Retro Gamer issue 182 has hit the shelves today, and if you’re a fan of the Mega Drive you won’t want to miss it. Our cover feature takes a deep dive into the technology that makes the 30 year old console tick, with key developers including Mark Cerny, Trip Hawkins and Rieko Kodama giving their expert insight. What’s more, we have two added gifts – a fantastic sticker sheet featuring classic Sega sprites and iconography, and a guide to the Mega Drive’s essential games. If all that gets you in the mood for to revisit some 16-bit hits, we’ve also reviewed the new Sega Mega Drive Classics collection.

There’s plenty more inside, too. We have features on the creation of Savage, Rock ‘N’ Roll Racing and EyeToy: Play, an Ultimate Guide to Konami’s arcade racer WEC Le Mans, and a Minority Report focusing on the Atari 8-bit range. Outside of specific games, we’ve got a collector’s guide to Eighties publisher Software Projects, a look back at Brian Howarth’s Digital Fantasia, and an examination of games made using the Build engine. Our sit-down interview for the month is with Matt Gray, the musician behind games such as Last Ninja 2 and Driller. And of course we’ve got all the usual favourites including Retro Revivals, Hardware Heaven and The Unconverted.

You can buy the issue now from all good newsagents for £5.99, or order it directly from us at MyFavouriteMagazines. Alternatively, if you spotted the exclusive subscriber cover up there and don’t want to miss them in future, you can subscribe to Retro Gamer at MyFavouriteMagazines too.