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SEGAbits Round Table: Our Favorite SEGA Games of 2014

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It has been an interesting year for SEGA games. During the first few months of 2014, Western SEGA fans had very little when it came to new games, while those in Japan enjoyed the puzzle mashup Puyo Puyo Tetris and the Yakuza spinoff Ryu ga Gotoku: Ishin!. Thankfully, those in the West had Alien: Isolation and Platinum Games’ Bayonetta 2 to look forward to, and in early February it was revealed that Sonic Boom would be releasing to the Wii U and 3DS. Another reveal came, much to the delight of the Hatsune Miku fanbase, with the announcement that Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F 2nd was set for a Western release in November. Meanwhile, fans of Relic Entertainment and The Creative Assembly’s real time strategy PC titles were treated to Total War: Rome II DLC and Company of Heroes 2 standalone expansions Ardennes Assault and The Western Front Armies.

Suffice it to say, the year has been mixed but not a disappointment. While certain blue hedgehogs failed to give us a good game, fans who step outside their comfort zone of Sonic and traditional SEGA games will find several great titles from SEGA. What are these great games? Read on to find out what our favorite SEGA games of 2014 were in our annual year end round table!

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Christine Cavanaugh, voice actress of Bunnie Rabbot in ABC’s Sonic the Hedgehog, has passed away

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Sad news as 2014 winds to a close, we have learned that voice actress Christine Cavanaugh had passed away on December 22nd. Her obituary, which was posted by the LA Times today, does not give any cause of death but the focus really should be on celebrating Christine’s life and her incredible work.

If you don’t know Christine Cavanaugh’s name, you’d undoubtably recognize her voice as she not only performed Bunnie Rabbot in ABC’s Sonic the Hedgehog, but she is also well known as the original voice of Dexter from Dexter’s Laboratory, Chuckie from Rugrats, Marty Sherman from The Critic, and Oblina in Ahhhhh Real Monsters. Film and TV audiences will best recognize her as the voice of Babe in 1995’s Babe as well as playing a major supporting role in the classic The X-Files episode “Small Potatoes”. You can see Christine’s many roles at her IMBD listing.

Our thoughts are with Christine’s family, she will be missed.

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“Sonic Runners” officially announced, smartphone game due in 2015

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Takashi Iizuka has officially announced Sonic Runners, the rumoured game we previously reported on, during a Sonic event as Tokyo Joypolis.

The game is set to come to smartphones, with 2015 being mentioned as a release window, and is being developed by Sonic Team once again. That being said, very little is currently known about the game; more details are apparently set to be released in January. Whether Sonic Team have anything else in the works for next year is currently a mystery, but to be perfectly honest, I would like to think they’ve spent the past year or so since Lost World’s release doing more than a smartphone game, and one that it’s currently tentative in just about every way. It can at least be assumed “smartphones” refers to both Android and iOS versions of the game being on the way.

Once more details come out we’ll report on them, so stay tuned for Sonic Runners news!

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This is Saturn gets festive with Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams for SEGA Saturn

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Jingle Bells, Sonic smells, Saturn all the way! Oh what fun it is to ride in Opa Opa today…

Terrible rhyming aside, it was recently Christmas, and this calls for This is Saturn to get festive with the much-loved NiGHTS demo, Christmas NiGHTS! But are those who love it just looking through frosty, but rosy-tinted nostalgia lenses? Or is this demo really more than meets the eye? Find out, on this special Festivus episode of This is Saturn!

This is Saturn is a video series created by British teenager Liam ‘TrackerTD’ Ashcroft, aiming to give an alternative and in-depth look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of SEGA Saturn gaming, all whilst maintaining a somewhat strong accent.

Like this video? Subscribe to the SEGAbits YouTube channel.

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SEGAbits & Sonic Retro present Boom Talkalaka #2: The Boom, the Bad and the Ugly

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SEGAbits and Sonic Retro team up to bring you a podcast focused on SEGA’s new Sonic Boom franchise! Hosted by Barry the Nomad of SEGAbits.com and David the Lurker of SonicRetro.org, Boom Talkalaka features discussion of the many aspects of Sonic Boom – from comics and episodes of the cartoon, to the video games and toys.

In the second episode, Barry and David review the latest episodes of the TV show through to “Eggheads”, 2014’s final episode, discuss the direction the comic book is taking, and Barry shares his thoughts on the 3DS and Wii U games.

Give the show a listen and in the comments tell us what you think! If you have any questions or comments you want David to read on the next episode, leave your message here with the subject line “Boom-Grams”: http://segabits.com/contact/

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“Hi☆sCool! Seha Girls” Episode 12 AND Episode 13 are here as the series concludes, Impressions

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Hi☆sCool! Seha Girls episodes 12 and 13 are now up on Crunchyroll, as the series reaches it’s end!

The girls aren’t far off graduating, with Medal counts into the 80s… except for Saturn, who’s only got 78. Before the next lesson can begin however, Center-Sensei is hacked into once again; and this time, things get really messy, with him turning into Black Asobin, an evil sod who promptly takes all of the credit medals the girls have accumulated; Saturn keeps one for some reason, a rare moment of good luck for her. The only way they can reclaim their medals is to enter Black Asobin World, a theme park of doom and stuff… this is beginning to sound like the Dreamcast’s Illbleed. Thankfully, the biggest threats here are SEGA games, not demon Sonic the Hedgehogs.

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Yakuza Zero branded limited edition Playstation 4 consoles come in four variants

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Goro Majima Black & White Edition
Goro Majima Black & White Edition

This isn’t the first Yakuza branded Sony console to hit the scene and it won’t be the last. This one will be avalible in two versions: the Kazuma Kiryu edition and the Goro Majima edition. The console will feature a laser etched design on the case, featuring tattoos of both of the game’s protagonist.

Not only that, each version comes in either white or black, which is a nice option. The console will set you back 41,980 yen (about $348 USD) plus tax. Sadly the game isn’t included, but there is a bundle with the game for 6,480 yen (about $54 USD) more.

So, which one do you guys like the best?

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Etrian Mystery Dungeon and Devil Survivor 2 get box art and pre-order details

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Atlus has released the box art for Etrian Mystery Dungeon  and Devil Survivor 2: Record Breaker, which just happen what you’d expect. Its the Japanese cover with the the American logo. But you have to admit, that is a those are some nice looking logos.

The first printing of the games will come with a soundtrack CD, so if you don’t want to miss out on getting a hard copy of the OSTs, you should probably get a pre-orders in. The games are set to be release sometime in Spring.

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SEGA fan shares his 1993 Christmas home movie featuring Sonic CD

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You guys might remember the SEGA Channel from a post we did where he gathered his home movies and did a touching tribute video to his dad. Now he is back, this time sharing a 1993 Christmas video. I got to admit, I love this sort of stuff and honestly a bit jealous, mostly because my parents weren’t so hip about the ‘vidya gaming’ growing up.

So the question for you all are, do you remember what you got for Christmas of 1993?

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Classic SEGA Magazine Corner: Fall 1988’s Team SEGA Newsletter previews Phantasy Star

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Today marks a big day for fans of Phantasy Star, as it’s the 27th anniversary of the original game and the franchise as well. On December 20th, 1987, SEGA’s now iconic RPG released to the Sega Mark III. Following the original’s release, three numeric sequels released to the SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis and further installments released to numerous other platforms. The series has come a long way since 1987, and it’s amazing that it continues to this day with the releases of Phantasy Star Online 2 and Phantasy Star Nova. But rather than focusing on the newest installments, and grumbling about how we still can’t play them in the West, let’s take a trip back to the Fall of 1988 when SEGA’s The Team SEGA Newsletter previewed Phantasy Star for the Master System.

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Price for upcoming unreleased SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis game ‘It Came from the Desert’ revealed

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Back in July we shared the news that the unreleased SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis game It Came from the Desert was finally seeing release by way of the efforts of Watermelon Games and the original developers Cinemaware. The game, originally slated for a 1990 release, was deemed by publisher EA to be too difficult and was troubled by a game crashing bug. Watermelon Games promises that both issues will be fixed.

Until now we did not know the price of the game, and as our headline suggests, well now we do! For $55, shipping not included, fans of long lost 16-bit titles will receive the limited edition release which will contain a case and slipcover, manual, poster, and of course the cartridge. Cinemaware promises that this price is final and will not change, and that more news is to come after the holidays including the start of pre-orders in January 2015.

Learn more about Cinemaware and their work at their official site.

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SEGAbits Plays Episode #5: SEGA Dreamcast Holiday Classics

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SEGAbits Plays gets into the festive mood as Barry and George play Dr. Seuss’s The Grinch and the Official Dreamcast Magazine demo disc Volume 10 for the SEGA Dreamcast. Join us as we destroy Whoville, fly about as a little toy Santa in Toy Commander‘s Christmas missions, and explore various demo disc oddities. Wait, was that an anti-smoking advert?

Like this video? Subscribe to the SEGAbits YouTube channel.

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“Hi☆sCool! Seha Girls” anime Episode 11 is out, Impressions

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Hi☆sCool! Seha Girls episode 11 is now up on Crunchyroll, and it’s time for a crossover once again!

In this episode, the girls enter the world of the Shining series, something I will right off the bat say I have next to no clue about. In slightly more familiar territory, the girls are also told by Center-Sensei (who I’m going to stop referring to as Asobin as that’s just the disguise he seems to be using) that they’ll get 15 medals if they beat the boss of the area wearing a special Phantasy Star Online 2 costume. As such, the girls enter into Shining Force Cross Exlesia to go slay some stuff.

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After Burner Climax likely to be delisted from PSN and XBLA on December 24th

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After Burner Climax Header

If you want to own one of the greatest SEGA arcade games from the 2000s, better buy it now as we are hearing reports that After Burner Climax will be delisted from PSN and XBLA (and potentially iOS) on December 24th. This information comes from XBLA news tweeter lifelower, and the information is believable given OutRun Online Arcade was also delisted not too long ago due to an expiring contract with Ferrari. Retro Collect speculates that After Burner Climax is being pulled for the same reason as OutRun Online Arcade – it is likely SEGA’s contract with Boeing and Northrop Gruman, plane whose jet models are used in the game, expires at the end of the year.

We’ll find out for ourselves if this delisting is a sure thing, and in the meantime if you don’t own the game yourself it really is well worth owning. Pending delisting or not! You can find the game on Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network for $9.99 and on the App Store and Google Play Store for just 99¢.

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Sonic Boom and Mega Man X join the upcoming “Worlds Unite” Archie Comics crossover

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IGN have revealed that the forthcoming crossover event “Worlds Unite” will feature characters from the Sonic Boom and Mega Man X universes, as well as the normal Sonic and Classic Mega Man universes!

The mini-series will be written by Ian Flynn, with covers by Patrick “Spaz” Spaziante; no interior artist has been announced as of yet. From the looks of things, the mini-series will indeed see all four universes meet; that platform Sticks is standing on in the promo is the Item-1 of the Classic Mega Man series.

Archie Action editor Paul Kaminski said the following:

“The Sonic Boom comic series is part of the latest multi-media initiative from Sega, which includes video games, toys, and an all-new TV series on cartoon Network! Mega Man X has been a staple of video game culture for decades, and we were thrilled to begin exploring that futuristic universe in 2014’s Dawn of X storyline in the Mega Man comics! How will the slapstick antics of the ever-paranoid Sticks the Badger measure up against the futuristic action of X and the Maverick Hunters? Pick up Worlds Unite, starting this spring from Archie Action, to find out! And this is only the tip of the iceberg…”

Worlds Unite is set to kick off in Spring 2015, and you can be sure I’ll be grabbing it as soon as possible; thank goodness for import shops!

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