Retro Megabit

If you’re deep into the Retro Video Gaming scene you already know of these big three upcoming Sega Mega Drive (Genesis) games. All of which might see a release date in 2018.

What is particularly exciting about these ‘big three’ games is despite being created by small Indie teams they are all oozing with massive amounts of potential. To the point where (when released) each title might rival the caliber of some of the best games ever put on cartridge for the Sega Mega Drive and Sega Genesis.

In 2018 to even come close to creating software comparable to the quality of games created in the 1990’s for Sega’s 16-bit game console that had the benefit of larger development teams and industry leading corporations at the helm is a tremendous achievement.

Even now, these three games in their unfinished states display seriously impressive talent and expertise of the 16-bit era that has somehow not been lost in time. As a result hardware that is nearing 30 years old is threatening to stay relevant. The mobile telecom world should take note.

To be painfully clear; these video games that I’m talking about will be released on physical cartridges that will plug into your old Sega Mega Drive (and Sega Genesis) home video game console so that you can play them just like you did in the 1990’s.

What are these big three that are currently rocking the very foundation of the Retro Video Gaming Community?

Tanglewood by Big Evil Corporation

Xeno Crisis by Bitmap Bureau

Paprium by WaterMelon Games

Tanglewood by Big Evil Corporation

Tanglewood is currently under development by Matt Phillips who is the primary brain behind the project.

“TANGLEWOOD® is a brand new and original game for the SEGA Mega Drive, to be released on physical cartridge in spring 2018.

Set in the realm of Tanglewood, the game follows a young creature, Nymn, separated from the pack after the sun sets. Unable to get back to the safety of the family’s 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; guiding Nymn you must use your skills of evasion, traps and trickery to defeat predators.TANGLEWOOD is a platforming game with puzzle elements, and can be described as a mix of the Mega Drive titles Another World and The Lion King.” – tanglewoodgame.com

The games creator Matt Phillips was recently interviewed by Chris Foxx from BBC. The video below is an informative piece which offers a unique peek behind the curtain of this very niche project.

Even though Matt has soundly earned the title ‘Lone Wolf’ because of how much of the Tanglewood project rests on his shoulders he is getting some help.

Below is a preliminary (and wonderful) design of the games cover art for Tanglewood. The artwork of Nymn and the beast was created by the very talented artist Luis Martins; also known as XGoldenboyX around the web.

Its details like actual gameplay footage and the connecting and collaboration of great talent that builds a very strong impression that the final product will deliver on what has been promised. Which I believe will culminate in a professionally developed and fun video game suitable for the 1990’s through to 2018 and beyond.

*If you can’t wait for release Tanglewood has a playable demo.

Xeno Crisis by Bitmap Bureau

Formed in 2016 Bitmap Bureau is a small development team made up of at least five contributing members to the Xeno Crisis project.

Even though Xeno Crisis will be their first fully realized game for the Sega Mega Drive (and Genesis) they are an experienced team with over 100 completed projects under their collective belts.

“Xeno Crisis is a new game for the Sega Genesis, Dreamcast, Nintendo Switch and Steam. It’s a top-down arena shooter for up to 2 players that is best described as Smash TV meets Aliens! Run and gun your way through thousands of enemies spread over 6 areas as you attempt to discover the cause of the alien menace.” – kickstarter.com

And just like Tanglewood, Xeno Crisis seems to be delivering exactly what we need to keep interest and faith in what’s being advertised. We see talented team members with the right skills showing us tangible gameplay footage of Xeno Crisis. And I tell you this… it looks very good. I really, very badly, want to blast me some Xenomorphs!

That’s so gross… Blast it!

So much of the mystery has been removed making many of us comfortable enough to help fund the development of Xeno Crisis. How many of us? Well to start, the crowd funding for the game drew in 1,289 people raising £72,569 (over $100,000 USD). And with regular progress updates from Bitmap Bureau; I’m very excited.

“All right, people. They ain’t paying us by an hour. Let’s go, head out!”

Below is an informative Interview with Mike Tucker of Bitmap Bureau by st1ka:

Paprium by WaterMelon Games

“After more than 4 epic years of development, WaterMelon Games is proud to present its new 16-Bit game: PAPRIUM (code-name: “ProjectY”), a postapocalyptic, outrageous, street brawler…

…Year 8A2, somewhere at equidistant point between Shanghai, Tokyo and Pyongyang, a Megapolis rose from ashes of the shortest but most devastating nuclear war in history, its name is PAPRIUM. BRUTAL, MASSIVE. You will fight your way through the city with Tug, Alex and Dice. Redefine the word justice, deal with the BLU drug temptation, and more importantly: STAY ALIVE!” – www.paprium.com

Paprium… where to start? Well, that’s part of the problem. We have to start at the beginning.

Paprium was first known by its code name Project Y when development began in 2012. It’s now 2018 and the game still has not been released. And to add to the typical anxieties derived from waiting a very long time the lead developer Gwenaël Godde (a.k.a. Fonzie) of WaterMelon Games has almost entirely stopped communicating with the Paprium fan base.

To WaterMelon’s credit; when they hit some serious road blocks they did announce them. Once it was reported that their primary development kit was lost by an airline and more recently funds raised for the game had been seized by PayPal. PayPal, we are told, wrongly believed Watermelon had raised too much money for such a small Indie project and fearing some form of fraud froze WaterMelon’s funds. It has also been suggested that too much time has passed between the collection of the money and the completion of the final product that caused the lock-down. But this is all speculation. The end result was a production delay just as manufacturing was about to begin.

Paprium’s previous release date of September 2017 has come and gone; replaced by a new release date of September 2018. The last official update that I’ve found from Watermelon Games is as follows:

“September 04, 00:00 GMT – Why earning money is not possible for an independent retro game developer ?

In 2010, we released Pier Solar, the world’s best selling retro game which shipped to over 40 countries. On the 28th of March, we announced the release of our new 16-Bit game : PAPRIUM, a post-apocalyptic, outrageous, brawler. (In the same spirit as Double Dragon, Final Fight & Streets of Rage). This brand new AAA Mega Drive / SEGA Genesis game has been developed from the ground up, to be released in September 2017.

BUT THIS WAS THE INITIAL PLAN… Without acknowledging that – as part of the Indi game industry – we were not suppose to earn too much money by our own ! Within minutes, our fans ordered several thousands games and we will never thanks them enough to be so trustful. However, Paypal, while we had over 8 years of successful business with them, decided to lock our funds ! Why ? are you certainly asking. No reasons were given at first and it took months and two meetings to get one. Reason is “illegitimate business”. An independent game company shouldn’t certainly succeed, especially if it’s about an original cartridge game for a 30 years old game system ! It has now been more than five months, that we opened a battle with them in order to prove by any means that everything is legal, clean. Our fans are real addicts to their Mega Drive / SEGA Genesis, but we are not selling drugs. No avail, they make interests on our funds while we struggle.

We decided to continue the production with our own savings… but the amounts required to manufacture such game cartridge, we are talking in millions : the price to pay to get THE perfect cartridge game ! Even if ultimately, we will finally be able to unlock our funds soon but the bad is done ! PAPRIUM will be late and this is all our fans that are extremely disappointed… and we totally understand them.

PAPRIUM will rise for earth that Paypal want it or not !
New release date planned early 2018. A refund-if-pissed policy has been settled and this is a huge lost for WaterMelon Games – money and trust speaking !” – www.paprium.com

This is actually a detailed and meaningful update. But considering that this update is over 5 months old and almost daily from the time of this update Paprium backers and fans have been asking for more news, any sign of life would have gone a long way to help keep the community calm and relaxed during this final stretch.

I personally feel of these big three upcoming releases that Paprium is the most ambitious. And I believe this alone accounts for the very long development time of the game. I’m one of many who have pre-ordered (crowd funded) Paprium very early on in 2012 and I’m still very optimistic and excited for this game. Have a look and you’ll understand why:

Did you notice? What you’ve witnessed is a fully realized commercial and not just gameplay footage. Despite a very slow trickle of communications from WaterMelon Games what we do get is usually very polished and impressive.

Despite many upset and vocal fans of Paprium I for one am still at ease about this very long wait. I do believe WaterMelon Games is honest and hardworking and at some point we will get this game in our hands.

Do you recall the cover art for Tanglewood displayed above? WaterMelon Games is also fortunate enough to have Luis Martins contribute his skill to Paprium as well. Below is the official cover art for Paprium; and it’s brilliant. It’s an example of the all encompassing quality that greatly contributes to the games fit and finish.

If you’re desperately hungry for Paprium information check out the following interview with Luis Martins on St1ka’s Retro Corner.

It’s a long interview that you might not complete in one sitting but it’s full of fine details about Paprium that can’t be found anywhere else.

*St1ka is very active in the Retro Video Gaming realm and his content is very informative and enjoyable. Check him out.

Will any of these games unequivocally hit AAA status on a 16-bit scale? That’s a very subjective thought. What is easier to speculate on is that when these games are complete I personally feel they will be very enjoyable and worthwhile experiences for both gamers and collectors.

Very recently I was fortunate enough to have a nice dialog with Luis Martins about his work with Paprium and Tanglewood.

Interview with Luis Martins:

Q1) How did you get involved with the artwork for Paprium and Tanglewood?

Luis: At the time I was having a blast collecting for the Sega Genesis. When I heard about Pier Solar , I was impressed and excited that some guys were making a new Sega Genesis game. I decided to contact them and expressed my interest in helping out on any of their future project’s in support for the Retro community. After a great chat with Tulio ( WM president at the time ) and Gwenael (Fonzie) I was introduced to a early idea/ concept for a Beat em UP ( Project Y ). The fun thing was that Beat em Up’s are one of my all time favorite genre’s of games. It matched my art style and love for 80’s 90’s anime and cyber punk. So I was given given green light to join the team.

As for Tanglewood, I dint know at the time, but I also contacted Matt to express to him how great of a job he was doing with his Tanglewood game to discover how he also really liked what I was doing with Paprium and my art. So I asked if he was interested in me doing some art for him and he said, sure! ‘What about the games cover art?’ How could I say no to that?

Q2) Where you given any direction or general instructions as to what the covers should look like?

Luis: Not really, for Paprium myself and Fonzie where in charge of the character design’s and game’s visuals, so it was easy for me to suggest what I wanted to do for the game’s cover. Fonzie agreed that we should have all 3 characters on the cover and I then started conceptualizing and ended up proposing the now final piece.

As for Tanglewood, Matt and I worked together in conceptualizing the final version. But it was simple, Matt knew what he wanted to see for his cover.

Q3) Where did your inspiration and ideas come from for each?

Luis: For Parpium I wanted to showcase a close up of our heroes, it was important for me to showcase them. After all they are the focus of our adventure. Tanglewood, I wanted to give the feeling of what the game was like, a bit of mystery and horror. You can tell by the main character hiding away from the monster on the cover and running away from him in the game.

Q4) Personally I feel the work you’ve done is wonderful. But in a perfect world with unlimited time do you feel there is anything you would want to add or maybe have done differently?

Luis: Haha! At the moment no, maybe in a few years I will say how I could have improved this or that. But for now I’m happy with the art.

Q5) Are you still playing retro video games? What’s the retro game that you’ve most recently spent some time playing?

Luis: “Oh my Car!” Ha ha! Yes, I still play tons of Retro gaming. I’m on the PS4 and Switch bandwagon, I also owned almost all of the consoles, but those that I kept and play are the Gameboy, Super Nintendo, Genesis, Dreamcast, PSP, PSX, PS2, PS3, XBOX and Wii U. And tons of arcade games using MAME.

Q6) Are you currently working on any upcoming projects that are looking to become a physical release for a retro home console?

Luis: Yes, I’m working to come up with something in the coming years. In the meantime, Paprium is my focus but helping out other Indy dev’s with art is also something I’m really enjoying right now.

Q7) I know you’ve done some play testing for Paprium. At that time and in the games unfinished state how good of a game do you feel Paprium is going to be?

Luis: As good as the best beat em up’s and especially good the fact that it’s running on a Sega Genesis.

Q8) Do you have any idea of the current state of Paprium? Is the software compete? Are the physical components currently being manufactured? If you just don’t know what’s your best guess?

Luis: From what I was told Fonzie is putting everything together.

Q9) Do you plan on getting yourself a copy of Paprium, Tanglewood and or Xeno Crisis once they release?

Luis: Of course, Paprium I will have more then one copy of the game lol. Tanglewood, I’m hoping Matt will send me a copy of his game, really looking forward to it and Xeno Crisis I supported the Kickstarter so I will get that one as well.

Q10) Does Fonzie of Watermelon Games know that we still love him very much and despite a lot of ranting we are still in his corner? (*Yes, I do realize I have spoken without authority for many people. Please feel free to comment below.)

Luis: Well, I cant comment for other people or on Fonzie. I have spoken openly at times not being happy about the lack of shared information or progress on the game. I always wanted to share more WIP, images, etc, but in the end it’s WaterMelon‘s decision. Obviously Fonzie is in a position where he has experience in putting a game together; software and manufacturing. But that said, people have the right to express what they feel about Fonzie, myself or anything related to WaterMelon especially if you have invested in it. It’s only normal.

Q11) Finally, I’d love to hear what you’re working on right now Luis.

Luis: At the moment I’m helping other Indy developers with art commissions mostly. I’m also helping out @Matteusbeus on Tomb Of Dracula for the Sega Genesis with some art and working on other game ideas, concepts and prototypes. I’m also enjoying doing fan art illustrations on games and anime we like. So more to come this year.

Luis Martins is very heavily active in the Retro Video Gaming Community. Both in working directly on many exciting projects and connecting with gamers online.
Luis, thank you very much for taking the time to answer these questions! We’re lucky to have you in the Retro Scene.

Update 2018/03/27:

“No news, good news?

Watermelon·Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Hello Everyone,

Thanks for your patience. It’s been exactly one year since we started taking orders for PAPRIUM (and a couple more years of wait for our hardcore MGF fans), It’s been extremely stressful year for everyone, we bet.

Regarding what’s going on:

We had an issue with the “DATENMEISTER” chip-set manufacturing which resulted in some last minute changes. I’ve worked round-the-clock for the last couple of weeks to find a workaround and been very scarce on updates, my apologies.

In the next (couple) days we have to adjust the game to reflect those changes. Moreover, in the mean time, there will be an additional round of QC and testing.

Rest assured everyone involved has been working hard to solve all the issues and ensure a superior product. Our aim is to deliver the ultimate Mega Drive / SEGA Genesis game, in time for the system 30’th anniversary.

For people who wait has ran out (well understandable) – as usual – we offer a full refund. Please contact the support at bottom of WM’s magical game factory page for details or questions.

Thanks everyone for your comprehension, and my sincere apology for the lack of news.

PS: We are also sending this message through newsletter, it could take several hours for dispatch, thanks for your understanding.

Fonzie” – Watermelon Games Facebook

Update 2018/02/22: Luis Martins who on occasion acts as an informal channel of Watermelon Games has given the following update on the current status of Paprium and hints at a release date.

“…I’ve had some news that some work and corrections are being done to the Manual’s english text’s and that allot of interesting things are in it regarding the game. Also full speed ordering all the parts to assemble the games and making sure all is ready is also one of the last news I got from the horses mouth [Gwenaël Godde], including his expressed will to release the game this year.” – Sega-16.com

Before I wrap up, I want to suggest that anyone contemplating purchasing these games (or any pre-development projects) that you should decide if you’re comfortable pre-ordering/crowding funding and waiting an unknown amount of time before you receive anything in return. Or if it’s better for you to wait until the game exists before putting any money on it. It’s a matter of balancing your tolerance vs. your desire for the product.

My stance has always been something like “Wow! I can’t believe people are still making games for the Sega Genesis and Mega Drive!”. I’m all in and I really want to support this trend.

At the moment only Xeno Crisis is available for pre-order. But hopefully Tanglewood and Paprium won’t be far behind. When the time does come here’s where you’ll be able to purchase them:

Purchase Xeno Crisis.

Purchase Paprium.

Purchase Tanglewood.

*Update: Tanglewood is now available for pre-order See above link.

And that is what Street Tough Brawlers, Lean Mean Marines and a ‘fox like’ creature named Nymn have in common.

Pick-Ups – Sega Power Adapters and Two Nintendo Carts

Posted by Sega Dude on January 30, 2018

Posted in: Collection New Additions, Genesis (North America), Hardware, NES, Nintendo, SEGA, Sega Master System, SNES. Tagged: genesis, joystick, master system, Mega Man 6, NES, nintendo, power adapter, sega, snes, TMNT, Turtles in Time. 5 Comments

On June 2017 I purchased a nice boxed Sega Master System on my local classifieds (Kijiji.ca) for $100 CAD (~$80 USD). It was almost complete with just two manuals and the console power adapter missing.

It didn’t take long to find the missing manuals but I was concerned that finding an original Master System power adapter could be much harder. But while searching my local online classifieds again more recently I got lucky.

Not crazy lucky, just normal lucky. I found a post that said something like ‘Misc Sega Cables’. I had a closer look and I saw that this seller was offering 1 Sega Genesis Model 1 power adapter, 1 Sega Master System power adapter, 1 3-button joystick and 1 expansion port cover for a Model 1 Sega Genesis. Asking $45 CAD (~$37 USD) for all.

What struck me as pretty amazing is that I had use for every item included. I have a Master System without a power cable and a Genesis which is missing it’s power cable and the expansion port cover. …OK, I don’t really need the joystick but you can never have too many joysticks on hand.

I clicked on the sellers location with the intention of heading over as soon as I could only to discover the seller was in a neighboring province and not at all close to my home city. Looks like my search was too broad!

But this little misc. bundle felt too well matched to my needs to just let go. So I messaged the seller asking if they would take $50 CAD (~$40 USD) and ship to me. They agreed and below is what I received:

Yeah, they look a little banged up but that is normal. I spent some time removing some thick tape residue and dirt and I was left with some pretty nice looking hardware.

The joystick still has some missing details; like some of the white arrows around the Directional-Pad have been rubbed away and there are scratches that don’t show in the photo. I did test the joystick and it works very well and that’s what matters most. I was pulling of Revenge of Shinobi double jumps like a champ! I am curious to try some plastic polish and see if that might be an easy way to really clean up old joysticks and consoles.

Of course I also tested the power adapters and they both work. It was gratifying putting that power cable into the box and making my 2nd Boxed Master System 100% complete!

OK, technically it’s not totally complete. I had a peek in the manual and Sega did not skimp on video connection accessories. Hidden from site under HangOn & Safari Hunt (Pictured below) I do have the very common Coaxial RF Audio/Video cable but originally Sega also included a Composite Audio / Video cable, and two small adapters to help connect your Master System to your TV’s UHF connectors. Composite is not a great video standard to use but it’s beats the RF and UHF so I should find a Composite cable for the box someday. But as is, this boxed Sega Master System has everything required to connect to to a CRT (Tube) TV and play. So of the $50 CAD spent I’m going to say each power brick is worth $20, the joystick $10 and the expansion port cover nothing. Which means I’ve put $120 CAD (~$97 USD) into this boxed Sega Master System. Check out my first post about this boxed SMS here for more details and pictures.

I totally love that this Sega Master System power cable found it’s way home; once again nestled gently in original Styrofoam packaging.

Next up, I went over to my friends house to buy a few games and to continue to chip away at the few remaining NES and SNES games that I would like to have. This buddy of mine regularly buys large lots of games, takes what he wants and sells the rest. And over the years I’ve picked up quite a few games from him.

First up, is Mega Man 6 for NES. Leaving only Mega Man 1 and 5 on my hit list. I have been told that 1 & 5 are typically the most expensive Mega Man games.

The only other game I scooped this time is TMNT Turtles IV Turtles in Time. I love a good brawler and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are always a good time.

Both Mega Man 6 and Turtles in Time cost me a total of $145 CAD (~$118 USD).

Be sure to check out MyNintendoDimension for Nintendo Joe’s pick-ups. As usual he was with me on today’s adventure.

Does anyone out there have any boxed retro video game consoles? At what price do you feel they’re worth while?

Phantasy Star 30th Anniversary Poster by Kalman Andrasofszky

Posted by Sega Dude on December 20, 2017

Posted in: Community, SEGA, Sega Master System. Tagged: 30th, anniversary, Coury, Kalman Andrasofszky, My Life in Gaming, phantasy star, poster. 2 Comments

This is an exciting day! Something that started way back in July 2011 has at long last materialized. At the time, I had no idea that this venture would arrive just in time for Phantasy Star‘s 30th Anniversary, which by the way is today, December 20th. But it has, and in the end, what took just about six years to create was very much worth the wait.

I’m really hoping this will be absolutely jaw dropping for all of you Phantasy Star fans out there. If this has just a fraction of the impact on you that it did on me, then I believe you’re in for a real treat.

It took a while for my brain to register that my very close friend from childhood had become an exceptionally talented artist. Even when I first met Kalman back in Junior High School, he had already set himself apart as exceptional. His bedroom was spilling over with amazing hand drawn characters plucked straight from his imagination. I was totally entranced by the lore of his creations.

So many years later, sometime after he created both my Sega Dude avatar and our mutual friend’s Nintendo Joe avatar, I realised that I had to really tap into this in a bigger way. So I commissioned Kalman to create a Phantasy Star poster. The idea was really exciting because I knew he loved Phantasy Star as much as I did. We both played Phantasy Star together a lot when it was new and we still cherish the game today. I knew he would be eager to take on this challenge.

Below are a few of the early concepts of the poster. The first on the left was to give me an idea of what Kalman had in mind. Showing the basic placement and pose of each character. And the second showing just a few more details.

By Kalman Andrasofsky

I really wanted to help share and promote Kalman’s Phantasy Star poster so I reached out to two very well known youtubers who I knew for certain shared our love for Phantasy Star.

I was thrilled when Coury from My Life in Gaming received the poster and genuinely seems to love it as much as I do. He sent me the picture below of his Phantasy Star poster after he had it framed and mounted on his wall.

He went all out and even recorded an unboxing of the poster on Periscope which you can watch right here: Coury, My Life in Gaming Phantasy Star Poster Unboxing

It was really fun to see his reaction to the Poster. Thank you Coury!

I was also hoping to send this poster to the HappyConsoleGamer as well but he doesn’t have a PO box and understandably he wasn’t prepared to give out personal details. If the chance arises I’ll fire one his way.

I’d love to hear thoughts and impressions from anyone who feels like sharing. Everything from what you like, what surprised you and right on through to any constructive criticism you might have.

I am so thrilled to have all new artwork with a fresh interpretation of what is my all time favorite video game.

Thank you Kalman! You made my 2017

Phantasy Star 1987 – 2017 by Kalman Andrasofszky

A high quality 8-color giclee print on 100% cotton fiber velvet fine art paper.

13″ X 19″ Signed and numbered by the artist. Limited to an edition of 30.

Purchase here.

Xeno Crisis – A New Sega Genesis Game Coming Late 2018

Posted by Sega Dude on December 16, 2017

Posted in: Community, Games, Genesis (North America), Hardware, Mega Drive (EURO), Mega Drive (Japanese), SEGA. Tagged: Bitmap Bureau, dreamcast, genesis, mega drive, Physical Release, sega, Xeno Crisis. Leave a comment

At a very slow but steady drip our beloved Sega Genesis and Mega Drive game library is still growing. And this latest addition looks like it could be something special.

Xeno Crisis by Bitmap Bureau is a current Kickstarter campaign which was fully funded within it’s first 40 hours. But don’t you worry there is still plenty of time to get in on the action yourself.

Head on over to Kickstarter right now for all the details. If you want to stick around I’ll share some of the highlights right here.

The screen shot below speaks for itself. This does not look like any Homebrew game. It looks amazing. Before I knew for certain that Xeno Crisis was being built specifically for the Sega Genesis and Sega Mega Drive I thought the graphics looked too good and this must be destine for PC or modern console as another retro inspired video game.

It certainly is retro inspire but it is also for certain going be on cartridge for play on your Sega Mega Drive and Sega Genesis video game console. And if that is not enough it’s getting a port for the Sega Dreamcast as well.

“Xeno Crisis is a new, original title for the Sega Mega Drive / Genesis which will be released both as a physical cartridge and also as a downloadable ROM. At its core, it’s an arena shooter that takes inspiration from the likes of Smash TV, Contra, Mercs, Granada, Alien Syndrome, Zombies Ate My Neighbours, Chaos Engine, and Shock Troopers.”

In addition to the inevitable running and gunning (with optional two-play co-op) this game is going to throw our way it has a lot more going on. Spending ‘dog tags’ collected from the guts of fallen Xenomorphs will allow you to upgrade your Marine. This includes increasing your Marine’s base stats and extending the carrying capacity of a variety of different items.

“The player has several weapons at their disposal, but ammo is limited so the player must constantly be on the move, grabbing new weapons and extra ammo as they go. When a room has been cleared of all hostiles the player can choose which exit to take, with the aim being to rescue any of the colony’s inhabitants who might still be alive, and then progress to the area’s boss. There are 5 areas in total, each with their own enemies, hazards, secrets and gameplay nuances.”

And what weapons are at your disposal? A grand total of 9 unique guns in addition to grenades. I feel this will add a lot of variety and fun to the game.

I am hoping for a bit more variety in Xenomorphs. Currently there are four different types. But the game is still in it’s early stages and maybe we’ll see more as development continues.

Have you been noticing how fantastic the graphics are in Xeno Crisis? Yeah, I have too. And there’s a good reason for it. Exceptionally great talent is at work here.

Exceptionally great talent continued…

Of course sound is also very important and it is also getting the same treatment.

“The focus of Xeno Crisis’ gameplay is the intense combat which pits you against thousands of alien enemies – the player takes control of a battle-hardened marine who is able to move and shoot in 8 directions, and can also perform an evasive roll to get out of tricky situations. If things get really desperate then the marine can also use a grenade to destroy anything near him, giving him a brief moment of respite.”

If all this hasn’t won you over then I have no idea how you landed on my corner of the Internet and got this deep into my post.

Come on in for the big win! Head over to Xeno Crisis on Kickstarter and pledge for your own copy while there’s still time.

Custom Game Cases Vol. 6

Posted by Sega Dude on December 5, 2017

Posted in: MVS, NES, Nintendo, SNES, SNK Neo Geo. 2 Comments

This seems to be the circle of life with my Nintendo and Neo Geo games. Every now and again as I get more loose NES, SNES or Neo Geo MVS cartridges I then buy aftermarket cases and covers for the games.

Below are Neo Geo MVS Shockboxes and cover-art that can be purchased from Southtown-Homebrew.com (I had my covers printed locally). Each Shockbox costs $8.55 USD plus shipping. But the last 20 (give or take) I’ve been lucky enough to find used locally for about $8-$10 CAD each; which saved me about $5-$7 CAD each.

And what about the games I got these aftermarket cases for?

Normally I don’t really want boot-leg multicarts but the Neo Geo has a few games that I can’t find for affordable prices. So for $70 CAD (~$55 USD) I picked up the ‘Super N in 1’ multicart with 120 Neo Geo games (some are ROM hacks). Now I can play games like Pulstar, Twinkle Star Sprites and Ganryu; which often sell for hundreds of dollars each. So far, Pulstar is an amazing R-Type rip-off. I love it! My buddy Evil Kalman and I played it for several hours recently. It’s punishing but we did OK.

Nightmare in the Dark is a fun two player puzzle/platforming game similar Bubble Bobble and Snow Bros. I traded my Neo Geo Pocket Color Rockman (complete) for this MVS Nightmare in the Dark.

For $165 USD (~$210 CAD) all in with shipping for both I got Captain Tomaday and Neo Turf Masters from a fellow gamer. I don’t recall the exact break down for each but likely it was about $100 USD for Captain Tomaday and $65 for Neo Turf Masters. Captain Tomaday is a fun shoot ’em up starring a cute flying mutant Cherry Tomato. As for Neo Turf Masters; many hardcore Neo fans will boast that this game is the best golf game ever. Is it? I don’t know, I’m not that into golf.

Sengoku 3 I managed to score locally for $100 CAD (~$78 USD) from my local classifieds (Kijiji) earlier this summer. The graphics are very good but the gameplay is a bit slow. It takes a long time to beat up the baddies. They can take a pounding! I have to learn the combo system much better before I’ll be able to pick up the pace.

Next up are some pretty common NES games.

*These after market BitBoxes for both NES and SNES can be purchased at StoneAgeGamer.com.

Ring King, Double Dragon and Super Mario Bros. cost me $10 CAD (~$8 USD) each. With Hogan’s Alley coming in at $5. I have a lot of good memories playing Ring King back in the day with a good friend. It’s no Punch Out but it’s still a fun boxing game.

The next two cost a fair bit more with Adventure Island II at $25 CAD (~$20 USD) and TMNT III for $45 CAD (~$36 USD).

With my NES collection at just over 50 games I’m very close to having all the titles I want. The collection will grow at a much slower pace now.

My SNES collection is similar in size at a bit over 50 titles.

For me the most exciting SNES additions here are Axelay and Lufia which cost me $50 CAD (~$40 USD) each. At the time everyone was selling these games for $100 CAD each so this felt like a good buy.

Now these newest Nintendo editions are ready to join the collection.

And the Neo Geo MVS Games also assimilated into the collection.

Pick-Ups – Pulseman

Posted by Sega Dude on November 13, 2017

Posted in: Collection New Additions, Games, Mega Drive (Japanese), SEGA. Tagged: Indiana Jones, Instruments of Chaos, japanese, mega drive, Pusleman, sega, Zombies Ate My Neighbors. 2 Comments

Did the title give anything away? I didn’t give up on this Pulseman that I walked away from a few weeks ago when I first found it at a recent Oshawa Game Swap. The seller and I were not able to strike a deal on this $400 CAD (~$315 USD) game. But more recently something did happen. Check out my newest addition to my Japanese Sega Mega Drive collection.

Not only does the cover-art look great but the whole thing is in pristine condition. I’ve had some time to play Pulseman and I was happy to see that the graphics are really very good. The controls are tight and responsive and Pulseman is able to perform a good variety of moves. I’m looking forward to more time with it.

Below is my gameplay footage of the Level 1. Plus the game intro.

Pulseman is one of a bunch of Sega Mega Drive / Genesis games that are region locked to their home region and Pulseman will not natively play in my North American NTSC Sega Genesis. Fortunately I have a very cool product called the Super Key. It acts as a pass-through cartridge and allows you to set any region you need to meet the requirements of whatever game you’re trying to play.

I originally picked-up this Super Key in a bundle with Sailor Moon for the Japanese Sega Mega Drive. And I’m really glad I did as they are not easy to find.

So what does it take to get a game with a price tag of $400? …without actually laying out any cash? It takes some serious trading.

After leaving Pulseman behind at the Game Swap I took a long hard look at my collection. And rounded up some games that I felt I could do without. For years I’ve been on the fence about collecting for the Sega Saturn. Sure I want it all but for me it’s not possible. I sent an email to the same seller from the Oshawa Game Swap and I offered up my entire Sega Saturn collection of four games among a few other titles from different systems.

Fortunately one of my Saturn games was Albert Odyssey which seems to have some value these days. Dark Savior is moderately valuable and Daytona USA and Hang-On GP are $10-$20 games. Some time ago I bought doubles of Beggar Prince and Water Margin with the intention of saving them for trading down the road. And despite not feeling overly successful at trading retro games for other retro games it really did work out this time. It took six games to score my Pulseman.

But that’s not to say Pulseman didn’t cost me anything. In total I spent about $270 CAD (~$212 USD) on these six gamest that I traded away. However, this is money that had long since left me and it feels good to transform these games into something I really want. Sure, maybe I could have sold Albert Odyssey myself and put that money in the bank but that is no where near as fun.

This store that Nintendo Joe and I visited for our big day of trading is called 7 Star Games. Located at 145 Kingston Rd E, Ajax, ON L1S 7J4. It’s bursting with retro games and very much worth the visit. This sellers other location is called P-Market Games at 127 N Front St. Belleville, ON.

Pulseman is a very exciting addition to my collection; especially considering how hard it is to obtain. Below are what I call my Heavy Hitters. These are good Japanese Sega Mega Drive games that regularly come with really expensive price tags. Often listed on ebay from about $500-$1,000 CAD (~$394 -$790 USD) when complete. I haven’t used ebay in close to a year and with prices like these I’m really not interested in going back. I’ll just have continue to wait for moments like this when I can make something manageable happen.

Honestly, I feel really lucky to have these gems.

My remaining ultimate Japanese Sega Mega Drive wish list consists of:

1. Battle Mania Daiginjō (Battle Mania 2), 2. Twinkle Tale, 3. Alien Soldier, 4. Snow Bros.

In addition to bringing the games I knew I needed to trade for Pulseman I brought a few extra just in case. And of these extras the store owner was interested in giving me $95 credit for a pink Nintendo DS lite with power cable, a complete Sega Genesis Alien 3 and a loose SNES Knights of the Round. I took the credit and found the following games.

I’ve heard lots of good things about Zombies Ate My Neighbors and even Nintendo Joe has been recommending it to me. So minus $60 from my credit and I took it.

The other game I selected was Instruments of Chaos starring Yong Indiana Jones for $20. Both are in great shape and complete with hanging tabs (which is important to me).

I still had $15 credit left but any additional worth while choice would have left me needing to hand over some cash as well. Since I wasn’t in the mood to spend I gave my remaining credit to Nintendo Joe. Who also scored himself a game priced at $400 CAD (~$315 USD) during this same visit and a whole lot more. For any NES fans out there Nintendo Joe now has a lot of heavy hitters of his own to show off, not to mention what he had to do to get them. Click here for all his details.