Sega System E Emulator
Emulation Overview
RetroCopy emulates the Sega System E arcade machines at the cycle level for the main components and has the highest compatibility and accuracy with this system. The System E has a Z80 CPU running at 5MHz and dual graphics and sound processors that are based off the Sega Master System. It has 64KB of VRAM and 16KB of main RAM.
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Games on this system
The following games were produced for the Sega System E
- Fantasy Zone 2
- Hangon Jr
- Opa Opa
- Riddle of Pythagoras
- Transformer / AstroFlash
- Slap Shooter (currently undumped)
- Tetris
Screenshots
History
Hangon Jr Cabinet
The Sega Master System graphics processor had the capability to be chained or linked together to form a more complex processor. Sega decided it could make a cheap arcade system by using two SMS graphics processors and a faster Z80 CPU. Because all of these components were already in Sega's stockpile it made economic sense to try and extract as much as possible from the technology.
Sega failed to utilize the hardware properly, producing games that the Sega Master System itself almost rivalled with it's lesser hardware. Most of the games for the system were originally SMS games that were ported and enhanced slightly.
Hangon Jr for instance is a port of the SMS game Hangon. The only noticable improvements are larger motorbike sprites and a slight use of background layering for scenery in the distance. The Sega System E was capable of changing every pixel on the display every single frame and having complex background layering similar to the Genesis/MegaDrive, but these were never used extensively. Sega may have only given the programmers a short amount of time to put out releases and focused more on the bigger hardware.
This system was a flop for all intents and purposes due to Sega not spending enough time on the software. Sega fixed every complaint one could have about the Sega Master System in the hardware. They upped the clockspeed of the Z80 and allowed banked VRAM so that the Z80 could write to VRAM directly instead of through ports, increasing throughput dramatically. Two graphics processors meant advanced layering was possible and also stereo sound through the two audio chips. Sega's hardware team did a good job of getting every last bit of power out of the SMS hardware, if only Sega had invested the same in the software.
Pictures