golden axe

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Pick-Ups – Sega, Sega and more Sega!

Posted by Sega Dude on October 20, 2019
Posted in: Collection New Additions, Games, Genesis (North America), SEGA. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

It’s with mixed emotions that I present to you my most recent Sega pick-ups!

I found a pile of Sega CD games for sale on Kijiji (classified) which weren’t very local to me. Admittedly the advertised prices were not amazing with everything priced a bit higher than what I found at PriceCharting.com. The seller was willing to include shipping which did help some but I feel I got a little over excited and I should have tried to work out better prices.

Cobra Command was priced at $50 CAD (~$38 USD) while it’s listed at $30 USD on PriceCharting.com. The condition is reasonable for a collector like me and the game works.

Wolfchild is in really good condition and cost $100 CAD (~$76 USD, with a PriceCharting value of $48 USD) and despite a pristine looking CD the game will freeze as it loads level one.

I’m going to get the Wolfchild CD buffed once I can find a place with a proper machine for the task. I’m hoping this will do the trick.

Mickey Mania came in at $70 CAD (~$53 USD, with a PriceCharting value of $46 USD). It’s in good shape and works… but, there is a scratch on the data portion of the CD and when held to a light the light will shine through. I’m guessing that once the Sega CD tries to read this portion of the CD the game will crash. No amount of buffing will fix this issue.

I sprung for the Sega Classics 5 in 1 with Manual for $30 CAD (~$23 USD) because I was curious to try out games that were originally on cartridge and now on the CD format. The games are the same for the most part but I did notice that Golden Axe has a bunch of ‘enhanced’ sound effects that I’m not very fond of. Ecco the Dolphin on the other hand was treated to wonderfully atmospheric CD audio music. Even though not pictured Ecco came with this compilation on it’s own CD.

Because of the problems with Mickey Mania and Wolfchild I did ask the seller if he’d be willing to return $20 CAD to me. I thought that was just a small token to acknowledge the problem. But so far I’ve been met with radio silence. I’m not going to fuss much. I’ve done what I can and I’m sure there was no ill intentions on the sellers part. I sent him money and in good faith he mailed me the games. It is was it is; the CD format is not as reliable/durable as cartridges.

Next up, I felt like I was going back to my roots with some cool Japanese Sega Mega Drive games direct from Japan!

Kyukyoku Tiger (Twin Cobra) cost me $70 USD (~$92 CAD) and I was a bit disappointed to find the cover is sunfaded. The seller did send me pictures but I couldn’t really tell until I had the case and manual in hand and side by side.

Despite this I’ll definitely be doing business with www.facebook.com/Japantiquity/ again. I explained that next time I’d like games in better condition and he was very receptive and understanding.

Bad Omen on the other hand is in great shape and I’m very pleased with it. Bad Omen cost me $55 USD (~$72 CAD). Both of these Mega Drive games included shipping.

You can also find Japantiquity on Instagram @Japantiquity_japanvintageshop.

My first impression of Kyukyoku Tiger is that it does not look very pretty. But as I played I could tell the gameplay is good… and tough! Bad Omen is also a hard game that feels like it’s going to be easy but it’s just not. I really do like it and I’m looking forward to playing more.

Brand New and Official Artwork for Classic Sega Games

Posted by Sega Dude on May 15, 2015
Posted in: Article, Community, Restoration. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 5 Comments

SEGA Art

I love reminders that there are still many people out there who love classic video games. What’s happening over at Cook & Becker right now is an excellent example of this.

“Cook & Becker asked some of the hottest artists working in entertainment and video games today to draw and create a print of their favorite classic SEGA games. The idea was to create a series of beautiful prints under direction of SEGA that would capture the heart of these classic brands, their aesthetic and what they meant for people playing them and growing up with them.” – www.candb.com

The fact that a company like Cook & Becker are selling video game related artwork/prints shows that many of our old favorite games are not forgotten. And that new material is still very desirable by many of us.

Golden Axe by Gerald Parel

Golden Axe by Gerald Parel

Golden Axe and Shinobi are my personal favorites of these first five offering from Cook & Becker. For prints they are very expensive at $115 USD each. However they are quite large (36 x 24 inch) and exceptionally well crafted. I don’t yet know if I would buy them for myself. It’s hard to redirect money that could otherwise become actually retro video games but I am very tempted. And I do want to give credit to Cook & Becker for posting relatively large (1029×1600) versions online that will allow everyone to enjoy them. Thank you Cook & Becker!

Phantasy Star by Kilian Eng

Jet Set Radio  by Roman van der Haven

I’m looking forward to summer 2015 when Cook & Becker promises more art from new artist to add to this first excellent wave.

Streets of Rage by Julien Renoult

And if you just can’t wait for the perfect piece to show up for your all time favorite game; don’t you worry! The Internet is a wonderful place. A little while ago I discovered poster called ‘Classic Women of Gaming’ featuring every strong female characters in gaming up until 1995.

Classic Women of Gaming by Ashley Riot

You can read more about the artist and this beautiful piece at kotaku.com. This is how I found Ashley and she has already drawn Alis from Phantasy Star for me. I feel that her drawing brings my little blog to life with Alis being ever vigilant as an amazing backdrop 🙂

Alis on Retro Megabit by Ashley Riot.

Alis (Mega Drive) by Ashley Riot

Be sure to check out more of Ashley Riot’s work at Deviant Art. Ashley is currently working on Odin for me right now and my good buddy Kalman the super talented comic book artist is also working on a Phantasy Star poster for me. These are exciting times! 🙂 New love for old stuff abound!

And of course thanks to geelw from Destroy All Fanboys! for bringing us this news 🙂

Golden Axe Myth

Posted by Sega Dude on January 18, 2012
Posted in: Community. Tagged: , , , , , . 3 Comments

These are good times to be a retro gaming fan. Just a few days ago I discovered a fan made prequel to Sega’s Golden Axe called Golden Axe Myth.

Golden Axe for the Sega Genesis was one of my favorite games back in the day and it’s clear I’m not the only fan out there. This remake is fantastic! I haven’t yet beaten it but here are my impressions so far. First and foremost it’s true to its predecessor. The pace, mechanics and action all feel like Golden Axe. What’s new are the graphics have been much improved and there many added nuances. Some of those that stood out right away are the addition of Power-ups for attack strength and defense strength, hidden zones, multiple paths, and a huge variety of enemy sprites. You don’t have to look hard to see that this game is spilling over with subtle additions that take it to the next level while at the same time feeling entirely like Golden Axe. Another example is your dash attack. Of course it has been included in this prequel and I was amazed, wowed and stunned when I tried to dash attack a large enemy who then laughed heartily as I bounced off of him! That use to be my ‘take it down a notch’ move for when the enemies were getting a little out of hand.

Check out this clip of the game in all it’s glory:

And did I mention that Death Adder is a playable Hero? I’m very eager to see how his story unfolds.

Ax Battler

Tyris Flare

Gilius Thunderhead

Death Adder

The four playable characters

Kacho Go!

Posted by Sega Dude on January 11, 2012
Posted in: Community. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . 2 Comments

Retro Game Master is a Japanese web show featuring Shinya Arino as the Retro Game Master. I have no idea if he’s famous or known in any capacity in Japan other than for this show. If he’s not known it’s certainly changing. Arino, feel proud! The Sega Dude now knows you 🙂
The shows concept is simple. Watch Shinya Arino challenge a retro video game. Yup, that’s it. You or I could do this!… but Shinya Arino did. And he does it very well.
The shows are short, entertaining and you may find Shinya playing an old favorite of yours.

Shinya Arino

Retro Game Master Season 1
Sega Mega Drive Highlights

Episode 02: Super Fantasy Zone

Episode 03: Bonanza Brothers

Episode 09: Battle Golfer Yui

Episode 12: Golden Axe

I’ve linked to the Season 1 episodes where Shinya Arino is playing Sega games but be sure to check out the rest. I bet you’ll get a kick out of them all.

My understanding is this Season 1 is a small handful of episodes from Retro Game Master picked for an English speaking audience with English commentary and sub titles. If you haven’t heard of Retro Game Master then your in for some good retro fun.

Be sure to check out Battle Golfer Yui for some very rare insight into one of many Japanese games that to us non-Japanese speaking people would never otherwise get. This particular game is pretty crazy!

“People don’t tune into Japanese television show Retro Game Master to watch Shinya Arino whip through video games effortlessly. They tune in to watch him fail, and fail, and fail, and perhaps to finally, painfully succeed.”