General Questions and Information Thread

Anyone recognise which game the artwork on this Korean SMS game is from? It doesn't seem to be from a Japanese release, so I guess 1989 or later.

 

Looks vaguely like cloud master but I can't find images of the Japanese Mark III release

 

Kishi Densetsu is a game where you play as the Germans in World War II, invading Poland and probably some other places. As you do.


In the credits sequence you get to see the developers dressed up in SS uniforms:



I'm thinking you couldn't do that today.

 

So we've spent the last month filling in the blanks. I think there's about 130 Mega Drive games listed on GameFAQs that don't have hidden content subpages (give or take some multi-platform releases):

Code (Text):

1. 1   Barkley Shut Up and Jam!/Hidden content
2. 1   TNN Outdoors Bass Tournament '96/Hidden content
3. 1   X-Perts/Hidden content
4. 2   16 Zhang Mahjong/Hidden content
5. 2   Air Diver/Hidden content
6. 2   Divine Sealing/Hidden content
7. 2   Double Dragon 3: The Rosetta Stone/Hidden content
8. 2   Generations Lost/Hidden content
9. 2   Hard Drivin'/Hidden content
10. 2   Marsupilami/Hidden content
11. 2   Olympic Gold/Hidden content
12. 2   Pocahontas/Hidden content
13. 2   Populous/Hidden content
14. 2   Sampras Tennis 96/Hidden content
15. 2   Scholastic's The Magic School Bus: Space Exploration Game/Hidden content
16. 2   Sorcerer's Kingdom/Hidden content
17. 2   Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe/Hidden content
18. 2   TechnoClash/Hidden content
19. 2   Thunder Pro Wrestling Retsuden/Hidden content
20. 2   Uncharted Waters/Hidden content
21. 2   Winter Olympics/Hidden content
22. 2   Ys III: Wanderers from Ys/Hidden content
23. 3   Aa Harimanada/Hidden content
24. 3   Batman: Revenge of The Joker/Hidden content
25. 3   Beast Wrestler/Hidden content
26. 3   Cannon Fodder/Hidden content
27. 3   Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse (Mega Drive)/Hidden content
28. 3   Crayon Shin-chan: Arashi o Yobu Enji/Hidden content
29. 3   Double Dragon V: The Shadow Falls/Hidden content
30. 3   Dragon's Fury/Hidden content
31. 3   Dragon's Revenge/Hidden content
32. 3   Elitserien 95/Hidden content
33. 3   Elitserien 96/Hidden content
34. 3   Férias Frustradas do Pica-Pau/Hidden content
35. 3   General Chaos/Hidden content
36. 3   GrandSlam: The Tennis Tournament '92/Hidden content
37. 3   Haunting Starring Polterguy/Hidden content
38. 3   Hokuto no Ken: Shin Seikimatsu Kyuuseishu Densetsu/Hidden content
39. 3   Insector X/Hidden content
40. 3   Jeopardy! (GameTek)/Hidden content
41. 3   Jeopardy! Deluxe Edition/Hidden content
42. 3   John Madden Football/Hidden content
43. 3   Last Battle/Hidden content
44. 3   Madden NFL '94/Hidden content
45. 3   Magical Hat no Buttobi Turbo! Daibouken/Hidden content
46. 3   MiG-29 Fighter Pilot/Hidden content
47. 3   Muhammad Ali Heavyweight Boxing/Hidden content
48. 3   NHL 95/Hidden content
49. 3   NHL 96/Hidden content
50. 3   NHL Hockey '94/Hidden content
51. 3   NHLPA Hockey '93/Hidden content
52. 3   Osomatsu-kun Hachamecha Gekijou/Hidden content
53. 3   Quackshot Starring Donald Duck/Hidden content
54. 3   Road Rash II/Hidden content
55. 3   Shadow of the Beast/Hidden content
56. 3   Shining in the Darkness/Hidden content
57. 3   Street Fighter II': Special Champion Edition/Hidden content
58. 3   Super High Impact/Hidden content
59. 3   Super League (Mega Drive)/Hidden content
60. 3   Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers/Hidden content
61. 3   Super Volley Ball/Hidden content
62. 3   Sword of Sodan/Hidden content
63. 3   Sylvester and Tweety in Cagey Capers/Hidden content
64. 3   Virtual Pinball/Hidden content
65. 3   Warrior of Rome II/Hidden content
66. 3   Weaponlord/Hidden content
67. 3   Wiz 'n' Liz/Hidden content
68. 3   WWF Royal Rumble (Acclaim)/Hidden content
69. 3   X-Men 2: Clone Wars/Hidden content
70. 3   Yuu Yuu Hakusho: Makyou Toitsusen/Hidden content
71. 3   Zero Tolerance/Hidden content
72. 4   Advanced Daisenryaku: Deutsch Dengeki Sakusen/Hidden content
73. 4   Ayrton Senna's Super Monaco GP II/Hidden content
74. 4   Beavis and Butt-Head (Mega Drive)/Hidden content
75. 4   Bloodshot/Hidden content
76. 4   Caesars Palace/Hidden content
77. 4   Cosmic Spacehead/Hidden content
78. 4   Ghostbusters (Mega Drive)/Hidden content
79. 4   Landstalker: The Treasures of King Nole/Hidden content
80. 4   Langrisser II/Hidden content
81. 4   Mario Andretti Racing/Hidden content
82. 4   Master of Monsters/Hidden content
83. 4   Might and Magic: Gates to Another World/Hidden content
84. 4   NBA Jam Tournament Edition/Hidden content
85. 4   Phantasy Star II/Hidden content
86. 4   Road Rash 3: Tour De Force/Hidden content
87. 4   SeaQuest DSV/Hidden content
88. 4   Shining Force II/Hidden content
89. 4   Shining Force/Hidden content
90. 4   Super Daisenryaku/Hidden content
91. 4   Syndicate/Hidden content
92. 4   Theme Park/Hidden content
93. 4   ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron/Hidden content
94. 4   ToeJam & Earl/Hidden content
95. 4   Toughman Contest/Hidden content
96. 4   True Lies/Hidden content
97. 4   WWF Raw/Hidden content
98. 5   Ariel the Little Mermaid/Hidden content
99. 5   Chakan/Hidden content
100. 5   ClayFighter/Hidden content
101. 5   College Slam/Hidden content
102. 5   FIFA International Soccer/Hidden content
103. 5   From TV Animation Slam Dunk: Kyougou Makkou Taiketsu!/Hidden content
104. 5   Mega Man: The Wily Wars/Hidden content
105. 5   Panorama Cotton/Hidden content
106. 5   Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom/Hidden content
107. 5   Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium/Hidden content
108. 5   Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage/Hidden content
109. 5   Triple Play 96/Hidden content
110. 5   Triple Play: Gold Edition/Hidden content
111. 5   Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3/Hidden content
112. 5   Will Harvey Presents The Immortal/Hidden content
113. >   EA Hockey/Hidden content
114. >   Fatal Labyrinth/Hidden content
115. >   Jordan vs Bird/Hidden content
116. ?   Brett Hull Hockey '95/Hidden content
117. ?   Cliffhanger/Hidden content
118. ?   Devilish: The Next Possession/Hidden content
119. ?   Fastest 1/Hidden content
120. ?   Flashback/Hidden content
121. ?   Jack Nicklaus' Power Challenge Golf/Hidden content
122. ?   NBA Live 96/Hidden content
123. ?   NBA Live 97 (Mega Drive)/Hidden content
124. ?   PGA Tour 96/Hidden content
125. ?   RoboCop 3/Hidden content
126. ?   Sesame Street Counting Cafe/Hidden content
127. ?   Terminator 2: Judgment Day/Hidden content
128. ?   The Simpsons: Bart's Nightmare/Hidden content
129. ?   Top Gear 2/Hidden content
130. ?   Urban Strike/Hidden content

I'm getting a bit bored now, so I'm farming some of this off onto others who might care. The idea was to test every "cheat" listed by GameFAQs and document the findings on Sega Retro.

I've numbered them 1-5 on the grounds of how much work needs to be done to reproduce. For example, some games require you to finish them to see the results, have 4395802435720 codes, or are games that require knowledge on how to play. This isn't gospel - it's just a rough guide so I knew what to target. I am lazy and often don't have the patience.

Those marked with a "?" I can't reproduce.

Those marked with a ">" are probably bugs, so might need documenting, just in bugs subpages instead.

Remember that much of what is written on GameFAQs as "cheats" are not cheats at all, but are instead just describe content you can unlock through normal play, e.g. level passwords.


Obviously there is "hidden content" not listed on GameFAQs (see: TCRF), but this is a healthy foundation on which to build.

 

It never released in Japan due to them discontinuing SMS there in early 1989. It will probably remain a mystery until I come across an image of the top of the cart or a box.

I think I've just solved something that has puzzled me for 10 years. Who were Korea Oacs?

They started marketing Mark III in Korea in late 1988 as a home computer;



Thanks to Google translate OCR;

Here's the back of the manual for an early (probably launch) copy of Great Baseball for Mark III, their later releases are for Mark III / Gam*Boy (Gam*Boy released in April 1989).



Korea Oacs co. ltd. is written in Japanese (apart from "Oacs", which is in Korean. This is also on the back of the box, not fully visible here). The only Oacs co. ltd. that I can find is Onoda computer system, a subsidiary of Onoda Cement. This 1990 article in Computer World says that Oacs was a spin-off of Onoda's IS (Information Systems?) division and NTT Internet. It seems to fit well with the "specialized software development company for automation" description given in the Korean article.

Presumably Korea Oacs were a subsidiary. The other interesting thing is that Samsung is also mentioned on the back of the manual, which seems to be for sales, but the korean is a bit obscured. So it looks like Samsung was involved from the beginning, even before they released the Gam*Boy. It makes sense that if Oacs main business was industrial automation software they would need a partner like Samsung to use their distribution channels and sales network. They would have also needed a manufacturer, so presumably Samsung would have done that too. I guess that's how Samsung got their foot in the door with Sega.

Evolution from Oacs Mark III to Samsung Gam*Boy;

Oacs with Sega corner (Sega Mark III);



And Oacs mark on back ... these are pretty rare;



Oacs / Samsung with Sega corner (Sega Mark III / Gam*Boy);



Samsung corner (Gam*Boy) ... these are by far the most common;

 

Confirmed.

Via Google translate;

 

Mirroring the contents of one of those press discs, "Dreamcast Premiére", which was an event we haven't documented. Loads of prototype covers and/or placeholders, including for these lovely things that never made it.

https://segaretro.org/Category:Artwork_from_Dreamcast_Premiére
https://segaretro.org/Category:Dreamcast_Premiére_files

Even comes with the resources to make your own:



Not sure why you'd want to, given, again, these were placeholders, but you can... dream?


Also for kicks:

"Gun Valkyrie" on the Dreamcast vs "Gunvalkyrie" on the Xbox. A good two years of development separates the two.

 

How would I post this interview by Famitsu on SegaRetro? Under the interview category? We also have a translated version of the interview by onemillionpower.com here which should be okay to include as the English translated version, right?

Reason I want it on Retro?

 

https://segaretro.org/Category:Japanese_interviews

Copy one of those. Ditto for any other Sega-related interviews.

I guess the idea would be that if this was intended for Famitsu the magazine, one day we'll have scans that'll supersede text-only interviews, but that's a long way off (i.e. years if not decades).

 

Unreleased prototype MSX game "The Iron Gauntz" seems to have been intended to be published by Sega. Unclear whether references to Sega were edited out during development or prior to getting leaked.

 

A 1987 MSX game would be unusual for Sega to be directly involved in. Pony Canyon were bringing Sega games over to the platform, but you'd expect Sega themselves to be concentrating on the Master System.

 

Yeah, it's odd,. Maybe a port of an unreleased SG-1000 game, they were releasing SG-1000 games into 1987, There's quite a few MSX/SG-1000 ports from outside companies.

 

Honestly not sure if this applies to this topic, but does anyone own any shares of Sega Sammy (SGAMF)? I was messing around on my brokerage account and for shits and giggles I looked up Sega. It’s named there but it looks like it’s not available for trading.

 

I guess it could be one of those missing catalogue numbers in the SG-1000 library, but that's just compounding on even more wild speculation.

 

Cheats 4: Kinda boring edition™


Totally unplanned for the start of the new F1 season, in Super Monaco GP you can decapitate yourself if you finish on the podium in arcade mode.


The Game Gear version of Mappy has a secret Space Invaders-esque mini game in it. And it's not very good.


There's a lot of weird stuff in RoboCop Versus The Terminator, including this room where programmer John Botti shows up to give you 54 lives.


...such as censorship! You can turn the men in blue jumpsuits into women, which I'm guessing was the original aim before someone got scared.

You know, RoboCop, that R-rated movie, versus The Terminator, that R-rated movie. And we're not shooting Terminators on this first stage, it's humans in Detroit which become bloody explosions when you gun them down. But at least they don't have breasts!


The best player in Sampras Tennis 96 is a robot and there's a court in space.


The 8-bit versions of Daffy Duck in Hollywood let you play as the head of Fergus McGoven.

 

Found this by accident - I think it's the version supplied to other sushi restaurants in action:



The channel seems to have a bunch of other videos related to late 90s/early 00s Sega + Sonic related stuffs, might warrant further investigation yet

 

And where did Sega get that image from?



That, or at least a slightly different angle at least.

In real life, his team mate Nigel Mansell wore a red suit, although his sponsors were slightly different.

 

DISREGARD EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS. Sony killed it. Anything PSP, PS3, or Vita that goes to a non-archived link needs to be done NOW.

 

Yeah, this makes it really hard to get PKG links now, but it's not impossible.

 

Managed to find this release schedule from a Famitsu article buried deep on my HDD. Not sure which issue it came from, but must be from ~Sep/Oct 1986.



86.10 (Mid): Alex Kidd in Miracle World (Actually released 86.11.01)
86.11 (Mid): Ashura
86.12 (Mid): The Black Onyx (Actually released in 1987)
86.12 (Late): Space Harrier
Next Year: Koronis Rift (Unreleased SG-1000)

So that theory is looking hard to prove (it's not Koronis Rift).