Thanks to Shenmue AM2 Podcast, I was reminded of an obscure little game called ESPN NFL Football which just happened to include hidden cameos from several beloved SEGA characters. I am of course kidding about ESPN NFL Football being obscure, as the game was the first 2K sports title to carry the ESPN license. However the secrets found within the game might be new to many SEGA fans.
According to Shenmue the Animation executive producer Jason Demarco, who is also the SVP of Anime and Action series at Warner Bros. Discovery, Shenmue the Animation has been cancelled following a successful first season. You read that right, a successful first season and a second season is not happening. Such an ass backwards decision makes total sense given the news coming out of Warner Bros. Discovery in recent months. The news broke as Demarco quoted a tweet which revealed season 1 was being removed from the Adult Swim website. Demarco went on to say that the anime will continue to be available on Crunchyroll. The team was “gearing up” for a season 2 but now, as Demarco says, “it’s looking like no S2”.
It seems Shenmue cannot catch a break these days, with a fourth game nowhere in sight and the anime cancelled. Hopefully YS NET, SEGA and Crunchyroll can work something out. Perhaps a truncated second season or a movie covering the events of the third game? Warner Bros. Discovery is a dumpster fire right now and SEGA can do better. Here’s hoping!
Thanks to the Eurogamer Expo, I finally got my hands on Sonic Frontiers. There are so many questions to be answered. How are the controls? Does the game flow well? Is the Open Zone packed full of activities or is it a barren wasteland? Now after getting my hands on the game, I can finally get some answers and find out if Sonic Frontiers is more than meets the eye.
A new teaser for the upcoming Netflix animated series Sonic Prime has released, and with it we have confirmation of a winter release. The trailer itself shows Sonic racing Shadow while causing Big the Cat to fall over. Poor Big. Also teased is Doctor Eggman in a new mech and the show’s plot of reality being shattered. It’s all very “Into the Spider-Verse” of them, but still cool. Check out the trailer for yourself and drop your thoughts in the comments section.
It has been a long time since Sonic Team had an animated logo. Fans of the Saturn and Dreamcast eras fondly recall lovely little animated logos with sound effects as they started up games like NiGHTS into Dreams and Sonic Adventure. But starting with Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic Team’s logo was simply a static image on a black background. Even big name titles like Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) and Sonic Unleashed opted for a plain static logo, often being upstaged by a cute animated logo for the Hedgehog Engine.
But after the success of Sonic in movie theaters, Sonic Team decided the hedgehog deserved a more epic animated intro for future games with Sonic Frontiers being the first title to feature a newly animated Sonic Team logo. Thanks to a behind the scenes article on SEGA Japan’s Sonic Channel, in both English and Japanese, fans can get an inside look at the development process as well as thoughts from Sonic Team creatives on the new animated intro.
On this News Bits Live, Barry reacts to the news of three new Yakuza titles as well as… wait, they’re not Yakuza games anymore? Okay, let’s talk about that too. Also, Super Sonic and a new island is revealed for Sonic Frontiers! All this and the past week’s news on SEGA News Bits Live!
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Usually we don’t news every new addition to Sonic Forces for mobile (originally titles Sonic Forces: Speed Battle), but we’ll make an exception for today’s reveal. It’s always fun when a long dormant character or super form is revived, and in this case Darkspine Sonic from 2007’s Sonic and the Secret Rings has made a return as a playable character in Hardlight’s multiplayer take on their Sonic Dash series. Darkspine Sonic also has three new flame-based abilities. So tap on over to Sonic Forces for mobile tomorrow and check out the new event to unlock Darkspine Sonic!
Super Sonic has had a raw deal for the past decade or so. While Sonic’s super form showed up in 2D titles as expected, yes I even consider Sonic 4 to be a title that presents Super Sonic in the proper way, the 3D titles largely used the super form of Sonic as an end boss reveal and omitted him from being playable in the game’s main levels. Worse still, Sonic Forces initially debuted Super Sonic as paid DLC before realizing how crummy a move that was and making him free to download. Still, Super Sonic should be baked into the game! And thankfully, Sonic Frontiers latest gameplay trailer showcases Super Sonic within the open zone setting powering up upon collecting all seven emeralds. Just as Chaos intended. While it remains to be seen if you can play as Super Sonic while just running around and exploring the islands, his appearance in an open zone boss battle is a good sign.
What more, the trailer shows off a new fiery mountainous island and sports the new theme song “Vandelize” from ONE OK ROCK.
The time has come! It looks like any and all issues have been resolved and Judgment and Lost Judgment are now available for PC. That’s right, they are listed right now! Click on over for Judgment and Lost Judgment or download the bundle which includes free DLC. It has been a big day for RGG Studio fans, as we have had three titles revealed in the past 24 hours as well as two PC ports. How excited are you to play the Judgment games on PC?
In the early morning hours, at least here in the USA, SEGA of America dropped the trailer for the eighth game in the Yakuza franchise: Like a Dragon 8. The news dropped at Japan’s RGG summit event. Due out in 2024, the game will release globally to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series and PC platforms. Ichiban Kasuga returns, and he brought a friend with him. Wait, it’s Kazuma Kiryu with a new haircut! Also, notably, the game drops the Yakuza name, which we also noted yesterday with the Like a Dragon: Ishin! reveal. It looks like the Yakuza franchise is now the Like a Dragon franchise!
What are your thoughts on the trailer? Did Kazuma get a haircut?
During Sony’s State of Play today it was announced that RGG Studio was working on a Like a Dragon: Ishin! remake of 2014’s PS3 and PS4 game Ryū ga Gotoku Ishin!. The remake, created in the Unreal Engine, is set to release on PlayStation and Xbox platforms, as well as PC in February 2023. What is exciting is that this is the first time a historical Yakuza title released to the West.
Several Twitter accounts have spotted Windows PC versions of RGG Studios’ Judgment and Lost Judgment listed on the ESRB website. The news is significant, as it was previously rumored that the franchise had come to an end due to a disagreement between the talent agency for the franchise’s real life star, Takuya Kimura, and SEGA over the actor’s likeness appearing in PC releases of the game.
This news, however seems to point to either the two parties reaching an agreement OR (worst case scenario) Takuya Kimura has been recast and a new model for a new actor will appear in the PC versions of the game. The second scenario, while possible, is in no way confirmed and is just speculation on our part. We’re sure to learn more soon!
[Source: @Wario64]
Fans have noticed that ChuChu Rocket! Universe, the semi-sequel to the Dreamcast puzzle game ChuChu Rocket!, had disappeared from Apple’s App Store. The game, developed by SEGA’s Hardlight studio, was a worthy follow-up to the Sonic Team original, featuring new and returning puzzles, inventive 3D maps, a story mode and a classic multiplayer mode. The game was also exclusive to Apple Arcade, Apple’s pay to play collection of apps which were all free to download and free of any micro-transactions and in-app purchases.
It appears that the game was pulled due to a three year exclusivity window closing, as fans on Twitter have pointed out other Apple Arcade apps that debuted alongside ChuChu Rocket! Universe have also been pulled. If you still have the game installed, it can still be played. However the game cannot be redownloaded if your device offloads apps that go unused.
Gamescom 2022 kicked off, and after several games that take place in the future where you shoot everything in sight the new Sonic Frontiers trailer dropped. Titled the “Story Trailer”, the new footage showcased CG cutscenes as well as gameplay in new environments including tropical and desert islands. Also showcased were the long teased cyberspace levels, which revisit locations from Sonic’s past. Locations included a highway environment, Green Hill and Sky Sanctuary. Sonic also finds Amy imprisoned in a red structure before being confronted by enemies. How about a release date? Fans can expect a global launch date of November 8th, 2022.
The game will release digitally and physically to Xbox and PlayStation platforms, Nintendo Switch and PC. Those who pre-order will receive a treasure box of in-game items including skill points, blue seeds of defense and red seeds of power. Personally, I’d have loved to see a collector’s edition, and the fact that every SEGA franchise except for Sonic seems to get cool physical bonus editions really annoys me. I want a Koco to snuggle, dammit!
On this SEGA News Bits Live, Barry runs through some of the notable titles releasing to the Mega Drive Mini 2 and Genesis Mini 2, talks the possibilities of a Space Channel 5 movie and shares his beef with Sonic fans on Twitter.
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