Monthly Archives

July 2016

Opinion, Previews

Sonic Mania – 25th Anniversary Party Preview

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The second Christian Whitehead, better known as Taxman, posted his YouTube video presenting his Sonic CD remake for iOS, he became a household name. Folks had known him before, but for the first time, a fan’s efforts had caught SEGA’s attention and sure enough, we got the Sonic CD remake, then the original Sonic 1 and Sonic 2.

Fast forward to 2016, and Taxman, along with Headcannon and PadogaWest Games are bringing us a brand new experience feature select levels from Sonic’s past, as well as brand new levels for fans to explore and enjoy. Sonic Mania is the game fans never thought they’d see again, but at the 25th Anniversary Party, we didn’t just get a trailer: we got to play it.

Hit the jump for thoughts from Sonic Retro’s own Bartman3010 and myself.
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Game News, Opinion, Previews

SEGA News Bits: Sonic Mania Hands On Impressions


We played Sonic Mania, and now we’re going to tell you what we think! In this SEGA News Bits, George and I (Barry) rest our aching feet just hours after the Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary Party in San Diego to share our reaction to the Sonic Mania reveal and give our thoughts on how the game plays. Do we have another Sonic 4 on our hands or is Sonic Mania the true successor to Sonic 3 & Knuckles? The answers are obviously “nope!” and “hell yes!” in that order.
Special thanks to Neo Hazard for letting us use his footage, you can check out his channel here! Also, thanks to Bartman for being the one to play the game in our footage. You can find Bartman’s YouTube channel here!
SEGA News Bits is a production of SEGAbits, covering all things SEGA and Sonic the Hedgehog. When we touch on Sonic stories, you’ll be seeing them here on Sonic Retro as well. If you enjoyed this episode of the SEGA News Bits, make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and never miss an episode!

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Game News, Merchandise, Opinion, Podcasts, Previews

SEGA News Bits: Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary Impressions


Pre-recorded just hours after Sonic the Hedgehog’s 25th Anniversary Party wrapped at the San Diego House of Blues, it’s Barry and George’s first impressions of the night! Hear how the event went down, from the literal all the way around the block line to the game announcements to the final curtain call. How did the audience react to the return of Taxman and Stealth? Why do people faint when they hear the opening guitar licks to Crush 40’s “What I’m Made Of”? Where was the computer room? These questions and more are answered in this very special episode of SEGA News Bits!
SEGA News Bits is a production of SEGAbits, covering all things SEGA and Sonic the Hedgehog. When we touch on Sonic stories, you’ll be seeing them here on Sonic Retro as well. If you enjoyed this episode of the SEGA News Bits, make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and never miss an episode!

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Game News

First Gameplay of Sonic in LEGO Dimensions


While the biggest announcements of today’s event were by far Sonic Mania and Project Sonic 2017, the impressive gameplay trailer of Sonic in LEGO Dimensions shouldn’t be ignored. The trailer shows Sonic running through Green Hill Zone yet again, but also has him going through environments from other franchises including Back to the Future and Doctor Who.
The trailer also shows some concept art for Sonic’s world, showing that the familiar Green Hills won’t be the only environment represented in LEGO form. The level set will also come with a couple of vehicles: Sonic’s car from the All-Star Racing games and the Tornado. It will be released this fall and will be useable with every version of LEGO Dimensions.

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Game News

Project Sonic 2017 Announced for PS4, Xbox One, NX and PC


Sonic Mania wasn’t the only new Sonic game revealed at the 25th Anniversary Party. At the end of the stream, Takashi Iizuka revealed the debut trailer for Sonic Team’s next game. Like Sonic Generations, the game will feature both Modern Sonic and Classic Sonic. However, Iizuka stressed that this isn’t a sequel, so it’s not Generations 2.
It also appears that the game will have a dark and serious story line. If so, hopefully it won’t be as bad as the series’ previous attempts at having one of those. The game doesn’t have a name yet aside from a working title, Project Sonic 2017, but they did announce that it’ll be released on PS4, Xbox One, NX (!) and PC during Holiday 2017.

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Game News

Sonic Mania Announced For PS4, Xbox One and PC


Holy shit.
Sega is working together with Christian Whitehead, Headcannon and PadogaWest Games to make Sonic Mania, a new 2D game featuring brand new zones alongside re-imagined versions of old zones.
People at the 25th Anniversary Party can play a demo featuring a re-imagined Green Hill Zone and a new zone called Studiopolis Zone right now. Sega has also given out a goody bag with an USB stick that includes one of the songs from the game, which will undoubtedly be put online sooner than later.
Sonic Mania will be released on PS4, Xbox One and PC in Spring 2017, and we can’t wait to play it.

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Podcasts, Reviews

Multiplayer Showcase Faces Sudden Death in Saturn Bomberman


Its the final minutes until the big 25h anniversary party for our good buddy, Sonic, but wait! Those aren’t rings falling from the sky, its a bunch of weights and a myriad of bombs which means its the last few rounds of Saturn Bomberman before we share our verdict on the game. In the last part of the episode, the group talks about the sudden death mode, discovers a connection with Bomberman and wrestling and share our strategies of playing the game. Also how did people play the game in the mid to late nineties? The round table discussion features my friends Chance, Krys, Randy and Chelsea.
Did you play Saturn Bomberman back in the day? How did you set up the game to play with friends? Do you think other Bomberman games do the job better? Be sure to sound off in the comments!
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Community

Roll in Tomorrow to the Sonic Retro and SEGAbits Meetup !

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Heading to San Diego tomorrow for the Sonic 25th Anniversary Event (or are just in town for Comic-Con?) Meet up with your favorite Sonic Retro and SEGAbits folks at The Local Eatery and Drinking Hole at 3 p.m. Friday to hang out, chat about nerdy Internet things in the real world, share rampant speculation and pre-game for having to deal with a bunch of Sonic fans for a few hours. From there, we’ll head over together to the House of Blues, which is just two blocks away.
Not joining us in San Diego? Tune in to the official livestream at 6 PM PT/9 PM ET/1AM Saturday GMT! In addition to all the antics, who knows—you may even see a familiar face or two.

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Merchandise

Discotek Media announces Sonic X seasons 1 and 2 English dub release date

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Earlier today, American based anime and asian films DVD and blu-ray company Discotek Media announced on Facebook details on their upcoming “Sonic X” DVD. First revealed back in April of 2015, Discotek Media plans to release the first two seasons of the “Sonic X” English dub to DVD in a 52 episode collection with a release date of September 27th, 2016. Season 3, containing the remaining 26 episodes, will be released in another collection at a later date. I really love the SEGA Mega Drive inspired cover art, which has been confirmed to carry over to the menus.
It should be noted that there are no plans at this time for the original Japanese version of the show.

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Opinion, Podcasts, Reviews

Multiplayer Showcase Sets the Stage with Saturn Bomberman


Wondering what to look for in a SEGA Saturn game now that Saturn game encryption has finally been cracked? Why not one of the biggest multiplayer experiences on the console? Multiplayer Showcase continues to take a look at Saturn Bomberman by covering our favorite stages, gimmicks, exploit the dinosaurs and try to figure out what the kick power up looks like. The round table discussion features my friends Chance, Krys, Randy and Chelsea. (Who didn’t play with us but has actually played the game before!) We talk about the simple wide stage. What are your favorite levels or gimmicks from the game? Do the dinosaurs break the game for you or your friends? Sound off in the comments section.
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