SEGADriven is a SEGA news and information source that focuses on SEGA's console history, retro games and new software hitting the shelves. We want to share a love of great, quirky, clever and down-right fun games - something that SEGA have always specialised in. See below for the latest news, reviews and features added to the website.
The SEGADriven Patreon is now live! As a dedicated viewer I would like to ask for your financial help to support the day-to-day production of SEGADriven YouTube videos, as well as written features at SEGADriven.com. Your contribution will allow us to produce more frequent and substantial videos, as well as produce more regular written work for SEGADriven.com. You will also be given early access to new writing and videos before they go live publicly. You will also be creditted for your contribution on the SEGADriven website and in the credits sequence of all SEGADriven videos. Please consider supporting SEGADriven!
Developed by xfixium and featuring audio by Louis the Sega Nerd and graphics by Mondo, an impressive 2 stage homebrew demo of Castlevania for the Master System is now available to download and play.
The demo currently features no sound effects or boss battles, but this is an extremely playable and visually impressive little homebrew project that is well worth trying. You can see it in action via the video below:
SEGA console designer, engineer and former company president Hideki Sato has sadly passed away at the age of 75.
Sato was a SEGA veteran, joining the company in 1971 and working on the development of early SEGA arcade titles Monaco GP, Star Jacker and Turbo. He is most famous for being the designer and engineer on most of SEGA’s consoles, including the SG-1000, SEGA Mark III, Mega Drive, Saturn and Dreamcast. Sato would also become SEGA company president in 2001 following Isao Okawa’s death. He would step down as president in 2003 and leave SEGA altogether in 2008.
SEGADriven would like to extend our condolences to Hideki Sato’s friends, family and colleagues.
In our last video about Mega Drive beat-em-ups that are NOT Streets of Rage we accidentally reviewed TMNT: The Hyperstone Heist again because my memory is atrocious. As an apology here’s a reveiw of The Tick on the Mega Drive!
Hyperkin have revealed an update to its long in development Mega Drive handheld, the Mega95. The handheld is an unofficial modern clone of the Genesis Nomad that lets you play real Mega Drive cartridges on a dedicated handheld. It can interface with a dock that can also provide video output.
In a recent post on Twitter, Hyperkin have revealed they have overcome a big issue with its software and they are now readying demo units to be sent to “specialists in the community”. This likely means select retro gaming YouTubers. You can see the full text from Hyperkin below:
After a lot of testing, iteration, and late-night problem solving, we believe we’ve found a solution to the obstacles that were holding Mega95 back. Things are finally moving in the right direction, and we’re nearing the next big milestone.
Our next step is one we’re really excited about: sending out demo units to trusted retro specialists in the community. These are people who know the hardware, know the games, and won’t sugarcoat feedback. Their hands-on impressions will help us validate performance, catch any remaining issues, and make final refinements before we move into mass production.
We know the wait has been long, and we don’t take that lightly. Our goal has always been to make sure Mega95 launches the right way, not rushed, not compromised, but worthy of your collection and the games it’s meant to play.
More updates soon. We’re getting close.
Let’s Game. 🎮
If you’d like to see the Mega95 in action then Hyperkin have also showcased it playing Sonic 2. You can see that by clicking here.
A firm release date still appears to be a ways off, but hopefully this update means the machine might be coming sooner rather than later.
The practice of hiding entire games within the code of other games is an art lost to time, but back in the day this was surprisingly common. Let’s take a look at a bunch of SEGA games that have smaller secret games hidden within them:
Homebrew developer TwilightPB has ported the first two Super Monkey Ball games to internet browsers. All work on these ports has taken place over the last 5 days. These new browser ports of Super Monkey Ball 1&2 support keyboard controls and USB controllers. You can play them on any device that has an internet browser – even mobile phones.
At the moment these ports of Super Monkey Ball 1 & 2 only include the main challenge and story stages. Character models are missing at the moment, so the balls are entirely absent of monkeys. TwilightPB has said in the game’s reveal trailer that these may come in a future build. TwilightPB has also said they are working on various bug fixes and missing features, so Monkey Ball Online is likely to improve as development continues.
Metal Head is one of the few 32X games to feature fully texture-mapped polygonal models. You also get to stomp around as a big mech and blow stuff up – what’s not to love? Well…
Johnny Gioeli has made a surprise return to the world of Sonic the Hedgehog theme songs. Gioeli has performed and written the vocals on a new song called Hangin’ in the Balance for the upcoming Sonic storybook fan game Sonic and the Dragon’s Path.
In a recent direct showcase from Team Dragon’s Path, a new pre-rendered teaser trailer was debuted alongside the theme song which you can listen to via the embed below. The music for Hangin’ in the Balance was composed by BobTheGUYYYYY and Dad’s Last Nerve with Gioeli writing and performing the vocals:
Hangin’ in the Thread is also going to be performed live by the band After Shock on January 10th at MAGfest 2026. I’m not entirely sure what time this is supposed to be happening because I can’t find the band listed as performers or mentioned in the event’s schedule at all.
There is currently no set release date for Sonic and the Dragon’s Path and the developer has yet to showcase any in-game footage or offer a playable demo. The recent direct video did promise a gameplay trailer for the game is coming “very soon”.
SEGADriven and its original content are copyrighted to their respective authors. Media related directly to SEGA is copyrighted to its respective authors. Any comments on SEGA-related materials do not represent SEGA themselves. All rights reserved 2008-2026.
We use cookies to analyse site usage, provide social media features and personalise content and ads. We may also share information about your use of our website with our partners.
