Keep Dreamin'

I've said it once and I'll say it again: Sega are really doing themselves by not making their back catalogue of non-Megadrive/Genesis games readily available. Sure there have been a few games on the Master System/Saturn/Dreamcast slipping through the cracks on PSN and XBLA but what about the rest? Whilst Sega may have had more than few failed consoles to their name, I can still think of some games in Sega's back catalogue that could benefit from a second look.

I could see some reluctance on Sega's part namely a) the difficulty of obtaining rights of certain games with certain gaming studios scattering elsewhere b) an unwillingness to release something that has no guarantee of decent sales and c) the idea that maybe Sega's failed consoles is something they would like to forget. Reasonable claims I will admit but I've heard of such games being spoken of in near mythical terms and needless to say my curiosity is piqued.
I can think of several games on the Mega CD that may be worth dusting off and preserving for gamers both now and in the future, namely Eternal Champions, Lunar, Popful Mail, Robo Aleste, Shining Force CD, Silpheed, Snatcher and Vay (and who says it was all Sonic CD?)
And on the Saturn front, I would certainly like to play the likes of DragonForce, Astal, Shining the Holy Ark and Panzer Dragoon Zwei. I know of games that may benefit from a proper translation like Assault Suit Leynos 2, Shining Force 3, Magical Knight Rayearth and Grandia. And need I mention how many people want to see a proper rerelease of the Holy Grail of gaming Panzer Dragoon Saga?

Of course I've gathered this laundry list of titles through research - I've heard all of these titles spoken highly of both Sega fans and (general) gamers alike so it makes me interested in checking them out. One problem though: How do I do it? This in turn goes back to Sega not taking action to preserve their gaming catalogue and make it readily available. Listen to me Sega: Would you rather people get to these games through using emulators and denying you of some actual money?

The recent arrival of Nights Into Dreams to the XBLA provides new, solid evidence to suggest otherwise that Saturn games may be difficult to emulate or even revamped to stunning effect. Sure Nights was also ported to the PS2 but the presence of other Saturn games on XBLA, Guardian Heroes, Radiant Silvergun, could be another reason for, right?
But alas if the spectacular revamp of Nights will prove anything, it will be proof fifth generation gaming can be rebuilt in such a manner. And thus yielding another excuse for those wanting a new Final Fantasy 7 to persue their tireless crusade (fingers in the ear and all). Okay but how about we ask for something we HAVEN'T played?

Return of Saturn

Megadrive emulators are now a dime a dozen aren’t they? Frist there was the Megadrive Collection and then the Sonic Mega Collection and now, more recently, there’s Sega Megadrive Ultimate collection and the Sega Gold Classics Collection.

I was already suspicious with the presence Sega Megadrive Ultimate collection: Whilst the presence of a Hi-Def revamp is welcome enough, it begged the question of why the collection needed to exist: Many of these games are available for download on the Virtual Console, XBLA and the PSN and many of them appeared on the previous collection. But if the existence of the Sega Megadrive Ultimate collection is a puzzling one then what is the purpose of the Sega Gold Platinum Diamond Classics Hall of Fame Whatever the hell it’s called Collection? Many of the games featured on this monstrosity are already available elsewhere (and without much difficulty) and the actual differences to it and it’s predecessors are minor. So the question remains: why does this latest compilation exist?

Personally, I’m growing tired of Sega’s old games reappearing in these collections. True we can all agree that Sega’s defining moment came in the form of the Megadrive but the continual presence of these collections is more than beating a dead horse. Don’t get me wrong: I loved Sonic and the Megadrive when I was a kid but I don’t want the same games being churned out in a factory-like fashion. I don’t want the lesser moments of Sega trying to pass themselves off as a highpoint. I don’t want Sega to keep telling me: “Remember when we used to be good?!?!?”

Sure we may all agree that the Megadrive was Sega’s finest hour but this is what disturbs me the most: Anything else simply doesn’t matter. Now I can understand that re-releasing old games and making them readily available can inspire both old-timers, like myself, and entice the curious but why is this move confined to the Megadrive? Sega made other consoles but they are being shunned – but even before I complete typing this sentence I can already think of the reason why: The Megadrive sold and the others didn’t. Thus it seems possible that Sega isn’t willing to take such risks and, most likely, would rather their past mistakes remained buried. True the Dreamcast got a collection of it’s own on the 360 but most likely the console itself was a decent enough seller to warrant it (a worthy achievement in itself seeing how much vile is reserved for other failed consoles in the history of gaming).

But personally I would like to see Sega’s other consoles given a new lease of life: I want to see the Mega CD brought back into the light and maybe given the respect that eluded it the first time around. Forget the lousy FMV that plagued the system and one will find the system had some worthy games that are indeed worth a second chance: Android Assault, Eternal Champions, Final Fight, Lunar Silver Star, Popful Mail, Vay, Silpheed, Shining Force and Snatcher. Who knows? If you focus on the strengths, people may be willing to forget the faults.
And what about the Saturn? Some may claim that Sega maybe unwilling to touch it because of Saturn’s infamous complexity in programming the games for it. But most likely Sega may not be willing to return to a rather black spot in their history. However I think otherwise - I can think of some highlights that may surely warrant a second look: Burning Rangers, Deep Fear, Dark Seed, Dragon Force, Guardian Heroes, Radiant Silver gun and Shining in the Holy Ark. If they did a new version of NiGHTs for the Wii why not dust the original off? Who wouldn’t want to see the two unreleased chapters of Shining Force 3 finally see the light of day? And how many of you want the play the fabled Panzer Dragoon Saga (I know I do!)?
Hey if people can come with an emulator for the Saturn then it is possible to circumnavigate the complexity of the system, right?

Alas, as I said before, it seems that whilst the Megadrive was a big seller the other consoles in Sega’s history weren’t. Thus it seems clear that Sega aren’t prepared to take such a risk. And the mention of risks seems a bit strange since the Sega I grew up with wasn’t the kind to play it safe. Sure many of those risks didn’t exactly pay off but who was it that shrugged off the Mortal Kombat fatalities when Nintendo balked out? Sega. Who had the audacity to permanently bump off a character partway through their flagship RPG series before Aerith Gainsborough? Sega.

Okay so maybe Sega aren’t exactly in a position where they once were able to take chances but dammit, I would rather see a collection of Mega CD or Saturn games than yet another attempt to convince me Altered Beast, Bonanza Bros, Gain Ground and the Megadrive Virtua Fighter were any good.
And hey, I would’ve gladly played Knuckles Chaotix appear on the Sonic Gems Collection, as opposed to the lousy Game Gear games, any day

Go you good thing go

Those who follow my blog will note I have been a champion for the Virtual Console for, if anything, providing me the opportunity to try out substantial games that I missed out on the first time around. But the thing is I've recently been disappointed with releases for the VC.

To me, there are a lot of great games available on the VC, but they share space with a lot of other games that are just rubbish - thus leaving a lot of more deserving games out in the cold. If the VC is offering gamers like myself a second chance why doesn't this prospect extend to the other side of the console? If the VC is built on the promise of gaming preservation, why have a lot of good games been overlooked?

What bothers me is that Nintendo have a lot of great games on the VC but an equal amount of crap games - that and the N64 games conspicuously the only console of it's generation available. It begs the question: If Nintendo have a wide access to games on obsolete consoles, why not take it further? I for one would like to see some of the Sega Saturn games released for the VC, namely DragonForce, Nights into Dreams and Panzer Dragoon Saga (sure demand will never end for a re-release of PDS but if it can be done, even if it is a straight up emulation, THEN DO IT). Sure the Saturn was a disaster in it's day but, as time tends to heal old wounds, maybe it is time to look at what did work with new eyes.
Granted the video game industry is driven by profit (like any other form of entertainment) but why not take some risks? Sure the original Final Fantasy can't compete on a technical level to it's successors, but the fact that it's appeared on the VC bestseller list says something. As the saying goes, fortune favors the brave. And the worst thing a gaming company can do is shut itself off from it's fanbase.

All in all, Nintendo have got something great going with the Virtual Console, in gaming preservation and offering second chances. It would be shame to have such potential squandered with decisions not being seen through out of timidness.