Jeremy Parish

Segaiden 53: Great Baseball [JP] / Satellite 7 / Woody Pop / BMX Trial: Alex Kidd (Patreon)

Published:

2023-05-31 11:56:38

Imported:

2024-04

Tags:

Paddle Controller alex kidd bms trial great baseball great sports satellite 7 sega segaiden woody pop

Content

Good news, friends: No age-gate this week. Although my old-man reflexes do make such a hash of my video footage of these alarmingly difficult games that it might be considered an act of violence worthy of censorship.

With this episode, I've now covered all Master System and Mark III releases through the end of 1987 (or at least the Mark III that wouldn't show up later on Master System; Phantasy Star hit in Dec. 1987, but it arrived in the U.S. 11 months later, so that's where I'm covering it in the chronology—you know the drill). I've also covered all peripherals, I think, with this episode giving a bit of air time to the Japan-only Paddle Controller, which works more or less like Taito's Vaus Controller for NES. Would you be surprised to learn that the Paddle Controller arrived on Mark III alongside an Arkanoid clone? Well, OK, but it did. And it would also come into play for Alex Kidd's second outing on the system, an oddball racing game called BMX Trial. Covering this system has been great. There's always something strange and unexpected lurking in the future.

I also mop up the last two Mark III 1985 releases that I somehow overlooked before... and which no one called me out on, at least not that I saw. I guess no one cares about Satellite 7. Relatably enough.

Now, to take a break from Master System for a few months before diving into 1988. Well, mostly take a break.

Files

Happy trials to you: Great Baseball / Satellite 7 / Woody Pop / Alex Kidd BMX Trial | Segaiden 53

OK, with THIS episode, we bring 1987 to a close. And 1985! It turns out my survey of Mark III games that never reached America overlooked two titles: The underwhelming co-op shooter Satellite 7, and Great Baseball. Yes, I know. I've already covered Great Baseball. But this was a different Great Baseball, because Sega never met a game historian they didn't want to confuse. Of greater interest this time around, we have 1987's two paddle-enhanced titles: Woody Pop and BMX Trial. Naturally, I also explain what the whole Paddle Controller thing is about (since that also didn't reach the U.S.) in service of discussing these tie-in titles, both of which shipped with the Japan-only analogue joypad as a pack-in. As for the games? Well, Woody Pop amounts to a clone of Arkanoid so similar to Taito's game that you could practically call it a reskin. And BMX Trial... well, it's much more unique. A top-down bike racer with branching paths, non-linear stage progression, and the ability to paddle your BMX on water?! It's also uneven, though. We still haven't quite reached the era when Sega's home game design ambitions would be matched by the resources and time to really polish up those efforts. But soon.... Production notes: Why watch when you can read? Check out the massive hardcover print editions of NES Works, Super NES Works, and Virtual Boy works, available now at Limited Run Games (https://limitedrungames.com/collections/books)! Look forward to SG-1000 Works: Segaiden Vol. I, due July 2023. Video Works is funded via Patreon (http://www.patreon.com/gamespite) — support the show and get access to every episode up to two weeks in advance of its YouTube debut! Plus, exclusive podcasts, eBooks, and more! Master System footage captured from U.S. carts running through a cart adapter on Sega Mark III hardware with FM Sound Unit and RGB bypass modification by iFixRetro. Most arcade and Light Phaser footage captured from MiSTer, with thanks to MiSTerAddOns. Video upscaled to 720 with xRGB Mini Framemeister. RGB cables courtesy of StoneAgeGamer.com and Allie Bellrose.