To celebrate yesterday’s release of Shenmue I & II, SEGA of America has released a free dynamic theme for North America for use on the PlayStation 4. The theme, seen above, features music, the Dragon and Phoenix Mirrors, falling sakura blossoms, renders and concept art and menu icons presented with a brown paper scroll texture. Download the theme for yourself here!
[Source: Push Square]
Just in time for the start of Gamescom 2018 and the release day of Shenmue I & II comes a new trailer for the upcoming Shenmue III. The big news is that we have a release date! The game is set to release to the PlayStation 4 and PC on August 27, 2019. What more, the announcement trailer gives us a look at the game and it looks much improved from previous videos, with facial animations and the reveal that Lan Di will appear in the game! While most probably assumed he would appear, it’s great to get confirmation and from the look of things he won’t have a helicopter to escape on this time. Also spotted is Ryo’s buddy Wuying Ren from Shenmue II.
What do you think of the new trailer and release date? Sound off in the comments below!
Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom has come a long way! Back in early 2016 we interviewed Fabien Demeulenaere, Director of Game Atelier, on our Swingin’ Report Show Podcast, and now the game has seen a huge overhaul with enhanced graphics, animated cinematics and more! The latest news is a release date, with the game set to launch on the PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and Xbox One on November 6th, 2018. The physical launch edition of the game will include a full color 24 page instruction booklet and two sticker sheets. Those attending Gamescom can play the Switch version at the Nintendo booth in Hall 9.1.
Pre-Order the Launch Edition of Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom:
Nintendo Switch | PlayStation 4 | Xbox One
It looks like Team Chaotix couldn’t afford more than one entry fee! The newest team to be revealed for the upcoming Team Sonic Racing is a surprise to be sure, while we were guessing Team Chaotix were a shoo-in it looks like SEGA is taking a u-turn and are featuring Vector the Crocodile, Blaze the Cat and Silver the Hedgehog in Team Vector. If you want to play with the new racers for yourself, you can check them out at Gamescom 2018 in Cologne, Germany from August 21-25.
After the break, check out a big gallery of screens.
Pre-order Team Sonic Racing today!
PlayStation 4 | Xbox One | Nintendo Switch
While a lot of gamers are waiting for Yakuza 3, 4 and 5 to hit PlayStation 4 in the West, the first of these ports has already come out in Japan. I would say its a hit in terms that it topped the Media Create chart this week. Yakuza 3 came out in Japan on August 9th, the charts are accounting for only three days of sales which came into a grand total of 26,047 units. Okami HD came out on the PlayStation 4 the same day as Yakuza 3, that one charted number 11 selling only 14,089 units. A good start for this port.
The real reason these then PlayStation 3 exclusive Yakuza games are heading to PlayStation 4 is mostly due to demand in the west considering a lot of new Yakuza fans never got the chance to try out these titles when they came out. We shall see how they do here in the west, for the full media create sales hit the jump:
[Source: Gematsu]
SEGA has released pre-order details for the upcoming Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise, set to release in the Americas and Europe on October 2 for the PlayStation 4. physical pre-orders will include two free deathcry decal stickers that you are encouraged to stick to your console, controller or wherever. Digital pre-orders will include the Destiny Talisman Pack, which add useful abilities to the player. Also included is a theme and avatar set. After the break, check out the new trailer released today which focuses on the game’s combat.
SEGA has released the second part in their “What is Shenmue?” video series, this time focusing on the characters of both games and their place in the story. Ryo, Shenhua, Lan Di and many others are highlighted. We suspect Goro Mihashi was not mentioned because SEGA wants to keep him a surprise. Narrated by Ryo’s english voice actor Corey Marshall, the video series is a nice introduction to the series for new players, and a reminder for those who played the Dreamcast originals years ago. You can see the second part above, and the first part can be seen here. Shenmue I & II releases August 21st on PC, PS4 and Xbox One.
Pre-Order Shenmue I & II:
PlayStation 4 | Xbox One | PC
Valkyria Chronicles 4 is due out September 25 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and Steam. In anticipation of the game’s release, SEGA dropped a ton of new info about the demo and digital pre-order bonuses. Digital pre-orders are available now for all platforms, and included is a bonus add-on mission ‘A Captainless Squad’ in which a group of Squad E soldiers find themselves on an impromptu reconnaissance operation after the squad’s beloved medic dog, Ragnarok, goes missing. The add-on mission will also be available for $4.99 in late October. Pre-ordering Valkyria Chronicles 4 through the PlayStation Store will get you an exclusive theme and avatar set.
Also available today is the Valkyria Chronicles 4 demo which is free to download from the PlayStation Store, Microsoft Store and Nintendo eShop. Players will be treated to the prologue and first two chapters of the game, as well as a bonus mission created just for the demo. Save data will carry over to the full game, and importing data will unlock an exclusive accessory for use in the full game.
Pre-order the Valkyria Chronicles 4 “Memoirs from Battle” Premium Edition
PlayStation 4 | Xbox One | Nintendo Switch
SEGA has revealed the cover art for the upcoming Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise. Releasing October 2, 2018, the game will retail for $59.99 and at the time of this article will release as a standard edition. But knowing SEGA, there is probably a special edition or a steelbook or some fancy box lined up. In the meantime, you can pre-order a copy for yourself at Amazon.
File this one under: “The Japanese get the coolest stuff!” SEGA of Japan has released a new trailer for the upcoming Shenmue I & II release for PlayStation 4, and in addition to the footage we got the reveal of a special collector’s edition of the game. Like the Japanese Sonic Mania Plus release, this edition will include the game in a handsome box with a special two CD soundtrack. The soundtrack will feature music from both games. Also included will be a two sided poster and, if it is anything like the other regions, a reversible cover. The special edition will retail for ¥5,990, just a little over $50, however sites like Amiami or Amazon Japan should mark it down a little.
While the game releases this month to the Americas and Europe, Japan will have to wait until November 22, 2018. You can pre-order the game now at Amiami for ¥5,300 and at Amazon Japan for ¥6,469, which includes bonus digital smart device wallpaper downloads.
It’s hard to believe that Shining Resonance Refrain is the first Shining series game to come outside of Japan in over a decade. While the franchise use to be a stable of SEGA back in the 90s, it seemed that us Westerns have been kept in the dark on the recent releases, until now. Shining Resonance Refrain is a definitive release of the PlayStation 3 exclusive Shining Resonance. So was the wait for the return of the Shining series worth it?
SEGA really seems to be taking localization more seriously these last few years. First we got a new prologue trailer in English for Valkyria Chronicles 4 and not only that we also got a interview with SEGA Associate Localization and lead for Valkyria Chronicles 4 Andrew Davis. He went on to reveal details including that English voice over work took 10 weeks, talked about matching characterization, and the fact that Ragnarok the dog has the same voice for both Japan and the West:
No, Ragnarok has the same voice actor for both English and Japanese. Funny story – we did actually record an English track for Ragnarok, but the feedback from our Japanese team was that even with additional post-processing, he sounded too much like a small dog – Ragnarok is more of a medium-sized dog. The English actor’s growls were really well-received, but the barks weren’t quite there, so we stuck with the Japanese actor. It’s unfortunate, it would have been my big break in a voice acting role…
You can check out the full interview over at the PlayStation.Blog, lots of cool tidbits of information. Make sure to pick up Valkyria Chronicles 4 comes out September 25 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC! Here is a sample of the 100-page art book that will come with the Memoirs from Battle premium edition!
SEGA Japan’s Sonic Channel is holding a pretty awesome contest giving away original artwork by Ken Sugimori (known for Pokemon, art director at Game Freak). According to SEGA Japan’s tweet it will be given to someone on twitter and they did link to this write-up with Ken Sugimori giving his impressions on Sonic Mania and its features. I do love the ending where he asks SEGA to do a ‘Space Harrier Mania‘, ‘Phantasy Star Mania’ and ‘Altered Beast Mania’. Hey, I wouldn’t complain if SEGA had a Retro line of older games coming back like Sonic Mania.
We already knew that Yakuza 3, 4 and 5 was going to hit the PlayStation 4, with Yakuza 3 coming out August 9th. What I didn’t expect was them to do a demo for the Yakuza 3 release. But it seems SEGA has launched a demo on the Asian PlayStation Store which includes: Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, and other Asian countries. The demo hasn’t even hit the Japanese PSN store yet!
If you didn’t already know this Yakuza 3 port will be the definitive experience on console, running at 1080p resolution and 60 frames per second. As for a Western release, SEGA hasn’t discussed it but don’t be shocked if they do end up announcing it sooner than later.
[Source: Gematsu]
If you have been playing the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive Classics and wished you could use your PlayStation VR headset, you are now in luck my friend. SEGA has just tweeted that the free PlayStation 4 VR update for the collection is out now.
I went online and saw some streamers try the VR update to see how it worked and it looks pretty cool. Obviously most of the impressive ‘immersive’ VR experience comes from the 3D game room when selecting the games, when you are in-game its just a regular screen (in VR!). You can check out GAMERTAG VR’s Stream of it to see what its like. This is cool, I like free updates. I think SEGA should do this more with their games especially Sonic Team games that never seem to get issues ironed out.