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| − | '''''Beggar Prince''''', originally known as '''''Xin Qigai Wangzi''''' ([[Chinese language|Chinese]]: 新乞丐王子, [[Hanyu Pinyin]]: Xīn Qǐgài Wángzǐ, [[Wade-Giles]]: Hsin Ch'i-kai Wang-tzu, literally ''The New [[The Prince and the Pauper]]'') is a [[China|Chinese]] role-playing adventure game for the [[Sega Mega Drive/Genesis]] and [[Personal Computer|PC]]. It was originally released in [[1996]] for the [[Sega Mega Drive/Genesis]] by C&E Inc. and later ported and released in [[1998]] on the [[Personal Computer|PC]].
| + | #REDIRECT [[Xin Qi Gai Wang Zi]] |
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| − | An English translation of the Sega Genesis version was done by the North American company [[Super Fighter Team]]. A prototype version was first shown to the public on August 20, 2005 at the Classic Gaming Expo in [[Burlingame, California|Burlingame]], [[California]]. The completed game began shipping to pre-order customers on May 22, 2006, at the price of $40USD per copy. ''Beggar Prince'' was the first game for the Sega Genesis to be commercially released in North America since [[1998]].
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| − | ==Technical information==
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| − | For a Sega Mega Drive/Genesis game, ''Beggar Prince'' is rather large, weighing in at 32-megabits (4 megabytes) in size. Players could record their progress to any of the four available save slots. The game shipped within a plastic clamshell case along with a glossy, full-color 27-page instruction manual. The game's unique cartridge hardware was designed by Kim Biu Wong, head of [[Tototek]], and Super Fighter Team president Brandon Cobb. All pieces were manufactured in China.
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| − | ''Beggar Prince'' works with any Sega Genesis (with the exception of Sega Genesis Firecore), Mega Drive or [[Sega Nomad|Nomad]] system, regardless of its region (NTSC and PAL are both supported). But for the first two runs, due to the manner in which the game's save function is programmed, it is impossible to save on systems connected to the [[Sega 32X|32X]] or hybrid CD systems such as the [[Sega Multi-Mega|Multi-Mega/CDX]] and [[Wondermega]]. Playing the game with a [[Sega Mega-CD|Sega Mega-CD/Sega CD]] attached to the Mega Drive/Genesis works with the second CD model. On a European Multi-Mega, the game resets itself after the introduction scenes, making it unplayable.
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| − | The third production run is notable as the box and manual art were changed and, more importantly, the game's save feature had been re-programmed to allow full functionality with all Genesis, Mega Drive and compatible systems (such as the Nomad, 32X, CDX, X'Eye, Laseractive and so on).
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| − | ==Availability==
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| − | Beggar Prince began shipping to pre-order customers on May 22, 2006. By September 8, 2006, all 600 copies had been sold. However on October 18, 2006, Super Fighter Team announced that they had begun taking pre-orders for a second production run of 300 copies. On June 19, 2007, this production run had also sold through.
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| − | The third production run, introducing several changes, became available for pre-ordering on October 9, 2007 and started shipping on November 27, 2007. In total, the game sold 1,500 copies.
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| − | ==Critical reception==
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| − | ''Beggar Prince'' was perhaps the most widely publicized new game for a retrogame system, being featured and reviewed in gaming magazines across the world such as Tips & Tricks, Hardcore Gamer, Play, Retro Gamer, Edge, GamesTM, Super Play and Master Player, among others, and having been sold to people in over 25 countries.<ref name="Official Beggar Prince website"/> This success proved that a worldwide market for retro games still exists.
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| − | Although it received critical acclaim upon its release, gamers soon discovered a few [[glitches]] in the game. While Super Fighter Team had spent over a year working out the bugs left behind by C&E, it was simply not cost efficient to fix them all. While most of these errors were trivial, one or two could result in the game's main character getting stuck in a certain place where he was not supposed to be, meaning the player would have to backtrack by loading a previously saved game. Fortunately, the majority of the glitches present in the original [[China|Chinese]] release have been fixed.
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| − | The third run has also received some critics for fixing those issues of the first two runs; some customers were upset to have received an "inferior" version although they, as early buyers, helped making further production runs possible to begin with. Also some say that the third production run, being as big as the first and second runs combined, was made to get collectors to buy Beggar Prince again even though they already own one of the earlier versions. This rumor is based on both the number of copies produced for the third production run and by the fact that customers of the old version have no other way of getting at least the new cover than to order a second copy of Beggar Prince.
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| − | ==External links==
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| − | *[http://www.beggarprince.com/ Official site]
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| − | *[http://www.gamingsteve.com/archives/2006/01/sega_genesis_li_1.php Sega Genesis Lives! Beggar Prince to be released Spring 2006]
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| − | *[http://www.littlemathletics.com/index.php/2006/02/ Little Mathletics: Beggar Prince Interview] Interview with Super Fighter Team president Brandon Cobb and lead translator Yu-Chen Shih.
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| − | *[http://www.allgames.com/radio/blackwolf/episode/26/ Bobby Blackwolf Show Podcast Interview] 30+ minute MP3 interview with Brandon Cobb from January 15, 2006.
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| − | *[http://www.sega-16.com/feature_page.php?id=121&title=Beggar%20Prince:%20The%20Start%20of%20Something%20Good? Beggar Prince: Start of Something Good?] Article about ''Beggar Prince''<nowiki/>'s effects on retro gaming.
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| − | *[http://www.sega-16.com/feature_page.php?id=191&title=Interview:%20Brandon%20Cobb Sega-16 Interview] Interview with Brandon Cobb.
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| − | *[http://www.sega-16.com/feature_page.php?id=304&title=Beggar%20Prince:%20Third%20Time's%20the%20Charm Sega-16 third run preview] Third run information.
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| − | *[http://www.digitallard.com/blog/118/ Digital Lard Interview] Interview with Brandon Cobb.
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