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You want MUSHA? Then you better pay up.
Continue reading Sonic 2 and Other Genesis Titles Coming To Nintendo Online’s Expansion PassLast year, Nintendo has announced that they will be closing the doors of the Wii Shop Channel for the original Wii indefinitely on January 30, 2019. The change comes as the company has moved on to online networks for the 3DS and Switch, and so, after more than twelve years of activity, the Wii Shop Channel and all its services (Wii Virtual Console, WiiWare, and Wii System Transfer Tool) will go offline at the cut-off date early next year.
Continue reading Nintendo Removes Wii Points Purchasing for Wii Shop Channel on March 26
2010 was the year Sonic the Hedgehog came back. Yes, we all heard the stories about how the franchise had declined not long after the jump to 3D, how gaming news outlets and critics even now would begin their pieces with some variation of “Sonic has had a rocky history,” and how every new Sonic game released around the “dark ages” period couldn’t shake off the dreaded “Sonic Cycle.” Continue reading The Spin: How SEGA is Ignoring the Middle Children of Sonic’s Legacy
Today in this week’s NA Nintendo Downloads PR, it was announced that various Sonic games are on sale on the NA eShop on both Wii U and 3DS, and there’s quite a few games to choose from. You can view the entire list below.
Continue reading Sonic sale live in NA on both the Wii U and 3DS eShop
Nintendo today released the PR of their weekly NA eShop update. Among the releases of this week’s games and weekly sales, was the news of four Sonic games being discounted on both the Wii U and 3DS eShop. Games and prices are below. Continue reading Sonic Generations (3DS) and more are on sale on the NA Wii U and 3DS eShop
Nintendo have just announced on their Japanese website that like Sonic Advance 1 and Sonic Advance 2 before it, Sonic Advance 3 will also be released on the Wii U VC in Japan on May 25th. Also like the first two games, Sonic Advance 3 will cost ¥702. Continue reading Sonic Advance 3 heading to Wii U VC in Japan on May 25th
This information came from Nintendo’s PR from last Thursday’s eShop PR for North America, but there was no mention of prices so I held back from reporting until we knew all the details which we do now.
The quote from the PR states:
Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble and Sonic Lost World from SEGA are on sale starting 9 a.m. PT on Feb. 22 until 8:59 a.m. PT on March 7.
You can click on a game’s title to look at the game’s page on Nintendo’s site.
The prices are the following:
Does either game catch your eye at that price or perhaps you already own one or both? Let us know in the comments!
Yep. After the first Sonic Advance from the Game Boy Advance made its way onto the Wii U Virtual Console in Japan back on Feburary 18th last year in 2015, it’s been announced that Sonic Advance 2 is next in the series to make it to the Wii U VC in Japan next week on February 24th for ¥702, same as Sonic Advance 1. Continue reading Sonic Advance 2 Heading to the Wii U VC in Japan on Feb 24th
UPDATE: I just found out and added that Marvelous (then known as MarvelousAQL) helped with Mario & Sonic London 2012 3DS!
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Hello again! 🙂 Over the past while I’ve made lookbacks covering two Sonic games on Nintendo systems, specifically Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity and Sonic Unleashed, both for Wii, and I thought, you know what, why don’t I just cover the whole history? Of course, the opinions in this article reflect my own thoughts and may not reflect the thoughts of the other Staff members. With that, let’s start from the very beginning…
A rivalry past, comes friendship to last
Continue reading UPDATE: The Spin: A look into Sonic’s history with Nintendo
Sonic Advance, the first in a trilogy of Sonic GBA platforming adventures will be available to purchase on the Japanese Nintendo eShop as of next week. The 200MB game will officially launch on February 18th for the price of ¥702 (Approx $5.90/£3.90). Continue reading Sonic Advance Heading to Japanese Wii U eShop Next Week
There’s even more retro Sonic love on the Nintendo 3DS eShop coming your way this week, this time in the form of Game Gear title Sonic Drift 2. Before Sonic R, Sonic Riders, and Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing came this handheld kart racing spin-off starring everyone’s favourite blue hedgehog, alongside other playable characters including robotic doppelganger Metal Sonic and the treasure hunter Fang the Sniper (or Nack the Weasel – what is it with Sonic characters and having different naming conventions?). Unlike the original Sonic Drift, this game was released outside of Japan and it was initially renamed Sonic Drift Racing in Europe, even though the title screen still called it Sonic Drift 2.
A description of the game is included in Nintendo’s announcement for this week’s eShop releases, as below:
Start your engines and prepare for the race of your life! Choose from seven of your favorite Sonic characters including Sonic, Knuckles, and Dr. Eggman (AKA Dr. Robotnik) and race your way to the finish line. Use each racer’s special ability to gain an edge over the competition and win the fabled Chaos Emeralds! Race across 17 courses in the ultimate Chaos Grand Prix! Challenge a friend via local two-player multiplayer! Choose between seven classic Sonic
characters including Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy Rose, and the nefarious Dr. Eggman!
Sonic Drift 2 will be available to download from the Nintendo 3DS eShop in Europe this Thursday, priced at £3.59 (€3.99).
Will you be jumping into one of Sonic and co.’s karts and drifting round the track later this week? Or are you thoroughly perplexed by the idea of Sonic driving a car when he can run at the speed of sound? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
Source: CVG
The Game Gear love on the Nintendo 3DS continues this week as two new Sonic games arrive on Nintendo’s downloadable retro service – and if you’re looking for a pair of obscure, challenging titles to sink your teeth into, this might well be the week you’ve been waiting for!
Continue reading Sonic 2 & Sonic Labyrinth arrive on 3DS eShop!
Today truly does mark the day of the second fiddle for Nintendo gamers – not only has Mario’s lankier brother jumped into the spotlight with the release of New Super Luigi U on Wii U, but now Sonic’s twin-tailed sidekick has seen a re-release of one of his solo Game Gear outings on Nintendo 3DS. That’s right, folks… Tails Adventure is back!
Tails Adventure was the second Tails game to hit the SEGA Game Gear handheld back in the day and sees Miles Prower traversing an island (referred to as “Cocoa Island” in Japan and “Tails Island” in the West) in order to stop an army of robotic birds known as the Battle Kukku Army. It’s a slower, more RPG-like experience with lots of item collecting and backtracking, so don’t go into this one expecting a high speed Sonic platformer! Using his flying ability and weapons like hammers, remote-controlled robots, and bombs (and we mean lots of bombs!), Tails has to make his way through several puzzles to save the day.
The game is now available to download from the Nintendo 3DS eShop in Europe for £4.49.
Will you be downloading Tails Adventure? Do you have any fond memories of playing it on the Game Gear? Let us know in the comments!
No doubt continuing on from Nintendo and SEGA’s newfound partnership, today marks the release of not one, not two, not three, but four Game Gear games on the Nintendo 3DS eShop! We’ve already seen the likes of Sonic Triple Trouble and Sonic Blast hitting the Big N’s 3D handheld system, but now you can add some more titles to your digital retro SEGA collection, with two Sonic themed games leading the pack.
Continue reading SEGA eShop Blowout: Get Your Game Into Gear on the 3DS!
A new Sonic game has been revealed! Well, not exactly new, but still!
Joining fellow Genesis favourites Super Hang-On and Space Harrier in Japan, the one, the only, and the original Sonic the Hedgehog is coming to its native Nintendo 3DS eShop on May 15th of this year!
To be released as a 3D Classic, Sonic 3DS features the ability to play the original game with three dimensional depth, customizable controls, and the ability to toggle between the Japanese and “Overseas” versions, and Mega Drive 1 and 2 sound formats, as reported on Sonic Retro. Like the upcoming Taxman/Stealth remastered iOS version, players are also given the option to play the game with or without the Spin Dash.
A price is set for 600¥, and there is no confirmation of a Western release at this time.
Special thanks to Wraith on the SSMB for the tip!
Tails Adventure could be on its way to the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console, if a rating made by the Australian Ratings Board is any indication. The Game Gear game, one of two titles Tails stars in on the platform, was rated March 4th with SEGA Europe as publisher, suggesting the game could be on its way to Australia and Europe soon. RPG game Crystal Warriors, released recently in Japan, has also been rated.
We’ll keep an eye out for further developments.
Source: Australian Ratings Board (via Nintendo Life)
Thanks to XD375 for the heads up! If you have a news tip, please send it to news@sonicstadium.org or tweet us @sonicstadium.
UPDATE: It’s been rated for Nintendo 3DS by the US ratings board the ESRB, too.
A new rating has appeared for the Game Gear title Sonic Drift 2, suggesting that the game may finally be heading overseas to the Nintendo 3DS eShop following its release last year in Japan. The racing title was rated January 8th by the Australian Classification Board, with SEGA Europe as publisher, meaning the game is likely at least heading to Australia and Europe sometime soon. Oddly, the game is listed for ‘DVD’ as the platform, but is most likely a mistake. We’ll let you know when we hear more.
Source: Australian Classification Board
Following the recent downloadable re-releases of Sonic Triple Trouble and Sonic Labyrinth, the speedy blue hedgehog will be once again be hitting the Nintendo 3DS eShop this week in Sonic Blast for the SEGA Game Gear.
Originally released in 1996, the game is a traditional side-scrolling platformer which sees Sonic and Knuckles teaming up to collect the Chaos Emeralds and take down the evil Dr Ivo “Eggman” Robotnik. Sonic Blast was the last Sonic game released for the Game Gear and boasts pre-rendered graphics based on its similarly-titled counterpart, Sonic 3D Blast (known as Sonic 3D: Flickies’ Island here in Europe), giving it a unique look when compared to its other 8-bit brothers.
European 3DS owners will be able to download the game from Thursday for £4.50.
Are you planning to have a blast with Sonic Blast? Or do you think it’s more “blast to smithereens” than “blast processing”? Let us know in the comments!
Source: Official Nintendo Magazine UK
European gamers will finally be able to relive SEGA’s portable history with the launch of the Game Gear Virtual Console on Nintendo 3DS eShop this Thursday. Continue reading Game Gear Games Hit EU 3DS eShop This Week
The Australian Clarification Board has rated Sonic Blast and Sonic Labyrinth for the 3DS Virtual console. While I could think of much better Sonic Game Gear games to put on the 3DS, you gotta admit that it’s an…interesting choice. Sonic Blast is a 2-D platformer with 3-D rendered graphics (ALA Sonic 3-D Blast) and very choppy animation while Sonic Labyrinth is considered by many fans to be one of the worst Sonic games of all time. When these games will be available or in what countries is still unknown, but it should be later this year. In the meantime, read on to check out some gameplay videos from both of these titles.
Continue reading Two More Sonic Game Gear Games Coming to 3DS Virtual Console
Official Nintendo Magazine today reports via andriasang that the Sega Game Gear will be seeing its first releases on the Nintendo 3DS’ Virtual Console next month.
In addition to fellow classics Shinobi and Dragon Crystal, Sonic Triple Trouble will be appearing on the 3DS eShop.
Thx to VizardJeffhog for the tip.
Game Gear titles Sonic Triple Trouble and Shinobi have been rated by US ratings board the ESRB for the Nintendo 3DS system. Nintendo announced March 2nd last year that Game Gear games are coming to the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console library, with SEGA Japan following up the next day with a list of five games they planned to release, which included Sonic Triple Trouble and The GG Shinobi.
Could this rating indicate that we may be seeing Game Gear titles on the Nintendo 3DS in the US sooner rather than later?
Source: ESRB (via GoNintendo)
Following yesterdays news of Game Gear games coming to the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console, SEGA Japan has announced the first games they will be bringing to the service, including two Sonic titles.
– Sonic Triple Trouble
– Sonic Drift 2
– The GG Shinobi
– Dragon Crystal
– Columns
No release dates or price points are given, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see them available at the eShop’s launch in late May. There’s also no word on whether these games will come to the U.S. and European Virtual Consoles. We’ll pass along more information when it’s made available.
Source: SEGA Japan (via Inside-Games.jp)
Thanks to Woun at the SSMB for the heads up!
Remember a long time ago Sonic & Knuckles for Virtual Console was registered at the ESRB and PEGI rating board sites? Well it looks like SEGA had a plan… wait for Sonic 4 to be announced! Now all of you Wii owners in Europe can finally experience the conclusion to Sonic 3 from Feb 12th next week before you move on to Sonic 4. Continue reading Sonic & Knuckles FINALLY Coming To Virtual Console
Looks like SEGA have figured a way around that pesky Sonic & Knuckles lock-on technology problem, as Japan is about to get the classic mushroom-shaped Mega Drive game soon on the Wii Virtual Console, complete with backwards compatibility across other Sonic MD games.
SEGA Japan announced the lock-on feature workaround, which involves an additional menu before you boot the ROM up asking you if there is another purchased Sonic game you would like to connect it to. Nintendo itself made no mention of the feature, which led us all to worry that the VC version would have nixed lock-on play – as has been the trend these days with Sonic & Knuckles re-releases. Sonic & Knuckles on Wii Virtual Console will hit Japan on the 27th October for 600 Nintendo Points.
The original Mega Drive classic was released in October 1994, eight months after the launch of Sonic the Hedgehog 3. As the two games were confirmed to be two parts of the same game, Sonic Team created a special cartridge that allowed copies of Sonic 3 to be ‘locked on’ the top of it. As a bonus, copies of Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 also worked on the lock-on; the former as an ‘endless’ gauntlet of special stage game ‘Blue Sphere’ and the latter allowing players to control Knuckles in Sonic 2 Zones.
Source: Andriasang (thanks for the tip, BassDS!)
Earlier this week, the GoNintendo blog received a tip from one of its longtime readers, Pezmanmike, regarding the upcoming DS Virtual Console service coming to the Nintendo DSi. While it has been rumored that the first-party Game Boy catalogue would be apart of the DS Virtual Console service, the Game Gear catalogue is now in the mix as well.
The initial Game Boy rumor surfaced after a Club Nintendo event at this week’s Game Developer’s Conference. Pezmanmike backed the initial rumor that Nintendo mentioned bringing Game Boy games to a DS Virtual Console service, but also said that “SEGA was interested” in the service. “Nothing is set in stone, but [Nintendo] is looking into it,” Pezmanmike says.
Will classics like Sonic: Triple Trouble become portable once again? We shall find out. Until then, I’ll keep playing an emulated version on my Wii.
[From GoNintendo]
PEGI is now listing Sonic & Knuckles for the Virtual Console. The game has been given a 3+ rating. We all know the game appeared on the ESRB’s site months ago and hasn’t shown up on the Virtual Console in any territory yet but hopefully this means the game is still coming. There is no word on if the Virtual Console version will feature the lock-on capabilities of the title in any shape or form yet, but hopefully we’ll find out soon.
Link – Scroll down to the bottom of the page to see the listing.
Oh my. Look at all the wonderful colours!
Fear not Wii owners, your retro gaming dosage of Sonic the Hedgehog doesn’t stop at Sonic 3D, oh no! You may remember our very own TSS journalist Shadzter reporting yesterday morning that a mysterious Sonic related game rating appeared on the OFLC web site. Fans of the blue speedster pondered on to what this game might have been, ‘Sonic and the Seven Dwarves’ perhaps? But no, rest assured after confirmation by the ESRB site that it is none other than the original 8-bit Sonic the Hedgehog wonder that’s hitting the Wii’s Virtual Console service in the near future.
Thanks to SEGA’s recent ‘deal’ with Nintendo allowing Master System games to become available on the service, for the low price of around 500-600 points you can relive the hedgehog in his glory days by downloading the first game that sent Sonic off flying released in parallel to the Mega Drive/Genesis equivalent. Knowing SEGA and Nintendo, we should also be seeing other Sonic Master System games hitting the service in the future too, those being Sonic 2, Sonic Chaos and maybe even the 8-bit versions of Sonic Spinball and Dr. Robotniks Mean Bean Machine. All of these titles are fantastic fun and VC releases will be great for those unfortunate souls who have never ventured away from the 16 bit era of Sonic before.
Check back with TSS and stay in the ‘know’ about the release of the title on the VC. Keep on saving those pennies- I mean, points!
The ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board) have added Sonic & Knuckles for Wii on their website, which can only mean Sonic & Knuckles is going to arrive on the Wii’s U.S. Virtual Console. The game has been rated an E for Everyone.
No official announcements have been made concerning the game and wether the lock-on feature will be present, expect details soon.
Nintendo have announced that starting February ‘Master System’ games will be available to download from the Japanese Virtual Console.
Just like the NES, Master System games will cost 500 points a download each and will shine in all their 8-bit glory. The first two games available to download will be ‘First of the North Star’ and the iconic ‘Fantasy Zone.’
But that’s not all, Game Gear games and SEGA Mark III titles will also be appearing on the service for your downloading pleasure. Also take note that the Gear Gear games are the first handheld based titles available to download from the VC!
Popular Sonic titles such as Sonic Chaos, Sonic Triple Trouble and <b>Sonic Labyrinth</b> could also be making an appearance in the near future.
Keep checking back at TSS for all the latest Sonic and SEGA news as it happens!
Gaming website 1up.com has caught up on a large backlog of Virtual Console reviews. Among these are reviews for Sonic 3D Blast and Sonic the Hedgehog 3. As for 3D Blast, we could all care less, but Sonic 3 gets…
… A THUMBS DOWN?!
Citing “messy level designs”, “dull and forgettable enemies”, and a “tepid soundtrack”, among other complaints, the blasphemous esteemed writers at 1up apparently don’t feel that the Genesis/Mega Drive classic is worth the Wii Points.
Now, I’m not advocating a mass protest… yet… but I think 1up should be made aware of exactly what we think of this game that they describe as “decent”. To arms! To arms!
Fun Fact: Sonic 3D ‘Blast’ was renamed to Sonic 3D: ‘Flickies Island’ for the European release.
The Wiis European Virtual Console update today added another Sonic title to the service, first released in November of 1996 ‘Sonic 3D’ is now downloadable for the cost of 800 points.
Unfortuantly it was the 16-bit Mega Drive/Genesis version uploaded rather than the slightly flashier Saturn or PC versions. It’s still worth a download if you’re interested in playing the classic on your TV sets again, though the game was included with all the other Mega Drive Sonic titles in ‘Sonic Mega Collection’ released for the GameCube back in 2002/3 which I still think is the much better buy, even if it is costing you a little more. Continue reading Sonic 3D available on PAL Virtual Console
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 has just arrived on the US Wii’s Virtual Console service. The game is being sold for 800 Wii Points. For those of you in Europe and Australia, Sonic 3 already hit your Virtual Console service last week.
Thanks to Australia’s Office of Film of Classification, we can now confirm that Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is hitting the Wii’ Virtual Console service sometime in the near future.
The game has been rated G (likely E in the US), and will be sold for 800 Wii points ($8).
Please check out the source for the rest of the upcoming Genesis/Mega Drive titles revealed by the OFC.
SEGA really do seem to love Nintendo Wii’s virtual console, and in the near future will be releasing Sonic Spinball alongside the already featured Sonic the Hedgehog.
Although SEGA and indeed Nintendo are still yet to announce the new title, the OFLC (Australia’s Office of Film and Literature Classification, similar to the ESRB and PEGI) contains a new entry for the title. The application, submitted by Nintendo Australia was finalized in late January and received approval for all ages as could have been expected.
A quick search of Nintendo’s other recent application reveal that other SEGA titles planned for the Virtual Console line up include Streets of Rage, Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle and Sword or Vermilion.
It was revealed some months ago that Genesis/Mega Drive games would be available via the Nintendo Wii’s Virtual console service. The titles are as follows:
Altered Beast
Columns
Ecco the Dolphin
Golden Axe
Ristar
Sonic the Hedgehog
Toe Jam & Earl
These titles where revealed courtesy of ESRB’s website. Considering the ESRB doesn’t officially list games unless it has reviewed them, this list is 100% factual.
Anyone up for some Ristar?
