Retro

Hucast Games announces Redux 2 for the Dreamcast

May 15, 2015 by George

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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:

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

May 14, 2015 by George

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?

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

May 6, 2015 by AJ

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

May 1, 2015 by George

3DClassicsPhysical
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

March 23, 2015 by George

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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

March 21, 2015 by Sharky

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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First 4 Figures teases their upcoming NiGHTS figure

March 20, 2015 by George

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First 4 Figures has teased this image on their Facebook, giving their fans a small taste of whats to come. If you haven’t heard of First 4 Figures, they make high quality video game figures in limited quantities. They dabble in Nintendo, Capcom and of course SEGA figures. I think my personally favorites are their Skies of Arcadia Vyse figure, Beat from Jet Set Radio, Akria from Virtua Fighter 5, and of course Ryo from Shenmue.

Not only are First 4 Figures known for their quality, but they are also known for their high price tags. Don’t be surprised if this figure goes on sale for over $200 dollars.

Nintendo 3DS gets SEGA Dreamcast and SG-1000 themes in Japan

March 18, 2015 by Nuckles87

The more SEGA themes Japan gets, the more I want to just import a Japanese 3DS so I can enjoy them. This month’s themes are easily some of the coolest. The Dreamcast theme is based around the system’s own menu, and even plays the mechanical whirring and VMU beeping that fans are familiar with. Less familiar is the theme’s background music, which is lifted from the Japanese-only browser disc Dream Passport.

The SG-1000 theme is pretty cool in its own right. Aside from being based on SEGA’s very first home system, the theme also displays screenshots from a variety of games in the background. The music might be familiar to any hardcore Sonic Team fans with an emulator (or the system and a Japanese television if you’re crazy) since it’s taken from Girl’s Garden, Yuji Naka’s first game. Checkout the theme below!

Both themes are available on the Japanese 3DS’s Theme Shop for 200 yen/$1.50. There is still no word on these themes coming stateside.

SEGA Tunes: Panzer Dragoon’s OST is a beautiful masterpiece

March 3, 2015 by George

Panzer Dragoon is an artistic and beautiful game, sure it might be ‘ugly’ now since games can do better graphically. But there is just something about the art assets used that really strike me as beautiful. Like most SEGA games, the soundtrack matched the presented game and no other game delivered as well as Panzer Dragoon series. This week we will be looking through the first game’s soundtrack.

The above song attached is the main theme that really sets the game’s epic scoop. Its a beautiful piece that for some reason reminds me of the 1989 animated film ‘Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland‘. Fun fact: French artist Jean “Moebius” Giraud was actually involved in both Panzer Dragoon (mostly influence and did the Japanese cover) and the Little Nemo movie.

SEGA Japan shows off new Game Gear, Master System 3DS themes

February 22, 2015 by Nuckles87

If last month’s 3DS themes weren’t enough to make you envy Japanese gamers, this week’s ought to do it. 3DS has received two more SEGA console themes, this time centering on the Game Gear and the Master System.

The themes are loaded with fan service, of course. The Game Gear theme is sporting the Green Hills Zone theme from its version of Sonic 2 and folders made out of 3D Game Gear cartridges, while the Master System theme features an 8-bit rendition of the Space Harrier song and 3D gold cartridge folders (which were a line of Master System cartridges in Japan).

Though I couldn’t find a price, the themes are likely going for 200 yen/$1.50 like last month’s themes. Having a Game Gear theme on my Nintendo handheld would be oh-so perfect, so hopefully we’ll eventually see their release stateside. Fingers crossed!

Check out the Master System theme below.

The SEGA Five: Favorite Moments in Skies of Arcadia

February 20, 2015 by George

Hey everyone welcome to another episode of The Weekly Five, I’m your host George and today we will be talking about my favorite moment of Skies of Arcadia. The game originally came out in 2000 on the SEGA Dreamcast.

The game later got 2002 re-release in Japan and 2003 in the West on the Gamecube, which included better graphics, less random battles, extra content, and more. Regardless of what version of the game play, both are fantastic experiences. Some disliked the game due to its constant random battles but I think it more than makes it up with its charming characters, light hearted humor and sense of exploration.

Great games have great moments and Skies of Arcadia is full of them, so if I don’t mention a moment you loved, share it with us in the comment section. Let’s get this list started.

Warning: Spoilers ahead.

SEGA Japan releases Saturn and Master System themes for 3DS

February 18, 2015 by George

While in the USA we only have a free Sonic Boom theme from SEGA to apply to our handhelds, SEGA of Japan is really using the theme service and giving older SEGA console gamers the goods. Above is the video of the SEGA Saturn theme that was recently revealed. The song playing the in back is from Sonic R.

Below is the video of the SEGA Mark III (aka Master System in the West) which features the always delightful Alex Kidd (including its music). Will these themes hit the American or European eShop? I really do hope so, with these and the awesome SEGA 3D Classics; the Nintendo 3DS is becoming a nice nostalgic gaming machine.

The themes are now out in the Japanese eShop and retail for 200 yen each (a little over $1.50).

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Resident Evil Code: Veronica never before seen concept art hits the internet

February 15, 2015 by George

[Wasn’t this design later used in South Park?]

Resident Evil Code: Veronica was my favorite entries into Capcom’s long running survival horror franchise. Maybe its because I’m biased due to it being originally a Dreamcast exclusive title (which later got a Playstation 2 port). I’m also the type of person that likes to see unreleased artwork for games, especially concept art. It seems the guys over at Project Umbrella (a Resident Evil fansite) have been sitting on hundreds of pieces of unreleased concept artwork for Resident Evil Code: Veronica and Resident Evil Zero.

From the owner of Project Umbrella via NeoGAF:

We came into contact with freelance concept artist Satoshi Nakai, who was hired by CAPCOM in 1997 at the recommendation of Nextech Co., Ltd to provide concept art for the games under the directions of scenario company FLAGSHIP’s lead writers Noboru Sugimura and Hiroshi Soda.

Only a very small fraction of this artwork has been released by CAPCOM over the years. They are direct scans of the original pages. Also included is a single artwork for a scrapped game originally directed by Masaaki Yamada, featuring HUNK on a cruise ship facing against new plant/human Zombie enemies.

Hit the jump to see over 100 pieces of never before released concept art.

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SEGA Tunes: Skies of Arcadia’s OST will make you feel adventurous

February 3, 2015 by George

Skies of Arcadia is a special game that had just the right amount of charm to win me over. Skies of Arcadia is just one of those games where you really like the bright colorful world and cheery character personalities, despite its random battle encounters and parts in the game that lead to frustration. Not only that, the game had an epic soundtrack that gives you a sense of adventure. Listen to the main theme above and tell me this doesn’t make you want to go exploring some caverns or travel in exotic locations?

This week on Tuesday Tunes we will be listening to some of my personal favorite tracks in Skies of Arcadia. Hit the jump and set your volume to an appropriate volume.