Genesis
SEGA Retro Spotlight: Happy 25th anniversary to the SEGA Mega Drive
Twenty-five years ago today, SEGA released what was arguably their most beloved and popular console: the SEGA Mega Drive.
Since April 1st of this year, SEGAbits has been teamed with Sonic Retro, the internet’s best resource for all things Sonic the Hedgehog. But the folks at Sonic Retro didn’t want to limit themselves to just Sonic, and so the SEGA Retro wiki was born. SEGA Retro covers anything and everything SEGA, from hardware to games to arcade titles. Despite being less than four years old, the wiki has amassed nearly seven thousand articles and continues to grow. The SEGA Retro wiki has been just a click away from SEGAbits, by selecting “Info” from our navigation bar, but we wanted to go one step further and highlight the many excellent wiki entries in a new SEGAbits feature entitled “SEGA Retro Spotlight”.
Given the significance today has for SEGA history, we’re going to highlight SEGA Retro’s entry on the SEGA Mega Drive.
SEGA Memories: A look back at Toys ‘R’ Us’ 1996 holiday video game catalog
Its almost that time of season where most kids are waiting to tell their parents what modern day war shooter they want under their Christmas tree. Its also the time where older folks, like ourselves on the site, think about our previous holidays and how we used to make our parents waste hoards of cash to buy our affection. Wasn’t that great? Well this week on Monday Memories we will look at the 1996 holiday Toy ‘R’ Us video game catalog. I remember these where awesome as a kid, it was like window shopping for games in my underwear.
Mac Senour talks about how SEGA almost passed on Gunstar Heroes
Imagine now if SEGA never published Gunstar Heroes, the first game by then brand new studio Treasure Co? That was almost the case according to a brand new interview with Mac Senour over at SEGA-16.
“12 people looked at it and passed before it got to me. If I didn’t pick it up, he was going to be rejected. I played it for five minutes, maybe less, and threw the controller on the floor and said “this is game of the year.” Every one in earshot laughed.” – Mac Senour
According to Marc, the only thing he asked the developers to change was a boss character that was basically Hitler. Those Japanese people, they love putting Hitler in all their media.
“I was the last guy; if I said no then it would have been canceled. They spoke no English, so I had to go through my contact at SOJ, Henry Geison. Henry and I became friends when I was developer tech support.” – Mac Senour
I know the gaming industry was way different back then, but I seriously don’t know how more than twelve people could pass on a classic like Gunstar Heroes?
Earthworm Jim joins Boogerman in his 20th anniversary kickstarter
Seems that some kickstarters (sometimes) run on pure nostalgia, case in point: Boogerman. Do you remember this 90’s not so classic video game? I mean, I get nostalgic when I see the box but I know the contents inside that box were garbage.
Boogerman wants to celebrate its 20th anniversary in style, so they are featuring a better 90’s hero in the game’s co-op mode: Earthworm Jim. Who doesn’t love the worm?
Boogerman 20th Anniversary kickstarter says that the game is a brand new HD adventure by the original creators. Worth funding? Let us know in the comments.
Shinobi III could be getting a 3D port according to PEGI
According to the rating PEGI, SEGA is planning a 3D port of its famous Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master video game. This game is considered by many to be the best Shinobi game, so 3DS owners should be happy when it finally releases.
SEGA has been releasing a ton of 3D ports lately, including Ecco the Dolphin and Sonic the Hedgehog.
SEGA Tunes: Outrun 2019’s Victorious and Feel the Beat
Screw the people who criticized the Genesis’s sound capabilities: they’ve clearly never heard Outrun 2019. This is the sort of soundtrack you want to listen to when your cruising down a road at 500 miles per hour! 2019 is one of the better examples of Genesis music I’ve heard, but I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. Outrun has a heck of a legacy when it comes to video game music, especially since the original game probably has one of the best SEGA arcade soundtracks out there.
Hope you enjoyed Victorious! Please go below the fold for another awesome track, Feel the Beat.
SEGA Memories: Wacky Worlds
These days, gamers can be quite adamant about the legitimacy of video games as an art form. I certainly wouldn’t disagree: a case can be made that making great video games requires just as much creativity as any book or movie. But I think what often gets lost in this pursuit to prove that the video game is a form of artistic expression is the fact that video games are also, essentially, toys. Especially games from the 80s and 90s, and Wacky Worlds was one of my favorite toys from the 90s.
SEGA Tunes: Power Drift’s Like the Wind
You know what’s more awesome then classic SEGA arcade music? Obscure SEGA arcade music! I’ve never played Power Drift, but its soundtrack is still pretty damn awesome. This is just the sort of incredibly catchy, upbeat tune that I would expect from a classic SEGA title. Hope you enjoy it!
Power Drift’s soundtrack was composed by Hiroshi Kawaguchi. He is one of the oldest SEGA composers still active and working within the company. You can find his website here.
Retro Review: Zombies Ate My Neighbors
The following Retro Review of Zombies Ate My Neighbors was written by SEGAbits third anniversary contest winner Nicholas C.
Our current era juxtaposes AAA titles, with huge expectations on presentation and endless cutscenes, and smaller package XBLA/PSN/Steam/etc budget titles. There’s a lot to love on both ends and in between. But a few elements many recent games lack, for me, are local co-op. The ability to not take yourself too seriously, and simply being able to pick up and play the game (sadly, there are only so many levels to Earth Defense Force 2017).
SEGA Memories: How the SEGA Activator lead the way for other motion controllers
This week on Monday Memories, we are taking you back to the year 1993. This time around we will be seeing SEGA’s marketing for the SEGA Activator, a motion based controller created for the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive. I know most of you die hard SEGA fans have already heard about the device, but if you haven’t we got you covered!
Castle of Illusion Remake finally confirmed
For the last several weeks we’ve been getting some serious hints that a remake of the classic Genesis Mickey Mouse game Castle of Illusion was incoming, including leaked box art and a teaser trailer. With today’s announcement on Sony’s Playstation blog we can finally confirm it: the remake is real and it will be hitting PSN, Xbox Live and Steam this summer.
The game is being developed by SEGA Studios Australia, which will be shutting down later this year. The team has confirmed that they are working closely with the director of the original game to ensure that they not only remain true to the original, but also include new elements that were intended for the original game but could not be implemented due to the technical limitations of the day. You can find some gorgeous screenshots, as well as comments from the team, below the fold.
SEGA Memories: SEGA debuts Sonic & Knuckles with a MTV special ‘Rock the Rock’
Welcome to a new entry for our Monday Memories weekly (hopefully from now on) articles. This week we’ll be taking you all the way back to the year 1994, at the height of SEGA’s popularity. They had a great mascot that released three main games in his franchise, sold tons of SEGA Genesis/Mega Drives around the world, and had a new upcoming game: Sonic & Knuckles.
What better way to introduce the game to America than an MTV special entitled “Rock the Rock” on Alcatraz Island?
My Life with SEGA visits Funny World and deflates Balloon Boy
In this “classic” episode of My Life with SEGA, I experience my first ever unlicensed video game for the SEGA Genesis.
No, it’s not a Bible game. Instead, it’s a two-for-one deal aimed at preschoolers, called Funny World & Balloon Boy. Yeah, this is obviously a quality title that can rival Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Phantasy Star IV in sheer brilliance…. right?
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My Life with SEGA suffers head Troma while playing Toxic Crusaders
In this “classic” episode of My Life with SEGA, I revisit the Toxic Crusaders for the SEGA Genesis. Hey, the Toxic Crusaders? Yeah, I’m talking about the video game based on the animated series, which was adapted from Troma’s hyper-violent action/horror film franchise featuring everyone’s favorite environmentally-conscious super hero; the Toxic Avenger!
A video game based on a failed cartoon based on an hyper-violent movie series…. yeah, this has to be awesome!
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