Our current era juxtaposes AAA titles, with huge expectations on presentation and endless cutscenes, and smaller package XBLA/PSN/Steam/etc budget titles. There’s a lot to love on both ends and in between. But a few elements many recent games lack, for me, are local co-op. The ability to not take yourself too seriously, and simply being able to pick up and play the game (sadly, there are only so many levels to Earth Defense Force 2017).
Do you like speed runs? Do you like SEGA games? You will love this speed run of the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive version of Golden Axe by Jason ‘honorableJay’ Feeney. I’m a bit confused as to why it is picking up attention now, since he completed the deed last year. Regardless, I haven’t seen it and it brings a nostalgia factor.
What is your favorite speed run of a SEGA game? How fast can you beat Golden Axe?
Sakura Taisen (Sakura Wars) is a Strategy RPG adventure series that features a unique sim-based story system developed by AM7 Team Shinobi (Overworks) from SEGA along with Red Entertainment. The series first began in 1996 for the Sega Saturn and spawned several sequels, including OVA adaptations, TV anime series, a movie, and other merchandises. While the game was a successful Sega IP in Japan, it never had a release in the West until the release of the fifth game, which was released and published by NIS America. However, the series has had a cult following within the Sega & anime community fan base with english releases of anime videos. Want to know what I think about the game and how awesome it is? Read on to find out.
If you guys heard the latest Swingin’ Report Show, you probably heard me talk about this Sonic Drive-In advert. Look at that, a great nod to Outrun. I love this sort of stuff. Maybe Barry is right, maybe they just want to be bought out by SEGA.
Would you guys eat more at Sonic Drive-In if it was SEGA themed?
The Game Gear’s first games debut on the 3DS’ Virtual Console this week. Needless to say, this has got me digging out my Game Gear and playing all kinds of games, most notably the game that will surely be the flagship title of the Game Gear’s arrival: Sonic Triple Trouble.
So, I thought I’d give us all a break from orchestrations this week, to post up an oldie but a goodie: Sky Sanctuary Zone. I loved this song back in the day, and it’s still the classic Sonic theme I best remember. I still remember when I first loaded up Sky Sanctuary and was greeted with this tune. It was so…different from anything else I had ever heard in a Sonic game before, and it instantly gave Sky Sanctuary this huge breathtaking feel that went perfectly together with it’s scope. This theme is one of the primary reasons why I wanted the level to be included in Generations.
Speaking of which, I am including two very awesome remixes of this song below the fold, one put together by Kanjika and the other from Sonic Generations. I HIGHLY encourage you listen to both. It’s really surprising what Kanjika is able to do with this.
Planet Harriers is a criminally underrated game from Sega’s history which is well over due a spotlight on SEGAbits, so here it is!
Planet Harriers is an on-rail shooter and part of the more widely recognized ‘Space Harrier’ series. It released in the year 2000 on the Sega Hikaru arcade board and while I believe plans for it to appear on the Dreamcast were afoot unfortunately it never materialized before the consoles untimely demise.
Planet Harriers uses a twin cabinet, which allows for two player Co-Op, or a networked two-player game. The cabinet has a seated configuration. Planet Harriers controls used a joystick with a missile and bullet trigger. ‘View change’ and bomb buttons were on the main panel.
So why do I think it needs to be given a spotlight on our front page? Well just look at that video! I think if there is ever a game that sums up what ‘Sega’ means to a whole host of older fans out there it’s games Planet Harriers. The game just drips with bright colours and that nostalgic ‘blue skies’ happy-go-lucky feeling a Sega game should. The graphics are beautiful too and I’m very impressed by the lighting. Not to mention the video above features the bonus character; SEGAbits’ adopted mascot OpaOpa!
Now if Sega ever wanted to bring this beauty to XBLA/PSN and Steam, this is something I could get behind!
I love Panzer Dragoon. Panzer Dragoon Orta though? My favorite game of all time. Rail shooting gameplay honed to perfection. Graphics that to this day stand the test of time. Unique and varied locations ranging from epic air battles to lonely snow covered landscapes. Finally, its soundtrack never, ever misses a beat. I fell in love with Anu Orta Veniya the moment the credits began to roll after one of the most surprising and heart breaking endings I had seen in a video game at the time. Its amazing orchestration and beautiful vocals perfectly ended the most impressive gaming experience of my life.
An amazing end to an amazing series. Another song that stuck in my head was “Gigantic Fleet”. As usual, it’s after the break!
Panzer Dragoon Saga was the epic finale to SEGA’s Panzer Dragoon trilogy, and what a finale it was! Switching from the more limiting rail shooter format to a fully 3D RPG, it mixed elements from the rail shooters with RPGs in a way that is still unique even to this day. The Saturn’s magnum opus, Panzer Dragoon Saga, had a beautiful soundtrack to match its scope, the crown jewel being Sona Mi Areru Ec Sancitu. In my humble opinion this stands as one of SEGA’s best songs, period.
Another great track from this game is “Atolm Dragon”, the theme for the boss fight with said dragon, which you can listen to after the break.
Panzer Dragoon is my favorite video game series of all time, thanks in no small part to the consistently awesome musical score. For the first game, I had some major difficulties deciding between the full version of the main menu theme, or Flight. They are both superb pieces, and an interesting look at Panzer Dragoon’s musical style before it settled on a specific style in Zwei. The theme here is a bit more typical kind of orchestration, with horns, violins, and flutes, with some tambourines keeping a nice beat in the background. Not quite what the rest of the series sounds like.
Below the fold you’ll find the full version of the menu theme.
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Swingin’ Report Show #44: Raiders of the Lost World
Review: The House of the Dead: Overkill – The Lost Reels (iOS)
My Life with SEGA boots up and reviews the Genesis CDX
Tuesday Tunes: Outrun 2019′s Victorious and Feel the Beat
Monday Memories: EA not supporting the Dreamcast
The Weekly Five: Reasons Why Sonic Being Nintendo Exclusive is a Good Thing
