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Round Table: Our favorite SEGA Saturn imports

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It’s no secret that the SEGA Saturn did not have as strong a library as it could have had. The reason for this was that SEGA of America and SEGA Europe didn’t believe in the console like SEGA of Japan did, and thanks to a bunch onf inter-company politics, we never got to see many great titles in the West. Thankfully, the SEGA Saturn can easily play imports if you have yourself an Action Replay device – which Play Asia is conveniently having a sale on! Also, many of the Saturn’s imports are arcade titles or use minimal Japanese text, so you’re likely to find a slew of import friendly games.

Not sure where to start? Perhaps you need some ideas for additional games to add to your import library? Let the SEGAbits writers help out as we share our favorite SEGA Saturn imports!

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Classic SEGA Ads: The Saturn takes on the N64’s itty-bitty library

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If you asked me to make a list of what characteristics define the SEGA of the 90s, at the top of the list would undoubtably be “mocking the competition”. In an era where Nintendo was the family friendly choice, SEGA’s decision to be the rowdy cool kid in town who wasn’t afraid to shake things up and shit talk the competition got people’s attention. During the Genesis era, this sort of practice paid off. The Genesis made SEGA a household name in North America, and the company reigned supreme in the early 90s. However, due to unsuccessful launches of the 32X and Saturn, SEGA slipped in the market and in turn, attack ads like the one above lost much of its bite. Regardless, SEGA soldiered on with such ads, attacking the Playstation in claiming its single processor can’t handle a game like NiGHTS into Dreams and stating that the Saturn kicked Pretendo’s ass when it came to the respective console libraries.

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Opinion: What Modern Sonic can learn from Classic Sonic

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Like most long suffering Sonic the Hedgehog fans I have a love/hate relationship with the Sonic series. For every step forward Sonic takes, he takes two steps backwards or worse. I’m sure we call all agree, we’d like to see our beloved Sonic series shine again. Unfortunately we don’t all agree on how to achieve this goal. By creating various ‘generations of Sonic’ with a variety of differently play style,s SEGA have built a polarized, multifaceted fan base who all want something different from the series. From classic Sonic fans who like 2D side scrolling to Adventure fans who enjoy a varied play styles and a story driven experience and not forgetting the Rush fans that just want a good bit of fast.

Is any one group of the Sonic fan base more correct than the other? No, of course not- it takes all sorts. Though I do love the classics, I am no stranger to the modern Sonic games and I believe both have plenty to offer. I enjoy both Sonic Colours and Sonic Generations. I routinely return to Sonic Rush and it’s incredible OST. I spent an unhealthy portion of my teenage years in a stuffy dark bedroom playing the Sonic Adventure titles.

So is it possible to cater to the entire multifaceted Sonic fanbase? Probably not! But is it possible to create a Sonic game the majority of us can enjoy without it being a bloated hot mess? Maybe! Here are some of my suggestions.

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My Life with SEGA revives a dead format and plays some Video CDs on his SEGA Saturn

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The celebration of the SEGA Saturn continues as A.J. Rosa takes a look back on the Video CD format, and the VCD movie card available for SEGA’s 32-bit powerhouse.

In addition, you’ll get a brief glimpse at his VCD collection, as well as the Dreammovie VCD player for SEGA Dreamcast. If you’ve been wanting a “crash course” on the Video CD format and how it all works with our beloved Saturn, look no further.

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SEGA-Sammy’s Q1 2015 financial report detailed and explained

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SEGA-Sammy recently announced it’s first half results for the fiscal year and it came with mixed results. Some divisions have beaten expectations so far but the gloomy outlook for the rest of the year has effected the final net income expected by the group. During this period SEGA only released one major title but another up and coming title looks set to outdo their expectations, hit the link to find out what SEGA Sammy have been doing well and what the future holds for the group.

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SEGA Tunes: Virtua Fighter 2’s Sarah and her Black Moon Cat

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Virtua Fighter 2 was the most popular game for the SEGA Saturn for many reasons, the most popular of those being the graphics and gameplay. But for me, I could never get over the excellent soundtrack. Virtua Fighter 2 featured one of the most impressive soundtracks that came out of the SEGA Saturn era. This week we look at Sarah’s theme ‘Black Moon Cat‘ and its various remixes including the Virtua Fighter Kids remix and more!

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This is Saturn sees giant robots battle it out in Cyber Troopers Virtual-On for the SEGA Saturn

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This is Saturn kicks off SEGAbit’s Saturn Month in style, with a look a SEGA mech-shooting bundle of action, Cyber Troopers Virtual-On. Widely hailed as one of the most memorable titles for Saturn, is this game really all it’s cracked up to be? Or does it belong in the scrapyard?

This is Saturn is a video series created by British teenager Liam ‘TrackerTD’ Ashcroft, aiming to give an alternative and in-depth look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of SEGA Saturn gaming, all whilst maintaining a somewhat strong accent.

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Round Table: Our SEGA Saturn Memories

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As the SEGA Saturn’s 20th anniversary nears, and Saturn Month heads into day two, the SEGAbits team looks back to the first time we experienced the console. For this week’s round table, we’re joined by George and Barry, as well as three content creators from the SEGAbits YouTube channel – A.J. of My Life with SEGA, Liam aka TrackerTD of This is Saturn, and our newest member Adam aka Gunstar who will be producing a new series set to premiere soon. After the break, read how we were first introduced to the Saturn!

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The Year of the Console – This is Cool, This is SEGA Saturn Month!

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2014 has been a fantastic year for SEGA hardware anniversaries, with the SEGA Genesis turning 25, the SEGA 32X turning 20, the SEGA Pico turning 20 as well, and the Dreamcast turning 15. This month marks our final Year of the Console month long celebration as we turn our sights towards the SEGA Saturn, which turns 20 years old on November 22nd. All month long we’ll be celebrating SEGA’s under-appreciated 32-bit console with video reviews, let’s plays, podcasts, classic ads, retro reviews, and more!

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Swingin’ Report Show #72: Halloween Special featuring The SEGA Fall Lineup

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Fall is in the air, the leaves are changing color and new console and PC games are releasing from SEGA! This week on the Swingin’ Report Show podcast, George and Barry look back on SEGA’s scariest games, and discuss the latest current and upcoming SEGA titles. We discuss why The House of the Dead has endured as a franchise for so long, talk SEGA’s most underrated scary titles, share our thoughts on the recently released Alien: Isolation and Bayonetta 2, and celebrate Valkyria Chronicles PC release announcement.

We also look ahead to November, as Barry talks about his experience playing Sonic Boom for Wii U and 3DS at SEGA’s New York event and details the first issue of Archie’s Sonic Boom comic book. November’s console theme month is also revealed, and we tease an upcoming special edition podcast that is going to be Mega fun. Give it a listen and Happy Halloween!

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Comic Book Review: Sonic Boom Issue #1 (Archie Comics)

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When SEGA’s Sonic Boom was unveiled in October of last year, all we had to go on was four silhouettes and a press release detailing the people behind the TV series and the general direction. What a difference a year makes, as here we are now with a much better idea of what Sonic Boom is all about, as well as an expanded offering of Sonic Boom materials ranging from the TV show and video games, to toys and comic books. Never before has an offshoot of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise spanned so many forms of media, and such a broad spectrum says a lot about how invested SEGA West is in Sonic Boom. While the TV series is a little over a week away (Saturday, November 8th on Cartoon Network) and the games release in the following weeks, we have the first form of narrative content from Sonic Boom available to us in the form of Archie Comics’ Sonic Boom issue #1. I’ve read it, and now I’m going to review it!

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My Life with SEGA celebrates Halloween with Zombie Revenge for the Dreamcast

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‘Tis the season to be scary, SEGA fans! That’s why A.J. Rosa of My Life with SEGA is reviewing Zombie Revenge for the SEGA Dreamcast.

Zombie Revenge is a side story of the SEGA arcade smash, The House of the Dead. Point of fact, according to our wiki (SEGA Retro), the working title for Zombie Revenge was Blood Bullet: The House of the Dead Side Story…. Yeeeaaah, no.

Anyway, Zombie Revenge is a beat-’em-up/shooter, similar to Die Hard Arcade (Dynamite Deka). Gamers must punch, kick, shoot, slice and dice their way through the walking dead in order to stop a demented madman from wiping all of mankind off the face of the planet. So, how does this mash-and-bash stack up after 15 years? Turn down the lights and crank up the volume. It’s time to kill.

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SEGA Cinema Halloween Special: Sonic the Hedgehog Double Feature

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SEGA Cinema has risen from the dead with a spooktacular boogielicious Halloween Special! Okay, so it’s actually not scary at all. Barry and George are joined by Sonic Retro’s David the Lurker to watch two Sonic the Hedgehog cartoons featuring clowns, ghouls, sea monsters, and a half-man half-sponge who lives in the sea. No, it isn’t Spongebob.

First up is Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog‘s “Boogey-Mania”, which plays out like a cross between NiGHTS into Dreams and A Nightmare on Elm Street. And then, interrupting the Sonic cartoons are a compilation of cutscenes from the SEGA Saturn’s Deep Fear and Mr. Bones. Ending the special is the scariest thing of them all, an episode of Sonic Underground titled “The Deepest Fear” in which Sonic faces his fear of water. Don’t worry, he doesn’t drown and the story ends with an awful song. Enjoy the special, and Happy Halloween!

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My Life with SEGA both loves and fears Alien: Isolation for Playstation 3

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On the latest episode of My Life with SEGA, rather than stepping back in time, we’re going to check out the newest title from SEGA and The Creative Assembly – Alien: Isolation. Developed in-house and released last week to PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and PC, Alien: Isolation takes a different approach when it comes to what players have come to expect from Alien franchise video games. For starters, it’s not a first person shooter! Instead, The Creative Assembly have cooked up a first person survival horror game that is very much in line with the tone of the original Alien film directed by Ridley Scott. How does SEGA’s latest Alien outing fare? Check out the video to find out!

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SEGA Tunes: Wacky Races’ “Scarecrow Creek” and “Tombstone Pass” (SEGA Dreamcast)

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Today marks the 15th anniversary of SEGA’s Dreamcast console in Europe, and seeing as we’re in the midst of Halloween season, what better way to celebrate both than with some creepy music from a UK developed Dreamcast classic! Wacky Races is a kart racer based on the late 60s Hanna-Barbera cartoon of the same name. Developed by Infogrames Sheffield House, formerly known as Gremlin Interactive, Wacky Races could be seen as a precursor to Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing. Sumo Digital, developer of the All-Stars Racing titles, was formed in 2003 by the former management of Infogrames Sheffield following its closure. Sumo Digital even used lessons learned in Wacky Races when developing their SEGA racing titles as revealed in a 2012 interview held by Sonic Retro with Executive Producer at Sumo Digital Steve Lycett:

Sonic Retro: The announcer is an element that people really loved or hated. I personally felt it was a welcome element to give the game some personality. What was the decision to include the announcer?

Steve Lycett: Wacky Races also featured an announcer type system that would call out for each specific character. The announcer came about for two reasons. Trav had seen SEGA Race TV and loved the concept of an announcer who commented the race, plus we wanted to make the player feel like there was more going off than they could see.

So you get this chatter that someone at the back is making a move up the field, or someone just had a really bad crash, and although it was happening and you couldn’t see it, it made it feel like it mattered. Plus… we’d done a similar thing a long time before making Wacky Races on the Dreamcast and PS2 in our previous guise as Gremlin/Infogrames Sheffield House. So we knew it could be made to work…!

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