Hiatus

As you’ve probably noticed, I haven’t written so much on here in the past two years. I currently live in Tokyo and work long hours, and all my SEGA collection is back home in the UK. I’m out taking photos daily, so be sure to check out my other blogs and my Tumblr website, which are updated much more frequently!

I imagine that I will return to the blogging scene here on “My SEGA Collection” in earnest when I return to the UK and have a little more time on my hands and have my collection with me.

I hope there’s some good material on the site to keep you coming back for more in the future. I do have a slight surprise in store later this year hopefully, so do check back

Is your first console your favourite?

My first console was the Game Gear, but I really wanted Mega Drive (I was only 8 when I got the Game Gear for Christmas, back in 1991). I loved it, though. The Mega Drive soon followed and was really good fun for many years, but the Playstation and Saturn era were something special to me. I was a teenager at the time and so I can look back with rose-tinted specs, but I remember sleepovers with MicroMachines V3 and C&C red alert (link up) on our Playstations… good times.

I had a Saturn before the Playstation and was a real SEGA fan boy, but they didn’t have a huge support in the West. I loved Sega Rally to pieces though; still probably my favourite game ever. The Dreamcast was a funny one. I was so excited and loved it, but the PS2 demolished it. Hardly any friends had a dreamcast, but everyone loved coming around and playing Powerstone 4-player. More rose-tints!

Now I am really digging the 360 actually, with it’s exclusive Japanese ports (CAVE) and decent controller and online linkage… I have a PS3 as well but I rarely use that damn thing unless I want to play Wipeout HD.

How about you?

I just got myself an aquarium…

Aside from the obvious DELL branding, this could well be an aquarium. It’s clean, a warm 18C and has good air circulation within.

However, as it is most definitely a virtual aquarium, I need a special controller with which to interact with this gorgeous new environment. Fortunately, I have just the controller for the job, nay, the only controller for the job, comprising four different coloured buttons, a triangular START button, a D pad, a lovely analogue stick… any ideas? Also houses a VMU and a microphone unit!

Yes, that’s correct. This is, of course, Seaman for the Dreamcast. There’s no simple way of writing that. There just isn’t. Every single time one says “seaman” it’s impossible not to smirk or change the sentence into something a little bit seedy (pun intended).

It’s been two days since I cleaned out the aquarium and popped the egg I was given into the tank. Since then, all sorts has gone one. Most interestingly though, I now have four “gillmen” which now populate the tank and are talking in all sorts of gibberish and answering my pleads of “please speak english” with “need more time” and “no”. The cheek of it!

However, these little critters have already charmed me quite well, and I intend to look after them well over the next week or two, before I embark on my emigration to Japan.

Stay tuned for more Seaman. Just. Not. Possible. To. Not. Sound. Rude.

Cosmic Smash Game Soundtrack

Thanks to the guys over at Go-Go-Gamesoundtrack

a fantastic game with a very short (about 10 minutes), but very cool soundtrack. if you consider yourself at all interested in video games but have not played this game, you owe it to yourself to take a few minutes out of whatever you’re doing and have a session (or few) with it.

soundtrack ripped from Dreamcast version ADX files (thanks @ AJ for the help with Dreamcast data shit). level themes joined gaplessly across three tracks.

It can be downloaded directly, from this link. Please let me know if you’ve downloaded it and enjoy it!

Sonic Fan Remix

It appears that what SEGA can’t do for the fans, the fans do for the fans. Sonic Fan Remix (SFR) is currently doing the rounds on the internet, through a barrage of Tweets and blog articles far and wide.

The most interesting thing, is how SFR knocks Sonic 4 into the distance. Though some may find the visuals of SFR a little over-saturated and some computers might struggle to get the correct frame rate, the real difference between SFR and Sonic 4 boils down to what made Sonic great in the first place – no SEGA, not speed; physics.

The physics in SFR is true to the previous 2D Sonic games; whereby Sonic actually has momentum. Numerous youtube videos and forums alike complain about the physics in Sonic 4, which is something that the reviewers across cyberspace seem to have omitted (were they paid off??).

Here’s a Youtube link to SFR, and I’ve included the download links for Mac and Windows below. Check out their website, and if they put a donation link for a paypal account, I think we should all send something their way as this is just a fantastic effort, from 2 guys, compared to “Sonic Team” and SEGAs most recent effort of Sonic 4.

Sonic Fan Remix download links: Windows/Mac. Enjoy!

Rez sequel announced: Child of Eden

Until I finish my Ph.D, my posts will remain few and far between. Sorry for the hiatus, but I fully intend on posting some high quality stuff once I am finished.

Anyway, in addition to the other news from E3, it’s worth broadcasting this little snippet of information: Mizuguchi Tetsuya, the mind behind the amazing synesthesia-based Rez (and beta K-Project), showcased his new game at E3; Child of Eden.

Those of you that have played Rez will remember that the AI in Rez is actually called “Eden” and is actually personified as the image of a woman that you must rescue from numerous computer firewalls and other defence systems (man this game is a geek’s vision!).

The new game makes use of Microsoft’s Kinect system for the XBOX 360, but can also be played with the use of standard controllers. If there was ever a game to sell me on the idea of waving my arms around whilst stood in the lounge listening to trance music during a never ending computer visualisation, this is it.

The idea seems familiar to those of use that know Rez; take control within the computer and ‘clense’ (some say shoot) the area, which in turn progresses the musical score of the game. Quite novel stuff really. Personally, I think that much as NiGHTS was destined to be played on the Wii, Rez is destined to be played using the Kinect. At least, it has me partially sold on the idea!

Here’s a couple of videos for your viewing pleasure. Please turn up your speakers and relax!

Review: Sonic 1 on iPhone 3G

Well, after the success of Super Monkey Ball on the iPhone, we now find ourselves with yet another game from SEGA in the Appstore. This is not a new game – far from it. It’s a very old game (almost 20 years old) on a very new device.

Control: Well, the iPhone is somewhat famed for only having one button on the front – and funnily enough it’s not used when playing this game. Pressing it takes you back to the above screen in fact (it’s the HOME button). Being as there are not physical buttons, we have to rely on touching the screen to control our favourite blue Erinaceinae (Hedgehog species apparently).

Going into the controls sub-menu, we see the following;

So, it’s all touch screen as expected… how does the rest of the game shape up?

Graphics: As we all know, Sonic is getting on. Many think he’s seen his best days. Maybe these were those. The 16-bit graphics look crisp on the iPhone’s high resolution display, which is slightly letterboxed at the sides to allow the original 4:3 aspect ratio to be preserved. There is very little motion blur when Sonic is going full-tilt and overall the graphics are true to the original.

Gameplay: Well, this is essentially what you bought the game for, right? Many people don’t like the iPhone due to the lack of buttons. When gaming, this becomes interesting. Many games on the iPhone make use of the accelerometer (SEGA’s own Super Monkey Ball for one), but Sonic is a very simple affair involving only a Dpad, “A” button and Start/Options. The controls are actually pretty good. When one touches the screen, the button appears to be ‘depressed’ further into the screen which is quite useful early on when becoming familiar with the controls. You can’t be the original pad though, nor the Saturn pad if playing Sonic Jam.

Sound: The sound is crisp and clear, though the game needs to be played with the home button to the left in order to not cover the single speaker with your own hand.

Options: There is only the ability to perform one game save at any time. One. That. Sucks. I’ll touch on this in future reviews, but even the most basic emulators out there allow multiple save states. This is another case of the hackers giving the community what it really wants and corporations not giving a damn. It’s a shame really.

Overall: I would advise getting this £3.49 game only if you have a commute in the morning, or are a die-hard Sonic fan. If you want to play this game properly, you either need a MegaDrive or a decent emulator, and physical controls. We all know how much we wanted to throw the controller at the screen when Dr. Robotnik killed Sonic – but throwing your phone across the room is more hassle than it’s worth!