SEGA has revealed the cover art for the upcoming Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise. Releasing October 2, 2018, the game will retail for $59.99 and at the time of this article will release as a standard edition. But knowing SEGA, there is probably a special edition or a steelbook or some fancy box lined up. In the meantime, you can pre-order a copy for yourself at Amazon.
File this one under: “The Japanese get the coolest stuff!” SEGA of Japan has released a new trailer for the upcoming Shenmue I & II release for PlayStation 4, and in addition to the footage we got the reveal of a special collector’s edition of the game. Like the Japanese Sonic Mania Plus release, this edition will include the game in a handsome box with a special two CD soundtrack. The soundtrack will feature music from both games. Also included will be a two sided poster and, if it is anything like the other regions, a reversible cover. The special edition will retail for ¥5,990, just a little over $50, however sites like Amiami or Amazon Japan should mark it down a little.
While the game releases this month to the Americas and Europe, Japan will have to wait until November 22, 2018. You can pre-order the game now at Amiami for ¥5,300 and at Amazon Japan for ¥6,469, which includes bonus digital smart device wallpaper downloads.
Last month we shared the news that Read-Only Memory, creators of the awesome SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis Collected Works and the upcoming SEGA Dreamcast Collected Works books, revealed a new SEGA focused book: SEGA Arcade: Pop-Up History. The book will feature an interview with Yu Suzuki and pop-up sculptures of Hang-On, Space Harrier, Thunder Blade, After Burner, and Out Run as well as information about each game. Now that the project has hit the funding goals, a stretch goal has been added with, if reached, will add another pop-up sculpture – the super scaler kart racing game Power Drift!
As of this article, the stretch goal has another £4,000 to go to reach £50,000 and 6 more days remain. We urge you to check the campaign out and if you like what you see to show your support!
Remember Sonic 4 Episode II? It’s back, in SEGA Forever form!
Revealed today, the 2012 console and mobile game Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode II has joined the SEGA Forever mobile lineup. The updated release makes the game free to play, with ads, or $1.99 to remove ads. The Episode Metal DLC, once only unlocked if you owned both Sonic 4 episodes on the same platform, is now unlocked from the start.
Prior to its original release, fans were cautious of Sonic 4 Episode II following the release of Sonic 4 Episode I. But upon playing it, the second episode was seen as a marked improvement over the first episode. Physics were more in line with what was expected from a 2D Sonic game, stages and bosses were more creative, bosses were better and the addition of Metal Sonic (and tie-in to the recently rereleased Taxman and Stealth version of Sonic CD) was fun.
If you want to play the SEGA Forever version of the game, simply check the stores for your iOS and Android devices!
SEGA has just announced that Ian Curran has been named SEGA of America’s new COO and President. The role is effective today, August 1, 2018. Ian will be responsible for maximizing profitability of the publishing of Sonic within the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Africas. Ian will also serve on the board of Atlus U.S.A., Inc. In his role, he will report directly to the CEO of SEGA West, Tatsuyuki Miyazaki.
On this SEGA News Bits, George and Barry take their frustrations out on the recently revealed IDOLA Phantasy Star Saga mobile game. No, it’s not the platform that is the issue. What is SEGA thinking releasing a game that is so far removed from anything we’ve come to expect from the franchise? And why choose the 30th anniversary for something like this?
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On this episode of the Swingin’ Report Show, SEGA-16.com’s Ken Horowitz talks about his new book “The SEGA Arcade Revolution”. Ken walks through the history of SEGA arcade machines from the 1950s to today, highlighting key releases and discussing firsthand interviews he held with SEGA staff from the glory years.
Order “The SEGA Arcade Revolution”, and leave a review!
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Today was the day of the big IDW Sonic the Hedgehog panel at San Diego Comic Con where several reveals were made! On this SEGA News Bits, Barry and George take a look at what was revealed, including new covers, new Team Sonic Racing info and a new character in the IDW canon.
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SEGA has released the second Sonic Mania Plus developer diary, in a series of two, this time featuring Sonic Team’s Takashi Iizuka and the Taxman himself Christian Whitehead. The video is a lively discussion about the genesis of Sonic Mania and the recently released Sonic Mania Plus, as well as a breakdown of the new modes and characters. You can check out the first part here.
If you have yet to pick up Sonic Mania Plus, you can order the game today for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One via Amazon.
Valkyria Chronicles 4 releases September 25, 2018, and to hold us over SEGA has released the opening movie to the game. You know, that bit that plays when you boot up the game? Check out the video above and in the comments let us know your thoughts on the upcoming sequel.
Valkyria Chronicles 4 will release in the Americas and Europe for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, and will see a “Memoirs from Battle” Premium Edition priced at $99.99. This will include the game for your platform of choice, an exclusive vinyl statue of the “Hafen” Tank, “Claude’s Travel Journal” exclusive 100-Page themed artbook and a pair of DLC adventures featuring Squad 7 characters.
Pre-order the Valkyria Chronicles 4 “Memoirs from Battle” Premium Edition
PlayStation 4 | Xbox One | Nintendo Switch
SEGA has released the fifth and final episode of their Sonic Mania Adventures animated web series. The episode features all five heroes taking on Metal Sonic and Doctor Eggman in a final(?) battle. Also released is an official supercut combining all five episodes into an 11 minute video, seen after the break.
You can order the game today for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One via Amazon, and in turn support the site.
Released around 1989, A.B. Cop (Air Bike Cop) is a Sega X Board rarity that few know about and even fewer have played. A super scaler game, like After Burner and Thunder Blade (also Sega X Board titles), A.B. Cop was jointly developed by Aicom and SEGA. In the game, you control an air bike cop who is out to arrest criminals by crashing into their vehicles, thus disabling them. The game is played on a sweet dedicated cabinet in which you perch yourself on a seat and use handlebar controls to move left and right, a button to jump and a lever to accelerate.
Sounds great, right? Want to play it? Well Galloping Ghost Arcade in Brookfield, IL just added the game to their arcade floor in a lovely dedicated cabinet! Revealed as their Monday Mystery Game via live stream, A.B. Cop came to the arcade direct from Japan. You can hear the story of how they acquired it and check out some gameplay footage on the stream. I plan to check the game out this weekend, and if you want to give A.B. Cop and 600+ more games a spin head to Galloping Ghost Arcade for yourself!
SEGA has released a great Sonic Mania Plus infomercial which itself is a throwback to the classic Sonic the Hedgehog commercial featuring a sleazy salesman trying to upsell a customer on the competition. The original ad featured the SNES and Super Mario World going up against Sonic the Hedgehog and a SEGA Genesis, which was $50 cheaper. In the case of the new ad, a $60 first person shooter is going up against the $30 Sonic Mania Plus.
There are a lot of funny moments including the FPS graphics featuring finger guns as weapons, the customer – played by Aaron Webber – getting dizzy from the holographic box art, and the salesman – played by actor/comedian/dancer Nathan Barnatt (aka Keith Apicary) hanging up from a phone call in the same way the original ad began. A big thumbs up to SEGA for producing this!
You can order the game today for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One via Amazon, and in turn support the site. Sonic Mania Plus releases tomorrow!
After the break, check out the original commercial.
Via Twitter user KyroDRX and the Sonic Stadium comes some new details about the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog movie from Paramount. A friend of KyroDRX received a notice for an upcoming filming on their streets of the movie. The scene will take place in a residential area and will feature a car pulling up to a house, scenes will then take place inside the house. The scenes will be taking place during the day and night, so it is possible that this is a home of a main character and will be featured at various points throughout the movie.
There will be no action or special effects scenes films, only atmospheric smoke will be used. The home address given is a lovely little home just off of an inlet from the Pacific Ocean and the area has a very “Californian” vibe. You can see the home after the break.
Also worth noting is that the movie logo and title might be revealed in the image above. The title is a simple “SONIC” in italics. If you want my graphic designer expert opinion, I don’t like it. Dropping “the Hedgehog” and using italics makes it read like Sonic Drive-In, and the addition of Sonic’s silhouette in the C looks clunky. Sonic already has a logo, so why not use that one?
When I reviewed 2017’s Sonic Mania, I praised it as being the best 2D Sonic game in decades. Now, a year later, SEGA is releasing a new version of the game dubbed Sonic Mania Plus. This definitive edition answers fan demand for a physical release while adding gameplay tweaks, expanded multiplayer, a new mode and two additional playable characters. Typically a reviewer would take this moment to pose the question: “So does Sonic Mania stand up one year later and are the new additions worthy of a double dip or DLC download?”, but I’ll just let you know right now that the answers are “yes” and “yes”. Sonic Mania Plus is everything that made the original Sonic Mania great, and more.
If you’d like to read our initial review, click here. Everything said there applies here. After the break, read about the new additions and enhancements, as well as the contents of the physical release.