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Sakura Wars (2019) Hands-On Preview – A Dramatic Adventure at its best! (Playstation 4)

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Sakura Wars has been a popular Japanese game franchise and media since the release of the original game in 1996 on the SEGA Saturn in Japan. It was known for its hybrid gameplay between dating simulation and turn-based tactical strategy. The franchise would later grow a cult following in the west through anime releases in the late nineties and the release of Sakura Wars: So Long My Love for Playstation 2 and Nintendo Wii by another publisher, NIS America. Since the release of So Long My Love, the franchise laid in dormant until SEGA made a surprising announcement in 2018 during SEGA Fes that a brand new entry to the series was in the works as a soft reboot and will be released worldwide.

With only 12 days to go with the release of Sakura Wars (2019) for Playstation 4, I’m going to share my hands-on experience of the game, courtesy of SEGA. Please note that this preview is the 1.0 version of the game before the Day One update with a full review coming to SEGAbits on April 27th. You can read my hands-on preview of Sakura Wars (2019) in full after the break!

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Streets of Rage 4 releasing on April 30th for all platforms, Battle Mode revealed

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Publisher Dotemu has finally revealed when Streets of Rage 4 will release. You can take to the streets and beat up thugs this upcoming April 30th, and it will launch for all four platforms. In addition, Battle Mode has been announced. In Battle Mode, you pick from a selection of different characters and beat the tar out of your opponents, with up to 4 players being able to participate in the brawl.

Also advertised is pre-orders for the physical copies of the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch versions of the game, by Limited Run Games. These physical copies come with a steelbook, a reversible cover, and a custom clamshell case mimicking the design of a SEGA Genesis case.

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SEGA AGES G-LOC Air Battle releasing on April 30th in western territories

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SEGA AGES G-LOC Air Battle has a release date for western territories. For those in North America and European regions, you’ll be able to take to the skies on April 30th, available on the Nintendo Switch eShop for $7.99 and equivalent.

In this spin-off of the popular arcade game After Burner, you once again pilot a fighter jet called the A8M5 Thunderfox “Zeek”, soaring through the landscape blasting down anything in your path with bullets and missiles. The key difference is the emphasis on switching between a first-person and third-person perspective, influencing how you control and aim with the jet. The SEGA AGES release will also include new features, such as a AGES Mode which adds more enemies, more missiles, and an improved lock on system, and a special border that mimics the swaying of the original arcade cabinet.

[Source: Official Website / Twitter]

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SEGA to shut down SEGA Heroes servers on May 21st

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SEGA and Demiurge’s SEGA Heroes mobile game is one of the few titles I pop in everyday to collect all my rewards so I could fill out my SEGA roster. Its not ground breaking but the diversity of SEGA IPs really got me into it. Sadly, I will have to say goodbye to this mobile title as Demiurge studio has now become independent from SEGA. SEGA had previously worked with Demiurge on the Aliens: Colonial Marines DLC Bughunt, the same year they made their smash mobile title ‘Marvel Puzzle Quest‘ in 2013. After that, SEGA stepped in to purchase the studio.

Demiurge and SEGA’s games weren’t all hits either, the first title that the studio brought out to mobile was Puzzle & Glory in 2015, which got a soft launch in Canada and then a year later they closed the game down. Then in 2017 came the mobile title known as Crazy Taxi Gazillionaire that was then changed into Crazy Taxi Tycoon which was a top-down endless business management simulator and idle clicker game.

Now the last game they did was SEGA Heroes. But why has Demiurge studios bought the studio back from SEGA and want to go independent? According to this interview with the studios co-founder, they want to get out of the mobile market and work on supporting AAA studios like they did before they made Marvel Puzzle Quest. If you look at their history of games they worked on (which dates back to 2004), they worked on console games.

SEGA has also made a notice about the game closing, you can read that here.

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SEGA AGES Thunder Force AC coming soon, more information revealed

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After Thunder Force III appeared previously in the SEGA 3D series on 3DS and the SEGA Genesis Mini, it once again returns, but with a bit of a twist. Indeed, Thunder Force AC is essentially an arcade version of the original Thunder Force III, using the SEGA System C2 arcade board also used for games such as Puyo Puyo and Puzzle & Action: Ichidant-R. But don’t be fooled, as the game mixes up the level design enough that it’s still worth a playthrough even if you’ve played the Mega Drive original, and also benefits from improved audio samples.

The SEGA AGES release adds several new features, most notably the selection of different ships. FIRE LEO-03 STYX being the default ship, FIRE LEO-03 STYX Mass Product being a revamped version of the original ship that was included in Thunder Force Gold Pack 2, FIRE LEO-04 RYNEX from Thunder Force IV, and FIRE LEO-04 RYNEX with the Thunder Sword. Like it’s predecessor SEGA AGES Thunder Force IV, there will also be a Kids Mode that increases the power of your attacks and doesn’t penalize you by stripping away your weapons upon death, ideal for more novice players.

It will be available at a price of ¥999 for the Japanese Nintendo Switch eShop, but with no announced date yet.

[Source: Official Website]

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Phantasy Star Online 2 PC release window revealed, Xbox One cross-play confirmed

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Phantasy Star Online 2 has had its Xbox One open beta going on for almost a month, and now we have news of when PC players can expect to start playing the western localization of the game. PSO2 is set for a North American PC launch of “late May” 2020, exclusively on the Microsoft Store. It has also been confirmed that there will be cross-play between Xbox One and PC players on day one of the PC release.

No information has been given about a Steam release, but once we hear something we’ll be sure to news it!

[Source: Forbes]

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SEGA News Bits: Microsoft Buying SEGA Rumor DEBUNKED

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On this SEGA News Bits, George walks Barry through the crazy rumor circulating about Microsoft buying SEGA. Is this happening? Let’s bust this myth!

If you want to support this type of content, you can check out our Patreon!

If you enjoy our SEGA News Bits segments and want to support us: Give us a sub and give this video a thumbs up so it shows up on more like-minded fans YouTube recommendations. You know, how that YouTube algorithm is.

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SEGA News Bits: New Redesigned Wireless Dreamcast Controller Revealed

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Retro-Bit revealed a new design for their upcoming wireless Dreamcast controller, and on this SEGA News Bits we react to the proposed plans and share our thoughts on the old design versus the new design.

If you want to support this type of content, you can check out our Patreon!

If you enjoy our SEGA News Bits segments and want to support us: Give us a sub and give this video a thumbs up so it shows up on more like-minded fans YouTube recommendations. You know, how that YouTube algorithm is.

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Phantasy Star Online fan puts together a concept pitch for a Nintendo Switch port

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If you’ve been around our blog for awhile, you know we are all huge Phantasy Star Online fans, we even gushed about our history with the game on our SEGA Talk episode. While the original Phantasy Star Online got a ton of ports including PC, GameCube and Xbox, it has been quite forgotten more recently. While SEGA focuses on Phantasy Star Online 2, it seems a lot of fans still thirst for the original game.

Above is a concept pitch created by Phantasy Star Online fan Alex The Actualizer, which includes the image renders below. I do find myself thinking that SEGA is missing a huge opportunity to re-release a classic game like this, especially since the Phantasy Star Online Blue Burst version never got a console release. Not to mention that since the Nintendo Switch has a GameCube controller adapter, we can use our big Gamecube/Keyboard hybrid monster!

[Via: TheAmaranthChronicles]

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Fake 4chan Rumor: Microsoft buying SEGA

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See the image above? One of the first times I saw the image was this weekend when longtime SEGAbits contributor SEGA Uranus posted it on our discord with a this link: https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2020/04/12/xbox-XO_world-live

As you can see, if you go to the link it takes you to a 404 page, me thinking this might have been a leak, I went to Twitter by posting the image looking for more information. My thinking was that SEGA had exclusives promised for the upcoming Microsoft Xbox Series X platform that is coming out this fall, but I quickly noticed people pushing the narrative that ‘SEGA is being bought by Microsoft!’.

After this I decided it was time to do a reverse image search for this image and it only got one hit at the time. 4chan’s /v/ section and even in the thread, no one actually saw the Xbox ‘link’ working. This is obviously a well devised 4chan prank, so please ignore it when you browse online and don’t be shy by linking people spreading this false rumor to this article. I mean, do you really want to see a American company to buy SEGA-Sammy?

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Retro-Bit teases Dreamcast controller redesign with high quality d-pad and a new analog stick

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The SEGA Dreamcast controller is, well, a bit cheap feeling. Even when it came out it was one of the biggest complaints from SEGA fans upgrading from the SEGA Saturn. It looks like Retro Bit, who are re-releasing retro SEGA console controllers knows this and are now teasing their upcoming SEGA Dreamcast Retro Bit controllers.

“We bring you the #SEGA #Dreamcast controller with features made just for you!
Wired & Wireless options will have you making a tough decision, but with a 6-button layout, redesigned Dpad, & new analog stick, you won’t regret either choice.” – Retro Bit via Twitter

According to the post, the new Dreamcast controllers are coming sometime in late 2020.

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Streets of Rage 4 coming to Microsoft Game Pass on day one

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While Streets of Rage 4 was already teased as a Game Pass game, it wasn’t confirmed or really talked about after the announcement. Was the game going to be timed exclusive? Would it be on sale first then come to Xbox Game Pass? Now the Facebook page has confirmed that it will be available to Game Pass consumers the same day as it goes on sale digitally.

The issue? Its coming soon, without a solid release date. I guess now we wait.

[Thanks for the heads up Brandon!]

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Sakura Wars (2019) – Soejima/Ito/Ken Sugimori Character Design Spotlight Video

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SEGA has uploaded another exclusive character design work by Japan’s finest manga and anime designers in the industry, Shigenori Soejima (Persona series), Noizi Ito (Haruhi Suzumiya), and Ken Sugimori (Pokemon) by showing off the characters you will encounter during the adventure segments of Sakura Wars.

Sakura Wars (2019) will take center stage on April 28th for Playstation 4.

Pre-Order Sakura Wars for Playstation 4
Launch Edition

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Streets of Rage 4 reveals Retro features – classic playable characters and music!

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While news of a late April release date have been floating around for the upcoming Streets of Rage 4, the developer has said they cannot confirm this date. However what they can confirm is an amazing addition to the game: Retro stuff! Streets of Rage 4 will feature unlockable playable pixel art characters from the previous games in the franchise, complete with their sound effects, movesets and special moves. Combined with the game’s current roster, this brings the game up to 17 playable characters.

But wait, there’s more! The game will also include the soundtracks to Streets of Rage and Streets of Rage 2, which players can switch to and listen to as they brawl in the streets. These new elements are an awesome inclusion, and really elevates the game in my mind.

Streets of Rage 4 will be available soon for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and PC.

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