New secret level select codes discovered in the Saturn game Bug! after 28 years

Bet you didn’t know that the 1995 Sega Saturn game Bug! (1995) had level select codes in it. Well, actually people did know, but nobody knew there were actually two very different ones until now. On January 11th, 2024, 11 days ago, @memory_fallen revealed on Twitter (X) that they had discovered cheat codes in both the North American and Japanese versions of Bug! that had never been revealed before. There’s a bit of an interesting caveat to the new code in the North American version in particular as well. You can check in after the break to see what these new codes are.

The SEGAbits Swingin’ Report Show LIVE: Sonic Grams Extra Uncovered

On this episode, David the Lurker of Sonic Retro joins Barry to talk about the long running Archie Sonic comics letters page Sonic Grams! We discuss the long history of the feature, the bonus comic Off Panel, and debut scans of a long lost Sonic Grams Extra released by Ken Penders!

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SEGA Talk Podcast #132: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist

On this radical episode of SEGA Talk the dynamic duo take a trip into Dimension X and cover Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist! Cowabunga!

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Limited Run Games announces Rocket Knight Adventures: Re-Sparked! on Nintendo Switch, PS4 and PS5


Rocket Knight Adventures was a cult classic SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive game developed by Konami way back in 1993, since then our hero Sparkster and in 1994 we got Sparkster: Rocket Knight Adventures! In the same year Konami would release Sparkster on SNES. At one point Sparkster was being printed on all Konami’s promotional material being pushed as a sort of mascot for the company.

Now PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch owners can play these classic 16-bit games in the new upcoming collection! Yep, all three games. Not only that, Carbon Engine has went back and even added dan all-new animated intro by Studio Meala, rewind feature, boss rush mode and museum mode featuring never-before-seen content!  In a nice change of pace, this collection was announced as a Limited Run Games physical release only instead of it coming out digitally first then a physical copy down the line.

Check out Rocket Knight Adventures Re-Sparked! on Limited Run Games. 

The SEGAbits Swingin’ Report Show LIVE: Our Favorite and Most Disappointing Games of 2023

2024 is upon us, but we can’t officially start the new year until Barry and George look back on their favorite and most disappointing SEGA games of 2023! We also share the games that almost received the Golden Opa as well as what to look forward to in 2024.

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Genesis/Mega-Drive inspired portable FM synthesizer “Liven Mega Synthesis” now up for pre-order

Do you fancy yourself an electronic musician? Are you especially fond of the Yamaha 2612 sound processor that was most notably found in the Sega Genesis/Mega-Drive as well as several old school arcade systems, including the Sega System 32? If you answered yes to both, have I found the tool for you: The Liven Mega Synthesis, now available for pre-order from manufacturer Sonicware for $239 USD.

The Liven Mega Synthesis is designed completely around emulating the iconic sound of the YM 2612 chip, along with the accompanying 8-bit PCM and PSG sounds, in excellent quality with tons of options for composition and editing. While it can record and play music far beyond the limitations of Genesis hardware, it also includes a “Legacy Mode” that allows it to more strictly match the specific sound of a Genesis console on any given track. All this comes in a six track sequencer with ten special effects to apply to each, including reverb, distortion, low pass filter, high pass filter, and crusher.

It’s also got the backing of the one and only retro game composer legend Yuzo Koshiro, who has created 32 preset sounds and 8 special patterns for you to try applying to your own music. This is all included along with 320 preset game sounds and 64 PCM drum tracks.

Check in past the break for the pre-order link, as well as examples of the Mega Synthesis’s preset patterns.

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Homebrew port of Konami’s X-Men arcade game being worked on for Saturn; playable demo now available

We’ve talked al lot about homebrew developers porting games to Genesis/Mega-Drive lately, so lets switch things up with a homebrew Saturn port this time. Developer hotrodx is working on converting the 1992 X-Men arcade beat-em-up by Konami to the Sega Saturn and now has a demo ready for the public to try out.

X-Men is one of the most beloved arcade classics of all time and one of the shining examples of classic beat-em-ups, right up there with Sega’s own Streets of Rage series, but somehow the game never received an official home port on any game console in the 90’s. Decades later, it would finally receive official home ports to PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2010, an iOS port in 2011, and its own Arcade1up home arcade cabinet in 2011. Only the latter is still available, as the digital-only 2010 port was removed from the PlayStation Store and Xbox Live Marketplace in 2013 with the iOS version going away in 2014.

The port is early in development, with the demo available as of this writing being version 0.1.1. The demo only consists of the first stage and gives you access to only two characters: Wolverine and Cyclops. Developer hotrodx also has a message displayed in the demo saying that they’re not using any source code derived from the original game and are, instead, eyeballing the whole game, trying to match the arcade game’s feel as much as possible. It sounds difficult, but based on this demo, they seem to be on the right track, but you can try it with an ODE such as a Fenrir, Satiator, or Phøde on real NTSC Saturn hardware and judge for yourself.

The download link will be past the break, along with a video of the demo in action.

Japanese porn video includes an unexpected tour of an early 2000s arcade

Twitter/X user @suddendesu stumbled upon a Japanese porn video titled 超ハード変態娘 変態羞恥感じる露出女!!(roughly translated, it’s “A super hard perverted girl. An exposed woman who feels perverted and embarrassed! !”). How he stumbled upon it? I won’t judge, I’ve found my fare share of video game related gems in weird old Japanese porn videos (Google “Cosplay International” for some real weird Space Channel 5 content).

Limited Run Games prepares new limited edition Genesis reprint of Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel; pre-orders open until February 4th, 2023

Limited Run Games have returned with another special reprint of an unassuming Genesis/Mega-Drive classic. This time it’s Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel (1994). This comes to us officially licensed from original publisher Sunsoft in an all-new white and red cartridge with a case and manual for only $69.99. Pre-orders will be open from January 5th, 2024 to February 4th, 2024, so act fast if you’re interested.

Most people might remember this as one of the infamous examples of mascot platformers made to capitalize on the Sonic mania that ran amok in the Genesis years, and it is, but Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel is one of the few that’s garnered a cult following in the time since its release. An original copy is actually more expensive than you might expect too. As of this writing, even just a loose cartridge will run you over $100. Yes, two zeroes. That may still be on the low side of things compared to some of the games Retro-Bit has made collector’s edition reprints of, but Limited Run Games’s reprint is still quite a bargain if you wish to bring Zero into your Genesis collection.

To learn more about Zero, check in past the break.

Secret code for Clockwork Knight 2, unlocking the original Clockwork Knight, discovered after 28 years

Tell me, Sega Saturn fans: Do you own a North American copy of Clockwork Knight 2, but not the original Clockwork Knight? Well guess what? You actually do own a copy of the original Clockwork Knight after all.

It turns out the North American version of Clockwork Knight 2 contained a secret code all along that unlocks access to the game’s prequel, right off of the same game disc. For many years, this code was actually rumored to exist in old video game magazines, but until Christmas Eve, 2023, it was never actually confirmed to exist. Now we know for sure. It is indeed real, it works, and you can access it with a simple button combination from the title screen.

Check in after the break if you wanna see what this long rumored code is, then you can try it for yourself.

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Homebrew Genesis/Mega-Drive port of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night demo now available

Genesis/Mega-Drive homebrew developers are at it again. For a long time now, retro game developer and YouTuber Pigsy, has been hard at work porting Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, the legendary sidescrolling adventure from the PlayStation and Saturn, to the Sega Genesis. Call him crazy, but he’s made some great progress, and now he’s ready to prove it with a playable demo that you can download right now. Pigsy has made a video of the demo, shown above, but also prepared a demo that’s able to run on real Genesis hardware using an Everdrive flash cartridge. You can also play it with an emulator or with the MiSTer FPGA console too.

You can check the description of the video above for the download links, or find them here past the break.

The Video Game History Foundation unveils never-before-seen cut levels from Sonic the Hedgehog 2

We’re a little late reporting on this, but we just could not let it go. Not when it concerns one of the most important Sonic games of all time. Celebrated video game preservationist Frank Cifaldi, of the Video Game History Foundation, has come into contact with some American artists formally employed at Sega Technical Institute, where Sonic 2 was developed, and with their help, has unearthed some never before seen artwork and information about cut content from Sonic 2. He’s even learned about a whole different Genesis/Mega-Drive game the studio was working on that got canned in order to bring all hands on deck for Sonic 2.

You can see the video right up above and check in past the break for a summery of what was shown off in the video.

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Free Hello Work uniform DLC for Like A Dragon Infinite Wealth being offered via email newsletter

Need an excuse to have Sega deliver all your Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth news for you? How about a free Hello Work suit for game protagonist Ichiban Kasuga? If you sign up for Sega’s e-mail newsletter for the game, they’ll send you a free DLC code for the Hello Work suit to equip Kasuga with. If you don’t know what Hello Work is, it’s the employment center from Yakuza: Like A Dragon, where characters can switch job classes, opening everyone up to new skills in combat, which can also be done in Infinite Wealth. Anyway, it’s no Sonic Soap shoes, but you know what they say about looking a gift horse in the mouth.

Check in past the break for the link to the newsletter, and remember, they only give you a code for one platform. If you plan on buying Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth for multiple consoles, or if you haven’t decided yet which one you wish to play the game on, consider signing up with multiple e-mail addresses for multiple codes. You can always give extra codes to friends or family.

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Holiday Sega In The Media: Sega Genesis featured in “Merry Axe-mas” music video by Ice Nine Kills

Well, it is now December 26th, 2023. We at Segabits hope you all had a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday, as well as a Happy New Year.

Though it may be a little late, I’d like to share with you all a festive music video that featured a Sega Genesis. This is the 2018 song “Merry Axe-Mas” by the Boston, Massachusetts metal band Ice Nine Kills. These guys are known for lyrics inspired by horror films, with this song in particular being inspired by the 1984 slasher horror film Silent Night, Deadly Night. In the music video, a young child named Spencer receives an ominous Genesis game cartridge from “Santa’s Claws”. The game has him playing as Santa himself and slaughtering everyone in his way with reckless abandon while, in the real world, ol’ St. Nick shows up and brutally murders Spencer’s parents behind him while he’s too fixated on the game.

Check in after the break to see the actual music video, plus a few of the Sega details you might miss.

SEGA News Bits Live: Christmas Blast – Past, Present & Future SEGA

On this Christmas day SEGA News Bits Live, Barry looks back on SEGA Christmas past, present and future! What was the worst video game gift you received? What was under the SEGAbits tree this year? Who is behind the upcoming SEGA revivals? Click play and find out!

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