Preview: Beggar Prince

[Melf]

As you may already know, the Super Fighter Team is putting the final touches on Beggar Prince, the first new Genesis release in almost a decade. Sega-16 was fortunate to get all the tasty details about the localization process, as well as talk to project leader Brandon Cobb about the experience! Read all about it in our exclusive preview!

[Vicman]

Awesome work Melf, and I can't wait for the game!

[Vicman]

Melf, would you consider putting in some pics of Fengshen Yingjiechuan (Heroic Legend of Sealing Gods) in the article?

[David J.]

I'm looking forward to this, and I hope some new features are added to the Sega CD ver of Super Fighter, when it comes out, or some info leaks out.

Great article! Looking forward to this!

[Ro Nova]

Very cool! I like how Brandon Cobb says that the true fans are holding a real Sega controller that is connected to a real Sega Genesis system! Seems like they're pretty passionate about what they're doing. I don't really like RPG's but I think I'll get a copy to help support these guys. Great interview!

[Melf]

Vic, I can't include those shots because SFT doesn't have the rights to the game yet, so it's not 100% certain it'll get here.

[Genesis Knight]

That bit about real fans are the ones with the physical console...

...truest thing I've heard all day.

[Vicman]

That bit about real fans are the ones with the physical console...

...truest thing I've heard all day.

Personally I thought that was lamer than hell and a typical shot at the emu scene. What qualifies as true-this and true-that, whatever the subject may be, is always a sticky situation that is highly subjective and biased in my experience.

[Drixxel]

I'll be buying myself a copy of Beggar Prince even though it will undoubtedly be dumped upon the massive rom heap of the internet soon after its release. Why? Because I want to own the game and thus support the makers of the game, not just play it. That's not to say that someone who downloads Beggar Prince won't have as much fun with it as I, it's just that my personal love of gaming extends beyond bodyless code running on a computer simulation of physical hardware.

There is no purer way to experience a game other than to play it on the console it was built for with the controller it was designed around, period. That being said, I love emulation. If not for emulation, there are many games I would not have had the chance to experience. Sure, you can argue that running a game on an emulator is barely experiencing it at all, but to hell with that. Hook a Genesis controller up to a PC and put on a suitable filter to muddy up the image quality and the differences in how the game plays are miniscule at best. What's missing, though, is the satisfaction of owership, and that is what seperates the emu gamers from the collectors.

Emu gamers can enjoy the game itself as much as anyone, you see? They just lack that materialistic pack rat spirit. Yep, that's right, we're the bastards, selfish demons obsessed with possessions. Or maybe it's them for crimes of piracy. We're all going to hell!

[CMA Death Adder]

Personally I thought that was lamer than hell and a typical shot at the emu scene. What qualifies as true-this and true-that, whatever the subject may be, is always a sticky situation that is highly subjective and biased in my experience.

If anyone spent a moment looking into my extensive background in the emu-scene, they'd see I have the experience to make a statement like that. But no one does that, they just b*tch.

[Vicman]

Looking at Super Fighter's site I can understand your experience within the emu-scene, nonetheless saying what qualifies as a true genesis fan is highly subjective and biased. It's an argument that's quite flawed irregardless of what experience you, or anyone, may have in trying to trumpet out said statement. It's called the fallacy of the appeal to authority.

Tell me, if I only played Master System games on a powerbase converter for my Genny does that not make me a true SMS fan? Playing PS1 games on my PS2? Playing Famicom games on a Fami-clone? GBA games on a GC via the GBA player? How about when the Nintendo Revolution comes out with it's downloadable service for old NES/SNES/N64 games? Are those who enjoy the service not "true" fans of said systems and their respective games?

The guy who sold me his JVC X'eye is selling off all his old gaming systems because he has too much clutter and needs the space because his wife is having a second child. He'd rather just play the old games via emulation on the Xbox. You mean to tell me that all of a sudden he's no longer a true Genesis fan because he no longer has the original hardware and controller? How about those who still have a Genny collecting dust in their closets, occasionally bringing it out for a game of Sonic or NHL 95 VS. those in the emu scene who are playing through a bunch of Genesis games on their respective emulators on a regular basis. Is the true genesis fan the one with the actual system or the one who's fully appreciating the games that came out for the system?

According to your definition none of these gamers would be true-XYZ gamers because they aren't playing the game on the original hardware, with the original controller. Really, I could go on and on applying this mindset and continue to show the absurdity of it. Let alone the fact that using such terms is done for personal boastage and exclusion. A sort of badge of honor amoungst those who meet the requirements and fit within the confines of said special club.

You can pull out the old experience card if you think it somehow makes your argument hold more weight, but logically it doesn't. To place arbitrary limits on what qualifies as a true/real/purer fan is just plain silly.

[Ro Nova]

I don't know, it's like the difference of an art collector owning an authentic peice of art or one who owns an imitation knock off. Genesis collectors spend a good deal of time hunting down certain carts and I think that's just a little more dedicated than clicking a mouse button. Some may call these collectors "true fans" because they spend good time and money. That's just how I feel about it. I don't really have an opinion about emulators since I don't use them. I won't assume that people who do aren't true fans. I appreciate what SFT is doing and everyone here has a pretty good point of view.

[Vicman]

I don't know, it's like the difference of an art collector owning an authentic peice of art or one who owns an imitation knock off. Genesis collectors spend a good deal of time hunting down certain carts and I think that's just a little more dedicated than clicking a mouse button. Some may call these collectors "true fans" because they spend good time and money. That's just how I feel about it. I don't really have an opinion about emulators since I don't use them. I won't assume that people who do aren't true fans. I appreciate what SFT is doing and everyone here has a pretty good point of view.

Fair enough, and I respect your position, but here's why I don't think the art analogy works. Video games unlike certain forms of art are virtual in nature. They are pieces of software/code. The experience felt is VERY real and can be extremely enjoyable but their essence is fundamentally virtual. So then what do you ultimately derive from a game? Does the plastic, paper, metal, whatever physical form the software is placed in provide you with ultimate joy? Or is it the joy derived from the characters, story, plot, world, gameplay, graphics, design that the designers/creators have provided/created for you to interact with and experience? I'd say it's largely, if not wholly, the latter. Afterall if it's primarily the former then what difference in kind is there to those that refuse to experience games made on another console or by another company, let alone the mindless consumerism plaquing our societies that pushes people to buy, buy, buy? Since they have affixed their affinity to a physical form by a specific company/brand they have artificially placed barriers to what qualifies as an enjoyable or wholesome experience.

The experience derived from the game is no longer the focus. The form/package becomes the limitus that curbs one's enjoyment. Since games are in essence virtual experiences then mandating that they be in such and such form seems quite arbitrary to me. Why should I, or anyone for that matter, limit themselves in experiencing a game, an interactive virtual reality/competition/experience, simply because it's not on a specific kind of box? I value, and have a place in my heart, for the Sega Genesis because of the games, the experiences, that was brought to me on thiws console. However, the focus, the joy, was never the console itself. Afterall it's just a piece of metal/plastic/paint/etc. It was what made it come to life that I love.

Ultimately I enjoy collecting orignal games for the esthetic, legal, long range durability, and consumerist/pack rat reasons. But I'm not going to fool myself into thinking that somehow this makes me a truer/better/purer gamer than someone else. That's just petty, shallow, and pointless to me. I'm more interested in sharing the wonder and joy that a game has brought to me with others. If they can't play it on the original hardware, for whatever reasons, I don't see why to hold it against them and look down on them because, quite frankly, virtual experiences transcend form.

P.S. I've had just as hard, if not harder, a time finding specific games to download as I have in buying them. The act of clicking a mouse to attain said game was the same (downloading/online shopping), the experience of hunting them down was same, and the thrill of getting it for free (emulation) or extremely cheap (original) is practically them same with the only difference being the ones cited above.

[Fang]

That bit about real fans are the ones with the physical console...

...truest thing I've heard all day.

I agree with that too. There is nothing like having the o.g system to play the games, the way it was meant to be.

[Genesis Knight]

Not to mention the fact that, no matter how you cut it and no matter what you say to rationalize it, using ROMs for games you don't have is *illegal*.

Which, in an ideal world, would be "'nuff said" for everyone.