What Are Your Thoughts on Sonic Boom, 4 Years Later

f04SEGA went pretty far out there to have Sonic Boom be a huge launch which included a TV Show, video games, comics and even a toy line by Tomy. SEGA America had big plans for the new look and new ‘direction’ of this Sonic series, which would have existed along side with modern Sonic the Hedgehog. Sadly the video games launched by SEGA had rough sales and slowly SEGA turned the wheels on Sonic Boom by cancelling the comics and video games.

But the Sonic Boom TV show still remained, the last episode aired on November 11, 2017 and the series has ran for two seasons spanning 104 episodes. While I’m not a huge fan of the redesigns or video games, I will admit something about the Sonic Boom TV show (and even comic) really had me entertained. I know they aren’t perfect but I always found the writing on the TV show to be witty and well done. Now SEGA is launching the excellent Sonic Mania Adventures web series, could we see classic Sonic take away Sonic Boom‘s TV spot? Do you think that SEGA should continue Sonic Boom as a TV show brand and what is your overall thoughts of Sonic Boom, 4 years later?

SEGA News Bits: Disappointing SEGA Games of 2016

On this SEGA News Bits episode we discuss our personal disappointing SEGA games of 2016. We already discussed the greatest, now its time to look at the worse that SEGA had to offer. We will have to be honest before you hit the play button on this video, it was hard for us to pick what our disappointing SEGA games of 2016. SEGA as a whole played it pretty safe in 2016. But what is your most disappointing SEGA games of 2016? Do you agree with us? Let us know in the comments below.

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SEGA News Bits: Favorite SEGA Games of 2016

As 2016 comes to a close, George and Barry name their favorite SEGA games of the year as well as their honorable mentions. While 2016 didn’t see many, if any, true big budget blockbuster titles from SEGA, there were still several great games to be found. Find out which games we liked, and in the comments below tell us YOUR favorite SEGA game of 2016!

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Review: Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice (Nintendo 3DS)

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Prior to sitting down to write out this review for Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice, the third Sonic Boom game and the second to appear on the Nintendo 3DS, I told myself I would not fall into the reviewers trap of carting out some year that pinpoints when the Sonic series “went bad”. Not only have far too many reviewers done this already, but often I feel they are incredibly misinformed. Sonic Boom was, and is, a product of SEGA of America. While Sonic Team members do have their names attached to the multimedia project, credit really should go to select SEGA of America staff, OuiDo! Productions, Big Red Button and Sanzaru Games. Past games like Colors, Generations and Lost World were completely separate, both in canon and production, and as such I think it is unfair to say that the failings of Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric should sully the main brand.

Sonic Boom was a chance for SEGA of America to fully control a piece of the Sonic pie, and while some elements of the multimedia experiment fell flat, others were and are actually quite enjoyable, namely the TV series and the short lived Archie Comics adaptation. When Sonic Boom is at its best, it evokes the old Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon and early Archie Comics. Light, funny and self-aware whilst retaining the sense of adventure. Does Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice fall into this category? Did Sanzaru Games learn from their previous title? Am I going to ask questions with the promise of answers if you click “Continue Reading”? Find out in my review of Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice!

SEGA News Bits: Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice First Impressions

It’s here, the brand new side-scrolling Sonic game! No, not Sonic Mania. It’s Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice for the Nintendo 3DS! In this SEGA News Bits, Barry shares with George, and our viewing audience, his thoughts on the game. Did SEGA and Sanzaru Games learn their lesson from Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal?

In the comments below, let us know what you think of Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice! Also, don’t hate Barry.

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Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice releases today in North America

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SEGA’s Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice releases today for the Nintendo 3DS in North America, and will release a few days from now on September 30th in Europe. The game is available both digitally on the Nintendo eShop and physically with a special Launch Edition for the Americas which includes a collector’s box and a DVD of select Sonic Boom TV show episodes featuring Metal Sonic and Shadow. While reviews have started to trickle in, expect a SEGAbits review early next week and possibly a SEGA News Bits episode between then and now. I can say that after playing the game for an hour, Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice is an improvement on Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal. Many issues I had with the original game have been addressed, and aspects that I enjoyed have been given more focus. Even as I write this, I’m itching to go back and play some more, which is a good sign.

After the break, check out the full press release from SEGA!

SEGA of Japan releases character trailers for Sonic Boom Fire & Ice

Sonic Boom Fire & Ice is not exactly a game people are enthusiastic about, essentially being overshadowed by the stigma of the Sonic Boom sub-series starting with the infamous Sonic Boom Rise of Lyric and being ignored in favor of the fan love letter Sonic Mania. However (ironically) SEGA of Japan is still trying to promote Sonic Boon Fire & Ice (There called Sonic Toon Fire & Ice) for it’s October 27th, 2016 release date by releasing trailers that highlights the characters Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and Sticks.

Each trailer shows off the capabilities of each character via gameplay, highlighting specific techniques each character utilizes and examples of how they can be used. Said trailers also highlights the Fire and Ice gimmick and how each character utilizes them. Examples including Sonic being able to boost vertically both upwards and downwards, Amy using her hammer to create a shockwave that can lower pillers, Knuckles digging creating explosions if he creates a circle in a similar vein to the Paraloop mechanic in NiGHTS into Dreams, Tails’ ability to shoot enemies with a laser, and Stick’s boomerang.

While the Japanese have to wait for another month for Sonic Boom Fire & Ice, for those that live outside of Japan they have the luxury of playing the game this month, September 27th for the USA and September 30th for Europe.

Click below to see the trailers for Tails, Amy, Knuckles, and Sticks

SEGA shows off Tokyo Game Show 2016 stage schedule

Sega-TGS-2016-Stage-ScheduleSEGA is now showing of their Tokyo Game Show 2016 stage schedule. The games they are listed to be showing off at Tokyo Game Show 2016 includes Yakuza 6, Valkyria: Azure Revolution, Puyo Puyo Chronicle, and more. The schedule also includes games by WB and EA which SEGA is helping bring over.

Hit the jump and see the long list of SEGA Tokyo Game Show 2016 schedule, with set times and where to stream them.

[Source: Gematsu]

Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice Japanese Pre-Order Items Are Very Tempting

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It seems that SEGA of Japan will be having some really tempting Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary themed pre-order items for the upcoming Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice (called Sonic Toon in Japan) on the Nintendo 3DS. The Japanese site ebten.jp (You can buy the set on Play Asia outside of Japan) has two versions Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice, one being just a pre-order for the game and a Sonic 25th Anniversary set  which comes with the following:

  • Flat acrylic cut outs of Sonic the Hedgehog doing random poses and even has one of him sleeping. There are 7 patterns in total and it comes with a stand to display the cut outs (one at a time of course). Perfect to put around your desk. Note: while it looks like classic Sonic, he still has green eyes.
  • Sonic 25th Anniversary Mug which is a blue wrap around design featuring a white outline of Sonic’s head. On the other side of the mug we have a small cute, chubby classic Sonic.
  • Sonic 25th Anniversary 3D Crystal which looks pretty awesome (video of how it looks below). It is a crystal cube with 3D stereoscopic laser engraving of classic Sonic doing his famous finger wage pose and the Sonic 25th Anniversary logo in the back. The crystal changes color depending on the angle as well! The item is 50 × 80 × 50mm in size.
  • Sonic 25th Anniversary Nintendo 3DS theme. This digital theme will cycle through eras of Sonic’s 25 years as you select things in the Nintendo 3DS main menu. So far this digital Nintendo 3DS theme has only been shown for the Japanese release. You can see that in motion after the jump.

So how much is this all going to cost you? The Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice 25th Anniversary pre-order set costs 9,504 yen not including shipping (about $95 USD) and comes with all the items pictured here along with a copy of Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice. The set won’t ship until the games Japanese release date of October 27th, 2016. Of course since the Nintendo 3DS is region locked, that a Japanese copy of Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice would be useless but look at the sweet 3D crystal! Want to see more of that Sonic 25th Anniversary 3D crystal in action? Hit that jump.

SEGA News Bits: Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice Hands On Impressions

What’s that? After the big Sonic Mania and Project Sonic 2017 reveals you forgot that Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice was still coming out? I don’t blame you, but this is the first time we got to play the game, so enjoy our hands on Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice preview. Did we like it? Did we hate it? Listen in and find out. Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice comes out this September 17th exclusively to the Nintendo 3DS.

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Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice gets first Japanese trailer

If you have been sitting around wanting to see more direct capture footage of Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice (or as its called in Japan Sonic Toon), then Sega Japan’s got you covered. Above is their trailer for the game introducing each character that will be in the final product.

While the Sonic Boom brand name has been hit hard due to two stinkers, SEGA has delayed Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice almost a year to try and get it right. The game is also being developed by Sanzaru Games which have developed good games in the past, namely Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time. What are your guys thoughts on Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice so far?

SEGA News Bits: Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice Launch Day Edition Revealed

After a lengthy delay, Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice for the Nintendo 3DS is on its way with a release date of September 27th in the Americas and a recently revealed launch edition. In this SEGA News Bits, George and Barry discuss the upcoming game, the delay, its E3 showing and the Launch Edition itself. As for the European release, no word yet on a Launch Edition, however the game will be releasing across the pond on September 30th. We’ll know ourselves how the game plays after this year’s E3 and the Sonic 25th Anniversary party.

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SEGA and Atlus E3 2016 line-up revealed

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SEGA has just issued a press release laying out just what attendees can expect to find at their E3 2016 booth, which as we’ve detailed before will be shared with Atlus. While the press release was issued by the London offices, the booth itself is being run by SEGA of America and Atlus USA, however there will be select titles that will also be making their way to Europe. First up is Relic Entertainment’s Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III, which is set to release in 2017 for Microsoft Windows PC. SEGA’s Yakuza 0, due out in 2017 for PS4 in the Americas and Europe, and Atlus’s Persona 5, due out in February 2017 in the Americas, will also be playable. Sonic will also have a presence with Sonic Boom: Fire and Ice for the Nintendo 3DS which is due out in the Americas and Europe in September 2016. And last but not least, 7th Dragon III Code: VFD for the Nintendo 3DS, which is due out in July 2016 in the Americas, will also be on display.

Jurgen Post, COO For SEGA Europe Ltd., called the lineup “one of the strongest line-ups we have had at E3 for quite a few years”, which is arguably true. Though given SEGA didn’t have a booth in 2015, and 2014 heavily featured the critical bomb that was Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric, it’s not hard too hard to declare 2016’s showing as a strong one comparatively. Personally, I think 2016’s E3 lineup is lacking that one big new title that 2014 had with Alien: Isolation. Yakuza 0 and 7th Dragon III Code: VFD are sure to be fun, but they are also titles that have already been released in Japan for some time. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III and Persona 5 both look great, but I wouldn’t say Warhammer is game your average SEGA fan has been chomping at the bit for, and obviously the other is an Atlus title. Also of note, no signs of any Xbox One or Wii U games.

Still, it is great to see SEGA returning to E3 and we wish them a great show. Hopefully this is just a baby step after their massive restructuring and we have more reveals to come leading up to or after the event. Sonic fans and even SEGA themselves have been heavily teasing that the Sonic 25th Anniversary event in July is something to watch out for, so maybe the big new Sonic game will be revealed there amongst one thousand fans who will undoubtably spread the word via fan sites and social media rather than at a trade show.

Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice Launch Edition announced for the Americas

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SEGA is at it once again with their launch editions. In the past we’ve seen everything from stickers to lanyards to art books. Now, Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice for the Nintendo 3DS will have its own launch edition featuring a collector’s box and a special DVD featuring three episodes from the TV series for $39.99. The episodes include “Chili Dog Day Afternoon”, “It Wasn’t Me, It Was the One-Armed Hedgehog” which features Metal Sonic, and the season one finale “It Takes a Village to Defeat a Hedgehog” which sees the introduction of Shadow the Hedgehog. The launch edition is, so far, exclusive to the Americas. This will mark the Sonic Boom TV series’ DVD debut in North America, as the UK has been seeing volume releases of the series with “Sonic Boom Volume 2: Hedgehog Day” releasing this past week.

Also revealed, though speculated by us for some time now, is that Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice will be playable for the first time at E3 in the SEGA of America/Atlus USA booth. Meanwhile, SEGA Europe will showcase the PC side of things and other games in a meeting room at the Concourse Level at booth OFMR 8413. It’s confusing, we know.

After the break, read the full press release.

SEGA News Bits: Sonic Boom Season 2 and Fire & Ice Coming This Fall

SEGA has revealed that they are planning on releasing Sonic Boom Season 2 (TV) and Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice (Nintendo 3DS) this fall. Along with the announcement they have stated that they will be airing re-runs of Sonic Boom Season 1 this spring on Cartoon Network, Boomerang and Hulu. Now there really is no excuse for you not to watch if if you haven’t! Watch us give you chit chat and information about the announcement you  might have missed. Who is looking forward to Sonic Boom Season 2? How about Fire & Ice on the Nintendo 3DS? Let us know in the comments below.

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