Tanglewood, 16-bit Perfection.

Posted by Sega Dude on August 14, 2018
Posted in: Community, Games, Genesis (North America), Mega Drive (EURO), Mega Drive (Japanese), Reviews, SEGA. Tagged: , , , , , , , . 6 Comments

I love my old 16-bit retro video games. A lot.

And I can’t say for certain if it’s simply because they’re what I grew up with or if this era of games did something so right that they transcend the hardware they were made for.

I’m sure for me personally the answer is a mix of both.

At the same time it’s still easy enough to see that the classic platformer formula still really works. To the point where terms like ‘retro inspired’ and ‘pixel artwork’ have become common hooks in the modern gaming scene.

Old timers, next gen gamers and Indie developers have wholeheartedly embraced this retro gaming trend and it feels like it’s here to stay.

What still continues to surprise (and delight) this retro gamer is the desire of talented and capable developers who put the primary focus of their vision on original 16-bit hardware.

Tanglewood (developed by Matt Phillips, founder of Big Evil Corporation) was written for the Sega Mega Drive and Sega Genesis and developed on an original Sega Development kit.

Tanglewood is a pure blood Sega Mega Drive and Sega Genesis video game.


But don’t get too caught up in how amazing that fact is. The most important part about Tanglewood is that it’s an exceptionally good video game.

You can order Tanglewood right now for your Sega Mega Drive and Sega Genesis.
Or purchase Tanglewood on Steam and play it today!

A little about Tanglewood:

“TANGLEWOOD® is a brand new and original game for the SEGA Mega Drive and Genesis…”
“A true 16-bit, nostalgic platforming experience running on genuine SEGA hardware, that will make fans of SEGA’s golden era feel warm and fuzzy.”

“Set in a fictional world, the game follows a young creature, Nymn, who is separated from the family pack after the sun sets. Unable to get back to the safety of the underground home, Nymn must find a way to survive the night terrors and get to morning. TANGLEWOOD’s world is a dangerous one after dark, and Nymn must use skills of evasion, special abilities, traps and trickery to defeat predators.” – TangelwoodGame.com

Before I get into some finer details of the game (without spoilers) I’m going to try and find the words to express how much fun I’m having playing Tanglewood.

You play the game as a ‘fox like’ creature named Nymn who is very endearing. Nymn doesn’t have dialog and the plot is simply help Nymn survive the night and find home. Yet despite this simplicity I found myself getting attached. The more I struggled solving puzzles and after each narrow escape from the jaws of some beast the more Nymn mattered to me.


Nymn is without question the underdog when night falls. And both the mood and story telling of Tanglewood are perfection.

It’s not often that I feel such a strong emotional connection when playing any video game. And I was genuinely amazed at myself when I started to realize how invested I felt in Tanglewood.

For example, I really like Sonic the Hedgehog. There is a lot of fun to be had in the classic Sonic games. But I can slam that Hedgehog into a pit of spikes all day long and not feel the slightest emotional response except a mild annoyance that I’m going to have to do that part again.


But in Tanglewood… my heart would scream ‘Nymn must not be harmed!’.

Of course I managed to bring Nymn to an unfathomable number of savage deaths. But each time death found us I was in fact trying very hard to save poor Nymn. I found that I really, very badly, wanted to safely guide Nymn home.

Tangelwood is always engaging and you’ll always be eager to find out whats next.
Although, I promise, you’ll not be able to anticipate where this adventure is going to take you.

The drive to carry on is fueled by a game that offers both a level password save feature and checkpoints through out each Act. While Tanglewood can be challenging and difficult it is not punishing. Unlike many platformer games from Sega’s 16-bit catalog, when you return to Tanglewood for another session you’ll be picking up where you left off instead of starting right from the beginning. Which is a refreshing change and helps keeps the wonderful story center stage.

The creator, Matt Phillips, found his inspiration for Tanglewood from games like Limbo, Oddworld: Abe’s Oddyssey, Flashback and the Lion King. If you’re familiar with these games then you’ll have some idea of what to expect from Tanglewood.

But make no mistake Tanglewood has it’s own direction and a very strong identity.

An intuitive understanding of the games mechanics will guide the player while Tanglewood’s mysterious lore will slowly unfold as the player progresses.

Despite his appearance Nymn is not actually a fox, but ‘fox like’ and where this adventure takes place is not on Earth but someplace ‘Earth like’. Tanglewood is set on a world with two suns and two moons. Factions are distinguished between the day dwellers and night dwellers. While an extinct race wiped out by it’s own enslaved Djakk beasts have left behind many shacks, tree houses and contraptions that were once powered by small round creatures called Fuzzl’s. Fuzzl’s posses a varied array of powers which can be bestowed onto Nymn. Which in turn help Nymn navigate the games many puzzles and often aid in escaping the creatures of the night.

The core mechanics of Tanglewood will have you running and jumping through each level searching for Fuzzl’s that need a ‘helping paw’ and then figuring out how to return each Fuzzl to its near by nest. Once a Fuzzl is returned you’ll have earned the use of it’s power for a short time. You’ll then have to figure out how to use this power to advance through the next portion of the level.

Combine borrowed powers and the ability to interact with flues, boulders, logs, winches, creatures (both big and small), a labyrinth like forest and even a demon Tanglewood will feel fresh and terrifying every step of the way.

Check out the official Big Evil Corporation Tanglewood Trailer:

Below is my own longplay of Tanglewood recorded direct from my Sega Genesis. I managed to collect all Fireflies to unlock the good ending. And it really is the ending I needed! But don’t spoil the game for yourself. Play Tanglewood and enjoy it firsthand.

No fooling around here people. Unless COD and Battlefield are the only games you care about; Tanglewood is a must own game.


If you enjoy retro video games you owe it to yourself to pickup Tanglewood. It’s an incredibly detailed, polished and fully realized video game. And despite coming from a small Indie Developer Tanglewood is so much bigger than I could have ever dreamed.

I don’t normally put a number on the games I talk about but for Tanglewood I’m compelled to give is a full on 10/10. As far as human kinds reach for perfection can extend Tanglewood has thoroughly earned this perfect score.

Order Tanglewood for your Sega Mega Drive and Sega Genesis

Or purchase Tanglewood on Steam.

Tanglewood Cover Art by Luis Martins.

Pick-Ups – Game X 2.0 Game Swap June 2018

Posted by Sega Dude on July 10, 2018
Posted in: Collection New Additions, Games, Genesis (North America), SEGA. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 17 Comments

For a while I thought it must be too late to get into the Sega CD. I believed most worthwhile games were likely rare and expensive by now. Of course, like all retro consoles every system has some genuinely rare games but over the past few months I’ve learned that Sega CD games are not as uncommon as I thought.

At last months Game X 2.0 Game Swap I managed trade for three somewhat pricier games and I purchased another four with very friendly price tags.

I traded eighteen complete Gameboy Advance games (Click for List) for the first three Sega CD games pictured below, (Flink, Heart of the Alien and BC Racers) plus $50 CAD (~$38 USD).
*This has been my third time working out a trade with Peter from P Market Games.

After this trade my GBA collection is now whittled down my bare essentials and I’ll be keeping what’s left. I’ll post my GBA collection another time.

The remaining four games I found from a guy at the Swap who was down sizing his personal collection and was kind enough to pass along some really nice deals. The total came to $77 CAD (~$60 USD) for all four:

Ecco the Dolphin $30 CAD (~$23 USD)
Battlecorps $20 CAD (~$15 USD)
Pitfall $8 CAD (~$6 USD)
Brutal Paws $15 CAD (~$12 USD)

I paid an extra $4 because he let me swap a cracked case for a nicer one; which was generous of him.
Unfortunately it’s very common to find broken Sega CD cases.

It felt awesome coming home with seven Sega CD games to add to the collection. I was excepting just two as I had semi-arranged the GBA trade ahead of time.

I was also selling at this game swap thanks to a friend who shared his table with me. I actually sold more than I bought and I ended up being in the black; which was a crazy twist that I was not expecting.

The highlights of these new additions are Heart of the Alien, Flink and Ecco the Dolphin.

What I didn’t realize until the sellers pointed it out to me was that two of these Sega CD games were factory sealed; Ecco the Dolphin and BC Racers.

I can’t be certain that it’s true and they’re not just re-shrink wrapped but just in case I decided to record the unwrapping. If these were actually factory sealed games it would be cool to capture how they were originally packaged and what they originally came with.

Edit: More recently I picked up a factory sealed Road Rash for the Sega CD. Found it for $50 CAD  (~$38 USD) from my local classifieds. I’ve added it to the ‘breaking the seal’ video below.

Did you notice that after unwrapping Ecco the Dolphin that there was no foam brick in the case? To me, that’s a possible indicator that maybe this game might not have been factory sealed. Although, I have heard that not all Sega CD games came with a foam brick.

I posed this question at sega-16.com and I got some mixed replies. It will be very hard to make a determination unless we start seeing more ‘Breaking the Seal’ videos for Sega CD games. The good news is that it doesn’t really matter. It’s just something fun to explore.

You know what else is fun? Having a kick-ass Sega CD collection. Sure, I don’t have the Holly Grail’s like Keio Flying Squadron or Space Adventure but I do have a good bunch of worth while games.

I’ve been able to steer clear of Full Motion Video (FMV) games because they don’t really appeal to me. In fact, the same seller who sold me the bundle of four games had a complete set of Sega CD 32X games for sale at a super friendly price. I was very temped but I passed them up. I don’t want to end up chasing a full set.

Instead I’ve made a list of the games I’d like to find some day. The ones marked with * being the eight I’m most interested in.

01) Dungeon Explorer*
02) Earthworm Jim*
03) Flashback*
04) Hook
05) Keio Flying Squadron*
06) Lords of Thunder*
07) Mickey Mania
08) Mortal Kombat
09) Prince of Persia
10) Road Blaster / Road Avenger*
11) Road Rash
12) Shinning Force CD*
13) Space Adventure*
14) Time Gal*

*As of the end of 2019 the above crossed out games have now been added to my collection.

Yes, I know I said I want to stay away from FMV games and there are some in my wish list. But in my eyes many of the animated FMV games really seem to translate into better games than the ones with live actors. I feel games like Road Avenger and Time Gal belong along side titles like Dragon Slayer and Space Ace and should be sub-classified as either FMV-Animated or FMV-LiveAction.

Did you know that about four years ago I passed up a complete Keio Flying Squadron for $200 CAD (~$152 USD)?
Has Keio gone up in price? I can’t look. You look for me; pricecharting.com.
Argh… I’m sure we all have a story like that.

Any Sega CD gamers out there? What are some of your favorite Sega CD Games?

Pick-Ups – Retro Game Bros. Sega CD

Posted by Sega Dude on June 23, 2018
Posted in: Collection New Additions, Games, SEGA. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

On Saturday June 16th one of my favorite retro video game shops put on a cool summer sale. The main event being 20% off everything. I know Retro Game Bros well and I know they already have good prices so this sale peaked my interest.

It was a lazy Saturday for me so I left early and arrived at Retro Game Bros about 30 minutes before they opened. I had no expectations in mind so I was surprised to find a line up outside the store. I shouldn’t have been surprised. My home town of Toronto has a huge nerd population and despite waiting about one hour before getting in time flew by as I chatted up fellow retro gamers.

I was number 29 in line (totally scored a loot bag) and because the store can only accommodate a small number of people at a time we had to wait as a handful of people entered and exited in about 10 minute intervals.

I salute those of you who arrived two hours before opening! Whatever you picked up you thoroughly earned.

As for myself (once I got in) all my money was spent after gazing into the very first display case I walked up to.

The Retro Game Bros prices for Dark Wizard and Robo Aleste are the lowest I’ve seen at Retro Stores and local Game Swaps. I’ve come accustomed to seeing Dark Wizard being priced at $80 CAD and Robo Aleste at $200 CAD; despite pricecharting.com showing a complete Aleste for $110 USD (~$145 CAD).

Combine the best prices I’ve encounter with an additional 20% off and things were feeling very good over at Retro Game Bros. Dark Wizard ended up costing me $63 CAD with tax (~$48 USD) and Robo Aleste rang in at $163 CAD (~$123 USD) with tax.

As much as I wanted to continue to take advantage of this one day sale I felt like I had spent enough and it was time to reign it in. I did have my eye on several other items but they will have to wait for another time.

Thank you Retro Game Bros! The way you guys make me feel is second only to wild kinky sex… or is wild kinky sex second only to you two? I’m not sure which way around, because it’s really that close.

Pick-Ups – SegaScope 3-D

Posted by Sega Dude on June 18, 2018
Posted in: Games, Hardware, SEGA, Sega Master System. Tagged: , , , . Leave a comment

This is my new SegaScope 3-D System. It’s one of three different Sega Master System bundles that I remember seeing in Canada back when the system was new. It was the least common and carried the highest price tag because it includes Sega’s very cool (but under used) 3D Glasses.

There is another variant of this bundle showing a young Dude wearing a yellow sweat shirt and includes Missile Defense 3-D on cartridge compared to this variant with the Dude wearing a red shirt which has Missile Defense built into the console (BIOS v4.4).


The only time I’ve ever seen any SegaSCope 3-D bundle in person (since the 80’s) is on display at retro video game shops. And often on those few encounters the box was roughed up and/or empty.

So I was surprised when I found it locally but not surprised by the high asking price.


Sure, it’s super cool and hard to find but it’s not worth $500 CAD (~$380 USD). It was also a 1.5 hours drive away so I wasn’t incredibly motivated. I sent an offer of $300 CAD but the seller didn’t want to let it go. And that was the end of it for a while.

I actually wanted to offer $200 but if the seller was willing I’m sure it would have sold very quickly at that price. I felt an additional $100 was needed in order to stand any kind of a chance.

After several weeks I made my offer again and the seller wanted to meet me at $400. But for me personally even $300 (~$227 USD) felt like a lot of money so I stuck to my price and eventually he agreed.

The next challenge was dealing with three hours of driving to get it. But when I took a closer look at the sellers location I realized that a very close friend lives in the area. I called him and he was willing to drop everything and head over to meet up and make the exchange. He even spotted me the $300. That’s a sign of an exceptionally good friend. Next time we got together I received my pricey but very cool SegaScope 3-D System bundle.

It’s almost complete. With the exception of the power supply everything appears to be included. Not visible and sitting behind the 3-D Glasses adapter are the coaxial and VHF adapters. All of the hardware is in excellent shape and is in perfect working order.

I don’t know for certain what originally came with the system but there is a manual for each component and for the built in Missile Defense 3-D game. The Styrofoam is not in perfect shape but it’s whole enough and I believe a Styrofoam cover is missing.

The back and the sides of the box have the worst of the damage. There is a cluster of puncher marks on the back near the top and the flaps on the sides are well used and torn in places.

However, it displays very well and it’s really the best condition SegaScope 3-D System that I’ve ever seen in person so I’m pleased that it’s mine.

I will admit that I still feel a little conflicted on how much I spent on this sucker. The other two boxed Sega Master Systems cost me ~$40 CAD (I think; it was decades ago) and $100 CAD for the Hang-On/Safari Hunt version.

Pick-Ups – The Lion King, Pitfall and Pac-Man 2

Posted by Sega Dude on June 12, 2018
Posted in: Collection New Additions, Games, Genesis (North America), SEGA. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment


Just last week on my local classifieds (kijiji.ca) I found a single listing for three complete Sega Genesis games in a lot for $60 CAD (~$46 USD). I was a fun surprise to see that I didn’t have any of these games.

I was most interested in the Lion King as it’s one of the games that influenced Matt Phillips of Big Evil Corporation in his creation of the newly developed Sega Genesis and Sega Mega Drive game Tanglewood.

I’m actually pretty surprised that the Lion King didn’t find it’s way into my collection a lot sooner. It’s one of several very popular Disney games for the Sega Genesis.

I tried it out and got to just level two where I’m learning there is going to be some serious trial and error here to get through the stage. Both the graphics and music are outstanding and this is a great addition to the collection.

I always thought that Pitfall had some pretty nice graphics and it will be fun to try out at some point. Although it is low on the backlog list.

Pac-Man 2 looks surprising interesting but I can’t help but feel this game should have had it’s own IP instead of using the Pac-Man brand name.

None of these three games are in perfect condition but for cardboard box versions they are pretty good and at $20 each it was an easy pick-up.

 

Pick-Ups – Expanding into the Sega CD

Posted by Sega Dude on June 4, 2018
Posted in: Collection New Additions, Games, SEGA. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . 5 Comments

For a few years now I’ve had a small collection of Sega CD games. They all came from my good buddy Nintendo Joe who gave me these eight games:

01) Bram Stoker’s Dracula
02) Cliffhanger
03) Demolition Man
04) Eternal Champions
05) Power Factory
06) Stellar-Fire
07) The Terminator
08) ThunderStrike

He found them for $20 USD (for all eight) at a garage sale and was kind enough give them to me. At the time I didn’t even have a Sega CD. So they sat on a shelf and patiently waited.

I’ve recently sold Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Power Factory because they are horrible games and I want to shake the desire to buy anything and everything Sega CD. My goal is to have a good Sega CD collection and not a fat one.

When I started collecting Sega Master System and Sega Genesis games they were very cheap so I was enjoying grabbing any title that I could, but those days are long gone.

Of the eight games Nintendo Joe gave me there are four good games that I really do want to have in my collection (Cliffhanger, Demolition Man, Eternal Champions and The Terminator). A huge thanks to Nintendo Joe for giving my new(ish) Sega CD collection a great running start!

When I got around to really exploring the Sega CD (it was something I never touched back in the day) I kept encountering the system’s famous (or infamous) Full Motion Video (FMV) games. Despite being terrible games they seem to have a cult following. They’re actually becoming popular because of how bad they are. So when people are willing to say that Night Trap is a good game it’s hard to trust game reviews for the Sega CD.

So relying on my own ‘street smarts’ and extensive Sega expertise I ventured out on my own and picked up few affordable games that I manage to find out in the wild.

I didn’t do so well…

Sure, they weren’t terribly expensive but now I know why.

Chuck Rock II Son of Chuck is just OK but far from great. It’s one saving grace is that it’s a traditional platformer; which cost me $30 CAD (~23 USD).

Heimdall looks like it could have been a good isometric RPG game and I’ve read reviews from people who like the game; but personally I find it’s too cumbersome to be enjoyable. I don’t recall what Heimdall cost but I’ll guess it was about $20-$30 CAD.

Microcosm feels like a game that is trying really hard to take advantage of what CD technology was offering but it fell short by a lot. Fortunately it only cost me $15 CAD.

I don’t even remember buying Soccer but I know it was cheap and I’ve already re-sold it.

Tomcat Alley is actually an FMV game which I picked up for $20 CAD. I was weak…

As I get better at finding fun games for the Sega CD I might purge some or all of these titles.

Something that I did do right was scoop up this Final Fight CD for $35 CAD (~27 USD) from a favorite video game store called Game Centre. Like most complete copies the box is pretty banged up but it’s still whole and it’s a great beat’ em up.

The next purchase is when I really started getting serious about my Sega CD collection. I found a post on the Sega-16.com market forums listing four games for sale. They were being sold as a bundle and included Lunar, Lunar II, VAY and Popful Mail. Asking $500 USD plus shipping. Even being new(ish) to the Sega CD I knew these were some of the best games to have for the system. But the cost was too great for me. At the same time I felt it was possible that they might sell.

Several recently sold listing on Ebay.com show that complete Popful Mail’s have sold as ‘Buy It Now’ (BIN) prices from ~$285-$500 USD. And from completed auctions ranging from ~$260-$360 USD. Even PriceCharting.com lists a complete Popful Mail valued at $320 USD. While Lunar lists for ~$100 USD and Lunar II at ~$175 USD. And VAY being the most affordable at ~$90 USD.  Add up the lowest prices and it comes to $625 USD. Ouch! So this $500 USD asking price felt reasonable.

I ended up sending a friendly private message to the seller offering to buy them all for $300 USD plus shipping. I basically said if they couldn’t sell the games in the amount of time they wanted they could reach out to me if they were willing.

About two weeks later the seller agreed to let me have them. I had to drop a total of $347.80 USD (~$450 CAD) with shipping. It still feels like a lot of money to throw at video games but I know the seller gave me a super deal and I really do appreciate it.

I’m a long way through Lunar the Silver Star and it really is a good JRPG. I wasn’t sure if the the genre could still capture me like it did in the 80’s and 90’s but it really can. Finally I understand why Lunar is so popular.


VAY is also a JRPG and it’s commonly said to be not as good a Lunar but still a worth while game. I’ve only just sampled it and haven’t played enough to make the judgement myself.

As for Popful Mail, it really does deserve the hype it gets. It’s a great blend of action platforming with RPG elements in the mix. I had a really hard time clearing the first stage but once I finally managed to take down that Wood Golem I found my groove. This game is a real highlight for the collection.

Both Android Assault and Silpheed I bought from the neo-geo.com forums for a combined $140 USD (~$180 CAD). This is pretty much the list value for these games on PriceCharting.com (which is a fair price) and the seller didn’t charge me for shipping which was a generous bonus.

Android Assault is outstanding. It’s everything you ever wanted from a shooter. Beautiful graphics and animations, lots of weapons and power up and massive bosses.

Silpheed is something special. It feels very similar to Star Fox and does everything right that Microcosm did terribly wrong. Silpheed is very fast and smooth and the plain polygon graphics are balanced out with excellent action and great use of music and real audio for exciting combat radio chatter and story narration.

Now my Sega CD collection is really starting to feel pretty good. I’ve managed to get some notable games. At this point it has became much easier for me to sit back play some games and go back into passive game hunting mode.

But by far the most exciting edition to my Sega CD collection is Snatcher. This game typically has a really high price tag. Coming in at ~$575 USD (~$745 CAD) on PriceCharting.com and between $400-$675 USD in recent ebay sold listing.

I can’t pay those prices so when I noticed Snatcher at local store called 7 Star Games I asked if they would be willing to work out a trade. They were willing but they wanted $700 CAD in trade value.

**7 Star Games is the same place I was able to trade for my Pulseman for the Japanese Sega Mega Drive. Nintendo Joe has also done a lot of trading with 7 Star Games.**

I went into my collection and took some time to consider what I’d be willing to part with. The first thing I looked at was my Nintendo Game Boy Advance collection. I had been buying complete and used GBA games for years when the system was current and I had amassed about 60 games. When assessing their value I discovered that Ninja Five-0 had become a very expensive game. Turns out it’s hard to find and it’s a good game that people want to play.

PriceCharting valued Ninja Five-0 at ~$300 USD and 7 Star Games was willing to give me $400 CAD in store credit for it. This was pretty exciting because all of a sudden I was just $300 CAD away from hitting the target with just one game. However, it did take nine more games to get my Snatcher and I am really happy with the trade. Click here to see the ten GBA games I traded.


What can I say about Snatcher? It’s a graphical text adventure that is not for everyone because of the slow pace. But if you’re comfortable with the genre I’ll tell you that it’s a very cool game. I’m guessing the replay value will be very low but I haven’t yet completed the game myself. But so far it’s very enjoyable and just so very cool.

I do have a few other Sega CD games in the collection, some good and some really bad, but this post really highlights the best of what I’ve got. And because I’ve never really paid attention for a lot of years I am surprised to discover that the Sega CD (Mega CD) is actually a worth while add-on for the Sega Genesis and Mega Drive.

I’d love to hear thoughts from anyone who played it back in the day when it was new. Or from anyone just discovering it now.