Simple. Sega should make games like they used to. The latest Panzer
Dragoon and Jet Grind Radio are good examples of how modern Sega games
should be.

On yeasterdays topic, I like sprites too but 3D games DO look better.
Sprites can only do much.

3D isn't the evil satan spawn that many think it is, bad games that hide behind 3D, just give 3D a bad name. Viewtiful Joe is a fine example of awesome 2D/3D joy.

--
-- BlazeEagle --

Chris,

Thank you so much for telling people that I am awesome. Personally, I do not really care about that stuff. I mean, it is one thing to say you're awesome, but it is another thing to be awesome, y'know? Unless you were talking about yourself of course, in which case you are vain. J/K

But really, from a meta-analysis, Sega has not done anything spectacular over the past year. Yes, I love Sonic the Hedgehog, but I felt that Sonic Heroes went a bit far off base. The 3D get the Chaos Emerald thing was hard for me, but that's only because whenever I went hyper fast the controls bugged out on me. I look around message boards and stuff and I find that there are plenty of people who got them. That makes me feel bad. Personally, I liked the Sonic Adventure formula. I didn't like the game design mind you, I just liked the formula. Well, actually, I really meant to say that I think Sonic Adventure 2: Battle rocked. There was something about it that made it great. And no, it wasn't the Knuckles music. Everything else was pretty good, especially the two final battles against the Biolizard. That rocked.

But it wasn't just the music that got me going. It was also the Sonic levels. They just had something to them that just made playing them sorta slick. There were plenty of paths you could take, but that didn't mean the levels had to be freaking humoungus, it just meant that there were different paths. Like a maze or something. That, and the Tony Hawk-esque grinding and trick performing. That just made you go for the high score. Unfortunately, there weren't as many Sonic levels as there should've been. Turn Knuckles' stages into Sonic-type levels and you got yourself a good deal there, buddy.

But Sega hasn't shown off a lot of new stuff, like I said. Maybe that is because they're focusing a lot on developing new games or something. I don't know that much about Sammy, so I really couldn't tell you how that'll affect the games Sega makes. But then again, Sega did mention that they would focus more on arcade stuff... and that means...

Virtua On! Yeah baby! Virtua On rocks! I would love to see Virtua On! earn another incarnation! That game gave me an awesome idea for a new video game series, but I'm afraid that it'll be stolen just like the rest of my ideas were... the Playboy simulator, the Mega Man Anniversary Collection (I so called that), online Pokemon battles... it's so depressing.

So I'm shutting up.

>sigh<

I think that if Sega were to do more in the arcade part of video games, then they should share some of that lovin' with the United States of Uh-mare-eh-cuh, y'know?

...Yeah, I said "America"... It just looks weird.

Chris Pioli, who must sleep, because tomorrow he must spend all his energies completing his research paper for his writing class.

http://shining-force.jp/

That's all SEGA needs to do.

-Areku

Secret of Mana beats shit out of Chrono Trigger.
Now, I said it.

Alex Kromichal

I thought you seemed a little too upbeat and cheerful in your last letters column, so I have come to weigh down your day with some useless pedantry!

'Still, it’s obvious they’re trying to draw parallels between the words “dragon” and “dragoon,” even though none exist.'

Let me break out my dictionary.

Dragoon
1.(archaic) A kind of carbine or musket. So called from its 'breathing fire' like the fabulous dragon. Obsolete. 2. A species of cavalry soldier. The name was originally applied to mouted infantry armed with the firearm (sense1). These gradually developed into horse soldiers, and the term is now merely a name for certain regiments of cavalry which historically represent the ancient dragoon, and retain some distinctive features of dress, etc. 2b. As the type of a rough and fierce fellow. 3. A variety of pigeon, being a cross between a horseman and a tumbler.

So as you can see, the noun dragoon does originally come from dragons.
And pigeons, but we'll ignore that.

Incidentally, I've always thought it an extremely appropriate term for the FF-style dragoons. Why? Real dragoons fought in 2 ways: on cavalry and as infantry (hard to shoot from a horse). FF dragoons fight in 2 ways: in the air (jumping) and on the ground.

I doubt the japanese developers thought about it that hard, but I rarely care what they think about anymore ^^

yours,
Graham Johnson

Hello again sir,

Well, this topic is a pretty good one, something we can all write (hopefully) intelligently about. It may be a bit small though, but that all just depends how in depth people decide to take it. Or they could all just ramble like I do.

Anywho, I don't really know what to think of this purchase of Sega, though I was kinda suprised to hear it. I guess I am just not yet use to the idea of Sega no longer being a powerhouse in the gaming world. It all seemed to happen so fast... The logo is pretty cool though, hopefully a good sign.

As for what Sega can do to improve themselves... STOP MAKING 3D SONIC GAMES SEGA!!!!! All of the 3D Sonic games I have had the "pleasure" of playing were lackluster, and just served to soil the memory of gaming past, the glory that was the Sega Genesis. My fondest memory of Sega was the first time I ever played a Sonic game, which actually was Sonic 2. (I know, kinda late, I was a Nintendo kid I guess...) That game had speed the likes of which Mario and friends could only dream of, and definitely had the better sidekick. (Luigi... ugh...) The 3D games however pale in comparison, and they also suffer from poor camera and generally lame gameplay.

What should they do instead? Sonic definitely lends itself well to the GBA. I think that Sonic Advance was a pretty awesome game, harkening back to the good 'ole days when 2 buttons were plenty to occupy me for hours. They should bring sonic exclusively to handhelds, he just isn't cutting it on consoles anymore.

The other franchises of Sega I am undecided about. Monkey Ball is good time, but damn hard, and it is just kinda stale now. If they come out with another one, I am not sure I would even bother to try it out. Getting my ass kicked by a game that simple is not my cup of tea, and the first Monkey Ball is largely the same as the others. Unless they find away to totally change it up, I don't think it will last much longer, if any more at all.

Phantasy Star is a promising series, but it isn't widely known. I think that is the biggest problem with Sega, they suck hard at advertising. By the time I heard about the Dreamcast, it was already on its way down. The only advice I would give them for PS is to keep it off of the Gamecube and put it on the PS2. Larger market to sell to, and obviously vastly superior online services. They could keep it on the 'Cube I suppose, but I really don't see much of a profit for them there.

But anyway, enough of my rambling. I sincerely hope Sammy can return Sega to its former glory, I think Sega deserves it.


Sincerely,
Cameron, who is spending an inordinate time with his X-Box playing Star Wars games, and wants to see an online something or other for KOTOR. DIE FFXI!!!!! KOTOR IS YOUR KING!!!!!

P.S. The other Star Wars game is Jedi Outcast, just to clear that up. I don't want people to think I am crazy for pluralizing (is that a word?) games and then only naming one...

Sega? Are we even supposed to care about them any more? I gave up on
them when they gave up on all of us when they pulled the Dreamcast. Everything they've released since then has been crap or rehash of
half-decent crap from back in the day. It's like there not even trying
anymore. They used to be a great company who made great games, and they
gave up on all of it. Now they're counting all their eggs in Sonic, and
aren't even doing a decent job at it. Whatevr happend to NiGHTS? Why
not breath life into the Panzer Dragoon series? Why don't they even try
to be inovative??? I don't care about brining back old series, they just need to do something original and spend time and effort on making it good, rather then a quick sale to break even.

And sammy... hmmm... not sure about them. Guilty Gear X2 is about the
only 2D fighting game that's even on par w/, if not better, then Street
Fighter Alpha 3 (the last good one...) and I don't ever really remember
much else they've released. Just seems like acouple of hobos working
together to scrounge up food, ya know?

-xddga

And a note on the failed topic, why not try out a random topic day every now and then?