SEGA Talk takes a detour! This episode we’re trading our blue blur for a trip down memory lane. Join us as we reminisce about our gaming days and explore some non-SEGA classics. Of course, there is still plenty of SEGA games that make it in!
[iTunes – Stitcher – YouTube – Download]
Support us on Patreon! Get early access, have your memories read on the show, select the games we talk about!
Back in the olden days, console launches really benefited from regular TV exposure and SEGA had a segement on Movietime (later renamed E!) in 1989 when they launched their revolutionary SEGA Genesis home console. Most of the talking is done by Andy Eddy then editor-in-chief for Video Games & Computer Entertainment Magazine. But if you watch the video, about 1:19 mark has our now President Donald Trump attending the event. Not only that, he also has (what seems) like a decent haircut.
Not only that but we also have SEGA founder David Rosen later on in the clip talking about the POWER of the SEGA Genesis.
Imagine growing up with a family who got you your first video game system, even though they have little to no knowledge of what video games are. That may sound like most of you, but for those that didn’t have that lovely experience, nine times out of ten you hoped that you got the one game system you wanted to get or you relied on friends to have the ones you didn’t have. And somehow, unfortunately, my neighborhood was all Nintendo territory.
Let’s fast forward to early 2012; I started to branch out in my gaming endeavors. I got an Xbox 360 a year before and third-party titles started to become my new favorite (I went crazy over all of the Suda51 games). Then one fateful spring morning, it was announced that three classic Sega titles were coming to the 360 and PS3 later on in the year. And while I already spoiled myself silly over the Gamecube port of Sonic Adventure 2, the other two games were ones that I was most excited about than any other game of that year: NiGHTS into Dreams and Jet Set Radio. Since there were no Sonic games coming out that year, SEGA gave us three remastered HD titles to melt over. And while some have already played these gems, this was an exciting and memorable moment for me in a time when people thought the world was going to end.
Remember when Knuckles used to ride a pterodactyl? Remember that time Eggman was called “Kintobor”? And who could forget how Super Sonic was Sonic’s evil split personality? What’s that? You don’t remember? Well then, you’ve probably never seen Fleetway’s unique spin on the Sonic universe before.
Whether you’ve read it or not, most people are at least a little familiar with Archie’s long running comic series based on the blue blur. However, as a poor little English boy, I grew up with quite a different set of comics in my youth. In this installment of SEGA Memories, I look back on this unique moment in Sonic history.
2016 is a big year for milestone SEGA anniversaries, and while the Jet Set Radio franchise didn’t make our mega list (which you can check out right here), I’d be remiss as a Jet Set Radio fan if I didn’t tip my hat to the sequel Jet Set Radio Future which turns 14 today in North America. As an all-encompassing SEGA fan, I don’t really pledge allegiance to one franchise. Everything from Space Channel 5 to Guardian Heroes to Valkyria Chronicles pull at my SEGA fan heartstrings. But one franchise that gets to me more than any other is Jet Set Radio. Playing the first game on the Dreamcast was more than your typical “yay, a new game” experience. Jet Set Radio introduced me to a crazy new world where bright colors, catchy music and offbeat street culture melded together into a game that I couldn’t stop playing. It wasn’t so much the gameplay the grabbed me, as it was the world of Tokyo-to. Popping the game into my Dreamcast was another free trip to explore my favorite video game world.
So you can imagine my excitement when Jet Set Radio Future was announced, featuring a much larger world and even better graphics. The only catch? It was on a console I had never intended to buy at the time, Microsoft’s Xbox.