Launch Trailer – Like a Dragon: Ishin! sends Yakuza to 1860s Japan

2023 is certainly shaping up to be the year of the Like A Dragon franchise, formerly the Yakuza franchise, with Like a Dragon: Ishin! releasing this week. SEGA has provided fans with a launch trailer, which you can watch above.

Former SEGA Senior Director of International Product Development and Localization Sam Mullen, who had worked on a bulk of the Yakuza/Like A Dragon franchise as it released to the West, shared his thoughts on the road to Ishin! on Twitter which are well worth a read. Since Twitter is not a very good place for archiving information, we’ve screencaptured Sam’s thoughts. After the break, information about the release platforms and Digital Deluxe Edition content.

Have you picked up Like a Dragon: Ishin!? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Scrape Your Kocos, Catch Some Sage – Sonic Frontiers is now available!

Unless you have been living under a rock, you should know by now that Sonic Frontiers is now available on all major platforms! That includes the PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC. With the game’s launch came a launch trailer that has to be seen to be believed. Think they go with a song like “Vandelize” or “I’m Here”? Think again!

How is the game? You can watch our video review for yourself!

SEGA debuts Sonic Forces launch trailer in anticipation of tomorrow’s release

Sonic Forces releases tomorrow to PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and PC and via SEGA we have a launch trailer for the game. Narrated by Knuckles, the trailer lays out the storyline and introduces the heroes and villains. Also detailed is Episode Shadow, a side-story featuring our favorite edgy black hedgehog featuring new stages and the ability to play as Shadow in over 10 modern Sonic stages.

Order the Sonic Forces Bonus Edition and receive SEGA and Atlus avatar costumes, controller skins and Episode Shadow: PlayStation 4 | Xbox One | Switch | PC

Yakuza Kiwami now available in the Americas and Europe for PlayStation 4

SEGA’s remake of the original classic that kicked off the popular Yakuza franchise, titled Yakuza Kiwami, releases today in the Americas and Europe for the PlayStation 4! To celebrate, SEGA has released a special launch trailer which can be seen above. As mentioned in the SEGAbits review, Yakuza Kiwami improves on the original game in almost all aspects and features additional plot points, includes the option to save anywhere and is the first time the game can be heard in Japanese outside of Japan.

If you still have not ordered the game, the special Yakuza Kiwami steelbook edition is available to purchase for a cool $29.88.

Have you picked the game up yet? If so, tell us what you think of it in the comments below or over on our Discord server or message board.

SEGA releases launch trailers for Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric and Shattered Crystal

SEGA has released the launch trailers for Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric for the Wii U and Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal for the Nintendo 3DS. Both games hit North America and Latin America today and will be in stores in Europe on November 21st. We’ll be sharing our own thoughts on the games soon, and next week expect some behind-the-scenes information on the development of the games. In the meantime, check out the Wii U trailer above and the 3DS trailer after the break!

Super Monkey Ball Bounce now available from the App Store and Google Play

SEGA has just released Super Monkey Ball Bounce to Apple’s App Store and to Google Play, along with the above launch trailer. The game, which was revealed back in May, received the SEGAbits hands-on treatment in June at a special SEGA mobile event outside E3. Described as “Super Monkey Ball meets Peggle”, Super Monkey Ball Bounce is (as described by our own nuckles87 in his preview) a free-to-play game in which you launch a ball into a 2D course, try to bounce it off of various objects in the environment and hit specific targets marked with stars. There are bumpers and curved surfaces to bounce and roll the ball off of, as well as special “power up” blocks. This game is all about using physics and objects in the environment to hit all the targets before you run out of balls. It’s a fairly simple concept, but a fun diversion.

So if you have an iOS or Android device, give Super Monkey Ball Bounce a try and let us know what you think about it in the comments below!

Sonic Lost World Wii U and 3DS launch trailers arrive – game out now in Europe, out October 29th in the US

SEGA has released a pair of trailers for Sonic Lost World, out now in Europe and releasing October 29th in the United States for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. The embargo has lifted and reviews have been pouring in, and if you frequent any gaming forum you’ll know that reviews are quite varied. Sonic Stadium has been building a handy review list, with Famitsu, Nintendo World Report, Games Radar, The Guardian, GamesReactor, Digital Spy, GameTrailers and (gasp!) Destructoid all giving favorable reviews in the 9 to 7/10 range. Sites including IGN, Gamespot, Joystiq, Gameinformer, Edge and Eurogamer fall in the negative end of the spectrum with reviews ranging from 5 to 4/10. As SEGAbits is largely based in the US, expect our full reviews for both versions early November.

While reviews are an important gauge for consumers to figure out if a game is worth their money, it’s important to READ the reviews and not just go by the final tally. Should a demo release before the 29th, play the game for yourself or speak with friends. I’ve always found firsthand experience or the words or a trusted friend to be far more reliable than some guy on the internet. And yes, I realize the irony in that you’re probably reading this from me, some guy on the internet.

After the break, check out the 3DS trailer.

SEGA releases the launch trailer for Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed

It’s here! Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (how many times have we typed that game’s title?) has released in the UK and has stealthily released to select stores in the US earlier this week. To celebrate the game’s launch, SEGA has put together a celebratory trailer showing off the game’s many modes whilst blowing high powered fans in teenager’s faces. This may be a spoiler for some, but a certain unannounced SEGA Saturn franchise track is briefly seen in the trailer. Did you spot it?

Sonic 4 Episode II launch trailer proclaims “to be concluded…” – Episode III a possibility?

SEGA has unveiled the launch trailer for Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode II, showing off zones that have yet to be seen in official videos and making the proclamation of “to be concluded…”. So is episode II the end of the Sonic 4 saga? Or will it be concluded with an episode III? I’m assuming they mean once you play episode II, the game is concluded. But seeing as how SEGA likes money, you’d think they wouldn’t be so definite with the end of the episodic releases. Unless Sonic 5 is next…

Update: After watching the Sonic 4 Episode I trailer, I’m now convinced that the Episode II launch trailer actually points towards an Episode III which will act as the conclusion. Episode I’s launch trailer ended with “To Be Continued…”, referring to another episode. So Episode II’s “To Be Concluded…” most likely refers to another episode that will serve as the conclusion.

After the break, all the prices and release dates you could ever want.

Mario and Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games 3DS gets a launch trailer

SEGA has released a launch trailer for the 3DS version of the latest Mario and Sonic mashup, and it looks like fans of past iterations will get more of the same here. If nothing else, this installment looks to make use of many of the 3DS’ features, and the visuals are a major step up from past handheld Mario and Sonic Olympics games.

There’s something that genuinely interests me about the Adventure Mode, which, as the trailer shows off, features Bowser and Eggman working together on some sort of master plan. That said, having played the demo, this game just isn’t for me. But for fans of mini game compilations, this might actually be a better buy than the Wii version released last year.

Sonic Generations 3DS is out now; check out the launch trailer

Sonic Generations has released yesterday on the 3DS in North America, and is set for release on the 25th of November for Europe. The 3DS version features a set of mostly exlusive levels and is said to play quite differently from its console counterpart. It will also feature a multiplayer mode.

Conduit 2 – Launch Trailer

Yep, it’s the Conduit 2 launch trailer. ‘Best Wii Shooter of 2011’ so says the trailer.
Apparently it’s still a race if you’re the only one running.

In all fairness it actually looks quite good! The first game didn’t really appeal to me, but this one looks much better.

Dreamcast Collection – Launch Trailer

Check out the launch trailer for the Dreamcast Collection, (if you can be bothered….) In all honesty it’s as underwhelming as the collection itself.

If you pick up this collection you can expect to play two less than perfect ports, (Crazy Taxi and Sonic Adventure) a dated fishing game (Sega Bash Fishing) and the only redeeming game on the disc, Space Channel 5 Part 2.

Ask yourself, do I think this makes a good Dreamcast Collection? Is this how we want to celebrate the console we all love? I don’t! I think Sega of America knows how much some of us love the Dreamcast and are trying to play us like a fiddle. I understand this is volume 1 and that suggests more to come but I find it rather hard to get excited when REZ HD, Virtual On, Samba de Amigo and Chu Chu Rocket were also readily available.

You want me to get excited by this? Give me six great games on one disk… Not three mediocre ports and Space Channel 5. Good day to you sir.

Vanquish – Launch Trailer

“Out this Friday 22nd in Europe, Shinji Mikami’s latest offering from the Platinum Games studio. Without provocation the Earth plunges into a new and ferocious war. A war that will only be won by those with the technological edge – an edge like the A.R.S battlesuit.

Fight, survive and claim vengence for the lost.
War has accelerated. This is VANQUISH.

-SEGA

This trailer looks awesome, the game looks awesome.
Go now… Buy Vanquish.

I’ll finish this post with a quote from the Euro gamer review;

“Vanquish is a trailblazer. It is a game of astounding creativity and polish, exhilarating on the ground in the moment-to-moment thrills of high-speed-to-slow-motion combat, as well as in its wider, twisting trajectory. Doubtless the best third-person shooter ever to come out of Japan, Vanquish builds on Western developers’ triumphs to push the genre in new, interesting directions, shifting the balance of power, and cementing Shinji Mikami’s position as one of the best directors working in videogames today.

[Eurogamer review]