It’s hard to believe that Sonic Mania is only a short two months away. It seems like only yesterday the game was first announced, a magical look at the Sonic experience that could have been on the Sega Saturn. When the digital pre-order trailer came out a couple weeks ago, some assumed that very little new content would be revealed in the days prior to E3. Yes, we’re a bit late to the party, but SEGA did announce a new level in style: Chemical Plant Zone.
Sure, you’ve watched it before, but there’s no shame in jammin’ out to that Act 2 music all over again. Hit the jump to see what else Mania has been up to as it speeds to it’s release.
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What do you do when you have not one but two major releases coming out featuring the world’s most famous hedgehog? You spoil your audience by giving them a ton of information, whetting their appetite for what’s to come. And what better time to do that than at E3?
Slated for release during the 2017 Holiday season, Sonic Forces is the game that has baffled some and intrigued others. During the build up to E3’s opening day, SEGA has been sharing all sorts of new information regarding both Classic and Modern Sonic’s gameplay, as well as the new “Avatar” character. This has culminated in a reveal trailer that not only shows all three gamestyles off, but also reveals a new villainous character in the Sonic pantheon.
Click the jump to read on about Sonic’s latest foray in three dimensional platforming.
After getting a sneak peek during a Nintendo Direct earlier this month, we now have our first full look at some Classic Sonic gameplay in Sonic Forces. And yes, it’s Green Hill Zone again. Though now it’s no longer much of a tropical island and more a grassy field in a desert. Also it has all new music rather than another Green Hill remix, so that’s something.
Forces will also feature Modern Sonic, who’ll play similarly to how he played in Sonic Generations. Plus there will be a third gameplay style featuring the new character that was teased earlier this month.
Sonic Retro user Morph and several others have gone through Sonic Adventure DX and created a mod that restores the lighting effects that were previously seen in the original Sonic Adventure into the PC version. The difference gives off more vibrant colors in the environment that also reacts to objects and characters. You can download the mod from the discussion thread in our forums.
Lighting can be used to set a specific tone or mood in an environment. But why is it such a difficult thing to remain consistent when converting this to other game platforms? The game featured an artistic shift that occurred when the game was converted to other platforms. A combination of technical hurdles and creative liberties can dampen the original artistic intent, and Sonic Adventure is no exception. The original Dreamcast version featured a “Lantern” engine which provided impressive looking lighting effects using palettes on SEGA’s then cutting edge game console. However the dozens of ports of the game left out these lighting effects in favor of using drop shadows instead, until now. Check out additional videos, comparison screenshots and an interview with Morph on the mod after the jump!
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Ten years ago the 15th anniversary of Sonic the Hedgehog left us with a pretty sour taste. But did you know that there was one game that came out to celebrate the heritage with a racing game boasting an extreme attitude, extreme air and some extreme gear. Tune in 7PM Centra/1AM GMT for the livestream of Sonic Riders as the Retro crew and Unleashed Project’s own S0LV0 tour through the game in extreme style!
Humor, Miscellaneous, Presented Without Commentary
Presented Without Commentary: Sonic Mania Collector’s Edition Infomercial
Game News, Opinion
SEGA News Bits: Sonic Mania Collector’s Edition Announced – Reaction & Discussion
Hot on the heels of the announcement of a Sonic Mania Collector’s Edition for PS4, Xbox One, and PC, Barry and George share their excitement and opinions on the set in a new SEGA News Bits. What’s included? What’s not? Will fans in Europe be seeing it? These questions and more are discussed! The elephant in the room – that being the lack of a physical disc release – is also discussed. What are your thoughts on the Sonic Mania Collector’s Edition? Which platform are you going for? Sound off in the comments below.
SEGA News Bits is a production of SEGAbits, covering all things SEGA and Sonic the Hedgehog. When we touch on Sonic stories, you’ll be seeing them here on Sonic Retro as well. If you enjoyed this episode of the SEGA News Bits, make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and never miss an episode!
Game News
UPDATED Sonic Mania Brings the Genesis Aesthetic with the Collector’s Edition for North America
UPDATED (9/14/2016) Pre-orders are now available through GameStop.
GameStop [PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC]
SEGA continues enticing us with the release of Sonic Mania by announcing a collector’s edition with a statue base of Sonic standing atop a Genesis (With an actual power switch that will yell SEGA!! at you,) a Genesis cartridge cast with a golden ring as well as the download code on a metal card. Priced at $69.99 these sets will release for all announced platforms for it’s spring 2017 release. While the Sonic social media accounts point to the official Sonic website for a pre-order page, at the time of this writing the website does not appear to be working and is instead directing everyone to Amazon to get their orders in.
Amazon [PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC]
I’m a little surprised that the system isn’t replicating a SEGA Saturn, but let’s face it, with the game’s history being reflected on the Genesis (Without a SEGA CD or 32X mushroom head attachment, mind) it’s more than appropriate. Of course for some of you reading this, you may be wondering about a European release, and according to several sources it has been confirmed that there is no plan to do so. Strange, especially after the collector’s set for Sonic Generations was Europe only, it’s an odd move on their part. Nintendo fans are potentially equally bitter as not even the game itself is coming to any of their platforms.
It’s unsure when these sets will sell out, but there is still plenty of time before it’s release in Spring of 2017.
We certainly haven’t done one of these in a long while. Let’s all gather back together to play Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed on PC/Steam this Saturday at 5PM Central. Send your friend request on Steam to my (Bartman3010) account, which I conveniently named SEGA Channel Retro and watch for an invite to come play with us! We’ll be livestreaming the event to record my great feats. Or is that me getting horribly beaten? In any case, send in your requests early and come see us this weekend!
We played Sonic Mania, and now we’re going to tell you what we think! In this SEGA News Bits, George and I (Barry) rest our aching feet just hours after the Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary Party in San Diego to share our reaction to the Sonic Mania reveal and give our thoughts on how the game plays. Do we have another Sonic 4 on our hands or is Sonic Mania the true successor to Sonic 3 & Knuckles? The answers are obviously “nope!” and “hell yes!” in that order.
Special thanks to Neo Hazard for letting us use his footage, you can check out his channel here! Also, thanks to Bartman for being the one to play the game in our footage. You can find Bartman’s YouTube channel here!
SEGA News Bits is a production of SEGAbits, covering all things SEGA and Sonic the Hedgehog. When we touch on Sonic stories, you’ll be seeing them here on Sonic Retro as well. If you enjoyed this episode of the SEGA News Bits, make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and never miss an episode!