Book Review: SEGA Arcade Classics Volume 1

The first thing that comes to mind when I hear the name SEGA is, of course, OutRun. For others, it might be Golden Axe, Space Harrier, Shinobi, Wonderboy, Afterburner, and plenty more — all true arcade classics and smash hits.

This book covers many of SEGA’s biggest hits, actually more than I realised. SEGA Arcade Classics Volume 1 is packed with 170 pages full of detailed info about SEGA and its games.

While this site isn’t primarily about books, my previous book articles have been popular enough that I wanted to share another. Although this book was published back in 2012, I only recently got my hands on a copy. It explores SEGA’s games spanning over 30 years, complete with interviews and other fascinating tidbits.

The first thing that hit me about this book was how terrible the binding was, way too stiff and an absolute nightmare to read. Every time I tried to turn a page, it just snapped back into place. And the deeper I got into the book, the worse the problem became.

To even make it manageable, I had to forcefully bend the binding and hold the pages down constantly. After just a few pages, the book started to look worn and damaged. It’s supposed to be a book, after all—you shouldn’t have to struggle with the binding or press the pages flat just to read it comfortably.

Honestly, this book isn’t going to last long before the pages start falling out.

What on earth were they thinking with this design?

The game index in the book covers a wide range of titles. Although some games share the same pages, it never feels cluttered or frustrating to navigate—quite the opposite, it’s a smooth reading experience.

A personal highlight for me was definitely the clever use of an OutRun image subtly placed in the background—a fantastic touch that adds extra charm.

Surprise! One of the very first articles in the book is all about OutRun. It offers a great comparison between different formats, along with some interesting background information and solid screenshots.

From what I can tell, every port of the game gets a mention—even the less flattering ones. They don’t shy away from pointing out just how disappointing the Amiga version was.

The Turbo OutRun article revealed some fascinating facts I hadn’t come across before. As a huge fan, I was surprised to learn that the game could actually run in the original OutRun arcade cabinet using an expansion board—something I never knew about until now.

Battle Out Run and OutRun Europa are pictured above. I’ve never actually played Battle Out Run, and while part of me wants to, another part hesitates—and after some research online and reading this book, it seems I might have made a wise choice.

On the other hand, OutRun Europa is, in my opinion, one of the better entries in the OutRun series—and it sounds like the book agrees with me.

Here’s another OutRun game I’ve talked about plenty before—yes, OutRun 2. It’s firmly in my personal top 10 all-time games, and I always jump at the chance to rave about it. While I’m glad the game gets a mention in the book, I found it a bit surprising that there was almost no background information on the title or its development cycle.

OutRunners also gets covered, but as I’ve said many times before, it’s never been a favourite of mine. However, after reading yet another article praising the game, maybe it’s time I give it another shot—they really hype it up as a hidden gem.

OutRun 2019 is included as well, and it’s actually one of the few titles I hadn’t heard of until recently. I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m intrigued—though I’m a little hesitant since it wasn’t originally intended to be an OutRun game.

G-Loc gets a mention in the book as well. Was it a classic? Not in my opinion—it was a pretty terrible game. However, the 360-degree arcade deluxe cabinet was absolutely insane, and I guess that’s reason enough for its inclusion. The book shares some really interesting info about the game and its various ports—I hadn’t realised the differences between formats were so significant until now.

Then there’s Afterburner III, also known as Strike Fighter. What? This book really excels at introducing me to arcade machines I’d never even heard of before. It looks pretty decent, and I’d definitely love to try it someday. While playing the arcade version might be a long shot, I can always hope!

Shinobi, of course, gets a mention in the book. It introduced me to a few new conversions and some lesser-known titles—none of which really screamed “classic” or “must-try” to me, but it’s still great that the book highlights them. It also covers some of Shinobi’s spin-offs, like Nightshade, which, by the way, is an absolutely fantastic game.

Wonderboy, a true Sega classic, was a game I first encountered through bootlegs and unofficial copies. I really appreciated how the book dives into Thunder Boy—a title that’s an even more blatant clone of Wonderboy than Great Giana Sisters was of Mario Brothers. Both games were developed by TimeWarp, but sadly, Thunder Boy was a complete dud, unlike Giana Sisters, which turned out pretty well.

It’s surprising that Wonderboy hasn’t seen a proper reboot yet. Just imagine the series brought back with the same care and attention to detail as Bionic Commando Re-Armed—it could be incredible.

Golden Axe has a surprisingly large number of titles in the series, many of which I’d never even heard of. Unfortunately, most of them don’t seem to live up to the originals and come across as pretty lacklustre.

The book does a great job covering some of the history behind Golden Axe 2 and 3, explaining why certain ports never saw the light of day and why others ended up quite different from the originals. It’s an interesting read for any fan of the series.

The article on Altered Beast included some really cool tidbits, like how one of the game’s bosses made a cameo in the movie Wreck-It Ralph. It also finally confirmed something I’d suspected for a while: the game’s quality varies significantly between different formats.

I could go on forever about this book. It’s packed with great games and plenty of little-known details about development cycles, including why some titles never made it to consoles or computers.

I also want to correct an earlier assumption: I was surprised that Sonic wasn’t mentioned in the book, but I understood it might be because Sonic was never officially adapted into an arcade game. However, it turns out there actually was an arcade Sonic game released—I don’t know much about it yet, but I’m curious why it’s not covered in this book. (Thanks to Aaron Miller for the info!)

If the book had not had that horrible binding and the odd bad article then the book would rank pretty high on my list of better books, instead, it lands on mediocre and a lost opportunity. The name of the book indicates that it is more books to come, so let’s hope that will happen one day.