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It’s a pretty good time to be a Phantasy Star fan, as the mobile title IDOLA: Phantasy Star Saga is getting an official English release!
The game, originally released to promote the 30th Anniversary of the Phantasy Star series, will be receiving an Open Beta Test, launching August 5th and lasting until August 10th. It’ll contain the first six chapters of the game’s story and the Arena Battle mode. Currently, there’s no solid word on what regions this English release is intended for, though our friend CorBond was unable to access the game from the Netherlands. We were able to join the Testing Program from the UK, but we lack an Android device to confirm whether we could actually access the game.
It’s certainly a surprising announcement; we do wonder if they’ll somehow incorporate the bonuses the Japanese version has for connecting the game to Phantasy Star Online 2. Only time will tell!
The first trailer for this year’s Sonic Amateur Games Expo is now available to view and in it we get previews for a number of games that will feature at the event. Check it out below:
The Sonic Amateur Games Expo 2020 also marks the 20th anniversary of the long-running Sonic fan game event. It will run for one week from September 5th 2020. If you would like your game featured than submissions are still being taken until August 21st. Click here for full details on how to submit your game.
Phantasy Star Online 2’s PC exclusivity to the Microsoft Store is coming to an end, as the game will be launching on Steam as soon as next week, August 5th. It’s also been confirmed the game will support crossplay and cross-progress with other versions of the game, and that the Steam version will drop alongside the Episode 4 content update.
This also seemingly marks the official European release of the game, as the Steam page is available in select European territories. We don’t have a full list of who can and can’t access it right now, but we at least know that the UK is good to go, and the Netherlands are sadly out of luck as the page simply won’t load in that region.
The best part of this announcement however, is probably the new items announced to commemorate the launch. You’ll be able to get your hands on gear inspired by Half-Life, Left 4 Dead, Team Fortress 2 and Portal 2 as part of the game’s Steam launch. This isn’t wholly surprising, but it’s weird to see Gordon Freeman in PSO2 nonetheless.
PSO2’s PC launch was mired in technical issues, so hopefully the Steam launch will mark the end to that. Going off previous blogposts, it’s a safe assumption that Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis, the upcoming overhaul of the game, will also land on Steam at some point next year – though whether it’ll have timed exclusivity to Microsoft again remains to be seen.
Off the back of its box office success earlier this year, the voice of Sonic himself has confirmed the release date for the sequel to the Sonic the Hedgehog movie, which will now arrive on the 8th of April 2022.
The sequel was first revealed back in May, with confirmation that director Jeff Fowler is returning, with Pat Casey and Josh Miller also returning to write the script. Ben Schwartz effectively confirms his return as the voice of Sonic with this announcement. Jim Carrey has previously expressed his interest about returning as Dr. Robotnik but we have no official confirmation at this time.
The original Sonic the Hedgehog movie released back in February 2020 and is currently the 2nd highest grossing film of 2020 and the highest grossing video game adaptation of all time in North America.
Revealed during the Xbox Games Showcase, a brand new expansion for Phantasy Star Online 2 called New Genesis will launch worldwide for PC, Xbox One and Xbox One Series X in Spring 2021.
For North American players, Phantasy Star Online 2 is still a PC and Xbox One exclusive, but this new expansion will be launching on all currently supported platforms in Japan as well. These include Nintendo Switch and PS4, but only in Japan. You can watch the reveal trailer below:
Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis promises “limitless adventure and unparalleled character customization”. The expansion will launch in Spring 2021. A European release for Phantasy Star Online 2 is still unconfirmed.
SEGA has confirmed that Yakuza: Like a Dragon will be making its way to Playstation 5 some time after its release on PS4 and Xbox One/Xbox Series X. SEGA are currently making plans for PS4 owners to be able to upgrade to the PS5 version once it becomes available.
That’s arguably not the biggest news however, as Yakuza: Like a Dragon will also be receiving an English dub; the first time the series has done so since the PS2 days. Even more surprising, is that beloved actor George Takei will be lending his vocal chords to the game as Masumi Arakawa. Kaiji Tang will play protagonist Ichiban Kasuga.
Also revealed was a pre-order bonus. The Legends Costume Pack allows you to dress up the characters as those from previous Yakuza games, just in case you can’t let go of Kiryu’s iconic suit.
SEGA Japan are releasing a complete double CD soundtrack of both the Thunderforce III and Thunderforce AC soundtracks under their Wavemaster music label tomorrow (June 23rd 2020). The CD is available to pre-order on Ebten right now for 3200 yen and will also include 3 bonus tracks. Check out the full track list below as well as a preview trailer for the release:
【Disc-Ⅰ】
■THUNDER FORCE Ⅲ 【Mega Drive】
All Music Composed by Technosoft
01．The Wind Blew All Day Long （Opening）
02．Beyond the Peace （Stage Select）
03．Back to the Fire （Stage 1 ー Hydra）
04．Gargoyle （Stage 1 ー Boss）
05．Stage Clear
06．Venus Fire （Stage 2 ー Gorgon）
07． Twin Vulcan （Stage 2 ー Boss）
08．The Grubby Dark Blue （Stage 3 ー Seiren）
09．King Fish （Stage 3 ー Boss）
10．Truth （Stage 4 ー Haides）
11．G Lobster （Stage 4 ー Boss）
12．Final Take a Chance （Stage 5 ー Ellis）
13．Mobile Fort （Stage 5 ー Boss）
14．His Behavior Inspired Us With Distrust （Stage 6 ー Cerberus）
15．Hunger Made Them Desperate （Stage 7 ー Orn Base）
16．Off Luck （Stage 7 ー Boss）
17．Final Point （Stage 8 ー Orn Core）
18．Be Menaced by Orn （Stage 8 ー Boss）
19．A War Without the End （Ending）
20．Present （Staff Roll）
21．Game Over
22．Continue
【Disc-II】
■THUNDER FORCE AC 【C2-BOARD】 ＜ Stereo Ver.：※＞
All Music Composed by Technosoft Arranged by Kei Takanishi 【M26】【M27】
01．Warning （ーSEー）※
02．The Wind Blew All Day Long （Opening）
03．Credit （ーSEー）
04．Back to the Fire （Stage 1 ー Hydra）
05．Gargoyle （Stage 1 ー Boss）※
06．Stage Clear※
07．Venus Fire （Stage 2 ー Gorgon）
08．Twin Vulcan （Stage 2 ー Boss）※
09．The Grubby Dark Blue （Stage 3 ー Seiren）※
10．King Fish （Stage 3 ー Boss）※
11．Omake 2 （Stage 4 ー Asteroid）
12．Mobile Fort （Stage 4 ー Boss）※
13．Dark Side Requiem ーDeath Face’sー （Stage 5 – Ancientmaze）※
14．Roll Gunner ーBig na Okata 5ー （Stage 5 – Boss）※
15．His Behavior Inspired Us With Distrust （Stage 6 ー Cerberus）※
16．Hunger Made Them Desperate （Stage 7 ー Orn Base）※
17．Off Luck （Stage 7 ー Boss）※
18．Final Point （Stage 8 ー Orn Core）※
19．Be Menaced by Orn （Stage 8 ー Boss）※
20．Escape （－SEー）※
21．Present （Ending）※
22．Game Over※
23．Knights of Legend （Name Entry）
24．The Wind Blew All Day Long ーWith Voiceー （Opening）
■SOUND！SHOCK Special Bonus Track
25．Venus Fire ー1991 MD Omake Other Ver.ー
26．Thunder Force AC ーSuper Arr Ver.ー
27．Thunder Force Ⅲ ーSuper Arr Ver.Ⅱー
The show itself stated that the game will be releasing November 2020, so presumably Limited Run Games’s tweet about the release (seen above) indicates when pre-orders will go live. This is currently dated for July 31st 2020. There’s also no word on whether the physical version will include the upcoming Hatsune Miku DLC.
The official Astro City Mini website has now gone live and with it we have the reveal trailer you can watch below, and our first look at one of the system’s extra peripherals which will be sold separately.
The Astro City Mini control pad will be sold for an additional 2,780 yen (approximately £20) and feature a d-pad instead of an arcade stick, as well as the standard 6 button setup.
We also have a more accurate release date of December 2020, but the console is still Japan exclusive at the time of writing. The same lineup of 10 titles from yesterday’s news leak are also confirmed. There was some confusion about whether it was Puzzle & Action: Tant-R or Ichidant-R that was making it to the system, but as previously reported it is in fact Puzzle & Action: Tant-R.
Pre-orders from Amazon Japan are now available but only the Astro City Mini ships worldwide. The control pad is Japan exclusive:
– Astro City Mini
– Astro City Mini Control Pad
SEGA Japan (more specifically their SEGA Toys subsidiary) are back on the micro console hype train with their latest effort – the Astro City Mini. This mini arcade cabinet features 36 SEGA arcade titles and is due to release by the end of the year.
The full list of games has yet to be revealed, but a small selection have been confirmed and they are listed below:
– Alien Syndrome
– Alien Storm
– Golden Axe
– Golden Axe: Revenge of Death Adder
– Columns II
– Dark Edge
– Tant R
– Virtua Fighter
– Fantasy Zone
– Altered Beast
All games will be presented in their original arcade format. The Astro City Mini can be played using its built-in screen or sent to a television via HDMI. The system itself has its own arcade 8 way micro-switched joystick and 6 button setup. When the console is powered on the marquee also lights up. The system needs to be powered via a micro USB connection and there are also 2 extra USB slots for additional joysticks which are going to be sold separately. There is currently no word on whether the system will release in Western territories. The Astro City Mini will be priced at 12,800 yen which currently converts to £93.70.
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