Author Archives: Ben

SEGA Sequel Saturdays: Skies of Arcadia

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For Episode 23, I thought I’d go back to in-house SEGA: a fan favorite, and one of the many greats to come from the Dreamcast era. Of course, you can see from the picture that I’ve picked Skies of Arcadia. As an RPG it was, in many ways, as traditional as they get. It had turn-based combat, it had a lack of voice overs, it had chirpy characters, and it had a bright and colorful world much more reminiscent of Japanese RPGs out of the old days than the much darker turn they took with the likes of Final Fantasy VI and VII. That said, Skies of Arcadia also took place in a world in the sky, a truly incredible setting which remains one of the most impressive worlds created for a Japanese RPG that I’ve ever experienced.

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SEGA Sequels: MadWorld

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For the 22nd episode of SEGA Sequel Saturdays and following my feature from a couple weeks back on a potential sequel to House of the Dead: Overkill, I thought I’d take a look at another game that targeted the same demographic, MadWorld. It was the first release from the newly-formed Platinum Games, it’s still one of the only games to feature a black and white (and red, of course) color scheme, and it also happens to be one of the funniest games on the Wii system. It was definitely not a game without its share of flaws, but it was what could have been the start of a very promising franchise and it’d be great to see a sequel that expanded on the many great ideas that were only teased in the original.

(Note; We all of course know that MadWorld characters are slated to appear in Platinum Games’ next title, fighting game Anarchy Reigns, though it’s too early to tell whether that actually makes it a sequel to MadWorld or an entirely different type of game that just happens to feature its characters. This feature won’t be about Anarchy Reigns.)

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Mike Hayes hints at HD Sonic on Wii U?

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GoNintendo’s compiled a list of recent quotes from various publishers regarding the Wii U, and Sega West president Mike Hayes is one of several to offer an optimistic view of the system, and interestingly enough, he even makes a passing reference to “HD Sonic.”

“At some point we were the biggest, certainly top three third-party publisher on Wii, so for us it was a great platform… we’ve got absolutely no qualms about [Wii U]. I just think we’re all a bit premature in being a bit glass half full on 3DS. Everyone was clamouring ‘oh please bring it out in March, you must bring it out’ and then it’s like you get to June and it’s all ‘sales aren’t very good…’ Well, they haven’t got the software yet. That controller is absolutely brilliant and we have to think of innovative ways to use it. We’re doing high definition Sonics, we’re doing obviously Aliens: Colonial Marines, so you can bring them across, and that’s relatively low cost, which is good news. Then you spend your money on how do you use that controller effectively to make it unique and differentiate it.”

Hard to say whether he’s simply referring to a port of Sonic Generations, another HD Sonic game entirely, or maybe even Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2. It’s also unclear if he’s simply being theoretical or whether actual plans are in the works to bring any of these titles to Wii U. I wouldn’t get too excited yet simply due to the vague nature of the statement, but coming from Mike Hayes, I’d say it’s from a rather credible source.

[Source: GoNintendo]

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SEGA Sequels: Risky SEGA Sequels Vol 2

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Apologies in advance for adding yet another Sonic story to our collection. I always cringe when I see Sonic dominating our weekly stories just because I know that there are so many other great IP from SEGA to focus on, and I know that, to a lot of people, Sonic is all that makes up SEGA, and that’s unfortunate. It just so happens though that there has been a lot more Sonic news this week to report on than usual, thanks in large part to his big focus at E3 and of course Sonic Boom, but in truth, I’d planned on writing this as far back as a couple weeks ago, so I guess it can’t be helped.

This week’s SEGA Sequel Saturdays will be taking a look at another risky SEGA sequel, Sonic Adventure 2, which, like Jet Set Radio Future of last week, made bold changes to what many thought was a successful formula and, as a result, delivered an experience that was entirely different from what people expected.

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Mike Hayes: Sonic 4 Episode 2 will be “excellent”

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Though it’s been said before, it never hurts to hear it again. SEGA of America and Europe president Mike Hayes has recently said that the company has heard the voices of fans who were disappointed with Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1, and that he believes Episode 2 will take these opinions into account and be “excellent.”

“I know there were some quality issues that we had there that we’ve taken on board and there will be further episodes following up on that. I think the next one’s excellent. I think that’s going to overcome some of the issues that we had on the first one.”

Nothing about Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2 was present at either E3 or Sonic Boom; Probably SEGA’s hoping to keep everyone’s attention this year on Sonic Generations. If Episode 2 controls similarly to Sonic Generations’ classic Sonic stages, I’m sure (rational) fans will be much happier with it than they were with Episode 1.

[Source: ScrewAttack]

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Sonic Boom: Impressions from the Sonic fan event

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In the midst of the E3 craziness going on right now in downtown Los Angeles, SEGA chose to honor Sonic’s 20th anniversary and upcoming Sonic Generations game by throwing a free-to-attend-but-hard-to-get-into party for the fans in Club Nokia, just up the street from the famous Electronic Entertainment Expo. The party was probably both, at the same time, one of the coolest and corniest things SEGA’s ever done, but looking back at Sonic’s legacy, that sort of makes sense. Critics may bash the series’ recent installments (some of it well-deserved, don’t get me wrong) for various reasons, but when you have a group of fans in a packed party wearing Sonic hats and begging for an encore presentation after Crush 40’s (earnest as ever) performance, I think that pretty much speaks for itself.

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Aliens: Colonial Marines coming to Wii U

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[UPDATE: Looks like the clip’s made its way to Youtube. ^Check it out, comes up right after Dirt.]

Turns out, two SEGA games made appearances at Nintendo’s E3 2011 press conference. Mario and Sonic at the London Olympic Games for the 3DS got a showing in a montage, but, on a bit of a more surprising note, the Wii U (yup, that’s really the name of their next system) will be getting Aliens: Colonial Marines, which actually got one of the lengthier clips. We’ll update this story with the clip when it becomes available.

[Update 2: Now we have a press release. Hit the jump to read it!]

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SEGA Sequels: Risky SEGA Sequels

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Has it really been 20 weeks? Holy crap! Well, at any rate, for Episode 20 and probably the next episode or so, I’m going to be taking a look at sequels that really pushed the boundaries of what one would expect as a followup to another game. When making a sequel, a developer has a few different choices. Sometimes, they choose to take the easy way out, simply repeating the formula from the sequel’s predecessor and hoping that their audience is simply looking for more of the same….something that didn’t work for The Hangover 2, that’s for sure. Other times, a developer might try to tweak the formula, but still aim to deliver the same overall experience, abeit one that’s been improved. Then, there are developers who decide to take their sequel in an entirely different direction, by far the riskiest strategy of the 3. Sometimes it works, and the fans accept it, and then other times….tweaking the formula too drastically can result in a sequel that the fans hate. This week I’m going to take a look at Jet Set Radio Future, a game I’ve talked about in this feature before; what made it so different, why it was such a risky game to make, and, well, did these changes work?

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SEGA Sequel Saturdays: Golden Axe

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Welcome back to SEGA Sequel Saturdays. For Episode 19 we have our first reader-submitted Sequel Saturdays column, and the honor goes to CosmicCastaway, who’s going to be telling us about Golden Axe, a series I know almost nothing about. There happen to be lots of those, so if any of you out there have an idea for an episode of Sequel Saturdays that hasn’t been done before, and want to write one, hit up my Private Messages and, as long as it’s not for a series that I was already planning on writing about, I’ll see what I can do. Anyway, let’s get right to it. Hit the break to read CosmicCastaway’s feature on Golden Axe.

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Anarchy Reigns gets its latest character: Leo

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Leo’s reveal for Anarchy Reigns adds him to the growing roster of MadWorld characters who will be playing a role in PlatinumGames’ upcoming brawler. Leo, who played a small (but key) part in PlatinumGames’ first effort, MadWorld, will be joining the fray and he looks to be yet another totally badass character. His bio describes him as a “cyborg.” His appearance in Anarchy Reigns adds to the feeling that this is indeed taking the form of a sequel, in some capacity, to MadWorld.

Screens and concept art after the break.

[Source: Sega of America]

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SEGA Sequel Saturdays: HOTD Overkill!!!!!!

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It might seem crazy now, but there was a time when the Wii was genuinely looked at by some publishers as a system where adult-targeted games could flourish. (Welcome to Sequel Saturdays number 18. Remember readers, if you want to write one of these yourselves, drop me a PM and we’ll work something out.) SEGA deserves credit for trying, as they delivered not only one ultraviolent Wii game, (PlatinumGames’ MadWorld) but two, and House of the Dead: Overkill was a bold step not only because it was a violent game on a Nintendo system, but because it was a classic SEGA franchise that had been given a pretty big makeover. The game was not developed by the studio responsible for the other HOTD games, in fact, it wasn’t developed by SEGA at all. The reigns were handed over to UK studio Headstrong Games, who took the opportunity and totally ran with it.

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Gamespot presents Crush3D preview

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Gamespot has gotten their hands on Crush 3D at SEGA’s recent pre-E3 event in Santa Monica, and their impressions seem generally positive. Aside from a brand new (much brighter) art style, Crush 3D will feature a new story and enhanced levels, which were apparently fixed based on fan feedback from the original. Despite the new story, main character Danny will return from the previous game. Though Crush3D has been made more accessible, Gamespot claims that it continues to be a challenging, but satisfying, puzzler. Surprisingly, they also state that turning the 3D on makes little difference.

Though it’s looking a bit more like an enhanced remake than a full-on sequel, it’s a game that not a lot of people played (myself included) so hopefully it finds a bigger audience this time around.

Crush 3D will be released for the 3DS September 6th in North America and on the 9th in Europe.

[Source: Gamespot]

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SEGA developing 7th Dragon sequel, this one on PSP

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1up reports, via Famitsu, that Imagepoch is developing a sequel to the DS RPG 7th Dragon, which never saw release in North America. Called 7th Dragon 2020, the follow-up is looking to take place in a futuristic version of Tokyo, a contrast to the original game’s more medieval style. The game is said to feature a revamp in art direction and character design, and will supposedly release this year.

SEGA will once again be publishing it, though since they never localized the first 7th Dragon, chances of the West getting this one seem pretty slim.

Check out the official site.

[Source: 1up.com]

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SEGA Sequels: Toejam and Earl

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Hey guys, welcome to Episode 16 of SEGA Sequel Saturdays. Before I get into it this week, there’s some business to take care of. I’d like to start by thanking George and Nuckles87 for contributing episodes to this feature, either when I haven’t been able to, or, in some cases, when I’ve been totally out of ideas. I’d also like to thank all of you who read these and create discussions each week by commenting. It makes writing them fun and rewarding, and I’d love to see this continue as a weekly feature. I feel that the best way to do that is, well, to open the floor to you guys. If you want to write an episode of Sequel Saturdays, drop a me a private message or say so in the comments section. You’d send me your write-up and I’d format, edit, and post it. I’d love to keep this feature going and if you would too, and if you want to write an episode, definitely let me know.

Alright, that out of the way, let’s jump into this week’s episode, this one about a good old childhood franchise of mine.

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