Welcome back, folks! I had a very fun long weekend, bookended by the wildest movies to pair together. On Friday, I watched the new Masters of the Universe, which was a total blast and put a big smile on my face. Then on Monday, I met up with some friends and watched Adolescence of Utena on the big screen. Both times, I had the pleasure of watching the films while sitting next to people who weren’t ready for what they were in for (different people, mind). It’s my experience that sitting next to people who love a movie that much is almost as much fun as the movie itself. Anyway, it was a blast of a weekend. (Oh, and I also had to work on reviewing Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition Switch 2 Edition, which should be up today as well—believe me, I have more in mind…)

This is…

Sonic Celebrates His 35th, Makes Some Announcements

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was the first game I owned (my family got us a Model II Sega Genesis with Sonic the Hedgehog 2 when I was but a tyke). He’s been a part of my life ever since. So it’s a bit disconcerting that Sonic the character is actually a whole year younger than I am. That doesn’t feel right! Ys, Super Mario Bros., Metroid, Dragon Quest, Phantasy Star—they’re all older than I am! All of the big foundational franchises I love came out in the 1980s before I was born! Heck, Kamen Rider is older than I am! I should not be older than Sonic Ogilvie Maurice The Hedgehog! But so it is: Sonic the Hedgehog debuted in June of 1991.

It’s weirder still to think that there was a whole era before Sega had Sonic. For the longest time, Sega dealt in arcade machines. In a way, the dynamism and excitement from their games were because of it. But even then, Sega‘s first attempt at a mascot was Alex Kidd, whose greatest claim to fame is being “that character that used to be Sega‘s mascot before Sonic the Hedgehog existed.” The same way the Genesis/Mega Drive promoted itself on doing “what Nintendon’t,” Sonic was everything the Brothers Mario weren’t: he was cool, he was fast, he had an attitude, he was blue. Even in the days when Mario was portrayed by Captain Lou Albano (and depicted as a gruff New Yorker from Brooklyn), Mario was clean. He could be a grump, sure, but he was the guy to remind you to brush your teeth before bed and that you went to Hell before you died if you did drugs. He was a plumber, but there was never so much as a spot of grease on his overalls. Sonic? He was cut from Bart Simpson’s cloth: he thumbed his nose at the establishment, he was way too fast and way past cool. And while older folks might find Sonic’s attitude cringeworthy, Sonic has always been a hit with the kids. Sure, they’ve had to re-tune his attitude for new generations—from the wise-cracking smart-aleck of the ’90s to the stylish buttrocker of the 2000s to the irony-poisoned freedom fighter of today. But what’s cooler than being a trend-setter who actually keeps up with the times? As much as we rag on Sonic for “having a rough time adapting to 3D,” I think a lot of mascots would give their left kidney to have “failed” as hard as Sonic and still be relevant as a character. Even before the live-action movies, kids were playing the likes of Sonic and the Black Knight or Sonic and the Lost World. For all that people ragged on Sonic Boom wrapping our favorite needlemouse in athletic tape, kids loved Sonic Boom. Donkey Kong needed a cameo in a Mario Bros. movie to remind the public that he still existed. Sonic the Hedgehog has always been with us.

In honor of his 35th, Sega hosted a nice little livestream in the Blue Blur’s honor. To the disappointment of many, a new game wasn’t announced. I want to be optimistic and give Sega some time; this year was also The Legend of Zelda‘s 40th anniversary, and they only just announced the Ocarina of Time remake. Who knows, it’s only the halfway point of 2026. Sega might have something new in the wings. But Se-“Service Games”-Ga still had plenty of announcements for Sonic. While I’m a person who tends to appreciate stuff for what it is, the announcements were rather lackluster. We get two new compilations of Sonic the Hedgehog games. There’s Classic Sonic Collection (not to be confused with Sonic Classic Collection), which comes out this October. It’ll compile Sonic Origins, Sonic Mania, and Sonic Superstars. Sonic Origins is already a collection that’s been out for a good while. Offering it in a package is fine, I guess. It includes all of the actual classic Sonic titles, including Sonic 1 and Sonic 2, along with Sonic CD. It even includes the proper combined version of Sonic 3 & Knuckles, albeit with Michael Jackson‘s music replaced. Sonic Mania and Sonic Superstars, though… like, those are newer games. Sure, Sonic Mania is almost a decade old, and it’s a “classic”-style 2D platformer, but it’s not a classic game. Sonic Mania never even released on a dedicated Sega console, if and when those existed! Moreso with Sonic Superstars, which is all of three summers old. Sure, it features “Classic” Amy Rose, but it’s not an old game by any means. I don’t know how you fix this outside of adding more Sonic games. Maybe the Game Gear titles? Sonic R? Sonic The Fighters? It’s not like they can announce a new unreleased Sonic game from the Genesis.

There’s also the Modern Sonic Collection to go with it, also releasing in October, which compiles Sonic Frontiers, Sonic Colors: Ultimate, and Sonic Forces. And… that’s it! That’s rather anemic for a “Modern” Sonic collection. No Sonic and the Lost World? Not even a port of Sonic Boom? (For folks about to retort that Sonic Boom was bad: this is Sonic the Hedgehog, we don’t do that here.) Heck, I’d be the first to admit that the constant clamoring for a return to Sonic Adventure is annoying (the era for those games is long past!), and even then I’d argue that it’s a loss to not have some kind of port or remaster for those games in this collection. Folks would buy a modern Sonic collection just for a remastered Sonic Adventure 2. Heck, folks would drag themselves through a desert of broken glass on their knees for a screenshot of a remastered Chao Garden. (It’s me, I’m folks.) And that’s before you get into the Sonic Storybook titles that are still trapped on the Wii, like Sonic and the Secret Rings and Sonic and the Black Knight. Do I think people would honestly want to play Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)? No, no, they wouldn’t. But even including it as a joke would be something. It’s not even that Sonic Frontiers or Sonic Forces are irredeemably bad; it’s just that it feels underwhelming that this is a collection of only three games, two of which aren’t even five years old, and none of which are a decade old. And the real kicker for Sonic Frontier being in this collection—which, I remind you, is releasing on the Nintendo Switch—is the same Sonic Frontier that also got a Definitive Edition for the Switch 2, announced at the same time. And it features improved graphics and all of the updates and DLC for the base game. I hate doing the “What were they thinking?” bit because I’m not here to belittle folks. But someone at Sega had to have seen this and furrowed their brows some. This is just plain weird.

We also got some announcements for new characters coming to Sonic Crossworlds, and at least they’re actual  Sega characters! August from Crazy Taxi and Amigo from Samba de Amigo join the crew, along with… Classic Sonic. Hey, at least Classic Sonic has a new model! And the update also includes tons of music from a bunch of Sega Games that Sega will never port for love or money, like Burning Rangers, The Rub Rabbits, Feel The Magic: XX/XY, and Rhythm Thief and the Emperor’s Treasure. (And F-Zero fans think they have it rough.) 

This is also a weird announcement to make because Sega had just revealed that Sonic Racing: Crossworlds hasn’t been selling as well as they’d hoped. However, they haven’t said how much they expected the game to sell. The buzz on Sonic Racing: Crossworlds was positive. While a lot of people really wanted it to be the Mario Kart World killer it wasn’t, it has nevertheless done well! But I don’t think it would be an exaggeration to say that for a game that’s in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, the sheer amount of crossover characters also feels like a bit of a piss-take. Sega and Hatsune Miku have been tied at the hip for a long time. Ichiban Kasuga, why not? Joker from Persona 5… that’s when it’s starting to get a bit annoying. Joker’s just about everywhere; a lot of folks are Joker’ed out by now. And we can excuse Paramount for including something like SpongeBob SquarePants, because Sega and Paramount are buddy-buddy following the success of the Sonic movies. Adding SpongeBob, Patrick, Aang, and Katara, plus other third-party characters from Minecraft and Pac-Man, just feels a bit much. And remember: upcoming DLC packs include such beloved “Sonic” characters as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (circa Mutant Mayhem), Asuka and Rei from Neon Genesis Evangelion, and… Godzilla.

Does anyone remember Sketch Turner?! Alys Landale?!

Griping about crossover characters aside, Crossworld isn’t a bad game. So I don’t know what Sega could do to fix this one. Their report also mentioned that Shinobi: Art of Vengeance has also been lagging in sales; truly a pity. Crossoworlds fans can also look forward to a worldwide competition, with qualifiers starting on June 30. Hopefully, that gives the game the shot in the arm it needs!

An update was offered on Sonic Pico Park, a new entry in the series of collaborative platformers. Now, this isn’t brand new—Sonic Pico Park was revealed during Summer Games Fest. The update here is that Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic Pico Cat are joining the game. The game looks fun, sure, but in terms of something to announce for the 35th anniversary… this isn’t quite it? Sega also announced another Sonic Live in Concert, which will be traveling the nation starting this September. Having gone to a Sonic concert a few years back, I can vouch for these: they’re a ton of fun. But I do hope they offer new music, because I don’t think a new Sonic game has come out since I last went to one. We also have the strange ARG-esque “Hunt for the Chaos Emeralds,” which… I’m sure it will be explained more as time goes on. One thing they haven’t openly explained: enlisting gives Sega your consent to use your data for generative AI.

Finally, Sega announced a pair of limited-edition cartridges! Yes, working Sega Genesis cartridges for Sonic the Hedgehog and its sequel! Do they have anything new? Nope, they’re just cast in very colorful plastic, and they’re limited edition, so they both cost US$100. Oh, and they have a “gacha” system now, so one-in-eight copies are “Chaos Emerald” variants with uniquely-colored shells.

Sonic’s 15th anniversary was uniquely considered a letdown, since the only thing Sega did was release Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis on Game Boy Advance (widely considered one of the worst ports of the game ever made). By virtue of how much Sega announced, the 35th anniversary isn’t nearly as bad. It’s a low bar, though, and I think that’s what makes it such a bummer. Again, I wanna give Sega some room because there’s still time to announce a new game. But man, I hope it gets announced soon…

BlazBlue: Central Fiction Gets New Character… Eleven Years After Its Release

We live in an age where many games simply fall out of sight and out of mind for gamers within just a few months of their release. There’s just so much coming out daily. Games getting new updates just one year after their release is a sign of goodwill from the developer. Games still getting updates five years on are pretty much all-timers. At that point, most studios would rather re-release the game for an updated remaster or port. But an update coming in eleven years after its release? That’s a new one for me.

Arc System Works‘ BlazBlue has faded a bit into obscurity. And it’s not because the games were bad or anything; for a while, Arc System Works was putting them out quite regularly, and fans rose up to support the games. There was even a BlazBlue crossover with the Persona Arena games… and RWBY, for some reason. It’s a bit unfair to BlazBlue to call it Arc’s stand-in for Guilty Gear… but it effectively was. Arc had lost the rights to Guilty Gear when Sammy (who owned those rights) was bought out by Sega, leading to the need for BlazBlue to take up Guilty Gear‘s place as the hectic, fast-paced 2D fighting game. Arc got the rights to Guilty Gear back in 2011, and because of that, they’ve largely hit the brakes on BlazBlue—especially in the wake of their later successes like Guilty Gear Xrd or Guilty Gear -Strive-. Arc has also been responsible for a lot of beloved licensed games, like Dragon Ball FighterZ and the upcoming Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls. And there unfortunately hasn’t been much room for BlazBlue since. Arc didn’t want BlazBlue and Guilty Gear to overlap with each other overmuch, but with the renewed interest in Guilty Gear, that doesn’t leave much room for BlazBlue.

The good news, though, is that Arc System Works hasn’t completely forgotten BlazBlue! And while they might not be making a new game (let alone that BlazBlue/Guilty Gear crossover folks really want), they are adding a new character to BlazBlue: Central Fiction… eleven years after it released. It’s enough for me to call it a tiny miracle; BlazBlue fans have been going absolutely ham in counting down the minutes to the new character’s reveal. We won’t know anything until EVO starts on June 26, but expect fans to pop off.

BlazBlue‘s lore is a mix of magic and science fiction, the story of a vast number of mercenaries, magitech-police, and assassins all converging upon a city named Kagutsuchi in pursuit of the infamous Ragna the Bloodedge, a swordsman who’s been destroying Libraries for a while now. A lot of clones of a woman named Saya ensue, many of them with skimpy robot suits. And they’re all voiced by Cristina Vee, so they’re my favorite, of course.

Can we expect a new BlazBlue if this new character pops off? Probably not; series producer Toshimichi Mori retired from Arc System Works in 2022. In that light, it’s even more of a tiny miracle that this new character is getting added. Sure would be nice if Central Fiction also got a dub. Ragna VA Patrick Seitz is itching for the chance. All eyes are on EVO…

New Disgaea Spiritual Successor Gets Trailer

You might be familiar with Demons’ Night Fever, an upcoming title from Shohei Niikawa. And you might recognize that name as the former CEO of Nippon Ichi Software and creator of the Disgaea games. While his new title, Demons’ Night Fever, makes no claim to the Disgaea name, it’s hard not to see the connections. Much in the same way that Ètrange Overlord was a Rhapsody redux, what with its musical interludes and light-hearted story about a well-meaning woman using her wit to take over Hell, Demons’ Night Fever just has that Disgaea vibe about it: eye-catching demonic critters and off-kilter music belying a system that incentivizes back-stabbing. And we’ve even got a gameplay trailer to further illuminate some stuff for us!

First off: if the art seems familiar, it’s because it’s from Yuji Himukai, renowned artist of the Etrian Odyssey games. I’m used to his loveable designs being a bit more restrained; the maximalist look of characters in Demons’ Night Fever is a real eye-opener, I’m genuinely impressed. Anyway, this game is Kamen Rider. Like, no joke: that bit in the trailer of a character strapped to a medical slab? Kamen Rider. The name of this strategy game is abusing your peons for fun and profit; by “scouting” characters (read: kidnapping them), you can recruit them to your army. From there, you can sacrifice them mid-battle for bonus points. Akin to using Prinnies as living grenades, you can kill your peons to detonate them and deal a bit of damage. Doing so also grants you points you can invest into buffing up your main characters. (In a cute twist, all of these evil acts of back-stabbing are carried out by each character’s “Misdeeds” menu in battle.)

Demons’ Night Fever bills itself as a “speedrun-training RPG,” so I’m guessing the game is encouraging munchkinry of the highest order. Again, I’d hate to keep bringing up Disgaea (Niikawa’s new work deserves to establish itself outside of his previous works), but it reminds me of Disgaea‘s famous level cap of 9999. Of course, the story is appropriately goofy: our hero is named “Killshiro Katanaka,” a misanthrope who wants to put the world out of his misery and is recruited by “Giga Super Death” (an all-powerful demon trapped in a baby’s body). Only time will tell if the gut-wrenching, tragic twists will also come over. But I don’t doubt it.

Demons’ Night Fever releases later this year on Steam, PS5, and Switch 2; I’ve definitely got my eye on it.

Let’s wrap up with some quick tidbits:

That will do it for this week. It’s quite clear that this autumn will belong almost entirely to Grand Theft Auto 6; there won’t be escaping its black hole as every other game in the industry tries to evade its release date. In the meantime, there’s still plenty more to come as summer rolls on. Don’t forget to hydrate; the temperature is getting rather nuts. And as always—be good to each other, I’ll see you in seven.

This Week In Games! is written from idyllic Portland by Jean-Karlo Lemus. When not collaborating with Anime News Network, Jean-Karlo can be found playing Japanese RPGs, eating popcorn, watching VTuber content, and watching tokusatsu. You can keep up with him at @ventcard.bsky.social.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of Anime News Network, its employees, owners, or sponsors.