The director behind Sonic Colors and Sonic Lost World will be taking the helm once more for Sonic Forces, it has been revealed – and if you were hoping for that ‘third playable character’ to be Boom-universe Sonic, prepare to be disappointed.
Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka confirmed in an interview with Famitsu that Morio Kishimoto will be assuming directing duties for the new 3D action game, which features Classic Sonic and Modern Sonic teaming up once again to defeat a mutual evil. He also added that, while Sonic Boom won’t be getting any representation in Sonic Forces, the third character will be “unexpected,” will “play an important role in the story, and embodies the overall features of the game.” Whatever that means.
Some levels in Sonic Forces will, of course, involve simply reaching the goal, while others will require a stage to be beaten under a time limit. Just like Sonic Generations before it, Classic Sonic stages will be 2D side-scrolling affairs, but this time they will feature a “twist”. We also have bits regarding the story – only that Eggman has taken over “99%” of the world, and Sonic and the “Resistance” are fighting before another Sonic appears.
It’s also been told that Sonic Forces actually started development in 2013, after work on Sonic Lost World wrapped up. ‘Forces’ was the chosen subtitle because of the themes of “power” and “army”, with two strong forces (Sonic and company versus Eggman) facing off one another in the game.
Despite what’s been presented so far, the game won’t apparently be so dark and gloomy, with more colourful stages featuring. It’s also said that 2017, with the release of Sonic Forces and Sonic Mania, will be a “continuation” of Sonic’s 25th anniversary. Finally, the game will be at E3, as some might’ve expected.
You can see the scans of Sonic Forces, as well as the interview below:
Are you excited for the game? Let us know your thoughts about the new info in the comments below.
Huge thanks go to BlueParadox, Woun, and PushDustin for the translations, as well as Japanese Nintendo for the scans.
“NO BOOM SONIC”
Thank God!
To be fair, Sonic is probably the best part out of the whole Boom franchise that people have the least issue with. Literally the only thing they can complain about is the blue arms, and that’s just an aesthetic choice. Really I think more people would have had issue if Sticks was the third character or something. Boom Sonic wouldn’t have been the worst thing ever, Boom Sonic ISN’T Rise of Lyric personified.
I’m still excited for the most part, but I’m also a bit mixed with who’s in charge of directing. Yeah, I’m not a huge fan of Colors and Lost World’s stories, though that’s mostly due to Pontac and Graff’s involvement. Still, I guess it really depends on what choices he made for those stories, but even the overall vibe that they were trying to go for with those stories before giving them to those two chuckleheads, I don’t know, I’m not even sure if those were good ideas either. Again, I don’t know too much about how much influence the guy has over what the story’s final product actually is, but the fact that he’s being referenced for Colors and Lost World already has me a little concerned.
The gameplay components still sound enticing though. I am really curious about what the “twist” will be for the classic gameplay, I think a lot of people will really appreciate something new being brought to the table with Classic Sonic at this point, something that can help him stand apart from Modern a little better. And of course, the anticipation of this third character and playstyle intensifies. I am a little disappointed that it’s not going to be a Boom Sonic, since given all of the promotional anniversary art so far, I was almost convinced that was the direction they were going in. But then again, with recent news of a planned Boom game being rebranded in favor of Modern Sonic (or, uh, Adventure Sonic as far as titles go I guess…), I suppose it makes sense that they wouldn’t hedge their bets that much by trying to involve a piece of Boom with their big anniversary title, seeing as how it’s STILL a divisive topic among Sonic fans even today.
Also, two things on the story so far. First off, clearly stating that Eggman has pretty much taken over most of the world and that there is a Sonic-led resistance of freedom fighters is exactly what I needed to hear about this premise (not necessarily THE Freedom Fighters, but hey, it still feels nice to finally say that in a sentence about a Sonic game). The only other thing that’s kind of bugging me right now is their repeated efforts to keep bringing up that despite what we’ve seen so far, it’s not as dark and gloomy as we may be expecting. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not asking for a depressing edge-fest in a Sonic game or anything, I’m just asking that we aren’t trying to be as goofily-cartoon snarky and silly in this game as they’ve been trying to do with the last few titles. Because they keep sending conflicting messages so far. “We made this theme with a heavier sense of drama in mind”, “It’s not all dark and gloomy, there’s plenty of colorful stages”. Okay, variety = good. Contrast in tone = ehhhh, well, just do a better job in balancing up tonal shifts than you did in Lost World, okay? Because I’m really hoping that they’re trying to go for a balance in tone where there’s a good mix of dramatic and light-hearted moments that compliment each other instead of competing against each other in a vain attempt to try and appease everyone with everything all jammed into one story.
Sonic’s not meant to go too heavily in one direction or another, but it’s still pretty tricky to try and get that balance right. I only hope when E3 comes around we see enough to assure me that they have a much better idea of what they’re doing plot and tone-wise. Again, I’m not too worried about the gameplay so far, it just keeps looking more and more promising the more I learn about it, it’s the plot that I feel has been needing attention lately.
The third playable character was never going to be Sonic Boom Sonic.
That is a completely different reality/continuity.
The more I hear about this story, the more I’m reminded of Power Rangers RPM.
Also, I have this weird gut feeling that the third character will be Sally.
Me too
I have the same feeling plus if i think the 3rd gameplay style should be sa1 style but with the 3rd charatcer which again i believe is sally because she’s not as fast as sonic but at the same timethey need some form of gameplay that still has the sonic feeling also if it is sally i say her combat style should be similar to knuckles minus the digging and gliding, at least in my opinion
I thought the same thing myself. The use of the word ‘unexpected’ shows it will be someone the fans are at least familiar with. That and it would also explain why the Archie comics have been pulled for no apparent reason.
ITS BUBSY HAHA SURPRISE
I’m calling it now….
3rd Character will be Metal Sonic
ha, if that were true – that would be amazing.
Now that’s a solid theory that I hadn’t thought of. That would be really cool. Metal Sonic defecting to the hero side.
I’m still thinking it may be character creation though.
It’s a good idea. 🙂
unless its a completely new character i could see the 3rd character being Silver due to ‘forces’ – literal ones. ‘the force’ and such.
If one of the themes is an “army” then we better see a shit ton of non playable characters in the game.
“prepare to be disappointed”?
How about prepare to breathe a huge sigh of relief?
Dreamcast Sonic
Time to bring up nightmares for everyone. Third playable character will be Mephiles. He:
1) Looks like Sonic (or Shadow, not that much difference)
2) Can create lots of copies of himself, hence producing an army
3) Can time travel, and he’s the one responsible for bringing Classic Sonic back again.
How many of you screamed in terror?
Doubt it. SEGA would never bare bringing up that mess again.
Nintendo Direct had some new footage, showing off Classic Sonic in a sandy Green Hill and the new character in a silhouette.
Just hoping for the best. I’m still excited just unsure about the final direction I guess. In sure they’ll be Balance and assurance around E3 time.
Ok, so a user on the Instagram Sonic fan page Cybrid101 made comment thinking it would be cool to customize your own character. That got the gears in my brain turning… a bit too much actually lol. So, here’s this overly long theory I came up with. The idea might seem stupid and a long shot to some of you (personally, I feel iffy about this possibility), but it’s just a thought:
Think about it… Iizuka mentioned that the third new character will be “unexpected,” will “play and important role in the story, and embodies the overall features of the game.” From what I’ve read about Sonic Force’s concept and story, Sonic and his friends have formed a Resistance- and “army” of sorts- to take on the new army Eggman has created. This concept seems to be main drive of the entire game. In other words, it’s a part of the “overall features of the game”- the title is even called Sonic FORCES. Everyone is guessing that this character could be a returning one (like Fang or someone from the Freedom Fighters), a brand new character, or something ridiculous like Bubsy. But, as far as I can tell, not many people seem to expect that the new character could actually be YOU. In other words, A CUSTOMIZABLE SONIC CHARACTER (THE FAN OC CREATOR’S DREAM COME TRUE LOL). From what Iizuka said, Sonic is building an “army” to combat Eggman, and it would seem to make a lot of sense/be an interesting idea that the new recruits would actually be new characters that you the player would create. If every player made their own character, the characters would basically become the “army” or “forces” that Sonic needs to take back the world (Mobius?) from Dr. Eggman!!!. In other words, your customizable recruit could be the character that “plays an important role in the story!!!!”
Yus, my thoughts exactly!
No one is disappointed that it isn’t Boom Sonic. No one. This is fantastic news.