Nintendo specialist website NintendoLife has posted up an interview they held with SEGA’s Digital Brand Manager Ken Balough to chat about Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1. Not much is revealed that we don’t already know, but there are plenty of teases made about Episode 2.
Balough reaffirms that the story for the whole series is already written and says we can probably expect details about Episode 2 in 2011:
I can tell you we’ve written the story for the whole saga, but we have not announced the amount of episodes yet. That said, you can probably expect to hear more about Episode II in 2011. (He smiles)
Those who would like to see the episodes lock-on in a similar fashion to Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles, may be in luck with Balough’s next vague teaser, but he can’t reveal what may be carried over right now:
The Episodes will definitely make up a larger game. After completing them all, you’ll have experienced a larger overall story arc that lives up to the epic nature of earlier Sonics. As for what carries over – you’ll have to wait and see!
Fans purchasing the game for Wii need not worry about the game being less of an experience due to the WiiWare file size limit. Balough explains that the game is near-enough the same:
It was definitely a challenge because there was less room to work with, but the team was super committed to bringing their full vision to the Wii.
Ultimately the content is identical. The Team was really committed to making sure everyone got a great Sonic 4 experience, so the graphics and the motion controls on the Special Stages are the only real differences on the Wii version.
When asked if there is anything he would like to say to gamers who have been waiting for Sonic’s return to classic 2D, Balough expresses the teams passion for this new entry to the series:
I’ll like to let everyone know that we at SEGA definitely understand the desire Sonic fans have had for return of a 2D game. The entire team are Genesis Sonic fans and we’re all proud to be bringing back Sonic with Sonic the Hedgehog 4. This is the game we’ve all wanted to play since we were kids, and we really hope everyone out there shares our passion and enjoys playing this game as much as we did making it!
Check out the full interview at NintendoLife.
Let’s just hope the series is allowed to evolve after all this.
I have a feeling that in Sonic 4 episode 2, Sonic will team up with a new friend that is fresh to the franchise like Tails was in Sonic 2.
SWEET
I hope the next episdoe has Tails and Knuckles as playable characters. I miss playing as other characters besides Sonic.
I’m anxious to learn about episode 2 so we can see if the zones and concepts are more original. Without leaks, everything will be more of a surprise.
Too soon to talk about episode 2.
Let’s wait for the first one and then see how the whole thing develops.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!(awesome if you think im chinese or something)
@Ronic: You just feel so accomplished in saying that, don’t you? 98% percent of the people reading this article couldn’t give a damn. Moving on…
Well… This is the time to find out if this game will live up to all of it’s “hype”.
oh oh…..I smell a lock on feature. 😀
Nice interview, I hope there’s more playable characters in future episodes.
@ Miles Per-hour
There hasn’t really been a creditable new character to the Sonic Universe in about a decade so I wouldn’t hold out…
They said they wouldn’t change the physics too much for episode I because they’d have to change almost the entire game. But they will change the physics for episode II. That makes me wonder if it’s even possible to implement the lock-on feature. Sonic 2 and Sonic & Knuckles had the same physics, I think… They just had (slightly) different graphical styles.
By the way, I really think we’re gonna see Tails and Knuckles on the next episodes and, in that case, episode I would already have been planned with that in mind. Is it possible that the game already has those high routes that only Tails and Knuckles can reach by flying/climbing? Of course, by the time Sonic 2 was created, Knuckles didn’t exist and I think it was sheer luck that there was no portion of the game where Knuckles would get stuck.
And, though not impossible, I doubt we’ll see a new character in these series. It doesn’t match the feeling of Genesis. This is the kind of stuff you’d in the Advance/Rush series.
Theories, theories…
@ProjectZuel
Well it comes and goes. There was Metal Sonic but then there was also Amy. XP Then there was Tails and Knuckles but there was also Ray and Mighty. (I don’t dislike them.. but they’re just other versions of Sonic only one’s red and strong like Knuckles and one’s yellow with a big tail and can supposedly “fly” like Tails. But they have no developed personality or story.)
Then there was Vector, Fang and Espio but there was alsoCharmy, Bean and Bark… but luckly they made Rouge and Shadow eventually (after Making Big of course). They DID make Gamma though… of course they also made Black freakin Doom. There was Blaze… but then there was Silver…
So they go up and down throughout history and some characters aren’t AS good as others but are still okay. xD All they gotta do is not crowd too many character in any place they’re not needed. Use your collection wisely. ;D
@Dashiell
Sonic 1: Sonic and Eggman.
Sonic 2: Tails
Sonic 3: Knuckles
Even Sonic CD had Amy and Metal Sonic
It’s possible that they can make it so those games brign the crew together and Sonic 4 is where they realize that it’s not just a temporary alliance and that they were becoming a small family. xD
I don’t think there will be a new character (due to the fact the game chronologically comes before the other games we’ve alredy seen) unless it’s a character we already know (Mighty, Espio, Bean, Bark, Fang etc) to play whatever role they must.
OR, since Amy and Metal Sonic were never in the Death Egg Saga, they could appear for the first time in the Saga (Tails and Knuckles meet Amy and Metal for the first time? o.0)
Just out of curiosity did you know about this before i posted about it on the last news topic?
haha
Not too soon to be talking about Episode 2 for me. I need something to be excited about, and I’d love to see if they’re gonna step things up from this point on. I already feel as though I’ve seen everything this game has to offer, and although I will be buying it, I’m not really that impressed.
Can I just say that I’m so glad that we have a site that we look to for exclusive Sonic content. I’m sort of a purist and so I didn’t want to read that entire article interview, just stuff about Sonic 4. Thanks all of you hard-working staff members of TSS that filter out only what I care about!
Just five more days till I can get it on my Wii, I can’t wait.
K, so the article was all about Sonic 4.. but the new stuff was what was reported on!!
Honestly, dose anybody else think the graphics on the Wii version look exactly the same as the Xbox/PlayStation version? The Xbox/PlayStation may have a higher resolution, but the graphics look exactly the same. I’m not sure what the differences are. If its exactly the same, how does it save on the Memory for the Wii?
@ sonfan1984:
ME TOO!
@HighCaliburFun
Low resolution = smaller files for textures. Probably uses compression too.
@ The Danimator: Sorry, I didn’t read the comments before-hand, no. I stumbled across the interview while doing one of my regular Google searches for Sonic news, otherwise I’d have credited you. Thanks for posting it though. I always appreciate the help 😉
@Kchri:
Thanks for the compliment 🙂 I always try to filter down the interviews in my news posts to the important and new stuff. Most of these interviews ask the same tired old questions and get the same answers that we’ve read a hundred times before. No-one needs to read that stuff again.
A while back, Takashi Iizuka said in an interview that Sonic was supposed to have “a new move” in future episodes. I hope that it’s actually a NEW move that no one has seen before, and not something like the Light Ring Dash….
@Shadzter
Np man, were both big sonic fans so it would make since that you would find it also.