Video game book publisher Bitmap Books is back with another entry in their ‘Visual Compendium’ series with the release of Mega Drive/Genesis: A Visual Compendium on the 1st of July 2022. This follows on from the publisher’s 2019 book SEGA Master System: A Visual Compendium which was officially licensed by SEGA. Interestingly, Mega Drive/Genesis: A Visual Compendium is not officially licensed by SEGA.
Mega Drive/Genesis: A Visual Compendium will feature articles on 250 games released for the Mega Drive as well as select 32X and Mega-CD games. The book will feature a foreward by former SEGA America CEO Tom Kalinske alongside interviews with Ryuichi Nishizawa of Wonder Boy fame, Lode Coen from Digital Pictures, Tom Kalinske, Randy Breen of Road Rash fame and David Perry of Earthworm Jim fame. The book will also feature contributions from Ed Annunziata, Mike Diver, Kurt Kalata, Hideo Kojima, Yuzo Koshiro, Henk Nieborg, Naoto Ohshima, Ken Sugimori, Yu Suzuki, Tony Takoushi and many more. The book is close to 600 pages long.
Orders will open for Mega Drive/Genesis: A Visual Compendium on the 1st of July 2022. Click here to be taken to the book listing on the Bitmap Books online store. If you’re interested in this latest publication from Bitmap Books, head on over to our review of SEGA Master System: A Visual Compendium from July 2019 for a good idea of what to expect with this book.
It’s been a long time since Data Discs released a SEGA soundtrack on vinyl, with their last release being Shenmue II back in December 2020. Well the UK label are back with a brand new release and this time it’s Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi’s Mega Drive soundtrack on 180g vinyl.
This record will be released on a single LP running at 45pm and come with a lithographic print of the game’s artwork. The record will be on sale Saturday 22nd January 2022 and will be available in 3 variants: a limited edition translucent teal with white splatter, translucent teal and classic black. The record won’t ship until February 16th 2022 so there’s not a long wait until release either.
Click here to be taken to the store entry on the Data Discs website. Please be reminded that the record is not sold out at the time of writing and it will go on sale on the 22nd of January 2022. You can also register to the Data Discs newsletter for earlier access to new releases.
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.
Habit Soft have produced a new Mega Drive version of their Game Boy Color game Repair Chan’s Repair Strategy and the game is available to order now. Unfortunately, the game is entirely Japan exclusive at the time of writing and will only ship to Japanese addresses.
Repair Chan’s Repair Strategy is a puzzle game where you must fly Repair Chan to various platforms around a stage and charge them up to beat the stage. The game has an interestingly flying mechanic where you need to flap Repair Chan’s 2 pigtails independently in order to control her in the air. You can check out some footage of the game in action via the embed below:
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:
A surprise re-release of Advanced Busterhawk Gleylancer is heading to Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S next week. This digital re-release of the Mega Drive shoot-em-up classic arrives on October 15th 2021 and is available in English for the first time ever in an official format.
The port is being handled by Ratalaika Games and boasts enhanced accessibility features and fully translated cut scenes. You can watch the game’s launch trailer by clicking the embed below:
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.
We’ve added 3 new features to our Hardware section that detail 3 AtGames handhelds from 2008 and 2009. The full list of additions are linked below so please click through and read about these officially SEGA-licensed handhelds developed by AtGames:
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