Year of the Animal: Day 252 - Juuouki (Altered Beast)

 Today's video takes a look at the Famicom port of Sega's Altered Beast, known in Japan as Juuouki, from Asmik

 

 

Year of the Animal: Day 176 - After Burner

 Today's video takes a look at the NES port of Sega's After Burner from Tengen.

Year of the Animal: Day 76 - Shinobi

 Today's video takes a look at the NES port of Sega's Shinobi from Tengen.

Year of the Animal: Day 12 - Fantasy Zone

 Today's video takes a look at Tengen's unlicensed port of Sega's Fantasy Zone. 

I Got A Thing In The Mail That Was Pretty Cool: Streets Of Rage 4 Classic Edition

 

After several months, I finally received my physical copy of Streets of Rage 4 and was so happy with the package that I decided to share my thoughts with the world.

Record Of The 16-Bit War: Sonic vs. Mario

Today's video looks at the rivalry between Sonic and Mario

Record Of The 16-Bit War: Gunstar Heroes

Today's video looks at Gunstar Heroes From Treasure for the Genesis

Record Of The 16-Bit War: Sega CD Starts The Slide

Today's video takes a look at the Sega CD

Record Of The 16-Bit War: ToeJam And Earl In Panic On Funkotron

Today's video takes a look at ToeJam And Earl In Panic On Funktron from Sega for the Genesis

Record Of The 16-Bit War: Altered Beast

Today's video takes a look at the Genesis port of Sega's Altered Beast

Record Of The 16-Bit War: Eternal Champions

Today's video looks at Eternal Champions from Sega for Genesis

Record Of The 16-Bit War: Dynamite Duke

Today's video takes a look at Dynamite Duke from Sega / Seibu Kaihatsu for the Sega Genesis.

Record Of The 16-Bit War: Dynamite Headdy

Today's video takes a look at Dynamite Headdy from Treasure for the Sega Genesis

Record Of The 16-Bit War: James "Buster" Douglas Knockout Boxing

Today's video takes a look at James "Buster" Douglas Knockout Boxing for the Sega Genesis

Record Of The 16-Bit War: Sega Fires The First Shot

Today's video takes a look at the Sega Genesis, and how it was the opening salvo in the rivalry between Sega and Nintendo.

The Summer Of 8-Bit: Alien Syndrome

Today's video takes a look at Tengen's NES port of Sega's Alien Syndrome

Sonic Generations: When Fan Service Is Done Right

Without a doubt, Sega's biggest hit was Sonic the Hedgehog. The character crossed over so much that he had two different cartoon series on American TV simultaneously. The fast paced platforming and attitude that Series creator Yuji Naka brought to the Master System and Genesis set the gaming world on fire and gave Nintendo it's first serious rival in the "console wars". After the rise and fall of the Dreamcast, Sonic fell on hard times as a series of very bad games were released for multiple consoles. Then Sonic and the Dark Brotherhood was released on the Nintendo DS, followed by Sonic Colors on the Wii and DS, and Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 on XBLA and PSN. This handful of good games led up to the 20th anniversary of the first Sonic game, and a major undertaking by Sonic Team: create a piece of fan service the likes of which Sonic fans have never seen. the result is a game spanning classic and modern Sonic universes with a charm that hasn't been seen in the series since Sonic CD. Not only is Sonic Generations the best Sonic game since the days of the Genesis, it's one of the best platformers to come out in a while.

Sonic Generations starts out like the very first Sonic game did, in the Green Hill Zone. In fact, much of the layout feels like that first level of the very first Sonic game, and that's because it is. What Sonic Generations does so well is take those classic levels from past Sonic games and expanded them both in length and scope. you'll see familiar enemies, hear familiar music, and blaze through familiar landscapes. The quirk is that there are at least two versions to every level: a side scrolling level that's handled as Classic Sonic, or the 3D levels that are run using Modern Sonic. The two versions of Sonic appear in cutscenes together as well, with Classic Sonic being shorter, pudgier, and decidedly mute while Modern Sonic is taller, skinnier, and can talk. There's a story in there, but for some reason, they all boil down to the same thing: Something is threatening the survival of the world, and Sonic has to stop it. Again, it's nothing ground breaking, as the story is merely there to provide some semblance of a reason for two different sets of characters inhabiting the same universe.

The play mechanics are classic Sonic, which means the player doesn't have to worry about doing a lot with their controller. Matter of fact, this game may be the textbook definition of "pick up and play", but because of the genre that works. There are a few prompts that pop up in early levels to tell you when to perform certain tasks, and thankfully nothing in this game feels as sluggish as it did in Sonic 4:Episode 1. Like I've said throughout this review, everything feels familiar, and that may be my only issue with Sonic Generations.

To say everything has been done before in Sonic Generations is an understatement. The soundtrack, characters, control mechanics have been done multiple times by Sonic Team over the course of the last 20 years. This turned a lot of gamers off, but this is far from a bad thing. Sonic Generations has effectively, for all it's fan service, proved that Sega still has it. This game reminds me of the days when Sega was still in the console business, and almost makes me think...no, that won't happen.

First Impressions: Sonic Generations

Remember When...Video Games Didn't Exist And Nintendo Made Playing Cards

I've always been fascinated by the origins of many of the gaming industry's most important companies. Many if not all of them were involved in other industries for decades before the ping and pop of video games came calling. Many already made carnival games, and assumed that video games would be another fad that they could ride until something came along. I mean, nobody could have predicted that Ralph Baer's "Brown Box" or Jerry Lawson's breakthrough with replaceable ROM cartridges could be enough to convince a vending machine company called Taito Trading company to release Astro Race in 1973, nor could it convince a small amusement machine company called Service Games to get into the video game business in the 1970s by manufacturing their own arcade games. It definitely would not have been enough to take a venerable Japanese playing card company into the "Family Computer" business.

Most of gaming's most iconic taste makers started out in other places, yet they all gravitated towards the video game industry, and they all succeeded at some level. Taito, which was started by a Russian guy in 1953, was making jukeboxes and vending machines until they got into the gaming business in 1973. They made game after game until 1978 when they created what many consider the most important game in Arcade history with Space Invaders. Space Invaders had such an impact on the fledgling industry that entire arcades were dedicated to that one game for years after it's release. While they are currently owned by Square Enix, the Taito brand still commands a great deal of weight and respect among gamers.

Service Games or Sega as it's more commonly known, started life as a maker of shooting gallery games, jukeboxes, and anything else that could occupy a soldiers mind on a military base. Over time they developed more products until they got into the video game industry and scored their first major hits with games like Pengo, Zaxxon, and Tac/Scan. While they have suffered a number of ups and downs over the years, a lot of what Sega brought to the table is still regarded as revolutionary.

The Nintendo Playing card company seems like a good fit to enter the video game market, but their entrance was not the most graceful. Prior to entering the video game market, Nintendo dabbled in everything from instant rice, to taxicabs, to a "love hotel". None of these ventures proved successful though, and in 1974, they obtained the rights to distribute the Magnavox Odyssey in Japan. Then Nintendo began to manufacture their own brand of Pong clones with the "Color TV Game" series, and things slowly rolled from there until a young game designer named Shigeru Miyamoto introduced the world to Jumpman, Lady, and Donkey Kong.

The three companies I mentioned in this post are just a microcosm of the rich histories of many publishers within the video game industry. Much like many of the people who have enjoyed their creations over the years, these companies all started out somewhere else, and through many different paths, they ended up being a part of the video game industry. While some have ceased to exist, many still do, and it is up to us as gamers to keep these companies honest, because without us, they cease to exist, and we are then left with less room for innovation and variety, and that benefits no one who grew up with a controller in their hand.

The Ten Biggest "What Ifs" in Video Game History

I've been a Gamer as long as I can remember, and every now and then, I get this feeling that something promising just didn't pan out. What that in mind, I decided to share my top ten list of the biggest "What Ifs" in video game history.

10. What If the Apple Pippin had caught on as a viable game console? I mean, Steve Jobs doesn't screw up too often, but if they would have adjusted a few things, the pippin could have been an influential console.

9. What if EA Sports never got that NFL exclusivity? It was really convenient that EA got the NFL license on the heels of 2K Sports launching their NFL 2K5 game at $19.99, this took a big chunk of Madden's sales. Had they not gotten exclusivity...well, things would have been a helluva lot different.

8. What if Final Fantasy would have remained a Nintendo exclusive? Final Fantasy was supposed to be an exclusive title for Nintendo's 64 bit console, at that point called the "Ultra 64", but when Square realized how expensive their big game would be on a cartridge based system, they jumped ship to the upstart Sony Playstation. This wasn't the first tension between Sony and Nintendo, but I'll get into that later.

7. What if Sega was still making consoles? Sega has always made quality games, but since they left the console market, their offerings haven't all been that good. My theory is that stubborn pride won't let Sega put a good Sonic game on a Playstation.

6. What if those FMV games on the Sega CD were actually good? If those grainy abominations were good, we'd probably still be playing sequels to Night Trap...and nobody would benefit from that.

5. What if you actually had to know how to play guitar to play Guitar Hero? Honestly, we'd have gotten that Prince edition with the purple guitar by now. If you didn't know, he doesn't want you guys having his music in a video game, he wants you to learn how to play a guitar...

4. What if Street Fighter II never caught on? Capcom would have been okay, but I'm not sure about SNK, since the Neo Geo was known as a fighting game system. Those fighting games were by and large the spiritual offspring of SF II, and without it, SNK would have had to seriously readjust their plans.

3. What if EA would have bought out Take Two Interactive? If Take Two would have accepted the buyout offer from EA, most of the shelf space in your local video game store would be monopolized by games with the EA logo. Not a good look if you like options.

2. What if Sony and Nintendo didn't have that falling out in the 90s? If Sony and Nintendo could have come to an agreement on licensing, we would have gotten a CD add on for the Super NES in September 95, not the Sony Playstation. That, my friends, would have been huge.

1. What if the crash of 1983 never happened? Honestly, the crash was almost a blessing in disguise, a lot of companies making shitty games and consoles got phased out, and the ones capable of thriving survived. The market is in danger of another crash with more and more shovelware being pumped out. Quality at times takes a backseat to profits and if they aren't careful, small developers will once again take over the gaming market.