Newsletter: Sega World Weekly issue 67 (then Dreamcast Weekly)
From Video Game Morgue File
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//// ~ Issue #67 - January 30th 2000 ~ \\\\
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o> Please SCROLL DOWN for the Editors Comments <o
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======| ABOUT DREAMCAST WEEKLY |==========================
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> To ask questions, please click Reply to this message,
only be SURE to include "Q&A" some where in the Subject.
We regret we're unable to personally reply to each e-mail,
but the best questions will be selected weekly and printed
in our Q&A page.
> For past issues visit http://www.dreamcastweekly.com
> For the latest game news, reviews and previews visit the
Premier Video Games Site www.totalvideogames.com With over
300 archived News Articles and the greatest game reviews.
Up-dated throughout the day with everything!
---------------- www.totalvideogames.com -----------------
> Our domain name for DC Weekly is provided thanks to Total
Video Games, the UK's premier video games magazine up-dated
daily, and The Junction, the best place for Teens to chat.
------------------ www.the-junction.com ------------------
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======| EDITORS COMMENTS |================================
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Well after Tomb Raider 4 and Virtua Fighter 4 were confirmed
last week, you could think nothing will top that for awhile.
But yes, Sega have confirmed they are brining the multiplayer
Quake 3 Arena to Dreamcast! Famitsu's review score of Resident
Evil: Code Veronica, a sequel to Get Bass, a Sega GT VMU game,
and how to win a Crazy Taxi Arcade machine also feature in
this weeks news.
Our cover story is the much-talked about game of this past
week, Grandia 2. Then further down we have a special on the
Free Battle System in Shenmue. Including some moves that
aren't listed in the training mode, but certainly add depth
to your fights!
The first cheats for Crazy Taxi, including how to drive in a
giant bike, and make the game extra hard, are also featured
in this issue.
Finally though, if you have any suggestions about what we
can do to improve the magazine, I'd love to hear them. Feel
free to e-mail me on Webmaster@Sega2000.net
Until next week then, Happy Gaming everyone!
~ Graham "Tails" Parker (Editor)
.oO Page 1 - Cover Story Oo.
.oO Page 2 - The News Oo.
.oO Page 3 - Rumors Oo.
.oO Page 4 - Into The Web Oo.
.oO Page 5 - Feature Oo.
.oO Page 6 - Cheats Oo.
.oO Page 7 - Q&A Center Oo.
.oO Page 8 - OUR SUPPORT SITES Oo.
.oO Page 9 - Credits Oo.
HOT QUOTE This Issue: "Expect the title to make full use of
the Dreamcast's modem, and also to turn heads of gamers
world wide."
-- Quake 3 Arena Confirmed - This Weeks News
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======| COVER STORY |=====================================
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>>>> Grandia 2 Preview
>>>> Written by Tails
O Publisher: GameArts
O Genre: RPG
O Release Date: Mid-Late 2000 in Japan
O Players: 1
Picture an RPG from the minds behind the legendary Lunar
series, with a budget of nearly US$10 million, a fully
orchestral soundtrack, and the sound effects them selves
delivered by Skywalker Sound. Impressive eh? Well that
was just the original Grandia, back on the old Sega Saturn.
The title was hailed by gamers as the "greatest RPG ever",
and a "Final Fantasy VII beater". The landscapes were
bright, full of imagination, and what impressed many,
fully polygon generated. So now you can also picture the
disappointment of western gamers everywhere when Sega
decided not to translate the game into English. The
game was so demanded, even a group of RPG Fans made
their own translations on the net, covering over 50%
of the game!
Skip a few years ahead, and the game was officially
translated by Sony, and Sega gamers finally have the chance
to play GameArts master piece on the Playstation. But if
you have to get picky, it's still not quite what the Sega
gamers wanted. Grandia 2 however, is coming to the
Dreamcast, and unlike the old slow selling Saturn, the
Dreamcast is early in it's life, and selling even better
than those often-referred-to hotcakes. So it would make
no sense for Sega's translators to give Grandia 2 a miss.
Due out in Japan during mid-late 2000, we'll keep you
updated on any news about an English version.
As I mentioned before, the original's scenery was fully
3D, which gave the developers lots of freedom with camera
angles, hidden objects and such. But unfortunately the
games characters were sprites, and so turned into rather
pixilated mess's when dramatic camera angles were
attempted. As you'd expect with all the polygon-punching-power
of Dreamcast however, things are a little different
now-a-days, and the characters are all rendered in true
3D. If you look closely at the screen shots here, you can
see there's certainly no lack of detail covering the
characters either, and that goes for every one in the
game. The only complaint I have at the moment is the
dull, and typical, circle-ish shadows that lie beneath
the colorful and impressive players.
Moving characters into the 3rd dimension isn't the only
change for the heros, they are also older than the
original's children, enforcing GameArts attempt at a
more "adult" story line in Grandia 2. Instead of the
innocent 14 year old Justin as the worlds hero, the
17 year old rebel, Ryudo has taken charge. Still,
like Justin of the past, Ryudo's weapon of choice
remains the sword. Millenia is the second member of
your party, and a mysterious one at that. Starting
with her age, "unknown", she also enjoys the arts
of magic, and messing with her hair (?!). Elena is
next in your party, being the same age as our hero,
she completes the RPG group as the healer. She
spends much of her time at the Church Choir, and her
beautiful voice is said to be so powerful, it can
remove darkness and evil from anyones heart. A large
part of what Grandia was admired for is the personality
of it's characters, and with the information we have
on the sequels, it looks promising for the same again.
Further characters include Lauren, a 13 year old boy in
search of treasure, Maracle, a 30 year old "beastman",
hoping to find a murderer that destroyed his home, and
finally Eagley, a 40 year old talking Eagle that fly's
with Ryudo. Again older than similar characters in the
original, who were the youngest aged 8 and the oldest 23.
For those who haven't played Grandia yet (why not go
rent out a copy with a Playstation after reading this?),
the story line of the original goes that Justin is
called to an epic quest that will take him to the
ends of the world, quite literally. That all takes
place on the continent of Messhina at a time when
the world is just entering the industrial age, while
Grandia 2 begins on the continent of Surisen, 10,000
years before your characters had even spoken their
first word. A great war between supernatural forces
of good and evil took place. The battle shook the
entire planet, and ripped opened a giant canyon
which now divides the world in two. Known as the
Granacliff, it's believed those who attempt to climb
into the canyon fall directly into hell (nice!). As
you can imagine the people of today have gotten used
to their world split in half, but unknowing to them
is the evil that is responsible for their terrible
past, is all but dead. The village you live in, Cahbo,
is one of the first to see the signs of evil, when
during the night monsters come from the forest and
attack.
As with most of Grandia 2, fight scenes too have evolved
from the days of the original. GameArts have decided to
take a more strategic approach to battles this time
around, along with adding more dramatic camera angles,
and of course improved spell effects. An interesting change
includes the ability to see monsters before your actually
locked in combat with each other. Before battles it's
up to you to decide who your sending in to fight,
choosing 4 characters from the 6 members of your team,
and re-enforcing GameArts approach of a more strategic
combat system.
Grandia 2 is one of those games you just know is going
be an experience to remember, and one look forward
to. Unfortunately with the Japanese version due for
release mid-late this year, it doesn't look good for
an English version until some time next year. GameArts
are known for taking their time with RPG's too, however
when you finally get into their world of adventure, you
know the wait was worth it.
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======| NEWS |============================================
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>>>> Quake 3 Arena Official!
Come this fall the Sega Network will be fully operational,
and allow gamers to compete with each other across America.
This may help fighting the Playstation 2 launch, although
to really show the world Sega means business, they need
a massive multi-player title to release for use on the
network.
Is Quake 3 Arena big enough for ya? Yes it has been
officially announced that Sega are going to publish Quake
3 for the Dreamcast themselves. Expect the title to make
full use of the Dreamcast's modem, and also to turn heads
of gamers world wide.
While the press release with all the details hasn't been
sent out yet, expect it to hit the news this coming week.
We'll keep you updated in the next issue of Dreamcast
Weekly.
>>>> Famitsu's Code Veronica Score
When ever a big title is released in Japan, all eyes turn
to the Weekly Famitsu magazine for their review score. Now
Resident Evil: Code Veronica has been reviewed, and the
scores are in...
The game scored a very high 35/40 (higher than Shenmue by 2
points!). The individual scores were 9, 9, 9, and 8.
Dreamcast Magazine gave Code Veronica another impressive
score, at 28/30, and the individual scores being 10, 9,
and 9.
>>>> Win A Crazy Taxi Arcade Machine!
Yes Sega are giving away a Crazy Taxi arcade machine, along
with $3505 of cash.
$3505? Well the machine tolls in at $6495, so in total your
winning a nice round $10,000 worth of prizes. To enter,
simply enter your name and e-mail address on the page
below.
http://sega.com/promo/f/crazytaxi/
You have until February 17th to enter, and a winner will
be drawn at the end of the month.
>>>> Sega GT VMU Mini Game
It appears that Sega will include a VMU mini game into
their racing game Sega GT: Homologation Special, named
"Homo Pocket".
This mini game contains within itself several smaller
games, such as Driver Promotion. Here, you train you
drivers for use with the game, giving you that much more
customization ability for winning the racers. Another game
allows you to play for money which is then used in the
game to purchase upgrades to your cars. - By Chris Tang
& Ilya Gordon
>>>> Get Bass Hooks A Sequel
It ain't just bass anymore! At the ATEI show in London,
Sega announced 'Sega Marine Fishing,' which is essentially
the sequel to the highly successful 'Get Bass' - or 'Sega
Bass fishing' in the US. Running on the Naomi arcade board
Sega Marine Fishing will feature fifteen different types
of fish. And the player will be able to cast into three
different salt-water locations, including coral reefs,
and shallow and deep waters.
Although only announced for the arcades at this point, a
Dreamcast conversion seems more than likely.
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======[ RED HOT RUMORS ]==================================
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Welcome to the rumors section of Dreamcast Weekly, each
week we'll keep you up to-date with the latest rumors going
around.
>>>> Gameboy - Dreamcast Link
Yes it's nothing new, but after a year the rumor has
resurfaced and may well pan out to be true. AKI have been
working on a Dreamcast breeding and battle game (not
unlike the popular Pokemon), which they said will be able
to link to the Gameboy Color. The game is due out on
April the 20th in Japan. As always, we'll keep you
updated.
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======| INTO THE WEB |====================================
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>>>> More Than Just Movies
NextGenVideos has been covering more of news this week,
including more puzzle titles for the Dreamcast, Ready 2
Rumble 2 coming to Dreamcast (!), and more. Here's hoping
for some more movies coming too.
Why are they featured in Dreamcast Weekly? Because the
movies are quite possibly of the highest quality on the
net, that's why. If you haven't checked them out yet, now's
a good time to start.
www.NextGenVideos.com
>>>> Lik-Sang Update
For importers, we usually update this part of the magazine
each week with the latest news from Lik-Sang. Unfortunately
parts of their site are down today, so we haven't been
able to get in. Still, things should be back to normal
later this week, and I've heard Lik-Sang will begin accepting
credit cards soon. That should be a big improvement for
the delay of ordering over the net compared to a cheque.
www.Lik-Sang.com
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======| FEATURE |=========================================
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>>>> Shenmue Free Battle Moves
>>>> Written by Shogmaster
In addition to the plethora of attacks and throws
(31 and 14 respectively by my count) within it's complex
system, you can also do:
1. A punch reversal- grab trusted punch, trip, then punch
the attacker on the ground (Back+X,A,X)
2. Parry power attacks- by pressing Y at the precise
moment of the attack, leaving the attacker wide open
for a second or so. Unlike Aoi's Back+P or Down/Back+P
parries, these are more forceful and violent by
knocking out their hit with a hit of your own. Allot
like SC's sword Parrys.
3. Dodge and juke light attacks- by pressing Y at the
precise moment of each attack. This maneuver jukes
each thrust of the attacker like a nimble boxer
weaving in and out around the attacks. This maneuver
is incredibly essential to Ryo's fighting repertoire,
setting up some awesome options.
4. TRUE counter attacks- by pressing Punch (X) or Kick
(A) immediately after the attack dodge (Y) in #3. The
result will be a quick dodge, then an uppercut or a
sweep kick that knocks the opponent off his feet.
5. Attack interruption throws- by pressing the throw
button (B) immediately after the attack dodge (Y) in
#3. The result will be a throw that interrupts the
opponent's attack. These throws are totally different
set than his regular throws, with totally unique
animations. For example, if you do the attack
interruption throw on the opponent's high kick attack,
you will grab his leg before his kick is finished, trip
him down to the ground, then kick him in the hip while
you still have his leg. There are 4 of these in total
(2 for punches and 2 for kicks, depending on position).
6. Punch attack grappling- by pressing throw (B) at the
precise moment the opponent punches. Ryo will perform
an arm lock on the rushing opponent, which he can press
(X) to follow up with a forearm bash, press (A) to
follow up with a knee to the side, or don't do anything
at all and Ryo will snap the opponent's locked arm after
a couple of seconds.
7. Free grapping- by pressing throw button (B) when the
opponent just within Ryo's reach (about 2 body lengths?),
Ryo will grab the opponent by the collar. If you don't
do anything afterwards, Ryo will let go of the grip.
But if you choose to follow up the grab, pressing punch
(X) twice will deliver two punches to the gut, pressing
kick (A) will do a knee to the gut, pressing throw (B)
will do a over the shoulder throw, and pressing punch
then kick (X,A) will make him do a punch to the gut,
then dash behind the opponent and do a kick to the back
(really cool looking).
8. Throw reversal- by pressing throw (B) split second
after you get grabbed by the opponent will free you
immediately. this apparently works on any throw they do,
but the timing is very crucial (quickly as you can).
9. Free combo chaining- unlike VF and Tekken, there are
no pre-determined canned combo system. As long as you don't
interrupt the combo chain with a slow recovering power
move or your opponent doesn't do an power attack parry
or a quicker attack to knock you out of the chain, you
can string along any combination of attacks you wish. Just
FYI, I have never observed a air juggling combos. I have
knocked opponents out of their jump attacks, but because
the attacks are more realistic in timing (meaning much
slower in coming out than VF or Tekken) there are no air
juggles.
I have a nagging feeling that I left out something, but
this should still give you a great idea of how complex
and deep the Free-Battle system in Shenmue is. It puts
the play mechanics in most of the dedicated fighting games
to low down dirty shame. I would LOVE to see many of these
make it to VF4!
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======| CHEATS |==========================================
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>>>> Crazy Taxi
O Drive A Bicycle Taxi:
Before selecting your character, hit Start, L, and R
three times. You should hear a sound, and once the game
begins, your driving big bicycle-taxi with a box in the
back for passengers. The cart is faster and handles
better. - From J's-Import-Report
O Harder Game:
After selecting your game mode, and the rules, hold one
of the following while the game loads.
L + Start = No Destination Marks
R + Start = No Arrows
L + R + Start = Expert Mode (Both of the above modes
combined. Extremely difficult if you are not familiar
with the city) - From J's-Import-Report
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======| Q&A CENTER |======================================
----------------------------------------------------------
To ask questions, please click Reply to this message, only
be SURE to include "Q&A" some where in the Subject. We
regret we're unable to personally reply to each e-mail,
but the best questions will be selected weekly and printed
here.
Watch this space next week for the opening of our Q&A page.
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======| BEST OF THE WEB |=================================
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There are sooooo many Sega sites across the web, wouldn't
it be great if one place listed the most interesting bits?
Presenting the Best Of The Web...
>>>> Sega X - www.segadreamcast.net
Plenty of news added every day, including a IRC Java
chat room where you can chat about all the latest Sega
topics.
>>>> Sega 2000 - www.sega2000.net
More than your average Sega site. We have daily news,
reviews, previews, etc... but also fan art, your top 10
most wanted, reader reviews, sub sites dedicated to
RPG's, Sonic, and Star Trek, along with many more
sections.
>>>> The Next Level - www.the-nextlevel.com
The Next Level is a multi-platform gaming magazine focused on
all current and upcoming next-generation systems. We provide
up-to-date news, in-depth reviews, reader reviews, intriguing
editorials, and more.
>>>> Perfect Zero - http://www.perfect-zero.com
They have the biggest collection of video game mp3's, video's
(including some Saturn video's you've probably never seen
before) and more.
>>>> The Sonic Zone - www.suneet.com/soniczone/
Updated daily with a HUGE amount of Sonic content that is
sure to blow you away! From Fan Fiction to Chatting,
and even Fan Created Games, this is your one stop Sonic site.
>>>> Gaming Central Starpath - www.startpath.com/gamingcentral
This site contains hundreds of links for anything a gamer
might be interested in, no matter what format, including
some game specific links.
>>>> DC Australia - www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Fortress/6831/
Now the Dreamcast is out in Australia, and after SegaDC.co.nz
closed, this should be your first stop for news down under.
The official website for the Dreamcast Weekly is now open at
www.dreamcastweekly.com :) The site includes the history of
the magazine, back issues, and more. Then in the future...
who knows, hopefully we'll be a print magazine one day
(Hint hint to any publisher that may be reading this :) )
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======[ CREDITS ]=========================================
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O Editor: Graham Parker "Tails" - Webmaster@sega2000.net
Thanks to all our support sites above, for helping make
Dreamcast Weekly as big as we are!
>>>> www.DreamcastWeekly.com - Our Official Website!
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Copyright 1998-2000 Graham Parker - Webmaster@Sega2000.net
Written and edited by Graham Parker. No parts may be
copied without prior permission. Otherwise I'd be forced
to send out my goons... Ok so I don't have any goons, but
copying is just mean... very mean. There, that should
scare everyone off :)
