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You are here: Home / Archives for Altered Beast

Altered Beast

Game Over Sale: 1UP Arcade’s Final Week!

May 1, 2025 By ausretrogamer

Following on from our previous post about Brisbane’s 1UP Arcade closing down this week (to the public), they have listed for sale quite a few of their arcade machines, with quite a few that are highly sought after! If only we were closer, we would have loved to have grabbed some of the below listed machines!

If you are keen on grabbing an arcade machine (or two), head on to 1UP Arcade to inspect (and buy) these machines. Just be sure to get there this week/weekend – their opening hours are:

  • Thu: 12-8pm
  • Friday: 12-10pm
  • Saturday: 10am-10pm
  • Sunday: 12-8pm

Oh yeah, 1UP Arcade is also hosting a GAME OVER event with delicious burgers and fries been served up by the FOOD BABY FOOD TRUCK!

PS: Love seeing MCA arcade joysticks being used – nothing beats them!

image source: 1UP Arcade via Facebook

 

Filed Under: Announcements, Retro Gaming Culture Tagged With: 1up Arcade, 1UP Arcade Australia, Altered Beast, Arcade Machines Sale, Arcade rat, arcade sale, Atari, Capcom, Final Fight, gamer, Geek, MCA Joystick, oldschool, Retro Gamer, retrogaming, sega, Super Contra, Video Games, Vindicators

Sean’s Amazing Retro Video Game Art and Arcade Model Builds

June 8, 2022 By ausretrogamer

We have many talented friends around the world. One local multi-talented friend, Sean Tagg (aka:  ) is not only an accomplished Donkey Kong player, but he is also an arcade restorer, OutRun expert and an amazing artist (amongst many other talents)!

Out of all of Sean’s accomplishments and creations, it is his meticulous artistic skill and flair that always captures our attention and astounds us with each of his amazing creations. Sean’s artwork (like on his Shinobi runners) and model builds of iconic video games are simply stunning to say the least. If you don’t believe us, check out the video below!

source: Sean Tagg – Arcade Modeller

Want to see more of Sean’s amazing Arcade Model builds? If you said yes (as you should have), then go to his Arcade Modeller site right now!

Here a video collection of my Model building and art of Video Games (with cheesy background music ) #chaseHQ #OutRun #Rtype #Ghoulsnghosts #Alteredbeast #Hangon #sega #arcade pic.twitter.com/G4o68E4b7a

— (@sean_tagg) March 27, 2020




Filed Under: Retro Gaming Culture Tagged With: !Arcade!, 1980s, 1990s, Altered Beast, Alteredbeast, Arcade, Chase HQ, chaseHQ, classic, classic arcade gamer, Daytona USA, diy, Donkey Kong, Geek, Ghoulsnghosts, Hang-on, Hangon, Irem, oldschool, OutRun, R-Type, Rad Mobile, Retro, Retrogamer, Rtype, Sean Tagg, sega, Sega AM2, Sega Rally, Shinobi, space harrier, Taggsta, Taito, tbt, throwback

The Complete History of Sega World

October 4, 2019 By ausretrogamer

Ah, Sega World Sydney – wish we had visited! Image source: Sega World Sydney Memoriam

If there is one regret we have, it’s that we didn’t get to visit Sega World in Darling Harbour (Sydney) before it was closed down.

The next best thing was to find Badnik Mechanic’s awesome video on the history of Sega World. Sega had planned to revolutionise arcades forever with their new arcade / theme park concept. Unfortunately Sega failed, but the story of Sega World’s creation needed to be told.

Sit back for the next quarter of an hour and take in some 1990s Sega goodness – you may learn something new too!


source: Badnik Mechanic

 

Filed Under: History, Retro Gaming Culture Tagged With: Alex Kidd, Altered Beast, Arcade, Golden Axe, History, sega, Sega Arcade, Sega M2, Sega World, Sega World Darling Harbour, Sega World London, Sega World Sydney, Sonic The Hedgehog

Review: Sega Mega Drive Mini – Welcome to the Next Level!

September 13, 2019 By ausretrogamer

Casting our mind back to November 1990, we recall walking into our local family run Home and Entertainment Centre with our hard earned money (from pushing trolleys at our part-time job) to be faced with a dilemma of what new gaming console to buy for the new decade. This decision wasn’t taken lightly, as we had been 8 and 16-bit computer gamers till that point. We remember paying $399.99 for the Sega Mega Drive (Altered Beast pack-in) that day and another $100 for Golden Axe. Let’s just say that it was the best decision we ever made. We instantly fell in love with Sega’s 16-Bit console and that love affair is still as strong as ever.

Fast forward to the present day and the excitement of bringing home a mini version of Sega’s venerable console feels just the same as it did almost 29 years ago! Cracking open the box, we found a super cute shrunken Mega Drive Mini console, about 55% the size of the original Model 1 Mega Drive, two 3-button USB controllers, one HDMI cable and one USB to Micro-B power cable.

Being a genuine made Sega product, everything feels high quality. You can tell that Sega took a lot of care and poured their heart and souls into crafting this sleek and miniaturised Mega Drive. We love the attention to detail, like the cartridge flaps retracting, but obviously they are there for aesthetics, so you can put away your game carts. The headphone volume slider feels the same, albeit on a smaller scale, as do the reset button and on/off switch – it all feels very familiar, which is a good thing. The 3-button controllers are identical to the ones we had in 1990, except these are USB, not D-Pin connected. On that front, it would have been great if Sega had included 6-button controllers so that we could play games like Street Fighter II right out of the box. But don’t dwell on this, as you can use the Retro-Bit® 6-button controllers on this Mini.

Once the Mega Drive Mini was fired up, we were keen to start playing one of the 42 pre-loaded games (full list of games further down). The menu we were presented with was quite easy to navigate, with an awesome catchy tune created on the YM2612 sound chip by legendary composer Yuzo Koshiro (Streets of Rage and Beyond Oasis). Knowing that the pre-loaded titles from both first-party and third-party development teams were all handled by the premier developer, M2 (SEGA AGES and SEGA 3D Classics Collection), a team renowned for high attention to detail and accuracy, we knew the games ported to the Mega Drive Mini were in good hands – the M2 team should be commended for their brilliant effort. Oh yeah, both Tetris and Darius make it in the overall games list, which means the Mega Drive Mini is the only console where you’ll be able to play these two newly published Mega Drive games – how cool is that?!

Just like in 1990, the first game we fired up was Golden Axe. The hit of nostalgia was purely intoxicating. Our muscle memory didn’t let us down, so playing the game was just as fun as it was back then. However, unlike back then, we could now save our game at any point to come back to it later – so no more pesky pausing for 24 hours and running a high power bill. The game playing experience felt authentic, even if playing on a modern television. Having said that, there are settings available to change the aspect ratio (4:3 or 16:9) and for those of you that want the same visual experience from three decades ago, there is a CRT filter, which adds scan lines and adjusts the colour of the display to emulate the look and feel of a CRT television (see photos of this further below) – it’s pure magic.

Lovingly crafted from the ground up, the sleek and miniature SEGA Mega Drive Mini is for all retro gamers, especially those that have fond memories playing the original 16-bit console back in the day. Sega have truly delivered a high-quality, plug-and-play, collectable version of their awesome console. As their famous slogan once said, and it still rings true now, “To be this good takes AGES, To be this good takes SEGA.”

If you want to see the Sega Mega Drive Mini in the flesh, we will have it available in our Classic Gaming area at PAX Aus 2019. The Sega Mega Drive Mini will be released on September 19 at a retail price of AU$139.95.

The Mega Drive Mini 42 pre-loaded titles:

1. Sonic the Hedgehog
2. Ecco the Dolphin
3. Castlevania: The New Generation
4. Space Harrier 2
5. Shining Force
6. Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine
7. ToeJam & Earl
8. Comix Zone
9. Altered Beast
10. Gunstar Heroes
11. Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse
12. World of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck
13. Thunder Force III
14. Super Fantasy Zone
15. Shinobi III
16. Streets of Rage 2
17. Earthworm Jim
18. Sonic the Hedgehog 2
19. Probotector
20. Landstalker
21. Mega Man®: The Wily Wars
22. Street Fighter II’®: Special Champion Edition
23. Ghouls ‘n Ghosts®
24. Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle
25. The Story of Thor
26. Golden Axe
27. Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium
28. Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball
29. Vectorman
30. Wonder Boy in Monster World
31. Tetris®
32. Darius
33. Road Rash II
34. Strider
35. Virtua Fighter 2
36. Alisia Dragoon
37. Kid Chameleon
38. Monster World IV
39. Eternal Champions
40. Columns
41. Dynamite Headdy
42. Light Crusader

Disclosure: The Sega Mega Drive Mini was kindly provided by Five Star Games for this review.

Filed Under: Retro Gaming Culture, Reviews Tagged With: 16-bit, 16bit, Altered Beast, ausretrogamer, australian retro gamers, classic gaming, Ecco The Dolphin, Genesis, Genesis Mini, Genesis Mini review, Golden Axe, Gunstar Heroes, Mega Drive, Mega Drive Mini, Mega Drive Mini review, Old School, Retro Gamer, Retro Gamers, Retro Gaming, retrogaming, Review, sega, Sega Genesis Mini, Sega Genesis Mini review, Sega Mega Drive Mini, Sega Mega Drive Mini review, SNES Classic Mini, Sonic The Hedgehog, space harrier, Treasure

The Japanese Sega Mega Drive Mini Collector’s Edition is MEGA!

July 2, 2019 By ausretrogamer

The Japanese Mega Drive Mini with the Megadora Tower Mini and the Mini Cartridge Framed Set proves yet again that our Japanese friends always get the cool stuff!

The Megadora Tower Mini (complete with a Mega-CD and 32X) may just be an accessory, but we reckon it is damn awesome and we totally need it in our lives!!! Oh yeah, the 22 tiny Mega Drive cartridge framed set also oozes so much awesomeness that we can’t contain our excitement – we are totally giddy and intoxicated with 16-bit Sega nostalgia.

You can try your luck buying this awesome collector’s edition from the official Japanese Sega Store right now (¥25,877 / ~AU$343.00 – excluding shipping)!

So, who is getting this MEGALICIOUS beast?

image source: Sega Store

 

Filed Under: Announcements, Retro Gaming Culture Tagged With: 16-bit, 16bit, Altered Beast, ausretrogamer, australian retro gamers, classic gaming, DX Pack Sega Title Collectors Edition Sega Title Mini Cartridge Framed Set, Ecco The Dolphin, Gunstar Heroes, Mega Drive, Mega Drive Mini DX Pack Sega Collector's Edition, Mega Drive Mini W, Megadora Tower Mini, Old School, Retro Gamer, Retro Gamers, Retro Gaming, retrogaming, sega, Sega Genesis, Sega Genesis Mini, Sega Mega Drive Classic Mini, Sega Mega Drive Mini, Shining Force, SNES Classic Mini, Sonic The Hedgehog, space harrier, Treasure

Sega Mega Drive Mini: To be this good takes AGES, To be this good takes SEGA

April 3, 2019 By ausretrogamer

Just in case you have been in a cave without any outside contact, get your diary out now and mark September 19, 2019 as the date that the beautiful Sega Mega Drive Mini will be released in the wild to go toe-to-toe with its old foe, the SNES Classic Mini! Oh yeah, this ain’t no Flashback system!

We were amazed to find the following letter, with love, from SEGA:

My Old Friend,

I know it’s been a while. Time moves forward, yet not a day goes by that you’re not on my mind. I, the popular, star-console, you, the shy, unassuming kid, but we found common ground when we played Ecco the Dolphin together. You were so fast, racing through the Green Hill Zone with my pal, Sonic!

You sure knew how to play. The way that CRT hue hit your glazed over face as you spent another hour playing Castlevania: Bloodlines…We both knew things would change and that we’d move on to other great things, but lately, I’ve been thinking about spending time together once more. We didn’t do what we were told, but we made a good team.

I look a bit different now. I’m much smaller. I’m packing 40 games inside my sleek, molded shell, and more blast processing power than ever before.

We lived fast and dangerously, together, playing the games some of the adults weren’t too keen on (but you had the cool parents). We had the games your friends wanted to play, a whole stack of them. Shining Force, Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine, and Earthworm Jim, to name a few.

Sure. there were other distractions (remember pogs?). I was never jealous though because we still had Altered Beast and Gunstar Heroes.

I will try to write more regularly. I hear there is this friendly meeting space called “social media” now where I can share more.

I hope to hear from you soon.

With love,

SEGA Mega Drive Mini @-}–

Wow. We’ve never seen the SEGA Mega Drive Mini express itself like that before. If you’d like to write back, here is some information you may find useful when crafting your reply 😉

When: September 19, 2019

What: Miniature Sega Mega Drive console which will be plug-and-play ready with 40 classic games built-in! Oh yeah, the controllers will have 3 fire-buttons, not 6 (Ed: Oh well, it’s better than nothing)

Price: AU$139.00 / US$79.99 (Pre-orders via JB Hi-Fi or Play-Asia)

Announced titles (and more to come!):

  • Sonic the Hedgehog​
  • Ecco the Dolphin
  • Castlevania: Bloodlines
  • Space Harrier 2
  • Shining Force
  • Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine
  • Earthworm Jim
  • Comix Zone
  • Altered Beast
  • Gunstar Heroes

So there you have it. Are you excited? Of course you are! Let us know on Twitter or Facebook which other titles you would like to see make the list of 40 legendary games.

Now, there are no limits with the Sega Mega Drive Mini!

image source: Sega Mega Drive Mini

 

Filed Under: Announcements, Retro Gaming Culture Tagged With: 16-bit, 16bit, Altered Beast, ausretrogamer, australian retro gamers, classic gaming, Ecco The Dolphin, Gunstar Heroes, Mega Drive, Old School, Retro Gamer, Retro Gamers, Retro Gaming, retrogaming, sega, Sega Genesis, Sega Genesis Mini, Sega Mega Drive Classic Mini, Sega Mega Drive Mini, Shining Force, SNES Classic Mini, Sonic The Hedgehog, space harrier, Treasure

Nintendo Switch Review: SEGA Mega Drive Classics

December 11, 2018 By ausretrogamer

Woohoo, the iconic retro collection Sega Mega Drive Classics has landed on the Nintendo Switch™ and boy, it is a ripper! We thought the PS4 version was awesome (which it is!), but you can’t take your PS4 on the train with you to play these classic Mega Drive games.

Sega Mega Drive Classics on the Nintendo Switch is the largest collection of retro classic games in one pack. There are 50+ classic Sega 16-bit games to satisfy almost every genre under the sun, from arcade action, adventure, pinball (sort of), shooters, beat ‘em ups, fighters, puzzlers, hack’n slashers, tactical RPGs to everyone’s favourite, platformers – and there are lots of platformers (which isn’t a bad thing)!

These old favourites aren’t just dumped from their cartridges and thrown in this package, no sirree, they have had a raft of cool modern features injected into them including mirror mode, rewind (for when you slip up), controller customisation, online multiplayer and achievements, optional emulation enhancement filters like pixel scaling and save states to save your game at any time, meaning players – both old and new, should find revisiting these retro games an absolute blast.


source: Five Star Games

Once we loaded Sega Mega Drive Classics we were totally impressed by the opening title sequence, which we will leave as a surprise (Ed: Unless you have already experienced it on the PS4/XBone), but we can tell you this much, it’s pretty darn awesome – either that or we are too easy to please. Anyway, once you stop drooling from the title sequence you are greeted by the menu system where you can access the 50+ Sega Mega Drive games and various other options. The menu resembles the bedroom of an early nineties Sega fan, which is a great throwback, with dynamic time-of-day conditions, retro SEGA paraphernalia, a shelf full of the aforementioned 50+ Mega Drive games, and of course, a CRT TV with the sexy Mega Drive console underneath it.

When selecting a game to play, its corresponding cart is removed from its case and then inserted into the Mega Drive console – pure nostalgia overload. On top of the already mentioned modern conveniences and features jammed into this package, the most important thing we can tell you is that the emulation of the games is spot-on. The word ’emulation’ may trigger negative connotations, but we are here to tell ya that this is as close as you will get to playing Mega Drive games without forking out for the console on eBay and then fishing around for the game cartridges.

A lot of you may already know this, but for the peeps that don’t know, we aren’t much of adventure or RPG fans, so we stuck to Sega’s arcade conversions, platformers, beat’me ups and puzzle games in this collection. After playing a lot of Sonic, Ristar, Golden Axe, Streets of Rage, Columns, Comix Zone and the Shinobi games, we can say that we definitely felt like we were back in the early 90s – good times!

Before we go on, here is the full list of games included in this package:

  • Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle
  • Alien Soldier
  • Alien Storm
  • Altered Beast
  • Beyond Oasis
  • Bio-Hazard Battle
  • Bonanza Bros.
  • Columns
  • Columns III: Revenge of Columns
  • Comix Zone
  • Crack Down
  • Decap Attack
  • Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine
  • Dynamite Headdy
  • ESWAT: City Under Siege
  • Fatal Labyrinth
  • Flicky
  • Gain Ground
  • Galaxy Force II
  • Golden Axe
  • Golden Axe II
  • Golden Axe III
  • Gunstar Heroes
  • Kid Chameleon
  • Landstalker
  • Light Crusader
  • Phantasy Star II
  • Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom
  • Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium
  • Ristar
  • Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi
  • Shining Force
  • Shining Force II
  • Shining in the Darkness
  • Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master
  • Sonic 3D Blast
  • Sonic Spinball
  • Sonic the Hedgehog
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 2
  • Space Harrier II
  • Streets of Rage
  • Streets of Rage 2
  • Streets of Rage 3
  • Super Thunder Blade
  • Sword of Vermilion
  • The Revenge of Shinobi
  • ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron
  • ToeJam & Earl
  • Vectorman
  • Vectorman 2
  • Virtua Fighter 2

The problem with a pack like this is that players will concentrate on all the games there were left out. Granted, they probably could put the entire Mega Drive catalogue on the cute little Switch cards and flog it for $90.00+, but then we would find something else to complain about. The games that are included are solid, bar a few questionable titles, however, just because we don’t like adventure and RPG titles, it doesn’t mean they should be excluded. Same goes the other way, if you loathe platformers, beat’em ups and puzzlers, it doesn’t mean these genres should be thrown out for more RPGs. Actually, if there was a driving game like Super Monaco GP or a motorcycle-racing-bashing one like Road Rash, then we could say that most, if not all, genres are well represented. Come to think of it, a few more shoot’em ups, like Truxton and Thunder Force would have rounded out this already pretty awesome package. Ah, we can speculate all we want, but we have to give it to Sega, they have tried to cater for the majority and we reckon they have done an admirable job.

After waffling on about this Sega Mega Drive Classics package on the Switch, the ultimate decision to buy or not buy is yours, but we’ll leave you with this little nugget – if you want to get your Sega 16-Bit gaming fix on your modern console and also play it on the go, then you can’t go too wrong with Sega Mega Drive Classics.

Review System: Nintendo Switch
Release Date:
December 6 2018
Format: Nintendo Switch, Xbox One & PS4
Price: $48.99 on Nintendo Switch (via OzGameShop)

Disclosure: Sega Mega Drive Classics [Nintendo Switch] download code was kindly provided by Five Star Games for this review.

 

Filed Under: Modern Gaming, Retro Gaming Culture, Reviews Tagged With: 16-bit, Alex Kidd, Altered Beast, Five Star Games, Golden Axe, Modern Retro Gaming, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch Sega Mega Drive Classics, Phantasy Star, pinball, Retro Gaming, Review, Ristar, sega, Sega 16-Bit, Sega Genesis Classics, Sega Mega Drive Classics, Sega Mega Drive Classics Review, Shinobi, sonic, Street Of Rage, Video Games

Getting Our Nostalgic Fix on the PS4 with Sega Mega Drive Classics

May 26, 2018 By ausretrogamer

Let’s get this out of the way, if you are still enjoying the Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection on previous systems, then stop reading this review (even though you will be missing out!). If on the other hand you are yearning to play some classic 16-bit Sega games on your PS4, then read on. Oh yeah, Sega Mega Drive Classics is also available on Xbox One, but we don’t have a XBone, so there you go.

Now, should we connect our Sega Mega Drive console and compare the games side by side? Actually, if you are lucky enough to have a working Mega Drive console connected to your TV with all the titles that are in this Classics pack, then you know what, you should stop reading too!

Ok, we are glad we got that off our chest! Wow, two paragraphs in and we still haven’t started telling you about the games and the other bells and whistles in this nostalgia inducing package.

Sega Mega Drive Classics on the PS4 is the largest collection of retro classic games in one pack. There are over 50 classic Sega 16-bit games, ok we counted them all, there are actually 53 games (and that’s not counting the games that have region specific variants) to satisfy almost every genre under the sun, from arcade action, adventure, pinball (sort of), shooters, beat ‘em ups, fighters, puzzlers, hack’n slashers, tactical RPGs to everyone’s favourite, platformers – and there are lots of platformers!

These old favourites aren’t just dumped from their cartridges and thrown in this package, no sirree, they have had a raft of very cool modern features injected into them including mirror mode, rewind (for when you slip up), controller customisation, online multiplayer and achievements, optional emulation enhancement filters like pixel scaling and save states to save your game at any time, meaning players – both old and new, should find revisiting these retro games an absolute Sonic 3D Blast (Ed: Oh dear, that was terrible!).

Upon loading Sega Mega Drive Classics we were totally impressed by the opening title sequence, which we will leave as a surprise, but we can tell ya this much, it’s pretty darn awesome – either that or we are too easy to please. Anyway, once you stop drooling from the title sequence (unless you hit X!) you are greeted by the new-look menu system, developed by d3t, from which you can access the 53 Sega Mega Drive games and other options. The menu resembles the bedroom of an early nineties Sega fan, which is a great throwback, with dynamic time-of-day conditions, retro SEGA paraphernalia, a shelf full of the aforementioned 53 Mega Drive games, and of course, a CRT TV with the sexy Mega Drive console underneath it.

When selecting a game to play, its corresponding cart is removed from its case and then inserted into the Mega Drive console – pure nostalgic nirvana. On top of the already mentioned modern conveniences and features jammed into this package, the most important thing we can tell you is that the emulation of the games is spot-on. The word ’emulation’ may trigger negative connotations, but we are here to tell ya that this is as close as you will get to playing Mega Drive games without forking out for the console on eBay and then fishing around for the game cartridges.

We touched on this earlier, but we’ll elaborate – each game has additional options, some more than others, like region specific versions (L3), modifications (Y) and extras (R1) like target milestones that earn you specific trophies.

As we aren’t much of adventure or RPG fans, we stuck to Sega’s arcade conversions, platformers, beat’me ups and puzzle games. After playing a lot of Sonic, Ristar, Golden Axe, Streets of Rage, Gunstar Heroes, Columns, the Wonder Boy and Shinobi games, we can say that we definitely felt like we were back in the early 90s – good times!

Before we go on, here is the full list of games included in this package:

  • Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle
  • Alien Soldier
  • Alien Storm
  • Altered Beast
  • Beyond Oasis
  • Bio-Hazard Battle
  • Bonanza Bros.
  • Columns
  • Columns III: Revenge of Columns
  • Comix Zone
  • Crack Down
  • Decap Attack
  • Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine
  • Dynamite Headdy
  • ESWAT: City Under Siege
  • Fatal Labyrinth
  • Flicky
  • Gain Ground
  • Galaxy Force II
  • Golden Axe
  • Golden Axe II
  • Golden Axe III
  • Gunstar Heroes
  • Kid Chameleon
  • Landstalker
  • Light Crusader
  • Phantasy Star II
  • Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom
  • Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millenium
  • Ristar
  • Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi
  • Shining in the Darkness
  • Shining Force
  • Shining Force II
  • Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master
  • Sonic the Hedgehog
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 2
  • Sonic 3D Blast
  • Sonic Spinball
  • Space Harrier II
  • Streets of Rage
  • Streets of Rage 2
  • Streets of Rage 3
  • Super Thunder Blade
  • Sword of Vermilion
  • The Revenge of Shinobi
  • ToeJam & Earl
  • ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron
  • Vectorman
  • VectorMan 2
  • Virtua Fighter 2
  • Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair
  • Wonder Boy in Monster World

The problem with a pack like this is that players will concentrate on all the games Sega left out of the mix. Granted, Sega probably could put the entire Mega Drive catalogue on one Blu-ray and flog it for $90.00, but then we would find something else to complain about – you just can’t please everyone. The games that are included are solid, bar a few questionable titles, however, just because we don’t like adventure and RPG titles, it doesn’t mean they should be excluded. Same goes the other way, if you loathe platformers, beat’em ups and puzzlers, it doesn’t mean these genres should be thrown out for more RPGs. Actually, if there was a driving game like Super Monaco GP or a motorcycle-racing-bashing one like Road Rash, then we could say that most, if not all, genres are well represented. Come to think of it, a few more shoot’em ups, like Truxton and Thunder Force would have rounded out this already pretty awesome package. Ah, we can speculate all we want, but we have to give it to Sega, they have tried to cater for the majority and we reckon they have done an admirable job.

After waffling on about this Sega Mega Drive Classics package on the PS4, the ultimate decision to buy or not buy is yours, but we’ll leave you with this little nugget – if you want to get your Sega 16-Bit gaming fix on your modern console, then you can’t go too wrong with Sega Mega Drive Classics.

Review System: PS4
Release Date:
May 29 2018
Format: Xbox One & PS4 (sorry Nintendo Switch owners)
Price: $49.95

image source: Mega Drive Classics

Disclosure: Sega Mega Drive Classics [PS4] download code was kindly provided by Five Star Games for this review.

 

Filed Under: Modern Gaming, Retro Gaming Culture, Reviews Tagged With: 16-bit, Alex Kidd, Altered Beast, Five Star Games, Golden Axe, Mega Drive, Mega Drive Classics, Modern Retro Gaming, Phantasy Star, pinball, PlayStation 4, PS4, PS4 Sega Mega Drive Classics, Retro Gaming, Review, Ristar, sega, Sega 16-Bit, Sega Genesis Classics, Sega Mega Drive Classics, Shinobi, sonic, Street Of Rage, Video Games

Classic SEGA Games on iOS and Android via SEGA Forever

June 22, 2017 By ausretrogamer

Three decades after it all began, SEGA Networks announces a growing collection of classic video games for mobile

In celebration of a simpler time – an era that came before cool kale, hyper-connectedness, DIY artisanal beer-making, and social media mayhem – SEGA Networks Inc. is bringing a growing collection of classic video games from every console era to your mobile device for free. The collection, called SEGA Forever, is a re-awakening of archetypal gaming, an ode to the deep and diverse SEGA catalogue, and the beginning of a retro revolution that will transport players back through two decades of console gaming.

Each game in the SEGA Forever lineup is free-to-play, ad-supported, playable offline, and includes added features like cloud saves, controller support, and leaderboards. For players who prefer a pristinely ad-free mobile gaming experience – folks who want to play SEGA just like they remember playing in their basement, without interruptions from parents, siblings, or homework – SEGA have rolled back the price so each game can be purchased without ads for $1.99. As the SEGA Forever collection expands through months and years, it will include both official emulations and ported games that pan all SEGA console eras, each adapted specifically for mobile devices while remaining faithful to the original games.

“Above all else SEGA Forever is a celebration of nostalgia. It’s about allowing fans to reconnect with past experiences and share them with family and friends in an accessible and convenient way,” explains Mike Evans, CMO of SEGA’s Mobile Division in the West. “Join us on a journey of rediscovery as we roll out two decades of classic games free on mobile. Create your own ‘SEGA Forever folder’ and collect your favourite classics. Enjoy moments of nostalgia on the go, or sync a Bluetooth controller to enjoy a console-like experience in your living room. SEGA Forever democratises retro gaming, and seeks to change how the world plays, rediscovers, and shares in classic game experiences.”

The first batch of SEGA Forever games has been carefully curated, boasting both blockbusters and core fan favourites; The collection will officially kick off today with five Mega Drive / Genesis titles, all of which will be available to download for free on the Google Play Store for Android devices and on the App Store for iPhone and iPad, where they will be accompanied by iMessage sticker packs:

  • Sonic The Hedgehog, the 1991 household classic that has remained at the forefront of hearts and minds since inception
  • Phantasy Star II, the longtime fan-favourite RPG from 1989
  • Comix Zone and Kid Chameleon, two American titles developed by SEGA’s in-house studio STI
  • Altered Beast, the original Mega Drive / Genesis pack-in title, a beat-em-up set in Ancient Greece that represents a weird and wonderful segment of the SEGA catalogue that is ripe for rediscovery

 

Following today’s launch, the SEGA Forever collection will continue to grow with additional releases coming every two weeks. It took AGES to get here, so it’s now time to start playing!

image source: SEGA Forever

 

Filed Under: Announcements, Modern Gaming, Retro Gaming Culture Tagged With: Altered Beast, Android, Classic Sega Games, Comix Zone, Dreamcast, iOS, Mark III, Master System, Mega Drive, Phantasy Star II, retrogaming, sega, Sega Forever, Sega Networks, SG-1000, sonic, Sonic The Hedgehog, space harrier, Super Hang-On

SEGA 3D Classics Collection

November 18, 2016 By ausretrogamer

RELIVE YOUR FAVOURITE SEGA MOMENTS WITH SEGA 3D CLASSICS COLLECTION!
sega3dclassics_1

Let’s start this review by saying that we prefer our games on physical media! Nothing beats holding something tangible in your hands. We already downloaded some of the games from the SEGA 3D CLASSICS COLLECTION, but having all games bundled on the one cart, some that had never been released outside of Japan, was a temptation too great to pass.

This highly anticipated COLLECTION is available now at all good gaming stores around Australia. The compilation consists of nine classic SEGA titles, all beautifully remastered in stereoscopic 3D with some extra bells and whistles (features) thrown in for good measure.

sega3dclassics_pd_ab

The CLASSICS COLLECTION hosts SEGA favourites like Sonic The Hedgehog, Thunder Blade, Galaxy Force II, Altered Beast and never-before-released Nintendo 3DS games including Puyo Puyo 2, Power Drift, Maze Walker and Fantasy Zone II (W and The Tears of Opa-Opa).

The big question now is, how do these SEGA classics play on Nintendo’s 3DS? Well, let’s just say that SEGA has not disappointed. With pretty much every genre covered, from driving, platforming, shoot’em up, to side-scrolling beat’em ups, maze crawlers and head-to-head puzzle games, there is something for everyone. You may have heard or read that Altered Beast and Thunder Blade are the weakest of the 3D remastered SEGA games, but let us assure you, they are faithful arcade conversions, that play, look and sound even better than their arcade counterparts! You’ll be hard pressed to find a weak game in the lineup, with your only problem being, what to play first. With that said, the stand out game of the COLLECTION for us is Power Drift! It is as close to having the real arcade driving experience without having the bulky machine in your living room – and you can play it on the go!

With 9 classic games remastered in 3D, multiplayer (local 2-player) mode on Puyo Puyo 2 and Altered Beast, pack art design by Ken Sugimori (Pokemon Art Director), plus Power Drift (and Puyo Puyo 2) making their Western debuts, there is only one logical conclusion, the SEGA 3D CLASSICS COLLECTION is a must get for your Nintendo 3DS!


source: SEGA Europe

Review copy supplied by Five Star Games.

 

Filed Under: Modern Gaming, Retro Gaming Culture, Reviews Tagged With: 3DS, Altered Beast, Galaxy Force II, Nintendo 3DS, Power Drift, Puyo Puyo 2, Review, Sega 3D Classics, Sega 3D Classics Collection, Sonic The Hedgehog, Thunder Blade

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