Anyway, in case you're just an idiot who hasn't read any of the Sega sites recently, Sega has surprised us with a five-pack of Model2 arcade classics--Virtua Fighter 2, Virtua Striker, Sonic: the Fighters, Fighting Vipers, Virtual On. Boy, the amount of "Virtua" and "Fighters" in that list is outstanding. Love me some Sega-AM2 Magical Palm Tree Games.
But I am glad, I really am. None of the games are on my "OMG MY LIFE IS COMPLETE" list and it seems strange we'd get three fighting games, but what the hell--they are all unique in their own ways. Plus they will have online multiplayer which is GREAT. The games are only limited to Japan but Sega would be stupid not to release them in the West.
I think it's great that Sega is really starting to ramp up on the classic ports. Sega's glory days are relived in a new era for all the little kids to bear witness to. But a part of me can't help but feel a bit irritated Sega isn't doing anything "new" with these games. Oh, there' the widescreen support and the online multiplayer (some of them anyway) but when you look at it, we already had these games playable on the emulators. The fans beat Sega to the home releases. I would love to see Sega take these games to the next level and "one-up" us fans. (EDIT: Sonic the Fighters port got Honey the Cat and Eggman as characters--I'm not knowledgeable on the game but that's what I'm looking for). They have...sort of, but they made some mistakes. Like this Jet Set Radio port--the game's great but the graphics aren't as stellar as the original Dreamcast version. And then there's Crazy Taxi without the Offspring and the KFC. And there's Sega Bass Fishing without the Dreamcast Fishing Controller--a regular joystick doesn't do the game justice at all. Most of these things are peanuts but they add up.
But it's funny...El Semi, the Nebula Model2 emulator creator, went AWOL for some time and I think he had a role in assisting Sega with some of these recent ports, Daytona USA included. I think anyway, it's just "cool" to assume that. Now Bart, Supermodel3 emulator creator, put Supermodel on hiatus for a while and I'M NOT SUGGESTING ANYTHING BUT...what the hell I really am--but we could get some Model3 ports in the future. Thanks, Bart! I think seeing these Model2 games really improves the odds of seeing re-releases of Daytona 2, Sega Rally 2, and Scud Race. What a glorious day that would be though knowing Sega, I wouldn't bet on it just yet.
Just so you know, it was in 2008 that Kotaku hosted an interview with Sega of America's Simon Jeffery. And he was on record saying Sega "lost the source code" to some of our favorite games. Which really sucks because if you know anything about game design, it's nigh impossible to expand on games without the source code. And at the time, we panicked about the prospect of Sega losing the source code to Daytona USA. I think the superb XBL/PSN ports put that to rest.
But I really wonder if they still have the source code to Daytona 2/Scud Race on source control or some USB drive somewhere. I mean, those games weren't as successful as Daytona 1 so it's possible that bad things could happen to it.. Either someone deletes it on purpose (assumes the game will never be touched again) or on accident (with the source code to hundreds of Sega games on your computer, a few of them might get wiped out). Or the computer could break or just die on you like that. Not trying to downplay the massive devastation that Japan underwent a year & a half ago but God forbid some natural disaster were to occur at Sega HQ or somewhere and take out the source code like that. It's a possibility.
Really though, I still assume the source code to these games exist SOMEWHERE. And if I could open that s*** up and check it out, I would. With the fervor of an AP History teacher getting early copies a day before the exam. And if the code DOESN'T exist...well, I've said it before and I'll say it again--WE'LL REBUILD DAYTONA 2 AND SCUD RACE OURSELVES!!! IT CAN BE DONE!!!
And then there's NASCAR--everyone's golden boy Dale Jr. suffered a concussion at Talladega, the second of the season, and by doctor's orders is forced to sit out two races, erasing any chances that he had at being the Chase victor. The first concussion seemed to have an impact on his performance. You never truly recover from these things anyway and too many and you have to retire. Surely all the talk about wrecks and we tend to forget that these drivers can actually get hurt (hell, we have Dan Wheldon die on us a year ago) and it takes away these guys' abilities to do what they love to do and that is friggin race cars.
All I have to say is even if you are out of the picture and have no chance at getting a trophy, an accolade, or even a pat on the back, then go out there and perform for pride. I don't mean the deadly sin but say, "You know what, I'm alive, I have opposable thumbs, I'm gonna do this to make myself and the Lord above happy," so go get 'em guys. Win anyway, even if there's no reward if you do.
But I really wonder if they still have the source code to Daytona 2/Scud Race on source control or some USB drive somewhere. I mean, those games weren't as successful as Daytona 1 so it's possible that bad things could happen to it.. Either someone deletes it on purpose (assumes the game will never be touched again) or on accident (with the source code to hundreds of Sega games on your computer, a few of them might get wiped out). Or the computer could break or just die on you like that. Not trying to downplay the massive devastation that Japan underwent a year & a half ago but God forbid some natural disaster were to occur at Sega HQ or somewhere and take out the source code like that. It's a possibility.
Really though, I still assume the source code to these games exist SOMEWHERE. And if I could open that s*** up and check it out, I would. With the fervor of an AP History teacher getting early copies a day before the exam. And if the code DOESN'T exist...well, I've said it before and I'll say it again--WE'LL REBUILD DAYTONA 2 AND SCUD RACE OURSELVES!!! IT CAN BE DONE!!!
And then there's NASCAR--everyone's golden boy Dale Jr. suffered a concussion at Talladega, the second of the season, and by doctor's orders is forced to sit out two races, erasing any chances that he had at being the Chase victor. The first concussion seemed to have an impact on his performance. You never truly recover from these things anyway and too many and you have to retire. Surely all the talk about wrecks and we tend to forget that these drivers can actually get hurt (hell, we have Dan Wheldon die on us a year ago) and it takes away these guys' abilities to do what they love to do and that is friggin race cars.
All I have to say is even if you are out of the picture and have no chance at getting a trophy, an accolade, or even a pat on the back, then go out there and perform for pride. I don't mean the deadly sin but say, "You know what, I'm alive, I have opposable thumbs, I'm gonna do this to make myself and the Lord above happy," so go get 'em guys. Win anyway, even if there's no reward if you do.
Hah, turns out this post wasn't quick at all. Until then, check out some slippin and slidin from the Hornet.
It's about time on that Model 2 collection, though like many others, I was hoping for others like Last Bronx, Sega Rally, Indy 500, Motor Raid, and as much as I doubt it, Virtua Cop and House of the Dead. But it's off to a nice start, and at least it's happening.
ReplyDeleteThough on your point about these games offering nothing new (though you might know this now), Sonic the Fighters certainly got the most of it. Metal Sonic and Eggman are finally playable, but what I didn't see coming was seeing a complete playable Honey in her Sonic form, though I've got mixed feelings on that. It's nice to see that they finished and implemented a character that didn't make it into the final game, but I've found it nerve-racking that since her discovery, some people of the Sonic community have treated her like the beloved "lost Sonic character" with either no acknowledgement of the character she was clearly based off of, or claim that her Sonic cat form came first and her Vipers form came second, which is utter absolute complete total crap.
I'll certainly be supporting this move (more likely on a sale), but I'm interested to see if they'll do anything new with Virtual-On, and hope that this is the beginning of something good, like Model 3 ports.
Though personally if we get Sega Rally 2, I'd honestly hope for everything found in the Dreamcast version with the performance of the arcade version. I really don't understand the hate for the game other than it wasn't arcade perfect, though the additions in vehicles, courses and music more than made up for it IMO.
Oh, and speaking of that, Tetsuya Mizuguchi is out of game development and is now a teacher, though he claims he'll still advise Q Entertainment and help produce games.
Good points. Not much else to add though I have questions about whether these ports will come to the West...is the West really that crazy over some over Burning Rangers, Virtual-On, or Virtua Striker? Maybe, maybe not. I would really suck if Sega released Model3 ports yet didn't bring them stateside for the same reason that I stated... :o
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