Mega Drive

SEGA Talk #122: Instruments of Chaos Starring Young Indiana Jones (1994)

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SEGA Talk throws you the whip on this episode as we talk about the SEGA Genesis game Instruments of Chaos Starring Young Indiana Jones! How did this Chicagoland developed game come to be? What are the origins of Indiana Jones and the TV series that details his early days? Run away from a boulder and find out on this episode of SEGA Talk!

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Retro Game Books’ “Video Game Maps: Genesis & Mega Drive” releases physically and digitally

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From Retro Game Books comes a new book focusing on video game maps from the SEGA Genesis and Mega Drive era, appropriately titled Video Game Maps: Genesis & Mega Drive. The book is the second video game maps book from Brian Riggsbee, the first focused on NES and Famicom games. This book features maps from over 100 Genesis and Mega Drive games, includes memories from thirty gamers and, oh yeah, features a foreword written by yours truly!

You can snag the physical version for $40, and it features 226 full color pages in a paperback format and includes a sticker of the cover art. The digital version, meanwhile,  can be had for $4.95. Having paged through it myself, it’s a really great selection of printed and pixel art maps from the past and is a great overview of that era of SEGA.

But don’t take my word for it!

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Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack updated with Crusader of Centy, Ghouls n’ Ghosts, Landstalker, and The Revenge of Shinobi

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On June 27th, 2023, Sega added Crusader of Centy, Ghouls n’ Ghosts, Landstalker, and The Revenge of Shinobi to Sega Genesis – Nintendo Switch Online. Japan, of course, gets the same four games at the same time.

All four games are immediately accessible to Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscribers following a quick patch update to the app. For more info on each game, check in after the break for a synopsis on each game.

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First ever Homebrew Games Summer Showcase airing live this Thursday, June 29th; confirms games for Sega consoles

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Live video showcases of new video games are all the rage now ever since Nintendo debuted their popular Nintendo Direct showcase over a decade ago. Many large companies are doing their own showcases now, including Sega with their new Sonic Central showcases. There are a few indie showcases as well, but this is gonna be one to watch for retro gaming enthusiasts, especially as it’s confirmed that some of the games showcased will be for Sega Genesis/Mega-Drive, Master System, and Dreamcast.

Make sure to sign up for a notification for the above video’s premiere, taking place this Thursday, June 29th 2023 at 12:30 PM PST. After the break though, you’ll see more information about the consoles confirmed to have games shown.

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Retro-Bit announces official reprint of El Viento and Sol-Deace for Genesis/Mega-Drive; pre-orders open now until July 30th

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Guess who’s back with more officially licensed collector’s edition reprints of valuable Genesis/Mega-Drive classics? Retro-Bit have just announced their latest project with Edia Co., the current rights holders to the back catalog from Renovation: Special Edition reprints of El Viento and Sol-Deace. Pre-orders for North America are now open from Limited Run Games and Castlemania Games. European Mega-Drive fans can pre-order both from 8BitMods, Arcade Dreams, Dragon Box Shop, Nedgame, RetroCables.es, and Spel & Sant. Wherever you get them from, act before July 30th 2023, when pre-orders close, as this will be the only run for both, like with all other Retro-Bit collector’s edition reprints.

EDIT: More European retailers have opened pre-orders for both games: Funstock, Just For Games, Strictly Limited Games, and Xtralife. The Sol-Deace pre-order page on Castlemania Games has also gone offline, probably due to a temporary error. Keep checking if you really want to buy it there.

You can check out Retro-Bit’s official website for El Viento and Sol-Deace for the most up-to-date information on pre-orders and links to pre-order as well as to scope out their FAQ on both games. To hear more about each game and see pre-order links, check in after the break.

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Ancient/Yuzo Koshiro’s new Genesis/Mega-Drive shooter now named “Earthion”; Video footage shown

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Since last year, retro game musician legend Yuzo Koshiro and his game development studio Ancient have been hard at work on an all new scrolling shooter for Genesis/Mega-Drive consoles, their first game for the classic 16-bit platform since Beyond Oasis (The Story of Thor outside of North America) from 1994. As of June 16th, 2023, Koshiro-san has finally revealed the decided upon title for this new game: Earthion. Along with that, he has also shared some new video footage of the game’s title screen and opening level. Looks cool, doesn’t it?

Of course, if you have been following Yuzo Koshiro on twitter like we have (And we do recommend it if you are still on twitter) you will know this is not the only sneak preview Koshiro-san has shown for Earthion throughout the months. Come see some more of them after the break.

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New Genesis/Mega-Drive indie game Mega Slow Mole coming soon; demo and beta available now

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We all love new games for Sega hardware. Well, here’s another one for ya. Mega Slow Mole is an ultra-difficult, precision platformer being developed by SlowMoleStudio for the Sega Genesis/Mega-Drive. SlowMoleStudio was formed by accomplished animator and filmmaker, Erik Rosenlund, who also animated the claymation trailer for the original NES Slow Mole game. You can see some of his animations on his YouTube page. His 12-year-old son, Linus Rosenlund, created the soundtrack and is currently working on Mega Slow Mole’s soundtrack as well.

This is the latest in their series of Slow Mole games, which started on NES with Slow Mole. Mega Slow Mole is planned to launch sometime within 2023, but SlowMoleStudio has already launched a free demo ROM on their itch.io page, where their earlier Slow Mole games are also available. The full game is already available in beta form on itch.io for $12 USD (Currently on sale at $8.40 as of this writing). Paying for the beta ROM should entitle you to any updated ROM files in the future. Future updates will include more levels and music, along with some secret screens.  A physical cartridge release is also planned, but no information is currently available on that yet.

Check out some extra screenshots after the break.

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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!

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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!

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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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