#SEGA
#SEGA
by Omar (@siegarettes)
Yakuza Kiwami has a strange tension between the new and the old. Its modern face lift of the original PS2 game bring it in line with the look of the later PS3 titles, and it’s clear that this is where many series conventions were established. Kiryu’s established as an icon of the old school ideals of masculinity. Rough, straightforward, and honorable to a fault. There’s also plenty of melodrama and absurd reveals, all of which build into a slowly unraveling conspiracy. But while the core is there, it’s clear that Kiwami suffers from being held to the original Yakuza’s structure.
By: David (@friendshipguy_)
• Superdimension Neptune VS Sega Hard Girls
• Developer - IDEA FACTORY, COMPILE HEAR, FELISTELLA
• Publisher - Idea Factory International
• PC/Steam
Superdimension Neptune VS Sega Hard Girls is, of course, the next series in featuring the plucky cast of the games that centered around them before. If you’ve played a Neptunia game, you more than likely know what to expect - a good or bad thing, depending on who you ask. Most of the cast is back for this entry with new additions to their crew: the aforementioned Sega Hard Girls, which are developed via collaborative efforts between Sega and ASCII Media Works’ Dengeki Bunko imprint. A little esoteric if you don’t know where they’ve come from - I sure didn’t - but it makes sense for Sega’s officially sanctioned characters to eventually meet up with Idea Factory’s creations sooner or later. Doubly so considering the fact that Sega is the distributor of the entirety of the Neptunia franchise. Idea Factory always goes above and beyond with their translations and selection for English voice actors, though theirold habits and mechanics crop up like red flags in this installment. This review is for the Steam version that released this month, this a one for one port of the Vita version.
@siegarettes talks about how the SEGA 3D Classics line brings new life to classic arcade and SEGA Mega Drive games.
By: RJ (@rga_02)
Growing up, I knew next to no one with SEGA hardware. To this day, I only know a couple of people who still swear by company like it was the early 90s again (clickbliss’ very own Editor-In-Chief being one of them). I’ve always viewed them as some secondary gaming company due to my little exposure to them. Some of their games looked interesting, but they were never on my radar. I’d only play them if I was at a friend’s house who owned SEGA games or if they were gifted to me. Looking back however, I’ve had a lot of memories with that “secondary company”.
By: Omar (@siegarettes)
Playstation Mobile is about to be put to rest, but not before one final shout before its end. Oh Deer! is both thorough homage and recontextualization, something that repurposes the aesthetics and vibrations of the original game for a cheap and absurd shock. That is, it’s an Outrun style driving game where you drive a station wagon through lines of deer on your way to grandma’s house.
Love - 60 is a series about tennis videogames.
By Omar (@siegarettes)
For whatever reason, I love tennis videogames. I don’t play or watch the sport in real life, and I only became interested in it after playing Mario Tennis 64 as a kid. Since then I’ve gone on to spend a lot of with a virtual racket and ball.
Among its contemporaries, the Virtua Tennis series is probably the quintessential modern tennis game. Originally developed for arcades, it’s one of the more accessible games in the genre.
By: Omar (@siegarettes)
Looking at SEGA’s past record, it almost seems to be one of SEGA succeeding despite their hardware. The Genesis was plagued by multiple revisions with parts sourced from several manufacturers, followed by shoddy, unsupported add-ons. The Saturn was rushed out the door with a 3D processor hastily bolted on to compete with the PSOne. Despite that the Genesis became the first real contender with Nintendo, and the Saturn enjoyed success in Japan and a cult following in the US.
When SEGA finally nailed it, bringing a machine very much ahead of its time, a few poor key decisions and the weight of the company’s history came crashing down upon it. Not even two years into the North American release of the system and it had already been discontinued.
Its been 15 years since the release of SEGA’s swansong. There was obviously some enigmatic appeal to the system, as it continued to see officially licensed titles until 2007, with independent releases as recent as last year.
As for me, I got my hands on one just last year. Worth it?
By Omar (@siegarettes)
I’m a SEGA kid. Despite never having owned a Genesis (or even played an actual unit in the flesh), SEGA’s catalog of esoteric characters and arcade legacy built itself a home in my heart. Because of that, the original Sega All Stars Racing, with its litany of references to classic SEGA franchises proved to be an unexpected joy from me. It helped that it was a decent (if absurdly unbalanced) racer as well.
All Stars Transformed proves to be an equally joyous celebration, while also sharpening up the racing mechanics and adding transforming vehicles to the mix. Yes, as the race goes on paths will change with events in the stage, adding an element of dynamism to the tracks.