| Segagaga | |
|---|---|
 Cover art. | |
| Developer(s) | Sega Hitmaker |
| Publisher(s) | Sega |
| Director(s) | Tez Okano |
| Platform(s) | Dreamcast |
| Release |
|
| Genre(s) | Role-playing |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Segagaga[lower-alpha 1], stylized as SGGG, is a 2001 role-playing simulation video game developed by Sega Hitmaker and published by Sega for the Dreamcast in Japan. Described as a "Sega simulation", the player takes control of Tarō Sega, who must help save a struggling Sega from losing the console market to its rival DOGMA, who owns 97%. Gameplay involves battling employees and other characters throughout various Sega development studios, some being taken from older Sega game franchises. It features many tongue-in-cheek references to Sega and the video game industry, particularly Sony and its PlayStation 2 console.
Development was directed by Tez Okano, who developed the game in secret for two years before presenting it to Sega. The company misconstrued the game as a joke at first and dismissed it, however a second presentation impressed them and allowed development to continue. Okano marketed the game himself with a small budget of $200, half of which he spent on a wrestling mask to conceal his identity. Several characters, such as Segata Sanshiro and a Ferrari from Out Run, had to be cut for licensing issues. Toei Animation produced the game's animated cutscenes. The game was initially exclusive to the Sega Direct online service, its popularity eventually warranting a physical release. The budget was small, with Okano claiming it was "less than a hundredth" of Shenmue.
Segagaga received mainly poor reviews at launch, and was largely ignored due to its limited release and the downfall of the system it was made for. In retrospective reviews, the game received critical acclaim for its gameplay, humor and callbacks to other Sega properties, many citing it as the "swan song" of the Dreamcast and as a way for Sega to vent their frustration towards the video game industry. It is one of the last games released for the Dreamcast, published two days before its discontinuation on March 31.
Gameplay[]
In-game screenshot, showing the player fighting Amigo from Samba de Amigo.
Segagaga is a role-playing simulation video game, described as a "Sega simulation". Controlling the young Sega Tarō, the player is tasked with saving a struggling Sega from losing the console market to their rival DOGMA.[1] The player must progress through various Sega development studios and fight various employees, who due to the stress and pressure brought on by tight work constraints have turned into mutants. Unlike other role-playing games, Tarō "attacks" by shouting verbal abuses and insults, such as telling them their game is terrible or they will never get a girlfriend. Enemies have a "will meter" that weakens as the player deals more insults towards them, and will win the fight once it fully drains. Failing to defeat an enemy will result in a month of development time being lost, which will become critical as the game progresses.[2]
Once an enemy is defeated, it is possible that they becoming willing to ally with the player and aid them in their adventure. Should he or she accept, the player will need to quickly answer questions within a ten second timer, such as how much the employee will make and what work conditions there are. If the player succeeds, they can place the new employee into one of four development group positions, including director, designer, planner and programmer — development teams will increase the player's stamina and "creativity", detrimental to later sections of the game. Based on player decisions, teams can either make a small number of high-quality games, or quickly produce shovelware games to hopefully generate profit. The game will end after three years of development time are completed, the ending being based on the player's performance.
A notable feature of Segagaga is its many cameos and callbacks to other Sega game franchises, alongside tongue-in-cheek parodies of the game industry itself. Tarō will come across numerous Sega characters throughout the game, including Sonic the Hedgehog, Ristar, Alex Kidd, Sir Pepper III from Clockwork Knight, Nei from Phantasy Star 2, Opa-Opa from Fantasy Zone, the Bad Brothers from Golden Axe, Panda from Baku Baku Animal, Samba from Samba de Amigo, and the F-14 Tomcat from After Burner.[2] Towards the end of the game, Tarō pilots a starship known as the "R-720", a nod to the R-360 arcade cabinet, into outer space that features a shoot'em up level reminiscent of Thunder Force — Tarō will fight various mechs designed after older Sega game consoles, such as the Sega Genesis and Master System.[2] The story takes place in the year 2025, depicting Sega with having only a 3% share of the console market, the other 97% being owned by their rival DOGMA — a spoof of Sega's rival Sony, featuring parodies of the PlayStation 2 and other Sony characters.[2] To help save the company from total collapse, Sega establishes "Project Segagaga", lead by company newcomers Sega Tarō and Yayoi Haneda, in order to assist Sega in claiming 100% of the market and achieving world domination.[2]
Development[]
Segagaga was directed by Tez Okano, who worked on the game in secret for two years before presenting it to the company, featuring that "anything could have happened" if the project was revealed.[1] When it was initially shown off, Sega's management misconstrued the game as a sort of joke, and dismissed the game.[1] When Okano presented the game again, Sega Hitmaker president Hisao Oguchi became impressed and allowed development of the game to continue.[1] Okano was given a small budget for the game, which he claims was "less than a hundredth" of Shenmue,[1] which costed over $70 million to develop.[3] Toei Animation produced the game's opening and cutscenes, giving him a small discount due to the game's small budget.[1]
The game was originally titled Sega Sega, later being changed to Segagaga to make the word "Sega" sound less intrusive.[1] The name itself is a play on the phrase "going gaga over", in this case going gaga for Sega.[1] Early versions of the game had upwards of 300 copyright issues regarding its characters, with Okano only being able to resolve 100 due to time constraints.[1] Some of these caused characters to be removed from the game entirely, such as the Japanese Sega Saturn mascot Segata Sanshiro and a Ferrari from Out Run.[1] Okano utilized a large number of Sega franchises due to their popularity and for them being freely available to use.[1] Once the finished product was presented, Sega felt that it didn't cast a negative impression on the company and authorized its release.[1]
Okano was given a small budget of $200 to market the game, spending roughly half of it on a wrestling mask to conceal his identity, and would set up signing events at locations in Akihabara, rewarding fans who visited all four of them.[1] He was assisted by Sega public relations head Tadashi Takezaki and Sega AM3 employee Taku Sasahara to help promote it, managing to garner a full-page newspaper story and increasing the game's popularity.[1] Segagaga was released exclusively in Japan on March 29, 2001, first being exclusive to the Sega Direct online service.[1] The game's popularity lead to it warranting a physical release and later a budget version.[1] A special collector's box was also made that contained a Segagaga shirt and enamel pins with the Segagaga, Sega Mark III, Mega Drive, Game Gear, Saturn and Dreamcast logos.
Reception[]
Official Dreamcast Magazine US applauded the game's sense of humor and bizarre premise, saying that its design and amount of content "will surprise many".[7] They also expressed disappointment towards the lack of an overseas release.[7] Japanese publication Famitsu praised its usage of older Sega game characters and unique setting, alongside its role-playing elements and humor towards the game industry as a whole, notably with DOGMA being a spoof of Sony, Sega's then-biggest rival.[4]
Notes[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 Edge Staff (21 July 2008). "The Story of Sega's Oddest Game Ever". Edge. Retrieved 2008-07-26.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Kalata, Kurt. "Segagaga". Hardcore Gaming 101. Archived from the original on 4 July 2010. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Diver, Mike (2 May 2015). "Shenmue – discovering the Sega classic 14 years too late". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ 4.0 4.1 "ドリームキャスト - セガガガ" (in Japanese). Famitsu. Enterbrain. 30 June 2006. p. 53.
- ↑ "Imports: Segagaga" (in FR). Dreamzone (France: Groupe FJM Publications) (24): 42-43. May 2001.
- ↑ "Segagaga" (in FR). Joypad (France: Groupe FJM Publications) (108): 98-99. May 2001.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Going GaGa". Official Dreamcast Magazine US. Future US. 12 April 2001. p. 13. https://archive.org/stream/OfficialSegaDreamcastMagazineUS/Official_Sega_Dreamcast_12_MarApr_2001#page/n13/mode/2up/search/Segagaga. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
External links[]
- Official website Invalid language code.
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