This morning, Famitsu showed off nearly an hour of Sonic Origins in-game footage, including the overworld map, anniversary and classic mode footage, 2 player races and the museum. There is so much to see that I will leave it to you, the reader, to click play and skim through yourself. Some highlights for me was the opening animated cutscene for Sonic 1, the confirmation of Sonic Mania Adventures animations all being included, the surprisingly expanded 2 player mode with new maps, the mission and boss battle modes and the aforementioned overworld map of all the classic era islands.
In a stream which was previously teased to reveal a mysterious new project, SEGA unveiled the Mega Drive Mini 2! Like the Mega Drive Mini and Astro City Mini, the Mega Drive Mini 2 is a plug and play console and will include even more Mega Drive games as well as Mega CD titles. The console is a joint project produced by SEGA and M2. According to @gosokkyu on Twitter, the Mega Drive Mini 2 will include over 50 games, including games for the aforementioned Mega CD, as well as sequels, arcade ports, unreleased titles and a mystery new game. It has also been confirmed that players can select between the sound of the Mega Drive or Mega Drive 2 for every Mega Drive game (see the in-game menu options in the gallery below).
The Mega Drive Mini 2 will replicate the look of the Mega Drive 2, the second model of the Mega Drive, and SEGA also plans to sell a Mega Drive Tower Mini 2 kit which will attach a Mega CD 2 complete with mini Sonic CD disc as well as a mini Virtua Racing Mega Drive cartridge. There will even be mini adaptors for the Model 1 Mega Drive Mini so that you can attach the Model 2 Mega CD to your original Mini or attach the 32X from the first Tower Mini kit to the new Mega Drive 2. A DX version is also planned for SEGA’s Ebten store which will include more discs and cartridges as well as a frame to display them. The console’s in-game menu music will be a new six minute composition from Yuzo Koshiro. The console is set for an October 27th release in Japan, and no Western release has been confirmed.
After the break, learn the first ten titles and check out more images of the in-game menu and the machine itself!
Join us live as we (well, me) talk about the recently revealed Sonic Frontiers gameplay from IGN! Plus, take a look at a new magazine featuring a killer Dreamcast retrospective and Yu Suzuki returns to the Fantasy Zone.
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.
IGN has promised Sonic Frontiers content throughout the month of June 2022, and after a 30 second tease yesterday things officially kick off with a full gameplay preview trailer. The trailer, which debuted at 9AM Pacific time, gives fans a better idea of just how an open world Sonic game will play out. Check it out for yourself! After the video, head over to the SEGAbits YouTube channel for our reactions!
All this time we were asking “Where is Shenmue 4?” when we should have been asking “Where is a new Space Harrier game?”
In a surprise reveal from Yu Suzuki’s YS NET studio is a spiritual successor to Space Harrier titled Air Twister. Presented in full 3D, the game takes many cues from the SEGA arcade classic, and also appears to be much more in-line with the original game than SEGA’s own Planet Harriers was (which was also a 3D take on Space Harrier). The game is an Apple Arcade exclusive, which will elicit groans from some. As for me? I have about half a dozen Apple devices and cannot wait to try the game out with a bluetooth controller on my TV. Learn more about the game after the break, and make sure to mark June 24, 2022 on your calendar!
SEGA has released a short preview of what sort of gameplay fans can expect from Sonic Frontiers. The preview, clocking in at just 38 seconds, showcases the open world setting and speed and combat controls. SEGA promises more details will be released starting tomorrow at IGN, with a cover story, gameplay reveals, hands-on impressions and interviews with the game’s creators.
Since both Virtua Fighter and Tekken dominated 3D fighting games in the 90s, fans have been wondering when the company would create a Tekken x Virtua Fighter cross-over fighting game. Officially, neither game has crossed over in an official game, until now. Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown breaks that trend with the DLC “Tekken 7 Collaboration Pack” which is set to launch on June 1st.
This Tekken 7 Collaboration Pack includes:
19 Tekken 7 outfits: When you equip these outfits, character customization will be disabled.
20 full Tekken 7 background music tracks.
Tekken 7 UI interface
Two Tekken 7 collaboration titles: These titles are added into the “other” category when selecting titles.
While this isn’t a full fledge new crossover title, its nice to finally see an official Tekken cameo in some form within Virtua Fighter and maybe will open up the discussions for something larger in the future.
Following last week’s delisting of Sonic the Hedgehog SEGA Genesis, Mega Drive and SEGA CD games from digital marketplaces, in an effort to declutter online shops and give more value to Sonic Origins, another Sonic the Hedgehog has returned!
That’s right, 2006’s Sonic the Hedgehog is back up for sale digitally on Xbox 360! Selling for only $4.99, the game has returned following a mass delisting of Sonic games with low critic scores several years back. However, I think I know why the game has made a sudden return…
The SEGA Master System classic Phantasy Star is receiving an LP soundtrack release thanks to Ship to Shore PhonoCo. The release, which can be found on their website, is up for pre-order now for a cool $30. The soundtrack is available in PSG (Programmable Sound Generator) and FM Synthesis versions and includes new liner notes from Retronauts’ Jeremy Parish and an 8-page booklet with rare artwork from the SEGA archives.
Over in Japan, Mt. Rainier coffee will provide customers a QR codes on their coffee cans to listen to the beautiful soothing sounds of Seaman ASMR tracks. According to the company, the point of the promotion is to use soothing ocean tracks to help people who suffered stress during COVID-19 pandemic. Seaman will have four ASMR tracks and occasionally say various things.
While at first it sounds like the company just used tracks from Seaman, the ASMR is actually being done by award-winning aquascaper Takayuki Fukada. The QR code will also allow the user to access AR images of Japanese cities, which will have Seaman appear. As far as the tone of Seaman in this promotional advertisement will be, is unknown. I would hope that Seaman doesn’t insult the people, considering its meant to be for people under stress.
While on the surface a Seaman ASMR promotion seems a bit odd, considering how long the franchise has been dormant, Seaman was actually the highest selling Dreamcast game in the region. I’d assume Mt. Rainier would want to cash in on fans that grew up with the game. I’m personally looking forward to when the Seaman ASMR tracks get posted online for my listening pleasure.
Sonic has a cereal! So of course its time to return to the pantry with Fastest Food Alive as we look back at the many Sonic cereals and review the new cereal from General Mills.
This episode released a full week EARLY for Patreon members, so why not become one yourself? If you want to support this type of content, you can check out our Patreon!
Shenmue creator and SEGA legend Yu Suzuki recently attended a event to celebrate Shenmue in Yokosuka, right during the finale of the Shenmue the Animation. At this event there where several gaming outlets including IGN Japan and Famitsu, where he discussed the anime and talked about the future of the series.
One of the interesting points he touched on was the fact that Shenmue 3 was created to please long time fans from the start since they’re the ones crowdfunding it. Yu Suzuki says he received positive feedback from those old time fans but felt that newcomers “felt like they had been left behind”. This made it a bad entry point for newcomers.
We have our first look at the upcoming Netflix animated series Sonic Prime thanks to a trailer showcasing the new Netflix After School programming. The clip shows Sonic, in his modern game design, racing through Green Hill Zone and collecting rings. Sonic says “I know what you’re thinking, I’m good! And powerful, apparently. Jealous?” It is unknown who is voicing Sonic, but Colleen O’Shaughnessey has publicly stated she is not voicing Tails in the series.
It seems that Yuji Naka isn’t happy with his time working at Square-Enix, which started back in 2019. Since then Yuji Naka and Square-Enix have announced Balan Wonderworld, had him removed as director before the game released and ended with Yuji Naka leaving Square-Enix last year. Yuji Naka has actually been rather silent over the whole thing, even if Balan Wonderworld has been getting trashed online for months after release, which dragged his name through the dirt.
Now Yuji Naka has taken to Twitter to discuss working with Square-Enix, saying that the company doesn’t value making good games and that Yuji Naka even tried to get his lawyer involved so they could get more time to develop Balan Wonderworld. The messages below are from his Japanese Twitter thread, translated via @Cheesemeister3k:
Update:SEGA Forever has clarified that the mobile ports of Sonic 1, 2 and CD will remain! SEGA of Japan’s Sonic Channel further clarifies that the following titles will be delisted: Xbox 360: Sonic 1, 2, 3, & Knuckles; PS Now: Sonic 1; PS3: Sonic 1, 2; Steam: Sonic 1, 2, 3 & Knuckles. The Sonic CD port appears to be spared, though given this is the Japanese site, it is unknown if the US and Europe releases will match this list.
SEGA has announced that in the lead up to Sonic Origins, Sonic games found in the collection will be pulled from digital storefronts. In SEGA’s words:
This will include Sonic the Hedgehog 1, 2, Sonic 3 & Knuckles and Sonic CD. There are a couple of exceptions – Sonic the Hedgehog 1 and 2 will remain available via SEGA AGES on the Nintendo Switch and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 will still be playable via Sega Genesis on Nintendo Switch Online +.
