ARCADE WATCH
Keeping an eye on the coin-op gaming scene
Arcade games are typically fastpaced, offering quick thrills in a short amount of time to keep punters moving and paying. As such a realtime strategy game feels like a curious fit for Japanese game centres, but here’s Sega’s Chrono Regalia anyway.
The game is played using a touchscreen – in addition to an arcade version, it’s also in development for smartphones – and has you take a party of four into head-to-head battles. It’s fairly standard stuff, with a couple of twists, including a super bar that fills up over the course of the match and, when filled, can heal or buff your party, and Climax, a time-manipulation mechanic that sees the game speed up as the battle nears its end.
While primarily a multiplayer pursuit, a singleplayer campaign will show novice players the ropes before they head into versus matchmaking for a pasting. Player data can be saved using Aime, the Sega service that’s essentially a multi-game memory card stored either in physical form or digitally on the user’s phone.
Launched in Japan in February, a western release seems unlikely, but our interest has been piqued by the launch promo campaign. A host of crossovers with beloved Sega properties are due between March and May, with the predictable likes of Sonic and Kiryu joined by characters from Phantasy Star Online 2, Border Break and Sakura Taisen.