No doubt a number of you are shocked/surprised/disappointed/satisfied that Pix’N Love have recently announced the collector’s edition of “The History of Sonic the Hedgehog.” Not only is it being presented at an attractive price point, only 1,000 of these are being made and distributed solely from Pix’N Love’s site. With this surprising news, it definitely warranted additional information about it. We reached out to their support e-mail who kindly shed some light on this release. This book turned out to be one of the biggest projects to date for the French based publisher. You can check out their response after the jump.
January 2013
Monday Monday Monday Monday Monday Monday Monday Monday Monday Monday Monday Monday Monday Monday Monday Monday Monday Monday Monday Monday Monday Monday Monday Monday Monday Monday Monday Monday Monday Monday Monday Monday Monday Monday Monday Monday Monday Monday Monday Monday Monday Monday.
Retro News
- Dario put up a video of Cool Edge in Sonic Generations, also more details on when the Unleashed mod is going to be released. [Youtube] [ModDB]
- Tiddles showed some new stuff for his Sonic 3 Complete hack, also this happened 2-3 weeks ago. Oops. [Sonic 3 Complete]
- Pelikan13 has teased that The 90’s Arcade Racer could be coming to the Wii U. [Kickstarter]
- David is still doing his Mobius 25 Years Later thing. [Part 12]
Sonic/SEGA News
- SEGA bought Relic Entertainment, the developer of the Warhammer 40.000 and Company of Heroes game. Here’s some PR stuff about that. [SEGA Blog]
- A behind the scenes video of Bayonetta 2 was shown during the latest Nintendo Direct. [Youtube]
- Pix ‘N Love’s History of Sonic book is getting a collectors edition. [Sonic Stadium]
- SEGA of Japan is doing a 24 hour long live stream on February 2nd/3rd featuring Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F, Phantasy Star Online 2, Yakuza 5, Rusty Hearts, Puyo Puyo and Sonic Team. [SEGAbits]
- Sumo Digital has gotten approval to make one of the DLC characters for Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed that fans requested. [SEGA Forums]
- Another Aliens: Colonial Marines has been released, this one features cheesy lines that are supposed to sound bad-ass. [Youtube]
When Ken Penders first started outlining what would evolve into Mobius: 25 Years Later, he took the title of the story seriously. While most comic book authors dealing with modern legends they neither created or owned liked to toy with the future, they knew in the back of their minds that the future was fleeting. Their ideas of how the fate of each character would play out could easily be changed, be it another writer down the line or even the whim of an editor. Ken, on the other hand, never thought he was writing an imaginary story or a possible future. To him, he was detailing the true and final fate of these characters within the Sonic Archie Universe.
As the series began to see print, the opinion on whether or not the story was canon or merely a possible future was suddenly called into question, much to Ken’s chagrin. An internal strife behind the scenes began, one that did leak onto the Internet in various fan forums and even some semi-official ones. Though it would be some time (and a change in editor) before Ken would be forced off the series, they were the first cracks in the wall to show that Ken’s position in the echelon of Archie scribes was not as strong as he would have liked to think.
Monday Links: Inaguration Dream Edition
Here in America, it’s Martin Luther King Jr’s Day. It’s also Inauguration Day for President Obama. If you’re a Fox Newscaster, today is probably the worst day of your life. But for everyone else, t’s an action packed day to let you guys know the up and up on whats been going on in today’s Monday Links. Oh man, whats that?
HACKING CONTEST?
Retro News
- The Sonic Hacking Contest for 2013 is underway! Deadline for submission is July 31st 2013. [Sonic Hacking Contest]
- The Sonic 2 Beta Pirate Carts have been obtained by forum user egel [Sonic 2 Pirate Carts Found]
- Sonic Fan Remix creator has been working on The 90’s Arcade Racer which is reminiscent of Daytona USA and has a Kickstarter [The 90’s Arcade Racer]
- The Sonic inspired game Freedom Planet also has it’s own Kickstarter page. You can download the demo to play it if you haven’t already. [Freedom Planet]
- David continues his trek through Mobius – 25 Years Later. [Ken Penders]
Sonic & SEGA News
- Sonic fan site Shadow of a Hedgehog is no longer which was popular for Sonic downloads. Pour one out for them, won’t you? [Goodbye to SoaH City]
- Project X Zone, the Sega/Capcom/Namco crossover game is slated for release in North America and Europe [Project X Zone]
- NiGHTS into Dreams, Jet Set Radio and House of the Dead OVERKILL: Extended Cut on sale for Sony’s 13 for ’13 Promotion [PSN’s 13 for ’13]
- Ikaruga now available for Android devices. [Google Play]
- The Cave from Ron Gilbert is out this week. [Double Fiiiiine]
- Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed is out on 3DS this Feburary [Late Finish]
- It also has exclusive characters for the PC version. [Shoguns, Football Managers and Team Fortress]
When the team at Archie began their long line of 48-page Sonic specials, the original intent was to make each one, well, special. Something so big, that it couldn’t be held in the main series. A bone-fide event, not to mention a way to increase sales. Sonic: In Your Face! was the first, focusing on Princess Sally and completing a story begun in the main line. Others followed, such as Sonic & Knuckles, Sonic Triple Trouble, and Sonic & Knuckles: Mecha Madness. Each one tried to up the ante, adapting games or doing storylines that the readership just had to get, not wanting to miss out on something that could be awesome.
When the 48-page specials were turned into their own quarterly series, there was an attempt to continue making each issue some big extravaganza. The oft-mentioned Brave New World. Return of the King, where the crystallized King Acorn was finally restored to his former glory. Even the Sonic Kids specials tried to examine facets of the mythology that the writers otherwise couldn’t. Sure, not every issue delivered, but those that did delivered in spades. That’s why there was so much hype about Knuckles: 20 Years Later. With how passionate Ken Penders sounded while talking about it to fans, the readers felt they were in for a treat. That’s why there was so much disappointment when it was postponed indefinitely after the cancellation of the Super Specials.
Before the announcement of Mobius: 25 Years Later, however, there was a brief tease of that future in Ken’s strip: the first appearance of Lara-Su, Knuckles’ daughter of the future. Thrown across time and space, the fans were finally able to see the character in action, to tide them over in anticipation of a storyline they still hoped for. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you “Reunification.”
Everyone loves a good disaster movie. A group of people living their normal lives, suddenly forced to deal with natural forces beyond their control. Hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, you name it. Some people watch them just so they can see famous landmarks explode. Others because they like to imagine themselves in a similar situation, wondering if they could get out of it alive. A classic form of the human struggle, people banding together against incredible odds.
Most of these stories don’t have a crazed antagonist behind them. There might be some selfish person who looks to capitalize on what is going on for their own personal gain, but rarely are they the one behind it. Not to say there aren’t movies where a crazy scientist has figured out how to make earthquakes and terrorizes the world for money. You just don’t find that in most fiction of this sort. That slips into science-fiction territory, which has entirely different goals in mind.
When you’re dealing with the type of disasters like the one presented in Mobius: 25 Years Later, however, you can’t just leave it be as something out of the character’s hands. If you are building the final chapter to a sweeping epic, you need an antagonist worthy of what is happening around the characters. Crisis On Infinite Earths, the DC maxi-series I cited earlier and a clear inspiration to the “crazy weather” plot, knew this. The weather was a precursor to the end of existence, but as the story unfolded, it was discovered that it was all part of a design by a character known as the Anti-Monitor. A being so evil that he wanted to destroy the universe, leaving only that which he controlled. There was something the heroes could actually fight against. A final chapter that stayed true to everything that had come before it. Not panel after panel of scientists trying to find a solution.
A new trailer for the PC version of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed was put up on Sega’s press site today showing that three playable characters previously found in the data of the console version will be playable only in the PC release. These include the guy on the cover of Football Manager with a helmet on (aka the Tactician), The Deadly Assassin from Shogun: Total War and the Heavy, Pyro and Spy from Valve’s Team Fortress 2.
You can pre-purchase it now on Steam now for 10% off or from Green Man Gaming for another 25% off until tomorrow with this coupon: GMG25-XTYYZ-POSL1. Also, unlike what the trailer says, the PC version doesn’t come out until January 31st. Below you can find some screenshots and promotional artwork.
[Thanks to Arique for the trailer, pictures via The Sonic Scene]
At the end of 2010, the Sonic fandom was caught up in the hype of the Sonic fan film. Not just Eddie Lebron’s recent release, but the concept in general. In very quick succession, three different Sonic films with very different goals in mind were announced, and those who had always wished for a version of the blue blur to hit the big screen became very excited. Sure, it might not have been Hollywood releasing it, but these films were being made by fans. They had no restrictions, no fear to please stockholders. They could avoid making the next Street Fighter: The Movie.
On New Years Day 2011, the first of those three hyped films came out, Jim Sass’ fully live-action Return To Little Planet 2. The next month, Richard Kuta’s animated fan film put out what content had been completed, not that long after announcing the cancellation of the project. For those who might not remember, I did write reviews for both those films, not to mention a dissection of Kuta’s script on Retro’s message board. While those two crashed and burned in spectacular fashion, there was a lot of hope for Eddie Lebron’s take on the franchise. After the release of his first fan film Mega Man, people knew that he was, at the very least, a capable filmmaker. While that movie was certainly not perfect, it raised awareness to the existence of Mr. Lebron, so that when his half live-action, half CG production Sonic was first teased, a group of people flocked to help him out. A fully realized cast and crew, working for little or no pay, motivated by their love of Sonic the Hedgehog. It wasn’t meant to be a fly-by-night project, an ambitious task set out even if it was announced to be only a short feature and not the 90 minutes Mega Man was.
After a false start, the completed short was released to the masses on January 10th, 2013, nearly two years after Return To Little Planet 2 graced our computer screens. Now that the fan film trilogy of 2010 has been completed, how does Eddie Lebron’s film stand up?
Well after the races are finished and the trophies have been awarded, the 3DS version of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed finally reaches the checkered flag come Feb. 8 in Europe, just over a week after the PC version hits Steam in the U.S. and Europe.
Russian site Sonic-Scene spotted the confirming evidence on Sega-Press, showing that the mythical 3DS version hasn’t been shot down quite yet. At the very least, those tired of Mario Kart 7 can have something to look forward to.
Not much more to say about this one, as even images of the game from Sega have been scarce. No word on a U.S. release date.