Retro

Round Table: How much did you pledge to Shenmue 3?

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It is hard to grasp that it has been over 14 years since Shenmue 2 came out and left us all with that cliffhanger in the end of the game. There has been a strong fan reaction for a third installment and Yu Suzuki stood at Playstation’s E3 stage to finally give fans what they have been asking for. Ys NET launched their Kickstarter campaign which broke funding records, cementing that fans are willing to give their hard earn cash in order to see a third installment of their favorite franchise. In this week’s Round Table we talk about how much we funded and why. You can let us know how much you funded in the comments below.

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3D Sonic the Hedgehog 2 trailer in actual 3D hits online

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Sonic and his two-tailed friend Tails hit the Nintendo 3DS on Thursday over in Japan  with 3D Sonic the Hedgehog 2. To celebrate the release SEGA has released the following trailer… in 3D. Yes, if you didn’t know Youtube supports 3D videos.

This 3D Sonic the Hedgehog trailer is stereoscopic 3D which means you can view with red and blue 3D glasses. We will keep you informed on the US and European release dates, but I’m hearing its coming out sometime in September.

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New 3D Sonic the Hedgehog 2 trailer shows off local co-op and new ‘Keep Ring Mode’ gets detailed

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While we haven’t gotten a release date in the west on the 3D Sonic the Hedgehog 2 release, over in Japan the game is being release in less than a week! That means that 3D Sonic the Hedgehog 2 has been getting quite the amount of information released, like the trailer above showing off the local wireless connectivity. It will be required for both 3DSs to own a copy of the game, but if you do you will be able to have a second player control Tails through your single player adventure or you can go head to head in the versus racing mode.

Like most M2 re-releases in their SEGA 3D Classics series, this game will not only have 3D, save states and the ability to save replays; but it will also have a new mode that they are calling ‘Ring Keep’ mode. In this mode you will start a stage with 10 rings, each time you get attacked the amount of rings you lose is halved. I guess we shall see how this will work when we get to play it and how it impacts the way you play the game.

If we had to predict the release date of 3D Sonic the Hedgehog 2 in the west, I would say expect it sometime in August!

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Seaman creator on Iwata, talks about canceled Seaman 3DS game

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We know that Seaman creator and IP right holder Yoot Saito has been trying to get a Seaman game off the ground for a long while. We know that in early 2008 he tried to revive the game on mobile devices with Gabo, where your fish is more evolved into an actual ape, this is a year after Seaman 2 released on Playstation 2 in Japan. The game never got a release. We also know that as early as 2012 that Nintendo had been thinking about reviving Seaman on the 3DS and in 2013 Nintendo even tradmarked ‘Mysterious Pet: Legend of the Fish with a Human Face’, which sounds like a game we all know and love. Yoot Saito finally spills the beans on Seaman 3DS which he admits he was working on for awhile, in his farewell post to late Satoru Iwata.

He also talks about how he first met Iwata back in 1996 and how he gave him the job of looking for different types of games for Nintendo platforms. Saito also talks about how his suggestions lead to the Wii controller’s speakers and how him and Iwata experimented with StreetPass technically back in the original Gameboy days. It is a really a fantastic read and shows you why Satoru Iwata will be sorely missed in the video game industry. He was one in a billion. Read the translated blog post after the jump!

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BlitWorks tells fans to continue asking SEGA for Shenmue and Jet Set Radio Future HD ports

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Spanish video game website GameSpek recently interviewed the Barcelona, Spain based company responsible for many ports, including SEGA fan favorite Jet Set Radio.

As we all know, before the Shenmue III E3 2015 announcement, the on again/off again Shenmue franchise was constantly surrounded in a wide array of rumors, some concerning ports or high definition remakes of the first two games having been started on, or even fully completed. These rumors never came to fruition, but now we have some official insight into the status of these Shenmue ports. Says BlitWorks:

“Then we thought it would be a good idea to showcase Sonic CD, Jet Set Radio and Shenmue working on the emulators to Sega, with the prospect of a commercial release for the consoles of that time. They showed interest in Sonic CD and Jet Set Radio“.

When asked if they had anything else to say to fans, BlitWorks said:

Thanks to you! We would like to tell SEGA games fans that they don’t cease to ask for ports of great games like Shenmue or Jet Set Radio Future, we are the first ones that would like to port these games. In change.org or similar webs there are several requests about that.

They also discuss Jet Set Radio‘s removal from iOS, and more. Check out the full interview here.

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This is how Shenmue would play if it was a 8-bit Mega Man game

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Youtuber and animator Peter Sjöstrand put together the above video combining his love for Mega Man and Shenmue into one ultimate fanboy video. The video features iconic moments and locations like the Rush turning into a forklift, QTEs and even a capsule toy machine boss fight.

As a big Mega Man fan growing up, if Ys NET ever made a retro style Shenmue game, I’d buy the crap out of it.

If you want the best possible version of Shenmue 3, don’t forget to contribute via their Kickstarter. Only 4 days left and its nearing 5 million, half the total it needs to become a ‘truly open world’.

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Developer Retrospective: From the Gridiron to the Basketball court, these are the games of SEGA’s Visual Concepts

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This month we will be celebrating the games of Visual Concepts, a western developer that is best known for the creation of the 2K Sports franchise of games. Not only did they have a long history battling EA on the Dreamcast; but they continue to battle against the EA Sports brand video games even after leaving our favorite publisher. What better month than July to focus on this largely overlooked and talented US-based development team. After the break, let’s look back at the games and history of Visual Concepts!

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Check out this SEGA Master System/Game Gear modified hybrid console

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Who hasn’t wanted to combine two consoles into one in their own Frankenstein type of experiment? I know I have. What about a Master System with SEGA’s handheld the Game Gear? That’s exactly what Sega Retro Gamers member Eric Bishop did, cramming a Game Gear into a Master System and have them both working. He posted the following video showing off his project, which he is still working on.

Below are a few photographs of his creation, what do you guys think?

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New SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive game Papi Cammando gets official demo

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A new and upcoming SEGA Gensis/Mega Drive game known as Papi Commando has not gotten a official demo release by the independent developers behind the project. The game takes ques from classics like SEGA’s Alien Syndrome and Lucas Art’s Zombies Ate My Neighbors by delivering a run and gun game with a unlikely protagonist.

The game promises to have 2 player mode, up to 11 zones, with varied units including soldiers and zombies. So if you want to see what the independent SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive indie scene is up to, give the demo a try below.

You can download the bin file of the demo here. Have fun shooting.

[Source: The Forums]

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Hucast Games announces Redux 2 for the Dreamcast

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We have a love and hate relationship with Hucast Games, while we admit we weren’t the biggest fans of their first entry due to technical issues, it felt even more slimy with they continued to re-release the game multiple titles and charging people for these new versions (see: Dux 1.5,  Redux: Dark Matters and the revision disc). Now the studio is ready to move on and finally release a full fledged sequel called Redux 2.

The game will come in three packaged variations:

The game is set to feature seven stages, new spacecrafts, a selection of new weapons, and 2-player co-op mode. While the game has not gotten a release date, Hucast Games is allowing users to pre-order their games now. Isn’t that generous of them?

Here are the different packages and first screenshots:

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Cook & Becker releases official licensed art prints for Phantasy Star, Shinobi, Streets of Rage, and more

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If you have ever wanted to put some cute retro SEGA art on your wall and show people that you too are a retro gaming art snob, you can now pick up prints over at Cook & Becker. These prints are officially licensed by SEGA and being sold by the Dutch art dealer for $99 dollars unframed.

Check out the pieces here:

More should be coming out this summer, if you wallet wasn’t empty already. My favorite prints are Phantasy Star, Golden Axe and Shinobi (yes, in that order). Which are your favorites?

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My Life with SEGA becomes a Junker in Hideo Kojima’s Snatcher for SEGA CD

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That’s right, SEGA fans! Andrew Rosa is finally reviewing one of the most sought after SEGA CD titles ever produced, Hideo Kojima’s Snatcher! The cyber-punk graphic adventure’s yet to see an English translation since its appearance on SEGA CD, and very few copies were produced, so there’s no denying that Snatcher‘s value to gamers and collectors alike is exceptionally high. Join Andrew as he examines Hideo Kojima’s sophomore effort.

Like this video? Subscribe to the SEGAbits YouTube channel.

Next week on “My Life with SEGA”: the premiere of the short film “Nothing Else Matters”, the follow-up to “Theater of the Eye”. After the break check out a teaser trailer!

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SEGA’s Okunari says they are open to do more 3D Classics

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SEGA has just announced they added additional titles to their ‘Wave 2’ of 3D Classics headed to the 3DS. Those titles where 3D Streets of Rage 2, 3D Gunstar Heroes and of course 3D Sonic the Hedgehog 2. So is SEGA planning a ‘Third Wave’ of 3D Classics after these release?

SEGA’s Yosuke Okunari spoke to Famitsu about that and here is his response:

These three titles were put out for download overseas simply as an extension [to the existing series]. This really is the end for the second wave [of Sega 3D Classics]. Of course we want to consider the development of a third wave based on the response to this second wave, but we have no plans at this point in time. We’ll look at the big picture, that is, we’ll look at the sales trends of the physical release of the Sega 3D Classics line that went on sale last year [in Japan] as well as how the upcoming three titles perform in the global market. We’re happy to do this indefinitely if sales are good.

It pretty much seems that these latest three Genesis/Mega Drive added to Wave 2 is to test, see how they do globally and if they do well they could continue the series. I’m personally loving these re-releases, what about you guys?

[Via: NintendoEverything]

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How SEGA recorded authentic sounds for their console based 3DS themes

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Yosuke Okunari, producer behind the M2 3D Classics remakes and the newly announced SEGA themes for 3DS has posted behind the scenes pictures on how they got authentic console sounds for those themes. As seen above where they recorded the sound for the Dreamcast 3DS theme, I guess they start by using a really dirty and used Dreamcast to get the most authentic sound (how long has this console been left out in the sun!).

According to Okunari’s twitter post they went through 20 games for the SG-1000 before they settled at what boot up sound they liked the best, if the picture indicates anything they went with ‘Congo Bongo‘. Seems that SEGA has been very authentic lately with the sound of their 3DS stuff and that’s always nice to see.

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The SEGA Dreamcast wins Wired’s drop test

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As if you needed any more convincing that the Dreamcast is the best games console of all time! But just for the doubters ‘Wired’ have performed an ‘experiment’ in which they drop four generations of consoles, from the 16 bit, all the way to the Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii. The survivors of the drop test (those which still function) are doused with Mountain Dew and tested again. There could only ever be one winner and naturally it was every ones favourite white dream machine!

So what does kill a Dreamcast? Well, my first one died when lightening struck the phone line by my house and I was playing Phantasy Star Online at the time. My second Dreamcast I had to put in storage, it died of a broken heart. However my 1991 MegaDrive/Genesis works perfectly after all these years and I’ve dropped that thing more times than your mum dropped her pants in college.

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