SMS – New Additions (Fire and Forget II…)

OK, a few more Sega Master System games for TheSegaDude’s Collection These three additions are an exciting haul for me. All of them have very good covers for Sega Master System games and they are also pretty good games.

First up is Fire & Forget II. I feel it’s the least exciting of these three but still an OK game. It looks like a mash up between Spy Hunter and Space Harrier which I thought was kind of neat. But I do find that 8bit games of this style don’t usually age very well. This copy of Fire & Forget II is in Excellent condition.

Fire & Forget II

I am really impressed with Streets of Rage for the Sega Master System. Yes, the graphics are not as good as the Genesis version but it is still really well done. It’s only single player vs. two player but you can still chose one of three characters to play and it has eight stages. This is a very impressive SMS game and this copy is in Excellent condition.

Streets of Rage

Alien Storm is also really well done on the Master System. Again not as good as the Genesis version but it’s still a really worth while addition. The only really issue is the SMS version has only four stages compared to eight on the Genesis. This Alien Storm is in Excellent condition.

Alien Storm

Fire & Forget II - $17.00
Streets of Rage – $12.00
Alien Storm – $9.00
Plus $13 for shipping for all three. Setting me back $17 per game.

Mega Drive – New Additions (Raiden Densetsu…)

Raiden Densetsu is good top-down shooter. Not great but good. It doesn’t do much to stand out but it also doesn’t really screw anything up either. If this style of game is your thing then this would be a good title to pick-up. This one is in Very Good condition and I really do like the cover artwork.

Raiden Densetsu

XDR X-DAZEDLY-RAY is no Thunder Force. I have scored myself another mediocre shooter. But just like Raiden Densetsu it’s cover art is nice and this one is in Excellent condition. There were so many shooter for the Genesis that these kinds of games really can’t help but embody the feeling of this retro era. It feels good to add these two titles to the collection.

XDR X-DAZEDLY-RAY

Jantei Story Jyantei Monogatari. I look for new game so often that I have really become familiar with what’s out there. When I saw this one I had no idea what is was. I was hoping it might be some Sailor Moon-ish beat’em up or maybe something like Valis. But despite the fact that deep down inside I knew this was just another mahjong game I bought it anyways. And I was right (I think). I’m pretty sure it is a mahjong game. It might be some kind of dating mahjong game. Anyways, it’s in Excellent condition and is now hidden somewhere deep in the collection

Jantei Story Jyantei Monogatari

Raiden Densetsu – $22.00
XDR X-DAZEDLY-RAY – $20
Jantei Story Jyantei Monogatari – $15

And about $12 shipping for all. Which bringing these games to $23 each.

Mega Drive – New Additions (Battletoads…)

Battletoads is surprisingly good. I wasn’t expecting much from this game but I’ve always been a fan of the isometric view beat’em ups. They are usually fun games. Because Battletoad is similar in mechanics to games like Golden Axe and Streets of Rage it sometimes feeling a little silly with all it’s animal characters. It doesn’t pull it off the cute charm as well as something like Starfox does but I am nitpicking. This is a good solid game. Even though this copy is in Excellent condition it is expensive. If you can get your hands on it for $20 plus shipping it’s an easy call but to pay more you need to enjoy the collecting as much as playing the games.

Battletoads

After Burner II is one of those games that rocked your world if you were around when it was new. It was all about the graphics and fast, smooth, intense action. I remember loving the complete 360 rolls and getting missile lock on a rows of enemy fighters and firing off those kick-butt heat seeking rockets. These days games like After Burner II, Space Harrier, Galaxy Force, Outrun, etc are just for those of us who remember and enjoyed these games when they were cutting edge. The game is still OK but I don’t think it’s going to impress anyone anymore. But regardless, I am very happy to have this Very Good condition copy in my collection.

After Burner II

Sangokushi II is yet another Japanese language dependent game that I will never be able to play. But it’s in Very Good condition and it was also very cheap. Welcome to TheSegaCollection Sangokushi II

Sangokushi II

Battletoads – $48.00
After Burner II – $7.00
Sangokushi II- $5.00
Plus about $4 in shipping for all. So that’s just over $21 per game.
*Shipping isn’t that cheap for 3 games. They came with a few more that I’ll post later. $4 is just the per game cost.

Microsoft Once Considered Buying SEGA

In an effort to help enter the video game console market Microsoft had at one point considering buying Sega. Despite being very surprised to hear this news it does sound plausible. Of course this was a long time ago now; well before the Microsoft Xbox. This idea certainly has my imagination spinning. What would have happened if Microsoft actually did this? I’m sure the Xbox we know would have entered the market pretty much as it is now (possibly with a different name?). But what would have happened with Sega’s awesome software? I can’t help but think that Microsoft would have done a lot more with Sega’s massive  game library than Sega has done. Based on how well Microsoft did with their own games I can’t help but think they would have brought us some very worthy or even exceptional sequels for many of our favorite Sega titles.

Below is the article I found at IGN.com. It states that this information has come from former Microsoft VP Joachim Kempin.

by Luke Karmali

Microsoft’s long-rumoured plan to acquire SEGA never came to pass because Bill Gates was sceptical the company had “enough muscle” to stop Sony, according to the company’s former VP of Windows Sales.

Joachim Kempin, who worked at Microsoft between 1983 and 2003, made the claim in an interview with IGN due to go live later today. He explained that the acquisition of SEGA was originally floated as an easy way for Microsoft to enter the console space and stop Sony, especially given the huge financial losses associated with in-house hardware manufacturing.

“There were three companies at that point in time, I think this was [Sony,] SEGA and Nintendo. There was always talk maybe we buy SEGA or something like that; that never materialised, but we were actually able to license them what they call Windows CE, the younger brother of Windows, to run on their system and make that their platform.

“But for Bill [Gates] this wasn’t enough, he didn’t think that SEGA had enough muscle to eventually stop Sony so we did our own Xbox thing.

“There were some talks but it never materialised because SEGA was a very different bird. It was always Sony and Nintendo, right? And Nintendo had some financial trouble at that point in time, so Sony came out with the PlayStation and bang! They took off, and everyone else was left behind.”

retro-video-gaming.com Contest Prize!

For the 1 year anniversary of Retro Video Gaming my fellow retro game collector Stopxwhispering hosted a very fun contest.

“In celebration of Retro-Video-Gaming’s anniversary I will have a little contest! The contest will be up for 1 week and there will be a winner who will get a secret prize!
The question that needs to be answered is:
How many Famicom Disk System games do I have?“

Click here for Retro Video Gaming’s 1 Year Anni Post.

My response was this:
“OK, I’m ready. My guess is 44! Yeah, that’s right. I’m sure I nailed it
I know I’m very happy that you’ve spent so much time posting and blogging about your collection. Happy 1st Anni!”

From the other guesses I saw posted I don’t think anyone else thought to browse through Stopxwhispering’s collection pictures. I started browsing collection photos until I found the Famicon Game Diskettes. I wasn’t really sure those games to the right of Pac-Man and the Ghosts were Famicom Disks but they looks about the right size.

But… I was right! And even though they were very hard to count I nailed it! Just like I said… Almost, I was off by one. At the time of the contest Stopxwhispering had 45 Famicom Disk games.
*If you haven’t seen Stopxwhispering’s collection you really should have a look. Both the collection and the Gaming Room are amazing.

And my prize? Check it out A custom gift for TheSegaDude.

Sonic and cupcakes! A very fun start. I was of course very curious to get into it. It didn’t take long to find actual unwrapping instructions. The fascination was increasing.

Found this at the front door.

Look up?!

Things were getting more serious now. I was sure I had found my entry point! And if gift wrapping and a sealed box were not enough intrigue; I found a very cool Retro symbol that nicely reinforced the mystery

Getting there…

What’s inside?

Look at that. There’s a lot of stuff in there. A lot of very cool Sega goodness. I love this bead art and it’s going into my collection. And that copy of Tiny Toon Adventures is the first PAL Mega Drive game I have ever had. So that is also very fun. I tried this PAL game on my Sega Genesis and it would not load. It got as far as the Konami logo and then nothing; it just froze. But with my Super Key it plays perfectly

Look at all the lute!

SEGA! Right on.

I’m not yet 100% sure where I’ll place the Bead Art but I wanted to see what they look like in the collection right away. Below is a fun screen shot showing off my new stuff. Of course everyone loves Sonic! But Stopxwhispering figured out that Fantasy Zone and Opa Opa is  a HUGE favorite of mine. I always found the Fantasy Zone games hard but I do love Opa Opa.

The Sega Collection with Stopxwhispering Prizes

Happy 1st anniversary Retro Video Gaming! And thank you very much Stopxwhispering for this really awesome prize!!

Mega Drive – New Addition, Devil Hunter Yohko

Devil Hunter Yohko is a game I’ve wanted to for long time. It always stuck me as a cool platformer just from what little I had seen of it. Because it was also a bit expensive and hard to find I couldn’t help but get more curious about it. When I came across it recently the price was the best I’d seen over the past few years and I went for it.
Since I enjoy collecting these games as much as playing them it was a nice plus for me to see that the cover, manual and cartridge all have different artwork. It makes a game feel like a little extra effort was put into it. I believe the game is based on a Japanese Anime series so it could be they had a lot of artwork ready to go.
So far I have only played it just briefly and my first impression is that it’s not great but good. The graphics don’t stand out but they do the job. Personally I don’t like the level one music but the tunes do get a lot better in later stages.
In the image below the games condition looks excellent but because of a very fine line of wear on the bottom right of the cover and and crease along the top of the cartridge label I’m going to give this one a rating of Good instead of Very Good.
I would recommend this game to any retro gamer if it wasn’t so expensive.

Devil Hunter Yohko

Devil Hunter Yohko - $50 including shipping.

Volgarr the Viking – 16bit Homage

This is Volgarr the Viking. It is not an 8bit or 16bit video game and despite the fact that Volgarr the Viking is still in development it is beautifully retro.

This game is paying tribute to many loved games from the 16bit gaming era. Crazy Viking Studios have taken a look back at some of their favorite video games and are currently busy crafting what is shaping up to be an unforgiving, finely tuned action packed platformer.

I found Volgarr the Viking when it was a kickstarter project and as a supporter I’ve been allowed access to pre-alpha builds and I know first hand how good this game already is. Even before it hit the alpha stage of development the mechanics for Volgarr were excellent. Using a Logitech F310 Gamepad I felt entirely in control. Walking, jumping, double jumping, sword swings, spear throws, blocking, dodge roll, downward stab and powered up attacks are all easy to execute and important to master. When I died (and I have failed Volgarr a lot) it felt like my fault and not poor mechanics or bad hit detection or sloppy design. Each time I died I knew I could do better the next time.

Does anyone remember Super Ghouls & Ghosts, Rastan and Castle Vania? Of course you do and so do the developers from Crazy Viking Studios. These three games are where they are drawing a lot of their inspiration from. I say inspiration because Volgarr the Viking really does feel like a labor of love.

The following game play is the first video that Crazy Viking Studios have allowed to be shared to the public. This recording was made by Nintendoingit, another Kickstarter Supporter for Volgarr. This was not made for marketing it is just a gamer enjoying Volgarr the Viking.

This next video breaks down some of what you saw above and offers a lot of insight directly from the developers themselves.

While this Kickstarter project was running anyone could have pledged $10 to receive a copy of Volgarr the Viking when it’s complete. And I’m sure at release you’ll still be able to get it for a similar price. Which I personally feel is wildly inexpensive for such a great game. But I didn’t spend $10… as if personally tailored to me TheSegaDude, Crazy Viking Studios offered a Sega Genesis mockup case, cart and manual of Volgarr the Viking. So even though this mockup will look like a complete Genesis game it will never be able to play on any Genesis or Mega Drive. But even still I could not resist and I have backed this project for $150. And when my mockup Genesis game arrives it will be going into the collection. Below is an early example of what they had in mind:

Genesis Style Case

Genesis Style Cart and Manual

Volgarr the Viking has an estimate release date set for February 2013.