Retro Gaming Australia

We’ve seen the evidence on the Classification Board, but Sega has finally confirmed that their 3D Classics range will be heading to the eShop in Australia, Europe and North America before the end of 2013.

The releases are being staggered over a period of four weeks:

November 28: 3D Space Harrier, 3D Super Hang-On
December 5: 3D Sonic The Hedgehog, 3D Altered Beast
December 12: 3D Ecco the Dolphin, 3D Galaxy Force II
December 19: 3D Shinobi III, 3D Streets of Rage

These games will set you back $US5.99/€4.99/£4.49 a piece. Australian prices have not been confirmed but sources expect them to be around $AU8.

Source: Vooks

Nintendo Everything recently spied a PEGI rating for Shinobi III. It looks like Sega are set to re-release Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master, originally released in 1993 on the Sega Mega Drive, as a 3D Classic for the Nintendo 3DS eShop.

Shinobi III is well loved, so I’m sure many fans will be happy to see the game alongside Ecco the Dolphin and Galaxy Force II which were announced this week as part of Sega’s second wave of 3D Classics.

Shinobi for the Master System might not have the graphical lustre of the arcade original, but the gameplay made the journey home without too many compromises. That makes it one of the best games on the system.

Sega are pulling out all of the stops with digital distribution this month. Hot off the heels of Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2 comes the third round of Sega Vintage Collection games for PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade.

Twelve games will be released as part of this run – Alex Kidd in Miracle World, Super Hang-On, Revenge of Shinobi, Wonder Boy in Monster Land, Wonder Boy in Monster World, Monster World IV, Streets of Rage, Streets of Rage II, Streets of Rage 3, Golden Axe, Golden Axe II and Golden Axe III.

The games are packaged differently based on which service you decide to use. On PlayStation Network, Alex Kidd in Miracle World, Super Hang-On, Revenge of Shinobi, Wonder Boy in Monster Land, Wonder Boy in Monster World and Monster World IV will be available May 22nd for $US4.99 each.

Meanwhile, on Xbox Live Arcade, the games will be available in packs of three – Monster World Collection (Wonder Boy in Monster Land, Wonder Boy in Monster World and Monster World IV) and Alex Kidd & Co. Collection (Alex Kidd in Miracle World, Super Hang-On and Revenge of Shinobi) on May 23, while Streets of Rage Collection and Golden Axe Collection will arrive on May 30. All Xbox Live Arcade collections will be 800 points.

Hot on the heels of the Monster Land Collection, Sega has announced that M2 will also be developing another 3 in 1 release called Alex Kidd & Co.

The collection will include Alex Kidd in Miracle World, The Revenge of Shinobi and Super Hang-On.

No release date or pricing details at this stage, but expect to hear about it soon.

Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble and Shinobi could well be the first Game Gear games headed to the 3DS Virtual Console, as both games have recently been rated by the ESRB for release in North America. Both games were exclusively designed for the Game Gear upon first release. Triple Trouble was later released in a variety of Sonic collections, but Shinobi stayed exclusive to the system.

Nintendo announced at last year’s Game Developer’s Conference that Game Gear and Turbografx/PC Engine titles would be headed to the 3DS Virtual Console, but little was said of these plans in the months since.

No release date or pricing information is available at this time, so watch this space.