Wonder Boy III: The Dragon’s Trap remake revealed

2016 continues to be the year of retro revivals, as a remake of the SEGA Master System classic Wonder Boy III: The Dragon’s Trap has just been announced. Published by DotEmu and developed by Lizardcube and based on Westone Bit Entertainment’s original game, the Wonder Boy III: The Dragon’s Trap remake is said to be made with the blessing of LAT and the cooperation of series creator Ryuichi Nishizawa. The game seemingly has no connecting with Wonder Boy and the Cursed Kingdom, despite also being made in cooperation with Ryuichi Nishizawa.

Interestingly, no mention of SEGA is made anywhere on the remake’s site, despite SEGA seemingly owning Wonder Boy. However, it is noted on the game’s website that “with the help of Ryuichi Nishizawa (Westone), Shinji Fujiwara (LAT), and a relentless commitment of DotEmu to untangle a bunch of documents covered in pixellated dustwebs, we have licensed the IP to create this new version (a first since 1994).”

The game has an unknown release date, and platforms are listed as consoles and PC. Check out the trailer above, and after the break read the full press release and check out some screenshots and artwork. More news on the remake as we hear it!

Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice Launch Edition announced for the Americas

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SEGA is at it once again with their launch editions. In the past we’ve seen everything from stickers to lanyards to art books. Now, Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice for the Nintendo 3DS will have its own launch edition featuring a collector’s box and a special DVD featuring three episodes from the TV series for $39.99. The episodes include “Chili Dog Day Afternoon”, “It Wasn’t Me, It Was the One-Armed Hedgehog” which features Metal Sonic, and the season one finale “It Takes a Village to Defeat a Hedgehog” which sees the introduction of Shadow the Hedgehog. The launch edition is, so far, exclusive to the Americas. This will mark the Sonic Boom TV series’ DVD debut in North America, as the UK has been seeing volume releases of the series with “Sonic Boom Volume 2: Hedgehog Day” releasing this past week.

Also revealed, though speculated by us for some time now, is that Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice will be playable for the first time at E3 in the SEGA of America/Atlus USA booth. Meanwhile, SEGA Europe will showcase the PC side of things and other games in a meeting room at the Concourse Level at booth OFMR 8413. It’s confusing, we know.

After the break, read the full press release.

SEGA announces ‘Hatsune Miku Symphony’ full orchestra concert

20160530_101229SEGA has announced that they will be putting on the very first Hatsune Miku orchestra concert. They are calling the event ‘Hatsune Miku Symphony‘ and will be performed with Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra.

The Hatsune Miku Symphony will be performed at Chiyoda Ward of Tokyo on August 26, 2016. Hologram Hatsune Miku will be singing during the concert, of course.

Hatsune Miku Symphony tickets are set to cost 8,000 yen ($72 USD) for A-seats, 9,000 yen ($81 USD) for S-seats, and 14,800 ($126 USD) yen for ‘Special Seats’ that include limited edition goods. Tickets go on sale starting June 28th.

SEGA’s survey asks fans about possible Sonic crossover games

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[Art by Haysey84]

During SEGA’s survey, they had a interesting bit where they asked fans what Sonic crossover games people were interested in. Franchises/companies included: Adventure Time, My Little Pony, Pixar, Capcom, Looney Toons, Disney, Nintendo, and of course Dragon Ball Z. I think its safe to say that Sonic the Hedgehog fans will find all these franchises appealing one way or another.

Here is the screenshot of the question:
3070658-1I’m 100% OK with Sonic crossover games, as long as they are handled with more care than we have seen with their Sonic & Mario At the Olympic Games titles. Can we not make them some low budget mini games compilation? That would be great.

What franchises would you like to see Sonic the Hedgehog crossover with? Let us know in the comments below.

[Via: Gamespot]

Mobile game Sonic Runners to shut down on July 27th

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Sayonara, Sonic Runners. According to the Sonic Runners official site, the mobile experience from SEGA’s Sonic Team is coming to an end on July 27th, 2016. Released in late February last year, Sonic Runners made waves as being the first smart phone Sonic game to carry the Sonic Team label and seemingly be developed by members of Sonic Team themselves. Unfortunately, one year later it was revealed that SEGA Japan deemed the game a failure. While it was raking in over 30 million yen per month, it wasn’t enough to keep it afloat as SEGA has announced the game’s service will close on the aforementioned date of July 27th.

After this date, the game will no longer be playable at all as it relies on a mobile connection to the game’s servers to operate. There has been no word of an offline version being available. After the break, check out the full announcement.

Original Sonic Adventure Sega Dreamcast website returns thanks to a true blue fan

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Remember the days of logging on to the Internet using your Sega Dreamcast? Even when games didn’t tout online multi-player, more often than not you’d encounter a webpage option which allowed you to visit the game’s website through the in-game menu. Of course, as time passed many of the Dreamcast webpages have since gone offline, into disrepair, or were bought up by some porn site. Thankfully, fan and friend of TSSMB member JmTsHaW purchased the sonic-adventure.com domain and has (mostly) restored the Sonic Adventure’s original site in all its 640 pixel wide glory! Features include the Updates Archives, Community links including Chao Gardens, Hints and Support information. Very cool to see this piece of SEGA internet history back up and running. Check it out for yourself here, bonus points if you use the Dreamcast.

Madeon & SEGA collaborating on a “new Sonic game trailer”

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We have information that a new trailer is in the works and that licensed music will be used from Madeon, whether it’s for the new Sonic game constantly teased or something related to Sonic Boom Fire & Ice. Either way, the official Twitter for popular French musician Madeon and Sonic the Hedgehog accounts have talked about using Madeon’s music in a Sonic trailer. The exact context though is ambiguous, such as which song from Madeon or for what game.

Valkyria: Azure Revolution to focus less on action and more on strategy due to demo feedback

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Valkyria: Azure Revolution, a spin-off from SEGA’s Valkyria Chronicles franchise, saw a demo released in Japan alongside the retail release of Valkyria Chronicles Remastered for PS4 in early February. While Valkyria Chronicles Remastered was met with positive reactions, reactions to the demo of Valkyria: Azure Revolution were mixed to say the least. According to Siliconera, via Hachima, developer Media.Vision received three times the amount of player feedback than expected and plenty of it was harsh. Based on what they heard, the developer has since reworked the battle system, which was more action oriented in the demo, to be more RPG-like in the final game.

Added is a new action gauge for both sides of combat which will allow players to strategize. The new system will allow actions to be done once the gauge fills, and players will be able to stop time while using weapons and abilities – much like a traditional RPG. The game’s director, Takeshi Ozawa, believed that since this is a Valkyria title, a more strategic battle system was required. It’s great that Media.Vision is taking the feedback to heart, but it is kind of odd that it took them this long to realize that a Valkyria Chronicles game functions best when the combat has strategy involved. Makes me wonder if this early demo was a test to see if a action Valkyria game would fly with fans.

The next demo for the game should be available this summer.

[Via: Siliconera]

Space Harrier model kits featuring hero “The Harrier” and enemy IDA announced

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2016 is the year of awesome retro SEGA model kits! Between the 1/12 scale Astro City arcade machine and the classic polygon model Virtua Fighter figures, we thought nothing could impress us more. But get ready for yet another cool SEGA model, as Space Harrier models of the hero “the Harrier” and the iconic floating rock head Ida enemy will be available this July. The figures will be 1/12 scale and will be sold separately, with pre-orders running through June 25th. “The Harrier” hero model kit can be pre-ordered for ¥10,584 ($95) and comes (get) ready to assemble. Harrier will also come with two bonuses: a mini version of the character that is to scale with the Ida model kit, and an alternate hair sculpt that matches the game’s arcade poster. The IDA enemy model kit can be pre-ordered for ¥9,720 ($87) and comes in four (get) ready to assemble pieces. Oddly, the top of the head comes off revealing a “GET READY!” graphic and allows you to put whatever you want inside (pencils, other figures, carrot sticks, whatever). You only get one IDA, so if you want to replicate the game you’ll have to buy multiples.

Both are very cool looking, though buying the two will set you back around $200 with shipping. Far more expensive than Wave’s $22 Astro City model kit and FREEing’s $32/each Virtua Fighter figures. Still… it’s not often that you get cool Space Harrier model kits! Are you planning on pre-ordering this? Sound off in the comments below!

Hatsune Miku getting her own limited edition PlayStation 4 bundle

HSMIKUPS4If you are a big fan of the Hatsune Miku video game series, then you will probably be excited to know that its getting its own limited PlayStation 4 pack. Bad part? Only in Japan thus far.

According to the product page there will be a choice of 500GB and 1TB models along with a Glacier White and Jet Black color choices.  More details below:

500 GB Jet Black/Glacier White Models

  • With one PS4 HDD Bay Cover: 37,480 plus tax
  • With two PS4 HDD Bay Covers: 38,980 plus tax
  • With three PS4 HDD Bay Covers: 40,480 plus tax

1TB Jet Black Model

  • With one PS4 HDD Bay Cover: 42,480 yen plus tax
  • With two PS4 HDD Bay Covers: 43,980 yen plus tax
  • With three PS4 HDD Bay Covers: 45,480 yen plus tax

Depending on how many HDD Bay Covers you want, this can cost you up to $413ish dollars (For the PS4 1TB with 3 HDD covers). That isn’t that bad considering its a limited edition product. Check out the photos:

M2 wants to release Alien Syndrome as a ‘SEGA 3D Classic’

aliensyndrome-wallpaperIn the latest M2 interview with Yosuke Okunari, Kagasei Shimomura and Naoki Horii, which is posted over at the SEGA blog, the team talks about testing the 3D features with games like Alien Syndrome on the Nintendo 3DS.

KS: So rewinding a little bit, before we settled on Power Drift, we had a couple of titles to choose from for this. We talked about Alien Syndrome, Golden Axe, Turbo Out Run, and even Columns.

NH: (looks at the lineup list) These are pretty bold choices.
– I’d like to see Alien Syndrome someday. Stereoscopic 3D would be really effective in that game.

NH: Oh that game is amazing. We did a little test on it to see how it would turn out and it was great. Although, doing every single stage would be quite an effort.

You can read the full interview here. Its a great interview, they talk about the hardships they encountered while trying to bring Power Drift and Puyo Puyo 2 to the 3DS. You know what we say, more SEGA 3D Classics, the better.

[Via: NintendoLife]

7th Dragon III Code: VFD in-game bonuses and DLC revealed

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7th Dragon III Code: VFD hits the Americas July 12th, and accompanying this Nintendo 3DS release is a slew of in-game bonus content and DLC. The Nagamimi doll, pictured above, is a free in-game bonus item that will be available at launch. The item promises unique voice interactions between it and the character you created. The game touts an impressive 40 voice actors to choose from for your in-game player, so there are sure to be a number of conversations to be had with this thing.

Also revealed are seven DLC quests that will help players along with XP and money boosts, unlockable characters or post-game boss rush challenges. After the break, check out the full DLC breakdown as well as prices.

The SEGA Manager family grows with Motorsport Manager, releasing to PC, Mac and Linux in 2016

Yesterday we reported that SEGA and Playsport Games had an announcement incoming, and now we have all the details. Motorsport Manager, which was a hit on mobile devices, is seeing a new game in the franchise releasing to PC, Mac and Linux internationally in September 2016. While the game is only being published by SEGA, it appears that they are marketing it as another one of their Manager titles, as the tradition of faceless male mascots continues with Motorsport Manager. The game is described as a highly detailed, best-in-class racing management game in which players hire the drivers, build the cars and embed themselves in the dynamic world of motor racing.

Cnet had a hands on with the game and shared their impressions, which you can check out here. The game also has a Steam page, which you can check out here. Once we have more details, including pricing and an exact release date, we’ll be sure to share.

SEGA and Motorsport Manager teasing reveal for tomorrow

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Back in October it was announced that SEGA Europe and Motorsport Manager developer Playsport Games formed a publishing partnership. For those not in the know, including myself up until 15 minutes from writing this, Motorsport Manager is a number one paid-for game on the iOS App Store and Google Play Store and features realistic motor-racing management with the ability to create your own racing team, hire drivers, sign engineers, develop your car and invest in technology. The game has received high praise from several mobile game sites, so clearly SEGA was drawn to the company after seeing the quality of their product.

7th Dragon III Code: VFD Battle System Trailer

SEGA of America have released a new trailer for their upcoming 3DS JRPG, 7th Dragon III Code: VFD. This is actually first 7th Dragon game to make it West. This 7th Dragon III Code: VFD trailer is focused on the game’s battle system which is pretty interesting and unique in its own way. Believe me, I have been playing the game recently and this isn’t one of those ‘auto attack’ (maybe if you grind a lot) JRPGs that I have grown to hate.

7th Dragon III Code: VFD hits North American store shelves on July 12th only on Nintendo 3DS. If you want SEGA to localize more Japanese games, I suggest looking into this title.