SEGA Talk Podcast #40: Segata Sanshiro

Please almighty Segata Sanshiro! We need to stop playing our SEGA Saturns for just one hour to talk about your greatness! On this SEGA Talk, George and Barry discuss the inspiration for SEGA Japan’s Saturn mascot, as well as the many commercials and the legacy Segata Sanshiro left behind– oh! He found us-! UGH! I can’t… breathe…

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If you want to give us feedback, suggest a topic for the next podcast or want to ask a question for us to answer on the next episode you can add  them as a comment below or send theme directly to our email. Make sure you use subject line ‘SEGA Talk’ and as always, thanks for listening!

SEGA Talk Podcast #39: Vectorman (1995)

On this SEGA Talk, George and Barry discuss the 1995 SEGA Genesis classic Vectorman! Enjoy this enhanced format where we now watch videos as well as give our usual analysis and development overview.

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If you want to give us feedback, suggest a topic for the next podcast or want to ask a question for us to answer on the next episode you can add  them as a comment below or send theme directly to our email. Make sure you use subject line ‘SEGA Talk’ and as always, thanks for listening!

Panzer Dragoon: Remake Review – A Wing in the Right Direction (Nintendo Switch)

Review code provided by Forever Entertainment.

Remakes are a common sight in the modern age. I won’t spiel too long about their worth, or their reason for being, but I will put a fine point on one aspect of their existence: what they bring to the original game. A remake can do a lot of things, both good and bad, and the discussion for how faithful a remake should be is a relevant one in the face of games that barely do more than make new art and graphical assets being the most successful remakes on the market. A good remake, in my opinion, is one that injects life into an old idea while keeping sight of what made the idea special in the first place. Or, at the very least, doing something so radically different with the original idea it becomes special in its own right.

Enter Panzer Dragoon: Remake. The original was a seminal 1995 release that ushered the SEGA Saturn into American and European homes with aplomb, and delighted Japanese Saturn owners a year into its life. It was a simple game of arcade sensibility with RPG detail. It was a 3D tour-de-force when polygons were a rarity at home. An on-rails action shooter with a three hundred and sixty degree innovation and a world like nothing else at the time. It’s a prime candidate for a remake, old and unique enough that it could stand improvements without becoming part of the crowd. Does the remake we have now succeed, though? Well…

SEGA Talk Podcast #38: JSRF: Jet Set Radio Future (2002)

Barry and George return to the streets of Tokyo-to to discuss Smilebit’s JSRF: Jet Set Radio Future! On this long anticipated SEGA Talk, we discuss the differences between the sequel and the original, try to make sense of the game’s crazy plot and do a deep dive into the music including the most comprehensive The Latch Brothers oral history you will ever hear.

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If you want to give us feedback, suggest a topic for the next podcast or want to ask a question for us to answer on the next episode you can add  them as a comment below or send theme directly to our email. Make sure you use subject line ‘SEGA Talk’ and as always, thanks for listening!

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SEGA Talk Podcast #37: SEGA Superstars Tennis (2008)

Grab your racket, because on this SEGA Talk Podcast, George and Barry are discussing SEGA Superstars Tennis! Learn about how Sumo Digital decided on tennis for their first Superstars/All-Stars game, and hear our thoughts on the franchise lineup, gameplay and shift to racing.

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If you want to give us feedback, suggest a topic for the next podcast or want to ask a question for us to answer on the next episode you can add  them as a comment below or send theme directly to our email. Make sure you use subject line ‘SEGA Talk’ and as always, thanks for listening!

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The History of Sega Japan R&D Part 5: The Road to 2020 is Complete

It was 2015 when I posted the four part retrospective of Sega of Japan’s game development. 2015 was the year where they announced a new initiative and went as far as to make their previous corporate divisions their own separate companies. Such as Sega Games, Sega Interactive for arcades and so on (which they are already undoing again in April). Sega Game’s new president, Haruki Satomi, promised that he would right the wrongs of the past, gain back the trust of consumers and also shareholders with their “Road to 2020” initiative. Of course this encompasses the evolution of their Japanese in-house studios, which are arguably the core of Sega.

SEGA Talk Podcast #36: Hang-On (1985)

On this SEGA Talk, George and Barry discuss the granddaddy of super scaler games: Hang-On! Learn about the mysterious Studio 128, the REAL reason the bike is red, and the bizarre sequels released that WEREN’T Super Hang-On.

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If you want to give us feedback, suggest a topic for the next podcast or want to ask a question for us to answer on the next episode you can add  them as a comment below or send theme directly to our email. Make sure you use subject line ‘SEGA Talk’ and as always, thanks for listening!

SEGA Sammy third quarter review for fiscal year ending 2020

It’s that time again! Okay, so financial reports may seem boring to some, but if you are a SEGA fan, reading these things is vitally important. Knowing how well (or how poorly) certain divisions did dictates how SEGA Sammy moves forward as a company. After the break to find out how the company’s latest set of financials turned out as they released the third quarter results for the fiscal year 2020.

SEGA Talk Podcast #35: Gunstar Heroes (1993)

We reopen the Treasure chest and check out another gem from the studio we all love (that being Treasure, if you didn’t get the earlier reference). This time it’s Gunstar Heroes! Learn about how the game’s title came to be, where the franchise went after the initial Mega Drive release, the technical ins and outs of the game, and more!

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If you want to give us feedback, suggest a topic for the next podcast or want to ask a question for us to answer on the next episode you can add  them as a comment below or send theme directly to our email. Make sure you use subject line ‘SEGA Talk’ and as always, thanks for listening!

SEGAbits Turns 10 Years Old Today

Ten years ago today, this very site posted its first article, appropriately titled “Welcome to SEGAbits”. For context, around this time ten years back we we’re covering Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing, Yakuza 3, Aliens vs. Predator and Sonic 4. A lot has changed with SEGA and ourselves since then, but throughout all of it we’ve had the support of the community and an awesome readership, listenership and viewership. Thank you for continuing to support us in what we do, and here’s to another ten years!

Exclusive: Panzer Dragoon Remake interview with Producer Benjamin Anseaume

For over a year, we’ve been anticipating each bit of word, footage, and image of MegaPixel, Forever Entertainment, TA Publishing, and SEGA’s from the ground up remake of Panzer Dragoon. For those unfamiliar, Panzer Dragoon was an early SEGA Saturn title that gained acclaim for its unique setting, shake-ups in the rail shooter genre, and challenging gameplay. It spawned two more rail shooter sequels and a full role-playing game before being put to rest with the series finale, Panzer Dragoon Orta for the Xbox. For the nearly two decades since, fans have wanted to return to that science fiction fantasy world and see the series brought back with as much aplomb as possible.

Then, at the end of 2018, it was revealed that a little-known French-based publishing company and development house MegaPixel Studio were set to release remakes of Panzer Dragoon, and its sequel, Panzer Dragoon Zwei. Since then, we’ve seen art, we’ve seen gameplay, we’ve seen its due arrival on Switch and Steam, but we still had burning questions. To sate our (and especially my) own curiosity, I reached out to Benjamin Anseaume, producer on the remake project, to ask him several things. Learn about extra game content, the process of getting the game into the developer’s hands, and even get a glimpse at what the original creator of Panzer Dragoon, Yukio Futatsugi, thinks of the new project!

All this and more, after the jump!

SEGA News Bits: Sonic Movie Theme Song Reaction

Usually the music is the best part of any Sonic thing, but does this hold true for the theme song for the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog movie? On this SEGA News Bits, Barry and George reaction to Let’s Go Fast from Yiffy the Wizard, Dr. Boatz, Lil’ Flim-Flam and Yakkity Gak. I think I got that information correct, right?

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SEGA Talk Podcast #34: Seaman (1999)

The often requested episode of SEGA Talk is here! Barry and George discuss Seaman, Yoot Saito’s strange SEGA Dreamcast experiment. Learn how the idea came about, the speech recognition tech that made the game possible, what Yoot has been up to since and more!

Support us on Patreon! Get early access, tell us what games to cover, and have your SEGA memories read at the end and more!

[iTunes – Stitcher – YouTube – Play Music – RSS – Download]

If you want to give us feedback, suggest a topic for the next podcast or want to ask a question for us to answer on the next episode you can add  them as a comment below or send theme directly to our email. Make sure you use subject line ‘SEGA Talk’ and as always, thanks for listening!

Round Table: How SEGA Can Improve in 2020

We are in a brand new decade and SEGA has had a huge turn around in the last five years since they announced their last big rebuild and bought Atlus. It seems that SEGA’s Road to 2020 was a success in a lot of aspects. But like every company, there are always weak points that haven’t quite been ironed out.

On this Round Table we will discuss how SEGA can improve in 2020, if you have any ways that you think SEGA can improve in this new year, let us know in the comments below.

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