Daytona USA returns to XBLA and PSN!

There's been a lot of love for the Saturn from Sega as of late, what with the release of Guardian Heroes on XBLA just recently complete with that brilliant Saturn avatar shirt (now can we have this game on PSN too please?) and in just a couple of weeks we also have the racing classic that is Daytona USA on the way!

As you can see from the trailer, it's a straight up port of the original arcade machine, now in wide-screen, HD and with no pop up! As Saturn gamers, we all know about pop up for this game hahaha. Saying that the first Saturn port was probably the closet to the arcade we ever got until now; this was the only version that got the handling and atmosphere down to a tee! Even with the wonky graphics it was still highly playable, I know I put a tons of hours into it! Also it is unknown as of yet if this version will have the unlockable playable horse!

Read my previous gush about this re-release over at Sega Memories! What's next from Sega, can we expect some more Saturn goodness?

Guardian Heroes HD Heading to XBLA!

 
Looks like the Saturn is finally getting some rerelease love! The Saturn classic Guardian Heroes is heading to XBOX Live Arcade courtesy of SEGA (and perhaps Treasure?). Check out the press release:

SEGA® of America, Inc. and SEGA® Europe Ltd. today announced the upcoming re-release of Guardian Heroes™, a classic Action-RPG Brawler by celebrated developers Treasure. Originally released for the SEGA Saturn™ in 1996, Guardian Heroes has been re-mastered with enhanced graphics, online co-op and battle modes, all-new modes of play, and more. The game will be available via Xbox LIVE® Arcade for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft this fall.

“Ever since we began to make SEGA’s classic Dreamcast and the Mega Drive titles available for modern systems, the fan response has been overwhelming – and the demand for their favorite games has been pouring in,” said Haruki Satomi, VP of Digital Business at SEGA. “Players have been clamoring for this treasured favorite from the Saturn days, and we cannot wait to show them what we have got for them.”

Guardian Heroes brings the Saturn favorite to life with new HD graphics, presenting Treasure’s iconic fast-paced gameplay on a new generation of hardware, with all of the convenience of purchase via instant download. The game also features:

• Action-RPG Brawling: Choose one of five heroes to level up and guide along a branching storyline with five different endings 

• Friends, Foes, and Fighters: Play the game’s Story Mode alone or with a second player, or challenge Versus Mode with up to 12 players at once
  

• Extended Gameplay: Time Attack Mode, Arcade Mode, Arrange Mode and more allow players to explore every nuance of 45 different fighters 

• Fully Re-Mastered: All-new graphics and visual effects bring the classic to life in a completely high-definition, widescreen presentation

Sounds fantastic! And it certainly will be less expensive than what the Saturn version goes for on ebay.

UPDATE: Head on over to SEGAbits to see Gamespot's preview and interview. Gameplay footage awaits, in both Saturn graphics and HD graphics!

[Source: NeoGAF and SEGAbits]

Radient Silvergun Returns, and Introduces an Awesome Arcade Stick

While it has already been known that the Saturn classic Radient Silvergun will be returning via a release on the XBOX Live Arcade in 2011, it was just recently announced that there will also be a kick-ass arcade stick. Check this thing out! The stick is made by Hori (so it's quality) and will sell for $160. Yikes! Well, if you have that sorta dough, you can buy the stick here. If you do plan on buying one, make sure to buy a second one and send it my way.

Merry Christmas!



[source: Kotaku]

Panzer Dragoon spiritual successor coming to Kinect

Alright, alright. So this is neither a Saturn game, nor is it published by SEGA. However, the director of the original Panzer Dragoon Saturn trilogy, Yukio Futatsugi, is responsible for this piece of news. Yesterday at the Tokyo Game Show, Yukio Futatsugi took the Microsoft stage to announce the spiritual successor to Panzer Dragoon, Project Draco! While it hasn't been said officially that the game will take place in the Dragoon world, the visuals and fact that the gameplay remains the same makes it pretty apparent that this is what they're going for. Also: Panzer/Project, Dragoon/Draco? PD and PD? Hmm...

The game will be playable via Kinect, though it hasn't been said if the game will also be playable via standard controller. Microsoft describes the game as an “epic 3D flying shooter.” Via the Kinect, players nurture and communicate with the dragon to help develop its skills and train it in combat. Project Draco also includes online multiplayer over Xbox Live.

Very cool to see the series return in some form, especially with the creator behind the project! 

Radiant Silvergun coming to XBLA

Announced yesterday at the Tokyo Game Show, Treasure's Saturn classic is heading to current gen consoles by way of the XBOX Live Arcade.

Some juicy details by way of Co-Optimus.com:

Radiant Silvergun features two player co-op and much like Ikaruga there's a detailed chain system in place to really rack up high scores.  In addition to that there's the seven weapon system which you can see detailed in the screenshot above.  While the graphics have been upgraded slightly the game will also see some variations of the chain system.

No release date or price has been given, but the news is very cool!

I'm so excited...

Things like this rarely happen to me. Normally eBay hates me. I'll be outbid on an item at the last minute, end up spending far more than I intended to, or at worst get totally ripped off by the seller.

Fingers crossed this one will work out for the best! After being alerted to the Saturn sequel on the Xbox by the dilligent team here on the 'Yard, I managed to score Panzer Dragoon Orta for less than £5, including postage and packing!

Happy days! I've also got two VF5 online opponents lined up in the guise of our very own Nebachadnezzar and new commentor, cynicalmatt! it looks like being a very good weekend indeed!

Ladies And Gentlemen Start your Engines! The Saturn Car!

The Forza 2 Motorsport game for the Xbox 360 is something really great. Not because it has some gorgeous graphics, great gameplay and fast cars. No, it is great, because it enables players to customize their cars with their very own decals. The colors they want, the shape they want, the place where they want it to be. It is not THAT easy though, since you can't load ordinary .JPG files into the game. You also don't have a brush tool or bezier curves to work with. Instead you have to alter standard shapes by resizing, skewing, rotating and altering the transparency to try and achieve the look you want. But that only makes it even more amazing...

The Sega Saturn Racing Car!

An incredible amount of work must have been put into this one. Everything, from the Virtua Fighter Logo up to the Akira character artwork was build from scratch. After the usual flood of penis shapes and pikachu cars, we finally get something like this. Now I feel the urge to buy my first car and actually get some real car decals, just like this one. The chicks will literally fly into your car and when every 4 seats are occupied, you have to put some into the boot! What a great vision.

More pictures of it here: http://forza2.psumega.net/vf01.html

X Box 360/ Saturn Controller Mod

The interest in Retro Gaming continues to rise thanks to the X Box Live downloadable content.
However, a rather clever and inventive young type, became a little frustrated with the 360 game pad when playing Street Fighter II. The solution? Return to a pad which was designed for 2D fighting games! Yes its the trusty old Saturn pad! So enjoy the video above, which came courtesy of the rather marvellous Gametab.com.