Monthly Archives

December 2012

Community, Game News, Game Secrets, Interviews, Podcasts, Sega Consoles, Sega Retro, Site News

Monday Links: Bringing in the New Year Edition

It’s New Year’s Eve. Not exactly a whole lot going on in terms of video games, Sega or Sonic the Hedgehog even. But hey, the world hasn’t ended yet! This year certainly has been full of surprises for everyone, including us here at Sonic & Sega Retro. We hope to see you in the new year. In the meantime, there’s still plenty to go around in terms of news and whats happening.

 

 

 

 

Sonic Retro News

  • Another Christmas with Sonic arrives after Christmas. It’s not 2013 yet, so there is still time for some holiday cheer. [Youtube]
  • Project AXSX is giving a New Year update on their progress. [Youtube]
  • Say that stream featuring the Unleashed-to-Generations mod was pretty keen last week. It’s all there, Wireheads and Magic Knights and all on our account. [Twitch]

Sonic/SEGA News

  • Now we know who to blame for why the Game Grumps are playing through Sonic 06. This remix of them thinking about playing it is a great idea. [Youtube]
  • 8-4 Play’s Podcast interviews programmer Gregg Tavares about his life and times working at various companies, including his time at SEGA, working conditions, Zombie Revenge and more. [Giant Bomb Presents 8-4 Play]
  • The GameCube and Wii emulator, Dolphin, has updated to include GCN Broadband adapter support. Besides enabling LAN play for Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, 1080 Avalanche and Kirby Air Ride, this includes support for playing Phantasy Star Onine Episode 1 & 2 and Episode 3 C.A.R.D. Revolution. There are still active homebrew servers available and are fully functional for both players emulating through Dolphin or playing on actual GameCube units. This is true cross-platform play. [Emulation]
  • Do you still not have Sonic Generations on Steam? GreenManGaming has it for 75% off. You can then take 30% off that price with this code:  GMG30-DPLIM-DN831 [GreenManGaming]
  • Voice acting is the most important element of game design. Jason Griffith plays a character in the latest entry of the multi-award million dollar selling military shooter. [Modern Combat]
Game News

Sonic Jump Now Free on iOS Until Tomorrow

A week after Sonic Jump got released for Android devices, the iOS version of the game has suddenly become free. If this is just a one-day deal or a permanent price drop is unknown, but seeing how this sort of deal happens often with iOS games it’s most likely the former. So if you have an iPhone or iPad and like free stuff, you might want to go get it.

You can grab Sonic Jump here. Note that all the things in the in-game store do still cost money. The game still costs two bucks for Android users, so if you’re one and are willing to pay money for it you can go buy it here.

[Via Wario64 on Twitter]

Update: Turns out this is part of the 12 Days of Christmas promotion on the App Store, meaning that it’s only free until tomorrow, January 1st.

 

Community, Fan Works, Hacking, Site News

Retro Stream at 4PM Central Featuring the Unleashed-to-Generations Mod

Watch live video from vidyaretro on www.twitch.tv

We’ve got one more surprise stream for you all before the end of the new year. We will be joined by Chimera of the Unleashed to Generations conversion team checking out one of the levels and will be able to take your questions.

Check back at 4PM Central (That’s less than an hour if you’re just reading this!) and come join us!

UPDATE: The stream is over, if you missed it you can still watch it archived (cut into lots of parts due to connection problems) here on our Twitch channel.

Comics

Mobius: 25 Years Later: The Review, Part 7 – The Mental State of Sonic the Hedgehog

Looking at the comic book as a whole, it’s pretty clear that the entire staff – not just Ken Penders – had some trouble transitioning to the Sonic Adventure era of the franchise. After all, Sonic the Hedgehog was based primarily on the Saturday morning series, which featured characters and settings far removed from the video games. Even characters like Dr. Robotnik were extremely different, his visual appearance and chilling vocals as far removed from the Dr. Eggman design as one could get. Even though Robotnik had been briefly retired, when word came from the licensing department that the newest game was to be adapted in the pages of the series, the staff was given a tremendous challenge. How would one reconcile the anthropomorphic world of a polluted and corrupted Mobius with the human-friendly, pristine world of Sonic Adventure?

The answer? Not very well. Having Station Square be a human city hidden in a mountain and protected from the gene bomb that wiped out most of humanity millennia before, there was already an ominous cloud over everything. Intent on adapting the game as closely as possible, the most ridiculous plot devices were used. Alternate robot bodies, magic rings aging characters, and Super Emeralds somehow able to create buckles on shoes that didn’t already have them…

The hardest hit, though, had to be Ken. Here was a man who, regardless of how you feel about his work, had spent years creating this entire world for Knuckles the Echidna from scratch. Then one day, you’re told that your carefully crafted history has to be pushed aside to include the backstory for Knuckles as introduced in Adventure. The story of Pachacamac, Tikal and Chaos contradicted Ken’s take on the creation of Angel Island at every turn. Coupled with the cancellation of Knuckles’ solo series, it comes through that Ken was writing something his heart wasn’t in. His long-term plans for characters that weren’t even his had to be changed, and pet projects like the original Knuckles: 20 Years Later were put on indefinite hold. Having grown a garden in one place and then being told that you’re actually supposed to be making taffy? That has to take a toll on anyone.

It wouldn’t surprise me if, in some regard, Ken resents Sonic Adventure and the elements he was forced to play with.

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Retro Contests, Site News

Retro Giveaway: Sonic Franchise Bundle on Steam

Seasons greetings, dear Retro readers! Last night, jolly old Santa Claus visited the Retro HQ, ate all our cookies and milk, and didn’t leave us a damn thing. Fortunately, we managed to pull his bag off his sleigh as he tried to escape from our armed pursuit, and in his wonderful bag of gifts, we found a hundred pounds of solid gold ingots. We promptly sold all the gold, and I’m happy to report that all of the Retro staff slept on mattresses made entirely out of cash last night. In the spirit of the Christmas season, we thought we’d pass our frankly tremendous fortunes on to you, so today we’re holding a giveaway for a Sonic Franchise Steam Bundle. This bundle includes every single Sonic game available on Steam (see complete list below), and only one lucky reader is going to walk away with the whole thing. To enter, simply leave a comment on this post before 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time on December 31st, 2012, and include an email address we can contact you at in case you win. Make sure to read the rules below as well. Good luck, and may you enjoy these games as much as we are enjoying our endless pits of money.

Complete List of Games Included:

  • Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine
  • Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing
  • Sonic 3D Blast
  • Sonic Adventure DX
  • Sonic Adventure 2 (with Battle DLC)
  • Sonic CD
  • Sonic Generations (with Casino Night DLC)
  • Sonic Spinball
  • Sonic the Hedgehog
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 2
  • Sonic 3 & Knuckles
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode II

Contest Rules

  1. Sonic Retro staff are barred from entering. Yes, me, that means you.
  2. You must not already own more than three of the games on Steam. We will need permission to view your Steam profile to verify that you meet this requirement. This is so that people who don’t already own these titles have a chance to get them.
  3. Entries must be submitted by 11:59 PM EST on December 31, 2012, and must have supplied a valid email address.
  4. Only one entry per person. Trying to skirt this rule may result in all of your entries being disqualified, not just the additional entries.
  5. The winner will be chosen whenever we feel like it between January 1st and January 7th, 2013.

Clarifications:

  1. You do NOT need to put your email address in the text of the comment, just use the email field provided for you.
  2. You do not need to put your Steam profile in your comment. We will email you and request that information when and if you are picked as the winner.
  3. DLC, such as the Adventure 2 Battle DLC or Generations Casino Night, does not count against the three game limit from rule two. Games will be considered as listed above.
Community, Site News

Monday Links: Jumping Christmas Eve Edition

Unless you’re like my family, you’re probably going to be off celebrating the holidays with your loved ones or at the very least unwrapping presents and doing your best Nintendo 64 kid impression of sorts over that Wii U where you’ll spend countless hours playing System Update. No matter who you are or what religion you may be, we’ve got a handful of things that might interest you this fine Monday.

Sonic/SEGA News

  • Sonic Jump finally lands on Android [Google Play]
  • Unlike the last Steam sale, Sonic Adventure 2 is now on sale for half off. [Sonic Adventure 2 on Steam]
  • Also on Steam there’s this Sonic franchise sale on Steam as well that compiles all the Sonic games together. [Steam Sonic Franchise Sale]
  • Pix N Love’s History of Sonic can be found in comic book stores right now. [Udon Entertainment]
  • You should also look into this Sega Arcade Classics Vol. 1 from the fine folks at Hardcore Gaming 101. [HG101]
Sonic Retro News
  • Don’t forget about Overlord’s review of the Fleetway comics. [How Fleetway Played the Games Part 5]
  • Same goes for David the Lurker’s overview on the Archie comics and KEN PENDERS. [Mobius 25 Years Later Part 6]
  • Another Christmas With Sonic is still on it’s way, hopefully by Friday. [Christmas with Sonic]
  • I’m kind of lazy when it comes to converting the material to Youtube, but we’ve got most of our streams archived on TwitchTV in the meantime. [TwitchTV]
  • A long time ago when I made this article, the person who made those videos also went a did a Youtube series comparing several games and letting the people decide which is the best. They also provide insight on the culture behind each game along with some very useful gameplay tips.  [Versus Battlecast]

Other Stuff

Or you could watch some Power Stone anime…

Comics

How Fleetway Played The Games, Part 5: Of Ice and Repairing

Welcome back to the second half of our look at the interim arcs of the Sonic 3 & Knuckles adaptation! Last time we travelled with Sonic and Amy Rose to the Marble Garden Zone, escaped the newly-revealed secret headquarters of Sonic & company as Big Arms smashed the place to pieces, and did some gambling with the Mario Marxio Brothers in the Carnival Night Zone. However we’ve got much more ground to cover, so let’s get started!

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Comics

Mobius: 25 Years Later: The Review, Part 6 – A Brief History, Continued

With Endgame, the future of Sonic the Hedgehog was up in the air. The comic, which had relied so heavily on the concepts of Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and the Saturday morning series, could no longer fall back on the status quo of those shows. With the defeat of Robotnik and the reclaiming of Mobotropolis, the future was suddenly unsure. With the 48-page special Brave New World, it was clear that the comic felt it still had life in it even if Robotnik wasn’t the main villain. The world of Mobius was not yet safe, one victory not suddenly making everything the way it was before Julian turned on King Acorn.

With Karl Bollers taking over as the main writer for the Sonic series, Ken Penders took on a new assignment – to focus on the brand new monthly Knuckles the Echidna comic book. Brainstorming all sorts of ideas for his new series, the seeds for the future were once again planted. Unlike the last time, however, it looked as though the licensing representatives at SEGA would allow Ken to explore the future of these characters in ways never before imagined…
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Community, Podcasts, Sega Consoles, Sega Retro

Change of Programming: Sega Saturn Retro Stream

Due to low friend requests accepted, Retro staff’s scheduling and among several other issues, we’ll be postponing the Community Day Stream for Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. While the numbers are kind of low, make no mistake about it, those of you who sent in friend requests, you guys rock. Seriously. We’ll check back in January to let you know when we’ll reschedule the stream. Especially those of you who are just getting the game for the holidays. If you haven’t already, send a friend request to VidyaRetro on Playstation 3, Xbox 360 or Wii U if you want in on the action.

In the meantime though, we’ll be doing a stream with who we’ve got showcasing a number of Sega Saturn games. Including a number of Sega’s lesser known mascots, some real oddities and more. We’ll be kicking things off around 4PM Central, an hour earlier than originally planned. Hope to see you there for the usual whimsy, banter and of course, the games.

It’s out there.

Comics

Mobius: 25 Years Later: The Review, Part 5 – A Brief History Of The Future

In the early 90’s, the continuity of the Saturday morning series Sonic the Hedgehog captured the hearts of numerous Sonic fans. For many, it was their very first exposure to the blue blur. For others, it was the chance to finally see their favorite hero animated on the small screen, even if it didn’t match up with the world they played in the games. Beginning with the second season, a storyline evolved that those who tuned in each week couldn’t wait to find out what happened next. They wanted to know what the future held for these characters, and if they would be able to reclaim their childhood home of Mobotropolis and defeat the evil Dr. Ivo Robotnik.

Television, much like comic books, can be a fickle medium. After two seasons the show went off the air, many thinking the comic book would follow suit. After all, how many licensed comics survived their source material? But to the surprise of many in the halls of Archie Comics, the title became more popular once the television series had unceremoniously ended, the four-color pages being the only outlet for those who felt unsatisfied with the cliffhanger ending of the cartoon. Even if the details were different, the future of these characters could be followed. Princess Sally, Antoine, Rotor, Bunnie and the rest could live on.

The idea of being able to show the “happily ever after,” though, was still something impossible. If the heroes defeated Robotnik and took back the kingdom, it would mean the end of the comic book as well. Even if the book is its own unique story, it still exists to serve as an advertisement to the games. There was no way Dr. Eggman could vanish from the book completely as long as he was the main antagonist in the video games. Sonic and Sally could not ride off into the sunset.

That didn’t mean Ken Penders wouldn’t try to show it anyway.
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