Zippo's Nonsensical Ramblings and Other Stuff

Who said we were done with SEGA scoops? Here, have another!  Phantasy Star is SEGA's longest running franchise, and has been going strong since 1987. In 2000, Phantasy Star Online, an online MMORPG subseries, started, released for the Dreamcast. A sequel was released in 2012 and has been ongoing with continuous support since then.   I'm happy to report that a new installment in the series is in development at SEGA's headquarters in Japan, and is being labeled as either a reboot/reimagining of the original Dreamcast Phantasy Star Online game. It is once again a MMO being developed by the same development team.  I haven't been told whether or this is a Unreal Engine project, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was. No release date has been given, but it does sound like it's a ways out, so don't expect to hear about this one for awhile.  PSO2 players shouldn't worry, SEGA have no plans to stop support of that game anytime soon.  I'm someone who spent an u...

  Well. What goes up, must come down. That was quick. What an insane day this has been.  You people are insane. I wanted to wait a bit, but why the hell not.  Secret is out. 2003's seminal Sonic Heroes is being remade for current generation consoles, in Unreal Engine 5.  It took a couple of hours, but someone figured it out.  On the previous article, I specifically spelled out: S O N I C H E R O E S Took a bit, but people caught on. One of the biggest brained moves I've ever done, to be honest.  Work just began, and it's not expected to release until late 2026-2027, so it's gonna be awhile. Still an extremely important game for a lot of people, so I'm happy for them. Heroes has a lot of untapped potential. Let's see if they get it right this time. SOOONIC HEROESSS  SOOONIC HEROESSS  BIND YOU, CONFINE YOU DEFYING YOUR REIGN SOOONIC HEROESSS  SOOONIC HEROESSS  SETTING THE STAGE FOR A HEROES PARADE

Salutatons and hello there. I'm back, with another scoop.  Oh boy. SEGA's having quite a year, aren't they? With the excellent Persona 3 Reload and Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth both being critically acclaimed and huge hits right from the start. There's even more to come this year, with a brand new Super Monkey Ball game hitting in June, and there's also a smorgasbord of new Sonic content on the horizon, ending with the release of Sonic The Hedgehog 3 this December.  Not gonna lie. This is pretty exciting. One of the core reasons being cited for this huge surge of success is Epic's ever-so-omnipotent Unreal Engine. It's had a long history of powering some of the most popular game series on earth, and that's not stopping anytime soon, with Japanese companies such as Square Enix, Bandai Namco, and even Nintendo now joining the fray. One of these companies that has been slow to adopt the engine is SEGA. Those days are clearly over, here are some more games ...

Happy Belated Mario Day to all of you out there in the Mushroom Kingdom.  We had quite a few Mario announcements over the weekend, including LEGO Mario Kart, and release date announcements for Paper Mario and Luigi's Mansion 2.  Obviously, the biggest deal was the announcement of a brand new film "Based Around The World Of Super Mario Bros."  Essentially meaning, this is NOT a sequel to the Super Mario Bros. movie, if you were wondering.  I can confirm from my own sources that is indeed the case. This movie is a spinoff.  Here's where it gets crazy: I'm hearing that this film is either Luigi's Mansion OR the Donkey Kong film. Both of which are in development at Illumination.  I DO NOT KNOW which film has taken the April 2026 date, but I DO know a few things that point to it being the former: I'm also hearing that Next Level Games' Switch 2 debut, Luigi Mansion 4, Is set to release in the first half of 2026.  The game is sounding incredibly ambitious, ...

  I... God. I don't even know what to say.  I'm hurting. Wiping pools of tears from my eyes as I type this.  Words cannot describe how hurt I feel right now. I'm absolutely devastated.  This man's energy, passion, ingenuity, it inspired me from the moment I saw his characters come to life.  This man left such a remarkable impact on so, so many people's lives. Including mine.  There are very few things in my life that mean as much to me as Dragon Ball does. The characters, the world, the stories, the lessons it shares. It's made me a better, wiser person.  Saying thank you to Toriyama san just isn't enough.  The impact he's left on our world is incalculable. I'm hurt. I'm heartbroken. I can't even imagine what his family is going through. I just pray that they're all alright.  We truly have lost a legend, and I just hope everyone appreciates his works that much more. Mr. Toriyama may be gone from this mortal plane, but his works will live ...