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Sega Mega Drive

Saying Goodbye to SEGA Classics: Delisting Marks the End of an Era for Retro Gamers

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Ending the day with some news we did not want to hear from SEGA

SEGA’s decision to delist a selection of its classic games from online stores (from December 6, 2024) has saddened fans (us included!) who treasure these beloved titles as part of gaming history.

For many, these retro games were more than just entertainment—they were formative experiences that brought joy, challenge, and nostalgia. With their removal, future generations may lose access to these cultural touchstones. While some versions may still exist in compilations or through remakes, the original versions’ disappearance marks the end of an era for devoted SEGA fans and retro game lovers alike.

 

My ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ Weekend

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By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.

Here is a little secret about entertainment: if something is good, people are usually going to find it and make it a success.

I’ve stayed away from buying a “Sonic the Hedgehog” game for all my life, but one recent weekend, I decided to purchase “Sonic Forces” and “Sonic Mania” for Nintendo Switch.

I’ve always played “Sonic” in a friend’s dorm room or at an arcade when I was younger, but I never bought a “Sonic” game; and I had a Sega when I was a teenager. All weekend long, I went back-and-forth playing the two Sonic games. I played “Sonic Mania” a little more because I like the retro look and feel to it.

The main thing that I’ve always enjoyed about “Sonic” games is the speed. I’m not the greatest at collecting tokens, however, I’ll get through each stage in a speedy fashion. When I land on some spikes and lose all my tokens, I’m never fazed by it. My focus is always trying to get to the end of the stage. I’m always trying to break my previous record; my time is my focus.

Before buying the games, my last interaction with “Sonic the Hedgehog” was the first film, back in 2020. I tried watching “Sonic the Hedgehog” with Jim Carrey; I got about an hour in, and said to myself, “This movie wasn’t made for me.” I hear kids love the film franchise. Worldwide, both films made $725 million combined. A third film is in the works for 2024.

When I went into my Sonic cave for the weekend, I couldn’t stop playing, I was enjoying myself so much. Yes, the game is hugely popular and iconic, but the game play, like the original “Super Mario Bros.,” is still thrilling and engaging.

And, like “Mario,” there are many iterations of “Sonic” to come. In the future, I may buy a third “Sonic” game.

image source: Ausretrogamer



Mega Book Collection Digital Book Is Now FREE

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Yep, you read that right! The ‘Mega Book Collection – A Visual Guide to the Sega Mega Drive’ digital book – the Sega Mega Drive / Genesis visual opus is now totally gratis!

The author, Darren Doyle (Greyfox Books) explains the reason this book has now been released for free:

We attempted to bring this book physically to everyone back in 2021 via crowdfunding but alas we were unable to do so. So going forward, we decided rather than this amazing project to be left sitting on a hard drive gathering dust forever, we made the decision to offer it for free for everyone to enjoy and because we are very nice and generous people here at Greyfox Books and love to support the Sega retro gaming scene.

In case you were wondering, the great big SEGA put the kibosh on this book being published physically. So before they kill the digital one, grab it now! And while you are at it, please consider leaving a donation via the publisher’s PayPal account.

image source: Greyfox Books



First Video of Final Fight Ultimate on the Sega Mega Drive

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As huge fans of the beat’em up genre, we are quite excited to see this homebrew version of Final Fight, titled Final Fight Ultimate on the Sega Mega Drive!

Retro developer, Mauro Xavier and his cohort of CFX experts, Edmo Caldas (music) and Master Linkuei (ripping, tricks & tech support) are bringing us one of the all time classic co-op beat’em ups on Sega’s 16-bit beast. To say we are excited for this port would be a massive understatement. We need Final Fight Ultimate in our life ASAP!


source: Mauro Xavier



SEGA Genesis Interactive Plush Console

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Sega Does What Nintendon’t!

Another nostalgia inducing product from Kidrobot for those Sega 16-bit and Sonic fans! Kick it oldschool with this cool retro plush! The beloved classic SEGA Genesis (we prefer, Mega Drive!) gaming console gets a plush makeover with interactive elements.

This Genesis/Mega Drive console is a 12″ / 30cm plush which includes a plug-in plush Sonic game cartridge and an original 3-button type plug-in plush controller.

image source: Kidrobot



LAVAIR X SEGA MEGA DRIVE

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Sega does what Nintendon’t? Actually, Nintendo have already done the whole ‘cross’ pollination with iconic streetwear brands (like the one with Vans). Sega have also done the same with their famous blue mascot when they crossed him with Puma. Well, now it is Sega’s 16-bit classic console, the Mega Drive, that gets the streetwear treatment with the new Lavair X Mega Drive range!

We must admit, we had never heard of Lavair till today (perhaps we are showing our age!), so at least we have learned something new! So here they are, the Lavair X Mega Drive runners (or sneakers if that is your preference), which we reckon capture the colours perfectly of Sega’s flagship Japanese Mega Drive with the Analog runner and the Mono runner which capture the PAL Mega Drive. If you are more into baseball hats, then you are in luck, as they have the Analog and Mono hats for you to choose from too. The Lavair x Mega Drive is a limited-edition themed collaboration, so we expect these products to go quite quickly, just like Sonic, boom!

image source: Sega and Lavair



Chip’s Challenge is coming to the SNES and Sega Genesis/Mega Drive!

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Chip's Challenge for SNES and SEGA GENESIS

Chip’s Challenge for SNES and Sega Genesis/Mega Drive Pre-Orders Now Live

Top-down tile-based puzzle game

Independent publisher The Retro Room Games has recently announced that the pre-orders for Chip’s Challenge on Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) and Sega Genesis/Mega Drive are now open!

Play as Nerdy Chip McCallahan, who navigates through a series of increasingly difficult puzzles in 148 two-dimensional levels, in order to prove himself and gain membership to the very exclusive Bit Busters Club.

Chip's Challenge

Originally developed by Epyx, Chip’s Challenge is a classic top-down tile-based puzzle game launched on Atari Lynx in 1989. The game was also ported to MS-DOS, Atari ST, Amiga, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, and the Amstrad CPC back in the 90s.

Chip’s Challenge was also released on Steam 6 years ago featuring 90% of positive reviews. This will be the first time that the game will be available on Nintendo and Sega platforms.

Chip’s Challenge will be available on 16-bit consoles including a cartridge in both PAL and NTSC versions, a box and an instruction booklet. Pre-orders for the game can be found here.


source: The Retro Room Roo

Features:

  • 148 two-dimensional levels
  • Block-pushing puzzles
  • Dodging enemies
  • Skip to the next level option

Price: US$24.99 (cart only) / US$49.99 (Complete In Box)



Celebrating the Sega Mega Drive in Australia

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On this day [November 30] in 1990, Sega’s 16-bit beast arrived on our shores, which was about 2 years after Japan got theirs, but it was always better late than never back in those days!

Coming from the days of playing games on the Commodore 64 and Atari ST, the Mega Drive felt like we had a genuine arcade system in our bedroom! The Mega Drive was our first day one purchase (the N64 was the other) in 1990, which we paid $399 with the pack-in Altered Beast game. We also couldn’t resist buying Golden Axe on that day too. We still remember unpacking and playing it that day – our mind was completely blown!

Sega stamped their authority with their 16-bit powerhouse, and as history would record it, their most successful console ever. The Mega Drive was the catalyst for converting a generation of micro computing enthusiasts into console gamers, we should know, as we were one of them. Our transition from 8-bit (C64) and 16-bit (Atari ST) computing was quite stark – and as soon as we got our Mega Drive and whacked in the pack-in Altered Beast and then Golden Axe games, we honestly thought we had Sega’s arcade games in our bedroom. We were instantly smitten, and alas, that also rang the death knell on our playing days on the micros.

What were your earliest memories of Sega’s 16-bit beauty? Hit us up on Twitter or Facebook and join in the conversation.



ToeJam & Earl Custom SEGA Genesis Cartridge Charity Auction

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Straight from the planet Funkotron comes the funkiest, custom SEGA Genesis / Mega Drive game ever to hit your CRT TV! Complete with light-up LEDs, moving arrow, and sound effects, this brass elevator replica will amaze your friends on the included display stand or played in a real SEGA Genesis / Mega Drive!

You now have the chance to grab this one of a kind creation via the current charity auction on eBay. This charity auction will see 100% of the sale proceeds going to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. So not only could you win this super funky cartridge, but you can also help a great charity!

Happy bidding!


source: MID49

 

Sega Mega Drive – Street Fighter 2 Remastered Edition

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Nintendo may be grabbing a lot of attention with their Nintendo Direct announcement this week, but we reckon you need to know about this other awesome news too.

So what’s the awesome news? Well, remember when Street Fighter II hit the 16-bit consoles and we were all discussing which version was better? For the record, we preferred the SNES version, but the Sega Mega Drive / Genesis (Street Fighter II: Special Champion Edition) game was no slouch either. The awesome news is, things have changed for the better on the Sega Mega Drive / Genesis version, thanks to coder Gabriel Pyron.



Gabriel has been toiling for 4 years, reworking the Mega Drive / Genesis Street Fighter II: Special Champion Edition game to bring it as close to arcade perfect as possible, aptly titled, Street Fighter II Remastered Edition. Gabriel has injected better/more colours, updated the graphics, animations and art, fixed some bugs and removed the pesky censorship elements to name just a few of his updates.

Head on over here to download Gabriel’s update and apply the patch to play the ultimate (and best) Street Fighter II game on the Sega Mega Drive / Genesis!

image source: Romhacking