Until today, we’ve only been given vague hints of how long Sonic Colors will be. The good folks over at WiiNintendo have finally gotten us an answer! According to their exclusive interview with Takashi Iizuka, the game is going to be 20+ hours long! Sounds like a sizable chunk of platforming action, no? In addition to this news, Sonic Team has revealed their reasoning behind Colors’ exclusivity to the Nintendo Wii:
“Sonic is most successful on Nintendo platforms, and it is better for the developers to focus on one console. That makes for a better game.”
The interview has some other additional details, but given that this is their interview, I’d like to encourage you all to visit their site and see for yourself!
well this will keep me busy!
Nintendo only? But I don’t have a Wii. 🙁
Time to get one! Wii is a great system and Colors is looking to be a great game.
Though…don’t go thinking that Sonic’s ONLY going to be on Nintendo systems. I don’t think that’s what Iizuka meant to imply. Just, Colors is Nintendo only. This could mean the anniversary game will be next gen only, or even on just one of the consoles.
I completely agree with that statement. Its nice to see that SEGA realizes that, and is taking time to make this game everything it can be.
20+ hours of platforming action? Pfft, yeah right. More like 20+ hours finding enough medals to unlock the next stage/completing enough inane “missions” in order to proceed.
Of course, I’d love to be proven wrong here.
20+ hours? They must only be talking about the main story there, so that definitely kicks and other Sonic game in the butt in terms of length!
No PC port? Awww… Oh well, I’ve got a Wii, so I won’t have to miss out. 🙂
Playing on my HD computer monitor would’ve been nice, though.
As both a Sonic fan & a Nintendo fan, hearing Iizuka admit that Sonic does BEST on the Nintendo makes me happy!
And 20+ hours of gameplay?! Wow, that’s one heckuva long Sonic game for one that’s been openly confirmed by SEGA to be light on story! Let’s just hope that at least half of that time is the extra stuff & not all story-oriented…
@Kits’Okami there is no medal hunting in sonic colors
@slam442 hello there like 7 or 8 planets each with 4-5 stages.Each stage has 3 acts.Each act is like 3-4 minutes long.Boss Battles.Possibly Minigames too.I think this pretty much covers the 20+ hours gameplay
OH MY GOD
this is SWEET
20+ hours? Hmm…, many of the older 3D Sonic games take at least 10 hrs or so to complete. Toquote Eggman: ‘The more, the merrier!’
I’m pretty sure the story itself is maybe 5 or 6 hrs with all the side missions raising the total playtime to 20 hrs.
Wow, 20+?
There is optional medal hunting, but still nice time for a Wii game.
20th anniversary game will so be for next gen, with the Hedgehog engine.
I don’t think it’s ever been said that there are multiple stages per planet. Just multiple acts.
20 hours at first i thourght it was short like sonic and the black knight
Well it is nice to know that one company knows who’s boss in video game development.
Josh: Then what are you doing here? Go buy one! Now!
Awesome, can’t wait to get it!
According to the site, Sonic is the only playable character
I’ve been saying that for years! If anyone has read some of my past posts, I’m always bagging on XBOX and PlayStation because those are the systems with the worst Sonic games.
@sonictoast then you’re missing alot of really good non-sonic games
Then when the game is released it will do a ‘Metal Gear Solid’ with half the game being made of Cg cutscences. BUT the CG will be of such high quality that the Sonic fans will praise it as the greatest Sonic game yet.
Seriously, if it really is 20 hours of solid gameplay then I’m all for it.
Twenty hours? I’m going to be sick of this by the end of it; Sonic Adventure 2 was 3-4 hours tops – the perfect length, in my opinion. Any game longer can either be considered a huge time waster or a mayonnaise-packed filler-fest; I’m seriously worried about this turning into Sonic Unleashed 2 – if I’m forced to backtrack, then I vow to trade the damned game in for something less tiresome; being forced to play old levels a tediously high number of times before I was actually allowed to progress through games like Super Mario 64, Soul Reaver and even Sonic Unleashed very nearly drove me to boredom-induced insanity, and if Colours repeats the same mistakes, it’s most definitely fodder for heavy criticism and a return to the shop from whence it came (before completion, I hasten to add).
My only advice for those seeking games with huge completion times is this: be wary, as you never know what your 20-plus hours will hold – you may wind up bald and with a completely numb mind. At that point, don’t say I didn’t warn you (and don’t say that I haven’t been fair).
awsomw so about 3-4 days max to clear it
+20 hours with just 10 stages? Wtf
Each level has several acts.
+20 hours????
That’s awesome! I’ll be good with that as long as it isn’t like Unleashed where you spend half your time getting medals and do the same level over and over and over again.
I definietly know what’s going on my wishlist this Xmas 😀
20 hours that’s 13 hours & 56 mintues less the time I put into SSBB but knowing me I’d proublay play this game every day & night during christmas break & may even break my SSBB brawl record XD
If you notice, the information for the Wii version specifically states that Tails won’t be playable, but the information for the DS version doesn’t mention him at all… Hopefully this means that he’s playable on that version of the game; it’d suck to only be able to play as Sonic in a 2D Sonic game…
There was a podcast, sometime ago, Where Sega Producer Keith Dwyer pretty much said, flat out, that there will be no more medal collecting in Sonic Colors whatsoever to keep things streamlined and pick-up-and play like the daytime stages in Unleashed were.
So yeah, expect 20+ hours of pure Sonic Awesomeness. ^_^
@EdwinShy For me it’s about 300 hours less than what I put into SSBB. I don’t see any game beating that record anytime soon. It’s still nice to see a longer Sonic game. Length was my biggest problem with Black Knight.
20+
With me, more like 15+!
@Josh well Sonic The Hedgehog was for 360 and PS3 so it was very fair either.
I don’t mind making console-exclusive games, if it means getting better Sonic games out of it. Just as long as they don’t make any Playstation exclusive games (and I don’t mean the portable ones, because I can actually afford portable video game devices).
Oh well, i have a wii and a xbox. getting sonic free riders, sonic colors and kinect at christmas.
I’ve only just noticed that Sonic’s got 99 lives in that screenshot.
I still would like to see it on a powerful console – Sonic Unleashed looked fantastic, and I really liked it. But I’m up for this 🙂
wow this makes sonic unleashed look stupid xbox 360 and wii verision
I for one like the fact it follows on from unleashed, hopefully that world will be the continuity from now on.
Also 20+ hours seems like a lot of time, especially considering how fast you can get through most of the Sonic games. looking forward to it =)
@Kaoz that continuity SUCKS the original mega drive/genesis sonic games continuity is the BEST and the only GOOD ONE
Oh goody another nostalgia whore…>.>
@Hudson shut up i just got into the classic games recently you idiot their the best and i was telling him that because of fans like you sega is getting the wrong ideas i want robotnik to build giant robots to crush sonic not reviving ancient gods and @Kaoz no again Sonic is not all about SPEEEEEED its about momentum based gameplay a mix of speed and platforming play the classic games then you’ll understand why i hate unleashed i like SA1 and SA2 though for 3D games they were the best sonic 3D games ever
@DAMN
Nostalgia whore. lol
@DAMN
But no seriously..
They’re not the best. They’re the originals, and as long as they’re the first, nomatter how much better the series gets, people will be too afraid to call them better even if they are.
Put it this way. If most fans like the direction the series is going, and SEGA goes that way, and gets really good reception for it, then it’s the best. Plain and simple.
Sonic means “Speed of Sonic”. Technically, Sonic 2 was the closest thing to “Sonic” they could get to in the classics. Don’t get me wrong, I love those games, and the Adventure series was awesome! But Sonic Unleashed is plenty of platforming. The point is Sonic is fast, and because he is a fast platformer you, too, must learn to become a fast platformer. But if all you could do was run past everything then that’s no one’s fault but your own. And if it’s not all about speed then you better not say anything about the WereHog which got good reception considering how many more people liked it than disliked it with WereHog’s only issues being controls and length and not style of gameplay.
However, Sonic Colors seems to be using Hedgehog Engine and optionally as a Wisp ability, added a new jump ability, platforming and even showing a 2D styled gameplay like the classics. It’s the best of the 3D and 2D games. ALL of them. So yes, this IS the best direction Sonic is currently headed in. Otherwise, Sonic Colors would’ve been criticized like previous games rather than praised. Get over it. =P
@ Ax
Wii can´t use the Hedgehog engine.
Anyone notice that image has 99 extra lives?
@Damn, that is your opinion as well as many others, but what you must understand is that not every one shares the same opinion as you. Just be respectful of other people’s opinions please.
I don’t play the games just for the game play, I enjoy the stories as well which is why I loved Unleashed because of the quality. And don’t get me wrong, I loved the classics and have played Sonic Games since Sonic 2 came out, which coincidentally is also my favourite game of all time.
Also did I mention anything about speed or game play mechanics? no, I mentioned how fast you can get through most modern games if you had read the comment properly.
on the subject of extra lives, how are you supposed to get them if you can’t reach 100 rings? the limit is 99 according to that page
Why do I get this egging on feeling that they’re over exaggerating here?
….99 rings max?
….what’s up with that? Everything else makes me smile. :\
@Kaoz and Ax Sonic isnt all about speed you imbecils its about speed and platforming ugggggh sonic unleashed was easy and repetetive and boring if you are comparing it to the classics you’re definetely stupid(and for the last time this new continuity sucks) and sonic colors looks alot more better then SU from what i saw good art style,not all about speed more focused on the new power-ups and platforming cuz if it is just speed by pressing a button like i.e unleased,sonic rush it doesnt feel like speed to me if you’re not watching out for things half of the time it just doesnt feel like speed and i like the way they implented the boost in sonic colors as a power-up(not just getting some rings and you go BOOM!) looks a million times better then unleashed wish i had a wii for this game though i would prefer(for a 3D sonic game) a SA1/2 style of game(i mean come on those were the best 3D sonic games)
oh and im actually the user Shoryuken not DAMN(i keep mistaking my name sometimes with other sites)
20 hours?
Better not have a bunch of different missions on the same stage like Black Knight D:
@Eggman123
Yes it can. It just couldn’t THEN. If you’ll notice, this game can do anything the xbox360 version of Sonic Unleashed’s day stages could do.
@Kaoz
Maybe they just get the extra lives in the item boxes.
@DAMN (Shoryuken?)
“Sonic isnt all about speed”
No one said it was all about speed.
“its about speed and platforming”
That seems to describe Sonic 2, Sonic Adventure, Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Unleashed best.
“sonic unleashed was easy and repetetive”
As if all Sonic games aren’t like that. C’mon… “run, get rings, jumps, spin”. lol
“if you are comparing it to the classics you’re definetely stupid”
It makes someone of low intelligence to take 2 subjects and compare them, despite them both having to do with Sonic? Now you gotta wonder who’s REALLY the stupid one around here? The guy who has an opinion or the guy who confuses opinion for fact? O.o
“this new continuity sucks) and sonic colors looks alot more better…” “more focused on the new power-ups”
lol Because we all know that’s what makes this game more like the classics. *sarcasm* xD
“not just getting some rings and you go BOOM!”
They did that in Sonic SatAM! Besides, it was a bit better having it as a boost because he was fast without it and the boost was optional unless you aimed to do something requiring it. But why it was better is because you didn’t have to do so fast you couldn’t control yourself like in Speed Match Stages of Sonic 06. Either way, you’re still making Sonic run super fast. It’s like saying you don’t want Sonic to only be able to run by moving him. I hate on-rails Sonic games.
If you think Sonic Colors is good, and that’s the direction they’re heading with the franchise, then what are you complaining about? The past games? Let it go. lol
As for this 20+ hours nonsense, it doesn’t seem like a big deal. Depending on how you look at it, a lot of Sonic games can last that long or longer or be beated faster. It depends on if you’re a hardcore nerd or an average person who buys video games. 20+ hours doesn’t sound like a long time to me.
And some of the things people are saying about the stages and acts aren’t even true or confirmed. Several stages? Several acts? There’s not THAT many. I would assume that it has to do with a combination of that and the story itself and possibly the extra stuff. But that feels like more than 20+ hours then. Then again, stages also get longer as we progress through the game. You know, considering how fast you can get through the levels of a Sonic game (Ever since the classics which take a couple of hours or less they’re so short)
Alright, Ax and Shoryuken, stop it, otherwise I will remove all of your comments. Shoryuken, you are insulting people, and that will not be accepted in any comments page of mine. Enough.
@Ax im complaining about these lame stories we had since adventure and i want the classic and modern continuities split TBH and SU didnt have much platforming it was almost completely hold up + press boost button and it wasnt challenging at all but overall i want the continuities to be split you can get your Neo Modern Sonic Bullshit Emo Stories and i can get my Classic Simple Epic Sonic Stories i mean im tired of robotnik always awakening ancient gods to destroy sonic i want him to build huge robots anyway the most epicest story i’ve seen in the sonic series so far is the sonic 3 & knuckles story i mean its so goddamn epic when the death egg collapses and sonic chases robotnik into space knowing that he has only 50 rings and he might run out of them and die that was the coolest thing i’ve ever seen Sonic-related
@Nuckles87 sorry……Sheesh!
@Shoryuken
Don’t care, the only games I’ll play are Sonic and Mario games, everything else is not worth my time.
God help you sonictoast >_>
I kinda agree with soncitoast…like over half od the xbox 360 library are stupid overrated FPS. I mean seriously? There’s to many for it’s own good…
@Nuckles87
Okay. My apologies. =) Sorry I talk to much. I don’t mean to sound like I’m fighting. I just point out things as I see’em. =)
@Shoryuken
Technically Sonic Unleashed had tons of platforming. Like I said, if you went straight past it all that’s only your own fault. But take your time to explore it. Because technically you can run past all the platforming in the classics too like in speed runs. xD
As for ancient gods.. he’s only done that twice. o0 I guess 3 times if you count Solaris but technically that was Shadow. xD But hey, he’s a scientist. You can’t blame him for trying different methods til something works. And if Sonic can beat these beasts, what’s the point of going back to making little, slow animal robots? =P As for storyline, people just have different tastes. As far as I’m concerned, the stories have never been too epic, just entertaining. =)
@Hudson
LOL! XD
It’s kinda true tho. There’s not much else. I mean there’s other stuff, just not too many others. =P
@ Ax
The Hedgehog engine is a graphic engine for the PS360, so no, Wii can’t use it.
Colors still look awesome though.
I however agree that in gameplay, Colors can do everything what Unleashed next-gen could and that even better.
The Hedgehog Engine is too advanced for a little Wii 🙁
But very good PC could use it 🙂
And they won’t do games on computers with it, because not everyone has that advanced PC 😐
The Hedgehog Engine is too advanced for a little Wii 🙁
But very good PC could use it 🙂
And they won’t do games on computers with it because not everyone has that advanced PC 😐
Sorry for double post.
the mario games i can understand cuz their good the latest sonic games however suck and how do you know if their not worth your time without trying them first i recommend you rayman origins(episode 1 comes out in december 2010) and Donkey Kong Country Returns for the Wii(i know what your thinking DK sucks but this is a revisting to the old classic gameplay of the DKC trilogy so its a good game)
@Ax WHAT?? are you kidding me unleashed was 90% mindless speed and 10 percent platforming and in the classics you had to pick momentum and make sure you don’t lose it(that was the way to speedrun in the classics) but i unleashed you just spam the boost button and the ancient gods are just boring and actually easy when you compare it to the sonic 2 final boss and i want robotnik 2 be the main antagonist not some stupid dark gaia piece of shit(and i think colors is getting that right) and i love it that in colors you cant use the boost all of the time and it only comes as a power-up that’s cool by me i have faith in sonic colors that it will have success for sonic 4 however its pretty obvious it won’t play like the classics and therefore for me and some of thje classic fans will be a complere failure but i guess we just can wait and see but anyways i still don’t trust dimps also its been like 2-3 months and we still havent seen a new sonic 4 build come on sega
@Ax, that would make sense, but they’d be getting rid of that classic, collect 100 rings = extra life that has been in most sonic games, the only other i can think of that hasn’t was Sonic Labyrinth and Spinball…and mean bean machine if that counted XD
@Shoryuken and again as Ax pointed out, nobody mentioned speed. And besides it was up to the user to decide whether to boost or not.
Like I said though, it’s all down to personal opinion. Not everyone has to share your view so please respect other’s opinions. =)
@everyone else, would it be possible to alter the hedgehog engine for the Wii? SEGA have had more than enough time to make modifications so that it could run on the Wii?
Either way, the graphics still look a lot like the Unleashed ones which were stunning.
@ Kaoz:
Well the Hedgehog engine’s main thing is the lighting (and the ability to show off everything perfect in 300 mph), which needs MASSIVE graphical power, which the Wii doesn’t have.
However Colors doesn’t need the Hedgehog engine, since it uses the same trick as Mario galaxy, to fake good graphics.
By giving you the impression that you are in a big space, everything in a far distance, like the earth in the first zone, are practical just giant pictures.
SA2 uses the some trick with the earth in the final boss fight.
So the graphics seem to be good but really aren’t, but who cares as long it looks pretty.
The Hedgehog engine is useless in such big places, since the lighting effects only look important in a narrow place, like Spagonia and Abadapt’s jungle part.
They probably use the improved graphic engine from Unleashed Wii and to me it’s all they need.
@Kaoz & Ax one of my comments got removed where i was explaining some stuff but i blieve sonic colors will be a success and sonic 4 will probably fail and i dont need to argue with you fanboys anymore anyways
I guess so. Who knows why they did the ring thing but oh well.
As for the Hedgehog Engine deal, it’s a graphic engine. It’s obviously not too advanced for the will because OBVIOUSLY this game, being for Nintendo Wii, has graphics identical to that of Sonic Unleashed for Xbox360 and PS3 and includes the usage of something pretty much exactly like what was the Hedgehog Engine in Sonic Unleashed, graphics-wise.
@Shryuken
You didn’t need to argue in the first place. No point in using the term “fanboy” on a… I don’t know.. a FAN SITE! Fanboy = Fan that is a boy. SO WHAT? Is that an insult? Are we gonna go into this “true fan” nonesense that doesn’t even exist?
Well anyways, I think all the new Sonic games are going to do pretty well. =)
@kaoz
Umm.. if they can trick you into making it look good, that’s sort’ve what good graphics are anyways. lol Though I was referring to the graphics of Sonic’s model and Sonic’s boost. Hedgehog Engine can and will be used on Nintendo Wii, if not on this game then a future one. There’s no doubt there. It just wasn’t developed yet because if I recall, the Wii version of Sonic Unleashed was also by different people. 😛
idk, t’is confuzin. lol But I seriously doubt the Hedgehog Engine CAN’T be used on Nintendo Wii. It’s still a next gen console.
whoa.. that “@kaoz” was suppose to be at the top! xD The crazy things y’know? lol
Hmm, it’d be really cool to see a cutscene or an actual TRAILER of the game soon! >.> We’ve seen gameplay of 2 stages and part of an opening. Considering it comes out around the same time of year Sonic Unleashed did, we should have 2 teasers and a trailer by now and a cutscene in a month or so. Geez. Hurry up with the promotional stuff SEGA! XD Show us a cutscene! lol
I like the fact that the boost is filled with the wisps, which makes it seem even more precious. And from the videos that have been posted like the gametrailers one, looks like they dumbed down the power of it… Sonic got damaged while he was in boost mode. Making sure you have to use it wisely. That’s “kind of” what they tried to pull off with the wii version of Unleashed, making you use it only but so much.. but then the rings fill you right back up again and the power was almost as strong as the Rush series. But, unlike the Rush series, it was powerful enough to plow through spikes… SPIKES EVEN!!
The 99 rings thing seems a bit backwards, but I guess they’re trying to limit how many lives you get by doing so. Makes you want to find those one-up capsules ans makes it a bit more challenging. Unleashed Wii had a setup almost like that.
Still, all of this sounds really promising. I’m getting both versions when the game hits!
In all honesty I can’t wait to get a bit of a hands-on with Colours at SoS this year. It does look rather promising~ though I’m slightly confused as to this apparent lack of gimmicks when the wisps, if anything (which allow Sonic to do things he normally couldn’t) I would technically class as one. Though I suppose they would just be looked upon as power-ups. Not a major deal. This all still looks like pretty fun, and thankfully a little less out of the box than sword-weilding Sonic and Feral by-the-light-of-the-moon Sonic (fun in their own rights but… No more, thank you.) Promising stuff, and I’d be happy to give it a go!
Just as a sidenote… Sonic stories have never had too much in the vein of what could be classes as epic storylines. The only thing that’s changed over the years is the storytelling element, and the fact that of course now, games talk to you and characters had voices. Prior to that the narrative was visual and implied, so the player could pretty much take it or leave it. Other than that, the story stuff has pretty much been the same since Sonic 2, and even so, if you took into account Sonic 3 & Knuckles and listed what actually happened, that- in Sonic terms- could also be listed as ‘epic’. (Also had ancient lore in there. Check out the Hidden Palace painting on the wall.) But this is all of course dependant on taste, and of course your ability to take it or leave it.
Wow lol he just said sonic was most successful on the wii? Sonic in fairy tale land was the worst idea ever!
Well Sonic’s latest fans came through nintendo, Sonic adventure 2 battle the game that brought so many new sonic fans was released only on the gamecube. And you can pretty much see in the sales chart that Sonic sells better on a nintendo console. I admit, I preffered the Sonic Unleashed xbox 360 version, but maybe since Colors is only being made for Wii, they will be able to make it good right from start. About the game being 20 hours long is a bit confusing. Considering that this game will not have a dramatic storyline with many characters like the adventure titles, it’s weird that it’s going to be that long.
I like this direction the Sonic series is going in where everything is more lighthearted and looks pretty much like Pixar. I hope there’s a ton of stages in this game if it really is 20+ hours. We need more stages and less manditory missions per stage. There need to need at least as many stages as there were in Unleashed (both night and day).
Awww, Damn it, Robotnik’s not playable.
I am surprised that someone did ask though.
Otherwise, I am definitely getting this game.
Hmm, seriously it’d be cool to have a game where the playable characters were Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Shadow and Eggman. =)
Think about it! Shadow’s only ever been playable either as an extra or on a team kinda thing. Even in Shadow the hedgehog as the main character, he chooses good, neutral or evil.
Well what if there were a game with 5 playable characters so it won’t over do it but allows all our most favorites to be played, make Shadow use Sonic’s last successful gameplay (maybe like the Adventure Series) while Sonic uses his new and advanced successful gameplay, Tails can be like Shadow’s only, like the classics, have his own useful abilities to do things in levels others can’t, and same with Knuckles. Shadow would also not be stuck onto Eggman, Rouge or Omega for a change and can be an individual character like everyone else and actually INTERACT.
And Eggman, being THE main villain, would be entertaining to play the point of view for.
All while keeping fresh levels, story and gameplay that will actually deliver. =D
As for Sonic Colors itself, it looks nearly flawless. What is there to complain about?
Hmm, it’s true that Sonic Unleashed’s Wii version was the highest selling version, but if you combine PS3/360 sales, there isn’t much difference.
In any case, didn’t they say there’s another game in development for PS3/360? I can’t wait to see that one.
And lol, I can’t believe someone in here said this game can achieve everything Sonic Unleashed could graphics-wise on PS3/360. Yes, it looks nice, but not THAT nice.
Also don’t be fooled by these stupid HD screenshots they keep putting out. The game will still be 480p…
“The Escapist” says the game is targeted for kids from 6 to 12 and will be easy. Somehow, I’m having a hard time believing them. I’m getting the game anyway.