Welcome to a new SEGA News Bits, now that the SXSW Sonic the Hedgehog panel has passed we sit down and discuss what we learned regarding Sonic Mania. We talk about Sonic Mania being delayed, Sonic & Knuckles‘ Flying Battery Zone being announced as a new remixed level, new official Sonic Mania artwork, the Sonic Mania soundtrack vinyl, and even the first real life look at the Sonic Mania Collector’s Edition. So all you Sonic Maniacs tune in and what are your opinions on all the new Sonic Mania news? Let us know in the comments below.
If you enjoy our SEGA News Bits segments and want to support us. Give us a sub, if you are already subscribed you can always like the video.
Sonic Forces is the new name for Project Sonic 2017, the next big budget Sonic the Hedgehog game by Sonic Team. While we know its coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows PC and newly announced for Nintendo Switch. The reason that showing off Sonic Forces’ gameplay is important is because of the difference in gameplay between the consoles. Sonic Force’s is also running on a new game engine, an evolution of the old engine they used. The new engine is being titled ‘Hedgehog Engine 2’.
So now we can see a sneak peek at Sonic Forces gameplay and you can judge for yourself. What do you think of Sonic Forces gameplay? Let us know in the comments below. They warned that this is a work in progress and the game play can change in the final product.
SEGA’s Aaron Webber took the stage with Takashi Iizuka, Roger Craig Smith and Mike Pollock to talk all things Sonic the Hedgehog at a panel at SXSW. At the panel they finally revealed the actual name for Project Sonic 2017, which is called Sonic Forces. The panel was filled with jokes, memes and a wealth of information. Including the first look at the Sonic Forces’s trailer, which was the old trailer with the new logo which you can see.
According to the SEGA stream, the name ‘Sonic Forces’ is based on the fact that the game will have ‘forces’ going against each other like Sonic the Hedgehog‘s group of friends and Eggman’s group of baddies. Aaron Webber also showed off another piece of concept art for Sonic Force’s, but have kept mute on further details. We do know that they have recorded most of the voices for Sonic Forces. What are your thoughts on the name? Let us know in the comments below.
While we know that Sonic Mania is delayed, we got a tease that Flying Battery stage from Sonic & Knuckles will be remixed and featured in Sonic Mania. We got a short clip of the game in action (which you can see the direct footage above). The game will feature a new tune remixed by Tee Lopes who is responsible for the Sonic Mania soundtrack.
What is your thoughts on Sonic Mania remixing old stages like Flying Battery Stage from Sonic & Knuckles? What other stages do you want to see? Let us know in the comments below.
Sonic Mania release date has been moved to Summer 2017, it has been revealed in the SXSW panel. While its not an exact Sonic Mania release date, it is postponed and the reason was to get more time to develop the game. While it sucks that we won’t be getting the game during the spring time, at least SEGA is delaying games to make them a more complete package.
Another thing that SEGA did was tease a Sonic Mania vinyl. He said he wanted to gauge the community and see if its something they want. Seeing the response on the SXSW stream and the fact that they already had mockups (below), i’d say its pretty much confirmed that there will be a Sonic Mania vinyl. As for the game’s digital price point, SEGA isn’t ready to reveal that. Will it be more than $15? Time will tell.
It seems a trend for Nintendo Switch games is to cost slightly more on the platform, what with Puyo Puyo Tetris costing ten dollars more physically compared to the PlayStation 4 (and yes, I know it comes with a key chain). But Nintendo fans looking forward to Sonic Mania need not fear, since the game has been confirmed to hit the Nintendo Switch the same day as other platforms and cost the same. Woot.
How many of you will be picking up Sonic Mania on the Nintendo Switch? What do you think about the news of it being priced the same as other versions? Let us know in the comments below.
Strap into your Virturoids and drop your manga because SEGA has announced A Certain Magical Virtual-On video game, that crosses the popular light novel franchise A Certain Magical Index with SEGA’s Virtual-On. A Certain Magical Virtual-On is set to hit Japan sometime in 2018 for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita. On this episode we discuss all the released news, speculate what the final product might be and if SEGA can use popular Dengeki Bunko light novel brands to resurrect other dormant franchises. Like always, let us know what you think of the newly announced A Certain Magical Virtual-On crossover game in the comments below. Thanks for watching.
If you enjoy our SEGA News Bits segments and want to support us. Give us a sub, if you are already subscribed you can always like the video.
SEGA has announced A Certain Magical Index / Virtual-On crossover game, which is coming in 2018 on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita. The game is being based on the 2016 light novel ‘Toaru Majutsu no Virtual-On’ which was a novel having both franchises crossing over and was created to celebrate Virtual-On‘s 20th Anniversary. It seems that SEGA loved the idea so much, that they needed to create a full blown game based on the light novel. We don’t know if the actual game will use the light novel’s story, which seems to be highly possible.
Here is the summary for the ‘Toaru Majutsu no Virtual-On‘, which seems to be pretty basic in terms of story. As for what the game will be and how it will play, SEGA has been conservative on those details. If this is just a Virtual-On game with A Certain Magical Index characters playing as the Virtuaroids, I’ll be OK with that. The last Virtual-On game released was ‘Cyber TroopersVirtual-On Force‘ back in 2010 on Xbox 360. You can watch the A Certain Magical Index / Virtual-On crossover game trailer above.
What are your thoughts on A Certain Magical Index / Virtual-On crossover game? Do you like the idea of SEGA using in-house properties to relaunch franchises?
We finally got some new Sonic Mania gameplay, boss and more revealed. So on this ‘BREAKING‘ episode of the SEGA News Bits George and Barry sit down to discuss our thoughts on the new information, what Sonic Mania means to other SEGA fan game creators and how the game is being advertised compared to Sonic the Hedgehog 4. Like always let us know what you think of the new Sonic Mania gameplay that has been revealed in the comments below. While its not a new stage, having new Sonic Mania gameplay is always nice, right?
If you enjoy our SEGA News Bits segments and want to support us. Give us a sub, if you are already subscribed you can always like the video.
In the latest reveal for the upcoming Sonic Mania, Sonic the Hedgehog brand social media manager, Aaron Webber, gave a special first look at Green Hill Zone Act 2 and how transitions work between acts similar to Sonic 3 & Knuckles. The second act of Green Hill Zone demonstrates a new mechanic such as the zip line, interactivity with the elemental shields to enter secret routes, and reveals a much closer look of the mountains and waterfalls in the background.
Aaron also noted that the background layout of Act 2 is a reference to the early prototype of the original Sonic the Hedgehog. While the boss for Act 2 cannot be revealed at the time, Aaron has mentioned that are brand new badniks introduced in Sonic Mania known as the Hard Boiled Heavies and Heavy Gunner which have been revealed on the Sonic Twitter account and are detailed in a new article from Game Informer. What are your thoughts on Green Hill Zone Act 2? Feel free to leave a comment below.
For the video without the commentary and artwork of the new badniks, be sure to hit the jump below.
While I don’t hate paid DLC, per say, I do miss the days when games came complete for a price instead of having a ton of paid DLC over the course of months. Sadly, Atlus seems to find their DLC practices to be working. They will continue them with Persona 5, which will feature free and paid DLC. Today, Atlus USA published the schedule for the free and paid DLC on thePersona 5‘s official English site. Plot spoiler, only the swimsuit outfits will be free and the rest is paid for DLC:
On this SEGA News Bits, we are doing things a bit differently since SEGA news seems to be slow. This week we will be discussing what Nintendo Switch means for Project Sonic 2017. While the Nintendo Switch is a nice piece of portable hardware, there is a big difference between Nintendo Switch and its competitors when it comes to power. Tune in to hear us talk about what we think the differences between the full game’s graphics will be, if Sonic the Hedgehog games need state of the art graphics and the idea of taking a Sonic the Hedgehog console game on the go. Let us know what you think of all this in the comments below.
If you enjoy our SEGA News Bits segments and want to support us. Give us a sub, if you are already subscribed you can always like the video.
DotEmu, the publisher released this handy description:
“Boasting beautiful, hand-drawn animations and a re-orchestrated soundtrack, the cult classic returns with a unique blend of exploration, action, and adventure. Play as Lizard-Man, Mouse-Man, Piranha-Man, Lion-Man, and Hawk-Man, and use their unique abilities to uncover the land’s deepest secrets. Switch in real-time between the original retro graphics and the visually stunning modern remake, and input your old Sega Master System passcode to unlock all of your old saves and progression – just how you left them in 1989.”
But that isn’t all, DotEmu has been teasing that there is one more Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap surprise that will be revealed on March 22, 2017. What do you think this surprise is and are you excited for this fantastic looking remake?
“Its not just Japan anymore, the whole world is waiting to see the Phantom Thieve’s next move.”
Check out the new Persona 5 English trailer above, showing off the voice cast, characters and other aspects to expect from the game when it launches in North America and Europe on April 4, 2017. That’s less than a month away. Get hyped. For SEGA fans that have never played a Persona game, you can play any of the released main series games without having played a prior version, so its like Final Fantasy in that regard. Along with the new Persona 5 English trailer, Atlus USA also sent out this description of the game:
“Persona 5 is a game about the internal and external conflicts of a group of troubled youth who live dual lives. They have the typically ordinary day-to-day of a Tokyo high-schooler – attending class, after school activities and part-time jobs. But they also undertake fantastical adventures by using otherworldly powers to enter the hearts of people. Their power comes from the Persona, the Jungian concept of the “self;” the game’s heroes realize that society forces people to wear masks to protect their inner vulnerabilities, and by literally ripping off their protective mask and confronting their inner selves do the heroes awaken their inner power, and use it to strive to help those in need. Ultimately, the group of Phantom Thieves seeks to change their day-to-day world to match their perception and see through the masks modern-day society wears.”
Put your mask on, question everything as you watch the new Persona 5 English trailer above. Make sure you pick up your copy of Persona 5 when it hits North American and European store shelves on April 4th only on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3.
We here at SEGAbits are beyond excited that SEGA is taking a chance on Puyo Puyo Tetris, releasing April 25 to the Playstation 4 and Nintendo Switch in the Americas and on April 28 in Europe. While some of us on the team are seasoned Puyo ploppers (check out our retrospective on Puyo Puyo and Tetris), it is understandable that a majority of gamers don’t know what Puyo Puyo is. Thankfully, SEGA has just released a trailer for the upcoming game dubbed “Back to Basics”. The short trailer gives a basic introduction to how the game is played, and shows off the various game modes.
Check out the trailer above and don’t forget to lock in that pre-order. The more support the game gets, the more likely we are to see other Puyo Puyo games in the west!
