After Burner II: From SEGA arcade classic to SEGA 3D Classics

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After Burner is just one of those franchises by SEGA that took American arcade goers by storm due to the sheer speed of the game, the eye catching cabinet, and its highly detailed (for the time) graphics. I truly believe that After Burner is just one of those arcade games that don’t get enough credit by gamers today, so jump into your F-14 Tomcat and blast through our After Burner retrospective. You never know, you might learn something!

Game Watch & Impress SEGA 3D Classics interviews continue, focusing on the development of After Burner II

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The SEGA Blog has kicked off another series of translated interviews held between 3D Classics developer M2 and Game Watch & Impress, this time focusing on the upcoming 3D After Burner II which is due out on January 15th for Nintendo’s 3DS. The article, which you can find here, not only delves into the development of the 3DS remake, but also Okunari provides photos and videos of the After Burner II cabinet in SEGA of Japan’s permanent storage warehouse. Suddenly I’m having visions of the ending to “Raiders of the Lost Arc” with every crate sporting a SEGA logo.

Part one can be found at SEGA’s blog, and part two is to be released tomorrow.

Second wave of SEGA’s 3D Classics set to kick off January 15th with After Burner II

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Perhaps the most exciting news last year for Nintendo 3DS owning SEGA fans was the announcement that the second wave of SEGA’s 3D Classics were heading West in early 2015. Revealed to be releasing monthly, think of it as a SEGA Arcade Game of the Month Club, Nintendo Life has discovered that After Burner II will be kicking off the collection in Europe on January 15th and that the games will be priced at £4.49/€4.99. An American release date has not been discovered, but it will likely be the same or just a few days apart from the European date.

It can be assumed that 3D Fantasy Zone, 3D OutRun, 3D Fantasy Zone II, and 3D Thunder Blade will be released between February and May, making the first half of 2015 a retro SEGA fan’s dream come true!

Year of the Developers: We celebrate the legacy of SEGA AM2

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SEGA AM2 is just one of those developers that always puts a smile on my face whenever I talk about their games. Not only do they have one of the most vast libraries, but they also revolutionized gaming in general multiple times over the past decades. Let’s look at the developer that popularized sprite-scaling in the 80s, gave us modern 3D with their Virtua series and created one of the most expensive games ever as we walk through their legacy.

Don’t forget to join us all month long while we talk more about SEGA AM2 and all their legendary franchises.

Get Ready For After Burner Week, Fire!

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SEGA made a name for itself in the eighties thanks in no small part to the incredible talents of Yu Suzuki and his team at AM2. Though the company saw numerous successes throughout the decade ranging from Zaxxon to Fantasy Zone to Altered Beast, it was AM2’s innovative tetralogy of super scaler powered games that would make SEGA a big name in the arcades. From 1985 to 1987 SEGA released a crescendo of innovative mega-hits, including Hang-On, Space Harrier and OutRun, culminating with the release of After Burner.

Much like the rest of its brethren, After Burner was a resounding success, spawning numerous updates and spiritual successors. This week, we’ll be giving you a taste of what After Burner has to offer. First, we’d like to present an overview of the franchise for the uninitiated.

Japan’s next Nintendo 3DS SEGA classic is After Burner II

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While the West is still enjoying SEGA’s weekly releases of 3D arcade and Genesis titles for Nintendo’s 3DS, with 3D Ecco the Dolphin and 3D Galaxy Force 2 releasing this week, Japanese gamers have the next wave of 3D classics to look forward to. Releasing December 18th to Japan is the arcade classic After Burner II, which features many of the same features that made 3D Space Harrier and 3D Hang-On so great. Players can expect 3D gameplay, reproduced arcade cabinet graphics and sound effects, stage select, the ability to save the game at any time, varying degrees of difficulty, a music test, and several control and screen settings. Check out the official 3D After Burner II site for more images and details, no announcement has been made for a Western release but once we hear something we’ll be sure to share it.

Thanks to forum member NiGHTS for the tip!