Sonic Frontiers Review: “The Modern Sonic Adventure Sequel”

Sonic Frontiers promises to be the biggest, longest and most open Sonic adventure to date and we here at SEGAbits have been playing the game for a few weeks. Here is our full Sonic Frontiers review, did Sonic Team really nail the open world design or is this just another experiment gone wrong? Find out!

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Team Sonic Racing joins PlayStation Plus free games for March


The PlayStation Blog has confirmed that Team Sonic Racing will join their free PlayStation Plus games for March. Sony has also added Ghostrunner, ARK: Survival Evolved and Ghost of Tsushima: Legends. I would say this is a really good month for the service, we will see if this improves the Team Sonic Racing’s lack of online players.

The new games will update on the PlayStation Store on February 28th. If you haven’t you can also add EA Sports UFC 4, Planet Coaster: Console Edition and Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep: A Wonderlands One-shot Adventure right now. As you can see, March is gonna be a way better month.

Sonic Frontiers revealed at The Game Awards 2021

We finally received news at the Game Awards with not only the announcement of the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 movie trailer, we also got a quick look at Sonic Frontiers which is set to be released this Holiday 2022 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. Here are the details on Sonic Frontiers:

“Worlds will collide in Sonic the Hedgehog’s newest adventure. An experience like never before, accelerate to new heights and experience the thrill of high velocity open-zone freedom. Battle powerful enemies as you speed through the Starfall Islands – landscapes brimming with dense forests, overflowing waterfalls, sizzling deserts and more! Planned for Holiday 2022.

According to Game Informer, Frontiers is an open-world game developed by Sonic Team Japan and led by Sonic Forces/Sonic Lost World director, Morio Kishimoto. Sonic embarks on an adventure to the Starfall Islands, a collection of forests, deserts, waterfalls, among other biomes. It’s unsure what to expect, but based on the trailer, Sonic has some titanic opposition standing in his way. Ian Flynn has also been announced that he will pen the story for the title.

Hit the jump to check out the screenshots.

Ben Schwartz says he hasn’t been asked by SEGA to voice Sonic in other media

Every since Roger Craig Smith announced he wasn’t going to be voicing Sonic the Hedgehog anymore, fans have been speculating who will take over voicing the blue hedgehog. We all know that Roger Craig Smith has been voicing the blue blur for a little over a decade and had a impressive run.

Recently SEGA hit it big last year with Sonic the Hedgehog movie being a big hit and the voice actor Ben Schwartz being accepted positively by fans, so obviously he would get the question if he is the one being asked to take over voicing Sonic the Hedgehog moving forward. Ben being a good guy started by praising Roger’s performance:

“Let’s all, for a second, before we even say that, Roger Craig Smith is an absolute legend. Like, his VO work, Sonic being one of them, but his career is unbelievable for a VO artist. He is so talented.”

But what about him taking over Roger Craig Smith?

Sonic Forces joins Shadow of the Colossus as free games for PS Plus March 2020

We just talked about how Microsoft is giving away Sonic Generations on March 2020 for their ‘Games with Gold’, now PlayStation Plus has announced that they will be giving away Sonic Forces. Sure the game is newer, but I think a lot of hardcore Sonic fans would agree that Sonic Generations is better.

You will be able to download Sonic Forces if you have PlayStation Plus from March 3rd through April 6th.

SEGA AGES Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Puyo Puyo 2 coming to western territories on February 20th

The month of February seems to be sequel month, as two hit SEGA follow ups are coming soon to the SEGA AGES series, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Puyo Puyo 2! Both releases are planned for a February 20th release date on the Nintendo Switch eShop for a price of $7.99 (and equivalent), in both North American and European territories.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is the sequel to the original Sonic the Hedgehog released a year later. Like its predecessor, you take on the role of the titular Sonic as you run through different zones avoiding hazards and beating Badniks. However this time Sonic is joined by his best friend Miles Tails Prower, and has a new move called the Spin Dash that allows him to rev up and dash forward in a ball. This SEGA AGES version comes with the original game, but it also includes new features like the optional Drop Dash, ring counter like SEGA AGES Sonic the Hedgehog, and most notably Knuckles the Echidna being playable like he was when you connected a copy of Sonic 2 to Sonic & Knuckles.

Puyo Puyo 2 (aka Puyo Puyo Tsu) you once again take on the role of young mage Arle Nadja, as you are tasked with climbing up Satan’s tower by beating opponents and earning enough points to move up to the next floor. Like it’s predecessor, the main objective is to beat the opponent by dumping garbage called Nuisance Puyos onto their field, but Puyo Puyo 2 also polishes up the gameplay with new features such as offsetting, double rotation, and All Clear. With this SEGA AGES release, you also get a new mode called Endurance Mode where you must fight against every opponent in the tower, along with quality of life modifications such as the option to change the appearance of the Puyos and the ability to read up the descriptions of every character. Like its predecessor SEGA AGES Puyo Puyo, you also have the option to set up matches with people around the globe via internet.

[Source: SEGA AGES website]

Let’s Remember Sonic Unleashed 11 Years After Release – Twitter Edition

SEGA’s Sonic Unleashed was a very important game in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, it was the birth of a brand new ‘boost Sonic’ formula that would extend to Sonic Colors, Generations and even the latest Forces video game. At the same time it was also the start of focusing on Sonic and abandoning the friends that became mainstay since the release of Sonic Adventure.

To celebrate, I asked on Twitter what our audience thought about Sonic Unleashed, all these 11 years later. First we had a 3 hour long poll that got 459 votes and hot takes from fans:

Sonic Co-Creator Yuji Naka working on original action game at Square Enix


We’ve known since last year that Yuji Naka had joined Square Enix, where he said he was returning as a programmer for the first time since 1997. Now he updated us on Twitter with a message on his birthday:

“Thank you for your birthday message. Today I’m 54 years old. How many games will I be able to make by the retirement age, including the original action game that I’m currently making at Square Enix? I’d like to work hard to develop a game that everyone around the world can enjoy.”

It will be interesting to see what Yuji Naka has in store for us in the near future, even if it isn’t under SEGA’s publishing arm.

[Via: Gematsu]

SEGA files trademark for ‘Nights Dream Wheel’ in Japan

SEGA has just filed a trademark for the name “Nights Dream Wheel” in Japan, of course we don’t know if there is a new ‘NiGHTS into Dreams…’ game in development, but it seems that SEGA is planning on doing something with the IP?

As fans around the world know, NiGHTS has a unique way that Sonic Team used to spell it (all caps, with the “i” being lowercase), sadly the trademark page has the name filed as all caps (which I think is normal for all trademarks?). The last time we heard of the IP was when SEGA re-released the game on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC in October 2012.

What do you think this could be? For some reason to me it sounds like it could be some sort of mobile or pachinko type machine, but we shall see. I mean we are getting the return of Super Monkey Ball later this year, so maybe we could see the return of NiGHTS?

[Update: According to people online the trademark is for 家庭用テレビゲーム (Home TV Game), ROMカートリッジ (ROM Cartridge) and 光ディスク (Optical Disk)]

[Via: Gematsu]

Fan-made open beta of Sonic Runners underway

2015 was an interesting year for Sonic. Before the ignition that started with the 25th anniversary party, the Sonic Mania hype, and SEGA Forever, we were gifted as with a few lovely mobile apps for SEGA to dip their toes into the market. With Sonic Jump and Sonic Dash being both moderate and raving successes respectfully, it was time that Sonic Team took a slightly different approach to the next mobile game, leading to Sonic Runners. However, within over a year of its launch, the game was shut down. Now fans have worked their magic again to revive the long-forgotten game app, which was a favorite among the community. Click the jump to find out more.

Project Sakura Wars first gameplay to debut in official live stream on June 26


SEGA will be hosting a series of ‘Sakura Wars: Imperial Theater Propaganda Department Report’ live streams, with the first official broadcast kicking off on June 26 from 20:00 JST to 21:30 JST (4am-5:30am PST) on YouTube and Periscope.

The stream will reveal new information and show off the first gameplay stream.

The stream will feature:

– Yohei Azakami (Mission Propaganda Department leader / Seijuurou Kamiyama voice actor)
– Misuzu Araki (assistant MC)
– Tetsu Katano (Project Sakura Wars producer)

If you don’t have time to watch the stream, just come here after the whole event and we will have a breakdown on all the new information!

SEGA Talk #17: Burning Rangers (1998)

On this SEGA Talk, George and Barry discuss Sonic Team’s final game for the SEGA Saturn: Burning Rangers. Despite the all-star development team, few SEGA and Sonic Team fans have actually played the game thanks to a limited run in the west. We discuss the game’s scarcity, how it played, the story and setting and of course the catchy theme song!

In addition to the audio podcast, we are offering a special YouTube enhanced version of the show. We are still working out the kinks and feedback would be appreciated. If you like the show, make sure to leave us a positive five star review on iTunes, it always helps!

Support us on Patreon! Get an exclusive pre-show, early access, your SEGA memories played at the end and more!

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Team Sonic Racing releases new ‘Team Up’ trailer

SEGA Europe has revealed a brand spanking new trailer for Team Sonic Racing, this one being called ‘Team up’, giving you a overview of all the information we’ve been given the last few months including a overview at a bunch of race tracks.

“The race is about to begin! Join Sonic and friends as they speed across vibrant tracks and do whatever it takes to come out in first place. Race online with up to 12 friends, play with friends in your living room with split screen, customize and personalize your car for maximum speed, and work together as a team to unleash your Team Ultimate Boost. Gear Up. Speed Up. Team Racing at Sonic Speed. Team Sonic Racing arrives May 21st on Playstation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC!”

I will say that the game has been looking better and better each time they show it, but something about the game still turns me off. Maybe because one of the reasons I liked the All-Stars Racing series was because of all the fan service while this game is playing it more safe. I guess we shall see if it works out for SEGA.

SEGA confirms that ‘Project Sakura Wars’ is coming West

SEGA has updated their twitter letting their fans know that the new Sakura Wars project, that just got a trailer at SEGA Fes 2019, will be coming West. Can I just say how much I love these sort of announcements that go along with Japanese reveals? I hope we have more in store.

It looks like SEGA’s Zack Reese had some tweets on how he will be working on Project Sakura Wars: