EDIT: Updated the article to embed the trailer hosted by TailsChannel.
The deadline for entries has passed and the community has provided a helping of hacks and mods for both the Expo and the Hacking Contest, including entries for both Sonic Forces and Sonic Mania for the contest. Since its nearly Turkey Day its time for me to bust out some food adjectives. You can also expect savory helpings of mods for Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic Heroes, Sonic Adventure 2, a drizzle of SEGA Mega Drive and Genesis ROM hacks and more. Hit the jump to check out whats on the menu this year. In the meantime there is one entry made available early to the public, Sonic 3 & Knuckles Battle Race. Check out this page for download information and more before the smorgasbord later this month!
The contest week is set for Monday through Sunday, 26th of November to the 2nd of December. To learn more about the rules and trophy guidelines you can check out the contest’s new website by visiting sonichacking.org.
Surprising? Yes! The second Wreck-it Ralph movie, Ralph Breaks the Internet takes a sharp turn from the world of video games to exploring the realm of social media and online entertainment. Oh and the fact that Disney now practically owns everything from Marvel to Star Wars.
However recent ads for the movie show that there will still be at least one appearance of the blue blur Sonic as he explains the definition of wi-fi to Ralph as seen in ad spots recently surfaced to promote the movie as seen in the TV ad above, re-hosted on YouTube via the channel “The José Critic”. The film’s director Rich Moore already confirmed earlier that Sonic would re-appear after responding to a user on Twitter. It wasn’t until recently that footage began to surface showcasing cameos of popular gaming mascots.
Ralph Breaks the Internet is set for release in theaters next month on November 21st in the US and November 30th in the UK. Release date may vary by territory.
EDIT: Revised release date information.
Retro user and SHC Judge Spanner is relaying the message that this year’s Sonic Hacking Contest is now accepting entries for hacks and mods. In addition entrants are encouraged to submit their own footage for this year’s trailer and encourages submissions of workshops. Details can found in this forum post, on the SSRG forums or below the jump.
The contest week is set for Monday through Sunday, 26th of November to the 2nd of December. To learn more about the rules and trophy guidelines you can check out the contest’s new website by visiting sonichacking.org.
On this Swingin’ Report Show, Barry talks with Kiel Phegley. Kiel is the author of “Sonic and the Tales of Terror” and the Sonic The Hedgehog “Race Against Chaos Sticker Activity Book”, and is a freelance author who has worked with Penguin Random House and Marvel. Kiel is currently is a professor teaching writing and literature and was the news editor for Comic Book Resources.
We discuss how Kiel landed the Sonic writing job, his approach to books for younger readers, Sonic’s personality, his Sonic The Hedgehog fandom and his future projects!
Check out Kiel’s Penguin Random House books!
If you want to support this type of content, you can check out the SEGAbits Patreon!
[Download] [RSS] [iTunes] [Archive]
There’s only a short amount of time before the launch of SAGE ’18. In the meantime we’ve gone live with the pre-show going through a handful of titles that will be available this year. Come join Neo Hazard and the rest of the SAGE crew until the event launches!
This past weekend at California Extreme, an annual coin-op arcade and pinball table expo in the Bay Area, a little piece of Sonic history was made. For the first time ever, the long lost SegaSonic Bros., an unreleased Sonic arcade game that first made waves two years ago, was playable to the public. I had the opportunity to attend CAX and spend over an hour with the cabinet – playing it, filming it, and taking pictures for posterity, as the game’s files may not be released to the public for a very long time.
Check out the gameplay footage above, and hit the jump to see my in-depth thoughts on the game.
There’s still plenty of time to submit your project to SAGE 2018! Check out our last article for details and we’ll see you August 25th!
SEGA seems quite happy with the success of last year’s release of Sonic Mania. Sonic Team took a risk with passionate independent developers has paid off. After it became quite possibly the best commercial iteration of 2D Sonic, SEGA thought it would be best to entice players with not just added content but also a reason for players to put it on their shelf. SEGA is giving you several ways to experience Sonic Mania Plus, the expansion for the original Sonic Mania coming out for all digital releases of the game including Steam as well as disc and cart based versions for all consoles containing the full game and the Plus content. SEGA was kind enough to give us a Nintendo Switch copy for review a week before launch.
Much of what you come to expect from Mania echoes from Neo Hazard’s review when the game originally released. A lot of it’s key points remain the same here, such as sharing significant connections with the development team that could show bias in this review. If you want to know more about the main game, you can read about those thoughts in Neo’s original review. Surprisingly the development team also saw fit to make changes to the main game to tighten up the experience in some areas which does not need the Plus expansion. This includes revised boss patterns, updated level layouts to accommodate for the new characters and making certain challenges easier to handle. Whether you’re buying into Mania for the first time or looking to check out Encore Mode with Ray and Mighty, this review will cover what’s changed and what’s new. The Plus in Sonic Mania refers to the fact that it really is just more of Sonic Mania. While there is one new level the Plus content is more of a remix of what all is available. This is ideal for those who have mastered Sonic Mania along with more features that are enticing to newcomers and the small price is like leaving a generous tip at your favorite walk-in restaurant.
It’s been a little while since we’ve talked about the 2018 Sonic Amateur Games Expo. Look, I know you read the title, so let’s go ahead and get it out of the way: SAGE 2018 is DELAYED to August 25th through September 1st. We want to bring you the best show possible, and unfortunately, that means pushing the date back just a bit to ensure that’s possible. On the bright side, this does extend the deadline for submissions. We will now be accepting submissions to SAGE up until August 18th. Now with the worst out of the way, let’s talk about the show itself and how you can join us this year!
Game News, Interview
Details Emerge of Cancelled MGM and Trilogy Entertainment Sonic the Hedgehog Movie
It’s the nineties. While it is time for Klax, it is also time for movie adaptations of popular video game franchises. At least that would also be the case for the blue blur should the deal between SEGA, MGM Studios and Trilogy Entertainment had gone through. Luke Owen recently wrote a book called Lights, Camera, Game Over! How Video Game Movies Get Made that details the process of how video game movie deals get made, the process of their development and why they usually become far removed from what their core audience comes to expect. The details of the never-before revealed cancelled Sonic movie were put into an article on Kotaku UK which details the painfully 90’s plot of the movie as it loosely tied itself with the upcoming release of Sonic X-Treme, only for a CG animated Sonic to break into the real world teaming up with a young boy named Josh. The article goes into detail on screen writer Richard Jeffries’ plot for the movie, how SEGA of America’s and SEGA of Japan’s played a role on the movie’s development leading up to it’s ultimate demise. Adapting to new mediums was still a concept that was not usually met with critical success and translating Sonic to the big screen was not going to be easy.
This is a very crude paraphrase on the actual article itself which is definitely worth a read. Read more on the Sonic movie that was not meant to be on Kotaku UK’s website or you can check out other video game movie projects in Luke’s book.
[Source: Kotaku UK]