''Sega Heroes'' (originally known as ''Sega Legends'') was a
free-to-play
"Free-to-play" ("F2P" or "FtP") video games are games that give players access to a significant portion of their content for free. The term "free-to-play business model" or simply, "free-to-play model", refers collectively to business models tha ...
puzzle video game
Puzzle video games make up a broad genre of video games that emphasize puzzle solving. The types of puzzles can test problem-solving skills, including logic, pattern recognition, Sequence, sequence solving, Spatial ability, spatial recognition, ...
developed by
Demiurge Studios
Demiurge Studios, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was founded in 2002 by Albert Reed, Chris Linder, and Tom Lin.
History
The studio was originally founded in a residential house in Pittsburgh befo ...
and published by
Sega
is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...
for
Android
Android most commonly refers to:
*Android (robot), a humanoid robot or synthetic organism designed to imitate a human
* Android (operating system), a mobile operating system primarily developed by Google
* Android TV, a operating system developed ...
and
iOS
Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...
. Released on November 14, 2018, the game ceased operations in May 2020 following Demiurge's split from Sega to become an independent video game developer.
Gameplay
''Sega Heroes'' was a
match 3
A tile-matching video game is a type of puzzle video game where the player manipulates tiles in order to make them disappear according to a matching criterion. In many tile-matching games, that criterion is to place a given number of tiles of the ...
game, where the player had to match three or more tiles or shapes of the same color to score points and defeat enemies on the field. There were five different colored tiles and four of them that could control a character's actions and abilities. The player had to select four characters of different colors (blue, green, red and yellow) in order to battle enemies in an event. Depending on the color of the character, the tiles that were matched determined if a character attacked an opponent. If the player matched three or more tiles of the same color together, it resulted in the hero of that color gaining energy and attacking an enemy of choice. The tiles came in four separate colors (for each color-type); red, green, yellow and blue, as well as purple for boost. Matching purple tiles together increased the multiplier, resulting in the selected heroes becoming stronger. Matching four tiles together created a star tile, while matching six tiles together created another type of Star tile that exploded a piece of the board and activated a different ability. The MAX ability triggered a character's special move.
Campaign and plot
Dremagen, styling herself as the "Master of a Thousand Dimensions", uses her power to take over the universes and timelines across time and space itself.
Dremagen is able to clone any existing being at will, which she uses to her advantage by cloning heroes and villains she deems worthy to be part of her ultimate army.
Amy Rose
The ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' video game franchise began in 1991 with the video game ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' for the Sega Genesis, which pitted a blue anthropomorphic hedgehog named Sonic against a rotund male human villain named Doctor Eggman ( ...
finds
Ax Battler and asks for his help, though he refuses at first due to feeling too weak to take on Dremagen. Amy is able to convince Ax and the two decide to find Dremagen and defeat her before she takes over the whole universe.
Along the way, Amy and Ax recruit several others to their side, such as
Blaze Fielding
''Streets of Rage'' (titled ''Bare Knuckle'' in Japan) is a series of side-scrolling beat 'em up video games. It centers on the efforts of several ex-police vigilantes trying to rid the fictional American metropolis of Wood Oak City of a crime ...
,
AiAi the Monkey,
Big the Cat
The ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' video game franchise began in 1991 with the video game ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' for the Sega Genesis, which pitted a blue anthropomorphic hedgehog named Sonic against a rotund male human villain named Doctor Eggman ( ...
,
Beat
Beat, beats, or beating may refer to:
Common uses
* Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact
* Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact
* Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of inte ...
,
Sonic the Hedgehog
is a video game series and media franchise created by the Japanese developers Yuji Naka, Naoto Ohshima, and Hirokazu Yasuhara for Sega. The franchise follows Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battle ...
,
Joe Musashi
is a series of hack-and-slash games created by Sega. The ninja (''shinobi'') Joe Musashi is the protagonist of the original series of games ('' Shinobi'' to '' Shinobi III''). The first ''Shinobi'' was released in 1987 as an arcade video game. ...
, and
Cream the Rabbit
The ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' video game franchise began in 1991 with the video game ''Sonic the Hedgehog (1991 video game), Sonic the Hedgehog'' for the Sega Genesis, which pitted a blue anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic hedgehog named Sonic the ...
. The heroes also discover that
Doctor Eggman
Doctor Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik is a Character (arts), character created by the Japanese game designer Naoto Ohshima. He is the main antagonist of Sega's ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' franchise. Eggman is a mad scientist who seeks to steal the mystical Cha ...
and his robots have chosen to ally with Dremagen, assisting in her universal conquest.
The heroes eventually confront and defeat Dremagen, vanquishing her as she swears vengeance. When the world is not restored to normal, the heroes decide to remain allied and prepare for Dremagen's inevitable return.
Playable characters
The game featured 68 playable characters, all of which were categorized by color. A team had to have included a character from each color; a red, green, blue and yellow hero. Characters were also organized by rarity; common, rare, epic, legendary and captain. Characters featured in the game originated from 15 Sega game franchises:
Reception
''Sega Heroes'' received mixed reviews from critics, many praised the gameplay but criticized its difficulty. Bengt Lemne of ''Game Reactor'' found the game "highly addictive" and felt that the game's need for
microtransaction
Microtransaction (mtx) refers to a business model where users can purchase in-game virtual goods with micropayments. Microtransactions are often used in free-to-play games to provide a revenue source for the developers. While microtransactions ...
s was more balanced than expected
Tom Reinert of ''Galaxy of Geek'' was more critical, finding the gameplay bland and overly pressuring on players to make
in-app purchase
Microtransaction (mtx) refers to a business model where users can purchase in-game virtual goods with micropayments. Microtransactions are often used in free-to-play games to provide a revenue source for the developers. While microtransactions ...
s due to the slow the process of leveling up characters.
References
{{Navboxes, title=''Sega Heroes'', list=
{{Golden Axe series
{{Jet Set Radio
{{Shenmue
{{Shinobi series
{{Sonic the Hedgehog
{{Streets of Rage series
{{Valkyria series
{{Virtua Fighter series
{{Yakuza series
2018 video games
Android (operating system) games
Crossover video games
Delisted digital-only games
Demiurge Studios games
Discontinued iOS software
Inactive online games
IOS games
Multiplayer and single-player video games
Phantasy Star
Products and services discontinued in 2020
Puzzle video games
Role-playing video games
Sega video games
Sega
Werewolf games