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marurun
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Review of Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works

by marurun Fri Aug 25, 2017 4:23 pm

Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works, by Stuart Keith and edited by Darren Wall, is a sturdy, square, large, and very black book. It is also a love letter to the legacy of a video game console and the people who helped make that legacy. The book opens with a bit of history, with many quotes from individuals who were personally involved, relating Sega’s development, release, challenges, and successes with the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis home console. This is a well-written and entertaining recounting of the console that, for a time, stole the US gaming market right out of Nintendo’s hands.

The bulk of the book, however, is dedicated to a decadent, glossy, beautiful collection of images of the console and some of its star games. Hardware sketches and photos include release and prototype console and accessory designs, including an impressive fold-out technical drawing of the physical enclosure of the model 1 Mega Drive. A broad selection of featured games are also represented, with concept art, sketches, title screen and background images, and sprite animation frame spreads. Every image is numbered, and many of them are referred to by number in the text portions of the book.

The tome concludes with a series of 2-4 page interviews with various game designers, musicians, and programmers from Japan and the US. These interviews are in dark blue ink on slightly cheaper matte paper, but feature additional sketches to help add context and personality to the interviewees and the games they talk about.

If you are a fan of the Sega Genesis, you probably should find a way to own this book. It is a high quality work that really honors the creativity and art of a defining period in Sega’s history. It is rare to encounter a book so clearly crafted with love and respect, and given how visual video games are, it doesn't seem at all inappropriate that a game console should be presented this way.
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Re: Review of Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works

by Gunstar Green Fri Aug 25, 2017 7:01 pm

I absolutely adore this book. The Genesis is my favorite console and the book is such a loving, well-written tribute and of course, a visual feast. The interviews alone make it worth owning.
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Re: Review of Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works

by HiSpec Tue Sep 05, 2017 8:38 am

+1 for this book. The interviews left me wanting more, though. I bet there are so many interesting untold stories.
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Re: Review of Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works

by Derryck Tue Sep 05, 2017 12:01 pm

This sounds amazing, I'll add it to my "books to read" list. As a 8 and 16 bit kid, everything bringing back the good old times, is pure gold for me.
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Re: Review of Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works

by Michi Tue Sep 05, 2017 3:58 pm

Thanks for the review, marurun. Looks like an interesting tome. I'll have to add it to my list of books to keep an eye out for.
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Re: Review of Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works

by Reprise Tue Sep 12, 2017 12:18 pm

Somewhat relevant. The Dreamcast Collected Works has been announced: viewtopic.php?f=1&p=1110324#p1110324
Own: Sega Mega Drive, Sega Saturn, Sega Dreamcast, Playstation 1, Playstation 2, Playstation 3, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, PS Vita, Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, Nintendo Gamecube, Nintendo Wii U, Nintendo Gameboy Advance, Nintendo DS, Nintendo New 3DS, Nintendo Switch

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marurun
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Re: Review of Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works

by marurun Tue Sep 12, 2017 3:03 pm

Aw yeah...
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Re: Review of Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works

by zyrobs Tue Sep 12, 2017 3:24 pm

It's a good book, but I wish they haven't wasted so much space on sprite sheets and such. That's just filler stuff.
Also, a lot of the artwork in it have been released in hi res before, like the Monster World and Phantasy Star artwork. Those were all reused.

I guess I'm just disappointed in that they could've used all that space for more prototype shots or technical drawings, or internal hardware, things which are not immediately apparent to anyone.

I'm still hoping for a Saturn one. That thing has a lot of unknowns in its past, as well as the most interesting cancelled titles and rumoured hardware expansions.
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Re: Review of Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works

by Reprise Tue Sep 12, 2017 4:28 pm

zyrobs wrote:I'm still hoping for a Saturn one. That thing has a lot of unknowns in its past, as well as the most interesting cancelled titles and rumoured hardware expansions.


100% this. I would love a Saturn one. It's always been the most intriguing Sega console for me.
Own: Sega Mega Drive, Sega Saturn, Sega Dreamcast, Playstation 1, Playstation 2, Playstation 3, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, PS Vita, Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, Nintendo Gamecube, Nintendo Wii U, Nintendo Gameboy Advance, Nintendo DS, Nintendo New 3DS, Nintendo Switch

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Re: Review of Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works

by Segata Tue Sep 12, 2017 10:55 pm

Reprise wrote:
zyrobs wrote:I'm still hoping for a Saturn one. That thing has a lot of unknowns in its past, as well as the most interesting cancelled titles and rumoured hardware expansions.


100% this. I would love a Saturn one. It's always been the most intriguing Sega console for me.

Second this.

The only other system I would want a book like this for is the PC Engine/Turbografx 16.
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