Retro

SEGA AGES debuts on Nintendo Switch with Sonic the Hedgehog & Thunder Force IV next month

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It was a surprise to a lot of SEGA fans when SEGA announced that they wouldn’t be porting the SEGA Genesis/Megadrive Collection to Nintendo Switch. Instead SEGA Japan would be bringing its downloadable titles by reviving their SEGA AGES brand. We finally got the first details including the debut games, release date and pricing.

According to the latest Weekly Famitsu magazine where they confirmed that the first two debut titles will be Sonic the Hedgehog and Thunder Force IV! Each title will cost you 925 yen (£6.30 / $8.20) and will release in August. Just like the SEGA 3D Classics, Sonic the Hedgehog will include the added Spin Dash, Drop Dash and the Mega Play arcade version. While Thunder Force IV will introduce online leaderboards and the Styx Mode from the SEGA Saturn version!

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What franchise can SEGA resurrect that would excite you?

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Its hard being SEGA, the company has a long history of delivering cult classic games and continuously moving on. This has lead to the company always being ‘ahead of its time’ due to them giving their developers freedom and always moving forward, but it also makes older fans miss key franchisees. For example there is a huge fanbase for franchises like Jet Set Radio, Streets of Rage, Golden Axe, Shining Force (original, not whatever we have now), Shinobi, OutRun, Phantasy Star, Virtua Fighter, and honestly the list can go on forever.

But the question here is, what franchise would you love to see SEGA resurrect?

We all have different tastes, so it should be interesting to read what you guys want. Personally, I have a hard time picking one franchise. Its like trying to pick which one of your kids you like best. Can I want them all? I guess if you forced me into a corner it would be cool to have a legit follow-up to OutRun 2. But what about you?

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What is the most underrated SEGA Dreamcast game?

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Now that the console turns 20 years old over in Japan, the SEGA Dreamcast library has been dived into for over two decades, having people find buried treasure throughout the consoles library. But it still remains that a lot of hardcore users all have one or two titles that only they appreciate and no one talks about really.

So the question for this post is, in your humble opinion, what is the most underrated SEGA Dreamcast game? Of course this can have many answers and some of the choices will be personal. I could go on in this post talking about underrated games like Napple Tale, MDK 2, Super Magnetic Neo, Toy Commander, Cannon Spike, Garou: Mark of the Wolves, The Last Blade 2, Tech Romancer, Elemental Gimmick Gear, SegaGaGa, Record of the Lodoss War, Cosmic Smash, Seaman, and many more. But I want to hear your underrated Dreamcast titles and why you consider them underrated!

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How Castle of Illusion influenced Cuphead’s ‘Simple Mode’

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[Art by thegreatrouge]

Its no secret that Cuphead is highly influenced by a large number of games that were popular in the 90s. This weekend at EGLX, the heads of Studio MDHR, brothers Chad Moldenhauer and Maja Moldenhauer spoke about their popular game. One part of the event was a live Q&A, where someone asked about the decision of keeping bosses out of ‘Simple Mode’. For those not in the know, if you play Cuphead in easy mode or in this game called simple mode, you won’t get to play all the boss levels. Forcing players to switch to normal mode to get the full experience.

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Space Channel 5 VR to get downloadable demo later this year

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Space Channel 5 VR Arakata Dancing Show  isn’t a new game, it was actually shown at the Tokyo Game Show back in 2016. It is interesting is that SEGA has changed the name of the VR experince, before they called it ‘Ukiuki Viewing Show’, now its ‘Arakata Dancing Show’. The VR ‘experience’ was up for people to try out and then SEGA stopped talking about it. According to a recent tweet, gamers will be able to give the demo another go at Game Party Japan 2018, which happens to be the first official tournament held by JeSU (Japan e-Sports Union) on February 10th and 11th.

While Japanese site Panora got the official scoop that Space Channel 5 VR Arakata Dancing Show will get demos in VR stores this spring and get a download version later this year. For what I gather, the download version will be the ‘demo experience’ shown at events and not a full game. Bummer. The demo experience will still be shown off using HTC VIVE headsets and SEGA still hasn’t mentioned if they have plans on showing it off on PlayStation VR. I think this is SEGA testing the market, see if the general public still has interest in Space Channel 5 with a demo release. Hit the jump to see screenshots of the game.

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Panzer Dragoon Saga creator shares ideas for a remake

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Panzer Dragoon Saga celebrates its 20th year anniversary and The Ringer did a great retrospect looking at past comments by series creator Yukio Futatsugi (who also worked on Crimson Dragon) talking about our cult favorite SEGA series. One of the questions highlighted, now that the game has turned 20 years old, was what he would change or add if he was to do a remake:

 “Make it open-world and as much as possible allow the player to make their own choices,make a strong correlation between the characters’ responses and behaviors and the player’s actions, so that the characters change depending on the player’s choices.”

Yukio Futatsugi also added that he would want to add a big online component to the game, which he explained:

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SEGA News Bits: Bluetooth SEGA Genesis, Saturn and Dreamcast Controllers Reaction

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We have finally gotten around to talking about all the cool retro SEGA products that Retro-Bit had at this year’s CES 2018. On this episode of the SEGA News Bits we take a look at all the retro SEGA controllers shown at the event, our thoughts on the announced products and even pitch some retro gaming accessories and controllers we’d like to see Retro-Bit create. So give the video a watch and let us know in the comments what you think of all the upcoming retro SEGA controllers.

If you enjoy our SEGA News Bits segments and want to support us: Give us a sub and give this video a like so it shows up on more like minded fans YouTube recommendations. You know, how that YouTube algorithm is.

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SEGA Master System Fist of the North Star gets English translation patch

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If you are one of the many people excited for the upcoming PlayStation 4 Fist of the North Star (Hokuto Ga Gotoku), you might have something to play while you wait. If you didn’t know SEGA has created and published several Fist of the North games in the past, their first title was Hokuto No Ken (Fist of the North Star in Japanese), which released on the SEGA Master System (Mark III in Japan) in 1986. The game did make it outside of Japan as Black Belt, dropping all licenses to the manga. SEGA would later release a sequel to the game, which we got as Last Battle.

Fist of the North Star (SMS) Translation

As far as the Fist of the North Star Master System game, the title was actually one of the early games programmed by famed Sonic the Hedgehog co-creator Yuji Naka. Looking at all the past SEGA published Fist of the North Star video games makes me want SEGA to port the 2005 arcade/PlayStation 2 game by Arc System Works. Please SEGA? While its cool to have a English patch, I don’t think you really need it to play the game.

The SEGA Master System version of the game will also be playable in the upcoming PlayStation 4 game, as an unlockable. No idea if the new one will make it over stateside. I guess we can only hope.

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SEGA News Bits: SEGA Opens Official Online Shop in America

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SEGA has officially launched their SEGA Shop store in the Americas, allowing the company to extract even more of your hard earned cash in exchange for more SEGA goodness. On this episode of the SEGA News Bits we discuss our thoughts on the SEGA Shop, we talk about some of our favorite items and discuss IPs we would like to see represented on the online store in the near future. Give the episode a listen and let us know what you think of the newly launched SEGA Shop in the comments below!

If you enjoy our SEGA News Bits segments and want to support us: Give us a sub and give this video a like so it shows up on more like minded fans YouTube recommendations. You know, how that YouTube algorithm is.

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Check out all the SEGA & Atlus’ merchandise for Tokyo Game Show 2017

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Its that time of year again, when SEGA of Japan loads up Tokyo Game Show with a ton of amazing SEGA merchandise that makes us westerners scream, “Take my money!” I would say that SEGA’s Tokyo Game Show 2017 lineup is actually really good compared to last year, so expect a ton of great merchandise to follow. SEGA is not only set on bringing you merchandise for upcoming games like Sonic the Hedgehog,  Yakuza, Puyo Puyo, Hatsune Miku, and a ton more. But they are also doing Retro SEGA console merchandise which is very appealing. To add the cherry on top SEGA will also be selling Atlus merchindise including Persona 3, Persona 4 and Persona 5 stuff!

So lets get into it:

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SEGA News Bits: SEGA Genesis AtGames 2017 Hardware Revealed

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Today on the SEGA News Bits, we look at the upcoming AtGames SEGA Genesis plug-in-play consoles set to release this 2017 including the AtGames Flashback, AT Games Classic and the Ultimate Portable Game Player. All three of these devices are set to hit store shelves this upcoming September! On this episode we talk about our thoughts on AtGames’ SEGA Genesis plug-in-play releases, our thoughts on the pack-in games and what we want to see improved on these new devices. But in the end, what are your thoughts? Are you picking up any of these AtGames SEGA Genesis devices and if so, which one?

If you enjoy our SEGA News Bits segments and want to support us: Give us a sub and give this video a like so it shows up on more like minded fans YouTube recommendations. You know, how that YouTube algorithm is.

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SEGA plans “revival of major IPs” on its “Road to 2020”

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Sonic___SEGA_All-Stars_Racing-PCArtwork4539Sonic_Racing_GroupSEGA plans “revival of major IPs”, which is a phrase that a lot of SEGA die hard fans have been waiting to hear from the company in a very long time. SEGA revealed this strategy when the company did their “Road to 2020” business presentation. If you look at the ‘Segment / Business Strategies’ on their latest fiscal report, it highlights the following big points:

Packaged Games Field (example titles: Total War: Warhammer, Yakuza 6: The Song of Life, Football Manager 2017, and Persona 5)

  • Expand existing IPs and obtain new IPs for North American and European PC games
  • Build revenue base by being entrusted with outsourced development
  • Challenge for new IPs
  • Revival of major IPs
  • Effective utilization of development engines

Digital Games Field (example titles: Puyo Puyo!! Quest, Hortensia Saga, Chain Chronicle 3, and Phantasy Star Online 2)

  • Create titles that will become global hits
  • Establish digital marketing business
  • Expand overseas publishing business
  • Maintain profits through long-term operation of existing titles
  • Develop next-generation titles

If you notice, they have a nice section where they highlight that they are planning not only original IPs but also SEGA plans “revival of major IPs”. But what would SEGA consider a “major IP”? One of the challenges SEGA has with reviving IPs is that they want them to be ‘global hits’, so what titles do you think are considered ‘global hits’? SEGA plans “revival of major IPs”, do you believe it or is it a ‘wait and see’ sort of thing?

[via: Gematsu]

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SEGA News Bits: Mario Kart 8 gets Daytona USA Hornet car mod

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If you happen to still have your Nintendo Wii U and a copy of Mario Kart 8, you can now pimp your boring looking car into Daytona USA‘s hornet stock car. This Mario Kart 8 mod comes from CorBond57. He did a really great job bringing over the iconic Daytona USA stock car into the world of Mario Kart 8. On this episode we discuss the Mario Kart 8 mod, Barry talks about his dream Super Mario Bros movie mod and our fears of modding on Nintendo consoles. Join us for the goofs and chatter, tell us what you all think of the Mario Kart 8 mod in the comments below.

If you enjoy our SEGA News Bits segments and want to support us: Give us a sub and give this video a like so it shows up on more like minded fans YouTube recommendations. You know, how that new YouTube algorithm is.

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Unboxing: Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap Press Kit

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We were lucky enough to be sent a Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap press kit by publisher DotEmu, so we decided to do a little unboxing video, which you can watch above. I will say that this is one of the best press kits I have ever seen, coming with a very authentic looking SEGA Master System box and a ton of other goodies that you can see in the video. If you didn’t know by the Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap press kit unboxing, the game is out now digitally for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. We will be having a written and video review up on Monday, so look forward to that. What are your opinions on the Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap press kit? Let us know in the comments below.

Want to thank DotEmu and Lizard Cube fore creating a fantastic remake of one of the best SEGA Master System games and also for sending us a Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap press kit.

If you want to support our video content, make sure to like and subscribe to our YouTube channel. We always appreciate new subscribers. You can check out some of our other unboxing videos on this playlist. Thanks for watching!

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SEGA News Bits: Sonic Mania Delayed, Sonic & Knuckles Remix Level Revealed

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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.

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