Paprium is Coming! A Project Y Update.

What is Paprium?

Paprium is the official name for WaterMelon’s new video game for play on your Sega Mega Drive and Sega Genesis video game console. Paprium was previously called Project Y.

Update: Click here for more details and Pre-order Now.

This game has been in development for about 4-5 years. And finally! At long last!! …it’s still not done.
But it’s close! It’s so very close!! …I don’t really know that, but I think it’s true.

Here’s what is for certain. WaterMelon will be making an announcement about Paprium this March 28th, 2017. WaterMelon has also given Investors limited time coupon codes to discount the purchase price of Paptrium. And some of these codes can be shared with everyone.

*’Investor’ is Watermelon’s term for people who got in early and crowdfunded Paprium.

What do fans following Paprium (myself included) believe will be announced this Tuesday March 28th? We’re guessing that Watermelon will release a video trailer for Paprium, announce an official release date and open pre-orders for the game.

There will also be some surprises like this arcade style joystick build specifically for the Genesis/Mega Drive and for PC:

If you’re planning on purchasing Paprium feel free to use any one of the follow digital coupon codes to receive a 10% discount:

9479238 (from Sega Dude)
9385087 (from makinagenesis)
9379000 (from Man-Fa Tang)
10027253 (from Daniel)

(The above codes can be used an unlimited number of times [starting March 28th] by anyone until they expire on April 24, 2017)

My code was given to me by WaterMelon Co. and every single Paprium Investor got a code as well. If anyone uses one of the above codes Watermelon will give 50 gems to the owner of the code. Gems are currency on the WM web site (MagicalGameFactory) used for paying for their products. 500 gems = $50 USD.

If you have a friend who is an Investor in Paprium you can asked them for their code so that you can help them out while at the same time getting a 10% discount for yourself. I’m guessing that these discount codes will not stack and you’ll only be able to use one. So use the code from the person you’d most like to support.

Any Paprium Investors out there? If you’d like to share your code here please leave it in the comments below and I’ll add it to this post right along side my own.

Need a refresher on what Paprium is going to look like? Here are some very old screen shots of this awesome looking brawler from its development phase.

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Early Work In Progress video of Paprium:

On March 28th visit www.paprium.com to (hopefully) pre-order your copy of Paprium for the Sega Mega Drive and Sega Genesis.

Pier Solar Collector’s Edition for the Sega Dreamcast

It was the year 2012 when I pledged $125 UDS to the Kickstarter campaign for Pier Solar HD for the Sega Dreamcast.

Today, just about three years later my Pier Solar Collector’s Edition has arrived. My first thought was ‘Man, this thing is heavy’. Then after opening the shipping package my first impression was a pure and unbridled ‘Wow’.

The first point I want to make is that the quality of everything I’m about to show off is amazing. I have previously purchased Pier Solar for the Sega Genesis and it was then when I understood that the creators (Watermelon Team) value producing a very high quality product. And even now with my expectations set so high Watermelon Team managed to surprise me with this collectors edition.

Below is what came out of the package that I found on my door step. Right away I knew exactly what the jewel case was; my copy of Pier Solar HD for my Sega Dreamcast. Which is beautiful by the way. Packed with a professionally pressed Disc, cover insert, poster, stickers and a fat manual. The Jewel case has no room to spare.

But what are these other two significantly larger items?

Pier Solar? You’ve grown!

Regular Ed. Collectors and Guide.

Beneath the light brown Watermelon wrapping paper I found a very thick and sturdy white box with a flip top. In the cardboard box I found the Pier Solar Strategy Guide.

Some goodies.

Lots of goodies!

When opening the huge white Collectors Edition box I learned that my edition of Pier Solar HD is print number 595 of 999. I then found the Collector’s Edition disc of Pier Solar which looks the same as the regular edition you see in plastic in the first two images above. But there was still so much more room in this box.

There is more…

…much more.

Over the years Watermelon has dropped hints as to what we might find; including mention of figures. But beyond that I had no idea what to expect.

My very first collectible video Game Mug

Run Edessot! Run!!

Again, just like the game, the quality of the mug and figures is outstanding. To me the frog and the chicken feel like mascots for Watermelon Team. They are simple yet clever keep-sake’s that really capture the mood of Pier Solar. Of course the inclusion of Edessot one of the main characters is fantastic.

I find it amusing that the first thing that came to mind when I saw the mug was ‘Well, I don’t have the Tea Cup for Panorama Cotton but I’ve got the Pier Solar Mug!’ 😀

The game.

The manual.

Above you can see the contents of the Jewel case (which doesn’t include the figures). The Disc and the manual really stand out. They look really good.

Strategy guide.

Lots of images and text.

Pictures don’t do the Pier Solar Strategy Guide justice. This is a heavy hard cover book weighing in at 446 pages! I really could have used this sucker on my first play through of Pier Solar.

Very detailed.

World Map

And at the back of the book you’ll find a very nice world map of Pier Solar. And in the jewel case you’ll find an extremely gold Pier Solar poster.

Sooo Gold!

Quality is exploding from this collectors edition which has turned out to be so much more than I expected. When I pledged my money I wanted a copy of Pier Solar for my Sega Dreamcast and to support a company that is doing amazing things for Retro Video Gaming… in the end I feel like I made out like a bandit to have scored this ‘literal’ treasure box.

Thank you Watermelon Team!!

**Update**
July 2016. I have sold my Dreamcast Pier Solar collectors Edition. As nice as it is I wanted a bit of extra money for other games. I still have my Dreamcast Pier Solar regular edition and the Pier Solar Strategy Guide… and my Sega Mega Drive Pier Solar Posterity Edition and my Sega Genesis / Mega Drive regular edition. So I’m good for Pier Solar! …I also have it for PS4 but who’s counting? Not me! 😀

I sold this Collectors Edition with my Limited Edition of Gunlord (also for the Sega Dreamcast). I sold both together for $270 CAD. Pier Solar I had originally bought for $125 USD (on par with CAD at the time) and Gunlord LE for about 50 Euro. I certainly would not have sold it at a loss. It’s a great product and I do miss it already.

I’ve since replace my Dreamcast Gunlord with the regular jewel case edition.

Have a Peak at Watermelon’s Project Y WIP Video

After being teased with some very pretty Project Y screen shots we can all now enjoy a teaser video for Project Y.

This work in progress (WIP) video gives us a very good idea of what Project Y will be like. And even though this is very early footage it is looking fantastic.

One of the first thoughts that struck me while watching was that instantly Project Y feels like it has it’s own identity. I did not feel like I was watching just another retro Beat’em-Up. Of course there are many similar elements from the genre but there is a lot that looks unique.

There are several game mechanics that really stood out in this short clip. Of course you can interact with the baddies in this game. You’re going to be punching, kicking and tossing them all over the place; but you can also interact with the other playable characters. Right at the end we see Alex grab Tug from behind and start to push him off-screen (don’t quote me on those character names).
I also noticed Tug using a fire extinguisher to spray and freeze an enemy in his tracks.
Each of the playable characters seem to be able to get some kind of power-up. I’m sure earning and saving these for key moments will help add extra strategy to the game.

And it looks like the baddies can dish it out too. I’m not sure how it happened but I saw a dude electrocute Alex. What was cool is that another baddie got caught in the cross-fire and also got zapped along with Alex. I can’t help but feel that this kind of thing will make multiple play-throughs unique experiences with such variables in the mix.
Speaking of unique, did you notice the butt-slap taunt at about 30 seconds into the video?
Very cheeky!!

I personally feel the graphics look amazing! The environments feel ‘meaty’. They are full of stuff and the character sprites are very large for a Genesis/Mega Drive game. Making it look more like an arcade game from the 90’s rather than a 16-bit home game.

The music is down right intense. I love the pace and mood that it slaps on top of the visuals. Music is an important part of my gaming experience and Project Y has gotten some serious treatment in this department.

Here’s the official Project Y forum:
http://www.magicalgamefactory.com/en/boards/projecty-about_8/

Thank you Watermelon! I think I speak for many of us when I say we would love to see more WIP videos of Project Y.

Tiny ProjectY Update – Look out for HEIN!!

ProjectY is the code name of the Beat’em Up video game currently being created by Watermelon Team for play on the Sega Genesis / Mega Drive.

There haven’t been many recent updates for ProjectY and this post ain’t much of an update but it is proof of life!

I recently received an email from Watermelon and in this email they included the following tiny glimpses into the upcoming ProjectY.

The screenshots below shows a few still frames of animation for one of the baddies for ProjectY. The pixel art is excellent. In fact it’s beyond excellent. I feel very confident about the quality of this game and I’m very excited to get my hands on it!

Wha… What’s he going to do with that I-Beam?…

The intent of Watermelon’s email was to verify details of early investors to ensure that a cool little treat would be correctly included in the game.

As early investors Watermelon Team is doing two things as a ‘thank you’.
One: early investors will get their name in the Credits of the game.
Two: as if that wasn’t sweet enough, early investors also get to name a bad guy from this beat’em up!

I would have loved to name my bad guy SEGADUDE but for (I assume) technical reasons the name length of bad guys in the game is limited to six characters. SEGADU just doesn’t have the same impatct so I went with HEIN (Another nickname of mine).

Showing Investors which characters are valid for naming a bad guy.

The screenshot above was used to show investors what characters they can use in the six character name they pick to be applied to a bad guy in the game.
But beyond this we get a small glimpse into the game. There’s not enough to really be sure what we’re looking at but again the pixel art is really well done. The image has depth and shading as well as some elements looking worn or used; like the dirt and marks on the platform and the grease coming from the small vent on the bottom right.
What are we looking at in the picture? My guess is this is some kind of platform. Maybe a moving elevator or tram. “MIND THE GAP !!!” written on the very bottom is a good clue to suggest something like that.

No investor actually chooses which character gets their chosen name. Watermelon explained that the names will be applied randomly and these investor names will only been shown in game if you enable the feature before playing.

Not really sure what this is…

The screen shot above is much more of a mystery… Clearly it’s a rough draft of something. I can see the Japanese Mega Drive logo as well as Watermelon’s logo. And what looks like graffiti in a few places. All of the elements appear to be in some kind of image editor.
My guess? These are early drafts of elements to be put into the game or on the packaging or maybe stickers or something to be packaged in the game box.

So someday when we’re finally playing ProjectY and you see HEIN com’in at ya with a beat stick, chain, nun-chucks, or even an I-Beam make sure you give him heck!! 😀

Pier Solar Game Guide and Watermelon Team`s Newest Project

It`s exciting to see that Watermelon Team, the creators of Pier Solar, are not slowing down and still firmly entrenched in making the 16-bit gaming era new again. The Watermelon team is currently working on a Game Guide for Pier Solar and the Great Architects.

There`s currently no ETA but from the small teaser seen below it`s obvious that they`re well on their way.

Pier Solar Game Guide Sneak Peek

In addition to the game guide Watermelon team has been busy working on a new entry for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive. Currently known only as Project Y this new game will be styled after classic Genesis Beat’em Up games like Streets of Rage with some RPG elements woven in.

Watermelon Team’s Project Y

There are very few details so far but based on the quality of Pier Solar we have every reason to be excited about this up-coming game. Specially after sampling some of the lore behind this new entry:

“Project Y takes place in a post-apocalyptic world, set in an Asian high-tech metropolis. The last survivors of the nuclear war are divided into several classes, where the most powerful have the others by the balls. This has divided the governing bodies into several fractions, where ethnic mafias and a corrupt corporation are just a few of them! As you can see, this story is filled with many possible scenarios. It will demand lots of exploring and several playthroughs to get everything out of it.”