SEGA Sequel Saturdays

SEGA Sequel Saturdays: Sonic 4 Episode 2

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Episode 9 time, ladies and gentlemen. Back when SEGA announced that a return to 2D Sonic was being developed, (then code-named Project Needlemouse,) there was a surge of excitement throughout the industry and the fanbase. After so many years, and after a series of hit-or-miss 3D Sonic games, SonicTeam was finally about to deliver us a modern-day console 2D Sonic game. At the time, my opinion was that that SEGA absolutely could not afford to wuss out with the name: if they were really going to do this, I said, there was no point without calling it Sonic the Hedgehog 4. Sure enough, Project Needlemouse did become Sonic the Hedgehog 4, and well…read on.

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SEGA Sequels: Disappointing SEGA Sequels

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Last week, SEGA Sequel Saturdays took a look at 5 of my favorite SEGA Sequels and why they managed to overcome my usual “sequel hatred” to become games that I really enjoyed. This week, it only seemed natural to look at the other side of that; to write about 5 of my least-favorite sequels and why I feel they failed to deliver. So, without further ado, let’s jump into episode 8!

(As always, feel free to throw in your own two cents via the comments section.)

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SEGA Sequels: My top 5 SEGA Sequels

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Maybe it’s because I view video games each as “experiences” as opposed to just looking at them as “games,” but I’m definitely judgemental of sequels when they’re announced.

Let me try to put this into perspective. If I’m enjoying a game, I dig everything about journeying from its intro all the way to the final save screen after the end credits. Gameplay is definitely an important aspect of what makes me consider a great game *great* but it’s not the only aspect. For me the sense of discovery that a new experience brings is another major reason I love playing video games, and it’s the reason I often don’t care about sequels. I just find it a rarity that a sequel that’s not at least five years away from the original (or on new hardware) has the capability to replicate that same sense of discovery for me.

Then there are times when I’m surprised.

There have been many SEGA sequels over the years that have been able to break through the barriers that usually prevent me from enjoying sequels as much as the originals. I’m looking at my top 5 in this week’s SEGA Sequel Saturdays, Episode 7.

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SEGA Sequel Saturdays: Sonic Adventure 3

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Welcome to SEGA Sequel Saturdays, Episode 6. This week I’m going to take on the challenge of creating another Sonic Adventure, the series in which Sonic broke free from his 2D universe and into full, uncompromised 3D gameplay. We have had many Sonic games since Sonic Adventure 2, but each has been a fairly radical departure from where Sonic’s 3D escapades began back on the Dreamcast. In this episode I’ll look at how a Sonic Adventure 3 could be great, assuming SEGA wouldn’t just be using the “Adventure” name for sales purposes, but actually making another game fully in the Sonic Adventure template. As always, we welcome and appreciate your craaaaaaaazy responses in the Comments section below.

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SEGA Sequel Saturdays: Comix Zone

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This is my first time taking on the ‘SEGA Sequel Saturdays’ feature, I hope I do it justice. My pick is Comix Zone, it might have been a very hard and short game, but it still remains as one of my favorite SEGA Genesis titles of all time.

I think with PSN & XBLA games doing so well, it might be time for SEGA to do a proper sequel for this title. Move over Sonic 4, this is the Genesis game that deserved a sequel!

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SEGA Sequel Saturdays: Shenmue

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I’d like to start our fourth episode of SEGA Sequel Saturdays by congratulating Yu Suzuki, who will be honored with the Pioneer Award at at the 2011 Game Developers Choice Awards, and I figured that it would be appropriate to devote this week’s to Shenmue, a series that’s near and dear to the hearts of many a SEGA fan.

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SEGA Sequel Saturdays: Craaaaazy Taxi

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We’re at episode 3 of SEGA Sequel Saturdays, and for this go-round, I’m taking a look at Crazy Taxi, a series that many SEGA fans (especially those old enough to have been to something called an “arcade,”) have fond memories of. Though the home console ports got old for me after about a weekend, there’s just something about the first entry in this series (I never really got into the other two) that screams “SEGA!” and it’s a series I’d love to see brought back, though only if it really expands upon what the earlier entries offered.

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SEGA Sequel Saturdays: JET SET RADIO!!

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[The one, the only……..Jet Set Radio]

Few franchises have managed to achieve such iconic status with only two installments, but the Jet Set Radio series (Jet Grind Radio for the first one in North America,) was one that managed to do it. The series represented all that was great about Sega during the Dreamcast era: their incredible ability to take risks and deliver groundbreaking and inventive experiences that you simply couldn’t get anywhere else.

What better series to get a sequel than this one? Here’s how I’d do a sequel if I were in charge.

Fly like a butterfly through the break to read more and comment with your own thoughts/ideas.

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SEGA Sequels: Vectorman 3

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[You know you want to see him back]

Annnnnnd introducing…..SEGA Sequel Saturdays. The new feature where we discuss what we feel would be the perfect way to do sequels to some of our favorite SEGA games. This week, I tackle Vectorman, a pretty awesome SEGA Genesis run-and-gun platformer that was developed by BlueSky Software and published by SEGA. Though an attempt was made to revive the character back on the PS2 in 2003, the game was cancelled. All hope shouldn’t be lost, though. I still definitely think it’s possible to make a great next gen Vectorman game, and if you hit the jump, you’ll see how I’d go about reviving this Genesis icon for the current gen, and you can express your own ideas as well.

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