Toejam and Earl: Back in the Groove gets new trailer, publisher, and screenshots.

It’s been pretty smooth sailing for classic pseudo-SEGA game revival Toejam and Earl: Back in the Groove, since its Kickstarter announcement all the way up to its “soon” release. And for those excited for the game, the good news keeps piling up! Just today, a new trailer was revealed by Adult Swim, announcing the game’s release window and its publisher, Adult Swim Games, known for quirky titles like Jazzpunk and Robot Unicorn Attack. While Adult Swim doesn’t exactly come to mind when I think of TJ and E, the match-up does at least make some sense if you think about it.

In addition, the crew have released several batches of screenshots on their Facebook, and a Steam page has gone up with even more shots. Unfortunately, those looking to get in on the funky rogue-like action will have to wait until 2017 to get their hands on the game for both PC and consoles. Hopefully the wait won’t be too long, and you can at least keep yourself busy with the screenshots below the jump.

Watch Puyo Puyo Chronicle’s First Gameplay Footage

SEGA has streamed about 7 minutes of Puyo Puyo Chronicle gameplay showing off its action puzzle RPG elements that has gotten me so excited to play it. The stream was part of their ‘Sega-Nama’ live streaming show hosted by Toshihiro Nagoshi. If you missed it we posted about Puyo Puyo Chronicle‘s the announcement, first trailer and even had a whole SEGA News Bits episode talking about the game.

Puyo Puyo Chronicle will be heading exclusively to the Nintendo 3DS and will release in Japan on December 8, 2016 for 5,490 yen ($54.77 USD) which is actually a bit less than a full price Nintendo 3DS game in Japan. No Western release has been announced thus far, but you never know. We did get 7th Dragon III Code VFD. 

[Source: Gematsu]

Superdimension Neptunia VS Sega Hard Girls gets western release dates

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Before we have written that Superdimension Neptunia VS Sega Hard Girls was going to get a fall 2016 release date for the PSVita. However, the people at Idea Factory International, the company publishing the game, have announced a release date for the game, along with a overview and English screenshots. Superdimension Neptunia VS Sega Hard Girls is set for a North America release on October 18th, and a Europe release on October 21st. The game will be distributed both physically and digitally, and it will have PlayStation TV compatibility.

[Source: Idea Factory Website]

For the overview and screenshots of the game from Idea Factory, click the Read More tag.

Pre-registration opens for SEGA’s mobile game War Pirates – created by Jet Set Radio director Masayoshi Kikuchi

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Way back in December 2015 we reported that SEGA had quietly launched War Pirates on Android. Known in Japan as Sen No Kaizoku, War Pirates is a turn based naval combat game mixed with city building starring pirates, and was created by Masayoshi Kikuchi – best known for his work on the Jet Set Radio and Yakuza franchises. The free-to-play game has been testing for a while now, but it seems thing are finally ramping up to a full release as a pre-registration page has opened, allowing future players to sign up to obtain a special character. War Pirates is set to release soon to the App Store and Google Play store.

While we know mobile gaming is the red headed step child when it comes to SEGA gaming platforms, we do hope once it releases people give it a fair chance. I mean, a pirate game from the director of Jet Set Radio sounds pretty cool, right?

Opening & Eating 15 Year Old Cans of Sonic the Hedgehog Pasta

Courtesy of Justin Todd – whose Sonic collecting can be followed on instagram under the username @treasurehuntingsonic – we have a video unboxing (uncanning?) of Franco-American Sonic the Hedgehog Pasta with Meatballs in Tomato Sauce! These two cans date from around 2000/2001 and are the second and third, and so far final, iterations of the Franco-American Sonic canned pasta. The first version of the can was featured on the latest episode of our own Fastest Food Alive Sonic the Hedgehog promotional foods video series.

What does Justin find when he opens these 15 year old expired cans of pasta? Learn for yourself by watching the video! Follow Justin on Instagram for more Sonic goodness and join the Sonic the Hedgehog Collections group on Facebook, where this video debuted.

If you enjoy our videos, make sure to subscribe to us on YouTube where we post a grab bag of SEGA and Sonic content. Thanks for watching.

Sonic LEGO Dimensions Pack to feature Tails, Knuckles, Amy, & Dr. Eggman NPCs

CqNg3SvVMAA_oDjAccording to @BlueParax on twitter Sonic LEGO Dimensions Pack will not only feature everyone’s favorite blue blur but also have NPCs for Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and Dr. Eggman. The news came straight from Gamescom where they are showing off the Sonic LEGO Dimensions pack, as well as other crossover packs LEGO Dimensions has coming.

If it sounds too good to be true, this is what @BlueParax said he was told by WB Games’ people:

“more Classic characters like Tails Amy Knuckles and Eggman will appear ingame. BUT NOT PLAYABLE.”

When the LEGO Dimensions twitter account was recently asked about seeing or playing other Sonic characters they replied with: “Our lips are sealed…for now ;)”  This makes me believe that this is true, which isn’t surprising considering how lame a Sonic LEGO Dimensions Pack would be without some of Sonic the Hedgehog‘s friends. Sonic LEGO Dimension Pack is set for release on November 18, 2016 according to Amazon.

[Via: TSSZNews]

SEGA News Bits: Puyo Puyo Chronicle Announced for 3DS Reaction

On this episode of SEGA News Bits, we react to Puyo Puyo Chronicle being announced for the franchise’s 25th Anniversary. We talk about the franchise’s weird localization issues, Puyo Puyo titles to have made it west and why Puyo Puyo Chronicle should come out outside of Japan. If you missed the famitsu scans showing off Puyo Puyo Chronicle’s in-games graphics I suggest you give them a look see right here.

If you enjoy our SEGA News Bits segments, make sure to subscribe to us on YouTube where we post multiple episodes per week. Thanks for watching.

Puyo Puyo Chronicle Debut Trailer Hits The Net

SEGA has officially released the first details, trailer and screenshots for Puyo Puyo Chronicle, a action puzzle RPG for the Nintendo 3DS. The trailer above is being dubbed the ‘game introduction trailer’ that shows off the game’s new 3D character models debuting exclusively on Puyo Puyo Chronicle.

Puyo Puyo Chronicle will set you off in a world of mysteries as you play as Allie and have Carbuncle as your companion. Expect a lot of quests, towns and dungeon explorations throughout the full game. Oh yeah, also puzzles.

To check out SEGA’s description of Puyo Puyo Chronicles and see more screenshots, hit the jump.

Rez Infinite physical game copy, vinyl and art book revealed

RezUnlimitediAm8BitIt was recently announced that iam8bit will be publishing a physical copy of REZ Infinite on the PlayStation 4. This will be their first physically published game by the company. They are also releasing a REZ Infinite vinyl soundtrack that comes with a 7″bonus vinyl and a retrospective book. They have more goodies on their REZ Infinite Collection store page like t-shirts, form pins and such.

These are what you can get now:

As shown above one of the shirts is designed by Phil Fish, the infamous developer behind the indie hit game Fez. Pre-orders open tomorrow at 9AM PDT. This is a very tempting collection to have, especially for big REZ fans from the Dreamcast days. What are your thoughts about the collection?

SEGA News Bits: Virtua Fighter Trademark Renewed & What That Means

Welcome to another episode of the SEGA News Bits, this time we will be discussing SEGA renewing their Virtua Fighter trademark and what that actually means. We discuss the often fan requested Virtua Fighter 6, we talk about life of the franchise after the release of Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown and if there is even a market for a brand new VF game. So sit back, turn up the volume and lets have a virtua discussion about Virtua Fighter.

Like always if you like our SEGA News Bits segments and want to throw us some love, make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Monster Boy’s GamesCom Demo Looks Fantastic

Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom, which is a spiritual successor to the Wonder Boy games and is being released by Atelier Games and FDG Entertainment. The game had a pretty nice demo at Gamescom, sadly we didn’t make it but this video will show you all the Monster Boy goodness we missed out on playing. I’ll be honest, there is something about the game’s art style that just doesn’t sit 100% right with me and I can’t put my finger on it. Not saying the game looks terrible, just preferences in art style. Maybe its something i’ll grow to like once I start playing it myself.

Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom is set for release later this year on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. Want to know more about the game? Check out our podcast with Monster Boy director Fabien Demeulenaere. What you think about this game? Let us know in the comments below.

[Via: Siliconera]

SEGA News Bits: Sonic the Hedgehog Creator Wants A True Mario Crossover

Welcome to a new crossover special episode of the SEGA News Bits, today George and Barry talk about Sonic the Hedgehog Creator Yuji Naka’s recent interview where he said he wanted a Mario & Sonic crossover action game. I know what you are thinking, that there are already Mario & Sonic the Hedgehog crossover games in the form of Olympic titles, but that isn’t really what fans and Yuji Naka envisioned for a Mario & Sonic the Hedgehog crossover game. Tune in and let us know what your ideal Mario & Sonic crossover game would be.

If you like our SEGA News Bits video content, make sure to subscribe to us on YouTube so you never miss an episode.

Hatsune Miku: VR Future Live coming West on October 14

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I don’t wanna say that I called it, but I called it! I wrote an article about how SEGA was submitting ratings in countries outside of Japan for Hatsune Miku: VR Future Live, saying I wouldn’t be surprised if its a PlayStation VR launch title in the West. Guess what? Hatsune Miku: VR Future Live is a launch title for the PlayStation VR.

Hatsune Miku: VR Future Live has been confirmed for both America and Europe which is coming via the PlayStation Store (digital only it seems). If you are lucky enough to be attending Gamescom this week, SEGA has a playable demo at the PlayStation Booth so you can enjoy Hatsune Miku in her VR glory.

This is the future boys, no more need for girlfriends.

[Via: Nichegamer]

Famitsu reveals first look at Puyo Puyo Chronicles

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As reported earlier, the new 3DS game Puyo Puyo Chronicles by SEGA has been announced for a December 6th release date in Japan. Blending in the many multiplayer options similar to the past Puyo Puyo 15th Anniversary and Puyo Puyo 20th Anniversary titles, but also including a new RPG-like mode where you engage in battles and assist with sidequests in a similar vein to the “Quest Mode” in Puyo Puyo Box.

Famitsu has provide a first look into the game. Notably it introduces a new artstyle where everyone adapts 3D character models instead of the 2D artwork the series traditionally uses. It also reveals the first images of the new character named Arie/Allie, while confirming the characters Amitie, Ringo, Satan, and Sig will return. In addition, it goes into detail about how battles work, where you form a party of three and engage in battle by clearing Puyo to inflict damage, how sidequests are handled between NPCs, and a first look at the exclusive 3DS theme and boxart.

No release date for outside of Japan is announced, and may not be released due to the series traditionally being Japan-only, but there may be a surprise like how 7th Dragon III: Code VFD was released outside of Japan despite the doubts.

Click below to see all scans and screenshots of Puyo Puyo Chronicles by Famitsu.

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.