Sega

With the best combat the series has seen, the easiest story to embrace, and some of the most hilarious bonus missions you'll ever have played, Yakuza 0 might just be able to put the series in the spotlight it so deserves.

Sega’s newest strategy seems to be “if it wasn’t broken, don’t fix it” with Sonic Mania, a full return to Sonic’s original adventures on the Sega Genesis.

Today marks the release of North American release of the Sega Dreamcast: a machine that had it all, but couldn’t win out against ill-will of Sega’s past mistakes and the hype behind their largest competitor.

Across history, there is arguably nothing that builds a great product like competition to be the best. This is especially true of the video game industry, where companies like Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo and others have battled it out across decades to decide who gets to control the living room...

There have been a lot of weird games in video game history. The 1990s in particular during the heights of the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis were a Wild West of odd and over-the-type titles like your Earthworm Jims, Clayfighters and Boogermans. Did folks know they wanted a game where you play as a dolphin traversing the sea and fighting against extraterrestrials? Absolutely not, but they would have been remiss to not at least try it when it was offered in the form of Ecco the Dolphin. This bizarre title initially hit shelves today in 1992.

The original Hang-On arcade was one such game that brought new attention to the motion control concept and made the idea exciting again back in 1985.

Believe it or not, I'm on my third copy of Sonic Shuffle. It’s a game I've played so much that the discs show their wear, back when review scores didn't influence purchases as persuasively as rentals and when game reception wasn't trapped in bubbles enforced by online commentary. When I later discovered that this game I loved got hammered with criticism, I was puzzled by negativity I felt was unwarranted. Some insist Sonic Shuffle is a Mario Party rip-off, unoriginal and dominated by fault-ridden gameplay. I see things differently.

Sure Sonic has had some rough times, but there’s no denying the genuine charm of the character and the franchise when it is in proper form. That’s is, after all, why we still care if a new Sonic game is good or bad isn’t it? Today is the day it all started back in 1991. It was today that the original Sonic the Hedgehog hit shelves.

I usually take very thorough notes when reviewing a game. I keep my notebook next to me at all times, pen ready, and will often take a break between rounds to jot down my thoughts. That didn’t happen with Valkyria Chronicles Remastered. Maybe it’s because I already played it back in 2008, when it originally launched on the PS3, but I found myself without words as I made my way through its early battles and story set-up. When I did finally pause to write something down, it was simply this: “This game is still so good.”

Arcade Sushi would like to wish a happy 20th birthday to the original PlayStation console and a sweet 16th to the Sega Dreamcast.