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As time goes by, more and more people are returning to Genesis hardware to hack and probe at existing titles, resulting in some interesting results. Our Hacks & Homebrews series looks at such pieces, and the latest installment examines fighting games, most of which have even been sold as bootleg carts! There’s a suprisingly large number of them on the console, and the article Fighting Pirates features some of the more notable ones. Read the full article and don’t forget your eyepatch!
Everyone has had console troubles, from the NES’ infamous blinking screen to the RROD. Even the mighty Genesis was not immune to hardware problems, as seen in the latest installment of Stories from the Book of Genesis. In it, Sega-16 contributor Ryan Ceccacci manages to get one working, even after years of storage and a quick meeting with the wall in frustration – all just to play some Sonic The Hedgehog. It just goes to show you; they don’t make ’em like they used to!
When the Genesis launched, it lacked something its rival, the NES, enjoyed in spades: third party software. Due to Nintendo’s strict licensing agreements, companies that published on the NES were forbidden to release games on competing hardware, and this left Sega’s new machine with a big problem. Thankfully, the U.S. court system put an end to this practice, and the support slowly began to pick up. During the dry period, however, a few small companies jumped at the chance to pick up the slack left by bigger publishers like Konami and Capcom. Among them was Kaneko, which was a staunch supporter of the little black box. Sega-16 spent some Q&A time with former Kaneko VP of marketing, Ellen Fuog, and she shared her insights on what it was like to be at a small publisher at the dawn of the 16-bit era.
March’s Reader Roundtable marks the fortieth installment of the series, and by George, we’re proud that our staff, readers, and forum members have continued to show their 16-bit love for almost four straight years. As always, there’s a lot of variety to be seen, and you never know what little gem (or stinker) you’re going to find. So, read the full article and see what we’ve been playing!
Sonic The Hedgehog has inspired many things, including lots of questionable merchandise. One thing that has been particularly interesting to watch develop has been the efforts of ROM hackers who have taken the games in the series and made an innumerable amount of changes to them. From merely swapping characters to creating entirely new games with the engines, these would-be developers are out to give Sonic Team a run for its money. We’ve rounded up some of the more impressive efforts in the newest installment of our Hacks & Homebrews series. Read up and enjoy the games!