Sonic and the Secret Rings American site has finally gone up revealing lots of new info about the game, including story, minigames, and unlockables.
The story is simple, Sonic is laying down after reading his copy of Arabian Nights, but falls asleep. He wakes up to discover a mysterious genie named Shahra in front of him. She tells him she is the genie of the ring, and tells him of an evil genie named Erazer who is- get this -erasing the pages of Arabian Nights. If he succeeds in his goal, Erazer will break free of the book and become free in Sonic’s world, likely continuing his role as the backside of a pencil in the real world. Sonic agrees to Shahra’s pleas and enters the world of Arabian Nights on top of a magical carpet.
Also revealed on the site was minigames. SEGA was kind enough to name and explain 20 of the game’s 40 minigames. These include “Hold it! Treasure haul” (a game where you attempt to steal treasure from under a genie with a shovel), “Look up! skydiving” (a minigame where the characters try to fly with fans), and “Hit it! Home run” (a baseball game where you try to hit the ball).
Finally, they also revealed “Special Mode”, which is a book full of secrets. In this mode, you can view everything you’ve unlocked (there’s 225 unlockables in total) ranging from cutscenes, music, concept art, video interviews, and more!
In other related news, IGN recently interviewed director of the game, Yojiro Ogawa. He reveals that the games direction actually has to do with some of the games he had been playing when was making up the idea of the game, namely God of War, Prince of Persia, and Shadow Colossus. He states that the art and game direction was actually influenced partly on God of War. He even admits he tried to add in a move that allowed Sonic to jump on the back of birds and rip their feathers out (this is, unfortunately, not in the final game).
Sonic Stadium will keep you updated with the game’s news!