A little over a month ago, we met with Sega developers to get a firsthand preview of Sega’s upcoming titles. Although Sega’s booth focused predominantly on Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, Catherine: Full Body, Judgment, and the Sega Genesis Mini console held their own, offering E3 attendees an escape to the madness caused by Nintendo’s booths. Despite offering multiple Nintendo Warp Pass play sessions, many gamers were frustrated with how Nintendo ran their lines and how the Warp Pass made waiting in line even longer than in prior years. Luckily, Sega was right next door to offer some relief.
With Sony absent from E3 2019, Nintendo had the opportunity to stretch out throughout the hall. Sadly, this meant little competition besides Sega, IndieCade, and the publishers behind Bus Simulator. At Sega’s booth, gamers could climb a rock wall at Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games: Tokyo 2020, play the classic Genesis Mini console on a giant controller, try the Yakuza sibling Judgment, and get a hands-on preview of Catherine: Full Body.
We were invited to start off our Sega appointment with Sega’s Judgment. Judgment is produced by Sega and Ryu Ga Gotoku studio with head producer Kazuki Hosokawa leading the charge. While I may have had the opportunity to preview Sega’s Judgment, our writer Alex McCumbers had the opportunity to review the recently released PS4 title. At E3, guests had the opportunity to choose between a surveillance mission, a House of the Dead style minigame, a game mode similar to Mario Party, and of course drone racing.
One of the developers insisted that we start with the surveillance mission. The opening fight sequence was rather easy to learn and provided a quick glance as to how fights might be later on in the game. The stealth portion of the surveillance mission was a bit annoying with the AI moving at a slow pace but the game did provide a variety of cover opportunities to blend in. The voice acting during the mission was superb and made us desire to keep going. The House of the Dead style mini-game was probably our favorite. This game mode reminded us of what we loved from the original franchise while putting a modern spin on it. The drone racing had easy to understand controls but is not for the faint of heart. The fighting mechanics of the game seemed rather simplistic but what truly won us over was the game’s graphics, music, and voice acting.
A cosplayer of Takayuki Yagami, the main character of Judgment.
Up next was a hands-on preview of Catherine: Full Body. Catherine Full Body was without a doubt our favorite demo from Sega at E3 2019. The newly enhanced graphics plus the amazing composition reminded us of everything we loved about Catherine. The night before our Sega appointment, we were invited to attend the Catherine: Full Body Experience. Upon arrival, guests were greeted with sheep headbands and provided two complimentary drink tickets. The club we were invited to was filled with Catherine themed quotes and featured Catherine themed drinks. Sadly, Sega missed out on an amazing opportunity to recreate the beloved bar from Catherine. The line for the bar limited the drink options but made for a good conversation piece. Guests also had the opportunity to receive additional drink tickets from playing a demo of the game. During our time at the party, we raced with other guests to complete the Tower of Babel!
Since we had played the Tower of Bable game mode the previous night, we asked Atlus staff if there were any other game modes available to preview on the E3 show floor. Luckily, Atlus staff allowed us to get a sneak peek of the game’s story. This allowed us to play the more difficult version of the game where blocks were stuck together similar to Tetris pieces. The level we were placed on was the one with the creepy demonic baby. Needless to say, that demonic baby is more grotesque than ever before.
The demo also featured a new cutscene that showed a new moment in Vincent and Katherine’s past. Overall Catherine: Full Body was definitely our favorite demo that Sega had to offer. The complex puzzle strategy mixed with updated graphics, a deep storyline, and a thrilling soundtrack had us on the edge; the only thing that could rival it was meeting wrestler Kenny Omega along the way.
The final demo that Sega wanted us to preview was Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games: Tokyo 2020. For E3, Sega built a minute race track and a climbing wall for guests to challenge. The gameplay preview allowed players to choose between archery, karate, surfing, skateboarding, and track hurdles. Sadly, we were no match against the Sega employee we had to battle. However, we did give them a run for their money.
The archery event was probably our closest attempt, only losing by a double bullseye at the very end. Next, we attempted to race and jump over hurdles in a 100-meter dash; this game mode is what would ultimately lose us the head-to-head matchup by failing to jump any of the hurdles. I now see why I avoided Track and Field. Something about the hurdles felt off and it could either have been gameplay lag or our own inadequacies. Finally, we switched over to the karate event type where we were defeated quickly due to not understanding the game’s mechanics. Luckily, we were able to give the opportunity to have a rematch which resulted in our victory.
Overall, the mechanics for Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games: Tokyo 2020 was a bit difficult to understand at first but after some failures and practice the game got a lot easier. The variety of characters and the ability to chose between Eggman, Sonic, Mario, Bowser, Peach, and Amy Rose made the demo not feel stale. Hopefully, when the game releases it will feature a multitude of other characters from the Mario and Sonic universe. With just the five game modes that we got to play, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games: Tokyo 2020 looks to be a great party game to play with friends. The game supports either play split-screen and separate joy-cons or online play using the Nintendo Switch Online service.
In the end, despite being overshadowed by Nintendo’s giant booth, Sega presented a fun gaming atmosphere that offered a variety of game types. Whether you are a fan of puzzle games, action-adventure, or family sports, Sega has a game for you. Probably one of the coolest and most overlooked things that Sega offered was the opportunity to play a modernized version of the Sega Genesis on either a giant-controller or by sitting down in a beanbag chair and playing on a ’90s themed set. Catherine: Full Body by far stole our heart but all three of these titles were memorable for what they had to offer.
Which of these three titles from E3 2019 are you most excited for?
For more information about upcoming games, check out the official SEGA website or their Twitter.
