Interview: Brandon Cobb of Super Fighter Team

Posted by Sega Dude on November 23, 2014
Posted in: Uncategorized. 3 Comments

Who is Brandon Cobb?

Brandon CobbBrandon Cobb is the founder and President of the software company Super Fighter Team. He’s responsible for bringing games like Beggar Prince, Legend of WuKong and Star Odyssey to the Genesis (a.k.a. Mega Drive) and Nightmare Busters to the Super Nintendo (a.k.a. Super Famicom).
These are games that were originally under development when the Genesis and SNES were current systems but they were never completed and abandoned; until they were picked-up by Super Fighter Team.
Super Fighter Team has produced many other video games but the few I have mentioned are of particular interest because they cater to my weakness for retro video games for play on retro consoles.

I feel that this interview with Brandon will help give the Retro Gaming Community a deeper understanding of the motivation behind Brandon and Super Fighter Team.

SegaDude Q1: Was there a defining moment when you knew you wanted to start your own business to develop and produce video games for the Retro Gaming Community?

Brandon A1: I was eleven years old when first I dreamed of creating my own video games. As a youth I experienced amazing works of art in the form of stunning PC games from studios all over the world, and I wanted to be a part of that. My fascination with video games started, and stopped, in the 2D era. I don’t give two flips about 3D rendered graphics; the real beauty comes from painstakingly hand-drawn pixel art. So the retro gaming community is the only audience I care to contribute to, the only fans I care to please.

SegaDude Q2: Brandon, what you’ve accomplished so far is really amazing. On your own, do you have the entire skill set needed to produce a physical release of a game? When did you decide that Super Fighter Team really needed to be a team?

Brandon A2: Our team is integral to the process. I am good at what I do, but one man can only do so much. In the beginning I tended to take on far too many tasks at once, all by myself. Some, such as product design, were better suited to people with more experience. Thankfully I eventually realized this and brought in some people to take a little of the weight off my shoulders, trusting they would deliver top notch work – and thankfully, to the benefit of our customers and fans, they’ve been doing just that ever since.

SegaDude Q3: Of the various platforms that you’ve released games on does one in particular seem to generate more interest than the others?

Brandon A3: The Super Nintendo has proven a hot target, a fact which no one should find surprising. From the business end it’s all about how many units of product you can move. But I tend to put enjoyment first when it comes to development, and that’s why we keep coming back to the Sega Genesis: it’s my favorite console to work with.

SegaDude Q4: Would it be too difficult to port your titles from PC to the Genesis/SNES?
Similar (but reversed) to what you did with the RPG Trifecta Pack released on PC.
**RPG Trifecta Pack is a bundle of three Super Fighter Team RPG games for PC. These three games were originally only on the Genesis.**
I’d love to be able to play the PC game Super Fighter on my Genesis 🙂

Brandon A4: Most of ‘em are written in pure x86 assembly language, you know. You mention that to most programmers, they’re like, “Oh, hell no.” And there are multiple other factors to consider: the most common screen resolution for DOS games is 320×200 pixels. We’d lose a sizeable chunk of screen space adapting PC titles to the Super Nintendo. That would make some of them more or less unplayable. And unless we adapt 16-color EGA games to the Genesis, we’re suffering from a drastic color reduction problem, stepping down from 256 colors on the PC. Soooo… that’s not the kind of thing I’m hot to touch, at the moment.

SegaDude Q5: By following your own passion you managed to make the PC game Super Fighter (a game you’ve loved for a long time) your own by purchasing the rights to the game!

**(In fact we didn’t purchase the rights to Super Fighter, they were generously gifted to me by the generous Mr. Kuo, president of C&E, Inc. in Taiwan. – Brandon Cobb)**

Super Fighter even became the name sake for your company Super Fighter Team.
If obtaining licenses was as easy as just wanting it what retro game would be on the top of your hit list to bring back to the retro community?

Brandon A5: Alone in the Dark (1992) for the Sega 32X would be nice, if we could get the music right. That’s a great, atmospheric soundtrack and I’d hate to botch it.

SegaDude Q6: How do you go about finding a good retro video game that for whatever reason didn’t make it into gamers hands during its original development? And how do you demonstrate to the original developers your skill and genuine desire to finish/translate and release a game?

Brandon A6: I do my research, as I’m passionate about unfinished, unreleased and obscure games. Many developers appreciate my passion and genuine interest in putting together a high quality product, and get amped up about their games finally finding an audience.

SegaDude Q7: Have you heard of the game “Shui Hu Feng Yun Zhuan”? It was developed by Never Ending Soft and published by King Tec Information in 1996 for the Mega Drive. – Source GiantBomb
I would love to see an English translation and physical release for this game. Does it have any potential?

Brandon A7: We sold the rights to that game to another firm, so it’s up to them now…

SegaDude Q8: I missed out on the original release of Beggar Prince. And I’m so grateful that you’ve been able to bring it back again. When producing a physical game (vs. a digital download) how many copies do you need to be able to sell to bring it to market? Is this number the same when you decide it’s time to release one of your previous games?

What’s the best way for us fans to show you our interest in what you’ve got coming or for a game we want a second chance at?

Brandon A8: If I think a game can sell 300 copies, I’ll put it into production. Every game we’ve put out so far has surpassed that number, in some cases greatly, and that’s wonderful. They’d sell even more if I didn’t stop coming up with one new game after another to manufacture, but I don’t like resting on my laurels.

People who are interested in a specific title just need write me an e-mail. I am receptive to such requests, and besides it’s always good just to hear from fans and rap with them about retro video games. contact@superfighter.com

SegaDude Q9: Have you ever considered using crowd funding to get one of your projects started? Would it help generate more awareness or is the added cost of such methods an issue?

Brandon A9: Crowd funding, bleh. Of course we may be open to it in the future, but right now I have no interest in making such a beggar’s spectacle.

SegaDude Q10: Have you ever considered bringing your games to modern consoles like the PS4, Wii U, and Xbox One?
Personally my preference is to have my Super Fighter Team games on cartridge for my favorite retro system but I still want your games to be accessible to everyone on as many platforms as possible.

Brandon A10: No. What would be the fun in that? Faux retro isn’t our style. While we did adapt Commander Keen in Keen Dreams to Android, that was more to satisfy a burning request of the IP holder. But it turned out to be fun. That was before I actually owned an Android phone; I installed an unofficial version of Android OS on my Nokia N9 for testing.

SegaDude Q11: I’ve often wondered why games like Legend of WuKong and Star Odyssey came in a Genesis style clam shell cases that are not quite exactly the same as the typical Genesis/Mega Drive case. What is the reason behind this?

Brandon A11: Chinese manufacturing is a bitch.

SegaDude Q12: I’m really pleased that you enjoy working with the Sega Genesis and I hope we’ll see many more releases for it.
Can we expect more cartridge games for the Genesis and Super Nintendo?
How about the Sega Master System and NES?

Brandon A12: Well we’ve already announced two new Genesis games for next year: Cascade and Magic Girl. And I hope we keep doing more games for the system after that, because the Genesis is where it’s at, yo.

I haven’t given a thought to the Master System nor the NES, because they don’t interest me so much. Now the Game Gear, hell yeah I’ve considered it. But we’d have to get one of them fancy YM2413 chips wired onto the board, because sound is one area in which the Game Gear most definitely does not shine. Oh, and the Virtual Boy. I’d love to do up a game for that little beauty.

SegaDude A13: Are your future projects based on systems you enjoy developing for or based instead on discovering a good retro game that can be polished and delivered to gamers?

Brandon A13: Both.

SegaDude Q14: Are you able to give up any hints as to what game might be coming next from Super Fighter Team for a retro game console?

Brandon A14: Nope! You’ll just have to wait and see! (Ну, погоди!)

SegaDude Q15: What are some of your favorite retro video games that you still play today?

Brandon A15: Oh, lots of PC (DOS) games…

Alone in the Dark (1992)
Day of the Tentacle (1993)
Gobliins 2: The Prince Buffoon (1993)
The various “Quest” games by Sierra Online
I could make one exhaustive list if kept going. So I won’t.
I play on the Super A’can a lot, too. But that’s just because I’m crazy.

Brandon, thank you very much for taking the time to answer these questions. I’ve really enjoyed this opportunity to dig into Super Fighter Team. I’m a big fan of your video games and I’m looking forward to more!

Super Fighter Team is currently selling the following games. Have a look and grab them while you can!

Genesis / Mega Drive:
Beggar Prince
Cascade
Magic Girl
RPG Trifecta Pack

SNES/SF
Nightmare Busters

Android

Commander Keen in Keen Dreams


Sega Master System FM Sound Mod

Posted by Sega Dude on November 14, 2014
Posted in: Hardware, Modifications, Sega Master System. Tagged: , , , , , , . 12 Comments

sega_master_system_by_amazingtrout-d34y9f7 (Now With FM Sound Unit)
This is my Sega Master System. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
…and it’s about to become unlike most.

MySMS

It was actually a long time ago when I first discovered etim.net.au and this excellent aftermarket product made by Tim Worthington for the Sega Master System (SMS).
The FM (Frequency Modulation) Sound Unit is something that came stock with every Japanese Sega Master System but not in any other SMS model. What it did was simple; it greatly enhanced the audio quality of the Sega Master System.

The Japanese Sega Master System included a Yamaha YM2413 FM synthesis chip along with the standard PSG sound. Many games, some of which were never even released in Japan, contain extra FM sound and music. Installing this board will add FM sound capability to any Master System, Mark III, Game Gear*, or Mega Drive* game console.
Source

If you have a non-Japanese Sega Master System you’ve been listening to ‘Programmable Sound Generator’ (PSG) music and sound. The difference between PSG and FM sound is very noticeable and for several notable games I find the FM sound to be much better.

You can see (in the images below) by looking at my brand new and still in the package Soldering Iron that I’m new to soldering. This is the biggest reason why it has taken me so long to get around to this mod. Fear.
I have a good condition Sega Master System that works perfectly. There is nothing wrong with it and was so afraid of killing it. There is a distinct point of no return when applying this mod…

This is my Sega Master System

This is my SMS on the Operating Table

The easy part was purchasing this custom made FM Sound unit from etim. For $71 (after shipping) I acquired this small bit of hardware that would transform my NTSC Sega Master System into what it should have always been. And finally making it an equal to it’s Japanese sibling.

From etim I also found instructions for installing the FM Sound Unit. My FM Unit is version 2.1 and my SMS is NSTC so I knew which instructional diagram to reference.
What I didn’t notice was the appended note that stated:
“Note that the diagram below is incorrect, the white/red indicators are swapped around.”

My Sony chip actually showed a different number. But I was still confident that I was in the right area of the Mother Board.

Yeah, you guessed it. I did it wrong the first time around! But as hard as soldering can be for a novice it’s also forgiving and you can undo many mistakes.

Here’s a close up of my SMS mother board highlighting (in Red) the three areas where the work will be done:

My SMS before the point of no return.

The first step was to install the FM board on the expansion port on the back of the SMS, just behind the cartridge slot. It’s stiff but popped into place very nicely. So far so good!

On the count of 1,2…3!

Installed! …the easy part.

Next I had to prepare three areas on the motherboard for soldering. This involved scratching away some of the green coating on the PCB (Printed Circuit Board) to expose an area to solder the copper ground from the FM unit.
I also had to remove a capacitor. Cutting off the capacitor at C37 was really the scariest moment of this mod. It really felt like the point of no return. Without this capacitor the SMS would still work but there would be no sound. I discovered this when I had my Red and White wires reversed when testing after my first attempt.

Exposed area for Ground. (Left Square)

Cut off capacitor. Replaced with 2 wires.

I really didn’t feel confident about cutting off the blue capacitor that you see in the image above (left). The capacitor stands on two legs and I cut it off leaving both legs behind. I though doing this would make it easier to solder the two FM wires to remaining legs. After reading a bit more about soldering I think I should have removed the legs and soldered my wires directly into the wholes that would have been left behind had I completely removed the legs. I might revisit this someday.

Here’s a zoomed out image of the finished job:

My newly install FM Sound Unit.

The mod comes with a 3-way switch which easily connects to the FM unit. This switch allows you to toggle the FM unit into 3 modes. Original PSG sound, FM Sound and Japanese FM Sound.
Some Master System games (such as Monster World III: The Dragon’s Trap) would only play the games FM sound on Japanese region systems. This switch allows for all options to ensure you’ll get to hear the magic of FM sound for any game that has it.
Note: My NTSC Monster World III did not play FM sound. Some versions of games had their FM sound code removed. I’m going to guess that Monster World III would play FM sound if I used the Japanese cart (with an adapter to make it fit my NTFS SMS). I don’t have an adapter to test this theory.

I was concerned about the wire for the 3-way switch getting in the way of a cartridge so I wanted to get it completely out of the way. I wrapped up some of the extra length and left enough to snake the switch down past the mother board and through a hole in the plastic of the case that leads to a small compartment on the bottom side of the Sega Master System. This compartment has a removable cover and it was there to support some add-on that Sega never ended up using. For me this was the perfect place to put the switch. It’s hidden but still accessible without having to take the whole case off the SMS. And I didn’t have to further modify my SMS by cutting holes into it.
The idea was that once I got the cover back on the SMS would look pure and unmodified. I’m not opposed to drilling a clean hole to mount the switch but for now I’m happy with this solution.

Snaked the wire under the Board and through the plastic casing.

The original cover will still easy fit into place; completely hiding the switch.

Now it’s time to re-assemble! First put the shield back on… It won’t fit anymore. OK, so my SMS has to endure some more permanent modifications. I cut off all of those metal flaps you see below (left) and folded up the remaining piece so that it was out of the way. The wire cutters you see pictured didn’t work out. I had to switch to full blown tin snips to get the job done.

It wont close!

Time to cut again!

Now the shield fits! And everything is looking pretty clean and tidy.

It fits!

Top down view.

And what do I get for all of this effort?

The two video clips below I made from recording the games Miracle Warriors and Golvellius. For each I let the recording run for a full cycle of each selected tune; stopping the recording before the song looped and started again. I then edited the recordings so that the same tune in FM sound would play right after the PSG version. Making it easy to hear the difference.

For Miracle Warriors I chose to compare the PSG and FM version of: the Title Screen, the Travel/Map Screen, the Castle and Combat/Encounter tunes.
I did pretty much the same thing for Golvellius. Comparing the Title Screen, the Story Intro, Old Lady, Dungeon and Above Ground tunes.

For those of you don’t want to commit to listening to close to 14 minutes of comparisons feel free to skip forward through the videos, sampling as much or as little as you like 🙂

I haven’t yet heard the FM versions of all the games that support FM sound but I’ve heard many and to me Miracle Warriors is one that really stands out. I love the FM version for this game.
And while there is also a distinct difference when listening to Golvellius I found that both the PSG and FM sound were good. I can’t say for certain that I like the FM more than the PSG in this particular example. So as much as I am enjoying the FM sounds the default PSG is also pretty good.


Miracle Warriors PSG vs. FM Sound


Golvellius PSG vs. FM Sound

In the video below you can sample FM sound from several different games that support the feature. I’ve noticed that the good SMS games really benefit from the extra polish of the FM sound track. Giving an extra incentive to revisit some old favorites. But for weaker games (like Rampage, Altered Beast and Afterburner) the FM sound isn’t enough to make them more appealing.

I love the change the FM Sound Unit has brought to my Sega Master System.
The games that I think get the most out of FM Sound are Miracle Warriors, Fantasy Zone 2 and Double Dragon.
Note: I actually really like Phantasy Star with FM sound but the English version does not support FM so I’m not able to try it out first hand. There is a translated version with the FM code but it would take some work to get it on a cartridge.

What do you think? Is FM Sound superior, better, different but equal or worse than PSG?

I have to say after making just three solder joints and having this thing work as expected I felt like a GOD!!
Sure, I didn’t design or make the board and I don’t have a clue as to how it works but I applied heat. And that has to count for something.

I’ve taken my first step into a larger world…

WaterMelon Team’s Project Y close to Beta Testing

Posted by Sega Dude on November 9, 2014
Posted in: Community, Hardware. Tagged: , , , , . 1 Comment

I’m always excited to see updates for WaterMelon Team‘s upcoming Sega Genesis / Mega Drive game code name: Project Y

What kind of video game is ProjectY? So far, this is all we know about this new Beat’em up:

ProjectY takes place in a post-apocalyptic world, set in an Asian high-tech metropolis. The last survivors of the nuclear war are divided into several classes, where the most powerful have the others by the balls. This has divided the governing bodies into several fractions, where ethnic mafias and a corrupt corporation are just a few of them! As you can see, this story is filled with many possible scenarios. It will demand lots of exploring and several playthroughs to get everything out of it.

The original intended release date has been missed but the game is still in steady development and will soon enter beta-testing phase. A new release date will be communicated soon, along with opening pre-orders. (08/21/2014)
–Source

The biggest piece of news for this update is that WaterMelon Team is currently testing the game on actual Sega Genesis consoles. For a time testing was delayed because of a bug related to running the software from their development cartridge.

They’ve been back on track for some time now and I can’t help but hope that the game is close to completion. 😀

Look at the size of the characters! Especially the green Dude with the I-Beam!!

I love games like Golden Axe and Streets of Rage and I’m getting very excited about ProjectY. It looks like it’s going to be tons of fun. And these graphics look a heck of a lot better than what I’m use to seeing on the Genesis / Mega Drive. I can’t wait to see this game in motion.

Flying Robots! And I think I see a bowl of soup too.

I’m getting the impression that Tug, Dice and Alex are three of the four playable characters in ProjectY. I’m also going to assume that the game supports at least two-players at once.

The following two screen shots I’ve displayed in a previous post but I thought it would be cool to bring them together for easy comparison.

Previously released development screen shot. There’s that soup again!

This screen shot is very similar to the first image above. I think I’m noticing that those motorcycle are getting trashed. The bikes seem to have health bars. Have another look at this screen shot and the first one above. Maybe there are destructible elements in the game or maybe we can ride those bikes (before they got wrecked)?

Alex is still kicking people.

The above screen shot shows who I believe is Alex and it looks like she has gone through some changes from this early release compared to the newer screen shot in the robot factory depicted three images up.

I believe this is an old screen shot that I previously missed. Tug and Alex look like their getting the game faces on!

Update: Below are two more screen shots that I recently discovered at Sega-16.com.

Dice is ready for action!

The two Baddies have beat sticks… is that even fair?

The game is looking really gorgeous and there is a reason for that: Luis Martins; also know as XGoldenboyX.
Luis is the concept Artist behind ProjectY and he’s doing an amazing job. I think he’s killing it! I love both the visuals and the mood that I see from these few screen shots.
Of course Watermelon Team also has pixel artists, developers and others working hard and injecting there own talent into this game but they’ve been hidden from me and it’s hard to sing their praises as well (as much as I would like to).

I recently read an interview with Luis Martins and his work on ProjectY and it was a good read. If you’re as keen for ProjectY as I am I think you’ll enjoy it. You might also want to check Luis on DevientArt.

Thugs, Punks, Mutants and Robots! What’s not to love about Project Y?!! 🙂

SNK Neo Geo MVS Arcade Cabinet (Big Red)

Posted by Sega Dude on October 26, 2014
Posted in: Collection New Additions, Games, MVS, Restoration, SNK Neo Geo. Tagged: , , , , . 12 Comments

NeoGeoStandardCPOUltimate_zps4483c569
I do know that this site is called The Sega Collection but it’s hard to exclude a video game system that cost me $650 CAD. I feel compelled  to show it off. 😀

Weighing in at 250 lbs (113 Kg) and standing 6′ (183 cm) tall this is my new SNK Neo Geo MVS Arcade Cabinet.
Also known as Big Red.

My Big Red: SNK Neo Geo MVS Arcade Cabinet

Neo Geo (ネオジオ?) is a family of video game hardware developed by SNK. The brand originated in 1990 with the release of an arcade system, the Neo Geo MVS and its home console counterpart, the Neo Geo AES. Both the arcade system and console were powerful for the time and the AES allowed for perfect ports of games released for the MVS.
–wikipedia.org

Why didn’t I get a MAME box?  I still might someday but for me I really enjoy having the real thing. And this beast actually lived out is glory days in actual bonafide arcades. Maybe you’ve played on my Big Red! Who knows?!

$650 is a lot of money to drop on anything. Especially something that is such a pain in the butt to move. But it did come with four games to help soften the purchase price.

Included games:

NAM-1975 Custom Case Cover Art

NAM-1975 Screen Shot

The Super Spy Custom Case Cover Art

The Super Spy Screen Shot

Fatal Fury 2 Custom Case Cover Art

Fatal Fury 2 Screen Shot

Baseball Stars Custom Cover Art

Baseball Stars Screen Shot

These are all common and cheap (for Neo Geo) games but it was still nice to get some throw-ins. And NAM-1975 is one that I really wanted. NAM-1975 was the first Neo Geo game I saw when the system was new and it blew my mind. It’s hard to describe how much better the Neo Geo looked compared to the Genesis or SNES. Back in the day the distinction in the graphics felt massive.

Today the gap in graphical fidelity feels very small. But in the late 90’s the Neo Geo was a boheimeth that could not be touched; or afforded by most of us. Unless you were content feeding quarters to a Big Red in the arcades.

But if you did have the money you could purchase the home version of the Neo Geo called the Neo Geo AES (Advanced Entertainment System) which was exactly the same hardware as the Neo Geo MVS (Multi Video System) in the arcades.
The arcade version was called MVS because many Neo Geo arcade cabinets could hold more then one game; either 2,4, or 6 games. And by the use of the ‘Select Game’ button you could cycle through the selection and pick the one you wanted to play. This was a very unique feature in the 90’s.

I found this Neo Geo MVS 4-slot (can hold 4 games at once) from Kijiji. The previous seller had done a fantastic job restoring it. As a result it’s not entirely stock. The cabinet was sanded down and re-painted. And the lettering you see are vinyl stickers. Originally the lettering would have been painted on. But the important thing is my Neo Geo looks perfect… Even though its not.

There is some work left for me to do. Here’s my ‘to do’ list for my Big Red (keeping in mind I don’t know how to do anything of this):

1) Replace capacitors on the Monitor
2) Fix Slot Two
3) Fix Mini Marquee
4) Install Power Switch

1) The monitor is old… really old. And despite looking pretty good there is an issue. On the top 1/5 of the screen there are some faint lines and a bit of distortion. On some games you really don’t notice it at all but on other it’s more apparent.
I’ve opened up the cabinet and found many different dials and magnets to adjust the picture quality and none of them seem to help with this issue. So I think (even though I really have no idea) that the capacitors on the monitor need to be replaced. This involves buying  what’s called a cap kit for my specific monitor and de-soldering the old capacitors and soldering on the new ones from the cap kit. Since I’m very inexperienced with soldering I think I’m going to hire someone to do this for me.
You also have to be very careful about discharging a CRT monitor before working on it. And I mean seriously careful. Discharging a CRT monitor incorrectly could give you an electrical shock strong enough to kill you. Seriously.

2) This next issue is also going to be tough but I am going to attempt it myself. Any game cartridge that is inserted in slot 2 will show vertical lines through all the character sprites on screen. My guess is that there is a capacitor (or a few) that need to be replaced or possibly one (or several) traces that are damaged. On Printed Circuit Boards (PCB) the traces are the thin copper lines that travel from on location on the board to another connecting the different components. They are pathways.
I may not be able to do this myself but I am going to try.

3) The Marquee at the top of the cabinet contains four mini-marquees to show the player what games are installed. When you press the Game Select button the Marquee will light up the mini-marquee poster that corresponds to the selected game.
Currently mine will not light up at all. I don’t know yet what’s involved. It’s not an essential feature but it’s a cool one that I would like to get working again.

4) Arcade cabinets were originally meant to be left on almost all the time. Turning them off was often done by just pulling the power plug. Since mine is very hard to get behind because of how I’ve positioned into a corner of my retro game room I’m currently using a power bar that’s long enough to sit right beside the cabinet. With my big toe I can flip the system on or off. It works perfectly but someday I’d like to install something a bit more polished.

The reason why the Neo Geo MVS has become my first Arcade Cabinet is because of the multiple slots for games. Almost all Arcade cabinets required changing out the mother board in order to change the game in the cabinet. But the Neo Geo MVS used the familiar cartridge; albeit very large! The game cartridges are plentiful and for the most part affordable (with the exception of ebay).

This single giant box does take up a lot of room but it’s very easy to swap out the games. Allowing me to continue to collect for the Neo Geo MVS and enjoy the purest of Arcade experiences for each and every SNK Neo Geo MVS games I purchase. And it looks really awesome 🙂

Neo-geo_logo

Tiny ProjectY Update – Look out for HEIN!!

Posted by Sega Dude on September 7, 2014
Posted in: Community, New Release (Game). Tagged: , , . 2 Comments

ProjectY is the code name of the Beat’em Up video game currently being created by Watermelon Team for play on the Sega Genesis / Mega Drive.

There haven’t been many recent updates for ProjectY and this post ain’t much of an update but it is proof of life!

I recently received an email from Watermelon and in this email they included the following tiny glimpses into the upcoming ProjectY.

The screenshots below shows a few still frames of animation for one of the baddies for ProjectY. The pixel art is excellent. In fact it’s beyond excellent. I feel very confident about the quality of this game and I’m very excited to get my hands on it!

Wha… What’s he going to do with that I-Beam?…

The intent of Watermelon’s email was to verify details of early investors to ensure that a cool little treat would be correctly included in the game.

As early investors Watermelon Team is doing two things as a ‘thank you’.
One: early investors will get their name in the Credits of the game.
Two: as if that wasn’t sweet enough, early investors also get to name a bad guy from this beat’em up!

I would have loved to name my bad guy SEGADUDE but for (I assume) technical reasons the name length of bad guys in the game is limited to six characters. SEGADU just doesn’t have the same impatct so I went with HEIN (Another nickname of mine).

Showing Investors which characters are valid for naming a bad guy.

The screenshot above was used to show investors what characters they can use in the six character name they pick to be applied to a bad guy in the game.
But beyond this we get a small glimpse into the game. There’s not enough to really be sure what we’re looking at but again the pixel art is really well done. The image has depth and shading as well as some elements looking worn or used; like the dirt and marks on the platform and the grease coming from the small vent on the bottom right.
What are we looking at in the picture? My guess is this is some kind of platform. Maybe a moving elevator or tram. “MIND THE GAP !!!” written on the very bottom is a good clue to suggest something like that.

No investor actually chooses which character gets their chosen name. Watermelon explained that the names will be applied randomly and these investor names will only been shown in game if you enable the feature before playing.

Not really sure what this is…

The screen shot above is much more of a mystery… Clearly it’s a rough draft of something. I can see the Japanese Mega Drive logo as well as Watermelon’s logo. And what looks like graffiti in a few places. All of the elements appear to be in some kind of image editor.
My guess? These are early drafts of elements to be put into the game or on the packaging or maybe stickers or something to be packaged in the game box.

So someday when we’re finally playing ProjectY and you see HEIN com’in at ya with a beat stick, chain, nun-chucks, or even an I-Beam make sure you give him heck!! 😀

Beggar Prince from Super Fighter Team is back!

Posted by Sega Dude on August 8, 2014
Posted in: Community, New Release (Game). Tagged: , , . 2 Comments

sftlogobp A long time ago after missing out on the first and second run of the excellent looking RPG Beggar Prince for the Sega Genesis / Mega Drive I emailed Super Fighter Team and expressed interest in the game. And I think a lot of you must have done the same.

And good on us for doing so 😀 Just today I got a notice from Super Fighter Team that they are again selling Beggar Prince.

I did not hesitate. I’ve already ordered two copies from beggarprince.com. One for myself and one to trade. I would really love to get my hands on a copy of the Genesis version of Pier Solar Posterity Edition and in an effort to make this happen I’ve been buying doubles of newly released games like this in the hopes that someday I’ll be able to seduce someone into a trade.

For me this news came right on the heels of the announcement of the Genesis game ‘It Came from the Desert‘. These are very exciting times. If this pace keeps up can we still call the Sega Genesis a retro system? 😛

It’s my hope that the retail sleeve will look as good as this.

I’ve previously purchased Legend of Wukong, Star Odyssey and Nightmare Busters from Super Fighter Team and I can say first hand they produce quality games matched with retail packing that will make any retro fan/collector very happy.

Both Legend of Wukong and Star Odyssey are currently in my collection and Nightmare Busters has only just shipped and I’m very excited to receive it.

I don’t know if we’ll ever get another shot at Beggar Prince so if you’re at all interested now is the time.

Beggar Prince looks like a very good classic JRPG!

Thank you Super Fighter Team!
super-fighter-team