Indie Mega Drive shoot-em-up ZPF is aiming to launch in February 2025 through Mega Cat Studios and if you want to secure a physical copy then you can now contribute to the game’s Kickstarter.
This impressive-looking shooter features artwork by Gryzor who previously worked on Gunlord and Neo XYX for Dreamcast. Coding is being handled by Mikael Tillander who also programmed Mega Drive indie game Tänzer. You can check out a trailer for the game here:
A playable demo of ZPF was released last October and is still available to download by clicking here.
If you’re unfamiliar with developer Mega Cat Studios, the team have released multiple independent Mega Drive games like Coffee Crisis, Arkagis Revolution and Little Medusa.
Duranik’s impressive 2013 Dreamcast shoot-em-up Sturmwind is getting a new pressing through independent publisher VGNYsoft. This new pressing comes in 2 editions – a standard jewel case version with a 24 page booklet, or a limited edition that includes everything in the standard edition plus a limited edition sleeve and a custom Sturmwind-branded VMU shell. This version is limited to 500 copies.
While pre-orders haven’t opened just yet, the listings are available on the VGNYsoft online store now. See below for direct links and pricing:
VGNYsoft are based in North America so expected a hefty shipping fee if you live outside the US. You can also check out a new trailer of the game in action via the embed below:
Released in 1989; Bomber Raid for the Master System is a vertically-scrolling shoot-em-up developed by Sanritsu and is infamous for being the final Master System game officially published by SEGA in Japan during the console’s lifespan. As a result of being a game that released in Japan, it also has a secret FM soundtrack that anyone in the PAL territories could never really access during the console’s original run, as those regions never received the FM Sound Unit or a version of the Master System where it’s built into the console itself.
ZPF is a brand new horizontally-scrolling shooter for the Mega Drive that has been in development for quite some time now. The three person team of Gryzor Rozyrg, Mikael Tillander and jgvex.eth have been toiling away on this impressive-looking shmup since 2020, and they are now close to launching a Kickstarter campaign to secure funding for the last stage of development, as well as give players the opportunity to secure a boxed version of the game which will now be published by Mega Cat Studios.
Mega Cat Studios have been very active in the indie Mega Drive space, publishing games like Coffee Crisis, Phantom Gear, Tanzer and Romeow & Julicat. You can view ZPF’s entry on the Mega Cat website by clicking here. You can also subscribe to the Mega Cat newsletter for updates on ZPF and the Kickstarter as soon as it happens via this same page. Check out the latest development update on ZPF via the embed below:
Grind Stormer by Toaplan is a vertically scrolling shoot-em-up that seems very traditional on the surface, but it hides an extra gameplay style that drastically alters the main mechanics. Join us as we take a look at Grind Stormer for the Mega Drive!
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:
The Western release of Cotton: Fantastic Night Dreams Reboot! has finally been confirmed for June 2021 on both Switch and PS4. The game will release both digitally and physically and will be published by Inin.
The Cotton remake was developed by Beep based on the Success original which was released on SEGA’s System 16 arcade board back in 1991. The Cotton series is a franchise of cute, horizontally-scrolling shoot-em-ups where you play as a young witch called Nata de Cotton who has to battle several monsters through a fantasy world to obtain her Willow candy. You can check out a trailer for the Cotton Reboot! by clicking the embed below:
Cotton Reboot! adds a new, HD art style to the game as well as the ability to play the 1993 X68000 port of the game. In addition to this there is also a newly arranged soundtrack as well as online leaderboards.
M2 are having a serious amount of fun with the Aleste franchise at the moment. Following on from their brand new release of GG Aleste 3 that featured in the recent Aleste Collection, M2 are bringing another new Aleste title called Senxin Aleste to arcades. This title is very much a throwback to the 16 bit tate shooters of the early 90s and features 4 playable characters. You can check out a trailer for the game below:
There is currently no release date set for Senxin Aleste, but it will be arcade exclusive; specifically to SEGA arcades in Japan for the time being. Fingers crossed the game doesn’t stay Japan exclusive for long. Western fans will be more familiar with the Aleste series through games like Power Strike and M.U.S.H.A.
Legendary side-scrolling shoot-em-up Advanced Busterhawk Gley Lancer is getting a reprint 27 years after its initial release for the Mega Drive. This new run will release on the 6th of June 2019 and pre-orders can be placed on Amazon Japan right now. It’s not a cheap item though. Pre-orders are priced at 11,966 yen which currently converts to around £81.70 in British sterling. Regardless, this is still substantially cheaper than the current resale value of an original print copy.
This new print is not officially sanctioned by SEGA and comes courtesy of the people at Columbus Circle, who previously released Rhythm Land for the Mega Drive in February.
Developed by Nendo, Omega Blast is a vertical ‘bullet hell’ shoot-em-up for the Mega Drive and a near complete version of the game is now available as part of the 30th anniversary of the Japanese launch of the Mega Drive.
This homebrew title is a free download and can be played in a Mega Drive emulator or directly on a Mega Drive itself with use of a flash cart. It’s a very impressive-looking title that reminds us of the infamous NES bullet hell shmup Summer Carnival ’92: Recca. You can see the game in action below:
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