Primeval Hunt

Arcade scenes were no longer thriving by the late 2000s, but that didn’t stop Sega from releasing quality titles for the platform. One example is Primeval Hunt, released in 2008, where you play as a dinosaur hunter in a safari-style environment—think Cabela’s Hunting, but with dinosaurs. In the game, players are tasked with hunting a set number of specific dinosaurs while freely exploring the map using a touchscreen monitor, a novelty at the time that are still unique to this day.

Given Sega’s experience with the Jurassic Park series, it’s no surprise that Primeval Hunt delivers a solid dinosaur-themed shooting experience. Unlike typical lightgun games, it introduces an extra layer of challenge through limited ammunition in each stage. Players must not only contend with attacks from creatures like T-Rexes but also manage their bullets carefully to ensure they meet their hunting targets. Success requires precision, strategy, and quick thinking.

For fans of arcade games, Primeval Hunt offers a memorable and distinctive experience that stands out even in the late-era arcade scene. Its combination of exploration, hunting strategy, and dinosaur action leaves a lasting impression.

The Ocean Hunter

 

Back in the ’90s, Sega no doubt reigned supreme in the arcade scene, boasting a plethora of quality titles across multiple genres. Railshooter games were a key part of their repertoire. While titles like The Lost World, Virtua Cop, and The House of the Dead are among Sega’s most well-known railshooters, one game that captivated me for years is an underwater-themed railshooter called The Ocean Hunter.

The Ocean Hunter lets players explore the seven seas, hunting gigantic sea creatures that wreak havoc across the ocean, from classic Krakens and Megalodons to Lovecraftian mermen inspired by Judaic myth. True to the railshooter formula, the game leans toward the harder end of the spectrum. Designed as a coin-guzzler, some stages and boss fights are unforgiving, rewarding precision and persistence.

For a late ’90s arcade game, The Ocean Hunter really stood out for its graphical quality, which was remarkably ahead of its time. Its unique aesthetic design drew me back to the game after nearly two decades. Perhaps it was my past inability to complete the game, combined with its distinctive style, that compelled me to revisit it through emulation. Interestingly, the latest iteration of the Yakuza series, Pirates in Hawaii, includes The Ocean Hunter as a playable Easter egg, perfect alternative for those who want to experience the game while directly supporting Sega.

Sakura Taisen Sega Prize Figure Luminasta Shinguji Sakura

As a devoted Sakura Taisen fan for over a decade, it’s genuinely painful to see the series struggle to make a proper comeback after its glory days. Still, if there’s any consolation, Sega is releasing a new prize figure for this beloved classic—starting, of course, with Shinguji Sakura as part of the Luminasta lineup. Scheduled for a Q4 release, the Luminasta Shinguji Sakura figure is expected to retail at around 2000 yen SRP for the overseas market.

Sculpted in her iconic combat pose, this prize figure of Sakura instantly evokes a wave of nostalgia for longtime Sakura Taisen fans like myself. Even though I already own a premium PVC figure of the series’ main heroine, I’d gladly double dip for this one, if only to show support and hopefully pave the way for the rest of the Teikoku Kagekidan to follow.

There have been several attempts to revive Sakura Taisen merchandise over the years, but here’s hoping Sega can finally make it stick this time, for the sake of one of its true golden-era franchises.

Jurassic Park (1994) Sega Arcade

The Jurassic Park movie in the early ’90s was undeniably a blockbuster success for Spielberg and Hollywood. Naturally, it spawned a wave of media adaptations, including video games and arcade titles. Among them, Sega released a rail shooter in 1994, simply called Jurassic Park. I played this game as a kid but never managed to clear it. Decades later, I finally experienced it again through emulation.

Sega’s shooter is pure action-movie chaos, loosely tied to the movie’s plot. Players embark on an over-the-top dinosaur adventure, blasting hordes of creatures, including the iconic T-Rex. The game’s design seems inspired by Sega’s earlier Rail Chase (1991), a solid rail shooter that established many of the mechanics used in Jurassic Park.

That said, the 1994 Jurassic Park arcade game shows its rushed development. It’s poorly balanced and clearly intended as a coin-guzzler—most players, no matter how skilled, cannot survive certain unavoidable damage sections, particularly during T-Rex boss encounters. Yet, in its heyday, the game served its purpose well as a mainstream arcade attraction. The thrill of the shaking seat and being chased by a relentless T-Rex is an experience that emulation simply cannot replicate.

Viewed through a modern lens, however, Jurassic Park (1994) hasn’t aged gracefully. Compared to Rail Chase, its design priorities; making quick money over player enjoyment are painfully obvious. Sega would eventually redeem themselves with 1997’s The Lost World, a much more polished and satisfying Jurassic Park shooter.

Phantasy Star Portable

  Back in late 2000s where PSP was one of the hottest portable gaming console with Monster Hunter series peak, many other companies followed suit including Sega. Unlike other competitors, Sega went with less intensive route yet maintain the cooperative gameplay with their Phantasy Star series. Back in early inceptions, Phantasy Star is one of the many JRPGs that later transition as one of the earliest online game in Dreamcast and later MMORPG on PC before it become an offline game once again with coop function in PSP as Phantasy Star Portable.

To put it simply, Phantasy Star Portable is essentially lighter version of Monster Hunter game but no inferior when it comes to content. The customizations are one of the best offered in PSP RPG games where you get to pick several race to play with, along with 3 main classes and dozens of weapon options. In Phantasy Star Portable the story mode feature a CAST mecha musume waifu named Vivienne whom you adventure together to explore her mysterious destiny.

Phantasy Star Portable is one of the many examples of how awesome PSP gaming environment was as it serves as the destination of twilight of Japanese gaming era before its subsequent steady and sad decline after 2008. I did finished this game during my college years and my overwhelmingly positive impression is what led me to bring up this series once again. 

It is such a waste that Phantasy Star Portable didn't see any continuation after PSP2 which are equally awesome game and I am more than happy if Sega considering to remaster this game in new future since the series is still very solid gameplay-wise. 

Shining Soul 2

 
 Gameboy Advance are quite well known for its superb RPG Library, but not many notice that this platform also got some great Action RPG. Introducing Shining Soul 2! the second iteration of Sega's Action RPG on GBA loosely based on Shining series. This is one of the few Isometric action RPG game that ever hailed into RPG and when it comes to gameplay, had to be the best one even compared to Square Enix Sword of Mana.

Sakura Taisen 2 Fan Translation is out!

 
 A rather pleasant surprise that this classic series deserved, but after almost 3 decades Sakura Taisen 2 finally got a Fan Translation recently! Available in the Sega Saturn version, Sakura Taisen 2 is now available in English thanks to the dedicated team who apparently also worked on Sakura Taisen 1 as well.

If you are ever interested in Sakura Taisen series, do not miss this opportunity because Sakura Taisen 2 is the title where this legendary series peaked at, even if Sakura Taisen 3 won my heart with its overall superior production value.  Obviously it is advised to finish Sakura Taisen 1 first which Sakura and Sumire being one of the better waifu candidate for your first playthrough. With Sakura Taisen 2 got its fan translation, hopefully the Fan translation journey will conclude with the complete Tetralogy because it is the requirement for the complete experience.

If anyone interested, I have written a full article for Sakura Taisen 2 last year which you can find it here

FGO Babylon SPM Ishtar Prize Figure Review

Digging up another of my Old photo batches that never made it to the Review few years ago. During FGO Babylon airing, Sega did pick up several Servant characters to get a Prize Figure treatment. One of them is the popular Tohsaka Rin clone in useless goddess flavor, Ishtar in her Archer Class. By far this is probably one of the most plain renditions for this Archer Class Damegami especially when compared to the Aniplex version, but you still got her "defenseless" fanservice as part of the deal. In near future probably I will do some catch up with my Copy of SPM Ereshkigal which remained unopened for years already.

Sakura Taisen 4 First Playthrough Clear!

 Finally I reached my first milestone for the Final Destination of my Sakura Taisen 4 with the first playthrough cleared! As expected, It wasn't easy to keep pushing through when your wonderful dream spanning over a decade is almost coming to an end which will be met with plenty of farewells. But it is part of the life journey after all.

As expected with many issues riddled with the game production at the time, Sakura Taisen 4 is a very short game which can be finished within 5-6 hours from the start. Regardless of the rushed development hell that this game suffered, Sakura Taisen 4 is a well made Swan Song to wrap up this legendary series providing the conclusion from the journey that players experience in Sakura Taisen 2 & 3. If you seek the conclusion of your Favorite Sakura Taisen maidens, you will get it in Sakura Taisen 4. 

As I finished my first playthrough, Sakura Taisen series truly ended with Sakura Taisen 4. The second wind attempts of the series revival with Sakura Taisen V and Shin Sakura Taisen never really get anywhere just simply because they lack the Idealistic & Grandeur Visions that the original Tetralogy had. If you have been following my Sakura Taisen series articles you will most likely know which Heroine that I aimed for my very first run but I will just leave the evidence below. That particular heroine will definitely get her dedicated Route post in near future.

Starting Sakura Taisen 4 Playthrough

 Having wrapped up my unfinished business with Sakura Taisen 2 last week, It is time for me to move on to the last of Sakura Taisen original Tetralogy with Sakura Taisen 4: Fall in Love Maidens. This is the ultimate Swansong for Sega Dreamcast as Ogami will conclude his journey in the series and settled down with one of the 13 Maidens from Teikoku & Paris Kagekidan. 

If it was not for Sega throwing the towel on the Console race which spells the demise of Dreamcast console, I believe Sakura Taisen 4 could have even reached a greater height that this series deserved. In any case, I have planned out my route playthrough for Sakura Taisen IV and will commit to finish at 80% completion at very least. At some point I might even will backtrack to Sakura Taisen 3 for the completionist sake before aiming for Sakura Taisen 4 100% completion, If I ever reached that point. At the moment I will just savor everything that the final present that Sega bestowed upon Sakura Taisen fans.

Sakura Wars Mechatalk: Sakura Taisen 2 - Shinguji Sakura

 At long last we are finally at the last destination of Sakura Taisen 2 Mechatalk! This side project which started from early June last month now concluded at the Final stop with the titular main heroine of Sakura Taisen series, Shinguji Sakura! While Sakura has always been the titular main Heroine since the first game, Sakura Taisen 2 decide to step up the game and really puts her in the spotlight! Throughout ST2 main story, you will get to see why this Yamato Nadeshiko is the main star of this classic series of the Sega's Crown jewels.

Sakura Wars Mechatalk: Sakura Taisen 2 - Reni Milchstrasse

 7th Sakura Taisen 2 Mechatalk is here and we are almost at the end of this great journey! I tend to reserve the best things for the last and so does for this particular Mechatalk series. The 7th Mechatalk will feature no other than the second and the last Teikoku Kagekidan member, Reni Milstrasse the Wunderkind aka Wonderchild from Germany that graced upon Sakura Taisen series. Being one of the newer Heroine, Reni do get special treatment just like Orihime but her route quite stands out because you get to Ogami in his coolest moments during her route.

Sakura Wars Mechatalk: Sakura Taisen 2 - Iris Chateaubriand

6th Sakura Taisen 2 Mechatalk is here! Without being realized we are almost done with this particular series which started from last month. To prepare what is coming up next for this Mechatalk series, the 6th Sakura Taisen Mechatalk will feature the youngest member of Teikoku Kagekidan, Iris Chateaubriand! Do not be fooled by her tender age though as this French Lass is full fledged member of the Floral assault squad through and through!

Sakura Wars Mechatalk: Sakura Taisen 2 - Soletta Orihime

 5th Heroine Sakura Taisen 2 Mechatalk is here and we are finally getting to the New Heroines starting with Half Italian-Japanese Ojou-sama, Soletta Orihime. Given her new heroine status in ST2, Orihime is given quite a preferential treatment in the game to elevate her already Top tier character design. On top of that I have to say Orihime Character theme is easily the best in Sakura Taisen 2 as well as in whole Sakura Wars series. Overall Orihime's route can be prickly like a Rose at first but the payoff for the player's patience with this particular tsundere heroine will be just as good, as Sakura Taisen prepares a fairy-tale like experience for Orihime route which this article going to try to provide a glimpse.

Mechatalk Sakura Wars: Sakura Taisen 2 - Li Kohran

 We are now truly Halfway through the Sakura Taisen 2 Mechatalk series! This time the Heroine who gets the turn is yet another one of more underrated heroine just like Kanna and actually one of the most invaluable member of Teikoku Kagekidan when it comes to support, Li Kohran! In Sakura Taisen 2, Kohran is actually one of the original Teikoku Kagekidan member that is given more opportunity to be fleshed out and unexpectedly have one of the better ending. So let's use the opportunity of this Mechatalk article to see what Sakura Taisen 2 had in store for this Genius scientist of Teikoku Kagekidan.

Sakura Wars Mechatalk: Sakura Taisen 2 - Maria Tachibana

 3rd time is the charm and we are almost halfway through the Sakura Taisen 2 Heroines mechatalk! This time the series will feature the Vice Captain of Teikoku Kagekidan herself, Maria Tachibana! While her story arc has pretty much wrapped up in Sakura Taisen 1, Maria still serve as the ever reliable member of Teikoku Kagekidan providing reliable assistance for Captain Ogami  throughout the Span of Sakura Taisen 2.

Sakura Wars Mechatalk: Sakura Taisen 2: Kanna Kirishima Route

 2nd Sakura Taisen 2 Heroine Mechatalk is here as I am trying my best to consistently wrap up my business before moving onto Sakura Taisen 4. After Sumire, I will be doing Kanna Kirishima! While Kanna might be one of the least popular Heroine from Ogami Kagekidan, she still deserve to belong to this legendary group. But arguably among whole Sakura Taisen casts, Kanna VA is still overall the most successful one as she is one of the Legendary VA who managed to attain mainstream success.

Mechatalk Sakura Wars - Sakura Taisen 2: Kanzaki Sumire Route

As a part of Realm of Darkness Sakura Taisen 2 Project, I will be making articles covering all of the Teikoku Kagekidan 8 Heroines on weekly basis. I feel this is the least I could do with the legendary Sakura Taisen  before I inevitably started my final pilgrimage for this series with Sakura Taisen 4. 

And the 1st Heroine who become the benefactor of this Sakura Taisen 2 Article is obviously my personal favorite heroine from Teikoku Kagekidan who is no other than Teigeki Top Star; Kanzaki Sumire! This series of Sakura Taisen 2 Mechatalk Article will cover briefly the background of each Teikoku Kagekidan Main heroines, their most significant role in Sakura Taisen 2 Main story as well as their route story and lastly anything noteworthy side event featuring the heroine. Given my asset gathering project back then came to abrupt end, some of the heroines article will not be fully fleshed out as others but I will make the amend once I made it to Sakura Taisen 4. 

Sakura Taisen 2 - Thou shall not die

It has been more than 7 years since the last full-fledged article that I dedicate for Sakura Taisen series. Initially I have planned to make full coverage for Sakura Taisen 2 back in 2019 as I attempt to gather the necessary assets which was at 80% completion at the time. But due to my PSP broke down in the assets gathering process, this projects ultimately put into grinding halt as I lose my motivation while have to deal with real life situation at hand.

However, as I have recently completed compiling my journey with Final Gear, I feel that I have nothing much to hold me back any more. Thus I decided to do the right thing with the assets instead of letting it sitting in the dust and proudly present the Sakura Taisen 2 Main article! At some point this article will be gradually updated with the Teikoku Kagekidan Main Heroines storyline in the game just like the previous Sakura Taisen series. I think this is the very least I could do for Sakura Taisen 2 before I finally move with Sakura Taisen 4 and conclude my journey with this Legendary series that has lasted more than a decade.

Heroine Route:

• Sakura
• Sumire
• Maria
• Iris
• Kohran
• Kanna
• Orihime
• Reni
  

Endings:

• Sakura
• Sumire
• Maria
• Iris
• Kohran
• Kanna
• Orihime
• Reni

Realm of Darkness Sakura Taisen I-IV Masterlist

 

 It has been quite a long time since I got into Sakura Taisen series around 2014! This is one of the few Mecha series that will always have a special place in my heart even if Sega had no idea what to do with the series anymore and I already got my dose of reality check with Japan. Seriously Sakura Taisen really make me put on Rose Tinted Glasses when it comes to Japan until I had my hands-on experience myself.

 Eitherway Sakura Taisen Original Tetralogy will always be the definitive experience of the series because it is one-of-a-kind masterpiece created by some of the Top talents of the time assembled together and creating something special leaving lingering fond memories for the fans.