Two months after the arcade fighting title’s announcement, SEGA released a location test preview of Blade Arcus from Shining which features characters from the Shining Series.
The game will be held at the SEGA Akihabara Building 1 for location testing, and will feature a total of six playable characters. We’ll have more info on the game once the final build is released in arcades.
Previously released in Japan, Dragon Coins is now available in western territories on the iTunes and Google Play store for free. The game also supports in-app purchases where players can purchase bags of coins for $6.99 or $2.99.
SEGA has stated that the game is a combination of role playing game battles and a party management system with a pick-up and play arcade coin-dozer fun. Here is a description of the title taken from the iTunes and Google Play stores. Also for more information on features in the game, be sure to hit the jump.
In early June, there will be an update to Phantasy Star Online 2 that will feature the return of SEGA Collaboration.
This time around, SEGA Collaboration 2 will have more SEGA related special costumes and items available in PSO2 based on several SEGA key franchises featuring Sonic the Hedgehog, Valkyria Chronicles, Yakuza Ishin and 5, and last but not least for the space cats out there, Space Channel 5!
Be sure to keep an eye out for the next PSO2 live stream with Sonic Retro and SEGAbits on our Twitch channel in June as we show off the update features and perhaps Sonic’s 23rd Anniversary as well.
Special Thanks to Shadix for the tip!
Kenji Kanno, the original creator of the Crazy Taxi arcade game, and Hardlight Studios gives us an insight on the development on the upcoming Crazy Taxi City Rush mobile game for IOS and Andriod platforms.
While working with the team at Hardlight Studios for the first time, Kenji Kanno wanted them to understand the roots of the game franchise in order for them to be more ambitious and keep the original concept true to the game. He also gives his opinion on the unique thing about smartphones is that you could start the game as a timewaster at first, but become sucked into it and get really addicted to the game.
Hardlight Studio’s Scott West explains that their company has a different audience and playstyle. So what they did with the game was to implement missions from pickup missions, daily challenges which are timed, regular missions, ranking missions and special missions. For more highlights from the video that are included in Crazy Taxi City Rush, be sure to hit the jump.
The SEGA Cup 2014 for Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown is now live with tournament brackets and schedule released for the event.
The description is as follows:
SEGA® of America, Inc. today announced that it will once again host a Virtua Fighter™5 Final Showdown Tournament this year, continuing its partnership with Alex Valle and Level|Up. The 2014 “SEGA CUP” tournament will take place in Los Angeles at the Super Arcade on April 26, 2014. Cash prizes will be awarded to the top 16 players. Once again, the version for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system will be used for the competition.
Last year’s tournament celebrated the legacy of the popular “fighting game fan’s fighter” for the first time and saw player Fuudo, who previously won the Virtua Fighter EVO 2012 and Street Fighter IV EVO 2011 tournaments, emerging as the winner.
Based on the latest arcade version of the celebrated Virtua Fighter 5 series, Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown launched in June 2012 for PlayStation®Network (PSN) and on the Xbox Live online entertainment network for the Xbox 360 games and entertainment system from Microsoft.
The tournament will be streamed on Level|Up’s twitch channel. Who’s going to be the best Virtua Fighter player in the West Coast this year? Click here to see the schedule for the tournament.
SEGA AGES 2500: Fantasy Zone Collection returns to the PlayStation 3 and is scheduled to be released in Japanese PSN store tomorrow on April 16th. The compilation features a new “remake” of Fantasy Zone II to look similar to it’s Sega System 16 counterpart plus ten other Fantasy Zone games.
SEGA also included expert replays to view and an option to save your own replays. Similar to other Sega Ages 2500 titles, there is a gallery mode with promotional materials & manuals including a sound test mode.
The game will cost 1,500 yen ($15 in US and 10 Euro in Europe). You can purchase the title with a Japanese PSN account and cash cards from the internet such as EBay or an online import store.
In the second wave of 3D SEGA classics, Outrun will return on the Nintendo 3DS in stereoscopic 3D along with a virtual Deluxe Version. SEGA and M2 has also included brand new additions to 3D Outrun.
One of the newest additions for the game are two BGM pieces such as “Cruising Line” from Black Rock Shooter: The Game by composer Manabu Namiki and “Camino ami Amor” from Jane-Evelyn Nisperos.
Another few additions is a new car colored in green, five goals, and four other customization parts. 3D Outrun will be released in Japan on April 23rd. Hit the jump for the images.
UPDATE: Questions submissions will end on May 10th, be sure to leave a comment!
SEGA of America will be attending at this year’s MomoCon, an Anime and Gaming Convention in Georgia, promoting their upcoming game, Hatsune Miku Project Diva F 2nd, which is scheduled to be released this fall for PlayStation 3 and PS Vita in North America and Europe. SEGA will also host a panel for the title. Other titles may also be in the cards at the convention, but none have yet to be announced as of now.
SEGAbits will be attending this year’s MomoCon covering the convention floors and SEGA’s Hatsune Miku panel. We will also have an exclusive interview with SOA’s Associate Brand Manager, Aaron Webber at the convention center about the game.
If anyone has any questions for him regarding the title, please leave a comment for us below or leave questions on our very own forums or Segalization’s.
SEGA’s new 2-D arcade fighter, Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax, has recently been released in Japan a few days ago and with new gameplay footages uploaded on the net and we are now able to see the final boss fight featuring Virtua Fighter’s Hakkyoku-ken fighter, Akira Yuki.
Here is a video of the final boss fight with an epic pre-fight cutscene against Durarara’s, punch your clothes off, Shizuo. For another video of the boss fight, hit the jump.
Yu Suzuki, the influential Japanese game designer famously known for his work at Sega, will be delivering a Classic Game Postmortem on the iconic Dreamcast game Shenmue. We will keep everyone with updates on our Twitter page.
UPDATE: Our readers who are having trouble viewing the stream through GameSpot can view the stream on Twitch.
SEGA of Japan has recently uploaded a new game play footage of the Japanese edition of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. This time showing off more changes such as Takenobu Mitsuyoshi as the announcer as announced before, game play modes and several characters voiced by their Japanese seiyuu . Many SEGA racing fans would be pleased to hear Mitsuyoshi-san exciting voice as they cross the finish line. At the end of the video, the SEGA All-Stars Premium Sound Collection will be available upon release. The Japanese edition of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed will cross the finish line in Japan on May 15th on PS3 and WiiU.
In one of Virtua Fighter’s 20th Anniversary announcements of last year, SEGA and publisher ASCII Media Works announced that Akira Yuki will be appearing as a boss character in the upcoming Degenki Bunko Fighting Climax, as part of the franchise’s 20th anniversary.
Not only the Hakkyoku-ken master but the movie star, Pai Chan joins the fray as well as his supporting character. More will be announced on Akira’s appearance when the next Dengeki Bunko event that will take place in Japan on March 16th.
Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax will be launching in Japan in spring 2014 in Japanese arcades. Hit the jump for more screenshots of Akira performing his infamous “Hougenki Unshin Soukoshou” on Kirito from Sword Art Online.
After the first Sakura Taisen game was met with commercial and critical success in 1996, a sequel was inevitable. The SEGA Saturn, though successful in Japan, was hemorrhaging money abroad, making a sequel to one of the company’s few late 90s success stories all the more important. So, SEGA collaborated with RED again to produce a sequel.
Sakura Taisen 2: Kimi, Shinitamou Koto Nakare, which roughly translates to “Beloved, You Must Not Die” was released for the SEGA Saturn on April 4th, 1998 as a three disc set. Introducing two new characters and improved game play, it remains the most successful game in the series. It sold over half a million copies, making it the second best-selling dating sim of all time. It was re-released for the SEGA Dreamcast two years later with brand new features that showed what the system was capable of.
Here is our retro review of Sakura Taisen 2 for the Saturn and Dreamcast.
Watch live video from SEGA_Channel_Retro on www.twitch.tv
Kori-Maru here to bring our readers a live stream today featuring Sakura Taisen 1-4 during Sakura Taisen week running on a SEGA Dreamcast system. The stream will begin at 7:15 AM 9:30 AM Eastern Time. I will be showing off the each game in the main series for fans and newcomers of the series and it’s gameplay features. Be sure to stop by our SEGA Channel Retro Stream Channel and ask us questions during the stream.
