Microcosm

n/a

Microcosm

Publisher: Psygnosis, Victor Entertainment (JP)

Developer: Psygnosis

Genre: Shoot-'em-Up

Number of players: 1

Release	Date	RRP	Code
JP	1994-02-25	¥8,9008,900	T-60164
US	1994-01^[2]		T-113015
EU	1994-01^[1]		T-113015-50
BR	199x		063170

VRC

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Microcosm (マイクロコズム) is an on-the-rails shoot-'em-up game developed for the Sega Mega-CD by Psygnosis.

Gameplay

In Microcosm, the player controls a small ship, travelling through the human body to destroy aliens. As an "on-the-rails" shoot-'em-up, the player has control over the ship's horizontal and vertical movements, but movement into the screen along the third axis is dictated by the game. The limitations of the Mega-CD mean a pseudo-3D effect is achieved through full motion video. While some versions of Microcosm opt for a first-person perspective, the Mega-CD uses a third-person view at all times.

The ship has mutliple weapons, alongside a standard shot with limitless ammo. Multiple hits can be taken from enemies before the ship explodes. While it can take roughly 40 minutes to complete the game in one sitting, a password system is also offered.

Unlike other Mega-CD titles, Microcosm chooses to limit its full motion video sequences to 16 colours (a quarter of the 64 available to the system), presumably as a space saving measure.

History

Development

Microcosm was first seen in demo form for the Amiga CDTV platform in 1991, but soon became an FM Towns title, with development partially funded by Fujitsu prior to the game being ported to other platforms. The full motion video was rendered using Silicon Graphics Indigo workstations alongside life action footage^[4].

Live action footage was recorded at night with an S-VHS recorder, and features members of the team as opposed to paid actors^[5]. 2D graphics (and textures) were drawn on Amigas^[5].

In total the game's raw data amassed over 6GB^[6], with image data being stored in 24-bit colour before being compressed for the various platforms^[7]. Initial development cost between $600,000 and $750,000 USD^[8].

Legacy

While Microcosm was considered a financial success, the game is not held in high regard, with even Pygnosis treating it more as an experiment for the CD-ROM format than a good video game^[9].

Feedback from Microcosm led to a spiritual successor, Novastorm having a greater focus on gameplay.

Versions

Microcosm was released for a variety of home platforms, including the 3DO, Amiga CD32, FM Towns and IBM PC. All other versions are able to output higher quality full motion video than the Mega-CD version, and in many cases, at higher resolutions.

Magazine articles

Main article: Microcosm/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Print advert in Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #52: "November 1993" (1993-xx-xx)
also published in:

Game Players (US) #0612: "Vol. 6 No. 12 December 1993" (1993-1x-xx)^[10]
GamePro (US) #54: "January 1994" (199x-xx-xx)^[11]

Print advert in Sega Visions (US) #16: "December/January 1993/1994" (1993-xx-xx)

Print advert in GamePro (US) #54: "January 1994" (199x-xx-xx)

Print advert in Game Players (US) #0705: "Vol. 7 No. 5 May 1994" (1994-0x-xx)
also published in:

Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #59: "June 1994" (1994-xx-xx)^[12]

Print advert in Computer & Video Games (UK) #146: "January 1994" (1993-12-15)

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average

Publication

Version

Score

Ação Games (BR)

81

^[14]

Beep! MegaDrive (JP)

NTSC-J

75

^[15]

Consoles + (FR)

83

^[16]

Digitiser (UK)

65

^[17]

Electronic Gaming Monthly (US)

NTSC-U

54

^[18]

Famitsu (JP)

NTSC-J

68

^[19]

Game Players (US)

NTSC-U

60

^[20]

Gamers (DE)

40

^[21]

GamesMaster (UK)

56

^[22]

Hippon Super (JP)

NTSC-J

70

^[23]

Hobby Consolas (ES)

40

^[24]

Hyper (AU)

83

^[25]

Joypad (FR)

PAL

83

^[26]

Mega (UK)

PAL

79

^[27]

Mega Action (UK)

PAL

89

^[28]

Mega Force (FR)

89

^[29]

Mega Fun (DE)

PAL

65

^[30]

MegaTech (UK)

PAL

60

^[31]

Mean Machines Sega (UK)

PAL

60

^[1]

Player One (FR)

69

^[32]

Sega Magazine (UK)

PAL

60

^[33]

Sega Power (UK)

PAL

69

^[34]

Sega Pro (UK)

PAL

81

^[35]

Sega Zone (UK)

PAL

54

^[36]

Sega Force (SE)

52

^[37]

Sega Saturn Magazine (JP)

NTSC-J

75

^[38]

Super Juegos (ES)

59

^[39]

Video Games (DE)

PAL

56

^[40]

VideoGames (US)

NTSC-U

90

^[41]

	68
Based on 29 reviews

Microcosm

Mega-CD, US
Cover
Disc Manual

Mega-CD, EU (Big)
Cover
Disc

Mega-CD, EU (Small)
Cover
Disc

Mega-CD, JP
Cover
Spinecard Disc

Mega-CD, BR
Cover

Technical information

ROM dump status

System

Hash

Size

Build Date

Source

Comments

?

CRC32
MD5
SHA-1

468,948,816

CD (EU)

T-113015-50

✔

CRC32
MD5
SHA-1

468,948,816

CD (JP)

T-60164

?

CRC32
MD5
SHA-1

468,948,816

CD (US)

T-113015

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 File:MeanMachinesSega16UK.pdf, page 81 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:MeanMachinesSega16UK.pdf_p81" defined multiple times with different content
↑ Press release: 1994-01-06: PSYGNOSIS INTRODUCES 'INTERACTIVE CINEMA' WITH THE DEBUT OF MICROCOSM
↑ File:VideoGames DE 1993-09.pdf, page 43
↑ File:Edge UK 001.pdf, page 71
↑ ^5.0 ^5.1 File:Edge UK 001.pdf, page 73
↑ File:Edge UK 001.pdf, page 72
↑ File:Edge UK 001.pdf, page 74
↑ File:Edge UK 001.pdf, page 77
↑ File:NextGeneration US 40.pdf, page 47
↑ Game Players, "Vol. 6 No. 12 December 1993" (US; 1993-1x-xx), page 152
↑ GamePro, "January 1994" (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 188
↑ Electronic Gaming Monthly, "June 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 142
↑ File:SegaMagazine UK 02.pdf, page 108
↑ Ação Games, "Março 1994" (BR; 1994-03-01), page 26
↑ Beep! MegaDrive, "March 1994" (JP; 1994-02-08), page 21
↑ Consoles +, "Décembre 1993" (FR; 1993-1x-xx), page 160
↑ Digitiser (UK) (1994-02-22)
↑ Electronic Gaming Monthly, "March 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 38
↑ Famitsu, "1994-03-04" (JP; 1994-02-18), page 1
↑ Game Players, "Vol. 7 No. 4 April 1994" (US; 1994-0x-xx), page 69
↑ Gamers, "Mai/Juni 1994" (DE; 1994-05-06), page 41
↑ GamesMaster, "February 1994" (UK; 1994-01-20), page 79
↑ Hippon Super, "April 1994" (JP; 1994-03-03), page 60
↑ Hobby Consolas, "Junio 1994" (ES; 1994-xx-xx), page 136
↑ Hyper, "February 1994" (AU; 199x-xx-xx), page 54
↑ Joypad, "Février 1994" (FR; 199x-xx-xx), page 94
↑ Mega, "February 1994" (UK; 1994-01-20), page 26
↑ Mega Action, "January 1994" (UK; 1993-12-30), page 38
↑ Mega Force, "Décembre 1993" (FR; 1993-12-10), page 120
↑ Mega Fun, "05/94" (DE; 1994-04-20), page 109
↑ MegaTech, "January 1994" (UK; 1993-12-21), page 60
↑ Player One, "Janvier 1994" (FR; 199x-xx-xx), page 122
↑ Sega Magazine, "February 1994" (UK; 1994-01-10), page 109
↑ Sega Power, "February 1994" (UK; 1994-01-06), page 50
↑ Sega Pro, "Xmas Special 1993" (UK; 1993-12-02), page 34
↑ Sega Zone, "February 1994" (UK; 1994-01-27), page 42
↑ Sega Force, "6/94" (SE; 1994-09-14), page 30
↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 85
↑ Super Juegos, "Abril 1994" (ES; 1994-0x-xx), page 116
↑ Video Games, "5/94" (DE; 1994-04-27), page 91
↑ VideoGames, "April 1994" (US; 1994-0x-xx), page 82

[:File:MeanMachinesSega16UK.pdf_p81-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 File:MeanMachinesSega16UK.pdf, page 81 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:MeanMachinesSega16UK.pdf_p81" defined multiple times with different content

[Press_release:_1994-01-06:_PSYGNOSIS_INTRODUCES_.27INTERACTIVE_CINEMA.27_WITH_THE_DEBUT_OF_MICROCOSM-2] Press release: 1994-01-06: PSYGNOSIS INTRODUCES 'INTERACTIVE CINEMA' WITH THE DEBUT OF MICROCOSM

[:File:VideoGames_DE_1993-09.pdf_p43-3] File:VideoGames DE 1993-09.pdf, page 43

[:File:Edge_UK_001.pdf_p71-4] File:Edge UK 001.pdf, page 71

[:File:Edge_UK_001.pdf_p73-5] 5.0 ^5.1 File:Edge UK 001.pdf, page 73

[:File:Edge_UK_001.pdf_p72-6] File:Edge UK 001.pdf, page 72

[:File:Edge_UK_001.pdf_p74-7] File:Edge UK 001.pdf, page 74

[:File:Edge_UK_001.pdf_p77-8] File:Edge UK 001.pdf, page 77

[:File:NextGeneration_US_40.pdf_p47-9] File:NextGeneration US 40.pdf, page 47

[:File:GamePlayers_US_0612.pdf_p152-10] Game Players, "Vol. 6 No. 12 December 1993" (US; 1993-1x-xx), page 152

[:File:GamePro_US_054.pdf_p188-11] GamePro, "January 1994" (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 188

[:File:EGM_US_059.pdf_p142-12] Electronic Gaming Monthly, "June 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 142

[:File:SegaMagazine_UK_02.pdf_p108-13] File:SegaMagazine UK 02.pdf, page 108

[:File:AcaoGames_BR_054.pdf_p26-14] Ação Games, "Março 1994" (BR; 1994-03-01), page 26

[:File:BeepMD_JP_1994-03.pdf_p21-15] Beep! MegaDrive, "March 1994" (JP; 1994-02-08), page 21

[16] Consoles +, "Décembre 1993" (FR; 1993-1x-xx), page 160

[digitiser1994-02-22-17] Digitiser (UK) (1994-02-22)

[:File:EGM_US_056.pdf_p38-18] Electronic Gaming Monthly, "March 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 38

[19] Famitsu, "1994-03-04" (JP; 1994-02-18), page 1

[:File:GamePlayers_US_0704.pdf_p69-20] Game Players, "Vol. 7 No. 4 April 1994" (US; 1994-0x-xx), page 69

[:File:Gamers_DE_1994-04.pdf_p41-21] Gamers, "Mai/Juni 1994" (DE; 1994-05-06), page 41

[22] GamesMaster, "February 1994" (UK; 1994-01-20), page 79

[23] Hippon Super, "April 1994" (JP; 1994-03-03), page 60

[:File:HobbyConsolas_ES_033.pdf_p136-24] Hobby Consolas, "Junio 1994" (ES; 1994-xx-xx), page 136

[:File:Hyper_AU_003.pdf_p54-25] Hyper, "February 1994" (AU; 199x-xx-xx), page 54

[:File:Joypad_FR_028.pdf_p94-26] Joypad, "Février 1994" (FR; 199x-xx-xx), page 94

[:File:Mega_UK_17.pdf_p26-27] Mega, "February 1994" (UK; 1994-01-20), page 26

[:File:MegaAction_UK_09.pdf_p38-28] Mega Action, "January 1994" (UK; 1993-12-30), page 38

[:File:MegaForce_FR_23.pdf_p120-29] Mega Force, "Décembre 1993" (FR; 1993-12-10), page 120

[:File:MegaFun_DE_1994-05.pdf_p109-30] Mega Fun, "05/94" (DE; 1994-04-20), page 109

[:File:MegaTech_UK_25.pdf_p60-31] MegaTech, "January 1994" (UK; 1993-12-21), page 60

[:File:PlayerOne_FR_038.pdf_p122-32] Player One, "Janvier 1994" (FR; 199x-xx-xx), page 122

[:File:SegaMagazine_UK_02.pdf_p109-33] Sega Magazine, "February 1994" (UK; 1994-01-10), page 109

[:File:SegaPower_UK_51.pdf_p50-34] Sega Power, "February 1994" (UK; 1994-01-06), page 50

[:File:SegaPro_UK_27.pdf_p34-35] Sega Pro, "Xmas Special 1993" (UK; 1993-12-02), page 34

[:File:SegaZone_UK_16.pdf_p42-36] Sega Zone, "February 1994" (UK; 1994-01-27), page 42

[:File:SegaForce_SE_1994_06.pdf_p30-37] Sega Force, "6/94" (SE; 1994-09-14), page 30

[:File:SSM_JP_19950901_1995-09.pdf_p85-38] Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 85

[:File:SuperJuegos_ES_024.pdf_p116-39] Super Juegos, "Abril 1994" (ES; 1994-0x-xx), page 116

[:File:VideoGames_DE_1994-05.pdf_p91-40] Video Games, "5/94" (DE; 1994-04-27), page 91

[:File:VideoGames_US_63.pdf_p82-41] VideoGames, "April 1994" (US; 1994-0x-xx), page 82

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Microcosm

From Sega Retro

Contents

Gameplay

History

Development

Legacy

Versions

Magazine articles

Promotional material

Physical scans

Technical information

ROM dump status

References