The Sega 3-D Glasses.

[Centrale]

I've been on the lookout for a good CRT TV for quite a while now. Finally I found a really nice 27" Trinitron for ten bucks, got it home and cleaned it and set it up. Turned to my Sega 3-D glasses box, and intoned in a gravelly voice, "It's time." Okay, I didn't actually speak to the box. But who could blame me if I had? The Sega 3-D glasses are awesome.

It's been, I guess, about 25 years since I've worn those glasses. Previously I had borrowed a friend's glasses back in the day and played Maze Hunter 3-D... I never had my own pair back in the day. I got my own pair about seven or eight months ago, but was waiting patiently to get a TV and use them because I knew we were moving soon. Now, we're settled and the time was finally right. I've got most of the 3-D games - I'm missing only Out Run 3-D, Poseidon Wars 3-D, and Line of Fire. So, of the ones I have, which one to begin with?

I chose Space Harrier 3-D because I love all Space Harrier games, even the choppy Master System original. Honestly I think it gets unfairly criticized, because after a few moments of play, you can adjust and 'see through' the choppiness and realize that everything is moving properly in a well-realized 2D representation of 3D space. I've always been impressed that, in addition to enemies and objects moving toward you, they will also shift in parallax from side to side as you move to the left and right.

But anyway, on to Space Harrier 3-D, which I hadn't ever played before. My initial impression... I dig it. Although none of the Space Harrier sequels have quite as inspired a cast of characters as the original, I actually really enjoyed what I saw in the early stages of this... especially suprising and weird were what appear to be columns of fire that both emerge from the ground and descend from the sky in the second stage. Weaving through indestructible obstacles is a lot of fun and the 3D effect is quite helpful in gauging how much time you have to make a move to avoid a collision. I haven't gotten far with the game yet, but I'm definitely looking forward to continuing all the way through it.

The illusion of depth is really impressive. Some of the backgrounds appeared to me to be about a foot beyond the wall behind my TV. Having not used the glasses since I was a kid, I was concerned that they might cause a headache or be otherwise uncomfortable. Well, they are snug but I didn't experience any headaches or queasiness. The lenses are shaded, even when 'open,' and the flickering of the lenses further reduces brightness, but in a way I feel like this helped with immersion. The flickering is certainly noticeable, but not distracting. There is something undeniably cool about them, and I think at this point they embody an 80s retrofuturism that is thoroughly enjoyable... and commendable since, for consumer 3D technology, they weren't really surpassed until this past decade.

I've heard a couple of people claim to be behind the creation of the Sega 3-D glasses... among them, Mark Cerny, whose most recent project is the PS4. It's certainly possible, since he already had a background in 3D at Atari. But Sega also had shutter-glasses tech in place in '82 with Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom and SubRoc 3-D. I'm looking forward to trying out Cerny's Missile Defense 3-D soon, too.

[jessie]

Great post! I am now going to hunt down a pair and get a game to try these on!

[db]

I know that this is a year old but I though I'd chime in with my 2 cents. The 3D glasses are one of the main reasons I bought the system. To the best of my knowledge that still can't be emulated. Anyway, I don't know if you've had a chance to play through them all yet but here's how I rate the 3D games:

The Good!
1. 3D Missile Defense. To me not only does the 3D look the best on this game but it's just one of my favorites overall. It combines the best elements of the master system: A. Incorporates the light gun and is one of the best light gun games on the system. B. Great use of the 3D effect and C. Overall great game play and colorful graphics.
2. Outrun 3D. Yeah, the game's a little paired down and slowed down from the original but the basics are all here and the 3D effect is good. Outrun will always remain one of my all time fav driving/racing games. If I had my choice I'll stick with the original arcade but this one's not bad; and did I mention it's in 3D!!!
3. Line of Fire. I hear you already. Wasn't this a Clint Eastwood movie about a secret service agent? Yes, but before that it was one of the better 3D titles for the SMS. It's a top down vertical shooter. You're an army dude in a jeep shooting pretty much everything in sight. I hear you again. YAWN! However, the 3D effect does make it just that much more interesting and playable.
4. Maze Hunter 3D. Were you a fan of Gauntlet? I wasn't so much but here again, the 3D effect is a nice enhancement to the game play. I actually haven't played too deep into this one yet. so perhaps I'll come back with a more glowing review later.

The Meh
5. Blade Eagle 3D. This is another top down vertical shooter. However, I think it's one of the first to attempt a dual depth play field. You have to shoot at enemies at a higher depth and a lower depth. It sounds interesting, right? It is...in theory. However, the game play suffers from the 3D effect here. It causes a doubling of images instead of unifying them into a homogenous 3D image, making if confusing trying to target all those bad guys coming at you from 2 different depths. It's kinda like playing Xevious really drunk. Try not to throw up on the controller!
6. Zaxxon 3D. Oh, how I wanted to love this game! The original zaxxon is one of the nostalgic favs of my youth! If they had just made a 3D version of the classic isometric play field this would be much higher on my list, but instead they had to give us this Atariesque hatchet job with an attempt at a straight on 3D approach. It's not bad, the 3D effect is ok but it's just kinda bland, repetitive and boring compared to the sense of mayhem the original inspired. Honestly, no one's made a better Zaxxon, on any system since the original. Why not?!
7. Space Harrier 3D. I know a lot of people love this game but I just never really got it. I've always found the 3D scaling of the original kinda phony compared to Yu Suzuki's other games that attempt the same effect like Outrun and Hang On and I think it's just because the sprites of the oncoming enemies are just so big! Sometimes it seems like there's really no place of refuge on the screen at all. In this version the sprites seem even bigger and the game play is slowed down, resulting in a somewhat choppy experience. Again, I wanted to love this game for once but it just didn't do it for me.
8 Poseidon Wars 3D. This one was the biggest let down to me. I liked the concept and it seemed like it would be fun but it just wasn't and again, the 3D effect suffers from doubling in this one too.

Well, that's my 3D Rodeo Roundup, Pardners. I hope you enjoyed and will weigh in with your opinions.

[lorf]

I've always wondered why they doubled up the ship on Blade Eagle 3D. Did they really mean to release it that way?

[Centrale]

Thanks for your write-ups, db!

I think the 'doubling' issue in Blade Eagle 3-D isn't really intentional, it's just that we are supposed to re-focus our eyes on the ship. Thus, it'll appear solid whether it's flying high or low. Unfortunately, although the concept of a 3D game set in outer space is cool in theory, in practice it makes it hard to gauge depth because there aren't many solid points of reference to look at. In Blade Eagle 3-D, if you want to focus on the background, you've got to focus your eyes on stars that are only one pixel each. In comparison, the illusion of depth in Maze Hunter 3-D is more convincing because the playfield surfaces are solid and colorful.

I really wish Sega had maintained support for the 3-D glasses on their subsequent consoles. They are such a high quality peripheral, and it's clear that the developers were just scratching the surface of their potential and figuring out what worked best for them. It seems like an ideal kind of thing to provide optional support for, as they did with Line of Fire.

[lorf]

Just a shame there isn't as big a home brew scene for this sort of stuff.

[db]

You're most welcome, centrale. Thanks for reading it. I understand what your saying about the 3D space games and it reminds me of a scene from the movie The Aviator. When Hughes was first trying to film a movie about air combat he found the footage just didn't capture the sense of speed they actually felt when flying until he realized what you're saying: that without something in the background to fly past that sense of speed remains elusive. Therefore, after that he stopped shooting on perfectly clear days. Cloud were his answer! I too wish Sega would've made more 3D games for the SMS or even continued it into subsequent systems.

Lorf, I'd love to see people start making homebrew carts for this system and bring some new life to it. I'm interested! Perhaps we should start a new thread about the potential interest there might be for this here? I'd be willing to reach for my wallet if someone made a REAL Zaxxon 3D, or perhaps even something totally original and new.

[lorf]

Closest I could find to a 3D game being done was this:

Link

[db]

Dec 3, 2014 13:18:26 GMT lorf said:

Closest I could find to a 3D game being done was this:

Link

Looked promising. Too bad they didn't show any actual combat Perhaps the game's just not there yet.

[lorf]

I can't seem to find any more info after August 2013 so seems like it's just died out.

[db]

Have you tried any homebrew titles for this system that you found decent?

[lorf]

Not tried any yet! Just spoke to the Animus guy on Facebook, he's still working on the game and it's coming along nicely. He thinks it will be ready mid to late 2015.

[Deleted]

Furrtek is a very talented guy and I hope he will release Animus XS someday. But I don´t think it will be in 2015 or 2016, as he works on a lot of projects.