Archive for the ‘Wii Virtual Console’ Category

SEGA Vintage Collection Vol. 4: ToeJam & Earl Review

December 13, 2012

With the release the fourth volume of SEGA’s new series of game compilations, appropriately titled the SEGA Vintage Collection, two more classic titles for the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive are now available — the funktastic co-operative games ToeJam and Earl and its sequel, ToeJam & Earl: Panic on Funkotron. After the break, we’ve included a basic overview of these titles and our general thoughts on them.

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Classic SEGA Music: Star Humming

October 15, 2012

Ristar (also known as Ristar the Shooting Star) is the 1995 platformer developed by Sonic Team and released for the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive and later for the SEGA Game Gear. The game follows the titular young star as he travels across the Valdi Galaxy in pursuit of the evil space pirate Kaiser Greedy, who has kidnapped the Legendary Hero that watches over the galaxy and protects it from harm. Although it is often overshadowed by Sonic Team’s other popular series, including Phantasy Star, Samba de Amigo, NiGHTS, and, of course, Sonic the Hedgehog, Ristar has managed to hold its own over a veritable who’s who of video game classics, and today it is often considered to be one of the very best and most beloved games on the platform.

Without further ado, let’s blast off and take a look at a cheerful little tune called “Star Humming”.

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SEGA Vintage Collection Vol. 3 Overview

August 20, 2012

SEGA Vintage Collection has been recently released on both XBLA and PSN – for the XBox 360 and PS3 respectfully. Known as SEGA AGES Online in Japan, it features proper emulations of SEGA classics – both console and arcade – with an abundance of features. It is developed by M2, former SNK employees responsible for SEGA’s Virtual Console offerings on Wii and many previous SEGA AGES games on PS2. Extensive emulation options, high definition artwork wallpapers, leader boards, saving, replays, achievements/trophies, new trial modes, and on-line play are all included, bringing these games back to life in a respectable, professional manner. With it being an on-going series of releases of classic games, it might be helpful to get a basic overview of what is included, how it fairs, and how others view the games released so far. Below is a compilation of this.

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Monster World IV Review

August 19, 2012

Date Released: April 1, 1994
Date Reviewed: August 19th, 2012
Genre: 2D Platformer/role-playing game
Players: 1 Player
Length: 5-8 hours
Replayability: Low

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Introduction:

Monster World IV is the 1994 platformer/role-playing game developed by Westone and released exclusively for the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive. Canonically, it is the sixth and final game in the Wonder Boy series, also being the fourth overall game in the related Monster World sub-series, which grew out of the former with the release of the Wonder Boy in Monster Land for the arcade and SEGA Master System in 1987 and 1988, respectively. Monster World IV had never seen an international release, being exclusive to Japan until very recently, when it was released on the Virtual Console for Nintendo’s Wii, as well as part of SEGA’s new Vintage Collection series, which brought it and Wonder Boy in Monster Land and Wonder Boy in Monster World to the PlayStation Network for PlayStation 3 and Xbox LIVE Arcade for Xbox 360. The wait, however, was well worth it, as Monster World IV is easily one of the finest games for the Genesis/Mega Drive, and it is sure to become an instant classic for many who haven’t yet experienced this wonderful gem of a game.

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Super Hang-On, Wonder Boy in Monster Land and Monster World IV now available on North American Wii Virtual Console

May 10, 2012

The arcade versions of Super Hang-On and Wonder Boy in Monster Land were both released today on the North American Virtual Console for Nintendo’s Wii. Unusual for the platform, the racing game Super Hang-On features brand new, but optional motion control functions that take advantage of the Wii Remote’s motion sensors. The action role playing game Wonder Boy in Monster Land is identical to it’s original arcade release and very similar to the SEGA Master System version of the game, which was previously launched on the service years ago.

The most notable download is the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive classic Monster World IV. This is the first time the game has become available outside of Japan and all of the game’s dialog is in English to reflect the change. Monster World IV was the final release in the Wonder Boy action role playing series of games.

All games are priced at 900 Wii Store Points each, or roughly $9 USD.

Each title is set to be released on PlayStation Network for PlayStation 3 and Xbox Live Arcade for Xbox 360, but no specific dates have been announced. It is worth noting that due to a change of Microsoft’s policy on their Achievement system that requires all downloadable games meet a certain criteria, the Monster World Collection and Alex Kidd & Co SEGA Vintage Collection releases – Both of which do not meet the recommended achievement score amount – will be released before June this year.

Classic SEGA Music: 10,000 Knives

April 28, 2012

Comix Zone is the 1995 side-scrolling action-beat ’em up classic developed by Sega Technical Institute, an American-based subdivision of Sonic Team best known for their work on several Sonic the Hedgehog games, Kid Chameleon and The Ooze. Consistently praised for their unique and sometimes outlandish sense of style, STI often combined elements of pop culture, including music, film, and television, into their games, creating a melting pot of new and interesting ideas from which to draw upon. Nowhere is this influence more apparent than in Comix Zone, where it becomes almost immediately apparent upon booting the game up that the player is in for a unique experience.

Stylistically, Comix Zone borrows heavily from the Seattle grunge movement that was very prevalent at the time of the game’s release, with the main character, Sketch Turner, acting as the embodiment of all things ’90s. A freelance comic book artist, rock musician, and cool dude with attitude, Sketch is working late one stormy night on his latest comic book, the Comix Zone, a post- apocalyptic romp taking place on a war-torn planet Earth following a hostile invasion by aliens and mutants, when suddenly a lightning bolt strikes the book, releasing the comic’s antagonist, the mutant Mortus, into the real world. Mortus then traps Sketch and his beloved pet rat, Roadkill, inside the pages of his own comic book, where he must fight his way through panel after panel to defeat Mortus and escape.

After the break, we’ll dive right into this story and enter the Comix Zone.

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Classic SEGA Music: Awaken

December 26, 2011

Gain Ground is the 1988 action-strategy arcade classic set around 350 years in the future where The Federated Government has created an era of peace. Because war ceases to exist the human race has begun to lose their fighting spirit; Worried of threats from outside of Earth, it is decided that a virtual reality simulation of various periods in time will be created to re-introduce their civilization to conflict. An unforeseen problem occurs and instead traps everyone inside the virtual world, turning the test of strength, knowledge and courage into a dark reality.

Included after the break are numerous variations of the ‘Origin’ zone, the first location in the game.

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Classic SEGA Music: New Journey

October 10, 2011

Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom is the classic 1990 role playing game for the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive. Considered the ‘Black Sheep’ of the series by many a fan, Generations of Doom differs greatly from previous and future titles in the franchise in it’s supposed medieval-fantasy setting instead of the series’ standard science fiction and also with how the story progresses based on whom the player chooses to marry. This eventually leads to an entirely new cast based on the player’s children and then eventually their childrens’ children.

This time we will focus on the song from the introductory sequence. Above is the arranged edition made along with a number of franchise favorites, after the break I have included the original, among many remixes and fan variations.

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Classic SEGA Music: Warrior of the Reviving Light

July 10, 2011

Shining Force II is the classic 1993/1994 strategy role playing game by ‘Sonic! Software Planning’ (now known as Camelot Software Planning) for the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive. Composed by renowned video game musician Motoaki Takenouchi, the soundtrack with much of the Shining series has been renowned for it’s encouraging and lighthearted take on a sinister, war-torn fantasy world. Shining Force II is no different, with the main overworld theme being considered one of the best in the franchise. Not just a memorable tune, but an impressive use of the Genesis/Mega Drive’s sound system with brilliant use of authentic horn and drum sounds all brought together in a wonderful sweeping adventurous style.

Continue after the break to listen to different variations including the rarely heard Game Gear version and an official orchestral release.

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Classic SEGA Music: Space Harrier Theme

April 22, 2011

Space Harrier is the 1985 pseudo-3D third-person rail shooting game developed by SEGA-AM2 on the System-16 arcade hardware under the supervision of Yu Suzuki who would become one of the most successful and revered people in the industry. Unusual to many of his later games, Space Harrier is designed in the unique “Fantasy Zone” setting where many of the objects and enemies the player must face are nonsensical or mythical beings.

Today we will be listening to what is considered the main theme of the game.

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