SEGADriven is a SEGA news and information source that focuses on SEGA's console history, retro games and new software hitting the shelves. We want to share a love of great, quirky, clever and down-right fun games - something that SEGA have always specialised in. See below for the latest news, reviews and features added to the website.
Legendary Mega Drive programmer Jonathan Miller has sadly passed away.
Miller is one of the key figures behind the GEMS sound driver, alongside Burt Sloane, Chris Grigg and Mark Miller. Miller’s career started with 1991’s Spider-Man vs the Kingpin as a programmer. He would later contribute to the development of Chakan, Taz-Mania, Pink Goes to Hollywood, Taz in Escape From Mars, Wacky Worlds and X-Men 2: Clone Wars.
The GEMS sound driver would go on to be utilised in over 200 Mega Drive games and was a key piece of software for Mega Drive developers in the early nineties. Chances are some of your favourite Mega Drive games are powered by the GEMS sound driver. Miller’s legacy in regards to the Mega Drive is one that has touched upon so many game soundtracks and Mega Drive owners as a result. His contributions go beyond simple music production as the GEMS sound driver is so synonymous with the Mega Drive that an experienced ear can instantly recognise music that has been made with it.
SEGADriven send our condolences to Jon’s family and friends. You can learn more about GEMS via this excellent video essay by GST Channel:
Duranik’s impressive 2013 Dreamcast shoot-em-up Sturmwind is getting a new pressing through independent publisher VGNYsoft. This new pressing comes in 2 editions – a standard jewel case version with a 24 page booklet, or a limited edition that includes everything in the standard edition plus a limited edition sleeve and a custom Sturmwind-branded VMU shell. This version is limited to 500 copies.
While pre-orders haven’t opened just yet, the listings are available on the VGNYsoft online store now. See below for direct links and pricing:
VGNYsoft are based in North America so expected a hefty shipping fee if you live outside the US. You can also check out a new trailer of the game in action via the embed below:
SEGA continue their recent mobile gaming initiative with a new Sonic game called Sonic Rumble. This 32 player online multiplayer game has a similar style and scope to something like Fall Guys where everyone is wrestling their way through the pack to be first across the finish line. There’s a big focus on character customisation that you can achieve by winning rings after successful play. You can check out the reveal trailer below:
Sonic Rumble is due to launch in Winter 2024. You can register for a closed beta test scheduled to take place from May 24th to the 26th by completing a form on the official Sonic Rumble website. You have until May 19th to register if you’re interested.
SEGA Japan have revealed they will publish the upcoming Shadow of the Ninja Reborn in Japan only. Now known as Kage: Shadow of the Ninja, this remake of the original NES game is being lead by Natsume Atari in the same style as Wild Guns Reloaded, The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors and Pocky & Rocky Reshrined. This means we get entirely new artwork and a widescreen resolution. The game’s original composer Iku Mizutani also returns with a remixed soundtrack.
The game is due for release on PS4, PS5 and Nintendo Switch on the 29th of August 2024. The game will also release in Western territories on Xbox Series X|S consoles, and the PC via Steam. You can check out SEGA Japan’s announcement trailer below:
A selection of updates to the various merchandise sections of our website our now available to view. Click here to go to main merchandise index on our website, or alternatively click the links below to be taken straight to the new additions:
The follow-up to SRB2Kart is here! Developed by Kart Krew, Dr. Robotnik’s Ring Racers is a Sonic kart racing fan game that is free to download right now for Windows and Mac computers.
Dr. Robotnik’s Ring Racers boasts a huge selection of courses and playable characters, a complete single player Grand Prix mode, local split-screen multiplayer for up to 4 players, online multiplayer for up to 16 players, a time attack mode, replay support and a whole bunch of secrets.
The TeraDrive is a Japan exclusive IBM-compatible PC that also features a built-in Mega Drive. You can click here to read more about it in our website’s hardware section. The computer was released in 1991 and for the longest time the only piece of TeraDrive exclusive gaming software was thought to be a game called Puzzle Construction. This is no longer the case as Archive.org user ZiggyTheHamster has found and dumped a port of Cyan’s The Manhole which was originally released in 1988 for the Mac and developed using HyperCard.
This TeraDrive port of The Manhole is based on the FM Towns version released in 1990. ZiggyTheHamster notes that the in-game action of this TeraDrive port appears to be powered by the PC itself, while the Mega Drive portion of the computer is powering the audio. This is basically a reverse of what Puzzle Construction does which uses the Mega Drive hardware for the in-game action.
In our latest video we decided to look at every Mega Drive port that started life as a NES original! You can watch the video in full via the embed below:
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In our latest YouTube video we take a look at the 1991 Game Gear port of the original Pac-Man. You can watch the full video via the embed below:
As a part of April Fool’s Day, this video was uploaded to our sister channel Pac-Manufactured. We actually swapped channel concepts so there’s also an equivalent Pac-Manufactured video available to watch on SEGADriven which is all about Fantasy Zone: The Maze. You can watch that by clicking here. However, if you want to keep track of all the latest SEGADriven videos then please subscribe to that channel as we upload a new video every week.
In our latest YouTube video we’re exploring the world of Amiga games that were ported to the Mega Drive. We take a look at 5 titles in particular and see how they stack up against their original versions:
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