Welcome to the Archive site of The Sonic Stadium (2008-2023)
Please note that this site is no longer being updated or maintained; as a result, there may be design issues, and links to images and other media may be broken. Links to posts may redirect you to the same article on the current Sonic Stadium website.
Hey, westerners! You probably will never be able to play this game, but at least you’ll know about it! That’s good, right?
I digress. Remember when I told you that the original Sonic Golf was hella cool? Well, now there’s a sequel and it’s in 3D, but it’s currently only slated for a Japanese release at ¥315 through the Puyo! SEGA service.
Sonic Golf DX is a mobile golf game that features 9 holes of Green Hill action. Aside from the obvious graphical upgrade, the game includes a challenge mode and extra events to keep you entertained.
Thanks to HunterTSF of SSMB for spotting this release.
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Were you upset today at the incredibly lame Needlemouse reveal that featured drawings of stuff that we saw last decade and a song that was composed in FL Studio? Well, get used to seeing more of that until Thursday.
The man responsible for posting all of these Needlemouse challenges and general nonsense, RubyEclipse, on the SEGA America blogs went over to NeoGAF today and made a comment about when actual information about Needlemouse would be coming out.
Nope, this Thursday all the big stuff is out of the bag. The second Needlemouse Challenge was also the last, as mentioned when the blog went up.
I know some people would have liked more than just a couple pieces of concept art – and I can understand that sentiment, knowing how excited and hopeful people are about the game. As huge as the hype may be, I personally think the wait to Thursday is well worth it – so, when that day comes, we’ll see if people agree.
So, there you have it. Wait until Thursday. Until then, enjoy the feeling and spirit of classic Sonic taking you over.
It is good to read some comments about you guys enjoying the music though – and that’s really just a small sample, as the best tracks are yet to come.
There better be better tracks. Damn, that little ditty on the SEGA homepage was really bad.
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The Sonic Stadium may link to retailers and earn a small commission on purchases made from users who click those links. These links will only appear in articles related to the product, in an unobtrusive manner, and do not influence our editorial decisions in any way.
Thats it, the wait is over, SEGA have finally released their first daily update of Hedgehog Week which comes in three parts. The first part is the promised concept art which is below, as are words from SOA blogger RubyEclipse.
The Sunflower has long been a defining feature of Sonic’s beginnings ever since it first appeared in the original Sonic The Hedgehog. Along with the Badniks, it returns in the first zone of Project Needlemouse – and, yes, it actually spins.If there’s one thing we know about Palm Trees, it’s that they tend to hide hidden boxes with power-ups like invincibility. We do not question how exactly such a box managed to find its way to the top of a palm tree, but we do know that finding such boxes hidden in Palm Trees is still pretty awesome. So, consider it official – these guys are coming back, too.
While we know that these two pieces of concept art may literally only be a sunflower and a palm tree, and aren’t exactly the most action-packed pictures you’ve seen this year, they express a spirit of the game that we feel is even more important. From Badniks to Zones, there are some things that mean a lot simply because they exist within a game.
The second part is the chance to win a very special copy of Sonic 3, and more besides!
Today we are going to be giving away a ton of Sonic merchandise, including an exclusive signed copy of Sonic 3, autographed by Iizuka-san, one of the Senior Level designers from the original Sonic The Hedgehog 3 / Sonic and Knuckles team! If collectable merch from Sonic’s early days is your thing, or even if you’re only interested mostly because it’s both rare and awesome, then here’s how you can score it:
1: Post a comment on this blog!
2: Be the person who makes the 333rd Comment.
3: Win signed copy of Sonic The Hedgehog 3, boost coolness by +10.
Additional prizes will go out to people whose comments hit milestones along the way, including the following comment numbers:
Which means we’re going to be giving out at least 17 different pieces of Sonic swag today, including the signed game! Items you could win include a Sonic & Metal Sonic Wall Scroll (Featuring classic Sonic – who has black eyes), a brand new Sonic the Hedgehog Clock, a Sonic Towel and more! All you have to do is be the lucky person who gets their comment in one of the places above, and you’ve won the goods!
Q: Can I spam? What if I just post “ASKDJFLASDJFLKASDJF over and over again?
A: No spam, please! Comment with your thoughts on Needlemouse, your hopes for the game, what you thought about the concept art, etc. Spam comments won’t be approved, so only people who take the time to write out real comments will win the swag!
Q: Do responses to previous comments count?
A: Yes!
Q: Can I post more than once?
A: Yes!
The prize is said to contain some hints of it’s own about Needlemouse, let us know in the comments section what you think that might be
Finally…
Also in celebration of Hedgehog Day, we’ve added up a shiny new piece of flash to the front page of our website! We highly suggest checking it out – after all, it includes the first sneak peak at a few seconds of music from Project Needlemouse! Oh, but don’t go thinking that’s the big bonus – this Thursday, when everything finally goes out, we’ve got something extra special for you guys to complement the game’s real name.
Until then – awesome job once again on the amazing concept art you guys have sent in! We’re going to feature even more of it tomorrow and throughout the week as we celebrate Hedgehog Week, and the upcoming reveal of Project Needlemouse!
From all of us here at SEGA – Happy Hedgehog Day!
If you live outside the UK on SEGA’s homepage you have to select the flag in the top right hand corner and select the US flag. Only then will you hear the music and see the flash animation.
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You may recall ArchangelUK revealing in a past Blognik entry a France exclusive ASR Double Wii Wheel Bundle, well recently I oddly asked the good man if there was any info/pics of that yet and after looking into it he’s managed to get a picture together which he’s unveiled to the masses on the SEGA Europe Blogs.
Now I wonder if the collector in me will be tempted to import one?
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Tracks listed are as follows –
Whale Lagoon (Sonic series)
Icicle Valley(Billy Hatcher & The Giant Egg)
Pinball Highway(Sonic series)
Outer Forest(Curien Mansion)
Turbine Loop(Sonic series)
Shibuya Downtown (Jet Set Radio)
Jump Parade(Samba De Amigo)
Treetops( Super Monkey Ball)
Each have a small bit of information about the track aswell as a video so you can get a little feel for the environment you’ll soon be speeding around in. We’ll keep tabs on any further developments on the site and report our findings back to you.
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UPDATE: We’ve taken down the picture of NiGHTS out of respect for the guys over at NiGHTS into Dreams since this is their exclusive so if you’d like to get a good look at NiGHTS in ASR follow the below link to their forums and check it out. /UPDATE END
Speaking exclusively at the NiGHTS into Dreams forums Steve Lycett of Sumo Digital has officially revealed NiGHTS role in Sonic & SEGA All Stars Racing after the cat was let out of the bag a few days back thanks to a certain eagle eyed forumer known as Doctor Eggman.
Right then – first off… We didn’t forget NiGHTS!
Just since you’ve all been trying to make him out from that blurry capture from Youtube, I figured we better put a nicer shot out! Consider this an exclusive
We’ve given NiGHTS a very important role. He starts all the races, and also finishes them too! He also resides over Time Trial, whenever you set a new lap record, you’ll have NiGHTS flying along with you celebrating!
I have to admit the main reason he’s in was after we saw your heartfelt pleas, especially those of DiGi and TRiPPY, we had to make sure NiGHTS was in and played an important role. After all, we really didn’t want them to burn all their collection now. So whilst he’s not playable, he very much made it in, and as a result of the huge amount of support for the character that you all showed.
Does this mean that NiGHTS may not be in future DLC? Well who can say. That’s a question I can’t answer right now – it all depends on how well the game does
Anyway – cats out of the bag, so I figured we best make it official!
Now, I can look forward to yet more ‘Don’t forget Flagman!’ posts I’m sure
—
S0L
—
So there you have it! Sumo Digital aren’t just an hard working developer, they are a caring developer who after listening to the community didn’t forget NiGHTS 😀 Join me in a toast won’t you? Now where’s my hankey…
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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6746AoxDpA[/youtube]
UPDATE: Just a heads up, we’re getting reports this video is unfortunately blocked to anyone outside the UK and U.S. /END UPDATE
Playr in the above video preview Sonic & SEGA All Stars Racing giving us a deeper look at some of the tracks, weapons, mission mode and 5 pretty good reasons why this game is better than Mario Kart. We also get another mention from the media that the game will have more downloadable characters and tracks after launch.
Anyway, what are you reading this for? Click play now!!
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Hedgehog Day happenings continue with the release of some more Sonic & SEGA All Stars Racing artwork, this time of the Bonanza Bros, Akira & Jacky and some more track in-game shots of a Final Fortress stage, a Samba De Amigo stage and Jet Set Radio track 99th Street. The artwork is sure to please fans with its usual attention to detail and great presentation.
We have the track in-game shots, screenshots and Jacky & Akira art for you below –
Xbox 360:
Wii:
DS:
Thanks to Jolt over at the SSMB for the heads up and thanks to nikkart24 there for the Akira and Jacky artwork.
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What’s that? A parody of Groundhog Day? Oh! No, I’m not referring to the Needlemouse reveal today, I’m just calling Hedgehog Day what it is! You see, this isn’t just some Sonical propaganda going on! It really was originally called “Hedgehog Day!”
Let me share a little history with you…
Long before Groundhog Day had ever been declared a holiday, the Romans had celebrated a similar event thousands of years ago, every February 2nd, in hopes of predicting the weather. Or at least when winter was going to end! But instead of a groundhog, they observed a hedgehog. Really, it’s true! The hedgehog, coming out of hibernation, sees his shadow (only during a clear moon) the Romans were able to decide whether or not we’d be seeing Spring anytime soon.
Now, we all know no small insectivore has a say over the weather, but it’s an interesting fact to know that over in the land shaped like a boot, they looked towards the not-so-well-known hedgehog for guidance.
But, why do we observe the much chunkier and less cool hedgehog? Well, when the holiday was brought to North America, it turns out that there are no abundance of these little sentient pin cushions. So we went with the closest thing, the groundhog!
So, on this glorious Hedgehog Day, think about how important the creature really was back then. And hey, we may be able to thank a certain blue one for making the hedgehog popular in the states, like it deserves. Maybe we can go for a name change, finally? And maybe Sonic’s rival should have been a groundhog. Here’s looking at you, Shadow.
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UPDATE: We’ve picked up a copy of the magazine and we can reveal all 4 console versions are reviewed. The Xbox 360 & PS3 versions earned an awesome review score of 83% with the summary “The best kart racer on 360 and PS3, but not quite the Mario Kart-beater we’d hoped for.”, Wii version got 83% and DS version 70%. GamesMaster gave Mario Kart Wii a 91% so there’s not much difference, they are still great scores.
Anyone looking to pick up the magazine with their favourite character’s cover be warned, you don’t get a choice due to the stupid outer plastic bag which teases the 12 covers on the back saying “Which SEGA All-Star have you got?” /UPDATE END
To kick off Hedgehog Day ArchangelUK has exclusively revealed over at Sonic Wrecks that UK gaming magazine GamesMaster are going to have the first review for Sonic & SEGA All Stars Racing in their new issue out today. As you can tell from the picture the magazine is celebrating the release of the game by giving readers the choice of 12 different covers with a different one of the games playable characters on each.
We’ll be picking up a copy first thing in the morning and report back on the review score but as always for the full review you’ll of course have to pick up a copy of the magazine or else we’ll have a call from GamesMaster’s lawyers.
Which cover will you be picking up? Let us know in the comments.
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Sonic Relief 2010 kicked off a few weeks back to help support Sport Relief 2010 and already we’ve raised a total of £134.00 thanks to a very kind Alex Peal who donated £128 and Gavin Storey who donated £6 and £1.69 to Gift Aid. A £6 donation isn’t all Gavin (also known as Gavvie at the SSMB) has done though, he’s also created an official charity album for the cause containing remixes of various tracks from all your favourite Sonic games.
Aswell as his Gavvie online tag Gavin also goes by the name Living Sedative in which he has previously created 3 other albums under so he has experience in the field of music and it certainly shows in this charity album which he has titled Songs For Sonic.
The album consists of 21 tracks
1. Green Hill Sonata 05:35
2. Mega Metropolis 02:55
3. On the Top of the Hill 03:02
4. Come Join the Carnival 04:30
5. Sunset Park Act 1 (Piano Mix) 01:31
6. Jumpin’ Jungle 01:56
7. Chemical Orchestra 03:39
8. Casino Jazz 01:55
9. Emerald Beach 01:37
10. Mystic’s Cave 02:48
11. Sunset Park Act 2 (Dance Mix) 01:31
12. Crystal Eggs 02:11
13. Soarin’ Over the Cosmos 03:25
14. Aqua Planet Rock 01:45
15. Oil in the Ocean 01:30
16. Twinkle Twinkle Little Cart 03:18
17. Sunset Park Act 3 (Rock Mix) 01:31
18. Lava Reef Symphony 03:02
19. Death Egg Mk. II 01:19
20. Final Resonance 02:47
21. Starry Starry Starlight Zone 01:46
The album is now available for you to stream or download for free at Gavin’s Living Sedative website, if you like/can you may also pay an optional donation amount of your choice to our cause which will go straight to the Sport Relief 2010 charity. So far Gavin has raised £6 for the cause from this album and after giving it a listen myself it is well worth paying money to charity for.
Thanks again to Alex Peal and Gavin for their donations and support for our cause, we will keep you updated on futher Sonic Relief 2010 developments. Meanwhile if you’d like to donate to the cause you can at our JustGiving page, we also have a competition to show our appreciation for those donations where you can submit ‘Something Sonic and sporty’ for Charity. Each paid submission will be entered into the contest for Best Sonic Relief Submission 2010 and our favourite will win a prize!
Submissions to be sent to Shadzter@sonicstadium.org
The closing date for submissions and donations will be midnight (GMT) on Sunday 21st March 2010 to coincide with the end of the Sport Relief Weekend.
(You will need a credit or debit card to donate via JustGiving)
You can contact us at:
Shadzter@sonicstadium.org
MK Skillz (or Sir MK as he’s now known) via PM at the SSMB.
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In March of 1999, the world’s first Sonic fan comic website was founded by Jason “Sonic Adventurer” Torres. Over the course of the next several years, the website would balloon in popularity, playing host to some of the best pieces of fan art and fan fiction available from the (often surprisingly talented) Sonic fandom. Comics such as “Collision Chaos”, “Other-M”, “Tete-A-Tete”, “Mayshing Comics”, and “Sapphire Luna Comics” help demonstrate just what the fandom was capable of. In it’s best days, the website even ran an online based Sonic comic convention similar to SAGE, in which people from across the fandom would set up websites and show off their work, in hopes of getting both attention from the community at large, and awards from SVT. Archie creatives such as Ian Flynn and Dubs even did work for the site years before they became proffesionals on the actual, official comic. You can catch their collaboration in the short lived web comic “3B”.
Though the website fell into disrepair years ago, it seems SVT is finally ready to return from the grave, complete with a new team of people ready to lead it into the next decade. If you guys feel like helping them out, be sure to let them know on their forums!
Now, I’d like to leave you with a page from Collission Chaos, a comic from Fireball20xl’s own Hyper, currently available on SVT:
Not the best example of the website’s art or writing, but when it came to the best single page I could use to try and get you guys over there, this was the one the came to mind.
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UPDATE 2: ArchangelUK at the Sonic City Blognik has revealed what Ryo Forklift’s All Star Move will be, how it works and confirms he doesn’t replace normal Ryo.
Ryo gains his ASM, he does not summon another vehicle – you have a different animation for this sequence. He clenches his fist and with his right foot FLOORS it. Yes Ryo litterally puts the pedal to the metal* and the whole forklift rears up and you charge forward with the same power as normal Ryo’s ASM.
So Ryo-F is different, in a sense. I’ll confirm he doesn’t replace normal Ryo either as a few of you were worried about that. I’ve just spoken to one of the senior SOE staff working on the game and hopefully we might see some footage down the line. We’ll have to wait and see.
/UPDATE 2 END
UPDATE: ArchangelUK has now made this DLC official at the Sonic City Blognik, this will be a pre-order bonus code for people who pre-order the Xbox 360/PS3 version and will be exclusive to Europe and Australia. Info regarding this form of Ryo’s All Star Move will hopefully be available tomorrow along with images of the France exclusive double ASR Wii Wheel bundle. Info on which store chains in which territories this pre-order gift will be obtainable from will be available soon. /UPDATE END
Original story below:
You may remember a banner ad at retailer GAME’s Spanish website that we reported on which revealed a Ryo character as a piece of downloadable content you can receive when you pre-order the game for Xbox 360. Well GAME have updated the banner to clear things up, the banner now reads “Downloadable Ryo’s forklift” suggesting Ryo from Shenmue’s Forklift will be playable as a seperate vehicle outside of his All Star Move but this leaves the question what would Ryo’s All Star Move be when riding the Forklift as his main vehicle(if he has one)?
It’s unknown at present wether this will appear as DLC for people who don’t pre-order, wether it will be available outside of Spain or wether it will appear on other formats.
We’ll keep you updated. A HUGE thanks to Jolt at the SSMB for the heads up and translation.
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True Colors– The Best of Sonic the Hedgehog Part 2
JEZMM: “If True Blue was about the quality of the music in the franchise, this compilation is about the wider variety of the music, covering almost every genre that modern Sonic has touched upon to great success. My only disappointment with the album was that there was only one song that was an entirely original, never-before-heard remix, and it was a song that has been remixed several times already –” Dreams Of An Absolution”. Having said that, it’s a beautiful and inspiring remix, and while we have heard a bit of the almost-new Open Your Heart remix before, that’s still an amazing track too. The other bonus tracks however either aren’t huge deviations from the originals, or are simply rarer tracks from Sonic’s history. On the plus side for long-time fans though, this is the first official release of “E-102’s theme” to have a definitive finish, and “Cosmic Eternity” has a slightly extended ending. As a fan of all varieties of Sonic music, I found it to be a fantastic musical celebration of the extended cast, although those who would rather Sonic stick to one genre may have mixed feelings.” [8] Thumbs Up!: Fantastic variety of tracks. The new stuff ranges from “nice” to “awesome”.
Thumbs Down!: One too many Shadow-related tracks. New content may disappoint some.
Favourite Track: Dreams Of An Absolution (Starry Night Remix)
BLITZCHRIS:
“Both True Blue and its more recent brother True Colours, interest me for one major reason. Remixes. True Blue did well, but has True Colours stepped up to the plate? I dare say it has, bringing home 4 new and 1 previously released but unobtainable remixes. The long awaited Lee Brotherton remix, “Open Your Heart” attempts to modify the more rock-driven song into something suitable for a club, and does so with flare. Crush40 return with Mike Szuter of Magna-Fi fame to produce a mix most fans will appreciate with a combined cover of All Hail Shadow. There is something almost, ‘complementary’ about the grouping of Mike’s voice with Jun’s guitar. Ohtani’s ‘Starry Night’ remix of ‘Dreams of an Absolution’ was the low point of the album for me, destroying one of the songs that saved Sonic06 from complete embarrassment. It sounded like a mash between two songs that just didnt ever belong together. Lastly, the original demo for Lazy Days just wasn’t as cheesy and doesn’t have the same energy as its original. It was interesting however to hear how the song has evolved since its original release. It’s not a bad mix, just something different. A listenable version of the “Sonic3 MegaD Mix” was a cause for celebration, with the track only previously obtainable through the menu background music of another game. I’m a massive fan of “look-a-like” and I would have loved to have seen a more complete version; it was nice to see its inclusion anyway. ” [8]
Thumbs Up: The track selection for the rest of the disc was fairly spot on.
Thumbs Down: Ohtani’s ‘Starry Night” remix did not impress at all.
Killer Track: All Hail Shadow
T-BIRD: “Again, like I did with my review for the C40 album, I’m going to pitch from the collector’s end of the pitch. While I can’t faulter the selection of tracks here (indeed, nice to see some unexpected stuff like Gamma’s theme), and a double-whammy of Shadow tracks in the form of Julien-K will always go down well. However it’s the same old Sonic tunes re-packaged, and I think there’s only so much of this the fanbase will lap up. Where are all the classic chip-tune tracks? If I was in marketing i’d be putting together a “Best of Classic Sonic” and stuffing it full of Sonic 1,2, 3&K tracks, and surfing the demand of even the non die-hard fans wanting to purchase a little bit of their childhood in CD form. Am I right? The remix and demo tracks are nice little touches to the end of the album, and it’s good to see some of the more obscure pieces like “Look-A-Like” haven’t been forgotten by SEGA as again this is probably a definitive track for a number of people in the fanbase. I think the real destroyer track on this album is the “K-Club mix of Open Your Heart” as it tears up both the melody and tempo of the original and makes something brand new – something the fans want and this album on the whole fails to deliver. If you’re gonna buy one of the new albums from last year kids, go for the C40 compilation, or better yet Jun Senoue’s “The Works”. [6]
Thumbs Up!: A thoughtful selection of non-Sonic character themes from through the ages.
Thumbs Down!: You’ve probably got most the tracks already.
Killer Track: Open Your Heart (K-Club Mix)
A “truly colourful” collection of new and old tracks. Yet, this is another album on which re-released tracks feature predominantly, with the mixed bag of six new songs splitting opinion.
True Colors is still available for purchase from the Jun Senoue Official Store, as well as play-asia, and CD-Japan.
Are we totally off the mark again? Or… do you agree with us? Let us know in the comments!
The Sonic Stadium may link to retailers and earn a small commission on purchases made from users who click those links. These links will only appear in articles related to the product, in an unobtrusive manner, and do not influence our editorial decisions in any way.
The Sonic Stadium may link to retailers and earn a small commission on purchases made from users who click those links. These links will only appear in articles related to the product, in an unobtrusive manner, and do not influence our editorial decisions in any way.
True Colors – The Best of Sonic the Hedgehog Part 2
JEZMM:
