16-Bit Blast Processing Heroes - Ecco, Vectorman, Ristar, Kid Chameleon, etc

[Berto]

SEGA Talk #177: Tanglewood (2018)







https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LZX_nDRuns

We’re stepping back into the 16-bit era — but not the way you expect. Tanglewood is a brand-new game built for real SEGA Genesis hardware, programmed in assembly, shipped on physical cartridges, and developed almost entirely by one person. We’re breaking down how it was made, the brutal development challenges, and what it tells us about what the Genesis was truly capable of.

Article : https://segabits.com/blog/2025/12/29/sega-talk-177-tanglewood-2018/

[Berto]

Bubsy 4D launches May 22, 2026







https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpZg1FJgc4k

Bubsy 4D will launch for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, Switch 2, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC via Steam, Epic Games Store, and GOG on May 22 for $19.99, publisher Atari and developer Fabraz announced.
A physical collector’s edition will also be available for Switch 2 for $49.99 and Switch for $39.99 via Atari’s online store. It includes a copy of the game, tuck-in exterior box, user manual, poster, and ...

Article : https://www.gematsu.com/2026/01/bubsy-4d-launches-may-22
Atari Link store : https://atari.com/products/bubsy-4d-deluxe-physical-edition

[Berto]

I might trade up Kega for BlastEm and another 32X/Sega CD emulator. Though what I like about Kega Fusion is all in one app.

Yeah, I used Kega Fusion too before but it has not been updated since March 2010.
Kega Fusion 3.63 was the final version, CMIIW.

[Mystic Monkey]

Bubsy 4D launches May 22, 2026







https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpZg1FJgc4k

Article : https://www.gematsu.com/2026/01/bubsy-4d-launches-may-22
Atari Link store : https://atari.com/products/bubsy-4d-deluxe-physical-edition

At this point, it feels like the franchise is kept going and relevant because it's a bad franchise.

Yeah, I used Kega Fusion too before but it has not been updated since March 2010.
Kega Fusion 3.63 was the final version, CMIIW.

It would be cool if I could use VR to play the 3-D games with.

So, would you say BlastEm is better than Kega Fusion? Should I trade up?

[Berto]

At this point, it feels like the franchise is kept going and relevant because it's a bad franchise.

Yep, the marketing team's really know The Law of Candor.

It would be cool if I could use VR to play the 3-D games with.

So, would you say BlastEm is better than Kega Fusion? Should I trade up?

Depended on what you play. Most games are running fine on Kega Fusion.
But some games that uses pseudo-3D like Moose Chase level in Mickey Mania or the one that uses SVP chip like Virtua Racing struggles in Kega Fusion while it's running just fine in Blast'em.

[Mystic Monkey]

Yep, the marketing team's really know The Law of Candor.

Depended on what you play. Most games are running fine on Kega Fusion.
But some games that uses pseudo-3D like Moose Chase level in Mickey Mania or the one that uses SVP chip like Virtua Racing struggles in Kega Fusion while it's running just fine in Blast'em.

Well, doesn't hurt to have a back up emulator. I'll download it.

[Mystic Monkey]

I downloaded Ecco, Tides of Time and Golden Axe Warrior.
But what's strange is, the control scheme of GAW seem a bit messed up. ↑ is left, ↓ is right, → is down, ← is up. B is attack, X is pause, Y is menu. However, keyboard arrow keys work fine, despite the emulator set to my Sega Saturn Pro Controller.
I figured, maybe Kega Fusion isn't made for the Pro Controller, but when I tried it with Ecco, the controller seem to work fine.

Oh silly me!


Turns out Mega Drive/32X/Mega-CD controllers and Master System/Game Gear controllers are separate configurations. Which makes sense given Mega Drive is a 3-6 button controller and Master System and Game Gear are just two.

I just figured the movement controls and A and B would carry over.

[Berto]

Oh silly me!


Turns out Mega Drive/32X/Mega-CD controllers and Master System/Game Gear controllers are separate configurations. Which makes sense given Mega Drive is a 3-6 button controller and Master System and Game Gear are just two.

I just figured the movement controls and A and B would carry over.

Yeah, also some older Genesis games control got weird when we use 6-buttons mode controller since they were made when only 3-buttons mode controller available for the system.
In the real Mega Drive console, it's solved by using "Mode" button on top right of the 6-buttons mode controller.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_2fLD3EKKw

[Mystic Monkey]

Yeah, also some older Genesis games control got weird when we use 6-buttons mode controller since they were made when only 3-buttons mode controller available for the system.
In the real Mega Drive console, it's solved by using "Mode" button on top right of the 6-buttons mode controller.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_2fLD3EKKw

Even in the past, I never played a Mega Drive game with that issue. I thought Retro-Bit added those buttons which I presumed for modern gaming reasons.

For my Pro Controller, I had the "Select" button assigned for Mode.

So, if I ever emulate a Mega Drive game and find the controls are screwy, just press mode to fix it?

[Berto]

Even in the past, I never played a Mega Drive game with that issue. I thought Retro-Bit added those buttons which I presumed for modern gaming reasons.

For my Pro Controller, I had the "Select" button assigned for Mode.

So, if I ever emulate a Mega Drive game and find the controls are screwy, just press mode to fix it?

I don't know for emulation, I never have problem when playing it emulated.
May be it's not an issue anymore.
But in my real console, I did encounter that problem when playing Golden Axe II.



The solution back then it's not just pressing MODE button, but holding down the MODE button on the controller while turning the console on, and releasing it only after the SEGA logo appears.

[Berto]

"Zero Tolerance" is now 60% off on Steam!
Sale ends on February 03, 2026.

For the first time after its release on SEGA Genesis, Zero Tolerance is available in a digital platform.
Enjoy extra features like TV effect filter, Save states, and Turbo mode!

Zero Tolerance is a heart-pounding, non-stop action as you take out the bad guys with grenades, shot guns, bazookas and laser guns.
And its all in a Pixel Perfect 3D, 360 Degree perspective.
Zero Tolerance - you don't just play it, you survive it.

Link : https://store.steampowered.com/app/1257930/Zero_Tolerance/

[Berto]

Snow Bros. Classic Collection launches February 6
Three-game collection priced at $14.99.

Whether you have loved them since the 90s or are just discovering the snowy goodness now, Snow Bros. will show you exactly why it’s such a timeless game.

Included Games

- Snow Bros.
- Snow Bros.: Nick & Tom
- Snow Bros. Jr.

Toaplan‘s hit Snow Bros. is back! This arcade-style, fixed-screen platformer follows brothers Nick and Tom through epic levels in ...

Article: https://www.gematsu.com/2026/01/snow-bros-classic-collection-launches-february-6

[Mystic Monkey]

I don't know for emulation, I never have problem when playing it emulated.
May be it's not an issue anymore.
But in my real console, I did encounter that problem when playing Golden Axe II.



The solution back then it's not just pressing MODE button, but holding down the MODE button on the controller while turning the console on, and releasing it only after the SEGA logo appears.

Sounds a bit confusing, but understandable if it's a matter of DE-9 configuration. Kind of appreciate the lengths Sega went to to make sure their controllers were backwards and forwards compatable.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoLbkZUUv3U

[Berto]

Sounds a bit confusing, but understandable if it's a matter of DE-9 configuration. Kind of appreciate the lengths Sega went to to make sure their controllers were backwards and forwards compatable.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoLbkZUUv3U

In early development of SEGA Saturn, there was also a plan to make Saturn backward compatibility with Mega Drive/Genesis back then, and that's why the console have Yamaha YMF292 as sound chip and cartridge set.
The plan eventually failed and the cartridge set changed its use for memory expansion and, in some regions, specific accessories.
Imagine if it worked, SEGA Saturn would have amazing library already from its predecessor, just like PS2, Wii, GBA, or NDS.

[Mystic Monkey]

In early development of SEGA Saturn, there was also a plan to make Saturn backward compatibility with Mega Drive/Genesis back then, and that's why the console have Yamaha YMF292 as sound chip and cartridge set.
The plan eventually failed and the cartridge set changed its use for memory expansion and, in some regions, specific accessories.
Imagine if it worked, SEGA Saturn would have amazing library already from its predecessor, just like PS2, Wii, GBA, or NDS.

It would... but it's understandable why it was becoming a bit of a struggle at that point.

Meanwhile, NES, SNES and N64 were not backwards compatible with one another. You could get the Super GameBoy for the SNES and there were some third-party devices to allow backwards compatibility on these consoles, but Nintendo didn't bother much with backwards compatibility as Sega did and had an easier time with it.

For example, the "Sega Neptune" was pretty much going to be a Mega Drive+32X combined console, because of how ridiculous and power-consuming the Mega Drive+Mega CD+32X looked. Why the Sega Neptune didn't include a Mega CD player, I don't know, but I figured Sega were thinking of an all-purpose Mega Drive console that only took up one socket on your power outlet. But the Sega Neptune was scrapped in favour of the Sega Saturn.

Sega could've made the Saturn backwards compatible with the Mega CD, but, again, why bother at that point? While 207 games were made for the Mega CD, their availability varied amongst countries.

I dunno, even if the Sega Saturns specs were incompatible to play Mega CD games, they could've perhaps released a device to get it to work, or one of those game disks that once you run them, a message will say "Now open the console and replace the disk with a Mega CD disk" sort of thing.
I wondered why the Dreamcast was not backwards compatible with the Sega Saturn for the reasons they are both CD-based consoles, it wasn't until later I learned the Dreamcast was actually a GD-based console, not CD. But Sega could've probably still made it backwards compatible if they wanted to, somehow. But at that point probably was just too much of a hassle to bother.