The SEGA/Atlus Showcase at TGS 2023 showed more gameplay footage, teasing new mechanics in its featured games. Read on to learn more about the new gameplay mechanics as well as the release dates for all showcased games.
Sega New! Broadcast Focused on Three Games
Sonic Superstars, Persona 5 Tactica & Like a Dragon 8 Teased
Tokyo Game Show 2023 featured Sega's monthly broadcast: Sega New! This special TGS presentation included gameplay for Sonic Superstars, Persona 5 Tactica, and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth and introduced games like Football Manager 2024 and Endless Dungeon. The show also featured Kokona, Sega's official Vtuber, touring the SEGA-Atlus booth.
Sonic Superstars
Sonic Superstars returns to its roots as a 2D high-speed side-scrolling platformer with all new modern 3D graphics, powers, as well as being the first game in the franchise to be able to have 3-4 player local co-op.
Multiplayer and Playable Characters
Sonic Superstars showed off some co-op gameplay featuring Sonic and Tails, as they ran through Bridge Island Act 1 and 2 in the showcase. New cooperative mechanics were shown, such as Tails carrying Sonic while flying to breeze through the zone. It also proved helpful during the boss fight with Eggman in Act 2.
Bridge Island Showcase
Bridge Island was the primary locale featured in the showcase, being quite reminiscent of the Green Hill Zone, as the first stage of the game. It featured two different bonus stages where both players had to collect coins, rings, and gems to rack up their score. Similar to the previous games, each stage has multiple checkpoints and an Act Boss fight to get through before going to the next Act.
Persona 5 Tactica
Persona 5 Tactica is a different take on the popular JRPG, Persona 5, as it changes from a traditional turn-based gameplay to a more stylized and unique Strategy Tactics gameplay.
Artstyle and General Look
Persona 5 Tactica seems fairly similar to the artstyle in Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth. They both feature a “chibi” and cartoony style look for all the characters instead of the usual Anime looking graphics. The look of the UI will be familiar to players who have played the original Persona 5 and its spin-offs. They look quite distinct using black and red color motifs to contrast the unique designs of each character.
Featured Gameplay Mechanics
Persona 5 Tactica is a turn-based strategy/tactics game, similar to the XCOM franchise with emphasis on gunplay and positioning. The game features a unique cover system to showcase ranged gameplay using their guns. It also brings the popular “1 More” mechanic from the original Persona 5, letting you get an extra action when you fulfill certain conditions. The “All-Out Attack” also makes a return, allowing you to deal massive damage to a group of enemies, achievable by downing an enemy and positioning your members into certain formations. Persona attacks were also featured in the showcase to be able to target larger areas in the battlefield.
Like a Dragon 8: Infinite Wealth
Like a Dragon 8: Infinite Wealth follows Kasuga Ichiban and Kiryu Kazuma as they try to learn more about the mystery of Ichiban’s mother.
Story Showcase
The gameplay footage shown was set in Hawaii, following Kasuga’s search for the corrupt cop, Roman, that set up Tomizawa, one of Kasuga’s allies. The showcase follows Kasuga and crew as they navigate through the beaches of Honolulu as they battle it out with thugs around the city.
Exploration and Minigame Showcase
During the showcase, a new swimming mechanic was shown, possibly playing a big role in the game’s exploration. The Bike Delivery minigame was also showcased during the broadcast, with Ichiban delivering burgers on a bike while doing BMX bike tricks and insane jumps to get a higher score.
New Gameplay Mechanics, Improvements from Y7
The turn-based combat from Like a Dragon 7 comes back with a few improvements, shown in the brief combat footage. Party members are now movable and able to interact with objects around the battle area. This can also be used for more tactical positioning to ensure that some members in the party don’t end up as collateral damage.
The combat showcase also featured returning actions in the form of summons, known as Poundmates, and newly-improved Tag Team attacks, which has the whole party ganging up on a single enemy. Finally, a unique Awakening attack is available for Kiryu. While in an Awakening, he is able to turn the combat into a beat-em-up style, similar to the previous games before Like a Dragon 7. Kiryu is able to use this until the Awakening gauge runs out.
