Streets of Rage 4 “Adam Hunter” trailer showcased, tentative first-half 2020 release date announced

New information regarding to the upcoming Streets of Rage 4 have been revealed, courtesy of Nintendo’s Indie World direct. Most notably, a new trailer highlighting the fourth playable character, Adam Hunter. As the name implies, he’s the brother of Skate from Streets of Rage 2 and the father of Cherry. He’s described as a person who hunted down the syndicate leader 28 years ago, now coming back to finish the job alongside Cherry, Axel, and Blaze.

It’s also confirmed that Streets of Rage 4 is planned for an first-half 2020 release window for all platforms. Nothing specific has been announced at this time, but we’ll keep you up to date on the latest Streets of Rage 4 news.

Bayonetta & Vanquish 10th Anniversary Bundle announced for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One

SEGA and Platinum Games, that’s a partnership I have not heard of for a long time…

Just announced officially is the Bayonetta & Vanquish 10th Anniversary Bundle, a remastered combo pack celebrating the 10th anniversary of Platinum Games early titles. Due out February 18, 2020, the games will be available physically and digitally for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Priced at a cool $39.99 physically and digitally (or $24.99 each on digital platforms if you don’t opt for the bundle), SEGA is offering an extra incentive for physical purchases. The games will be contained in a double sided steelbook featuring new artwork in a slipcover. The games will be combined on one disc. Those with PS4 Pro and Xbox One X will enjoy 4K resolution and 60fps gameplay. Additionally, those who purchase from the PlayStation Store will have access to exclusive themes.

Pre-Order Today!
Xbox One | PlayStation 4

Persona 5 The Royal to release on March 31st 2020 in western territories, Phantom Thieves Edition announced

The western release date for Persona 5 The Royal has been revealed for March 31st 2020. This updated version of Persona 5 keeps the base game, but expands on it with new content. This includes a new party member called Kasumi Yoshizawa, a new area of Tokyo to explore, new Social Links, a new story arc, and more. It will be exclusive to the Playstation 4.

In addition, Atlus has revealed a new special edition of the game, officially called the Phantom Thieves Edition. This Phantom Thieves Edition will come packed with the game, Joker’s mask with a stand, steel book, soundtrack, collector’s box, art book, and a dynamic Playstation 4 theme. However the regular prints will also include the steel book and dynamic Playstation 4 theme too. You can pre-order the standard or the Phantom Thieves Edition below from Amazon, priced at $59.99 and $89.99 respectively.

Standard | Phantom Thieves Edition

Bubble Bobble 4 Friends to include SEGA Mark III game Final Bubble Bobble in Special Edition

Bubble Bobble 4 Friends, the latest installment in the Bubble Bobble series, is currently available in European countries for the Nintendo Switch, with a Japanese release currently being planned for February 27, 2020. The Japanese release will also have a separate Special Edition release, that will include the game plus extra bonuses like a soundtrack and a book collecting different Bubble Bobble material.

The Japanese release however comes with an additional bonus for those that pre-order. The SEGA Mark III version of Bubble Bobble, officially called Final Bubble Bobble, will be included as a bonus game for those that preorder from Amazon with a special Cyber Monday deal between December 6th and December 9th. For reference, Final Bubble Bobble is a port of the arcade game Bubble Bobble, but also includes additional content such as the inclusion of a 100 more stages, and more items and bosses. It’s currently unknown if the North American release will have a similar deal, or if the Final Bubble Bobble DLC will later be included to those that haven’t pre-ordered.

[Source: Japanese Bubble Bobble 4 Friends Website]

SEGA AGES Fantasy Zone releasing on November 28th in Japan

SEGA AGES Fantasy Zone has a release date. You’ll be able to visit the Fantasy Zone once again this coming November 28th in Japan. It will be available on the Nintendo Switch Japanese eShop for ¥999.

SEGA AGES Fantasy Zone is based on the SEGA 3D version on the 3DS, Fantasy Zone Opa-Opa Bros. Like that version of the game, SEGA AGES Fantasy Zone will give you the ability to hoard coins and optionally use them in repeated playthroughs, and brings back the Upa-Upa mode. In Upa-Upa mode, you play as Opa-Opa’s titular brother, as you have every weapon freely available to you, but using these weapons uses up money as ammunition. In addition, players can also potentially fight the bosses from the Master System version under certain conditions, and there’s a new time attack mode which tasks the player to beat the game in the fastest time possible.

[Source: Official Website]

SEGA Talk Podcast #30: Alex Kidd in Miracle World (1986)

On this SEGA Talk, we tackle the precursor to Sonic: Alex Kidd in Miracle World! Described as “SEGA’s answer to Mario”, Alex Kidd is a character who brings back fond memories for some, and frustrating memories for others. We discuss the development history, the game’s connection to Dragon Ball and debate whether Alex Kidd was ever really a mascot.

An additional Patreon comment was posted after recording, so we will share it here:

While I think Sonic was a much better mascot Alex Kid has his place in Sega History. I would love for Sega to license him  out  for a modern game like wonder boy and streets of rage. But I think its impotant to look at his modern career on the Sonic  Social team, all the samless Pugs, killing a Game Group on livestream giving the people our sonic toaster. Such good memories – Nicholas S.

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Let’s Remember Sonic Unleashed 11 Years After Release – Twitter Edition

SEGA’s Sonic Unleashed was a very important game in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, it was the birth of a brand new ‘boost Sonic’ formula that would extend to Sonic Colors, Generations and even the latest Forces video game. At the same time it was also the start of focusing on Sonic and abandoning the friends that became mainstay since the release of Sonic Adventure.

To celebrate, I asked on Twitter what our audience thought about Sonic Unleashed, all these 11 years later. First we had a 3 hour long poll that got 459 votes and hot takes from fans:

Persona character designer creates a new character for Project Sakura Wars

We heard not that long ago that SEGA and Atlus are working on a new game for next generation consoles, but it seems that development teams are already working together. It was announced that Persona character designer Shigenori Soejima actually worked on a unique character for Project Sakura Wars, introducing Hakushu Murasame (pictured above).

She was revealed during a Project Sakura Wars Japanese stream, where it showed her talking to her student, Sakura Amamiya and Seijuro Kaimiyama. She plays a competent, composed character through the presentation. We also know she will be voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro who played Elizabeth from the Velvet Room attendant and made her debut in Persona 3. While Hakushu Mursame is getting the attention, it seems that Ken Sugimori (Pokemon) is also making a character for the game, which is shown off in this new video.

You can check out the two hour Project Sakura Wars stream right here. So this project has the redesign done by Tite Kubo (Bleach), Shigenori Soejima (Persona), Ken Sugimori (Pokemon), and even Noizi Ito (Fire Emblem Heroes)? That’s quite the art team.

Space Channel 5 Getting 20th Anniversary Greatest Hits Album Featuring Over 50 Tracks


While it doesn’t seem to get a lot of hype online, it seems that SEGA is bringing back Space Channel 5 with the release of Space Channel 5 VR: Kinda Funky News Flash and now with a 20th Anniversary album release featuring over 50 tracks from the series’ greatest tunes across two CDs. The release promises remixes, drama tracks and six new tracks from the upcoming VR title.

You can see the album cover above, which shows off Ulala sporting her new Space Channel 5 VR yellow outfit, which seems to be her new ’20th Anniversary’ color? The 2 CD disc will feature a booklet with commentary from composer Naofumi Hataya and narrative designer Takumi Yoshinaga. You can get the import via iam8bit for $39.99, if you are interested.

Shenmue 3 release day is here, plus a reminder for Kickstarter backers about digital rewards

Today’s the day! After 18 long years, we’re leaving the cave and are experiencing Shenmue 3. Kickstarter backers, Limited Run Games customers and the general public are now receiving their physical copies. Based on a Twitter poll we held, fans are receiving their Kickstarter and Limited Run Games releases on release day, though some are still waiting. But hey, if you are waiting what’s a few more days. At least we can now say that Shenmue 3 is complete and now we begin the fun part: playing the game!

If you are a Kickstarter backer, make sure you login to Fangamer as you should have some digital bonuses available. In addition to digital wallpapers for your PC and phone, backers at $80 and above receive a digital in-game phone card. The phone card allows you to call characters from the first two games including Nozomi, Guizhang Chen, Ine-san, Joy, Fuku-san and others. Not only will you talk on the phone but you will also view flashback scenes. No idea if these are in-game footage from the old games or newly rendered cutscenes, but it sounds cool. All backers are also given a backer number code on Fangamer that is entered on the main menu screens, so do not forget to do this as well.

Enjoy the game and in the comments below, share your thoughts on Shenmue 3!

 

Streets of Rage 4 will hit Xbox Game Pass next year


We already posted that the Yakuza games are coming to Xbox One and Xbox Game Pass, which we posted. But now we got another SEGA classic coming to Xbox Game Pass… Streets of Rage 4! You can check out the full Game Pass line-up so far in the screenshot above.

It seems that Microsoft is going all in with their Game Pass, are you interested?

Yakuza 0, Yakuza Kiwami and Kiwami 2 coming to Xbox One and Xbox Game Pass

SEGA has just announced at X019 in London that SEGA America and Ryu Ga Gotoku studio will be bringing three Yakuza games not just to Xbox One and Xbox One X, but also the Xbox One Game Pass. If you don’t know what Game Pass is, its basically Microsoft’s SEGA Channel or Netflix service where you pay monthly to play all the games you want in a revolving number of titles.

This is huge news, now if only SEGA could port these games on the Nintendo Switch, then everyone will be happy!

SEGA News Bits: Sonic The Hedgehog Movie Redesign and Trailer 2 Reaction

The redesign for the Sonic the Hedgehog movie has released with a brand new trailer! On this SEGA News Bits, Barry and George share their reactions to seeing the new design as well as their thoughts on the jokes, story and general direction the movie is taking.

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SEGA AGES Fantasy Zone coming soon, more information revealed

Welcome to the Fantasy Zone, as the classic SEGA arcade game Fantasy Zone is coming soon to the SEGA AGES lineup. In this game you take on the role as the winged ship Opa-Opa, as you are tasked with destroying all of the bases and the boss of each stage, armed with a selection of different guns, bombs, and engines/wings you can purchase within shops. Don’t be fooled by the colorful aesthetics though, Fantasy Zone is famous for being surprisingly hard!

SEGA AGES Fantasy Zone is largely based on the SEGA 3D Classic version, officially referred to as Fantasy Zone Opa-Opa Bros. Like that version of the game, players have the option to stock up on coins they’ve accumulated during play sessions and use them the next time they play, and the return of the Upa-Upa mode. In Upa-Upa mode, players have access to every weapon in the game and can freely switch between them on the fly, the catch being that they consume money as an ammo. In addition, if certain conditions are met, players can encounter the bosses from the Master System version of Fantasy Zone, such as the tooth shooting fish boss from Dolimicca and the turtle-like boss from Mockstar. This rounded off by a new Time Attack mode, where players can try to aim for the fastest time at beating the game.

Currently SEGA AGES Fantasy Zone is “coming soon”, with a price tag of ¥999.

[Source: Official Website]

Shenmue III finally gets a launch trailer, marching closer to release

Shenmue III has been rumored since I first started coming online as a little Georgie boy, it was one of the main reasons I joined the SEGA community. Then we got a Kickstarter and waited some more, but it seems that we are very close to ‘not waiting’ for Shenmue III since its coming out in a few days on November 19, 2019. Now we get to enjoy a launch trailer above.