Did any Genesis game other than Sonic and Knuckles use the "lock-on" technology?

[Tupin]

Sonic and Knuckles is the only "lock-on" Genesis game I've heard of, but I've seen people talk about another one released only in Japan.

I don't know what else they could actually use it for...

[savageone]

Does the Game Genie count?

[Tupin]

Does the Game Genie count?
Nah, that doesn't count.

[Ro-J]

AFAIK, only Sonic & Knuckles had "lock-on technology". Maybe people are referencing the Blue Sphere game that can be accessed when a non-sonic game is plugged into the S&K cart.

[108Stars]

I hang around at Sega-16 all the time, and never has such a thing be mentioned there. No, S & K is the only lock-on-cart.

[Matt-El]

It's the only game that could, due to the programming being designed the way it was. It really was a one-time-only deal. But thank god, as I consider Sonic 3 and Knuckles to be one of the best genesis games, and my preffered Sonic game to play.

[Iron Draggon]

I wish there would've been more... I thought it was a really cool idea... it was certainly a surprise to discover the reason why I couldn't reach certain items in Sonic 2 was because they were only reachable with Knuckles, who until then hadn't been available... it was a brilliant way to introduce a new character to the series, and I dreamed of what other games might soon reveal they also hid previously unavailable surprises... but alas, there were none...

[rpepper9]

I played games starting with NES, so I am not a nube in the area (at least I like to think not). But pardon the question, what is a Lock On game? I am guessing that you put two carts together is some way to unlock something? Or is it something within the game where the two characters join together to gain access to new areas?

Thanks

[JunkTheMagicDragon]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_%26_Knuckles#Lock-on_Technology

[j_factor]

This part is false btw:


Additionally, games made after Sonic & Knuckles was released will not work with its lock-on feature.

From my personal collection, I can confirm that it works with Comix Zone, Vectorman, The Ooze, and X-Men 2. I couldn't get it to work with Vectorman 2, Toy Story, and Gargoyles, though.

There must be some bit of data in every Genesis game, like a catalog number or something, that Sonic & Knuckles uses to determine the level. Every game seems to have a level number. But, there are so many levels, I can't imagine them actually all being saved on the S&K cart; they must be generated by an algorithm somehow. The Wikipedia article implies that each game's Blue Sphere level is the same as one of the Sonic 1 levels. If that's true, maybe a catalog number determines the level number, and the level number generates the level somehow.

[Kitsune Sniper]

Some time ago, I read that S&K reads the cart's internal header and uses that to generate the levels. Whether or not this is true, I don't know.