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Interview with Yu Suzuki: Air Twister and His Return to Arcade Rail Shooters

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It goes without saying that Yu Suzuki is one of the most influential figures in video gaming. Yu Suzuki was instrumental in the development of full body motion controls, 3D racing, 3D fighting, open-world gameplay and QTE. Even if you have never played one of his titles, which you really need to rectify right now, you have played a game that includes one of his contributions to the gaming industry.

Space Harrier, one of Mr. Suzuki’s early arcade titles, was a third-person rail shooter set in a fantasy environment. The player controlled a jet propelled cool blonde dude, shooting down everything from geometric shapes to robots to one-eyed woolly mammoths. The game was such a success that it was one of Japan’s top two highest-grossing upright arcade games in 1986. The other title was Mr. Suzuki’s Hang-On, released a year prior. Now, in 2022, Yu Suzuki is returning to the world of third-person rail shooters with the Apple Arcade exclusive game Air Twister which is set to release on June 24, 2022.

Mr. Suzuki was kind enough to grant us an interview to talk about the upcoming title, and as luck would have it we are releasing this on his birthday! So before we kick things off, we would like to wish Mr. Suzuki a happy birthday and thank him again for taking the time to answer our questions.

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SEGA News Bits Live: Mega Drive Mini 2 Revealed + Sonic Frontiers Combat

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With so much SEGA news dropping this week, it only makes sense to have another SEGA News Bits Live! This time let’s talk about the newly released Mega Drive Mini 2 and discuss the Sonic Frontiers combat footage released by IGN.

If you want to support this type of content, you can check out our Patreon!

If you enjoy our SEGA News Bits segments and want to support us: Give us a sub and give this video a thumbs up so it shows up on more like-minded fans YouTube recommendations. You know, how that YouTube algorithm is.

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IGN previews Sonic Frontiers combat gameplay with exclusive footage

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IGN continues their Sonic Frontiers coverage with another exclusive video detailing combat in the game. This six minute preview gives players a better idea of how Sonic will control when encountering enemies in the game. Unlike previous 3D Sonic games, SEGA has promised an expanded combat system. Check out the video and let us know your thoughts!

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Famitsu shows off Sonic Origins in live stream, including new features and animated cutscenes

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This morning, Famitsu showed off nearly an hour of Sonic Origins in-game footage, including the overworld map, anniversary and classic mode footage, 2 player races and the museum. There is so much to see that I will leave it to you, the reader, to click play and skim through yourself. Some highlights for me was the opening animated cutscene for Sonic 1, the confirmation of Sonic Mania Adventures animations all being included, the surprisingly expanded 2 player mode with new maps, the mission and boss battle modes and the aforementioned overworld map of all the classic era islands.

Check the video out for yourself!

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SEGA introduces Mega Drive Mini 2, featuring Mega CD games – releasing October 27 in Japan

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In a stream which was previously teased to reveal a mysterious new project, SEGA unveiled the Mega Drive Mini 2! Like the Mega Drive Mini and Astro City Mini, the Mega Drive Mini 2 is a plug and play console and will include even more Mega Drive games as well as Mega CD titles. The console is a joint project produced by SEGA and M2. According to @gosokkyu on Twitter, the Mega Drive Mini 2 will include over 50 games, including games for the aforementioned Mega CD, as well as sequels, arcade ports, unreleased titles and a mystery new game. It has also been confirmed that players can select between the sound of the Mega Drive or Mega Drive 2 for every Mega Drive game (see the in-game menu options in the gallery below).

The Mega Drive Mini 2 will replicate the look of the Mega Drive 2, the second model of the Mega Drive, and SEGA also plans to sell a Mega Drive Tower Mini 2 kit which will attach a Mega CD 2 complete with mini Sonic CD disc as well as a mini Virtua Racing Mega Drive cartridge. There will even be mini adaptors for the Model 1 Mega Drive Mini so that you can attach the Model 2 Mega CD to your original Mini or attach the 32X from the first Tower Mini kit to the new Mega Drive 2. A DX version is also planned for SEGA’s Ebten store which will include more discs and cartridges as well as a frame to display them. The console’s in-game menu music will be a new six minute composition from Yuzo Koshiro. The console is set for an October 27th release in Japan, and no Western release has been confirmed.

After the break, learn the first ten titles and check out more images of the in-game menu and the machine itself!

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SEGA News Bits Live: Sonic Frontiers GAMEPLAY!

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Join us live as we (well, me) talk about the recently revealed Sonic Frontiers gameplay from IGN! Plus, take a look at a new magazine featuring a killer Dreamcast retrospective and Yu Suzuki returns to the Fantasy Zone.

If you want to support this type of content, you can check out our Patreon!

If you enjoy our SEGA News Bits segments and want to support us: Give us a sub and give this video a thumbs up so it shows up on more like-minded fans YouTube recommendations. You know, how that YouTube algorithm is.

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IGN debuts full Sonic Frontiers open world gameplay preview

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IGN has promised Sonic Frontiers content throughout the month of June 2022, and after a 30 second tease yesterday things officially kick off with a full gameplay preview trailer. The trailer, which debuted at 9AM Pacific time, gives fans a better idea of just how an open world Sonic game will play out. Check it out for yourself! After the video, head over to the SEGAbits YouTube channel for our reactions!

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SEGA Talk Podcast #97: Policenauts (1994)

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We put on our space suits and ready our weapons as we dive into the Hideo Kojima cult classic Policenauts! We look at the influences that shaped the game, look at why the SEGA Saturn is the definitive version and… why do the lead characters look like the stars of Lethal Weapon?

Support us on Patreon! Get early access, tell us what games to cover, and have your SEGA memories read at the end and more!

[iTunes – Stitcher – YouTube – RSS – Download]

If you want to give us feedback, suggest a topic for the next podcast or want to ask a question for us to answer on the next episode you can add  them as a comment below or send theme directly to our email. Make sure you use subject line ‘SEGA Talk’ and as always, thanks for listening!

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Air Twister is a new Space Harrier inspired game from Yu Suzuki!

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All this time we were asking “Where is Shenmue 4?” when we should have been asking “Where is a new Space Harrier game?”

In a surprise reveal from Yu Suzuki’s YS NET studio is a spiritual successor to Space Harrier titled Air Twister. Presented in full 3D, the game takes many cues from the SEGA arcade classic, and also appears to be much more in-line with the original game than SEGA’s own Planet Harriers was (which was also a 3D take on Space Harrier). The game is an Apple Arcade exclusive, which will elicit groans from some. As for me? I have about half a dozen Apple devices and cannot wait to try the game out with a bluetooth controller on my TV. Learn more about the game after the break, and make sure to mark June 24, 2022 on your calendar!

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SEGA debuts Sonic Frontiers gameplay teaser footage

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SEGA has released a short preview of what sort of gameplay fans can expect from Sonic Frontiers. The preview, clocking in at just 38 seconds, showcases the open world setting and speed and combat controls. SEGA promises more details will be released starting tomorrow at IGN, with a cover story, gameplay reveals, hands-on impressions and interviews with the game’s creators.

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Tekken finally crosses over into Virtua Fighter with the ‘Tekken 7 Collaboration Pack’

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Since both Virtua Fighter and Tekken dominated 3D fighting games in the 90s, fans have been wondering when the company would create a Tekken x Virtua Fighter cross-over fighting game. Officially, neither game has crossed over in an official game, until now. Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown breaks that trend with the DLC “Tekken 7 Collaboration Pack” which is set to launch on June 1st.

This Tekken 7 Collaboration Pack includes:

  • 19 Tekken 7 outfits: When you equip these outfits, character customization will be disabled.
  • 20 full Tekken 7 background music tracks.
  • Tekken 7 UI interface
  • Two Tekken 7 collaboration titles: These titles are added into the “other” category when selecting titles.

While this isn’t a full fledge new crossover title, its nice to finally see an official Tekken cameo in some form within Virtua Fighter and maybe will open up the discussions for something larger in the future.

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Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 returns to the Xbox 360 Marketplace, and this is probably the reason why…

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Following last week’s delisting of Sonic the Hedgehog SEGA Genesis, Mega Drive and SEGA CD games from digital marketplaces, in an effort to declutter online shops and give more value to Sonic Origins, another Sonic the Hedgehog has returned!

That’s right, 2006’s Sonic the Hedgehog is back up for sale digitally on Xbox 360! Selling for only $4.99, the game has returned following a mass delisting of Sonic games with low critic scores several years back. However, I think I know why the game has made a sudden return…

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