SEGA News Bits: What to Expect From SEGA in 2019

Just look at that header! If you were one of the SEGA fans yearning for the “good ol’ days”, we think you’re really going to love 2019. On this SEGA News Bits, George and Barry run through the many games we can expect from SEGA – from first party releases to licensed titles to stuff with a SEGA connection. Check out the video and afterwards in the comments below let us know what you are most excited for and least excited for in 2019.

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SEGA AGES Puyo Puyo and Gain Ground hit Nintendo Switch February 2019

SEGA Ages line of classic re-releases is going to be working overtime in 2019 since they are releasing both SEGA Ages Puyo Puyo and SEGA Ages Gain Ground on Nintendo Switch next month. We even got new information on extra content in these games:

“Gain Ground will see the addition of an All-Member Mode that unlocks all 20 characters, along with an Easy Mode if things are a little too difficult or you simply want to enjoy the game casually.

Meanwhile, the Sega Ages release of Puyo Puyo will allow you to try your hand against other players outside your home with Online Play while testing your skills on the leaderboards with the new Ranking System! Note that Nintendo Switch Online is required for online play.”

If you can’t get enough Puyo Puyo action, there will also be a SEGA Ages version of Puyo Puyo Tsu on Nintendo Switch later this year.

[Via: Siliconera]

Blade Arcus Rebellion from Shining’s new trailer reveals more Shining Resonance characters joining the battle

SEGA has released a new trailer showing even more Shining Resonance characters joining the versus fighting game Blade Arcus  from Shining Rebellion. If you didn’t know, a few years ago SEGA published Blade Arcus from Shining: Battle Arena which was a 2D fighting game featuring characters from the new Shining series. Blade Arcus from Shining Rebellion is a new entry that has been announcing fighters from Shining Resonance joining the battle, this trailer specifically shows off Yuma Iburn, Krika Tow Alma, Sonia Blanche, Rinna Mayfield, Zest Graham, and Excela Noa Aura.

While the last entry got a western release on Steam, it wasn’t published by SEGA. Blade Arcus Rebellion from Shining releases in Japan on March 14, 2019 for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch. I wouldn’t keep my fingers crossed for a Western release by SEGA.

Retro-bit Gaming reveals SEGA Nomad styled portable Genesis

The 2019 Consumer Electronics Show is underway, and Retro-bit (the ones behind those SEGA controllers) tweeted out photos of a prototype of what they call the Genesis Portable System. The handheld resembles the beloved SEGA Nomad, with several differences. Aside from different button shapes and placement, the portable promises HDMI out and has a widescreen display. Based on the photos, there is an NTSC/PAL switcher and a reset button (which made X-Men unbeatable on the Nomad thanks to the “reset the computer” feature). The bottom hasn’t been seen, so no idea if there is a player 2 controller input. Also no promise of an SD card slot yet.

Despite the Nomad resemblance, it is important to note that this is not a Nomad and there is no promise of quality emulation yet. I know the Nomad gets a lot of grief for the battery life, but I have to say as a longtime Nomad owner that battery technology has improved to the point where one can get 6 hours of playtime on quality rechargables. Heck, I had a 3DS die on me in less time than that. Coupled with near perfect sound and the ability to mod the display to modern technology on a Nomad, this Genesis Portable System is no heir to the Nomad throne just yet. We’ll share more as we hear it!

Update: Retro-bit confirmed a player 2 input in a tweet to us.

The SEGA AGES lineup expands with Out Run for Nintendo Switch

Yu Suzuki’s classic Out Run (or OutRun) is now available on the Nintendo Switch for $7.99. The SEGA AGES release sports motion controls, a ranking system, music tracks from the 3DS release and new arrangements of songs from the Genesis and Master System releases as well as Out Run 2006: Coast 2 Coast which was released in… well, 2006.

Play the game today and in the comments below, tell us how many times you flipped the car.

Zillion: The Complete Series anime now available on blu-ray and DVD

Back in July 2018 we shared the exciting news that the Zillion anime was receiving a blu-ray, DVD and digital release in the west. Westerners know Zillion best from the SEGA Master System games, as well as the five episodes of the anime and OVA Zillion: Burning Night which received dubbed VHS releases in the early 90s, as well as a short run of comics from the publisher Eternity. The series is loaded with Master System references and cameos from our favorite sentient space ship Opa Opa.

Now you can own the complete series of 31 episodes plus the OVA movie Zillion: Burning Night in a box set containing 4 blu-rays, 5 DVDs and a digital download code. As of this article, the set is 40% off on Amazon, which you can order here.

I’ll admit, this release passed us by as the set has been out since October 2018, but better late then never!

Toot-Toot Sonic Warrior! and a returning track announced for Team Sonic Racing

SEGA has announced a new track and released a sample of a new tune for the upcoming Team Sonic Racing. It has been previously revealed that the game will have a mix of new and returning tracks, and this time we have Ocean View from Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (based on Ocean Palace from Sonic Heroes). To accompany the track is a remix of a familiar tune by Jun Senoue who has partnered with artists Richard Jaques & S.A.M.E. You can listen to the remix of Sonic CD‘s “You Can Do Anything” above.

In the comments below, let us know what you think of the track and tune!

Catherine Classic available now on PC

After quite a bit of teasing, ATLUS has officially announced that Catherine Classic is available right now on Steam for PC. Originally released in 2011, the action-adventure platformer Catherine gained quite a fanbase. Now, ahead of the release of Catherine Full Body in Japan, the original game can now be played by a whole new audience. You can check out the full press release and screens after the break, and of course the trailer is above.

What do you think of this release? Should ATLUS have waited and given Catherine Full Body a PC release?

SEGA News Bits Extra: Sonic at the Golden Globes and Catherine Classic on PC

It’s the first week of the month, which means a preview of SEGA News Bits Extra! Extra is a weekly series for our Patreon supporters where we discuss news not seen on the SEGA News Bits videos.

This week we discuss Catherine coming to PC, the Alien Isolation storyline moving on without SEGA, ATV Slam and Sonic getting a shoutout at the Golden Globes. Thank you to our Patreon community for the support and consider joining the community yourself if you enjoy our content!

SEGA in the Media: Sonic the Hedgehog movie gets a mention at the Golden Globes

The Golden Globes happened over the weekend, and surprisingly the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog movie got a mention in a short back and forth between the hosts and Jim Carrey. In the clip, Jim is told by the hosts that because he is nominated for television that he needs to move from the film seating section. Carrey counters, pointing out that he will be in the Sonic the Hedgehog movie in November. However, host Andy Samberg counters that Jim can sit in the film section next year noting “I’m sure it will be nominated.” Of course, the joke is that the Sonic movie will not be nominated for a Golden Globe and everybody has a laugh at the expense of the movie.

Look, I’ve seen several fans and fan sites defend the clip saying the joke wasn’t about the Sonic movie looking like it will be awful but about Jim sitting in the wrong section. I personally don’t care if people make fun of the upcoming Sonic movie, because I think it looks terrible and Paramount and SEGA deserves the blowback. But to think that the above clip isn’t making fun of the movie is just silly.

SEGA updates Bayonetta’s steam page to tease Catherine PC release

SEGA has this thing about updating previously released game’s news feeds to tease future PC ports. This time, SEGA updated the Bayonetta steam page with a post containing the above image. A sheep, which is an animal highly featured in Catherine.

The thing is, all we know about the tease is that SEGA posted the above photo. That is all, everyone is saying this could be a tease for Catherine Classic, not the Catherine Full Body re-release that is coming with a ton of new content. Why? BecauseCatherine Classic‘ got rated for release in Australia. I think if SEGA was smart, they would have been working on a port of the new re-release Full Body and not release an outdated version. I mean, Atlus’ own porting policies basically say that they don’t like to do ports without it having extra content for the consumers. Plus Catherine Classic will be turning 8 years old later this year…

SEGA AGES OutRun releasing January 10th in western territories

Back in November in Japan, people got the experience the thrill of the drive on their Nintendo Switch with SEGA AGES OutRun. Now people outside of Japan are going to get their chance to experience OutRun once again, as confirmed by SEGA of America. The game will be available on the Switch’s eShop on January 10th, effectively next week as of this writing. This version of OutRun will contain features from the 3DS iteration, such as a 16:9 aspect ratio, the added songs “Camino a Mi Amor” and “Cruising Line”, and the ability to customize your car to handle differently, along with several new features like two new songs “STEP ON BEAT” and “RADIATION”, a ranking system, and optional gyro controls.

So maybe next week take a break from the winter weather for a nice summer drive with SEGA AGES OutRun, whether at home or on the go.

[Source: SEGA Twitter, Nintendo Website]

Japanese only Crayon Shin-Chan SEGA Game Gear game gets English fan translation

While the Japanese Manga/Anime of Crayon Shin-Chan debuted way back in 1990 over in Japan, it didn’t get popular in the West until around 2006 when Funimation picked up the license. Even though it took us decades in America, the show still became a cult hit and its not surprising seeing previous Japanese only releases like Crayon Shin-Chan Showdown! Quantum Panic!! on the SEGA Game Gear getting fan translations.

According to Psyklax, the translator for this project, every piece of text has been translated outside of a few Japanese signs that don’t matter. Check out the translation over at Romhacking.net. 

SEGA developers talk about their favorite 2018 games and new year messages to fans

It’s the new years, so that means that everyone is looking back at their favorite things to come out in 2018 and talk about what they want to accomplish for the future. The Japanese site 4Gamer has decided to interview over 195 Japanese developers and ask them what they liked in 2018 and their message to fans in 2019

I’m posting the SEGA and developers responses below:

SEGA Amusements releases trailer for upcoming arcade racer ATV Slam

Revealed back in October of 2018 by Arcade Heroes, ATV Slam is an upcoming racing game from SEGA Amusements. While the game was said to debut at IAAPA 2018, the event came and went and nothing was seen. Thankfully, Arcade Heroes is back with more information on the game! It appears the game was held back from public exhibition for additional improvements, and now we have a brief trailer showing the racer off.

The trailer description has additional details, including mention of the “custom developed motion platform lets players experience all the bumps just like being on the track” that was previously revealed. Graphics are delivered by Unreal Engine 4 and the game promises a unique AI system. We’ll have more information on the game as we hear it! In the meantime, enjoy the trailer and share your thoughts on the game in the comments below.