Dungeon Explorer II and DE (original)

[spenoza]

So, I've finally had a chance to play into DE II a bit. It is indeed very much like the original. I'm a little disappointed they didn't use the SCD memory to update the visuals a little as some backdrops and environments are still pretty plain. And it's been long enough since I played DE (original) that I can't remember how it handled large number of enemies on-screen, but it's my impression (based on my crappy memory) that DE II actually seems to be less good at keeping slowdown at bay when the enemies pile up.

Otherwise the game is fun, as expected.

[Necromancer]

Yeah, they certainly kept the look of the original.  That isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I wouldn't have complained if they'd spiced things up a bit.  My memory is similarly fuzzy, but I don't recall any glaring difference in slowdowns; I'll have to do a little comparison testing tonight.

[Black Tiger]

I've always thought that DEII is a huge improvement visually. The only aspect that stood out as inferior to me was the sound effects.

[ccovell]

And the dark, drab colours.  I loved the "metallic" look of a lot of the gfx in the original Dungeon Explorer, however.

The SFX took a dive, because the original had music/sfx by the great Macco, whereas the 2nd one looks like it used Hudson's less powerful-sounding sound driver.

I was disappointed by the same sound quality hit in Neutopia --> Neutopia II.

[Keranu]

There are some nicer tiles in DEII from what I could tell (I haven't played it much), but yeah I was pretty disappointed that the graphics overall weren't updated as much as they could've been. Kinda like the Mega Man games.

[Michael Helgeson]

I still have not played this one. Only the Sega CD title and DE1 on hu-card. I really need to get off my butt and pick it up. Ive had plenty of chances to do so, and keep buying other shit instead.

[Black Tiger]

I love the graphics in Dungeon Explorer, but DEII redid many similar backgrounds in the same style while still noticeably improving them. In magazine preview sceenshots it did look like DEII was going to be more like a CD version of DE1 and some of the earlier dungeons purposely mimic the original.

But the further you get into DEII the more you'll see not only a crazy variety of original backgrounds, but also some graphic styles similar to later Super Famicom games, particularly Square RPGs. The starting characters may lead some people into thinking it's just more of the same, but they all upgrade into new classes and there are lots of hidden characters to unlock.

DEII 's graphics are just about as good as they 'would've' been done by anyone back then on a 16-bit console. Many of the new backgrounds compare to DE1 more like how the SNES Megaman X games compar to the NES Megaman games. I don't have screenshots covering both entire games, but there really is a big difference.

[ceti alpha]

I still have not played this one. Only the Sega CD title and DE1 on hu-card. I really need to get off my butt and pick it up. Ive had plenty of chances to do so, and keep buying other shit instead.

Tell me about it. I shouldn't be thinking of picking up any other game.

But yeah, though I haven't played the game, from the screenshots and clips I've seen it definitely looks like a visual improvement over DE.

[spenoza]

If what I've read out and about on the 'Net is correct, the SNES Crystal Beans (Dungeon Explorer) had its music done by Macco, or whatever his full name is, I can't remember ATM.

[Black Tiger]

If what I've read out and about on the 'Net is correct, the SNES Crystal Beans (Dungeon Explorer) had its music done by Macco, or whatever his full name is, I can't remember ATM.

Crystal Beans' music, like the maps, is mostly ported straight from DEII and they did an amazing job recreating the CD tracks. From what I remember though, the rest of the music like everything else original about the game isn't so hot.

DEII uses some of the same sfx from DE1, but it doesn't do stereo like the original where if you're shooting stuff on the right side of the screen you'd here the sfx favoring the right side of the speakers. All the original PSG in DEII doesn't sound very good. It's always lame when a CD game gets zero effort put into any PSG (like Dracula X), but it doesn't drag a game like DEII down.

[ParanoiaDragon]

I don't recall too much original stuff in Crystal Beans, I own it, though, I haven't beaten it yet.  It's like a really abbreviated version of DE 2, & yeah, most of the music, isn't the bad.  As for the PSG in DE 2 & Rondo, I like the music in both of those, though honestly, they could've been done better for sure!

[Black Tiger]

I don't recall too much original stuff in Crystal Beans, I own it, though, I haven't beaten it yet.  It's like a really abbreviated version of DE 2, & yeah, most of the music, isn't the bad.  As for the PSG in DE 2 & Rondo, I like the music in both of those, though honestly, they could've been done better for sure!

The playable characters, many (all but the final?) bosses, towns and world map are all different, don't fit in and are all downgrades in my opinion. I really like the DEII holdover tracks in Crystal Beans, it's too bad they tried to make a cutesy short version of DEII instead of just a short version.

I also appreciate the DEII & Drac X PSG for what it is. In Drac X there are only like 2 brief PSG track and the pause sound effect, so it's no big deal anyway. I was disappointed with the PSG in DEII only because of how amazing it was in the original game.

[Joe Redifer]

I like the PSG in Dracula X that plays in the area right before you fight a boss.  It is foreboding and kicks all sorts of audio anus. Nothing says "16-Bit Graphics" like that music!

[geise]

I like the PSG in Dracula X that plays in the area right before you fight a boss.  It is foreboding and kicks all sorts of audio anus. Nothing says "16-Bit Graphics" like that music!

I like that music composition wise.  There are so many SCD games that do that though.  Most have some kick ass Redbook audio, and a mix of not so good PSG music. 

As for DEII I was also disappointed in the sound effects compared to DE1, but overall I enjoyed DEII just as much if not more than DE1

[Shark Cannon]

How does DE II compare to the Sega CD game?  I have a copy of DE II a work for $100 and I've been considering picking it up.  I really enjoyed the Sega CD game but disliked the TG-16 one (an opinion not very many people seem to share).



Sorry to bump a 4 month old thread but it seemed like a better idea than starting a new one.