Streets of Rage 4 to be offline co-op, will keep online co-op ‘in mind’

If you are planning on buying Streets of Rage 4 to play the game online with your old buddies that have moved around the world, you might want to hold that excitement because a user on the Steam forums have asked the developer behind the game if they will feature online co-op and this is what he had to say:

“Going to be local co-op actually but we’ll keep the online coop idea in mind.”

Not really much to discuss but you’d think having online co-op in 2020 would be a no brainier. I do know that Steam now has a feature called ‘Remote Play’ that allows users to play multiplayer offline games, online with the feature. I don’t think PlayStation 4, Xbox One or Nintendo Switch has these, so it seems this could be a negative for the game. Personally I play most of my games offline, but what do you think?

Phantasy Star Online 2 will be coming to Steam

If you have a gander at the online manual for the North American release of Phantasy Star Online 2, you will notice that the PC version is listed as coming to Steam along with Microsoft Store version.

Launch PC game version

When the download is complete, you can proceed to launch the game by doing the following:

  • Steam
    • Open the Steam client and search for “Phantasy Star Online 2” under the “Library” section, then click “Play.”
    • If you opted to create a desktop shortcut, simply double click on the shortcut to launch the game.
  • Windows 10
    • Open the start menu and search for the “Phantasy Star Online 2” app shortcut.
    • If you opted to create a desktop shortcut, simply double click on the desktop shortcut.

As you already know, this weekend will be the start of the Phantasy Star Online 2 closed beta, from February 7 to the 9th only on Xbox One.

Phantasy Star Online 2 won’t be region locked, at least for now…

We are getting closer and closer to the release of the Phantasy Star Online 2 closed beta, which launches on February 7th. While Phantasy Star Online 2 is only officially coming out in North America (at least this Microsoft published servers), some European fans have asked if they will be blocking players from outside of the North America:


Quite frankly, I don’t see why Microsoft doesn’t just open this server to anyone that wants to play it in English. I mean, technically anyone can join the Japanese servers and is it bad to have a popular game? I think it would be good for Microsoft’s brand more than anything.

[Via: Siliconera]

Phantasy Star Online 2 closed beta starts February 7, 2020

If you are excited for the Western Xbox One closed beta, which starts on February 7th and goes through the 8th, then you’re in luck since we got more details about the event including ‘exclusive closed beta missions and items’. According to Microsoft you will be able to pre-load the game on February 3rd, if you want to start playing the first nano second the game goes live. You can sign up for the closed beta via the ‘Xbox Insider Hub’. 

Closed Beta Test Schedule

  • Starts: Friday, February 7th, 5 PM (PST)
  • Ends: Saturday, February 8th, 11:59 PM (PST)
  • Official Website: Opens Friday, February 7th, 10 AM (PST)

The beta will also have ‘Urgent Quests’ during the closed beta which include the following missions:

Persona character designer creates a new character for Project Sakura Wars

We heard not that long ago that SEGA and Atlus are working on a new game for next generation consoles, but it seems that development teams are already working together. It was announced that Persona character designer Shigenori Soejima actually worked on a unique character for Project Sakura Wars, introducing Hakushu Murasame (pictured above).

She was revealed during a Project Sakura Wars Japanese stream, where it showed her talking to her student, Sakura Amamiya and Seijuro Kaimiyama. She plays a competent, composed character through the presentation. We also know she will be voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro who played Elizabeth from the Velvet Room attendant and made her debut in Persona 3. While Hakushu Mursame is getting the attention, it seems that Ken Sugimori (Pokemon) is also making a character for the game, which is shown off in this new video.

You can check out the two hour Project Sakura Wars stream right here. So this project has the redesign done by Tite Kubo (Bleach), Shigenori Soejima (Persona), Ken Sugimori (Pokemon), and even Noizi Ito (Fire Emblem Heroes)? That’s quite the art team.

Streets of Rage 4 will hit Xbox Game Pass next year


We already posted that the Yakuza games are coming to Xbox One and Xbox Game Pass, which we posted. But now we got another SEGA classic coming to Xbox Game Pass… Streets of Rage 4! You can check out the full Game Pass line-up so far in the screenshot above.

It seems that Microsoft is going all in with their Game Pass, are you interested?

Shenmue III finally gets a launch trailer, marching closer to release

Shenmue III has been rumored since I first started coming online as a little Georgie boy, it was one of the main reasons I joined the SEGA community. Then we got a Kickstarter and waited some more, but it seems that we are very close to ‘not waiting’ for Shenmue III since its coming out in a few days on November 19, 2019. Now we get to enjoy a launch trailer above.

Streets of Rage 4 ‘Behind the Gameplay’ video ensures classic fans to stay excited

The publisher behind Streets of Rage 4 posted up a “Behind the Gameplay” video allowing us to see the environment, people and tools being used to bring a ‘brand new’ ‘classic feeling’ Streets of Rage 4. One of the cool bits is around the 2 minute mark where they are playing the animation from Streets of Rage 4 side by side with Streets of Rage 2. They both move exactly the same, which will make Streets or Rage 4 have that heavy feel we all love in the originals.

Part of the video talks about the engine being used, which was created by Guard Crush Games, and how easy it is to modify things within the game. They even go into combos and we have the development team showing off Street Fighter III combos that inspired them? Is this game gonna get that crazy?

Sonic Mania developer Headcannon launches Kickstarter for new game called Vertebreaker

If you’ve been enjoying Sonic Mania and wanted to know what the teams behind the game have been up to, we got our answer for Headcannon games. It seems that Headcannon has been working on Vertebreaker and has now launched a Kickstarter. According to the project’s description:

“Rest in Peace?!” You wish! “Vertebreaker” is a brand-new and authentic pixel-based side-scroller from Headcannon, the studio that helped bring “Sonic Mania” to the masses. Starring a stubby-yet-seemingly-unstoppable skeleton who’s thrashing their way to victory, it’s gothic, cartoonish, and unabashedly retro!

Take control of our bony hero in a crusade to crush the undead and look cool while doing it! In “Vertebreaker”, traversal is key as you slash, bash, and grapple your way through the most wicked 2D adventure yet! “What is ‘traversal'”? It’s slinging, swinging, and launching from floors, walls, and ceilings to propel yourself forward or even upward with serious speed!

Save the day with our pearly-boned mascot, their mysterious golden half-skull, and their sick grappling hook made from the spine of a demon! “What demon”? It doesn’t matter … does it … ?

Vertebreaker is only seeking 275,000 dollars to make the project, with tiers allowing backers to transform the final game. Some of the high tiers, like the one for $500 dollars even allows you to design enemies. But if you just want a regular digital copy, its at the $15 dollar tier which includes your name in the credits. You can also try the Vertebreaker demo right now on PC and see if the game is for you. So far the game is only announced for PC and is suppose to come out Q3 2021, if the project games founded. One of the extended tiers includes a Nintendo Switch port at $330,000. Pretty smart to launch this Kickstarter on Halloween.

Alien: Isolation Nintendo Switch port gets gameplay and content reveal trailer

If you guys remember this last E3,that there was a Alien: Isolation Nintendo Switch port announced. While the original game was published by SEGA and developed in-house by The Creative Assembly studio; it seems this Switch port will be handled by Feral Interactive but the publisher isn’t be listed anywhere I checked and seeing that all updates are going through Feral Interactive, I doubt SEGA has a hand in publishing this title.

As for this version of Alien: Isolation,this version will include all 7 DLCs from the original release including the highly acclaimed ‘Last Survivors DLC which includes the original movie cast.

Isn’t it strange that this is a in-house created SEGA game but they aren’t (probably) publishing it?

Panzer Dragoon Remake coming to PC via Steam

For a while, it’s been confirmed that the remake for Panzer Dragoon would be coming to the Nintendo Switch. However, as confirmed by the official Panzer Dragoon Remake account, Panzer Dragon Remake is also coming to PC via Steam. Not much new information has been revealed, but the official Steam page does confirm the following PC requirements to run this game:

  • OS: Windows 10
  • Processor: Intel i5
  • Memory: 4 GB RAM
  • Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 970 or AMD Radeon R9 290 (equivalent or better)
  • DirectX: Version 10
  • Storage: 8 GB available space
  • Sound Card: Integrated

It also makes mention of a release date of “This Winter”, though with nothing specified.

Disney Classic Games: Aladdin and The Lion King gets Nintendo Switch ‘Retro Edition’ and iam8bit ‘Legacy Cartridge Edition’

It looks like the upcoming Disney Classic Games: Aladdin and the Lion King publisher Nighthawk Interactive has decided to go all out in terms of limited edition versions. The game will feature two Nintendo Switch Limited Edition box versions, one in an actual box and the other clamshell which will be packed with goodies. More on that after the jump.

There is also the iam8bit ‘Legacy Cartridge’ edition, which will both be limited to 4,500 units. One of them is Aladdin on a SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive cartridge in see-through red (and 1-in-8 random orders will get the even rarer Rare Purple Gem Glow-in-the-Dark) and the other is The Lion King on a SNES cartridge in yellow. If these upcoming limited editions are too much for your wallet, you can pick up Disney Classic Games: Aladdin and The Lion King on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC on October 29 for $29.99.

Pre-orders for these fancy new editions will be open tomorrow (October 24th) at 10 a.m.PT/1:00 p.m. ET on either Best Buy or iam8bit.

Cotton Reboot! hits PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and PC during spring 2020 in Japan

The Cotton Reboot! is set to come out on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and PC (on Steam) this upcoming Spring 2020. We already knew that the X68000 version of Cotton was gonna be remade, but now we know when to when its coming out. This remake will also add a new “Arrange Mode” but also will have the original version of the game.

The original arcade game of Cotton: Fantastic Night Dreams was actually published by SEGA then most of the later games appeared on SEGA consoles like Panorama Cotton, Cotton 2: Magical Night Dreamcas, Magical Night Dreams: Cotton Boomerang, and Rainbow Cotton.

Streets of Rage 4 coming out on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and PC


Streets of Rage 4 publisher DotEmu has now confirmed on Twitter that Streets of Rage 4 will be coming out on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, and of course the Nintendo Switch. This will basically cover every large platform that most fans wanted it on. Well, maybe not the Dreamcast, but you can’t give them a hard time about that.

We also know three of the four characters that are playable, if you missed it we got Axel Stone, Blaze Fielding and new comer Cherry Hunter. The fourth character shadow also seems to be new but will probably be a character based on Max Thunder? Personally super excited for this game and probably going to be one of the best SEGA revivals since the return of classic Sonic in Sonic Mania!

While they listed it as PC, they didn’t put ‘Steam’, while this makes me scared that it might be one of the many PC games to go Epic Store Exclusive; the studio did tweet that its available to put on wishlists on Steam.