PS4 gets the 2D Sonic game of our dreams
Sega announces two new Sonic games for 2017: one new, one exquisitely retro
On 23 June, the original Sonic the Hedgehog turned 25 years old. No, seriously, 1991 was a quarter of a century ago. Sorry about that. But there’s good news: Sega’s anniversary event at Comic-Con on 22 July (er… no mistake, it really was a whole month late) announced two brand new Sonic games. And you could describe one of them as ‘Mega’.
It’s called Sonic Mania and it looks like it’s stepped straight out of the alien world of 1995. You know, before were-hogs. Before homing attacks. Before that princess kissing incident *shudder*. BeforePS1. The authentic new Sonic game we’ve wanted for 20 years is coming, and it will hit PS4 in Q1 2017. Play the extra life fanfare in your head… now.
FIVE KNUCKLES SHUFFLE
It’s got the classic ‘Triple Threat’ of Sonic, Tails and Knuckles as playable characters. It’s got a mixture of reworked levels borrowed from the 16-bit Sonic titles. It’s got completely new zones to explore too, as demonstrated by the flashy Studiopolis Zone, which was playable at the event. Oh, and it looks downright beautiful. Old sprites have been tastefully upgraded with deeper colour palettes, yet retain their original resolution, making them look deliciously retro. HD who?
At the centre of it is an instantly recognisable, but slicker, 2D hedgehog hero. His reworked, hand-drawn animation frames are packed with personality, and every action is beautifully smooth.
But even beyond the pretty retro visuals, it’s the movement that proves classic Sonic really is back. After the huge disappointment of Sonic 4’s, shall we say, ‘unusual’ physics, Sonic Mania is faithful to the original game’s motion. He gains inertia down slopes, pings off pinball bumpers and crunches into the end of level bosses with gusto.
It also turns out you can teach an old hog new tricks, as Sonic’s
learned a new move: the ‘drop dash’. Simply jump then press and hold the jump button again while Sonic’s in the air and he will zoom off as soon as he touches the ground.
The levels are packed with secrets, incidental touches and alternative routes. The unmistakable jagged pastures of the Green Hill Zone look at first to be a ring-forring remake of the original Act 1, which everyone on the planet has played through at least twice, but it changes after the S pipe ramp, becoming an entirely new level complete with an underground cave backdrop and a new boss.
QUICK ‘N’ MIX
It’s something of a Sonic megamix, cherrypicking the best enemies, items, and scenery from Sonic’s long and celebrated history. For instance, the elemental shields from Sonic 3 are present in Green Hill – there’s a magnet one on top of the first, famous chequerboard loop.
The ‘spiral legs’ of the Sonic 2 Beta sprite kick in when you hit top speed, and Sonic pirouettes from springs like he does in Sonic CD. And when the nippy young adventurer completes an act, he leaps for joy, momentarily allowing us a glimpse of an animation frame that was famously (well… in some circles) cut from Sonic 1 right before its release. That’s how far the team is going to please eagle-eyed hardcore fans of ring-loving erinaceidae.
You could be forgiven for asking why we’re suddenly getting all this now when Sonic 4 should arguably have delivered on all of the above and more back in 2010. Well, that’s likely thanks to Sega investing in the talents of Christian Whitehead (a.k.a. ‘Taxman’), the gentleman responsible for the superb PS3 conversion of Sonic CD. He clearly understands what Sonic games are supposed to be like, and he’s teamed up with Simon Thomley (known as ‘Stealth’ to the Sonic community) and Headcannon – both of whom worked on the mobile ports of Sonic 1 and 2 – along with indie dev PagodaWest.
The cynical fan could argue the reason it’s looking so promising is that... well, Sonic Team isn’t making it. But we think it’s kinder to go with Sonic Team boss Takashi Iizuka’s assertion that it’s a ‘passion project’ by fans for fans. And since it needs to appeal to a very specific audience, why not let prominent members of that audience actually make the game in the first place? Exactly.
THE CYNICAL FAN COULD ARGUE IT’S LOOKING SO PROMISING BECAUSE SONIC TEAM ISN’T MAKING IT.
So what exactly is Sonic Team busying themselves with? Project Sonic 2017 is the working title for its next game, and a trailer from Comic-Con shows modern, 3D Sonic surveying a post-apocalyptic cityscape that has been ravaged by gargantuan robots.
MODERN FAMILY
Things get a little more interesting when chubby little classic Sonic appears, saving modern Sonic from falling masonry. Interesting not only because classic Sonic is just socute compared to his spindly-limbed evolution, but because Sega previously announced in no uncertain terms it had “no plans” to bring him back after Sonic Generations. It looks like fan feedback has been very carefully noted since those days.
While details on Project Sonic 2017 are scarce, it’s highly likely the new game will feature a mix of 3D stages and side-scrolling, 2.5D levels, as Generations did before it. Generations is the best 3D Sonic game to date, so we’re eager to see how its successor fares when it’s released in time for Xmas next year. But to be frank, all this serious, edgy, dramatic modern Sonic just isn’t as exciting as the gleeful, colourful exuberance of Sonic Mania.