SEGA Talk Podcast #02: The House of the Dead (1996)

We return with another episode of the SEGA Talk podcast, on this extra spooky Halloween episode we look at the release of the 1996 light gun shooter classic The House of the Dead. We will look at the development, talk about the gameplay, tell you about its history and even talk about a time when the arcade game went to US court for being too violent. Grab some Halloween candy, pop in a copy of The House of the Dead , hit play on the podcast, and go down memory lane with us!

[iTunesStitcher – Play Music – RSSDownload]

But tell us what you thought of The House of the Dead, where you first play it and did you think it was too violent? Tell us in the comment section below. You can also email us via our contact page just make sure to put SEGA Talk podcast on the header.

Deals: Steel Empire 3DS port discounted to $9.99 on eShop

steel empire 3ds port sale

If you’re looking for something to pick up and play this weekend, then might I recommend the Steel Empire 3DS port? It normally runs for $29.99 on the Nintendo eShop, but is currently going for just $9.99.

Those unfamiliar with the relatively obscure horizontal shooter might find its steampunk aesthetic pleasing. You can choose to fight with either a plane or a blimp, but of course you’re going to pick the blimp nearly every time.

The Sega Genesis shooter was originally created by HOT-B, with the 3DS remake being developed by Mebuis. The 3DS version received fairly good reviews from respectable outlets. So if horizontal shooters are your thing, there’s no reason not to give it a shot.

We’d like to start posting about Sega deals more often again, so if you spot a sale going on, please let us know!

Disney Re-Releases Aladdin, The Lion King and The Jungle Book on GOG.com

Leave it to digital distribution to as a means to keep the older classics alive, although your mileage may vary if it may not quite be as you remember it. As is the case with today’s offering on GOG.com that sees the return of three Disney platformers from the 16-bit era.

As part of their joint effort with Disney to re-release games from past decades, GOG.com has re-released Aladdin, The Lion King and The Jungle Book on their digital service. Because GOG.com specializes in releasing PC titles in their original format without DRM, these titles are the DOS versions running in the DOSBOX emulator. Aladdin and Jungle Book are the significant highlights for SEGA fans as these ports are based on their respective Mega Drive and Genesis versions. The accuracy between versions may vary, but in the case of titles such as Aladdin, you still get to experience the highly animated characters and detailed backgrounds of the original game with the music recreated in MOD format.

As of this publication, they’re running an introductory sale where you can get each title for 10% off or all three together in a bundle. Lets hope we get to see more in the future along with Maui Mallard and maybe even Mickey Mania. Though for the true SEGA diehard, maybe we’ll see re-releases of titles such as Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse and Quackshot one day soon.

[Source: GOG.com]

Cave Story being ported to SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive

If you haven’t played the 2004 indie game ‘Cave Story‘ then you are really missing out on a classic PC game. But don’t worry a retro developer is ‘demaking’ the classic for release on the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive. The game will scale down the graphics to run on the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive 16-bit hardware (I think it still looks pretty damn close though) and will have the full soundtrack (remade for Yamaha YM262 sound).

Not only that, the developer has already released a playable demo of his Cave Story demake. You can download it here. The Cave Story demo is limited to the first few areas of the game. You can also see gameplay of Cave Story running on SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive hardware above.

Download Demo Here

[Source: Retro Collect]

Dreamcast homebrew game Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles getting reprinted

The 2007 indie Dreamcast game Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles will be receiving a re-release this year, it has been confirmed.  Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles had been sold out for years and now developer Yuan Works Co., Ltd has teamed up with DragonBox Shop to re-release their famed puzzle game.

The studio announced that it was working on a new title called ‘Little Ninja‘, after Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles but it seems they are gauging interest for homebrew games, since Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles came out almost a decade ago. Yuan Works Co., Ltd also set up a Patreon to get development for Little Ninja off the ground.

If you haven’t played it Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles it mixes Bejeweled type puzzle gameplay with a over world map and old school JRPG like story elements. The re-release will have bug fixes and is up for pre-order for only $9.36 (plus shipping). Not a bad price at all.

‘Swabby’ a new homebrew SEGA Game Gear game out now

Do you still have your SEGA Game Gear and looking for a new Shoot’em up game to keep you busy? Look no further than the just released Swabby, a new homebrew game from the developer of Hang-On is now available for you to download via SMS Power. That means that the SEGA Game Gear lives!

The character Swabby actually has quite the history with the SEGA Master System since the snail creature starred in the hidden Snail Maze game. The game takes assets from classic SEGA games like Altered Beast, Shinobi and even Sonic the Hedgehog. So have plenty of extra batteries, turn on your SEGA Game Gear and start the nostalgia.

[Via: Retro Collect]

SEGA News Bits: Ghost Blade impressions & Hucast Games controversy talk

Today on the SEGA News Bits we have not only one, but two videos for you to enjoy. Why two? Well, we ran too long and I decided it was best to cut the conversation into two separate videos. The above video is Barry’s initial impressions of Hucast Games’ Dreamcast Shoot ’em up Ghost Blade. The second video has us talking about the article that DCGX wrote about Hucast games (the publisher of Ghost Blade). Its a great article, check it out.

If you want to see our video on our Ghost Blade impressions, thats above and if you wanna see us whine about the Dreamcast indie scene you can watch that below. If you like what you see don’t forget to comment, like, share and subscribe to us on YouTube.

This is how Shenmue would play if it was a 8-bit Mega Man game

Youtuber and animator Peter Sjöstrand put together the above video combining his love for Mega Man and Shenmue into one ultimate fanboy video. The video features iconic moments and locations like the Rush turning into a forklift, QTEs and even a capsule toy machine boss fight.

As a big Mega Man fan growing up, if Ys NET ever made a retro style Shenmue game, I’d buy the crap out of it.

If you want the best possible version of Shenmue 3, don’t forget to contribute via their Kickstarter. Only 4 days left and its nearing 5 million, half the total it needs to become a ‘truly open world’.

SEGA Dreamcast’s 15th Anniversary – the Life, Death, and Rebirth of a Classic Console

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It’s hard to think that the Dreamcast turned 15 years old today. For many of the writers here at SEGAbits, the Dreamcast holds a special place in our hearts, and even though the console was active in retail for less than 2 years, it amounted itself an incredible amount of great games. Let’s look back at the history of the iconic console, its death, rebirth, and its future…

Altered Beast: Stage 1 Boss Aggar now in statue form

AlteredBeast
Do you love Altered Beast? Nothing like punching strange ghouls and collecting power ups that make your shirt rip due to your outstanding muscle tone. Remember the first stage’s boss named Aggar? Now you can get an toy replica so he can sit on your desk.

“Welcome to your doom!”

The figure is available to pre-order through the Japanese website called: Geek Life. A bit pricey for 11,88o yen (aka $116.74 USD), but you can’t put a price on nostalgia sometimes. They even have a full print Altered Beast shirt to go with it

SEGA Retrospective: Turn the page, it’s Comix Zone Week!

ComixZoneWeek
Welcome to Comix Zone week, where we will be giving you a whole week’s worth of Sketch Turner love. If you have a copy of this SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive classic, give it ago for nostalgia’s sake and stay tuned all week long for new content. This fabulous game was first made available in 1995 for the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive. It was later ported to Windows PC, Game Boy Advance, Virtual Console, Xbox Live Arcade, and PSN. Its also been featured in both Sonic Mega Collection Plus and Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection.

Check out our full overview of Comix Zone after after the break!