Sega AGES coming to Switch (by M2, eShop, 15+ classic titles starting this summer)

[Folkenhellfang]

Alright. I'm about as big a Sega fan as they come, but we need to start managing expectations here.

Who ever said we are getting the Phantasy Star remakes? Model 2 ports? Panzer Friggin Dragoon?

Honestly, there is nothing I want more than to be able to play my beloved Sega games in the modern era but you guys are getting way ahead of yourselves.

They talked about Thunder Force IV, that's amazing... Look. I just don't want to see you guys get hurt.

 

[Deleted member 3700]

Able to play Sakura Wars 1 to 4 on Switch will move me to tears. Do it!

 

[duckroll]

I finally get to play Saturn and Dreamcast games in the future on the Switch. Fuck yeah!!

Click to shrink...

The way they talked about it, I wouldn't even count on that. It sounds like a far off possibility if they successfully sell these older games first. M2's first love are old games. Older than Saturn. Leaning towards arcade. If they do eventually get to Saturn and DC, it could well be the next gen.

 

[Deleted member 12790]

Who ever said we are getting the Phantasy Star remakes?

Click to shrink...

Nobody is talking about the phantasy star remakes. People are talking about the phantasy star ports they've already put out before, which included a bunch of rom hack changes. And they've already confirmed Phantasy Star is coming.

 

[Hilarious_Bearious]

TFW Sega is getting a VC presence on Switch before Nintendo...

As a lifelong Nintendo fanboy, this could provide an opportunity to play some absolute gems I've missed out on over the years. Outside of a few Master System and Dreamcast titles, the Sega universe is largely a mystery to me. This is gonna be good!

 

[Prophane33]

I'm sure many of the games from the Sega Ages PS2 and Saturn releases will be represented in these releases; however, I think you're going to end up really disappointed if you're expecting a Dreamcast game in the first run; but I think Saturn is in the realm of possibility, though I wouldn't be surprised if it's something like Last Bronx (from the PS2 Sega Ages) where they take a title that was released on Saturn, but are porting the Arcade release. Either way M2 is the Criterion Collection of classic gaming, so expect many popular titles, but the occasional Thunder Force IV or something like Girls Garden will surely be represented.

 

[Deleted member 2791]

The way they talked about it, I wouldn't even count on that. It sounds like a far off possibility if they successfully sell these older games first. M2's first love are old games. Older than Saturn. Leaning towards arcade. If they do eventually get to Saturn and DC, it could well be the next gen.

Click to shrink...

Eh, going by how Kagasei Shimomura himself mentionned to the venue the possibility of getting Saturn/Dreamcast games down the line, without being asked first, I'd say that it's something they're at least seriously considering, even though it will probably not be part of the first batch of games.

 

[Folkenhellfang]

Nobody is talking about the phantasy star remakes. People are talking about the phantasy star ports they've already put out before, which included a bunch of rom hack changes. And they've already confirmed Phantasy Star is coming.

Click to shrink...

Ah, gotcha. The way some peeps were talking I thought they were talking about the PS2 Sega Ages releases.

I'm not worried about PS being in the collection, not with Kodama on the project.

 

[Deleted member 12790]

Ah, gotcha. The way some peeps were talking I thought they were talking about the PS2 Sega Ages releases.

Click to shrink...

They are talking about the PS2 Sega Ages release. The late PS2 Sega Ages release: Phantasy Star Collection, which is different from the early PS Sega Ages Release, Phantasy Star.

i.e. the one on the far right, not the two on the left

Phantasy Star Collection is the Sega Ages release people are talking about when they talk about EXP and Gold Hacks, and encounter rate reductions, and changes in walking speed, and bug fixes, and etc.

Phantasy Star Collection is already in english and japanese, despite releasing only in japan.

 

[Deleted member 59]

I always wanted to play Burning Rangers as a youngster but i never had a Saturn; hope it's one of the future titles!

Alex Kidd will definitely be mine!

 

[Clear]

Enjoy the move by sega.

Phantasy star is all I need the rest is a bonus.

 

[Folkenhellfang]

They are talking about the PS2 Sega Ages release. The late PS2 Sega Ages release: Phantasy Star Collection, which is different from the early PS Sega Ages Release, Phantasy Star.

i.e. the one on the far right, not the two on the left

Phantasy Star Collection is the Sega Ages release people are talking about when they talk about EXP and Gold Hacks, and encounter rate reductions, and changes in walking speed, and bug fixes, and etc.

Phantasy Star Collection is already in english and japanese, despite releasing only in japan.

Click to shrink...

Oh.

Ok, F it. Let's go crazy. When Legend of Thor/Legend of Oasis lands, hit me up if you want to know the commands for all the special attacks for each weapon type.

I'm really not trying to be a hater, it's just... Well, hard to believe as a fan that went down with the ship. Twice.

Nice collection, btws. Ever see the Japan only PS IV live action commercial? It was on the old Saturn Phantasy Star Collection. Not sure if it was included in any of the extras on the Ages release.

 

[duckroll]

Eh, going by how Kagasei Shimomura himself mentionned to the venue the possibility of getting Saturn/Dreamcast games down the line, without being asked first, I'd say that it's something they're at least seriously considering, even though it will probably not be part of the first batch of games.

Click to shrink...

They consider a lot of things all the time. These guys are hardcore fans themselves and know what people want, they are also severely limited with regards to resources. Sega Ages is a passion project that has been going on for over 20 years now. It's just important to keep expectations in check. They take a long time to release stuff. The 3D Archives on 3DS had a total of 18 titles by the release of the third physical collection (with 2 bonus games). That took 3 whole years from the release of the first title (Dec 2012 to Dec 2015). With 15+ titles planned for now, I think we're looking at end of 2019 earliest for them to clear everything at best, with a faster schedule. If they decide to do more after that, there'll be some downtime for more R&D, and we'll be looking at 2020 and beyond. By then we'll have a brand new generation coming, and we have no idea what other hardware options Sega and M2 will be looking at, Nintendo or otherwise. They definitely want to eventually do Saturn and DC titles, but it's really way too early to expect anything solid.

 

[Jazzem]

I've had Phantasy Star I, II and IV on the to do list for a while...considering going through 1 via this rerelease, though I suspect it'll be the old clunky localisation as opposed to something on the level of the SMS Power retranslation. Glad they're implementing all those Quality of Life improvements in any case, old RPGs benefit so much from such features.

Yeah I do get mixed feelings about all this. Great we're getting this stuff but at the same time it sucks that to follow one companies back catalogue I have to aquire so many systems just like I had to back then. Broadly it's a positive from where we were though.

Click to shrink...

Aye, very much so. Thinking about it, it's also the Wii/PS3/360 era of the latter two getting a collection while the former getting individual re-releases, both methods with their own advantages.

At the very least, it mercifully won't be the same in PAL regions for us getting 50Hz on the Nintendo side again D:

 

[raketenrolf]

Still have my Sega Ages Gunstar copy for PS2. Got it for like 10€ or so off ebay ages ago.

I wonder if we'll see retail versions of these games again on Switch. Problem is they would be so much more practical as digital download games due to them being short arcade games for the most part. Yet the collector inside you would tell you to buy the physical version anyway. Either way, can't wait to see how many games will be supported in the end. Switch really grows to become the perfect system for arcade emulation.

 

[Jazzem]

Still have my Sega Ages Gunstar copy for PS2. Got it for like 10€ or so off ebay ages ago.

I wonder if we'll see retail versions of these games again on Switch. Problem is they would be so much more practical as digital download games due to them being short arcade games for the most part. Yet the collector inside you would tell you to buy the physical version anyway. Either way, can't wait to see how many games will be supported in the end. Switch really grows to become the perfect system for arcade emulation.

Click to shrink...

Maybe they'll eventually do a bundled physical release like they did for the 3DS Classics. Would be neat to get another cover by the Pokémon artist :D

 

[duckroll]

Maybe they'll eventually do a bundled physical release like they did for the 3DS Classics. Would be neat to get another cover by the Pokémon artist :D

Click to shrink...

That format really rubbed me the wrong way. As someone who bought almost all the individual digital releases as they came out, having two exclusive games on the physical collection which wasn't released digitally at all was a real slap in the face.

 

[Deleted member 12790]

I'm really not trying to be a hater, it's just... Well, hard to believe as a fan that went down with the ship. Twice.

Click to shrink...

...the reason people are thinking these will be the PS2 versions is because OTHER games in the Sega Ages 3D colllection were from the PS2 sega ages as well. Fantasy Zone II DX was a PS2 Sega Ages release. And the announced Alex Kidd release from this is also assuredly the PS2 Sega Ages 2500 release that originally only released in japan as part of the Sega Ages Online collection before coming to the US and europe as the Sega Vintage collection. And also because the PS2 Phantasy Star Collection also saw a rerelease under the Sega Ages Online collection.

Seeing the pattern here? These releases are incestuous. This isn't something far fetched at all. In fact, it'd be mostly in line with how Sega Ages releases tend to work.

 

[raketenrolf]

I have that collection too. Ah man, I never had a Sega system when I was young so I while I don't have any noteworthy nostalgic feelings for SEGA, I still enjoy their output a lot now.

 

[Jazzem]

That format really rubbed me the wrong way. As someone who bought almost all the individual digital releases as they came out, having two exclusive games on the physical collection which wasn't released digitally at all was a real slap in the face.

Click to shrink...

Yeah that bugged me, I still want to pick up the collection but it's mostly redundant as I also have all the digital individual games...but I want me Puyo 2, Power Drift and the Master System stuff D:

So hopefully if they do it again there won't be exclusives. Also, that collection would only work in two player with another copy of it, so I couldn't play two player Altered Beast (shaddup <_<) with my individual digital game + my friend's copy of the collection.

 

[Folkenhellfang]

Krejlooc Makes sense, and it's more fun to be positive about the project. Man, I can't wait for a date!

 

[duckroll]

...the reason people are thinking these will be the PS2 versions is because OTHER games in the Sega Ages 3D colllection were from the PS2 sega ages as well. Fantasy Zone II DX was a PS2 Sega Ages release. And the announced Alex Kidd release from this is also assuredly the PS2 Sega Ages 2500 release that originally only released in japan as part of the Sega Ages Online collection before coming to the US and europe as the Sega Vintage collection. And also because the PS2 Phantasy Star Collection also saw a rerelease under the Sega Ages Online collection.

Seeing the pattern here? These releases are incestuous. This isn't something far fetched at all. In fact, it'd be mostly in line with how Sega Ages releases tend to work.

Click to shrink...

They already confirmed that Alex Kidd is the PS3 version. Lol.
Lets not forget that Thunder Force IV is the Saturn Collection version too, even though M2 didn't work on that one.

So yeah. :)

 

[Deleted member 12790]

They already confirmed that Alex Kidd is the PS3 version. Lol.

Click to shrink...

Which, for clarification, is the PS2 version I'm talking about. The "PS3 versions" is digital downloads of the PS2 versions. Alex Kidd Collection was the last PS2 Sega Ages 2500 game they worked on. They just didn't release the physical PS2 release, as PS2 support had dried up by then. So they released it in the Sega Ages Online collection.

The PS2 version of Alex Kidd never came out on the PS2, only the PS3.

 

[fiendcode]

They consider a lot of things all the time. These guys are hardcore fans themselves and know what people want, they are also severely limited with regards to resources. Sega Ages is a passion project that has been going on for over 20 years now. It's just important to keep expectations in check. They take a long time to release stuff. The 3D Archives on 3DS had a total of 18 titles by the release of the third physical collection (with 2 bonus games). That took 3 whole years from the release of the first title (Dec 2012 to Dec 2015). With 15+ titles planned for now, I think we're looking at end of 2019 earliest for them to clear everything at best, with a faster schedule. If they decide to do more after that, there'll be some downtime for more R&D, and we'll be looking at 2020 and beyond. By then we'll have a brand new generation coming, and we have no idea what other hardware options Sega and M2 will be looking at, Nintendo or otherwise. They definitely want to eventually do Saturn and DC titles, but it's really way too early to expect anything solid.

Click to shrink...

I don't see Wave 1 lasting longer than the end of 2018 tbh. This isn't like 3D Classics where they're custom rebuilding arcade games and trying to get a double sized MD emulator with 10+ custom assembly patches running on a dinky 266 MHz ARM11.

From the sounds of it they're likely reusing a lot of the work that went into their previous Archives work too. It won't be as speedy as VC was but it's also not going to drag as long as 3D Classics did.

 

[Fishsnot]

Before they touch anything model 1, 2, or 3.

before they work on anything sega saturn

before any of that

THEY NEED TO PORT GOLDEN AXE REVENGE OF DEATH ADDER AND OUTRUNNERS

Neither game has ever had a real port. And Outrunners is amazing. It's way better than Outrun. If Sega won't put Outrun 2 anywhere to download, Outrunners is an incredible alternative (that doesn't even have the Ferrari licensing problem).

Click to shrink...

Krejlooc my man.... you get it.
That's what I'm talking about!

 

[Lynd]

There was only the one English collection on 3DS right? That has all the extra games that weren't released on the eShop?

 

[fiendcode]

There was only the one English collection on 3DS right? That has all the extra games that weren't released on the eShop?

Click to shrink...

No, there are games released in the 1st and 3rd collections that we never got. Namely Columns, Thunder Force III, Turbo OutRun and a bunch of SG1000/SMS games.

I really wish Sega would've released everything globally and individually on the eShop.

 

[Deleted member 2793]

Lots of wishful thinking here. Considering things for "the future" (no date or anything) =/= "SEGA CONFIRMED SATURN/DREAMCAST".

You're just setting yourselves to disappointment. At the moment, they have some older games and that's it - look forward to them.

 

[duckroll]

I don't see Wave 1 lasting longer than the end of 2018 tbh. This isn't like 3D Classics where they're custom rebuilding arcade games and trying to get a double sized MD emulator with 10+ custom assembly patches running on a dinky 266 MHz ARM11.

From the sounds of it they're likely reusing a lot of the work that went into their previous Archives work too. It won't be as speedy as VC was but it's also not going to drag as long as 3D Classics did.

Click to shrink...

M2 tends to be really slow. There's still no word on when Ketsui on PS4 is out and they announced that like a year ago!

 

[fiendcode]

M2 tends to be really slow. There's still no word on when Ketsui on PS4 is out and they announced that like a year ago!

Click to shrink...

Sure but that's a full port and the M2ST initiative has sort of gotten sidetracked with Xbox ports and that original Ninja Soldier game. Maybe also Switch ports too as rumored.

If you look at VC (aka: pure emulation) they were always pretty speedy. Even each 3D Classics wave really didn't take too long once they started using MD emulation to plug the gaps and speed things up.

 

[fiendcode]

Lots of wishful thinking here. Considering things for "the future" (no date or anything) =/= "SEGA CONFIRMED SATURN/DREAMCAST".

You're just setting yourselves to disappointment. At the moment, they have some older games and that's it - look forward to them.

Click to shrink...

Realistically they probably won't get to SS/DC (or Model 2/3) until the 2rd or 3rd Waves and even then I wouldn't expect more than a handful of titles from each. But that's okay, it's encouraging that they're even speaking about this. Personally I would've been happy with just MCD, 32X and Model 1 even.

 

[Deleted member 34949]

Before they touch anything model 1, 2, or 3.

before they work on anything sega saturn

before any of that

THEY NEED TO PORT GOLDEN AXE REVENGE OF DEATH ADDER AND OUTRUNNERS

Neither game has ever had a real port. And Outrunners is amazing. It's way better than Outrun. If Sega won't put Outrun 2 anywhere to download, Outrunners is an incredible alternative (that doesn't even have the Ferrari licensing problem).

Click to shrink...

Preach.

 

[Eolz]

The Nintendo Switch SEGA Ages version of Sonic the Hedgehog will feature the obscure Mega Play arcade version!
The Nintendo Switch SEGA Ages version of Thunder Force IV will include the Styx Mode from the SEGA Saturn port of the game and will feature online leaderboards!
The Nintendo Switch SEGA Ages version of Phantasy Star will feature the features from the PlayStation 2 SEGA Ages version such as options for walk speed, difficulty settings, FM/PSG toggle, a hiragana mode and saving.

Click to shrink...

Sounds good to me for first additions!

Welp this thread has turned into a Taxman versus M2.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, that was a dumb page...

https://game.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/1117159.html

First info...

They decided after doing the last 3D Classics wave, it would be a waste to just leave it there.
Alex Kidd was chosen because of how popular he was on the Virtual Console in Europe...it's likely they will continue to use data like that for deciding future releases.
Gain Ground won't be the only arcade release. There will be more.
15 Titles is the start depending how well it goes they will do more.
There will be Saturn and Dreamcast titles in the future as well, if it goes well beyond the first 15 games.
Rieko Kodama is a producer on the new Sega Ages project...

Click to shrink...

Nice! Hopefully less Megadrive titles, and more arcade/saturn games.

 

[Tebunker]

I am actually really hopeful here. Like I know some people had their feelings hurt when Switch wasn't part of the Megadrive Collection announcement, but even though this might end up more expensive overall, I am a lot more optimistic we are getting much better packages for each game.

I have like all but 4 of the MD collection on Steam, I don't need them again on another system, especially since they don't do much worth while in that collection, it is a nice to have. Sega Ages stuff, though, I was always jealous we never got a western collection on PS2 here, and that was before I had money to import. So I am going to be hopeful and optimistic we get more than just the basic stuff, and a lot of arcade games and the full Ages treatment. Honestly, this kind of stuff is much better than any VC type release or MD collection release. I always am interested in classic games with updates and fixes and potentially new options/stages/editors cut type things.

 

[fiendcode]

I think the platform breakdown for announced titles so far is encouraging at least. Out of 5 games we've got 2 Master System, 2 MegaDrive and 1 Arcade.

 

[rawhide]

Which, for clarification, is the PS2 version I'm talking about. The "PS3 versions" is digital downloads of the PS2 versions. Alex Kidd Collection was the last PS2 Sega Ages 2500 game they worked on. They just didn't release the physical PS2 release, as PS2 support had dried up by then. So they released it in the Sega Ages Online collection.

The PS2 version of Alex Kidd never came out on the PS2, only the PS3.

Click to shrink...

You're not clarifying anything, you're repeating incorrect information.

 

[JaredTaco]

The Nintendo Switch SEGA Ages version of Sonic the Hedgehog will feature the obscure Mega Play arcade version!
The Nintendo Switch SEGA Ages version of Thunder Force IV will include the Styx Mode from the SEGA Saturn port of the game and will feature online leaderboards!
The Nintendo Switch SEGA Ages version of Phantasy Star will feature the features from the PlayStation 2 SEGA Ages version such as options for walk speed, difficulty settings, FM/PSG toggle, a hiragana mode and saving.

Click to shrink...

In the PlayStation 2 Sega Ages version of the original Phantasy Star, the FM/PSG toggle only worked when playing the game in Japanese (English versions were in the collection). Hopefully they figured out a way enable the FM synth when playing in English.

 

[Mandos]

https://game.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/1117159.html

First info...

They decided after doing the last 3D Classics wave, it would be a waste to just leave it there.
Alex Kidd was chosen because of how popular he was on the Virtual Console in Europe...it's likely they will continue to use data like that for deciding future releases.
Gain Ground won't be the only arcade release. There will be more.
15 Titles is the start depending how well it goes they will do more.
There will be Saturn and Dreamcast titles in the future as well, if it goes well beyond the first 15 games.
Rieko Kodama is a producer on the new Sega Ages project...

Click to shrink...

Awesome! Also here's the thing, they said similar goals on the ed classics program that did happen(regarding some of the arcade games), and 3D classics got 3 series(although it wasn't introduced this early). So I totally wouldn't rule it out. They would also hopefully start with the rarest and most popular Sega produced games in Saturn: panzer dragoon saga and burning rangers.... hopefully since they would have he highest garunteed return.

Oh well time will tell, I look forward to Alex kid and phantasy star and hope we're not too far out and can't wait to see the arcade games in the initial lineup

 

[Deleted member 34949]

They already confirmed that Alex Kidd is the PS3 version. Lol.
Lets not forget that Thunder Force IV is the Saturn Collection version too, even though M2 didn't work on that one.

So yeah. :)

Click to shrink...

Do we know for sure if it's the Saturn version proper and not just Styx mode being backported into the Genesis version? The Game Watch article seems to imply that it'll still have the slowdown from the Genesis version, which the Saturn version didn't have.

 

[fiendcode]

In the PlayStation 2 Sega Ages version of the original Phantasy Star, the FM/PSG toggle only worked when playing the game in Japanese (English versions were in the collection). Hopefully they figured out a way enable the FM synth when playing in English.

Click to shrink...

They did on Virtual Console so I'm not too worried.

 

[Deleted member 16743]

I always wanted to play Burning Rangers as a youngster but i never had a Saturn; hope it's one of the future titles!

Alex Kidd will definitely be mine!

Click to shrink...

I'd go to some dark places and do some pretty weird things for a BR remaster. Stretch out the viewing distance, remove clipping, up the res, smooth out that frame rate... Mmmmm... Swipe Right!

 

[Slam Tilt]

Man, now I REALLY hope this does well if it means Saturn & Dreamcast games. They probably wouldn't be huge ones like Skies of Arcadia or Panzer Dragoon Saga, but I could see them bundling both Panzer Dragoon & Zwei together, both Crazy Taxi games, etc.

Click to shrink...

As someone not interested in buying Sonic 1 yet again, I'll hang out with you here in the "Waiting Hopefully" lounge.

 

[Wilsongt]

Has even Sega managed to master Saturn emulation to release Saturn titles again?

 

[Jonneh]

https://game.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/1117159.html

First info...

They decided after doing the last 3D Classics wave, it would be a waste to just leave it there.
Alex Kidd was chosen because of how popular he was on the Virtual Console in Europe...it's likely they will continue to use data like that for deciding future releases.
Gain Ground won't be the only arcade release. There will be more.
15 Titles is the start depending how well it goes they will do more.
There will be Saturn and Dreamcast titles in the future as well, if it goes well beyond the first 15 games.
Rieko Kodama is a producer on the new Sega Ages project...

Click to shrink...

SATURN AND DREAMCAST

 

[rawhide]

They did on Virtual Console so I'm not too worried.

Click to shrink...

They did it for a few games, but only those that originally contained the FM sound data; the international version of Phantasy Star had that data removed, so it wasn't an option on VC.

Adding the data to the international ROM wouldn't be too tough--they've added brand-new FM sound data to games that never had it, after all--so I wouldn't be surprised to see it as an option this time.

 

[Deleted member 2620]

GAIN GROUND ARCADE
TFIV SATURN BONUS MODES
RANDOM FORGOTTEN RELEASES LIKE MEGA PLAY SONIC

we're back to 2007 boys

 

[fiendcode]

Has even Sega managed to master Saturn emulation to release Saturn titles again?

Click to shrink...

They did it on PC like 15 years ago when they bought GiriGiri. It was used for their Japan only Cyber Disc service and later in the west for Gametap.

 

[Wilsongt]

They did it on PC like 15 years ago when they bought GiriGiri. It was used for their Japan only Cyber Disc service and later in the west for Gametap.

Click to shrink...

Ah.

So there's a non-zero, but almost zero, chance Shining Force IIi might appear on Sega Ages.

 

[fiendcode]

Ah.

So there's a non-zero, but almost zero, chance Shining Force IIi might appear on Sega Ages.

Click to shrink...

Yes. Welcome to Sega fandom.

 

[PepsimanVsJoe]

I had to look it up.
Mega Play Sonic 1 is different in that instead of the default 10 minutes, every act has its own time limit. So in Green Hill Act 2, you have literally 1 minute to complete it.
Also there are only four zones. Marble and Labyrinth zone were removed.

When Gunstar Heroes is inevitably ported, I imagine its Mega-Play version will be included as well.
IIRC, the default health is 80 instead of 100. Also, you don't get 20 points for every stage you clear.