Fans have asked nicely. They begged. They asked rudely! And in the end, Discotek Media has delivered! That’s right, the Japanese version of Sonic X is finally releasing to home video in America! While Discotek has released the full english dubbed run of the series on DVD and SD on Blu-ray, the Japanese version was conspicuously absent.
On this SEGA News Bits Live, we mix things up a bit for a live unboxing and review of the Astro City Mini V from Limited Run Games!
Check out the Astro City Mini V for yourself here! You can also find the original Astro City Mini, a bundle of both and the Astro City Mini V with style kit included.
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Retro-Bit have returned with a new reprint of Genesis/Mega-Drive cartridge classics. Today they have debuted the Valis Collection, a special box set of the 3 Valis games originally developed by Telenet Japan and published on the Genesis by Renovation. This collection comes officially licensed by the current rights holders to Telenet Japan and Renovation’s games, Edia. Each game can also be bought separately as well, but buying the full collection compiles each one into a special box packaged with an exclusive acrylic stand of the three heroines of Valis III. The collection is very reminiscent of Retro-Bit’s Toaplan Collection from 2020. Pre-orders are now open for North America through Castlemania Games and Limited Run Games until November 27th 2022. Pre-orders for PAL versions will open for Europe at a later date from different retailers. Check out Retro-BIt’s own page on the Valis Collection for the most up-to-date info, including pre-order links and an FAQ page.
UPDATE: Pre-orders have just opened for Europe at Strictly Limited Games, Dragonbox Shop, and Spel o Sant. Links to all three will be added below following the break.
Check past the break for info on each individual games.
Following up from yesterday’s news of Fantasy Zone, SEGA and Data Discs are back with another vinyl release! This time, the focus shifts to modern games as the upcoming Sonic Frontiers will see not one but TWO releases! First up, the 2XLP edition sees a “Sonic Blue” colored vinyl with a 12 page booklet featuring liner notes from Tomoya Ohtani, a lithographic art print of the Japanese cover art all packed in a single pocket sleeve. This edition, seen above, will retail for 32.99 GBP or about $37 USD and will ship around mid December. Learn more about this release here. BUT THAT’S NOT ALL!
Limited Run Games has announced a Western release of the Astro City Mini V. The V, as kids call it, is the second in SEGA’s line of Astro City Mini plug and play consoles which sports a vertically orientated screen and focuses on shoot ’em up games. What makes this release unique is that for the first time, bonus content will be available for the West! Super Zaxxon has been added to the lineup. Super Zaxxon was an update to the original Zaxxon, which as the SEGA Retro wiki explains “offers slightly faster gameplay, a different set of graphics, different stage layouts and a few more enemies”.
The Astro City Mini V goes up for pre-order on October 25th, priced at $159.99. The style kit, which is compatible with both Astro City Mini models, includes a coin bank base and little toy chair and will be available as well in a $199.99 bundle or separately for $39.99. Limited Run Games is also putting the original Astro City Mini back in stock, priced at $129.99.
SEGA has its roots in the Western world and that influence is still ever so present today. It all started in Hawaii, went to Japan, then was bought by Gulf + Western, but then settled on Japanese ownership in 1984. But all those years of influence from Western staff and ownership never completely went away even after being staunchly Japanese for most of its life. Selling arcade machines, making your own consoles and even dabbling in in-door theme parks requires tons of investment that won’t be recouped in Japan, so it’s good to have international roots.
Data Discs is back with an all new SEGA vinyl, this time featuring the soundtrack to the arcade classic Fantasy Zone! The release, set to go live on Saturday at data-discs.com, features the full 1986 soundtrack from Hiroshi “Hiro” Kawaguchi of OutRun and Space Harrier fame. The release will be available in two editions and include new liner notes from the composer as well as a lithographic art print.
In a brand new announcement from Analogue, the creators of FPGA consoles like the Mega SG and the Analogue Pocket, their last ever pre-order run of the Mega SG will take place on October 28th. After this, there will be no more. This will also be your last chance to order a Super NT from Analogue, which is their FPGA Super Nintendo clone. Both will be available for $199, excluding shipping, and will ship in “Q4 2023”.
Today, SEGA revealed the cover for an upcoming digital comic, Sonic Frontiers Prologue: CONVERGENCE. As a prologue to Sonic Frontiers, Sonic Frontiers Prologue: CONVERGENCE is a two part digital comic prologue and dives into the events taking place for Sonic, Tails, Amy and Dr. Eggman right before they begin their journey to the Starfall Islands in search of the Chaos Emeralds.
Part 1 of the comic prologue will launch next Tuesday. Sonic Frontiers will launch starting at $59.99 on PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, the Nintendo Switch™ family of systems and Steam on November 8.
Source: Sonic Official Twitter
As of Monday, October 20th 2022, Sonic Hacking Contest 2022 is now open, with all the many fan hacks and mods developed by some of the most creative Sonic fans out there ready to try. There are tons of mods from every Sonic game from the original Genesis classic to Sonic Forces, all of which change up each game in many creative ways. Some of them even create a brand new experience off of the foundation of a classic Sonic game you may be well familiar with already from start to finish. Even if you don’t have time to try every game for yourself, (And there are already so many that you most likely don’t have that kind of time. After all, I’m still going through some games from this year’s Sonic Amateur Games Expo.) many online content creators have been streaming these games throughout the week, including favorites like Blue Vivacity, Sam’s Procrastination Station, SomeCallMeJohnny, MegaGWolf, and up-and-coming YouTube personality Chaomix.
Since this is a contest, the creators of each of these mods are also being judged on their creations. Everyone is encouraged to vote for each of their favorite mods in a variety of prestigious awards, so if any of them has you particularly impressed, make sure you vote for it in whatever award it may be nominated for.
See beyond the break for a few of my personal highlights of this year’s mods. Otherwise, click here to check out the website to download these mods for yourself or to see who is currently streaming.
Sonic Frontiers is less than a month away, so now is the best time for SEGA to make their closing arguments to fans for why the game is worthy of a pre-order. In the latest trailer for the game, the combat and upgrades system is explored in a bit more depth as fans can see how the skill tree unlocks new abilities for in-game combat. There are some fun easter eggs to be found, including moves that appear plucked from Sonic’s history of media including an attack seen in the unreleased Sonic X-Treme and moves straight out of the live action movies.
Sonic Frontiers will launch starting at $59.99 on PlayStation5, PlayStation4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, the Nintendo Switch family of systems and PC on November 8. To pre-order Sonic Frontiers, visit: https://frontiers.
Citing “unique challenges”, SEGA Europe has announced that the PlayStation 4/5 and Xbox One/Series console releases of HUMANKIND has been delayed until further notice. Developed by Paris based Amplitude Studios, which is owned by SEGA, HUMANKIND released to PC in 2021 and is a turn-based strategy 4X game. The game was set for consoles in November 2022 but now that is no longer the case.
I’ll admit, here at SEGAbits we struggle to cover the SEGA Europe PC strategy games. Maybe it is because they feel so far removed from what we come to expect from SEGA? Still, a console release was something we were anticipating and it is a shame the game saw a setback. SEGA will share a new release date when they can.
As the release of Sonic Frontiers approaches, SEGA has been revealing bonus content fans can enjoy on and after the game’s release. We’ve already seen the return of Soap shoes, and now we have our first collaboration DLC! Anybody who owns Sonic Frontiers will receive free DLC on November 14th which features content from Capcom’s Monster Hunter franchise. Sonic can dress as Rathalos and Felyne Rathalos and a meat grilling mini-game will be added which will help Sonic power up. To celebrate the collaboration, SEGA and Capcom’s respective art teams drew up some fun artwork featuring the two franchises.
This DLC is exciting, as it gives us an idea of just how far SEGA can go with the game’s DLC. Sonic being able to wear a full costume opens up so many doors for future content and the addition of a mini game shows us that SEGA is open to expanding gameplay with future DLC.
But the question remains, what is Sonic cooking?
Today on SEGA Talk we discuss the Tournament of the not so Legends, as we discuss an overlooked High Voltage Software Wii exclusive fighting game. Let’s have a look at the humble beginnings of the title to what it became and the fall out. All this and more on SEGA Talk!
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Let’s take a look at the latest SEGA smartwatch band from MobyFox which also includes a sizable library of digital faces. In the unboxing and review video above we showcase the 3D designs that mimic the look of the original hardware as well as some of the cool little touches MobyFox added. Like what you see? You can pick up a smartwatch band for yourself on their shop starting today!
After the break, you can also watch our unboxing and review of the MobyFox line of Sonic the Hedgehog smartwatch bands.