SEGA AGES Shinobi coming to Nintendo Switch

SEGA of Japan recently made an announcement that the classic arcade version of Shinobi will be coming soon to the SEGA AGES line up for the Nintendo Switch in Japan with a release date undecided at the moment.

Debuting on the SEGA System 16 arcade hardware, Shinobi is a side scrolling action and platforming game featuring Joe Musashi as he uses ninja martial arts and weapons to attack enemies of the Zeed Organization while saving the children of the Oboro Clan. In addition, you can use the killing Ninjutsu technique to wipe out the enemies in the screen and encounter bosses appears at the end of each mission with extraordinary battles such as a helicopter carrying a ninja army and a huge computer protected by a Buddha statue.

We will keep you posted on more information for SEGA AGES Shinobi once a release date and price has been announced for both regions.

[Source: Official Website]

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SEGA AGES Columns II coming soon, more details revealed

More SEGA AGES news has cropped up, as this month Columns II The Voyage Through Time is the next game that’s going to be released. Originally released in 1990 for arcades, Columns II features a similar premise to the original Columns, as you are tasked with clearing out gems horizontally, vertically, or diagonally and avoiding the top of the screen. You have two modes, Flash Columns where you’re tasked with clearing a specific flashing gem while avoiding crossing the top, and Vs. Columns which allows two players to fight against each other. The main gimmick is the “time travel”, where each stage changes the graphics to different time periods, such as ancient Greece, prehistoric times, and the far future, hence the subtitle.

SEGA AGES Columns II adds several new features. The first is online play, where up to two players can compete against each other over the internet, along with the leaderboards typical of these SEGA AGES releases. There are also a number of quality of life options available, such as a stage selection that allows you to go up to stage 70, the option to disable the skulls that push up your playing field when cleared, the option to play a “face-to-face mode” where the second player’s field is flipped over to 180 degree, and the option to have the backgrounds and gems either random or default to the Columns I board. Additionally, the first Columns will also be included as a bonus game, serving as a traditional Endless mode. Finally, for completionists out there, there will be a “Jewelry Box” feature that unlocks illustrations of the various characters you see in the SEGA AGES intros, along with a brief description of who they are.

SEGA AGES Columns II is currently slated for a ¥925 (roughly $8.60) price point, but with no definitive release date yet.

[Source: Official Website]

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Streets of Rage 4 soundtrack composers revealed, featuring all-star talent

Today it was announced that gaming music label Brave Wave Productions have teamed with DotEmu and Lizardcube to create the soundtrack for the upcoming Streets of Rage 4. This means the strong talent already working with Brave Wave are assembled and are working on the new music! Who is involved? Series stalwart Yuzo Koshiro, Motohiro Kawashima (Streets of Rage 2, Streets of Rage 3), Yoko Shimomura (Street Fighter 2), Keiji Yamagishi (Ninja Gaiden) and our friend Hideki_Naganuma (Jet Set Radio, Sonic Rush). This undoubtably means we will see some sort of soundtrack release from Brave Wave.

After the break, check out a preview video featuring Yuzo Koshiro.

Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz HD releasing west October 29, 2019 to PS4, Switch and Xbox One

Well that was fast! Earlier today Famitsu revealed a Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz remake for Japan and now we have an official confirmation of a release for Europe and the Americas for PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and Xbox One on October 29, 2019. A PC Steam release will come later in the winter of 2019. Per the press release, the game will include: Complete with updated graphics, optimized control schemes for each platform, a brand-new mini-game Decathalon mode where you complete a set of 10 mini-games in a row, and online leaderboards.

The game will release digitally and physically, with a $39.99 price point.

Pre-order Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz HD
PlayStation 4 | Nintendo Switch | Xbox One

Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz remake Tabegoro! Super Monkey Ball releasing to PS4, Switch and PC

Just two weeks ago, we talked all things Super Monkey Ball and shared our wishes for a new game in the series. Well it looks like our wishes are being granted, as Famitsu has announced a remake of the Wii game Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz titled Tabegoro! Super Monkey Ball. The game, sporting new graphics and potentially gameplay refinements and additions, is due out October 31st in Japan to PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch, with a PC Steam version also in the works.

No word yet on a western release, but we will share news as we hear it!

Phantasy Star Online 2 anime returns with Episode Oracle in October 2019

We already knew that Phantasy Star Online 2 was getting a brand new anime being titled Episode Oracle that is suppose to cover the Phantasy Star Online 2 in-game story from Episode 1 through 3, plus some original story bits. We now know that the anime will launch this October.

While Phantasy Star Online 2 had a anime that was a 100% original story, this one is more tied to the game which makes me a bit more interested in giving it a try. The series’s first season will run 25 episodes.

As you know we will be getting Phantasy Star Online 2 will finally hit North America for Xbox One and PC in 2020. Are you going to give the anime a chance or wait for the game to come out?

Valkyria Chronicles 4 receives price drop and a Complete Edition on all consoles

Valkyria Chronicles 4, the latest installment in the long running turn based RPG series by SEGA, is now available at a permanently reduced price of $29.99 on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Steam with every DLC included. You can pick up the Valkyria Chronicles 4: Complete Edition digital package, available now on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, which contains all add-on content released for the game, all for $49.99. If you happen to own the base game already, a convenient all-in-one DLC pack is also available for $24.99.

Valkyria Chronicles 4: Complete Edition contains add-on scenarios ranging from high-difficulty maps to entirely new story content, including:

  • A United Front with Squad 7
  • Edy’s Advance Ops
  • The Two Valkyria
  • Expert Level Skirmishes
  • A Captainless Squad
  • Squad E, to the Beach!

Fan restoration of Archie’s Sonic Universe #95 releases – read the full issue now!

Fans of Sonic the Hedgehog comics went through a series of ups and downs during the final years of the Archie Comics run of the series. From reboots to cancellations to an outright end to the series, the long running series deserved a better finale. The spin-off from the main series of comics, Sonic Universe, came to an end with issue #94 wrapping up a Chaotix story arc. However, fans were promised a new arc with issue #95 focusing on the members of the Freedom Fighters. Of course, issue #95 never came to be however the penciled and partially inked issue was made public. Using these elements, a group of fans took the incomplete work of Adam Bryce Thomas, Jim Amash and Ian Flynn and inked, colored, wrote and lettered the full issue. The issue is available to read now, and can be found here!

Most exciting, to me at least, is that the end of the restored comic teases that Sonic the Hedgehog #291 – the conclusion to Genesis of a Hero – will be the next Archie Sonic comic to be restored. This will complete the four issue flashback arc that would have acted as a fitting end to the series.

Oh, and my fingers are crossed for Mega Drive: Overdrive to be restored next.

Rumor: “Tasty Good! Super Monkey Ball” rated in China/Taiwan for PS4, Switch, and PC


The rumors of a new Super Monkey Ball continue to come in. Two months ago, SEGA of Japan trademarked “Tabegoro! Super Monkey Ball”, Tabegoro roughly translating to “Good to eat”, “tastes good”, etc., though for the sake of this article it will be unofficially called “Tasty Good!”.

Now more fuel in the fire has been added, as the official Chinese/Taiwan ratings board Game Software Rating Regulations has seemingly revealed more information about this supposed game via the official Chinese title “現嚐好滋味!超級猴子球”. It will be developed and published in house by SEGA itself, not outsourced similar to other revivals in recent years, and it’s planned for the PS4, Nintendo Switch, and PC, with an icon seemingly displaying the title also in the documents. No other information about what exactly Tasty Good! Super Monkey Ball is, such as whether it’s a sort of remake or an original game, has been revealed at this time. Guess we must wait until SEGA officially announces the game to know more.

[Source: Game Software Rating Regulations]

Female co-star casted for New Yakuza, more details on the game coming August 29th

SEGA hosted an audition last month for the upcoming Yakuza game with nearly 1,000 women auditioning for the role as the game’s protaganist Ichiban Kasuga female co-star. Narrowed down to 10 finalist, Eri Kamataki came out on top and will play the role of the female co-star.

At the female co-star announcement event, Yakuza series general producer Toshihiro Nagoshi stated that more details on the new Yakuza game will be announced on August 29th. Excited to see more details on the new Yakuza game next month and what are your expectations on the game? Let us know on the comments below.

Source: Gematsu

New Dreamcast documentary speaks with Masayoshi Kikuchi (Jet Set Radio), Tetsuya Mizuguchi (Rez), Rieko Kodama (Skies of Arcadia), and more

To celebrate the upcoming 20th year anniversary of the SEGA Dreamcast, the Japanese YouTube channel Archipel has decided to go talk to Japanese creators that worked on software for the Dreamcast. This is just the first part and the people they got from SEGA is pretty crazy:

Hiroshi Iuchi (Ikaruga), Kenji Kanno (Crazy Taxi), Masayoshi Kikuchi (Jet Set Radio), Rieko Kodama (Eternal Arcadia/Skies of Arcadia), Tetsuya Mizuguchi (Space Channel 5 / Rez), Tetsu Okano (Segagaga), Yoot Saito (Seaman), and Hiroaki Yotoriyama (Soulcalibur)!

Its nice to see some of these creators sit down and talk about their time working on the very iconic Dreamcast, pretty excited to see part two of this documentary series. If you haven’t seen Archipel’s content, you should totally check out other documentaries they have done.

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Shenmue III will not have a Steam key option on launch for backers


Poor YS Net has upset some PC fans when they announced a few months ago at E3 2019 that Shenmue III would be Epic Store Exclusive. This lead to people getting upset that after the Kickstarter was done, the studio asked fans what PC service they would want keys on and most people said Steam; it seemed that the studio got a better deal from Epic Games Store.

YS Net has confirmed that there will be four versions of Shenmue III which includes the PlayStation 4 physical, digital and of course the same for PC. But for PC both physical and digital will come with Epic Game Store. But if you want the game on Steam, there will be an option for it if you select ‘delayed steam key’, which means you will have to wait about a year from launch to be able to play it. Yeah, this will obviously piss off backers, especially those that paid extra (100+) for a beta they never got! You can also change the platform to PlayStation 4 if you don’t want to deal with all this nonsense.

But don’t worry, if you are angry YS Net is allowing users to get refunds for Shenmue III backers that expected a Steam Key day one. They still don’t have a way of doing it and will update us on how to request a refund soon. Here is the statement after the jump:

SEGA announces Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Mega 39’s for Nintendo Switch

SEGA has taken a small break from Hatsune Mike Project Diva games over the years, with the last one coming out in 2017 with Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Future Tone DX (a arcade port). It seems that SEGA is back with the announcement of Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Mega 39’s for the Nintendo Switch. SEGA promised that the game will come out early 2020 over in Japan.

The trailer confirms that the game will feature 101 songs (91 songs from Hatsune Miku x Sega project, including Mirari spinoff songs and 10 new songs for this game including the theme) are making into the game, over 300 costumes and full cast including: Rin/Len, Luka, Kaito, and Meiko.

If you own Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Future Tone and DX, you will be able to play all the new Mega 39’s songs via a DLC update that will hit in 2020.

[Via: Siliconera]

SEGA is partnering up with existing subscription services, not launching their own

GameDaily.Biz had a big interview with people from SEGA Europe including Anna Downing, Vice President of Marketing and John Clark, Executive Vice President.

One of the big questions asked to John Clark was the big focus this year on streaming services from publishers. If you didn’t know, SEGA used to be in the forefront of the ‘Netflix style’ streaming service way back in the early 90s with the launch of SEGA Channel.

“From our point of view, we work with partners, and we’re not considering our own platform or our own subscription service, at this stage we don’t know really what subscription means for the gaming audience. We’ve talked to all the partners that you mentioned. We are part of the plans for Game Pass. And that’ll give us a lot of knowledge. We’ve announced Football Manager as part of that. When it launches, we’ll be able to understand how the gaming subscription audience interacts with the title and if subscription is a viable way forward for the games industry. We prefer, at this stage, to be working with channel partners who are investing their time and money to try and understand the audience what the audience wants.” John Clark, SEGA Europe Excutive Vice President.

What are your thoughts on SEGA Europe focusing more on partnering up with existing services like Game Pass instead of launching their own service like EA, Ubisoft?

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