Ms. Marvel Sega Figure is Cute

Ms. Marvel has been a favourite superhero of mine ever since her first comic came out. She has become a pop culture icon and a voice for hope since her debut in 2013. Her status as the first Muslim character to headline a Marvel series was shared enthusiastically by many and the comic series quickly became one of the industry’s bestselling titles because it was, quite simply, an excellent superhero comic book which was written with wit, pathos and heart.

I have collected all her graphic novels, which have been awesome, and seen the series and The Marvels movie, which were both pretty solid imho and didn’t deserve the hate they received, especially the movie where Kamala stole the show.

Anywho, I have collected some Lego type figures of the character and now have added the Sega Super Premium model to my collection. It is a very reasonably priced figure (only £25) and looks amazing too; it's build quality and painting giving it a much superior look to what the price would imply. Okay, it's not the Kotokubiya figure I would have liked but then it didn't cost me £150 so I can live with that.

Anyways, here are a few pics of the figure.

Thunder Force AC Released on Switch

My first experience at the arcade was when I was 6 and it was at my local video store, there was Pacman and Space Invaders. I suppose that was my first intro to shoot 'em up games, that little sit down cocktail cabinet.

They've always held a special place in my heart as once the enemy patterns are learnt and memorised you can look like a boss completing a game. I have a vivid memory of playing R-Type at Heathrow airport and getting to level 3, that huge base ship. Over the years I bought R-Type again on the Master System and then progressed to the Megadrive where I continued my love of shoot 'em ups. This system was excellent at shoot ‘em ups but there were a couple that stood out and those were the Thunder Force series.

I am pleased that Sega Ages released Thunder Force IV a while back for the Switch but I have more fondness for its predecessor, Thunder Force III. Now Sega Ages have released Thunder Force AC, a made for arcade version of Thunder Force III. Whilst not exactly the same, as it more a slightly remixed version, the game is still gorgeous to look at and still slick as heck. The shooting mechanics are meaty and the enemy waves and designs are interesting. Look out for a ‘Video Games As Art’ portfolio on the game soon.

Streets of Rage Soundtracks Available To Download On BandCamp.

The early to mid 90's were a great time for gaming but it was still seen as a childish past time by many. When the Playstation released it tapped into to the burgeoning dance market where House and Trance tracks were popular and consistently hitting the charts. It seemed like a perfect mix; edgy games and oh-so-zeitgeisty music. However before Sony's miracle machine we 16-bit gamers did have a saviour of coolness and that was the inimitable Yuzo Koshiro. The composer behind the first two Streets of Rage games was a pioneer when bringing the sounds of the clubs into games. The Streets of Rage soundtracks are amongst the most highly regarded of the 16-bit era and rightly so. Whilst The Orb, The Prodigy and Orbital were getting into the charts, Koshiro was applying the music styling of the genre into his soundtracks.

I have all three albums and they are great, especially the first two that hold a special place in my heart.

I have all three albums and they are great, especially the first two that hold a special place in my heart.

His three albums have been released on vinyl by DataDiscs and I have all 3 (I have linked my reviews of all three albums below) but recently the albums have been put up for purchase on BandCamp. At just 6 GBP a piece I’d say that it’s a bargain and with the imminent release of Streets of Rage 4, it’s a great time to revisit these astonishing albums.

Streets of Rage Soundtracks on BandCamp

Yuzo Koshiro on Composing for Streets of Rage, Techno and Programming

Yuzo Koshiro, the composer behind the Streets of Rage games, was a pioneer when bringing the sounds of the clubs into games. The Streets of Rage soundtracks are amongst the most highly regarded of the 16-bit era and rightly so. Whilst The Orb, The Prodigy and Orbital were getting into the charts, Koshiro was applying the music styling of the genre into his soundtracks.

I have all three Streets of Rage soundtracks on vinyl and they are awesome!

I have all three Streets of Rage soundtracks on vinyl and they are awesome!

In an interview for Red Bull Music Academy, Koshiro discussed the early days of his career, how he and Motohiro Kawashima sought inspiration in nightclubs for Streets of Rage and why he never let limitations stop him from pushing forward. At nearly an hour and an half it’s an informative and interesting in-depth discussion about a very singular creator.

Sega Arcade Pop- Up History Book Kickstarted

In the 80's Yu Suzuki changed the arcade scene with releases of some of Sega’s greatest arcade cabinets. These included Hang-On, Space Harrier, Thunder Blade, After Burner, Out Run, and Power Drift. Well, Sega fan and pop-up book aficionado Darren Wall has successfully Kickstarted a campaign to reproduce the stunning arcade cabinets in miniature pop-up book form. The book contains detailed pop-ups of the cabinets but also schematics, artwork and a little historical information on the games.

The original consignment of books are soon to be sent out for backers but a larger print run of the book is promised soon and I look forward to purchasing a copy. Check out the video link below to see how awesome the project looks.

New Streets of Rage Game Announced

I am super excited to share the news that a new Streets of Rage game has been announced after a 23 year wait. The original trilogy came out on the Sega Megadrive/ Genesis and were bonafide classics, especially the first two which are considered some of the finest scrolling beat 'em ups of all time. The music by Yuzo Koshiro is fondly remembered and I have discussed all three before with the recent vinyl releases of the soundtracks.

I have all three Streets of Rage games on vinyl and love them, especially the second one!

I have all three Streets of Rage games on vinyl and love them, especially the second one!

Details are sketchy at the moment but from their official video on YouTube Dotemu have said:

Lizardcube, Guard Crush Games and Dotemu are thrilled to present Streets of Rage 4. Featuring hand-drawn visuals from the team behind 2017’s gorgeous Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap remake, Streets of Rage 4 builds upon the classic trilogy’s gameplay with new mechanics, a fresh story and a gauntlet of dangerous stages with a serious crime problem.

I hope that the game is as good as the recent Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap remake, which was phenomenal and that they manage to Yuzo Koshiro back on this franchise. Here's hoping that the stars align.

Sega Master System: A Visual Compendium Kickstarter Goes Life

Bitmap Books have been releasing some amazing visual compendiums of retro game consoles over the past few years. I've already spoken about the NES and SNES compendiums before but I am very excited about their latest announcement, the Sega Master System Visual Compendium. Sam Dyer, founder and graphic designer of Bitmap Books, has been working very closely with SEGA to make the 6th visual compendium something really special. The Kickstarter went live a couple of days ago and I've gone in for the softcover book. Check it out.

Space Harrier Soundtrack on Vinyl

Space Harrier was a game I was aware of but never really got around to playing, even though I owned a Megadrive and Master System. However, for those who have fond memories of the game or the soundtrack, Data Discs have released the soundtrack on vinyl. I have purchased a few soundtracks in my time from them and can say that they are always amazingly presented and the pressings are crisp and clear. Check out the Data Discs website in the link below and check out my other vinyl reviews.

Space Harrier Soundtrack on Vinyl ©DataDiscs

Streets of Rage III Soundtrack Vinyl Release

I'm a HUGE fan of the Streets of Rage fan a large part of that is due to the stunning soundtracks by Yuzo Koshiro. Well Data-Discs, the London based record company is releasing the Streets of Rage 3 soundtrack later today. I will be ordering the album of course as I want to complete my vinyl collection. I have the first two and they are very impressive. The album will retail at £24.99 and will be a double disc release, remastered for the format. Once I get the album I'll post a review but for now you can check our my vinyl soundtrack reviews for Streets of Rage and Streets of Rage 2 on the links below. 

Sonic Mania Soundtrack Pre-order

SEGA and Data Discs have just announced the official Sonic Mania vinyl album. For those who don't know Sonic Mania is the soon-to-be released Sonic game. Wait come back... don't run away. THIS Sonic game is a proper old skool Sonic game with faux 16-bit 2D style graphics.

The Sonic Mania vinyl will feature 16 new tracks by composer Tee Lopes, who has released several of the tracks on YouTube to build up interest in the project. As well as re-imaginings of classic tracks the vinyl promises to offer brand new tracks. I've listened to a few and as a whole they feel full of energy and very jazzy, mostly like the tracks in the Sonic Rush collection of games.

Pre-orders for the Sonic Mania Vinyl go live on the Data-Disc site at 8am (BST) and I for one will be trying to order the limited edition version of the vinyl for my collection. The vinyl will come with a digital download code so you can listen to it on your digital device. I can't comment upon the quality of the vinyl as it will ship in September but based on the many vinyls I have bought already from them it should be exceptional.

SEGA Forever Service Offers Classic Games For FREE!

Nostalgia is a powerful thing and it seems that Sega finally realise that too. With the Sega Forever service people are able to download and play classic Sega games for FREE on their Apple and Android devices. The games are free to play (including offline) but will feature adverts, so to turn off the adverts you have to pay a small fee. However the possibilities of playing these games on the go and with modern features like cloud saves, Bluetooth controller support, and online leaderboards putting up with a few adverts doesn't seem so bad. Currently there are five games including: Sonic the Hedgehog (the original, not the god-awful 360 game, Comix Zone, Altered Beast, Kid Chameleon, and Phantasy Star II.

Sega Forever

Sega have promised that this list will grow and that the service will not just feature games from the Genesis or Master System era but also may include Saturn and Dreamcast games. The possibility of playing Panzer Dragoon, Wonderboy IV or Streets of Rage II on the move sounds great. 

Sega Soundtracks on Spotify

The world may seem grim and things may get you down sometimes but there are moments of pure joy and pleasure and these are one of those times. Sega have released the soundtracks to many of their classic games including Outrun, Jet Set Radio Future, Virtua Fighter and NiGHTS on Spotify. I am not a subscriber to the service but if you are then this is pretty awesome!

Streets of Rage 2 Soundtrack on Vinyl

I am very excited to have received the Streets of Rage 2 vinyl from DataDiscs today. The classic soundtrack has been remastered and optimised for the vinyl format by Yuzo Koshiro, the famed composer of the game. The double disc set contains a few bonus and remixed tracks but overall is the same quality soundtrack that you remember from years ago. The soundtrack is one of the greatest in video gaming history and to have it on vinyl is very cool. I feel so hipster it hurts but vinyl is a fun way to collect 16-bit soundtracks of yore.

Streets of Rage Soundtrack on Vinyl

Over Christmas I was lucky enough to receive the Streets of Rage soundtrack on vinyl from my wife. None more hipster maybe but the idea of playing a remastered album from a 1991 Sega video game on an outdated piece of analogue music technology in a time of pervading digital media appeals to me. 
The classic soundtrack is by Yuzo Koshiro and at the time was totally different to anything heard in video games, it was a time of trance and dance, when The Orb, The Prodigy and Orbital were getting into the charts. This soundtrack stood out among its contemporaries as it was not the usual bleeps and bloops of video games at the time... It spoke to many youths at the time, it was zeitgiesty and hearing the vinyl now it still feels special.
I've heard the music hundreds of times before, playing the game for months on end but I've never heard it like this. Now I'm no vinyl snob and I don't know which format of audio sounds better but I will say that on vinyl it does sounds different, but in a good way.

I would definitely recommend getting this album and hope DataDiscs continue to release more video game music soundtracks, Sonic 3 and Thunderforce 3 and 4 would be nice but beggars can't be choosers!

LINK: Vinyl- The Return of the Format

LINK: Digging the Carts (Video Game Music Documentary)

Megadrive Portable

There are many ways to play 8 and 16-bit games out there; as well as the simple option of emulation there are the dearth of clone systems and retro machines. There are many ways to play the games of yore but I was recently handed a Megadrive Portable by my cousin who was having a bit of a clear-out. The machine itself costs around 30 pounds and I think this is an excellent value. Its certainly a cost effective alternative to getting an import Sega Nomad and an Everdrive cartridge. The machine comes with an SD card slot and the fact that by downloading roms from sites like emuparadise you can add pretty much have every single Megadrive game ever made is brilliant.

A real perk of the system is that the AV out is great to connect up to your TV or in my case, the projector in my mancave- I have spent many an hour laying down in my futon look up at the projected game on my ceiling plugged into my headphones playing my way through my childhood games.

There are only a few negative points, the main one being that the speaker isn't great quality. The machine doesn't have the Yamaha YM2612, the six-channel sound chip developed by Yamaha, and so the soundtracks don't sound like they used to (not a bad thing in some cases sure, but for games like Streets of Rage 2 or Thunderforce 3 a real loss). The controls are good without being spongy but don't feel as solid as the Megadrive controllers.

Overall the system is well worth the asking price and the litmus test is that my two nephews (aged 5 and 3 1/2) love playing the system. Even though there is no way to play two player in the games there are plenty of great games on the system to sink your teeth into.