In the new year, SEGA are running a 60th anniversary initiative called the SEGA Test. This will be an online course that will contain 60 questions and take roughly 60 minutes to complete. The test will take place 3 times a day on January 23rd and 24th 2021.
In preparation for the test, Hiroyuki Miyazaki, the Chief Contents Officer at Sega of America, is hosting a series of online SEGA history videos and the first is now available to watch below. In this video, Professor Miyazaki discuss SEGA’s console history and the code names used for its various hardware.
A real surprise occurs at 11:36 has Professor Miyazaki shows the Venus prototype of the Genesis Nomad for the very first time. It’s a fascinating look at the console’s development and it clearly uses the buttons of a stock 6 button Mega Drive controller and a directional pad from a Game Gear. Check out the full video below and brush up on your SEGA knowledge so you’re ready for the SEGA Test!
Announced alongside 2 brand new compilations of Turrican franchise ports, a new Director’s Cut version of Mega Turrican is being produced for the Mega Drive by Strictly Limited Games.
There are no exact details as to what this Director’s Cut version of Mega Turrican will entail, but if it’s going to be anything like the Director’s Cut version of Super Turrican which launched alongside the Analogue Super NT, then it should contain a new level, new graphics and new music.
You can pre-order the Mega Drive version of Mega Turrican: Director’s Cut in either a black checkerboard case or red Genesis-style case from Strictly Limited Games for €49.99. The cartridge includes the original Mega Turrican, a new Mega Turrican Score Attack game and Mega Turrican: Director’s Cut. The cartridge is aiming to ship around April/May 2021. You can also get Mega Turrican, Mega Turrican Score Attack and Mega Turrican: Director’s Cut as a part of the Turrican Anthology Vol. 1 & 2 compilations for Switch or PS4.
5 new peripherals have been added to the website’s Hardware section. These are all Mega Drive controllers and you can see a full list of the additions below:
The first images of an unreleased Mega Drive Sonic spin-off called Treasure Tails have appeared online. These come directly from Craig Stitt who many may know as an artist on Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Sonic Spinball. Stitt himself pitched the game back in February 1993. The game was meant to be a forced-perspective platform/puzzle/adventure game featuring Tails as the main playable character. It supposedly never made it to a playable state and the images seen in this article come from a VHS tape that Stitt have put together in 1995.
In addition to this discovery, the first concept images of Boomer the Turtle have also appeared. This was a character Stitt designed for Sonic the Hedgehog 2 as Sonic’s original sidekick before Tails was even conceived. The character was ultimately scrapped.
Also released is footage of another unreleased title that Craig Stitt pitched called Astropede. The game features a centipede protagonist that runs at high speeds through a stage that uses graphics from the then-unreleased Hidden Palace stage from Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Stitt had hopes that the character could exist as a part of Sonic’s Universe. Check out the footage from SEGAbits below:
4 new music entries have now been added to the SEGA Music Index in our Merchandise section. See below for the full list of additions and direct links to each new entry:
Each entry comes with a short information paragraph, a track list and several high quality photos. Why not check out the rest of the SEGA Music Index and learn about something new?
The next SEGA Ages game for the Switch has been confirmed as Herzog Zwei. This title originally released on the Mega Drive back in December 1989 and is often regarded as one of the first RTS titles.
Developed by Technosoft of Thunder Force fame, this new port by M2 features a brand new practice mode which offers an extensive tutorial for new players. Alongside the game’s Original mode is a SEGA Ages mode which adds information panels and a mini map to help manage your craft and weaponry. We also have a Helper mode which gives you more resources and health for an easier gameplay option. The game will also support online multiplayer between 2 players, but the player you’ll face off against is chosen at random with no support for friends. The usual SEGA Ages settings and features like screen resizing, wallpapers and replays are also supported.
SEGA Ages: Herzog Zwei is due to release on the Switch eShop “soon” and will be priced at 999 yen for Japan. There is currently no word on a release date or pricing for the Western versions.
A brand new Mega Drive & Mark III edition of Picross S for the Nintendo Switch has been revealed by the game’s developer Jupiter in a recent BitSummit video. This new version of the game features puzzles based on characters from various retro SEGA properties, including Sonic the Hedgehog, Alex Kidd, Phantasy Star and more.
The game will contain 4 modes: Picross, Mega Picross, Colour Picross and Clip Picross. The game is due to release worldwide this Autumn 2020 as a digital eShop title. You can watch the reveal trailer below:
2 new hardware features are now available to read in our Hardware section. A detailed system synopsis and multiple high quality images of both the SEGA Genesis Nomad and the Pioneer LaserActive with its Mega Drive Control Pack have now been added to the website. Click below to go to each system’s individual page. Once you’ve done reading about those systems, why not browse the entire Hardware section and learn even more about the multitude of SEGA systems available and unavailable?
Columbus Circle are back once again with a new Mega Drive game, but this time we have something really special. The publisher is producing a brand new port of Mad Stalker: Full Metal Forth for the Mega Drive. This title has never been released on the Mega Drive before and was originally released for Sharp X68000 computers. The game is supposedly one of the biggest influences on the development of Guardian Heroes. You can watch the reveal trailer below:
Mad Stalker: Full Metal Forth will release on the Mega Drive on the 17th of September 2020 and can be pre-ordered now from Amazon Japan. It is priced at 6,578 yen, which currently converts to £48.68 in British sterling. Columbus Circle have previously been responsible for re-releases of Advanced Busterhawk Gleylancer and the release of 16-Bit Rhythm Land and Ultracore.
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