Happy new year! We're now in 2026 and this is the year we'll see Shadow Gangs Zero (SGZ) released, beginning first with the Neo Geo version and then all other versions afterwards - i.e. Dreamcast, Switch, PS5, Xbox One, Steam (PC), and Sega Genesis / Mega Drive.
Progress:
Phase 3 of development has been finished, which was the integration of final graphics. Now the developer has moved on to Phase 4, which involves working on: special effects, impacts & hit flashes, blood & debris, explosions, background animations, HUD, and menus & loading screens. The alpha version of the game is projected to be ready by mid to late February 2026.
Upcoming:
After alpha, the developer plans to work on these tasks: final optimization, difficulty tuning, sound effects integration, and Neo Geo hardware performance checks. Once those tasks have been done, we enter the phase that you've all been waiting for - Beta testing. During the beta phase, all backers will be given a digital copy of the Neo Geo beta version to playtest. By all backers, I mean EVERYONE, not just Neo Geo backers. So for example, if you've backed the PS5 version, you'll be playtesting the Neo Geo beta. Ditto for backers of Sega Genesis / Mega Drive, Dreamcast, Switch, Xbox One, and Steam (PC).
Tribute:
In his January 10, 2026 progress update, the developer pays tribute to Arjie Cosca, the original main level artist who sadly passed away three months ago. As you view the screenshots in the developer's update post linked below, please know that SGZ’s levels carry Arjie's vision, style, and inspiration. The developer notes Arjie's contribution:
- He shaped the visual identity of the game. - He brought atmosphere and world-building to every stage. - His sense of detail, mood, and composition is everywhere. - The art pipeline, tone, and richness all began with his work.
Campaign:
Over 800 backers are on board with their game controllers on hand, ready to experience the SGZ revolution. We're only £1.3K away from reaching the final stretch goal that gives us the six mini-bosses. Don't let the term "mini-bosses" fool you, as these aren't tiny adversaries. One of them is a large ferocious dragon that fills more than half the screen!
Please help make the inclusion of the mini-bosses a reality. The campaign is still open, but not for much longer:
If there is any place to suggest more portings, I would like to play Splatter House and Cadash on Amiga.
Would not be surprised if one or both of those eventually see an Amiga version. Especially now that Scorpion Engine makes game creation a lot more accessible to Amiga users.
To clarify, I'm not Arti the developer. I'm just posting about his campaign around the web to raise awareness, as I feel having an MK3 port available to Amiga gamers would be cool.
Past work: Battle for Wesnoth, The Carmageddon 68k DevilutionX Diablo Griffon Legend, The Heart of Darkness Hydra Castle Labyrinth KoBo Deluxe Legend of Zelda: Navi's Quest Legend of Zelda: Oni Link Begins Legend of Zelda: Return of the Hylian Legend of Zelda: Time to Triumph Mini Slug Vanilla Conquer Vanilla Conquer: Red Alert
Development is now in Phase 3, which involves the integration of final graphics into the game levels. As of December 10th, Phase 3 is 28% complete, with 12 of the 42 levels all done.
The developer writes:
Quote:
The final graphics go through a special division and processing pipeline to maximize the colour usage on the Neo Geo, allowing us to take full advantage of its 256 palettes. The results are excellent, and the game is really coming alive visually.
All the music for the game has been finished. The audio driver reproduces the songs with perfect clarity and accuracy, enabling the Neo Geo to play the music faithfully to the original tracker files.
After Phase 3 has concluded, the extra polish phase will begin. This will involve the artists taking detailed instructions from the developer and refining the level graphics to the highest quality possible. While the artists do their thing, the developer will work on Neo Geo code optimization to ensure everything runs smoothly and efficiently on the actual hardware.
The campaign has reached close to £117K and is a little more than £3K away from the final stretch goal that gives us the six mini-bosses. If you haven't yet pledged, please do so and join the nearly 800 enthusiastic fans who've already contributed to the campaign:
Phase 2 of level design is going extremely well, with 31 of the 42 total levels having been finished. The developer now estimates this level-polishing phase will be completed by the end of November 2025.
Phase 3: December 2025 to January 2026 - Integration of final graphics into the game.
Optimization Phase: February 2026 to March 2026 - Special effects, sound, and music will be implemented in the game.
Beta Test: April 2026 to June 2026 - All campaign backers will receive a digital copy of the Neo Geo beta version, no matter which platform you backed - i.e. Neo Geo, Genesis / Mega Drive, Dreamcast, Switch, PS5, Xbox, PC (Steam). So be prepared to experience the beta using the flash cart, FPGA, or emulation device of your choice. The developer is counting on you to help iron out all bugs and give useful feedback, as Shadow Gangs Zero is very much a community-driven effort.
Gold: The developer is aiming for the final Neo Geo version to be released by July / August 2026. Once that's done, the versions for the remaining platforms will be developed and released in fairly rapid succession.
Don't miss out on the fun. The campaign is accepting new pledges:
So far, £115K has been raised. We're just £5K away from reaching the final stretch goal of £120K, which will enable the inclusion of six unique mini-bosses - e.g. Ferocious fire-breathing dragon, Military helicopter dropping high-caliber rounds from above, Cannon wall with an arsenal of heavy fire, etc.
Thanks for your help.
P.S. Did you know that Shadow Gangs Zero has a 2-player cooperative gameplay mode? That means you can play solo, or with a friend!
In his latest post on the campaign page, the developer informs us that the first pass of level design has been finished. The second pass is now underway, which focuses on refining each level’s layout, enemy placement, and gameplay flow to near-final quality. At the current pace, this second pass should be finished around mid-December 2025.
After the second pass, the third pass work will begin, which involves integrating all final graphics for levels, characters, menus, and other visual elements. And then the final pass is the optimization and polish phase, to ensure the game runs smoothly and meets the high standards being aimed for. The developer promises to keep backers fully informed of all progress as it happens.
The game has 42 levels, comprised of:
- 35 regular levels
- 5 boss levels
- 2 bonus levels
Graphics update:
The artists have begun working on background animations to liven up the levels. They're also remastering the special effects such as blood, explosions, and impact visuals to ensure they look their best - i.e. smoother motion and more animation frames. The developer is sparing no expense in giving these elements the attention they deserve.
Spread the word!
Tell your friends about Shadow Gangs Zero. The more support the campaign receives, the better the final product:
Level Design: Last month (August 2025), the developer reported that level design was in high gear. Now in September 2025, the developer tells us that he's finished the first pass in creating these game levels: City, Bridge, Airport, Bunker, Forest, Beach, Cyber Punk, Castle. The current level being designed is: China. He estimates that he'll have finished the first pass of designing all levels by mid-to-late October 2025. Designing levels for Shadow Gangs Zero is a multi-pass process involving three primary passes plus a polishing phase. Lots of work, but the developer is making great progress.
Mini Bosses: The final campaign stretch goal is the inclusion of six mini bosses: Fire-breathing dragon, Military helicopter, Cannon wall with heavy firepower, Van with armed fighters, etc. To achieve that stretch goal, the pledge total needs to reach £120K. We are so very close to reaching this goal, as the pledge total is currently at £113K.
Neo Geo Flash Carts: A couple of months ago, I reported that the Neo Geo digital version is compatible with NeoSD PRO, as the developer is personally testing the game with it throughout development. Since then, a new backer has come aboard who will help with testing for BackBit compatibility and DarkSoft Multi MVS compatibility. Why all the fuss about Neo Geo flash carts? Because Neo Geo is the lead development system and flagship version, so the developer wants to make sure that all Neo Geo fans can play the game!
Beta Testing: Speaking of testing, you already know that backers will have access to the Neo Geo beta digital release. I've received confirmation from the developer that ALL backers will have access to this Neo Geo beta release. In other words, even backers of the Genesis / Mega Drive, Dreamcast, PS5, Xbox, Switch, and Steam versions will be granted access to the Neo Geo beta. Granting broad beta access will help the developer iron out all bugs, while giving backers early access as a loyalty perk. A win-win for everyone!
Ongoing Pledges: So far, the campaign has attracted over 760 backers to its cause. That's awesome! We're striving to reach 800 backers by year's end - Could you help make that happen? If you haven't yet pledged, please take another look at the campaign page to see if you'd like to add Shadow Gangs Zero to your collection. If you've already pledged, please tell your circle of friends about the game and invite them to join the SGZ community.
Did you know that all backers of the physical media versions will also receive the corresponding digital versions for free? For example, Genesis / MD physical cartridge backers will receive the Genesis / MD digital ROM file at no extra cost. Perfect for playing SGZ on your portable devices when you're away from home!
New Music Track for Genesis / Mega Drive: From the developer:
Quote:
We also have a great new Mega Drive track to enjoy. Listen closely at 0:30 seconds — those toms are actually FM drums, not samples, showcasing the MD’s unique sound!
A couple of months ago, Jim Drew offered a pre-order of 60 additional Blingboard64 units at the campaign price to offset the increase in printing costs. Now in July 2025 and heading into August 2025, he's offering you another chance at pre-ordering a Blingboard64.
As you know, the upcoming Commodore 64 Ultimate (https://www.commodore.net) will use the basic Blingboard technology developed by Jim. However, Jim refers to the C64 Ultimate keyboard as "Blingboard64 Lite Edition". In other words, that keyboard in the C64 Ultimate will be less powerful than the keyboard offered in the crowdfunding campaign and recent pre-orders. Jim explains it this way:
Quote:
The Lite Edition is really a VERY stripped down version of the keyboard from this campaign. It has basically none of the advanced features. You can think of the Lite Edition as just a very nice keyboard with LEDs and a 4 pin connector that plugs into Gideon's U64 board. The U64 itself provides the features.
The Blingboard64 in this campaign is very different because it has support for USB and Bluetooth BLE, a dual core CPU, expansion port, wireless programming, macros (recording and playback), 2MB of RAM fully accessible from the C64 side, ability to off-load calculations to the keyboard's CPU, and much, much, more!
The pixel art for all 18 levels was completed last month (June), as was the majority of the music tracks. Now in July, level design is well underway. Things are progressing very nicely, and the Neo Geo version is on schedule to be completed by December 2025 as planned. It was confirmed a couple of months ago that the Neo Geo digital version is compatible with NeoSD PRO, as the developer is personally testing the game with it throughout development.
The campaign is currently at £109K in pledges. It needs to reach £120K to unlock the six mini bosses. Please make a pledge so that you can join in the fun. In addition to the Neo Geo version, you can also back the versions for these other platforms: Sega Genesis / Mega Drive, Dreamcast, PC (Steam), PS5, Xbox, and Switch.
The printing cost for the keycaps ended up being more than double of what was budgeted during the campaign. To offset the difference in printing costs without paying more out of pocket, the project manager is offering a pre-order of 60 additional Blingboard64 units at the campaign price. That means you can pre-order and pay the same price as folks who backed the crowdfunding campaign last year. After these 60 units are gone, the product will be sold at a higher price.
From 1989 to 1996, Amiga Joker was Germany's largest Amiga games magazine. After a 21-year hiatus, they came back and published a special issue in 2017, and then another special issue in 2019. For the Amiga's upcoming 40th anniversary this year (2025), they're ready to do it again. But this time, they'd like to publish an English version of the magazine alongside the German.
If you're very fluent in both German and English, your help is needed to translate the German manuscript to English!
To volunteer, please email editor-in-chief Richard Lowenstein at:
Last month (April 2025), the developer posted exciting news about the Sega Genesis / Mega Drive version of this highly anticipated Shinobi-style ninja game:
- Development of the game engine has been completed, including support for music and sound effects.
- Game is now running at a full 60 frames per second.
- Bankswitching is implemented, allowing the use of 16 MB (128 megabits) of cartridge space. So all the high-quality art and animation frames will be fully supported.
- The Genesis / Mega Drive version is being built using SGDK.
The latest news for this month (May 2025) is that the game's core artwork is now almost fully complete, with just special effects and background animations left to add - these will bring extra life and energy to the levels.
For the few of you who haven't yet pledged, you're invited to join the ninja revolution at this page:
When you make a pledge to the campaign, here are some cool personalized rewards available:
Custom Backer Image - Later levels: Add a small image (up to 64 x 64 pixels) of your choice - whether it’s your portrait or any design - within a game level.
Graffiti Text / Image - Level 1: Be the sole backer to have your custom text or graffiti design featured in the very first level of the game - up to 80 x 64 pixels in size.
Graffiti Text / Image - Later levels: Add your custom text or graffiti design within a game level - up to 80 x 64 pixels in size.
Name the Ninja Girl: Name the fierce, playable ninja girl - choose her name!
This event was posted to the News section on March 7th, but a lot of folks probably skip that section when logging into Amigans.net. The celebration is too important to miss, so hopefully this post reaches those of you who don't bother with the News section.
The organizers of Amiga 30 have teamed up with VCF West to bring you AMIGA/040 at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California, USA. The event takes place on August 1, 2025 and August 2, 2025.
Bookmark this webpage to stay informed of new developments - e.g. show schedule, hotel details:
The campaign organizer is Steffen Haeuser, creator of the AmigaOS ports of Quake II and Heretic II.
The developer is Dennis Boon, who is very experienced with Amiga low-level hardware development. 100% of the net campaign funds will be going to Dennis, as compensation for his time and effort in the project.
The finished library will be made open-source. This 3D hardware acceleration will bring a higher resolution, faster fps, and more stunning visuals to 3D gaming on PiStorm-equipped Amiga systems.
The campaign has surpassed its original modest funding goal, so the project is going ahead full steam. There are a little over 50 backers so far, but fortunately the campaign is open for late pledges. If this project piques your interest, even a contribution of $10 or $20 would be fantastic. What's most important is to increase the number of backers to something closer to 100. Doing so will motivate the organizer and developer to push through the challenges described on the campaign page.
If you've got any questions about the campaign, please email Steffen Haeuser directly at: tirionareonwe@gmail.com
ShadowTeam has posted an update for the upcoming Shinobi-inspired game Shadow Gangs Zero. The first bit of news is that the graphics development is coming along very nicely. The second major takeaway is that porting from the lead system Neo Geo to the Sega Genesis / Mega Drive has now begun!
An interesting offer has been posted on the Vision BASIC website. The publisher is selling a batch of Vision BASIC v1.1 packages at an extreme discount, because the boxes and manuals are slightly damaged. No floppy disks and no thumb drive are included. You'll be downloading the software directly from their website.
From what I'm reading, the advantage of this 1.1dm clearance package over their 1.1e "economy" package is that the 1.1e manual is only 300 pages, while the 1.1dm manual is 352 pages long to provide the sprite editor content.
According to the publisher, buyers of this 1.1dm package will also receive a download of v1.2 for free when that update is released in a few months. Also included is access to their private forum where you can interact with other users and the developer Dennis Osborn himself, if you'd like to receive or give help regarding Vision BASIC programming.
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