Arcade Op PCB Pick Ups #1: Sega Mega Play

 

Amongst the PCB haul from an old Op in Blackpool were three Sega Mega Play motherboards complete with ten carts.  I must admit I didn’t know much about the system.  I had come across Mega-Tech carts, but it was the first time I had seen these.  One of the games was Streets of Rage II.  This immediately piqued my interest being an all-time favourite of mine, and I was very excited about the prospect of playing it in a cab.

 

Reading up on the system, I discovered that it was released in Europe and Asia and Sega’s second attempt at bringing Megadrive games to the arcades, the first being the Mega-Tech.  Whereas credits buy the player time on the Mega-Tech system, you get lives for your money on the Mega Play, giving a more traditional arcade experience.  I much prefer this and was never a big fan of the ‘credits to buy time’ concept back in the day.  The system also differs in that it has four cart slots, whereas the Mega Tech has seven.  It appears eleven games were released in total.  The games have been modified to specifically work with the hardware and do not work on the Megadrive.  Significant changes were made to the games to make them more suited to an arcade environment.  For example, Sonic the Hedgehog has very strict time limits, removes the two slowest Zones, Marble and Labyrinth, has no special stages, making chaos emeralds unobtainable, and all the extra life boxes have been removed.  These have a massive impact on how the game is played, making it more of a time attack and high score challenge.  There is a neat page detailing the differences here. 

 

http://gaminghell.co.uk/SonicTheHedgehog.html 

 

A lot of the Op’s boards had been stored poorly, but these had at least been wrapped in bubble wrap and looked barely used.  Two of the three motherboards are fully working, which is a good result!  The system is Jamma compatible. 

Like the Mega-Tech, the Mega Play was designed with two monitors in mind, one for game selection (top) and one for the game itself (bottom).  I noticed that a mod had been carried out on all three of my motherboards, allowing the player to select games by using Button A of Player 1.  This is useful when using the board in a cab without a select button, and the mod is actually described in the Mega Play service manual. 

My Mega Play cart collection, along with their respective product numbers.  I wonder why Golden Axe II number ends with B? 

1. Sonic The Hedgehog 610-0297-01 

2. Golden Axe II 610-0297-02B 

3. Grand Slam 610-0297-03 

4. Tecmo World Cup x3 610-0297-04

5. Streets of Rage II x2 610-0297-05 

6. Bio-Hazard Battle 610-0298-06 

7. Sonic The Hedgehog 2 x2 610-0297-07

 

 

The above carts were picked up from the Op, except for Sonic The Hedgehog, which I bought from a seller in Italy. 

 

I’m currently missing the following titles for a full set. 

 

8. Columns III: Revenge of Columns 

9. Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master 610-0297-09 (tbc) 

10. Gunstar Heroes 

11. Mazin Wars 610-0297-11 (tbc) 

 

Some sources suggest the original Streets of Rage was also released, but there is little evidence to support this.  It is mentioned on the flyer, but the screen shots are from the sequel, so it could be an error.  Amusingly the title has been misspelt on both the flyer and the cart label, with Street instead of Streets. 

The games originally came in plastic cases, similar to the Megadrive.  I haven’t got any cases, and the only paperwork I’ve got is for Streets of Rage II.  The art is very similar in size to the MVS mini marquees. 

Given the scarcity of the system and the small number of games released, I suspect the system wasn’t a great success.  It’s unclear whether Sega were trying to replicate the success of the MVS or promoting Megadrive games in arcades.  Graphics and sound would have been underwhelming compared to arcade releases at the time.  Also the Mega-Play was competing against a certain fighter which would go on to dominate the arcades in the early to mid-nineties. 

 

I’m really happy to have discovered this system, it’s an interesting piece and a nice addition to my collection.  I plan to install it in the Lordsvale cab I picked up from the same Op.  I’d love to get the full set of carts, but they’re proving incredibly hard to find.  If anyone has any leads please get in touch.