Review: ToeJam and Earl Back in the Groove

Disclaimer: The author of the review is a Kickstarter Backer and received a copy of the PC version through the campaign. A Nintendo Switch review copy was also provided by the via the game’s PR team.

ToeJam and Earl have returned during a time that could not be more appropriate for not only SEGA fanatics but also for the roguelite genre’s recent surge in popularity with ToeJam and Earl Back in the Groove. The game serves as a return of the adventure-like aspect from first game, serving as an all-star tribute to the history of the franchise and provides a strong artful representation of the culture with it’s cast of characters and musical appreciation. Starting as a Kickstarter project in 2015 this allowed the developers to stick closer to the first game without having to bend to publisher direction and create the long awaited follow-up to the original ToeJam and Earl. Despite the long development time, having to shave off a few goals, (Sorry Wii U) and going through two publishers, the game succeeds bringing the first game’s roguelike experience up to date with bigger multiplayer opportunities while struggling with performance issues on consoles.

Puyo Puyo eSports releasing internationally as Puyo Puyo Champions, coming to all major platforms on May 7th

Puyo Puyo eSports is getting a localization, renamed as Puyo Puyo Champions and will be available in western territories on May 7th, effectively confirming a previous rumor about SEGA trademarking “Puyo Puyo Champions” back in November. In addition to the Playstation 4 and Nintendo Switch versions previously released in Japan, Puyo Puyo Champions will also get new versions for the Xbox One and Steam, with the console versions all getting digital releases.

For reference, Puyo Puyo Champions is a Puyo Puyo game that caters to a competitive crowd. It trims the fat, providing players with the bare necessities, focusing heavily on the recurring Tsu and Fever rules from past games only and small quality-of-life additions to streamline Puyo matches further. Both offline and online will provide several multiplayer options, such as a new tournament mode and the ranked mode from Puyo Puyo Tetris making a return.

Yakuza Kiwami 2 coming to PC on May 9th, free Clan Creator Bundle DLC for pre-purchasing.

After the ESRB leaking it’s rating and SEGA themselves teasing it on Steam, SEGA has officially revealed that Yakuza Kiwami 2 will arrive on PC in May 9th, for the asking price of $29.99. The game is available for pre-purchase on it’s Steam page, with the promise of unlocked framerates, 4K support, customizable controls, and extensive graphics options. In addition, for those that pre-order Yakuza Kiwami 2, they will receive the Clan Creator Bundle for free, which contains exclusive weapons, outfits, items, and rare Leader Cards.

Yakuza Kiwami 2 on PC is also notable for technically having a Virtual-On game appear on PC for the first time, and also having the new “Dragon Engine” introduced in Yakuza 6 be utilized on PC for the first time. So if you have the spare money, join in on one of the finest games in the Yakuza series this May.

Pre-purchase on Steam

SEGA teases Yakuza Kiwami 2 PC release

Last month we shared the news that the ESRB had rated Yakuza Kiwami 2 for PC, and now it seems SEGA is ramping up their marketing for a reveal of the release. The official SEGA Steam account has updated their profile picture to Goro Majima’s eyepatch, which is right in line with past PC reveals by the company. As discussed on SEGA News Bits Extra, we think Yakuza Kiwami 2 coming to PC before Yakuza 6 is a wise move as the prequel Yakuza 0 and the first Yakuza Kiwami have previously released to PC. With the next chapter in the story soon to be released on the platform, it sets SEGA up nicely for a release of Yakuza 3-5 for PlayStation 4 and PC in the west, followed by Yakuza 6.

We’ll share more as we hear it, but expect Yakuza Kiwami 2 for PC news very very soon.

New Yakuza 0 PC patch removes Denuvo DRM and adds other fixes

SEGA has just released a new (beta) patch for Yakuza 0, this patch removes the controversial Denuvo DRM. The beta patch was posted by SEGA over on the Steam forums where he goes more into on what the patch fixes. Of course this is a beta patch, it might still have bugs, so if you are a regular user you might want to wait for SEGA and other users to test how it runs.

Here are some other highlights:

  • Fix shaders and shadows on skin tone
  • Improved Ultrawide display support
  • Target monitor output for multi monitor setups

It seems that the biggest update will be the removal of Denuvo, which wasn’t confirmed by SEGA’s developers but by a user. It is nice to see SEGA continue to support their PC games with consistent updates. I just wish SEGA would do this more for console games, especially the Sonic the Hedgehog titles which always seem to ship with a lot of issues.

Yakuza Kiwami releases to PC on February 19th – pre-orders now open

SEGA has officially revealed that the long teased Yakuza Kiwami, the remake of the PlayStation 2 classic Yakuza, will be releasing to Steam for PC on February 19th. The game is now available to pre-order and those who get it now will receive 10% off the £14.99 / $19.99 / €19.99 price, as well as bonus content including avatars, wallpapers and a digital manga.

After the successful release of Yakuza 0 for PC, the PC release of Yakuza Kiwami is sure to be a hit. Will you be picking it up? Let us know in the comments below!

Check the full press release out after the break.

Catherine Classic available now on PC

After quite a bit of teasing, ATLUS has officially announced that Catherine Classic is available right now on Steam for PC. Originally released in 2011, the action-adventure platformer Catherine gained quite a fanbase. Now, ahead of the release of Catherine Full Body in Japan, the original game can now be played by a whole new audience. You can check out the full press release and screens after the break, and of course the trailer is above.

What do you think of this release? Should ATLUS have waited and given Catherine Full Body a PC release?

SEGA updates Bayonetta’s steam page to tease Catherine PC release

SEGA has this thing about updating previously released game’s news feeds to tease future PC ports. This time, SEGA updated the Bayonetta steam page with a post containing the above image. A sheep, which is an animal highly featured in Catherine.

The thing is, all we know about the tease is that SEGA posted the above photo. That is all, everyone is saying this could be a tease for Catherine Classic, not the Catherine Full Body re-release that is coming with a ton of new content. Why? BecauseCatherine Classic‘ got rated for release in Australia. I think if SEGA was smart, they would have been working on a port of the new re-release Full Body and not release an outdated version. I mean, Atlus’ own porting policies basically say that they don’t like to do ports without it having extra content for the consumers. Plus Catherine Classic will be turning 8 years old later this year…

Resonance of Fate rated in Germany for PlayStation 4 and PC


It looks like the SEGA and tri-Ace developed JRPG Resonance of Fate might be coming back to life on PlayStation 4 and PC soon since it looks like tri-Ace has filed for a rating via the German classification board.

Resonance of Fate came out all the way back in 2010 on both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. At the time, SEGA made a big deal about Resonance of Fate because it was during a period that the company wanted to expand its JRPG catalogue. According to the rating, tri-Ace is looking to publish this ‘re-release’ themselves, considering SEGA’s name is absent. Going to be weird considering some of the in-game assets (like the shirt in the photo above) has SEGA’s logo all over them.

[Via: PopBastion]

Team Sonic Racing adds Team Vector to the roster – featuring Vector, Blaze and Silver


It looks like Team Chaotix couldn’t afford more than one entry fee! The newest team to be revealed for the upcoming Team Sonic Racing is a surprise to be sure, while we were guessing Team Chaotix were a shoo-in it looks like SEGA is taking a u-turn and are featuring Vector the Crocodile, Blaze the Cat and Silver the Hedgehog in Team Vector. If you want to play with the new racers for yourself, you can check them out at Gamescom 2018 in Cologne, Germany from August 21-25.

After the break, check out a big gallery of screens.

Pre-order Team Sonic Racing today!
PlayStation 4 | Xbox One | Nintendo Switch

Total War: THREE KINGDOMS cinematic trailer reveals upcoming game’s campaign map

SEGA has released a cinematic trailer for the upcoming Total War: THREE KINGDOMS, which gives us a first look at the game’s campaign map. The trailer focuses on warlord Sun Jian, The Tiger of Jiangdong, who believes his destiny is to be the one true ruler. Historically, the Sun family played an important role in the Three Kingdoms period by establishing the kingdom of Sun Wu.

Developed by Creative Assembly, Total War: THREE KINGDOMS releases on PC in Spring 2019. You can learn more about the game on the Steam product page.

Meet the characters of Shenmue I & II in What is Shenmue? Part 2

SEGA has released the second part in their “What is Shenmue?” video series, this time focusing on the characters of both games and their place in the story. Ryo, Shenhua, Lan Di and many others are highlighted. We suspect Goro Mihashi was not mentioned because SEGA wants to keep him a surprise. Narrated by Ryo’s english voice actor Corey Marshall, the video series is a nice introduction to the series for new players, and a reminder for those who played the Dreamcast originals years ago. You can see the second part above, and the first part can be seen here. Shenmue I & II releases August 21st on PC, PS4 and Xbox One.

Pre-Order Shenmue I & II:
PlayStation 4 | Xbox One | PC

Valkyria Chronicles 4 demo now available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch; digital pre-orders open

Valkyria Chronicles 4 is due out September 25 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and Steam. In anticipation of the game’s release, SEGA dropped a ton of new info about the demo and digital pre-order bonuses. Digital pre-orders are available now for all platforms, and included is a bonus add-on mission ‘A Captainless Squad’ in which a group of Squad E soldiers find themselves on an impromptu reconnaissance operation after the squad’s beloved medic dog, Ragnarok, goes missing. The add-on mission will also be available for $4.99 in late October. Pre-ordering Valkyria Chronicles 4 through the PlayStation Store will get you an exclusive theme and avatar set.

Also available today is the Valkyria Chronicles 4 demo which is free to download from the PlayStation Store, Microsoft Store and Nintendo eShop. Players will be treated to the prologue and first two chapters of the game, as well as a bonus mission created just for the demo. Save data will carry over to the full game, and importing data will unlock an exclusive accessory for use in the full game.

Pre-order the Valkyria Chronicles 4 “Memoirs from Battle” Premium Edition
PlayStation 4 | Xbox One | Nintendo Switch

Valkyria Chronicles 4 English prologue trailer released and localization interview

SEGA really seems to be taking localization more seriously these last few years. First we got a new prologue trailer in English for Valkyria Chronicles 4 and not only that we also got a interview with SEGA Associate Localization and lead for Valkyria Chronicles 4 Andrew Davis. He went on to reveal details including that English voice over work took 10 weeks, talked about matching characterization, and the fact that Ragnarok the dog has the same voice for both Japan and the West:

No, Ragnarok has the same voice actor for both English and Japanese. Funny story – we did actually record an English track for Ragnarok, but the feedback from our Japanese team was that even with additional post-processing, he sounded too much like a small dog – Ragnarok is more of a medium-sized dog. The English actor’s growls were really well-received, but the barks weren’t quite there, so we stuck with the Japanese actor. It’s unfortunate, it would have been my big break in a voice acting role…

You can check out the full interview over at the PlayStation.Blog, lots of cool tidbits of information. Make sure to pick up Valkyria Chronicles 4 comes out September 25 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC! Here is a sample of the 100-page art book that will come with the Memoirs from Battle premium edition!