It’s the year 2022, but somehow or other people still want to make games for a classic 16-bit console that’s hard to find these days. The latest? Yuzo Koshiro.

The composer, who is known for making awesome music for Revenge of Shinobi and the Streets of Rage/Bare Knuckle series back in the 90s for the 16-bit era of gaming, is making a new Megadrive/Genesis title. He and his studio Ancient will be making a new shoot-em-up in his family-owned studio on native Megadrive hardware, complete with music using the YM2608 driver.

“It looks like an old shoot ’em up but is a new game we’re developing, harkening back to famous franchises in the 80s. We will release it for Mega Drive / Genesis. I’m making the soundtrack and have also been back as a game designer since Beyond Oasis [aka The Story of Thor].

Looking at these pictures, you probably don’t think this game will be a bullet-hell. We respect games of the days we love and will make this a fun game to shoot with a new system, fascinating graphics, characters, and a soundtrack.”

It looks like an old shoot 'em up but is a new game we're developing, harkening back to famous franchises in the 80s. We will release it for MD/Genesis. I'm making the soundtrack and have been back also as a game designer since Beyond Oasis. pic.twitter.com/nFPEDoYj1B

— Yuzo Koshiro (@yuzokoshiro) November 30, 2022

No word on how he’ll distribute the game, but the studio is considering various ideas to release it via physical carts.

“The release format, region, price, release date etc. are all under consideration. We cannot accelerate our work, but we will keep developing. As the game is completely original to our company, we will keep you informed.”