The Sega AGES line might seem like it is made up of quick and simple ports based on the classics of yesteryear, but there's a lot more work that goes into each of these Switch releases than you might think. Website GearNuke was recently fortunate enough to speak to Yosuke Okunari, one of the staff behind the modern revival of Sega's classic games line and asked a number of questions about the development process.
Although the whole interview is worth taking a look at, here are some of the more interesting morsels of information. One was Okunari's comment about localisation. Provided the team can draw a reaction, it may attempt to localise games that have never been translated before:
"In the future, we may try localizing titles which have never been translated if we can draw a reaction."
When explaining how the AGES series was an extension of the Sega 3D Classics line on the 3DS, Okunari said how one of the aims of the new project was to release games that weren't able to be added to the existing line. This is why there are so many titles from the 1980s. If possible, Okunari and the rest of the team would like to release games from many other eras:
"If the series can continue on longer, I hope we can take on more games from different eras."
Multiplayer is also in consideration, due to the portable nature and connectivity of the Switch:
"With games for the 3DS, multiplayer battles were not a priority. However, the Switch is easy to carry around and play with other players, so we are considering content where people can battle anyone, anywhere on the Switch."
Looking ahead, the team hopes it can roll out one title per month locally and keep future Sega AGES releases here in the west as close as possible to the Japanese release dates:
"We’re still finalizing timing for the rest of the world, but will try to keep the release dates for other countries as close to Japan’s as possible."
Virtua Racing might also take a while to develop:
"The title that will take the most time is the title we are currently developing, Virtua Racing. This game, which is from the system board MODEL 1, was developed when there was no 3D rendering on the PC, so the architecture is incredibly ingenious."
Would you like to see more Sega games localised for this modern retro line? Tell us in the comments.
[source gearnuke.com]
Comments 65
That sounds promising.
Look I’m just gonna come out say it. In this day and AGE (pun intended) I would totally expect and hope they would do a bit extra work like this to get outside the standard Sega releases we’ve been playing the past few years. I’m looking at you, Vectormans, Columns, Sonics, Comix Zones... how many times can you release those games? Sure generations come and go and with each generation the games are “new” again but man... yeah let’s get some real hidden gems on this SEGA AGES thing!
I totally expect Sega to go outside their box/comfort zone here and really make this something different and worthwhile!
They have been doing great work, these Sega Ages releases have been going far beyond your typical lazy rom port.
I love these Sega Ages games. Ive already bought 3 on switch and im sure I'll be getting more.
One game i would love to see put onto the Sega Ages line is Golden Axe: The Revenge of Death Adder. It would be a perfect time to bring the game to a home screen.
The Saturn alone has a treasure trove of potential games that most gamers never got the pleasure of experiencing the first time around, and it was one of the best JRPG platforms ever. Shining Force III (all three interlocking Scenarios, of which only Scenario 1 was ever released in the West), Dragon Force (and its sequel Dragon Force 2, which never made it here), Magic Knight RayEarth, Dark Savior, Albert Odyssey, Shining the Holy Ark, and of course Panzer Dragoon Saga (which only shipped 3,000 copies for the entire US territory). The sprite-based titles among those (example: Dragon Force and Albert Odyssey) hold up surprisingly well to this day visually, and the rest, while consisting of a lot of rough first-gen polygons, are still amazing games and would be absolutely stellar with an HD remastered coat of paint.
Hopefully the devs can give us a full version of Puyo Puyo Tsu from Genesis. The one on Sega 3D Classics Collection only gave me that Tower Mode, but I wanted more...
I have enjoy all Sega Ages games so far so bring it.
That would be cool... I just hope that they aren’t undone by their own ambition, as sega regrettably has a habit of doing.
I know that the Sega AGES series is focusing specifically on individual titles, but I really hope at some point that Sega will consider comprehensive compilations of their best games for the Saturn, the Dreamcast, and their lengthy and incredible Arcade catalog all the way from the likes of Zaxxon and Congo Bongo to the classic AM2 titles like Daytona USA and beyond.
Obviously this means that Mother 3 is being localized for Switch as we speak.
@ilikeike And Seikan Densetsu 3. At the same time with cross-play of course. As Sega's most famous slogan says: Don't localize, revolutionize!
Sounds interesting
They said before they planned to release 2 titles per month, that obviously never happened. Then just a couple of weeks ago they apologised for the delays and said they hit a few hurdles but have now overcome them and are ready to release their titles on a more consistent basis. Now they're saying they hope to release 1 title per month. I'm not complaining, well I kind of am, I just wish they would be a bit more consistent with what they say. Other than the odd game the announced line up isn't exciting to me and it looks like it's going to take them until at least the end of the year to release them all. I've bought 2 so far,the brilliant Outrun and Thunderforce IV which I don't like. From the rest of the announced titles,I'm only really interested in Virtua Racing and Gain Ground.
Girl's Garden was promised on the SEGA Forever app but that hasnt happened yet.
If we're talking request, could I have the Sakura Wars games translated please? :3
@StephenYap3 Mega Drive version of Puyo Puyo Tsuu is bare bones and very similar to the AC version (AC version is on MD based hardware). If I remember correctly, it doesn't even have a practice mode (just single player and vs). I prefer the AC over it since it has better voice samples.
If you want a version with more modes, the SNES remix version has 4p modes,a practice mode, and a hard course. MD only has tower (single player) and vs.
Some rare Genesis and Saturn would be amazing. Dreamcast the same. I got Outrun the other day for Switch and that port was done well.
@AtlanteanMan exactly, the Saturn is the console who's games never show up on these compilations or have remasters. I'd go for all 3 Panzer Dragoon games, Zwei is still one of the very best of its kind and the likes of Story of Thor 2 which still looks amazing today and Sonic R was a good game, whilst an opportunity to finally finish Shining Force 3 would be make me ver happy
I've loved the Sega Ages lineup so far, particularly Phantasy Star which actually turned from a borderline unplayable game into a really solid old school JRPG with just a few quality of life improvement.
Keep em coming by all means, Phantasy Star and Shining Force games are the ones I'm easily most excited for.
Yes now I had hope for these games:
Shining Force III: Scenario 2
Shining Force III: Scenario 3
Shining Force Feather
Phantasy Star Online 2
Bahamut Senki
Princess Crown
Shin Megami Tensei I & II
Shin Megami Tensei If
Shin Megami Tensei: Last Bible II
Shin Megami Tensei: Last Bible III
Sakura Taisen 1-4
Considering Monster World IV was localized for its digital outting, not surprising at all.
Hey, that's awesome!
Don't neglect the arcade version of Golden Axe, though. Even the 3D releases skipped that classic
It’s worth taking the survey as I did when I bought outrun it lets you say what games you would like to see on switch
What Sega ages needs to do is actuallt finish and release the 10-13 other games they were meant to of released by now. It's great talking about what they might do but i'd prefer them just to get their release window even slightly abck on track.
As Sega now owns Technosoft, Thunderforce V & Hyper Duel are totally possible; of which the latter remained in Japan and copies now go for crazy money.
4 Sega ages games so far and my favorite hands down is Outrun! But the pace has been a bit slow to be honest- let’s hope they pick it up fast and yes release a bunch of rare Sega gems- god there’s soooo many!!
@ReaderRagfihs They said in another recent interview that those games (Dreamcast or post-Mega Drive consoles' games) are meant to be developed for a second batch of games IF these first 15 (Master System, Mega Drive and 16-bit arcade) do well.
But they do a lot of interviews and say different things every time, like "we had some difficulties but now we're going to release the games more often", and now they say the opposite: they are working in Virtua Racing, which takes more time.
Anyway, I love what they do and hope new batches of games get released eventually. This year we can expect the initial 15 will be released. Let's see what happens from 2020 onwards.
@joey302 They did say in a recent interview that now they should release the games monthly, as promised months ago. But they already announced the titles, and I guess they'll focus on superior systems after that (and well known games), so I don't see them releasing obscure gems. At least obscurer than Gain Ground.
I would like to get Phantasy Star Online episode 1 and 2 plus with episode 4 from Blue Burst. They could revive that game once again without monthly payment of course. I'm sure many of us would rebuy it and that should be enough for them. GIVE IT US!
@FX102A don’t forget devil crash still to this day dust off the old MD for a game of this was it called dragons fury in Europe?
Shining Force 3 all scenarios please
"The Sega AGES line might seem like it is made up of quick and simple ports"
Nope.
@Expa0 Phantasy Star has been the biggest surprise for me. I'm so glad that they made the changes that they did. I've been wanting to play it for years but was always put off by things like the lack of map and endless grinding. It's now a very playable game again and still looks great!
“With games for the 3DS, multiplayer battles were not a priority. However, the Switch is easy to carry around and play with other players, so we are considering content where people can battle anyone, anywhere on the Switch."
Really? 3DS isn’t easy to carry around and play with others? I guess I must be thinking of a different 3DS then.
@brianvgplayer Wow. Thanks. I wasn't aware of that.
Must've been getting mixed up with SFC version
the outrun port is fantastic, Im surprised at how hard this game is! Ive still yet to finish a run yet!
@lemonjellydude I've played it for 2 hours and have yet to reach Stage 4 haha.
I just wish they would release more of their games in the west, they got tons that barely need translating but are stuck in Japan. Mainly the SEGA 3D Classics would like to see Turbo Outrun at somepoint in the west
Might help if SEGA pushed these foward then their next Sonic Game or Puyo Puyo stuff
@lemonjellydude I've played some more on 3DS and also tried the arcade and other console versions, and only finished A in 3DS, but as much as I love this game, is a classic arcade difficult game. Not being too long, it had to allow the publishers to make money in the coin-ops, and a faithful port has to reflect that.
Of course there are people here that finished the 5 runs in day one, but that's not the norm.
No PC rendering when Virtua Racing came out. Now that’s proof in the pudding how amazing Sega’s RnD development teams are:) ahead of there time.
Nice! Hopefully Sega makes lots of $$$$$ and Nintendo follows suit with a translated Mother 3 release. One can dream.
I absolutely love Virtua Racing, specifically the Sega Genesis port which was and still is a technical marvel. Funny story. That game released for $100 because of the special chip Sega used inside the cart to render polygons (just like Starfox) and I bought it for THIRTY DOLLARS on release day. From a pizzeria! Never did I question where or why. I know better than that. I bought several Genesis games from them for that price, including Streets of Rage 3 and Sonic 3.
I liked any comment about shining force 3. I would pay GOOD MONEY for all 3 scenarios!!! Please make it happen Sega!
A localised Segagaga would sure be appreciated 😁👌
Not expecting Saturn games to hit the Switch, I'm just not.
My guess is they're looking at more Genesis/MD titles that never had an official translation (Pulseman, Surging Aura, Rent-A-Hero, maybe King Colossus if there's not a licensing issue).
Forgetting the "localization" part, it'd be interesting to see more of their arcade games be released. Super GT (aka Scud Race) would be nice.
Stop talking about and get on with it!
@carlos82 "Sonic R" is part of "Sonic Gems Collection."
Personally, I'd like to see some 32X games make the cut. While it has a tiny library to begin with, and many of those games were and/or later received ports elsewhere, there are still a few exclusive gems like "Star Wars Arcade" (the 32X version being heavily expanded over the original arcade version), "Knuckles Chaotix," and "Zaxxon Motherbase 2000."
@sleepinglion The arcade version of "Golden Axe" was released on the Wii Virtual Console. It's probably your own fault if you failed to pick it up while it was available.
@brandonbwii Well, unlike on the 3DS, local multiplayer is a lot better when you can share the same screen and don't have to worry about lag.
@HikaruKitsune "Pulseman" was already localized for a Western release on the Wii Virtual Console. I bought it and think it's pretty good, especially if you want to see the origin of Pikachu's Volt Tackle.
How about localizing more of Techosoft game library like Nekketsu Oyako.
I want Sonic 2, Comix Zone, and Sub-Terrania.
Nice.
Waiting for Segagaga.
@BulbasaurusRex I have it on the Wii VC service, thanks for asking. I want it on the go
If this means we finally get a fully translated Shining Force 3 saga or at least the PS2 remakes of Phantasy Star 1 and II, then I'm ALL in. Currently the only way I can play either of those are with english patches on emulators and ISOs, but I would gladly pay actual cash to have either of these in English. Since Sega now owns Atlas, any of the Megami Tensei games would be grand.
Let's face it though, this is all a pipe dream. What I fully expect to get are more of the same old Sega Genesis/Mega Drive games we've been playing time and time again. Even a hardcore fan of Sega like me has finally stopped buying all these collections because I've played all of them. At this point, only something never seen before would get me excited.
There are so many valuable SEGA games from the 80s-90s
Although so fare I can only think of some already localized, but never had an arcade port on home consoles (or a good port)
Golden Axe series
(specially The Revenge of Death Adder)
Outrun series (including OutRunners)
Street of Rage series
Daytona
Etc I'm sure I could find many more even from the Japanese catalogue
"The Sega AGES line might seem like it is made up of quick and simple ports based on the classics of yesteryear..."
Uh, no it's not. Who ever thought this? The incredible amount of care and polish they put into each release is evident from the moment you hit the main menu! They add things only when they enhance the game play, and give you the option to turn it off for the purist experience. As retro "emulation" (which I use in the loosest terms since many times they're rebuilding them from the ground up) collections are concerned, M2's are best ones out there.
Are you sure you didn't get these confused with the Genesis Collection we also got on Switch for some reason?
Sega what the heck. Can you please stop messing around and give us SOME version of Phantasy Star Online!?
More JRPG's please, enjoying Phantsy Star at the moment. The ages port has convinced me to get the Megadrive collection for the rest and Shining force games
@BulbasaurusRex The text is still Japanese, is it not?
@HikaruKitsune The menus were translated, and the voice acting was in English even in the original Japanese version, so it would only matter to the gamers who don't know Japanese nor English, or for non-Japanese deaf gamers.
Fingers crossed for Super Fantasy Zone! (All they'll have to change is one signpost in the intro. Easy payday.)
I hope they bring the rest of the 80’s Arcades (Afterburner 2, Power Drift, Turbo Outrun, Super Hang On, Thunderblade.....) as well as starting on the 90’s (all Virtua games, Daytona, Sega Rally.......
Very much looking to how Virtua Racing turns out, hopefully not like the PS2 Version
@Moroboshi876 yes saw that interview let’s hope they get rolling! I want to see games like House of the Dead 1/2, Power Drift, Virtua Cop 1/2, Nights into Dreams, and many Arcade games!
Let's get the entire of Shining Force III over here with updated graphics!
And the Dragon Force series! We already have scripts available for SF3 Scenarios 2 & 3 and Dragon Force II.
Let's make it happen!
How about the localizing Puzzle & Action Series.
Sega Genesis/ Mega Drive Games I would like to see:
The Hybrid Front
Rent-A-Hero
Surging Aura
Dyna Brothers
Dyna Brothers 2
Bahamut Senki
San Goku Shi Retsuden: Ransei no Eiyuu Tachi
Ninja Burai Densetsu
Super Daisenryaku
Advanced Daisenryaku: Deutsch Dengeki Sakusen
Hyokkori Hyoutan Jima
Sega Saturn List:
Advanced World War: Last of the Millennium
Sakura Wars
Sakura Wars 2
Shining Force III Sencerio 2-3
Terra Phantastica
Riglord Saga
Dragon Force II
Wachenroder
Hanagumi Taisen Columns
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