reviews

(Originally published at Sega-16.com) It’s been almost a quarter-century since The Story of Thor released in Japan as part of Sega’s Mega RPG Project – a strategy conceived in the final round of the Mega Drive’s bout with the Super Famicom. It’s assumed Sega hoped a quick shot of RPGs would help its weary 16-bit mauler finish strong. That’s just speculation, but it’s a fact Sega abandoned its Mega RPG Project after less than a year. [Read More]

(Originally published at Sega-16.com) You tear the parcel open. The action rips the veil of time and space, and a distant refrain of the Japanese Mega CD BIOS lofts to your ears. The jingle transports you back to December of 1991, to a distant shop in Shibuya where you imagine gamers of a bygone era held the same game you hold now. You run a careful finger across the hand-shaded cover art and smile. [Read More]

(Originally published at HardcoreGaming101.com) Retro gamers call almost any obscure game a cult classic. Unlike most of Technosoft’s catalog, Blast Wind hasn’t amassed enough fans to earn that title. A search of the usual forums produces just a handful of cobwebbed discussions of the game. There are no fansites, obsessive strategy guides, or detailed retrospectives. But the game hasn’t quite been forgotten, either. Technosoft’s reputation keeps Blast Wind afloat as a curiosity among enthusiasts, and a small print run drives prices high on the secondary market. [Read More]

(Originally published at HardcoreGaming101.com) Success began its life in 1978 in Tokyo, under the guidance of its founder Takato Yoshinari. Since then, the company has either developed or published a huge number of games for every platform from the Neo Geo Pocket Color to the Nintendo Wii. These days, Takato Yoshinari is still the president and the company seems to be doing well with its own particular niche of DS and mobile games. [Read More]