival of
the Sega Saturn
in the summer of 1995.
Sega was trying
to provide some type of upgrade path to the Saturn so
that it can play
existing 32X games, however there is a definite
technological difference
that makes this difficult. When implemented,
this will be through
an optional plug-in cartridge that will allow
you to play not
only 32X games, but also Genesis, and SegaCD games on
your Saturn.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.0) Credits:
-------------
Not much for now...
* Gordon Craick
(Of Course !!!)
* Eric Hamel
Thanks and see you
in the next version !!!
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Copyright(c)1998,
Sylvain De Chantal, "slydc@hotmail.com"
or come visit my
homepage at "http://www.chez.com/slydc/"
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