If you didn't know, now you know that SEGA is going back to the future... by way of diving into its legacy to bring new games to the forefront from familiar franchises. Crazy Taxi & Jet Set Radio were IP's served up to us on the Dreamcast, and were great titles worth being added to a collector's library (I still have these games for my system). It was great to see the games being brought back on the scene because... there's a place for them. Sega should have peeped game awhile ago (I mean... look at Capcom).
Crazy Taxi on the Dreamcast + Arcade focused on picking up people... and getting to their locations in time by any means necessary, while racking up bonuses for drifting, etc. The game was buttery smooth, wacky, and fun and I hope to see the locations expand in the pending game along with the various challenges that take advantage of the online multiplayer. Back then, SEGA took a bold step to make the console capable of connecting to the internet, but... it wasn't there yet. So I'm curious what modes are going to be available today, now that online multiplayer is a major staple in games now.
Jet Set Radio was so fun and also ran buttery smooth. The art style was undeniable, and... the music kept you rocking as you tagged the various locations (with graffiti) and took on rival crews. The fun factor was through the roof, and I had to force myself to put the controller down for various titles on the console.
Those titles included Crazy Taxi + Jet Set Radio, so Christmas came early for me with these two reveals, not to mention the Streets of Rage reveal.
Granted there was an awesome 2D Streets of Rage 4 game released in 2020, but It's great to see that Sega is keeping the party going by bringing it back in a new way. This adds to the multiplayer fun that each of the mentioned games is going to bring... and this actually takes me back even further because we played the crap out of these Streets of Rage games on Sega Genesis and Sega CD (via Final Fight CD). My cousin and I played Final Fight CD's survival mode for hours. I can hear the music now, good times.
I'm going to keep the focus on multiplayer for now... with Golden Axe. I remember playing the 1989 game in the laundry mat. It was a fun multiplayer game and did things that were quite impressive to me for a 2D game. Not only could you mount various animals, but you could arm yourself with melee weapons at the same time + use magic and all that good stuff. The victories were rewarding because it truly felt like a battle from stage to stage, so I'm curious to see what the results will be in the upcoming installment.
Last but not least... the Shinobi reveal looks fantastic as well and appears to have 2D comic-style art (which may contain some 3D cel-shade elements... which appears to ). It seemingly has a depth served up at a nice scale, including various platforming challenges to put fans and newcomers to the test. I can't predict what any of these games will play like, but if they serve up new experiences with great controls and fun factors that make us come back for more... it's safe to call these a win.
This could be a move that Sega is making to have the resources to develop even better Sonic games as well. Remember... they want to take on Mario to a serious degree, so we shall see where all this goes. Either way... I'm excited, and what made it even better... is the fact that it wasn't a rerelease of old games. The classics are saluted, but it's great to get something new by way of the classics (remakes are a beautiful thing) and I can't wait to see the trajectory of Sega over the next decade.
If you haven't seen The Video Game Awards 2023... grab some popcorn, click play, and... enjoy!
