SEGA Retrospective: Die Hard Arcade (Dynamite Deka) 20th Anniversary

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As 2016 comes to a close, we wrap up our celebrations of SEGA anniversaries with a look back on a fan favorite 3D arcade beat ’em up. Catch up on past SEGA Retrospective articles, and stay tuned to 2017!

Are you a fan of action movies and always wanted to be the action hero in a video game? Die Hard Arcade, also known as Dynamite Deka in Japan, is where it’s at! To celebrate the 20th anniversary of this popular arcade and home console beat ’em up, let’s dive into the game’s history and development in a special SEGA Retrospective. While there isn’t a concrete date for Die Hard Arcade’s release, we thought the Christmas season was fitting. “Now I have a machine gun. Ho ho ho.”

SEGAbits Round Table: Our Favorite SEGA & Atlus Games of 2016

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Another year is about to close for SEGAbits. Many anniversaries for SEGA franchises happened this year, with SEGA themselves capitalizing on certain ones like Sonic the Hedgehog and Puyo Puyo. On top of this, naturally there were several announcements and game releases from both SEGA and Atlus. Some of which were what we expected, and then there was some that caught people off guard, like the return of the fan favorite Daytona USA. But are you curious as to what some of the writer’s own favorite titles are for 2016? Here at SEGAbits we decided to ask this question to the writers for a year-end round table!

SEGA News Bits: Valkyria Revolution coming west reaction

SEGA has just announced that it will be bringing Valkyria: Azure Revolution to America and changing the name to simply Valkyria Revolution. Not only that, Valkyria Revolution will also be coming to Xbox One! So on this episode of the SEGA News Bits we sit and talk about Valkyria Revolution coming west, whine about PC not getting a port, if the added Xbox One version is worth the effort, and of course discuss the game being poorly received in Japan. Squad 7, move out!

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SEGA News Bits: Yakuza Kiwami and Yakuza 6 Are Coming West Reaction

SEGA punched us square in the jaw with a reveal at the Playstation Experience event that both Yakuza Kiwami and Yakuza 6 will be coming in the summer of 2017 and early 2018 respectively to the Playstation 4. Combined with the fact that Yakuza 0 is due out just next month, we think it is safe to say that Yakuza is back, baby! On this SEGA News Bits, George and Barry react to the news and share their thoughts on both the past and the future of the series. New to Yakuza? Learn just where to start and what games to check out. In the comments below, tell us your thoughts on the news!

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SEGA News Bits: First Look at the Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary Art Book

Cook & Becker’s Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary art book is now up for pre-order, and on this SEGA News Bits George and Barry share their thoughts on the upcoming book. Take a look at several images of the Special Collector’s Edition of the book and learn some details of what we might expect to find in the book.

Are you a Sonic collector with original official art? Contact Cook & Becker as they are looking for potential rarities to include in the book!

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SEGA News Bits: SEGA Survey Results for What Franchise Fans Want Revived

This past week, SEGA of Japan put out a survey asking fans what brand they are most invested in, who their favorite character is, and which franchise they want to see revived. Now that the survey has ended, the results were posted and there were quite a few surprises! In this SEGA News Bits, George and Barry discuss the results and share their thoughts on the fan submitted entries. Did your favorite franchise make the cut? Check out the video above and once your done sound off in the comments below.

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Unboxing: Sonic X Collection 01 Seasons 1&2 DVD

Discotek Media’s release of Sonic X Collection 01 Seasons 1&2 released to DVD today, and upon opening it I was pretty impressed with the packaging so I thought I’d do one of those unboxings kids love so much. The release contains the first 52 episodes, which were divided into two seasons in the West, and contains only the English dub. A second collection containing season 3 is due out December 6th.

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SEGA News Bits: First Daytona 3 Championship USA Gameplay Reaction

We have not only gotten an official Daytona 3 Championship USA teaser trailer by SEGA Amusements, but we also got 8 minutes of gameplay footage by Arcade Heroes. Today George and Barry will talk about our reactions to Daytona 3 Championship USA cabinet, graphics, sound, and if this game deserves the Daytona USA branding. We want to hear about what you think of Daytona 3 Championship USA, sound off in the comments!

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SEGA News Bits: SEGA Mega Drive Getting Limited Edition Relaunch in Brazil Next Year

TecToy has announced a limited edition Mega Drive for Brazil that will come pre-loaded with 22 SEGA games. On this episode of SEGA News Bits, George and Barry talk about TecToy’s answer to the NES mini, the console’s features and run through the list of games. Is the console and its games worth R$ 399,00 ($125 USD)? Give the video a watch and sound off in the comments below!

Pre-order the console for yourself here.

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SEGA News Bits: Sonic Utopia Fan Game Trailer and Demo Reaction

Sonic Utopia is the brand new Sonic the Hedgehog fan game from Mr Lange, Murasaki Fox, Tpot and PicsAndPixels. Making its debut at SAGE 2016, Sonic Utopia features open world 3D Sonic the Hedgehog gameplay. On this SEGA News Bits, George and Barry share their reaction to the initial trailer and give their thoughts on the demo as well as how the gaming media has responded to the game.

Want to try Sonic Utopia for yourself? You can download it here!

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SEGA Talk: Our Favorite OutRun Spin-offs

The SEGA Talk Podcast hit the open road last week with the first episode featuring SEGA’s iconic OutRun. Now, as promised, we have our first SEGA Talk video highlighting our discussion of our favorite OutRun spin-offs! The OutRun franchise is unique, as while there are really only two main series games, there have been a whole assortment of spinoffs – all existing in the racing/driving genre. Learn our favorites in the video above, and in the comments below sound off on YOUR favorite OutRun spin-off.

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SEGAbits at New York Comic Con 2016: Interview with Archie Sonic the Hedgehog Comic Colorist Matt Herms

While covering New York Comic Con 2016, SEGAbits writer FlareHabanero had a chance to talk to Archie Comics freelance colorist Matt Herms. Matt has worked on a variety of Archie’s video game books, including Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic Universe, Mega Man and the incredibly popular Sonic Mega Drive. Check out the interview for yourself to learn about how Matt got his start in the industry and what it’s like to work in comics as a colorist!

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After the break, check out a bonus video of Matt drawing Sonic!

SEGAbits at New York Comic Con 2016: Shenmue 3 Interview with Cédric Biscay

SEGAbits attended New York Comic Con 2016 and had the opportunity to speak about Shenmue 3 with Cédric Biscay, president and CEO of Shibuya Productions. Cédric was kind enough to sit down with our own Kori-Maru to tell us how he got his start in the industry, what it’s like to work with Yu Suzuki and more!

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The SEGA Five: SEGA published games that deserve more attention

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If you discuss Streets of Rage, Super Monkey Ball, or even anything Sonic, chances are you can hear that 90’s jingle of retro goodness (SEGAAAAAAAAAAA!). The company helped create some wonderful games and franchises and are still going strong to this day. That being said, most of the games published by SEGA are sometimes often forgot about and usually sit on store shelves to collect dust and/or be pauper’s pennies.

While I haven’t played every single game SEGA has helped publish, some of those games stick out to me in a very unique and interesting way. And SEGA, being the quirky company they are, brought me wonderful memories and breathes a one-of-a-kind charm to those certain games. So in no particular order (with the first one being my favorite out of the five), here are some games that rightfully deserve more attention than they get!

Review: Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice (Nintendo 3DS)

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Prior to sitting down to write out this review for Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice, the third Sonic Boom game and the second to appear on the Nintendo 3DS, I told myself I would not fall into the reviewers trap of carting out some year that pinpoints when the Sonic series “went bad”. Not only have far too many reviewers done this already, but often I feel they are incredibly misinformed. Sonic Boom was, and is, a product of SEGA of America. While Sonic Team members do have their names attached to the multimedia project, credit really should go to select SEGA of America staff, OuiDo! Productions, Big Red Button and Sanzaru Games. Past games like Colors, Generations and Lost World were completely separate, both in canon and production, and as such I think it is unfair to say that the failings of Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric should sully the main brand.

Sonic Boom was a chance for SEGA of America to fully control a piece of the Sonic pie, and while some elements of the multimedia experiment fell flat, others were and are actually quite enjoyable, namely the TV series and the short lived Archie Comics adaptation. When Sonic Boom is at its best, it evokes the old Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon and early Archie Comics. Light, funny and self-aware whilst retaining the sense of adventure. Does Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice fall into this category? Did Sanzaru Games learn from their previous title? Am I going to ask questions with the promise of answers if you click “Continue Reading”? Find out in my review of Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice!