Legends of 16-Bit Game Development by John Harrison - Book Review

Treasure Co are a company who, since 1992, have created some of the most finely crafted shooter experiences on any platform. You may be more familiar with their later games (Radiant Silvergun, Bangai-O, Sin and Punishment, and Ikaruga), and fine works they are too, but when I saw John Harrison's Kickstarter for a book about their earliest titles on the Mega Drive/Genesis, it was a very simple decision to back it. Little did I know. 

Like most projects begun in 2020, there were delays, and the estimated September 2021 delivery date passed by all too rapidly. Mr Harrison, however, was very timely in his updates and re-assurances as to what what going on, what he was doing next and what his longer term plans would be. Truly, this in one of the few massively delayed projects that always felt like it was still coming (cough, Vultures, cough - and still waiting on volume 3...). As it was, when the book was delivered, alongside its companion volume, I dropped everything else and started reading. Oh boy.

Legends begins with the origins of Treasure and the travails of Masato Maegawa in a) getting into the competitive Japanese software industry in the late 1980's and b) forming his own company. Through the foundation of Treasure and the support Sega heaped upon the company (as well as just pure blind luck), the author follows the ups and downs as the fledgling team try to get a first title released. That game, Gunstar Heroes, is still a fantastic shooter today, and after finishing the books, I revisited Heroes just to remind myself of its brilliance. In fact, I did the same for each of the titles covered. Emulation is definitely your friend considering the availability and cost of Treasure's 16-bit releases (although some of these were included in the region specific Mega Drive mini-consoles released last year). A quick check on CEX in the UK showed a boxed copy of Gunstar Heroes for £100 (mint condition for £180), whereas Alien Soldier is £270 and £340 respectively! Far cough! 

Alongside Gunstar Heroes, the author has covered McDonald's Treasure Land Adventure, Dynamite Headdy, Yu Yu Hakusho: Makyo Toitsusen, Alien Soldier and Light Crusader. Throughout each chapter, there are quotes and comments from the developers from contemporary publications, as well as in-depth appraisals of the development process for each game and what happened post-release. The are multiple box outs featuring snippets from Beep! Mega Drive magazine and copious illustrations and screenshots, all of high quality, the usual (and entirely understandable) exception being some of the period photography. 

This really is a hugely informative tome, and by the time I had finished it, I had a very solid understanding and appreciation of who Treasure were during the Mega Drive/Genesis years, the struggles they faced developing these titles for a machine that, whilst Japanese, also had to cater to a primarily US audience, and how they maintained their ethos. Indeed, the sections describing the fate their games suffered due to Sega of America management politics were eye-opening. It remains a truism - corporate is gonna corporate. However, it is also true that Treasure's legacy is assured, a legacy founded on these six corkers.

That's not all, however. There are two appendices: the first detailing the technical side of the Mega Drive's graphics capabilities. This is clearly written and very much of interest to me. The second is a list of the developers who worked at Treasure during the period covered by this book and which games they contributed to. Finally, there is a comprehensive references section and a list of Kickstarter backers.

The fun doesn't end there yet though. A companion booklet contains interviews with the development teams of five of the games featured, as well as re-prints of interviews with Mr Maegawa. 

With high quality writing and excellent production values, this duo will be of great value to anyone with a yearning to know more about Treasure and the Japanese software scene in the early 1990's. It is a credit to Mr Harrison that all of his hard work (and translation skills, for he did most of it himself) has resulted in a publication that was well worth backing and definitely a keeper. Well done, sir!

If you want a copy yourself, as at the time of posting, there were some physical copies still available from Raster Scroll here. You can also follow the author on X/Twitter by searching for the username @MegaDriveShock.