SEGA News Bits: Sonic the Hedgehog Movie Sequel Announced

A sequel to the Sonic the Hedgehog movie has been announced, and on this SEGA News Bits we discuss who is confirmed to return, the possible plot and our hopes for a sequel.

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.

‘TMNT of Rage – The Final Shell Shock’ the ultimate Streets of Rage TMNT rom hack arrives


The modding community for retro games is great and now we have a new project released by eskayelle which includes a final set of modes for the long modded ‘TMNT of Rage’ series. The game’s story has you playing an alternative universe where you have to take down Mr. X and the Syndicate as everyone’s favorite turtle brothers.

According to Romhacking.net the game features:

  • A throwback to the old 90’s arcade splash screens starts off your gaming experience.
  • A six sequence ending specific to this game, the first for any SoR2 hack out there, incorporates redesigned images from the classic TMNT II and III NES games. These images also put some artistic spins on the palettes / color schemes for a bit of extra fun.
  • Those bumbling buffoons, those moronic mutants, Rocksteady and Bebop, have now joined the Syndicate! Dumber than advertised, but stronger than ever, get ready to go toe to toe with them, Bebop making his first appearance in a Genesis / Mega Drive game.
  • An updated story in attract mode complements the new ending sequence.
  • A new title screen takes greater advantage of the Genesis / Mega Drive’s palette options.
  • Thanks to Yoni, gone are road apples in favor of a nice slice! Try not to smile the first time you hear Mikey calling out “Pizza Time!” as he grabs some grub.
  • With the additional Re-Shelled patch, play the game on a Terraonion MegaSD (or with any emulator that supports MD+ functionality) to enjoy that sweet soundtrack from eskayelle’s TMNT MD+ Remix. Grab that soundtrack here!

You can also check out the post by eskayelle here talking about what he changed and added.

Paramount Pictures announces Sonic the Hedgehog Movie Sequel in the works

According to Variety, Paramount Pictures and SEGA Sammy announced that the sequel to the Sonic the Hedgehog Movie is in the works with Jeff Fowler returning, and Pat Casey and Josh Miller writing the script. Neal H. Moritz, Toby Ascher and Toru Nakahara are also producing the movie, while Hajime Satomi, Haruki Satomi and Tim Miller are executive producing.

So far we know that Tails made a cameo appearance during the post-credits scene and in an interview with Jim Carrey on a sequel, he would be interested in portraying Dr. Robotnik once again as there is “so much room” to explore with the character. What would you like to see unfold in the sequel? Let us know in the comments below.

 

SEGA News Bits: Revolutionary SEGA News Teased – Analysis & Speculation

Some “revolutionary” tech news pertaining to SEGA is set to hit next week, and on this SEGA News Bits we discuss what exactly the news could be. SEGA turns 60 on June 3rd, and just a day later Famitsu magazine will be printing the news. Could it be new hardware? A SEGA streaming service? A Microsoft partnership? We will soon find out! In the meantime, let’s speculate!

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.

 

Japanese tech journalist teases “revolutionary” SEGA news in June 4th Famitsu magazine

In a YouTube live stream, Japanese tech journalist Zenji Nishikawa has teased what he calls a “huge scoop” for the June 4th issue of Japan’s Famitsu magazine. He calls the news “revolutionary” and claims it is on the level of Wired’s PlayStation 5 article. What more, it will “rile up the games industry”. Nishikawa says he interviewed a company executive and technical staff, and later let slip that the company in question was SEGA.

Nishikawa has said it is NOT Dreamcast 2. With SEGA’s 60th anniversary on June 3rd, it does line up with the June 4th issue release. We will have more news soon on this big announcement! What could it be? Speculate in the comments below.

[Source: Gematsu]

Don’t Forget: Phantasy Star Online 2 releases to Windows 10 PC in North America

Phantasy Star Online 2 has been available on the Xbox One for a few months in North America, but very soon the game will also be hitting Windows 10 PC. How soon? The release date is set for May 27 at around 5 AM PDT, after scheduled server maintenance, and you can download the game today, May 26, at 11 PM PDT.

The game will feature crossplay with Xbox One players, so there will already be a sizable community already enjoying the game. Want more? Phantasy Star Online 2 is a Play Anywhere title that features cross-platform play and progress. Xbox One players can keep their progress on Windows 10 PCs by accessing the game using the same Microsoft Live ID used to play on Xbox One.

There are a number of special events and item giveaways planned, so check out the PSO2 blog for all the details on how to obtain the goodies. See you online!

Wayô Records releasing Grandia Memorial soundtrack on CD, Vinyl and Music Box; including ‘Saturn Marble Green’ Edition


It looks like Wayô Records has added another fan favorite JRPG soundtrack to their arsenal, Grandia. Last time we covered their limited release of the Skies of Arcadia soundtrack. Just like their pervious release, there will be a few limited edition versions including the really cool ‘Saturn Marble Green’ Edition which has the green marble look of the ‘SEGA Saturn’ release of Grandia. Problem? Its only limited to 500 units!

Here are the versions you can buy:

But if you are a big spender and all these versions are too cheap, you can get the ultimate ‘Grandia Music Box’:

“This collectible Grandia Music Box, arranged by Noriyuki Iwadare himself is an unique artifact of pure nostalgia that will revive your adventurer memories from the Edge of the World!”

This Grandia Music Box will put you back 252,00 € tax incl.(USD: 274.60). Of course Wayô Records has world wide shipping.

SEGA AGES Thunder Force AC releasing internationally on May 28th

Get ready shmup fanatics, as the classic Thunder Force is back again with the arcade version of Thunder Force III, Thunder Force AC, with this SEGA AGES release. SEGA AGES Thunder Force AC will be available on the Nintendo Switch eShop, for $7.99 and equivalent, in all regions.

In Thunder Force AC, you take on the role of piloting the FIRE LEO-03 “Styx” through 5 different planets and eventually the ORN headquarters, blasting anything that gets in your way with an assortment of weapons that have different properties. While similar to Thunder Force III, there are several differences to still make this a worthwhile playthrough, including audio improvement due to the SEGA System C2 hardware, and rearrangements of enemy and weapon layouts. SEGA AGES Thunder Force AC will also come with several additions, such as the ability to play as four different ships, including the ship Fire LEO-04 “Rynex” from Thunder Force IV, and a Kids Mode for novices who want to play the game without getting a weapon deduction punish from dying.

[Source: Official Website / Twitter]

Limited Run Games adds Streets of Rage 4 soundtrack CD to existing orders

There has been a bit of a kerfuffle going on with the physical release of Streets of Rage 4. We haven’t been covering it, but with a recent update from Limited Run Games I thought it was worth writing about. In March, Limited Run Games announced physical editions of Streets of Rage 4 for North America (with international shipping) in standard, classic and limited collector’s editions. Shortly after the pre-order window closed, Merge Games announced they too would have a North American physical release of the game, at a lower price with its own exclusive bonus items and releasing earlier than the Limited Run Games releases.

SEGA AGES Thunder Force AC releasing on May 14th in Japan

We have a release date for SEGA AGES Thunder Force AC. You can  travel across different planets and fight against the ORN Empire this upcoming May 14th, from the Japanese Nintendo Switch eShop for ¥999.

SEGA AGES Thunder Force AC is an arcade remix of the game Thunder Force III. While the general structuring is similar to the original game, there are several differences for this new arcade iteration to mix things up for veteran players, such as enemy and weapon placements being tweaked, some levels being overhauled, and the lack of a stage select. This SEGA AGES iteration also includes extra features, including the ability to play as four different ships with their own properties, and a Kids Mode meant for less experienced players where the player doesn’t lose their weapons upon death.

[Source: Official Website]

Yakuza: Like a Dragon announced as Xbox Series X launch title, also coming to Xbox One, PS4 and PC

Announced today, via an Inside Xbox stream, was that Yakuza: Like a Dragon will be releasing to Xbox Series X as a launch title as well as to Xbox One X, Xbox One, Windows 10 PC, Steam and PlayStation 4. The seventh in the mainline Yakuza series, Yakuza: Like a Dragon is a new entry point in the series featuring new RPG-like gameplay styles and a new protagonist. It was also announced today that the game will see a physical Day One Edition, and listings have started to appear at various retailers, however pricing, a release date and content of the Day One edition will be revealed at a later date.

Also announced is that Yakuza: Like a Dragon will support Xbox Series X Smart Delivery, allowing players to buy the game once and play it on Xbox One or Xbox Series X with cross-save functionality. We’ll share more details as we learn more!

PRE-ORDER

PlayStation 4 | Xbox One | Xbox Series X

Steam Database leak suggests Yakuza: Like a Dragon is coming to Steam


Steam Database, a tool that tracks down applications and packages on Steam has picked up a recent update for an application of Yakuza: Like a Dragon (aka Yakuza 7), the latest installment in the Yakuza series as of this writing. While it is unusual for Yakuza 6 to still not be available on Steam, Yakuza: Like a Dragon is possibly next in line since it has key differences that separate it from past installments. Mainly because it focuses on a new character Ichiban Kasuga and adapts a turn based battle style inspired by the Dragon Quest games (which funnily enough is referenced in-game).

However, SEGA has not officially announced anything about Yakuza: Like a Dragon coming to Steam at this time, and there is no page officially uploaded. It’s also unknown what features the game will support with a PC release, but it will likely support higher resolutions and frame rates, similar to past Yakuza games released on Steam.

Unreleased ‘Breach’ port for SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive has been unearthed

The site GamingAlexandria has posted some assets from the unreleased SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive port of Breach. This whole project was compiled and preserved by David Ashley.

Thankfully if you wanted to try out the beta port of ‘Breach’ on your original hardware, you can download the rom and assets here. If you didn’t know Breach was the first installment of a trilogy of sci-fi strategy games developed by Omnitrend Software who are mainly known for their 1983 text adventure game ‘Universe’. Lots of people would describe Breach as a early version of X-Com. You can read more about this ports development via GamingAlexandria’s in-depth post. According to our sister site, SEGA Retro, the game was last seen again at Winter CES 1993.

 

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim physical & digital sales reaches 130,000 units in Japan

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is one of the games that I have been looking forward to since it was announced way back in TGS 2015, since it was being developed by Vanillaware ( Odin Sphere, Dragon’s Crown and Muramasa: The Demon Blade). The game has been postponed and delayed. When it was first announced there was two versions: PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita; since then the Vita version has been cancelled. The game came out (with whispers considering how acclaimed the studio is) in Japan November 28, 2019 and since then Atlus Japan has confirmed the game has sold 130,000 units.

That means that it sold only 30,000 units in the last four months considering that Vanillaware confirmed in January that the game had sold 100,000 units. Is this good for the game that has been in the works for such a long time? I couldn’t tell you. As far as a western release, Atlus hasn’t announced a release date yet.

Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Mega Mix will launch west on May 15 for Nintendo Switch, demo out now

SEGA has confirmed that the Nintendo Switch game Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Mega Mix will launch May 15th in the west. The company has also confirmed that this title will launch as digital only, at least for now.

SEGA has already opened digital pre-orders for the game which includes two versions: The base game for $39.99 (101 Songs) and a Mega Pack for $59.99 which includes six downloadable content packs. Five of the six downloadable packs have already been released in Japan. But that isn’t all, SEGA has confirmed that if you pre-order the game you will also get early access to the “Theme Song DLC Pack” which includes playable versions of previous Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA theme songs like (will be free to all users after June 12th):