Kieren Hawken - The A-Z of Sega Mega Drive Games, Volume 1

The A-Z of

Sega Mega Drive Games

Volume 1

Kieren Hawken

Published in 2017 by

AG Books

www.agbooks.co.uk

Digital edition converted and distributed by

Andrews UK Limited

www.andrewsuk.com

Copyright 2017 Kieren Hawken

The right of Kieren Hawken to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998.

All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without express prior written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted except with express prior written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1956 (as amended). Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damage.

The opinions expressed herein belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect those of AG Books or Andrews UK Limited.

Game screenshots are included in this publication legally under applicable fair use law which allows such material for the explicit purposes of commentary and criticism.

Introduction

First released in Japan in October 1988, the Sega Mega Drive is undoubtedly one of the most important and also popular consoles of all time. Partly this is because it represents Segas most successful period in the home market. When the console came to North America as the Sega Genesis in August 1989 (the name was changed due to trademark infringement) it did something that nobody thought was possible and knocked market leaders Nintendo off their lofty perch. Led by the Genesis Does What Nintendont campaign, the console offered a true 16-bit arcade experience in the home. The 1990 release of Sonic The Hedgehog only cemented Segas position further and with it the blue speed demon became one of the moist enduring video game icons ever. The Mega Drive followed right on from the Master System and Mega Drive in Europe enjoying even greater success and outsold the rival Super Nintendo by a margin of 2:1. Licensed versions of the Mega Drive hardware are still being manufactured and sold to this very day.

In this book I take you through the life of the Sega Mega Drive and Genesis looking at a varied cross section of the 1000+ games available with a small review and screenshot of each one. This is not a list of the best games, a list of the worst or indeed a complete guide to whats available. The A-Z of Sega Mega Drive Games: Volume 1 is just that, the first volume of my look at a selection of MD games in alphabetical order. There are three games featured for each letter and these range from the earliest titles released, to modern homebrews and even unofficial bootlegs and hacks! Hopefully this book gives you some inspiration to try some games youve never played before or bulk up your own personal collection. You might even find it that brings back happy memories of unwrapping presents on Christmas Day or inviting your friends round after school for some multiplayer madness. But most of all I hope you enjoy reading it and remember what makes the Sega Mega Drive one of the greatest consoles of all time.

Kieren Hawken

June 2017

A

Alien Storm

Sega - 1991

The original arcade version of Alien Storm used the same engine as Segas classic Golden Axe and had many similarities in the gameplay department too despite its alien invasion theme. Its a scrolling beat em up at heart, although the characters do sport weapons, where you and a friend can select one of three characters and go around kicking some alien butt! Like Golden Axe you also have a magic of sorts that must be built up to be unleashed to maximum effect. Where this game does differ from Golden Axe is that it has some brilliant Operation Wolf style bonus stages where you not only shoot aliens but also shoot bonus objects to rack up more points and grab things such as extra lives and health too. These are particularly fun and destructive, especially the one that takes place in a supermarket. Each level is spilt into parts with a particularly ugly and generally angry boss at the end of each one. I always liked this game and love all the little comedic touches such as the mailbox aliens that wake up and chase you and the animations of the aliens themselves. The graphics are nice if not spectacular and the sound is also decent with music and sound effects. Most of all though the gameplay is highly enjoyable, especially in co-operative two-player mode. If you loved Golden Axe then you will love this too, its like a cheesy B movie, but in video game form!

8/10

Arrow Flash

Sega - 1990

Arrow Flash is a horizontally scrolling shooter for the Mega Drive provides a really solid example of this popular genre and has a few tricks up its sleeve. The plot revolves around Anna Schwinn who commandeers a prototype transformable fighter-mech left to her from her grandfather. It is unusual to find a female protagonist in a shoot em up so it wins at least a few originality points here. Like many scrolling shooters of this type you initially have just a basic shot, which can then be upgraded to different weapons. You can also gain smaller ships that follow the players ship around and copy its attacks like little drones. Power-ups are distributed throughout the levels and are lost entirely when the player loses a life, as you would expect. What does differentiate Arrow Flash from its contemporaries is the way you can transform from the ship to the mech. Each craft has its own advantages in categories like speed, shot and shield. You need to change between each for maximum effect. You are also armed with the titular Arrow Flash, which is a super shot you must charge up. The graphics and sound in this game are both very good without being amazing and the gameplay remains fair and tight throughout. In my opinion Arrow Flash is one of the most under rated games for the Mega Drive and one that shooter fans should definitely seek out.

8/10

Altered Beast

Sega - 1988

This massive arcade hit was also the game that was originally given away free with both the Mega Drive and Genesis versions of the console. At the time this really made people believe they could have an arcade in the home, nowadays people to look upon it with unwarranted disdain. Its a fantasy styled scrolling beat em up on one plane where its key gimmick is the ability to transform from a human to different types of monster by collecting magical orbs left behind by the golden boars. As a human you have a limited range of punches and kicks but with every magical orb you grow stronger until you transform completely. Then you can use your far more powerful magical attacks to defeat the un-dead enemies. Each level takes place on a 2D flat plane and ends with a huge boss. This Mega Drive version looks pretty close to the original and has all the gorgeous attract sequence from the coin-op too. The in-game graphics are very nice with smooth parallax scrolling and decent animation. The simply wonderful soundtrack and all the iconic speech are present and sound terrific. All in all I think this is a really good conversion and I just cant understand all the hate it gets. Sure its not as complex as games like Streets of Rage 2 and Golden Axe and its a bit linear but it does have a lot of charm and fighting fans like me will dig it. I command you to rise from your grave!