SEGA – Adam's Blog

May 24, 2017May 24, 2017

Sonic Advance the best Sonic post Dreamcast

It’s no secret I used to be the biggest SEGA fanboy in existence religiously buying everything with the company’s logo without question and for a good reason. SEGA used to make kickass games across every genre under the sun.

Even after Dreamcast’s demised I supported the company on other platforms. For the most part, SEGA took advantage of the capabilities of each system and made each game special. For example, Sonic returned in its 2D glory on the Gameboy advance while Jet Set Radio made its way to the Xbox.

Things were going well until they weren’t. I’m not sure what happened but SEGA was no longer SEGA. The quality asked magic were gone due allot of staff being replaced with new guys. And while SEGA still made a few good Sonic games there majority were average at best.

Thankfully we still have the old retro gems like Sonic Advance series. But what makes the series so great? A few reasons that I will summarize below:

Amazing engine

Old school feel meets new school looks. That’s the fastest way to describe Sonic Advance. Everything looks retroish yet modern. From graphics to the way Sonic moves. Yes, the music is not comparable to the Mega Drive versions but is still good never the less. Sonic 4 episode 1 controlled like a flash game. Sure they fixed it in the next episode but it’s still nothing like Sonic Advance.

Made by Sonic Team originals

Now days almost everyone is replaced at SEGA. They old guys left and so did the look and feel of most games. And while Sonic Generations was a good Sonic came, the old SEGA feel wasn’t there.

The Golden Age of SEGA

SEGA, in my opinion, released some of the best games of all time after Dreamcast was discontinued. I was joyed to see the company I love taking advantage of each platform pushing their best ideas into a reality. Sonic Advance games were part of that special era.

At the end, I have nothing against the new teams at SEGA and wish them the best. What I want is old school quality style games. SEGA stated that they are planning a comeback and I can only hope that they indeed will.

January 23, 2016May 30, 2021

Why Sonic Jam will always be the best retro Sonic port ever

What’s so special about Sonic Jam you ask? After all, we had over 10 ports of old school Sonic games on every platform imaginable. The difference my friends is that Sonic Jam was one of the first of what you now call Remasters.

Released on June 20, 1997, in Japan with two months gap between the western version, this gem was sadly underappreciated and went completely under the radar to this day. SEGA desperately needed a Sonic game on their new system and while that Sonic game wasn’t exactly what many have hoped for, we got a true remastered version of the first three games.

Graphics

You will notice right off the bat that the graphics are crystal clear with added effects in some areas. The resolution was also bumped upbringing the SEGA Mega Drive classic into a new era. Everything looked amazing and clear.

Once you start playing, you feel like an old school Sonic that we all love is reimagined for the 32-bit era. You just have to experience it to feel it. It’s like playing your favourite console game on PC with 60 FPS. Amazing feeling. Everything about this port looks cool.

Sadly from here on out, SEGA used the original mega drive (Genesis) version or even worse, used an emulator when porting the games. Yes the IOS version looks cool and whatnot but it’s nothing when compared with Sonic Jam’s version.

Sounds

Having the game on a compact disk, SEGA made sure to remaster the music making it CD quality. Every sound sounds amazing thanks to the quality update. Enemies and stage music alike got updated and fixed where needed eliminating any unnecessary noise. Yes, the music starts a little late on some stages due to the CD loading but that’s hardly noticeable.

What’s New

We finally made it to the best section of this post! For starters, the Sonic Dash was added to Sonic 1 and extra animations him leaving a trail behind when running. The clouds move as you scroll by as well.

For Sonic 2, 3 and Sonic and Knuckles many fixes were added making the gameplay smoother than ever. A new Easy and Hard modes were thrown in as well as an Original mode where you get to play the games on their classic difficulties.

And we have the 3D Sonic world. In this mode, you run around doing mini-missions, unlock art, videos and Music. All three original digital manuals are present in both Japanese and English. You can also uncover secrets as you explore this small but cool world.

In short, this was the perfectly remastered port. I just wished they would have ported this to the PC so we could easily enjoy this gem without getting a Saturn (for the average gamers).

The USA version is a little expensive on eBay so I suggest getting the Japanese version as its box is cooler but that’s just me and I own both. The bottom line, get this game if you want to experience the best version of the classic Sonics.

And playing with the Saturn controller is the Icing on the cake. 10/10.

September 15, 2014

Lights off, Football Manager is coming to the big screen

That’s right, Sega Football Manager is coming to cinemas on October 7th.

“The documentary isn’t our story – it’s the story of the people who escape to the alternative reality of being a football manager, and the effect this has had on their lives. It’s also the story of how a computer game made by football fans has become a part of the world it set out to replicate,” says Miles Jacobson, Studio Director of Sports Interactive. “But it’s not just for people who play – it’s also for people who’ve ever wondered why others spend so much time escaping into this world.”

Not sure if serious but this could be fun to watch. A documentary on a football game. Wasn’t expecting this at all.

September 6, 2014September 6, 2014

Latest pickups: Sonic Adventure 2 GameCube NTSCJ version

My latest eBay hunt, Sonic Adventure 2 new Japanese version. Sonic Adventure 2 was the last Sonic game on the legendary Sega Dreamcast system. Apart from the exploring section, the game shined and provide that a respected 3D Sonic is possible. The game lets you control the good and the bad side meaning you can try to destroy the world or save it although the ending is one, different story approach is always welcomed.

I already own the 10th anniversary Dreamcast edition so I was original looking for an american version but came across this and since I like the Japanese packaging I figured, what the hell.

I am hopping that like the original Dreamcast version; this will have an option to switch to English voices and subtitles.

Pre-order The Evil Within $59.95 & FREE Shipping.

Link includes all versions

September 1, 2014September 1, 2014

Adam Plays Sonic 4 Episode I

I will not try to hide that I was and still am the biggest Sega fanboy although I slowed down by the time Xbox 360 and PS3 hit the market. Truth be told, Sega of today is no longer the Sega of Saturn/Dreamcast era. Never the less, great games do come out from time to time and Sonic 4 was a great attempt on bringing old school fans back home. I admit, I bought the game when it came out but never played it seriously until last night before going to bed. I will do my best to summarize everything in unbiased natural review.

Graphics

The graphics look beautiful although some aliasing is visible. I am running the game on mixed resolution and settings and everything looks great. The new cartoonish style is a nice addition to the series. Some of the objects in the background are done in 3D and will have nice effects. The stages look detailed and sonic alike. Apart from the little aliasing I have no complain.

4/5

Gameplay

Well, what can I say.. The gameplay is good but not on the same level as sonic and knuckles. Sonic starts moving in a wired way and feels slow to start. He kinda walks faster without moving his hands which results in a strange movement. The gameplay itself is not glitched or anything but feels slower due to this problem. Everything else including enemies attack looks ok. Sonic’s homing attack feels out of place at first but you will get used to it with time, not as smoth as I hoped it would be. The 3 act per zone returns much like the first Sonic game with a fourth being a boss fight.

The game works with Xbox 360 controller right out the box.

3/5

Sound

The game’s music is ok but not great. Personally, I’m not a fan although the game sounds are Sonic type. The music feels repetitive and uninteresting, at least to me.

3/5

Conclusion

Overall, the game is good. Could have been better but its a good start for episode I. There things to do like leader boards, completing the zones faster and emeralds. Some new eliminates and puzzles were added as well as old school not so great stuff like the Night Casino zone which is full of annoying paths. There are some puzzles which are easy once figure out what to do. Basically, its Sonic 1 remake. Most of the stages resamble the first Sonic game remade in 3D. Not necessary a good thing but cant really complain. The game is very cheap and die hard Sega/Sonic fans will definitely need to pick this up be it on PS3, Xbox 360 or Steam.

August 18, 2014August 18, 2014

Sega is updating Dreamcast ports on Steam

Great to see a company support and update post sale games for free. Sega announced that it will start updating Steam ports soon with enhancements such as achievements and more. Great news as most of the old school Dreamcast ports can use HD update to bring them up to date. Now I am hoping for more re releases as Sega Dreamcast old school fan. Ports of Saturn would be nice as well but Im not crossing my fingers as Saturn ports tend to be hard to reprogram as far as Sega claims.

Podcast:

Lets see how things develops.

August 8, 2014

Just give us PSO2 already SEGA!

Sega, it’s been two long years since you released this in japan with no word on the English Phantasy Star Online 2 as of yet. I remember seeing PSO on Game Network years ago and was immediately amazed that a console can do MMORPG, well sort of. I picked episode II on both GameCube “English + Japanese version) and the original Xbox. I even picked up the horrible Phantasy Star Universe on both the PS2 and PC as well as both the PSP versions all just to show love toward Sega and the franchise.

In return, we non Japanese gamers are yet to receive even a simple news. I do not understand the reason for such delay as the game can easily become big in no time due to the fact that it is free to play with micro transactions.

I remember the good old days where I used to wake up early and stay late to level up my character although I did not make it past the final stage in episode I. I also got the chance to try online play after buying the not so cheap GameCube internet adapter just to can join the online community.

I really that SEGA sort this out and open the game to all with English menus and subtitles.

As mentioned on the official website:

AN EPIC ONLINE ACTION RPG!
Play Phantasy Star Online 2 and experience revolutionary combat in an action-driven, free-to-play multiplayer online RPG from SEGA. Take a journey into an immersive sci-fi fantasy narrative and explore mysterious worlds to unravel their secrets. Join fellow adventurers and fight against the legions of darkness to banish them from the galaxy.

KEY FEATURES:

REVOLUTIONARY ACTION COMBAT
Engage in intense real-time combat and third-person shooting action
Master devastating combos and counter attacks
Assault your enemies with fast-paced aerial attacks
Utilize weapon-based skills to optimize your battle experience
THE HERO YOU WANT TO BE
Create a unique character with comprehensive character customization tools
Choose your destiny as one of three races: the intrepid Humans, the biologically engineered Newmans, or the robotic CAST
Develop yourself with a flexible class-based leveling system and your choice of specialized companions
Define your own play-style with distinctive weapon types for melee, ranged, and magic combat
DEEP SCI-FI FANTASY UNIVERSE
Discover lush worlds filled with beautiful landscapes, extraordinary creatures, and epic adventure
Group up with friends to explore the farthest reaches of the galaxy
Complete randomized encounters during your journeys
Experience challenging boss encounters

July 23, 2014July 23, 2014

Daily Pickups: Sega Saturn Magazines acquired

It is no secret that I was and still am Sega Saturn and old school SEGA fan. It is this issue that I first picked up in the super market years ago along with it’s demo.

I remember rushing to my Black Saturn and testing the demo using the official region free card. Boy was I amazed. I remember playing world wide soccer over a 100 times and trying to glitch my way out of the map in steep slope sliders. The days gaming was actually fun and inventing.

Fast forward to today and I managed to score some mags of my past and a couple of new ones. The reason I stopped going further is cause I don’t wanna be broke from the start as I have bills to pay and people to take care of. Never the less, these amazing gems will surly bring back the nostalgic feeling and joy to my heart.