Sonic the Hedgehog (2D high-def sidescroller, 2010)

[Just Jeans]

Well, it looks like I may finally be getting back into the Sonic franchise. Sega appears to be taking a page out of Capcom's book (Mega Man 9) and going back to their roots.

Sonic Returns In New 2D, HD Game (http://www.kotaku.com.au/2009/09/sonic-returns-in-new-2d-hd-game/)

It appears that Sega may actually have been listening. After years and years of (mostly) awful 3D Sonic games, the company is now teasing something called “Project Needlemouse”, billed as a return to the Sonic of old.

“Old-school Sonic fans have long asked to see Sonic return to a more 2D style of gameplay” says Sega of America’s Ken Balough. “Many liked the daytime stages in Unleashed, but wanted to see a game that plays purely similar to the early games of the Genesis. Project Needlemouse is that critical first step that brings Sonic back to his 2D roots.”

The teaser clip’s tagline reads “Speed returns, in an all new 2D adventure built from the ground up”, with Balough confirming the game will, rather than be a retro-remake, be an all-new game built in HD.

It’ll be out in 2010. No word on platforms, but the “HD” bit certainly narrows it down. What do you think, Sega fans? Do you dare to hope?

I know some folks like Sonic Unleashed, but personally I just can't get into it. Sonic in 3D feels wrong, same as Mega Man. I prefer it when these games mix 3D models with 2D gameplay, with the occasional burst of 3D gameplay.

[Sean [The Wildcard]]

Well, that's good news.

Just about EVERY Sonic game that has come out (that has been 3D) has been terrible.

I think the ONLY 3D sonic game that was good was this:
http://www.coolrom.com/screenshots/genesis/Sonic%203D%20Blast.gif

[Brett H.]

I thought Sonic Adventure for Dreamcast was pretty cool as a whole. I think the Sonic Rush games were 2D, but there was a lot of trial and error in those, which I'm not a fan of.

[Worst Day]

First of all Sonic 3D Blast was terrible. Secondly, I wasn't a fan of Sonic Adventure but it was still a good game. Sonic Adventure 2 was truly the last great Sonic game. I'll have to be cautiously optimistic about this one.

[The Dream Master]

Doep news. Between this and that new SMB game, I'm pretty excited. Not that I'll end up playing either game when they first come out, but you know. :X

[FinalBeyond]

;355226']Well, that's good news.

Just about EVERY Sonic game that has come out (that has been 3D) has been terrible.

I think the ONLY 3D sonic game that was good was this:
http://www.coolrom.com/screenshots/genesis/Sonic%203D%20Blast.gif

A slow, ponderous 'Flicky' spinoff that barely qualified as Sonic was the only good 3D game? Oh dear. :p

Personally, I love all the 3D games to some degree (even if with Sonic 06, it's only the music and story), but this should still be good, so long as they keep all the smegheads in Dimps away, and try to go for some classic level design instead of 'hold right and boost, but oh, there's a badnik there once you're running at your top speed' style play.

[skuppy]

I don't think Sega has it in them to even make a good Sonic game anymore. We shall see....

[Biosynthnut v.2]

Doep news. Between this and that new SMB game, I'm pretty excited. Not that I'll end up playing either game when they first come out, but you know. :X

2nd that. I have never liked the 3d style of mario and sonic just stunk 3d.

[Rich]

I remember when Sonic Adventure came out for the Dreamcast years ago. I absolutely loved it! I thought it was awesome! Someone at Gamestop told me that Sonic Unleashed was a terrible game. So did my friend, but I still have a very hard time believing that.

[Violent VictiM]

Sonic Adventure was dope. The whole Ciao thing mixed with the story and really easy gameplay made it a favorite of mine. It was truly the last one I enjoyed though.

[Scarecrow]

"Sonic UNleashed" was superb, even the werehog levels which were fun old school platforming beat em up. The running Sonic levels were beautiful, vast and needed skills and quick reflexes.. if you get good enough you can blast through them in minutes, without stopping or dying. But you can also take it slower, explore a little, and there's plenty of short cuts and other routes.


- Scarecrow

[Rich]

People are giving Sonic Unleashed a lot of crap, but I think I'm going to give it a chance.

[FinalBeyond]

I'd honestly say that Unleashed is the best Sonic game since S3&K. Beautiful graphics, excellent level design (on the 360/PS3, at least), decent music (although I prefer Sonic 06's soundtrack) and while the Werehog gimmick is somewhat unpopular, I found it great fun, and better than the ponderous emerald hunts or shooting levels in the Sonic Adventure games. It still has a sense of speed, unlike those ones.

[Monkey]

I loved him in the original 2D games. Sonic Adventure was awesome, but I never felt compelled to play anything else after it.

I'm interested in this one. I wish they'd do something similar with a Castlevania game... on a console.

[Rich]

I actually enjoyed the Sonic werewolf in Sonic Unleashed. It offers different game play. It is really no different then having to play as Knuckles or Tails in certain levels in some of the other games. In Sonic Unleashed, during the levels at night when the moon is full, he becomes a werewolf like creature called the werehog.

I think the game is freakin awesome and it does not deserve all the shit it's getting. I do have to say that in one part it did have unresponsive controlling, but over all, the levels look great, the game plays smoothely, and the music is awesome. The levels are a lot of fun too.

[Scarecrow]

I actually enjoyed the Sonic werewolf in Sonic Unleashed. It offers different game play. It is really no different then having to play as Knuckles or Tails in certain levels in some of the other games. In Sonic Unleashed, during the levels at night when the moon is full, he becomes a werewolf like creature called the werehog.

I think the game is freakin awesome and it does not deserve all the shit it's getting. I do have to say that in one part it did have unresponsive controlling, but over all, the levels look great, the game plays smoothely, and the music is awesome. The levels are a lot of fun too.


Wait until you really level up the Werehog. The early levels, I think are just greta fun for the unleashing of pure chaos, you can run throguh them in a coupel of mintues and take down all the enemies with soem well timed moves. And the later levels keep some decent challenge. Unleashed is an amazing game.


- Scarecrow

[FinalBeyond]

Not sure if this properly belongs in this thread, but it's the closest we've got for now. Thanks to an interview with composer Brad Buxer in a french magazine, it's been properly confirmed (at long last) that Michael Jackson was involved in the creation of Sonic 3's music. Although the speculation has been pretty much accepted as fact anyway, it's not a huge step, but it is nice to have proof.

Turns out that the rumours as to why he wasn't credited were false, though. Rather than the suggestion that Sega wanted to distance themselves after his scandals, "it's because he was not happy with the result sound coming out of the console. At the time, game consoles did not allow an optimal sound reproduction, and Michael found it frustrating. He did not want to be associated with a product that devalued his music..."

Have to wonder why he was fine with the "Moonwalker" game, but hey. And Buxer also confirmed that the end credits music of Sonic 3 was composed by them for the game, and later converted into "Stranger in Moscow".

[FinalBeyond]

I think this thread needs an update. Sonic the Hedgehog 4 has been formally announced, and the first glimpses of the game revealed.

[The Taff]

I think this thread needs an update. Sonic the Hedgehog 4 has been formally announced, and the first glimpses of the game revealed.

And why couldn't you update it yourself? Christ, I have to do everything around here...

Project Needlemouse is.... Sonic 4, Episode 1! (http://kotaku.com/5463913/project-needlemouse-is-sonic-4-episode-i)

http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/9/2010/02/500x_sonic4.jpg
Somebody grab a bucket, it's oozing nostalgia everywhere...

SEGA has announced Sonic 4: Episode I. It is, as GameSpot reports, a 2D downloadable game with 3D visuals.

The announcement is part of the Project Needlemouse build up SEGA has been pushing since last September 2009. "Needlemouse" refers to Sonic's codename when the game that would become Sonic The Hedgehog was initially being pitched.

While teasing this Project Needlemouse project, SEGA has stated that the game is a return to Sonic's 2D roots and that the blue hedgehog will be the only playable character.

The game will pick up after Sonic & Knucles, but, as "Episode I" indicates, this is a new story arc.

When asked if this means the title is episodic, associate brand manager Ken Balough told GameSpot: "As mentioned, I think the best way to view it is as a first part in a much larger adventure. When Sega released Sonic 3, ultimately it was the part 1 of a story that saw its conclusion in Sonic & Knuckles. In that same spirit, Sonic the Hedgehog 4 is a bigger story, and this is that first chapter. I think it's also safe to say that by the end of the episode one, fans will be very excited to see what's in store for episode two!"

So that's a "yes" to episodic Sonic?

The game will feature traditional Sonic mechanics like spin dash, power sneakers and whatnot, but also an added "homing attack".

Sonic 4: Episode I will be heading to the PSN, Xbox LIVE Arcade and WiiWare this summer. It's possible to use motion control with the Wii version and SIXAXIS controls with the PS3 version.

[Jason's Storm]

I got Sonic adventure 2 for gamecube and i really loved it. It was neat how you could do some kind of egg thing on the Game Boy Advance.

~JS

[Zombie]

Is it just me or does the game play footage in the trailer actually look slower than the other Sonic games on Sega Genesis? I hope it's something like still in development and what not and not the actual speed because it seriously doesn't look fast at all and I've seen the trailer a few times just to make sure and each time I watch it, it seems to be even slower than the last time lol.

I don't know if it's because of the "3D" design to it being that it's so great looking and "smooth" that the backgrounds make it look slow? I don't know? I just hope its something that gets fixed/tweaked a little and the final product ends up being a bit faster.

I'll probably get this. It kind of sucks that it's in "episodes". I never really understood those type of games and thus stayed far away from them. However I'm pretty sure that they'll end up releasing it to retail on a disc with a box once all of the episodes are released. Thats another thing to that bugs me about it be "episodic" because what if we're paying more in the long run for something that could have fit on an entire dvd and just released that way.

It's reminding me of Assassins Creed 2 where in the main game it skips chapter/sequence 12 & 13 but those are being made availiable as DLC, which Sequence/Chapter 12 is available now and 13 sometime later this month. Yes they aren't charging a whole lot for them, but being that they were supposed to be in the "full" game originally and they cut them out do to time contraints only to add them in later for a fee just kind of rubs me the wrong way and now can see more and more companies starting to do that later on.

If Sonic 4 is only like $10 MAYBE $15 per episode and it ends up being a total of 3 episodes (so two more released after this first one) then that may be ok, it will just depend how long each one is. If they're each about the same as one of the earlier sonic games or longer for each episode then it won't bug me so much. But if there's only like a few levels in episode 1 and the same for the others then it's obvious they're trying to rip people off and charging people 3x's or more for something that should have been packaged all together as one game.

[Sean [The Wildcard]]

Well, I am VERY excited for this. I am a Sonic the Hedgehog master, and I am very happy to hear that this is taking place directly after Sonic & Knuckles.

Because everything that came out after that was crap anyway.

Well...Sonic Spinball was okay.

[Rich]

So, this game is going to be titled Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1. The game looks absolutely amazing!

However, I AM PISSED AS HELL! It is only going to be available through download. They are not releasing it on disc for purchase. I am mad as hell at that! Very mad!

Nintendo released New Super Mario Bros. Wii on disc, why can't Sega release the new Sonic on disc! I am very pissed at this.

Because everything that came out after that was crap anyway

I disagree. I enjoyed both Sonic Adventures and Sonic Unleashed. Though I grew up on the sidescrollers.

[FinalBeyond]

It could be the case that when all the episodes are released, it'll get a disc edition. Happened with Watchmen and some other XBLA games. I think it's mainly a question of budget. This isn't a huge money-eater for Sega, which gives them the chance to experiment a little more.

Also, the only game in the main series that I didn't enjoy playing was Sonic '06, and even that was excellent in terms of story/music/graphics. It was just buggy gameplay that let it down. In terms of spinoffs, the Rivals series and Sonic Advance 1 were also excellent. Not keen on Advance 2/3 and the Rushes, and Chronicles was abysmal.

[skuppy]

So, this game is going to be titled Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1. The game looks absolutely amazing!

However, I AM PISSED AS HELL! It is only going to be available through download. They are not releasing it on disc for purchase. I am mad as hell at that! Very mad!

Nintendo released New Super Mario Bros. Wii on disc, why can't Sega release the new Sonic on disc! I am very pissed at this.



I'm not too happy about the download only route Sega is going. I missed out on Mega Man because of this BS, and now I'll be missing out on Sonic 4. You know, not everyone has high speed internet. Some companies don't seem to realize that.