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SEGA News Bits: Shining series turns 25 years old

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25 years ago today, on March 29th 1991, Shining in the Darkness released to the Japanese Mega Drive. While the original game did not light the world on fire, the later Shining Force games would become some of the best strategy RPGs ever produced. The series is still going strong, at least in Japan, with Blade Arcus from Shining EX releasing just last year.

Whatever you may think about the recent installments, most fans agree that the Shining Force games were legendary and the original Shining in the Darkness is to thank for starting the franchise. Join us on this SEGA News Bits as we share our Shining memories and talk about the possible future of the series, and don’t forget to brush up on all the SEGA anniversaries hitting this year!

If you enjoy the SEGA News Bits video formats make sure to like, share and subscribe to our YouTube for more.

 

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GameFactory releases PC game Magical Stone, a competitive puzzle game inspired by Puyo Puyo

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Japanese developer GameFactory has released a free to play beta of a new PC game called Magical Stone, a competitive falling puzzle game like Puyo Puyo. This game was developed to pander to the “eSports” crowd by focusing on a strong multiplayer presence, with features like rankings and tournaments to encourage players to improve their skills, in addition to creating a “pro” online version of Puyo Puyo for anyone to try. Progress is already being made to reach these goals, as competitive Puyo Puyo group Samurai Frontier Gaming is supporting the game, along with an official tournament on June 25th 2016 with cash prizes that will be the first season of possibly more.

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SEGA News Bits: Fantasy Zone turns 30 years old

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2016 is filled with milestone SEGA anniversaries, and one of the most anticipated by us – for obvious reasons – was Fantasy Zone! Join us on this SEGA News Bits as we discuss our thoughts on the franchise’s past, present and future.

Released to arcades on March 28, 1986, the Fantasy Zone franchise has released a surprising amount of games in its 30 year history. Despite the many titles, the story often remains the same: the sentient spaceship Opa Opa traverses the Fantasy Zone, sometimes joined by his brother Upa Upa, battling bizarre bosses and upping his arsenal thanks to a floating Parts Shop. Outside the franchise, Opa Opa has made appearances in both All-Stars Racing games as well as Amusement Visions’ Planet Harriers, a 3D installment in the Space Harrier franchise which also takes place in Opa Opa’s Fantasy Zone.

If you enjoy the SEGA News Bits video formats make sure to like, share and subscribe to our YouTube for more.

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You can now play Flappy Bird on your Dreamcast’s VMU

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Thanks to Instagram user guacasaurus_mex, the world’s most frustrating iPhone game can now be played on your Dreamcast VMU! guacasaurus_mex is not new to the world of VMU game creation, having also created Deadpool and Star Wars: The Force Awakens VMU games, but Flappy Bird pushes things to a whole other level of absurdity. guacasaurus_mex had this to say regarding how to get the game working on your own VMU:

“If anyone is interested I just finished making a Flappy Bird clone for the VMU. Just put the file on an SD card, load with Dreamshell and once Speud’s VMU Tool has loaded navigate to ‘Open CD’ and copy FLPPYBRD.vmi to the VMU.

Like most VMU games this doesn’t work properly in the emulator so please use on an actual VMU!

Also, for anyone giving this a go, you hold A rather than tap like in the iOS and Android versions. Tap functionality didn’t work so well with only 32 vertical pixels!”

You can find the direct download link for the .VMI file here.

[Via The Dreamcast Junkyard]

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7th Dragon III Code: VFD coming to North America on July 12

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SEGA has confirmed that 7th Dragon III Code: VFD will be hitting North American store shelves on July 12th exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS. The upcoming 7th Dragon III Code: VFD will also have a day one limited edition that will come with a collector’s box and a art book, this will be a free upgrade to anyone that buys the game when it comes out (while supplies last).

Amazon Prime subscribers get 20% off of 7th Dragon III Code: VFD  pre-orders, so you can always pick it up there.

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SEGA Retrospective: The career of Tomoko Sasaki, composer of NiGHTS Into Dreams…

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There are typically three things that people associate with SEGA: Sonic the Hedgehog, consoles that never got to shine, and great music. SEGA has undoubtedly housed some of the most creative composers in the industry, making everything from sweeping, pseudo-orchestral soundscapes, to fast-paced, pumped-up techno. But the best composers don’t let their skill and talent end with their music.

Enter Tomoko Sasaki, best known to SEGA fans as the main composer of NiGHTS into Dreams…. Her sound, helped along by Naofumi Hataya and Fumie Kumatani, is what arguably sold NiGHTS‘ surreal dream worlds and energetic gameplay. It’s often considered one of the best soundtracks in SEGA history, let alone on the Saturn, but it was only Sasaki’s third composition. And even then, it wasn’t even the strangest thing she ever did.

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Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Future Tone to launch with two versions, 220 total songs

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Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Future Tone is coming to PlayStation 4, but we didn’t know before is that it will be coming in two different variants. Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Future Tone is set to hit Japanese PSN later this year and according to the latest issue of Famitsu this is what each version will come with:

  • Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Future Tone – Future Sound: will include 120 songs focused on the Hatsune Miku: Project Diva home console series.
  • Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Future Tone – Colorful Tone: will include 100 songs focused on the arcade game and 3DS Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai series.

Both will include 220 songs and 340 modules to keep your Hatsune Miku addiction going. The game has been confirmed to run at 1080p and 60fps, giving gamers the ability to customize six characters that can appear in-game music videos. This will be the first game in the series to also offer key configuration, which allows one button to trigger multiple presses. No western release has been announced for Hasune Miku: Project Diva Future Tone.

[Source: Gematsu]

 

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Contest: Tell us your favorite moment from Yakuza 5 for a chance to win an official t-shirt from SEGA

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Yakuza 5 for Playstation 3 is 25% off through April 5th, and to celebrate we’ve teamed with SEGA to give away eight Yakuza 5 t-shirts featuring the franchise’s iconic dragon emblazoned on the front and back. We’re especially excited for Yakuza 5‘s temporary sale as it means more people will play the game and in turn the fanbase will grow. The Yakuza franchise is an incredible series of games filled with rich stories, fun and interesting characters and varied gameplay.

To enter, all you have to do is share your favorite moment from Yakuza 5 (or another game in the Yakuza series) in the comments below. You must use a valid email address in the email field (nobody will see it except us, this is how we will contact you should you win) and please specify if you are in the US or Canada in the comment field, as we would like to give each region even chances. Shirt sizes are limited and the contest ends March 29th. Eight will win.

Learn more about Yakuza 5 and series creator Toshihiro Nagoshi:

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Yakuza 0 confirmed for Europe, early 2017 release date planned and new trailer released

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SEGA has good news for European Yakuza fans, as it has been confirmed that Yakuza 0 will be releasing to both the Americas and Europe. Prior, only an American release was confirmed when the localization was revealed at the Playstation Experience in December 2015. Even better, the game will be released both physically and digitally! SEGA’s plan is a simultaneous release in both territories and the release window is “early 2017”. While the game was released on both PS3 and PS4 in Japan, westerners will only be receiving the PS4 version. Given the PS4 version is obviously superior, I’m not going to complain. Better that than give us the one for older hardware. SEGA was also quick to point out that the localization is 100% SEGA, and that Sony and PlayStation have no involvement on a production level.

If early 2017 is too long a wait, SEGA has more good news. If you’ve yet to play Yakuza 5, the game is currently on sale for 25% off through April 5th. We loved the game, and we’re certain you will too. Now’s the time to pick it up, support the franchise, and play a great game. Win-win-win!

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Demiurge Studios’ Puzzle & Glory closing on April 15th

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Bad news for people playing the SEGA and Demiurge Studios mobile game Puzzle & Glory, it has been announced on April 15th, 2016 the game will be shutting down due to not achieving a large enough audience. It has been advised that anyone playing this game to spend any remaining Arelium and gold before shutting down. In-app purchases have also been disabled until closure.

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SEGA News Bits: Sonic 25th Anniversary SXSW Panel Discussion

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Come get nerdy with me and Barry as we talk about the Sonic 25th Anniversary SXSW Panel and our thoughts on the secret announcement. The panel was moderated by Aaron Webber (Sonic community manager), featured the ex-Sonic Team developer Yuji Naka, current head of Sonic Team Takashi Iizuka, current voice actors Roger Craig Smith (Sonic the Hedgehog), and Mike Pollock (Dr. Eggman). This will be one of the many Sonic 25th Anniversary events SEGA has plan for this year, so expect more coverage on the site!

If you want to see the panel yourself, we have it up here. What did you think of the Sonic 25th Anniversary panel? Tell us in the comments below.

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Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary SXSW Panel

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The Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary SXSW Panel took place on Saturday and was live streamed on Twitch.TV. Now you can watch the panel at your own leisure on YouTube. The panel had Yuji Naka (ex-head of Sonic Team), Takashi Iizuka (head of Sonic Team), Roger Craig Smith (voice of Sonic) and Mike Pollock (voice of Eggman).

Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary SXSW Panel is a little under 40 minutes long and goes through the history of the franchise. The biggest announcement was the Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary party that we posted about.

So what are your thoughts on the Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary SXSW Panel?

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Rumor: Treasure to stop making new games

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TreasureRIPLong time SEGA-collaborative developer Treasure Games might be out of the gaming biz, at least for brand new titles according to the latest Giant Bombcast (time stamp: 2:22:20 – 2:24:38). The hardcore cult studio seems to be moving towards becoming more of a license holding company, which isn’t surprising when you consider they hire under 30 employees.

The last full game developed by the company was a license game for Gaist Crusher, that came out in 2014 and was exclusive to Japan. While getting re-releases of their older games on new consoles isn’t terrible, I think we will all miss that Treasure Games magic that we grew up with.

What are your thoughts on all this? Are you surprised? Let us know in the comments.

[Via: NeoGAF]

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Welcome your new SEGAbits writers!

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Last month, we put out a call for new writers to join our team. We received several applications from SEGA fans all over the globe, and in the end we landed on three who we think are best suited for a fan site like SEGAbits. That’s not to say that those who didn’t make the cut weren’t bits-worthy, and as with any application process we have your information on file should we ever need help in the near future.

So who are the new writers?

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Game Symphony Japan SEGA Special Event to focus on anniversary titles

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Game Symphony Japan, a Japanese concert that focuses on creating orchestrated music from varies video game titles, will host a special SEGA themed event as part of it’s 17th line of concerts, which will focus on the anniversaries of Sonic the Hedghehog, Puyo Puyo, and NiGHTS into Dreams…. This is the second time a special SEGA event will be hosted on Game Symphony Japan, with the 14th line also including a SEGA event last year that focused on varies classic SEGA titles.

The concert will open on July 17th 2016 at 17:30pm (5:30pm) Japan Standard Time at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Space Theater Concert Hall, with the price of submission ¥8,500 ($76), ¥7,500 ($67), or ¥6,500 ($58) depending on seating. Tickets can be purchased from PIA Japan, ePlus, or I-tike.

[Source: Game Symphony Japan official site]

 

 

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