Archie Comics Sonic the Hedgehog May 2015 Solicitations – Worlds Unite begins!

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Archie Comics have sent out the latest comic solicitations, highlighting what SEGA and Sonic fans can expect from the publisher in May! With the epic Sonic and Mega Man crossover incoming, Capcom’s Mega Man books will be a must read for those who want to follow the event, meaning throughout the crossover we’ll be highlighting the Mega Man titles that fall under the Worlds Unite umbrella. After the break, check out the covers, synopsis, and story details direct from our friends at Archie.

More SEGA and Capcom franchises are being added to the “Worlds Unite” crossover

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I spy with my little eye…

First announced today in IGN, the upcoming Worlds Collide comic book crossover of Sonic and Mega Man will not only include characters from the Sonic Boom and Mega Man X universe, but also characters from across different SEGA and Capcom franchises. According to IGN, more characters will be revealed later this week. For now, we have the teaser image to mull over. Tell us who you see in the silhouettes in the comments section.

SEGA and Sony team up to release a 10th anniversary Yakuza branded Walkman player

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SEGA and Sony have teamed up for the Yakuza franchise’s 10th anniversary to release a Walkman player sporting Yakuza branding. The Japanese exclusive Walkman, which unfortunately is not a throwback CD or cassette player, is planned to release on March 12th to coincide with the release of Yakuza 0 and will retail for 29,980 Yen (around $250 USD). As an added incentive for fans, the player is to come pre-loaded with twelve songs from the series including the new Yakuza 0 intro and outro tunes.

First of Persona 4: Dancing All Night’s Character Trailers Focuses on Rise Kujikawa

When it comes to new Persona games Atlus likes to release trailers that focus on the various characters in the game, and it looks like they’re continuing this trend with Persona 4: Dancing All Night. While these trailers are being released in Japanese, thankfully Youtube user bobrossfreak was quick to translate the video. The original trailer without the subtitles can be seen here.

The first of these trailers focuses on Rise Kujikawa, with clips from the story, new gameplay and various (seemingly unlockable) outfits being shown. If Atlus is releasing these trailers in the same manner as those for Persona Q and Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, we’ll likely see another one next week.

SEGA Japan shows off new Game Gear, Master System 3DS themes

 

 

 

If last month’s 3DS themes weren’t enough to make you envy Japanese gamers, this week’s ought to do it. 3DS has received two more SEGA console themes, this time centering on the Game Gear and the Master System.  

The themes are loaded with fan service, of course. The Game Gear theme is sporting the Green Hills Zone theme from its version of Sonic 2 and folders made out of 3D Game Gear cartridges, while the Master System theme features an 8-bit rendition of the Space Harrier song and 3D gold cartridge folders (which were a line of Master System cartridges in Japan).

Though I couldn’t find a price, the themes are likely going for 200 yen/$1.50 like last month’s themes. Having a Game Gear theme on my Nintendo handheld would be oh-so perfect, so hopefully we’ll eventually see their release stateside. Fingers crossed!

Check out the Master System theme below.

The SEGA Five: Favorite Moments in Skies of Arcadia

Hey everyone welcome to another episode of The Weekly Five, I’m your host George and today we will be talking about my favorite moment of Skies of Arcadia. The game originally came out in 2000 on the SEGA Dreamcast.

The game later got 2002 re-release in Japan and 2003 in the West on the Gamecube, which included better graphics, less random battles, extra content, and more. Regardless of what version of the game play, both are fantastic experiences. Some disliked the game due to its constant random battles but I think it more than makes it up with its charming characters, light hearted humor and sense of exploration.

Great games have great moments and Skies of Arcadia is full of them, so if I don’t mention a moment you loved, share it with us in the comment section. Let’s get this list started.

Warning: Spoilers ahead. 

NYGX hosting Virtua Fighter tournaments this upcoming August

Even though Virtua Fighter franchise has lost its popularity in the West through recent years, doesn’t mean places like New York Cities’ NextLevel will allow it to go unnoticed. From August 14th through the 16th NYGX will be hosting a array of Virtua Fighter tournaments.

What games are on the bill? So far:

  • Virtua Fighter 3
  • Virtua Fighter 4: Final Tune
  • Virtua Fighter 5R
  • Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown

How many of you guys play Virtua Fighter competitively and want to go to this? Should be a interesting event, definitely excited to see some new Virtua Fighter 4 matches.

Tetsuya Mizuguchi’s new puzzle game revealed

Tetsuya Mizuguchi has a long history of making games at SEGA, he was one of the people behind hits like SEGA Rally, Space Channel 5 and Rez. He would leave SEGA to pave his own path with hot IPs like Lumines, Meteos and Child of Eden. After Child of Eden, Mizuguchi took a break from the video game industry. Now he is back with his new mysterious puzzle game called 18.

The game is suppose to blend a mixture of puzzle mechanics and battle RPG elements. The title will be coming exclusively to mobiles (as of right now). The game will be released worldwide by Mobcast.

Above is the trailer and below are the screenshots. If this game is giving you a Catherine vibe, your not the only one. It definitely looks artistically inspired by Atlus’ hit game.

Rodea: The Sky Soldier coming to America and Europe this fall

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NIS America have just announced that they are publishing Prope’s long lost title, Rodea: The Sky Soldier in North America and Europe. The developer didn’t give a specific date of release other than this upcoming fall. The game is set to be released on both the Nintendo Wii U and 3DS.

NIS America hyped up their press event that was held earlier today, stating that they where planning some of their “biggest announcements yet.” One of those games being Rodea: The Sky Soldier, which was originally planned for the Wii, but later moved over to 3DS/Wii U.

The game is being directed by ex-Sonic Team and famed Sonic the Hedgehog developer Yuji Naka, who is directing this title. Here is NIS America’s product page.

Sonic Boom to keep going on according to Cartoon Network’s 2015-2016 schedule

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Turns out that the Sonic Boom games being terrible didn’t completely ruin the series. Turner Broadcasting sent out a press release today that says the Sonic Boom TV show will be a returning series in Cartoon Network’s 2015-2016 series. Seeing how only a quarter of the show’s first season has aired though, this likely means that they’ll just keep on airing the rest of the episodes rather than a new season being produced.

Other notable non-Sonic related stuff coming up is a Powerpuff Girls reboot (seemingly in the same style as last year’s CGI special) and a direct-to-TV Regular Show movie.

Demiurge Studios officially announces its part of the SEGA Network family

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Demiurge Studios is a small scale studio that has worked with a multitude of publishers on not only mobile games, but ports of their existing IPs. If you go to their listed games page, you will see how many franchises the studio has worked on, including ports for Bioshock Infinite, Borderlands and Mass Effect.

Even though we posted it yesterday, the team has officially announced on their blog that they will join the SEGA Network family.

This opportunity to partner with SEGA Networks has come about in no small part from the success of Marvel Puzzle Quest.

According to them, the main reason for SEGA Networks interest in buying the team was the success they had with Marvel Puzzle Quest, which is a mobile game. This doesn’t mean that the studio won’t do ports or other console based work; but like we suspected, SEGA is interested in them for their mobile talent.

Sooner or later, we wanted to build a publishing organization. When we looked at the talent amassed and success accumulated within SEGA Networks, we couldn’t fathom doing it as well as SEGA had already done. Our new teammates are wildly successful in Japan not just financially but also creatively. Games like Chain Chronicles and Puyo Puyo Quest are a master-class in how to build great mobile, free-to-play experiences. The team we’re working with in San Francisco is an insane mix of talent: Part veteran game-makers from SEGA, part free-to-play pioneers from Three Rings and part entrepreneurial mobile start-up – all backed by this huge incredible team at SEGA Networks in Japan. It almost feels unfair to get to have this group working alongside us!

They sound like a great team and I think SEGA made a great decision adding them to their American branch of mobile studios. Did you see? They mentioned Puyo Puyo Quest, can’t wait to see what games they have in the works.

My Life with SEGA riddles us this in Batman Forever: The Arcade Game for SEGA Saturn

After the misfire that was Batman Forever on SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive, Acclaim tried to make amends with this arcade beat-’em-up developed by Iguana Entertainment of Turok: Dinosaur Hunter fame. That’s right, no platforming nonsense or Mortal Kombat theatrics. Just good old-fashioned ass whoopin’ in black rubber…. Wow! That sounds about as wrong as nipples on the bat suit, doesn’t it?

In any case, I’m here to help you solve the greatest riddle of all. The mother of all riddles: “Is Batman Forever: The Arcade Game worth playing?”

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SEGA Networks releases Sonic Runners gameplay trailer

SEGA Networks has recently released a gameplay trailer of Sonic Runners for smartphone devices. The gameplay showcases Sonic the Hedgehog and friends blasting through various levels in classic 2D format similar to the Genesis and Advance/Rush games with slight changes to their designs (retaining their original Dreamcast/Modern look but with shorter sizes) collecting rings, Red Rings, and what appears to be small colored diamonds.

The video also shows more characters to be unlocked, Sonic Record, a leveling up system, story mode and having companions during gameplay.

The graphics in this game looks pretty great and colorful. The gameplay in my opinion reminds me of a combination of the classic Sonic titles with the Rush feel to it. Sonic Runners will be running towards Japan on iOS and Android smartphone devices this Spring. What are thoughts on the gameplay? Feel free to leave comments in our comments section.

The official site has also updated with character descriptions and some screenshots, check it out!

Review: 3D Fantasy Zone: Opa-Opa Bros (Nintendo 3DS)

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I’m going to be honest, when SEGA and M2 announced that 3D Fantasy Zone: Opa-Opa Bros was going to join wave 2 of their 3D Classics, I was sold. Fantasy Zone is just one of those games that doesn’t get enough appreciation in the West and having it release digitally will mean that more people get to enjoy this underrated classic. But how is the port? Well, let’s jump right into the review…

SEGA Japan releases Saturn and Master System themes for 3DS

While in the USA we only have a free Sonic Boom theme from SEGA to apply to our handhelds, SEGA of Japan is really using the theme service and giving older SEGA console gamers the goods. Above is the video of the SEGA Saturn theme that was recently revealed. The song playing the in back is from Sonic R.

Below is the video of the SEGA Mark III (aka Master System in the West) which features the always delightful Alex Kidd (including its music). Will these themes hit the American or European eShop? I really do hope so, with these and the awesome SEGA 3D Classics; the Nintendo 3DS is becoming a nice nostalgic gaming machine.

The themes are now out in the Japanese eShop and retail for 200 yen each (a little over $1.50).