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doubleminor

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I have two copies of SSF2 Turbo for 3DO and no console to play it on. Thinking of buying the Goldstar 3DO model; found some at a somewhat reasonable price online.

 

However, SF Collection on the PS1 seems just as good (I own SF Collection 2), if not better, than the 3DO version. It is also cheaper than a 3DO console.

 

If I were to purchase a 3DO, are there any other games that would justify the purchase? I remember the 3DO back in the day and there wasn't much to be desired on it.

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I have two copies of SSF2 Turbo for 3DO and no console to play it on. Thinking of buying the Goldstar 3DO model; found some at a somewhat reasonable price online.

 

However, SF Collection on the PS1 seems just as good (I own SF Collection 2), if not better, than the 3DO version. It is also cheaper than a 3DO console.

 

If I were to purchase a 3DO, are there any other games that would justify the purchase? I remember the 3DO back in the day and there wasn't much to be desired on it.

 

At this stage of the game and if you're more of a player than a collector - I don't see the point in starting up buying things for a system like this. 3DO was cool for its time and there are a handful of really good games for it, but most all of those games can be had on different systems - PC and PSX especially. Controller layout for fighting games is much better on the PSX too, so yeah - hard to recommend keeping SF and purchasing a 'foreign' console to play it on when dozens exist in better ports elsewhere.

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If I were to purchase a 3DO, are there any other games that would justify the purchase? I remember the 3DO back in the day and there wasn't much to be desired on it.

star control II and Return fire come right to mind. Shockwave and some of the FMV titles are 'okay' too. I can't really call 3do one of my favorites, but in my game room it's one of a half dozen systems currently plugged in, and that's worth something.

 

for fighting games on 3do there's also a nice sailor moon fighting game (import) that's fun to drag out for friends because of novelty value alone.

Edited by Reaperman
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If you like fighting games a lot, I'd simply get a Saturn. None of the consoles reproduce arcade games with all the frames of animation like the Saturn can with a memory cart. Just a suggestion.

 

While I've never owned a 3DO, I've thought about it before. However, I always remember my other systems I bought out of curiosity of their "failed" status, and steered clear. I bought systems like the Sega CD/32X, Virtual Boy, ect and rarely played them. I think you'd have the same experience with this system. Not saying it's not worth collecting. But if you want a system to play, there are many far better choices for your fighting game tastes.

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Thanks. I did keep those reasons in mind.

 

I am a collector, and also like the style of the Goldstar model. Don't ask why, but I guess it's along the lines of being attracted to the shiny object.

 

Also a sucker for Street Fighter games and memorabilia.

 

Ninja edit:

 

I do own a Saturn system and a good amount of games. Also took a look at the import version of SF Collection. So many to choose from, curse you Capcom! *shake fist*

Edited by doubleminor
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As an original owner of a Goldstar model, I can give a few tips. The goldstar version doesn't hold the door closed. If you tip the machine forward, the door opens. That's handy when the mechanism dies, but bad in shipping. Almost all games that were good on this system were either available or better on Saturn or even Jaguar. Wolfenstein 3d, Doom, Road Rash, etc. Very diminutive library for 3do...

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I have two copies of SSF2 Turbo for 3DO and no console to play it on. Thinking of buying the Goldstar 3DO model; found some at a somewhat reasonable price online.

 

However, SF Collection on the PS1 seems just as good (I own SF Collection 2), if not better, than the 3DO version. It is also cheaper than a 3DO console.

 

If I were to purchase a 3DO, are there any other games that would justify the purchase? I remember the 3DO back in the day and there wasn't much to be desired on it.

 

Not really, no. It's a good piece of history but most everything released on the system is available for other consoles. Also, Super Street Fighter II Turbo is kind of a pain to play because the developers thought it would be cute to map pause as a fire button, and X as pause. Bah-whaaaaa?

 

If you do get a 3DO, get Way of the Warrior. It's good for a few laughs, if nothing else. It loads a bunch of cool features into a horribly flawed and unintentionally hilarious fighting game akin to Mortal Kombat. It's actually by the guys who created the Uncharted series, and you'll be amazed at just how much they've improved since 1993.

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As far as I understand, there is no real homebrew scene for 3DO....at least that was the case last time I checked.

I did hear of some trying to 'break in' to the console to allow coding of it but have not checked to see if that

has been sucessful an endevor as of late. This alone would turn me off from any retro console.

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As an original owner of a Goldstar model, I can give a few tips. The goldstar version doesn't hold the door closed. If you tip the machine forward, the door opens. That's handy when the mechanism dies, but bad in shipping.

 

That would seem to indicate they have a Philips transport and if that's the case, I bet the laser assembly, et al is built to last. Not a big deal though, just tell the guy to tape it on both sides when shipping...

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I have two copies of SSF2 Turbo for 3DO and no console to play it on. Thinking of buying the Goldstar 3DO model; found some at a somewhat reasonable price online.

 

However, SF Collection on the PS1 seems just as good (I own SF Collection 2), if not better, than the 3DO version. It is also cheaper than a 3DO console.

 

If I were to purchase a 3DO, are there any other games that would justify the purchase? I remember the 3DO back in the day and there wasn't much to be desired on it.

 

 

I'll agree with others who've stated that the 3DO's games are available in better versions on other systems. The 3DO controller is pretty sucky too. That said, the 3DO is a fun little console to play with, but I'm not sure if it's worth having. I have one and I've been seriously considering selling it for some time now. Games are pretty cheap on Amazon and there are only about 150 of them. Far less that are any good.

 

As an aside, Night Trap on the 3DO is better than most of the other ports as the picture is a lot bigger.

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I prefer the 3DO version of SSFII Turbo over the ports on PSX and Saturn. They seem to have needless load times (even on the original Street Fighter II), and the 3DO version has an excellent remixed soundtrack.

 

Ironically, it's most of the ports to the system that I feel make it worth owning today. It has some of the best versions of these games from that time period: Wolfenstein 3D (This is a matter of opinion, but I think this one edges out the Jaguar version for very particular reasons), Star Control II, Flashback, Out of This World, SFII Turbo, etc. I also dig Return Fire, Icebreaker, Trip'd, Bladeforce. Also, it was the only US console to receive the original Alone in the Dark, a big plus in my book.

 

If you like the old FMV games from the Sega CD, the 3DO has the best versions of them.. albeit, I wouldn't necessarily put that down as a reason to get the system. Unless you really like Sewer Shark (Like me).

 

I have videos from a few of those games listed above that I just made a couple of weeks ago. Check my YouTube link below if you want to see them in action.

 

Another recommendation, if you get the system, try to buy a newer-version Panasonic controller (The ones without the headphone jack). They are the smallest and the most-precise and comfortable, in my opinion. The Goldstar pads are bulky and plastic-like.

 

Oh! Almost forgot.. I don't want to condone piracy or anything, but the 3DO library can easily be found on the internet and burned to CDs.. The 3DO has quite a large library for the short time it was available, and there is a huge percentage of garbage on it.. Putting a "try before you buy" policy into effect will save you a lot of money and figure out what you actually will want to spend money on. There are a decent amount of good to great games, though, so sort through the crap and you'll find the good stuff. Hell, you could also just run a 3DO emulator first to see if you want to buy a system (Your regular SFII CD should work in those as well).

Edited by Austin
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As far as I understand, there is no real homebrew scene for 3DO....at least that was the case last time I checked.

I did hear of some trying to 'break in' to the console to allow coding of it but have not checked to see if that

has been sucessful an endevor as of late. This alone would turn me off from any retro console.

Yeah, that's a sore spot.

 

In order for the games to run on un-modified 3DOs, the discs need to be digitally signed.

 

That hasn't been broken yet.

 

Apparently there is a guy/group in Russia that has a way of doing it, and they signed a disc (Icebreaker 2) of a mostly completed unreleased game, but nothing has been released...

 

So, you can homebrew and play on an emulator or a modded 3DO, there is a cracked BIOS that will let you do that, but no homebrew for general release.

 

Too bad, looks like it would be fun to develop for...

 

desiv

Edited by desiv
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I don't understand. It's easy enough to copy games for the 3DO... why is it impossible to make original games?

 

As I said, they need to be "digitally signed".

 

Rumor has it that it's an RSA based key. You can google RSA and digital signatures. It's pretty daunting... Not impossible, but not easy...

 

desiv

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The 7800 had this problem too, except that there were two separate incidents of dumpster diving which recovered the Atari ST program that did the digital signing. Without the key in that program, it would have been nearly impossible to play homebrew games on an unmodified 7800. (Except that the Monitor Cart was, probably intentionally, designed so that it could be used as a 4K byte "universal key".)

 

But 3DO didn't have the dumpster diving problems that Atari did. So nobody (outside the remnants of the old 3DO corp) has the key.

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Firstly - get one but not the Goldstar - poor reliability , although the tray and laser are actually Sanyo they use poor ribbon cable and are prone to mainboard failures.

Secondly - no cracked RSA key means no homebrew - period. RJ Mical messaged me recently to say that even he doesn't know a way around it.

Thirdly - a lot of games actually debuted on this machine (esp the EA stuff) and are the superior versions - Road Rash , Need for Speed , Shockwave , Gex , Fifa , Madden as well as the 3DO studio stuff like Battlesport and Return Fire are all AAA titles. The Playstation and Saturn versions are the lazy ports. There is also some great PC stuff that is so much easier on a console with less stuffing around - Wing Commander III comes to mind.

Fourthly - SFII is brilliant when used with either the Panasonic arcade stick or the Capcom controller

Fifth - the 3DO controllers are not that bad - but if you can find them Hori and Logitech made some nice ones too and are the ones to get

Lastly - there are over 300 officially released titles available

 

nuff said icon_wink.gif

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Reliving the origins of some of the great EA games like Need For Speed is fun (although I want to find the annoying guy in the video and punch him), Gex is fun and of course Wing Commander III. The novelty wore off quickly though for me. Rather play the PC versions or on other systems.

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Alone in the Dark - err...Resident Evil for 3DO

AD&D Deathkeep - FPS style adventure with some great cutscenes and tough difficulty

Dragon's Lair - what can I say? I never finished the arcade game till I picked it up for good ol' 3DO

Wing Commander III: The Heart of the Tiger - Luke...go blow up the Death Star..err, Kilrathi.

Snow Job - One of those FMV games, solve a murder finding clues in 360* panoramic areas

I think you can also get Night Trap & Corpse Killer for the system too

 

3DO is a nice system I spent years on a Goldstar until PSX came along, I found having headphone jacks in the controllers to be great for immersion.

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Would the FZ-1 be the more favorable console?

 

I personally like the FZ-10 the most (and the controllers that come with it are the most comfortable, imo), but if you want to be able to stack another console on top of your 3DO unit, then the FZ-1 would probably be your best bet.

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