Sega">Genesis or Mega Drive, it's the same thing. They had a lot of fun games, including this sweet import of a Sailor Moon game that was completely worth shelling out the cash for! You can't go wrong with teenage girls with superpowers launching flying kicks at monsters and other sorts of enemies.

Of course, that's not what we're here for, isn't it. We're here because Sega's coming out with a compendium of fun games from the Genesis era for the PSP!

The Sega Genesis (or Mega Drive) Collection features everything from Columns, the Tetris-like puzzler to Phantasy Star II, III, and IV. It's the perfect way to relive some past experiences of gaming goodness, or at least to show the younger gamers how good gameplay could trump shiny water reflections any day!

For now though, enjoy this neat little trailer for Columns, and save some cash to get yourself a copy of this gem, alright?

Download:[Sega Genesis Collection - Columns]
Buy: [Sega Genesis Collection]

Last month, we posted one of the best possible piece of news for PSP fans - the announcement of the upcoming Sega Genesis Collection which includes:

• Alex Kidd - The Enchanted Castle
• Altered Beast
• Bonanza Bros
• Columns
• Comix Zone
• Decap Attack
• Ecco the Dolphin
• Ecco: The Tides of Time
• Ecco Jr.
• Eternal Champions
• Flicky
• Gain Ground
• Golden Axe I, II and III
• Phantasy Star II, III and IV
• Ristar
• Shadow Dancer: Secret of Shinobi
• Shinobi III
• Sonic The Hedgehog 1 and 2
• Super Thunderblade
• Sword of Vermillion
• Vectorman 1 and 2
• Virtua Fighter 2

If you were born late and none of these titles sound familiar, here's a short history lesson: Sega Genesis (also known as Sega Mega Drive) was a 16-bit video game console first released in Japan in 1988, which was then also released to the rest of the world later. Sega Genesis was meant to compete with Super Nintendo.

The Sega Genesis Collection is a compilation of classic Genesis games from 15 years ago and the titles included in the package are considered as milestones in the earlier chapter of the gaming industry. It's the closest thing to turning your PSP into a virtual time machine! The Sega Genesis Collection is set for release this Fall.

And you thought you'd never get to play those Sega Genesis games like Castlevania: Bloodlines, Earthworm Jim and Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master that you spent countless hours playing as a kid or a teen... or an adult... but that's entirely beside the point, as syn-z's DGEN for the PSP is back for another run of good old retro gaming fun.

Hailed by QJ as one of the best emulators around, you know you just have to download it to find out.

Changelog according to Babelfish:

• When approximately 20% acceleration
• [in CONFIG] “BGM Speed Fix” addition (is turned to ON, processing becoming heavy, sound does not become slow.    
• However, there is no effect and/or depending upon the game trouble comes out.    
• In addition, at the time of communication opposition it becomes mandatorily OFF. )

Thanks a bunch to TheShadowRunner for the tip.

Download: [DGEN v1.70]

If you're a fan of Sonic the Hedgehog, from the original Sega Genesis incarnation to his romps on current and next-gen platforms, then you probably know about the comic book series published by Archie Comics. Based on the in-game storylines and the animated continuities Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog (SatAM), and recently, Sonic X, the series became one of the longest-running licensed comics of all time, with the main Sonic the Hedgehog continuity having 165 issues to date.

Archie Comics has announced the release two graphic novel compilations of the comic books, taking off from where their last graphic novel, Sonic the Hedgehog: The Beginning left off. Restored and printed on high-quality paper, each 112-page paperback will contain four recolored and remastered issues from the Sonic the Hedgehog series and retell the heroic adventures (and comic misadventures) of Sonic and the Freedom Fighters in their quest to save their world from Dr. Robotnik (or Eggman to the more recent fans).

Read more about the upcoming Sonic graphic novel compilations after the jump.

Earthworm Jim has got to be the most famous spine-less action hero of all time! The game, developed by Shiny Entertainment for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, SNES, MS-DOS, Game Gear, Game Boy and GBA, is a run and gun platform video game. Its hero Jim is a common garden variety crawler who accidentally gets hold of a robotic suit and ends up battling the most outrageous cast of villains in the universe. Earthworm Jim became the first game ever to receive a perfect review score from Games Master magazine. Just think of the mayhem it's gonna whip up on the PSP! Here are some screenshots that promises a whole new wave of popularity for Earthworm Jim.

The PSP scene has been around and thriving for more than a year now, we have all been there to witness its dark genesis to our shores (PSP debuted to US with the then-dubbed "invincible firmware 1.50"), to its phoenix-like rebirth (when a group called PSP-DEV first come up with the swaploit and paved the way for the now "golden firmware 1.50"). After a few dark days of the dreaded updates, causing the scene to become somewhat a bit slow, the PSP is once again alive and kicking thanks to  the series of breakthroughs (discovery of kernel access, creation of downgraders, and firmware emulation) we've all been lovin'.

With these newer developments, the PSP's life is quickly revitalizing. That's why we've been noticing more and more newbie beginner questions, which are actually a good thing because it shows the interest is growing. It is then not surprising to see T3, considered as every gadgeteer's bible, featuring the perks of having a PSP in its July 2006 ish'. They even covered a full-feature story that serves as a walkthrough for those who are new with PSP homebrew.

The T3 story, all graced with blurbs like "There are hundreds of homebrews (non-commercial home-made applications) out there for the PSP" and "The homebrew scene has created everything from universal remote controls, Wi-Fi signal sniffers, PDA applications and, of course, emulators" runs a step-by-step process on how to install emulators on a PSP.

DrNicket tipped us that there was an article in the latest T3 magazine with PSPUpdates in it, so we went to buy a copy and check it out for ourselves. Let me tell ya, we were all smiles, not because PSPUpdates was in it, but because homebrew is finally getting more exposure -- a sign that the technology we all love is getting the recognition it deserves from the public.

The appreciation just doesn't just go out to the developers who worked so hard to bring us all these homebrew games, applications, emulators, and expolits, to the sites that spread the word about every development, but instead to the whole community as well. Yep, that includes you, my friend. PSP homebrew being publicized to a bigger population means more opportunities and possibilities for everyone. It informs more people, and with more people the broader our horizons will be.

Those currently developing could add creating programs for PSP to their resume (hey, if more people starts to recognize it, it'll get more respect), prompting more outside coders to take interest providing us with fresh ideas and creations. It'll also attract more interest from even those who are beginners to all of this, giving us more opportunities to rear future Fanjita, Edison Carter, Ditlew, Nem, Booster, Dark_Alex's etc. Add all of that up, and what do the rest of us get? A whole lotta load of more homebrew!

We here at QJ.Net definitely welcome this trend, as much as we welcome those who are new to the world of PSP and its currently limitless ever expanding possibilities. We are ecstatic that the media are spreading the word about what was once considered taboo, meanwhile we have to ask what your thoughts on this subject are. Let us know in the comments!

Here's one homebrew application that could literally be music to your ears. theHobbit has just released Game Music Emu v0.1, a port of Shay Green's Game Music Emu library for the PSP (Shay Green, by the way, is also known as Blargg). Utilizing the Game_Music_Emu sound engine, the app supports the following formats:

• Nintendo Game Boy (GBS)
• Sega Master System/Genesis/MEga Drive/Mark III/BBC Micro (VGM/VGZ)
• Sega Genesis (GYM)
• Super Nintendo (SPC)
• NES with VRC6, N106, and FME-7 sound (NSF)
  

As an added treat, theHobbit has added support for PSX (psf playback) using sexypsf port by yaneurao.

Game music-loving PSP owners who are raring to test the emulator should proceed with caution, as some soundtracks can make the program crash when zipped. This particularly applies to psf (portable sound format).  Another known bug is the 'Boost Volume' causing a distortion in older formats. And if you just hate random crashes, we suggest you skip the program, or wait for a more stable version. But I have to admit, this emulator looks promising.

Controls:

d-pad: Browse files        
circle: Play file       
square: Pause Playback       
select: Return to browser    
start : Cancel waveform       
L R: Change song in  same folder/zip  
up down: Volume Boost

Download: [Game Music Emulator for PSP v0.1]

Monkeyboy1916 has just released another mod for PSP Revolution. If you can recall, a few days ago he gave us the first batch of his anime-themed mods inspired from Full Metal Alchemist, Yuyu Hakusho, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Inuyasha. Monketboy1916 must be a huge anime fan, as his letter to us can't contain his excitement over his awesome creation. In his own words:

"Here is my latest release of Anime Style mod of PSP Revolution, First of all i would like to thank RomTheStampede for all his help in making the images for this release, he is an awesome designer. This new release has added so many more songs and 3 new anime's ( Naruto, Bleach, & Code Lyoko "not really an anime but wtevr" ). I also added a couple new songs to the other anime's too. Im not sure if i will be continuing this, but if i do, i know i got all the help i could need. It is a big download, so only get it if you have bigger than 32mb mem stick. Thx for all the help everyone, and i hope you enjoy this new release!!!"

Now that we heard his thoughts, it's time for mine. I've only have this to say for projects like this... Great work, who doesn't love animes?! I'm already in my early 20s and I'm still such a huge fan of Animes like Demon Fox Naruto (and his weird jutsus), Inuyasha, Kenshin, Rei-Gun wielding Yusuke, among many others. In fact, my favorite quote came from Kira Yamato (Gundamn Pilot): "If we don't do anything just because we think it won't do something, then we just did worse than nothing".

With that said, mods like these are very welcome in the community. Add that to the action PSP Revolution gives to its players and you have a game that packs quite a punch; one that will take away the boredom of this long summer days. Hey, if you ever got tired of the button-mashing action PSP Revolution gives you, you can spend some good times just watching the themes and listening to the made-for-Anime music.

The download includes both files for 1.50 and 1.00 users. To install, just copy the the two folders (one with the game name, and the other with the game name plus % sign) and paste it inside ms0:/PSP/GAME (where ms0 refers to the memory stick of your PSP). So, get your jutsu, I mean jive, going.

Download: [Anime Style v2]

A new modification for the popular homebrew game Beats of Rage has been released by Kungpow at the official BOR forums. The modification titled "Sailor Moon Plus - Genesis Mix" is basically a clone of the original Sailor Moon Plus game for the SNES with added Anime, new cinematics, a brand new voice cast, new levels and throw in the "spice" of the Genesis game and soundtrack. Think of this and you have Sailor Moon Plus - Genesis Mix. Here's what Kungpow said:

"This game uses the full capabilities of the latest PSP features including widescreen cinematics, titles and widescreen gameplay. Thanks goes to Chibi Mars and the folks over at Sailor-Games.com for providing the hosting for the game release."

This modification look really good, as you can tell from the screenshots, however due to legal reasons we cannot host the file as it may contain copyrighted content. If you wish to download and use this mod, please visit the forum release thread over at the official BOR forums and use at your own risk.

 

Everyone loves a little bit of retro gaming nowadays, it's the "in" thing. Even youngsters want to play classics such as Frogger, Space Invaders, and Tetris. As a portable console, the PSP has attracted the attention of developers making N64, SNES, and Sega Genesis emulators. But, coming this November is something that will let you play retro games even on 2.7+ PSPs. It is of course Sega's upcoming Genesis collection for the PSP and PS2.

The Genesis collection will contain 28 games with an additional 3 games to unlock, and will be as fully-featured as the originals back when they were released - no frills, and definitely no revamps. 7 of the 28 titles are:

• Shinobi II
• Sonic the Hedgehog (Of course!)
  
• Golden Axe I, II, and III
• Virtua Fighter 2
• Altered Beast
• Ecco the Dolphin
• Phantasy Star

I'm sure they'll be different for everybody else, but my favourites have got to be Sonic the Hedgehog, Virtua Fighter 2 and Golden Axe. Oh, and I can also remember Ecco the Dolphin being a very unusual game which I could never seem to get the grasp of, but still enjoyed. It did strike me that Sega have never released anything like a compilation before. Others such as Atari release things like this all the time, but Sega seems to have held back. I'm starting to look forward to November already...