After the small bits and pieces of information that have trickled out over the last couple days concerning Sonic Generations, Sega today decided to be nice and show off even more new juicy tidbits, straight from the source. Put together in a trailer showcasing the world of Classic Sonic, we not only get to see the now-familiar footage of Green Hill and Chemical Plant, but the final stage connected the first era of Sonic the Hedgehog – Sky Sanctuary. And yes, you can hear the music.
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Someone flipped the switch a little too soon again.
Some users are reporting quite a few new shots of Sonic Generations appearing on Xbox Live that probably shouldn’t have gone live yet. Yet others are reporting seeing the usual shots of Green Hill Zone. Either way, you all win. Aside from the above of Modern Sonic death racing Shadow on an unknown stage–the ARK?–echoing Classic Sonic death racing Metal Sonic, we also get to see the Death Egg Robot fight Classic Sonic will take part in, showing a newer spin on the boss.
Planet Wisp is also shown, looking just a tad crisper than how it appeared in last year’s Wii title Sonic Colours and a shot of Modern Sonic and Classic Sonic interacting in the timeless “mirrored reflection” pantomime.
Tokyo Game Show is about to go down in Japan, but Nintendo yesterday held a TGS Kickoff conference which brought with it a trailer of the 3DS version of Sonic Generations giving viewers a chance to see Green Hill, Mushroom Hill, and the Special Stage in motion. Listen to that Sonic Heroes Special Stage remix.
Pictures released also include glimpses of Casino Night Zone, additionally confirming that players will be challenged by Metal Sonic in a race to the death within the neon lit gambling city, a change from the console version which features the race in its famous Sonic CD setting, Stardust Speedway’s Bad Future.
For Americans, Sega confirmed that the tentative retail date of Nov. 1 is when the PS3 and 360 versions of the game will be arriving for consumption. The fate of the Nintendo 3DS title isn’t so clear, as it has been given a more ambiguous release of Late 2011.
With signs that the game isn’t quite complete in the trailer itself–Modern Sonic’s Mushroom Hill is still using a recording of the original zone’s music from Sonic & Knuckles and fans have noted that Classic Sonic brings up homing attack reticules–this isn’t terribly surprising, but a positive sign that Sega and DIMPS are working to make the portable version of the game more than just a quick cash in version.
Considering the hodgepodge of characters celebrating the fact that Sonic is one year away from boozing it up in America, it’s natural that the series original the character with a darker, edgier tone joins Metal Sonic in crashing the festivities.
Sega officially revealed the long-known fact that Shadow will be out to thwart his goody blue counterpart, bringing with him a new slightly edgier look in small details, such as paint stripped off from his hover skates, and some more jagged lines across some of his red stripes. A subtle way to tell the player that he’s not here to emo up a party or play support character; he’s here to kill Sonic.
With Metal Sonic and Shadow now officially revealed, it’s only a matter of time before the time traveler with psychokinesis crashes the party and sends Sonic into space.
[UPDATE: Sega’s Ken Balough offers more clarification on the jumbled mess that is the timeline. Read the full quote at the bottom.]
Brace yourselves one more time. This could be a bumpy ride.
The start of PAX today in Seattle allowed attendees to get a first taste of Sonic CD on the Retro Engine before making its way to consoles, computers, and mobile devices, running through the entirety of Palmtree Panic Zone. Initial reactions from the crowd are fairly positive.
While trying out the game, forum member Shade Vortex got to speak to Patrick Riley, a staff member at Sega of America, [UPDATE: Ken Balough, Sonic Digital Brand Manager,] about the game. A few of the details revealed by Retro Engine creator Christian “The Taxman” Whitehead might have been a little premature.
UPDATE: Also a first look at Generations 3DS’ Casino Night Zone.
With one move, all bets are off. Found in the dirty recesses of Sega’s servers and joining Green Hill Zone and Mushroom Hill Zone comes Sonic Adventure‘s iconic first stage Emerald Coast, including the famous whale chase scene.
I almost want to say it could even Sonic 2006‘s Wave Ocean, but it’s basically just Emerald Coast in HD with worse controls. What are the odds that Classic Sonic gets a recycled version of Sonic Advance‘s Neo Green Hill Zone for his Emerald Coast stage, given the track record with his stages so far?
Also found is what looks to be the first shot of the opening cutscene with Sonic’s closest friends celebrating the Blue Blur’s birthday. Noticeably absent is Shadow, who may have been too much of a downer to be invited to the “cool kids” party.
Sonic’s 20th Anniversary affair is remaining for Sonic Generations and Mario and Sonic 2012, as Sonic 4‘s second episode has been bumped back to 2012, according to Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka in an interview with Eurogamer.
“This year, 2011, is the anniversary, so we’re focusing on the celebration title, but moving forward to 2012, Sonic will still be going, so I’d hope to provide Episode 2 then.”
Given the usual nature of episodic games, where titles are released very quickly in multiple installments, it’s strange that its taken Sonic Team nearly more than a year to churn out the second episode. Iizuka reassured that things are going according to plan.
“It was always the plan,” said Iizuka. “We knew about the anniversary year, and Generations was planned way in advance. It was always our plan to release Episode 2 after Generations.”
However, when it came time to determine if Sonic 4 would stretch on toward a third episode, that same sense of confidence faded away, leaving the fate of the installment uncertain.
“We can’t say if there’s going to be Episode 3 or not,” Iizuka said.
No other details about Episode 2 were revealed, so keep your torches and pitchforks down. For now, Sega is letting Sonic Generations keep the dance floor all to herself.
Right off, this is not “Xtreme”, the canceled Sega Saturn game, but something else.
You may remember a few months back we posted video of a previously unknown Sonic game found on the hard drive of an XDK Developmental Xbox called Sonic Extreme, featuring Sonic and Shadow on hover boards doing kickflips, 50/50 grinds and going vert off ramps in a Green Hill/Seaside Hill hybrid similar to Tony Hawk Pro Skater.
I promise never to do skateboard talk again.
For those of you craving a little more than videos and want to play this title, and you happen to be near Portland, Ore., the Game Trader booth at the Portland Retro Gaming Expo will feature the game for the public to play.
The game was determined to be an extremely early pitch demo for a Sonic skateboarding game that, after some cleaning up and changes in gameplay, would later become the first Sonic Riders title for the PlayStation 2, Gamecube, Xbox, and PC. The earliest rumors of the game’s existence back in the mythical year of 2005 also had it named “Sonic Extreme” and “Sonic R-2.” The “Extreme” part of the name still lives on in-game in the form of the hover boards, “Extreme Gear.”
For more about the history of Sonic Extreme, just check out its page on our wiki. The Retro Gaming Expo is set to start on Sept. 24.
UPDATE: We also got video of the Big Arm boss included in the demo, now updated after plenty of negative feedback from E3 concerning one aspect of it. Want to see? Hit the jump! Thanks to commenter MarioSonic for the tip off!
By way of YouTube channel NiNTENDOMiNATi0N, take a look at Modern Sonic running through the browning foliage of Mushroom Hill Zone Act 2 including a clear listen to the level’s music.
At least, I would hope that’s a placeholder song while a final one is still being worked on. A straight port of the Genesis Mushroom Hill Zone Act 1 tune? Has to be. The footage also shows some oddities in the gameplay including familiar DIMPS problems of odd object placement, pitfalls, and moonwalking on the roof.
But on the plus side, listen to that Act 1 remix toward the end of the video. That remix is simply goodness.