This is the first of a weekly roundup of all the research (aka, googling) I’ve done as a result of streaming a Master System slash ＧＥＮＥＳＩＳ themed nonogram title. You can check out the VODs on Twitch here.
I never had a Sega system growing up, so my knowledge of the game library is limited to whatever my friends would sometimes reminisce about on social media. One of the first things I noticed is many of the games are arcade ports, and while I did have a brief time period in my life where I regularly hung out at an arcade, it didn’t quite align the heyday of the Genesis catalog.
Golden Axe
I had never heard of the Golden Axe series before, but it seems it was pretty popular. All the covers for the first entry in the series were a sight to behold, but I really enjoy the obvious bodybuilding reference of this one for the Sega Mega Drive. Whoever drew this definitely poured all their energy into that dragon in the back, and opened up a magazine for each of main characters. I speculated Tyrus Flare was wearing a contrast trim bikini due to the reference bodybuilder also wearing one, but official art proves that no, this was indeed an original feature of her…outfit. The last line of her description there reads: “By the way, her weight and three sizes* were never disclosed, but you can probably tell from this illustration they are definitely not bad.” Oof.
*スリーサイズ surii saizu refers to Bust, Waist, and Hip measurements. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it used by anyone except fellas who require a numerical quantification of an attractive lady. According to several entries in the Street Fighter series, Chun Li’s three sizes are 84cm/59cm/89cm, which aren’t far from my own measurements. Anyone who has seen a photo of me will understand that these numbers are often pulled from the aether.
Action Fighter, on the other hand, definitely fails to deliver on the cover art. This contender for Most Generic Video Game Title turns out to be a “vehicular combat game”, and also one that I can’t watch playthrus of without getting dizzy.
Some miscellaneous other tidbits:
- Record of the Bahamut War is indeed some sort of tactics RPG deal, but not exactly like I imagined. I feel like I did watch a playthru of it once, but perhaps I’m remembering another game with the same playstyle.
- Jonathan Blade from Eternal Champions is unfortunately not related to the vampire hunter we all know and love. I would attempt to tell you more about the game itself, but the plot seemed…like a plot alright. I’m going to go with “It’s like Mortal Kombat, but the opposite. Maybe.”
- Maniaxe from Kid Chameleon however was more or less exactly what I figured.
- Puzzle & Action: Ichidant-R is the sequel to Puzzle & Action: Tant-R which is a spin-off of Bonanza Bros. That all meant nothing to me, so I looked up someone playing it, and it seems like one of those “play a bunch of puzzle/rhythm mini-games to advance” deals.
- Alien Storm was consistently described as “Golden Axe but with aliens”.
- The Ooze has a very interesting playstyle, in that you are, indeed, a puddle of ooze. Truth in advertising.
That concludes Part 1 of my crash course in Sega’s back catalog. Will this result in me playing any actual ＧＥＮＥＳＩＳ titles in the future? We’ll see.
kelp 