Community

Other fans and sites.

GO SEGA 60th Anniversary and the Sega Dude

Posted by Sega Dude on November 25, 2020
Posted in: Collection New Additions, Community, SEGA. Tagged: , , , , . 2 Comments

I don’t recall how I found out but I stumbled upon an invitation from SEGA to write a message from me to SEGA commemorating SEGA’s 60th anniversary.

The invitation went something like this:

“Please submit a message in commemoration of SEGA’s 60th anniversary!
The message you send will be displayed on this site.
You can also send a picture together with the message.” – SEGA

https://60th.sega.com/en/message/send/

It felt like something fun to do. And who doesn’t love celebrating SEGA?!

Below you can see me the ‘Sega Dude’ in all my glory and my somewhat uninspired yet sincere message to SEGA.

https://60th.sega.com/message/81/

According to Google Translate さん means Mr.

I am being too hopeful that SEGA has officially coined me Mr. SEGA Dude?

https://60th.sega.com/en/message/send/

When I wrote my message I didn’t know what to expect from the gift which was described as “chalk bag engraved with SEGA’s 60th anniversary key message, “GO SEGA”&”SONIC”‘.

To me a chalk bag is something that holds powered chalk used to coat your hands for weight lifting or rock climbing.

Turns out the chalk bag is a purse for a few small essentials. I tried cramming some Mega Drive carts into the pouch but it is not ideal.

 
 
 
 
 
 

What I also didn’t realize is that there would be only 60 of these hand made Chalk Bag given away to fans.

Here are the Marketing photos:

With my chalk bag SEGA also included the following letter.

What stood out as interesting to me is SEGA is asking that I never sell or trade this gift.


So I managed to stumbled into a very unique Sega Collectible.

Thank you SEGA! Here’s hoping for another amazing 60 Years!

Sega Game Gear Micro. Sega Celebrates it’s 60th Anniversary!

Posted by Sega Dude on June 3, 2020
Posted in: Community, Hardware, SEGA. Tagged: , , , . 7 Comments

Happy 60th’s Anniversary Sega! Thank you for all you do!

And what an incredibly fun way to celebrate with a micro version of Sega’s Game Gear.

https://www.gematsu.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Sega-Game-Gear-Micro_2020_06-03-20_Top.jpg

We don’t have all the details yet but I feel Sega is off to a great start. The Game Gear Micro will retail for about $46 USD, with a release date of October 6th, 2020 and will be available in four different colours (black, blue, yellow and red).

And, yeah, it’s… small. Really small. In fact it would appear to be very appropriately named.

https://images.nintendolife.com/602212c448456/sega-game-gear-micro.900x.jpg

Each version is shown with a different game; including Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic & Tails, Shinning Force and Last Bible.

Does this mean each colour variant Game Gear Micro will come with only one game or will each Game Gear come with all four of these games regardless of it’s colour?

Certainly we’re all hoping this early tease is not the whole show. Of course we’re all expecting every Game Gear Micro to come with the same library of games and for that library to include many games. Hopefully the game count will be similar to the Sega Genesis Mini and Sega Mega Drive Mini. Even if it fall short and launches with 20+ games I think I’d be content.

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Are you Excited for the Sega Game Gear Micro?

Gothic Remake Playable Teaser Out Now

Posted by Sega Dude on December 16, 2019
Posted in: Article, Community, Games. Tagged: , , , , , , , . 4 Comments

THQ Nordic Barcelona is asking Gothic fans if they would like a remake of the cult classic video game Gothic.

What is Gothic? It’s the single greatest open world RPG ever. I’m pretty sure Elder Scrolls thinks it’s the champ, but if so, it would be mistaken.

Gothic 1 was released Nov 2001 in North America and along with Gothic II (Nov 2002) and Gothic 3 (Oct 2006) they have stood the test of time and remain my favourite open world video games.

Gothic 2001 Screens Shots

About the THQ Nordic 2019 playable teaser:

“This is not a full game. Its a playable teaser version to a potential approach for a new Gothic game. Nothing is set in stone.

So your feedback is essential to turn Gothic into a modern game. Therefore, and to reward your loyalty, Gothic – Playable Teaser is totally free for all fans who already have any of the titles in the Gothic saga or developed by Piranha Bytes [on the Steam platform]!” -THQ Nordic Barcelona

After hearing this news I immediately downloaded, played and completed the ‘Gothic Playable Teaser‘ and I find myself both excited and nervous.

I will start by thanking THQ Nordic Barcelona for offering the fans the opportunity to comment on the game so early in development giving all of us a chance to express our opinions.

It was an absolutely brilliant idea to release this very early demo. I believe that giving fans time to try it out and constructively criticize could very well save the day.

Gothic Playable Teaser Dec 2019

I’m going to try hard to stick with a few comments about the Gothic Playable Teaser and Gothic that I feel are most important.

1) The introduction to the Gothic Remake Teaser it terrible.

Instantly I felt like THQ Nordic Barcelona is catering to the masses. PLEASE do NOT turn Gothic into an approachable, high adrenaline, pedal to the metal cinematic event.

Please consider restoring the original introduction events. A punch in the face, a quick welcome from Diego and then you’re on your own. No one cares about our Unnamed Hero (who should NOT be nicknamed Rookie).

The incredible story of Gothic works because of it’s mystery and a slow burn to learn and understand what has happened. Don’t spell it out right at the beginning. And don’t treat our Unnamed Hero like he’s something special.

‘I have a scroll that I can chose to deliver and it’s worth something… now go off into the world.’

2) Combat has potential but it’s not good yet. Get rid of ALL the User Interface (UI) for combat. Don’t lock onto an enemy. If I need to change targets I can turn and face the new target. Don’t show arrows and flash things to tell me when to parry. Let the AI animation give me the information I need. Let me see two enemies and be very concerned about the situation.

3) Less is more. Keep all UI out of sight as much as possible. I don’t want to see my life bar or my stamina. I’ll learn my limits as I play. Make the Unnamed Hero pant as he gets close to exhaustion. Have him hobble has he gets close to death. Don’t break the immersion. Or at least keep them very minimal.

Save cinematic scenes for only the most important moments… and keep them few. Don’t break the immersion.

4) The Unnamed Hero in this demo sounds like a modern day Londoner and he talks too much. Less is more. Don’t break the immersion.

5) Keep the old XP and training system. I love getting physically stronger as I level but I also love having to find a trainer to show me how to swing my sword more effectively. It feels real and natural. New armour should remain a huge accomplishment.

6) One difficulty. Gothic.

From what I’ve experienced so far my thoughts on this teaser demo are ‘please do not try to re-imagine Gothic’. But instead just modernize the engine and graphics and maybe (maybe) add a few new quests. Then I will play your Gothic remake and love you for it. And then I’ll be hungry for a Gothic II and Gothic 3 remake.

I know this post is a deviation from the normal 8-bit and 16-bit goodness that I talk about here at Retro Megabit but Gothic is very important to me and I really want this remake to succeed. My excitement and anticipation are through the roof!

Any other Gothic fans out there? I’d love to hear your thoughts even if they differ from my own. Lets have at it! 🙂

–Edit–
Below is an addition comment I left on Steam as the idea of a Gothic remake continues to peculate in my head:

Please do not give the player the option to turn gameplay features on or off.
No combat assist, no ‘perk’ to highlight near by resources, no icons flouting over NPC’s indicating their strength relative to the player.

And above all NO mini map. The unnamed Hero needs to find his own map… a real map that does NOT show his current location on the map. Build a world where the player will learn their way around. A world so well crafted that each road, forest, hill and field are unique enough that the player will learn their surroundings. Instead of staring at a mini map in the top right corner of the screen.

Do NOT say “oh, you can turn these off if you don’t want them”. When I hear that I know right away that the game/world is not good enough on it’s own without these crutches.

The game needs to be hard. Doing small jobs for people in the towns will feel important if going outside of camp is so dangerous.

Gothic needs to be hard. If you insist on making different difficulty settings make them much harder than the default; which will be hard in it’s own right.

Tanglewood Poster – Live on Kickstarter Now!

Posted by Sega Dude on August 15, 2019
Posted in: Community, Genesis (North America), Mega Drive (EURO), Mega Drive (Japanese), SEGA. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

**Campaign Ended September 15, 2019**

Hello All! I am so excited to announce that my very first Kickstarter Campaign is Live Now!

Please consider visiting my Tanglewood Full Size (24″x36″) Poster on Kickstarter.

What is my Kickstarter offering? I’m glad you asked:

A beautiful full sized (24″x36″) colour Tanglewood Poster depicting the video game Tanglewood by Big Evil Corporation.

The wonderful artwork depicted in this Tanglewood Poster was created by the very talented Luis Martins. Luis has been a creative tour de force for many modern retro video games; including creating the cover art for Tanglewood and the infamous Paprium.

Want to see the Dude behind Retro Megabit? Watch my video for all the details and a preview of the Tanglewood Poster:

I’d like to extend a heartfelt ‘Thank You’ to Matt Phillips the creator of Tanglewood and founder of Big Evil Corporation for making this project possible. This Tanglewood Poster is licensed by Big Evil Corporation and is an official Tanglewood product.

And of course, an equally giant ‘Thank You’ to Luis Martins for creating such a wonderful piece of art. I personally feel Luis’ work has captured the incredibly strong emotion that Tanglewood the video game has crafted.

Anything you can do to help spread the word would be greatly appreciated. This is a project for retro gaming fans and I’m very hopeful that this Tanglewood Poster is something many of us will enjoy.

Tanglewood Full Size (24″x36″) Poster Kickstarter

Update: So my beloved Kickstarter came and went amassing only 12% of the required goal for a successful campaign. Of course I really wanted to be able to print and ship this wonderful poster but even after failing I have found some satisfaction in the fact that I did try and I honestly believe I put in a good effort despite the results.

I still refuse to believe that there aren’t 100 people out there who want a beautiful Tanglewood Poster. Tanglewood the game is brilliant and the games cover art is beautiful. I’m sure I just wasn’t able to find the right crowd. And for that I do apologize. If I can find a way to re-invent this project I certainly will.

Paprium Launch Party and Live Demo

Posted by Sega Dude on October 30, 2018
Posted in: Community, Games, Genesis (North America), Mega Drive (EURO), Mega Drive (Japanese), SEGA. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

The modern made video game and ‘IN YOUR FACE!’ brawler PAPRIUM for the 1990’s Sega Mega Drive and Sega Genesis has finally launched!

Or has it?

On October 27th, 2018 Gwénaël Godde (a.k.a Fonzie) of Watermelon Games performed a live demo of PAPRIUM for the Sega Mega Drive / Sega Genesis at a launch party that was both celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Sega Mega Drive and the release of Paprium.

Here’s how I know this:

“On the 27th of October 2018, we are having a party in Paris, France. Let’s celebrate SEGA Genesis / Mega Drive’s 30th anniversary and the release of PAPRIUM.” -Gwénaël Godde

But… something was missing; the video game Paprium.

What was shown was a very incomplete version of the game.

How could it possibly be that Paprium is ready for launch?

In short, and despite the quote above, this party was intended only as a celebration of the 30th anniversary. While having a glimpse of an old build of PAPRIUM was to be considered a bonus that didn’t have enough content to offer any spoilers. Is that true or does a complete version of PAPRIUM not exist?

The following message is believed to have come from Fonzie or Watermelon Games.
(*Sorry folks I have no actual facts. Consume all this with some healthy skepticism.)

https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/443057080287363073/506444950343385088/Screenshot_20181029-122518__01.jpg?width=259&height=400

It’s safe to say that everyone’s disappointment at this event is entirely understandable. Communications from Watermelon Games has been exceptionally muddled and confusing.

Keep an eye on Watermelon’s Facebook page for more news.

Below is a recording of the live demonstration/party which showed off what we are told is an old Beta version of PAPRIUM. Hopefully it’s current state is much more complete and polished.

Despite all the heartbreak the one really good bit of news to come from this event is that after a very long absence Gwénaël Godde (a.k.a Fonzie) is back and it appears that he is intent on completing and delivering PAPRIUM.

Personally, I’m a bit concerned of all the very negative backlash Fonzie is receiving. Of course it’s understandable but I’m afraid of the retro gaming community pushing so hard that Fonzie might just disappear again. If he’s willing to show that’s he’s taking the game seriously and that he’s still able to deliver a game to everyone who paid then I am willing to continue to support Fonize, Watermelon Games and Paprium.

Are you relieved that PAPRIUM appears to have some traction again? Are you raging mad? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this heated topic. Don’t pull any punches. PAPRIUM wouldn’t.

Below is the original email communication which announced the October 27th 30th anniversary party:

October 8th, 2018 PAPRIUM Release date Announcement:

“On the 27th of October 2018, we are having a party in Paris, France. Let’s celebrate SEGA Genesis / Mega Drive’s 30th anniversary and the release of PAPRIUM.

We understand this is a long trip but if by any chance you are around at that time, you’re of course very welcome. Please contact us at 1988@watermelon-games.com for booking and details.

The party starts at 19PM for some talk with WM and some 16-bit fun and then turn into electro music feast from 23PM until 6AM.

The event is free but booking is required in advance. PS: We are working hard to ensure you to receive your games around that time but we can’t guarantee it at the moment.

You will receive another email shortly to confirm your shipping address. For the few people still awaiting for their refunds on Paypal, we are still looking for a solution at the moment, thanks for the extra patience.”

-Gwénaël Godde

Don’t forget to follow the Sega Dude and Retro Megabit on Instagram!

https://www.instagram.com/retromegabit/

‘Kung Fu UFO’ for the Sega Genesis is Ready for Crowd Funding!

Posted by Sega Dude on September 20, 2018
Posted in: Community, Games, Genesis (North America), Mega Drive (EURO), Mega Drive (Japanese), SEGA. Tagged: , , , , , , , . 5 Comments

The Indie development team Retro Nerve is ready to bring into the world a brand new Sega Genesis and Sega Mega Drive video game. Are you ready for ‘Kung-Fu UFO‘?!

Update: Unfortunately Kung-Fu UFO didn’t hit its IndieGoGo campaign target and it was not funded. I’ve been told first-hand that Retro Nerve will continue working on this project as best they can and hopefully we’ll still see this cool game sometime in the near future.

Here’s the scope of the vision direct from Retro Nerve:

“Kung-Fu UFO is a brand new and original game for the SEGA Mega Drive and Genesis, to be released on cartridge sometime in the future. A 16bit story driven adventure game heavily inspired by sci-fi and martial arts movies from the 80s and 90s. While not trying to emulate any existing titles we’re taking some inspiration in games like the TMNT beat’ em ups, Battletoads, Prince of Persia, and Mortal Kombat. Even some more retro and obscure games like The Way of the Exploding Fist and The Way of the Tiger on the C64 and ZX Spectrum.” –retronerve.games

For all the details visit Kung Fu UFO’s IndieGoGo Campaign and help support this game.

A physical release for the Sega Genesis and Sega Mega Drive is my favorite way to serve up retro video games. And this is exactly what Retro Nerve is promising.


From the look of these very early physical release mock-ups I’m hoping that we’re going to see several flavors offered. At a minimum we’re going to be treated to a Standard Edition and a Limited Edition.


Below are three animated gifs of Kung Fu UFO that collectively throw a lot of information at us.

For starters we can see the game is a platformer. We can also see that it does in fact appear to contain actual Kung Fu! …and actual fighting mechanics!

I am I seeing punches, upper cuts, kicks, and running drop kicks?
…and what’s that? …blocking too!?

“When it comes to dealing with those annoying bad guys we hand-crafted a fighting engine with kicks, punches blocks and combos that is very intuitive and can be simple or complex, depending on what the game needs and how you decide to play it. It will also include some very cool special attacks and powers to take care of the wide arrange of human and alien enemies.” –retronerve.games

Our hero has a life meter and what looks like a charge meter; while each opponent also has a life meter. It’s interesting to see how this platformer seems to have a lot in common with a traditional isometric brawler.


I am curious about how a combo system will be used in a game like this. Will there be an incentive to fight an enemy instead of just running past?

So, how about that parallax scrolling? It’s so good! For such an early stage of development Kung Fu UFO is looking really pretty.


Just as Retro Nerve has said, it is apparent that exploration will be a component of the game. Which I fully support. It’s important to change the pace of games to keep them interesting and engaging.

Is Kung Fu UFO going to be an amazing retro video game?

It’s really too early to say. And, honestly, too soon to ask. The game is still in it’s Alpha Development and I don’t know yet what type of experience to expect from it.

But what has already been achieved and displayed is truly amazing. Kung Fu UFO has no right looking as polished as it does at this point.

Here’s a quick summary of what we can expect:

  • A 16-bit cartridge – Playable on SEGA Mega Drive and Genesis consoles and compatible clones (PAL, NTSC-US, NTSC-J)
  • 16-bit pixel art – Beautiful hand crafted and animated graphics and cutscenes.
  • 16-bit chiptune – A  rocking soundtrack with a variety of songs and tons of sound effects.
  • Story driven gameplay – That mixes different genres like platformer, beat’ em up, fighting and more.
  • A main character with lots of different moves – Kicks, punches, combos and special attacks and more to be unlocked as you make your way through the game.
  • Vehicles to drive and boss fights – Because running around all the time is not that fun, you’ll also be able to drive a motorbike, a plane, and more… Stopping here and there to finish off some huge baddies in order to go on with the story.
  • Different stages – Not only graphically, but also in gameplay mechanics with bonus stages and huge levels for you to explore and clean out of enemies. Each level will have its own set of different enemies. Keeping the gameplay and the game’s progression varied in every chapter from beggining to end.
  • Difficulty levels – So anyone can enjoy and finish the game and everyone can set the bar to their preferred challenge.
  • Password system – Bringing back the almost forgotten yet thrilling experience of getting a pen and a piece of paper and writing down a code in order to be able to continue the game where you left off.
  • An amazing cover art – made by Yayo our concept artist.

Of course I’ve already pledged for my own Kung Fu UFO. And yes, there is some uncertainty but from what we have been presented so far I have a very good feeling about this one.

Consider sharing in this adventure and pledge for your copy if you like what you see.

Kung Fu UFO’s IndieGoGo Campaign