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The SEGA Five: Revisiting Green Hill Act 1
In the Sonic universe there is nothing more iconic than the zone that started it all: Green Hill. Any and every SEGA and Sonic fan should know the look and layout of this zone, specifically the first act and even more specifically the first few moments experienced by players. I’m talking about the line of rings, followed by the platform with an item box above and a Motobug below, a Buzz Bomber enters from the right of the screen, passing a palm tree with a spring hidden inside. For many fans, this was their introduction to Sonic as a character and as a franchise. Sonic Team knew the importance of the first zone, as (according to the Sonic Jam strategy guide) it took the team six months to perfect the look and design of Green Hill. In the years that followed, the opening layout of Green Hill reappeared a number of times. In this week’s SEGA Five, I’ll look back on those times, noting the strengths, weaknesses and possible reasons for referencing the classic layout.
My Life With SEGA takes on the whole Empire in Star Wars Arcade
This week, AJ strikes back with an all out attack of the 32X in his review of Star Wars Arcade.
The adventure continues in Star Wars: Episode II – Rise of the 32X, where I review Star Wars Arcade. Yeah, it’s a port of the SEGA-produced arcade game from 1993. Now, SEGA has made some miraculous conversions, such as Virtua Fighter 2 for Saturn and Crazy Taxi for Dreamcast….
Should this 32X exclusive be counted among them?
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Review: Jack Lumber (iOS)
Announced and released on the same day, Jack Lumber, was both a surprise and a curiosity. As the first SEGA Alliance title, Jack Lumber was developed by an external independent developer by the name of Owlchemy Labs and published by SEGA. Per the SEGA Alliance description, SEGA also provided marketing and production support as well as creative consultation. The end result is a fun and unique game that definitely has that SEGA spirit, despite being developed by an external developer.
My Life with SEGA becomes one with the Force in Star Wars: Rebel Assault
This week, My Life with SEGA returns to a galaxy far, far away in Star Wars: Rebel Assault for the SEGA CD. Will it be a day long remembered, or will it end up being Bantha poodoo?
It may be hard to believe, but long before Greedo shot first, or the prequels devided the fanbase, I was playing Rebel Assault; my very first Star Wars game. It has been a day long remembered….
Now, 18 years since it’s release on the SEGA CD, I ask myself, “Is it still a day worth remembering?”
Let’s find out.
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SEGA Tunes: Rhythm Thief Month “Melody of Hope”
Melody of Hope is a very dynamic, beautful track. Despite it’s name, it does not start out as an optimistic song. Indeed, from the offset it’s quite foreboding. Then, about midway, it begins to change it’s tone. There is some genuine conflict in the song as it evolves into something truly optimistic and uplifting. This is the kind of track that can really be appreciated on it’s own, even without a game, and highlights just how spectacular the Rhythm Thief soundtrack can be. It also goes very well with its plays in the game’s storyline, which I won’t elaborate upon so as to avoid spoilers.
Below is Moon Princess, Marie’s first song in the game and alongside Melody of Hope, also one of the its best tracks.
Let’s evaluate the Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed track roster, shall we?
Three months until the release of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, and there is still a lot we don’t know. What racers have we yet to see? How does the vehicle mod system work? Is Cream the Rabbit somewhere in the game? Thankfully, we’re not completely in the dark, as Sumo Digital and SEGA have revealed quite a bit since the game’s announcement. I thought I’d write up a short article collecting all we know of the game’s track roster. What has been announced, what has yet to be announced and what SEGA eras are getting represented? After the break, we’ll answer those questions! But not the one about Cream, sorry.
My Life with SEGA kills zombies in Biohazard and plays with Ballz
This week My LIFE with SEGA takes on the undead in the Japanese SEGA Saturn game Biohazard, also known as Resident Evil. Then, AJ and his friend Mickey Mac play with some balls in Ballz for the SEGA Genesis. Like these videos and want to see more? Subscribe to the SEGAbits YouTube channel!
Ballz after the break.
Weekly Five: Reasons why you should import Max Anarchy/Anarchy Reigns
Poor Anarchy Reigns. It really got a bum rap this year after Sega went through its restructuring. From being delayed indefinitely, possibly being cancelled to finally having a super-delayed release date of early 2013. All the while, Platinum Games finished the Japanese version with full localization built in for a world wide release. Several Platinum Games fans were outraged that they wouldn’t be able to play the game for another 6-9 months from now. I’m sure there’s a logical and financial reason why they’d make such a delay, but it makes no sense to me.
But why wait? The game is region free on both X-Box 360 and PS3 and is available to import from sites like Play Asia right now! It’ll cost a bit more than if you wait, but if you want one of the best brawling games this generation early, this is the best way to go. Read on to see what you’re missing out on.
Review: Rhythm Thief and the Emperor’s Treasure
It’s been a very long time coming, but after months of being in Japan and Europe Rhythm Thief has finally arrived on American shores. If the rumors of the game selling out are true, it seems to be a hit! But was this game worth the long wait? Will Phantom R’s musical escapades win you over or does it fall out of tune? Read on.
SEGA Tunes: Rhythm Thief Month, Vamos a Carnival
The Marie focused edition of Rhythm Thief Month has been postponed until I get further into the game.
Until then, I thought I’d post up one of the other things that makes Rhythm Thief cool: homages to other SEGA rhythm games. Rhythm Thief is a game with some interesting SEGA pedigree. Not only is its director, Shun Nakamura, responsible for also directing Samba de Amigo, but the game’s list of contributing composers include Tomoya Ohtani and Naofumi Hataya, whom have worked on the soundtrack for Space Channel 5 Part 2, Samba de Amigo, Feel the Magic as well as a variety of Sonic and Sonic Team games.
Above is Vamos a Carnival, from Samba de Amigo. The actual mini game is a surprisingly faithful adaptation of Samba de Amigo’s game play onto the 3DS, using both face buttons and tilt functions to replicate the Dreamcast classic’s game play. It’s one of my favorite games in RT, and this style of mini game is also one of the most difficult I’ve yet encountered in the game.
The other SEGA rhythm game Rhythm Thief pays homage to is Space Channel 5. Much like the Samba de Amigo mini game, it also adapts the Space Channel 5 formula into the game, complete with a track from the game, which I have posted below after the break.
SEGA Q2: Things are looking up thanks to new streamlining strategy
SEGA assured that the changes they made would help the company and it doesn’t seem they are lying. SEGA has reported increased profits for the first quarter of the current fiscal year. Sadly the consumer business is still reporting losses, however SEGA has really reduced the losses year-over-year. Sadly the losses are contributed to the lack of demand for home video games in the U.S. and Europe.
SEGA only shifted 1.34 million units this quarter, which is down 42.5 perfect compared to 2.33 million year-over-year. SEGA has also stated that their free-to-play game Kingdom Conquest has been downloaded over 3 million times. No idea how many people opted for buying upgrades and other pay-to-use items.
My Life with SEGA goes John McClane insane with Die Hard Arcade
Another week and another video for My Life with SEGA posted on the SEGAbits YouTube channel. This week Die Hard Arcade is up for review.
“In this ‘classic’ episode, I review Die Hard Arcade (a.k.a. Dynamite Deka) for the SEGA Saturn. As a bonus, I manage to critique the cross-platform hit, Die Hard Trilogy….
Now, which one’s gonna’ find out what a TV dinner feels like?”
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SEGA Tunes: Rhythm Thief Month, “One More Time”
I’ve finally recovered from my jet lag, so it’s time for another (late) addition of Tuesday Tunes! Continuing our celebration of SEGA’s latest rhythm game, this week we feature one of the most cheerful tunes on the soundtrack: One More Time.
The lyrics don’t make much sense, but as with anything in Rhythm Thief, it’s the rhythm that’s important here, and it’s something this song does incredibly well. The mini game this is paired with is one of my favorites that I’ve played in the game so far, a much more difficult version of the Show Time mini game that was available in the demo.
Next week we’ll be taking a look at Marie’s side of things with “Moon Princess”, but until then, please enjoy “Detective Claude Appears”! This one has a great rock theme that’s very remeniscent to some of the best modern Sonic tunes, making the composer’s Sonic music pedigree pretty obvious.
The Weekly Five: Why Dreamcast fans should be playing Gunlord
The indie Dreamcast game Gunlord from NG:DEV.TEAM has been out for less than a month, and while I’m sure many fans of indie Dreamcast titles have picked it up and are enjoying it, there are always those who are still on the fence and are either waiting to hear more opinions or for a price drop. I’m sure there are also those who have their Dreamcast stashed away in a closet and need a reason to dig it out. In this week’s Weekly Five I thought I’d share five reasons why Gunlord is worthy of a Dreamcast fan’s collection.