sega

(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]

If you’re into the original Xbox, then you probably know that Microsoft released several different hardware revisions over the console’s lifespan. These revisions were released under the covers, with no outside differences between, say, a 1.2 console and a 1.6 console. But the variations are meaningful, impacting both longevity and reliability. CRTGAMER over at Racketboy wrote up a pretty thorough rundown of the various revisions. If you want to know more, that’s your introductory course. [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) 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]

(Originally published at HardcoreGaming101.net) Context Perhaps it’s a bad rap, but the Genesis/MegaDrive is not remembered for its RPG library. Despite being the birthplace of such classics as Phantasy Star IV, Shining Force, and Lunar, Sega’s 16-bit hardware built its name with platformers and secured its legacy with rollicking action games. By 1994 this was a weakness that Nintendo was fully exploiting in Japan with a strong Super Famicom RPG lineup spearheaded by the wildly successful Final Fantasy series. [Read More]