Author Archives: Big Elk

RGG Studio programmer Hitoshi Iizawa receives excellence award for Model 2/3 emulation in Like A Dragon games

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Esteemed Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio programmer Hitoshi Iizawa is being given an excellence award at the latest CEDEC, or Computer Entertainment and Developers Conference, in Japan for his work on emulation of Model 2 and 3 arcade games in the Like A Dragon series. This news was shared yesterday on Twitter by Lost Judgement director Yutaka Ito and is also being shown on the CEDEC website’s top awards list. Yutaka Ito’s tweet was also transcribed by known Twitter translator Gosokyuu.

Here’s what the CEDEC had to say about this honor on their website, translated to English:

The committee commended the expertise and uniqueness of the efforts to reproduce games for dedicated arcade hardware at the dawn of 3DCG games, as well as the fact that through the commercialization of these games, past arcade games that were often buried in the past were brought to the attention of today’s players.

Ito also had more to say about what went into the development of the emulation for these games and the difficulties of it on Twitter. You can read more about that past the break.

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Mini-Moni. Shakatto Tambourine! da Pyon!, Sega’s one and only PSOne game, gets a fan translation

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No, this ain’t Samba de Amigo, but it’s not that far off. The only PlayStation game Sega has ever developed “Mini-Moni. Shakatto Tambourine! da Pyon! (2002)” has just been fan translated, opening it up to an English speaking audience. Of course, this only goes for written text in the game, and not the lyrics to the songs within. The translation comes courtesy of the team of fan translators at Hilltop Works.

The game is very similar to Samba de Amigo and has tambourine motion-based controllers that you can play it with, which were originally packaged with copies of the game. The game can still be played with a regular DualShock controller, which you’re much more likely to own.

For a link to download the translation patch, as well as a brief background on the game, come on down past the break.

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Dreamcast classic F355 Challenge’s online time trial rankings and ghost data sharing features restored

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Another Dreamcast classic returns online. F355 Challenge (2000), the Ferarri focused arcade racer by the great Yu Suzuki that is otherwise unrelated to OutRun, has it’s own website restored, re-enabling all the online features of the Dreamcast game. The website can be accessed straight from the game’s disc when running on a Dreamcast connected to the internet, as well as through a network-enabled Dreamcast emulator. This comes thanks to developer Flyinghead.

F355 Challenge did not actually have an online multiplayer mode, however. Its online features were limited to allowing for the upload and download of time trial rankings and car ghost data, as well as an exclusive Ferrari movie that could be viewed on the website. DreamPi and Broadband adaptor users will be automatically directed to the site when trying to access it from within the game now.

Zoom in past the break for a bit more technical info to get you started.

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The Sega Genesis turns 35 years old today

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The year is 1989. In that year, people such as Taylor Swift, Danielle Radcliff, the late Avicii, SZA, Pewdiepie, Markiplier, and myself were born. Songs like “Bust A Move” by Young MC, “Cherish” and “Like A Prayer” by Madonna, and “Love Shack” by The B-52’s topped the charts. Movies like Disney’s The Little Mermaid, the Tim Burton directed Batman, Ghostbusters II, and Weekend At Bernie’s premiered in theaters. The Simpsons, Chip n’ Dale Rescue Rangers, Family Matters, Baywatch, and Seinfeld premiered on TV. In Japan, anime like Dragon Ball Z, Patlabor, and Ranma 1/2 premiered on TV while Kiki’s Delivery Service premiered in theaters. Video games like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Final Fight, SimCity, and DuckTales came out while Sega launched arcade games like Golden Axe, Turbo OutRun, and Tetris. Sega had done something else even more significant on this day that very same year, though. They launched the Sega Mega-Drive in North America as the Sega Genesis and the world would never be the same. Happy 35th anniversary!

On August 14th, 1989, Sega of America launched the Genesis in North America to much fanfare, including with a televised launch party attended by convicted felon and overall weirdo Donald Trump. Sega had failed to make much of a splash in North America with the still beloved Master System, but they had a new plan in mind for the Genesis. That plan included a fierce mockery of Nintendo’s strict adherence to sanitized, family friendly gaming, with the tagline “Genesis Does What Nintendon’t” remaining a staple in gamer lingo. This allowed Sega to stand out with the teens-to-adults crowd and ended up with Sega being the first video game console manufacturer to seriously threaten Nintendo’s market dominance, as well as inspiring future console rivals Sony and Microsoft to do the same with the PlayStation and Xbox respectively, while stealing Sega’s thunder in the process. Today, the Sega Genesis lives on in gaming and pop culture history as one of the most influential and memorable gaming consoles of all time and a hallmark of the 1990’s.

Come with us past the break to continue this celebration.

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TMS Entertainment announces 60th Anniversary YouTube campaign, including timed uploads of Japanese Sonic X and Orguss episodes

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TMS Entertainment, a beloved Japanese animation studio currently owned by Sega Holdings Inc., a subsidiary of SegaSammy holdings, has just announced that for their 60th anniversary, they’ll begin uploading special animated features of significant importance to the company to their official YouTube page. Most noteworthy to Sega/Sonic fans, this includes the first six episodes of Sonic X in its original Japanese dub. The entire campaign begins on August 5th, 2024. This is a good chance to get a taste of what Sonic X was originally like, free of both English voices and the cacophony of censorship edits imposed on it in its original English dub by 4Kids Entertainment.

EDIT: It’s come to my attention that one of the other anime part of this celebration: Super Dimension Century Orguss (1983), also has a Sega connection, as Sega made an SG-1000 game based on it. I’m adding details about that show below the break too.

Gotta go fast as you rush past the break for the skinny on this special event. GO! GO! GO! GO! LET’S GO!

EDIT: The 60th Anniversary event has ended and all these videos have, unfortunately, been removed from the TMS Entertainment YouTube Page. Fortunately, Discotek Media has released both Japanese Sonic X and Super Dimension Century Orguss on Blu-Ray. You can buy them from Amazon or Crunchyroll’s store. I removed the dead YouTube embeds from the article

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Homebrew Genesis/Mega-Drive game Hayato’s Journey finishes development; now available to download for free

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An all new homebrew action platformer for Genesis/Mega-Drive, called Hayato’s Journey, has just finished development and is now free to download. Developed by Master Linkuei, Hayato’s Journey is a fanmade spiritual sequel to the Master System game Kenseiden (1988). The game is now available on his itch.io page for whatever price you wish to pay. Although it is free, it couldn’t hurt to give Master Linkuei a buck or two to reward their hard work.

Have a look beyond the break for a trailer and a link to the game.

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Sega Rally 2006 fan translation patch now available

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Sega Rally 2006, the first Sega Rally game made exclusively for a console, has just gotten an all new fan translation released. Previously only released in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, this PS2 classic had all of its text in those countries’ respective native languages only, until now, that is. For the first time ever, you can play the game almost entirely in English now.

While graphics featuring text could not be translated, as there is no way to easily change the text in graphics at this time, much of the important text in the game has been completely translated into English, making menus much less of a chore to navigate for the Japanese impaired. The newly translated text consists of:

  • Career Mode intro and profile creation.
  • Career Mode top menus (Calendar, trophies, etc.).
  • Calendar race names, vehicle restrictions, and rewards.
  • Garage and Shop menus, including part and tire names, descriptions, and tuning menu.
  • Pre-race splash screens.
  • Sponsorship contract tutorials and objectives.

For a link to where you can download this patch, have a look past the break.

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Fanmade Dreamcast port of Grand Theft Auto III being worked on; WIP footage shown

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How many of you were aware the Grand Theft Auto III (2001) was originally meant to have a version on Sega Dreamcast? It moved away from Dreamcast after developer DMA Design, today known as Rockstar North, came into agreement that the Dreamcast was no longer a viable platform for the game, most likely due to Sega bowing out of the console hardware race in 2001. Had the game released on Dreamcast as originally intended, it would’ve gone on to be a major feather in the Dreamcast’s cap for years to come.

While we can’t go back in time and make DMA Design stick to it’s original Dreamcast release plans, one fan has taken it upon themselves to convert the game over to Dreamcast. Homebrew developer SKMP has been building a new Dreamcast GTA III port using assets and reverse engineered code from the original PC version. Lately, he’s even gained some help from a few other Dreamcast homebrew developers, including Frogbull, who’s best known for creating a Metal Gear Solid 2 tech demo for Dreamcast. While the port is still work-in-progress as of this writing, what’s been done so far is nothing short of amazing. After all, just because GTA III was originally meant to be a Dreamcast game, doesn’t mean that bringing the finished game to Dreamcast is as simple as you might think.

You’ll find out more about what I mean past the break.

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Saturn inspired racer Parking Garage Rally Circuit coming soon to Steam; actual Saturn version teased

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This is for the Sega Saturn racing fans out there. Solo indie developer Walaber (Creator of the Jelly Car series and credited on Where’s My Water?) is paying tribute to the mighty Saturn with his brand new retro styled time trial racer Parking Garage Rally Circuit. This game is designed to look like an authentic Sega Saturn game from 1998 and is currently listed on Steam, where it is planned to release for Windows, Linux, and Steam Deck sometime within 2024.

More exciting than that is that Walaber wants to bring this game to Nintendo Switch and the very console he’s paying homage to, the Sega Saturn. He will bring the game to Switch if it can sell 50,000 downloads on Steam, and then make a special Saturn version of the game after achieving 100,000 downloads on Steam. If you wanna see this game in your collection for either console, then you can start by wishlisting the game on Steam right now and then buying it after it’s released. Let your money do the talking.

But if you need more convincing than that, we have extra info for you beyond the break. We bet you’ll be heading on down with this kind of ferocity.

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New Genesis/Mega-Drive & 32X FPGA clone console, the GF-1 Neptune, revealed

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If you’re a fan of old school Sega and the 32X, then chances are you’ve heard of the Sega Neptune before. It was an official Genesis console with the 32-bit 32X hardware built right in, allowing for Genesis and 32X games to be run from one unit. We all know what happened with the 32X in the end, and with it, so went Sega’s plans to finalize the Neptune and bring it to market. I’m sure 32X fans would’ve preferred a Neptune over installing a 32X into a Genesis with its 2nd power cable though.

The Brazilian company Gamescare seems to agree with that notion, and thus have designed their own, all new FPGA-based clone console based on this unreleased Sega console, called the GF-1 Neptune. This Neptune will be able to run Genesis, Mega-Drive, and 32X games all in one unit, just like Sega’s Neptune was meant to do. It even has the same shape as Sega’s original Neptune prototype. It can also attach to a Sega CD unit with its expansion port on its side, like an original Genesis and, presumably, the original Neptune would’ve done.

Sound exciting to you? Join us past the break, then, and find out more about this promising development.

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Fanmade Genesis/Mega-Drive port of Neo-Geo classic Real Bout Fatal Fury Special now available to download

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The Genesis/Mega-Drive did have a few ports of SNK’s Neo-Geo games, but until now, Real Bout Fatal Fury Special was not one of them. Brazilian Genesis homebrew developer RheoGamer sought to rectify that by developing his own port, titled “Real Bout Fatal Fury Genesis” which he has just now completed and released to the public to try as a free download. You can see his video of the game in action above.

Real Bout Fatal Fury Special was originally made by SNK for their own Neo-Geo arcade and home console hardware in 1995 as the sixth game in the Fatal Fury fighting series. SNK also made an official Saturn port of its predecessor, Real Bout Fatal Fury, the very next year, but released it only in Japan. The first two Fatal Fury games, Fatal Fury 1 and 2, did see official ports to Genesis in 1993 and 1994 respectively, while the latter got to be part of the Genesis/Mega-Drive Mini 2. Now we get to see what could’ve been had SNK brought the Real Bout chapters of Fatal Fury to the Genesis.

You’ll find the download link to the game rom in the description of the above video, but I’ve also included it here beyond the break, along with some more helpful information about RheoGamer’s port.

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Fanmade, open source Doom 64 port for Dreamcast now available to download

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We’ve all heard about Doom and how it can be made to run on just about everything (Including Dreamcast), but now it’s Doom 64’s turn for a Dreamcast port, thanks to fan developer JNMartin (@falco_girgis on Twitter). JNMartin has been working hard on a new port of quasi-sequel Doom 64, originally released for the Nintendo 64 in 1997. He continues to work on it now, with the above video being his latest progress showcase as of this writing. The port is now available and open sourced, so anyone is free to help develop the port as well as download and try it for themselves.

The game isn’t totally complete yet, with many assets missing, such as the HUD and certain enemies and sounds, but being able to run the game at all on Dreamcast is an incredible feat already. It even runs at a smooth and stable framerate. It shows that developers who love the Dreamcast are capable of doing amazing things with the hardware to this day.

Dare to journey past the break for a link to the latest build and instructions on how to play.

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New budget, entry level Genesis/Mega-Drive flash cartridge, the OpenED, launches from Everdrive creator Krikzz; goes open-source

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The creator of the Everdrive series of flash cartridges, the one and only Krikzz, has just debuted a new budget priced Mega Everdrive cartridge for Genesis/Mega-Drive systems called OpenED (Open Everdrive). How budget? Try $40 USD. That’s right. For less than the cost of most brand new video games (And certainly less than most original Genesis cartridges cost), you can get your very own new Mega Everdrive cartridge and run lots of Genesis roms on original hardware. (Including many an all-new indie Genesis game, or a long-lost prototype, if you’re so inclined.)

What’s more, the OpenED is also open-sourced, so anyone with the know-how is free to submit improvements on the software or produce their own OpenED cartridges. This way, quality, entry-level Genesis flash cartridges should be available to everyone without having to resort to buying cheap knockoffs from dubious sellers online.

Of course, even with the assured quality, the low cost does present some drawbacks. Head on in after the break to hear more about the OpenED and to order one if you’re interested.

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All-In-One Sega FPGA console “SuperSega” in development; shows world’s first Dreamcast FPGA footage

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There’s been talk lately of an all-in-one Sega FPGA console in the works called the SuperSega. Lots of people are excited by the reveal of this indie project, while others are skeptical about its chances of fulfilling its promises or even coming out at all. We’ve waited a bit for more concrete info about the SuperSega before reporting, so now we’re ready to talk about it at last.

The SuperSega is an FPGA console currently in development that can play games from every single console Sega has ever released (Except the Game Gear, for some reason, at least for now). We’re talking about SG-1000, Mark III, Master System, Genesis/Mega-Drive, Sega CD, 32X, Saturn, and Dreamcast games. Currently, the only Sega FPGA console ever released commercially was Analogue’s now decommissioned Mega SG, which was designed to play Genesis games, as well as SG-1000, Mark III, Master System, and Game Gear games via separately available cartridge adaptors. The SuperSega, on the other hand, only needs an original 32X unit for 32X cartridges. It has built-in cartridge slots and a disc drive for everything else. 

It sounds impressive so far, but as of this writing, no hardware prototype has yet been produced. Work has been done on the software, and a hardware prototype is planned to be produced this September. The SuperSega team has put together test videos, including one of Dreamcast games running on their targeted hardware. At least this way, we know it’s unlikely to be fake. Stop in past the break to see these videos and to learn more.

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A new Genesis/Mega-Drive shmup, ZPF, begins crowdfunding on Kickstarter; already achieves its goal nearly 5x over

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Are you guys ready for an especially wonderful new Sega Genesis/Mega-Drive experience? Apparently a lot of people were. A Kickstarter has been recently opened up for an incredible new shooter by the developer of indie Genesis darling Tänzer and its publisher Mega Cat Studios. ZPF is a game that aims to push the beloved 16-bit console like few modern indie hits have before, and it’s already gone way past it’s initial modest goal of $15,000 USD in less than half an hour after going live on July 1st, 2024. In fact, it is already over $100,000 raised. I think people might be a bit impressed so far.

ZPF is a horizontal scrolling shmup, much like Genesis classics such as the Thunder Force games, Steel Empire (1992), Arrow Flash (1991), and another hotly anticipated indie hit which was also a smashing success on Kickstarter, Irena: Genesis Metal Fury. ZPF aims to set itself apart with some incredibly detailed and imaginative artwork, three playable characters with their own unique attacks, and many secrets, including hidden stages and endings. ZPF aims to go hard or go home.

Suffice it to say, this game’s coming out with or without your support, but there’s still all of July to put a couple of bucks down and earn yourself some rewards. For a rundown of what you can get, as well as more of the game itself, scroll on past the break and be ready to contain your excitement.

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