Virtua Fighter 1 Bandai keychain figures

 

At the same as I bought all those keychain Sega girls some time back I also got this set of six Virtua Fighter keychains. Judging by the auction they were produced by Bandai around the time the first Virtua Fighter game was released. I assume this is not a complete set either as Pai and Lau Chan are missing from the original roster of 8 here, or 9 if you count Dural but they rarely make toys of her. This is unless they just forgot those two for some reason, I guess I won't know unless I see some kind of packaging that these did not have. Either way check after the jump for more photos!

Sega Gals Keychain figures

I bought these two small keychain figures of Rage (from Virtua Cop) and Bahn (from Fighting Vipers) back at Summer of Sonic 2011, and ever since they have been waiting for some company from the same set..

..until now! Recently I bought this small collection of Sega keychain figures that are exactly like these two, right down to the little blue stands with their names on. These however are from a different set released at the same time (1998) of Sega's many ladies! Hit the jump for photos galore and more info on the (almost) complete set.

Say this in an angry Batman voice: "Where's Sonic?"

It's rare to see a Sonic book hitting shelves that isn't either the elusive History of Sonic book, or an Archie Comics compilation. So when I saw this, I was very intrigued. “Where’s Sonic?: A Search-And-Find Adventure” is a Where’s Waldo/Wally style book in which fans try and find Sonic as well as other items as they litter recognizable zones and stages from the franchise. Looks like they'll be using CG renders throughout, most likely pre-existing poses, and the book will probably only span Generations and perhaps Colors. However, I would be surprised if Riders, All-Stars Racing and Unleashed get their own pages. Currently the book is only listed in the UK and Australia. Amazon UK is taking pre-orders for £2.99 with free shipping within the UK. The release date is October 11th, so until then try to find Shadow creeping in the shadows in the image above.

Aoi Sekai no Chuushin de: An anime with Sega characters, sort of.

Well this is the weirdest thing I have seen in some time. There is going to be an anime airing from next month in Japan called Aoi Sekai no Chuushin de that, according to MyAnimeList is:

Segua Kingdom has been losing the war against Ninterdo Empire but the tables are turned by the appearance of a boy called Gear. All the characters are parodies of Nintendo or Sega games such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda etc.

and they included an image:

 Not terribly obvious from that artwork but the guy with the blue hair is a parody of Sonic. Not clear enough? This image from the already existing manga probably will..

More info (what info there is so far) after the jump.

An infamous Sonic Says in 3D

Regulars to SEGA Memories should know of our love for all things "The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog". Even those who aren't steeped in the series know of the many memes to come from it, as well as the infamous Sonic Sez Says segment in which Sonic warns of molestation. In what is one of the most creative remixes of the original, a fan animated a 3D model of classic Sonic in Source Filmmaker and created this 3D recreation. If anything, it's the first believable video I've seen of Jaleel White voicing a Sonic Generations classic Sonic. I have to say, it works really well!

USAopoly reveals the Sonic Monopoly board!

The USAopoly Facebook page has revealed the upcoming Sonic Monopoly game board. Just standing back and looking at it, it’s a really great looking board! The design looks nice, a ton of zones and stages are represented. And unlike the Nintendo Monopoly game, thought has been put into the renaming of the chance and community chest cards. Seriously, the Nintendo Monopoly was garbage compared to this beauty. Players bought characters like property and built houses on them. How does that work? Gives a whole new meaning to Hotel Mario. Fans have taken note that the Genesis/Mega Drive games really get the shaft with only three properties representing the classics, and all three are from Sonic Generations. Meanwhile, Sonic 4 receives three properties and Sonic Riders, a spin-off title, receives two. If you’re really bothered by the property selection, just use my custom Sonic Hogopoly board.

Summer of Sonic 2012 - Cosplay Contest

Sorry for the delay, here is some more video footage of Summer of Sonic 2012, this time of the cosplay contest! This time they did things differently: in previous years they had every single cosplayer go up on stage to be picked based on everyones cheering, which is kind of a hard thing to judge I would imagine, so this time they had a panel of judges give each cosplayer points throughout the day and the top 10 of those went up on the stage in the afternoon. This meant the contest on stage was a lot shorter than previous years.

The pair dressed as banjo and Kazooie are friends of mine who did it for a laugh, and despite being only very loosey related to anything Sonic (having been in the X-box 360 version of All-Stars Racing) still managed to get 4th place! As for the top winner, I'll give you a WILD guess (heh heh) but even if you don't like the character you got to admit that is a stunning costume. I asked the woman who wore it how long it took her to make, and she said about 4 or 5 months. Not surprised! I still don't get how the eyes seem to look forwards no matter what way the head turns, it's kinda spooky!

Summer of Sonic 2012 - Video Tour

The Summer of Sonic 2012 coverage here at Sega Memories begins here! In this first video you will see the queue outside the Brighton Centre early on, us walking into the venue, checking out the free goodie bag, watching some All-Stars Transformed gameplay, watching the event introduction on the screens and stage, and a tour of the 2nd floor, including what is in the merch booth this year! I have other videos coming soon, including the cosplay contest, the Jun Senoue jam session and I also have lots of photos to share, so stay tuned!

New Sega t shirts from Meatbun are magical.

Meatbun have some crazy talent designing their gaming related tees, and I get the feeling they may have a bit of a Sega fan streak in them judging by how 3 out 4 of their latest designs are Sega inspired. Many are quite surprising mash ups too!

First up, Passing Breeze. This looks like it could have come directly out of a mid to late 80s Japanese indie fan magazine, right down to the manga like toning. A gorgeous illustration that nails the vibe of the classic Outrun.

The other two designs after the jump!

Modern Sonic F4F Statue Revealed

Via their Facebook page, First4Figures have revealed the first in their modern line of Sonic statues: Sonic the Hedgehog. Like the photo says, pre-orders start May 15th, 2012 and there will be a very limited number of statues available. I have to say, when I heard of a modern line I was iffy, but this statue looks great! While I won't be getting it, the F4F statues are too rich for my blood, I do love looking at photos of them.