Metal Dragon - pre order is officially open

With its roots in Spain, the international retro computer development group Kai Magazine just opened up a pre-order possibility for their new all-out game called Metal Dragon. An MSX game with more bells and whistles you ever dreamed of.

With the ultimate set-up of an MSX with turbo CPU, V9990 Video and OPL4 audio, you might expect an extraordinary freaking hot piece of software to land on that giant machine. Strap in, because Kai Magazine will deliver just that; a game taking all advantages of MSX extension hardware. Their game Metal Dragon runs on any MSX with a V9990 (GFX9000 or any other clone) for excellent graphics and scrolling. On top of that there's audio from either OPL4, MSX-Music, and/or MSX-Audio.

The game Metal Dragon is inspired by the 80's era and shows us a vertical scrolling shooter in the veins of Ikari Warriors. But on steroids this time. It's a blazing guns game with high res graphics and ditto sound where the player has to shoot his way through enemy territory. Musically the game shifts from heavy metal to techno and back again and supported by multiple sound chips. Although it runs on any plain MSX computer, a machine that's beefed up with a turbo CPU (such as Panasonic 2+ with turbo CPU, 1chipMSX, Zemmix and all its clones, and Panasonic Turbo R) will perform better.

The game has the following hardware requirements:

Runs on any MSX2 or higher
CPU - will run on Z80, but upgraded CPU machines work better
RAM - a minimum of 64K of RAM is needed. The game requires 128Kb of ram but the game cartridge includes a RAM memory upgrade that is compatible with turbo modes
Video - Any cartridge with the V9990 video chip (Powergraph, gfx9000, video9000 and other clones)
Audio - The game supports various sound chips for the music, you need at least any of the following: MSX-Music, and/or MSX-Audio, or OPL4 with at least 512Kb of sample RAM on board. Yes, this game is stacked with samples. The vast majority of OPL4 cartridges nowadays have at least 1024Kb of RAM, so it shouldn't be a problem

Please read all the information regarding hardware and compatibility requirements in the following link for more information.

Note to msxVR users: The game is currently not working on MSXVR but the MSXVR team will work on the issue. Until then, if you are willing to use the game exclusively on an MSXVR, please wait for our confirmation that the issue has been solved.

The game is a good example of collaboration on a global scope, just take a look at who's involved:

Music style «Techno»: Robert Vroemisse (Deva)
Music style «Rock Metal»: John Hassink (Deva, Myths and Dragons, Rune Monster, The Sorrow of Gadhlan'Thur)
80s style cover: Miguel Ángel Jiménez (Myths and Dragons, The Sorrow of Gadhlan'Thur and others)
Concept and ideas of the game: Víctor Sánchez, Miguel Ángel Jiménez, Jose Casanova, Óscar Kenneth
Story: Víctor Sánchez, Óscar Kenneth

Can't wait to see or here this monster game? No worries, Kai Magazine prepared a handful of videos showing gameplay and some OST tunes: Performance video with Z80 without Turbo, MSX-Music + MSX-Audio, MSX-Music, MSX Audio

The game is ready to take pre-orders until the 22th of may 2021 and will be delivered as a physical cartridge. The price is set at 48 euro. To take advantage of the shipping costs, you can take a look at Kai Magazine's other excellent cartridge games which can be send as one package.

Relevant link: pre-order page
Relevant link: In-game video footage
Relevant link: Forum topic

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Комментарии (20)

By Kai Magazine

Paragon (1428)

25-04-2021, 18:01

the Link for pre-purchase (cartridge only) is not working in this forum for some reason.
Try the next link and locate the Metal Dragon preorder manually:

https://kai-magazine-software.fwscart.com/MSX_CARTRIDGE_FORM...

By Daemos

Prophet (2070)

25-04-2021, 18:32

Wanted to skip but changed my mind going to preorder soon ill find a spot to keep it somewhere.

By JohnHassink

Ambassador (5672)

25-04-2021, 18:58

I would like to share two in-game songs for the game (MB-Stereo versions).
https://youtu.be/mugYe5yC-FM

By Daemos

Prophet (2070)

25-04-2021, 20:33

and ordered! Got my powergraphics to work with my superduper custom cable. Time to test it with a real game

By Kai Magazine

Paragon (1428)

25-04-2021, 20:50

Thank you very much, Daemos!

By Gloriou

Master (204)

27-04-2021, 12:24

Ordered mine yesterday
Great addition to our lovely MSX

By Kai Magazine

Paragon (1428)

28-04-2021, 10:15

Thank you!

By erpirao

Paragon (1315)

28-04-2021, 13:39

Paid

By Wolverine_nl

Paragon (1160)

28-04-2021, 15:45

Ordered!

By Kai Magazine

Paragon (1428)

28-04-2021, 17:05

Thank you guys!

By Chadwick

Resident (39)

28-04-2021, 19:06

Should we stay tuned to this post for updates on the MSXVR issue?

By Kai Magazine

Paragon (1428)

29-04-2021, 14:52

Yes, we will publish any news in this post.

By Kai Magazine

Paragon (1428)

16-05-2021, 17:31

6 days left to preorder this game.
Few units left.
Regarding VR exclusive users:
The cartridge still does not work on VR as of today, so please don't buy it if you are going to use it only on VR.
The MSXVR team is still working to make the game work correctly. Once the game works, even if the cartridge itself does not work we will make a pre-order run with exclusive VR cartridges (those cartridges will not work on standard MSX, only on VR machines) for those who want to play it on VR.
I can't tell you when will this happen as it does not deppend on us, but we will keep you informed.

By Kai Magazine

Paragon (1428)

04-06-2021, 14:57

MSXVR: The pre-order for Metal Dragon for msxVR EXCLUSIVE users.

Warning: This cartridge will only work on MSXVR machines, it WILL NOT work on regular MSX machines. The game is the same as the standard MSX version but the msxVR version uses an exclusive msxVR cartridge.
We also sell the regular MSX version in our online shop, but PLEASE make sure you read the hardware pre-requisites for this game before you buy the regular MSX version.

The standard MSX version cartridge will not work on msxVR, so if you already preordered the standard MSX version but you want to play it on the msxVR instead of the standard MSX or you only have an msxVR, please contact us as soon as possible so we can send you the right version when the shippings begin.

THE PRE-PURCHASE:

All those who participate in the pre-purchase will be included in the special thanks section of the manual (in order of payment) unless they tell us otherwise (if you do not want to appear on the list of special thanks, please contact us).

The pre-purchase will last 2 weeks.
Once the pre-purchase is finished, we will order the necessary materials and have the manuals printed and assembled with your names.

We expect shipments to begin by the end of June or early July, but with the times that run can arise unexpected, so please be understanding.
Shipments will also be made in payment order.

Those interested can make the pre-purchase in our online store.
All the most common payment methods are accepted (card, paypal).

We also added 10 more units of the standard MSX version for those who missed the first pre-order:

Again, please make sure you read the hardware requierements for the standard MSX version before you purchase it.

To take advantage of the shipping costs, you can take a look at our other MSX games and we can send them to you in the same package (our previous games are compatible with msxVR and since the last msxVR update, they work at the correct speed).

https://kai-magazine-software.fwscart.com/

Thank you with all my heart to all those who have shown your enthusiasm and support by learning about this project.
That gives us the strength to do more and better.

By Kai Magazine

Paragon (1428)

01-07-2021, 15:05

Metal Dragon update:
We are waiting for the last materials in order to start the shipments.
We should receive the remaining material within a week or so, so the shipments will begin in a week aprox.
There are many orders for this game (twice as much as we expected!) so the shipments will last for at least 2 or 3 weeks.
As previously stated, the shipments will be made in the same order they were paid.

Thank you very much for your support!

By Kai Magazine

Paragon (1428)

27-07-2021, 19:20

Metal Dragon shipments update

Hello there!
I just wanted to throw a few lines about how the shipments are going:

Around 65% of the games have been shipped and I sent an email with the tracking number to their owners (please check your spam folder).
By the end of this month, percentage should get to 80% or more.

Yes, I know, things are going a bit slower than expected, but here is why:
Having to manufacture each copy by hand, check it, package it etc takes more than 1 hour for each copy (around 1 hour and a half). Having to make all the physical versions (which is twice than the amount we expected) means that even working many, many hours every day, we can only produce around 40 units a week.

Believe me (or not) we are working very hard (my older son and I), I have been taking many pain-killers due to the constant back pain which gets worse every day, the pain-killers destroyed my defenses and I got some serious infections, so no more pain-killers, just pain.
To make things worse, at this time of the year my town is so warm that hobbits all over the world come here to melt their cursed rings, so weather doesn’t help either.

I also wish to point out that even though this game has been received extremely well and has sold way more than we expected, that doesn’t mean I got rich, quite the contrary:
This game took 6 months of FULL TIME development (including weekends) and the «profits» it generated just covered 2 of those months. The other 4 months came out of my pocket (savings).
But as I stated from the first day, we did this game for fun, as a hobby, while I took a few months on vacation, because I wanted to do it, and the way I wanted to do it, without hurrying it up or any pressure due to time/costs.

Why am I saying all this?
Well, I just want to let people know some facts so those who can appreciate what it took in order to make this game.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining, we had a lot of fun doing this game (except for this month dealing with the manufacturing and shipment of each copy) and we are very happy with the results, and above all, with the warm and excellent reception it had among the MSX community and the very nice comments you guys have been sending me.

Thank you very much, folks!

By Jorito

Mr. Ambassadors (1790)

27-07-2021, 22:35

Thanks for the update, and looking forward to receiving my copy some day. I’m patient, I can wait

By Chadwick

Resident (39)

16-01-2022, 16:28

Will the MSXVR version be produced again in the near future? Very happy for your success.

By Kai Magazine

Paragon (1428)

17-01-2022, 11:35

Chadwick wrote:

Will the MSXVR version be produced again in the near future? Very happy for your success.

Thank you for your interest!
Once we finish sending all the Megadrive pre-orders by the end of February we will probably make a small batch of Metal Dragon msxVR versions.
Please enter our online store and click on the "notify me when this is back in stock" button and we will let you know when it's avaliable again.

Kind regards,
Oscar

By M-A-D-M-A-X

Expert (128)

17-01-2022, 18:41

"Once we finish sending all the Megadrive pre-orders by the end of February we will probably make a small batch of Metal Dragon msxVR versions."

Very nice news
I'm interested by MSXVR version.

Metal Dragon - pre order is officially open

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