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Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz HD Review – An A-Peeling Remake? (PlayStation 4)

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It was just a few short weeks before the announcement of Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz HD that I was talking with fellow SEGAbits editor and writer George about the franchise, specifically the first game and just how impactful it had been in SEGA’s early days as a third party developer.

Starting in arcades and quickly shifting to home consoles, Super Monkey Ball had become a staple for SEGA when debuting their software to new platforms. From the Apple App Store to Nintendo’s 3DS and Wii, it just became expected that Aiai and his friends would make their appearance.

Note: This review is based on a copy provided by the publisher.

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Shin Sakura Taisen the Comic Vol. 1 and the Novel to be released in Japan this Winter

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The official Sakura Taisen website announced that the first volume of Shin Sakura Taisen the Comic, authored by Kouri Noguchi, will be released by Shueisha in Japan on December 19, 2019 on Thursday for 600 yen along with the Novel set for release on the same day for 1,000 yen.

Shin Sakura Taisen the Novel will be written by Ayumi Muyoshi and will set as a prequel to the game where Sumire Kanzaki, retired member of the old Flower Division now commander, is reconstructing the new Flower Division by recruiting new members and Sakura Amamiya first encounter with the team.

If you are a fan of the Sakura Taisen series since the beginning, these books would be great collector items to import as soon as they hit online stores. Fingers crossed for the comic and novel to be licensed over here in the west as soon as Project Sakura Wars releases next year in Spring 2020 for Playstation 4.

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SEGA AGES Shinobi releasing on October 31st in Japan

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SEGA AGES Shinobi finally has a proper release date. For those that live in Japan or have a Japanese account, SEGA AGES Shinobi will release on October 31st on the Japanese Nintendo Switch eShop for ¥999. In addition to the original arcade game, players will have several quality-of-life options available, such as the option to change the difficulty and select any of the stages within the game. It will also come packed with a new SEGA AGES version, which overhauls the game to play more similarly to The Revenge of Shinobi, complete with Joe Musashi now wearing white attire.

[Source: Official Website]

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SEGA Talk Podcast #28: The House of the Dead 2 (1998)

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It’s the Halloween season, and that means Barry and George are returning to The House of the Dead! But wait, where’s the house? Are we in Venice? On this SEGA Talk we discuss the acclaimed sequel to the original The House of the Dead, which we covered three years ago to the date on our second episode. How does the sequel compare? What impact did The House of the Dead 2 have on the franchise? Click, listen or watch and find out!

Support us on Patreon! Get early access, tell us what games to cover, and have your SEGA memories played at the end and more!

[iTunes – Stitcher – YouTube – Play Music – RSS – Download]

If you want to give us feedback, suggest a topic for the next podcast or want to ask a question for us to answer on the next episode you can add  them as a comment below or send theme directly to our email. Make sure you use subject line ‘SEGA Talk’ and as always, thanks for listening!

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Panzer Dragoon Remake coming to PC via Steam

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For a while, it’s been confirmed that the remake for Panzer Dragoon would be coming to the Nintendo Switch. However, as confirmed by the official Panzer Dragoon Remake account, Panzer Dragon Remake is also coming to PC via Steam. Not much new information has been revealed, but the official Steam page does confirm the following PC requirements to run this game:

  • OS: Windows 10
  • Processor: Intel i5
  • Memory: 4 GB RAM
  • Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 970 or AMD Radeon R9 290 (equivalent or better)
  • DirectX: Version 10
  • Storage: 8 GB available space
  • Sound Card: Integrated

It also makes mention of a release date of “This Winter”, though with nothing specified.

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Persona 5 Scramble releasing on February 20th 2020 in Japan, new trailer and screenshots released

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Persona 5 Scramble, the Atlus and Koei Tecmo collab loosely based on the Dynasty Warriors series, has recently gotten a major update with need footage, screenshots, and artwork. Unlike similar “musou” collabs for IPs such as for Dragon Quest and The Legend of Zelda, Persona 5 Scramble acts a direct sequel to the original Persona 5. Set roughly six months after the events of Persona 5, the Phantom Thieves are enjoying a summer vacation, until mysterious events across Japan start to shake things up, with the Palaces seemingly returning to cause more havoc. Now the Phantom Thieves must figure out what is causing this sudden influx in Palace related cases.

The game itself mixes elements from both Persona and games like Dynasty Warriors, where players can explore Tokyo and interact with NPCs, but adapts the musou style of combat games like Dynasty Warriors are famous for. Players have the option to use any of the Phantom Thieves during these combat segments, each with their own moves, and like musou games players will be using them to slaughter crowds of enemies to reach an end goal.

Currently, Persona 5 Scramble is slated for a release date on February 20th next year in Japan, for the Playstation 4 and Nintendo Switch. Currently an international release is unknown.

[Source: Official Website / Gematsu]

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Disney Classic Games: Aladdin and The Lion King gets Nintendo Switch ‘Retro Edition’ and iam8bit ‘Legacy Cartridge Edition’

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It looks like the upcoming Disney Classic Games: Aladdin and the Lion King publisher Nighthawk Interactive has decided to go all out in terms of limited edition versions. The game will feature two Nintendo Switch Limited Edition box versions, one in an actual box and the other clamshell which will be packed with goodies. More on that after the jump.

There is also the iam8bit ‘Legacy Cartridge’ edition, which will both be limited to 4,500 units. One of them is Aladdin on a SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive cartridge in see-through red (and 1-in-8 random orders will get the even rarer Rare Purple Gem Glow-in-the-Dark) and the other is The Lion King on a SNES cartridge in yellow. If these upcoming limited editions are too much for your wallet, you can pick up Disney Classic Games: Aladdin and The Lion King on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC on October 29 for $29.99.

Pre-orders for these fancy new editions will be open tomorrow (October 24th) at 10 a.m.PT/1:00 p.m. ET on either Best Buy or iam8bit.

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Panzer Dragoon: Remake getting physical release, probably by Limited Run Games

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So earlier today the Panzer Dragoon Remake twitter account announced that there will be a Panzer Dragoon: Remake physical release, all the tweet says is that they will be updating their social media soon on more details. This didn’t stop Limited Run Games from quote tweeting the tweet with those eyes emoji, possibly teasing that they have a deal with Forever Entertainment?

Some fans dislike the idea of Limited Run Games being the sole publisher for the physical version of Panzer Dragoon: Remake because they only print these games for a limited amount of time, if you miss it, you miss it. I personally hope we get a Limited Run Games version, but like other franchises like Wonder Boy: The Dragon Trap and Shenmue III, we also get another ‘not limited’ version by another publisher. That way everyone wins!

What is your thoughts? You buying a physical version of Panzer Dragoon: Remake?

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Napple Tale: Arsia in Daydream gets English fan translation for Dreamcast

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Napple Tale: Arsia in Daydream is a 2.5D platformer for the SEGA Dreamcast that sadly only got a Japanese release all the way back in October 19, 2000. What better way to celebrate its 19th year anniversary than playing it in English? Now you can thanks to Cargodin, the person that translated the Dreamcast game and has released a translation patch via Romhacking.net

One of the biggest highlights about this game, at least for me, is the soundtrack which features music by Yoko Kanno and vocal performances by Maaya Sakamoto. I highly recommend giving this game a go if you like cutsey platformers, its a fun time.

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Original version of Sonic Mania to receive physical release

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SEGA is releasing the original version of Sonic Mania physically to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Listings for all three appeared on GameStop’s website priced at $19.99 for a November 5, 2019 release (UPDATE: some stores are now carrying it). It does not appear that this release will have any bonuses, like an art book or a Mega Drive/Genesis reversible cover. The content from the Plus release is not on disc, though should be available as DLC at an additional price.

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SEGA AGES Shinobi coming soon, more information revealed

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SEGA AGES continues along, now entering the mysterious world of ninja with the SEGA arcade classic Shinobi. In this game, you play as the ninja Joe Musashi, as you’re tasked with rescuing kids held hostage scattered throughout the stage, with an emphasis on jumping between foreground and background. Of course, it won’t be easy, as you must also fight your way through swarms of enemies, armed with your melee attacks, throwing weapons like shurikens, and special attacks that clear out the screen. All tied together by the occasional Bonus Stage, where you have to clear out every ninja with either your shurikens or sword.

SEGA AGES Shinobi adds several new features, as usual with these SEGA AGES releases. For those that want to improve themselves or want to skip stages, both a new stage select and difficulty options are now available. A special border will also be provided that emulates an arcade setting, similar to SEGA AGES Space Harrier. But the biggest addition is the SEGA AGES mode, which causes Joe to dress up in white garments, be fully powered up, and have a life system. For those that have played The Super Shinobi (aka The Revenge of Shinobi), this brand new SEGA AGES mode will be very familiar.

SEGA AGES Shinobi is priced at ¥999 (roughly $9.20), though with no definitive release date yet.

[Source: Official Website]

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Classic Sonic revealed as bonus character in Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD

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SEGA has officially announced that Sonic the Hedgehog is an unlockable character in the upcoming Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD. The news was previously leaked when the achievements were revealed, which we reported on. However, it was unknown at the time that SEGA opted to go with the classic design, and interestingly SEGA’s press release does not use the “Classic Sonic” descriptor, instead just calling him “Sonic the Hedgehog”, perhaps signaling that they are moving away from using Classic and Modern labels. It is unknown how Sonic is unlocked, and in our experience with the game no prompt is given telling players what objectives must be satisfied.

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Cotton Reboot! hits PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and PC during spring 2020 in Japan

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The Cotton Reboot! is set to come out on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and PC (on Steam) this upcoming Spring 2020. We already knew that the X68000 version of Cotton was gonna be remade, but now we know when to when its coming out. This remake will also add a new “Arrange Mode” but also will have the original version of the game.

The original arcade game of Cotton: Fantastic Night Dreams was actually published by SEGA then most of the later games appeared on SEGA consoles like Panorama Cotton, Cotton 2: Magical Night Dreamcas, Magical Night Dreams: Cotton Boomerang, and Rainbow Cotton.

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Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 Demo now available on Nintendo Switch Japanese E-Shop

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SEGA has uploaded the Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 Demo on to the Nintendo Switch’s Japanese E-Shop today for everyone to try if you have an alternate account set to Japanese. The demo consist of five available Tokyo 2020 Events and two Tokyo 1964 events through Quick Match which can be played with up to 2 players.

Players can also try out Local Play to connect and play with friends who has the demo on their own Nintendo Switch consoles. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 will be released on the Nintendo Switch on November 5th for Americas and November 8th for Europe.

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