Gaming on the Go: Game Gear

Showing posts with label Game Gear. Show all posts

Thursday, June 09, 2011

Retro Sega Game Gear Commercials

Great, now I'll have to pay eBay a visit and grab myself a SEGA Game Gear. The old Lynx - Game Gear rivalry is after all long dead and my Lynx collection wont complain.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Sega Game Gear: a video review

Friday, August 10, 2007

Sega Master System & Game Gear emulator for the Sony PSP

SMS Plus PSP is right here. Grab it, it's absolutely free and it will remind you just how impressively some of these 8-bit video games both played and looked. Oh, and don't forget to try Phantasy Star, GGShinobi and of course some classic Sonic the Hedgehog games.

Friday, June 01, 2007

OH! MY! GOD!

I mourn the passing of Sega as a producer of consoles... I really do.

But when they come up with advertisements like the two examples below, you kind of decide they deserve their fate...

The Sega Game Gear is a nice piece of kit... Admittedly, it's best feature is the TV peripheral (which makes it the smallest portable TV available in the early nineties...) But HEY! It's like the PSP's massive Grandad!

But, trying to win points with the Viz generation in such a crap and unfunny way makes me weep.

Sega! Look at the advertising campaigns that you gave to our Japanese brothers and sisters... And don't EVER, EVER subject us to shit like this again...

BTW These horrendous artefacts were lifted from the excellent UK:Resistance website... Check it out!

Sunday, May 27, 2007

Streets Of Rage On The Game Gear...

Well, hello!

Probably a bit inspired by the last Master System Monday post, I've just secured Streets Of Rage for the Game Gear! This cartridge cost me a fiver, and I reckon it was a bargain....

Bought from the fabulous Mr. Khan of Rusholme Consoles fame, this purchase needs little introduction...

Why its a time tested piece of gaming history... THE side scrolling beat 'em up!

What is (possibly) of more relevance is the fact that the same lovely Mr. Khan has agreed to sell me a Sega Megadrive/Mega CD console add on PLUS unique Sega Mega CD console and five games for the princely sum of forty English pounds! Hoo- Fuckin-Ray!

And all with Mrs. K's blessing! Cripes! Heck! Blimey!

Related posts: Castle of Illusion speed run, Sega Game Gear gear, Panzer Dragoon Mini, a GG feature

Monday, May 14, 2007

Master System Monday # 9: Caleb's Collection!

"Monday Monday... Looks good to me..." So sang California soft rockers, The Mamas and The Papas. But obviously they didn't have a clue about the true nature of the day, because Monday is always a ball ache. Waking up knowing you've got the whole working week ahead of you, scraping yourself out of bed and facing the dreary prospect of the same old shit on a different day...

It's at times like this that we have to look for the things that can brighten the gloom of this darkest of days. One such glimmer comes from the opportunity to wax lyrical about the Sega Master System, (you know that 8 bit marvel, whose games can coincidentally be played on the equally fantastic handheld Sega Game Gear...)

Today's topic is to showcase the truly wonderful collection of Caleb (he of Saturn Junkyard and Hunyak fame).
Caleb is a commited Retro Gamer and self confessed good will store/garage sale addict. He recognises the intrinsic value of older games that other gamers have consigned to the scrap heap. His Master System collection is rather lovely... Look here...

Consequently he is amassing quite a collection of retro consoles and games. Showcased here is Caleb's quite fantastic Master System collection, replete as it is with TWO light guns AND the legendary 3D glasses.

(There are many reasons to enjoy retro gaming, as considered by the marvellous Racketboy here...)

Oh and the other wonderful feature is that Caleb also cleverly informs us that any Dreamcast owner (and you all should be...) can also enjoy Master System fun via an emulation disc!

You see Monday aint so bad after all...

Monday, April 23, 2007

Game Gear Features In Bad Taste Cartoon!

The Game Gear doesn't get much media attention these days, so you can imagine my surprise when I came across Sega's finest handheld in Internet animation, Burnt Face Man.

This tasteless, but rather funny cartoon is a firm favourite with the Three Gingers, (yes I know, just what kind of a father am I?) Personally, I find it mildly amusing. Please be warned, its not for the faint hearted. If you are offended by profanity, then don't go there! (I should have put the same warning on the last post too...)

Still, if you want to see the Game Gear in all its Sega related glory, and don't mind a bit of sweariness, look here.

Monday, April 16, 2007

Master System Monday # 5: Sega8bit.com

A typical Master System enthusiast!

Well after two glorious weeks off work, its back to the grindstone for poor old me. (Bah!)

However, I've always got posting on this hallowed forum to look forward to and keep me going (Hurrah!)

As such I will continue on my quest to keep the Master System alive and well in our hearts.

I must confess that I haven't played anything new on the MS/Game Gear for a couple of weeks, so this week's offering owes more to web browsing than personal experience, DOH!

Awesome 3D glasses dude!

However, I have discovered a rather wonderful resource for all Master System fans. Let me introduce you to Sega8bit.com which I found this very day! Everything you ever wanted to know about the Master System but were afraid to ask! It's where I found the excellent pics that illustrate this post and there is so much more to discover...

I will endeavour to play some more and give up my personal reviews of those lovely 8 bit classic games. If you can't wait for that, have a look at this review of Michael Jackson's Moonwalker that I posted some time ago over at another one of mine and Gnome's collaborative efforts The Saturn Junkyard!

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Master System Monday: Castle of Illusion - Speed Run

I've seen a few of these on Youtube. Basically its some clever dick steaming his way through a game. On this occasion it's the wonderful Castle Of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse for the Master System/Game Gear. I've been a bit indulgent on the old video posting over the past couple of days, but it shows the game beautifully. If I were you, I'd turn the volume down on your PC and play your favourite banging tune loud on your stereo instead, whilst tripping out on the visuals!

I spent a good while playing this poorly this weekend. I was crap! The game is great! 'Nuff said! Enjoy!

Monday, March 19, 2007

Master System Monday #2: Land Of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse

For the second weekend running, my lovely DS has been redundant. For both the purposes of this very blog, and also for my own entertainment, I have been playing my Master System games on my Sega Game Gear. This has been so entertaining that my progress through Resident Evil DS has been put on hold, whilst I get to grips with retro titles from 15 years ago!

This week's game was the sublime "Land Of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse". Like many Game Gear/ Master System games this is a 2D side scrolling platformer.

The premise of the game is that whilst nodding off reading a fairy tale book, our minuscule hero finds himself in a magical land where a crystal has been kidnapped. In order to complete the game Mickey has to work his way through a variety of lands overcoming a plethora of foes and rescue it... (Bloody original scenario I know...)

As you control Mickey you have to run, jump, duck, swim , throw rocks and collect apples. As well as enemies such as birds, snakes and spiders, Mickey has to hang on as tornadoes blow past. As he swims he has to come up for oxygen periodically and battle against rip tides!

The game plays beautifully and quickly becomes addictive! Although I didn't complete it, it provided the perfect game for late Saturday night, whilst I drank beer and watched Laurel and Hardy (another retro pleasure of mine), one eye on the game and one on the TV set!

Hey! You can grab this little treat for your Master System from eBay or for your Game Gear over at Play Asia. I thoroughly recommend this title for all you retro lovers out there! And if I ever take enough time to get through it, I'll let you know straight away!

Monday, March 12, 2007

Master System Monday #1: Out Run Europa

There is a great deal of correlation between the Sega Game Gear and The Sega Master System. In fact the Game Gear was just a mini Master System with a built in screen. Most Game Gear games were just ports of Master System or Megadrive/Genesis games.

So it is suitably fitting and, with The Good Gnome's approval, that I review my Master System game collection here on Gnome's Gaming On The Go. As long as I play it them on my Game Gear. On the go...With the adaptor I mentioned last time... Hope that sets up the scenario for future posts... *Cough!*

Out Run Europa is a peach of a game. Coming out of Yu Suzuki's AM2 stable, one wouldn't really expect anything other than excellence!

The game is a follow on from Outrun, the early eighties driving arcade game that really defined the genre. However, Outrun Europa is not just a racing game, it's a story driven racer, pitting you against a band of thieves. As well as chasing these thieves and barging them off the road, the player has to refuel his stomach by driving over burgers and other food stuff. In Out Run Europa you start off on a motorbike, as opposed to a car. Other vehicles include a jet ski!

Drive too slowly and the Police will arrest you... (fascists!)

The game has elements of Super Hang On and is a lovely retro blast!

Playing the game this weekend, actually caused me to put down my beloved DS, in favour of it's 15 year old Game Gear counterpart, the gameplay is that good! To find out more about this lovely game look here and here. Keep scanning Retro Treasures and you too could be the proud owner of both a Master System and a Game Gear and enjoy the beautiful symbiotic/interactive relationship between the two!

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Game Gear Gadgets Growing Gradually...

Well here I am back after a lovely micro-break that saw me take my Game Gear for a bit of a test drive. The first (and only) game I tried though, (Spiderman vs. The Sinister Six), proved to be a bit of a disaster. We can forgive the grainy graphics and poor contrast... It's from 1992 ...It was great for it's time.

But the game itself is as furiously frustrating as it gets...

Buying Game Gear games is a bit hit and miss. There is usually no manual, no box, no instructions. In this game, a lovely side scrolling beat'em up, one plays as Spidey. You can walk, jump, climb walls, move along them horizontally and vertically, and sling webs. But you can't sling them at the criminals! They seem to serve no purpose! And while you're busy slinging away, the criminals come up and punch you!
Until you die... Not great!!!

All of this frustration made me regret taking the Game Gear away, and I quickly sloped off to the wonderful DS. In fact the Game Gear only proved worth bringing when I used it as a tiny portable TV, so that my kids could watch a TV show that their younger cousin was forbidden from looking at on the main TV.

So I wasn't feeling too enamoured with the system until this evening when an extremely bountiful haul was sold to me by Mr. Kahn of the wonderful Rusholme Consoles.

For £23 I got all this... the wonderful Plasma Sword for the Dreamcast as well as Wild Metal, Deep Fighter and Championship Surfer for said console. I also got a third party Fission Dreamcast Fishing Rod and Fission Dreamcast Light Gun boxed up... As well as this Mr. Kahn threw in a plug in chargeable power pack for my Game Gear AND one of these...

A converter that allows me to play all of my Master System games on my Game Gear!!!
So now I can review my Master System games for Master System Mondays (if I ever get started on it) on my Game Gear!! Cosmic huh?

Oh and Resident Evil for DS is one of the most sublime video game experiences I have ever had on any console...

But I'll tell you about that another time...

Friday, March 02, 2007

Panzer Dragoon Mini Game Gear

Apparently SEGA's 8-bit portable wonder was the only 8-bit console ever to get a Panzer Dragoon game. Then again, it looked just like it does in the video above and -unfortunately- was a rather shite game too. Still, Panzer Dragoon...

Thursday, January 25, 2007

More Game Gear Goodies!

Here they are, craply photographed on my Nokia N70...

Just a quick note to let you know about more lovely bargains I've discovered, this time at the excellent Chips an independent little store that is good to go to when Gamestation is depleted of anything interesting...

Today's haul included two new games for my Game Gear, Spiderman- Return Of the Sinister Six (villains that is) and The Ren and Stimpy Show, which came with full packaging and instruction manual.

Whilst Ren and Stimpy is a nice little platformer, Spiderman has proven on initial play to be a very good 2D side scrolling beat 'em up. Spidey can perform a god deal of moves, kicking, punching, jumping, web-slinging and wall crawling (as you might expect).This takes my Game Gear software collection to 14 titles...

Now if I only had time to play 'em all. As Gnome himself is aware, I'm currently locked into joint obsessions about Segata Sanshiro which you can experience till you puke on The Saturn Junkyard and Resident Evil 4 on the PS2.Now this current conversion to the RE franchise has led me to consider a DS RE purchase...expect a review any decade now...

Related posts: SEGA Game Gear, Game Gear TV, Game Boy Color

Related Tags: SEGA, Sega Game gear, Game Gear, retro, Spiderman, blog

Thursday, January 18, 2007

TV Turn On!

Well I'd hoped to show you some actual photos of my newest accquisition. You know what it is... I just blabbed it on the last post... Yes it's a TV adaptor for my Game Gear! I took some lovely photos of it on my camera phone, but when I tried to email it to the site, the network was down or something. (Or at least thats what THE MAN says...)

Anyway, I can make do with some photos ripped off Google Image, to show you this lovely piece of peripheral... The story of how I came across my Game Gear can be found here...
The way I came across my TV adaptor is easy... I went to see the lovely Mr. Kahn at Rusholme Consoles, a veritable treasure trove of Retro game gear based in Manchester.

Now the above establishment, whilst stocked with great stuff, not available elsewhere, has never been the cheapest place to boost your console collection. However, Mr. Kahn is getting out of the used console business and is selling off all his stuff at bargain prices. Being a regular and trusted customer, Mr. Kahn very generously sold me 'San Fransisco Rush 2049' for the DC for £2 (a quite rare and most excellent racing game I've been after for ages) and also a boxed up, brand new looking Game Gear TV adaptor for £15. I also got a beautiful lecture from Mr. Kahn on the commonality between Muslims, Jews and Christians. (And that was free!)

I've tried it out and it works perfectly! This must have been a phenomenal piece of kit in it's day, turning the excellent handheld games console into what was at the time, the smallest colour portable TV around. You can find out the tech spec here... Suffice to say, I am one very happy gamer. Still unlike one happy Game Gear owner who responded to the post on the Dreamcast Junkyard, I have not managed to pick up any porn on it, but a man can dream... Obviously, if I do, and believe me I'll keep trying, you'll be the first to know. right now I'm off to watch the head line grabbing Big Brother, to see what foul racist tirade that fat ugly ignoramus Jade Goody has come out with this episode. On my Game Gear. Obviously. Goodnight!

Fat racist bigot Jade Goody....

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Game Gear Rises From The Grave....

It's only been three weeks or so since I discovered a hand held console, previously unknown to me. Quite how it had escaped my notice, I do not know, but I was 'researching pharmaceuticals'(!) at the time of it's birth, and a lot of the Nineties are a bit of a haze to me... (Cough!)

Anyway, the console in question is the wonderful Sega Game Gear. Like an obese, elderly relative of the PSP, this wonderful machine was Sega's riposte to the Nintendo Gameboy, and quite frankly, it blew their black and white effort out of the water.

Essentially, the Game Gear was a Sega Master System in miniature, and thus Sega were able to port it's Master System software back catalogue, straight to it's new system. Utilising established 16 bit arcade hardware, Sega delivered the concept of portable gameplay, of static home gameplay quality, to a stunned gaming audience.

The games were simply written into ROMS for the substantially smaller Game Gear cartridges. For those not wanting to re-buy Master System titles they had grown to love, on a new cartridge for the Game Gear, a clever adaptor was crafted by Sega boffins, to allow Master System cartridges to be played on their 'new' handheld. But wait! That's not the only adaptor the Game Gear had in it's peripheral repertoire... Crikey no!

The GG also had a television adaptor which made it into the smallest available colour portable T.V. of the 1990's. And one peripheral , dear reader, that allowed one lucky owner to actually pick up German satellite porn in the early '90s...
But hey! That's another story for another site.. More information about this particular story, and how I came across my GG can be found at the 'Yard and you can see it by clicking here.

Since owning one I've been looking at them on Google Image, checking out availability on eBay and referencing it's techno specifications and software releases on Wikipedia ( I have twelve titles so far and will be reviewing each one, on this site, in the coming months) . It turns out there are some collectors items to be coveted like the 'Coca Cola Kid' edition and the lovely 'Magic Knight' edition. Jeez! I've now got my 9th console to squander the family budget on... It'll end in tears.

Because I was unaware of this lovely piece of kit during it's 1990-1997 lifespan, I never had chance to own it, love it, cherish it and mourn it's passing. There must have been those of you out there who did, however.

Well for those of you pining for a bit of Game Gear love, I've got great news. It's been rereleased. Re-packaged. Re-invented. Reincarnated. Reborn!

Say hello to the 21st Century Game Gear. The Playpal. All of those retro titles fat, balding geeks like myself, who were once thin, flowing haired geeks, have been longing to play since 1997 are back! To find out about this beautiful piece of hand held 2D 'game gear' click here.

Good night dear children, wherever you are...

Related Tags: Sega, Sega Game Gear, Game Gear, playpal, retro gaming, retro, games, game, pocket gaming

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