The kings of prototype game preservation Hidden Palace have returned with another massive update of unreleased and prototype game dumps. Among the extensive update are a few unreleased SEGA titles with the most interesting being a 32X port of Spot Goes to Hollywood – the isometric sequel to Cool Spot. Check out some in-game footage below which also showcases a deleted stage based on the Aliens franchise:
In addition to the 32X Spot Goes to Hollywood discovery, we also have an interesting Time Warner 32X CMD Download Cartridge dump – a piece of software used to download programs onto a flash cart for testing on real 32X hardware.
On the Mega Drive side of things we have a dump of RBI Baseball 95 which was eventually cancelled. We also have a prototype version of Race Drivin’ that would see release on the system in March 1993. This prototype appears to be quite late in the game’s development.
Retro-bit recently re-released Mega Man: The Wily Wars for Mega Drive/SEGA Genesis and our guest contributor David Crint has written a brilliant analysis of the new packaging that goes into detail about what the collection offers alongside detailed analysis of the product’s quality. Please be aware that this feature contains no criticism of the actual software, with the focus being on the packaging of the collector’s edition re-release of Mega Man: The Wily Wars by Retro-bit and how it compares to the original release.
Strictly Limited Games have secured the rights to the cult classic Mega Drive shooter Panorama Cotton and are producing a limited edition version of the game for PS4, Switch and Mega Drive. The Mega Drive version will be available in PAL or NTSC formats with matching artwork based on the regions priced at €49.99. This will be the first time the game has been officially released outside of Japan and also the first time the game has been made available in English.
If you’re interested in pre-ordering any of these ports then direct links to each version can be found below. Pre-orders have not gone live at the time of writing but are “coming soon”:
Panorama Cotton is infamous for being one of the most visually impressive games on the Mega Drive. Click the embed below to see it in action courtesy of World of Longplays:
Retro-Bit Gaming have revealed that they are officially working with SEGA on a new Mega Drive controller shaped like the original 3 button Mega Drive controller but now with 6 button functionality.
While there is currently no word on a release date and only a single production mock-up image, Retro-Bit have promised the controller will be sold in original port, USB wired, and 2.4 GHz wireless (with USB-C) variants and more details are coming soon. This should be a great alternative for those looking for a bluetooth Mega Drive controller for the upcoming Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack which adds a selection of Mega Drive games to the service. Japan are getting an official bluetooth 6 button Mega Drive controller for the Switch, but unfortunately Western Mega Drive fans have to settle with a 3 button pad if they buy from Nintendo directly.
During the most recent Nintendo Direct, Nintendo have revealed that a collection of SEGA Mega Drive games will be added to the Nintendo Switch Online service as a part of an upcoming “expansion pack”. This expansion pack will add N64 and Mega Drive games to your existing NSO subscription and will go live in October 2021. No pricing has been set at time of writing.
The full list of Mega Drive games being added are: Castlevania Bloodlines, Contra Hard Corps, Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine, Ecco the Dolphin, Golden Axe, Gunstar Heroes, MUSHA, Phantasy Star IV, Ristar, Shining Force, Shinobi III, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Streets of Rage 2 and Strider.
Alongside this announcement, Nintendo have revealed they will also be developing and selling their own bluetooth 3 button Mega Drive controller. Nintendo Japan have also revealed they will be releasing a 6 button variant as well, but this variant is currently Japan exclusive.
The Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack launches in October 2021.
2 new additions have arrived in our SEGA Hardware section in the form of 2 models of Tianli VCD players.
In 1998 SEGA officially licensed Chinese home entertainment company Tianli the rights to make VCD players combined with Mega Drive hardware for sale in the Chinese market. Games were distributed on VCD compilations instead of cartridges and the systems themselves also have 2 controller inputs for use with actual Mega Drive controllers.
Click below to read the 2 articles we now have on the following models of Tianli VCD player:
A brand new PC port of Dizzy the Adventurer based on an unreleased Mega Drive port has been released thanks to the wonderful efforts of The Dizzy Fansite.
This port of Dizzy the Adventurer was originally scheduled for release in a Mega Drive compilation called The Excellent Dizzy Collection, but it was unfortunately cancelled due to time constraints. The compilation would only release on Game Gear and Master System in November 1993.
This completed PC port of the previously unreleased Mega Drive port of Dizzy the Adventurer is available to purchase now from The Dizzy Fansite’s Itch page. It costs a minimum of £10 to purchase.
A small selection of 3 books have now been added to the SEGA Book Catalogue in our Merchandise section. See below for the full list of additions as well as direct links to each feature:
You may have seen the various unused gameplay elements and alternate artwork from this prototype in pre-release footage or the various magazine coverage from the time. This includes the UFOs in Marble Garden Zone, the different neon signs in Spring Yard Zone, the checkerboard ball that Sonic can run on in Green Hill Zone and the different stage titles for Spring Yard Zone and Scrap Brain Zone. Well, they’re all in this prototype and it makes for a fascinating insight into the game’s development.
Fast becoming one of the most important resources for digital archiving of prototype software, Hidden Palace have released another slew of prototype versions of various Sonic the Hedgehog titles. These new dumps of late development builds of Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic Spinball and Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine showcase some fascinating insight into their development and feature a slew of differences from their final builds.
Sonic Adventure 2 features many grammatical errors that would be corrected for the final build, Metal Harbor and the final Sonic and Shadow battle are considerably more difficult and the driving stages feature different collision results when driving into other vehicles. The full list of differences can be read on the Hidden Palace entry for this release.
All of these dumps can be downloaded and played through emulation or on real hardware from the Hidden Palace entries linked above. Hidden Palace will be streaming and revealing their “last present from under the tree” tonight (31/12/2020) at 10pm GMT on Twitch, so if you’re excited to see more prototypes from their team then be sure to tune in.
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