Winter-een-mas - SEGA
What sets SEGA apart from most developers is like Nintendo they also produce great consoles, so like Nintendo non-SEGA games help SEGA's systems so get a mention. On top of that SEGA are roughly 9 brilliant developers (though they've been rearranged loads of times), instead of just one.
The Master System was my first real console. I did get a Spectrum but really it was my Dad who had replaced a broken rubber keys one. I remember actually crying for one. It was sometime around the early 90's. Another of my Neighbours had a Mega Drive and another mate had a Master System. My folks could only afford a Master System, but I instantly fell in love with it.
It had Alex Kidd in Miracle World built in. Possibly one of the hardest games I can think of, also one that I was into a lot. I eventually finished it and remains one of my biggest gaming achievements. Aztec Adventure, The Ninja and Enduro Racer were other highlights besides the one thing I'll mention later.
In 1993 I had played a lot of Sonic 2 and other Mega Drive (Genesis) games and this made me want one. Also the Mega CD (Sega CD) was coming out and I really wanted Sonic CD. I asked for both consoles for Christmas that year but my folks said they could only afford one. On the day I did get both, sneaky getting me to expect less.
My Mega Drive highlights were Alisia Dragoon, Ristar, Mickey Mania, and to a lesser extent Zool. My Mega CD highlights was the Arcade collection including Streets of Rage, Columns and Revenge of Shinobi. Sol-feace was also pretty good. Although again this doesn't include something obvious that will appear later. My Mega CD was also my first CD-player, despite the fact I only ever used it to play Mega CD games and listen to one of the games soundtracks (Guess which one).
The Virus also got a 32x, it got the occasional play but the only real game of note was Knuckles Chaotix.
In 1996 I was following the Nintendo scene a little more closely getting excited about the Ultra 64. When it got delayed I decided to settle with a Saturn at Christmas that year. I wasn't really disappointed. What I hated more than anything was that the PSone was getting so much better sales. This started my fanboyish streak. In the meantime my Saturn go much love. Sega Saturn Magazine pratically excelled my interest in gaming from passive to obsessive (Thanks Mr. Leadbetter).
The Saturn saw the age of Sonic Team's originality. NiGHTS and Burning Rangers would become underappreciated classics. Panzer Dragoon Saga was brilliant but became RARE. The Virtua series, Fighters Megamix and Fighting Vipers made the Beat-em up for me. Resident Evil started a whole new craze and my friends will vouch for my Obsession with Virtual On. Die Hard Trilogy was a surprise hit. Sega Worldwide Soccer 97 is still one of my favourite Soccer games. Sega Rally and Daytona USA was all the racing I needed. Finally Rayman was surprisingly addictive. And this doesn't include a certain Blue Hedgehog.
In 1999 I was getting excited about the Dreamcast. It remains the only console that I've followed from first announcement to death (mainly because all the others have yet to die). The Dreamcast was truely a great console showing off talents from Sega-AM2, Amuze, Smilebit, WOW!, Hitmaker, and of course Sonic Team. Soul Calibur reinvented the 3D beat-em up. The Powerstone Series, well look at the Capcom section. Skies of Arcadia and Grandia 2 started a personal love for Traditional Eastern style RPG's. MS-R is still my favourite racer that doesn't go over the top with crazy stuff. House of the Dead and Marvel vs Capcom were surprise hits.
Crazy Taxi showed that Sega could still produce original and innovative titles, as did the excellent Jet Set Radio. The Shenmue series is often hit and miss, but it was a hit for me. Chu Chu Rocket and Phantasy Star Online properly introduced me to Online gaming. The Dreamcast also allowed me to play the other Resident Evil titles including the superb Code Veronica. Headhunter would become an underrated classic (even though it did have the worst cheat ever created). I even imported Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram and loved every minute of it. Finally over the last two days I've been playing quite a bit of the best Bemani game ever Samba De Amigo. SEGA have created many titles I loved so far and I've yet to mention "him".
Unfortunately SEGA went bust despite their brilliance. They are still going on strong as a Third Party developer though. Panzer Dragoon orta and Jet Set Radio Future showed us that Smilebit are still going strong. Virtua Fighter 4 Evo is a top class 3D beat-em up, even if Soul Calibur 2 beats it (only slighty). Sega Superstars gave me an excuse to get into the Eyetoy Camera, and I was not disappointed (except for it being Blue disk!). Gamecube love came in the form of Amusement Vision's superb Super Monkey Ball and AV's involvement with F-Zero GX. Finally, without mentioning "him" Headhunter Redemption proved to be an excellent sequel to an excellent game.
This of course doesn't include ports of classics like Skies of Arcadia Legends, Headhunter, Grandia 2, and Shenmue 2.
Of course no comment on SEGA would be complete without mentioning a certain Blue Hedgehog by the name of Sonic. He was and still is my Hero, don't ask me why he just is. The Comics and Cartoons are Alright but it's the games that make Sonic what he is. Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Sonic CD, Sonic Jam, Sonic Adventure (DX), Sonic Adventure 2 (battle), Sonic Advance 1 and 3, Sonic Pinball Party and Sonic Mega Collection are all brilliant, in a league of their own games. Even the not so great ones are still very good in my opinion, including Sonic 1 (ms/gg), Sonic 2 (ms/gg), Sonic Chaos, Sonic 3D, Sonic Spinball, Sonic R, Sonic Shuffle, Sonic Heroes, Sonic Advance 2, Sonic Battle, Tails Adventure, and Knuckles Chaotix.
There are some fairly poor ones. The later Game Gear games weren't all that good and Blue Spheres was rather pointless. It is important to note however that the overall effect of Sonic shaped my childhood. In the first year of high school The Virus and I used to draw loads of Sonic comics. His skill far outweighed mine though, and still does. I don't draw anymore and express my ideas as Fanfiction instead. I still listen to a lot of the Sonic Music, Especially the Sonic Heroes, Sonic CD and Sonic Adventure 2 Soundtracks. My Mobile phone has Sonic Heroes wallpaper (which I made myself), the title theme as my message tone and Scrap Brain (GG) as my main ringtone. Then there's TwinSeeds and even at 21 I still watch the Sonic Cartoons.
How can the people behind Sonic not be my number 1 developer? SEGA have a great Winter-een-mas and continue to produce the quality you have done over the years.
The Master System was my first real console. I did get a Spectrum but really it was my Dad who had replaced a broken rubber keys one. I remember actually crying for one. It was sometime around the early 90's. Another of my Neighbours had a Mega Drive and another mate had a Master System. My folks could only afford a Master System, but I instantly fell in love with it.
It had Alex Kidd in Miracle World built in. Possibly one of the hardest games I can think of, also one that I was into a lot. I eventually finished it and remains one of my biggest gaming achievements. Aztec Adventure, The Ninja and Enduro Racer were other highlights besides the one thing I'll mention later.
In 1993 I had played a lot of Sonic 2 and other Mega Drive (Genesis) games and this made me want one. Also the Mega CD (Sega CD) was coming out and I really wanted Sonic CD. I asked for both consoles for Christmas that year but my folks said they could only afford one. On the day I did get both, sneaky getting me to expect less.
My Mega Drive highlights were Alisia Dragoon, Ristar, Mickey Mania, and to a lesser extent Zool. My Mega CD highlights was the Arcade collection including Streets of Rage, Columns and Revenge of Shinobi. Sol-feace was also pretty good. Although again this doesn't include something obvious that will appear later. My Mega CD was also my first CD-player, despite the fact I only ever used it to play Mega CD games and listen to one of the games soundtracks (Guess which one).
The Virus also got a 32x, it got the occasional play but the only real game of note was Knuckles Chaotix.
In 1996 I was following the Nintendo scene a little more closely getting excited about the Ultra 64. When it got delayed I decided to settle with a Saturn at Christmas that year. I wasn't really disappointed. What I hated more than anything was that the PSone was getting so much better sales. This started my fanboyish streak. In the meantime my Saturn go much love. Sega Saturn Magazine pratically excelled my interest in gaming from passive to obsessive (Thanks Mr. Leadbetter).
The Saturn saw the age of Sonic Team's originality. NiGHTS and Burning Rangers would become underappreciated classics. Panzer Dragoon Saga was brilliant but became RARE. The Virtua series, Fighters Megamix and Fighting Vipers made the Beat-em up for me. Resident Evil started a whole new craze and my friends will vouch for my Obsession with Virtual On. Die Hard Trilogy was a surprise hit. Sega Worldwide Soccer 97 is still one of my favourite Soccer games. Sega Rally and Daytona USA was all the racing I needed. Finally Rayman was surprisingly addictive. And this doesn't include a certain Blue Hedgehog.
In 1999 I was getting excited about the Dreamcast. It remains the only console that I've followed from first announcement to death (mainly because all the others have yet to die). The Dreamcast was truely a great console showing off talents from Sega-AM2, Amuze, Smilebit, WOW!, Hitmaker, and of course Sonic Team. Soul Calibur reinvented the 3D beat-em up. The Powerstone Series, well look at the Capcom section. Skies of Arcadia and Grandia 2 started a personal love for Traditional Eastern style RPG's. MS-R is still my favourite racer that doesn't go over the top with crazy stuff. House of the Dead and Marvel vs Capcom were surprise hits.
Crazy Taxi showed that Sega could still produce original and innovative titles, as did the excellent Jet Set Radio. The Shenmue series is often hit and miss, but it was a hit for me. Chu Chu Rocket and Phantasy Star Online properly introduced me to Online gaming. The Dreamcast also allowed me to play the other Resident Evil titles including the superb Code Veronica. Headhunter would become an underrated classic (even though it did have the worst cheat ever created). I even imported Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram and loved every minute of it. Finally over the last two days I've been playing quite a bit of the best Bemani game ever Samba De Amigo. SEGA have created many titles I loved so far and I've yet to mention "him".
Unfortunately SEGA went bust despite their brilliance. They are still going on strong as a Third Party developer though. Panzer Dragoon orta and Jet Set Radio Future showed us that Smilebit are still going strong. Virtua Fighter 4 Evo is a top class 3D beat-em up, even if Soul Calibur 2 beats it (only slighty). Sega Superstars gave me an excuse to get into the Eyetoy Camera, and I was not disappointed (except for it being Blue disk!). Gamecube love came in the form of Amusement Vision's superb Super Monkey Ball and AV's involvement with F-Zero GX. Finally, without mentioning "him" Headhunter Redemption proved to be an excellent sequel to an excellent game.
This of course doesn't include ports of classics like Skies of Arcadia Legends, Headhunter, Grandia 2, and Shenmue 2.
Of course no comment on SEGA would be complete without mentioning a certain Blue Hedgehog by the name of Sonic. He was and still is my Hero, don't ask me why he just is. The Comics and Cartoons are Alright but it's the games that make Sonic what he is. Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Sonic CD, Sonic Jam, Sonic Adventure (DX), Sonic Adventure 2 (battle), Sonic Advance 1 and 3, Sonic Pinball Party and Sonic Mega Collection are all brilliant, in a league of their own games. Even the not so great ones are still very good in my opinion, including Sonic 1 (ms/gg), Sonic 2 (ms/gg), Sonic Chaos, Sonic 3D, Sonic Spinball, Sonic R, Sonic Shuffle, Sonic Heroes, Sonic Advance 2, Sonic Battle, Tails Adventure, and Knuckles Chaotix.
There are some fairly poor ones. The later Game Gear games weren't all that good and Blue Spheres was rather pointless. It is important to note however that the overall effect of Sonic shaped my childhood. In the first year of high school The Virus and I used to draw loads of Sonic comics. His skill far outweighed mine though, and still does. I don't draw anymore and express my ideas as Fanfiction instead. I still listen to a lot of the Sonic Music, Especially the Sonic Heroes, Sonic CD and Sonic Adventure 2 Soundtracks. My Mobile phone has Sonic Heroes wallpaper (which I made myself), the title theme as my message tone and Scrap Brain (GG) as my main ringtone. Then there's TwinSeeds and even at 21 I still watch the Sonic Cartoons.
How can the people behind Sonic not be my number 1 developer? SEGA have a great Winter-een-mas and continue to produce the quality you have done over the years.
posted by Master hunter at 11:38 pm
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