Participants will play a different SEGA game in each match of the event, with specific rules tailored to each of them, and each of which is outlined below. Players will be split into two double elimination preliminary rounds, one taking place on Friday evening and the other on Saturday evening, with the qualifying players from each preliminary facing off in a championship bracket on Sunday afternoon. Be prepared to play any of the following games in any order.

Some gameplay tips are also provided. It is, of course, entirely up to you as to how much practice or effort you take to prepare for the event, but we figured that we'd at least get you started with a primer. If you require more supplementary material, then you might be able to find some useful instruction manual scans at segaretro.org, perhaps some worthwhile video breakdowns on YouTube, maybe even some insightful ancient text guides on GameFAQs or StrategyWiki, and--if you really want to dig for more--some strategy guide scans on the Internet Archive.

Welcome to the next level, and good luck!

DAYTONA USA 2001 (Dreamcast)

THE GAME:

Sega has a rich history of pushing the envelope with racing games, and arguably none are as iconic as their early '90s hit Daytona USA. Running on hardware that was incredibly advanced for its time and boasting gameplay that catered in equal measure to hardcore racers and casual players alike, Daytona USA went on to be a staple of arcades everywhere for years to come. The 2001 release on Dreamcast faithfully ported the original gameplay and race tracks from the arcade to console while adding a number of bells and whistles of its own. Most importantly for our purposes, it also included split-screen multiplayer, making it a practical choice for local competition.

THE RULES:

• Mode: VS Battle
• Car Settings: Hornet only, Medium Tire Grip only, Handicap Off
• Course Settings: Entry Car 10, Normal Type
• Game Config: Normal Difficulty
• Controller Settings: players can adjust as desired

The above rules have been chosen to make the game more closely mimic the arcade original. Players will compete in a best 2-out-of-3 series of races on the three original arcade courses: Three Seven Speedway (8 Laps), Dinosaur Canyon (4 Laps), and Sea-Side Street Galaxy (2 Laps), in that order.

TIPS:

Learning how to drift efficiently is the key to keeping your speed up and your lap times down. There's a lot of nuance to the technique from one corner to another, but if you need a primer for it, then this video will put you on the right path:

Learning the rocket start is also key to get ahead on tracks that start from a standstill:

The default controls on the Dreamcast version are rather sensitive with a standard controller. You may want to experiment with the Sensitivity value in the Controller Settings to find a sweet spot that works best for you.

FANTASY ZONE: THE MAZE (Master System)

THE GAME:

The original Fantasy Zone was an incredibly unique free-scrolling arcade shooter that pioneered the concept of the "cute-em-up." This spin-off game for the Master System combines the original game's setting and light economy mechanics with the classic maze-chase and dot-eater genre, in addition to a 2-player mode.

THE RULES:

• The players will compete in a single 2P game for high score.
• Pick the first stage and stop play after round 8, which should be the end of the 2nd planet / 2nd bonus round.
• The winning player will be the one with the highest score at either this point of the game or when a game over is reached, whichever comes first.

TIPS:

Press any of the face buttons to shoot (after collecting a weapon). Collect coins to earn both money and points. Money can be spent on upgrades throughout the maze. Bigger coins are worth more and will gradually shrink as time passes. Touch the enemy base at the center to reset the enemy spawn time.

FIGHTERS MEGAMIX (Saturn)

THE GAME:

Sega's AM2 division was a pioneer of several genres and franchises in the arcade, particularly when it came to 3D games, and doubly so when it came to 3D fighting games. Their ultimate original work for the Saturn, Fighters Megamix, is at its core a crossover between Virtua Fighter 2 and Fighting Vipers, but it offers so much more. Not only has the VF cast been upgraded with new moves from Virtua Fighter 3, but a number of unlockable characters from AM2's other games are included as well--and some of them are particularly off-the-wall.

THE RULES:

• VS Mode
• Set Length: either best 2-of-3 games or 3-of-5 games, depending on time.
• Game Type: Fighting Vipers
• Hyper Mode: OFF unless mutual player request otherwise
• Other options (round time, handicap, etc.) set to defaults.
• Stage Select: Random stage for 1st game (unless mutual agreement otherwise), loser of each game picks next stage.

To really drive home the wacky nature of this crossover, the players will be restricted to using ONLY the secret characters! That includes: Siba, Kids Akira, Kids Sarah, Bean, Bark, Rent-A-Hero, Janet, Deku, Hornet, and URA Bahn. After each individual game, the loser of the prior game has the option to switch to another character for the next game if they wish. The winner must use the same character again.

TIPS:

The gameplay system of Fighters Megamix primarily draws from Fighting Vipers and Virtua Fighter 3, so familiarity with either of those games will help you here. The game has a training mode for you to practice your execution, but it doesn't tell you the moves for the secret characters, so check out some external resources if you want to know a little more about them and what they can do.

GIRL’S GARDEN (SG-1000)

THE GAME:

Every great legacy starts from humble beginnings. Sega's first home console, the SG-1000, did not reach very far beyond the borders of Japan, but it was enough of a success to kickstart Sega's ~20 year run as a major international player in the video game console market. While the bulk of its game library consisted of ports of early golden age arcade games, it did have a handful of notable original releases. This is one such game, partly for its unique premise, but more so because it's one of the earliest works of Yuji Naka (programmer for Phantasy Star and Sonic the Hedgehog) and Hiroshi Kawaguchi (musician for several of Sega's '80s and '90s arcade hits).

In Girl's Garden, your objective in each stage is to collect a bouquet of flowers and hand them to your would-be boyfriend. And to avoid falling into rivers or being mauled by bears. Of course.

THE RULES:

• The two players will take turns competing for a high score.
• Players will continue to play until they either run out of lives or reach the beginning of stage 5, whichever comes first.

TIPS:

Only fully bloomed flowers will count toward your total. Completely dead flowers will subtract several from your existing total, so you should take extra care to avoid them. You can use up your limited supply of honey to distract bears. The faster you complete the stages, the greater your time bonus. Bees will occasionally drop helpful items.

NiGHTS JOURNEY OF DREAMS (Wii)

THE GAME:

NiGHTS Into Dreams was a high water mark for the Saturn, featuring unique 3D on-rails acrobatic action with a focus on skillfully flying through objects to create long, high-scoring chains. Its follow-up on Wii, Journey of Dreams, has a slightly expanded versus mode which will be utilized for this event.

THE RULES:

• 2P Race.
• Best 2 of 3 races across the 3 available stages, in order.

TIPS:

Use the drill dash technique to speed up. Fly through rings to replenish your dash gauge.

SAMBA DE AMIGO: PARTY CENTRAL (Switch)

THE GAME:

Samba de Amigo was one of several unique marquee games released on the Dreamcast, putting a new spin on rhythm games with its distinct maraca-style motion controller. Because motion controls have become more commonplace since then, it's enjoyed a handful of rereleases and follow-ups on other consoles that followed, including the Switch, on which Party Central faithfully updates the original game's style.

THE RULES:

• Party for Two -> Show Down -> Shake
• Best 2 of 3 songs.
• Random select w/ Normal difficulty for first song unless mutual agreement otherwise.
• Loser of each round picks each successive song and difficulty level.

TIPS:

Please leave enough space on all sides to avoid hitting either your fellow attendees or the equipment.

SEGA MEMORIAL SELECTION VOL. 1: FLICKY, HEAD-ON, & PENGO (Saturn)

THE GAME:

An old compilation of even older games! This Sega Ages pack pulls from deep within Sega's arcade catalogue, featuring some of their very earliest hits. Flicky is a platform action game in which the titular character must rescue her chicks from would-be predators. Head-On is perhaps the earliest maze-chase and dot-eater game, being one of the major inspirations for Pac-Man. Pengo is also a maze-chase game, with more of a focus on action and score.

THE RULES:

Players will compete in each of the three games in the order listed above, and the winner of this round of the tournament will be the player who wins in 2 of the 3 games.

Flicky: Compete in a single 2P game for score, alternating turns upon each death. In order to prevent the competition from running long, each player's game will be stopped short at the end of stage 10 / start of stage 11, so focus on getting the highest possible score up to that point.

Head-On: Players will compete in separate 1P games for score. (There is no 2P game option in this release.) The loser of Flicky gets to choose which player goes first in Head-On.

Pengo: Compete in a single 2P game for score, alternating turns upon each player's death.

TIPS:

Flicky: You net much higher score bonuses if you return all of the chicks to the goal in one go. Time bonuses also account for a lot, as do perfect bonuses in the bonus stages.

Head-On: Hold the A button to move faster. Change lanes in the open areas of the track to strategically dodge the CPU car. Score bonuses are awarded if you successfully clear the track.

Pengo: Let the title screen demo run to demonstrate the mechanics & scoring. Bonuses can be earned through multi-kills, connecting diamond blocks together, and completing stages quickly.

SONIC ADVENTURE 2 BATTLE (Gamecube)

THE GAME:

Sonic Adventure 2 was the last major entry for Sega's mascot character on their own platform. Its update, Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, was his first outing on other platforms, and as its new moniker suggests, also updated the multiplayer component with several more modes and stages. This competition will focus on the Sonic vs Shadow race levels.

THE RULES:

• Action Race
• Sonic & Shadow only, default costumes only
• Auto Handicap: ON
• Auto Handicap Setting: MIN
• Time Limit: ON
• Number of Battles: 1
• Best 2-of-3 races
• Play each Level 2 stage in order (City Escape, Metal Harbor, White Jungle)

TIPS:

Collect rings to gain access to your special abilities. While it's generally a good idea to use most of them right away, it can also be especially effective to save certain attacks for specific moments when they would be the most disruptive to your opponent's movement.

STREETS OF RAGE 4 (Switch)

THE GAME:

The original Streets of Rage trilogy was a franchise that helped define both the Sega Genesis and the beat-em-up genre. After more than a 25-year hiatus, it returned with a fourth entry that perfectly straddled the line between being faithful to what made those original games great and putting on enough of a spin of its own to feel fresh. While this sort of game is primarily a co-op affair, this entry does feature a head-to-head versus mode, and the combat system is fleshed out enough to make it interesting.

THE RULES:

• Players will compete in a best 3-of-5 set against each other in Battle mode.
• Random stage for first game (unless both players mutually agree to a specific stage).
• Winner of each game keeps their character for the next game; loser can choose a new character and/or stage if desired.
• The same stage may not be played multiple times in the same set unless both players agree.
• All characters will be permitted for use, but no unlockable moves will be allowed.

TIPS:

Give the in-game resources a thorough look. There's a pretty good, modern training mode to be found there.

THE TYPING OF THE DEAD (Dreamcast)

THE GAME:

The House of the Dead was a landmark entry in the lightgun shooter genre in the ‘90s. Some time later, Sega made a sequel that was just as well received. Even later, they decided to release that sequel again, except this time swapping out the lightguns for keyboards. We can only speculate as to why Sega felt that The House of the Dead 2 should be reworked as a typing exercise game, but we are eternally grateful that they did, as the end result is every bit as fun to play as it is humorous in concept.

THE RULES:

• The two competitors will play a single stage of Arcade Mode for score. (The stage will be chosen by the bracket runner.)
• No continues allowed, but extra lives will be cranked up to the maximum amount.
• The game ends when either both players run out of lives or they reach the end of the stage, and the winner will be the player with the highest score on this results screen.

TIPS:

Speed matters more than accuracy. The game does not check for capitalization or spacing, but punctuation does matter. Press ESC to switch targets if you need to prioritize a different enemy.

VIRTUA COP 2 (Saturn)

THE GAME:

The lightgun shooter is a staple of the arcade, and Sega was instrumental in bringing it into the 3D era with Virtua Cop. Virtua Cop 2, in particular, happens to be one of the better arcade-to-Saturn ports of this kind, so it has been chosen to represent this genre in Segathon.

THE RULES:

• Players will play together through the first stage and compete for score.
• Game settings will be set to default values, except that continues are reduced to 1. (Player 2 joins in during the stage select screen, which uses up this continue.)
• Pay attention to the ranking screen after game over or at the end of stage to see who wins.

An effort will be made to supply Stunner light guns for this game, but in the event that something comes up to prevent their use, analog controllers will be provided in their place.

TIPS:

Point bonuses are awarded when you hit a single target 3 times, and even greater point bonuses are awarded when you specifically hit the arm that is holding a weapon.

VIRTUAL ON: ORATORIO TANGRAM (Dreamcast)

THE GAME:

Virtual On hit arcades in ‘96 and paved the way for free-roaming 3D arena fighters and mech combat games alike, complete with character designs by Mobile Suit Gundam designer Hajime Katoki. Its unique twin stick controller is the root of much of its charm, offering a control interface that is simultaneously simple enough to map to just 4 triggers, yet flexible enough to allow for a lot of technical depth. Its sequel, Oratorio Tangram, released two years later and supercharged everything: the speed, the movement options, and the attack repertoire of each mech.

THE RULES:

• VS Mode 5.45
• Best 2-out-of-3 games or 3-out-of-5 games, depending on time.
• Random select for 1st stage unless mutual agreement otherwise
• Loser of each game can counterpick both character and stage for next game.
• LAN mode on 2 consoles will be used if the equipment is available.

Twin sticks will be provided. Players can use standard Dreamcast controllers instead if desired.

TIPS:

If you just need a basic run down of the controls, the in-game attract mode has you covered there. If you're really hardcore, then you can read the Mizuumi Wiki entry to your heart's content. Just be aware that a lot of the technical resources out there tend to concern later versions of the game (5.66), so make sure that you're not wasting time learning how to play a character that isn't even in the Dreamcast version (5.45).

The big thing that new players tend to need help with is learning how to stay locked-on to the enemy. You can rotate your mech manually to track the enemy, but this is often too slow and clunky to be useful. If you attack while dashing, then you'll automatically lock-on to the opponent before firing, which is very useful; just be aware that dash attacks tend to have a lot of recovery time at the end and may leave you open to counterattack. Jumping will also automatically turn your character to face and lock-on to the opponent, but hanging out way up in the air for too long will also leave you a sitting duck as you drop back down to earth. However, if you jump and then immediately input the crouch command, you'll turn to face the enemy without leaving the ground; this is generally how to keep the enemy in your sights without exposing yourself to extra danger.

THE GRAND FINALE (???)

The game for the final match of the event will not be revealed for the time being. However, considering that this is a Sonic expo, you should expect Sega's mascot character to factor into the final round to some degree...