SCULLION!!! We need to have words!
Why? The Animaniacs entry - factoid - Youtube video - that's all I'm saying but I will tell you that I had that bloody song stuck in my head for days afterwards! Anyhoo, back to the book review.
The Sega Mega Drive and Genesis Encyclopedia is the latest entry in what looks like turning out to be an annual series of well-written and crafted platform specific guides to the games that were released on them. The NES and SNES volumes were the first two (reviewed here), and this Mega Drive/Genesis tome marks the third entry to the series. The author has announced that 2022 will see the N64 edition, then another four, unannounced volumes are due with an annual cadence thereafter. Oh, and that's not to forget the platform gaming book due out early next year as well. Between these and the author's day job at VGC, I am surprised he doesn't sleep with a keyboard melded to his fingertips and ice packs strapped to his wrists - won't somebody think of the tendons?
All joking aside, I have suffered from tenosynovitis long ago that led to six months off work so I salute whatever Mr Scullion does to keep himself writing. It is not just the amount that astounds though. Nope, there is also the quality of his output and, with what could be described as almost machine-like regularity, he's done it again. The book is a corker.
The Sega Mega Drive and Genesis Encyclopedia follows the template of the previous books in the series. Each game gets at least a quarter page (some get a half page but due to the sheer number of titles covered, there isn't space for full page entries) which neatly describes the game in question with some snarky asides thrown in there for variety. These are funny and more than a couple had me laughing out loud, much to the consternation of my good lady and the cat. The tone of the entries is something to note as well - the author is passionate about videogames and he wants that passion to shine through in his writing. Whether you read this linearly or just jump around the entries at will, you'll never be less than entertained and informed. You also get a little trivia note for each game so consider this a fair warning: when he says check something out on YouTube, be aware that you might have to deal with the musical consequences for much longer than you think... Each game also gets a screenshot as well.
Were it just the Mega Drive/Genesis that were being covered, all would be tickets-boo, but no, Yer Man Scullion has taken things further by including sections covering the libraries of the Sega 32X and the Mega CD/Sega CD. This makes this encyclopedia a truly one-stop shop for any fan of Sega's 16-bit wonder. Having said that, I have still backed the Mega Book Collection from Greyfox Books that is currently live on Kickstarter. I reviewed their Atari - a Visual History recently and I wanted to see a different take on the same subject. Plus, you can never have too many books...
One of the nice things Mr Scullion does when releasing a book is to get a limited number of copies for signing so you could order directly from him. This was the course I took and I'm very happy with copy number 24 of 100. He also included a lovely typed (but hand-signed) thank you note, explaining the journey for this volume and the forthcoming N64 one.
So, there you have it. Another brilliant entry in the series and one that you can buy directly from the publisher here, or from Amazon here. You can follow the author on Twitter here and he has his own blog here. Will I be buying his future books when they hit the shelves? Of course, ear worm YouTube songs and all!
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