Crushing Disappointments: Shadow the Hedgehog

Let’s face it, SEGA can’t knock them all out of the park. No company can. Games have budgets and deadlines, and more often than not it’s more profitable to release a bad game and make some of your money back then cancel it and make none. SEGA is regrettably no stranger to bad games, especially in its awkward early years as a third party.

Among these bad games was a game that ultimately marked the decline of the company’s mascot, Sonic the Hedgehog, into a pit of mediocrity. A pit the character wouldn’t even begin to climb out of until the release of Sonic Colors last year. This game was Shadow the Hedgehog.

Full article after the break.

Two new Yakuza: Of the End Trailers – Amazing!

With every new trailer and every new bit of information we come across the crazy Yakuza spin off title ‘Ryu Ga Gotoku: Of the End’ AKA ‘Yakuza: Of the End’ just looks better and better.

I hope with this title the series starts to get the recognition it deserves in the West because Sega pulled off a pretty amazing feet putting out a Yakuza game the size of any good RPG pretty much year on year and each time it has got better and better with the exception of Yakuza 3 which didn’t quite live up to the events of Yakuza 2, story wise in my opinion. With this and the English release of Yakuza 4 I’m going to be deep in the Japanese underworld all year in 2011!

Hit the Jump for trailer two!

Retail Dreamcast collection will pack four games

SEGA have set Feburary 2011 as the date for their ‘Dreamcast Collection’ retail disc. Fans spouted out games they wanted like the usual favorites Shenmue and Jet Set Radio. Sadly, this will not happen, SEGA has confirmed the four games the collection will have.

  • Sonic Adventure
  • Crazy Taxi
  • SEGA Bass Fishing
  • Space Channel 5 part 2

Basically its a compilation of their digital titles they have already announced. Here is something new though, it is also coming to PC, no Playstation 3 version! The press release does not say if Sonic Adventure version will come with the DX downloadable content on disc, my guess is probably not. Hit the jump for the press release.

Round Table: Our favorite SEGA Soundtracks


After you spend hours in your favorite SEGA game, you always get those damn catchy tunes stuck in your head. They won’t go away, now we will share our favorite SEGA soundtracks, hopefully they stay stuck in your brain like they have ours.

If your favorite soundtrack wasn’t featured, make sure you head down to the comment section and share.

Round Table: Our favorite SEGA sequels


There are always big new IPs that are amazing, but then comes the sequel and improves that game to legendary status. We here at the staff have decided to list our favorite SEGA sequels of all time.

If you have a favorite sequel not posted by us, share it in the comments section.

The Last Boss: Michael Jackson vs Stray Dogs

When I heard that the new Michael Jackson video games for Wii, DS and Kinect were going to be dance games I was hugely disappointed. “What else would you expect them to be?” you may ask, and that is a fair question. I knew it was unlikely, but a small part of me was hoping that we would see some kind of follow up to the classic Sega title Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker. That game had it all; a Michael Jackson soundtrack, scrolling beat-em-up action and some great boss fights, not least of which was the legendary Stray Dogs. Yes, there was a video game where you used Michael Jackson to kick the ever-living shit out of a bunch of dogs.

Why this game doesn’t have a sequel is beyond me…

Misconceptions about SEGA’s 2010 games


Something that I hate is when one someone writes something about a game that gets echoed everywhere I go. These people that keep on babbling on about how this game has these issues or its  a clone of some other mainstream game, most of the time these individuals never end up actually playing the game in question for themselves.

I have decided to give my 2 cents on what I consider false assumptions of SEGA’s 2010 games.

Classic SEGA Magazine Corner: EGM May 1991

Continuing an article series started by SEGAbits writer MadeManG74, I present another classic SEGA magazine: Electronic Gaming Monthly Number 22, released May 1991. SEGA and Sonic fans of course recognize May ’91 as the month before Sonic the Hedgehog hit stores. American magazine EGM joined the hype wagon and gave Sonic his own cover and a two page preview spread. Check out the article that was, most likely, the first real preview many had seen of the now classic SEGA series!

Phantasy Star being turned into social game as well

What? First Shenmue, Sakura Wars, Yakuza, and now Phantasy Star? That is right, Phantasy Star will be joining Shenmue City on the Mobagetown mobile social gaming platform under the name Phantasy Star Eternal Hunters.
If you didn’t know, we actually reported on the trademark for the name, now we finally find out what they are doing with it. In Eternal Hunters you will have to collect data from a ship’s crashing site on some uncharted planet.

The big feature that SEGA is talking about in this game is the use of GPS information from your cell phone that will create unique monsters depending on your location and where you play. So if you are in different areas in Japan, you will have a different experience. Pre-registration for the game has already started, the service is expected to launch ‘this winter’. The game will of course be free to play.

[Source: AndriaSang]

Round Table: Our favorite SEGA Christmas memories


Its Christmas time, so you had to expect a ‘Christmas themed’ article. Well our article will be about our favorite SEGA Chirstmas memories. You can read our memories and if you want to share some of yours, feel free in the comment box.

Happy Holidays everyone, be safe out there and don’t stuff yourself too much.

New Trailer for Dreamcast’s Sturmwind

Recently, redspotgames CEO, Max Scharl revealed their latest Dreamcast title “Sturmwind” on national television (German tv show “Neues” in a segment on underdogs). Since then, Sturmwind has received a lot of positive press even though only a handful of screen shots have been shown. Today we feast our eyes on.

The reason for all the excitement is that Sturmwind is an original Dreamcast game, built from the ground up to take advantage of Sega’s hardware, where as recently released shump Fast Striker (on sale at Play-Asia & NG:Dev.Direct) an excellent game in it’s own right is an enhanced Neo-Geo Port.

Fun Fact: A recurring theme in Dreamcast games these days is that Duranik the studio behind Sturmwind is composed off 2 brothers, just like KonTechs (DUX), NG:Dev.Team (Last Hope), Senile Team (Rush Rush Rally Racing), Yuan Works (Wind & Water: Puzzle Battles).

Hit the Jump for the press release.

5 Times Sonic Totally Beat Mario

There are moments in Sonic and Mario’s histories worthy of debate: Sonic 3 or Super Mario 3? Who had the better first 3D game? Mario Kart Wii or Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing Wii? However, there are also moments when it is so obvious that Sonic won, even the most hardcore Mario fans will have a tough time assembling a counter argument. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane and revisit 5 times Sonic totally beat Mario!

Round Table: SEGA IPs that could make great social games

Social games seem to be the hot thing right, every company is doing them and most are having a big success. SEGA even has their own social gaming site, with some pretty neat flash based games.

But they don’t really use their old IPs, outside of Sonic, for their games and they are really just ‘flash games’ and not very social like Yakuza Mobile or Shenmue City. What SEGA games do we want to see become social games? Hit the jump and yell at us in the comment section.