SEGA Mega Drive / Genesis: Collected Works – Review

Any great book starts with a beginning...

And here it begins where it should always start – at the birth before the start. Before the Mega Drive / Genesis came about and the advertising and the games development. Before the original hardware and then the hardware add-ons that came with it. Before the end.

This story illustrates how Sega went head to head with Nintendo when Nintendo was at the top of it’s game bringing about the ups and the downs and the story behind this epic saga of console wars. What came from this was a series of legendary titles that any gamer in their right mind should own.

Whether you are a Sega fan boy or girl it doesn't matter. The likes of Sonic 2, Streets of Rage, Golden Axe and many other games adorn this epic Sega saga. This is a global affair too – covering the Genesis in the US to the European Mega Drive, as well as the Japanese incarnation.

So this is just a written affair? Not at all. Once the story has been told by Games Journalist, Keith Stuart of the Guardian (and it doesn't drag on – just the right length for us personally with little time to spare to read these days!) we get into the visual representation of what makes the Mega Drive an icon, as well as a leading games consoles of it’s time.

This is split into key categories – some of which include:

Hardware; including development documents, schematics, a showcase of hardware released concept drawings, as well as those which remained as concepts. Even to the extent of showing product design notes for the avid fan.

Game Packaging and Character design; a massive amount of detail and artistry here. Many previously unpublished items and visual references to the wonder of Sega in the 90s.

Interviews; here we get underneath of the skin of the brand and the people who pioneered the industry at the time. From the legend of Yu Suzuki who made the arcades his own in the 80s, to Art Director Kazuyuki Hoshino – famous for his involvement with Sonic Team in the early 90s and beyond. This is an interview list that you won’t see elsewhere.

Benefactors; finishing off nicely the book thanks the gamers who made it happen….You and us here at GYL. The community who not only put their hand in their pocket to fund the book on Kickstarter. But we all helped in talking about this book during the funding period – shared it with our friends out there in the world and made it happen. We also couldn’t have done it without one man, Darren (Wall) himself of Read-Only Memory. Without Darren and his vision for the book from the concept to delivery we wouldn't have such a great legacy told in print.

The book uses the highest quality printing and reproduction to bring this all to life. Each section in the book not only uses different paper stock but different layouts to wow us.  The complete book is a solid piece indeed.

In some ways a review like this could be spoiling your own surprise factor, so we can’t go into every little detail which might do that. Like a good movie you should find out for yourself. Hopefully the images and words here tell some of that story to give you an insight without giving too much away.

Whether you lived through the early 90s and throughout to the late period of the Mega Drive - or whether you a younger gamer picking the Mega Drive up now as a retro console for the first time -  this book is going to appeal to you.

In terms of a book on the subject – we think this is the No 1 choice for anyone.

You can buy the book from Read-Only Memory – here is the link: http://readonlymemory.vg/ 

Exclusive SEGA Kickstarter Interview - Darren Wall - Read only Memory

SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis: 

Collected Works

Hi Darren...great for you to spare a moment during your amazingly successful Kickstarter with just 4 days to go now, how are you feeling?

I feel a bit like I've had a baby! I'm up all hours, aware of the many months of hard work ahead of me - but at the same time I'm terrifically excited and satisfied. Running a Kickstarter campaign is a really consuming task, but I don't think I've ever done something as rewarding. I've been able to speak to so many Sega fans and legendary developers in the past few weeks... it's been great fun.

Tell us why you choose to work on a Sega Mega Drive book of all things?

We were asked by Sega to pitch on a documentary book after they saw our first title - Sensible Software 1986–1999. I picked the Mega Drive as it was the defining console for me and I felt like I was pretty well positioned to tackle it confidently. I tried to draw up a proposal for the Mega Drive book I wanted to own myself and not try to get too bogged down in what would be commercial or second guess what they might want to see. We were staggered to hear that they liked the proposal and we were offered a license.

Who is the book designed for?

The book is for anybody with a connection to the console. We cover so many aspects of the era - from production artwork to the hardware itself, right through to developer interviews - I'm hopeful every fan will flick through the book and immediately be confronted with brand new material related to games they have already have an intimate connection with.

What was is about the Mega Drive that makes it so special?

I was 10 when I first played the Mega Drive. Everything about it seemed incredibly stylish... almost cocky in fact. The design of the hardware, the packaging, the advertisements... it had a kind of 'swagger' that was completely absent in other machines. Going over it again now, it is apparent just how important Sega's marketing was to its success in the West.

How has Keith been working on the project - is playing the games part of it for him and you?!

Keith has been interviewing and writing for several months now - when he's not appearing in prime time TV shows - and yes! we've both been reminding ourselves of the games as we worked through the book. I was particularly struck by how well Comix Zone plays after all these years.

Have you / Keith had any interesting adventures tracking people and information down for researching the book?

There have been plenty of adventures, particularly in the last few weeks since the Kickstarter launched. Several backers have introduced us to legendary Sega figures we were previously unable to get hold of. Within a few days of the project going live I was being introduced to huge figures such as Hayao Nakayama and Tom Kalinske!

We've also had some great moments with some of the Japanese developers - in conducting the interviews it became apparent that some of them still had pencil and paper development artwork at home after all this time! Makoto Uchida  in particular still had line drawings of monster ideas for Alien Storm which we just recieved this morning.

How have SEGA contributed to the development of the book?

They have been incredibly helpful. They have rooted through their archive for us and found some great material. Possibly the most important find they made was a collection of hand drawn plans for the case of the Mega Drive itself, along with a selection of unused controller designs. The also helped us to get in touch with many of the original game developers.

Tell us a bit about the artwork to feature in the book?

There is a great mixture of slick, highly finished production artwork and really rough 'n' ready, sketchy stuff from the early stages of the design process. To give a flavour of what's in store, there are character paintings for The Revenge of Shinobi, boss sketches for Wonder Boy III, detailed battle scenes for Golden Axe and really early, sketchy ideas for ToeJam & Earl. We'll also be featuring in-game artwork in a similar way to the Sensible Software book - showing off the detailed level maps and sprite sheets of iconic characters.

Tell us about the quality of finish of the book - we know as a designer and the quality of the Sensible Software book the print and finishing is very important to you as a Designer?

Yes, it is really important to me that the book looks - and feels - great. The biggest difference to the Sensible book is that this will be a large format hardback rather than a mid-size softcover. The paper will be a heavyweight matt art stock so the images will look their best and given the success of the project, we're looking at adding more pages and additional cover finishes too.

Did you learn a lot about SEGA and its games / hardware whilst being involved developing this book?

I'm still learning as we go! The insight into the development of some of the early Japanese games is extremely interesting and I think that will be a real highlight for fans. For instance, in our long-form interviews we learn of discarded boss fights from Shinobi, alternative level plans for Sonic and some surprising cinematic influences on classic Mega Drive games. I'm obviously being a bit coy here... I don't want to ruin the surprise!

What is your favourite 5 mega drive games of all time?

I won't be so bold as to place them in order, but I would select: Bonanza Bros., Micro Machines, Comix Zone, The Revenge of Shinobi and Streets of Rage 2.

Do you have plans to write a book on Nintendo after this one - balance the whole thing out then?!

That would be amazing! I would love for Read-Only Memory to produce more console documentary books. There's a lot of consoles to get through! I'd love to do more with Sega too, perhaps looking at other consoles like the Saturn and Dreamcast

There's still time to back the Kickstarter here: 

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/darrenwall/sega-mega-drive-genesis-collected-works

For more information:

Read-Only Memory
http://readonlymemory.vg