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SEGA Talk Podcast #29: Puyo Puyo/Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine (1991/1993)

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On this SEGA Talk, we discuss two games: 1991’s Puyo Puyo and 1993’s Westernized version Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine! Learn about the developer Compile, the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog episode that inspired the game’s bosses and hear Barry rant about Eggman versus Robotnik.

Try the games for yourself! They’re both on the recently released SEGA Genesis Mini (switch to Japanese in the language settings for Puyo Puyo).

Support us on Patreon! Get early access, tell us what games to cover, and have your SEGA memories read 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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Fan recreates Burning Rangers with Unity

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YouTube user, Andreas Scholl, demostrated a tribute demo of Burning Rangers, one of Sonic Team’s earlier titles for the Sega Saturn, through the use of the Unity Engine featuring a recreation of the first level and Tillis as a playable character.

He also adjusted the vertex coloring of the shader and the general light settings to resemble closer to the Sega Saturn visuals which is very impressive.

What are your thoughts on this demostration demo and would you like to see Burning Rangers remade for modern consoles the same as Panzer Dragoon and The House of the Dead? Leave us your thoughts in the comments below.

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Virtua Fighter Mii Fighter costumes return to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

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The new Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Nintendo Direct was streamed, showing off the brand new DLC character Terry Bogard from Fatal Fury/King of Fighters, part of the announcement included the ‘Mii Fighter Costumes #4’ DLC; which included new King of Fighter themed outfits but also the return of the Akira and Jacky outfits from Super Smash Bros Wii U & 3DS.

Each of these costumes will cost you $0.75 USD each and can be purchased today.

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Persona 5 Royal debuts in first place in Japan, beats out Luigi’s Mansion 3 and Mario & Sonic at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games

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It looks like its a big month for SEGA and Atlus in Japan since they released both Persona 5 Royal and Mario & Sonic at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games come out the same week. Surprisingly enough, Persona 5 Royal (201,448 units sold) did so well that it beat Nintendo’s Luigi’s Mansion 3 (150,649 units) by over 50k units.

I think its surprising because Persona 5 Royal is a ‘complete’ version of Persona 5 which launched with 264,793 units on PS4 (72,974 units on PS3). Sure, Persona 5 Royal sold less than the original but its still selling better than the last ‘highest selling Persona game’ before Persona 5, Persona 4 Golden which launched with 137,076 units. This shows you that re-releasing acclaimed games with more content isn’t a bad strategy and it seems Atlus fans come out and purchase these new versions.

Nintendo fans might think its disappointing to see Luigi’s Mansion 3 on Nintendo Switch not make it at number one, but this entry is the highest selling entry in Japan with 150,649 units compared to Luigi’s Manson: Dark Moon which launched with 110,840 units in 2013.

But what about Mario & Sonic at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games?

Continue Reading ➜

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New Info on Shin Sakura Taisen covers main enemies, union attacks, and more!

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New information on Shin Sakura Taisen has been released in the upcoming Famitsu article which covers the introduction of the exorcism who are the enemies of the new Flower Division, the highlights of Wind Division members’ battle clothes and “union attacks”. One of the main antagonist is named Oboro, a demon who appears in the Imperial Capital with Yasha and has joy in scaring people and those dying in despair. He specializes in using illusions on his enemies in battle and controls a puppet army of demons covered in armor.

The article also showcased Kaoru Rindo and Komachi Ohba in their battle uniforms and supporting the commander in the Strategy Command Room and in the Shogei Maru. At last, the returning from the classic Sakura Taisen games is the bond gauge and union attacks. In the battle sections, performance will be strengthened according to the depth of bonds with the members of the Flower Division.

Bonds change their initial state depending on choices made in the adventure section, and can deepen by actions during the battle. A “union attack” that can be triggered only once per battle if certain conditions are met and will show a cutscene of Kamiyama with one of the heroines. After the cutscene ends, the status of Kamiyama and the corresponding heroine will be greatly enhanced for a certain period of time.

Shin Sakura Taisen aka Project Sakura Wars will be released on December 12, 2019 in Japan and Spring 2020 for Americas and Europe for Playstation 4.

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Shin Sakura Taisen demo coming to the Japanese PSN Store on November 21

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During the Playstation Sappro live stream in Japan today, Shin Sakura Taisen producer, Toru Katano, made an announcement that the game will have a playable demo available in the Japanese Playstation Store on November 21, 2019. The demo will feature both the adventure and battle sections to try out. If you want to give Shin Sakura Taisen a try, setting up a Japanese Playstation account will be no problem to set up as there are many tutorials on the internet to make one.

Shin Sakura Taisen aka Project Sakura Wars will be released on December 12, 2019 in Japan and Spring 2020 for Americas and Europe for Playstation 4.

[Source: Games Talk]

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Yakuza: Like a Dragon demo announced and Female-only “Office Worker” job

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In a recent interview on Famitsu with Yakuza: Like A Dragon producer, Masayoshi Yokoyama, SEGA plans to release a demo for the game with no release date to announce at this time and the live command battle system will be an upgrade from the version shown at Tokyo Game Show 2019, offering battle action nearly identical to what the final product will feature when it launches.

He also gave out more information about the female only “Office Worker” job for the character voiced by Eri Kamataki, who won the audition to play the role of the game’s female co-star, who will fight with office supplies such as cutters and thumb tacks.

Yakuza: Like A Dragon is set for release in Japan on January 16, 2020 in Japan, and in 2020 in the Americas and Europe for the Playstation 4.

Source: [Gematsu & Games Talk]

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Sonic Mania developer Headcannon launches Kickstarter for new game called Vertebreaker

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If you’ve been enjoying Sonic Mania and wanted to know what the teams behind the game have been up to, we got our answer for Headcannon games. It seems that Headcannon has been working on Vertebreaker and has now launched a Kickstarter. According to the project’s description:

“Rest in Peace?!” You wish! “Vertebreaker” is a brand-new and authentic pixel-based side-scroller from Headcannon, the studio that helped bring “Sonic Mania” to the masses. Starring a stubby-yet-seemingly-unstoppable skeleton who’s thrashing their way to victory, it’s gothic, cartoonish, and unabashedly retro!

Take control of our bony hero in a crusade to crush the undead and look cool while doing it! In “Vertebreaker”, traversal is key as you slash, bash, and grapple your way through the most wicked 2D adventure yet! “What is ‘traversal'”? It’s slinging, swinging, and launching from floors, walls, and ceilings to propel yourself forward or even upward with serious speed!

Save the day with our pearly-boned mascot, their mysterious golden half-skull, and their sick grappling hook made from the spine of a demon! “What demon”? It doesn’t matter … does it … ?

Vertebreaker is only seeking 275,000 dollars to make the project, with tiers allowing backers to transform the final game. Some of the high tiers, like the one for $500 dollars even allows you to design enemies. But if you just want a regular digital copy, its at the $15 dollar tier which includes your name in the credits. You can also try the Vertebreaker demo right now on PC and see if the game is for you. So far the game is only announced for PC and is suppose to come out Q3 2021, if the project games founded. One of the extended tiers includes a Nintendo Switch port at $330,000. Pretty smart to launch this Kickstarter on Halloween.

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Alien: Isolation Nintendo Switch port gets gameplay and content reveal trailer

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If you guys remember this last E3,that there was a Alien: Isolation Nintendo Switch port announced. While the original game was published by SEGA and developed in-house by The Creative Assembly studio; it seems this Switch port will be handled by Feral Interactive but the publisher isn’t be listed anywhere I checked and seeing that all updates are going through Feral Interactive, I doubt SEGA has a hand in publishing this title.

As for this version of Alien: Isolation,this version will include all 7 DLCs from the original release including the highly acclaimed ‘Last Survivors‘ DLC which includes the original movie cast.

Isn’t it strange that this is a in-house created SEGA game but they aren’t (probably) publishing it?

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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.

Continue Reading ➜

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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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