Sega Saturn Heroes - Astal, Segata Sanshiro, Bug, Mr. Bones, etc

[Berto]

Yeah, not only did COVID did a number on the arcade business in general, but I imagine Sega losing their famous arcade centres in Tokyo have been a blow for them and the fans.

Other than that, post-Sammy Sega just aren't really the same as pre-Sammy Sega, so it's both understandable yet heartbreaking why Sega's business practice has changed over the years.

I'm just glad SEGA didn't go bankrupt completely and vanished.
Or being saved by Nintendo or EA instead of Sammy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytXpHrq9xoI

What exactly is it advertising?

I think it's merchandise line for SEGA classics to attract licensing partner.

[Berto]

【SEGA 65th THE LIMITED SHOP】 Announced!

A special "limited-time" shop event commemorating the 65th anniversary of SEGA has been confirmed to take place, featuring merchandise from titles such as Sonic, Puyo Puyo, Space Channel 5, and Sakura Wars, has been announced!
In addition to artist collaboration merchandise and art exhibitions, this event will feature brand-new limited-edition items created exclusively for this shop!

Details are here👇
http://sega65th-the-limited-shop.anique.jp

[Mystic Monkey]

I'm just glad SEGA didn't go bankrupt completely and vanished.
Or being saved by Nintendo or EA instead of Sammy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytXpHrq9xoI

Oh god! I don't want to imagine! Either buy a Nintendo console or get an EA Play account to access their games.

I think it's merchandise line for SEGA classics to attract licensing partner.

So.. not like a re-release of their classic games? Or bringing back Sega Mega Drive Collection or what-not?

[Berto]

Oh god! I don't want to imagine! Either buy a Nintendo console or get an EA Play account to access their games.

SEGA Play account.

So.. not like a re-release of their classic games? Or bringing back Sega Mega Drive Collection or what-not?

The page didn't say anything about new games or a re-release.

[Mystic Monkey]

SEGA Play account.

At least SEGA Play accounts don't bar game access or content. You can still buy the DLCs over getting an account.

The page didn't say anything about new games or a re-release.

Ah. Not really worth my interest then. Especially if it's just merch exclusively for a Japanese market.

I wouldn't oppose buying the games over free roms on emulators if the games were for sale on Steam to begin with.

[Berto]

At least SEGA Play accounts don't bar game access or content. You can still buy the DLCs over getting an account.

True, SEGA Play Account would function differently if it was under EA.

Ah. Not really worth my interest then. Especially if it's just merch exclusively for a Japanese market.

I wouldn't oppose buying the games over free roms on emulators if the games were for sale on Steam to begin with.

Yeah, Japan thing probably with added option to send overseas. Thankfully, this wasn't hyped out of proportion like SEGA Shiro before. I guess gamezines have learned its lesson.

[Berto]

SEGA News Bits Live: What the HECK is SEGA Universe?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2tOdlslsR0

On this SEGA News Bits Live we pay a visit to the computer killing SEGA Universe website and see what the new initiative is all about! Also, new Ecco, Stranger Than Heaven sneak peeks and Nagoshi needs a Kickstarter!

Article : https://segabits.com/blog/2026/05/01/sega-news-bits-live-what-the-heck-is-sega-universe/

[Berto]

"Culdcept The First - Saturn Tribute" launches July 30 for PC worldwide, September 8 for PS5, Xbox Series, and Switch in the west

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCRqeEyaQCo

Coming in both digital and physical versions for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5 at the same time, Culdcept The First Saturn Tribute has long been envied by digital board game fans in the West, since Culdcept The First was originally released in 1997 for the SEGA Saturn. Upon launch, the game quickly became a fan favorite thanks to its engrossing deck-building gameplay, enchanting fantasy setting and gorgeously detailed artwork.

For the very first time, Clear River Games and City Connection will invite gamers to discover the magic of the Culdcept universe by returning to where it all began, in this enhanced version of the original classic, finally playable with English subtitles and complete with quality of life features for ...

Article: https://www.gematsu.com/2026/04/culdcept-the-first-saturn-tribute-launches-july-30-for-pc-worldwide-september-8-for-ps5-xbox-series-and-switch-in-the-west

[Berto]

Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. World Stage (Nintendo Switch 2) | Accolades Trailer



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1snQ7q2Tpao

A CRITICAL KNOCKOUT – NOW AVAILABLE ON NINTENDO SWITCH 2.

Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. World Stage is the ULTIMATE pure martial arts experience that you can take anywhere you go with the Nintendo Switch 2. See why it commands respect in ANY arena.

Features:
All-new Single Player Mode: World Stage
Crossplay + Rollback Netcode support across all platforms
Improved Training tools and Replay Features
New DLC Fighter: DURAL joins the fight!

Links :
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/virtua-fighter-5-r-e-v-o-world-stage-switch-2/
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/virtua-fighter-5-r-e-v-o-world-stage-30th-anniversary-edition-switch-2/

[Berto]

INTERVIEW with Night Striker Director Kenji Kaido: Night Striker was Inspired by Space Harrier and the Star Wars arcade game

Time Extension: What games were an inspiration to Night Striker? Was the TV show Knight Rider one of them?
Kenji Kaido: Space Harrier and the Star Wars arcade game. Movie influences were Blade Runner. I didn’t really watch Knight Rider, so it didn’t really influence the game.

Time Extension: What kind of inspiration did you take from Space Harrier?
Kenji Kaido: Space Harrier was quite revolutionary. Space Harrier was a 3D shooter, and there’s a vanishing point on the screen. When the player shoots a bullet, it goes towards the vanishing point in the centre of the screen. With this processing system, the player can’t hit the enemy at the edge of the screen. In Space Harrier, they ignore the 3D processing towards the vanishing point, and the bullet flies straight. In other words, it didn’t use 3D processing. So what happens is, the game becomes a whack-a-mole game. I thought it was ingenious, so I used that as a reference.
Another influence was that when you're in a 3D space, it’s really hard to hit a moving target. It's actually very difficult. The player is moving on a flat surface, and it’s difficult to hit a target while you're moving. It's actually a pretty rare phenomenon to be able to hit a moving target. In Space Harrier, they assist with this by locking the enemy and using a guided bullet.
Also, if there’s only one enemy, it’s hard to hit, but if multiple enemies are lined up in a row, even if the player misses their target, they’ll hit something. These are some of the things I learned from Space Harrier.

Time Extension: In the past, Yu Suzuki, the Sega producer on Space Harrier, OutRun and After Burner, has said that even though the games use 2D graphics, it's the sprites that basically scale as they get closer to the screen, which means they basically can enlarge to any size, simulating 3D effects. He said that even though the graphics were 2D, he was calculating everything in 3D. So that's why they mathematically expand or contract depending on how close they are to the screen, which is part of the innovation. Did you have to think in that way, or was that left up to the engineers?
Kenji Kaido: Night Striker was a 3D game. The renderings are done in 3D, and the processing is done in 3D. So if you shoot a bullet, as I mentioned before, the bullet would fly towards the centre because of the 3D processing in the system. But we overrode the programming so that the bullet wouldn’t go towards the vanishing point.
We had an excellent engineer. At the time, it was hard to make those calculations in a 3D space. There were no polygons. I think there were only a few people who were able to do a proper 3D calculation. Night Striker used LOD – level of detail – which is a technology they used to calculate the distance in the game to give it a sense of depth.
The engineers didn't focus just on the accuracy or the correctness of the titles. But they also made sure that it could be played at its maximum graphics environment without making the game too heavy. And LOD at that time was nothing major. There was really nothing even comparable to ...

Full interview : https://www.timeextension.com/features/interview-personally-i-think-its-the-coolest-game-night-striker-director-kenji-kaido-on-his-1989-arcade-masterpiece

[Mystic Monkey]

True, SEGA Play Account would function differently if it was under EA.

Though, I will agree, if Sega wants fans signing up for accounts, they should perhaps give more exclusive contents to Sega Accounts.

My suggestion:

• An upgraded version of Sonic Fan Cards, as well as DLCs for CrossWorld, Rumble and future Sonic games where you can play as your Fan Card avatar.
• Exclusive browser games.
• Sega.com and it's "worlds" could have pages that can only be accessed by Sega Account. Such as browser games for those franchises or maybe downloadable content?

Yeah, Japan thing probably with added option to send overseas. Thankfully, this wasn't hyped out of proportion like SEGA Shiro before. I guess gamezines have learned its lesson.

Sega marketing really should prioritize and budget a bit more wisely.

• Sega Shiro only having the few commercials covering his backstory, unlike his father who promoted lots of games. did Sega's ambassador Maito was charging too much per advert? I dunno. Seems wasteful not to make the most of him.
• The "POWER SURGE" hyped to be brand-new Sega games coming out roughly the same time and campaign around it. So far, we only got Shinobi.

[Berto]

Though, I will agree, if Sega wants fans signing up for accounts, they should perhaps give more exclusive contents to Sega Accounts.

My suggestion:

• An upgraded version of Sonic Fan Cards, as well as DLCs for CrossWorld, Rumble and future Sonic games where you can play as your Fan Card avatar.
• Exclusive browser games.
• Sega.com and it's "worlds" could have pages that can only be accessed by Sega Account. Such as browser games for those franchises or maybe downloadable content?[/l][/l][/l][/l][/l][/l]

Exclusive browser games seems nice but only if you have PC.
I'd rather they're giving anything through SEGA accounts anymore.
I have many problems with SEGA Accounts, especially for Nintendo Switch.
You know that there's no eshop in our country yet, so we have to make account with another country address.
The thing is SEGA account would register us in the country we live in and all the bonuses only worked in our country region.
That's why I could never use the SEGA account codes since the region never matched.

Sega marketing really should prioritize and budget a bit more wisely.[/q]

• Sega Shiro only having the few commercials covering his backstory, unlike his father who promoted lots of games. did Sega's ambassador Maito was charging too much per advert? I dunno. Seems wasteful not to make the most of him.
• The "POWER SURGE" hyped to be brand-new Sega games coming out roughly the same time and campaign around it. So far, we only got Shinobi.[/l][/l]

They never promised the game's to be released at the same time though so personally I have no problem with that.
   
[/list][/list]

[Berto]

A mysterious Saturn disc recently appeared on an auction site. It was labeled "Pyramid," but what game is that?

Bo : "It turned out to be a prototype port of *Pyramid: Challenge of the Pharaoh's Dream* for PC.
It's early - a tech demo with a few controls implemented.
The demo implements a scene from the PC version. You're meant to pick up various tools and present them to the three workers, who will use them to level the foundation for the Pharaoh's pyramid.
It can't be completed in the Saturn demo, alas.
Who made it? There aren't any clues in the game demo. But the signature on the disc belongs to Alexander Ehrath, a contract game developer.
We tracked him down, and he explained that the porting project didn't further than this stage - the publisher canceled the project."

Source: https://x.com/memory_fallen/status/2049836537165017420

[Berto]

Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold comic by Terazou, from a 1996 Comic Gamest compilation.



Source: https://x.com/ItsFantasticAC/status/2050954785356906784

[Mystic Monkey]

Exclusive browser games seems nice but only if you have PC.
I'd rather they're giving anything through SEGA accounts anymore.
I have many problems with SEGA Accounts, especially for Nintendo Switch.
You know that there's no eshop in our country yet, so we have to make account with another country address.
The thing is SEGA account would register us in the country we live in and all the bonuses only worked in our country region.
That's why I could never use the SEGA account codes since the region never matched.

SEGA Account seems to need a lot more work before getting on Nintendo or PlayStation's level of accounting.

They never promised the game's to be released at the same time though so personally I have no problem with that.

True, but I don't see why they needed to make the hype if they couldn't release the games with consistency.

The "Sega Renaissance" as I call it, released quite a few games in the span of 2020-'22, with 2020 alone with Streets of Rage 4, Panzer Dragoon and Kinda Funky Newsflash. And Sega didn't even develop or produce any of the "Sega Renaissance" games, nor marketed them collectively.