Genesis

Swingin’ Report Show #82: Interview with Brian Silva of Visual Concepts, Midway, Accolade and more!

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Video game designer and voice actor Brain Silva joins us on our latest episode to discuss his work on Bubsy and Bubsy II, Floigan Bros., Hydro Thunder, and H2Overdrive as well as many other games created during his time at Accolade, Visual Concepts, Midway, Blizzard Entertainment and Specular Interactive. Brian also discusses several unreleased games including Hydro Thunder 2 for arcades, Congo: The Secret of Zinj for Genesis and SNES, and Floigan Bros. for the original Playstation!

Brian currently works at Specular Interactive, having helped create the arcade titles H2Overdrive (Hydro Thunder‘s spiritual successor), Project HADES, Dirty Drivin’, and Batman. Learn more about Specular Interactive by checking out their website.

Also, make sure to check out Brian’s website where you’ll find some excellent design docs for Floigan Bros. and Crank the Weasel.

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New 3D Sonic the Hedgehog 2 trailer shows off local co-op and new ‘Keep Ring Mode’ gets detailed

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While we haven’t gotten a release date in the west on the 3D Sonic the Hedgehog 2 release, over in Japan the game is being release in less than a week! That means that 3D Sonic the Hedgehog 2 has been getting quite the amount of information released, like the trailer above showing off the local wireless connectivity. It will be required for both 3DSs to own a copy of the game, but if you do you will be able to have a second player control Tails through your single player adventure or you can go head to head in the versus racing mode.

Like most M2 re-releases in their SEGA 3D Classics series, this game will not only have 3D, save states and the ability to save replays; but it will also have a new mode that they are calling ‘Ring Keep’ mode. In this mode you will start a stage with 10 rings, each time you get attacked the amount of rings you lose is halved. I guess we shall see how this will work when we get to play it and how it impacts the way you play the game.

If we had to predict the release date of 3D Sonic the Hedgehog 2 in the west, I would say expect it sometime in August!

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New SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive game Papi Cammando gets official demo

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A new and upcoming SEGA Gensis/Mega Drive game known as Papi Commando has not gotten a official demo release by the independent developers behind the project. The game takes ques from classics like SEGA’s Alien Syndrome and Lucas Art’s Zombies Ate My Neighbors by delivering a run and gun game with a unlikely protagonist.

The game promises to have 2 player mode, up to 11 zones, with varied units including soldiers and zombies. So if you want to see what the independent SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive indie scene is up to, give the demo a try below.

You can download the bin file of the demo here. Have fun shooting.

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[Source: The Forums]

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First Look at 3D Streets of Rage 2 Gameplay

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Recently SEGA and M2 announced that they would be continuing their incredible range of 3D remakes for the Nintendo 3DS. In the next wave of titles comes three of the most beloved SEGA Megadrive/Genesis titles; 3D Streets of Rage 2, 3D Sonic 2 and 3D Gunstar Heroes.

Today SEGA uploaded the first look at 2D Streets of Rage 2 or as it was known in Japan ‘Bare Knuckle 2.’ Check it out above!

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Unboxing a brand new SEGA Menacer from 1992

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You don’t find boxed hardware from the early 90s all that often, and when you do they usually sell for an arm and a leg. Thankfully, last week I found a boxed SEGA Menacer light gun from 1992 still sealed with baggies and all for a cool $40. I really wanted to free it from its packaging as soon as I got home, but I abstained until I had the time to do a proper unboxing. Check out what a boxed Menacer looks like and join me as we play a few of the bundled games!

Some background on the Menacer: Revealed to the public at 1992’s CES in Chicago, the Menacer was SEGA’s answer to the Nintendo’s Super Scope. The Menacer project was spearheaded by SEGA producer Mac Senour, who worked on the light gun and the bundled six-game pack. Notable to Toejam & Earl fans, one of the six games was a mini-game from Greg Johnson and Mark Voorsanger. Other SEGA licenses were proposed, but ultimately abandoned in favor of shooting mini-games. You can learn more about the Toejam & Earl mini-game in our recent interview with Greg Johnson.

While SEGA did not release additional first-party Menacer titles, there is a small library of games compatible with the light gun. Most notably, T2: The Arcade Game, both Mad Dog McCree games, and Corpse Killer. Call me a SEGA fanboy, but I much prefer the look and feel of the Menacer to Nintendo’s Super Scope.

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Swingin’ Report Show #77: Interview with Greg Johnson, co-creator of Toejam and Earl

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Toejam and Earl: Back in the Groove is a Kickstarter campaign from Greg Johnson, video game designer and co-founder of ToeJam & Earl Productions. On this week’s Swingin’ Report Show podcast, Greg joins us to talk about how he plans to bring the funky aliens back in a new game, and how he and Mark Voorsanger pitched and developed the original three games of the series for SEGA.

Learn how Toejam and Earl made the transition from Greg’s subconscious to video games, what it was like working with SEGA throughout the 90s, his thoughts on the sequels Panic on Funkotron and Mission to Earth, and how Toejam and Earl: Back in the Groove is set to reimagine and build upon the famous first game. If you’re a game developer, or simply want to know more about how games are made, this episode is a must listen!

Show your support for Greg and his team, check out the Toejam and Earl: Back in the Groove Kickstarter today!

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2-Man Scramble plays Batman Forever for the SEGA Genesis – Holy co-op, Batman!

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Andrew Rosa and Mickey Mac must team up to beat one of the worst movie-licensed video games ever produced; Batman Forever on SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive.

Before this foul-mouth duo can take fight the puzzling Riddler and maniacal Two-Face, they must first overcome a seemingly endless onslaught of jackasses like “Blood Fire”, “Anti-Freeze” and “Charlie”, as well as some tough platform jumping.

For an in-depth review, watch Andrew go it alone in My Life with SEGA.

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Tuesday Tunes: A look at SEGA AM2’s underrated Sword of Vermilion OST

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Before SEGA AM2 brought Shenmue to Dreamcast owners everywhere, they created a Japanese RPG in the late 80’s for the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive. That title would help SEGA-AM2 dip their feet into the console market, that first game was Sword of Vermilion. The game was a early Genesis/Mega Drive title and was one of the spotlight games in SEGA’s timeless “Nintendon’t: advertisement campaign.

While Sword of Vermilion was ambitious for its time, it wasn’t really known as a great game and possibly one of the lesser known games by the publisher. But regardless of that status, the soundtrack for this game is actually great. Composed by Hiroshi Kawaguchi (After Burner, Out Run, and more) and Yasuhiro Takagi (Virtua Racing, F355 Challenge and more), both composers who where literally at the top of their game during this time period.

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