Sonic 4 Episode 1

Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episodes I & II hitting Xbox One backwards compatibility today

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Larry Hryb aka Major Nelson of Microsoft announced via Twitter that Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I & Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode II would be hitting Xbox One Backward Compatibility today, meaning you can play the Xbox 360 games on your Xbox One. The recent additions means that Xbox One owners can now play the original Sonic SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive games as well as Sonic CD and the Sonic 4 duology on their Xbox One… as they truly imagined it! For as much flack as the Sonic 4 games get, they’re worth checking out – especially Episode II and Episode Metal.

Then again, with Sonic’s anniversary party tomorrow, we just may see a game announcement that is so amazing it wipes Sonic 4 from our memories (let’s hope!).

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Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode 1 for iPhone and iPod Touch receives graphical update

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Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode 1, that highly controversial 2D episodic game that has since released to just about every platform, has received a long overdue graphical update for the iPhone and iPod Touch version of the game. When Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode 1 first released, there were several different versions out there. Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 received the version of the game with the best graphics and sound while the Wii version was a step below, with less than stellar graphics and sound. Below that was the iPhone and iPod Touch version which not only featured very blocky graphics, but also had stages that existed before SEGA overhauled the game and did away with the mine cart and pinball machine levels. SEGA marketed these as “2 EXCLUSIVE LEVELS!!!”, but savvy fans knew that SEGA likely just didn’t have the time or resources to retool the mobile versions as they did the console versions.

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Xbox LIVE for 360 has huge SEGA sale going on!

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This week is as good a time as ever to save some cash on some great SEGA titles available at a super cheap price for the Xbox 360. SEGA’s got a huge sale on this week on Xbox LIVE for some of their biggest titles such as Sonic and All Stars Racing Transformed, Virtua Fighter 5 FS, Hell Yeah and lots more. Plus, you can save as much as 75% off! Click below to see the super low prices on these great titles. (Geez, I’m starting to sound like an ad)

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IMPORTANT UPDATE! SEGA’s video game ports on Amazon’s Fire TV are a bit disappointing

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IMPORTANT UPDATE: It ends up the Ouya controller WAS the problem of my control woes as I got the Fire Controller from Amazon today and I can say that Crazy Taxi works just fine on it. The drive/reverse buttons are in their proper place and we have brakes! The gas and brakes or on the R and L triggers respectfully, so while still not that comfortable, work much, much better than before. I owe an apology to Sega for blasting their port when it was poor bluetooth controller support that was the main culprit.

Last week, I picked up the new Fire TV as a mini console for my living room. I like the idea of playing some mobile games on a full blown console but sadly, the Ouya just wasn’t what I wanted out in that regard. Fire TV solves that by not only having a ton of video apps, but much more popular mobile games rather than the overload of weak indy games the Ouya consists of. Very fun games like Asphalt 8, Rayman Fiesta Run and Riptide 2 occupy a decent launch library. Those games include some of Sega’s more popular titles. I tried out four of the eight Sega games available and sadly, the porting of those titles from seems to not have gone over as well as hoped. My impressions after the jump.

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SEGA’s launch lineup for Amazon Fire TV

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Amazon’s new Roku/Ouya killer Fire TV was announced yesterday with a lineup of software partners including SEGA themselves. We didn’t really know what the lineup of games were until the system got shipped to the public today. Here’s Sega’s list of games along with their prices.

  • Sonic CD ($2.99)
  • Sonic 1 ($2.99)
  • Sonic 2 ($2.99)
  • Sonic 4 Episode 1 ($3.99)
  • Sonic 4 Episode 2 ($4.99)
  • Crazy Taxi ($4.99)
  • The Cave ($4.99)
  • Virtua Tennis Challenge ($4.99)

Since the Amazon Fire TV doesn’t make use of Google services, some of the games won’t have Google Play Achievements or use Google’s leaderboards. That will also mean that Sonic 2 doesn’t have multiplayer since it used Google’s services. According to Taxman, the developer, Sonic 2 won’t even have a splitscreen mode due to ‘the projects scope’. The Amazon Fire TV is already shipping and you can purchase on here. Gaming controller sold separately.

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Sonic CD & Sonic 4 heading to Ouya

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The Android powered, crowd funded indie console Ouya will be receiving optimized ports of Sonic CD and Sonic 4 Episodes I & II on June 27th, SEGA revealed today. These three games mark the first time SEGA has supported the console, and at the moment these are the only games currently planned for Ouya. When talking to Game Industry.biz, SEGA of America’s director of mobile business David Zemke had this to say about other titles heading to the platform.

“At this time, that’s what we have planned,” he said. “We’re always looking for other titles and there may be some future titles that we’d like to bring over. For us, we’re always trying to bring the best gaming experience to the right platforms. It’s a delicate mix of how and when to do it.”

These games will go on sale for $6.99 each, though it will be possible to download these games for free beforehand and play the first few levels. Will this mark the beginning of wider support from SEGA for the platform? We will just have to wait and see.

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Wait! Don’t update Sonic 4 Episode 1 iOS yet!

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Those with iOS devices like the iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch know all about the tempting little update notification that appears on the App Store icon. That little red number stating the number of apps with new updates is often a treat. Perhaps some bugs have been fixed, or new stages have been added to your favorite games. Well in the case of Sonic 4 Episode 1, the latest update deletes the players progress! So before you read on, make sure you’re not about to press that “UPDATE” button for the game, at least if you’re playing on iPod Touch and iPhone. The update itself seems to fix some bugs and improve stability, though I haven’t noticed any difference outside of a Sonic 4 Episode 2 ad that popped up the first time I opened the app. I haven’t seen the ad since, so it may be a one time thing. I did lose my progress, but I knew full well I might and updated anyway for the sake of this article. SEGA has yet to comment on the update, but hopefully an update to the update brings back the save file or a revised update appears that saves those who have yet to download the update. More updates on the update when we’re… updated.

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Take a peek at Archie’s Sonic 4 Episode 2 comic adaptation

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I’ve really enjoyed Archie’s video game adaptations as of recent, if only because they don’t try to adapt the Archieverse into the story. Sure they’re short and are mainly meant to be ads for the games, but they’re the closest to what I consider to be the ideal Sonic comic book series (this comment is that of Barry the Nomad and not the opinion of SEGAbits). The upcoming Sonic Super Special Magazine #3 will include a special tie-in comic that will take place between Sonic 4 Episode 1 and Episode 2. Courtesy of IGN comes the first two pages of the Sonic 4 Episode 2 story, which kicks off at the end of Episode 1. After the break, check out the pages!

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Sonic 4 News: Metal Sonic playable in episode 1, sand zone revealed and release dates!

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Gamespot’s On the Spot internet show has just revealed that Metal Sonic will be playable in Sonic 4 Episode 1. Dubbed “Episode Metal”, the new play mode will be unlocked for owners of both episodes. Episode Metal promises: a playable Metal Sonic (duh), four exclusive levels and promises that fans will “discover the rebirth of Metal Sonic”. So a Sonic CD side story, perhaps? Ken Balough likened it to Sonic & Knuckles Lock-On technology. The episode 1 stages are reworked and are promised to bridge the gap between Sonic CD and Sonic 4. The show also revealed a new trailer showing off a sand zone that up until now was only seen in a single screen leaked on XBOX.com. Release dates were also given for the game: May 15th – PS3, May 16th – Xbox 360, May – PC, iOSn Tegra devices, June – Android, July – Windows phone. You can view the full video here, skip to 29:00.

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A huge amount of Sonic digital PC content available now!

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What a huge morning for Sonic fans! Sega has just announced a bucketload of PC Sonic digital content available now. Sonic CD is now on steam! For a limited time, purchase Sonic CD and you get DLC for Spiral Knights that lets you dress your knight as Metal Sonic. Want more Sonic in your spiral Knights game? You can also purchase a Tails Knight! Also, Sonic 4: Episode 1 finally arrives on your PC as well as the DLC content for Sonic Generations. Talking about my Generations, there’s a demo available for that as well. Happy Sonic PC DLC day!

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Sonic games get a 66% discount on Xbox Live

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Seems that Sonic fans get a another discount. This time coming from Microsoft’s 12 days of deals promotion. The 9th day of the sale will feature most XBLA Sonic games at a discount of 66%. Sorry no Sonic CD, but if you want that for free, enter our podcast contest.

The following titles will be discounted today (and today only).

  • Sonic 4: Episode 1: 800 320 msp (60% off)
  • Sonic Adventure: 800 320 msp (60% off)
  • Sonic Adventure DX: 400 160 msp (60% off)
  • Sonic the Hedgehog: 400 160 msp (60% off)
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 2: 400 160 msp (60% off)
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 3: 400 160 msp (60% off)
If you have been waiting to get some of these old ports or waited to pick up Sonic 4: Episode 1, now is probably the time.

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Sonic the Hedgehog 4 video leaks

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Well there you go! A leaked off screen video of ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 4’. You can clearly see four levels, Splash Hill Zone, Lost Labyrinth Zone, Casino Street Zone, Mad Gear Zone not to mention a special stage. Each seem to have three acts and a boss battle.

Four Zones with Three levels each and one boss means twelve levels in total, four bosses and a special stage. Although, I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a fifth final zone.  At the right price I think that’s a good amount of content for a downloadable game.

As for impressions,

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