Sega Club : Games for Your Kids!

[Music] for pretty much the entire run of the genesis sega positioned itself as the older gamers console of choice if you wanted sophisticated sports titles arcade games of blood and gore and even some scantily clad women it was a sega that you wanted but as the life of the platform began to wind down sega of america had a plan to keep it on store shelves for years to come in 1994 the sega club was created to rebrand the console as a younger gamer's machine as the market began its shift to the saturn and playstation sega was to reissue the genesis as the perfect choice for children aged 4 to 10. they planned for a new model sold a controller for smaller hands and prepared a lineup of software that just about any age could play but as was typical with the company at the time their lust for success had them competing with themselves in 1994 they had also launched the sega pico a learning device aimed squarely at the younger market the very same the new sega club was trying to court as you can imagine things didn't go well for the brand and after only a year and a little over a dozen releases sega club was quickly forgotten and sega's north american strategy shifted back to traditional releases in this episode we are going to take a look at games under the sega club branding and see if they are indeed appealing enough for your youngsters i hope you guys enjoy sega club games for your kids [Music] in late 1994 real-time associates maker of the bug franchise for the sega saturn did the berenstain bears camping adventure i was actually looking forward to this side-scrolling platformer because i was fond of the books in my youth here you take control of either brother bear or sister bear as they explore various terrain on their camping trip as you'd expect the gameplay is super simple point a to point b style design you jump on enemy super mario style and can pick up items like rocks to knock your enemies off the screen from a distance i really like how things are set up to not frustrate younger players falling into a hole simply has you brought back in a bubble to try again there's also a ton of life replenishment around so that dying really isn't an issue at all but the best part is is that it has two player co-op both brother and sister bear can play together so this is a perfect setup for parents with more than just one kid or if you want to join them yourself in the adventure the visuals are quite solid overall the color and detail comes off very faithful to the original art style and there are plenty of variety in its areas unfortunately the music doesn't fear quite so well employing the gem sound driver this is a forgettable and unimpressive list of beeps farts and other foreign sounds that are quite unpleasant to the ear overall this is a great kids game however the simple setup should be easy to pick up and the fact it's co-op is a huge positive it was only available in the united states and brazil and there was also a game gear version of it around the same time [Music] [Music] bonkers was another late 1994 release this time a joint between sega interactive and disney software you play bonkers a bobcat police officer out to apprehend a few criminals the gameplay here takes place across a few different styles you get third person action sequences you get may style boards to traverse and you get an overhead driving area where you must crash the bad guys you come to expect a certain level of simplicity when these types of games so i really appreciated the gameplay variety here bonkers is also a good looking title with superb animation and the music isn't half bad despite its use of gems the biggest issue with this one is the repetition while there are a number of gameplay types you spend way too much time in each one each criminal you face consists of multiple rounds where you are essentially stuck doing the same thing for long stretches of time this really hurts bonkers appeal because some of these gameplay types simply wear thin really fast and the overhead vehicle stages play poorly that kinda leaves bonkers as a disappointment even as a kids game it has the variety you need but then traps you into playing each section for far too long this would have worked better if things switch between the gameplay types more often i'm also kind of confused as to why sega didn't attempt any sort of multiplayer here almost all of the gameplay types could have supported a second player and drastically improved their playability if you love the original show this one may be worth a look but for the rest this one doesn't hold much appeal [Music] [Music] when i dropped crystal's ponytail into my genesis i was dreading it this late 1994 release was done by art tech studios the very same developer that gave us the awful dark castle a few years prior it stars crystal a pony out to free your friends from an evil witch that has imprisoned them you must search out magic crystals keys and horseshoes while exploring and avoid enemies out to steal your items this was aimed squarely at young girls with gameplay mostly centered on completing easy tasks like collecting items and some simple puzzle solving the first thing you'll notice here is the janky scrolling it's quite choppy while the animation itself is impressive it's overshadowed by just how poorly the screen moves it also plays as if there is a delay to all your movements making jumps and changing direction feel a tad awkward the music and sound effects are also pretty rough but this really isn't a bad one to sit your kids down to the color and detail are nice and things never become more difficult than finding things and avoiding enemies you can customize your pony in the beginning and there are seven levels to explore the box recommends ages four to 7 and i think that range would be perfect for something like this the difficulty never ramps up enough to become frustrating and it's long enough to sink hours into before your kids see the end the issues with the scrolling and the gameplay are something that only older gamers will stress over and i don't think it'll bother your rugrats in the slightest just be sure to turn the volume down a bit before you hand them the controller [Music] [Music] making its way out in early 1995 was echo junior developed by novotrade as most of you know the original echo on the genesis was not a kids game in the slightest and this one needed to be scaled back heavily to make sense for the sega club branding novotrade actually did an exceptional job in this regard because this is very friendly for your youngsters the confusing and difficult puzzles from before have been replaced by simple tasks like finding certain sea creatures crystals rings and exploring your environment the need for oxygen has also been removed to allow your kid to explore without the stress of drowning there are three playable characters that include ekko tara the orca and kitney the baby dolphin the cool thing about this one is is that while the objectives have been simplified greatly it still has that great feeling of swimming and jumping out of the water so while you're searching for whatever your current mission has you after you can still play around just like you did as a kid all those years ago that makes this one a perfect game to play with your youngsters because when you have to help them it's still fun for you visually it's very similar to the other games in the series and the gem soundtrack is not bad at all this is definitely one of the better games under the sega club label and i think it will appeal to parents as well it's easy to pick up and play looks and sounds good and has the instant appeal of the great cast of characters [Music] math blaster episode 1 stan unica missed this lot of games because it's centered around education while they all have edutainment like values this one doesn't do a very good job of hiding the fact that you are basically doing homework on your sega genesis developed in 1994 by spider soft and adrenaline entertainment the story here has our hero blaster knot saving his pal spot from the evil trash alien this is divided up into a handful of sections with differing gameplay the first section is a first person shooter where you must blast the proper number floating around that matches the on-screen math problem after filling the gauge you'll enter a bonus stage where you can get extra score by shooting asteroids the second game is called platform chase where you must navigate a vertical mine shaft that has various openings with a series of problems next to it the idea is that you must have a number that falls in between the two answers to achieve this there are droplets of water that carry positive and negative numbers to get you where you need enemies get in the way and should you make a mistake you get shocked and fall back down a level the final battle stage is a spaceship that is attacking you and you must fly your way into the correct answer while avoiding enemy fire and space trash overall for a raw learning experience it isn't bad but the master system level visuals and forgettable sound don't really add much to the appeal i also feel this was a missed opportunity for multiplayer i mean the shooting segments could have easily supported two crosshairs the platforming section could have had a second player helping control the numbers and the third stage could have easily added someone to help you shoot the space trash but this is raw edutainment and you know what you and your kids are in for it was only released in the united states [Music] 1994 also saw novotrade develop richard scary's busy town based on the tv show the busy world of richard scary this one is aimed at very young children with a recommended age group of three to five years of age that translates into a very simple collage of matching puzzles and easy-to-follow interactions with the inhabitants of busytown you can serve food build houses and boats and learn about how things work inside each of them a hub world connects you to the various things you can do and is easy to navigate there is a ton of voice work in this too each area is usually narrated to the point where every item has a description and every action is explained this should really help keep your youngsters focused on what they have to do this digitized speech is also surprisingly clear to have so much of it this also supports the mega mouse which does make it easier to navigate and play one thing about video games is is that it typically takes a certain amount of hand-eye coordination to play them even the stuff aimed at kids typically needs a certain level of skill to get anywhere but this is perhaps the greatest appeal of richard scary's busy town this was created for children a bit too young for the likes of true action titles where deaths may send them away unfulfilled you can sit and play this with them at their pace with no real threat of dying or having to redo sections it's essentially an activity book in video game form and could be a great gateway to bigger video game adventures in the future you gotta start your kids somewhere and this is easy enough for even the greenest newcomer to enjoy [Music] the thing goes upstairs [Music] if you were a kid in the mid-1990s chances are you remember the magic school bus either as the pbs tv show or the books that directly inspired it in 1995 novotrade helmed another sega club release based on that content the magic school bus space exploration game uses our solar system as a basis for many games that allow you to take pictures explore planets take on puzzles and even fly the magic school bus itself with a target age of six years i think this is a great introduction to action games in general the first person bus stages are good for target practice while the side scrolling levels represent gaming 101 for that generation all this is wrapped up in little learning tidbits like the names of moons and interesting facts about gravity atmosphere and orbital time periods i think if you have a little one that is interested in space this is a fantastic introduction to video games that has just enough educational value to push it past a simple waste of time i must confess i was not very impressed with the sound and visuals here however even for a kids game the animation and color use are well below other games in the sega club lineup the gems powered music isn't bad but the sound effects are too loud and obnoxious and really hurts the laid-back feeling of this journey i think this one still has a lot to offer but keep the volume low and you'll enjoy it a whole lot more [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] 1994 sesame street counting cafe had the unique distinction of being the only sega club release handled by electronic arts under their short-lived ea kids label this was developed by ridle software productions and uses sesame street characters to teach your kids basic problem solving using a cafe setting with grover as the waiter you'll have customers coming in for various meals where you must then complete the order properly as you get deeper in other sesame street characters will join in both to hinder and help you this is another one that uses a lot of digitized speech to help guide you every food order is given and served with a fully spoken transition as you gain stars for each correct order a monkey will sometimes come out and steal one leading to a bonus chase to get it back recommended ages for this is three to six and the gameplay is about right for that nothing here is difficult and it shouldn't take long for your kids to understand what they need to do the mechanics should also help them develop the skills they need to navigate an on-screen character effectively the visuals aren't anything special but everything looks like it should and it's colorful enough the sound and music are well done with don vecca of road rash three fame handling the tunes the digitized speech is clear and easy to follow and again surprisingly robust to have so much of it older kids won't care a lick for this but if you have a youngin in the recommended age range this could be a great way to introduce them to the awesome world of video gaming i'm hungry now i'd like one orange and two muffins right away [Music] wacky worlds originally released in late 1994 was meant to be the pack in for the special edition sega club genesis hardware but instead made its way out alone it was developed by head games and new romantic productions the same combination that would create x-men 2 clone wars the following year it came packaged with a mega mouse because this is less a game and more a visual toy a hub world connects six areas in which you can essentially create your own scene you can move around items change their colors and add in things to really alter what's happening you can even change the music but for all it has gone for it in regards to customization and features it just lacks any long-term play value the base appeal of the different worlds is somewhat limited and you really need to put in some serious time to change them enough to get them interesting some familiar sega characters help with that but even then i've found so little here to hold my attention beyond doing it again and again for each planet i don't know how much this one has in the tank for long-term play value you move things around change some colors animate a few stickers and tinker with the music and you're pretty much done i think its initial design as a pack-in was probably sound but as stand-alone full-priced software this was not one of sega club's best options [Music] i think that sega club was for the most part a good idea while the genesis was best known for its edgier games the popularity of the device in north america should have created enough interest for parents to buy games for their younger children the problem was is that it was far too late to really start such a brand by 1994. sega was already in full transition to the saturn and this type of software would have needed to be established a few years before to really sell parents on the idea of genesis as a younger gamer's friend particularly since nintendo had held that distinction for so long but i was overall impressed with how playable these games were keeping a youngster focused at four to eight years of age is no easy task for any form of media but the ease of access and entertainment value of many of these are effective when my daughter was that young we'd play these often getting her used to the controller moving around things on screen and learning a few bits in the process on a related note the sega club was also extended to the sega cd game gear and master system most of these were either spin-offs of the genesis releases or similar titles based on easy to play concepts sega club must not have sold particularly well however because sega cut the line up in 1995 sega club would not see any releases for the saturn or dreamcast that leaves this batch of kid-friendly releases little more than a footnote in the larger story of sega's 16-bit success because they aimed at very young children most of you likely have not played them or have no real interest in doing so that's understandable but if you do happen to have family members in the recommended age range they do have some real value they are non-violent easy to play and they all have some level of learning involved in their design you have to start somewhere and these games stand the test of time i'm singalord x thank you guys for watching and i will catch you next time [Music] you

Channel: Sega Lord X

Views: 21,497

Keywords: sega genesis, sega genesis mini, retro games, segalordx, sega lord x, sega saturn, sega dreamcast, mega drive, megadrive, game gear, 32x, mega cd, genesis, saturn, master system, sega, sega cd, gameplay, review, movies, retro gaming, video games, ps4, xbox, wii, nintendo, gamecube, n64, ps1, ps2, ps3, psp, vita, switch, atari

Id: wp1MmEy3yNg

Length: 21min 35sec (1295 seconds)

Published: Thu May 19 2022