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I was very excited when I heard that Sega was bringing back a few of its Genesis franchises for PS2. Along with a new incarnation of Altered Beast, they also decided to give Vectorman a new lease on life. Unfortunately, our hero forgot to read the “Proprietor has the right to cancel at any time” clause in said lease. The game was canned early in development and Vectorman was sent back to the end of the huge line of Sega properties awaiting another chance to shine.
Very few RPG series stand the test of time. Sure, a few sequels might spring up here and there over the course of a few years, but how many of them last for over a decade? I can think of a couple, like Final Fantasy, Dragon Warrior, Zelda, and perhaps a few others. These all have their charm and place in gaming history, to be sure. There is one franchise, however, that while not exactly a series per se, it has endured in one incarnation or another for almost fifteen years… the Shining series.
With so many companies releasing all types of joystick and controller-shaped “plug-‘n-play” collections, it was only a matter of time before Sega followed suit. Originally released in Japan for ¥4,179 (about $38), this Genesis collection is now available in the States and sports six titles, some of which have been released way too many times, and one that has been deserving of re-release for far too long. Sonic The Hedgehog, Golden Axe, Altered Beast, Flicky, Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine, and Kid Chameleon are all ready to play here.
A small company based in Hamburg, New York, Good Deal Games is in the business of completing and bringing unreleased prototypes to market. It has released numerous titles for such long-discontinued consoles like the Colecovision, CD-I, and Vectrex, as well as the Sega CD. We chatted with Michael Thomasson, the company’s founder about its work on Sega’s add-on.
It would seem like a no-brainer that Streets of Rage would be brought back for another installment, doesn’t it? Not to the company that released it. Time and time again, hope for another sequel has been crushed by the corporate boot. Even the game’s creators have tried to resurrect it and were unsuccessful. The company just doesn’t seem to want to be bothered with the series any more. So where did Streets of Rage go wrong? How did it fall from a first rate series to forgotten franchise? There’s some history to that, so read on and prepared to get pissed.