Animation, Movies

Sonic the Hedgehog Movie Trailer Revealed… Again

At the tail end of April, the Sonic the Hedgehog movie had it’s first trailer drop and was met with a… less than positive reception. Going back to the drawing board, Paramont, along with a few key artists, decided a delay was in order and postponed the film until February 14th, 2020. There’s been plenty of speculation as to what this meant for the film and just how much feedback truly was taken into consideration. Well pals, speculate no more, the trailer is here and you can see it above. Heck, you probably already have.

What’s interesting is not only does Sonic look different, but the tone of the trailer seems decidedly different as well. There’s a major focus on Sonic, rather than Robotnik or the human characters, Sonic himself is way quippier and arrogant, and overall, the film just seems… better. Time will tell if it succeeds in bucking the poor movie adaption trend or if it winds up another title on the list. One thing is for sure, things are looking more promising than they were just six months ago.

Community, Fan Works, Hacking

The Sonic Hacking Contest 2019 Site is Live!

Just a few short weeks after SAGE 2019, the Sonic Hacking Contest 2019 site is live! As noted on the site’s main page, account registration is still separate from the Sonic Retro or SSRG forums. However, existing accounts from 2018 should still be live, though to access them, you’ll need to use the password reset before logging in. This year, entrants will be able to submit as many entries as they like, provided they follow the contest rules. The SHC 2019 contest submission deadline is November 3rd, updates to said submissions allowed until November 10th, expo submissions due by November 17th, and finally, the contest itself running from December 2nd to the 8th.

Game Secrets

Sonic 3D Blast Music Demos Uploaded to YouTube

Back in 2017, Traveller’s Tales co-founder Jon Burton created the YouTube channel GameHut, a behind the scenes look at his time as a video game developer. From Puggsy to Lego Star Wars, Jon has dived into the history and development of the games that has made Traveller’s Tales a household name.

For Sonic fans, the channel has been of particular interest, as TT worked on both Sonic 3D Blast and Sonic R, two spin-offs from the 90’s that helped carry the torch as Sonic Team focused on non-hedgehog properties. A number of videos have been uploaded over the last couple years regarding 3D Blast and R, showing early prototypes and explaining the coding tricks that maximized the hardware they were made for. Heck, Jon even released a Director’s Cut of 3D Blast not all that long ago! However, there has been one item that he mentioned having that he held back on – the demo recordings of 3D Blast’s soundtrack.

Well, until now.

Though only three songs are featured in the video, the fact that it’s marked as “#1” implies that more are on the way. Of particular interest is the the second track, an extended version of the theme song. Sure, it’s only slightly longer, but hey! It’s still neat. Hopefully we won’t have to wait long to hear the rest of those songs.

Community, Fan Works

Sonic Amateur Games Expo 2019 is Live!

With the switch thrown at midnight, SAGE 2019 has begun! This year features the biggest host of indie games ever, as well as the much loved Sonic fan games that the show started for! The entire next week is stacked with streams, including several community staples that also grace our sister show, the Sonic Hacking Contest, as well as the yearly fan fiction reading with our friends from MAGfest. With over 80 entries, there’s tons to play, watch, and discuss, so head on over to the site and enjoy!

Miscellaneous

SEGA Channel Retro/Expansion Pack: SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive Mini on Sunday at 7PM Central/12AM GMT

Watch live video from SEGA_Channel_Retro on www.twitch.tv

By the time you read this, we’re live! Watch both Bartman3010 and Neo Hazard stream simultaneously through this link: http://multitwitch.tv/sega_channel_retro/neohazard

SEGA’s most iconic console has turned 30 years old this year. With that comes their Mini console that celebrates the legacy of the hardware. Myself along with Neo Hazard will be dual streaming the device on Sunday at 7PM Central, 12AM GMT. We’ll check out Retro-bit’s 6-button controller compatibility, check out the region swap feature and test other functionality to see how it stacks up with the competition.

Community, Fan Works

Cure Your Dreamcast Hangover With This Look Back on Sonic Adventure’s 20th Anniversary

You might’ve heard about a certain console’s 20th Anniversary (in the United States, yes yes we know.) And like the rest of us, you might’ve busted out your own beige white box to play some of SEGA’s final games as a console company. We here at Retro have many different opinions about Sonic Adventure, but deep down, I think we all still love it in some way, shape, or forum. We’re not alone either! One of our own front page writers, MykonosFan, has put together a loving tribute about why he loves the first big, 3D outing. Give it a watch and remember, yes, the Dreamcast was always that loud.

Comics

Nigel Dobbyn, Comic Artist, Passes Away Aged 56

Nigel Dobbyn, prolific UK comic artist, has passed away at the age of 56.

Well known for his contributions to long-running British series 2000AD among others, Nigel is possibly best known to Sonic fans for his time with Sonic the Comic, becoming one of the mainstays of the art staff on the comic and even contributing to the online continuation of it, StC Online. British fans growing up in the 90s will especially remember his stellar work on the Knuckles strips, his depiction of the character becoming definitive to many. His work is some of StC’s finest and it’s with a heavy heart we report on his passing.

Community, Fan Works

SAGE 2019 Dates, Guidelines, Logos, and More!

Sonic Amateur Games Expo 2019 is finally on its way, with plenty of new games to play, streams to watch, and so much more! Given that it’s the 30th anniversary of the SEGA Genesis, SAGE’s theme is a celebration of SEGA’s most successful console and the series that started it all. This year has seen some major tweaks to the guidelines, as well as TWO logos to choose from (we know how much some folks prefer “Mega Drive” over “Genesis,) so hit the jump to check out what’s new and we’ll see you September 27th!

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Community

UK Sonic Adventure Music Experience Kickstarter Launches

Photo from 2018's Sonic Adventure Music Experience at MAGFest

In an exciting announcement for Sonic fans in the UK, the Summer of Sonic team has launched a Kickstarter that aims to bring the Sonic Adventure Music Experience to London on December 8th, 2019. Past performances of this show have featured Jun Senoue on guitar, Takeshi Tanada on bass, and Act. on the drums playing some of the greatest hits from the two Sonic Adventure titles with a sampling of other pieces from the series as a whole. With a minimum £38 pledge you can receive an invitation to the event, being held at The Garage. The event is invite only by means of the Kickstarter rewards themselves, so if you are aiming to attend you’ll need to make sure you’ve pledged through the site before invites run out. With the fundraiser running for only 3 weeks, and with there being a lot of rabid Sonic fans, you’ll want to get in on this one before you miss your chance.

[Source: Sonic Stadium]