Big Feature

Swingin’ Report Show #90: Game Designer and International Video Game Hall of Fame Inductee Chris Tang

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The SEGAbits Swingin’ Report Show is back with returning guest Chris Tang! Chris is a game designer and gaming tournament champion, and was recently inducted into the International Video Game Hall of Fame. SEGA fans know Chris as the winner of SEGA’s Sonic & Knuckles Rock the Rock competition in 1994, and before that Chris was a finalist in 1990’s Nintendo World Championships. Since then, Chris has worked on games at Atari and Capcom, including Gauntlet IV, Primal Rage, Street Fighter III, Rival Schools and Power Stone. Chris is also the yearly announcer for the Tetris World Championships and originator of the BOOM! Tetris for Jeff meme.

Currently, Chris is hard at work on Flight Armor Project: STRIKE HARBINGER (working title – subject to change), a new game inspired by classic SEGA titles like Space Harrier. The game combines the fast paced forward flying gameplay of Space Harrier with the RPG and combat elements of Phantasy Star while utilizing a unique arcade control structure that evokes Virtual On. The game is developed by HitSparks Games, and features the work of senior artist Kiyoshi Okuma, whose past work includes Gauntlet: Legends, World Series Baseball 2K2, The Sims 2 and Darkspore.

I sat down with Chris for an update on the development of Flight Armor Project: STRIKE HARBINGER, including the incredibly fun two player mode, and to discuss more of his past career, his work as an announcer for the Tetris World Championships and his recent induction into the International Video Game Hall of Fame.

Want more information on Flight Armor Project: STRIKE HARBINGER? Visit the official website!

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SEGA News Bits: Favorite SEGA Games of 2017

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Its that time of year, when people online decide to talk about their favorite games of the year. While we here at SEGAbits play a wide arrange of games, we obviously adore SEGA games. So on this episode of the SEGA News Bits we discuss our favorite SEGA games of 2017. Which game did we decide to give our golden Opa-Opa trophy to? Watch the video and find out. What was your favorite SEGA game of 2017 and why? Let us know in the comments below!

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SEGA News Bits: Bayonetta 1+2 & Bayonetta 3 Coming To Nintendo Switch Discussion

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We got the big announcement from Nintendo the other day that they will be publishing both Bayonetta 1+2 collection and Bayonetta 3 exclusively for the Nintendo Switch. While SEGA published the PC version of Bayonetta earlier this year, it seems that Nintendo is keeping the IP exclusive on their platform when it comes to consoles. On this episode of the SEGA News Bits we discuss our thoughts on a Bayonetta 1+2 Collection on the Nintendo Switch, Our thoughts on Bayonetta 3 and theorize what the first teaser could be hinting at.  Tune in and let us know what you’re thoughts on Bayonetta returning with a brand new game, exclusively on the Nintendo Switch!

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SEGA News Bits: Sonic Forces Demo Impressions (PS4 & Switch)

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Just the other day Sonic Forces Japanese demo hit both PSN and Nintendo’s eShop, unsurprisingly today we get to talk about our thoughts on said demo. Today on the SEGA News Bits we discuss Sonic Forces demo including Modern Sonic gameplay, Classic Sonic Gameply, Avatar style gameplay and of course discuss the differences between the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch versions of the game. So listen in on the episode and let us know in the comments below what you thought of the Sonic Forces PSN & Switch demo.

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SEGA News Bits: Sonic Forces Hooters Japanese Promotional Event

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Today on the SEGA News Bits we will be going all the way to Japan to look at the Sonic Forces x Hooters crossover promotional event that is going on right now! Well, maybe we won’t be going there in person but thanks to the power of the internet we can see what the Sonic Forces x Hooters crossover event has to offer. On this episode of the SEGA News Bits we look at the Sonic Forces Hooters event, talk chili dogs, and give our thoughts on the promotion. What do you think of Sonic Forces having a promotional event at Hooters? Let us know in the comments below.

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SEGA News Bits: Sonic the Hedgehog Comics Return April 2018 Discussion

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We all know the long story about how SEGA and Archie had a disagreement with the Sonic the Hedgehog license and that they are now relaunching the long running comic book series under publisher IDW. Thanks to the New York Comic Con ‘IDW Sonic Comic Town Hall panel’ we now know new information on the relaunch that has been confirmed for April 2018. On this episode of the SEGA News Bits we talk about getting four issues in April 2018, Ian Flynn being named head writer, Tyson Hesse doing promotional art for the event, and the return of The Freedom Fighters? Tune into the episode and let us know your thoughts on the IDW Sonic the Hedgehog comic book relaunch in the comments below!

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SEGAbits at Tokyo Game Show 2017: A Certain Magical Virtual-On Hands-On Preview

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What started seemingly as a one-off (potentially joke) crossover between a popular anime and SEGA’s Virtual-On has turned into a potential resurrection for the much-loved Virtual-On series.

The playable build I got my hands on started with a tutorial, where I got my first experience of A Certain Magical Index. Honestly it’s quite jarring to turn on a Virtual-On game and be met with what looked like high-school students talking in high pitched voices with a long-winded introduction to the game. The characters seem very out of place and different to the usual Virtual-On style and I was initially a little jarring. Thankfully when I got to actually control Temjin, I found the game surprisingly familiar. I still don’t like some of the new designs for mechs, but for the most part it manages to gel nicely with the old games.

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SEGA News Bits: Yakuza Kiwami 2, Yakuza Online and Fist of the North Star game announced

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Today we have not one, not two, but three SEGA News Bits to enjoy. The Yakuza Studio had a big stream where they revealed their projects for the rest of 2017 and 2018. They confirmed the release of Yakuza Kiwami 2, revealed Yakuza Online and surprised us all with a Fist of the North Star game running on the Yakuza 6 engine! On these episodes of the SEGA News Bits we discuss all the information we know about these titles, how I feel about each project and complain about the Yakuza studio not announcing a new IP. Have a listen and let us know what you think about these announced titles in the comments below. Hit the jump for the other two videos!

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Sonic Mania Review – Classic Sonic Returns! (PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC)

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I have no doubt that many reviews released today for Sonic Mania, releasing August 15 to the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch and releasing August 29 to PC, will chart the ups and downs of the Sonic franchise, make mention of the recent Sonic Boom games, and make the assertion that Sonic has not been good for a long time. I also have no doubt that reviews like my own will smugly mention such reviews in an attempt to show how I’m coming at Sonic Mania from a more educated and informed place. Really, I just wanted an intro paragraph and now that that’s done we can get to what we’re all here for: my review of Sonic Mania!

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SEGA News Bits: Sonic Mania Special & Bonus Stages Revealed

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While last time we talked about the first screenshot of Sonic Mania’s special stages, but now SEGA has come back with footage showing a few of the special stages along with introducing the new (and I use that word lightly here) bonus stages and even reveal time attack. On this episode of the SEGA News Bits we discuss our thoughts special stages, discuss critics given online about the bonus stages and gush over time attack mode. According to SEGA this is the last big reveal for Sonic Mania, what with the game coming out in August 15, so hopefully you enjoy our big last SEGA News Bits for the game. Let us know what you think of all the new features SEGA showed off for Sonic Mania, in the comments below.

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SEGA News Bits: Sonic Forces to have Jet Set Radio, NiGHTS & Monkey Ball DLC

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We posted about the Sonic Forces Day One Edition leak earlier today, labeling it as a rumor. If you didn’t hear the news, Sonic Paradise found an Amazon and Xtra Life store page for a Sonic Forces Day One Edition which was set to have customizable avatar items as pre-order DLC that are said to be based on in-house SEGA IPs such as Jet Set Radio, NiGHTS into Dreams, Super Monkey Ball and Puyo Puyo Tetris. On this episode of the SEGA News Bits we discuss our thoughts on pre-order DLC, guess what the items from these franchises might be, talk about other SEGA franchises that should get cameos in Sonic Forces, and more. So tune in and let us know in the comments below what you think of the Sonic Forces Day One Edition! What other franchises from SEGA would you like to see cameo in the game?

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SEGA News Bits: Sonic the Hedgehog comics coming to IDW in 2018

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While we are a bit late on talking about this due to the long weekend away from technology, we are covering the big news that Sonic the Hedgehog comics are back but this time with IDW as a publisher. If you guys didn’t hear, Archie’s Sonic the Hedgehog series ended less than a week ago and SEGA was quick to announce their new partnership with IDW! If you guys watched our previous SEGA News Bits episodes discussing all things Sonic the Hedgehog comics related, you’d know that we have wanted the Sonic the Hedgehog brand to end up at IDW for a long while. So on this episode of the SEGA News Bits we talk about Sonic joining IDW, the potential crossovers, and our hopes for how the transition is handled. There is still a lot of details to hash out on how IDW will be handling their own series, but what do you wanna see? Let us know in the comments below and will you be picking up the new IDW Sonic the Hedgehog series come 2018?

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SEGA News Bits: The End of Archie’s Sonic the Hedgehog Comic Discussion

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Today on the SEGA News Bits we discuss the news that spread through social media like wild fire earlier today, SEGA has announced that they would be moving on from licensing Sonic the Hedgehog comics to Archie. It has been about six month since Archie Comics released a brand new issue of Sonic the Hedgehog and its multiple side series, but now with  San Diego Comic Con closing in they finally let the cat out of the bag. On this episode we discuss what leaving Archie Comics could mean for Sonic the Hedgehog comics, what happen in the last story arc, what comic book publishers should take over, and what Archie Comics original characters we will miss if the series continues without them. But you let us know what you think of SEGA ending their publishing partnership with Archie Comics in the comments below! Thanks for watching.

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