When the Kickstarter campaign for Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works by Darren Wall was announced it proclaimed to be the ‘definitive volume on the landmark console’ which was a lofty goal indeed. The fact that this documentary artbook was officially licensed by Sega themselves and that Read Only Memory’s previous title Sensible Software 1986–1999 had been successfully funded the previous year, gave us all hope of the goal being reached and we weren’t to be disappointed.
Sega fans worldwide joined in backing the project and it reached £98,725 after the initial goal was set at £20,000. Set to mark the 25th anniversary of the release of the Mega Drive, the book promised to break new ground and certainly does that by including 28 exclusive in-depth interviews with original Sega team members (some of whom had never been interviewed before), original manufacturing plans for the console and it’s add-ons plus hand drawn story boards from some of the Mega Drive’s most popular games. This is just a small part of what this book has become though, and their original claim of ‘definitive’ is probably the best and only way of describing this masterpiece.
Inside the Collected Works
Having gone down the ‘Sega route’ of console ownership myself, I had been watching this particular books Kickstarter campaign with relish, delighting upon its growing success and counting down the days to it’s final release. And I’m glad to say the book itself is a joy to behold. A 351 page hardback wonder, full of everything you ever wanted to know about the Sega Megadrive, its add-ons and software, from conception, through to its evolution, design and final production.
The book is no simple affair though. It is obvious from the cover itself, with its blind embossed Mega Drive graphic that this is a book of quality and even that doesn’t prepare you for what lies in store between its covers. Not content with fine stock paper and beautifully rendered print, Darren Wall has endowed the book with gatefold pages throughout, some of which fold out to reveal never seen before prototype designs whilst others expand to reveal beautifully illustrated game art. The care and detail lavished upon every page of this book is astonishing right down to the correct colour (Sega) blue being used on the interview pages. The comprehensive coverage of the subject continues in other sections of the book which cover game sprites, cover illustrations, concept illustrations, original character designs, game level designs, stage concepts and title screen logos.
In Summary
I own a fair few beautiful books, new and old but (and true, this is partly down to it’s content) this book tops them all. A lavish, well conceived and beautifully executed book which I have no hesitation in predicting will go down in history as the definitive guide to everything Mega Drive. No expense has been spared in making this book all it could be and even more and if you have even a passing interest in Sega’s seminal console, you really need to make this book your own. The balance between content and the delivery of that content has been struck precisely and I can’t think of any conceivable way this book could have been made any better. In short I can’t recommend it highly enough.
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