Author Archives: Big Elk

The Video Game History Foundation unveils never-before-seen cut levels from Sonic the Hedgehog 2

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We’re a little late reporting on this, but we just could not let it go. Not when it concerns one of the most important Sonic games of all time. Celebrated video game preservationist Frank Cifaldi, of the Video Game History Foundation, has come into contact with some American artists formally employed at Sega Technical Institute, where Sonic 2 was developed, and with their help, has unearthed some never before seen artwork and information about cut content from Sonic 2. He’s even learned about a whole different Genesis/Mega-Drive game the studio was working on that got canned in order to bring all hands on deck for Sonic 2.

You can see the video right up above and check in past the break for a summery of what was shown off in the video.

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Free Hello Work uniform DLC for Like A Dragon Infinite Wealth being offered via email newsletter

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Need an excuse to have Sega deliver all your Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth news for you? How about a free Hello Work suit for game protagonist Ichiban Kasuga? If you sign up for Sega’s e-mail newsletter for the game, they’ll send you a free DLC code for the Hello Work suit to equip Kasuga with. If you don’t know what Hello Work is, it’s the employment center from Yakuza: Like A Dragon, where characters can switch job classes, opening everyone up to new skills in combat, which can also be done in Infinite Wealth. Anyway, it’s no Sonic Soap shoes, but you know what they say about looking a gift horse in the mouth.

Check in past the break for the link to the newsletter, and remember, they only give you a code for one platform. If you plan on buying Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth for multiple consoles, or if you haven’t decided yet which one you wish to play the game on, consider signing up with multiple e-mail addresses for multiple codes. You can always give extra codes to friends or family.

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Holiday Sega In The Media: Sega Genesis featured in “Merry Axe-mas” music video by Ice Nine Kills

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Well, it is now December 26th, 2023. We at Segabits hope you all had a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday, as well as a Happy New Year.

Though it may be a little late, I’d like to share with you all a festive music video that featured a Sega Genesis. This is the 2018 song “Merry Axe-Mas” by the Boston, Massachusetts metal band Ice Nine Kills. These guys are known for lyrics inspired by horror films, with this song in particular being inspired by the 1984 slasher horror film Silent Night, Deadly Night. In the music video, a young child named Spencer receives an ominous Genesis game cartridge from “Santa’s Claws”. The game has him playing as Santa himself and slaughtering everyone in his way with reckless abandon while, in the real world, ol’ St. Nick shows up and brutally murders Spencer’s parents behind him while he’s too fixated on the game.

Check in after the break to see the actual music video, plus a few of the Sega details you might miss.

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Memorial service for fictional Like A Dragon characters, named “Like a Dragon: The Men Who Perished Exhibition”, being held in Japan

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Any fan of the Like A Dragon (Formally “Yakuza”) series will know that these games’ stories have never sugarcoated the mortality of its entire cast. Many characters, some loved and some loathed, have met grim fates in virtually every game ever released bearing the names Like A Dragon and Yakuza. Now, Sega, in collaboration with Parco shopping centers, is giving fans in Japan the chance to pay their respects to many of these characters with the Like a Dragon: The Men Who Perished Exhibition, a series of funeral events for every character in this series that has died up to this point.

At three separate events planned for Tokyo, Nagoya, and Sapporo in the next two months, you can attend traditional Japanese funeral services for these characters to offer flowers and prayers and to purchase exclusive merchandise. Some merch you can purchase fits right in with a funeral service, like incense sticks, mini-headstones, and handkerchiefs. Others are more fun, typical merch, like t-shirts, handbags, bookmarks, and acrylic standees. You can also use your smartphone to see images of the deceased characters with AR on site.

The first exhibition will be in the Parco center in Ikebukuro, Tokyo from December 30th, 2023 to January 13th, 2024. Next is the Nagoya Parco from January 20th to February 4th. Finally, there’s the Sapporo Parco from February 16th to February 25th. If you happen to be in Japan during January or February 2024, be sure to stop by one of these sites to pay your respects to your favorite Like A Dragon characters.

That’s the most important info out of the way. Now check in after the break for details that include spoilers for the Like A Dragon series. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.  

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Eliminate Down Genesis/Mega-Drive cartridge reprint announced from Retro-Bit; Pre-orders open now until January 2nd

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It’s Retro-Bit time again, but I can’t say I predicted they’d pick up this game. Eliminate Down (1993) is coming back in style with an all-new collector’s cartridge, officially licensed for its first ever official release in North America and Europe, and playable in any Genesis/Mega-Drive console or associated clone console. This should resemble Retro-Bit’s other recent collector’s cartridge releases, including Gley Lancer, El Viento, and Sol-Deace. Pre-orders have already begun in North America via Castlemania Entertainment, Rondo Products, and Limited Run Games, and in Europe via 8BitMods, Dragon Box Shop, RetroCables, Spel & Sant, Strictly Limited, XtraLife, and Zed Labz.

Update: New pre-order links are available. North American customers can now also pre-order from Canada-based store PNP Games (Which Americans may wanna consider as the US Dollar is currently more valuable than the Canadian dollar) and Europeans can now also pre-order from Arcade Dreams and Just For Games.

Check in past the break for more info and for a bit of history on Eliminate Down.

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Hunter Girls kickstarter campaign cancelled, refunds issued, and game cartridges now on sale at PSCD Games website

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Some of you may recall Hunter Girls, a new Genesis/Mega-Drive game being developed by PCSD Games, which launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the game’s development. On July 30th, 2023, their Kickstarter campaign was launched and then was successfully funded on August 29th. Despite the fact that the game has completed development and cartridges have been manufactured, PCSD Games has been forced to cancel shipment of all Kickstarter rewards due to an unanticipated issue with the firm that managed their Kickstarter campaign, Meridian 4. Fortunately, PSCD Games is currently assisting fans in obtaining refunds from Meridian 4 and will instead sell the game cartridges through their own website.

Check in after the break for extra info on this kerfuffle.

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Fanmade R-Type Genesis/Mega-Drive port demo out now

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You know what the Sega Genesis/Mega-Drive needed? A port of Irem’s 1987 arcade shooter R-Type. The Master System and NES had one. Even the Turbografx-16 had one. Well, one fan developer, TheRoboZ, decided to rectify that and develop their own brand-new R-Type conversion for the Genesis, and they currently have a demo available for the general public to test out.

This new fan port, titled Mega R-Type, will be a full conversion of the arcade game with all-new features, such as the exclusive stage from the Master System version and a few customization choices from the Turbografx-16 port and even the recent R-Type Dimensions remake. The music has also been remixed, although the original arcade game’s music has also been adapted for the Genesis FM sound chip, and both options are available in-game. This demo is limited to three levels to play, but you can still see the music player and all of the customization choices. The demo also adapts for 60hz and 50hz, so PAL Mega-Drive fans can play without concern.

Download the demo from the Mega R-Type page on itch.io, then open it with your preferred Genesis emulator or flash cartridge—such as the Mega Everdrive series—in your original Genesis/Mega-Drive console. After that, be sure to leave some feedback for TheRoboZ to consider by joining the Mega R-Type community on itch.io by clicking the “Join the community” button at the bottom of the page. You can also follow TheRoboZ on Twitter and provide feedback there. Be sure to also tell us what you think of the demo in the comments and check out a few choice screenshots beyond the break.

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Official Genesis/Mega-Drive 99Vidas port “Mega 99Vidas” announced; physical cartridge coming soon

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Announced just yesterday in their QByte Connect 2023 showcase, Brazilian game publisher QByte Interactive have announced an official Genesis/Mega-Drive port of 99Vidas, a classic indie beat-em-up that they released to modern platforms in 2016. No release date was given yet, but they have made it clear that they intend to make this available as a working Genesis cartridge, giving enthusiasts of original hardware something new to look forward to.

Check in after the break for more info on this exciting new retro game and the original 99Vidas game.

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NBA Jam announcer Tim Kitzrow (and Fox) just discovered as hidden players in Saturn version of NBA Jam: TE after 28 years

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As reported by SEGA SATURN, SHIRO!, Saturn hacker Malenko, who created Saturn romhacks (For lack of a better word) Drift King ’97 and NBA Jam TE Walrus Edition, discovered two never before seen or reported on secret characters in NBA Jam: Tournament Edition, who seem to be exclusive to the Saturn version for whatever reason. The first, and most exciting, is NBA Jam’s legendary announcer, Mr. BOOM-SHAKA-LAKA himself, Tim Kitzrow. (Who was also featured in other sports titles like NFL Blitz, NBA Showtime, NCAA College Slam, and Frank Thomas Big Hurt Baseball) The other is some guy named Fox. (We’re sure he’s a nice guy)

To anyone’s knowledge, the existence of these characters has never been revealed by anyone after all this time. Who knows if even Tim Kitzrow himself was aware? (UPDATE: He was not.) Malenko discovered this just from perusing the Saturn game’s hex data and finding curious entries within the character data area, which allowed him to figure out the secret codes for both characters.

Check in after the break for the secret codes to play as these two special guests.

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Phantasy Star Jun Senoue Rock Remix coming to PSO2: New Genesis in Phantasy Star 35th Anniversary Event

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Did you know that this year marks the 35th anniversary of the Phantasy Star series? It’s come a long way. To celebrate, Sega have released a brand new rock remix of the main theme for PSO2 New Genesis, featuring beloved Sonic musician Jun Senoue and arrangement by NGS community staff member GWIZOFTHESTARS. You can listen to it right now on YouTube, and if you log into NGS between now and November 21st 2023, you’ll receive this same remix as a music disc (Not a physical disc, like a CD) that you can play within the game and a poster to be displayed within your creative space. Both items will be absolutely free as long as you log in within the event period. Keep logging in every week to see more gifts, which will be revealed later.

In addition, there will be more music remixes soon to be revealed on the official PSO2 NGS YouTube channel and the various official social media pages: (Facebook) (Instagram) (Discord) (I’ll be deep in the cold, cold ground before I start calling Twitter “X”). Between November 7th and November 21st, the final day of the event, there will also be special movie concerts, which will play on the big screens in the in-game central city hubs, such as Aelio Town. If you’re playing NGS, you won’t want to miss any of this.

Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis is free to play and available for PC on Steam, Windows Store, and Epic Games Store as well as on Xbox, PS4, and PS5. All versions of the game are all cross platform, meaning you can play with anyone on any system. You can read more from the official website.

Are you already playing PSO2 NGS? What do you think of this new NGS theme remix? How long have you been a Phantasy Star fan and which game did you start with? Tell us all about it in the comments below.

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Wireless Pro Saturn controllers with hall effect analog sticks announced by Retro-Bit; coming December

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What’s that? I think that’s the sound of Retro-Bit making another announcement.

If you need a new Sega Saturn controller, they’ve had you covered since 2019, but now they’ve got something new to offer that they kept people waiting four years for: the new Wireless Pro Saturn controllers, in both black and Japanese white with 2.4 Ghz wireless technology for original Saturn consoles, Nintendo Switch, and computers. This could very well be the ultimate Saturn controller.

And yes, people have been waiting with bated breath for this controller since Retro-Bit first revealed it at CES 2019, but wasn’t able to say much throughout the years since besides that it was never cancelled. Retro-Bit cites the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic, the ultimate party pooper, as the main factor for its delay in their own timeline of their collaboration with Sega. Even so, salivating fans kept asking about it on social media after every other Sega controller they’d made was announced. (Not to mention asking about their new Dreamcast controller, which there is still no more news for yet) The wait will soon finally end, as the estimated release date has finally been made: December 2023. Let’s hope it can make it out in time for Christmas.

But enough about that. Time to wait a few seconds more as you check in past the break to hear more info. (Unless your internet is out, in which case, I feel bad for ya.)

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Climax Entertainment illustrator Yoshitaka Tamaki passes away at 55 years old

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Man, what’s with all the bad news lately? I’m sorry today’s been such a downer, Sega fans. I’ve saved the saddest, most serious news for last though.

Beloved artist and character designer behind some of the Shining Force and Stalker games at Climax Entertainment, Yoshitaka Tamaki, unfortunately passed away from lung cancer on July 13th, 2023 at the still-too-young age of 55. He was just recently mourned in a private funeral service, according to a post from his own twitter that was translated by Gosokkyu.

Tamaki-san’s artwork was easily recognizable with its stylized merging of anime and Disney-esce visual styles. Sega fans will remember his art best from games like Shining in the Darkness, Shining Force, Landstalker, Time Stalkers, and Shining Soul I and II, each of the Sega games he worked on during his time at Climax Entertainment, the developers of all except for the two Shining Soul games. Before all that, he got his start in the video game industry working freelance at Enix until getting noticed by Climax and asked to design art for their first Genesis game, the aforementioned Shining in the Darkness. Besides those games, he would also illustrate for games like FEDA: The Emblem of Justice (both the Super Famicom original and its Sega Saturn remake), FEDA 2: White Surge, Alundra, and Assault Suits Vaiken. Unfortunately, photos of him are rare because he was rather camera shy in life.

We at Segabits humbly thank him for gracing us with his talent and wish the best for his friends and family. His stamp on Sega and video game history will remain long into his absence. 

Feel free to take in some of his amazing art from the Sega games he worked on as well as leave some best wishes and fond memories in the comments after the break.

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The Creative Assembly suffers layoffs and Hyenas gets cancelled

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This certainly is not The Creative Assembly’s finest hour. Their all new multiplayer shooter (And the subject of one of my first written articles here on SegaBits) Hyenas has been unceremoniously cancelled in a brief recent SegaSammy financial report. Citing “lower profitability in the European region”, the decision was made from on high to axe Hyenas, along with several unannounced titles being developed there. As if to throw salt on the wound, Hyenas’s UK-based developer The Creative Assembly, known for Alien Isolation and the Total War series, is also suffering layoffs. All this comes according to a report from Eurogamer, which you can read here. The above message was also taken from the official Hyenas Twitter page.

This comes as a shock as Hyenas was just demoed at Gamescom only last month and in a recent closed PC beta just this month, along with a few all new trailers getting released. The developers even seemed rather enthusiastic about the game’s reception, in spite of any challenges with development, as referenced in an interview Eurogamer did with representatives of Creative Assembly at that very same Gamescom event. It truly goes to show that you can never be too certain what will happen behind closed doors in the world of game development. I can only hope the staff being let go have little trouble finding new jobs and supporting themselves and their families.

Are you sad to see Hyenas canned? I know I am, especially cause I never even got to participate in any of the betas. Maybe any of you who did can tell us about your experiences in the comments below? I’d especially appreciate it.

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Several Sega Forever mobile games unceremoniously delisted + End of Service announcement

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Remember Sega Forever, and how that started out in 2017 as Sega Europe’s initiative to bring classic Sega games to mobile app stores as free, ad-supported games? Well, Sega Forever is now “Sega For-never,” as more than half of the games released through Sega Forever have now been delisted from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store without so much as an official announcement. On top of that, the games now display an “End of Service” message like the one shown above saying that the games will remain playable, but will lose their online features, which amounted to save states being stored online, leaderboards, and offering you the option to pay $1.99 USD to play without ads. It also has a “More Info” button to show you where else the games available through Sega Forever can be played, but it only currently leads to Sega’s home page. (The above message comes from the Space Harrier II Classic app. I have not been able to confirm if the non-Genesis games display a message like this.)

Check in past the break to see what the remaining games are, as well as some more unsettling news…

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Earthion releasing for Genesis/Mega-Drive and modern consoles in 2024 from Limited Run Games

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Looking forward to the new Genesis/Mega-Drive scrolling shooter from Yuzo Koshiro and Ancient known as Earthion? We have learned from them and Superdeluxe Games at this year’s Tokyo Game Show that Earthion is on track to release in 2024 both as a cartridge for Genesis consoles and on modern consoles from Superdeluxe Games and Limited Run Games. The former will handle Japanese distribution and the latter will distribute the game internationally. Put some money aside for that now if you want it.

Of course, when more concrete info comes out about when you can buy the game and how much it will cost, we’ll be sure to let you know as we come closer to 2024. Until then, tell us in the comments below how excited you are for this game.

Before we leave you to absorb this news, here’s an interesting fact about the “YKGGG” sign shown with the Sega font in the intro of Earthion straight from Koshiro-san.

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