Author Archives: Barry

The SEGA Five: Revisiting Green Hill Act 1

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In the Sonic universe there is nothing more iconic than the zone that started it all: Green Hill. Any and every SEGA and Sonic fan should know the look and layout of this zone, specifically the first act and even more specifically the first few moments experienced by players. I’m talking about the line of rings, followed by the platform with an item box above and a Motobug below, a Buzz Bomber enters from the right of the screen, passing a palm tree with a spring hidden inside. For many fans, this was their introduction to Sonic as a character and as a franchise. Sonic Team knew the importance of the first zone, as (according to the Sonic Jam strategy guide) it took the team six months to perfect the look and design of Green Hill. In the years that followed, the opening layout of Green Hill reappeared a number of times. In this week’s SEGA Five, I’ll look back on those times, noting the strengths, weaknesses and possible reasons for referencing the classic layout.

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My Life With SEGA takes on the whole Empire in Star Wars Arcade

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This week, AJ strikes back with an all out attack of the 32X in his review of Star Wars Arcade.

The adventure continues in Star Wars: Episode II – Rise of the 32X, where I review Star Wars Arcade. Yeah, it’s a port of the SEGA-produced arcade game from 1993. Now, SEGA has made some miraculous conversions, such as Virtua Fighter 2 for Saturn and Crazy Taxi for Dreamcast….

Should this 32X exclusive be counted among them?

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Review: Jack Lumber (iOS)

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Announced and released on the same day, Jack Lumber, was both a surprise and a curiosity. As the first SEGA Alliance title, Jack Lumber was developed by an external independent developer by the name of Owlchemy Labs and published by SEGA. Per the SEGA Alliance description, SEGA also provided marketing and production support as well as creative consultation. The end result is a fun and unique game that definitely has that SEGA spirit, despite being developed by an external developer.

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Senile Team releases a free Dreamcast game called Polyko, play it today!

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Senile Team, the folks behind Rush Rush Rally Racing, have ported an indie game by the super long name of “Polyko’s Super Jelly Bean Quest in The Sketchbook of Illusion” to the Dreamcast. How much does it cost? Nothing, it’s free! Where can you get it? Right here! The game is a simple platformer starring an artist named Polyko who has been magically transported into his sketchbook. The goal is to collect 31 jelly beans. There is no way to die, so no fear of falling into an abyss or having your head ripped off by a zombie. You can play the full game online here, or better yet burn it to a disc and play it on your Dreamcast. The cd image even contains printable covers, so it’ll fit in on your indie Dreamcast games shelf. Enjoy!

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Twelve minutes of NiGHTS into Dreams… HD!

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Jeff Beckham, Digital Brand Manager at Sega of America, stopped by Gamespot’s live show to present 12 minutes of NiGHTS into Dreams… HD gameplay. Ignore the dumb host, who seems to know next to nothing about SEGA’s Saturn classic, and soak up the lovely HD visuals. Take note that the menu screen mentions “Presents” and has a few blanked out menu options. Looks like we’ll be getting Christmas NiGHTS integrated into the rerelease. Hooray! No price is set yet, but Mr. Beckham makes it sound like fans will be pleased with the price point. If it’s anything like other SEGA Heritage releases, it’ll be $10. Thanks to reader celsowm for the heads up!

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Official Sonic Monopoly board revealed

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Via the USAopoly Facebook page comes the finished board for the upcoming Sonic Monopoly game. Just standing back and looking at it, it’s a really great looking board! Graphics look nice, a ton of zones and stages are represented. And unlike the Nintendo Monopoly game, thought has been put into the properties. Seriously, the Nintendo Monopoly was garbage compared to this beauty. Players bought characters like property and built houses on them. How does that work? Gives a whole new meaning to Hotel Mario. After the break, a full listing of the properties.

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The conclusion to the James Rolfe SNES vs. Genesis royal rumble

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Earlier this week we shared a video from James Rolfe of Cinemassacre in which James, also known as the guy who plays the Angry Video Game Nerd, shared his memories of the days when the SNES took on the SEGA Genesis. At the end of the first part, James promised to return with a deciding battle between the two 16-bit consoles, and that deciding video has arrived. James makes it clear that this is HIS OPINION, and while we won’t spoil the ending James doesn’t exactly declare a winner though anybody with basic math skills can add up each round and find the results. So check it out and once you’re done share your thoughts in the comments below.

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Just what is SEGA Alliance?

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SEGA Vintage Collection, SEGA Heritage and now SEGA Alliance. Seems SEGA is on a roll with these new defining terms for titles, and frankly I love it. Maybe we no longer have the many development teams as we did in the Dreamcast days, but it’s refreshing to have a bit more order in the titles being released. What is Alex Kidd & Co.? Why it’s a Vintage Collection release. What is NiGHTS HD rerelease? A SEGA Heritage release. And so, when we get to the recently released Jack Lumber, what is it? A SEGA Alliance release. Straight from SEGA’s mouth (also known as a press release):

SEGA® of America, Inc. and SEGA® Europe, Ltd. today announced the formation of a new publishing initiative, SEGA Alliance. The SEGA Alliance will focus on publishing mobile games made by independent developers. The SEGA Alliance will provide participating developers with comprehensive marketing and production support as well as creative consultation.

It’s an intriguing initiative to be sure, and perhaps it will satisfy SEGA fans who get up in arms about distinctions. I won’t even get into the many “Bayonetta is/isn’t a SEGA character” fights I’ve been in. Now if somebody says “Is Jack Lumber a SEGA character?” you can reply “He’s a character from Owlchemy Labs whose game was published by SEGA. He’s a SEGA Alliance character.”

SEGA did clarify for us, via twitter, that Hell Yeah! is NOT a SEGA Alliance title. So keep up the “Is Ash a SEGA character” arguments.

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My Life with SEGA becomes one with the Force in Star Wars: Rebel Assault

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This week, My Life with SEGA returns to a galaxy far, far away in Star Wars: Rebel Assault for the SEGA CD. Will it be a day long remembered, or will it end up being Bantha poodoo?

It may be hard to believe, but long before Greedo shot first, or the prequels devided the fanbase, I was playing Rebel Assault; my very first Star Wars game. It has been a day long remembered….

Now, 18 years since it’s release on the SEGA CD, I ask myself, “Is it still a day worth remembering?”

Let’s find out.

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U wanna see Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed Wii U screens?

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SEGA has released a number of new screens for Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, but this time they’re giving us some Wii U screens along with the usual 360/PS3 screens. To be honest, I see little difference between the Wii U screens and the 360 and PS3, but then again Wii U isn’t that big an upgrade so it makes sense. Anyway, enough hating on Nintendo. After the break, check out our gallery of Wii U and 360/PS3 screens!

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James Rolfe looks back on the SNES vs. Genesis war

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Cinemassacre’s James Rolfe, also known as The Angry Video Game Nerd, has posted up part one of a multi-part retrospective of the SEGA vs. Nintendo wars of the 90’s. It’s really a great watch, with James looking back on his childhood self and having a laugh at his Nintendo fanboy arguments against SEGA. Now, an older and wiser James reminisces about the classic “Genesis Does What Nintendon’t” campaign, gives SEGA a lot of love and promises a proper console vs. console video in part two. Check it out!

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Let’s evaluate the Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed track roster, shall we?

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Three months until the release of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, and there is still a lot we don’t know. What racers have we yet to see? How does the vehicle mod system work? Is Cream the Rabbit somewhere in the game? Thankfully, we’re not completely in the dark, as Sumo Digital and SEGA have revealed quite a bit since the game’s announcement. I thought I’d write up a short article collecting all we know of the game’s track roster. What has been announced, what has yet to be announced and what SEGA eras are getting represented? After the break, we’ll answer those questions! But not the one about Cream, sorry.

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Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit gets priced and dated

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The SEGA Blog has revealed the price and release date of Arkedo Studio’s digital title Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit, published by SEGA. The game will be available to download in North America on September 25 for PlayStation Network, September 26 on Xbox LIVE Arcade, and October 3 for PC digital download for $14.99/1200MSP/$14.99 respectively. In Europe, the game will be available for all three platforms on October 3 for 1200MSP/£9.99/€12.99/AUD$19.95.

After the break, check out the new trailer and “box art”.

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Sumo Digital: We’ve revealed all the Sonic characters we’re going to reveal

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Sumo Digital’s Steve Lycett shared a bit of good news (or bad news, depending on who you are) at the official SEGA forums regarding additional Sonic characters as playable racers in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. Steve aka S0L said:

*Dons flameproof suit*

I don’t consider this a deconfirm, but we’ve revealed all the Sonic characters we’re going to reveal that are considered playable.

*Waits for fire to start*

This means that the playable racing roster will be containing no more than seven Sonic characters: Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Eggman, Metal Sonic and Shadow. Interestingly, none of the characters are from post-2001. Also, the roster contains the complete Sonic Drift roster, a near complete Sonic Drift 2 roster (replacing Fang for Shadow) and a near complete Sonic R roster (Tails Doll, Metal Knuckles and Egg Robo are absent and Super Sonic appears as Sonic’s All-Star Move). Steve’s mention of “all the Sonic characters we’re going to reveal that are considered playable” seems to imply we might see other characters by way of NPCs, stickers and vehicle upgrades. Fingers crossed for an Omochao paint scheme. Fans of Big the Cat will notice his absence, but think of it this way: the loss of Big makes the first All-Stars Racing game all the more special.

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