Mega Drive

Steel Empire Chronicles revealed for Switch and PS4, plus Sega Genesis Steel Empire official limited reprint also launched

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Steel Empire is back again! Just announced by Strictly Limited Games, Steel Empire Chronicles was just announced for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4, containing the 1992 Sega Genesis original (known as Empire of Steel on Mega-Drive in Europe), the Game Boy Advance version from 2005, the remake that was released on Nintendo 3DS back in 2014 and then on Steam in 2018, and even the NES shooter Over Horizon, developed by the same original developers of Steel Empire and released the year prior exclusively in Japan and Europe.

So far, this game is not released on the Nintendo eShop or the PlayStation store and no release date is given yet. The game is only available currently in physical form and will soon be up for pre-order at Strictly Limited’s online store. This includes a standard and collectors edition of both the Switch and PS4 versions as well as new physical cartridges of the original Steel Empire on Genesis/Mega-Drive and Over Horizon for NES, with an NTSC and PAL version of both games sold separately. All these items are in limited quantities.

Check in after the break for more information about this new release.

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Review: Retro-Bit SEGA Genesis BIG6 Arcade Pad (Wired Console & 2.4 GHz Wireless versions)

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Thanks to the folks at Retro-Bit, I was able to get my hands on their newest SEGA controller offerings: The BIG6 line of SEGA Genesis arcade pads. If you’ve followed retro gaming news you’d know that in the past ten years there has been great advancements in technology to improve the quality of life for fans of classic games. We’ve seen everything from flash cartridges to full on modern rebuilds of classic hardware, and on the controller end we’ve seen various companies and fan funded initiatives set out to improve button mapping, battery life, wireless efficiency or just create crazy controller hybrids. With the BIG6 line of controllers from Retro-Bit, the company has done all these things and in turn created a product I never knew I wanted and one I now cannot live without.

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SEGA Talk #114: World of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck (1992)

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On this episode we dive back into the illusionary world of Mickey Mouse, this time being teamed up with Donald Duck in the World of Illusion! We take a look at this multiplayer take on the Mickey Illusion gameplay, and… do you know SEGA? Watch and find out!

[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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SEGA Talk #111: Shining Force II (1993)

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On this episode of SEGA Talk we break the ancient seal to talk about Shining Force II, a sorta sequel to the first Shining Force game. We dive deep into development, look at characters and strategically try to say Japanese names. All this and more on SEGA TALK!

[iTunes – Stitcher – YouTube – RSS – Download]

If you want to give us feedback, suggest a topic for the next podcast or want to ask a question for us to answer on the next episode you can add  them as a comment below or send theme directly to our email. Make sure you use subject line ‘SEGA Talk’ and as always, thanks for listening!

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Bitmap Books cancels The unofficial MD/GEN: a visual compendium, no thanks to SEGA

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Bitmap Books has been hard at work on their next visual compendium book, this time centering on the SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis, but today they have announced the project is cancelled. Past visual compendium books have been a mix of official and unofficial releases.

SEGA fans might remember years back Bitmap Books covered the Master System, in fact we newsed, interviewed, backed and reviewed Bitmap’s endeavor. While the Master System book was officially licensed, their now cancelled Mega Drive book was unlicensed. According to Bitmap, they attempted to obtain the license, SEGA declined and they then attempted to go the unlicensed route.

Unfortunately, SEGA threatened legal action and now the project is cancelled. Given Bitmap Books is in the UK, I have to wonder if this is another case of SEGA Europe being jerks to well intentioned publishers. Some years back, The Dreamcast Junkyard attempted an unofficial book acting as a checklist for every Dreamcast release. SEGA Europe told them to take it down or suffer legal action.

You can read more here, and hey if you work for SEGA and are reading this: rethink this. It is a shitty way to treat publishers covering video game history.

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Cancelled Genesis/Mega-Drive prototype ROM Segapede/Astropede now released to the public

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Anybody remember that canned prototype of Segapede (later called Astropede) that was being developed at Sega Technical Institute and later shown publically for the first time ever by former Sega of America artist Craig Stitt? That was just a video of the pitched prototype in action, but now Craig has found a development ROM in his own archives and well known game development archivists Hidden Palace have released that rom to the public. Now, instead of just looking at the pitch video, you can try it for yourself.

You can go to Hidden Palace’s web page for Segapede to download the ROM for use in your favorite emulator or Genesis flash cartridge. There, you’ll also find a long write-up of the history of Segapede’s development and cancellation and a bevy of hand drawn concept artwork. Just keep in mind there’s not much to do in the game because it was an early prototype.

So do you think this might’ve become a cool game? Tell us what you think in the comments below. (Assuming you’ve clicked into the article instead of just seeing this on the main Segabits page wall.)

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Phantasy Star II soundtrack getting vinyl release, pre-orders up now!

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SEGA soundtracks have been pouring in on vinyl for the last few years, this time we are getting Phantasy Star II from Ship to Shore. This is a limited time release, coming in a “Rolf & Nei” blue and magenta swirl vinyl. While having a big, physical copy of the Phantasy Star II soundtrack is awesome, this release also features all the original Japanese artwork by Hitoshi Yoneda. Its beautiful.

While pre-orders are open now, the vinyl won’t ship until Q4 2022.

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Big6 Genesis controller revealed from Retro-Bit, pre-orders for North America now open

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Retro-Bit have just pulled back the curtain on the newest development of their partnership with Sega, this time being a completely new style of Sega Genesis controller merging features of the 3-button original and 6-button Arcade Pad.

The Big6 features the same extra wide body shape of the original 3-Button Genesis/Mega-Drive controller, but with the X, Y, Z, and Mode buttons introduced with the Sega 6-button Arcade Pad. It’s perfect for anyone who is nostalgic for that old controller shape, but not for pressing Start to switch between punches and kicks instead of pausing in Street Fighter II or pressing C to slowly cycle through all 3 extra items and then again to use one in Comix Zone, for example.

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SEGA Talk Podcast #95: Eternal Champions (1993)

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Welcome to the world of Eternal Champions, we’ll be your guides as we look at the creation of SEGA’s answer to Mortal Kombat, talk about the characters in the game, talk about the 7-Eleven Slurpee promotions, spin-offs, and even cancelled games!

Support us on Patreon! Get early access, tell us what games to cover, and have your SEGA memories read at the end and more!

[iTunes – Stitcher – YouTube – RSS – Download]

If you want to give us feedback, suggest a topic for the next podcast or want to ask a question for us to answer on the next episode you can add  them as a comment below or send theme directly to our email. Make sure you use subject line ‘SEGA Talk’ and as always, thanks for listening!

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Castlevania Chronicles gets fan made port demo for the SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis

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Back in the day, The Sharp X68000, a home gaming computer released in Japan, got its own exclusive Castlevania game titled ‘Akumajō Dracula‘ which would later be ported to PlayStation under the name ‘Castlevania Chronicles’.

Now thanks to Master Linkuei, you can now try Castlevania Chronicles on your very own SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis! He has released a demo of his porting project to put more Castlevania on your SEGA consoles. This is being inspired by user Pigsy who is trying to port over Castlevania: Symphony of the Night to the SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis.

What do you guys think of all these new fan ports happening on SEGA Retro consoles? What’s your favorite current project?

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SEGA Mega Drive Shoot ’em up Gleylancer coming to all current consoles on October 15

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The classic shoot ’em up for SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive, Gleylancer (I swear it was Gley Lancer?) is coming to all modern consoles on October 15, 2021. This includes PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. Sadly looks like PC gamers have been left out.

Originally the game was a Japanese exclusive but got a world wide release for the first time in 2008 via Wii’s Virtual Console. This version of the game will have even more improvements, according to the company it will feature:

  • Improved modes available with accessibility features and modern controls.
  • Classic and deep space shoot ’em up gameplay.
  • Epic space opera with anime cutscenes.
  • Option to customize the ship’s attacking power.
  • Iconic retro console graphics and sound.
  • Legacy 16-bit title from the 1990s!

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SEGA Talk #68: Altered Beast (1988)

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SEGA Talk goes back to 1988, as we alter our inner beasts to talk about the SEGA 16-bit “classic” Altered Beast! One thing is for sure, this game is heavy metal in a cartridge (or arcade)! Sit back and let’s talk all things Altered Beast!

Support us on Patreon! Get early access, tell us what games to cover, and have your SEGA memories read at the end and more!

[iTunes – Stitcher – YouTube – RSS – Download]

If you want to give us feedback, suggest a topic for the next podcast or want to ask a question for us to answer on the next episode you can add  them as a comment below or send theme directly to our email. Make sure you use subject line ‘SEGA Talk’ and as always, thanks for listening!

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SEGA of America Producer and Designer Michael Latham, best known for Eternal Champions, passes away

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SEGA of America’s Michael Lathan has passed away, as reported by SEGA-16’s twitter account. Michael started his gaming character at Rainbird Software where he would localize computer games for the American market, he would then move to Mediagenic where he was a producer for Ghostbusters II and Tongue of the Fatman before the company went bankrupt in 1991.

“It was simply the most fun of any job I ever had. Everything just exploded, and for a young guy in the business it allowed me to do so much so fast. I entered the company as a producer, quickly moved up to run my own production group, and even became a VP before the age of 30, thanks to the unbelievable growth and talented people I worked with. It’s so hard to have all the right people in the right places, and when you do, you get hit companies and products. We were on movie sets, meeting with sport teams, going backstage at concerts – all kinds of exciting projects – and the development teams were still small and you really knew everyone you worked with unlike the mega development teams of today’s games.” – Michael Latham talks working at SEGA during the early 90s

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