Latest Posts

Sonic Revolution Launches Kickstarter; The Next Event Announced for June 30, 2024

by

Have any plans for the summer to celebrate all things Sonic the Hedgehog? Look no further, as Sonic Revolution, a fan-run Sonic the Hedgehog convention held in Los Angeles, California, will be returning this year to celebrate the event’s 10-year anniversary featuring guests from the Sonic fan community, artists, activities, and much more! In order to make the event more exciting for attendees, the Sonic Revolution staff have launched a Kickstarter page with the goal of raising $7,000 for this year’s event, with the theme focusing on Dr. Eggman.

Sonic Revolution 2024 will be held on June 30, 2024, at the Carson Event Center located at 801 East Carson Street, Carson, CA, and will feature many special guests such as former Sonic voice actors Ryan Drummond and Pete Capella, Archie artist Jay Axer, current voice of Dr. Eggman Mike Pollock, Sonic Fan Animator Balena Productions, and more! You can support Sonic Revolution’s Kickstarter with multiple tiers to choose from here.

No Comments

Japanese Saturn classic Kingdom Grand Prix discovered to have a hidden English translation setting, now unlocked with patch

by

Image curtesy of Sega Shiro

The long lost discoveries in Sega Saturn classics just keep on coming. Usually fans have to translate Japan-exclusive games in English themselves with fan translations, but it seems the cult arcade shooter Kingdom Grandprix, or Shippuu Mahou Daisakusen (1996), already had one prepared and hidden away in the game all along. Thanks to Saturn homebrew enthusiast and fan translator Malenko, who also discovered hidden characters in the Saturn version of NBA Jam Tournament Edition just last year, as well as Bo Bayles, who it turns out is another familiar name behind some recent crazy Saturn discoveries, a previously undiscovered English language script was found deep within this game’s code. Just like with his NBA Jam discovery, Malenko just happened upon this while poking around in the game’s code. He intended on making his own fan translation of Kingdom Grandprix, and he still ended up doing so as the ready made English script was… rough, to say the least, but it was still enough to aid him as a base for his new script.

Race straight on through the break to learn more and to download the English patch to try for yourself.

Continue Reading ➜

No Comments

Ultra rare Sega AI Computer found and emulated; software rom files and sales fliers preserved

by

Photo curtesy of @orconut

Score one for video game preservation, or in this case, interactive edutainment software preservation. Thanks to Omar Cornut, going by @orconut on Twitter (X), as well as the website SMS Power, an ever-so-elusive Sega AI Computer has been procured and a bunch of stuff relating to it preserved online, including photos of the hardware and games, scans of sales fliers, print ads, and instruction manuals, and digital ROM files of all commercially released games. They’ve also prepared a MAME driver, allowing the AI Computer to be emulated for the very first time. 

Chances are you may not know what this is. I’ll admit, I’ve never even heard of it until now. If you’ll follow me past the break, I will sum up what this AI Computer is all about.

Continue Reading ➜

No Comments

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 movie logo revealed, Jim Carrey is back as Doctor Robotnik

by

In a very Shadow filled week, the Paramount Pictures and Sonic movie social media accounts have shared an official look at the logo for the upcoming third Sonic film, which will fittingly be titled Sonic the Hedgehog 3. In addition to the logo reveal, which was accompanied by an orchestration of Sonic Adventure 2‘s “Live and Learn”, Variety broke the news that Jim Carrey is returning as Doctor “Eggman” Robotnik. Carrey’s involvement was up in the air after the actor alluded to retiring from acting, though he did say he was not fully retiring. Clearly the Sonic movies are a good time for Jim, which explains his returning to the role.

Continue Reading ➜

1 Comment

Sonic X Shadow Generations remaster set for Autumn 2024 release

by

SEGA has announced a remaster to the 2011 hit Sonic Generations, titled Sonic X Shadow Generations. The remaster is obviously tied to tie in with the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog 3 movie, which will prominently feature Shadow the Hedgehog. The remaster is being described as an “all-new collection” and will feature a new Shadow story campaign featuring new powers and abilities in stages from his 2005 solo game and 2001’s Sonic Adventure 2. The original Sonic Generations experience will also be present, with newly remastered stages, upgraded visuals and a promise of new bonus content.

The game is due out this Autumn for PS4 and PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series consoles, Nintendo Switch and PC.

Continue Reading ➜

No Comments

SEGA vs. Capcom: The Next Level Fan Game Demo Out Now

by

Have you ever wanted to see SEGA’s very own Sonic the Hedgehog and Akira Yuki duke it out against Capcom’s iconic characters like Mega Man X and Ryu?

Well you don’t have to wait anymore as fighting game fan, madxruler, has created the ultimate crossover that fans of both gaming companies has ever wanted featuring franchises such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Mega Man, Virtua Fighter, Street Fighter, Skies of Arcadia and many more.

SEGA vs. Capcom: The Next Level demo is now available for download here and it features Arcade and Practice Mode with Sonic and Megaman X as playable characters.

Be sure to try out the demo and give the developer feedback to make further improvements for the final version.

1 Comment

11 (Yes, Eleven) prototype builds and design documents for cancelled Vectorman PS2 sequel found and preserved

by

Vectorman is a name well regarded by fans of the Sega Genesis/Mega-Drive. Vectorman (1995) and its sequel Vectorman 2 (1996) were hallmarks of that console’s twilight years, with some truly impressive pseudo-3D graphics and fluid animation, on top of also being a legitimately fun time. It’s earned it’s honor of being one of Sega’s common picks for their many Genesis game compilations in recent times. It’s just too bad that Vectorman was never able to move beyond the Genesis, though this wasn’t for lack of trying. The original developer of the two Genesis games, BlueSky Software, had envisioned a second sequel on the Saturn that never came to pass, and other developers have wanted to bring Vectorman to the Dreamcast and beyond.

The ill-faded sequel that came closest to fruition was the PS2 game being worked on by Pseudo Interactive, the creators of Full Auto (2006) and Full Auto 2: Battlelines (Also 2006 on PS3 and 2007 on PSP), both of which were actually published by Sega. Before that, Sega announced a new Vectorman title for the PlayStation 2, simply known as Vectorman, in April 2003, with intent to release the following year. The news of the game’s cancellation came before 2003 even ended, in November, despite a positive showing at E3 earlier that same year. This was during the time when then-Sega of America CEO Peter Moore was preparing his departure from the company and shortly before the company would merge with Sammy, so internally, things were tumultuous at Sega and Vectorman did not survive this transition. What did thankfully survive was a bunch of prototype and press builds, art, and documentation on the game, which was all just found and preserved by Comby Laurent on his preservation website Sega Dreamcast Info Games Preservation.

Check in past the break for more info, and a link to check out these finds in finer detail.

Continue Reading ➜

4 Comments

SEGA Talk Podcast #133: SegaSonic The Hedgehog (1993)

by

Let’s spin that trackball as we join franchise star Sonic the Hedgehog and newcomers Ray and Mighty as they try to escape Eggman’s fortress. We take this wild trip down memory lane looking at this obscure Sonic arcade game!

[iTunes – Stitcher – YouTube – RSS – Download]

Support us on Patreon! Get early access, have your memories read on the show, select the games we talk about!

No Comments

240p Test Suite now available for Sega Saturn

by

This is for retro gamers who love to get very technical with their TVs and monitors. The well known 240p Test Suite, created as an open source software by Artemio Urbina, is available on all sorts of retro consoles, but until now, the Sega Saturn was not among them. A version of the Test Suite has now been ported to Saturn by SegaXtreme forum member hitomi2500 for this year’s Sega Saturn Homebrew Competition. However, the Saturn version is currently work-in-progress, so it may still have some issues that need to be worked out, but for now the port is available for you to mess around with on your Saturn.

Check in after the break to learn more about what 240p Test Suite is and to download it.

Continue Reading ➜

No Comments

New secret level select codes discovered in the Saturn game Bug! after 28 years

by

Bet you didn’t know that the 1995 Sega Saturn game Bug! (1995) had level select codes in it. Well, actually people did know, but nobody knew there were actually two very different ones until now. On January 11th, 2024, 11 days ago, @memory_fallen revealed on Twitter (X) that they had discovered cheat codes in both the North American and Japanese versions of Bug! that had never been revealed before. There’s a bit of an interesting caveat to the new code in the North American version in particular as well. You can check in after the break to see what these new codes are.

Continue Reading ➜

1 Comment

The SEGAbits Swingin’ Report Show LIVE: Sonic Grams Extra Uncovered

by

On this episode, David the Lurker of Sonic Retro joins Barry to talk about the long running Archie Sonic comics letters page Sonic Grams! We discuss the long history of the feature, the bonus comic Off Panel, and debut scans of a long lost Sonic Grams Extra released by Ken Penders!

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

No Comments

SEGA Talk Podcast #132: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist

by

On this radical episode of SEGA Talk the dynamic duo take a trip into Dimension X and cover Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist! Cowabunga!

[iTunes – Stitcher – YouTube – RSS – Download]

Support us on Patreon! Get early access, have your memories read on the show, select the games we talk about!

No Comments

Limited Run Games announces Rocket Knight Adventures: Re-Sparked! on Nintendo Switch, PS4 and PS5

by


Rocket Knight Adventures was a cult classic SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive game developed by Konami way back in 1993, since then our hero Sparkster and in 1994 we got Sparkster: Rocket Knight Adventures! In the same year Konami would release Sparkster on SNES. At one point Sparkster was being printed on all Konami’s promotional material being pushed as a sort of mascot for the company.

Now PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch owners can play these classic 16-bit games in the new upcoming collection! Yep, all three games. Not only that, Carbon Engine has went back and even added dan all-new animated intro by Studio Meala, rewind feature, boss rush mode and museum mode featuring never-before-seen content!  In a nice change of pace, this collection was announced as a Limited Run Games physical release only instead of it coming out digitally first then a physical copy down the line.

Check out Rocket Knight Adventures Re-Sparked! on Limited Run Games. 

2 Comments

The SEGAbits Swingin’ Report Show LIVE: Our Favorite and Most Disappointing Games of 2023

by

2024 is upon us, but we can’t officially start the new year until Barry and George look back on their favorite and most disappointing SEGA games of 2023! We also share the games that almost received the Golden Opa as well as what to look forward to in 2024.

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

No Comments

Genesis/Mega-Drive inspired portable FM synthesizer “Liven Mega Synthesis” now up for pre-order

by

Do you fancy yourself an electronic musician? Are you especially fond of the Yamaha 2612 sound processor that was most notably found in the Sega Genesis/Mega-Drive as well as several old school arcade systems, including the Sega System 32? If you answered yes to both, have I found the tool for you: The Liven Mega Synthesis, now available for pre-order from manufacturer Sonicware for $239 USD.

The Liven Mega Synthesis is designed completely around emulating the iconic sound of the YM 2612 chip, along with the accompanying 8-bit PCM and PSG sounds, in excellent quality with tons of options for composition and editing. While it can record and play music far beyond the limitations of Genesis hardware, it also includes a “Legacy Mode” that allows it to more strictly match the specific sound of a Genesis console on any given track. All this comes in a six track sequencer with ten special effects to apply to each, including reverb, distortion, low pass filter, high pass filter, and crusher.

It’s also got the backing of the one and only retro game composer legend Yuzo Koshiro, who has created 32 preset sounds and 8 special patterns for you to try applying to your own music. This is all included along with 320 preset game sounds and 64 PCM drum tracks.

Check in past the break for the pre-order link, as well as examples of the Mega Synthesis’s preset patterns.

Continue Reading ➜

No Comments