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Game News, Game Secrets, Humor

Have an Extensive Look at Sonic 1 iOS/Android’s Debug Features


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If you’ve heard of the recent rumblings of the debug mode for the latest Sonic 1 port, you may not be aware of some of it’s hidden features that some of you die hard Sonic fans will get a kick out of. Rolling balls, goggles, animal buddies, unfinished editor features and more await you in this port, and we’ve got a video of almost two hours worth of content.

You have a number of ways for trying out the debug mode yourself. First start a “No Save” game and choose a character. If you have a controller plugged in you can use the traditional method of entering the cheat codes (Up, Down, Left, Right, Hold A + Start) or on the touch screen, after selecting. Otherwise, on the touch screen, tap the letters S-E-G-A in that order and listen for a ring chime. Then hold two fingers on the bottom of the touch screen. When the title screen appears, slide both fingers to the top of the screen to enter the level select.

Here you can enter the sound test for some additional cheats.

04, 01, 02, 06 – Obtain all emeralds

01, 09, 09, 01, 00, 06, 02, 03 – Debug mode.

To activate debug mode tap the GUI in the top left corner of the screen.

Arcade Games, Game Secrets, Sega Retro

F-Zero AX Hidden within Retail Copies of F-Zero GX


F-Zero GX for the Nintendo Gamecube had an interesting feature that worked with it’s Triforce brother. By bringing your memory card to an F-Zero AX arcade machine, it allowed you to unlock additional content for use in the home version and bring your custom vehicle with you on the arcade version. However due to an extremely limited release of the arcade unit, most of the AX content was basically untouchable for many. Turns out after all these years, F-Zero AX was much closer than one thought. Coming from The Cutting Room Floor, and later reported by Retro Collect, they have turned up the entirety of the arcade game is already embedded with each home copy of F-Zero GX. More or less that is. For more information on how to play through AX on your copy of F-Zero GX, be sure to check out the Action Replay codes on either site, or watch the embedded video to see AX mode in action.

Because the games work so close together and both games were in development at the same time, this should come as to no surprise. Still a very interesting insight of the game, and sure to interest those who have never experienced the F-Zero AX arcade machine first hand.

[Source: The Cutting Room FloorRetro Collect]

Game News, Game Secrets

More Information on the Collector’s Edition of The History of Sonic

Sonic_Book_UK

No doubt a number of you are shocked/surprised/disappointed/satisfied that Pix’N Love have recently announced the collector’s edition of “The History of Sonic the Hedgehog.” Not only is it being presented at an attractive price point, only 1,000 of these are being made and distributed solely from Pix’N Love’s site. With this surprising news, it definitely warranted additional information about it. We reached out to their support e-mail who kindly shed some light on this release. This book turned out to be one of the biggest projects to date for the French based publisher. You can check out their response after the jump.

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Comics, Community, Fan Works, Game News, Game Secrets, Sega Retro, Site News

Monday Links: Inaguration Dream Edition

shc2013_bw

Here in America, it’s Martin Luther King Jr’s Day. It’s also Inauguration Day for President Obama. If you’re a Fox Newscaster, today is probably the worst day of your life. But for everyone else, t’s an action packed day to let you guys know the up and up on whats been going on in today’s Monday Links. Oh man, whats that?

HACKING CONTEST?

Retro News

  • The Sonic Hacking Contest for 2013 is underway! Deadline for submission is July 31st 2013. [Sonic Hacking Contest]
  • The Sonic 2 Beta Pirate Carts have been obtained by forum user egel [Sonic 2 Pirate Carts Found]
  • Sonic Fan Remix creator has been working on The 90’s Arcade Racer which is reminiscent of Daytona USA and has a Kickstarter [The 90’s Arcade Racer]
  • The Sonic inspired game Freedom Planet  also has it’s own Kickstarter page. You can download the demo to play it if you haven’t already. [Freedom Planet]
  • David continues his trek through Mobius – 25 Years Later. [Ken Penders]

Sonic & SEGA News

  • Sonic fan site Shadow of a Hedgehog is no longer which was popular for Sonic downloads. Pour one out for them, won’t you? [Goodbye to SoaH City]
  • Project X Zone, the Sega/Capcom/Namco crossover game is slated for release in North America and Europe [Project X Zone]
  • NiGHTS into Dreams, Jet Set Radio and House of the Dead OVERKILL: Extended Cut on sale for Sony’s 13 for ’13 Promotion [PSN’s 13 for ’13]
  • Ikaruga now available for Android devices. [Google Play]
  • The Cave from Ron Gilbert is out this week. [Double Fiiiiine]
  • Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed is out on 3DS this Feburary [Late Finish]
  • It also has exclusive characters for the PC version. [Shoguns, Football Managers and Team Fortress]

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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]
Arcade Games, Game News, Game Secrets, Uncategorized

Sonic the Fighters Coming to XBLA/PSN, With New Playable Characters and Online Play

Confirming rumors that have been circulating for some time now, Sega today announced the Model2 Collection, a digital collection of five classic Sega titles originally developed for their Model2 arcade hardware. Among those titles is Sonic the Fighters, a somewhat obscure Sonic-themed fighting game built on the Fighting Vipers engine and previously rereleased as part of Sonic Gems Collection. Most interesting to note is that this new release appears to include several characters not previously playable in the game, such as Metal Sonic and Eggman (who were previously bosses), as well as Honey the Cat – a character based on Candy (known as Honey in Japan) from Fighting Vipers. Retro aficionados will know that Honey was actually buried in the data for the original arcade release but not playable without hacking the game, so to see Sega put in the effort to make her (and the boss characters) playable is truly refreshing after some of their more lackluster porting efforts in the past. The Japanese site for the Model2 Collection also makes mention of online play, which could be a big selling point for this rerelease as well. Currently there’s been no information about an overseas release, but Sonic the Fighters is due to hit Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network this fall in Japan. See the trailer after the break. Continue Reading

Game News, Game Secrets, Interviews

Retro Interview: Steve Lycett on Sonic and Sega All Stars Racing

All Stars Racing Transformed is only a little over a month away at this point. With this close to release, a number of people may be looking to retire their copy of Sonic and Sega All Stars Racing. Comparing the two is almost like comparing apples to oranges. That said it still acts as an important stepping stone that deserves an honorable mention. Before it becomes overshadowed from it’s upcoming sequel, we rattled the memories of Executive Producer at Sumo Digital Steve Lycett in an E-mail interview regarding development for Sonic and Sega All Stars Racing and what it’s sequel has benefited from their efforts.

 

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Game News, Game Secrets, Merchandise, Sega Retro

[Updated] Pre-Order for Valkyria Chronicles 3 Artbook Available on Amazon.com

Good on Udon. Outside of the select music  tracks featured in the Humble Music Bundle a couple of months back, they’re set on releasing the corresponding artbook for Valkyria Chronicles 3 in the US and is now taking pre-orders on Amazon.com. Despite the fact that, well, we never got the game it represents. While it may seem rather ridiculous to see this artbook for sale, it is a possibility for Sega to try and test the waters for a US release of the game. Furthermore, it may see a new light yet through digital distribution on the Playstation Network for Playstation Portable or Playstation Vita owners due to Sega’s revised business strategy.

Or we could just be getting the artbook and piracy is still rampant on Sony devices. Such a harsh reality. On the plus side, there’ll be plenty of character biographies and story summaries to avoid all that pesky gameplay. The book’s release is set for December 2012.

[Source: Amazon.com, Cheap Ass Gamer, Udon Entertainment]

UPDATE! Udon Entertainment’s front page has nine images to showcase the English version of the artbook.You can also see them in the gallery below.

 

 

 

 

 

Game Secrets, Interviews

Pix N Love’s History of Sonic Book in English Arrives this September

In lieu of a major Sonic title coming out, the 300 page hardcover book from French publisher Pix N Love will finally see a release in the Americas courtesy of Udon Entertainment who have issued a press release revealing the book will be made available in September. The book has been put up for pre-order for quite some time on Amazon.com, however Sega’s official blog has put up new scans of the book in English. At least, the big letters can be read in English.

For those unfamiliar, Pix N Love Publishing has been putting in efforts bringing up the detailed history of foreign developers and individuals through print format with interviews, product catalogs and provides an insight on the subject matter’s history. Unlike most other books from the publisher, the History of Sonic is going to be rolled up together into one book. Covering the history all the way up to Sonic Generations, complete with developer interviews and more in one hardcover bound book. In addition, with the publishing deal from Udon Entertainment, it will be guaranteed a wider distribution in the states, as opposed to the publisher sending out books to customers from it’s native country France. Currently pre-orders are available solely through Amazon.com. More information as it develops.

[Source: The Sonic Stadium, Udon, Sega Blog]


Game News, Game Secrets, Interviews, Sega Retro

Victor Ireland Talks Working Designs, Sister Sonic, Lunar and more on Retronauts

I used to be big on Retronauts, one of my favorite podcasts that I listened to at every release up until it’s host Jeremy Parish lost interest and eventually wound up as Editor in Chief of 1UP.com. Then writer Bob Mackey would pick the ball back up and relaunch the show as a live podcast to keep the show going despite the hardships that had hit 1UP in recent times. Admittably I don’t listen to it as often, change does become difficult to swallow sometimes, but every now and then comes an episode that strikes all the right chords of what I used to love on Retronauts: Silly non sequiturs overshadowed by rare facts and industry insight, along with uncovering childhood memories of yore, no matter how time-tested or scathing as they may have been.

This particular episode rings true for sure as Retronauts Live, in it’s new iteration, has a bigger emphasis on the hosts talking directly to the developers and figure heads of the industry, with the most recent episode featuring Victor Ireland, co-founder of Working Designs, a company driven to bringing niche Japanese titles to western markets adapted for their tastes and boasting a high quality standard for the games as proudly as possible. While the episode does cover topics regarding the Playstation, there’s still plenty of talk of Vic’s company dealing with Sega, including stories on Vay for Sega CD, the dire development on the last Sega Saturn game in the US, Magic Knight Rayearth, and extensive coverage on the Lunar series. Not to mention Working Design’s position during the brief decision from Sega of America to transform Popful Mail for Sega CD into Sister Sonic. Yes! The Hedgehog! Imagine playing a Falcom game designed around an as-then unnamed female relative, (Not Sonia the Hedgehog,) of Sonic the Hedgehog.

Check out the podcast here complete with shownotes. If you aren’t up for people talking about old video games, now’s a good time as any to shoehorn the opening theme to the Sega CD version of Lunar – The Silver Star (In English!) as they sure don’t make any upbeat video game music like this anymore. Or click here if you prefer it in Japanese…