Mega Drive

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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Indie Genesis/Mega-Drive Action RPG “Secret of the Four Winds” opens pre-orders; features all-new arranged music hardware

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Every once in a while, there comes an indie game for retired game consoles that does something really special to stand out from all games on that system, new and old. This is one of those times. Kai Magazine Software, who have developed a bunch of games for the Genesis/Mega-Drive before, have debuted their newest, most ambitious game to date: “The Secret of the Four Winds.”

The Secret of the Four Winds is an action RPG inspired by the likes of cyberpunk classics like Snatcher (1994) and Shadowrun (1994) on the Sega CD and Genesis respectively. The game centers around a trio of protagonists brought together after a mysterious army of shadowy ghosts is summoned that are only vulnerable to a special pistol found by main protagonist Gillian Seed Al. Once you meet your two cohorts, you’ll be able to command each of them in battle and outfit them for any role in battle, such as a tank or healer, for example. You’ll also make choices throughout the game that will affect the outcome of the story and your relationship with your two allies and other characters.

What makes this game really special, and unlike any Genesis game ever seen before, is its use of an all new audio chip developed by Kai Magazine Software, allowing the game to run fully arranged music, as if it were a Sega CD game. While it also gives you the option of regular FM sound, the arranged music is an incredible technical achievement. This has never been seen on Genesis outside of certain flash carts such as the Mega Everdrive Pro, which allowed you to add arranged music to existing Genesis classics through special game patches with its MSU-MD and MD+ technology. The downside is that this game will not function on certain Genesis systems, such as the Genesis 3 or most Genesis clone consoles. Any Model 1 or 2 Genesis should work, according to Kai Magazine Software. They also recommend disconnecting your 32X or Sega CD if music isn’t playing.

For more info, as well as a special video showcasing the game in action, have a look past the break below.

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Homebrew Games Summer Showcase 2024 showcases 120 new homebrew games, including many for Sega consoles

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Yesterday, on June 6th, 2024, NES Homebrew developer extraordinaire Matt Hughson aired the second ever Homebrew Games Summer Showcase video presentation. The 34 minute long presentation showcased a whooping 120 games across many retro game systems, most notably including many Genesis/Mega-Drive, Master System, and Game Gear games, as well as even one Saturn game and two Dreamcast games. You can also expect many games for NES, Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, and SNES, as well as two Turbografx-16 games and even a Virtual Boy game. This is one video you can’t miss if you’re really interested in seeing what talented developers are doing with long retired game hardware today.

You can watch the whole video above, but join me past the break for a quick list of all the games shown that are coming to Sega platforms, as well as links to follow their developers and/or download the games.

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Sega 8-bit game publisher 2Minds opens pre-orders for Game Gear adventure “The Sword of Stone” + new Mark III and Genesis/Mega-Drive games

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Looking for something new to play on Sega’s 8-bit console library, including the Game Gear? French publisher 2Minds has reopened their online store as well as opened pre-orders for a new narrative exploration adventure for Game Gear titled “The Sword of Stone”. In addition, they’ve also opened pre-orders for new Mark III and Genesis/Mega-Drive cartridges of their Master System game library, along with a new Game Gear version of their existing Master System puzzle game “Heroes Against Demons”. The new Game Gear games cost €59 ($63.65 USD), Mark III games cost €55 ($59.33 USD), and Genesis and Master System games cost €50 ($53.94 USD). All pre-orders are estimated to ship in September, while Master System games, as of this writing, are already available to ship. Make sure you get the correct game cartridge for your personal setup.

All of the games are packaged with high quality cartridges containing brand new game PCBs of 2Minds’s own special design. They also come in a box with a color manual. The Game Gear games also come with brand new plastic shells for the cartridges, just like all brand new Game Gear games had. Really takes you back, right? Keep in mind, the Genesis cartridges are still Master System games, but playable on Genesis without the need of a Power Base Converter. They may not work with Genesis consoles incompatible with Master System games, such as the Nomad and Genesis 3, as well as the 32X. (Fun fact: Sega actually released a Master System game in a Mega-Drive cartridge themselves once.) Mark III games will have all text on the box and manual written in Japanese.

You can see links to the store after the break, along with picture galleries of all the available games.

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Creator of the GEMS sound driver for Genesis/Mega-Drive, Jon Miller, has passed away

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It is with a heavy heart that I inform you all of the news recently shared on Twitter by Ecco The Dolphin creator Ed Annunziata that his old colleague, Jon Miller, has sadly passed away on May 7th 2024. Unfortunately, his exact birthdate is unknown, so we don’t know of his age at the time of death.

Jon Miller (Not to be confused with Joe Miller, former Sega of America Vice President of Product Development from the Genesis/Mega-Drive and Saturn years who, himself, passed away in 2014) was a software programmer at a few companies that worked closely with Sega of America in the early 90’s. At those companies, Jon had worked on Genesis games like Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin (1991), Chakan The Forever Man (1992), Taz-Mania (1992), Taz in Escape From Mars (1994), and X-Men 2: Clone Wars (1995). He was also a co-creator of GEMS (Genesis Editor for Music and SFX), a sound driver and audio production software for PC made to ease the composition of music for Genesis games for musicians who were not well-versed in FM sound programming. GEMS has been used to make music and sound effects in many American-produced Genesis and 32X games, including every game that Jon himself worked on. His brother, Mark Miller (Composer for the Toejam & Earl series, as well as Sega Channel) was another co-creator for GEMS. After 1995, Jon would join Crystal Dynamics, where he would work on games such as Gex: Enter The Gecko (1998), Akuji The Heartless (1999), and Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver (1999).

On behalf of Sega fans everywhere, we here at SegaBits thank Jon Miller for lending his talents to many classic games, both Sega and non-Sega, and for his service in assistance to many composers of Genesis games. May he rest in peace. Many condolences go out to his friends and family.

Join us beyond the break as we reminisce on some classic Genesis game soundtracks that made use of GEMS in memory of Jon Miller.

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters physical soundtrack available at Limited Run Games

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Cowabunga! The final TMNT soundtracks are finally available to pre-order from Limited Run Games now. The rounds of pre-orders cap off with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters (1993) soundtracks. These soundtracks all contain the music from the Genesis/Mega-Drive version of the game, as well as the SNES and NES versions of the game too. Like all the other TMNT soundtracks before it, including the one for The Hyperstone Heist that was up for pre-order last month, this comes in cassette tape ($14.99 USD), CD ($24.99), and vinyl record options ($59.99), plus there will be 1,000 optional “Green Ooze” edition vinyl soundtracks you can order if you want (and if you’re fast enough). The vinyl and CD versions of the soundtrack even come decorated with the box art from the Japanese version of the Mega-Drive game.

We only talked about this and the Hyperstone Heist soundtracks because these are the two soundtracks relevant to Sega, so if you wanted any of the others and didn’t pre-order already, then don’t panic. Those may hopefully be available at certain online retailers after those soundtracks have finished production. This is actually true for many games produced by Limited Run Games, which go up for sale at retailers like Video Games New York, Video Games Plus, PNP Games, and even Best Buy. Contrary to popular belief, scalpers are not your only recourse if you miss the pre-order window for anything from Limited Run Games, but you have to keep your eyes open.

Now that that’s out of the way, check in after the break for links to pre-order directly from Limited Run Games, the path of least resistance. Remember, you have until May 5th, 2024 to pre-order this way.

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Sega Genesis Mini 3 announced for North America and Japan exclusively; Details and first 10 games revealed (April Fools)

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Sega, out of nowhere, just announced their newest mini console and successor to the Sega Genesis Mini 2. The Sega Genesis Mini 3 will be releasing on October 16th, 2024 exclusively in North America and Japan (Sorry, Europe, but you better get ready to import.) Unlike the previous two Genesis Mini plug-and-play consoles, this console will release in the exact same condition both in North America and Europe, as the Majesco-built Genesis 3 console was released originally only in North America. This means the console will have the exact same game lineup worldwide and will be known as the Genesis Mini 3 even in Japan.

At the same time, Sega have revealed that the console will include 50 games while also revealing what the first 10 games will be. Like with the previous two Genesis Minis, more games will be revealed gradually throughout the year before the console’s retail release. To find out what the first ten games are, check in after the break while containing your excitement.

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist physical soundtrack available at Limited Run Games

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If you’re a fan of the music from the Genesis/Mega-Drive classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist (1992), then you’re gonna want this. The complete soundtrack will be up for pre-order from Limited Run Games starting tomorrow, with options for cassette tapes, CDs, and a single LP vinyl record available for the prices in the above graphic in USD. The vinyl is also available in an optional Green Ooze Edition, with a green record, limited to only 1,000 copies, so act fast if you want that in particular. The pre-order period runs throughout the entirety of March 2024.

This comes as part of Limited Run Games’s series of soundtracks for all the 8-bit and 16-bit TMNT games, of which they opened pre-orders for a new one every month starting last year. The only one remaining after this, which is expected to up for pre-order sometime in April 2024, will be for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tournament Fighters, and will include the music for the Genesis, NES, and SNES versions of that game, so be ready for that.

Take a look past the break for pre-order links to all three soundtracks. Just watch your step so you don’t fall in a creepy cave.

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A new Genesis/Mega-Drive action game, Rocket Panda, hits Kickstarter; passes its base goal

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Another brand-new Genesis/Mega-Drive game has launched on Kickstarter, with the goal of raising funds to finance its development. Rocket Panda, a game developed by Space Pants Games and Mega Cat Studios, is now crowdfunding on Kickstarter and has 18 days left in its campaign. It has also just passed its $15,000 USD goal, so it seems that this is all but locked in, although there is still a stretch goal of $25,000 USD to add an as-of-now unspecified mini-game.

The game puts you in control of the titular Rocket Panda, who must navigate different mazes while avoiding traps and bizarre enemies in order to find the exit. Along the way, you’ll encounter and rescue little badgers to accompany you to the exit, similar to Flicky, Gain Ground, or Sega’s Sonic 3D Blast, except that the badgers also serve as shields to protect you from attacks. As you’d expect, you’ll want to safely guide as many of these badgers to the exit as possible to earn a good score, so fly carefully either way. A demo is also available on the Kickstarter page for you to try right away.

But would you find this to be a game worth supporting with some cash? You can read on past the break and decide for yourself.

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Demon Girls homebrew game for Genesis/Mega-Drive demo now available

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It’s Genesis/Mega-Drive homebrew time again. Coming to us from developer and artist JuiceLizard, Demon Girls is still in active development for the wonderful 16-bit console, and now a demo is currently available for all to try from his itch.io page. The demo consists of the entire first level of the game and is absolutely free, but if you’re feeling particularly generous, you can also leave JuiceLizard a gracious tip as you download the ROM file. Like any Genesis ROM file, it can be played in your favorite Genesis emulation software, on original hardware with a Mega Everdrive flash cartridge, or on the MiSTer FPGA console.

You’ll find download links beyond the break.

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Aero The Acro-Bat 2 Genesis/Mega-Drive cartridge reprint now up for pre-order from Limited Run Games

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Limited Run Games and Sunsoft are back with another Genesis/Mega-Drive cartridge re-release. You can now get a brand new boxed cartridge of the Genesis version of Aero The Acro-Bat 2 (1995). (By the by, they have not re-released the original Aero The Acro-bat yet, so don’t panic thinking you missed your chance to get the prequel. No word on why they started with the sequel.) Just like with their re-release of Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel, this comes officially licensed in a high quality cartridge complete with box and manual compatible with any official NTSC Genesis console or clone console. The game can be pre-ordered for $69.99 until March 10th, 2024.

Also, like Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel, Aero the Acro-Bat 2, in its original cartridge release form, is a lot more expensive than you might think. Prices for just the cartridge alone are just over $50 USD on the second hand market. Don’t ask me why. Maybe the game’s infamy over the years as an example of the 16-bit mascot craze started by our beloved Sonic the Hedgehog carried some value over the years? Either way, this will be your best chance to get a complete copy of the game for your collection at an affordable price, so make sure you get it while you can.

To learn more about Aero The Acro-Bat 2, and for the pre-order link, check in after the break for the whole skinny.

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Gley Lancer & Gynoug Combo Pack available for pre-order from Limited Run Games

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Limited Run Games are giving you the chance to own a combo pack of the Sega Genesis/Mega-Drive Masaya Games shoot-em-up classics Advanced Busterhawk Gley-Lancer (1992) and Gynoug (1991) on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch. These are the re-releases from Shinyuden and Ratalaika Games that came out on these consoles a few years ago, now collected together in physical form. Pre-orders start tomorrow, February 16th 2024, until March 17th 2024 and will cost $34.99 USD each.

These versions of both games play excellent, with special features such as button mapping, rewind, save states, some modernized control convenience options, and a surprisingly customizable CRT filter. In the case of Gley Lancer, which was originally only released in Japan, the game’s cutscenes have all their text translated to English. Beyond that, they are admittedly rather simple releases with not much else aside from the game, but they are fully playable and serve as an excellent and affordable way to play both classics.

For pre-order links, have a look past the break below.

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

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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!

[iTunes – Stitcher – YouTube – RSS – Download]

Support us on Patreon! Get early access, have your memories read on the show, select the games we talk about!

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