video games Episodes

This week, I'm thrilled to be joined by Scott Strichart, localization producer of the Yakuza series at SEGA of America. If you listened to our bonus summer episodes, you may remember a talk I had with Scott back in 2018 on another show, which you should definitely go listen to if you want even more detail into his video game experiences. This time, however, it was great to have him on for the full Lounge experience. Listen as he discusses working closely with RGG Studio and the process behind localizing Yakuza: Like a Dragon and much more. We'll also find out if he is indeed worthy of his Twitter bio title of "Patriarch of the Yakuza Localization Family" in another challenge that is not for the faint of heart.

This week, I'm joined by Jord Odell, E-commerce and Social Media Manager at SEGA Shop Europe, which includes both the UK and European storefronts. Jord is the marketing wizard that connects the fans and Numskull, the people running the shop. She kindly agreed to have a chat with me about her career and her love for video games and was also kind enough to let me put her through another brutal edition of The SEGA Lounge Challenge.

In the distant year of 2013, I had the pleasure of interviewing Scott Davies, a programmer, SEGA fan, and the creator of RetroAchievements, a project that intended to add achievements to old games. This week, I'm joined on The SEGA Lounge by Meleu, a staffer over at RetroAchievements. We talk about the site's inception, Meleu's work with the RA community and what's in store for the future. Do you love collecting trophies or achievements in modern games? Ever wished you could get achievements in your favorite retro games? Keep listening to find out how you can make that happen thanks to RetroAchievements.

This week, I'm proud to be joined on The SEGA Lounge by three members of the Victory Heat Rally team. If you're not aware of it, Victory Heat Rally is an upcoming retro-style, super scaler, arcade racing game, that is heavily inspired by classic SEGA arcade racers and is currently looking for funding on Kickstarter. I sat down with Ian and Aidan from Skydevilpalm and our old friend RoBKTA, one of the soundtrack composers, to discuss the project. And we also play a musical game. I hope you'll give it a shot as well while you're listening.

This week's guest is Mikael Tillander, the Swedish developer behind a fairly recent Mega Drive game called Tänzer. It's a blend of different genres, the most notable ones being platformer, hack 'n' slash and shoot-em-up. A fast-paced action game with an amazing soundtrack that you can get for your Mega Drive or Genesis in physical format. I talk to Mikael about his hobby as a video game developer, his newfound love for the SEGA Mega Drive and what to expect from him in the future. Check it out.

This week's guests are two members of the team behind Dormiveglia, one of my favorite games of this year's Sonic Amateur Games Expo. Dormiveglia is a 2D Metroidvania style game starring Quinn, the young whip-wielding hero of Spring Plaza. After their village is ransacked by the mysterious Somnia, Quinn quickly sets out to chase after her. Since the game is currently on Kickstarter trying to get funding for its completion, Darkonius Mavakar and Awesome3475 are here to tell us more about the origins and future of this project.

The SEGA Lounge has officially reopened for business. This week, and it's a Lounge tradition already, we're covering SAGE, the Sonic Amateur Games Expo 2020. It's a special one, not only for the sheer amount of fan games and indie games that will be showcased, but also because it's the event's 20th anniversary. So you can definitely expect it to be bigger and better than ever. SAGE 2020 takes place from September 5th to September 12th, and it's a pleasure to have Carson, aka Neo Hazard, on the show to discuss it. Stick around for some interesting points regarding what makes this year's event so unique, what Carson thinks of the evolution of SAGE throughout the years and a crazy challenge, as always.

It's time to go into the vault and bring out another not-so-new chat. Back in April 2018, I had the chance to talk to Scott Strichart, localization producer of the Yakuza series. At the time, I divided the interview into two parts, with one of them airing in April, close to the release of Yakuza 6, and the second one airing in May. The latter focused more on Yakuza Kiwami 2, which would be released later that year. The two parts of the interview were compiled into one and now you get the chance to either listen to it for the first time or, if you're a RadioSEGA listener, relive it.

Welcome back to The SEGA Lounge. After a break of two weeks, we're back with Maciej Baron, of Good Praxis and lead dev and composer of ASAP PLZ, a new game for the Mega Drive. Find out more about Maciej's history, including his love for Sonic and hacking Sonic games, as well as the story behind this free 16-bit that centers around office work.

Patrick Hickey Jr., author of the series of books The Minds Behind the Games, joins KC for a chat on The SEGA Lounge. Learn more about this multi-talented man and his future projects, including a Genesis book.

This week, we're focusing on the Race For Good 2020, a community event ran by friend of the show Andrew 'TheBritishAndy' Wilson and Pete 'TitansCreed' Nethercote. This is the third edition of the streaming event that aims to raise money in support of Special Effect. The event is taking place this weekend, ie, June 19th to June 21st.

It's time to welcome our second YouTuber in a row! This week's guest St1ka, host of "St1ka's Retro Corner" on YouTube and a man with an interesting background as a gamer. Learn more about his channel and find out if he's got what it takes to earn The SEGA Lounge Seal of Approval.

Following up on our SEGA Heroes episode, it's a pleasure to welcome Genesis VII, last week's 'lost' guest, to discuss his interesting history with SEGA games and how a mobile game published by the company ignited the spark to create a YouTube channel, and led to a partnership with SEGA themselves. Plus, his feelings and thoughts on SEGA Heroes (RIP).

SEGA and developer Demiurge recently announced the discontinuation of mobile hit SEGA Heroes. The servers will be deactivated on May 21st. With one week left to play the game, KC sat down with massive fans Kori-Maru (SEGA Bits) and Ravsieg (RadioSEGA) to discuss what was great about it and what they would like to see in a potential future sequel or similar game.

We're going old school this week with Daz and Taggsta, hosts of Aussie-based show, Arcade Perfect Podcast. Learn more about their search for the best and worst arcade game conversions and find out if they can get an arcade perfect score of their own in our challenge.