Amiibos allow you to instantly unlock costumes in Bayonetta for Nintendo Switch

Amiibos allow you to instantly unlock costumes in Switch Bayonetta

Nintendo’s UK site has posted an article for the upcoming Bayonetta 1 + 2 Nintendo Switch port. The article is a fairly generic press release with no new news until one drops down to a small blurb at the end.

By tapping in compatible amiibo (sold separately), you can instantly unlock a number of Nintendo-themed costumes for Bayonetta to wear, weapons to use and more!

The Nintendo costumes in Wii U versions of the games required one to save up Halos and buy them at Rodin’s shop. Now you can simply spend your Dogecoins on Nintendo amiibos and unlock your design outfit when you fire up the game the first time. It’s okay, we know you’re going to unlock the Star Mercenary outfit first. For reasons.

New Yakuza 0 patch: Poker crash fixed and obnoxious copyright block nixed

yakuza 0 patch

Gamers will discover a 334.9 MB patch ready to download for Yakuza 0 today. I know I was surprised, as the free DLC campaign had ended earlier this month, so I wasn’t expecting anything.

It turns out, this new 1.05 patch focuses on fixing some issues with the game.

Since the game’s launch, players have encountered a game crashing error when playing Poker. This has now been resolved.

In addition, some audio bugs and the name of a DLC costume has been adjusted.

Players who used the PS4’s native screenshot or video recording features for the game discovered an obnoxiously giant black block with copyright text inside of it. This has now been adjusted to be more “discrete.” Which is a bit of an understatement! The copyright notice is now just text with a slight stroke effect… as it probably should have been from the beginning.

Alan Stone, former President and CEO of Sega Enterprises, passes away

alan stone

Alan Stone, the former President and CEO of Sega Entertainment and Founding President of Sega GameWorks, passed away last Friday due to cancer. He was 71.

Stone had a long career in the video game industry. He co-founded Far East Video in 1979 that imported Japanese arcade games to America, which lead to his being Co-Founder and Vice President of Nintendo of America when the subsidiary opened up in 1981.

Stone remained at Nintendo until 1994, when he jumped ship to Sega Enterprises (now Sega Entertainment). He was a good fit with his long history in the arcade industry. He remained at Sega Enterprises for 10 years before moving onto other ventures.

On Stone’s passing, former President and CEO of Sega of America Thomas Kalinske shared his thoughts on Twitter yesterday:

SXSW 2017 Gotta Go Fast panel to show new Sonic Mania and Sonic Project 2017 content

Gotta Go Fast panel at SXSW 2017Those of you waiting for new Sonic Mania or Sonic Project 2017 news won’t have to wait long. Next month at SXSW 2017, there will be a Gotta Go Fast panel featuring Aaron Webber, Mike Pollock, Roger Craig Smith, and Takashi Iizuka. This follows last year’s fairly divisive panel with the same set of speakers.

At this year’s panel, they’ve promised some new Sonic Mania and Sonic Project 2017 content will be revealed for the first time, in addition to answering questions about both games.

This year’s panel will happen at 5-6PM CT on March 16th, 2017. That’s just over a month from now, folks! With new game content promised, I’m sure the reception to this one will be a lot better this time.

Are you looking forward to seeing what the panel reveals? Do you plan on attending it like the hardcore Sonic fan you are? Let us know in a comment below!

The full panel description is below:

Dive into the world of Sonic the Hedgehog in this exclusive behind-the-scenes look at both Sonic Mania and the upcoming Sonic 2017! With presenters from SEGA and Sonic Team’s Takashi Iizuka, this panel will answer questions about both games, showcase a new reveal for each title, and will discuss Sonic’s resurgence in the world of gaming since the reveal of both games. Of course, with Sonic involved, who knows what other surprises might be in store?

Koihime Enbu Version 2 released to arcades

The Sega-published arcade fighter Koihime Enbu just saw a significant version 2 upgrade.

This update brings a new support character named Zhang Liao, a training mode (that exists in the home ports already), 2 new colors for each character, and a load of balance tweaks and quality of life improvements to the 2014 fighting game.

Koihime Enbu is a fighting game based on Koihime Musou, a visual novel adaptation of the story of classical Chinese author Luo Guanzhong’s Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Instead of your typical KOEI strategy simulation game, the game offers a load of anime girls kicking ass.

No word yet on if these changes will see their way to the PC, PS3, or PS4 ports of the game. Anyone in the West wanting to try the game out has the perfect opportunity this week, as the Steam version of the game is currently on sale for 50% off. Our friends at M2 handled the fairly well-received PC port.

Yakuza 0 fighting styles trailer released

Sega released a new trailer featuring all of the Yakuza 0 fighting styles today. Yakuza 0 has you playing as both Kazuma Kiryu as well as Goro Majima. Between the two of them, there are six fighting styles featured here. Kiryu’s Brawler Style, Beast Style, and Rush Style; and Majima’s Thug Style, Slugger Style, and Breaker Style.

This is roughly a minute and a half of more material for you to get psyched up for the game’s release in about a month’s time. January 24th can’t come soon enough!

Sonic and Tails gameplay footage from Sonic Mania

IGN has posted a nearly 4 minute gameplay video of Sonic and Tails together and apart in… Studiopolis Zone Act 1 from Sonic Mania. In case you get confused like some YouTube commenters, about a minute and a half in, there’s a dissolve edit where Sonic gameplay transitions into the player controlling Tails. It’s not a new switching feature or anything.

It’s great seeing more footage of the game in action, but it would be quite nice to see some different levels!

Check out these pics of the Persona Twentieth Anniversary FES event

Persona Twentieth Anniversary FES header

The Persona Twentieth Anniversary FES event is being held at the 3331 Arts Chiyoda art museum. The folks at Anime Now have posted a large gallery of photos from the… uh… gallery. The event is being held to recognize the 20th anniversary of the first Persona’s release in 1996 and will conclude on December 18th, 2017. However, tickets are now sold out, so these pictures will likely be your only chance to scope them out.

Not only will you find official artwork, accessories, and merchandise from the series; but you’ll also see Morganna and Teddy roaming, as well as Persona artwork from professional manga artists. Winners from a fan art contest on PIXIV are also on display. It looks like one hell of a gallery.

This is just a fraction of the images Anime Now posted. Be sure to check out their full report for the rest.

Yakuza Kiwami will get a completely fresh translation

yakuza kiwami translated

It was recently announced that Yakuza Kiwami would be localized and released in the West next Summer in between the release of Yakuza 0 and Yakuza 6. Now, if you’re anything like me, you probably imagined that Sega and their localization partners at Atlus would lean heavily on the original Yakuza‘s 2006 script to finish the game in as swiftly and budget-friendly as possible. Evidently, that’s not so!

Atlus USA Producer Sam Mullen recently responded to fan questions on Twitter concerning the Western release of Yakuza Kiwami and had some surprising news!

With Sega committing to releasing three Yakuza titles in the West in roughly about a year’s time, things are looking up for fans of the franchise. Yakuza Kiwami goes above and beyond in remaking the game, giving it not only a stunning 1080p/60FPS facelift, but using the Yakuza 0 engine as a basis for providing a vastly improved playing experience. All of the original Japanese voices were also recorded again and there’s a ridiculously fun and stupid Majima Everywhere system added in along with so much more.

Yakuza Kiwami is slated for a Summer 2017 release on the PS4 in America and Europe. Don’t forget, Yakuza 0 launches on January 24th, 2017 for both regions as well. Be sure to pre-order both to show Sega you’re thankful for this stunning commitment to the series’ fans in the West!

Valkyria: Azure Revolution Brunhild character trailer released

Brunhild, the most visually striking character in the Valkyria: Azure Revolution cast now has a Japanese character trailer. When the character designs for the game debuted earlier this year, fans saw a couple of similarities between Brunhild and the original Valkyria Chronicles‘ antagonist Selvaria Bles.

In Valkyria: Azure Revolution, the uniquely proportioned Brunhild is known as the “God of Death” on the battlefield. This immortal Valkyria wields a an equally ridiculously proportioned scythe and her body is largely immune to swords and bullets. Under contract by Emperor Claudius of the invading Rus Empire, she will likely prove to be a formidable foe.

Will she prove to be a hollow, immortal rival under control of the Empire; or will her story be more complicated? Players will be able to find out when Valkyria: Azure Revolution releases on January 19th, 2017 in Japan for the PS4 and PS Vita. Another demo for the game is due out later this month. You can continue to follow SEGAbits for all of your latest Azure Revolution updates and check out the official site for lots of media.

Still no word on a Western localization.

Shenmue III music developer diary

A new video developer diary has been posted to the Shenmue III Kickstarter page. This one focuses on Shenmue III music and features a subtitled chat with Yu Suzuki on the subject.

The discussion ranges from Yu Suzuki’s taste in music, his history playing in rock bands that performed Deep Purple and Van Halen style music and covers, setting the tone with music in a video game, and how he directs his audio teams on a project. The video comes off like a nice, natural and unscripted chat with the legendary Sega developer.

Towards the end of the short video, Suzuki previews some of the new songs from the upcoming game.

Shenmue III is still targeted for a December 2017 release for PS4 and PC. Imagine that guys, we’re now just a year away from that target date! Are you excited? Do you think Suzuki and the boys will deliver on time?

Famitsu releases 3 new Yakuza 6 videos

Famitsu has posted an article and three new Yakuza 6 videos featuring Series Director Masayoshi Yokoyama giving humorous commentary on the events that unfold. The first two videos are compilations of cutscenes with lots of early plot spoilers, while the third video (above) is a 20 minute romp in Kamurocho’s sandbox. You can find the other two spoilerific videos embedded after the jump.

Yakuza 6 releases in Japan for the PS4 on December 8th, 2016. The demo hits the Japanese PSN store, so if you have an account, you should go grab it and check it out!

Superdimension Neptune VS SEGA Hard Girls on sale on PSN for $27.99

Superdimension Neptune VS Sega Hard Girls dreamcast action pose

If you’ve been putting off picking up Superdimension Neptune VS SEGA Hard Girls, the PS Vita (and PS TV compatible) game is now on sale on PSN for $27.99. That’s 30% off of its regular $39.99 digital price. The sale lasts until 11AM on November 29th, 2016.

The Idea Factory-developed game released on October 18th, 2016 in America and received overall positive reviews from internet critics and fans have awarded it a 9.2 on Metacritic. PlayStation blog Push Square said in their review that “Superdimension Neptune VS SEGA Hard Girls is a highly recommended experience” for fans of RPGs and turn-based Strategy games.

The game was largely ignored by larger gaming publications, most likely due to its niche status and it being a fairly late Vita release in the West. Have you given it a try? Let us know what you think of it in a comment below!

Vixen 357 English fan translation released

vixen 357 english fan translation

Strategy game enthusiasts should rejoice – a Vixen 357 English fan translation was released earlier this month. You can download the latest patch for the game over at Romhacking.net.

Vixen 357 was released for the Japanese Sega Mega Drive in 1992. This strategy game features grid-based battlefields where you fight with in or out of giant mechs. You gradually build an army of the giant robots which are key to decimating your opponents. Losing a crew member in battle faces a harsh punishment, as they remain dead for the rest of the game unless you reload your save.

Anime-inspired still cutscenes such as the ones seen in Phantasy Star IV tell the story in between battles.

Vixen 357 was developed by Masaya, the same company behind Sega classics like the original Assault Suit Leynos and Langrisser games, among many others. Now you can patch the original game and try it out in your favorite emulator or load it on your flash carts and see what we missed out on.