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Yuji Naka’s Rodea: The Sky Soldier gets new trailer showing off Wii U footage

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Yuji Naka’s Rodea: The Sky Soldier is a weird story, seeing as it was supposed to be released on the Wii in 2011, even Yuji Naka said the title was completely done and just needed to be released by publisher Kadokawa games. No information was released and even Yuji Naka said he wasn’t sure if the game was going to be released last year. Well, thankfully the publisher Kadokawa games came to its senses since they announced the game coming for both Wii U and 3DS.

Seems that they are sticking with the Spring 2015 release window for Japan. Now we have a trailer showing off footage of the game and as you can see it looks like very low quality Wii graphics. But you know what? The game looks so fun, that it can be running on the Sega Saturn and I’d buy it. Let’s hope this is a good one, for Prope’s sake.

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Atlus announces Etrian Odyssey V and Mystery Dungeon x Etrian Odyssey

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Do you like Etrian Odyssey? If so, I have good news for you! The not-so-hot selling franchise, Etrian Odyssey will not only get a new entry to the franchise but also have a new cross-over game with Mystery Dungeon.

Mystery Dugeon x Etrian Odyssey is basically going to be a Mystery Dungeon style game with Etrian Odyssey characters (some older Mystery Dugeon cameos will be included). The music will be done by legendary video game music composer Yuzo Koshiro (Streets of Rage series, Revenge of Shinobi) and the art  direction will be handled by Nizo Yamaoto (Princess Mononoke). This game is slated to be released in Japan next March.

As for Etrian Odyssey V, it was announced along with a list of people working on the game. This includes director Shigeo Komori, character designer Yuji Himukai, veteran composer Yuzo Koshiro, and monster desginer Shin Nagasawa.

To see the teaser trailers  for both Etrian Odyssey V and Mystery Dungeon x Etrian Odyssey hit the jump.

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SEGA Saturn’s 20th Anniversary: Celebrating Decades of Arcade Perfection

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The SEGA Saturn turns 20 years old today and I thought it would be a good time to discuss the popularity of the Saturn in the land of the rising sun because if we did this article on its life in America it would be a very depressing and frankly this means I can write about Segata Sanshiro which is always fantastic.

So let’s get to it and if you like this article you might want to also check out a similar article I did on the Dreamcast for its 15th year anniversary.

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“Hi☆sCool! Seha Girls” anime Episode 7 is here, Impressions; and hedgehogs!

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Guess what time it is? That’s right: Hi☆sCool! Seha Girls episode 7 is on Crunchyroll, and it brings with it everybody’s favourite blue hedgehog!

The episode picks up where last week’s left off, with Sonic arriving in the nick of time to fend off Eggman. And that he does, as he proceeds to trash Eggman’s mechs, leading to Eggy legging it. The girls, still unable to get out of Border Break, manage to hitch a ride from Sonic, who’s initially none too impressed at the girls grabbing onto his spines.

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Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F 2nd Launch Trailer!

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Hatsune Miku Project Diva F 2nd is finally in stores. This launch trailer shows a good overview of the game. If you haven’t seen our review you should check it out. Just look at the top of the page or scroll further down.

So, if you haven’t bought this game yet, what are you waiting for? It’s time to get Miku-Miku’d! (For Reals).

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First 4 Figures SEGA All-Stars statue line expands to include Jet Set Radio’s Beat – pre-orders now open!

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Teased late last week, First 4 Figures have now put their Jet Set Radio Beat statue up for pre-order. Like their Akria Yuki statue, it appears that Beat does not have an Exclusive Edition variant. The statue measures 14 inches tall, and retails for $229.99, limited to 1,250 pieces and due to release Q2 2015. One cool feature is the addition of LEDs which give the illusion of sparks shooting out from his skates as he grinds a rail.

After the break, read the full product description!

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Watch our live unboxing of Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works with creator Darren Wall – Tuesday, November 18th at 6PM EST

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SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis fans listen up – we have something very special planned for tomorrow! We will be unwrapping and paging through Read-Only Memory’s “Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works” book live with project lead Darren Wall providing page-by-page commentary.

If that wasn’t enough, we will also joined by Blake J. Harris, author of the book “Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation” who is sure to have some stories of his own to share.

The live stream will appear at SEGAbits.com tomorrow at 6PM EST, so keep your eyes open for a dedicated article with the embedded live stream video and keep up with us on Twitter and Facebook for updates.

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TV Review: Sonic Boom – “Translate This”/”Buster”

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It has been quite a week for the Sonic Boom franchise, with the Wii U and 3DS games releasing and completing the circle of multimedia that make up Sonic Boom. Regardless of your feelings towards the games, the TV show was a welcome addition to the new franchise last week, and this weekend we have two new episodes to watch – “Translate This” and ”Buster”. How do these episodes compare to last week’s premiere? Let’s pour a bowl of Reece’s Puffs cereal, tune in and find out!

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First 4 Figures tease Jet Set Radio Beat statue for November 18th pre-order

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First 4 Figures are expanding their SEGA All-Stars line with a Jet Set Radio statue featuring GG’s leader Beat! The rudie with that uki uki waku waku attitude joins the existing SEGA All-Stars line of statues which includes Shenmue’s Ryo Hazuki, Virtua Fighter’s Akira Yuki, and Skies of Arcadia’s Vyse. While Beat’s price is currently unknown, based on past statues in the line it could range from $170 to $200 or more depending on if there is an exclusive version as well. Pre-orders open November 18th, and we’ll likely have all our details then.

What do you think of First 4 Figures choice? What other SEGA franchises would you like to see in the All-Stars line?

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Yu Suzuki shares details of Shenmue III and beyond in new Shenmue Dojo interview

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In a new interview from the Shenmue Dojo, the series creator and SEGA legend spoke at length about the development process of Shenmue and Shenmue II, and revealed a bit more about the long awaited third game in the series. A bulk of the interview delves into information shared at GDC 2014’s Shenmue postmortum, clarifying and expanding on development details shared at the event. Suzuki also answered some Shenmue III questions, sharing some very interesting pieces of information. Suzuki revealed that how the third game begins is undecided, but he thinks it will start from Shenhua’s home. Suzuki also defended SEGA, stating “About Shenmue, Sega is not a problem at all. For Shenmue III, we need to define a specific budget and if I can gather enough for it, Sega will allow me to do it.” Regarding the question of if Shenmue III would end the series, Suzuki answered “Yes indeed, the story is far away from being completed and to be honest, I do not think that it’s possible to end it during Shenmue III. If I had to do it my way, players would experience the ending during Shenmue V. But that seems to be a lot so I’m going to try to finish it within the next 2 games.”

For the full interview head on over to Shenmue Dojo, and in the comments below share your thoughts on what Suzuki revealed. Should the series continue past a third title? Or should Suzuki focus on one more game to complete the story?

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“Hi☆sCool! Seha Girls” anime Episode 6 is here, Impressions

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Believe it folks! Hi☆sCool! Seha Girls episode 6 is on Crunchyroll, and along with it comes an appearance from everybody’s favourite spiny blue hedgehog!

In this week’s episode, the Girls are tasked with an exam, in which they enter the world of SEGA’s online arcade mech shooter, Border Break! Furthermore, if they manage to destroy the core of the area, they’ll be awarded 25 credit medals; and 50 if they do it without a mech!

Having all the luck in the world, Saturn gets thrown into battle without a mech, whilst Dreamcast and Saturn get the armour. Dreamcast then struggles to get used to the controls, and ends up going missing, to the annoyance of the other Girls. Dreamcast only gets into further trouble when she discovers an enemy, and tries talking out their issues; at which point Mega Drive steps in to deal some sharp justice. Then, tactics become involved, as the girls use a decoy (in the form of poor Saturn!) to lure out the enemy, and promptly slaughter them. Or at least, Mega Drive slaughters them, as Dreamcast continues to fumble about.

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Sales of Valkyria Chronicles PC Port has “Blown all predictions” say SEGA

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For those worried that the sales for SEGA’s PC port of their classic Valkyria Chronicles may fall short of any sale targets can rest easy. SEGA have confirmed that not only did Valkyria Chronicles meet expectations, it ‘blown all predictions out of the water’ quite the accomplishment for a 6 year old port of a Playstation 3 exclusive. Speaking to MCV, SEGA Europe’s senior VP of commercial publishing John Clark had to say;

“During its first 24 hours on sale, blew all forecasts and predictions out of the water. The award-winning Strategy RPG, originally released in 2008 for PlayStation 3, forced its way to the top of the Steam download charts, beating a host of brand new games to reach number one,”

“We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the fans for their support in the phenomenal success of this launch. We’re also delighted at the response from the Steam community which indicates that newcomers to the series are finding it as enchanting and engaging as those who have played it before.

A fantastic achievement for all at SEGA, here’s hoping that this could only lead to more future PC ports from the blue skies company.

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Phantasy Star Nova is including Valkyria Chronicles 3 outfits

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Seems that SEGA is trying to bring the Valkyria Chronicles series back to life, first with the PC port of the first game (that came out today, by the way) and now this crossover with Phantasy Star Nova.

Phantasy Star Nova gives you the option of using a Valkyria form costume of the character Riela Marcellis. We have covered other collaborations like Resonance of Fate, Star Ocean  and Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth. Phantasy Star Nova will be getting a second demo on November 13th on the Japanese PSN.

What do you guys think of all these Phantasy Star collaborations? Should this continue to be a staple of the series or is it getting out of hand?

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Rumor: Sonic Runners is an upcoming mobile game from SEGA Networks

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The Sonic fan community has been abuzz over the rumor that the next Sonic game will be titled Sonic Runners. The rumor began when a member of a message board shared inside info on Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric months before release. While at the time the person’s claims couldn’t be verified, following Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric‘s release, several of the bits of info lined up with what was in the final game. Most notably, information about Metal Sonic and Shadow which detailed not only their addition before SEGA revealed them, but also where and when they appear in the game. The tipster also revealed in-game dialogue, NPC information, and design details – again, all which lined up with the final product. In addition to Sonic Boom leaks, the person also let leak that a working title for an upcoming game titled “Sonic Runners” appeared on a whiteboard.

Today, the rumor has been strengthened by Sonic Stadium discovering that SEGA, specifically SEGA Networks Corporation, has registered and owns the SonicRunners.com domain. SEGA Networks is SEGA of Japan’s developer of high-end games for smartphones and tablets – lead by Haruki Satomi and based in Tokyo’s Shinagawa Ward. The company began with 211 employees and have since released Demon Tribe, Kingdom Conquest II, Go Dance, Rhythm Thief & the Paris Caper, and Super Monkey Ball Bounce. This leads us to believe that Sonic Runners will likely be a Japanese developed title for iOS and Android devices.

As usual, this is a rumor, so take it as a grain of salt until SEGA officially announces something.

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Yuji Naka’s Rodea the Sky Soldier releasing Spring 2015 in Japan to the Wii U and 3DS

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Here at SEGAbits we like to keep things focused on SEGA both past and present, but when a SEGA legend leaves the company to do their own thing, we like to keep you guys informed as to what they’re up to – especially when it’s a big project with some SEGA influences. While we love former Sonic Team head Yuji Naka, who left SEGA in 2006 to found his own studio Prope, his studio’s games really haven’t had the same impact that his works at SEGA had. Outside of Let’s Tap and Ivy the Kiwi? (the question mark is in the game’s title), Naka and his team haven’t done much aside from releasing several bland iOS titles. However, there was one upcoming Prope game that looked to be on par with Naka’s work at SEGA: Rodea the Sky Soldier for Wii and 3DS.

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