After being teased just a few days ago, SEGA has now announced Idola: Phantasy Star Saga, a new RPG title in the Phantasy Star series. The game is exclusive to iOS and Android devices, and will launch this year in Japan.
The game sees the resurrection of the amusingly-named “Dark Farce”, in a world ravaged by huge monsters named Idola. You’ll be using a “command-based battle system”, which SEGA intend to detail more in the future. Also confirmed are a slew of characters, including the main heroine Stella – fully translated bios for these characters can be found on Gematsu.
The team behind the game includes veterans of the Valkyria series, as well as Sakura Wars and of course Phantasy Star itself. There’s (unsurprisingly) no word on an English release, but we’ll keep an eye out in case one gets announced.
When Tracker isn’t playing SEGA games, he’s talking about SEGA games. Or drawing about SEGA games. Or all of the above. You can also catch him over on Twitter.
SEGA has launched a countdown site, teasing the reveal of a new entry in the Phantasy Star RPG franchise. However, it’s for smartphones. Take that as you will.
Currently, there’s no real details on what the game itself entails – whether it’ll be taking after the stylings of the original series, or the more modern Online universe for instance. Saying that, the artwork definitely has us expecting something more akin to the former, and it may well be that it combines the two – it’s a 30th Anniversary celebration, after all.
The game will be announced on July 24th at 4am UK time.
When Tracker isn’t playing SEGA games, he’s talking about SEGA games. Or drawing about SEGA games. Or all of the above. You can also catch him over on Twitter.
Tags: android, ios, phantasy star, rpg, Smartphones Posted in News | Comments Off on Phantasy Star 30th Anniversary RPG for Smartphones Teased, Countdown Site Opened
SEGA has announced that they are now prioritising native ports for SEGA Forever a la the ‘TaxStealth’ ports of Sonic 1 and 2, as opposed to emulated titles.
In a post on SEGA’s blog, they state that the native ports amongst the SEGA Forever lineup (Sonic 1,2 and CD, Crazy Taxi, and Virtua Tennis Challenge) are the most played – and as such, they intend to bring more of these sorts of titles to the service, rather than the emulated Mega Drive titles that make up a fair chunk of the current lineup. There’ll still be emulated titles added to the roster, but the focus of the initiative is now elsewhere.
As a result of this shift, the slew of releases for SEGA Forever is set to slow down a tad – however it appears the aim here is now “quality over quantity,” which will likely be music to the ears of many a SEGA fan. Also promised is “a surprise or two you weren’t expecting” amongst the upcoming emulated titles.
Speaking of which, the blog’s decor does tease another upcoming Mega Drive title for the service – it appears Treasure’s classic head-em-up Dynamite Headdy is coming to smart devices soon, as is… Super Monkey Ball?
When Tracker isn’t playing SEGA games, he’s talking about SEGA games. Or drawing about SEGA games. Or all of the above. You can also catch him over on Twitter.
Bandai Namco’s Pac-Man mobile will feature a special maze that’s themed around Sonic the Hedgehog. The maze is clearly inspired by Green Hill Zone with Sonic taking the place of Pac-Man and Motobugs taking the place of the ghosts. Click the embed below to see Sonic in action in the classic arcade maze game:
The Pac-Man mobile game is free-to-play on iOS and Android devices but also includes in-app purchases. This Sonic maze is currently not available in the latest update of the iOS game, so we can only assume it is coming in a future update.
UPDATE 21/2/2018
The update to the iOS version of the Pac-Man app is now live and includes the Sonic-themed mazes for free.
A new mobile Yakuza title called Yakuza Online is in the works for iOS, Android and PC. This new title sees you playing as a new character called Kasuga Ichiban and is a free-to-play affair with optional micro-transactions. You can see the game in action by clicking below:
Yakuza Online is due for release in Japan at some point in 2018. There is currently no word on a Western release at this time.
Hardlight Studio’s next title is another Sonic the Hedgehog endless runner, but this time it’s themed around the upcoming Sonic Forces game due for release on November 7th 2017. The game is currently in a soft launch state so it’s only playable in certain regions. The game is due for a wider release soon on both iOS and Android devices. You can click the video below to see the game in action via direct feed:
The mobile Virtua Tennis title Virtua Tennis Challenge is the next game to be given the SEGA Forever treatment. This now means the game is free to download and play with ads, with an optional one-off payment of £1.99 to remove the ads.
Virtua Tennis Challenge was originally released on the 13th of March 2012 and this update essentially brings it in line with other SEGA Forever titles i.e. a new yellow-bordered icon, the new SEGA Forever logo at start-up and ad support.
In a move that is probably going to bring The Ban Hammer down pretty strongly, a social media application developer called Narvii Inc. have released a Sonic the Hedgehog-themed social media app called Rings without any approval from SEGA themselves.
The app is available now on iOS and Android devices and is completely free, but it requires registration using either your email, mobile number of Facebook login. It’s pretty comprehensive and features support for things like your own profile, complete with a comments wall and gallery, chat rooms, quizzes and various feeds that allow you follow the latest Sonic news and much more.
Narvii Inc. have rolled out a lot of similar social media apps with a similarly niche focus. The iOS app store currently shows similar apps powered by Narvii Inc.’s Amino social media platform that are themed around wrestling, video games, K pop, anime and much more.
If this sounds like something you’d like to check out, you can download the iOS version by clicking here or the Android version by clicking here. Please be aware that these are not officially sanctioned SEGA products and we will not be held responsible for any negative user experiences you may have.
SEGA’s new Crazy Taxi mobile title, Crazy Taxi Gazillionaire, is out now for iOS and Android mobile devices.
The Demiurge-developed title is a “clicker” game where you control a fleet of taxis in an attempt to make as much money as possible. Do you think the Crazy Taxi license is a good fit for this type of game? Let us know in the comments below.
In the meantime, why not watch the launch trailer?
In addition to this new title, the iOS and Android port of the original Crazy Taxi has now been updated to be free-to-play so if you’ve been tempted to try it, now you can except with ads in the menu transitions.
A new update for Sonic Dash has now gone live and it adds Classic Sonic as a playable character. Also included is a brand new Green Hill-themed area. A launch trailer is available to watch below:
Sonic Dash is available for Android and iOS mobile devices as a free-to-play application.
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