SEGADriven is a SEGA news and information source that focuses on SEGA's console history, retro games and new software hitting the shelves. We want to share a love of great, quirky, clever and down-right fun games - something that SEGA have always specialised in. See below for the latest news, reviews and features added to the website.
The removed tracks have now returned to the service – along with some new additions, including Phantasy Star Zero, Roommania and Ollie King soundtracks. Much like the last time happened, it seems the downtime had something to do with expanding to other services, as SEGA has added their music library to new services such as Rakuten and LINE Music over the past day or two.
ORIGINAL STORY
And now for some not-so-good SEGA music news – SEGA’s back catalogue on Spotify has suddenly dwindled from the comprehensive selection it offered, virtually overnight – with a seemingly random selection of the company’s beloved music being pulled from the service.
Right now, it’s probably easier to list what is still there than what isn’t; most Sonic soundtracks have survived the cull, as well as soundtracks for Yakuza, Chain Chronicle, Border Break, Rhythm Thief, Jet Set Radio, Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD, NiGHTS Journey of Dreams and IDOLA Phantasy Star Saga. Even Rent a Hero’s soundtrack release is still up!
…however, that leaves a lot on the cutting room floor. The original NiGHTS into Dreams soundtracks, for example, are now nowhere to be found. Music from SEGA’s arcade lineage, including Power Drift, Space Harrier, OutRun and others have also been axed from the service. Other soundtracks removed include Virtua Fighter, Puyo Puyo, and even the SEGA Sound Team [.H]’s rearrangement album (although Takenobu Mitsuyoshi’s album From Loud 2 Low is still up, somehow).
Even Sonic wasn’t completely safe – in addition to part of Sonic Generations’ and Sonic Rush’s soundtrack being AWOL for a long time now, Team Sonic Racing’s soundtrack has now also vanished – kind of a confusing removal, given how recent it was.
However, this exodus may not relate to SEGA directly; as noted by several users, albums from EXIT TUNES, a Japanese label responsible for many Vocaloid album releases, have also gone. Could it be a legal thing holding these soundtracks back from the service? The main point of confusion is why certain albums are affected, while others remain up.
Tags: music, sega, Spotify Posted in News | Comments Off on Numerous SEGA Soundtracks Vanish from Spotify overnight, including Virtua Fighter, Puyo Puyo, and Team Sonic Racing OSTs
Back in the day, SEGA music was so beloved that it was frequently performed live by SEGA’s own in-house band, the SEGA Sound Team Band (S.S.T. Band). They gave us some of the most incredible performances of SEGA music the world’s ever known, and in recent years several members of the group actually reformed under the new banner of Blind Spot. Their latest albums include both entirely new original pieces, as well as covers of classic SEGA tunes – and now they’ve announced a fourth album (technically their fifth?) is on the way.
With 12 tracks on offer, Blind Spot IV offers a mix of new and old tracks from beloved composers such as Katsuhiro Hayashi, Koichi Namiki, Takenobu Mitsuyoshi and more. In the SEGA department, the album promises remixes of tracks heard in Virtua Racing, Daytona USA, and even a new arrangement of the main theme of NiGHTS into Dreams – complete with a fresh vocal track!
SEGA Japan have revealed plans for a new Sonic the Hedgehog initiative that will run every month this year. The ‘Sonic 2020’ initiative promises new Sonic news on the 20th of every month throughout 2020 with today’s news being the reveal of the initiative alongside new key art, wallpapers, a Twitter header and profile icons. You can view and download them from this page on SEGA Japan’s Sonic Channel.
It looks like SEGA has big plans for the Sonic franchise this year, so keep an eye on the official Sonic 2020 page to see what new announcements come our way. If you’re a Sonic fan then this is definitely worth bookmarking!
One element of SEGA’s origins that doesn’t get too much attention is there pre-video arcade developments. SEGA used to have pedigree with the development of electro-mechanical arcade games and in this video we take a look back at a selection of these games and discuss how they could be archived for future generations:
Weekly Famitsu have revealed a new feature of the upcoming SEGA Ages port of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for Nintendo Switch. This port will also include the ‘Knuckles in Sonic 2’ functionality that would normally come from locking the game onto Sonic & Knuckles. This allows players to play the entire game as Knuckles the Echidna as opposed to Sonic or Tails.
The SEGA Ages port of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is still without a release date, but it will be coming to the Nintendo Switch as a downloadable title. The game will also add additional actions, a Super Sonic mode and online rankings. The SEGA Ages collection has been entirely developed by M2 for Nintendo Switch and often feature exclusive features.
A boxed release of Streets of Rage 4 is on the way, but publishing duties have been given to the people at Limited Run Games. As you can expect from the company’s name, Limited Run Games specialise in producing limited physical runs of games for collectors. They often produce a standard and a special edition of each of their releases, but there is currently no word on whether Streets of Rage 4 will get similar treatment.
Streets of Rage 4 is in development at Lizardcube and Guard Crush Games, with Dotemu publishing the digital release under license from SEGA. The game is coming to PC, PS4, Xbox One and Switch at some point in 2020. There is currently no word on when pre-orders will go live at Limited Run Games, so it’s worth keeping an eye on their website for updates.
The most recent games in M2’s SEGA AGES lineup for Nintendo Switch, Fantasy Zone and Shinobi, finally have Western release dates. You’ll be able to get your hands on them on January 23rd.
Both games will cost £5.99, and include a slew of upgrades over their original incarnations. Fantasy Zone has all of the added content from the 3DS version, as well as an overhauled HUD akin to M2’s ShotTriggers lineup. Shinobi has a rewind feature that’s been improved over its implementation in previous AGES titles, and the AGES mode has benefits such as Joe being able to take more than one hit, and use his melee attack with a button rather than context-sensitivity. He also has his white garb from the later titles, as a cool nod for longtime fans.
For the first time since its original 1992 arcade release, Golden Axe: The Revenge of Death Adder is receiving a port. Arcade1Up are releasing a home version of the arcade game complete with 4 player cabinet. Also included in the package are ports of Shinobi, Altered Beast, Wrestle Wars and the original Golden Axe for good measure.
If you’re unfamiliar with Arcade1Up, they produce near full-size, licensed arcade cabinets for the home. They can be bought with extras like risers and stools to make them closer to their full-size counterparts. Due to the size of the units and their robust build quality, they often retail for around £300.
While there is currently no release date for the cabinet, the unit has been shown at the latest Computer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Once again those wonderful people at Hidden Palace have uncovered a truly fascinating piece of Mega Drive history and archived it for future generations. This time we have an unreleased port of Super Star Wars to the Mega Drive by SEGA Interactive, more famously known for Greendog. This prototype dates back to January 1993, and despite some mention in magazines from the time, this port has never been seen until now. Check it out in action below:
If you’d like to try this prototype yourself you can download it from the game’s entry at Hidden Palace. The ROM will work in an emulator or on actual hardware with use of a flash cart. A huge thanks to all involved for making this available to the public. Want more news on Star Wars? Check out sites like The Direct for the latest.
Another incredible find and release from Hidden Palace has been made available! This time we’ve been treated to the first and only ROM dump of an unreleased Akira game developed by Black Pearl Software. Originally developed for release in 1994, the game’s development was halted after a series of resignations in the team and a change in development priority with other Black Pearl titles.
You can watch the game in action via the embed below:
The ROM file for this Akira prototype is available to download from Hidden Palace and can be played in an emulator or on an actual Mega Drive through use of a flash cart.
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