61 Frames Per Second

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• Reminder: Shining Force is Awesome

  It may be relatively unknown, but Sega's Shining series has been pretty prolific since its 1991 debut; the little research I've done tells me that there have been 16 games in the franchise--though it's important to note that anything Shining started to suck around 1997 or so.  The loss of developer Camelot Software Planning, combined with Sega's general financial failure, caused the Shining name to be repeatedly exploited in games that had absolutely nothing to do with the series' S-RPG roots.  To be fair, Camelot didn't always have the Midas touch when it came to the Shining series--see aberrations like Shining Wisdom--but Sega and its development teams seem committed to slapping the Shining name on everything but strategy RPGs.  And that's a damn shame. Now that Camelot has been exclusively pumping out Nintendo sports games, all we are left with are memories, and the weeks Nintendo decides to release good things on Virtual Console Mondays.  This happens to be one of those weeks, what with Shining Force II hitting the Virtual Console today.  Now we can rest assured that our memories haven't lied to us; Shining Force is awesome!  Now let's just be glad that Camelot decided to let the interminable Golden Sun series die, lest their reputation be damaged. Read More... Posted Oct 06 2008, 09:00 PM by Bob Mackey with | with 4 comment(s) Filed under: wii, sega, bob mackey, virtual console, shining force

• Sonic Bound: After Three Botched Reboots, Sonic the Hedgehog May Finally Get His 3D Due

  We wear our hearts on our sleeves here at 61 Frames Per Second. You may have noticed certain predilections that dominate our mutual attentions, loves and desires that may, when considered under the right conditions, call our journalistic integrity into question. We all love Mega Man. We yearn for the creations of a long dead corporation once known as Squaresoft. We burn incense at an 8 and 16-bit altar, muttering somber devotionals to the arcane arts of platforming, of acquiring power-ups from felled foes, while clutching frayed totems depicting our saints as well as our sinners. Some of us, and I won’t say who, like Bionic Commando too much. But there are other icons of gaming’s pantheon that I find us continuously, and inexplicably, returning to again and again. Why is it that 61FPS, as a collective, torrid consciousness, keeps discussing Sonic the Hedgehog? Especially considering the regular topic of discussion is how crap Sonic has become as a franchise? I suppose the answer is two fold. Once upon a time, Sonic the Hedgehog games were truly special. The original quintet of platformers, including Sonics 1 through 3, Sonic and Knuckles, and Sonic CD, were a legitimate paradigm shift for their genre and endure as eminently playable games today. But Sonic is also the poster child for brand dilution through over-saturation. Abused mascots like Mega Man, Spyro the Dragon, and Crash Bandicoot have nothing on good old Sonic; ten console titles in the main series, close to twenty spin-offs, and fifteen handheld titles, and all of them are, at best, inoffensively forgettable and, at worst, downright bad. To make matters much worse, the core Sonic series (the games Sega positions as flagship titles) has never successfully made the leap to three-dimensions. The Sonic Adventures, Sonic Heroes, and Sonic the Hedgehog ’06 failed as attempts at translating the Genesis titles’ frenetic platforming but further watered down the formula by not allowing Sonic to carry the games on his own (read: shitty friends.) It’s no wonder we’re fascinated by Sonic: he’s the fastest train wreck alive. Read More... Posted Oct 02 2008, 06:00 PM by John Constantine with | with 14 comment(s) Filed under: john constantine, sega, sonic the hedgehog, sonic

• Whatcha Playing: Weight of the Stone

  Videogames are rich with memorable moments. Born of both play and story, there are those images, those brief passages of achievement, that are emblazoned in your memory: the first time you clear 100,000 points in Tetris, the dogs bursting through the window in Resident Evil, the booming march that begins to play after the baby metroid’s sacrifice during Super Metroid’s climactic battle with Mother Brain. We are tied to these events thanks not only to those games’ mechanical and artistic design but because of our agency in them. We facilitate these conclusions and, since the game is well-made, we feel them. Another classic: Solid Snake’s first fight with the cyborg ninja, Grey Fox. Like so much of the Metal Gear Solid series, this sequence is ludicrous: simplistic to play, overdramatic, over-everything. But when Grey Fox begins screaming, “Make me feel!” and your controller begins to shake in time with his uncontrollable gesticulations, the scene becomes something else. In 1998, rumble technology was still relatively new in home gaming, so having this drama reflected in the physical world made that much more of an impression. Every time Snake was kicked in the gut or when you landed a hit amidst this half-man’s yowling was tangible. I feel a lot like Grey Fox when I play videogames these days, particularly action fare. I want an action game to make me feel. Not necessarily a profound emotional reaction – though that’s always a plus – so much as a physical one. Read More... Posted Sep 29 2008, 05:00 PM by John Constantine with | with no comments Filed under: john constantine, whatcha playing, metroid, star wars, resident evil, metal gear solid, sega, lucasarts, tetris, yakuza, die hard arcade

• Sonic the Hedgehog: I'm Just Not that Into You

  Inexplicably, the top six-or-so titles on my GameFly queue were unavailable, so I was sent Sonic Rush for the DS--a game I had originally added back when I signed up for the service nearly three years ago.  Of all the recent Sonic the Hedgehog titles, the often-overlooked handheld games have been the least offensive--and dare I say, fun--extensions of the franchise, mainly because they're about Sonic running to the right, and have the good sense to not include sexual tension or political intrigue. So it's fair to say that nothing really offended me about Sonic Rush in the brief amount of time I tried it out, aside from the fact that Jet Set Radio composer/beatmaster Hideki Naganuma was apparently demoted to working on low-profile Sonic games. Seriously, the guy is awesome, and Sega needs to put him on as many projects as they can. Musical outrage aside, I wasn't exactly bored with Sonic Rush; in fact, I couldn't even muster up the motivation that boredom requires to exist. It seems that every Sonic game--no matter how high the quality--produces nothing but complete apathy in me, and I've been trying to find out why. Read More... Posted Sep 24 2008, 05:30 PM by Bob Mackey with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: sega, sonic the hedgehog, panzer dragoon, bob mackey, sonic rush, jet set radio

• Design Resurrection: How Capcom Finally Proved That It’s Game and Not Graphics That Matters

  “Graphics Whore” is a term that I’ve never been comfortable with, that is, until I realized that I am one. I couldn’t give you the precise etymology behind the phrase, only that it’s rise to prominence in both game fandom and game journalism – there is a distinction, however slight it may be – coincided directly with the rise of 3D graphics in console gaming. What makes a person a graphics whore is their dismissal of games that don’t reflect the aesthetic (visual, audio, etc.) cutting edge of available technology. But in the 32-bit era, the term carried a more specific connotation, namely 2D games being inferior to 3D. This definition of graphics whore had something of a corporate background, especially in the battle between Sony and Sega; Sega’s great failure was building an overly expensive machine devoted to running 2D games and Sony took a hard line against publishing any 2D games outside of Japan. The future, as far as Sony and Nintendo were concerned, was in three dimensions. So, the term graphics whore was birthed alongside the now all too common mantra that gameplay, not graphics, is all that matters in a videogame. I used to agree. And while I don’t think that games are defined by being the prettiest and the bestest, I think that to downplay the importance of presentation is doing the medium a great disservice. It isn’t how advanced a game’s visuals are. It’s what they are. Capcom’s two most recent releases, Bionic Commando: Rearmed and Mega Man 9, are companion pieces to illustrate the point. Read More... Posted Sep 23 2008, 03:30 PM by John Constantine with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: john constantine, nintendo, capcom, bionic commando, sony, sega, mega man

• Creator of Sonic the Hedgehog Returns: Sega and Prope Making Game For Penguins

  Yuji Naka, the designer behind Sonic the Hedgehog, Nights, and Burning Rangers, doesn’t get mentioned much around the gaming campfire these days. The infamous leader behind Sonic Team’s salad days has all but disappeared from game design since Sega left the console making business. His last full title, Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg, was released on Gamecube back in 2003, and since he left Sega to form his own independent studio, Prope, back in 2006, no one’s known what Naka’s been doing with himself. That is, aside from not being involved with Sega’s Wii-fying of Naka’s babies Nights, Sonic, and, soon, Samba de Amigo. Well, that’s all changing in seventeen days. Prope has opened a website teasing that, in seventeen days, they will reveal their very first game. Said game will be published by Sega. It will also, apparently, be penguin accessible. Read More... Posted Sep 22 2008, 08:00 PM by John Constantine with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: sega, sonic, yuji naka, tgs, burning rangers, billy hatcher, samba de amigo, nights, prope, chu chu rocket

• Surprise of the Week: Sega Releases a Good Game

  Man, that PS2 just keeps hanging in there, doesn't it?  We're nearly 8 years after the system's launch and still getting some pretty high-profile games; part of me wishes that the PS2 wasn't on its last legs (as far as  quality software goes), because that would mean we'd still be seeing the great output that Japanese studios gave us last generation--when development costs were merely crazy instead of wholly and intractably insane.  But in the world of reality, Yakuza 2 ships today, and it's pretty important. If you didn't play the first Yakuza, you're not alone; it came out in the Fall of 2006, when the world cared only for the tidal wave of next-gen was about to hit. I actually found out about the game long after its release date, and GameFly-ed it the following Fall. Yakuza was actually pretty surprising for what I assumed would be a ripoff of Grand Theft Auto--okay, it kind of is a ripoff of Grand Theft Auto, in its own way. Add a distinctly Japanese sense of game design to the GTA series, and you've basically got Yakuza; and obviously, there are some benefits and drawbacks to this equation. Read More... Posted Sep 09 2008, 01:00 PM by Bob Mackey with | with no comments Filed under: sega, ps2, grand theft auto, bob mackey, yakuza

• 9/9/99 9 Years Later

  Numerology fans take note; what was one purported to be the biggest day in entertainment history took place exactly 9 year ago. Plagiarism fans also take note: I got this idea from the latest episode of Retronauts. Yes, we're nearly a decade from the launch of Sega's little-console-that-could-but-didn't, and aside from making me feel incredibly old, this anniversary of sorts had me thinking about just where I was on 9/9/1999. My most distinct memory of that time period--which is mostly fuzzy and inexplicably filled with Pokemon--is being madly in love with a high school girl. Luckily for her, I was also in high school; but even with us having that much in common, it was never meant to be. So did I console myself by splurging and then weeping on Sega's newest system? Fittingly, Final Fantasy VIII absorbed most of my pain in telling the story of an emotional cripple that made me look much more stable by comparison. I eventually got a Dreamcast a whole year later, but my relationship with it was just as sordid and artificial as my high school fling. I used it. Read More... Posted Sep 09 2008, 11:00 AM by Bob Mackey with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: ico, sega, sonic the hedgehog, grand theft auto, dreamcast, bob mackey

• Ports That Need To Be Made: iTouchRez

  The news last week that Q Entertainment would be bringing its popular handheld titles Meteos to XBox Live Arcade and Lumines to Playstation Network got me to thinking about what other Q titles could use ports to new platforms. Far and away, the best idea to come out of this meandering train of thought was this: Rez, for the iPhone and iPod Touch, or as I like to call it iTouchRez. Read More... Posted Sep 05 2008, 04:00 PM by Derrick Sanskrit with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: sega, dreamcast, rez, tetsuya mizuguchi, iphone

• Tales of The Focus Group: Peter Moore Takes No Guff

  I get latching onto game designers as personalities. It’s no different than the cult of personality that sprouts up around musicians, writers, and film directors. Gaming’s rich with characters too: from the robot-building eccentrics like Will Wright, frothing madmen like David Jaffe, and mean drunks like Tomonobu Itagaki. What mystifies me is the way gamers latch onto publishing executives and marketers. Seriously, who cares about Reggie Fils-Aime? The guy doesn’t make Nintendo’s games, he just makes sure they’re profitable. Or how about Peter Moore? When that wily Brit was in charge of Microsoft’s games division, there was no end of fanboy chatter about his antics. Oh, Peter Moore got a Grand Theft Auto IV tattoo! Take that, Sony! Once he moved on to EA Sports, the guy disappeared from the limelight, no longer a face for console war jibber-jabber. Well, after today, I am forced to admit that I am interested in Peter Moore. Not because he’s starting some wild new business initiative to ramp up EA’s creative output or anything of the sort. No, I want to know more about Peter Moore because one of his last actions as president of Sega of America was to tell Yuji Naka, creator of Sonic the Hedgehog, to fuck off. Read More... Posted Sep 05 2008, 02:00 PM by John Constantine with | with 7 comment(s) Filed under: john constantine, ea, xbox 360, Grand theft auto 4, sega, dreamcast, peter moore, yuji naka

• Where Will You Go, Tecmo? What Will Happen to Our Love?

  This has been something of a tumultuous year for Tecmo. In the past twelve months, they’ve shipped just four games, three of which are Ninja Gaiden games. The fourth, Fatal Frame IV for Wii, wasn’t even developed in house (it was handled by Suda 51’s Grasshopper Manufacture.) None of these games were actually published by Tecmo, relying on companies as diverse as Eidos, Ubisoft, Microsoft, and Nintendo for distribution. In June, their public face and star designer, the outspoken, boozing womanizer Tomonobu Itagaki, quit the company days after Ninja Gaiden II released to middling reviews. In August, their president resigned and Square-Enix tried to take over the company. Today, Tecmo announced they’ll be the latest Japanese company to find refuge from shrinking domestic business by consolidating. Their new partner will be Koei. Tecmo, I’m worried about you. Times are tough for Japanese developers developing traditional games for home consoles. We’ve had wonderful times together and I’m still looking forward to Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff this fall. Remember all the good times we had with Tecmo Bowl? Yeah. Corporate mergers are a good thing for Japanese developers. Why, just look at previous successes! Read More... Posted Sep 04 2008, 06:00 PM by John Constantine with | with no comments Filed under: nintendo, microsoft, final fantasy, ubisoft, sega, square-enix, ninja gaiden, koei, dynasty warriors, tecmo, namco, eidos, tomonobu itagaki, fatal frame, Bandai, sammy, team ninja

• Trailer Review: Golden Axe

  In the grand pantheon of beat-em-ups, brawlers, hack-and-slashers, kiss-your-mother-with-that-mouth-ya-jerk, dick-punching games, Golden Axe is a middleweight. Hell, it started as a welterweight in 1989. The fantasy setting, magic powers, and ride-able dragons and chicken-salamanders were novel, certainly, but how could it compete with Final Fight, a game that let you be a pro-wrestling mayor who compulsively took off his clothing? How could its triumphant trio of sword-guy-in-underpants, little person, and Red Sonja-cosplayer compete with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Golden Axe was plain outclassed for its first couple of games. That is, until arcade-only sequel Death Adder’s Revenge came out, a game so gorgeous, strange, and playable that it stands as the best beat ‘em up ever made outside of Capcom and Konami (yeah, that’s right. It’s better than Streets of Rage. All of them.) Right when the series started showing its mettle, it all but disappeared. Death Adder’s Revenge’s legacy lived on in a cruddy Genesis sequel, a Saturn fighting game, and a bizarro PS2 remake of the series debut. Until now! Read More... Posted Sep 04 2008, 05:00 PM by John Constantine with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: john constantine, trailer review, up all night, devil may cry, capcom, konami, sega, god of war, heavenly sword, golden axe, conan, teenage mutant ninja turtles

• Warning: Pictoimage Isn't Really A Game

  Yesterday, my general boredom led me to the Wii's space-gobbling Nintendo channel, in the hopes that something could eat away minutes of my precious free time.  I was luck enough to stumble across a DS demo for Sega's PictoImage, which amazingly transforms your DS into a virtual piece of paper!  Here's the trailer: Yep, PictoImage is the same gimmicky crap that made everyone think the DS was a bad idea back in 2004. Thank god we can experience those same feelings in 2008, what with Ping Pals being a forgotten tragedy nearly four years after the system's launch. Read More... Posted Aug 28 2008, 05:00 PM by Bob Mackey with | with no comments Filed under: sega, ds, stupid, bob mackey, pictoimage

• Ecco the Dolphin: Was This Game Ever Considered Fun?

  I usually don't have any trouble tossing a bad game on the street with a suitcase full of its clothes. But over my long bitter life I've played a handful of games that I desperately want to love, but alas, cannot because they're abusive. But I keep letting them back into my home because I convince myself that maybe they've changed. At the forefront of Team Uneasy is Sega's Ecco the Dolphin. Ecco was an exciting critter to have around in 1992; our generation was gung-ho about saving the Earth and a game about a dolphin was an imaginative idea (because plumbers that don raccoon suits and fly is just a bit mundane). Ecco the Dolphin puts a watery spin on platforming with your main worry being the danger of drowning rather than jumping over bottomless pits. Even the story is compelling (it's a fish story! Ha!). Instead of running down a lost princess, Ecco must find his lost pod, which was sucked up by an ocean-hoovering alien race. Ecco travels through caverns, braves the frigid Arctic waters and studies the ruins of Atlantis before he goes back in time to challenge the dolphin-eaters. I dig dolphins. Dolphins are probably the only species on Earth that enjoy life to the very fullest. I love the idea of a game that lets you dart and frisk around in warm tropical waters because God knows I'm not going to be able to afford a vacation anytime soon. That's where Ecco the Dolphin fails, though: you don't dart, frisk and jump. Actually, you do for one fraction of the opening stage and it's a thrill. Then the Oceanwide Tragedy happens, the music darkens to indicate serious business and suddenly you're creeping slowly through thick herds of jellyfish like a sullen commuter on Monday evening. Read More... Posted Aug 21 2008, 06:01 PM by Nadia Oxford with | with 4 comment(s) Filed under: sega, retro, 16-bit, challenge, ecco the dolphin, sea life, dolphins, sega genesis, environment

• Trailer Review: House of the Dead – Overkill

  Back in what kids are calling “the day”, I spent a lot of time in an arcade in State College, Pennsylvania by the name of Playland. Playland was a classic. Made up of four dark, dank rooms lined with cabinets from every era of gaming up to 2003, it reeked of cigarette smoke and pheromones, always overflowing with people, most of them laughing, a few scowling with concentration. Actual fights were rare, heated Street Fighter fights common. It was beautiful like the sun. For most of the year 2000, I had a routine running at Playland. I would head over once class ended at three o’clock, and I would bring one dollar in quarters. Then I would play House of the Dead and see where that dollar got me. Afternoons that year were spent with one arm stretched in front of the cabinet, memorizing when some grizzled undead monstrosity would pop out from behind a specific wall, and getting just a little farther on a single quarter. I never did manage to beat it on one credit (came close,) but it didn’t matter. It was awesome all the same. But not nearly as awesome as House of the Dead’s resurrection in this trailer. Indeed, this trailer may be the awesomest thing I have seen in my life. After watching it, after witnessing this all out zombie brutality, I think I might be suffering from awesome poisoning. Not acute awesome poisoning. Severe. Read More... Posted Aug 19 2008, 05:00 PM by John Constantine with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: john constantine, trailer review, wii, sega, headstrong games, house of the dead

• Sonic is for Porn

  Dic's Saturday morning Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon--often referred to by its (very dedicated) fanbase as "SatAM"--remains an example of one of video gamedom's higher quality cartoon adaptations. The intro lives on in the hearts of our inner children. When we hear it, we recall our bowls of Trix and waking up before everyone else and oh my God, I can't even concieve of not sleeping in on a Saturday morning. Not even for Sonic. Most of us have grown up and become stale adults with worries about bills and running out of Dulcolax. Our tastes have changed as well; now instead of laughing along with Sesame Street, we laugh along with Avenue Q (maybe). Ah, but perverts may yet rejoice for this opportunity to recapture and distort their childhood. A thoughtful Sonic fan crossed Avenue Q's "The Internet is For Porn" with the animated cast of Sonic the Hedgehog. (Mildly NSFW.) Of course, every genius with free, spyware-laden editing software has crossed Avenue Q with every franchise ever (including your mom. Oh!--Zing!), but there's something very special about the obese Dr Robotnik bellowing "For porn!" Unfortunately, the image of Robotnik surfing the Internet for delights now hovers in my brain like a spectre. Someone get me a funnel and some lighter fluid. Read More... Posted Aug 18 2008, 03:18 PM by Nadia Oxford with | with 5 comment(s) Filed under: sega, sonic the hedgehog, parody, cartoon, robotnik, the internet is for porn, satam, sonic the hedgehog cartoon, avenue q, dic

• Kenji Eno Is a Mule of Epic Proportions

  Mule [myool] – noun – an individual, male or female, who exhibits qualities of sweetness, silliness, generosity, enthusiasm, exuberance, exaggerated sexuality and adventurousness simultaneously. Some things just pass you by. Sometimes you turn on the radio and hear a song that makes you perk up and when you find out who it was, turns out it’s your all-time favorite band. You never heard that song before and it baffles you that something like that could escape your attention. I felt that way after checking out the unedited Kenji Eno interview put together by Shane Bettenhausen and James Mielke over at 1up. Not only have I never played a single game by the maverick designer, but up until today I didn’t even know who he was. Which, I have to admit, is frustrating the ever loving hell out of me. Eno is responsible for some of gaming’s most infamous cult creations (shooter/point-and-click adventures D, D2, and Enemy Zero) and other oddities that I have trouble believing are even real (off-the-wall minigame collection Short Warp came packed with a condom. It was for the 3DO. I shit you not.) Read More... Posted Aug 08 2008, 01:00 PM by John Constantine with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: john constantine, 1up, shane bettenhausen, sega, dreamcast, Panasonic, 3do, d, d2, warp, james mielke, enemy zero, Kenji eno, Saturn, real sound

• Alternate Soundtrack: Altered Beast vs. Natalie Portman's Shaved Head

  Altered Beast tells the story of a Centurian raised from the dead to rescue Athena from blahblahblah whatever. Altered Beast was an arcade beat 'em up from Sega in the 1980's, back when stories in video games existed but really served no purpose. Why did Donkey Kong kidnap Mario's girlfriend? Who cares? Climb to the top of the tower! And since when are Sega games known for their stories? Sonic the Hedgehog has a story, but all you care about is running real fast. NiGHTS has a story, but all you care about is flying around in circles. Crazy Taxi probably has a story, but it's even less important than the one in Sonic. In Altered Beast, you are a dude in a tunic who beats up zombie monsters. You collect power-ups which first transform you into an oiled-up beefcake of homoerotic manliness and then into one of several powerful man-beasts. Read More... Posted Aug 05 2008, 10:30 AM by Derrick Sanskrit with | with 4 comment(s) Filed under: alternate soundtrack, derrick sanskrit, sega, genesis, arcade, altered beast

• Game Over, Man: Aliens - Colonial Marines Penned By Battlestar Galactica Writers

  They’re still far from release, but Gearbox is saying all the right things about their Aliens game. After revealing Colonial Marines in late 2007, the much loved developer behind Half-Life expansions Blue Shift and Opposing Forces have made it their mission to craft the perfect interactive sequel to James Cameron’s opus, not just another cash-in on the abused Alien franchise. Early screens betray an almost fetishistic love of Aliens, its forbidding environments awash in Cameron’s trademark palette of sterile blues and grays. The proposed gameplay also channels the film’s tense action, with group tactics based more on securing rooms than running and gunning. Gearbox founder Randy Pitchford’s announcement that Colonial Marines is being scripted by Battlestar Galactica’s Bradley Thompson and David Weddle is one more signifier of the game’s potential quality. Read More... Posted Jul 23 2008, 03:00 PM by John Constantine with | with no comments Filed under: john constantine, sega, battlestar galactica, aliens, gearbox, james cameron

• FMV Hell: Sonic CD

  I'm pretty sure most original prints of Sega CD games were long ago ground up into dog food, but the resurrection of Vay on the iPhone got me nostalgic for the anime cutscenes that used to preced certain Sega CD games. Each scene employed about sixteen on-screen colours and had about thirty frames of animation, but there was something charming about those florescent marionettes. They were like figures drawn in an Autistic kid's painting: clumsy, but admirable for the attempt. (And vasty preferable to the grainy live-action FMV that usually gummed up the games in the Sega CD library.) The Sega CD is largely considered a failure, but every failed system has its must-own games. Sonic CD was certainly a gem, easily the highlight of Sonic the Hedgehog's up-and-down career. Sonic CD began with the standard Sega CD animated intro. It's interesting to note that there are a few versions of the anime. Most obviously, there's a Japanese intro and an American one. The animation in both is more or less the same, but wars have been fought over which country has the better intro song. America long ago became familiar with Spencer Nilsen's "Sonic Boom, Sonic Boom, Sonic Boooooom" whereas Japanese children got to hear a song about leather and lace and what might possibly be a chorus that begins with "Toot toot Sonic Warrior." Here's the Japanese intro stacked up against the American one. Engage comparison. Read More... Posted Jul 21 2008, 08:40 PM by Nadia Oxford with | with 5 comment(s) Filed under: music, sega, sonic the hedgehog, sega cd, fmv hell, sonic cd, fmv, spencer nilsen

• Sega CD on iPhone: I Like Where This Is Going

  The iPhone is new and exciting. Sega CD games are pretty old, but still kind of exciting. What happens when you put the two together? I often wish I could go back in time and torment my younger self. I think we'd have some really cool conversations about video games. I mean, who cares about the fact that we've made major medical advancements or that we can travel in space buses (oh shit wait no we can't)? I want my younger self to hear all about how we can play the coveted games of our childhood on our telephones. Not that I have an iPhone. It's totally because I'm not into that useless capitalist waste. It's not like my mom's the only person who ever calls me. Sniff. You know I've never played a Lunar game? I know what I want to see next in the iPhone, thank you. Oh and it must retain the bizarre Working Designs "translation." Read More... Posted Jul 18 2008, 07:10 PM by Nadia Oxford with | with no comments Filed under: rpg, working designs, sega, retro, iphone, lunar, sega cd, vay

• Revenge of the Port: Dead Rising Shuffles, Moans on Wii

  The true death of the arcade came at the beginning of this decade. It wasn’t when gamers started opting for the comfort and value of playing at home; it was when home consoles finally started equaling (and surpassing) the technological heft of the arcade cabinets themselves. Sega, one of the only surviving arcade giants, signed the death warrant themselves when developing the Dreamcast and its arcade-motherboard-twin, Naomi. Games at home and games in the arcade, identical for the first time. The move may have had the negative effect of killing off the already declining amusement center population across the Western world, but it also had a significant silver lining: the death of the shoddy arcade port. Approximations of more technologically demanding games have been a staple of gaming in the home since the 1970s, but, with the exception of stray PC-based ports, downgraded game experiences have largely disappeared since 2000. Today, in 2008, the fracturing of the console space seems to be bringing them back in force. Read More... Posted Jul 16 2008, 01:00 PM by John Constantine with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: john constantine, nintendo, xbox 360, resident evil, wii, capcom, nes, PC, pokemon, sega, grand theft auto, dreamcast, port, koei, Naomi, dead rising, dynasty warriors

• Do You Hold Any Hope For Sonic Unleashed?

  Well? The E3 Trailer is a mixed bag in my opinion. The first half is pretty awesome. It does look like Sonic Unleashed will lack the complexity of its 16-bit predecessors (oh God, what a thing to say). It's impossible to tell from a video alone, but it seems as if there's little exploration and more of the "push right on the control pad and let us do the work" sort of gameplay that the 3D Sonic games have long been criticised over. Still, I can't deny that I'm excited about the pretty pretty graphics. Sonic grinding down a rail that's suspended over miles and miles of suburbs? Yes pls. I can deal with that. I also like the dragon-themed loop-de-loop. It reminds me of Snake Road from the Dragon Ball Z series. (Yeah, I just defended Sonic and made a reference to DBZ. May as well take me out back and put a bullet through my head.) I'm pretty skeptical about the werewolf--er, werehog gameplay, though. It looks like Mr Hedgehog zips through cityscapes whereas Mr Shaggypants must grind to a halt and pound things with his fists a la the Hulk. It's generally not a good idea to stop the music in the middle of--well, I'll leave you to make up your own clever sex metaphor. Read More... Posted Jul 16 2008, 12:00 PM by Nadia Oxford with | with 5 comment(s) Filed under: sega, sonic the hedgehog, retro, sonic unleashed, e3, 3d games, werehog, trailer

• Gaga for Segagaga

  You suckers in America won't get to read it for a while, but this month's Edge features a great interview with Tez Okano, creator of an odd little Japan-only Dreamcast RPG called SGGG (pronounced Segagaga). The object of the game is to save Sega from financial collapse, and was ironically released around the time of Sega's collapse (2001), in the console arena, at least. Segagaga is a plan formulated to save Sega from DOGMA, an evil corporation intended to portray Sony. From there it goes totally meta. You talk to a down on his luck Alex Kidd and go up against a flying, sentient Genesis console in a schmup segment. Insane. Read More... Posted Jul 08 2008, 12:00 PM by Cole Stryker with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: sega, monkey island, cole stryker, sonic, dreamcast, edge, alex kidd, segagaga

• Alternate Soundtrack: Streets of Rage 2 vs. Test Icicles

  The city that had been plagued with crime and violence was safe and peaceful. However, evil has once again cast its shadow over the city. So begins a Sega classic. In the 1990's, it seemed like all console games were desperately trying to ape one of three games. All platform games tried to be Super Mario Brothers. All fighting games tried to be Street Fighter II. All beat 'em up games tried to be Streets of Rage. And like all 1990's games, the story in Streets of Rage was present but completely unimportant. You chose a character, walked towards the right side of the screen, and beat up anybody who stood in your path. Pleasures don't get much simpler than this. Read More... Posted Jul 08 2008, 11:00 AM by Derrick Sanskrit with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: alternate soundtrack, derrick sanskrit, sega, genesis, test icicles, streets of rage

• Sonic Unleashed Wii: Should Dimps Be Trying Harder?

  Sonic the Hedgehog has the pull of a train wreck: no matter how tired you think you are of his lacklustre 3D adventures, you can't help but take a good long stare whenever one is announced. Sonic Unleashed, for example, exists only as a handful of screenshots and a couple of trailers, but gamers who insist they're thoroughly tired of the hedgehog are still finding plenty to mouth off about. The August issue of Nintendo Power created a stir with some new screenshots for the Wii version of the game. When compared to the preview material for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 versions, Sonic Unleashed for the Wii looks very...well, last gen. Read More... Posted Jun 30 2008, 01:00 PM by Nadia Oxford with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: wii, street fighter 4, playstation 2, sega, sonic the hedgehog, nintendo power, xbox360, sonic team, sonic rush adventure, dimps, super mario galaxy, sonic unleashed, playstation3, graphics, sonic and the secret rings

• Where is Yu Suzuki?

  It’s no secret that Sega has changed. Since bowing out of the console business in late 2001, the one-time behemoth has become a prolific multi-console publisher but a shadow of their former selves, emphasizing a quantity of titles over quality. Who can blame them though? Creative game design may be Sega’s enduring legacy but it certainly didn’t line their pockets. They have abandoned their once eccentric impulses, favoring ancient franchises over new IP. This is no doubt thanks to their diminished in-house development and the exodus of some of their most talented auteurs, like Tetsuya Mizuguchi, Naoto Oshima, and Yuji Naka. Yu Suzuki, Sega’s most prolific and celebrated creator, remains with the publisher/developer to this day. Suzuki was responsible for many of Sega’s defining titles, Space Harrier and Out Run, as well as a pioneer of 3D gaming with his Virtua line of racing, shooting, and fighting games. But since the release Shenmue II, the second part of Suzuki’s wildly ambitious trilogy, he has all but disappeared as game maker. Read More... Posted Jun 19 2008, 11:00 AM by John Constantine with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: john constantine, where is, sega, virtua fighter, yu suzuki, shenmue

• Trailer Review: Sonic Unleashed

  Yes, Sonic Unleashed does look good, idiotic title be damned. A lot of folks talk about how Sonic’s fallen on hard times in recent years. Every time a new console Sonic gets announced, it’s hyped as “the one”, the Sonic game that brings back the ‘Hog’s glory days, when he wasn’t playing second fiddle to Mario just so people would pay attention to him. And every time, the game turns out to be, at worst, a steaming pile of crap (Sonic Heroes/Riders/PS360 Self-Titled) or, at best, a competent imitation of past success (Sonic Advance/Rush). Unleashed’s luscious presentation, fun music, and pure speed are certainly tantalizing but who knows how this game actually plays? Read More... Posted Jun 18 2008, 07:00 PM by John Constantine with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: john constantine, trailer review, sega, sonic the hedgehog

• The Ten Greatest Opening Levels in Gaming History, Part 3

  Sonic the Hedgehog - Green Hill Zone By the time the original Sonic the Hedgehog came out, Super Mario World had been out for six months in Japan. In almost every way, Mario had the edge on Sonic — more levels, more power-ups, more variety, more gaming. But there was one thing you couldn't take away from Sonic, and that was the sheer dazzle of starting up the game and entering Green Hill Zone. To this day, Green Hill Zone looks spectacular, with its sparkling ocean, lush vegetation and abstract geometry — not to mention Masato Nakamura's unforgettable music. Mario had a lot to offer, but in terms of pure physicality, most of Dinosaur Land seems awfully drab next to Green Hill Zone. (Plus, it was 1991 — "zones" were just cooler than "lands", for Chrissakes.) — PS Read More... Posted Jun 12 2008, 09:45 PM by John Constantine with | with 6 comment(s) Filed under: john constantine, peter smith, metroid, nintendo, capcom, final fantasy, top ten, prince of persia, konami, valve, half-life, shadow of the colossus, sega, zelda, sonic the hedgehog, square-enix, god of war, einhander, final fantast vii, metal gear, the ten greatest opening levels in gaming history, mega man x, strider

• The Ten Greatest Opening Levels in Gaming History, Part 2

  Metal Gear Solid 2 – The U.S.S. Discovery The opening level of Metal Gear Solid 2 is the finest Metal Gear game ever made in-and-of itself. Forget Hideo Kojima’s cinematic pretensions for just a moment and think about the raw play available in this self-contained prologue scenario. The tools of MGS’ trade may not be available to Snake in their totality here, but every inch of the tanker acts as a playground for the series' most fundamental mechanics. You can sneak through without ever being seen or you can kill every Russian soldier you come across. There is an expertly paced boss fight. There is skin-mag related humor. It’s all here. Now layer Kojima’s cinematic pretensions back on top of all that considering they are at their best (read: most restrained) here and you have a beginning that is, arguably, superior to anything the follows or precedes it in the entire series. — JC Read More... Posted Jun 12 2008, 09:30 PM by John Constantine with | with no comments Filed under: john constantine, peter smith, metroid, nintendo, capcom, final fantasy, top ten, prince of persia, konami, valve, half-life, shadow of the colossus, sega, zelda, sonic the hedgehog, square-enix, god of war, einhander, final fantast vii, metal gear, the ten greatest opening levels in gaming history, mega man x, strider