Way back in early 2015 we reported that SEGA Networks has acquired Demiurge Studios. Demiurge was known for their work in porting games, creating multiplayer maps and developing mobile games. Since their acquisition by SEGA, the studio released Puzzle & Glory and Crazy Taxi Tycoon (formerly titled Crazy Taxi Gazillionaire). The studio’s latest release, SEGA Heroes, is a match three puzzle RPG game combining various SEGA franchises. Free to play and available now, the game can be found on the App Store and Google Play and is available globally (though we have heard some regions are still waiting).
While we have heard about SEGA Heroes as early as July, the notion of a SEGA crossover mobile game dates back to Summer 2016 when SEGA Blast Heroes leaked. The game used sprite animation and used the gameplay of Chain Chronicle, a tower defense style mobile game from SEGA. Since then the game has changed into what we have now. SEGA Heroes features more detailed character designs with a big head little body aesthetic that allows the human characters to fit in with Sonic and his friends. 
The gameplay is very similar to Demiurge’s Marvel Puzzle Quest, developed before SEGA’s ownership. Players match three gems which affects an RPG-style battle taking place at the top of the screen. Each gem color is matched to a character and affects leveling up, battling, defense and reviving. While some might balk at the fact that the game doesn’t adapt a SEGA gameplay style, the gameplay works. Take Project X Zone for example. Various franchises came together, including platformers, fighters and survival horror, yet the gameplay style was strategy RPG. It’s clear that Demiurge has experience with their gameplay style, and have worked to balance and perfect it with past titles. So while the gameplay style isn’t anything we’ve seen in past SEGA games, at least it is solid. My only complaint: why didn’t they use the jewel shapes from Columns?
Where the game really shines is in the characters. Franchises are well represented and cutscenes are well written. Characters from the Genesis era who never had real speaking roles have personality, and characters from RPGs and later titles feel like themselves. There is also the fun of seeing characters from different franchises interact. Big the Cat has some of the best lines.
So far SEGA Heroes is on the right track. If they continue to add franchises (Yakuza, Shenmue and Valkyria Chronicles would be most welcome), maintain quality writing for characters and tweak the gameplay as needed I think they will have a successful game on their hands.
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I’m really glad my chilhood hero ROLF is finally back. Too bad his move sucks, lol.
Thanks for writing this up. =) I would have missed out on this game.
This game hits a pay wall in every mode real fast. Like, real fast. They offered a $5 pack for the first three hours that got you leveled up figures, but otherwise, prepare to pay to compete at all.
It’s fun for the first or hour or so, but with the way these games were meant to be played (by paying for stuff), you really hit that wall fast. I got my characters to level 11 and everything is so damn difficult. At least I got to try it out.
So is this any good? Worth getting?
I get its only a mobile title but mobile titles are usually mediocre shovel-ware, this looks sort of like a turn based RPG like Chain chronicles – which was actually quite good but Sega shut it down a couple of years back, for a restructural reason I think.
It’s free. Download and try it. It’s more like the Puzzle Quest games where, when you fill a characters bar with their respective color, you can use their attack. You can’t bank attacks though; you only have the one for each character at a time.
I hope they add Ristar. That would be cool.
Cool idea – I’m glad that they’re thinking about their back catalog. I’ll download and pay some money to it just to support the concept.
There’s one huge problem with this game – you need to pay obscene amounts of gems to unlock heroes. That awesome 120 gem “hero pack”? First buy gets you common hero shards and you’re stuck with a 1-star common beacuse you just spent all your freely given gems. Pay up if you want that legendary (which already comes as a 4-star by the way!)! The chance to get shards from battles is extremely low. Looting a stage 8 times results in like 2 shards at best and you need 30-60 to unlock a hero. You’re constantly prodded into spending, free chest is a tiny button buried among paid stuff… I’m very disappointed, to be honest.
I was hopeful because Sonic Forces Speed Battle, although riddled with ads, lets you unlock everything for free and you never feel you gotta pay for anything. Here it’s the opposite, after the first two islands of the main story you keep facing impossible battles every so often, either grind and run out of energy (pay up to refill) or just pay upfront for a CHANCE to get a hero you want… I imagine some child will have a great time emptying mom’s bank account, but anyone with any sense of reason will notice how predatory this is. You pay your 250 bucks, get your full team of legendary heroes and then what? What’s the point of the game? Nothing. Wait for more legendary, virtually unobtainable, heroes to waste even more money on so you can rank up on the arena for worthless recognition.
Yeah it’s pretty bad in that respect. Hell, during one of the Variety Shop times, they had spend 7500 coins for 500 gems. They took my coins but never gave me the gems. This game is a huge time sink too, any way you look at it. I think I’m going to uninstall it.
As others have indicated, it appears to be another ‘pay to win’ mobile scam. Irks me that SEGA are happy to stoop to this sort of thing.
I’ve been enjoying it. It’s not really worth it to put the money into the purchases though. Whatever you buy is used up really fast.
Just playing it a few times a day for a couple of minutes here and there, I’ve made it up to level 21. It’s compelling enough working towards unlocking all the characters you want.