Sonic the Hedgehog is a mascot with a sketchy recent history. Sonic Colours was reasonable, Sonic Lost World flirted with being a true return to form but fell short - in this writer's opinion - of its full potential, and Sonic Boom was tolerable on 3DS but a load of old rubbish on Wii U. Unsurprisingly Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice is playing it safe and sticking to the portable.
That 3DS release is coming this year, but it's worth noting that 2016 is a big year in broader terms for SEGA's mascot - it's the 25th Anniversary of the first release in the series, back when the blue blur shook up the gaming world and took on Mario. When the IP's 20th Anniversary rolled around SEGA brought us Sonic Generations, which had a 3DS version but skipped Wii; the 'main' home console version was a fairly well received title with undoubted highlights, even if the PC version was buggier than Starship Troopers. Under pressure to do the series justice, SEGA just about delivered.
A 25th Anniversary release isn't exactly an outlandish prospect, then, and seems a little more possible after Crush 40 - which has contributed a lot of Sonic music over many years - shared a Facebook post teasing such a release, before no doubt getting told off; the post has since been deleted. Below is the fan question and answer:
When will there be news about the Crush 40 album?
~We are planning a few performances for 2016 to commemorate the anniversary of Sonic. We "might" participate in writing new songs for the anniversary game…stay tuned…
Of course, in our worst nightmares a tentpole 25th Anniversary Sonic release will be another Sonic Dash game for mobile, while in our dreams it'll be a full-on release for consoles (hopefully including Wii U or NX) with a portable (3DS) version for extra kicks. The Sonic Team has been relatively quiet of late, having not been in charge of the Sonic Boom games, for example.
If a Sonic 25th Anniversary game comes, as seems sensible, what do you hope it'll bring?
[source tssznews.com, via gonintendo.com]
Comments 57
Worst case scenario, it will be another Sonic collection, rehashed, relabelled.
I'm hoping it will be a sonic game with some fresh ideas, and dignity.
I have always felt Nintendo could do wonders for the series.
Chances of that happening are close to nil.
When Sega pulled out of the Hardware market, I wonder if Nintendo thought about buying them out.
The IP alone they could of done wonders with.
If they are recording music, does that mean it's far in development?
I can see some logic with @Madder128's post...
A collection would be cool but we've had so many of those. I actually think I bought Sonic games more than I have Mario rehashes. Anyway, if it IS indeed a collection, it better have ever. single. Sonic on it including the Game Gear ones like the release for Gamecube. I loved Tails' Adventure.
If it is not a collection, however, I definitely would like to see some classic side-scrolling or even a slight mix off the two like Generations. And also, I hope they take out a lot of those stupid "I'm running, running, running, RUNNING!!! and ah.. I hit an enemy" crap. I hate that momentum-breaking crap sometimes. There's a fine balance between platforming and speed. Come on, Sega! Find it
In either or any case, i'm looking forward to the release!
@AlternateButtons odds are they have been working on this since sonic lost world as sonic team kept saying there working on a sonic game. remember sonic boom isn't sonic team game.
Sonic Generations 2, Sonic 3D collection for Wii U, a brand new Sonic game with Colors engine.
Hopefully a good game out of it, though I'm not interested in Fire & Ice, and PLEASE no Sonic Compilations.
After playing Sonic Colors, I was hoping a game would excel that, but sadly I was wrong...in my opinion, that is. Generations (not on 3DS) was good for what it was, Lost World was flawed to the bone and personally, I didn't think Rise of Lyric was bad either. Yes, it is very buggy and unfinished (haven't updated it), but I've played far worse games. I never played a Sonic game that I hated, though.
They need to go back in time and stop Sonic The Hedgehog (2006) from ever happening. Hedgehogs having sexual relationships with humans? yyyyeeeeeah, just no.
Alright, let's just hope this anniversary game is good...seriously. Sega. Whatever you do, DON'T RUSH IT!
Sonic Generations 2! Sonic Generations 2! Sonic Generations 2! It's the best possible thing they could do. Honestly I would be happy if the Sonic franchise just turned exclusively into Sonic Generation sequels every 5 years.
@StephenYap3: I agree with you about Rise of Lyric. Yeah, it's unfinished, but I still had a lot of fun with it. The update helps quite a bit, so hopefully you can enjoy the game even more if you ever decide to update it.
As for the anniversary game, I hope that it's something new, (not a sequel) and modern Sonic. If those requests are filled, then I know I'll be happy with it. Maybe even have some other characters playable again; that would be awesome!
I bet they'll skip any 25th anniversary game and wait until 30
@NintendoFan64
And then it was a sonic rush game : ^)
Though in seriousness, agreed. Hopefully Sonic Team has been working on something nice while Boom games were being produced. Boom has a decent TV show and 3DS game to go with it, so I don't think it's a particularly bad step, but I do miss playing Somic Team's Sonic.
I've no issues with Lost World, it was a good base and an interesting experiment for the franchise. And while I'm not a fan of the formula, the smartest thing they could do would be to make another generations/colors style game.Personally, though, I miss multiple playable characters. I love playing Tails and Amy and Shadow and Silver and the whole crew. I mean, boom and 06 had those as features, but... they could do better.
They just need a high resolution 2D classic sonic similar in the quality of Rayman Origins.
Pull back the camera a bit and show more of the map. 2D platforming + speed in HD is what this IP needs.
edit: oh yeah and less story
'Of course, in our worst nightmares a tentpole 25th Anniversary Sonic release will be another Sonic Dash game for mobile'
While I admit, this would be pretty bad. That's FAR from the worst thing that could happen. Much can be said about the quality of Sonic Dash 1 and 2, but at the very least it's a stable game that works fine with touch controls. Which can't be said about... another anniversary game. Hell, Sonic Dash 2 Sonic Boom was easily a better game than Rise of Lyric (Not hard to do, but many had said the same thing)
Keep in mind this is MODERN Sega and Sonic Team we are still talking about, and while I do have some hope for the 25th... keep the potential hype as low as possible.
What if they did a remake of Sonic Adventure 1/2 but with the Generations system? I wonder if people would buy that. lol
The whole thing with Chaos's design being changed makes me wonder what else was changed due to limitations at the time (I'd buy anything that had another chao garden though. I've been waiting for so many years for it. I wish they gave chao it's own raising game, they could still have the Sonic characters in it.)
@ThomasBW84 "Actually, Generations wasn't bad"... do you mean you were happy with the 3DS version? Because with the silent victory screens, the game's short campaign, the overuse of "first stages" from past Sonic games, the few-and-far-between new songs for the stages that differed from the home console version and other minor nitpicks, that one was a bit of a letdown for me. Not a huge letdown, but obviously an inferior experience to the one provided by the HD Generations game. And no, the Sonic Rush-esque sidescroller level design chosen for the Modern stages was far from being the main problem.
As for my personal contribution to the discussion, I'd be fine with a Generations port for the WiiU, to be honest, but what with the Mario & Sonic Wii U game due this year, I doubt that will happen... heck, considering the Wii didn't get a downgraded port back when Generations graced the 360 and the PS2 due to graphical power differences, the fact we're in the same situation one generation later makes a Wii U game unlikely, especially now that the "exclusivity deal" is no longer part of the picture (most likely, SEGA has received a lot of pressure from Sony and Microsoft by now considering there hasn't been a "true next-gen Sonic game" ever since the aforementioned deal). But we'll see, we'll see. Given SEGA is used to the gamepad-centric little wonder by now after Lost World and Mario & Sonic, they could re-use the Generations assets and engine and give us a de-made port of the hypothethical Generations 2. Hopefully this will be the case, as I already own a 360 with its own Generations game anyway. I'm not a Nintendo "purist" in any way, as I own other consoles, but given my main console for this generation is the Wii U, I just hope Nintendo fans won't get the inwards-facing V-sign for the nth time.
@Seacliff
A lot of folks have noticed that Sonic Adventure marked the 10th anniversary, Sonic '06 the 15th and Sonic Generations the 20th. Make of that what you will; hopefully the "rule of Star Trek movies" doesn't apply here.
@NintendoFan64
"Rush" in a Sonic game is a good word as long as it stays on the title alone.
@Nintendo_Ninja
Not a chance. Crush 40 happens to be a band on its own, which also does Sonic songs. Look 'em up!
I don't know why the post got deleted, because it actually means nothing more than them hoping to work on the game.
Anyway, people would be happy with Unreal Engine 4 engine full of teen sperge and drama with some gritty things into it.
That would please the fans.
@SteamedOddish I'd just love a SA1&2 HD remake, period.
But of course, it'll be a mobile endless runner instead...
As long as it ends up being good, I'm fine with whatever they do.
Just stop with Sonic Boom please, the only good thing about that is the cartoon, we don't need more bad games to go with it.
@AlexSora89 Trust me, I do too. I think as long as Sonic Team is aware of the current state Sonic is in (at the very least, the twitter account is), they don't rush the game and don't try to experiment with new gameplay gimmicks... I think we have a decent chance.
(I did like Star Trek 3 though, but people don't hate that one nearly as much as 5)
Crush 40 ?
Ok, nothing can go wrong from here. Consider me hyped...for whatever they might have in store.
Just give more Crush 40 songs, that's all I need please and thank you
@ThomasBW84 I don't think it's Sonic Dash 3. Sonic Dash 2: Sonic Boom was released last year, so it's too early for Sega to announce it this year.
EDIT: About the Crush 40 Facebook, that rumour turns out to be fake: https://twitter.com/crush40/status/683634688167002112
Please have a Chao garden, please have a Chao garden...
@LucasOne "which most readers seem to rejoice in the fall of SEGA and its profits".
Let me guess...you've seen @Socar's posts, haven't you?
The problem here is that the fanbase is split between 2D and 3D Sonic. Releasing one without the other will only appease half of the fanbase. Releasing a Generations 2 is probably their safest bet.
Personally I think they should get together with the Freedom Planet team.
I'd be curious to see them fix '06. Somewhere buried under all the broken pile of rubble there was a game. And it's the 10 year anniversary of that game as well, they owe it to the fans to make it right.
Fix the camera, fine tune the controls, remaster the music and hire the Sonic the Movie VAs and rework the first Adventure with 'bonus stages' thrown in from the first 4 Sonic titles as unlockables and an HD remaster of Sonic CD.
Maybe then I'd care about a 25th Anniversary for Sonic. As much as the blue blur deserves his spotlight, Sega does not.
After abandoning Bayonetta, 90% of Sonic Team's post-Dreamcast has been equally questionable. For me, only the Wii's Sonic Colours was any good. Generations was just too streamlined to feel like an SA spiritual successor.
The Lost World and Boom games have retained some of the magic, but Boom felt like forced change and TLW controlled pretty terribly.
Like Retro's DKC: Tropical Freeze, alot of the platforming felt off, while the sense of depth was rather hit and miss.
I like Sonic's history and Sega has had some great years. But I'd rather get nothing than something awful for the 25th anniversary.
I might have to eat my words, as I really enjoyed the latest Gauntlet (something I never thought I'd say again). Despite being from different companies, it's proof that a game can feel fresh and familiar at the same time.
And unlike games like Magika, it was even fun playing solo.
Sonic could compete for the co-op crown with a solid offering, but it's an inconsistent blend of speed and platforming that has made things tough. Gamers walk a razor's edge, trying to match the exact pace the developer's chose to space the platforming at (something Mario Maker tried to teach but really.. I guess it can't be taught..).
I can't blame the devs for having a vision, and I applaud the updates that attempted to make the Lost World more accessible, but Sega needs a young, adaptive team to redesign Sonic for a broader audience.
Like how Retro went FPA with Metroid Prime.
@AshFoxX GOD NO!
No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no................
Why are some doubting that this won't be on Wii U? If this does lead to a Sonic 25th anniversary game, then it'll probably come to a lot of consoles, including Wii U. And Nintendo and Sega have a great relationship, so.. yeah.
@LucasOne Yeah that's for sure.
In all seriousness though, why the hell they are claiming that they care about the western market when they blatantly ignore every game that they release only in Japan.
Huh, I'm kinda curious about the "even if the PC version was buggier than Starship Troopers" statement, as I own both the Xbox 360 and the PC version (and PS3 ver. recently, though I don't really feel like finishing it for the third time, at least not now) and I don't remember encountering any PC-exclusive bugs - I only remember the game demanded a quite powerful PC (for the time being) to run smoothly, but in that case it's not a bug, it's just a poorly optimized port. Oh, and it crashed, when some of my friends tried to play it, but it was the end-user's fault, as they didn't have the necessary runtime libraries installed.
Crush 40, eh? The only part in Sonic's history that has been consistently good was the music - until Sonic Boom came around - so that's the one thing I have no doubts about.
Sounds interesting to me, but like most non first party games I wamt, I highly doubt it will be on a Nintendo system.
There is a listing on IMDB of voice actors for Sonic Generations 2 due to be released this year. Includes a whole cast of characters, Troy Baker plus others.
I hope they release a game like Mario Maker called Sonic Maker with the same concept! Would love that.....and make it a Wii U and 3DS exclusive!!!!!
The PS360 version of Sonic Generations is pretty good. However, the 3DS version was pretty mediocre in comparison.
@AlexSora89 Don't forget that "Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis", that port of Sonic 1 for the GBA, was also released for Sonic's 15th Anniversary, and it's right up there with its '06 counterpart as arguably the two worst Sonic games ever made.
@BulbasaurusRex @LucasOne Eh. @Socar is really the only person here I've seen be glad about Sega's financial troubles. Everything else I've seen is talk that Sega brought it on themselves (and they're kind of right, given how much Sega has screwed up in recent years.), or fear for Atlus. I don't think there was really anyone else GLAD about the fall of Sega.
@AshFoxX @Vee_Flames
@Rockmin it's nice to hear some enthusiasm, it's evident a lot of people would be pleased with a collection.
I wish I could share that enthusiasm.
The only thing which would sway me, is if a good port of Sonic CD was included, then perhaps maybe.
@ThomasBW84 Sonic Team hasn't been entirely quiet since the release of Lost World. They developed Sonic Runners for Smart Devices. Previous games like Sonic Dash were made by Hardlight.
I've personally been hoping that Sonic Team has been working on a 25th Anniversary Title for the last two years.
Eh, I hate to say but my ambition to see a new Sonic game has dwindled over the past few years. I'd like to believe Sega could bring back a great experience but after letting another studio do what they want with Sonic, I just don't believe they themselves have the ambition they used to have. Hopefully this is one of those scenerios where you have to hit bottom before you can bounce back hard. The timing would surely fit.
I'm thinking a Remake of a Classic Sonic Game is looking like it. Considering it's Classic Sonic on the Logo.
@Takerkaneanite6 That would be cool. I can just imagine how nice Sonic 1-3 would look with the generations style classic stages.
@BulbasaurusRex
UUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGHHHH, Sonic The Hedgehog Genesis. A game that was proven to be lazy as soon as a fan remake of Sonic 1 (featuring only Green Hill, sure, but still) came out around one week after that... game. And to think the GBA was home to the fantastic Sonic Advance Trilogy...
@Seacliff
Hopefully this anniversary game will break the rule and prove us that fans can expect a good Sonic game every five years.
@Takerkaneanite6
I'm hoping for something different, namely a 3D remaster of the Advance trilogy for 3DS. At least that would give us a GBA game on the 3DS as a whole.
@rjejr Seriously? You feel there needs to be more Princess Elise, Silver, and Blaze the Cat? shudder
Oh boy...
Please PUT EFFORT. Sega is starting to worry and if this bombs, then Sega will be close to dead.
In my opinion Sonic Generations was awesome and I'd like Sonic Generations 2. Sonic Colors was really enjoyable too and the day levels in Unleashed all make a great template for the next Sonic game. I don't think Sonic needs a complete reinvention, I'd just like them to take what worked well and improve on it.
@AlexSora89 Why would Microsoft or Sony pressure Sega? Sega are a company who have been making sub standard products for years. I've lost count of the terrible Sonic games and other licences - Aliens Colonial Marines for example.
Sonic is not a system seller anymore with a small collection of hardcore fans. I will agree there have been some good Sonic titles in amongst the rubbish over the last few years but it's all pot luck. I really hope Sega Sonic Team can regain the magic of the originals but that is never going to happen
Sega are an example of a once great gaming company who died with the Dreamcast.
@ThomasBW84 i think that there is improvement in Nintendolife's reporting standard. Instead of saying Lost World is objectively bad in previous posts, Nintendolife says it falls short according to the writer's standard, implicitly acknowledging that it has received very good reviews from other sites. Congratulations! You have become one step closer to be a more professional writer! A big improvement!
Sega Genesis and Master System games for Wii U Virtual Console anyone?
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