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A lost Sega Mega Drive title is getting a brand-new physical release early in 2027. Twinkle Tale, which has never been officially released outside of Japan, is getting a run of newly localised Mega Drive / Genesis cartridges courtesy of Retro-Bit and Limited Run Games.
Developed by ZAP Corporation and first released in 1992, late in the Mega Drive's life, Twinkle Tale is a frenetic, high-energy blend of dungeon crawler and run-and-gun actioner, bedecked with magical fantasy themes. Players guide apprentice magician Saria as she journeys through the land of Alpherion, desperately hoping to rescue the land's most powerful mages from the clutches of an evil sorcerer, Gadou.
Gadou plans to resurrect the dark lord, Kaiser Demon, who will bring doom to the lands, and with all of Alpherion's guardians subdued, only Saria is left to battle Gadou's minions with her chaotic witch-in-training powers. What follows is a top-down actioner, mixing the map-clearing/storytelling elements of a classic RPG with the high-speed action and cutesy imagery of a Pocky & Rocky.
Retro-Bit's Collector's Edition of Twinkle Tale include a boxed physical Mega Drive / Genesis cart, housed in Lucent casing and complete with a full colour instruction manual. An outer box and a reversible case sleeve feature cute new art from DANMAKUMAN, and each copy is individually numbered. Pre-orders made at Limited Run Games will receive an exclusive Dragon Red cartridge casing.
Twinkle Tale Collector's Edition pre-orders open today, November 10, and will run until December 20. Priced at around $60 USD / €52 EUR, Twinkle Tale will be available to pre-order from Limited Run Games and other selected retailers. Orders are expected to ship in March 2027.
This is quite an opportunity for Mega Drive collectors, and I've already seen several people who, having previously parted with their own original edition of Twinkle Tale, are excited to have the opportunity to pick it up again, without the sting of modern collector prices.