Fan made

Streets of Rage 2 New Era fan port updates old game with new features

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There aren’t many widely celebrated classics on Sega Genesis/Mega-Drive quite like Streets of Rage 2. The beat-em-up classic exclusive to Sega’s 16-bit juggernaut still holds up perfectly well the way it is, but some fans have set out to modernize the game in Unity 3D with some amazing new enhancements, made through reverse engineering.

Streets of Rage 2 New Era is a brand new fan-developed port of the original game for PC and Mac that builds on it with new 4-player multiplayer, widescreen, and even online co-op. It is a complete experience currently at version 2.0 at the time of this writing. The game requires you to have an original Streets of Rage 2 ROM file in order to play. This is only to get around the legal issue of making the game freely available while Sega, the rightful copyright holders, still sell Streets of Rage 2. New Era does not rely on emulation to run or enhance the game. It recommends that you buy Streets of Rage 2 on Steam where, along with every other game in the Sega Genesis Classics Collection, it comes with a freely accessible ROM file ripe for the taking in that collection’s installation files.

Check in after the break for extra info. Otherwise, head to the game’s web page to download the game.

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Sonic Hacking Contest 2022 is live right now

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As of Monday, October 20th 2022, Sonic Hacking Contest 2022 is now open, with all the many fan hacks and mods developed by some of the most creative Sonic fans out there ready to try. There are tons of mods from every Sonic game from the original Genesis classic to Sonic Forces, all of which change up each game in many creative ways. Some of them even create a brand new experience off of the foundation of a classic Sonic game you may be well familiar with already from start to finish. Even if you don’t have time to try every game for yourself, (And there are already so many that you most likely don’t have that kind of time. After all, I’m still going through some games from this year’s Sonic Amateur Games Expo.) many online content creators have been streaming these games throughout the week, including favorites like Blue Vivacity, Sam’s Procrastination Station, SomeCallMeJohnny, MegaGWolf, and up-and-coming YouTube personality Chaomix. 

Since this is a contest, the creators of each of these mods are also being judged on their creations. Everyone is encouraged to vote for each of their favorite mods in a variety of prestigious awards, so if any of them has you particularly impressed, make sure you vote for it in whatever award it may be nominated for. 

See beyond the break for a few of my personal highlights of this year’s mods. Otherwise, click here to check out the website to download these mods for yourself or to see who is currently streaming.

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Unreleased Dreamcast game Dee Dee Planet online features finally running unofficially

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Dee Dee Planet cover art

The unreleased Sega Dreamcast game Dee Dee Planet has now had it’s online servers finally brought to life thanks to the efforts of the fan-run Dreamcast Live online service. Due to the game having been cancelled, it’s online multiplayer has never once been playable by the public until now. If you want to try it for yourself, you can download a version of Dee Dee Planet that’s been patched for Dreamcast Live functionality from Dreamcast Live’s downloads page. One of Dreamcast Live’s founders, and prominent Dreamcast superfan and preservationist, pcwzrd13, had previously gotten a hold of a nearly complete build of Dee Dee Planet last year, and now Dreamcast Live user Shuouma had been able to create server code for Dee Dee Planet using the server code from Chu Chu Rocket, one of the games previously brought back online through Dreamcast Live, as Dee Dee Planet was designed to use a very similar online server setup already.

Chances are many of you have no idea what Dee Dee Planet is, so check past the break for a brief history of both Dee Dee Planet and Dreamcast Live.

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SEGAbits @ SAGE 2022: Interview with Noah Copeland on Sonic Triple Trouble 16-BIT – PART ONE

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As part of our SAGE coverage, we managed to get a hold of Noah Copeland to come have a chat with us about the development of his fangame Sonic Triple Trouble 16 bit. This love letter to the classic Game Gear game released to much fanfair last month, remaking the original games visual to fit perfectly with it’s classic Mega Drive counterparts, featuring the ability to switch between Sonic or Tails as well as multiple playable characters. Hit the break for the first of two part interview with Noah as he goes into more detail about the fan games history and development ideology!

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Playable at SAGE 2022, Sonic McOrigins, featuring the McDonald’s LCD Sonic toys!

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If you ever wanted to know what you missed out on as a kid when McDonalod’s teamed up with SEGA to release a bunch of Sonic LCD games well, you’re in luck! Thanks to developer Dfug hard work, we have been graced with the collection that has all the games from Knuckles Baseball to Tails Soccer. Their painstaking work to digitise the collection of 17 games helps to perserve these bits of Sonic memoriable and shows you how popular Sonic was in 2003, with the height of popularity coming thanks to a combination of Sonic X and the release of Sonic Heroes. So head over to SAGExpo and give them a try, along with all the other cool games at the event.

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Sonic Amateur Games Expo 2022 is LIVE! Check out a bunch of demos for new fan games

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It’s that time of the year again where the Sonic Amateur Games Expo, or SAGE (No relation to the Sonic Frontiers villain!) for short, graces us with it’s presence. Filled to the brim with some of the most dedicated Sonic fans on the net, this event now boasts a huge selection of non-Sonic fangames from Mega Man to Kirby as well as a host of indie games. In the coming days we’ll be sharing interviews with developers and game impressions at the event, so stick with SEGAbits and don’t miss a beat in our coverage. In the mean time, check out the SAGE trailer and head over to Expo’s website here and start downloading some of the coolest fan projects around!

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New music album/Windows 95 simulator developed for SEGA Genesis by Mike Yedley

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A musical album released in the form of a game cartridge or ROM might sound like an odd concept, but quirky homebrew developer and musician Mike Yedley has done just that, and it’s not even his first one. Not too long ago, he debuted his second Genesis music ROM on his itch.io page, called “mikeyeldey95”. Being a ROM, it can be run in your favorite Genesis emulator or on original hardware with a flash cartridge such as any of the Mega Everdrive line of cartridges. In a very interesting twist, this album also doubles as a retro Windows 95 desktop simulation, full of fun easter eggs and mini-games. You can change the desktop background and color scheme, explore a web browser (This game has no way of actually connecting to the internet), and even explore an MS-DOS environment. There are 11 main songs total, but exploring a bit more can uncover several hidden songs, including some full PSG tunes.

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The Unofficial SEGA-centric Fan Event Returns After 4 Years; Sonic & SEGA Fan Jam REMIX Event & Kickstarter Pre-Sale Dates Details

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After four years of absence, Sonic & SEGA Fan Jam returns for another exciting gaming event celebrating the legacy of SEGA video games and will be the essential experience for fans of Sonic the Hedgehog, Yakuza, Persona, Virtua Fighter, Super Monkey Ball and other SEGA games old and new! As always, there will be games, special guests, artists, content creators, panels, contests, and much more. It is a not-for-profit event and this year’s theme will be inspired by SEGA’s focus on revitalizing classic IPs for the modern audience, hence the term “REMIX” in the title. While previous events took place in Savannah, GA, over the years, this year’s event will take place in Marietta, Georgia at the Hilton Atlanta/Marietta & Conference Center on Saturday, November 12th with a Kickstarter badge pre-sale launching on Tuesday, May 17th with amazing reward tiers.

Here are the guests announced for the event so far:

Industry/Voice Actor Guest

Corey Marshall (Shenmue)
Eric Kelso (Virtua Fighter, Shenmue, F-Zero GX)
Lisle Wilkerson (Virtua Fighter, Crazy Taxi, Shenmue)

Sonic & SEGA Fan Community/Content Creators

Sam Procrastinates (Sonic Community)
Chaomix (Sonic Community)
SomeCallMeJohnny (YouTube)
AntDude (YouTube)
Skye Rocket (Music)
Victor McKnight (Music)
TreasureHuntingSonic (Sonic Community)

More guests to be announced soon. You have questions regarding the event or like to receive updates, you can follow the event through Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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Arts and Crafts: Make your own Sonic Origins Genesis box, manual and cartridge!

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Fool your friends, be the envy of your enemies (or vice versa) with the Sonic Origins SEGA Genesis paper craft! I did it for Sonic 4 Episode 1, Sonic 4 Episode 2, Sonic Generations and Sonic Mania. So it only makes sense for me to do it again for Sonic Origins!

The process is pretty easy. Print out the images below, slip the cover in a Genesis case, tape or glue the label on a Genesis cartridge and fold and place the manual inside the case. I like to use old sports games, but you can use any old Genesis game case that you wish. Have fun!

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[lock-on] Volume 003 magazine shines the spotlight on the SEGA Dreamcast

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Magazines focusing on classic video games have seen a bit of a renaissance recently, and towards the top in terms of print quality and quality of writers seems to be [lock-on]. Unlike other contemporary retro gaming mags, [lock-on] has a much slower release schedule, with a Kickstarter campaign to fund each issue. While we in no way are telling you how to spend your money, as past SEGA focused campaigns from other individuals have gone unfulfilled, it is a good sign that the team behind [lock-on] have successfully delivered the first two issues.

The third issue, or Volume 003 as they call it, will focus a good portion on the Dreamcast with several guest writers. Check the campaign out for yourself, and after the break learn about what guest writers they have planned for the issue.

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Shinobi inspired ‘Shadow Gangs’ launches Kickstarter for Dreamcast port

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The independent, Shinobi inspired arcade action game Shadow Gangs, which has been released on Steam, Xbox and Nintendo Switch is asking fans to fund their Dreamcast port of the project with the chance of grabbing some sweet goodies for their support.

So, if you are reading this blog you are most likely a Dreamcast collector and are wondering what tier you get a physical copy? The company is asking for a pledge of £45, about $60 USD. But it also comes with a Dreamcast digital copy, a downloadable code (for either PC, Switch and Xbox) and even your name in the game’s credit.

Check out Shadow Gangs‘ Kickstarter here. 

 

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SEGA Saturn classic Bulk Slash gets impressive English fan localization patch

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[Trailer edited by Bofner]

The SEGA fan translation community has been on fire recently with fan translations and they seem to be getting bigger. For example the recently fan localized Sakura Wars GB: Go Forth, Young Cadet! even restored cut content that didn’t make it in the Japanese release. 

Now some of the people that brought you that are back to release their most ambitious localization to date: Bulk Slash, a title praised for its presentation, soundtrack, gameplay, replayability, and its graphics. The localization team not only translated all the text, but also had voice actors come in and dub the game. For a fan localization project, this is pretty major.

Download Bulk Slash English Translation Patch Here

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Sakura Wars GB Go Forth, Young Cadet! Gets English + Cut Content Restoration Patch

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Another Sakura Wars game called Sakura Wars GB Go Forth, Young Cadet! has been translated into English by diligent fans. This project was helmed by @burntends2, with the assistance of @matto_bii, dan_jia, Neko, @The_Opponent, and comicmaster, with the goal of not only making Sakura Wars GB accessible to English readers, but to also restore unused content such as being able to view the miscellaneous character portraits, unlockable secret photos, and unused voice clips for the endings.

Sakura Wars GB Go Forth, Young Cadet! was originally released for the Game Boy Color, developed by Jupiter and Published by Media Factory under the license of SEGA and Red Entertainment. Taking place between the events of Sakura Wars and Sakura Wars 2, you take on the role of an unnamed temporary recruit who was recently enrolled in the Flower Division. You’re task is to train with six members of the Imperial Flower Division, both to gain a stronger bond with each member and to also get stronger, with the ultimate goal to complete an exam by the end of the month. Unlike other titles in the series, Sakura Wars GB is a mixture of a raising simulator and a minigame collection, where you must participate in different training sessions that tackle different subjects like accuracy and intelligence, play different mini-games, and have turn based battles to test your wits.

The patch is readily available here. For official PR post and trailer, click here.

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Sakura Wars GB: Go Forth, Young Cadet! English Fan Translation Teaser Trailer Released

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Just in time to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Sakura Wars franchise, the English localization team that is doing Sakura Wars GB: Go Forth, Young Cadet! have released a teaser trailer for their project. Sakura Wars GB was released all the way back in 2000 and remains one of the many Sakura Wars projects that was only released in Japan. Thanks for fans going back and translating these hidden gems, we can now enjoy them in our native tongues.

The translation team for Sakura Wars GB are:

As far as the official release date for the the fan translation, as of right now, is unknown but the project does seem to be coming along nicely. Also people who are working on this did work on the Sakura Wars: Columns 2 English translation project.

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Sonic Revolution Announced for 2021 Online Event

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Sonic the Hedgehog’s 30th anniversary keeps getting better with the announcement of Sonic Revolution, the 7th year that the event has been concurrently going and is the 2nd one to be online. The event has been a Los Angeles-located Sonic convention but due to the Covid-19 virus, the event will be hosted online through the Sonic Revolution Discord servers. Front runners Shanye (@sonicremix) and Licide (@Angelidia) are back to bring the biggest Sonic fan convention in the world on June 19th and 20th, 2021.

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