SEGA gives their employees some holiday gifts!
There are certainly some perks with working for SEGA. For the holidays this year, SEGA employees got some pretty snazzy looking Sonic merchandise! You can check out the original tweet here.
Sonic
Tuesday Tunes: Mario & Sonic remixes Super Mario Land World 1-1
It’s not every day we get to feature a Mario track on Tuesday Tunes. But given the love affair between Sonic and the Big N lately, it seems only fitting to celebrate the recent release of multiple Sonic and Mario titles with a soundtrack that combines the musical stylings of both.
Though this is a remix of a Mario song, it currently feels like something SEGA would produce. The structure of the song is more complicated then what you would typically find in a Mario track, which tend to be more simplistic, though no less fine to the ear, as the Mario Galaxy OST can surely attest to. This is an excellent remix of a track I could barely remember before hand. If this is indicative of Mario & Sonic 2014’s overall soundtrack, I will certainly be seeking out the rest of the OST in the future.
Happy 20th anniversary to Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog!
Today marks the 20th anniversary of one of Sonic’s most inventive, craziest, and funniest cartoons: Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog! One of my strongest nostalgic connections to the Sonic franchise was this 1993 cartoon series. It was the only cartoon of my childhood which I remember watching from the very beginning. While I was a huge Ninja Turtles and The Real Ghostbusters fan, both cartoons were at their heights a few years before I began watching.
When The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog (hereby known as AoStH) premiered, I remember exactly where I was. It was September 6th 1993 and I was eating breakfast in our kitchen, catching the first episode (in airing order, not production order) “Best Hedgehog”. The image after the break is a pretty accurate representation of what I saw. Yes, despite it being 1993 we still had an old black and white in our kitchen.
Summer of Sonic 2013 – Takashi Iizuka Interview
Over the past few years the Sonic series has hit a bit of a renaissance, with Colours and Generations achieving relative success critically as well as commercially. Typically, just as this turnaround is achieved, the newest game shows signs of radical change to the 3D Sonic formula that had finally gained acceptance. Sonic Lost World’s new design is the kind of decision that means it’s always interesting to chat to Takashi Iizuka, the man at the top of Sonic Team today and the public face of the team. He’s always cheery and approachable, but you can never quite predict the answers you’ll get from him. Read on to find out Iizuka’s take on the limitations of Sonic’s previous 3D outings, what inspired the new design of Sonic Lost World and his view of differences between working in the USA and Japan!
SEGAbits Visits SEGA of America, Inc. in Sunny San Francisco – Part 3
Welcome to the third and final part of our visit to SEGA of America! Check out the first part here and the second part here. In part three, we’re going to take a look at several rare, cool, and sometimes strange pieces of SEGA history pulled from SEGA’s archives from SEGA community managers Kellie Parker and Julian Mehlfeld. Consoles in their original boxes, cool accessories, rare statues, and a few items from the Kellie Parker Collection™ can all be seen after the break!
Summer of Sonic 2013 – Sonic Lost World Impressions
Summer of Sonic features an in-development game to play every year, usually for the first time to the public outside big industry shows like E3. This year, we got Sonic Lost World, on both Wii U and 3DS, making its debut in the United Kingdom.
First, a quick summary of what was on show. The rep told us this was the Comic-Con build, so for the few Americans in the audience who were there, we played the same game you did. There were three Wii U demo pods and six 3DSes running. On the Wii U game there were 4 levels available to play: Windy Hill, Desert Ruins 1 (styled with a small letter S shoe-horned in between the s and the e on the title card to make Dessert – a pun on the fact it’s a candy/sweets level), Desert Ruins 2 (an auto-run level through honey combs) and Frozen Factory (the Sonic 2-styled casino level). On the 3DS, there were 3 available choices – a Windy Hill tutorial level, Windy Hill 1 and Desert Ruins 2 (here, an Egyptian-themed puzzle level with moving around of blocks & balls). We tried to play as much as possible, bearing in mind that because of queue lengths there was a limit of one level per person. Those of you who recall back to Summer of Sonic 2010 may remember we did a look at Sonic Colours‘ debut – this time we have opinions on the game not just from myself but several Sonic Retro forum members, so read on to see what we thought!
Summer of Sonic 2013 – The Metal Sonic Edition
That time of year is upon us once again – Summer of Sonic, the Sonic the Hedgehog fan convention in the UK, held its 6th show this weekend just gone; back in London again following a brief visit to Brighton last year. This year the event boasted as guests Takashi Iizuka, Jun Senoue, and Kazuyuki Hoshino; with a playable build of the upcoming new title Sonic Lost World available. So let’s dive in, shall we?
More SEGA Game Gear titles appear in the 3DS eShop – Sonic, Sonic, and Not Sonic
The SEGA Blog has revealed the next three Game Gear titles fans can expect to find in the Nintendo 3DS eShop. This week sees the release of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic Labyrinth, and the RPG Crystal Warriors. Personal opinion on these titles? Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is perhaps my least favorite of the Game Gear Sonic platformers. Maybe it was the lack of Tails, or the bland first stage, or the overly difficult bosses (thanks to a zoomed in screen). Sonic Labyrinth is… an interesting Sonic spin-off. Playing similar to Sonic 3D Blast, due to being isometric, the game finds Sonic stripped of his speed thanks to Dr. Eggman replacing his iconic sneakers with “Slow-Down Boots”. As such, the game is more of a puzzle game. If a slow Sonic with clunky controls is for you, then check this one out. Crystal Warriors is probably the title to check out this week, as it is quite a fun strategy RPG. As a bonus, SEGA has included the ability to play the game over local multiplayer – assuming both players have a copy of the game.
SEGA promises that more Game Gear titles are on the way for the eShop, so stay tuned! Or bookmark this page. However “stay tuned” translates into internet usage.
HUGE Sega/Sonic sales on LIVE and PSN
Time to transfer your titles to digital and save some money while doing it! Both PSN and X-Box LIVE have big savings on some of your favorite Sega titles. On PSN, you get the “Sonic Master Collection”. It’s 7 Sonic titles and their DLC for $29.99. This includes Sonic Adventures 1 & 2, Sonic CD, Sonic 1 & 2 and Sonic 4 Episodes 1 & 2.
But X-Box LIVE has even bigger sales! Get Sonic Unleashed, Sonic Generations, Sega Superstar Tennis or Condemned for only $9.99! Sonic 4 Episodes 1 & 2 are 400 points ($4.99) each while Space Channel 5 Part 2, Sega Bass fishing, Guardian Heroes, Sonic 1, 2, 3 and Knuckles plus Sonic CD are a mere 160 Points ($2) each. Sonic Adventure 1 also comes in at 160 points while Sonic Adventure 2 is 400 points. Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown, Crazy Taxi, NiGHTS, Daytona USA HD and Jet Set Radio Come in at 400 points. Also, check out The Cave and Renegade Ops coming in at 600 and 320 points respectively. There’s big savings on the DLC as well, so hurry up and don’t miss out!
Third Sonic game isn’t coming this year
Despite what Nintendo of Germany’s press release said last week, SEGA has confirmed to IGN’s Richard George that the third Sonic game will not be arriving this year. This means that the third game in Nintendo’s three game deal may be more than a digital title or a spin off. It also means that this exclusive deal won’t be ending for a little while. Will Nintendo fans be getting another main Sonic title next year? Guess we’ll just have to wait and see!