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Please note that this site is no longer being updated or maintained; as a result, there may be design issues, and links to images and other media may be broken.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.
Founder of The Sonic Stadium and creator/co-organiser of the Summer of Sonic convention. Loves talking about Sonic the Hedgehog in his spare time. Likes Sonic Colours a little too much for his own good, apparently.
The SSMB Forums have brought to light a discussion that has recently taken place on popular imageboard 4chan. In it, an anonymous tipster called “Wentos the Travelling Salesman” has hinted at details that could be included in the next major Sonic title. Click the image on the left there to give it a good read.
Claiming that he knows a few people in the Localisation department of SEGA, it appears he has been privvy to Hashimoto’s desire to create the perfect Sonic game, as he tells captivated posters on the imageboard that the current Sonic Team is built of old school fans fresh out of college. It is suggested that the new team will handle the series for some time yet. “Wentos” also let slip on the conclusion to the reaction of Unleashed;
“The next Sonic will be just Sonic with optional characters in the sense that they were optional back in Sonic 2 and 3; the levels will be in the style of Unleashed daytime levels, though there will be an increased focus on careful platforming to replace what the Werehog strived for.”
Having said that, it was then suggested that an announcement on this project is unlikely to happen for some time. Dubious 4chan readers were challenged to archive the thread and see if the crystal ball-gazing was in fact on the money. “Wentos” then wrote some development information regarding Sonic Unleashed, and how the Wii version was specifically made to recoup the losses of the intentionally superior Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 releases. Continue reading Rumour: 4Chan’s ‘Wentos’ Hints At Future Sonic Team Plans
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Will we ever run out of Monty Python references before Sonic and the Black Knight is released? Probably not, because it’s so much fun! A Chinese Sonic fansite, SONIC HUB, has managed to discover these latest screenshots, which happen to be the first images of former doppelganger Shadow the Hedgehog. Seems weird that every other character is wearing armour yet Sonic’s quite fine to run about in his birthday suit. I guess he’s too hardcore.
Either way, Sonic Team are clearly having a Black Knight gag here, as the surroundings and Shadow’s mask are clear homages to the classic Holy Grail comedy. But who will win between Sonic and Shadow? My guess is, Shadow will call it a draw.
Update (11th January): SEGA America’s product page, that SONIC HUB links to, appear to have more screenshots on offer, including a few that haven’t been seen before and some special artwork too. We’ve included these after the jump, because we’re too good to you. I’m amazed nobody picked up on these – even myself until now, as they’ve been on SEGA’s page for quite a while. Expect them to circulate the interwebs pretty soon after this. Continue reading SBK: Shadow Screenshots Show No Chopped Off Limbs [Update]
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If you remember the sad news about fellow Sonic fansite Sonic Yoda closing down, then this will certainly brighten up your day. Lewis, aka Hairyman/Sonic Yoda, has decided to do away with the Sonic side of things and focus on the whole of SEGA, with new website SEGADriven.
The emphasis with the new site, as is the same with The Sonic Stadium, is to look at the great things SEGA has accomplished and positively report on upcoming news on the latest titles. There will also be features on classic consoles, merchandise and company history, with plenty of writers already on board – including yours truly.
I’ll be writing a few pieces for the SEGA site, as I’ve always dreamed of running a SEGA fansite alongside TSS. SEGA have provided us with a truckload of entertainment, from the 1990s to the present day with Yakuza and Valkyria Chronicles. I’ll make my mark on the site itself tomorrow, when I discuss the PlayStation 3 tactical RPG in more detail. Because it sure does deserve more love.
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Merchandise time! These are Sonic the Hedgehog cufflinks that you can now buy from UK fashion shop NEXT. And as you can see, they’re not exactly of the highest manufacturing quality. But that’s what makes them so great.
Costing £12, you’d expect them to probably be painted by someone whose experience isn’t just Colour By Numbers. Of course, it was most likely coloured by machine, but it still doesn’t really excuse that Sonic looks like he’s thrown up on himself, or painted half his muzzle blue. A sign of the blue blur’s deteriorating mental health in his old age, I guess.
Retro stuff is insanely popular in Blighty, and various games shops have recently caught on by selling ‘retro Sonic merchandise’ such as plushies and bags. We’ve covered these before in past articles. NEXT has been getting into the act with T-Shirts, but this probably marks a concerted effort to sell/market even more Sonic merchandise in the future.
As far as I know, if you want to get your hands on this awesome-but-terrible collectable, it might be wise to snoop through the NEXT Catalogue or via their website, as they didn’t appear to sell these in their stores. If anyone’s seen these in NEXT shops, do let us know.
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If you’re desperate to see the box artwork of Sonic and the Black Knight for European audiences, then you’re in luck. In what must be about the only activity in the Sonic games world this month, Amazon.co.uk appear to have a final render of what will adorn Wii boxes come Spring. SEGA have not officially released this via their press channels, but retailers are usually pretty accurate when it comes to box artwork. It’d have to be, when they keep changing release dates all the time.
It’s pretty close to the North American box artwork, recently posted by Sonic Retro, with the exception of the ‘Sonic Storybook’ corner and the ‘Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection’ logo. Wonder what the deal is with the Wi-Fi anyway? Mind you, a few Sonic games have advertised Wi-Fi before release and then dropped it (Sonic Chronicles, for example), so I wouldn’t get too excited about that just yet.
Click the image to the left to see it in full size.
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Just a quick’un guys – remember we just released a new look for TSS? Well, it’s awesome and all, but not for Internet Explorer. Sorry about that. I’ll get it sorted soon as possible. Until then, er, use Firefox! I’m away from the TSS Tower right now so can’t really do anything about it for a few hours.
UPDATE: This is a quick fix for now, forcing the design to Narrow Hedgehog with a shoehorned design. I’ll fix it properly a bit later. Sorry guys! Least you can read stuff now 🙂
UPDATE 2: Everything’s working peachy now, so enjoy widescreen Sonic reading in Internet Explorer. Even if it does suck is the most popular browser.
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You might have woken up this morning and found your favourite Sonic the Hedgehog website to be looking a little different. We’ve decided to do some early Spring cleaning for the New Year, which means a more streamlined browsing experience for you, discerning reader. This new design allows for fullsize viewing, so if you have a massive monitor you don’t have to worry about trying to get info out of a narrow box. The background in the header will set itself to classic Sonic the Hedgehog stages – as it’s still Winter (and bloody cold) we thought Ice Cap was a good choice this season. Click the Sonic Head in the navigation bar (next to the RSS button) to listen to SEGASonic Radio as you surf – wouldn’t it be cool to hear Ice Cap as you’re reading this now?
If all this change is too much for you, then fret not. You can switch back to the old design by using the nifty new Theme Switcher in the right hand sidebar. It’s a little dropdown underneath the ‘Searcharoo’ box. It’s now called ‘Narrow Hedgehog’ – we’ve spruced up that design a bit too, so whatever you’re using to view TSS know that it’s fresh, B-Boy.
Expect more revamps over the course of the month – I’m currently responsible for redesigning Sonic Showcase Network (with a brand new Gallery in tow), the new SEGASonic Radio website, SSMB (once the new IPB software gets released, that is) and the 2009 edition of the Summer of Sonic website. Not to mention a secret project of mine… mwaha. Anyway, enjoy TSS in widescreen, or continue to enjoy in narrowscreen, if you like.
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Without sounding too much like TSSZ, ArchAngelUK of Sonic Wrecks (and awesomely enough, the Community Manager at SEGA Europe) has talked about his future regarding his involvement in his personal comic website. Apparently, things are going pretty well at his job, and the prospects could be further Community involvement with Sonic Team themselves.
I’m very much aware as I slowly inch my way up the totem pole and come into contact with more and more senior Sonic/SEGA peeps that my role in SW may have to end or I’ll have to take a “less prominent” role lets say as it may end up being a bit of a conflict of interest. I’m kinda tollerated atm, because I’m not that well known and kinda kept at arms length from Japan – I would scare them franky – but if things like my reports back to Sonic Team (I fed back on Unleashed in a major way both personally and your general feelings and it was definately looked at and noted by the team) are successful I’m gonna get more and more shall we say ‘noticed’.
Pretty awesome news for our pal Kevin, eh? If things get super-serious though, his ownership of Sonic Wrecks (which has always been a good source of comical entertainment for me… because of the comics, not that… never mind, I’ve done it now. Coming soon on another fansite – “Svend Joscelyne calls Sonic Wrecks a joke”, sigh) could be in jeopardy. It seems that if it ever comes to that, AAUK will pass the torch in some way to Echo Hawk, which would make sense really by all accounts.
We’ll keep an eye on this with baited breath – we heart Sonic Wrecks and the Kevster, and it’d be a shame to have another community website go down. We need our anti-TSS! We co-exist! This cannot come to pass.
In other news regarding this, sounds like Sonic Team are being a bit more open minded with comments from the community. It may be a by-product of the young, new development staff that actually want to embrace the fans. We all know that Hashimoto-san is desperate to make a Sonic game everyone can enjoy, and I sincerely hope that he can be successful in making one from learning from Sonic Unleashed. Although let’s just hope the community comments sent his way were more in the form of TSS’ recent review rather than Youtube.
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Happy New Year! And since we’re well on our way into 2009 already, it’s time to look back on the past 12 months and reflect on the good that has come out of the Sonic the Hedgehog community in 2008. There have been simply loads of good times and plenty of bad times, and each of them as memorable as the last. But what have been the reigning moments of the year? We’ve whittled all the good times to one single event, and of course because we would be wrong if we didn’t cover the bad elements of the Sonic fanbase too, we’ve pointed out the single worst event in the Sonic Community as well. Read on and reminisce in The Year That Was. Continue reading The Best and Worst of the Sonic Community 2008
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You may have heard of Evil Doc as the geniuses behind the animated shorts seen in various episodes of The Sonic Show. Topics that have grabbed their attention include the ‘best’ cutscenes in modern Sonic games and the music that can sometimes muffle the voices of the main characters (whether that’s a good or bad thing we’ll leave to you, gentle reader).
Now Evil Doc have taken to the recent Halloween Sonic Unleashed movie, Night of the Living Werehog, and have recieved word that SEGA are in fact making a Christmas movie based on its success! Called Night of the Living Warhog: Christmas Edition, it features Shadow and Black Doom investigating a haunted house on Christmas Eve… shortly before the black hedgehog starts shooting everything down.
It’s a great jape on the classic Sonic Unleashed tie-in, and a perfect thing for you to watch on Christmas Eve as you wait for Santa/Father Christmas to come down your chimney. Hopefully he won’t meet any Rambo-inspired black hedgehogs on his way to your house, although that could be a good excuse for your parents to use for the lack of presents.
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Naoto Oshima deserves far more credit for the Sonic the Hedgehog series than he ever got during his employment at SEGA Enterprises. The creator of the Sonic character, he has also directed many games and headed projects at Sonic Team, including NiGHTS Into Dreams with Yuji Naka and Sonic CD. He left SEGA shortly after Sonic Adventure, and his lack of presence showed even in Sonic Adventure 2. Forming Artoon though has been a rocky ride for the guy who wants to be the “Walt Disney” of video games, with the amicable Blinx his first non-SEGA creation following the lacklustre Pinobee and questionable sequels to Yoshi’s Island. It’s been an undeserved fall from grace for the poor guy.
Nintendo Power have an interview with the game designer/creator, and about his history in the video game industry. It’s a real interesting read, and Oshima comes across as a really humble guy, taking on all sorts of roles to get a feel for every aspect of game design. One of the ‘original three’ that most fans really count in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise – the other two being programmer Yuji Naka and level designer Hirokazu Yasuhara – he says that he feels best when he’s designing stuff for games. This is in parallel to Naka’s admission to fancying more of a ‘hands on’ approach to making games, shortly before he left Sonic Team to form his own studio.
Other interesting nuggets include his role in Sonic Spinball – he designed the pinball maps for the game, which regardless of your opinion of the spinoff Mega Drive game are pretty decent maps – his entrusting of Sonic’s modern design to Yuji Uekawa from Sonic Adventure onwards (“I think he did a great job”) and lends more credibility to the theory that Sonic CD and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 are practically two odds to the same project (“Naka [was sent] to America [to work on] the Genesis version, which… left me to develop the CD version in Japan”).
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It’s been a bit of a mental Christmas at TSS Towers. Despite the fact that I’m too poor to buy many presents this year, I seem to have come into a bit of a windfall of packages from Up North to the Land of Oz. I’ve had gestures of goodwill from AAUK/SEGA, T-Bird, Elson ‘Darkspeeds’ Wong, Jemnezmy, Hawkz, Urtheart and DiscoPonies so I figure I will share with you lot what came in the mail this week.
First, AAUK and SEGA Europe sent us this rather natty card, above. You’ll remember this design as it’s the same one on the promotional advent calendars we received during our trip to playtest Sonic Unleashed. “To The Sonic Stadium, Merry Christmas, From SEGA” it reads. Bless your hearts, guys. Continue reading To The Sonic Stadium…
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There can only be one winner for the prize pack of Sonic goodies, and all you guys had to do was make a present for Sonic the Werehog. Well, we had plenty of entries, and the simple fact of the matter is having one prize made the decision-making very difficult indeed. A whole bunch of you have such great Christmas spirit, and the entries we recieved ranged from the incredibly thoughtful to the insane. All of them made us realise how talented and dedicated the Sonic fanbase truly is – we might argue about the games, but man can we get together and make some good stuff when we want to.
So this post is not just a celebration of who won this contest, but one of all our entrants, and a showcase of just how varied and wonderful our submissions have been. Hit the jump to see them all. Continue reading Christmas Contest: The Winner and the Entries
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Yuji Naka’s proving he nicked the best part of Sonic Team when he formed Prope by showing off more of his first project, Let’s Tap. I’ll be honest, I’ve had enough of pointless Wii party games, but this one intrigues me. Mostly because, having Yuji Naka on board and doing some grass-roots programming and stuff, it won’t suck.
Watch this five minute trailer of all the minigames you can tap your way along. The music is spot on too, and the whole style is just classic Sonic Team. Only, they’re not anymore. But, you know what I mean. If you’re wondering where the heart of Iizuka’s studio’s gone, Prope’s probably where it is now.
Future Tapping Game.
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This was very kindly made for The Sonic Stadium by Adamis Fox. Words just don’t do this picture justice, because it’s the cutest thing we have ever seen. Enjoy.
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Christmas is all about giving, and in association with SEGA Europe we have a special present to give to one of our readers out there! Here’s what’s up for grabs:
A pair of Sonic X kid’s size shoes
Sonic Chronicles T-Shirt
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Pinbadge
A Summer of Sonic 2008 T-Shirt (the one that TJ Davis said she really liked)
Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity T-Shirt
Sonic Unleashed Hoodie
Werehog Keyring
Sonic Rush Adventure Keyring/Compass
Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity Sticker Set
Sonic Rivals 2 on the PSP
A European Sonic Chronicles Nintendo DS Tin
Sonic Chronicles Stylus Pack
Sonic X Rouge Keyring (no, you pervs, Rouge from Sonic X, not… that)
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It’s clear to see that the best release of the SatAM DVD box set is the American one. Brits have also been lucky enough to see a SatAM boxset, but we don’t have any of that awesome artwork on the cover, nor the fan art that adorns the inside packaging. So what better than to get a copy of the American DVD boxset that’s also signed by Series 2 writers Ben Hurst and Pat Allee? Just your luck then, as such a item has hit eBay recently.
Former Fans United for SatAM website owner, Quexinos, is putting up this copy of the DVD boxset, said to be one of only three in the world to exist. The eBay auction includes a certificate of authenticity too, so you know you’re getting the real deal. According to current owner of FUS, RockyRaccoon, the auction’s proceeds are going to “Chief-Aid”; a campaign to help FUS Forum ‘Chief’ out of a financial hotspot. He’s a single father who’s just been laid off, and at this time of the year that’s just cold and brutal.
If you want to help the “Chief-Aid” cause and grab yourself a limited edition SatAM boxset in the process, then head on over to the eBay auction here to place your bid. The current bid is $41 at time of writing, as is the case with these ‘charity’ style things, if you feel like affording a bit more for what you feel the boxset is worth then it could truly change someone’s Christmas for the better. Our wishes go to ‘Chief’!
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Am I going to let the flu get in the way of doing my duty to my fellow Sonic fans? Maybe. Your regular TSS service will likely start again come Monday when I’ll feel loads better, sorry about that chaps. In the meantime, check out our Christmas Competition that we’re having later today, where you can win a whole bunch of awesome goodies (if I held off starting this contest, ill or not, nobody would get anything, and that’s not very Christmassy at all).
So spare a thought for your friendly neighbourhood Dreadknux as he battles high temperature, a runny nose and massive headaches. Hope none of you are going through ill times either (some of our TSS writers are also getting the sniffles, as is the tradition for Britain every Winter), so if you’re feeling poorly get well soon!
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This is some very sad news. Sonic Yoda, the website that always took a light-hearted, optimistic view of the Sonic franchise, has closed its doors today. The webmaster, Lewis ‘Hairyman’ Clark, has stated that he simply cannot be optimistic about the series anymore following the release of Sonic Unleashed. Before you start, the chap played both current gen and Wii/PS2 versions. Apparently, what he saw and felt doesn’t resonate with what made him a fan of the franchise in the first place, so has decided to bow out rather than continue his fansite.
To be honest, I’m feeling sort of the same really – Sonic’s 20th Anniversary is fast approaching and what we have to show for it are a decade’s worth of games that range from average/fun for a bit to utter tripe. It’s a far cry from the sublime character and level design seen in the 16-bit era, and the situation is compounded by the splitting of the fanbase. Instead of going back to its Mega Drive roots like they probably (read: very much) should, the introduction of the modern Sonic fan has meant we now have a pocket of fans who want the games to stay in this downward spiral of mediocrity. Apparently ‘classic’ play is backwards thinking – nobody wants unique level design and original badniks, unpatronising stories and green hills, while we should embrace evolutions of the series such as broken cameras, boring enemy designs and apocalyptic monsters.
Enough about my ranting though, this is Lewis’ time to speak out. The Sonic Yoda website has been replaced with a page that details why he’s taken the sad decision to drop out of the fanbase:
I cannot continue this hobbie of mine knowing what Sonic has become. When I play Sonic games today, I have to force myself to finish them. I don’t enjoy them anymore. There’s no love in my relationship with the little blue guy. What’s made this worse is the release of Sonic Unleashed; another game which promised so much more than it could deliver. I’ve got to face the fact that Sonic will never be what I loved as a child. Werewolfs, multiple characters, ridiculous speed, guns, the end of the world and Eggman are all things I don’t want to see anymore.
What annoys me more about this than anything is the excuses that SEGA make. Whenever an interview occurs or a public statement is made, they’re always hiding the fact that they don’t know what they want Sonic to be anymore. This results in heavy rivalry in the fan community because people are told to like one thing when others grew up with another. The fans are confused and angry and all they want is a classic Sonic game with well designed, platform-based levels with multiple routes, lots of colour, happy music and Sonic as the only playable character going head-to-head with Dr. Robotnik.
The webmaster will start a brand new website called SEGADriven, which will be similar to another pet project of his, MegaDriven, only it will cover everything SEGA. A good idea, given many people look at Sonic games and judge SEGA as a whole by it. I mean, Valkyrie Chronicles, Yakuza 3, and Mad World to name a few awesome modern SEGA titles. Oh, and The Club. Why did nobody care about that game except for me?
From 2002-2008, Sonic Yoda has been one of the small sites that made it big; an unassuming fansite that didn’t quite get the attention it deserved, but to be honest never really wanted it. It was happy to simply tell the world about Sonic the Hedgehog, one of the best platforming franchises ever created. And it’s fansites like these that have the charm and charisma to stay the distance. We can’t all be fans of the same thing forever, and it’ll pain me to say ‘so long’ to Sonic Yoda. In honour of your retirement, we offer you tea and something to eat. Rest in peace.
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Oh for God’s sake! First it was Shadow and all the shooting action, then we had Silver and his mind-moving stuff, and just recently we had to put up with a Werewolf… and NOW we get Chess in our Sonic games? This is unacceptable! This new game is just going to throw out the classic Sonic gameplay for Bishop-takes-Knight action. What has the world come to? SEGA, what are you thinking?
… Seriously, this is freaking awesome. German game maker Gaya Entertainment are creating these official Chess boards, complete with Sonic themed pieces that just melts the heart. It’s OK, adults who grew up with Sonic (and non-Sonic fans/classic fans), you can show this to all your mates and actually be cool because it uses the whole retro style to Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Amy. The chess board is 47cm x 47cm and the pieces are about 6cm in height, and made from PVC.
In this ‘MegaDriven’ game of chess, Sonic is the King (ironic being that the piece can only move one space at a time), Amy the Queen, Tails the Knight and Knuckles is (bashing) the bishop. Master Emeralds take the role of rooks, and to avoid using all those other shitty characters the Pawns are all rings. Wonderful. Missing Dr. Robotnik in there, would have been cool to have seen him in his Egg-o-matic and some classic badniks as the opposing side, but this is more than enough for me.
I’m not even kidding when I say this is probably the best thing SEGA have done with the Sonic franchise in a decade. Does Amy actually seem cuter to you in her Sonic CD outfit there or is that just me? Sonic looks so cool. Sigh.
If you’re as eager as I am for this (it might really be because I used to play Chess as a kid rather than the design), Gaya are selling this next February/March for 39.99 Euros.
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“So hey, about Sonic Unleashed…” – What you say? Sonic Unleashed? That game is sooo last week. Let’s say we focus on something a bit more next year, girlfriend? Luckily SEGA Europe’s been sending out some screenshots of Sonic and the Black Knight for the Wii so we can be next year… in 2008. Yeah, we’re rocking that DeLorean.
Sonic and the Black Knight is the continuation of the ‘Storybook’ series of the franchise that was kicked off with Sonic and the Secret Rings on the Wii. So we’ll treat it as the spinoff that it is and not facepalm ourselves into the ground. That would be impolite. There’s not an awful lot going on in these screenshots, and they’ve appeared on other sites before, but it’s nice to see that the game still exists, especially since a lot of you are going to have your artwork stashed onto it.
Enjoy these screens, a few of which are in ‘Extreeeeeeme’ blurrovision, and some which feature a familiar red knight. Hm, his face is covered. Now I can’t tell who it is…
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I found it hard to write this review. Not because I didn’t know what to say, but because I wasn’t sure how I was going to say it. Hashimoto-san and company have worked very hard on the latest Sonic adventure. It’s clear to see when you take a peek at the screenshots, or learn about the Hedgehog Engine, or hear about how they spent countless months designing Sonic stages that cover hundreds of virtual miles. Sonic Team haven’t scrimped here, they had something to prove after Sonic 06 that they can create a well-produced, non-glitchy game. And they have. Based on the effort put in, I’d give them as many Thumbs Up as humanely possible. Continue reading TSS REVIEW: Sonic Unleashed
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Today is Monday. Unlucky for those of you who’ve just woken up thinking it was Sunday; you’ve just missed work. But 16 years ago, it was Tuesday. The most awesome Tuesday ever for a kid in Britain, or the United States. On November 24th 1992, the sequel to the hottest video game of the time was released – Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on Sega Mega Drive. Such a huge media circus this event was, that a special chartered ‘Sonic 2’ plane carrying nothing but crates of the game landed in London a few days ahead of the launch to masses of TV cameras and news reporters. Those were the days.
So here’s to Sonic the Hedgehog 2. A wonderful collaboration between East (Sonic Team, with Yuji Naka returning after leaving Sega briefly) and West (an enthusiastic American team called Sega Technical Institute that were heavily involved in the coding and designing). For a few moments, Sega wasn’t at each other’s throats internally and teamed up to produce what many fans consider the very best in the entire Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. Can’t exactly disagree. Celebrate by playing the game and seeing if you can nobble that final boss without dying (always keep falling through his nose onto his spiky hands, the f&%$%*). Or even by trying out Sonic Retro’s work in progress, Sonic 2 HD.
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I was bored one day and decided ‘Hey, why don’t I make the site somewhat accessible for people who like to browse stuff on their consoles?’ So, ignorant to the fact that it probably wasn’t worth my time to work on something like that for the kind of person who does that sort of thing (which includes, er, me), I’ve tweaked the design of The Sonic Stadium for Sony PlayStation Portable users.
Accessing the site is now a piece of piss, as I was made aware that it was bone-grindingly slow today. Upon recognising the PSP Browser, TSS auto-switches to a custom made theme that suits the 400-odd pixel wide screen. There’s no sidebar, and a lot of the heavy duty stuff is cut, but the exact same content and stuff is all there. So if you fancy a little fiddle, crack open that PSP and let us know what you think in the SSMB (although the forums are still PSP unfriendly at this time, so use your PC for that).
You can also sign up to the RSS on your Sony handheld too, by clicking the RSS link at the footer of the page. Swish.
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We saw, for the first time in Europe, the awesome little animated short that ties in with Sonic Unleashed, called Night of the Werehog. It involved, as our Community Day roundup said, two ghosts vying for the attention of a female ghost by scaring the crap out of Chip and Sonic.
The official website for the cartoon has now been updated with the entire film, so you all can see it too. Aren’t Sega nice to you all? It would be nice to see this on other mediums other than just online though – clearly a lot of production work went into this, and it would have been a no-brainer to have had it included as a short in cinemas before Madagascar 2 or something. Would be cool to see it on TV as well maybe. We’ll see how it goes. Watch the full animation at the official website, click here.
Sonic Unleashed is set for an Xbox 360 release this coming Friday. (Thanks to everyone who tipped us in!)
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Most Community Days have been situated at Nintendo’s rather swanky Wii Flat in Central London, but yesterday a troupe of Sonic fans were collectively invited to Sega Europe’s Headquarters in Gunnersbury to have a taste of Sonic Unleashed on Xbox 360, a week before the rest of Europe will get a chance to. Naturally, there were a lot of happy faces around at the mere thought of being in such an illustrious temple, let alone having the chance to play a high-profile Sonic game before release.
A few of the usual suspects were there – myself, T-Bird, Violet, Sonic Yoda, B’man, Fastfeet and Vger were joined by Jemnezmy, Flyboy Fox, Shadz, (DJ) Dan Dyer, Paul Street from TSSZ and some more friendly faces as Kevin kindly took us through the basics of Sonic Unleashed. When Jemnezmy and I arrived, we had just come from Leicester Square, enjoying the treats of the Japan Centre (and scoffing a Bento Box on the train to Gunnersbury, earning a few scornful faces from the people in the carriage) and were therefore a little late, but it was OK as Kevin was showcasing the game in the best way he can. Slowly Thoroughly. Continue reading The Day We Played Sonic Unleashed
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Tomorrow afternoon, (most of) the TSS crew will be lounging it up in Sega Europe’s HQ in London, getting back rubs from ArchAngelUK and Vodka Martinis from the female crowd. Or should that be the other way round..? We’ll be there for one thing and one thing only. Except for seeing AAUK. To play Sonic Unleashed, preferably on the Xbox 360, but possibly on the Wii as well. Who knows what fun and random shenanigans we’re in for. What we do know is, it’s cause for another Community Day; so watch this space come tomorrow night (when I actually get back) where I’ll be posting photos, comments from the guys at the event and random PR speak from the AAUK himself. Oh, and we’ll be putting down our impressions of the game here too. It’ll be a joyous occasion. Stick around. Not all day and night mind, you’ll make yourself ill. Take a break.
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Gaming marathons are all the rage these days – it’s a noble cause, after all, and quite simple to set up. Get a webcam, a donate button, play games, earn money, send money to charity. To my knowledge there hasn’t been a Sonic the Hedgehog marathon set up (we’ve had Mario and the like so far, by different gaming groups), but a small gang called Ocean City Trinity are giving the blue blur a run for his money for the EduCare Foundation. The games will be the main console titles and range from Sonic the Hedgehog to the newly released (in America) Sonic Unleashed, and if you want to watch the fun unfold, it all kicks off on Saturday 22nd November. Head to their website for more details. Good luck guys!
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It appears that certain retailers in America are flatly ignoring Sega’s release date for the Xbox 360 version of Sonic Unleashed, with images from NeoGAF and other community websites of retail copies in their homes. The Wii and PlayStation 2 versions of the game were released on Tuesday, but the Xbox 360’s was to be held back until the 24th or 25th November (depending on who you believe; North American retailers usually put new stock on shelves every Tuesday).
So, what happened? If it’s true, it’s possible that various GameStop stores are confused in thinking that the 360 version of Unleashed is to be on sale with the Wii and PS2 ones. Regardless, if Sega were able to get the 360 stock to stores early in the first place, it would make the original staggered release date somewhat pointless.
In any case, it reminds us of the good old Dreamcast days in Europe, where retailers completely disregarded Sega Europe’s release dates and put games on shelves a whole week before official sale. Ah, Shenmue, how perfect the extra week I had with you was.
Good luck in getting a copy early though, all you American readers – if Sega start slapping retailer’s wrists for this release date break, you may soon find yourself at a store reluctant to sell you one.
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The Sega Europe Community Blog has been doing a fair bit of Sonic Unleashed coverage over the last few days, with a daily dose of what’s actually in the game for those just waiting with anticipation to find out. Today, the company’s European and American divisions worked together to kidnap interview the Lead Producer for Sega America, Patrick Riley, to ask him more about the upcoming Sonic title.
It’s a fifteen minute long conversation featuring SOA’s ClumsyOrchid and RubyEclipse, SOE’s ArchAngelUK and Martin. The questions range from Werehog gameplay, the new moves that Sonic has at his disposal and the release of the game in the West before Japan. The guys really seem to want to hit home that this isn’t a return to the classic Mega Drive games but rather a brand new direction for the series. We wouldn’t have it any other way, long as it’s actually good. Look at Sonic Rush Adventure, after all.
One thing that we found interesting was the influence SOA appear to have had during the game’s development, and the mention at the very end of ‘something nobody’s ever seen before’ which will very briefly take control away from Sonic. They pulled a fat rabbit out of the ridiculous hat with DarkSpines in Secret Rings, so we’ll be interested to see what happens here.
Listen to the audio programme by clicking here (nice cockney there at the end, Martin).
The Sonic City Blognik has daily updates in the only way an official blog can, so keep checking here.
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Remember that Sonic Unleashed theme song? What was it called? Endless Possibility or something? That track you all went nuts over when it was played at the Summer of Sonic Convention in London this year. Yeah, that one. How would you like to hear to full version? Oh, I know you do. Just so happens we have it for you to listen to. Click on the link to TSS’ Media Portal and be forever Reddick’d.
Oh, if you’re also into all the music in Unleashed, Sheza has an awesome topic right here, give it a look if you want more for your music player.
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Usually Slingerland’s the main man for these community spotlights, but I came across a few cool pieces of fan art myself and thought I’d share them with you, gentle TSS reader. The two pictures we have also represent the best of both worlds – pen and colour pencil work, and computer enhanced colouring. Firstly, HAT-S-I-RO‘s ‘Bubble Shield’ picture, which is rather cute and shows the main trio making alternative uses of the item. Ah, semantics. Knuckles is enjoying his newfound Bubble Gum power-up, while Sonic looks less impressed in a roll of Bubble Wrap. Not sure what Tails is doing with the Bubble Bath. Great work there HAT-S-I-RO!
The second art piece we have today is from SpindashStudios, and is called ‘Race to the Eclipse Cannon’. It’s a great, dynamic shot of Sonic and Shadow rushing towards the superweapon based on the ARK, just before they face off for the final time in Sonic Adventure 2. It captures that sense of speed and atmosphere really well, and I love the attention to detail in the Final Rush/Chase surroundings.
Two awesome pieces of work there from the community! If you have a friend who’s artwork is rather outstanding, give me or Slingerland a buzz and we’ll take a peek at it. Your friend’s work may very well feature on our front page!
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So the US version of Sonic Unleashed is already out, apparently (for the Wii and PS2 it seems). Those lucky gits who decided to take it slow and start with the manual noticed an advertisement for the Werehog figure we spoke about a while ago. But wait, what’s this other circle about? Yes, looks like Super Sonic is also available as a collectible figure, thus increasing my British envy.
The toys will supposedly be available this month, it’s worth checking out Sega America’s official website for more details on where you can grab ’em.
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Gaming chairs are a pain in the arse. I mean, seriously, what good are they for? You get a leather chair that tears easily, has to be on the floor so you feel like a Hobbit watching the screen, and you get ‘surround sound’ blaring into your ears that most times sound all distorted. Worst of all are those gormless fools on the box, sitting in them making idiots of themselves. Who in the hell would want one of these things?
… oh, there’s a Sonic one being released? Get down, that changes everything.
Well, maybe not, but it’s still some interesting news that’s travelled across the Interwebs. According to PRWeb, Sega have teamed up with Ultimate Game Chair to release the new Reactor Mini, a gaming relaxer for kids ages 3 – 9 years, that features a picture of Sonic on it. It’ll coincide with the launch of Sonic Unleashed in North America.
These gaming chairs supposedly rumble at every little thing happening in the game, to totally immerse the player, but we wonder if it’ll do anything out of the ordinary whilst playing Sonic Unleashed. Shaver adaptor whilst playing as the Werehog? Oh wait, they’ll be too young for that. Apparently the chair is also labeled as a massager. That may come in handy if they get addicted to Sonic hen- oh wait, they’ll be too young for that.
You can buy the Reactor Mini Game Chair from Ultimate Game Chair’s website from the 21st November; it’ll set you back about $70.
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Sorry for taking so long to reveal the results of our latest competition, but I’ve been away for a week and hadn’t had time to run through all of our entries. Thanks so much for everyone that took part – I got a whopping 57 submissions for this contest, and if anything it’s proven that the whole lot of you are proper little thieves in the making. Almost all of the entries involved a Sonic character assaulting or otherwise managing to outright steal candy off of the poor residents of this world.
I’ve had a whole range of characters sent in from Sonic to Big to Metal Sonic and Charmy. Even Marine had an entry. As a fun fact, it will be settling for all of you to know that nine entries featured Shadow holding the homeowner at gunpoint. That’s not slightly worrying at all.
But I have five sets of prizes to give away – a Sonic Chronicles tin and stylus set, plus an additional goodie bag for the entry I found the greatest. So hit the jump to see the winners, and a list of people that took the time to enter… Continue reading Who’s Won Our Hallowe’en Contest?
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With Sonic Unleashed just round the corner, it’s more than enough time to start promoting the blue blur with just about anything and everything you can create, right? Well, McDonald restaurants in Australia are being a bit more… economical with their promotion of Sonic the Hedgehog, by offering Sonic X Happy Meal toys. The same ones we saw in Britain about a year or so ago. Still, a collectible is a collectible, and according to our Antipodean tipster this is the first time the Launcher toy series has been seen in the land of Oz.
So if you’re Australian and want to get fat, roll yourselves down to your nearest Maccy’s and catch ’em all! Or, if you’d rather not indulge in their food, see if you can buy the toys separately. I know some places will let you have the toys for a dollar or something.
Thanks for the tip, BlitzChris!
UPDATE: We’re being told by Aussie members of the SSMB that these toys have been around before, something like six months ago. So maybe McDonald’s aren’t as slow as we thought, but it was strange to hear that they had brought them back again in that case. As of today (18th November) it doesn’t look like Sonic is part of the Happy Meal parade anymore, according to our Australian fast-food goers. Still, there’s always eBay or something.
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The SSMB Forums have brought to light a discussion that has recently taken place on popular imageboard 4chan. In it, an anonymous tipster called “Wentos the Travelling Salesman” has hinted at details that could be included in the next major Sonic title. Click the image on the left there to give it a good read.
Gaming chairs are a pain in the arse. I mean, seriously, what good are they for? You get a leather chair that tears easily, has to be on the floor so you feel like a Hobbit watching the screen, and you get ‘surround sound’ blaring into your ears that most times sound all distorted. Worst of all are those gormless fools on the box, sitting in them making idiots of themselves. Who in the hell would want one of these things?
