Sega Forever collection brings free classic Genesis games to iOS and Android

By Gabe Gurwin June 21, 2017

SEGA Forever launch trailer (English)

With the exception of perhaps only Nintendo, Sega has one of the strongest back library of games of any major publisher. Numerous classics like Sonic the Hedgehog, Altered Beast, and third-party games like Road Rash arrived first to Sega’s consoles, but a new generation of gamers may have missed out on the chance to play these games. That will soon change with Sega Forever, a new collection of free classic Sega games on mobile devices.

Beginning on June 22, Sega Forever will offer iOS and Android users additional games every two weeks, with the first five being Genesis classics Sonic the Hedgehog, Altered Beast, Phantasy Star II, Comix Zone, and Kid Chameleon. All five will also launch with custom iMessage sticker packs, so you can remind your friends that you’re playing Sega games at all hours of they day or night.

Each game will be available to play completely free, with advertisements supporting them. If players wish to purchase any of the individual games so they can play without any ads, they’ll be available for $2 each.

All games included in Sega Forever will be playable completely offline and will include support for cloud saves if you wish to play them across multiple devices. Leaderboards will also be supported, as will Bluetooth controllers so you can play the games as they were meant to be played.

“As the Sega Forever collection expands through months and years, it will include games that pan all Sega console eras, each adapted specifically for mobile devices while remaining faithful to the original games,” Sega said in the official announcement.

Most of the games shown in the official teaser trailer, which you can watch above, are from the Genesis library, but Dreamcast fans should get plenty of their favorites through the program as well. Games like Jet Grind Radio are still beautiful and exciting even more than a decade after their release. Others, like Crazy Taxi, are actually already available on the App Store for free with in-app purchases, but the ability to play the game without being asked to fork over real money could be a big selling (or non-selling) point.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…

Gaming

Legends of Runeterra 2023 road map outlined by Riot Games

Jinx fires her special weapon in Legends of Runeterra key art.

Riot Games has laid out its plans to revitalize its collectible League of Legends card game, Legends of Runeterra, in 2023. The backbone of the road map is a recurring three-month release cycle that rotates through the releases of Expansions, Live Balance Patches, and Variety Sets.
Each quarter of the 2023 road map will feature an Expansion, which Riot Games says will primarily focus on new champions and game mechanics. As such, these will be the biggest updates of the year, with Riot Games teasing that brand-new and returning champions are coming alongside a reworking of PvP. The month after an Expansion drops, players can expect a big Live Balance Patch, which Riot Games describes as "dedicated spaces where we’ll be focused on addressing anything that may have room for improvement."

After releasing an Expansion and making any needed adjustments with the big Live Balance Path, Riot Games will conclude the cycle with the release of a Variety Set, which is the developers say are akin to a "quarterly booster pack or a mini-expansion" that contains new non-Champion cards, as well as even more balance updates. After that, the cycle will start anew, ensuring that Legends of Runeterra will get a notable update every month for the rest of 2023.
On top of that cycle, Riot Games also shared a higher-level road map outlining what players can expect in 2023. The developers are promising that new Legends of Runeterra champions and items, relic balance updates, a competitive PvP revamp, and new play formats are coming very soon. After that, new achievements, ways to get legacy content, and monthly Path of Champions adventures will be part of future updates. Riot Games is also working to add ways to play with international players and support player-hosted tournaments, although those updates are further out.
Regardless, it looks like 2023 is going to be a busy year for Legends of Runeterra, and Riot Games is being pretty clear about how it's rolling everything out. Legends of Runeterra is available for PC, iOS, and Android; Xbox Game Pass subscribers can get some special bonuses by syncing their accounts, too.

Gaming

The best mobile games of 2022: 6 must-download titles from a shockingly great year

A character from Lucky Luna stands in front of text that says 2022 Best Mobile Games.

Mobile games have a bad reputation due to many games on the platform utilizing overwhelming microtransactions and other questionable features meant to squeeze the most play time and money out of players. Despite that, plenty of awesome games still emerge on mobile platforms -- ones that don't use those practices at all. In fact, 2022 was a fantastic year for gaming as companies like Netflix and Apple continued to invest heavily in the space with more traditional video games.

As such, those who write off mobile gaming might have missed some truly great games that came out this year. If you're looking for some new mobile games to play when you're bored or need to kill some time, we recommend giving the following six 2022 standouts a shot.
Marvel Snap (iOS, Android)

Gaming

The Sega Genesis Mini 2 features an unreleased game by Sonic legend Takashi Iizuka

sega genesis mini 2 announced

Sega has revealed all 60 of the games that will be featured on the upcoming Sega Genesis Mini 2. Most notably, it announced that the new mini console will have two previously unreleased games: Devi & Pii and Star Mobile.

Devi & Pii was created by Takashi Iizuka in 1993 before he developed Sonic the Hedgehog 3. It's an adventure game where two characters, Taro and Hanako, have turned into paddles and are tasked with rescuing the titular angel Pii from the demon Devi while dodging the latter's attacks.