Author Archives: Ashley Rojas

Interview with Satoshi Yokokawa: New Sonic 3 and Mecha Sonic Mk. II info revealed

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Sega Retro interviewer Ashley Rojas has published an in-depth interview with Satoshi Yokokawa, the Sonic Team artist behind Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles‘ enemies and bosses. The interview follows Yokokawa from his 1991 hiring at Sega CS1, where his first project was the Toshokan title 16t, to his transfer to the Sega Technical Institute in California for the development of Sonic 3. Yokokawa explains the thinking behind the game’s distinctive enemy designs and reveals the inspirations behind Mecha Sonic Mk. II‘s character designs. The interview goes on to cover his transition to 3D on Saturn titles like World Advanced Daisenryaku, the Gigas bosses of Eternal Arcadia, and his freelance work with Treasure on games including Astro Boy: Omega Factor, Gunstar Super Heroes, and Bangai-O Spirits.

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Exclusive Tom Payne interview: New details about Sonic 2 and Sega Technical Institute

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Ashley Rojas has conducted a new interview with Sega Technical Institute artist Tom Payne, most known for his role as one of three American artists assigned to Sonic the Hedgehog 2. In this interview, Tom reveals never-before-heard development information, including being brought onto the project, new details on Genocide City Zone, memories about working with his Japanese coworkers, and even how the dinosaur enemies later placed in Hidden Palace Zone came from his first week at the studio. He also expands on his contributions to titles like Sonic Spinball and Spinny & Spike, later recounting his career after leaving Sega and up to the present day.

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MICROWAVE MEGAWEEK DAY 5: Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine (Kraftwerk prototype)

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DevStash x Sega Retro present Microwave Megaweek is a 5-day prototype and development material release event happening now on Sega Retro’s forums. Earlier this year, interviewer Ashley Rojas – representing her newly-founded game preservation nonprofit DevStash Inc. – visited former Sega of America audio director David Javelosa to preserve as much of the musician’s game industry work as possible. From never-before-seen internal documentation to long-sought prototypes, Microwave Megaweek serves as a physical representation of both David’s career and Sega of America’s audio history.

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MICROWAVE MEGAWEEK DAY 4: DJ GEMS Demo and Sonic 2’s Club Scene

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DevStash x Sega Retro present Microwave Megaweek is a 5-day prototype and development material release event happening now on Sega Retro’s forums. Earlier this year, interviewer Ashley Rojas – representing her newly-founded game preservation nonprofit DevStash Inc. – visited former Sega of America audio director David Javelosa to preserve as much of the musician’s game industry work as possible. From never-before-seen internal documentation to long-sought prototypes, Microwave Megaweek serves as a physical representation of both David’s career and Sega of America’s audio history.

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MICROWAVE MEGAWEEK DAY 3: Multimedia Studio and the Sega CD

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DevStash x Sega Retro present Microwave Megaweek is a 5-day prototype and development material release event happening now on Sega Retro’s forums. Earlier this year, interviewer Ashley Rojas – representing her newly-founded game preservation nonprofit DevStash Inc. – visited former Sega of America audio director David Javelosa to preserve as much of the musician’s game industry work as possible. From never-before-seen internal documentation to long-sought prototypes, Microwave Megaweek serves as a physical representation of both David’s career and Sega of America’s audio history.

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MICROWAVE MEGAWEEK DAY 2: Internal Sega Genesis prototypes

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DevStash x Sega Retro present Microwave Megaweek is a 5-day prototype and development material release event happening now on Sega Retro’s forums. Earlier this year, interviewer Ashley Rojas – representing her newly-founded game preservation nonprofit DevStash Inc. – visited former Sega of America audio director David Javelosa to preserve as much of the musician’s game industry work as possible. From never-before-seen internal documentation to long-sought prototypes, Microwave Megaweek serves as a physical representation of both David’s career and Sega of America’s audio history.

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MICROWAVE MEGAWEEK: Five days of prototypes, documents and unreleased music

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DevStash x Sega Retro present Microwave Megaweek is a 5-day prototype and development material release event happening now on Sega Retro’s forums. Earlier this year, interviewer Ashley Rojas – representing her newly-founded game preservation nonprofit DevStash Inc. – visited former Sega of America audio director David Javelosa to preserve as much of the musician’s game industry work as possible. From never-before-seen internal documentation to long-sought prototypes, Microwave Megaweek serves as a physical representation of both David’s career and Sega of America’s audio history.

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