Posts Tagged ‘sega’
RetroActive Podcast: 8-Bit Tech
This week Fred discusses the technology behind the 8-bit generation of consoles (NES, SMS, TG-16). He discusses 8-bit processing power, how the architecture of the consoles is set up, and how video signals and broadcast standards played a role.
Photo courtesy of Evan Amos (wikipedia).
Opening Song: “Pure Stone” from Zillion (SMS)
Mid Song: “Character Selection” from Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES)
Closing Song: “Boss Battle” from Keith Courage In Alpha Zones (TG-16)
The 8-Bit Guy on Assembly Language: https://youtu.be/HWpi9n2H3kE
Displaced Gamers Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DisplacedGamers
My Life in Gaming Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@mylifeingaming
RetroActive Episode 2: Half-Life (1998)
For the second episode of RetroActive, we decided to tackle something light: Half-Life. Quite possibly one of the biggest and most influential first-person shooters ever released, Valve not only used the franchise to evolve the genre, but the sequel is also how they made the service Steam a household name. Jamalais (yes, Jam!) returns to discuss this powerhouse title. Also on this episode: hardware guide to the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive and the real deal on framerate analysis. All songs featured in this episode are from the official Half-Life soundtrack.
0:00 – Intro – Closing Theme
0:54 – Editorial: Toxic Behavior
5:52 – Klaxton Beat
6:50 – Hardware: Sega Genesis/Mega Drive
32:10 – Diabolical Adrenaline Guitar
33:10 – Half-Life (1998) Discussion with Guest Jamalais
2:03:03 – Traveling Through Limbo
2:04:03 – Framerate Analysis and Next Episode
2:15:14 – Valve Theme
Follow RetroActive Podcast at: anchor.fm/retroactivepod
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Video Game Purists Ep 38: Rough NPCs
It’s time for all smiles at the trampoline park and the reality that the days of the theater are truly numbered as Fred waivers on the concept of going to the movies. Trees has been diving into Far Cry Primal and is enjoying himself thoroughly. Fred played some bite-sized experiences from Sega’s 60th Anniversary collection, cleared Tacoma on his day off, tested After Party and finally completed The Evil Within 2.
Opening Song: Facehammer by Ozzed (ozzed.net)
Closing Song: Boss Battle from Streets of Rage (Genesis)
Lecture: Sonic the Hedgehog (16-bit)
Today’s lecture focuses on Sonic the Hedgehog, specifically the 16-bit releases. Fred and Jam team up to discuss the business status of Sega in the 90s, the Mega Drive/Genesis, and the blue furry mascot that was designed to take on Nintendo’s Mario.
Songs (in order of appearance):
Opening Theme – Sonic the Hedgehog (MD/GEN)
Chemical Plant Zone – Sonic 2
Carnival Night Zone – Sonic 3
Sonic Boom – Sonic CD (NA Version)
E3 2019: Xbox Impressions
Click on image to be taken to the briefing stream.
Fred is joined by Andy (42 Level One), Chip (The B-Team), Chase (Scarcasm Live), and special guest Normii to discuss Microsoft’s massive plans for the next year.
Want to just read all the announcements as bullet points? Click here.
GHX Ep 42: It Isn’t Broken
Despite what it seems, this really is a video game podcast, we just like some personal tales before getting started. Once the stories of Trees’ epic New Hammy vacation are over it’s time to talk about retro gaming collections, getting screwed over on Craigslist, the unabashed love of Kingdom Hearts, and beloved franchises that maybe no one ever really loved.
Jammin’!: The Story of ToeJam & Earl
In proverbial “man I’m getting old” fashion, I’ve just realized that we’re just two-and-a-half years shy of the 30th Anniversary of ToeJam & Earl. It’s not like I suddenly woke up and decided to write about this franchise, either, ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove will release this Friday, March 1st and while we can’t talk about it yet, tune back into the site on Thursday to get all the details and our thoughts. Permit me to take you back to the halcyon days of the Sega Genesis (Mega Drive for you players outside North America) and into the team that dared to make a roguelike in 1991 on consoles.
ToeJam & Earl (1991, Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, Developed by Johnson Voorsanger Productions, Published by Sega)
The story of ToeJam & Earl starts with its creator Greg Johnson and his fanaticism for Rogue while at UCSD. The link above will provide you background on both Rogue and the now dubbed “roguelike” genre, but back in 1980s there was only one game influencing a slew of young developers. Johnson would go on to EA working on PC titles, including his most notable releases as designer on Starflight in 1986 and Starflight 2 in 1989, the latter receiving Computer Gaming World’s Roleplaying Game of the Year award in 1990. The franchise involves space exploration with integrated strategy, combat, and simulation in a non-linear fashion. It was a starting point and notoriety for Johnson early in his career and allowed him to get more creative as he brainstormed his next project. It was around this time, according to a Gamasutra’s interview I reference consistently, that Johnson met Mark Voorsanger, a programmer, while mountain climbing with a mutual friend. The two hit it off so well that Johnson pitched the idea for ToeJam & Earl and immediately set to work on establishing Johnson Voorsanger Productions, the studio that would develop and release the game.
The concept was pretty straightforward, but also unique for the time. ToeJam & Earl is about two rapping aliens dripping with 90s urban culture who have their ship breakdown on Earth and have to scour randomly generated maps to re-collect all the pieces. Some may even call it a cartoonish, funky version of Rogue. According to Johnson, the main concepts that drove design were randomized maps and survival to complete the grand task of rebuilding your ship. I’m used to hearing about all the struggles that game development faces – in the Gamasutra interview you can read about Johnson’s in his formative years – but oddly enough this wasn’t the case with ToeJam & Earl. To hear him tell it, the design doc was easily assembled and Johnson pulled old team members into development, including the talented John Baker who was responsible for the soundtrack. A quick meeting with Sega that spelled out the design on note cards along with their combined experience on major games was enough to get the title published.
Wonder Boy Retrospective Part 6: Blue Ball of Happiness
Monster World IV
Released: 1994- Original hardware: Sega Mega Drive (Japan only, fan translated to English)
- Other releases: Playstation 2 (Sega Ages 2500 Vol. 29: Monster World Complete Collection (Japan only), PSN and Xbox Live (as Wonder Boy Sega Vintage Collection), Wii Virtual Console (no longer available to purchase)
- How to play today: Xbox Live Arcade Wonder Boy Sega Vintage collection Xbox 360 (backwards compatible with Xbox One), PSN (PS3)
We’ve now come to the final game in the series and Wonder Boy is now absent from the title. Well that’s because in Monster World IV it’s technically Wonder Girl now. This game would stay in Japan for a very long time and took on the Monster World titles because that was what most of the games were known as over there.
I played Monster World IV on the Sega Vintage collection for Xbox 360 brought to us from the fantastic developers M2 who do very fine work emulating old games to new systems. I brought this game day one for 800 Microsoft points (remember when that was a thing?) so I could play the official English translation of the game. The collection also included Monster World and the English arcade version of Monster Land, it’s well worth purchasing. While I did like Monster World IV it felt somewhat of a back step for the series but there is no denying this is the cutest entry in the series.
You play as Asha tasked with leaving your village to rescue some missing souls. These souls end up being bigger versions of the familiars (or buddies) you had in the previous game. The quests inevitably ends up with you saving the world – because lord knows we need to save the world just one more time. The setting has completely changed you’re now in an Arabian style environment, the game is incredibly colourful and definitely has the looks, pushing the Mega Drive’s colour palette to its limits. The music has also been re done and still maintains the charm and Wonder we have come to expect from the series.
Wonder Boy Retrospective Part 5: Spinning Spears
Wonder Boy in Monster World
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Released: 1991 -
Original Hardware: Sega Mega Drive/Genesis
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Other Releases: Master System, Turbografx CD/PC-Engine CD (as The Dynastic Hero), PSN, Xbox Live, Wii VC
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How to play today: PC, Xbox One, PS4 and Switch (Mega Drive/Genesis Classics Collection)
Wonder Boy in Monster World is up there with one of my favourite games of all time. This was my childhood Zelda, this was my epic adventure and it would stick with me for years to come. I first played Monster World on my original hardware when I was growing up in the 90s. The game captivated me as a child with its colourful graphics, fantasy setting and all sorts of weird but cute monsters running around.
Monster World feels, to me, like the height of the series; after five attempts they finally found the winning formula. Although to fans this debate is often between Dragons Trap, Monster World and Monster World IV (this game’s sequel, but don’t worry all will be explained on that title in the next part).
Wonder Boy Retrospective Part 4: Flight of Dragons
Wonder Boy III: The Dragon’s Trap
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Released: 1989 -
Original hardware: Sega Master System
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Other releases: Game Gear, TurboGrafx-16/PC-Engine, Mobile, iOS, Wii VC
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How to play today: PC, Xbox One, PS4 and Switch (on the remastered version of the game)
Yes, this is the second Wonder Boy III in this Wonder Boy retrospective. In all regions Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair was also released, and technically it was first if you count the first release in Japan. This is not the case on consoles in the West, where The Dragon’s Trap actually released first. You see, on consoles in Europe The Dragon’s Trap released first in 1989 on Master System and Monster Lair released on the Mega Drive in 1991. In North America The Dragon’s Trap released in 1989 on Master System alongside Monster Lair on the Turbografx-CD, and while Turbografx-16 owners could get this title as Dragon’s Curse in 1991 there was no Genesis release. Confusing, right?
Monster Lair would be the first Wonder Boy III game I would play. I first played The Dragon’s Trap when I downloaded the Master System version on the Wii Virtual Console (an online store now closed) and this would actually be the last game in the series I would play.
The Dragon’s Trap is very beloved by Wonder Boy and Sega Master System fans alike with good reason. The game is a direct sequel to Monster Land only this time the game has finally been adapted for consoles in all the right ways. The stupid timer is no where to be seen and you actually grind enemies for gold to upgrade your equipment. The level based design is also gone and the game now plays out as one large connected world you can explore at your own pace. I hear people call these sort of games metroidvanias now for some reason.
Gaming History 101 