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'Persona 5' took me back to Tokyo
Two years ago I took my first trip to Tokyo. The city exceeded my wildest expectations, an addictive blend of ramen, neon nightlife and tranquil parks. I spent a fortnight exploring the place, absorbing every street, shrine and video game store that wandered into my peripheral vision. It was a glorious adventure, and I would give anything to go back there.
'Jet Set Radio' is absolutely free on Steam
Cupid may have left you high and dry, but have no fear: Sega wants you to have some free games to make up for it. See, as part of the publisher's Make War Not Love event this year, everyone on Steam can grab gratis copies of Jet Set Radio, Golden Axe and all of Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit. Just hit the promo's Steam page to add the games to your library of (mostly) unplayed games.
Jet Set Radio skates its way to iOS and Android, available starting today for $5
Sega hasn't exactly had the smoothest of times while trying to launch its old-school (and very popular) Jet Set Radio title on novel platforms. Today, however, the Dreamcast maker announced that its fan-favorite game is now rolling to both iOS and Android. Jet Set Radio will, naturally, be compatible with Cupertino's iPhone, iPod and iPad as well as the majority of handsets and slates that are running some flavor of Google's OS (2.2 and up), with Sega pricing the game at about five bucks -- which, needless to say, is a pretty small amount to pay to virtually skate your way around Tokyo and, you know, graffiti mostly anything you deem worthy enough to tag. Eager to take it for a swirl? Then all you've got to do is hit either of the source links below to get started with the download.
Fake-looking list of upcoming Sega games is indeed fake
A massive list of Sega games purported to be shown at TGS has been circulating around the Internet, teasing the poor souls like us who continue to love Sega. It contained a fairly complete list of every Sega fan's dreams: Shenmue III, Jet Set Radio Next, Space Channel 5 part 3, a Wii sequel to Skies of Arcadia, even a Chu Chu Rocket game. Of course, enough already-known stuff like Mario & Sonic at the Olympics was on the list to add the appearance of legitimacy.A leaked document from an anonymous source with so many incredible scoops must be true, right? Surprisingly, no. The blogger who originally posted the rumor has retracted it with an apology. Just remember, potential tipsters: when we hear about a new Space Channel 5 and it turns out to be a false rumor, it hurts us. Be responsible with your tippery.
Ontama shows random Dreamcast influence
This is probably more of a coincidence or an unintentional influence than anything else, and there's always the possibility that we're imagining things, but doesn't Ontama's protagonist Beat look somewhat familiar? He looks like a cross between Sonic Adventure-era Sonic (look at the poses!) and Jet Set Radio's main character, also named Beat. Well, if you had to pick two games to resemble, you could do a lot worse than these, both of which had fantastic art. The actual game, a rhythm-puzzle thing that we totally want, doesn't look like anything else. We've got new screens after the break.
Dream Games: Jet Grind Radio
Dream Games is a new weekly column where we explore a game we'd love to see on the PSP. Feel free to check in, and comment, every week.Jet Grind RadioDon't confuse Jet Grind Radio (aka Jet Set Radio) as simply a cel-shaded Tony Hawk. While it's true that you'll grind your way through a massive environment like in the formulaic sports game, Jet Grind Radio adds a charming universe, unique gameplay elements, and a refreshing art style in one of Sega's most memorable games on Dreamcast. Marc Ecko might have tried to recreate the fun of Sega's tagging game, but nothing comes close to what Sega has achieved in this game.Why PSP?The PSP has more than enough horsepower to run a game like Jet Grind Radio. The pick up and play gameplay of the original will translate incredibly well for handheld gamers. Certainly, the quick pace of the game will be attractive to many action-oriented PSP gamers. One of the cooler features of the Dreamcast original was the ability to use your own imported images as tags to place in the game (through the VMU). With PSP's Memory Stick compatibility, this feature is a no-brainer. The PSP's wi-fi capabilities would allow players to compete against each other.Is it possible?Hopefully, Sega's upcoming release of Crazy Taxi shows that they're interested in reviving their Dreamcast franchises on our handheld.
Okami: before and after cel-shading
Notably the only upcoming PS2 game to feature magical wolves, aggressive painting and beautiful cel-shaded surroundings, Okami has come a long way since its original inception. Dubbed Ohkami, the early version presents quite a different experience to the one currently preparing to hit US shores. A comparison clip over at GameVideos (embedded in the second part of the post) puts the more realistic art style of the old version in stark contrast to the cel-shaded update. It seems that the PS2 was simply not deemed powerful enough to render Clover Studios' original vision and so the shift was made to a different and more feasible art style. It's interesting that the decision marks one of the few occasions where technical limitations actually (and arguably) lead to a more visually striking game. If you had a choice in the matter, would you rather have the realistic (erm, as far as magical wolves go) Okami or the cel-shaded one? Comments from the "Zelda more like Celda" crowd are welcomed, of course. [Thanks Demian!]
10 franchises that need to return
Racketboy.com recently offered up this list of 'Classic Franchises That Actually NEED a Resurrection'... Darkstalkers Shining Force Battletoads Strider Killer Instinct Vectorman Starcraft System Shock Road Rash PowerStone Runners-up: Clayfighter, Story of Thor/Oasis, Lost Vikings, Rocket Knight Adventures, Jetman, and Jet Set Radio
