Indie games coming to classic SEGA consoles in 2018

indie

New year, new indie games! As we return from the holiday season, we look ahead to what indie developers have in store for our classic SEGA hardware in 2018. Thanks to SEGAbits Forums member Berto, we have a helpful topic which compiles all the upcoming SEGA indie games for 2018. Keep Berto’s topic bookmarked, as he will be updating it throughout the year as new games are announced.

Clicking on the games names after the break will bring you to the respective crowdfunding campaigns, pre-orders and ROM/ISO download links should they be available. So what indie SEGA games are coming in 2018?

Xeno Crisis is an upcoming retro-styled arena shooter for the SEGA Dreamcast and Mega Drive/Genesis

0496a36c41c2bfa08bc833680490e584_original

Nearly a year ago today, I shared a list of indie games coming to classic SEGA consoles in 2017. While I’m hard at work on a 2018 list, which includes some who didn’t make their 2017 deadline, I wanted to report on the Kickstarter campaign for the upcoming SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis and Dreamcast game Xeno Crisis. Releasing in both physical and digital formats, the game is an arena shooter for up to two platers and takes inspiration from games like Smash TV, Contra, Mercs, Granada, Alien Syndrome, Zombies Ate My Neighbors, Chaos Engine and Shock Troopers. Currently, the game is in the prototype stage and the plan is to release the game in October of 2018 to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the Mega Drive.

The campaign ends in 5 days, and currently they have $68,726 pledged of a $27,038 goal. You can learn more about the project here, and as always with a Kickstarter campaign, read everything carefully before making your mind up on backing or not.

Aladdin and The Lion King video games get surprise release on Steam

aladdinlionking

If you were a big fan of early Disney games in the 90s, you are in luck because we got two surprise releases on Steam. First up we got Aladdin, this one is actually a port of the Amiga version, which was also done by the same developer as the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive game. One of the biggest differences between each version is the change in the UI, which is much larger on the Amiga version. I also prefer the sound of the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive version, including the music since its different. You can check out a comparison here. You can pick up Aladdin here.

The other Disney game we got released was The Lion King, this version was developed by famed Westwood Studios for SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive, SNES, Amiga, and a ton of other platforms. Of course this is the Amiga version, which I do not prefer. I know there are some big Amiga fanboys online but personally think the sound is the biggest drawbacks from these versions. You can check out the differences between each version here. You can get your Lion King fix here. The games are 33% off since they barely launched, deal ends on Christmas.

CqcCUajY eg dBVPuYsJXPlv EQJW

Strider games on SEGA retro systems now available to play in Spanish

striderinspanish

Are you a fan of the Strider games on the SEGA Genesis, SEGA Master System and the SEGA Game Gear? Did you ever want to play those games in Spanish? Well, Romhacking.net user Wave has got a few releases that will be right up your alley!

He has released the following Spanish translation patches for the following Strider games:

You can see some screenshots of the modified Spanish translations at the bottom. While this isn’t a huge news story, I always love how the fan community will go back and edit roms just so more people can enjoy these old games. What are your thoughts on Strider being bilingual now?

SEGA Forever adds ESWAT: City Under Siege to the lineup

ESWATCUS_title

Another SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive classic has been added to the SEGA Forever free-to-play smart device gaming lineup. Based on the System 16 arcade game Cyber Police ESWAT, ESWAT: City Under Siege is a rather faithful arcade port. A run n’ gun, ESWAT stars a police officer (given the name Duke Oda in Japanese versions) who makes his way through the crime-ridden Liberty City, taking down lawbreakers. Promoted to the police department’s top unit, the ESWAT (Enhanced Special Weapons and Tactics), Oda is given a powerful exoskeleton and is tasked with taking down the super computer E.Y.E.

A little SEGA trivia: Streets of Rage/Bare Knuckle started development under the working title of D-SWAT were the D stood for Dragon, making it sort of a sequel/spin-off to the ESWAT series. It later became its own thing, but an interesting factoid.

DiTcxx CE URf

SEGA Forever loses its head and adds Decap Attack to the mobile lineup

Screen Shot 2017-10-25 at 9.24.14 AM

The latest SEGA Forever title has been revealed, releasing later today, and it is none other than the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive classic Decap Attack. A westernized version of the Japanese Mega Drive game Magical Hat no Buttobi Tabo! Daibōken, Decap Attack is arguably the better game if only because it stars a decapitated mummy named Chuck D. Head. As with previous SAEGA Forever titles, they are available on smart devices and are free-to-play. Expect Decap Attack to roll out later today!

You can finally play as Splatterhouse’s Rick Taylor in Streets of Rage 2

splatterhousestreetsofrage

A new Streets of Rage 2 hack has been added to the Romhacking database. Just in time for October, you will be able to play as Splatterhouse‘s Rick Taylor! The rom hack replaces the character Max with Rick Taylor, taken directly from Splatterhouse 3. The hack replaces Max’s voice with ones from Splatterhouse 3 and even increases the characters stats.

Obviously this small rom hack won’t be setting the globe on fire, but its cool to have small rom hacks like these come out throughout the year. Splatterhouse x Streets of Rage 2, who’d of thunk it? I guess fans, right?

IEYA MQ lS

Return to the Fantasy Zone as “Space Harrier II” joins the SEGA Forever lineup

The SEGA Forever lineup of classic console games on mobile devices has slowly been expanding since the service was announced two months ago. So far, we’ve mainly seen SEGA Genesis games and pre-existing mobile games based on Dreamcast titles, and while the latest addition doesn’t break this trend it is a cool game. 1988’s Space Harrier II was a launch title for the SEGA Mega Drive in Japan, and was special as it was a console-exclusive sequel to an arcade classic. While fans debate whether Space Harrier II was a worthy sequel, most fans of the franchise can agree that the sequel does not see a lot of love when it comes to rereleases. So with that in mind, it’s great to see it joining the SEGA Forever lineup.

Since launching the service, SEGA has been updating the emulator and added some additional visual options for graphics and controls. As an iPhone 7 owner, I’ve seen an increase in quality, but I can’t speak for all devices and operating systems. Check it out for yourself, as it’s free-to-play.

Check out all the SEGA & Atlus’ merchandise for Tokyo Game Show 2017

segamerchtgs2017
Its that time of year again, when SEGA of Japan loads up Tokyo Game Show with a ton of amazing SEGA merchandise that makes us westerners scream, “Take my money!” I would say that SEGA’s Tokyo Game Show 2017 lineup is actually really good compared to last year, so expect a ton of great merchandise to follow. SEGA is not only set on bringing you merchandise for upcoming games like Sonic the Hedgehog,  Yakuza, Puyo Puyo, Hatsune Miku, and a ton more. But they are also doing Retro SEGA console merchandise which is very appealing. To add the cherry on top SEGA will also be selling Atlus merchindise including Persona 3, Persona 4 and Persona 5 stuff!

So lets get into it:

Traveller’s Tales Founder Uncovers Sonic R, Mickey Mania 2 Prototypes

Game developers are rarely able to showcase their efforts in video game preservation. Publisher and developer regulations may prohibit this material be preserved for future generations to learn and understand from to avoid competition and protect resources. In a rare opportunity developers may uncover unreleased materials they held in their personal collection. Some recent examples include prototypes of games such as the Super Nintendo version of Rayman discovered by series creator Michel Ancel or Twelve Tales Conker 64 dug up from Rare’s archives. Recently Traveller’s Tales founder, Jon Burton, has pulled out pitch videos and prototypes of his company’s earlier efforts on his YouTube channel GameHut. The most recent videos at the time of this writing the first known prototype of Sonic R for SEGA Saturn shown off to SEGA as well as prototype footage of Mickey Mania 2 running on Mega Drive hardware.

Indie SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive Beat ’em Up PAPRIUM Delayed, Coming Early 2018

newsletter_pap4_815
Watermelon Games’ SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive beat ’em up game, PAPRIUM has been delayed. Originally it was suppose to come out this September, but this morning Watermelon Games has confirmed that it won’t be coming out until early 2018. Users have also noted that pre-orders for PAPRIUM have been taken down, according to the publisher’s blog, its due to having issues with PayPal, who are withholding their funds.

If you want to know more about PAPRIUM, check out our SEGA News Bits video, giving you a look at all the pre-order details. Sure you can’t pre-order it right now, but it has quite a bit of information about the game itself as well. We will keep you guys posted whenever PAPRIUM‘s pre-orders go live once more.

Golden Axe joins the SEGA Forever mobile lineup

The SEGA Forever lineup expanded today with the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive version of Golden Axe, available free-to-play now on iOS and Android devices. Like Ristar, this release features improved emulation, new screen modes, customizable controls and controller support. As an iPhone 7 owner, the game plays much better than the first wave of SEGA Forever titles. No doubt helped by the improvements to the emulator. It’s a shame this isn’t the superior arcade version, as I would love to eventually see the excellent Golden Axe: The Revenge of Death Adder.

vnYW xCtfVPF

AtGames SEGA Genesis Sound Issues Fixed via Fan Hack

If you guys have heard us discuss the AtGames SEGA Genesis plug-in-play boxes that they reship to stores every year, you probably noticed that we are harsh on them for having bad emulation. One of the worse offenders from the company is the in-game sound from their unit. You can even check out a full review from My Life With SEGA where he demonstrates how bad the sound really is.

It seems that this fix will work with both AtGames Genesis machines with a SD slot and the newly released Brazilian TecToy Mega Drive since both of these machines share the same processor. It seems TecToy will apply this as an update on their devices while AtGames hasn’t said anything. Maybe they don’t care?

How to:

  • Download latest version of MDI Hack
  • Put both files from the rar inside the games folder
  • Go to main menu and choose Neto_Boot_Loader.BIN, play it as you would any game.
  • Done: No more bad sound

You can check out the differences in sound from the video above. Thanks for Usagijojo on our Discord for bringing this up. Give it a try, its not perfect but its a lot better than what you had.

cm XOfEgqq vcvjECZXSFEkPi

Ristar joins SEGA Forever line-up

Ristar3Sonic Team’s Ristar might have only had one game, but it was a pretty damn good one. The stretchy armed platformer featured fantastic music, vibrant and colorful world. The game was also more of a slower platformer, having Sonic Team take a break from Sonic the Hedgehog games was a nice change of pace. If you never played the game, I feel like you should try it on a better emulator than what is being offered right now on SEGA Forever, but if a mobile phone is all you have then you can give the game a try for free, with ads. If you like what you played, you can always keep it ad-free for only $1.99. I have downloaded and played it a bit, the emulation on this title is a bit better, but still having issues with sound (on my Android device).

Download:
PlayStoreiTunes

It seems that Ristar had a sneak launch, while SEGA Forever teased the game, they haven’t officially announced it coming out. No trailer like they did for The Revenge of Shinobi last week and no tweet (as of writing this). If you want to learn more about the future of the SEGA Forever line of games, check out our interview with Danny Russell (Mobile Games Community Manager at SEGA).

uyj NEBxvuOx MfT

Factor 5 almost ported/created three games for the SEGA Genesis

factor5

Factor 5 is a rather interesting company. With the many project that came and went, notably the Turrican and Star Wars Rogue Squadron series, along with a rollercoaster of failed projects and bad business mistakes that eventually shut down the studio, until a recent surprise revival in 2015. But regardless, it was an ambitious studio, to the point that staff would even create their own devkits to gain an edge over the competition.

Recently, Nintendo Life has interviewed Factor 5 co-founder Julian Eggebrecht, dropping information about two ports and an original game that were intended for the SEGA Genesis.