SEGA are heavily hinting at the release of a brand new version of Cosmic Smash for VR-enabled gaming devices. A teaser video and website that features a countdown have gone live (click here to view the website). There is currently no word on specific release platforms at this time.
Cosmic Smash was originally an arcade title released by SEGA back in 2001 and ported to the Dreamcast later that same year. The game has a unique, minimalist aesthetic and plays like a cross between breakout and squash. The Dreamcast release is infamous for being one of the few Dreamcast games released in a DVD-style case and it also features the game’s stylish, minimalist art design:
The organisers of the previous unofficial Sonic the Hedgehog fan convention Weston Super Sonic are returning for another round, but this time with a new name and a new location. Sonic Fan Fest is the continuation of Weston Super Sonic, but now taking place in Bristol in the United Kingdom on October 14th 2023.
The show promises independent traders, gaming consoles to play, a quiz show, live music, an art zone, guest interviews and competitions. Kickstarter is being used to secure funding for venue hire and the payment of guests who have not been confirmed at the time of writing. Previous Weston Super Sonic guests have been Sonic the Comic writer/artist Nigel Kitching and artist Richard Elson.
Early bird tickets are available for £10 and only raising to £15 when early bird tickets have sold out. If you are based in the UK or even happy enough to travel to the UK, the event should be a major addition to any Sonic fan’s calendar.
You can back the Sonic Fan Fest Kickstarter and secure your tickets by clicking here.
Previously scheduled to release in July 2022, Bitmap Books have sadly had to cancel the release of their The Unofficial MD/Gen: A Visual Compendium book after SEGA have threatened the publisher with legal action.
Creative director Sam Dyer has issued a statement that says the company cannot risk potential legal action by releasing the book as the company cannot afford the costs as a small business. SEGA are reportedly not negotiating with the company despite them previously giving Bitmap Books their official stamp of approval for their Master System: A Visual Compendium book from 2019.
The move is a strange one from SEGA who have largely ignored unofficial publications based on their intellectual properties in the past. Dedicated SEGA fanzines like SEGA Powered continue to see publication without SEGA’s approval alongside Hardcore Gaming 101’s excellent SEGA Arcade Classics books.
Bitmap Books are looking for a way to release the PDF of the completed book for free so fingers crossed all the work done for The Unofficial MD/Gen: A Visual Compendium book doesn’t go to waste. This entire situation is a massive loss for video game preservation as history books like these become important archival documents for generations to come. SEGADriven send our condolences to Bitmap Books and the plethora of writers involved in this now cancelled publication.
Hidden Palace continue their incredible digital archiving work with a brand new SEGA Saturn prototype release of Burning Rangers from January 3rd 1998.
This latest prototype dump showcases a near complete version of Burning Rangers that features all the game’s missions, but they are missing certain features and tend to be a little bit on the buggy side. It’s a fascinating look at the later stages of the game’s development and can be downloaded direct from Hidden Palace by clicking here.
An extensive article by Bo Bayles is also available to read that details every interesting feature in that latest prototype dump. You can read that by clicking here.
Thanks once again to the incredible work of these dedicated digital archivists for continuing to preserve these amazing insights into SEGA Saturn game development.
Another fascinating homebrew development has come to light! XL2 and Corvusdeux are working on a port of Unreal to the SEGA Saturn and the work they’ve already done on it is nothing short of incredible.
The demo features 2 maps plus a bonus one and the most remarkable achievement is in the game’s draw distance. Unreal famously has some incredibly large map designs and the Saturn is managing to draw them with ease in this first release. You can check out gameplay footage via the embed below:
Developed by Mauro Xavier AKA CFX, the first playable demo of his Final Fight MD port is now available to download. It’s quite a generous first offering that allows you to play up to the boss fight with Sodom/Katana.
Final Fight MD can be played on real hardware using a flash device or under emulation. The Mega Drive infamously never received a port of Final Fight, but a version was released in 1993 on the Mega CD called Final Fight CD.
Thanks to the amazing programming talent of Ian Michael and artist Adam Burrell, we now have an unofficial Dreamcast collection of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games that aims to be the Dreamcast equivalent of the recently released Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection. This Dreamcast version compiles all the SNES, NES, Game Boy and Mega Drive titles together with surprisingly great emulation. The only games it doesn’t feature are the original arcade ports for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Turtles in Time.
Also included are the Spectrum ports of the first TMNT console game and the arcade conversion which goes above and beyond the scope of the official compilation. We also get ROM hacks of Streets of Rage 2 that include the turtles as playable characters, alongside 2 Beats of Rage games themed around TMNT. There’s also an extensive video gallery which allows you to watch 2 full episodes of the original 1987 animated show, alongside some really deep cuts like the making of feature for the Coming Out of Their Shells tour amongst other videos.
More incredible SEGA preservation work has come to fruition after a chance discovery at a UK car boot sale. Thanks to the work of Ben Bizley, Nick Greenfield and the Oxford Duplication Centre, footage of Michael Jackson in SEGA’s arcade exclusive Scramble Training title for the VS-1 simulator has been archived from a D-2 tape sold at a car boot sale.
A detailed and comprehensive article on Jackson’s history with SEGA and the events that led to his contributions to Scramble Training can be read by clicking here. This is essential reading from UK arcade enthusiast ted90909 who has painstakingly chronicled Jackson’s own enthusiasm for video games and his eventual involvement with SEGA.
The full uncompressed video of Scramble Training can be downloaded from Gaming Alexandria’s Archive account, and the English localisation of the footage is viewable on YouTube via the embed below.
The official Sonic the Hedgehog Twitter account has revealed that Sonic Frontiers will continue to see updates and support into 2023. The account has also shared a “content road map” which highlights 3 major updates. These will include the following features:
1) a new juke box mode, a new photo mode and new challenge modes will be added in the first update
2) a Sonic’s birthday event, a new open zone challenge and new koko will be added in the second update
3) a new story chapter and new playable characters will be added in the third update. Tails, Knuckles and Amy are all hinted at being made into playable characters
All of these additions and updates will be made available for free for owners of Sonic Frontiers. This is a surprising and welcome commitment from SEGA that should keep Sonic Frontiers feeling fresh into the new year.
Yuzo Koshiro has revealed that he is working on a new Mega Drive game with an unnamed designer who he previously collaborated with on Beyond Oasis/The Story of Thor.
While development is seemingly early, Koshiro has shared 2 screenshots of the game which appears to be a horizontally-scrolling shoot-em-up.
There is currently no word on when the game will release or whether it will get a physical release. Koshiro has previously worked on physical Mega Drive games that have been published by Columbus Circle, like 16 Bit Rhythm Land which released back in early 2019.
Koshiro has mentioned that the primary release will be for Mega Drive but that other platforms could follow.
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