Zemina (재미나) was a South Korea-based pirate company that primarily developed for the MSX computer (which was popular in Asia) and started using the Master System as a platform for their products later when they found out about its legacy video features. Their flagship series was the Super Boy series (1989-92).
History[]
When Zemina was first founded in 1987 originally distributing products under the name Saehan Sangsa, they started mass producing bootlegs of pre-existing MSX games by companies such as Konami and Namco. The first game they ever pirated was seemingly Thexder, due to it using the earlier Saehan name and then both the MSX and MSX 2 versions of 1942 under the Zemina name.
After this, Zemina started targeting multiple miscellaneous companies, pirating a total of 70+ games. All without getting in legal trouble. Interestingly they made was an unofficial English translation of King Kong 2: Yomigaeru Densetsu by Konami. They likely did this so they could pirate the game without the game being unplayable to most of their audience. They also ended up pirating the MSX release of the port of Green Beret done by Konami UK which was originally for the ZX Spectrum. Making it the only European game they ever pirated.
Starting in December 1989, Zemina developed their first in-house game. Being Brother Adventure, a port of Mario Bros. for the MSX. They then published several Bubble Bobble ports created by MbitM. Before developing a port of Double Dragon. Then starting the Super Boy series in 1989. They also created The Three Dragon Story, the company's only completely original MSX game. Then developing several more ports, finally ending with Magic Kid Googoo on the Famicom.
In mid 1992, Zemina's internal programmers left to form Open Corp..
Daewoo Zemmix[]
The Zemmix is a video game console made by Daewoo Electronics, although it was really just a MSX computer fit inside a video game console-like case instead of the MSX's usual setup. As the Zemmix was just a re-cased MSX, all of Zemina's MSX products are compatible with the Zemmix. The lifespan of the console was also similar to the MSX, lasting from 1984-95. Even though they share a nearly identical names, the Zemmix console itself isn't directly related to Zemina.
Games[]
| Game | Year | System | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Go Classroom/Baduk | 19xx | MSX | Exclusively made for multicarts |
| New Boggle Boggle | 1988 | MSX | Port of Bubble Bobble (Developed by MBitM) |
| The Three Dragon Story | 1989 | MSX | Original game based on Knightmare. |
| Super Bubble Bobble | 1989 | MSX | Bubble Bobble (Boggle Boggle but with new levels) (Developed by MBitM) |
| Block Hole | 1990 | MSX | Port of Quarth |
| Brother Adventure | 1987 | MSX | Port of Mario Bros. |
| Cyborg Z | 1991 | MSX | Shoot-em-up staring the mecha from Mazinger Z. |
| Double Dragon | 1989 | MSX | Port of Double Dragon |
| Doksuri 5 Hyeongje - Eagles 5 | 1990 | MSX | Shoot-em-up based on Gatchaman. (Developed by MBitM) |
| Flashpoint | 1990 | MSX | Port of Flash Point |
| Magic Kid Googoo | 1992 | Famicom | Original Platformer Game |
| Puznic | 1990 | MSX | Port of Puzznic |
| Street Master | 1992 | MSX | Port of Street Fighter |
| Super Boy I | 1989 | MSX | Port of Super Mario Bros. |
| Super Boy II | 1989 | MSX | First Super Boy with new levels |
| Super Boy 3 | 1991 | MSX | Third Super Boy game, now based off Super Mario World |
| Super Boy 4 | 1992 | Sega Master System | Very similar to Super Boy 3 but as a native SMS game. |
| Tetris | 1990 | MSX | Port of Tetris (Atari) (Developed by Uttum) |
| The Micro Xevious | 1990 | MSX | Port of Xevious (Developed by MBitM) |
| Won-Si-In | 1990 | MSX | Port of Shin Jinrui: The New Type known as The Adventures of Dino Riki in the US. |
Unreleased Games[]
- Sagyeok Game (Shooting Game)
- Won-Si-In 2; Possibly turned into Adventure Kid
- Teungmyeong X-35 (Mission X-35)
Accessories[]
- Family Card Plays Famicom games on an MSX
- Zemina Card MSX 2 Upgrade
- RAM Expand Three models of it are known to exist and give you between 128kB to 256kB of RAM
- FM-Ship/Music Box MSX-Music cart
- Expansion Slot Another cartridge slot
- Bio Card S-RAM unit
Compilations[]
- 128-in-1: Unknown, likely features only around 30-40 games.
- Games' 80: A compilation featuring only 31 games instead of 80 like other multicarts.
- Best 25: A compilation featuring 25 games.
Trivia[]
- Some of Open's games reuses tracks from Zemina's games, for example Twin Mouse.
- Penguin Adventure, F-1 Spirit: The Way to Formula-1, and Knightmare II: The Maze of Galious as well as most of their MSX games and compilations received ports to Sega Master System.
- Konami had licensed Zemina to release Nemesis 3 - The Eve of Destruction in South Korea under the title Salamander II. [1]
Gallery[]
External links[]
| List of games by Zemina |
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