Author Archives: Barry

SEGA Retrospective: Jet Set Radio Future and The Latch Brothers

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Jet Set Radio and its sequel Jet Set Radio Future are often cited as having some of the best music to come from SEGA thanks in a large part to Hideki Naganuma and Richard Jacques. While in-house talent played a large role in creating such memorable soundtracks, the soundtracks also consisted of licensed music from artists that included Guitar Vader, Cibo Matto, Deavid Soul and others. This week on SEGA Tunes (the feature formerly known as Tuesday Tunes) we’re focusing on a third type of Jet Set Radio music contributor: The Latch Brothers.

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3D Sonic The Hedgehog 2, Streets of Rage 2 and Gunstar Heroes added to SEGA 3D Classics wave two!

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The SEGA Blog has unveiled more SEGA 3D Classics titles! Just when we thought the series was over with the second wave featuring SEGA arcade classics, SEGA hits us over the head with a trio of Genesis/Mega Drive classics: 3D Sonic The Hedgehog 2, 3D Streets of Rage 2 and 3D Gunstar Heroes. Rather than being a third wave of titles, these new additions are a part of wave two. Though interestingly, their announcement appears to be exclusive to the West at the moment.

3D Streets of Rage 2 is set for July, 3D Gunstar Heroes in August, and 3D Sonic The Hedgehog 2 in September 2015. Also announced are the dates for the already announced 3D Classics arcade titles: 3D Fantasy Zone II (April 16, 2015) and 3D Thunder Blade (May 14, 2015). As with past releases, new modes and features are planned but are not yet revealed. Prices will be $5.99/€4.99/£4.49 and the games will be releasing exclusively to the Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS.

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Classic SEGA Magazine Corner: Xbox Nation interviews Smilebit’s Panzer Dragoon Orta artists

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As evidenced last month, the unofficial Microsoft Xbox magazine Xbox Nation (XBN) really liked Smilebit. Their premiere issue featured Smilebit’s Jet Set Radio Future, which is surprising given Halo‘s dominance at the time, and their third issue featured a Panzer Dragoon Orta cover and an eight page preview and interview with former Team Andromeda staff. As the magazine continued, XBN kept up on various SEGA and Smilebit titles. In the magazine’s sixth issue they returned to Japan for another Smilebit interview, this time with Panzer Dragoon Orta artists Takashi Iwade and Kentaro Yoshida. Let’s crack open this issue to see what these legends had to say!

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The crossover chaos continues in Project X Zone 2: Brave New World for Nintendo 3DS

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Project X Zone, the 2012 crossover for the Nintendo 3DS which threw together SEGA, Bandai Namco and Capcom characters into an epic adventure, is set to return! According to a report from website e-duessee, a sequel is in the works for the 3DS entitled Project X Zone 2: Brave New World. The article itself is a report of an April 7th Bandai Namco press event held in Milan at which the game was announced alongside another unannounced title, Saint Seiya: Soldiers’ Soul for the PS4, PS3, and PC. The original article has since been edited to remove the mentions of the games (whoops!) but thankfully NeoGAF caught it before the removal.

What are your thoughts on another Project X Zone title? Have any characters you’d like to see make an appearance? I’m hoping to see Mega Man, Pac-Man and Sonic, as well as an expanded SEGA cast including Ryo Hazuki and some 1980s characters.

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The merchandise of SEGA’s Jet Set Radio: Collecting that Uki-Uki-Waku-Waku feeling

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Unless you’re a Sonic The Hedgehog fan, collecting merchandise from SEGA franchises can be a difficult venture. Some games simply have little to no merchandise. Bug!, for example, only has a windup figure from SEGA’s Jack in the Box kid’s meal and a few Saturn era promotional pieces. Ecco the Dolphin and Toejam and Earl merchandise is almost non-existent; the former also had a Jack in the Box kid’s meal toy and the latter is just now getting products thanks to the recently funded Kickstarter campaign. Japanese franchises, like Phantasy Star Online, have quite a lot of collectibles but much of it is Japan only and requires importing and ebay hunting. Other franchises, like Shenmue, have had quite a bit of merchandise in the past and in recent years, but good luck finding any of it for a low price point.

Jet Set Radio, meanwhile, has quite a bit to offer fans when it comes to collectibles with several items releasing outside of Japan and many of them being surprisingly affordable. Seeing as Jet Set Radio is one of my favorite franchises, I’ve amassed a small collection over the years which I wanted to show off both because I am incredibly conceited and because I thought it would serve as a nice guide for those wondering what sort of Jet Set Radio merchandise is out there.

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GOAT Store provides an update and cover art for indie Dreamcast game “SLaVE”

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During September of last year, longtime indie Dreamcast game publisher GOAT Store announced a new game entitled SLaVE. Described as a colorful first person shooter built around an enhanced Doom engine called 3DGE, SLaVE was due out in April of 2015. Since then, news has been light, but seeing as it is April of 2015 we finally have an update! Read the full e-mail from GOAT Store News after the break.

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Discotek Media to release complete series DVD of SEGA’s Sonic X anime

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Discotek Media, the company planning a Sega Hard Girls complete series DVD later this year, have just announced on their Facebook page that they will be releasing the complete series of the 2003 Sonic the Hedgehog anime Sonic X to DVD later this year. Details beyond that are scarce, but they did state in the comments “English dub right now, not sure on Japanese version yet”. In the past, Discotek has released separate sub and dub releases, so while a sub release is not confirmed, it’s not completely out. More details as we hear them!

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Sonic’s ad venture: SEGA and Capcom join new ad agency GameBridge

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Remember when Sonic appeared in a Progressive Auto Insurance commercial? Or when Sonic was pushing LifeSavers candies and cans of pasta in the 1990s? Well, expect to see more ads like this in the near future. Reported by MediaPost comes the news that SEGA as well as Capcom have joined up with a new agency that licenses video game characters for ad campaigns. The agency, named GameBridge, was founded by Billy Bell and the agency’s goal is, in his words, “to make it much easier and more efficient for both advertisers and game publishers to connect their respective characters and brands”. The name GameBridge refers to a ‘bridge’ for brands and gaming characters to connect for cross promotional opportunities.

GameBridge will act as SEGA’s agent for licensing partners, serving as the middle man for advertisers and agencies and IP holders of video game characters. For now, the New York based agency is acting as SEGA and Capcom’s agent, but in the future they could expand to represent other game companies and characters. Also announced is that GameBridge has partnered with video game music digital download service Sumthing Else, providing clients a music licensing service. Additional GameBridge partnerships will provide production services, including film and video production, post-production resources, and animation and effects.

While Sonic was specifically called out as a likely character SEGA would utilize in future marketing opportunities, GameBridge could utilize other characters from the company. How about Jet Set Radio‘s Beat selling cans of Krylon?

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Classic SEGA Ads: Jet Grind Radio’s crazy BIG GO! commercial

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Jet Set Radio had a bit of an identity crisis when it reached the West. When the game was first revealed in Japan, few media outlets knew exactly what to make of the game. Was it rhythm game? Was it a Japanese take on Tony Hawk Pro Skater? From the teases we got, it appeared to be a bit of both. The first real concrete explanation of the game came from America’s Official Dreamcast Magazine, which featured an in-depth interview with Smilebit and a preview of the game. While ODCM did a fantastic job with explaining the game and selling many Dreamcast owners on it, myself included, SEGA of America did a less than fantastic job of letting the general public know what the game was all about.

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Developer Retrospective: The wonderfully unique games of SEGA’s Smilebit

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SEGA’s development team Smilebit existed in the public eye for only four short years, yet in that time they managed to create one of the company’s most unique franchises, revived a classic Saturn franchise, contributed to a long running series of popular Japanese sports titles, and managed to create a few new franchises that have gone on to become true hidden gems. It’s fitting that we follow Team Andromeda Month with Smilebit, as Smilebit was actually the bringing together of the SEGA AM6’s Team Aquila, Team Andromeda, and G9 Team (though some staff ended up moving to United Game Artists). This mix of talent lead to Smilebit being primarily tasked with the Let’s Make series of sports titles, franchises that were largely confined to Japan. Utilizing former Team Andromeda staff, the team spearheaded the latest (and thus far last) Panzer Dragoon game. But what really made Smilebit unique were their new franchises including the Jet Set Radio games, Gunvalkyrie, and Hundred Swords.

All month long we’ll be celebrating Smilebit’s eclectic mix of games, celebrating the classics, the lesser known titles, and the ones that never left Japan. Ready to look back? Let’s go!

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Toejam and Earl: Back in the Groove Kickstarter fully funded and some funky stretch goals met

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Moments ago, the Toejam and Earl: Back in the Groove Kickstarter ended and much to the delight of fans the campaign was a success and then some. With 8,873 backers pledging $508,637, $108,637 more than the $400,000 goal, fans can expect the full game as well as some stretch goal bonuses! Additional features include old school skins for Toejam and Earl, featuring their original designs seen on the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive games. Also returning from the 90s is the Hyperfunk Zone as seen in ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron. Minutes before the campaign ended, a third stretch goal was met, adding the female lead from the third game, Latisha, as well as Toejam’s cousin and Earl’s mom.

While the base game sounded great, these bonuses only sweeten the upcoming release by bringing in characters and concepts from the first three games for a true love letter to fans of the series. Congrats to Greg Johnson and his team, and good luck on the development of the game.

In case you missed it, we interviewed Greg earlier this month on our Swingin’ Report Show podcast – give it a listen if you haven’t already!

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My Life with SEGA: No Limits – Available now on SEGA Saturn & Dreamcast VCD! Update: Sold Out!

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UPDATE: Even though they were free, we are marking this as “SOLD OUT” as our stock has been depleted! Don’t worry, we plan to have more produced by Christmas 2015 and if you still want to notify us by email that you are interested, please do so by contacting SEGAbits[at]gmail[dot]com with the subject line “No Limits VCD Rerelease” (you do not need to leave your address)

Last year, our YouTube series My Life with SEGA released the short film My Life with SEGA: No Limits, an action/comedy starring series host AJ and friend Mickey Mac who take on the evil Shawn who is hellbent on destroying SEGA HQ. With the release of the short film to YouTube also came the announcement that a VCD release was in the works, which would be playable on all VCD enabled devices including the SEGA Saturn (if you had the video card) and the Dreamcast (if you have the Dreammovie hardware). Not only was My Life with SEGA: No Limits on the disc, but also included was the first short film My Life with SEGA: The Next Level and reviews of Virtual-On and the Panzer Dragoon Saturn trilogy.

The release made its debut last summer at Too Many Games in Oaks, PA and while we gave several copies away… we still have some available! So how do you obtain a copy? Easy:

Want a copy of No Limits on VCD? Just email SEGAbits[at]gmail[dot]com with “No Limits VCD” in the subject line and your mailing address in the body. No purchase necessary.

Supplies are limited, so if you truly want a copy then act soon! After the break, check out the full short film as well as a download link for the special My Life with SEGA: No Limits “Sega CD Saturn” packaging we made (note: the movie will not play on the Sega CD, “Sega CD Saturn” is a cheeky nod to the short-lived “Sega CD 32X” library of games).

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Archie Comics Sonic the Hedgehog June 2015 Solicitations – Worlds Unite continues!

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Coming this June from Archie Action its the continuation of the epic Sonic and SEGA, Mega Man and Capcom crossover Worlds Unite – which kicks off the month before in May. Courtesy of Archie, we have the latest solicits, featuring a milestone issue for Mega Man who hits the big five-oh (remember Sonic’s 50th, when Robotnik died? Seems like ages ago) and the premiere of a one shot comic Mega Man: Worlds Unite Battles #1, which expands on the battles taking place within the crossover event. Fans of older Archie stories, meanwhile, have Sonic Archives #25 which brings us ever closer to the 100th issue of the series.

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First 4 Figures reveals SEGA All-Stars NiGHTS statue

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First 4 Figures have expanded their SEGA All-Stars range of statues with Sonic Team’s NiGHTS, sporting the more recent NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams design. The statue is 12.5″ high and comes in two flavors, the standard edition priced at $209.99 and limited to 1,000 pieces, and the exclusive edition with ambient lighting priced at $234.99 and limited to 500 pieces. Both are due for a Q3 2015 release date and can pre-ordered today!

What do you think of the latest SEGA All-Stars statue? Maybe it’s just me, but I prefer the original Saturn NiGHTS design.

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SEGA Tunes: Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed remixes Panzer Dragoon’s ‘Flight’

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The announcement of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed is one of the more memorable moments here at SEGAbits, as it was the first major game reveal press event SEGA invited us to. Weeks before the game was officially announced to the public, we received an invite to a secret event that – while it didn’t name the game – was all but confirmed to be a Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing sequel thanks to the design and description of the event. Taking place at an indoor go-kart track in California, our writers attended and were floored when the game was revealed. The first thing that caught our eye: Panzer Dragoon was back with an impressive track named Dragon Canyon!

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