SEGA Tunes: Shining Force III’s Sanctity & The Dragon’s Graveyard

Shining Force III Scenerio 2 & 3 never made it to America, which is too bad because the games where all fantastic. This track is from the 1st Scenario of the game, called “Sanctity”, which is one of the most epic tracks that I have ever heard in a game. I love the way it starts out simplistic enough and just adds layers throughout making it a very pleasant listen. Moving from epic, to haunting and back to absolutely beautiful.

No one quite does it like Motoi Sakuraba, who has worked on music for the first two Star Ocean games, Valkyrie Profile, Golden Sun series, and many more. The soundtrack to Shining Force III is so great, that I’ll embed another song after the break. For FREE, that’s right, 100% off! How’s that for a Black Friday deal?

Atlus announces Etrian Odyssey V and Mystery Dungeon x Etrian Odyssey

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Do you like Etrian Odyssey? If so, I have good news for you! The not-so-hot selling franchise, Etrian Odyssey will not only get a new entry to the franchise but also have a new cross-over game with Mystery Dungeon.

Mystery Dugeon x Etrian Odyssey is basically going to be a Mystery Dungeon style game with Etrian Odyssey characters (some older Mystery Dugeon cameos will be included). The music will be done by legendary video game music composer Yuzo Koshiro (Streets of Rage series, Revenge of Shinobi) and the art  direction will be handled by Nizo Yamaoto (Princess Mononoke). This game is slated to be released in Japan next March.

As for Etrian Odyssey V, it was announced along with a list of people working on the game. This includes director Shigeo Komori, character designer Yuji Himukai, veteran composer Yuzo Koshiro, and monster desginer Shin Nagasawa.

To see the teaser trailers  for both Etrian Odyssey V and Mystery Dungeon x Etrian Odyssey hit the jump.

Sonic Talk #29: That’s a bounce pad!

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It’s time for another episode of that OTHER Sonic podcast on Segabits, Sonic Talk!  This week, Nuckles87, GX and Shigs discuss all things Sonic Boom. From the cartoon and comic to Shattered Crystal and go into great detail on Rise of lyric. You’ll hear our personal thoughts on the game and whether it’s a decent Sonic title or a glitchy, unfinished mess. Maybe both! Listen in and enjoy!

SEGA Saturn’s 20th Anniversary: Celebrating Decades of Arcade Perfection

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The SEGA Saturn turns 20 years old today and I thought it would be a good time to discuss the popularity of the Saturn in the land of the rising sun because if we did this article on its life in America it would be a very depressing and frankly this means I can write about Segata Sanshiro which is always fantastic.

So let’s get to it and if you like this article you might want to also check out a similar article I did on the Dreamcast for its 15th year anniversary.

LIVE: SEGAbits’ presents Sonic & SEGA Fan Jam 2014

Welcome to the Fan Jam Zone! Kori here bringing you our first fan convention and the first SEGA related fan event in the US live featuring Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric, Hatsune Miku Project Diva F 2nd, and Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax.

We’ll be streaming several events during Fan Jam such as fan films, classic SEGA franchises, tournaments, cosplay, and interviews with Tracy Yardley of Archie Comics and Matt the owner of Tails Channel. The stream will begin from 9AM to 6PM EST. Don’t miss it!

Sonic R – A Soundtrack Story

Note from the writer: This was originally a forum post I made over on the Sonic Stadium, but since that post I’ve learned even more about the surprising history of this soundtrack, and so I’ve decided to update it to celebrate Saturn month; enjoy! 

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Who loves Sonic R?

Released in late 1997, Sonic R  (ソニックR ) was first released for the SEGA Saturn, the under-appreciated 32-Bit powerhouse amongst SEGA’s console lineup. Sonic R had 10 characters to choose from, and presented 5 tracks to race across.

I gave my thoughts on it in my web series This is Saturn, which you can find here:

So, who does love Sonic R?

…not that many people to be honest. Some see it as an average racer, whereas others such as ScrewAttack see it as the absolute worst Sonic the Hedgehog game of all time.

We’re not here to discuss the game though – you probably could have guessed that from the topic title and the huge bloody banner saying “Sonic R – THE SOUNDTRACK.

“Hi☆sCool! Seha Girls” anime Episode 7 is here, Impressions; and hedgehogs!

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Guess what time it is? That’s right: Hi☆sCool! Seha Girls episode 7 is on Crunchyroll, and it brings with it everybody’s favourite blue hedgehog!

The episode picks up where last week’s left off, with Sonic arriving in the nick of time to fend off Eggman. And that he does, as he proceeds to trash Eggman’s mechs, leading to Eggy legging it. The girls, still unable to get out of Border Break, manage to hitch a ride from Sonic, who’s initially none too impressed at the girls grabbing onto his spines.

Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F 2nd Launch Trailer!

Hatsune Miku Project Diva F 2nd is finally in stores. This launch trailer shows a good overview of the game. If you haven’t seen our review you should check it out. Just look at the top of the page or scroll further down.

So, if you haven’t bought this game yet, what are you waiting for? It’s time to get Miku-Miku’d! (For Reals).

First 4 Figures SEGA All-Stars statue line expands to include Jet Set Radio’s Beat – pre-orders now open!

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Teased late last week, First 4 Figures have now put their Jet Set Radio Beat statue up for pre-order. Like their Akria Yuki statue, it appears that Beat does not have an Exclusive Edition variant. The statue measures 14 inches tall, and retails for $229.99, limited to 1,250 pieces and due to release Q2 2015. One cool feature is the addition of LEDs which give the illusion of sparks shooting out from his skates as he grinds a rail.

After the break, read the full product description!

Swingin’ Report Show #73: Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal Interview with Mat Kraemer of Sanzaru Games

This week on the Swingin’ Report Show podcast Barry and George are joined by Mat Kraemer, Lead Designer at Sanzaru Games, developer of Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal for the Nintendo 3DS. Topics covered include the development process of the handheld title, how Sanzaru interacted with various teams including the TV show crew and the team at Big Red Button, what Sonic games Sanzaru looked to for inspiration, and Mat’s favorite classic SEGA games and consoles.

There has been a lot of talk about the Sonic Boom franchise this past week, so it was great to sit down with Mat to learn more about how the 3DS game came to be. Hey! Why are you still reading this when you should be listening?

[Download] [RSS] [iTunes] [Archive]

Watch our live unboxing of Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works with creator Darren Wall – Tuesday, November 18th at 6PM EST

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SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis fans listen up – we have something very special planned for tomorrow! We will be unwrapping and paging through Read-Only Memory’s “Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works” book live with project lead Darren Wall providing page-by-page commentary.

If that wasn’t enough, we will also joined by Blake J. Harris, author of the book “Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation” who is sure to have some stories of his own to share.

The live stream will appear at SEGAbits.com tomorrow at 6PM EST, so keep your eyes open for a dedicated article with the embedded live stream video and keep up with us on Twitter and Facebook for updates.

This is Saturn goes cross-country with Gale Racer for SEGA Saturn

Surprise: It’s a This is Saturn double-month!
That’s right, to celebrate 20 years of the Saturn, we’re bringing you a second episode of This is Saturn for November!

Gale Racer, the Japan-exclusive port of SEGA AM2’s Rad Mobile to Saturn, has seen some bad rep over the years, with some going as far to call it outright “abysmal.” But is it really as bad as those folks suggest? Or has it earned that ‘glorious’ title?

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.

Review: Hatsune Miku Project Diva F 2nd (PS3 & PS Vita)

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All screens from the PlayStation Vita version.

So, Hatsune Miku Project Diva F 2nd is finally here. My first time playing a Project Diva game was last year when it came out on PS3 in western territories, and I’ve been hooked ever since. So many hours of my time logged into playing Project Diva F. Needless to say, I was looking forward to Project Diva F 2nd and it doesn’t disappoint, in fact, it goes beyond my expectations.

If you have played Hatsune Miku Project Diva F, you have an option of carrying over all the accessories, modules, and items you have unlocked over into F 2nd when creating a new game. Don’t worry if you haven’t unlocked everything, F 2nd gives you a way to unlock items from the first game if you haven’t unlocked them.