Author Archives: Barry

The Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Island Finally Has A Name

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Sonic the Hedgehog 4 has been previewed, played, reviewed, picked apart, dissected and a whole host of other actions. We’re not here today to do any of those things. This article isn’t about how Sonic 4 Episodes I & II played or the behind-the-scenes politics of how the game came about. This article is about how a few fans with too much time on their hands bothered SEGA enough about silly little details.

Way back in 2010, SEGA revealed Sonic the Hedgehog 4, and speculation ran rampant. How would it play? How would it tie to Sonic 3 & Knuckles? Could we expect a Sonic 4 Happy Meal? These and many more questions were asked. Now, six years later, many of those questions have been answered and with the upcoming Sonic Mania, fans are looking towards the future while Sonic 4 Episodes I & II remain in the past. But one little question has always gone unanswered, and that question is “What is the name of the island in Sonic 4?”. Following the game’s release, I reached out to SEGA for an answer, but I came back with just a few names of the bosses from Episode II. We tried again last year in an interview with Aaron Webber, but aside from his own head canon answer there was no apparent official name.

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Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse is now backwards compatible on Xbox One

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It seems like everyone is paying attention to Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse since it was announced that the game is to be delisted on digital marketplaces on September 2nd. Despite the fact that the game will soon be leaving online stores, it is now available on another major platform! Via Major Nelson comes the news that the Xbox 360 version of Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse is now backwards compatible on the Xbox One.

The game is currently $14.99 on the Xbox Marketplace. If Xbox isn’t your thing, or you want the game for less on another platform the Humble Bundle PC version is only $2.24, discounted from $14.99, and the PS3 version is only $3.74. It you want to learn more about the game to help in your decision on whether to purchase the game or not, check out our review in which we awarded Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse an A- and called it “A fantastic platformer!”.

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Mobile strategy game War Pirates is now available in select countries

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Last week we reported that SEGA’s free-to-play mobile game War Pirates had opened pre-registration, and now the game is releasing in select countries. If you live in Australia, Canada, the U.K., the Philippines or Singapore you can hop on the App Store right now to download the game! There is also mention of an Android marketplace having the game available, but the link provided lead to a 404.

Created by Jet Set Radio director Masayoshi Kikuchi, War Pirates is a turn based naval combat game mixed with city building and stars, get this, pirates. The game has had positive early impressions, and we look forward to the eventual U.S. release. Live in any of the above countries and playing the game? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, or on our forums!

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Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse likely to be delisted on September 2nd

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If you ever wondered why people get so grumpy over digital-only releases, here’s one big reason: we’ve heard that the 2013 remake of Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse will be delisted from XBLA, PSN, Steam and mobile platforms on September 2nd. The news arrived via an email from an email sent out by indiegala, which claimed the game would be “retired” on that date. The reason for the delisting is likely because SEGA is not renewing the license with Disney, which has been a sad ongoing trend with the company that has also contributed to the delisting of OutRun Online Arcade and After Burner Climax. So if you have yet to pick the game up, and really want to own it and play it, now is the time!

Thankfully, some great sales are going on right now. The Humble Bundle PC version is only $2.24, discounted from $14.99, and the PS3 version is only $3.74. If you are still on the fence, check out our review of the game in which we awarded it an A- and called it “A fantastic platformer!”.

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Pokémon GO releasing to the Dreamcast VMU in 2017

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The creator of Flappy Bird for the Dreamcast VMU, known as guacasaurus_mex on Instagram, has been hard at work on cool fan made VMU games since we last featured him. His Flappy Bird follow-up, Street Race, featured six OutRun-style tracks and a unique grayscale graphics trick which has to be seen to be believed. His latest project dives back into the smartphone remake world with a Dreamcast VMU version of Pokémon GO. Due to the time it takes to draw all the Pokémon, and laziness, the game won’t be ready until 2017. However guacasaurus_mex does promise a randomly generated map grid, in place of a GPS map, and a timing-based mini game to throw Pokéballs. More info on the game, including the release, as we hear it.

Note: Yeah yeah, I know. Any Pokémon GO article in gonna get us clicks, but to be fair we don’t make any money off of site traffic nor do we have ads. At least we didn’t try and tie No Man’s Sky into SEGA… yet.

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Data Discs announces seventh SEGA vinyl release: Golden Axe I & II

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Data Discs has announced the seventh in their line of SEGA vinyls, the soundtrack to the iconic arcade games Golden Axe and Golden Axe II. Featuring awesome artwork on the sleeve as well as two lithographic prints, the records themselves will be pressed in a translucent gold or classic black vinyl. A third limited edition will feature a purple swatch effect, seen in the photo above. Fans of SEGA art should enjoy the albums cover, which is said to be rare artwork from the Japanese release of the game sourced from SEGA’s archives.

The records are completed and ready to ship, priced at £19.99, however Data Discs requires two weeks to fulfill all orders. Sales begin on Saturday, August 27th at the Data Discs website.

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Pre-registration opens for SEGA’s mobile game War Pirates – created by Jet Set Radio director Masayoshi Kikuchi

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Way back in December 2015 we reported that SEGA had quietly launched War Pirates on Android. Known in Japan as Sen No Kaizoku, War Pirates is a turn based naval combat game mixed with city building starring pirates, and was created by Masayoshi Kikuchi – best known for his work on the Jet Set Radio and Yakuza franchises. The free-to-play game has been testing for a while now, but it seems thing are finally ramping up to a full release as a pre-registration page has opened, allowing future players to sign up to obtain a special character. War Pirates is set to release soon to the App Store and Google Play store.

While we know mobile gaming is the red headed step child when it comes to SEGA gaming platforms, we do hope once it releases people give it a fair chance. I mean, a pirate game from the director of Jet Set Radio sounds pretty cool, right?

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Opening & Eating 15 Year Old Cans of Sonic the Hedgehog Pasta

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Courtesy of Justin Todd – whose Sonic collecting can be followed on instagram under the username @treasurehuntingsonic – we have a video unboxing (uncanning?) of Franco-American Sonic the Hedgehog Pasta with Meatballs in Tomato Sauce! These two cans date from around 2000/2001 and are the second and third, and so far final, iterations of the Franco-American Sonic canned pasta. The first version of the can was featured on the latest episode of our own Fastest Food Alive Sonic the Hedgehog promotional foods video series.

What does Justin find when he opens these 15 year old expired cans of pasta? Learn for yourself by watching the video! Follow Justin on Instagram for more Sonic goodness and join the Sonic the Hedgehog Collections group on Facebook, where this video debuted.

If you enjoy our videos, make sure to subscribe to us on YouTube where we post a grab bag of SEGA and Sonic content. Thanks for watching.

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Puyo Puyo Chronicle announced for Nintendo 3DS – just in time for the franchise’s 25th anniversary!

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The latest issue of Japan’s Famitsu magazine has revealed a new installment in the Puyo Puyo franchise, due out later this year. Titled Puyo Puyo Chronicle, the game is described as a puzzle RPG timed to celebrate the franchise’s 25th anniversary. The story involves the franchise’s heroes Arle and Carbuncle entering an alternate world, in which they must work with a girl name Arie to return to their own world. Graphics will be in 3D and players will be able to explore freely – so apparently no sprites or pre-set paths. Outside of the RPG mode, the game will also feature traditional Puyo Puyo play, featuring seventeen different rules found in past games.

The game will also feature a mode called “Boss Fight With Everyone” in which players team up with a party of four via local connectivity to battle a boss. The game also promises over sixty sub-quests. In terms of packaging, a special Anniversary Box has been announced, which will contain a soundtrack, a vocal track, a drama CD and a 25th anniversary theme for your 3DS. The game is set to release in Japan on December 8th of this year. Sadly, no word of an American release, and given SEGA’s Western track record with the franchise it is unlikely. Then again, 7th Dragon III: Code: VFD happened, so never say never.

[Source: Siliconera]

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SEGA News Bits: Streets of Rage Turns 25 Years Old

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On this SEGA News Bits, George and Barry split a trash can chicken and look back on SEGA’s iconic beat ’em up franchise Streets of Rage. Known as Bare Knuckle in its country of origin, Japan, Streets of Rage was SEGA’s answer to Final Fight. Now, 25 years later, many would argue Streets of Rage completely overshadowed the very franchise it set out to compete against. Enjoy the video, and after watching why not play some Streets of Rage? In the comments below, tell us your favorite franchise memories.

If you enjoy our SEGA News Bits segments, don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube and never miss a video.

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SEGA 3D Classics Collection European release date revealed

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On a special SEGA Central Live, the SEGA Europe community team released the long (too long, in our opinion) awaited release date of the boxed and digital European release of SEGA 3D Classics Collection for the Nintendo 3DS. That date… will be revealed on an upcoming live stream next week! Just kidding, the game will release to Europe on November 4th, 2016.

It was also confirmed that the game is coming to Australia, though no additional information was given.

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Contest: Hatsune Miku: Project Diva X Giveaway – Demo available today, game releases August 30th!

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SEGA’s Hatsune Miku: Project Diva X, releasing August 30th to Playstation 4 and Playstation Vita, can be sampled today via a demo that just launched. To celebrate the release of the demo, we’re teaming with SEGA to give away a Hatsune Miku wall scroll and art cloth – with the cloth featuring work by Shirow Miwa. The artwork on each piece is awesome, I especially love the pose on the wall scroll featuring a Miku salute. To enter, all you need to do is follow SEGAbits on Twitter and retweet the contest tweet. two winners will be chosen, with the cloth and scroll given to the winners of our choosing, and the contest is open to the Americas and Canada. The contest ends on Tuesday, August 16th at 11:59PM CT and winners will be announced the following day.

Good luck to all who enter, and even if you don’t end up winning remember that we’re all winners since the game releases August 30th and we have a free demo available now!

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Fastest Food Alive: A Look back at 1995 Sonic the Hedgehog Franco-American Pasta

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Fastest Food Alive returns as we look at more food promotional items from Sonic the Hedgehog’s past! On this episode, Franco-American’s Sonic the Hedgehog Pasta with Meatballs in Tomato Sauce is on the menu. SEGA’s partnership with Franco-American, a subsidiary of Campbell’s, kicked off in 1995 and carried through to 2000. Click play on the video above and take a trip down memory lane as we check out this food promotion and give a short history lesson on canned pasta.

If you enjoyed the video make sure to like, share and subscribe to us on YouTube if you haven’t already. Thanks for the support!

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Sonic Mania Easter Eggs and References

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We’ll admit it, we’re having Sonic Mania withdrawal. After playing the game for ourselves at Sonic the Hedgehog’s 25th Anniversary Party, we can’t stop pouring over our footage of the game in action. As a result of this, we caught several cool Easter Eggs and references hidden within the game. Here are all the ones we spotted! Did we miss any? Sound off in the comments below!

If you enjoyed this video, make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and never miss a thing!

Music Credit: jaxcheese youtube – Studiopolis Zone (Sonic Mania) – 16-bit Genesis-style cover

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Yakuza 0 set to hit the Americas and Europe on January 24, 2017 – pre-order now!

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A press statement from SEGA has just released, detailing the release information for the upcoming western localization of Yakuza 0. The prequel game to the longtime running franchise is set to hit the Americas and Europe on January 24th, 2017 on the Playstation 4  both physically and digitally, and will be priced at $59.99. Show your support for localized games and physical release by pre-ordering Yakuza 0 today! If you’re an Amazon Prime member, you get 20% off the game, which is a pretty sweet deal.

After the break, check out the full press release as well as some new screens.

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