Let’s face the facts, ever since Sonic & Knuckles on the Genesis, the Sonic series has sucked hard. Sorry, as much as you’d like to think Sonic Adventure was a good game, you’d be wrong. Dead wrong. Sonic Adventure was a nice try, but it still sucked. After the 100th time of falling off a course into the white abyss as Sonic lets out a pitiful “NOOOOO!” because the camera couldn’t keep up with the action, I had enough. The phrase “by Sonic Team” ranks up there with “by Uwe Boll”. The only true fan base of Sonic are those too ignorant to know better, or those trying to hold on to some shred of hope.

It’s no surprise the recent release of a Sonic 4 teaser has brought a certain optimism to the failing franchise. A return to 2-D and the classic platforming is a sight for sore eyes. But then I remember how time and time again Sega has failed us. Like a battered spouse we keep coming back even when we know the pain won’t stop.

Through the darkness, there may be a light. See Sonic 4 is not just being developed by Sonic Team. Sega is getting help from a little known company named Dimps.

Dimps is an Osaka-based development studio with an additional office in Tokyo, Japan. Employing a staff of 218 people, it is known for developing such games as the Dragon Ball Z: Budokai trilogy for the PlayStation 2, and the Sonic the Hedgehog games specific to the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS under the guise of Sonic Team.

If you’ve played any of the Sonic Advance series or the two Sonic Rush games on the DS, you’ve played a Sonic game developed by Dimps. We officially have Dimps, not Sonic Team, to thank for the handful of good Sonic games developed in the past few years. Not to mention they also co-developed Street Fighter IV, so their resume of work is impressive. I do stress the term “co-developed” as Sonic Team still has their grubby little hands in the creation of Sonic 4 (meaning they could find a way to royally screw it up).

O.K., so maybe I spoke too soon. Sonic 4 may suck. I can’t be sure. But knowing Dimps has a major role in the creative process could mean the end of the nightmare and the dawning of a new age for the Sonic franchise.

We’ll known for sure when the game is released later this year.

- Brian

From out of nowhere, Sunsoft announced yesterday the release of a new Blaster Master game titled: Blaster Master Overdrive. Announced on 2-6-10 for a release on 2-8-10 via WiiWare for 1000 Wii points (talk about no hype). This isn’t even listed on the ESRB website. Sunsoft likes to surprise us I guess. From first impressions, this COULD BE and amazing game. It looks and sounds reminiscent of the old style and many game mechanics look intact. But is Sunsoft rusty after all these dormant years? Will find out Monday when the game is released. We will be purchasing the game tomorrow and will post impressions as soon as possible to let you know if it’s worth your Wiibucks.

- Brian

After hearing months ago about the Castlevania’s epic return to a 2D non-Metroidesque action game, I couldn’t help but be excited. I would hear sparse rumors about a release date, but nothing confirmed. I was more than surprised to wake up this morning to find Castlevania is upon us with no hype or fanfare before its release. OMG!

First off, I love the Wiiware and virtual console service. Downloading new games and ones from years past is a good thing. However, the one thing that (use Peter Griffin voice) “grinds my gears” is that Nintendo does not give out release dates for games released weekly. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one surprised that Castlevania came out.

Enjoy this great title today for 10 measly greenbacks. You’ll be glad you did. Consider this article the fanfare the title deserved.

- Erik

Cave is one of my favorite video game companies period. If you haven’t the faintest idea who this Cave company is, check out this Wikipedia article.

Their most recent arcade port Mushihime-sama Futari version 1.5, recently released on the Xbox 360, marks their first region free release on home consoles giving the average joe a chance to play it without modding or importing a Japanese system. Depending on the level of uptake outside of Japan, sales of the game will affect their future decision to localize other shooters such as Espgaluda 2.

On the heels of this release comes news of future releases. Cave general manager Makato Asada has plans to bring future games to a wider audience (meaning us here in the old U S of A and beyond).

According to Asada’s last blog post, Cave is working on five new titles. Though he doesn’t specify much, he does give a few hints:

1. A completely new arcade game (“completely” implies it’s not a sequel to any previous game)
2. An original Xbox 360 game
3. Xbox 360 arcade port(s)
4. Development on “new hardware”

At the Cave festival on 12/27, he’ll reveal more. Here’s hoping for ports of previously Japan exclusive games such as Do-Don-Pachi Dai-Fukkatsu and DeathSmiles. And don’t even get me started on games like Progear. Oh please let it be true.

I’ve always been a fan of the Valkyrie Profile series. So it would only make sense that developer Tri-Ace would be amazing at making other games right? Wrong. If you’ve played Infinite Undiscovery for the Xbox 360, you’ll know what I’m talking about. It’s not terrible by any means, but it’s not great. Regardless, I am interested to hear they are developing another RPG for the 360 called End of Eternity (Resonace of Fate). Published by Sega, the game uses a tri-attack-battle system. Few details have been released over at The Magic Box, but what I see looks interesting.

The game will be released in January 2010 in Japan with an eventual North American release. Here’s hoping they learn from their mistakes and make an amazing game.

Source: Magicbox

For the last decade, Sunsoft has been all but dormant releasing only a handful of new titles. It’s been over twenty years since the release of such classics as Blaster Master on the NES. Those glory days may very well be upon us again as Sunsoft just announced a reboot of their console gaming brand in the USA.

Sunsoft has teamed up with GAIJINWORKS, headed up by former Working Designs President Victor Ireland, to aid in the publishing and release of Sunsoft titles.

First and foremost, this means a release of Blaster Master on the Virtual Console. Past that there is talk of other VC releases and new content as well. Though no specific titles have been announced, I’m glad to see Sunsoft back and kicking.

P.S. Just promise me no Warner Bros. licensed games.

Big thanks to Nightmare26 for breaking the news to me. You guys rock!

In the November Free Play I stated I would love to see a sequel to Power Stone. So much so that a few months ago I posted a bogus story on April Fool’s day proclaiming the development of Power Stone 3 (link time). That was simply a lie aimed at getting your hopes up only to be dashed by reality. But it seems the brass at Capcom have kinda sorta maybe heard our cries for sweet POWASTONGA! Go Nintendo has quoted Capcom Community Manager Seth Killian as saying:

“We’re working on a way for you to be able to do just such a thing (voice your opinion), and hope to have the new Unity feature available soon-ish. The bad news is that you’ll have to compete with the Powerstone 3 and RE: Outbreak psychos for attention! Seriously though, I know that having such a clear outlet is important, and we’re working on even more direct ways for you to let your voice be heard internally here at Capcom.”

So while it’s not a confirmation, it does confirm the fan demand for a sequel has come to their attention. That could mean absolutely nothing, but I’m hoping Capcom gets off their butts and puts another Power Stone out. I know I’ll be sending a few e-mails to select individuals over at Capcom and I suggest you do the same so one day we can all hear the glorious words, “Welcome to the Power Stone world!”.

So quick rundown, Cave is this super sweet and sexy company who creates the most amazing shoot em ups (shmups). In fact we reviewed a shmup of theirs, ESP Galuda, in our third episode of Substance TV. The Xbox 360 has been the lucky recipient of Cave’s newest shmups. As great as this all is, shmup fanatics in the States get the shaft and are either stuck with the hefty price tag of buying an import 360 or just sitting there in sorrow and misery.

But, for some reason, the shmup gods have smiled upon us and are releasing the newest Cave shmup, Mushihimesama Futari Ver 1.5, region free. Meaning now we can import a copy and play it on our U.S. 360s with no problem. Cave will use the sales from this game as a barometer to gauge whether or not they will release future games region free, and maybe, just maybe releasing games stateside. So I ask, no, I beg and plead with you, pre-order this game and give it the support it deserves. Cave makes some of the best games out there, and myself and countless others would love to see more of these sweet juicy gems come our way.

Play Asia pre-order link

[source: Kotaku]

Oh, and of course ninja theft from Pineconeattack.

In episode 5 of Substance TV, we covered the games of SNK. One of those gems was Fatal Fury: Mark of the Wolves. At the time, the only home consoles versions available were for the Sega Dreamcast (expensive) and the Neo Geo AES (very expensive). The Dreamcast port was good, but not as good as it could have been. That and these days it’s hard to find.

Seems our cries have been heard as SNK has released MOTW for both the PS3 and Xbox 360 in the form of a digital download. All for just ten smackers. Not too bad I say. And the port is very good. I dare to say it’s about as perfect of an arcade port as you can get. The game also has online play. Though it isn’t the best netcode so there are lag issues. So don’t expect to be able to have a zippy tournament match with you bud across the country. But for the price, you can’t beat it.

Well, what are you waiting for, go download it already.

BTW: King of Fighters 98 has also been released, and although I’ve not played it personally, I hear it’s a good port as well and the netcode is better then MOTW

His family is in my prayers. Even as I sit here and type this, I still can’t believe it. Today is truly the day the music died.

On the heels of the new of the Team Ninja/Metroid team up comes an even more odd threesome. It’s been reported by The Magic Box that the next Castlevania, titled Lords of the Shadow, will be developed by MercurySteam Entertainment. The same studio behind American McGee’s Scrapland and Clive Barker’s Jericho. David Cox from Konami Europe will be involved with this project, but I find it an odd choice that long time series creator Koji Igarashi is not involved at all. Now while these aforementioned facts makes me die a little on the inside, there is a shining ray of hope. Kojima Productions will be producing/overseeing the game. While Hideo Kojima is not directly producing the game he is there to “support” MecuryStream on the game.

Seeing what MercuryStream did with their last outing, Kojima will have to be like a jock strap of support to these boys. Let’s hope some of the greatness that is Kojima rubs off on this game. Let’s just hope it’s not another cheap God of War rip off.

One question though, why is Konami not as involved in this game? Why was this handed off to such a developer? Maybe we’ll find out here in the months to come. While we’re waiting, check out the video and pics after the jump.

The Magic Box article

BTW: Am I the only one that wants a next gen home console high res 2-D Castlevania? C’mon guys, give us what we want!

I’ve not been posting much E3 news as video game websites are saturated with it. While I’m pumped for the new Metal Gear and other games, one title in particular grabbed my attention. It also slipped under the radar and hasn’t gotten much if any press. Team Ninja has gotten in bed with Nintendo to create a brand new Metroid game! This is quite an interesting team up, even more so since the departure of Itagaki. The game footage shows most of the game play in third person with a few segments in first person. The action looks great and fast paced. Now Samus has some melee moves she uses to her advantage. After watching through, this may be the last bit of persuasion needed for me to buy a Wii. Can’t wait to see more of this title. Check out the video below.

Ya know, this site is named www.substance-tv.com. So it goes without saying that this site should have news about and concerning Substance TV. It’s come to my attention that, as of late, the site has been quite devoid of any information concerning the show it is named after. I hope to remedy this error with some news on the upcoming Substance TV episode nine.

First and foremost, episode nine will be released on May 20, 2009 at www.retrowaretv.com. Along with that, all the older episodes will be up and available for watching there as well. One of the games being reviewed has already been revealed in another way. For those who listened to my guest appearance on Pinekast 14, you were privy to said information. As for the other two games being reviewed, let’s just say we’re being a little secretive. I may be giving out some clues in the days to come, but I think the agony of waiting will make it all the more worth the while.

Also, as Erik and I have been working on episode nine, we’ve also been working on episode ten at the same time. To be honest with you, I’m more excited about episode ten then I am about nine. Now that’s not to say nine is any less of a show by any means. But episode ten will be a turning point for Substance TV. If you’ve enjoyed the quality, workmanship, and care put into each episode, you’ll be (in best George Steinbrenner voice) “BALLOOOOWN AWAY!” by what happens beginning with episode ten. I don’t want to say too much more, but needless to say, we’re aiming for even better.

That’s about it for now. On a side note, I had a great birthday today. My family prepared an especially awesome birthday party that I will be sharing all the details of in the next few days.

So I’ve been a little absent from the site as of late, but it’s all for a good reason. Now I’ve teased you all with some sort of announcement in my last update. And, as promised, I’ll let you in on my little secret.

From the creators of Press Start and Substance TV comes your bi-weekly dose of gaming goodness that you won’t get anywhere else, it’s Pixel Pill! We’re kinda like video game fiber. Though I’m not sure if I want to see anyone taking a pixelated video game dump.

That’s right, I’ve teamed up with Nick and Gerard from Press Start Comic to create a new podcast about all things gaming that not many people talk about. We had some much fun BS’ing over Live that we decided that we should just record it and maybe people will listen to it. Plus the need for quality podcasts is much needed. Our friends over at Pineconeattack are one of the few podcasts I listen to on a regular basis, so we hope to bring more goodness to the table.

We’ll be recording the first show tomorrow night (Friday) and have it up to download soon after. We’ll cover some gaming news that interests us, introduce ourselves and then jump right into our first topic, The Games of Cave. If you’re a fan of Bullet Hell SHMUPS, this is the show for you. We’ll be talking about our favorite games from Cave, and then talk about their newest game set to release on the 360 in Japan, Death Smiles.

Below is the new fancy smacy logo. Keep it tuned here for the link to our first show!

Power Stone is one of my most beloved games of not just the Dreamcast, but of all time. The series has been dead for nearly 10 years if you can believe it! Capcom has a way of making great games, maybe doing a sequel, and then throwing them in the toy bin to never be played with again.

I thought all hope was lost for a third installment in the series, but recently, Capcom has applied for a ESRB rating suggesting a Power Stone release for next gen consoles. Now while I would normally dismiss this as nothing more then a port of Power Stone 1 or 2, art for the new game has recently surfaced. Make of it what you will, but I’ll be the first to buy a copy when it hits store shelves!

POWERSTONGA!