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Samurai & Dragons & SEGA All-Stars, oh my!

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Samurai & Dragons, the Japanese version of Kingdom Conquest released to the Playstation Vita, just got SEGA-fied. Well, that is to say it will soon be SEGA-fied and by “SEGA-fied” we mean they’re adding a slew of SEGA cameos. A Deluxe Package is set to release on November 29, and it will include rare Bayonetta, Sonic, Kazuma, and Akira cards plus in-game money. Also later this year, Samurai & Dragons will get cards from the popular SEGA card arcade game Sangokushi Taisen and a Hatsune Miku card that can be bought with in-game currency. Perhaps most exciting is that SEGA hired Hatsune Miku illustrator KEI to turn their consoles into characters. Players will be able to play the game with girl versions of the SG-1000, SC-3000, SG-1000II, Sega Mark II, Master System, Mega Drive, Game Gear, Mega CD, Mega Drive MK II, Mega CD 2, Saturn, 32X, and the Dreamcast.

After the break, a full list of SEGA character cameos as well as more images of the incoming cards and console cuties.

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Jet Set Radio’s Gum joins the roster of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed

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Via Nintendo Power scans comes confirmation of another SEGA character joining the racer roster in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed: Gum of Jet Set Radio. This latest reveal isn’t as exciting as, say, Vyse or Ryo in the first game. Gum has appeared in a past title in the series, SEGA Superstars Tennis, and her game already has representation by way of Beat. Having said all that, I am personally overjoyed to see Gum added to the game. “What!?” you may say, “Blasphemy! She’s taking a slot from an obscure 16-bit game or some Japanese title that nobody really knows about!”. But hear me out. For starters, the game is severely lacking in female characters, and Gum perfectly fills that role of cool gals from SEGA’s past. Secondly, if Sonic gets seven characters, and NiGHTS gets two, why can’t Jet Set Radio have a second racer? Gum herself is a very unique design, which is something you can’t say about Reala or Shadow when comparing them to other characters represented in their respective IPs. Now, I understand if this riles people up because they will now fear MeeMee of Super Monkey Ball joining the roster. But I say wait it out, we still have more than eleven reveals left. Also, Gum is awesome. Disagree? Sound off in the comments below!

Check out the Nintendo power scans here and here.

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San-ei reveals new Sonic the Hedgehog plushes

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Japanese company San-ei has revealed a new line of Sonic the Hedgehog plush dolls. They showed off 5 characters scaling from the blue blur himself to Knuckles, Amy, Tails, and SEGAbits favorite Shadow the Hedgehog.

A few years back the company put out similar plush dolls, but they say these will have improved patterns. According to the source San-ei is high quality when it comes to plush dolls. I wouldn’t know, I personally don’t own plush toys. Check out the product page here.

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New Phantasy Star Online 2 trailer shows off new content and quests

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Phantasy Star Online 2 is still getting summer updates that adds more story quests and much more items to try to collect. This will take you to the planet Lillipa which is known as the Land of the Dragons. Not only that, new outfits and a White Rappy are part of the update too.

This is in Japanese since the game won’t be coming to Europe and United States till 2013. It has been confirmed that the European and US servers will be the same, while Japan will be isolated (unlike the original Phantasy Star Online).

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What is Yuji Naka’s studio working on? Digimon Adventures

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I know most of you will give me crap for posting this on the blog, since it doesn’t have anything to do with SEGA as a publisher. But let’s be honest, I think we are all interested in what big high profile ex-SEGA developers are up to in the world. This time we look at Yuji Naka’s Prope, who will be working on the upcoming Digimon Adventure.

The game promises to cover the story of the original Digimon anime series and will be a RPG game. Yep, this will be the first RPG from Prope and oddly enough is coming out on the original PSP. So that means no one will probably play it. Find it on shelves in 2013.

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Review: Jack Lumber (iOS)

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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.

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Senile Team releases a free Dreamcast game called Polyko, play it today!

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Senile Team, the folks behind Rush Rush Rally Racing, have ported an indie game by the super long name of “Polyko’s Super Jelly Bean Quest in The Sketchbook of Illusion” to the Dreamcast. How much does it cost? Nothing, it’s free! Where can you get it? Right here! The game is a simple platformer starring an artist named Polyko who has been magically transported into his sketchbook. The goal is to collect 31 jelly beans. There is no way to die, so no fear of falling into an abyss or having your head ripped off by a zombie. You can play the full game online here, or better yet burn it to a disc and play it on your Dreamcast. The cd image even contains printable covers, so it’ll fit in on your indie Dreamcast games shelf. Enjoy!

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Assassin’s Creed III director blasts Japanese storytelling, calls out Bayonetta

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Well, this quote can be put on the short list of industry opinions that have had my jaw drop.

In an interview with CvG, Assassin’s Creed III creative director Alex Hutchinson goes on what I can only describe as a rant against Japanese storytelling and journalists’ response to it: or, as he calls it, “subtle racism.”

“I think there’s a subtle racism in the business,” Hutchinson said when asked about Nintendo and their yearly franchise installments, “especially on the journalists’ side, where Japanese developers are forgiven for doing what they do. I think it’s condescending to do this.”

When prompted further, the creative director brought up Bayonetta:

“Just think about how many Japanese games are released where their stories are literally gibberish. There’s no way you could write it with a straight face, and the journalists say, ‘Oh it is brilliant.’ Then Gears of War comes out and apparently it’s the worst written narrative in a game ever. I’ll take Gears of War over Bayonetta any time.”

Do you think there’s an inherent bias in the industry press towards Japanese games? Sound off in the comments below.

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Twelve minutes of NiGHTS into Dreams… HD!

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Jeff Beckham, Digital Brand Manager at Sega of America, stopped by Gamespot’s live show to present 12 minutes of NiGHTS into Dreams… HD gameplay. Ignore the dumb host, who seems to know next to nothing about SEGA’s Saturn classic, and soak up the lovely HD visuals. Take note that the menu screen mentions “Presents” and has a few blanked out menu options. Looks like we’ll be getting Christmas NiGHTS integrated into the rerelease. Hooray! No price is set yet, but Mr. Beckham makes it sound like fans will be pleased with the price point. If it’s anything like other SEGA Heritage releases, it’ll be $10. Thanks to reader celsowm for the heads up!

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Official Sonic Monopoly board revealed

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Via the USAopoly Facebook page comes the finished board for the upcoming Sonic Monopoly game. Just standing back and looking at it, it’s a really great looking board! Graphics look nice, a ton of zones and stages are represented. And unlike the Nintendo Monopoly game, thought has been put into the properties. Seriously, the Nintendo Monopoly was garbage compared to this beauty. Players bought characters like property and built houses on them. How does that work? Gives a whole new meaning to Hotel Mario. After the break, a full listing of the properties.

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