brandon cobb

I found a nice surprise in my mailbox this morning from Super Fighter Team. Brandon Cobb is releasing two games for the Sega Genesis / Mega Drive. And they are available for purchase right now.

Magic Girl and Cascade.

I actually have Magic Girl (cartridge only) and after reading Brandon’s comments I think Magic Girl might have been an unlicensed game when it was first released for the Mega Drive.

“Magic Girl was developed by Gamtec in Taiwan. In addition to translating the game into English, we at Super Fighter Team have also fixed a few bugs that plagued the Chinese original.” – Super Fighter Team

Magic Girl Featuring Ling Ling the Little Witch

Magic Girl Gameplay by the Sega Dude

“It is a harsh reality for Ling Ling, whose heart is filled with sorrow over the suffering of her people. But there is no time for tears, as she must rush to avenge the fallen. Only with your careful guidance will she be able to prevail over the enemy and restore her planet to a semblance of its former peace and prosperity.”

My version is not translated and doesn’t have the bug fixes offered by Super Fighter Team and it doesn’t have a case or manual. For me this was enough reason to purchase a copy. In my short gameplay example above I managed to get to level 3.

I didn’t notice any bugs unless performance qualifies. There was no flickering or slow downs but it felt like the frame rate was too slow or the refresh wasn’t adequate. I’m sure if those terms apply but something felt a bit off. I’m having a hard time describing what I experienced while playing.

The game is not very polished. The sound effects for both your rapid fire shot and sound played when you get hit are annoying. The graphics aren’t great but they’re OK and the boss fights are a bit simple. Not simple as in easy but there isn’t much variety in what they do. And the levels felt too long for what little variety they offered.

You can grab a bunch of different power-ups including a mega blast that hits everything on the screen. This ‘bomb’ is something to save for when the screen gets a little to cluttered with enemies. You might have noticed that I wasted one of my blasts right at the beginning as I was figuring out which button does what.
*Hold A for rapid fire shooting and B for your mega blast/bomb.

If you love collecting retro video games then consider getting Magic Girl. If you just love playing great games take some time to think about this one. It might not be for you.
We all know how rare it is for games to get release for retro systems so for me personally I do like buying them whenever I can.

I really don’t know what to think about Cascade. It’s a puzzle game with 7 levels and a two player competitive mode. Sounds great but from the one screen shot I’ve seen I suspect that it might not be very good.

However, I purchased Cascade because like I said, it’s not often games are released for retro consoles and I’ve been very happy with Star Odyssey and the Legend of Wokong. Both releases from Super Fighter Team for the Genesis / Mega Drive.

Cascade

My sense of timing for my Blue Almanac post was pretty well on the mark. Just this morning I found an email from Brandon Cobb of Super Fighter Team stating that Star Odyssey is now for sale.
Star Odyssey is the never before released English version of Blue Almanac. If you’re still into 16-bit gaming you’ve got chance at picking up a cool looking RPG that most every non Japanese speaker missed out on.

Star Odyssey Order Page

Here’s a look at the email notice that I received:

Brandon Cobb bcobb@superfighter.com

Hello, friends!

I vividly recall the first time I set my eyes on the ramshackle prototype of Blue Almanac as it had been adapted into pseudo-English. Here I held a game cartridge that few eyes had ever looked upon, despite it having been advertised in the publications of the time. People saw it, and people had interest in it, and despite that? POOF. Gone. Never set right with me for a moment. And that’s fine, because Super Fighter Team has made it our job to remedy unfair situations like that one.

As I was putting the finishing touches on the game’s new script, I took a look at one of those old press ads for the first time. The phrase “Your Star Odyssey is about to begin!” caught my eyes immediately, locking me in a silent moment of realization. We did it! We took this thing from myth to manifest. As a result, perhaps a few of the people who stared longingly at the blurry screenshots inside those early ’90s magazines will now find some pleasant closure. I’m damned proud of that thought.

—
June 22, 2011: Twenty years to the day after the release of Blue Almanac in Japan. We have done right by Hot-B Co., Ltd., licensing their fantastic role-playing adventure set in the future, and preparing it for a long overdue release worldwide.

We now invite you to enjoy the fruit of that hard work, by visiting the game’s official website and ordering a copy…

http://www.starodysseygame.com/

You’re sure to enjoy it.

—
Thank you for your interest and attention. We appreciate your support, as we would not exist without it. So long as we have such support, we will continue to fight the good fight, producing great new games for your favorite systems.

—
– Brandon Cobb
President, Super Fighter Team

E-mail: bcobb@superfighter.com
Web: http://www.superfighter.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/superfighterteam

“Never let dreams die!”
—–

Early this morning when I first tried to place my order the site wasn’t actually ready for orders. By the time I got home from work and tried again all was good.
It will cost American residence $48 US and the rest of us $55 US (the difference is in the cost of shipping).

Now, if only I had a few people reading my blog I might feel like I’ve done my part 😛