SONIC WEEKLY: Fortnite x Sonic the Hedgehog w/ ASHLYN ANSTEE
Artist, author, and animator Ashlyn Anstee returns to the program for a conversation about the Sonic x Fortnite crossover.
New & improved Panzer Dragoon II Zwei remake demo now available for PC
Back in February, Forever Entertainment S. A. launched a demo of their upcoming remake of Panzer Dragoon II: Zwei and most players were, lets just say, not too impressed. Despite its obvious jump in graphical fidelity compared to the Saturn original, the game’s presentation was void of color, life, and detail and generally looked unfinished. Animations and effects didn’t look great either. It was just a far cry from the game’s original look and style and not a good representation of Panzer Dragoon at all. Fortunately, Forever Entertainment took feedback seriously and began introducing some major improvements to the game. They’ve even updated the demo to reflect these upgrades.
The new demo is now available free on Steam and GOG just as the old demo was. A release date for the full game has still not yet been announced yet, but we should all be glad the game didn’t release in the sordid state it was in previously. If you’re interested in the changes made from the last demo, you can go on ahead past the break.
SEGAbits Presents Arcade Adventure 5: Arcade meetup at Galloping Ghost Arcade in Brookfield, IL on October 3, 2026
MEETUP HOURS: 1pm to 5pm
Pre-event meetup from 12pm to 1pm at Imperial Oak Brewing
Hop into your fastest vehicle and hit the track, because all roads lead to SEGAbits Presents Arcade Adventure 5! Meet up with fellow SEGA fans at Galloping Ghost Arcade in Brookfield, Illinois on October 3rd, 2026 to play hundreds of arcade games in the world’s largest arcade!
Under the microscope: The Magic School Bus
My perception in the 90s was that the Sega Genesis was supposed to be your older brother’s console. It didn’t matter whether you had an older brother, or were an older brother; Sega’s marketing always implied that Genesis was just slightly cooler than you were.
Sega did try to appeal to younger siblings, however. The company’s Sega Club imprint published several titles for little kids, some of which purported to be at least slightly educational.
Scholastic’s The Magic School Bus: Space Exploration Game was one of these Sega Club games. It’s a collection of mini-games focused on space, and is inspired by the 1990 book The Magic School Bus Lost in the Solar System.
Why examine a 30 year old edutainment game? It caught my eye because (a) I had the original The Magic School Bus space book when I was a kid, and my parents would never read it to me because it was too long; and (b) it was developed by Novotrade, and I’ve found interesting things in a few Novotrade games in recent years.
Below are details on how this game’s password system works, and notes on how to use a previously-unpublished cheat code to bypass it altogether.
Germany map revealed for Crazy Taxi: World Tour
SEGA has revealed Germany as the first international destination in Crazy Taxi: World Tour, shown off during today’s Xbox Livestream at gamescom. The new map lets players tear through Germany’s winding streets and open fields while passing historic villages, castles, holiday markets, and more. Real-world brands including PUMA and ZWILLING will also appear throughout the map.
Crazy Taxi: World Tour is coming in 2027 to Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Steam, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch 2. The game is currently available to wishlist on Xbox, Steam, and PlayStation 5. Players can also sign up through August 31 for a chance to participate in the Multiplayer Closed Network Test, taking place September 11–13. Check the official CNT page for details and participating regions.
Crazy Taxi’s Axel Arrives in Sonic Racing CrossWorlds Today!
Today, SEGA officially released the free Axel content for Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds! Players can now race around the track as Axel from Crazy Taxi. Starting Thursday, August 27 at 5:00 PM PT and until Sunday, August 20 at 4:59 PM PT fans can jump in and the free Axel Content Drop includes the following:
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Axel as a playable character
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Axel’s vehicle, the Devolada Yellow Jack
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Special emotes and sounds including tracks:
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“Axel: Character Select” (Jukebox Only)
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“Axel: Result” (Jukebox Only)
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Crazy Taxi: World Tour Multiplayer First Look Trailer at ONL gamescom
During gamescom Opening Night Live, SEGA released a new trailer for Crazy Taxi: World Tour that gives fans a first look at the multiplayer action in the upcoming high-octane driving action game. In the newly revealed multiplayer modes, the city becomes a shared playground where rival drivers compete for passengers, battle for dominance of the streets, discover new shortcuts and create unforgettable moments of multiplayer Crazy Taxi chaos.
Axel won’t be hitting the streets alone. The trailer confirms the return of fan favorites Gena, B.D. Joe, and Gus, who are ready to tear through the city and compete for fares when the game arrives in 2027.
Sonic the Hedgehog’s Club Chaos is Coming to New York City!
Following Sonic the Hedgehog’s birthday celebration in June, fans across the US were invited by Sonic Creative Officer Takashi Iizuka himself to join the Sonic Squad and participate in the Chaos Hunt. Fans journeyed to Los Angeles, San Diego, Chicago, New York City, and across cyberspace as they collected Chaos Emeralds in real life & online for a chance to win Sonic exclusive prizes. Now that all the Emeralds have been recovered, Sonic & friends can finally power the party 35 years in the making.
This coming October, SEGA presents CLUB CHAOS: A Sonic 35th Anniversary Celebration – a once-in-a-lifetime event Sonic the Hedgehog fans won’t want to miss. On Friday October 9, the portal to Club Chaos opens as the Blue Blur launches NYC’s coolest underground hangout for one night only: an immersive experience featuring live music & DJ sets, exclusive merch, retro art & gaming, Sonic-themed food & beverage, and so much more as fans are invited to navigate from zone to zone and immerse themselves in the world of Sonic the Hedgehog as we celebrate his legacy across 35 years of speed.
Under the Microscope: Stimpy’s Invention
Some game cartridges from the 16-bit era shipped with backup chips. These allowed players save their progress. But they were expensive relative to a software-only alternative, session passwords.
In addition to being cheaper, session passwords could be shared. Players eagerly subscribed to game magazines that printed them. And in the 90s, having a notebook full of Sega Genesis codes was a good way to increase your status on the playground.
UrbX Warriors 16-bit Edition for Genesis and Amiga comes to Kickstarter
UrbX Warrriors: The Lost City (16-Bit Edition) is now being developed for both the Genesis/Mega-Drive and the Amiga line of computers. The developers at Brazen Gameplay have taken to Kickstarter to fund this new game and to drum up excitement for it as they prepare to release it physically on both platforms.
The game is a classic arcade action style dungeon crawler. Up to two players can play together and enjoy a lot of fast paced action and an engrossing storyline. And much like last year’s hit new Genesis game Earthion, this game is also being made by old masters of game development who used to work on actual commercially available Genesis and Amiga games. They’ve come back now to show us all one more time how the games of old are made and just how glorious they can be.
If that sounds to you like something worth pledging some money to, then join us after the break to learn more.
The Golden Axe animated series debuts its first trailer
We’ve now gotten our first look at Golden Axe’s animated television debut with the reveal trailer of the series.
The new Golden Axe animated series, originally announced for Comedy Central, is debuting exclusively on the Paramount+ video streaming service on September 16th, 2026. The show was officially announced two years ago as a ten episode series written by Mike McMahan (Star Trek: The Lower Decks, Solar Opposites) and Joe Chandler (American Dad!), who also serve as executive producers alongside SegaSammy’s CEO Haruki Satomi, Sega’s president and COO Shuji Utsumi, and Sega’s own Toru Nakahara. Animation is being done at Titmouse. (Dang!, The Legend of Vox Machina)
The show will, indeed, be an action comedy featuring the original game’s trio of heroes, Ax Battler (Voiced by Liam McIntyre), Tyris Flare (Lisa Gilroy), and Guilius Thunderhead (Matthew Rhys), as they’re joined by a new character who is delightfully underpowered and underprepared and has no business being on an epic quest but the actual heroes let him tag along anyway cause reasons: Hampton Squib (Danny Pudi). The foursome are also, surprisingly, joined by Chronos “Evil” Lait (Carl Tart) (You know. From Golden Axe III (1996))
You can see the actual trailer below past the break. (That’s what we like to call this blue, highly clickable text down here that says “Continue Reading”, cause that’s what we do around here. And then you just read all of it, cause I worked really hard researching and writing. OH! But also, watch the trailer, please.)
SONIC WEEKLY: Sonic in Fortnite?!?
It’s a very special episode this week, as Team Sonic Weekly discuss the news and various Sonic-related issues.
Sega vs. Capcom: The Next Level fan game out now
Here’s a hot new fangame to file under “Awesome games that Sega won’t dare make themselves, for some reason.”
The highly anticipated fanmade crossover fighter “Sega vs. Capcom: The Next Level” has been released in its initial form on August 7th, 2026, but an update with more bugfixes was recently released the week after. One-man developer MadxRuler has released what they refer to as Season 1 of the game for free on the website of their studio, 4Cyde Studios, for PC and Mac. They’ll continue development in their spare time, doing balancing and bugfix updates, a Linux native port, and new characters and other content, but for now, the game features 10 characters, five from Sega and five from Capcom. The game takes elements from some of Capcom’s most beloved arcade fighting games of the past, including Marvel vs. Capcom, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, Capcom vs. SNK 2, and Street Fighter III: Third Strike, while adding in unique mechanics of its own. Guess that means “Welcome To The Next Level.”
Wanna jump into the action? The answer lies in the heart of the article, which is right past the break here.
Sonic the Hedgehog Heads to New York City for the Next Stop in the Chaos Hunt!
Attention Sonic Squad! Another Chaos Emerald appears to be landing in New York City! Fans who live in New York City or the surrounding area are welcome to stop by and check out the Blue Chaos Emerald drop, take pictures, and meet Sonic and Shadow the Hedgehog in person! There will also be special prizes for the first 300 fans, so make sure to get there early! More details on the New York Emerald Drop can be found below:
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WHAT
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Blue Emerald Drop in New York City
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WHERE
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The High Line, 820 Washington St., New York, NY, 10014
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Fans can find the activation near Gansevoort Plaza.
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WHEN
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Saturday, August 15, 2026, from 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM ET.
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WHO
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Sonic and Shadow the Hedgehog will be available to hang out and take pictures with the fans!
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Additional Details
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The first 100 fans will receive a free Chaos Hunt shirt, and the first 250 fans will receive an exclusive Sonic the Hedgehog and Blue Emerald enamel collectible pin.
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In addition, fans will be the first to receive a new and exclusive Sonic collaboration comic book.
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Fans will also be able to scan a QR code to collect the Emerald on their phones for a chance to win the grand prize of an all expenses paid trip to Club Chaos in October!
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Hands-On Preview: Sonic the Hedgehog Pinball by Jersey Jack Pinball
Can you believe that despite being a video game icon for 35 years, the Sonic the Hedgehog series has never had a full size pinball machine? SEGA actually came close. In 1994, SEGA purchased Data East Pinball Inc. and established SEGA Pinball, which was subsequently sold in 1999 to become Stern Pinball. However, even with SEGA being in the pinball industry at the peak of Sonic’s popularity, they never once thought to release a Sonic pinball machine. Fast forward to 2026, the year of Sonic’s 35th anniversary, and thanks to Chicagoland-based Jersey Jack Pinball it has finally happened! Sonic has a pinball machine.