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Miscellaneous

Snowmageddon and Sonic: The Final…Flurry

Here at Sonic Retro World HQ, the blizzard has more or less passed, but the evidence remains everywhere. Good luck, New England (and to our Australian readers with Cyclone Yasi.)  We’ve tallied up the votes on the four level divisions from yesterday’s poll, and have narrowed down our finalists. Sonic Unleashed‘s Cool Edge deserves an honorable mention, as it was neck-and-neck between the water-running, icy half-pipe level and Sonic Adventure‘s Ice Cap–in the end, the margin was only 13 votes.

Our finalists, in alphabetical order:

Blizzard Peaks, the Sonic Rush Adventure snowboarding and springy vine home of the Vikings

Diamond Dust Zone, Sonic 3D: Flickies’ Island‘s level full of icy blasts and slippery surfaces

IceCap Zone, the original winter zone from Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and proof that robotic penguins can seriously slide

Ice Cap, Sonic Adventure‘s platforming-heavy level with snowboarding antics

Actually, considering that three out of four of these levels feature snowboarding, clearly it must be a fan-favorite. This final round of voting will determine the greatest winter level for our readers. What particularly makes you like one over the others? The soundtrack? Gameplay styles? That face Tails makes in the Ice Cap cutscene during the level? Let us know in the comments!

[poll id=”6″]

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Humor, Miscellaneous

Snowmageddon and Sonic: Best Winter Level?

Here at Sonic Retro World HQ, we’re in the middle of a blizzard, and I couldn’t help but think of the many winter-cliche levels that exist throughout the Sonic series, from Robotnik Winter Zone and Ice Cap to Cool Edge and White Acropolis. Heck, even some levels that don’t explicitly have a frost-season theme could probably benefit from the idea (someone’s going to need to refrigerate Sweet Mountain, after all.) Different levels over the years have tackled the concept in a variety of ways: slippery ice leading to skids, dangerous icicles falling everywhere, icy blasts which freeze Sonic, and even robotic snowmen (I don’t know what that’s all about, either.)

But what level is the King of Winter Levels? I’ve divided the majority of the series’ iterations of the idea into completely arbitrary divisions to determine what the best winter-themed environment. If you need to get up to speed with your winter themes, we have a nice compilation of the genre in our info section. Tomorrow, I’ll post the winners of each division for a final vote.

My apologies to all the diehard Sonic Drift 2 fans who wanted to vote for Ice Cap. Keep the dream alive, all three of you.

[poll id=”2″]

[poll id=”3″]

[poll id=”4″]

[poll id=”5″]

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Miscellaneous

Sonic Channel Uploads 100th Desktop Wallpaper

The Japanese Sonic portal of Sonic Channel today put out their 100th desktop wallpaper. They’ve been releasing these monthly since June 2005 – initially with a clean or calendar-emblazoned version of the image, since July 2007 they’ve stuck to a single variant.

The milestone spot features a sketch-style Amy Rose. If this isn’t your cup of tea, why not check out the back catalogue?

[via: Sonic Channel]

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Fan Works, Miscellaneous

S2HD Staff Attack! Act II

Less than a week remains on the countdown! Giving credit where it is certainly due, today’s Dev Blog update looks at the talent behind the art direction and animation of S2HD.

We’d like to post up questions on the blog that the project’s followers here on Retro have for individual staff members as well, so sound off in the comments!

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Miscellaneous

Voice Of Sonic Speaks, Talks Of Consoles

When the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog speaks, millions listen. Except those who are waiting for Martin Burke to make his triumphant return.

This amazing footage was taken by Retro’s own Skyler “Moonshadow Ben Kalough Catz” King, on assignment at SacAnime, in beautiful Sacramento, California! Among the many guest who showed up was Sega’s own Roger Craig Smith, the current voice of the blue blur. Apparently nice enough to deal with Sonic the Hedgehog fans (or at least hasn’t fully come to terms with what he’s gotten into) he offered his well wishes to not only Moonshadow, but the only Sonic site second to Sega. What site could that be? Protip: It starts with the letter “S.” Playing favorites? I certainly hope so.

I really need to get around to checking out those consoles.

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Miscellaneous

S2HD: Staff Attack! Act I

To get the blog rolling before the countdown hits zero, we’d like to give you a better idea for the individuals behind the project and what their roles include. Only a few of the  staff members are active on Retro’s forums, so take a look — there’s at least a few you’re unfamiliar with. We’ll be updating the Staff Attack! in three parts, starting with the team’s veterans.

www.sonic2hd.blogspot.com

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Fan Works, Miscellaneous

ScrewAttack Talks Sonic 2 HD

ScrewAttack’s Hard News feature had a segment about the Sonic 2 HD project today. While not a whole lot was said–and, in fact, there was a lot of insistence on the project’s inevitable shutdown–it’s nice to see that the project is getting a fair amount of exposure.

With 12 days left and counting, Sonic 2 HD is bound to impress with its latest upcoming announcement. What will it be? Tune in and find out!

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Humor, Miscellaneous

On The Twelfth Day Of Christmas, Retro Gave To Me…

So this is Christmas. In reality, it’s not all that different from other Christmases. There’s snow outside, a fire inside, gifts under the tree…well, unless you don’t celebrate Christmas and find it all just one big consumer monstrosity. But that’s ok, because hiding under all those layers of consumerism is the true spirit of Christmas, full of good will towards men and happiness to all. And really, when we were young, fruitful, and full of spirit, what was it under the Christmas tree that brought so much joy to our youth? Why of course. Sonic the Hedgehog!
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Humor, Miscellaneous

Sackboy Sonic Houses Sega Secrets

This is too nice to really pass up.

Earlier today, Sega of America’s intrepid team of community people opened up a box sent to them by a fan.

While this should usually set off red flags and require the assistance of the San Francisco Bomb Squad, the package contained an adorable (and slightly creepy) Sackboy version of Sonic.

But the question arises as what the blue puppet contains in its belly…

In a video recording, Fabian Doehla jokes the secret plans for Shenmue 3 are hidden inside the stuffed animal’s zippered stomach.

However, what if this little critter inherits the demonic abilities of a certain other demented stuffed toy of the series? This could mean serious trouble for Sega of America and a fan plot far more heinous than anything concocted by upset Sonic fans. It’s possible the innards of the plush contain a soul devouring black hole, much like Ghost Pokemon Dusknoir.

Sonic Retro will attempt to reach out to Sega of America, assuming they have not all been devoured by potentially demonic powers residing in the toy.

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Humor, Miscellaneous

Sonic 2sday Results! …On a Thursday

So now that we’ve gotten through the “proper hacking contest” that is such a pillar of the Sonic Retro world, it’s time we moved on to the contest that really matters. That’s right…The Sonic 2sday 25 Ring Challenge. Didn’t think I forgot, did you?

Now, I’m going to say something completely obvious here: I forgot that Emerald Hill Zone used the Starlight Zone music in this early build. And after watching video after video using that music…well, it almost works. Funny how that happens. But that’s not the point. The point is, you want to know who won. Who was able to run the fastest, collect the rings, and be a true “Super Sonic Dance Attack.”

Wait that doesn’t make sense. Doesn’t matter. Moving on!

With a grand total of eleven people entering this majestic contest, the “Grand Prize” winner was…
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