Nuckles87 – Page 5 – The Sonic Stadium

5th March 202216th April 2024

So, we’ve known about that Sonic 2 movie “Pre-quill” comic for a little while now, and the comic’s writer Keil Phegley has dropped a few new interesting details. The comic will have 40 pages with five stories focusing on different characters from the movie. Among those stories will be a Robotnik-centered one, featuring contributions by none other than character’s actor himself, Jim Carrey.

It is important to note that Phegley’s exact words for Carrey’s contribution was “spearheading.” Carrey does not have a writer’s credit in the comic solicitation.

The comic will hit comic stores on March 23rd for $6.99, and will feature art by Tracey Yardley!, Adam Bryce Thomas, and Evan Stanley. Quite an all-star time for a Sonic comic! It will feature stories set between the two movies. Check out the full solicitation below:

Catch up with Sonic and friends-if you can-in this exclusive prequel to 2022’s most anticipated family film! Life is good in Green Hills for Sonic the Hedgehog . . . maybe too good. He’s starting to get bored, and when Sonic gets bored, things become a lot less boring for everyone else-fast! Quicker than you can say “Chili Dog,” the Fastest Thing Alive is saving the day and causing all sorts of chaos along the way! Plus, new and returning characters starring in the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 film take the lead in stories of their own!

In case you missed it last month, here’s the cover!

via Keil Phegley’s Twitter

#Merchandise, #TV/Film, News

More McDonald’s Sonic 2 Happy Meal Toys Leaked

3rd March 202216th April 2024

Well, it seems that all but one of the McDonald’s Sonic 2 Happy Meal toys have been leaked.

In an image that was apparently posted on the McDonalds Australia website showed off all but one of the upcoming plastic McDonald’s toys, and has now made its way to Twitter. The image confirms that McDonalds will be producing three Knuckles toys, three Tails toys, two Sonic toys, and a Giant Eggman Robot toy. A tenth “surprise” toy wasn’t shown. You can check the toys out below:

With the movie only a month out, the official unveiling of these toys should be imminent. Perhaps someone over at McDonald’s Australia accidentally pulled the trigger a few days early.

EDIT: Seems the final toy has been leaked via a Youtube video, and is apparently a spoiler. We don’t be posting it here. As we approach the movie’s release, it’ll be more difficult to avoid spoilers on social media, we recommend following these steps.

#Merchandise, #TV/Film, News

UK Getting It’s Own Sonic Happy Meal Toys

2nd March 202216th April 2024

Last month, most of McDonalds’ upcoming Sonic 2 happy meal toys were leaked. However, the plastic toys will not be coming to the company’s UK and Irish locations, and will instead be replaced by plastic-free toys.

The existence of toys was initially confirmed by a photo posted by a Facebook user, which was then shared to Twitter by Dave Luty. Luty than shared photos of what appears to be packaging for the toys taken off of a computer. The toys appear to be centered on Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. In addition to the toys, the photos also confirm a “book option.”

The person who took the second group of photos Luty posted speculated that the toys were likely paper dioramas and board games. You can check out the photos below:

The UK and Ireland are getting different Sonic toys due to a 2020 pledge from McDonalds UK & Ireland to reduce their use of plastics by eliminating plastic toys, and instead move towards toys made out of paper or cloth. McDonalds as a whole will be phasing out plastic toys by 2025.

We don’t yet know what these toys will be, but once we do we’ll report on it, so stay tuned! Hopefully McDonalds will officially unveil their toys soon.

#Merchandise, #TV/Film, News

New Sonic 2 Movie Playset Leaked (Potentially Movie Spoilers Within)

27th February 202227th February 2022

UPDATE: The box art had a rather significant spoiler I missed. Also, Sonic Jenny said Jakks Pacific asked her to remove the images. Given those two things, we’re just going to go ahead and remove the images pre-emptively. We’re currently leaving details regarding what the playset is about, however.

Original Story:

The Sonic 2 movie is now just a month away, and more merchandise has just gotten leaked. Today? A playset centered around the Giant Eggman Robot we first saw in a trailer.

We put up a spoiler warning because the playset potentially hints at something regarding where Sonic will be fighting the robot.

This playset is likely a part of the Jakks Pacific wave 2 that was revealed a few days ago.

These images were posted on Twitter by @SonicJenny, who said it was shared on her Discord server.

via Twitter

News

Jakks Announces Ray the Flying Squirrel Plush, Egg Robo & Espio Figures

23rd February 202223rd February 2022

Jakks Pacific’s latest waves of Sonic toys have been revealed, and they include some rarely and never-before-seen faces!

In their upcoming 9th wave of Sonic 4 inch figures, Egg Robo makes its action figure debut. It also includes Espio, who hasn’t had a figure since that one Jazzware figure years ago. The wave also includes Modern Sonic with a star spring, and Modern Tails with an invincibility box.

Perhaps the most notable new addition is the Ray the Flying Squirrel plush, which will be a part of their 7th wave of plushes. In the character’s almost 30 years of existence, this will be his very first official plush. Jade Wisp also makes their plush debut as a part of this wave, which also includes reissues of Mighty (who debuted last year) and Modern Sonic.

An 8th wave of 2.5 inch figures was also revealed, which includes Classic Sonic, Classic Knuckles, Classic Eggman, Shadow the Hedgehog, and Modern Tails.

Finally, a second wave of 4 inch Sonic movie figures has also been revealed, though no details have been confirmed.

via Sonic Merch News

#Merchandise, #TV/Film, News

Clear Images of Sonic 2 McDonalds Toys Leaked

23rd February 202223rd February 2022

5 Comments

A few weeks ago, we reported on some leaked images of what are clearly Sonic 2 Mcdonalds toys. Today, even better images of these toys have been leaked, this time including Sonic. This marks first time Sonic has had a Happy Meal toy since those McDonalds LCD games nearly a decade ago.

The images are low-res and their exact function is unclear, though it seems likely that they have some method of being propelled forward. With the movie a little more than a month away, we’ll likely be getting an official unveiling of these toys soon. In addition to these four, there are two others that have yet to be shown. If you want to see them, we’ve got them embedded below!

#Merchandise, #TV/Film, News

Jakks Pacific Shows Off its Upcoming Sonic 2 Movie Toys

19th February 202223rd February 2022

9 Comments

Jakks Pacific has unveiled its upcoming line of Sonic 2 movie toys on social media. Ever wanted to own a toy of the Tornado, or Jim Carrey Robnotnik? Well now you can!

The line-up includes plushies, action figures, the aforementioned Tornado biplane, and Sonic on some sort of skateboard type thing, complete with a giant ring. All of the action figures include some sort of accessory as well. Sonic and Knuckles both have snowboards, while Dr. Robotnik has one of his egg robots and a…coffee cup. Tails, most interestingly, appears to have some sort of gun. Check out the toys below:

These toys will launch in the spring, likely around the same time as the movie’s release on April 8. What are your thoughts on these toys? Tell us in the comments below!

Credit to Josiahblaze for sending this into our Discord newstips!

via Twitter

#Merchandise, News

F4F Polling Interest in a Sally Acorn Statue UPDATE: Final Results In

17th February 202217th February 2022

15 Comments

UPDATE: The poll is closed, and the results are in:

The poll received a total of 1047 votes, the most one of these polls have gotten in years. Of those, 800 were yes, which is also the highest amount any character has gotten in years. That means yes won with 76.4% of the vote, placing her in the top 12 of all time, just ahead of Horizon Zero Dawn’s Aloy.

So what happens next? Who knows. As we said in the original article, there is no guarantee a Sally statue will get made, even with really good numbers. Chief among them, even if F4F decides it wants to make a statue, SEGA itself still needs to say yes.

Looking at previous polling winners, like NiGHTS into Dreams’ Reala, it will likely be years before a statue is available, if one even gets made.

Original story below:

More than five years since she last appeared in the Sonic comics, Princess Sally Acorn may finally have a shot at a new piece of merchandise via high-end collectibles maker First4Figures. F4F is currently running a poll asking its community whether or not they would pre-order a Sally Acorn statue. This is a weekly poll called “Thursday Temptations,” wherein F4F tests community interest in various characters. While the results of a poll do not guarantee the creation of a statue, F4F will at least explore doing something with the character if the numbers are strong enough.

As of this writing, the yeses are winning with 73% of the vote, 578 to 217. While those may seem like small numbers, that’s actually the most votes any character has gotten in this poll in years. The poll is set to run through Wednesday, though participants will need to join F4F’s Facebook community in order to vote.

There’s more to this than simply convincing F4F to make a Sally statue. According to Ian Flynn, who has long been boosting efforts to bring the character (and the other Freedom Fighters) back into the Sonic franchise, getting a statue would also simply be “big” for the character.

Do not sleep on this. Sally getting the pick would be a big deal. VOTE. https://t.co/iNwSu94M9i
— Ian Flynn (@IanFlynnBKC) February 18, 2022

If you would pre-order a Sally Acorn statue, you can vote for the character here. We’ll update this post with the final results on Thursday.

News

The Sonic 2 Movie Poster Is Missing Some Names

17th February 202217th February 2022

8 Comments

The new Sonic 2 movie poster lacks a few notable names, including Tails voice actor Colleen O’Shaughnessey. This is especially strange, given how prominent the character has been featured in the movie’s marketing. Tails isn’t exactly a minor character. Also missing are Tika Sumpter (Maddie Wachowski) and Lee Majdoub (Agent Stone), despite the former also being on the poster.

So did Paramount simply forget to add their names? No. Who gets credit on movie posters and how they’re credited is actually rather complicated and involves a lot of negotiations with agents, fees, and what individual actors want. While this is pure speculation, it likely came down to how negotiations went. For anyone curious about the nature of poster billing credits, you can find a helpful article on the subject here.

Something similar occurred with Marvel’s Avengers Endgame, when actress Danai Gurira wasn’t credited on that movie’s poster despite being on it. Fan outcry eventually led to her name being added.

Thankfully, Sonic fans aren’t exactly being silent over this. On Twitter, many are voicing their displeasure over O’Shaughnessey’s omission:

Listen, I'm hyped for this as much as the next dude, but it baffles me that Colleen O'Shaughnessey is not billed in this whatsoever, and I'm PRETTY sure Tails is gonna have a much larger role than either James Marsden or Tika Sumpter. Make this right, @ParamountPics. pic.twitter.com/yxQwLUE4ue
— SomecallmeJohnny (@Somecallmejon) February 17, 2022

THIS #SonicMovie2 POSTER

But How Come Colleen O'Shaughnessey's Name ain't on it? Tails is LITERALLY part of the Logo pic.twitter.com/thERRESSB7
— HMK (@HMKilla) February 17, 2022

Look it’s a cool poster but come on Colleen O’Shaughnessey’s name should be on there😑 pic.twitter.com/dPV2wTthiR
— Sonic The Wokehog 🍉 (@sonic_werehog08) February 17, 2022

Colleen O'Shaughnessey deserves top-billing with the rest of the Sonic 2 cast; leaving her unbilled on the poster feels insulting
— Drew.jpg (@ildrewvenire) February 17, 2022

That’s a great poster but Colleen O'Shaughnessey deserves top billing on that poster like everyone else. It’s disrespectful she wasn’t added
— Tazo Gumball Chowder playin Mario RPG Remake (@ChowderGumball) February 17, 2022

Between the stuff regarding John DiMaggio and the Futurama reboot and Colleen O’Shaughnessey not receiving top billing on the Sonic 2 movie poster, let this tweet be another reminder that voice actors are as important as onscreen actors and deserve recognition and fair pay.
— jayboy the joyboy 🍉🇨🇩🇸🇩🇾🇪 (@foleyexpresscs) February 17, 2022

I, for one, am happy to see the Sonic community come together to try to get Colleen O'Shaughnessey credited on the Sonic Movie 2 poster.
Voice actors deserve just as much spotlight as any onscreen actors, because they're still ACTING! pic.twitter.com/9bmb7G7Hlj
— Wolfie (Werewoof Reactions) (@TheWerewoof) February 17, 2022

It’s not often I’ll just outright state an opinion in a news article, especially on behalf of this website, but I’m going to go ahead and do there here: yes, Colleen O’Shaughnessey absolutely deserves to be on this poster, and Paramounts needs to make that change now.

#Games, News

Live & Learn Gets Acoustic and Fist Bump Get Edgy in New Sonic Sessions Remixes

20th January 202220th January 2022

SEGA’s latest remix project, Sonic Sessions, has continued to churn out superb remixes of classic Sonic songs, with an acoustic version of Live and Learn out today. As “acoustic” would imply, this puts Live and Learn to a slower, more laidback beat, with acoustic guitars replacing the electric guitars of the original song.

In addition to that, we’ve also got last week’s “edgy” remix of Fist Bump, which goes in the complete opposite direction! You can check them both out in Youtube embeds below:

#Games, News

Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 Returns Via Offline Version

19th January 202219th January 2022

Well that didn’t take long: just a month after it was rendered impossible to purchase, Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 is back…sort of! SEGA revealed today that the game is being made available again via an offline version, which has had all of its online functionality stripped out. This means that features like daily stages, challenges, rankings, badges, flag stamps and titles, and social functions are gone. In addition to that, in-app purchases are also gone, and players can now own the entire game for just $0.99. When the game first launched, players needed to spend $5 to access the whole game.

Given that the game was barely a year and a half old when its online services were closed last year, it’s nice to see that the game will still be available in some form. The offline version is available on both the iOS and Android stores. Anyone who already owns the game can get the offline version for free via an update.

#TV/Film, News

Ben Schwartz Says Sonic 2 Will Be Much Bigger in Scope

19th January 202219th January 2022

In an interview with ComicBook.com, Ben Schwartz said that Sonic 2 will be much bigger than Sonic 1 in terms of size. According to him, compared to the first one “this is a movie, this is a film, this is a movie-film.” Beyond praising his co-stars, Schwartz was pretty tight-lipped about everything else.

Sonic 1 was more or less a road trip comedy with a cartoon hedgehog. While this is pure speculation on my part, it sure does sound like Schwartz is saying this is going to be more akin to a summer blockbuster. While, again, this is pure speculation on my part meant to pad out this article, I’m not sure how else one can take “compared to the first one, this is a movie-film.” We’ll find out for sure when it debuts on April 8.

Check out the full interview on ComicBook.com.

News

SEGA Registered “SEGA NFT” Trademark in December

14th January 202214th January 2022

3 Comments

On December 28, SEGA registered “SEGA NFT” as a trademark with the Japan Patent Office. The trademark included a logo:

SEGA has been exploring expanding into NFTs since April of last year, when they formed a partnership with Double Jump.Tokyo.

SEGA reaffirmed that interest in their December 14 investor Q&A, where they said they were going to continue experimenting NFTs to see how they might be used without drawing criticism or being perceived as using them “for simple money-making.”

Many have interpreted that last quote as to mean that SEGA was backing off NFTs, but that is not what SEGA was actually telling investors. And this trademark, which was registered weeks after the Q&A, shows SEGA’s continued interest.

If you’re still unsure what NFTs are, and what utilizing them would mean for SEGA, we recommend you take a look at this stellar article from our own GX.

Features

Sonic Meme Round-Up: Doc Ock Floats His Way into Sonic Twitter

21st December 202121st December 2021

So, we’re trying something new today: a round-up of all the Sonic related versions of the latest meme craze on Twitter. For anyone who doesn’t frequent social media (or wisely has their media preview setting switched to “off”) the internet is obsessed with photoshopping various things onto this image of Doc Ock altered by twitter user @Rawbertbeef. He removed Doc Ock’s mechanical arms, making him look like some sort of all-powerful being.

For context (and for assisting Sonic fans in their own meme-making) I’ve got the original, unaltered image below:

If you want a version without a background, you can find it here.

If you make your own, link it to us in the comments! If you find someone else’s on Twitter, link to the tweet (not the image).

Anyway, check out what horrible things the internet has wrought below! In an effort to make sure people are credited, we’re only embedding ones we’ve found on Twitter. If any of these don’t belong to the posters, we’ll try to correct it, but please don’t take this too seriously! We’re all just trying to enjoy some fun memes here!

First, we’ll start with the obvious one, created by my boss, which is his most popular tweet of all time, apparently. Because he’s my boss I’m obligated to say its the best one (it’s not):

pic.twitter.com/Y5g83buNMG
— DreadknuX (@Dreadknux) January 12, 2022

When all is said and done, this tweet is what Dreadknux will be remembered for.

And now the rest!

pic.twitter.com/adYeYxgywj
— Ki @ Home yet again (@rei_kiyama) January 12, 2022

pic.twitter.com/mTRwm8GECL
— 🟡Noah N Copeland🟡made Sonic Triple Trouble 16bit (@NoahNCopeland) January 12, 2022

Doctor Eggctopus pic.twitter.com/0TbmM8GLdu
— Alieno 🛸 (@Go_Alieno) January 12, 2022

pic.twitter.com/HlvEBgZuCC
— Linkabel (@AbelMunizJr) January 13, 2022

Peter… as you can see the day of reckoning will soon be here pic.twitter.com/G02rPTlPnu
— Forrest (@contxtsonic) January 13, 2022

After Eggman frees Shadow in the beginning of SA2 pic.twitter.com/yxhbfHW1k3
— LifelineTheHedgehog (@HedgieLifeline) January 12, 2022

“Look at all those Peter’s robots!” pic.twitter.com/6v6e1Teqai
— Dee-Pad (@Destructo_Dan) January 13, 2022

I've been looking for you.
You're the Iblis Trigger pic.twitter.com/Bag9RSnnPX
— Clarissa (@Clarissa_Arts) January 13, 2022

My Goblin Brain would not let me rest until I cleaned it up https://t.co/8HCUbaNbQ8 pic.twitter.com/mHhQnlLrYY
— Minister Tay, Actor (@RummesOccupied) January 14, 2022

If you find one on Twitter, link to the tweet (not just the image) in the comments. If you make one, feel free to share it in the comments. Keep it PG, please!

Not Sonic related, but here’s one more:

This fucking image bruh LMAO pic.twitter.com/4dw630ZJOz
— Equinox 🇵🇸 (@ShieldNyx) January 11, 2022

News

After 13 Years, Sonic Chronicles’ Intro Animation Released to the Public

16th December 202117th December 2021

15 Comments

Did you know BioWare’s DS Sonic RPG, Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, was originally meant to have an intro animation? I sure didn’t! Well, it did, and that intro animation has now been released by video game animation expert and author Jonathan Cooper. Check it out in his tweet below:

Sonic Chronicles (2008) unreleased 2D intro cinematic. This has never been shown before in its entirety. pic.twitter.com/T7wgxKqmb6
— Jonathan Cooper (@GameAnim) December 21, 2021

According to Cooper, SEGA cut the animation from the final release, leading to the compilation of game play footage for intro used in the final game. Cooper’s account has some other footage related to Sonic Chronicles, including pencil tests of the intro and in-game animation. We’ve got tweets containing those videos below:

Sonic Chronicles (2008) gameplay art and animations. Includes WIP footage of the cut 2D intro cinematic. pic.twitter.com/EbdesyY07c
— Jonathan Cooper (@GameAnim) December 18, 2021

This fantastic 2D work was inexplicably cut by Sega so the game shipped with the same song backing gameplay footage. Some line tests here: pic.twitter.com/iAVTjmYmHD
— Jonathan Cooper (@GameAnim) December 21, 2021

Thanks goes to Discord user visionaryofSuper, who let us know about this!

#Comics, News

Sonic Returns to Free Comic Book Day in 2022 With New Story

15th December 202115th December 2021

It has been confirmed by FCBD and IDW that Sonic will be getting a comic featuring an original story for next year’s Free Comic Book Day, which will be on May 7. Earlier this year, Sonic returned to the event after a multi-year absence, and this announcement confirms that that wasn’t a one-off.

Unlike Sonic’s previous FCBD outing, however, this one will take place in IDW’s primary Sonic universe. It will feature writing from Ian Flynn, cover and interior art by Adam Bryce Thomas. The story will directly tie into the comic’s larger ongoing story leading into issue 50.

The synopsis is as follows:

Sonic’s racing into a brand-new adventure with his best buds (and co-stars of the hit new movie) Tails and Knuckles by his side! But Sonic’s not the only super-speedster in town… Get caught up with everything you need to know about Sonic’s evil counterpart Surge before she and Sonic go head-to-head in the epic issue #50, a story years in the making!

Check out the cover below:

#Games, News

Sonic Colors Ultimate’s Second Patch is Out, With Bug Fixes, OST Toggle and New Sonic Customizations

15th December 202115th December 2021

The second patch SEGA promised for Sonic Colors Ultimate is officially out on all platforms. Before you ask, no, we do not know which glitches were fixed yet. We will be running a stream of the game on PS5 later today to look into that. What we do have, however, are the full patch notes. Check them out below:

First of all, the game now has new customization options for Sonic. Called the “Celebration Pack,” it includes the following:

Burst Shoes
Burst Gloves
Fireworks Boost
Fireworks Aura

The patch also adds numerous quality of life updates, including:

Ultimate Remix/Original Music soundtrack toggle
Full screen boost blur effect on/off toggle
Tails navigation on/off toggle
Full screen movie playback from options satellite
Improved visibly of cyan wisp targeting line

The patch also has:

Improved stability for all platforms
Updates to specific enemy attack speed
Improved Green Hover Wisp light speed dash functionality
Improved visibly of Big Chaser attacks in Switch version
Various bug fixes throughout the game.

If you want to see if this addresses your specific pet peeve, stay tuned to our Youtube channel, where we will be doing a live stream later. It is currently unknown if another patch is in development. If you want to download this patch, it should be available now.

#Merchandise, News

Tangle & Fang Plushies Incoming from Great Eastern Entertainment

10th December 202110th December 2021

9 Comments

The past few years have been something of a golden age for Sonic plushies, with increasingly obscure characters finally getting their own stuffed toys thanks to Great Eastern Entertainment. That trend continues with GEE’s latest plushies: Tangle the Lemur and Fang the Sniper.

Tangle was revealed by GEE on their Twitter just a few moments ago, and is available now on their website for $23.99. The plush is 10 inches tall, and I must say, it looks pretty good:

Tangle is the second IDW character to get a plush, after GEE released Whisper last year. Unfortunately, Whisper is currently sold out on their website, but she will be getting a restock in Q1 2022.

In addition to Tangle, Fang the Sniper also appears to be getting his own plush. Though not officially announced as of this writing, the plush was leaked via Ali Express and confirmed by Sonic Merch News.

Because this is a leak, this is technically a rumor. But GEE itself has more or less confirmed that the leak is real.

Below, we have the tweet from Sonic Merch News, as well as the images from the leak:

🚨BREAKING🚨
A Brand New Fang the Sniper plush by presumably @geanimation has been leaked by an Ali Express listing.

We've held off on this leak to confirm everything so we can deliver reliable news to you all.

Expect his reveal to be any time today by @geanimation themselves! pic.twitter.com/VyD5LIa31s
— Sonic Merch News (@news_merch) December 14, 2021

News

Tyson Hesse Returns to Work on the Sonic 2 Movie

10th December 202110th December 2021

6 Comments

Tyson Hesse has revealed that he has been working on Sonic the Hedgehog 2 as a character design lead and storyboard supervisor. He announced it alongside an epic looking piece of art, posted below.

Hesse, notably, was brought in to work on the first Sonic movie, where he redesigned Sonic himself and also developed the design for other characters such as Tails and the echidnas.

#TV/Film, News

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Trailer Debuts at The Game Awards

9th December 20219th December 2021

8 Comments

Nearly seven months since it wrapped filming, Sonic 2’s trailer has finally arrived, debuting at The Game Awards. The 2-minute-18-second trailer gives us our first taste of what’s in store for Sonic’s big screen debut.

The trailer has got a lot to offer. There are plenty of references to the games, such as Sonic Adventure. The Master Emerald and its shrine is here, along with the Tornado, Tails, and of course, our first look at Knuckles the Echidna.

Watch it below!

https://twitter.com/SonicMovie/status/1469119285624643588

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 features Ben Schwartz as Sonic, Colleen O’Shaughnessey as Tails, Idris Elba as Knuckles, and Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik. It will debut in the US on April 8, 2022.

#Community, News

Watch The Game Awards With Us, Starting at 7:30 EST!

7th December 20217th December 2021

If you’ve been paying attention to our streaming schedule you already know about this, but we will be running a react stream for The Game Awards announcements tonight! Join GX and Nuckles87 as they patiently wait for the Sonic announcements!

It will run on our Twitch channel until sometime after both Sonic trailers have debuted. It will also be shown on both our front page and on SSMB. If you’d prefer to watch The Game Awards without our heavenly voices, you can do so here.

News

Colleen O’Shaughnessey To Reprise Her Role as Tails in Sonic 2 Movie

7th December 20217th December 2021

Tails is going to be getting something that is very rare in Hollywood video game adaptations: the same voice he has in the games. Instead of Tom Holland or Chris Pratt, Tails will instead be voiced by Colleen O’Shaughnessey, who has been playing the character in the games since 2014. This was just confirmed by O’Shaughnessey herself via her Twitter account.

Technically, O’Shaughnessey’s has already voiced the character on the big screen, via the first movie’s after credits scene. It was unknown if she would be asked to reprise her role, since it’s not uncommon for Hollywood productions to recast actors when their character is upgraded to a larger role in a subsequent movie. Now that she’s been confirmed, O’Shaughnessey now has the rare distinction of voicing a Sonic character across video games, movies, and television thanks to her role in Sonic Boom.

A trailer for the Sonic 2 movie is widely expected to debut soon. Stay tuned to Sonic Stadium for that, and all the latest news!

#Games, #SEGA, News

SEGA Hardlight Hiring Game Designers

7th December 20217th December 2021

SEGA Hardlight, the company behind many of Sonic’s mobile games (including Sonic Dash & Sonic Forces) is now hiring. According to Hardlight game designer Antony Lavelle, the company is looking for both an experienced and an entry level UK-based game designer.

If you meet those criteria and want to work for the studio, check out their website here.

via Twitter

#Merchandise, News

Sonic Team & Moor-Art Gallery Collaborate on Sonic 30th Anniversary Print

25th November 202125th November 2021

Sonic’s 30th anniversary is almost over, but the partnerships between SEGA and other companies has certainly not slowed. In the latest of these collaborations SEGA has teamed up with Moor-Art Gallery to produce and sell a special limited edition 30th anniversary print. This print will be limited to just 200 copies, and is currently being sold for £34.99. Given the limited nature of these prints, you can expect them to go fast.

You can find the print here. They ship worldwide. You can check out what it looks like below:

#TV/Film, News

WildBrain Announces Another Round of Hiring for Sonic Prime

22nd November 202123rd November 2021

WildBrain, the animation studio behind Sonic Prime, is seeking to hire more people for the show’s production. They are seeking CG FX Lead, a CG FX artist, and a Previs Artist. Potential applicants can apply here.

We won’t speculate too much regarding what this could mean regarding the show’s production. We know it’s scheduled for next year, and the show has been in some form of production since at least late 2020. Perhaps this is for the show’s second half (as Netflix often releases shows in multiple chunks) or an unannounced second season. Or maybe they are merely dealing with turnover.

Regardless, we’ll encourage everyone not to read too much into this.

Source, via Twitter

News

Sonic Colors Ultimate Patch Released (UPDATE: We’ve tested it!)

19th October 202121st October 2021

8 Comments

After months of waiting, and a separate patch that dealt with the rainbow glitch, SEGA and Blind Squirrel have finally released a patch for Sonic Colors Ultimate on all platforms. According to the patch notes, the following issues have been addressed:

Improved Stability
Updates to save game system
Audio mix improvements
Music now loops for credits & update to “Giving Credit Where it’s Do” achievement description
Various bug fixes
Eggman fireworks at the end of Terminal Velocity now work on Switch
Fixed glitch that could cause yellow wisp to not damage Captain Jelly on PC

The patch isn’t very large: just 1.2 GB on PS5. So you don’t have to worry about this eating into your bandwidth or hard drive space!

Does this fix the wisp music glitch? Or the disappearing pipe textures? Stay tuned to Sonic Stadium for future updates (and potentially our Twitch channel, where we will try to give the PS5 version a go shortly).

We’d also like to note that according to the Sonic Social media manager, another patch is on the way, so anything that isn’t fixed now will hopefully be addressed soon!

UPDATE: We streamed the patched version on our Youtube, which you can check out below. We’ve got a summary of what we found beneath the video:

What Seems to be Fixed:

We did not encounter the wisp audio glitch during the stream, including in places where it could happen reliably.
We did not encounter the level end audio glitch
Enemies now fall slower when they drop in

What’s Still Broken:

There are still various minor visual glitches, including the invisible Sonic in Starlight Carnival Act 3 and the missing pipe textures in Tropical Resort Act 3.
The Tails rescue glitch, which can cause 2D areas to become 3D, is still there. This was my first encounter with that, in fact.
The game also softlocked on me for the first time, which ended the stream. Not the first game to soft lock on me once on PS5, though.

So stuff still needs to be fixed. Personally, I am rather happy the audio glitches have been fixed. In my many hours spent with the game, that was by far the most common and annoying glitch I encountered. Glad to see that it appears to be gone!

Features, News, Previews & Reviews

TSS @ SHC 2021: Dash Adventure 2

18th October 202118th October 2021

There are plenty of ambitious mods at this year’s Sonic Hacking Contest, but Dash Adventure 2 is definitely among the more unique ones. This mod seeks to alter all of Sonic Adventure 2, turning it into a hypothetical evolution of what might have happened had SEGA gone with the rabbit character instead of Sonic back when they were searching for a mascot. While the most striking changes may initially appear to be superficial, Dash Adventure 2 has plenty of character and level tweaks that make it a rather unique way of experiencing this twenty-year-old game.

DA2’s most obvious change is, of course, its cast of characters. Instead of Sonic, Knuckles and Tails, we’ve got Dash the Rabbit, Jabs the Kangaroo, and Bolt the Maned Wolf. On the villain side of things, Eggman is a professor instead of a doctor, and Dusk the Rabbit and Pikara the Owl replace Shadow and Rouge. All of their designs seek to mimic Yuji Uekawa’s art style, and they not only accomplish this effectively, but they all look great and fit in well as early 2000s mascot characters.

Don’t mistake these characters for mere reskins, though, because they each introduce brand new mechanics that, in some cases, significantly impact how the game is played. Dash can jump much higher then Sonic, has a drop dash in place of a bounce attack, and can double jump with the Y button, giving him a lot of aerial maneuverability. This allows for Dash to move through a level very differently, letting him pull off feats Sonic never could. Dusk, likewise, can also jump higher than Shadow, has an air blast that lets him shoot forward, and even has a unique spindash move that lets him move forward while its charging. Other characters have similar improvements in their jump height and aerial maneuverability, especially Pikara, who can outright fly. As cool as these new abilities are, however, they also give rise to…issues. For one, Pikara’s aforementioned flight ability isn’t really practical to use, since it requires holding both the Y and A buttons, which forces me to contort my hand. The abilities can also kind of…break the level design a little?

Perhaps the most obvious of these issues is the simple fact that Sonic Adventure 2’s levels were not designed with these abilities in mind. This means some levels are easy to break and cheat through, while others (primarily the speed levels) have certain design bits that don’t work as well. For instance, in City Escape, after running down the side of the building and hitting the springs, instead of reliably bouncing into the swing bar, it is now very easy to overshoot. It’s possible to maneuver into it of course, and none of these moments typically result in death or otherwise break the level, but it does interrupt the level’s flow in a way I don’t like.

Images of Bolt, Jabs, Dusk, Professor Eggman, and Pikara.

DA2 is at its best in its handful of fully customized levels. While most of the levels have been significantly altered aesthetically, a few boast some notable design alterations. Metal Harbor (changed into Chemical Plant here) features some pretty major changes, including an opening bit of platforming that encourages heavy use of Dash’s double jump. That, combined with some new paths through areas, make this level among the best experiences currently available in the mod.

Speaking of the levels, the new looks they sport are also pretty nice…for the most part. I’m just not a huge fan of the look of Weapons Bed, which employs a lot of purple for the floor texturing. I also find the usage of classic Sonic level aesthetics in this game to be a bit odd. Why is Marble Zone being used for the Chao Garden? Why has Aquatic Mine been turned into Hydro City? It still looks nice, but given that SA2 was an even bigger visual departure from classic Sonic then SA1 was, I’m not sure why a hypothetical DA2 would utilize retro aesthetics outside of Green Hill Zone (which has been turned into Marble Zone here). This is something that would probably only bug a video game history buff like me, as when I sweep all that aside…I do rather like seeing these classic Sonic level aesthetics in SA2’s visuals!

Dash Adventure 2 was one of the mods I checked out last year, and while I found it curious I ultimately decided not to write about it. It has come a long way since then, and while it still has some issues, the sheer ambition on display here is wild. There’s a brand new soundtrack and new, well done voice work for each character. While it does currently have some issues, the mod as it is is still well worth checking out. I do hope the final mod features more level alterations, and maybe figures out a better way to map Pikara’s flight. But even if it doesn’t, I definitely intend to play the mod’s final release. Anyone who owns SA2 should at least give this a shot!

You can find the mod here. You can learn how to install it here.

#Community, News

Sonic Hacking Contest Announces This Year’s Winners

17th October 202117th October 2021

Sonic Hacking Contest has announced the winners for the more than 50 trophies up for grabs this year. The community, the contest’s judges, and the media panel (which included us!) got to vote for their own favorites. You’ll find a few familiar names, as we covered several of these games throughout the week. You can find that coverage here. And while the event may be over, and the winners have been chosen, stick around! We’ll be doing more SHC 2021 coverage over the next few days.

Sonic Hacking Contest has also confirmed its 2022 dates: October 10-16. You can find out more info about this year’s SHC, and what they have planned for next year, in the 2021 Winners newsletter here.

The winners for each of these votes are as follows:

TOP THREE RETRO (JUDGED)

1^st – Sonic 1 Definitive by RadiantNexus Team

2^nd – Hellfire Saga by Hardline Team

3^rd – Sonic The Hedgehog: Ancient Isles by Catswell

TOP THREE RETRO (COMMUNITY)

1^st – Hellfire Saga by Hardline Team

2^nd – Sonic 1 Definitive by RadiantNexus Team

3^rd – Sonic 3 & Knuckles: Epilogue by Hardline Team

Best Retro Voted by Media Panel

Hellfire Saga by Hardline Team and Sonic 3 & Knuckles: Epilogue by Hardline Team

TOP THREE 3D (JUDGED)

1^st – Shivery Mountainsides by Goalringmod27

2^nd – Sonic ’06 – Emerald Coast by Nonami

3^rd – Sonic Forces Re-imagined – SHC 2021 Demo by brandonj

TOP THREE 3D (COMMUNITY)

1^st – Shivery Mountainsides by Goalringmod27

2^nd – Sonic Forces Overclocked – Freight Frenzy DEMO – SHC2021 Edition by TheDuckDealer

3^rd – Sonic Forces Re-imagined – SHC 2021 Demo by brandonj

Best 3D Voted by Media Panel

Sonic Forces Overclocked – Freight Frenzy DEMO – SHC2021 Edition by TheDuckDealer

Honorable Mention: Shivery Mountainsides by Goalringmod27

TOP THREE 2DPC (JUDGED)

1^st – Sonic 2 Mania SHC2021 Demo by AChickMcNuggie

2^nd – Mystic Cave Zone Mania-fied by campbellsonic

3^rd – Sonic the Hedgehog Forever by Team Forever

TOP THREE 2DPC (COMMUNITY)

1^st – Sonic 2 Mania SHC2021 Demo by AChickMcNuggie

2^nd – Sonic the Hedgehog Forever by Team Forever

3^rd – Mystic Cave Zone Mania-fied by campbellsonic

Best Voted by Media Panel

Sonic 2 Mania SHC2021 Demo by AChickMcnuggie

Honorable Mention: Sonic the Hedgehog Forever by Team Forever

Of course, there are far more SHC categories than just the best overall games. Games were competing in a variety of categories. For the complete list of winners for each available Sonic Hacking Contest trophy, look at the list below:

RETRO CATEGORY

Best Visual – Judged

Sonic the Hedgehog: Ancient Isles by Catswell

Honourable Mention – Hellfire Saga by Hardline Team

Best Visual – Community

Hellfire Saga by Hardline Team

Honourable Mention – Sonic 1 Definitive by RadiantNexus Team

Best Audio – Judged

Sonic the Hedgehog: Ancient Isles by Catswell

Honourable Mention – Sonic 1 Definitive by RadiantNexus Team

Best Audio – Community

Hellfire Saga by Hardline Team

Honourable Mention – Sonic 1 Definitive by RadiantNexus Team

Best Technical – Judged

Sonic 1 Blastless DX by vladikcomper

Best Technical – Community

Sonic 1 Blastless DX by vladikcomper

Best Level Design – Judged

Sonic 1 Definitive by RadiantNexus Team

Honourable Mention – Hellfire Saga by Hardline Team

Best Level Design – Community

Sonic 1 Definitive by RadiantNexus Team

Honourable Mention – Hellfire Saga by Hardline Team

Most Entertaining – Judged

Sonic 1 Definitive by RadiantNexus Team

Honourable Mention – Hellfire Saga by Hardline Team

Most Entertaining – Community

Hellfire Saga by Hardline Team

Honourable Mention – SNOLF: Tournament Edition by drmelon

Most “WTF?!” – Judged

VTuber in Sonic 1 by ProjectFM

Honourable Mention – SNOLF: Tournament Edition by drmelon

Most “WTF?!” – Community

SNOLF: Tournament Edition by drmelon

Honourable Mention – VTuber in Sonic 1 by ProjectFM

Best Team Entry – Judged

Hellfire Saga by Hardline Team

Honourable Mention – Sonic 1 Definitive by RadiantNexus Team

Best Team Entry – Community

Hellfire Saga by Hardline Team

Honourable Mention – Sonic 1 Definitive by RadiantNexus Team

Best Multiplayer Entry – Judged

SNOLF: Tournament Edition by drmelon

Best Multiplayer Entry – Community

SNOLF: Tournament Edition by drmelon

Best Character Implementation – Judged

Sonic the Hedgehog 2: Pink Edition by E-122-Psi

Best Character Implementation – Community

Sonic the Hedgehog 2: Pink Edition by E-122-Psi

Honourable Mention – Big the Cat in Sonic the Hedgehog by E-122-Psi

Best Boss Design – Judged

Sonic 3 & Knuckles: Epilogue by Hardline Team

Honourable Mention – Hellfire Saga by Hardline Team

Best Boss Design – Community

Sonic 3 & Knuckles: Epilogue by Hardline Team

Honourable Mention – Hellfire Saga by Hardline Team

Best Fresh Concept Using Existing Concepts As A Backbone – Judged

Sonic 1 Definitive by RadiantNexus Team

Honourable Mention – SNOLF: Tournament Edition by drmelon

Best Fresh Concept Using Existing Concepts As A Backbone – Community

Sonic 1 Definitive by RadiantNexus Team

Honourable Mention – SNOLF: Tournament Edition by drmelon

Most Potential – Judged

Sonic 1 Definitive by RadiantNexus Team

Most Potential – Community

Sonic 1 Definitive by RadiantNexus Team

Honourable Mention – Sonic the Hackable – Splash Hill Demo by CHRdutch

Most Improved – Judged

Hellfire Saga by Hardline Team

Honourable Mention – Sonic the Hackable – Splash Hill Demo by CHRdutch

Most Improved – Community

Hellfire Saga by Hardline Team

Honourable Mention – Sonic the Hackable – Splash Hill Demo by CHRdutch

3D CATEGORY

Best Visual – Judged

Shivery Mountainsides by Goalringmod27

Honourable Mention – Sonic ’06 – Emerald Coast by Nonami

Best Visual – Community

Shivery Mountainsides by Goalringmod27

Honourable Mention – Dash Adventure 2 by Revenir

Best Audio – Judged

Sonic Forces Overclocked – Freight Frenzy DEMO – SHC2021 Edition by TheDuckDealer

Best Audio – Community

Sonic Forces Overclocked – Freight Frenzy DEMO – SHC2021 Edition by TheDuckDealer

Best Technical – Judged

Yoshi’s Island Zone DLC Restoration by DeaTh

Honourable Mention – Sonic 06 Definitive Experience by brianuuu

Best Technical – Community

Yoshi’s Island Zone DLC Restoration by DeaTh

Honourable Mention – Sonic 06 Definitive Experience by brianuuu

Best Level Design – Judged

Shivery Mountainsides by Goalringmod27

Best Level Design – Community

Shivery Mountainsides by Goalringmod27

Honourable Mention – Sonic Forces Overclocked – Freight Frenzy DEMO – SHC2021 Edition by TheDuckDealer

Most Entertaining – Judged

Shivery Mountainsides by Goalringmod27

Honourable Mention – Sonic Forces Overclocked – Freight Frenzy DEMO – SHC2021 Edition by TheDuckDealer

Most Entertaining – Community

Sonic Forces Overclocked – Freight Frenzy DEMO – SHC2021 Edition by TheDuckDealer

Honourable Mention – Shivery Mountainsides by Goalringmod27

Most “WTF?!” – Judged

Sonic 06 Definitive Experience by brianuuu

Honourable Mention – Dash Adventure 2 by Revenir

Most “WTF?!” – Community

Sonic 06 Definitive Experience by brianuuu

Best Team Entry – Judged

Sonic Forces Overclocked – Freight Frenzy DEMO – SHC2021 Edition by TheDuckDealer

Honourable Mention – Sonic Riders DX by Extreme Gear Labs

Best Team Entry – Community

Sonic Forces Overclocked – Freight Frenzy DEMO – SHC2021 Edition by TheDuckDealer

Honourable Mention – Dash Adventure 2 by Revenir

Best Multiplayer Entry – Judged

Sonic Riders DX by Extreme Gear Labs

Best Multiplayer Entry – Community

Sonic Riders DX by Extreme Gear Labs

Best Character Implementation – Judged

Sonic 06 Definitive Experience by brianuuu

Best Character Implementation – Community

Dash Adventure 2 by Revenir

Honourable Mention – Sonic 06 Definitive Experience by brianuuu

Best Boss Design – Not Awarded in Judged or Community

Best Fresh Concept Using Existing Concepts As A Backbone – Judged

MISSION REPLACEMENT: SA1 Gamma-Timer Variant over Kill X Many Missions by Twilord

Honourable Mention – Sonic Forces Overclocked – Freight Frenzy DEMO – SHC2021 Edition by TheDuckDealer

Best Fresh Concept Using Existing Concepts As A Backbone – Community

MISSION REPLACEMENT: SA1 Gamma-Timer Variant over Kill X Many Missions by Twilord

Honourable Mention – Sonic Forces Overclocked – Freight Frenzy DEMO – SHC2021 Edition by TheDuckDealer

Most Potential – Judged

Sonic Forces Re-imagined – SHC 2021 Demo by brandonj

Honourable Mention – Shivery Mountainsides by Goalringmod27

Most Potential – Community

Sonic Forces Overclocked – Freight Frenzy DEMO – SHC2021 Edition by TheDuckDealer

Honourable Mention – Sonic Forces Re-imagined – SHC 2021 Demo by brandonj

Most Improved – Judged

Sonic Forces Overclocked – Freight Frenzy DEMO – SHC2021 Edition by TheDuckDealer

Honourable Mention – Sonic Forces Re-imagined – SHC 2021 Demo by brandonj

Most Improved – Community

Sonic Forces Overclocked – Freight Frenzy DEMO – SHC2021 Edition by TheDuckDealer

Honourable Mention – Dash Adventure 2 by Revenir

2DPC CATEGORY

Best Visual – Judged

Sonic 2 Mania SHC2021 Demo by AChickMcnuggie

Best Visual – Community

Sonic 2 Mania SHC2021 Demo by AChickMcnuggie

Honourable Mention – Mystic Cave Zone Mania-fied by campbellsonic

Best Audio – Judged

Sonic 2 Mania SHC2021 Demo by AChickMcnuggie

Best Audio – Community

Sonic 2 Mania SHC2021 Demo by AChickMcnuggie

Honourable Mention – Mystic Cave Zone Mania-fied by campbellsonic

Best Technical – Judged

Sonic the Hedgehog Forever by Team Forever

Best Technical – Community

Sonic the Hedgehog Forever by Team Forever

Honourable Mention – SONIC CD: EPISODE METAL by jackelzxa

Best Level Design – Judged

Mystic Cave Zone Mania-fied by campbellsonic

Honourable Mention – Sonic The Hedgehog: Lost Island Demo by CartoonsAnimate22

Best Level Design – Community

Mystic Cave Zone Mania-fied by campbellsonic

Honourable Mention – Sonic The Hedgehog: Lost Island Demo by CartoonsAnimate22

Most Entertaining – Judged

Sonic 2 Mania SHC2021 Demo by AChickMcnuggie

Honourable Mention – Sonic the Hedgehog Forever by Team Forever

Most Entertaining – Community

Sonic 2 Mania SHC2021 Demo by AChickMcnuggie

Honourable Mention – Sonic the Hedgehog Forever by Team Forever

Most “WTF?!” – Not Awarded in Judged or Community

Best Team Entry – Judged

Sonic 2 Mania SHC2021 Demo by AChickMcnuggie

Best Team Entry – Community

Sonic 2 Mania SHC2021 Demo by AChickMcnuggie

Honourable Mention – Sonic the Hedgehog Forever by Team Forever

Best Multiplayer Entry – Not Awarded in Judged or Community

Best Character Implementation – Judged

SONIC CD: EPISODE METAL by jackelzxa

Best Character Implementation – Community

SONIC CD: EPISODE METAL by jackelzxa

Best Boss Design – Judged – Not Awarded

Best Boss Design – Community

Mystic Cave Zone Mania-fied by campbellsonic

Best Fresh Concept Using Existing Concepts As A Backbone – Judged

Mystic Cave Zone Mania-fied by campbellsonic

Best Fresh Concept Using Existing Concepts As A Backbone – Community

Mystic Cave Zone Mania-fied by campbellsonic

Most Potential – Judged

Sonic 2 Mania SHC2021 Demo by AChickMcnuggie

Honourable Mention – Sonic The Hedgehog: Lost Island Demo by CartoonsAnimate22

Most Potential – Community

Sonic 2 Mania SHC2021 Demo by AChickMcnuggie

Honourable Mention – Sonic The Hedgehog: Lost Island Demo by CartoonsAnimate22

Most Improved – Judged

Sonic 2 Mania SHC2021 Demo by AChickMcnuggie

#Comics, #TV/Film, News

Ian Flynn Consulting on Sonic Prime

15th October 202116th October 2021

6 Comments

We’ve known for a little while that Sonic comics scribe Ian Flynn has at least been informed about Sonic Prime’s production since before it was publicly announced. We now have a better idea as to the extent of his involvement in the show’s production, thanks to a tweet by Man of Action writer and artist Duncan Rouleau.

He confirmed that Flynn has been consulting on the project and “has been invaluable.” This confirms that, at the very least, Man of Action is actively seeking input from creators who have experience with the franchise. Here’s hoping that bodes well for Sonic Prime’s quality!

Sonic Prime is being produced by Man of Action and Wildbrain, and is expected to hit Netflix sometime next year. Thanks goes to Alex Hedgefox over on our Discord server for the news tip!

Features, Previews & Reviews

TSS @ SHC 2021: Sonic Forces Re-Imagined

14th October 202115th October 2021

It seems like any Sonic Forces mods seeking to improve the base game’s content had hit on two solutions: increase level length, and up the fan service. If today’s entry proves anything, it’s that this is definitely a winning formula. Sonic Forces Re-imagined, a mod by Brandonj, significantly alters Arsenal Pyramid and Sunset Heights.

My biggest issue with Sonic Forces has always been rooted in the length of individual levels. Levels often felt like they ended just as they were getting going, which kept them from leaving much of an impression. Because the levels are so short, the levels themselves often didn’t have time to mix up or add variety to their design, or to iterate on game play ideas. Reimagined fixes this by doubling the length of these levels, giving them more room to breath, and they’ve never felt better!

Arsenal Pyramid significantly expands on the area outside of the pyramid itself. There are way more opportunities to mix and match Sonic and the avatar’s abilities to both move through the stage and deal with enemies. Quickly figuring out whether to use Sonic or the avatar’s abilities in certain situations felt great, and the way the level used both Sonic and the avatar to provide multiple paths and traversal options lends some nice depth to the stage that was missing before.

Sunset Heights got an even cooler makeover. While the start of the stage is largely unaltered, a whole additional portion has been added at the place where it typically ended. What follows is a series of side-stepping chase sequences as airborne Badniks try to bomb you. Then, you get to face Infinite’s Shadow apparition, as he pops up in several parts of the stage and tries to do damage to you. Finally, there’s an awesome and challenging rail grinding sequence, before the stage finally ends. Not only is Sunset Heights more satisfying to blast through now, but it also gives us the showdown with fake Shadow that the original game failed to deliver on.

This mod does currently have a few issues, unfortunately. The altered levels appear to be poorly optimized, resulting in a lot of frame rate issues on higher settings, something I don’t usually see on my PC. Arsenal Pyramid has a few spots in boost areas where I can accidentally get caught on geography or miss springs, though this is an issue can be avoided by remaining towards the center of the path while boosting. The gear platforms inside the pyramid itself also seem to be slow to move to allow progression.

These minor issues aside, Sonic Forces Re-imagined is pretty great. These level alterations are quite natural, and make them feel far more complete. I didn’t finish these levels wanting something longer or more substantive. I’m happy to see Sonic Forces becoming more popular in the modding scene, and I’m excited to see where this project (and Overclocked, which I wrote about earlier in the week) go. Superb work!

You can download the mod here. Go to the Sonic Hacking Contest website for information on how to install the mod.

Features, News, Previews & Reviews

TSS @ SHC 2021: Sonic the Hedgehog Blastless DX

13th October 202113th October 2021

I’m relatively new to the world of PC Sonic hacks. As I’ve never been much of a PC gamer, I never had much inclination to check out PC-only Sonic hacks until I decided to help cover last year’s Sonic Hacking Contest. Sonic ROM hacks are a different story, however. I’ve been exploring those for nearly a decade now, on my actual SEGA Genesis, through my Mega Everdrive or SEGA CD, as I’ve always loved the novelty of seeing these games running on my actual, ancient gaming hardware. I’ve played some true technical marvels over the years, but I don’t think any have impressed me quite as much as Vladikcomper’s Sonic the Hedgehog Blastless DX. An improved version of an April Fools hack released earlier this year, Blastless DX is a technological showcase with a fun premise: Sonic 1 has “lost” its blast processing, and the player needs to restore it.

Before getting into the game, I’ll explain exactly what “blast processing” is, in case you don’t know. It was a fancy marketing term SEGA of America used to highlight the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive’s CPU speed, which was faster than the Super Nintendo, making speedy games like Sonic easier to make on the machine (SNES devs did eventually figure out how to get around this limitation, but it did plague early games like Gradius 3). Faster CPU aside, however, blast processing was little more than a marketing buzzword, and a key part of this game’s joke.

So, what does Sonic 1 look like without “blast processing”? An 8-bit demake, apparently. The central goal of the hack is to restore “blast processing” by filling up a blast processing bar in the bottom right of the screen, and keep it from emptying until the end of the level. Doing this successfully will “restore” an act, and essentially replaces the chaos emeralds, which can’t be gathered here. The bar can be filled up by gathering rings, destroying enemies, and smashing breakable walls. The bar is emptied whenever damage is taken, downgrading the game’s visuals to less powerful hardware. It’s here where this hack truly shines.

In addition to the 8-bit Master System visuals, there are two lower rungs of visual fidelity, which are reached after taking damage. Getting hit in Master System mode will downgrade visuals to “Atari.” Not the Atari 2600/VCS you’re probably familiar with, but an Atari 8-bit computer (at least, I think, because I know VCS games never looked this good.) Get hit in Atari mode, and visuals are downgraded further, to the colorless, green scale Game Boy. If these visual changes weren’t enough, each graphics mode also has its own music track and sound effects.

These changes are instantaneous, which makes it all the more wild that this actually works on real hardware. I’m used to the more impressive hacks requiring PC emulators, and so the fact that this is all being done with a stock SEGA Genesis absolutely astounds me. And what’s even wilder? This is actually fun to play. It’s more than just a gimmick. It changes how I play the game, and it’s fun.

Because chaos emeralds are no longer in play and I have incentive to seek out enemies and breakable objects, I actively seek that stuff out in the level. The blast processing bar is constantly draining, so I’m incentivized to both try to get through a level quickly, and also clear that level out as thoroughly as possible. Taking damage also carries different penalties, since it can result in multiple visual downgrades, which makes filling the blast processing bar before the end more difficult.

And the visual modes themselves look and sound really cool. The 8-bit mode looks like an 8-bit demake of Sonic 1 that’s graphically taxing the hardware, with accurate looking sprite art and loads of sprite flicker for moving background objects. The accompanying music tracks sound like genuine downgrades, but are also kind of catchy in their own ways. The Atari mode is probably the least impressive of the graphical modes to me, though that might be because I’m not very familiar with how those games looked and sounded, but it at least looks noticeably different and less advanced visually. Game Boy mode is thoroughly impressive, bringing Sonic 1 down to something that does kind of look like something from the platform, albeit without much in the way of music.

Perhaps my only real issue with all this is that these modes do include some graphical issues that may or may not be intentional. The sprite flicker might be a little much, and I do wonder if that’s just the Genesis buckling under everything it’s being asked to do. In Game Boy mode, there are brief moments where Sonic himself will disappear. And with every downgrade, in-game text becomes more and more indecipherable. I didn’t find these issues to affect playability much, but if things like sprite flicker bothers you, this hack might not be for you.

A screen from the hidden DOS graphics mode.

On my Tuesday SHC stream, someone in chat told me Vlad is a magician when it comes to coding for the Genesis. It’s kind of impossible for me to disagree on that front. I don’t know how he did it, whether he really managed to get it to switch between multiple kinds of graphics, or if he employed some sort of visual distorter or filter. But regardless of whatever tricks he used, I find them truly impressive, and Blastless DX is easily one of my favorite retro hacks to come out of Sonic Hacking Contest 2021. Check it out!

Features, Previews & Reviews

TSS & SHC 2021: Shivery Mountainside

12th October 202112th October 2021

You know what Sonic Generations had a severe lack of? Proper DLC levels. Thankfully, it’s a Sonic game, so the fan base has provided with loads of mods over the years. Shivery Mountainside by Goalringmod27 is among the latest of these, and I’ve got to say: it’s a fun, fascinating experience…if you’re looking for a challenge that can at times be a little unfair, but also do things regular Generations levels never did.

Shivery Mountainside starts in a cozy log cabin, which acts as a small hub area where players can buy upgrades and lives before setting off on their run down the mountain. It’s here that you’ll notice the start of a trend: the hub is in full 3D. The whole mod is in 3D, in fact. This alone does a lot to set this level apart from Sonic’s official boosting stages.

The demo starts out with a brief, exciting snowboarding section. After Sonic bursts out of his cabin on a snowboard, the player must then boost through hordes of enemies while navigating the mountain’s snowy slopes. There are two paths to take here, as well as some rings for more skilled players to jump through, to get them to grinding paths on top of some cabins. It’s not long before Sonic reaches the town at the foot of the mountain, where he ditches the snowboard and starts running on foot. And it’s here where the fun, and brief bouts of frustration, begin.

Shivery Mountainside’s level design is tailored around the idea of encouraging new and unorthodox utilization of Generations’ physics. Sometimes, to cross a pit, you need to hit the boost button at exactly the right moment to send yourself flying into a set of rings to your next platform. On other occasions, you’ll need to interrupt your momentum with a stomp in order to reach a ring or boost pad. This sort of thinking isn’t always necessary, and sometimes its possible to clear a gap through some other means, like attacking enemies.

It’s pretty cool playing a level like this in Generations, but I must admit it can also lead to…frustrations. One inherent issue in this sort of design is that the level can just be really difficult. When those mid-air boosts become required to survive a pit, messing up their timing results in instant death. 3D platforming was also never Generations’ strong suit, as it can be a bit slippery, so having to navigate a level full of areas like this will inevitably result in a lot of falling into pits. It took me hours of trial and error to fully figure these areas out, and I still mess them up on occasion. This is not the Sonic Generations you’re used to: it does not allow for much margin of error.

All that said, while the level can be quite challenging, that challenge is, for the most part, quite fair, and makes mastering this level exhilarating. It is only when you reach the ice caverns that the design becomes a little…mean. After navigating a series of narrow ice platforms, you reach a cavern full of red ice. While gorgeous, I found this area very hard to navigate effectively. The lower water path, which was the first one I took, was very confusing to navigate. Even with the big arrows made out of golden rings, I simply found the area unnavigable because, between the red ice pillars and the water, there was no clear path through to an exit. So I simply died repeatedly. I eventually managed to make my way through the area by taking one of its other, optional paths above the water. I did eventually beat the area on the lower path, but I’m still not entirely sure how I did it.

Right after this is the second worse area of the level: a curved ice path, with no guardrails, over a bottomless pit, that leads directly to a wall-running section with bombs that are impossible to dodge, at least with my human reflexes. I eventually managed to get past this part by slow walking on the path, and then activating a new power up introduced in this mod, “time break.” This slows down time, which allowed me to avoid the bombs, and finally beat the cavern section of the level. While these areas are quite beatable, especially after some trial and error, I do hope they are redesigned somewhat. Nothing breaks a Sonic level’s flow more effectively than having to worry about getting confused by the level itself, or having to slow walk on a path to avoid falling off. I do think this goes a little beyond the sort of challenge one should expect from a Sonic boost level.

All of these criticisms aside, Shivery Mountainside truly is a standout Generations mod. Its got great visuals and a superb music track that’s still stuck in my head. It’s only six minutes long, but I’ve already spent hours on it, trying to perfect all the tricks and find all the shortcuts. Even in my latest playthrough, which I did while I was writing this, I managed to reach some extra lives by boosting through rings that I hadn’t been able to get through before. If you’re hungry for a new Sonic boost level, check this out!

You can download the mod here. For instructions on how to implement hacks, check out Sonic Hacking Contest’s website here.

Features, Previews & Reviews

TSS @ SHC 2021: Sonic Forces Overclocked

29th September 202129th September 2021

3 Comments

It’s Sonic Hacking Contest time again, and you all should know what that means: hands-on articles for a bunch of mods from lots of awesome fans!

SHC 2021 has a lot of entries worth checking out, but Duck Dealer’s Sonic Forces Overclocked demo, “Freight Frenzy,” is definitely one of the most ambitious. Acting as both a remix of the original game’s levels, and a sequel to its storyline, this mod features original voice work, still-frame hand-drawn cutscenes, a remixed music track (composed by Landy & Tabebo and featuring vocals by Cisconic) and a newly designed level based on Sonic Force’s “Spaceport” stage.

The production values are pretty solid, especially for a fan work. The voice acting is good, the hand-drawn cutscenes tell this demo’s little story effectively, and the remixed track is just as catchy as anything from the original game. On the whole, it’s really impressive work, and not at all the sort of thing I’d expect out of SHC. But as impressive as all this stuff is, it’s the new level that sits at the heart of this mod.

While I never hated Sonic Forces, its level design could certainly be overly simplistic and lacking in any true set pieces. This is something Freight Frenzy aims to fix and it mostly succeeds. This level is meaty, with a length of about five to six minutes, which is perfect for a Sonic stage. It features several areas and obstacles meant for specific wisps, like drill and hover, which provide some nice traversal options.

If you’ve got a drill wispon, you can use this shortcut

The mod also employs a neat gimmick: dodging Dr. Eggman’s many freight trains. These were wasted in the original Forces, but here they provide a very nice level gimmick On the whole, this level has a superb flow, and is more engaging than any of the avatar stages from the original game. That said, there are some problems.

This demo features its own omochao. Attack it, and it’ll remind you it has a chainsaw for an arm.

One of the freight train obstacles doesn’t telegraph things well. Players have to leap off rails three times in a row to avoid oncoming trains, and there is literally no time to react before the trains hit and kill you. I had to memorize which direction to dodge, and I just started pressing the button to leap over to another rail before the next train even came into view. Anything else simply resulted in getting hit. The final train obstacle can also result in a cheap death, because if you don’t successfully dodge all the trains and hit the speed boosts at the end, a train you have no idea is coming will run you down from behind.

Memorization is critical to Sonic game play. These games are built to accommodate that, with their forgiving health systems and checkpoints. But these bits of SFO don’t really feel fair, even by Sonic standards. Players need to be given more lead time during the first segment I mentioned. I’d also just prefer if the final segment where the train comes at you from behind was simply automated, instead of dependent on hitting speed boosts that are a little too easy to miss.

Finally, the segment where players need to sidestep on top of several trains is just sort of broken. Side-stepping is sticky and slow here for some reason. Hopefully, Duck Dealer will be able to sort out whatever the issue is here, though some memorization does get you passed it.

I think once SFO fixes these issues, it won’t just be a fun hack, but a prime example of what Sonic Force’s avatar stages should’ve been: meaty stages with lots of wisp-centric traversal options and Sonic Generations-quality gimmicks. As it stands, it’s still a very fun, impressive mod, and more than worth checking out for anyone who owns Sonic Forces.

Overdrive is an ongoing project, and the mod promises more is coming in the future. I can’t wait!

Check out the Sonic Hacking Contest website for the mod, as well as instructions on how to implement it, here. You can find the mod here.

#TV/Film, News

Lee Majdoub to Reprise Agent Stone in the Sonic 2 Movie

14th September 202114th September 2021

It’s National Coffee Day, apparently, and the Sonic Movie twitter account decided to mark the occasion with a tweet featuring latte art revealing that Lee Majdoub would be returning in the Sonic movie sequel as Dr. Robotnik’s loyal henchman, Agent Stone.

This isn’t terribly surprising, as he was spotted on set months ago, but I guess it’s official now. Check out the latte art below!

#Games, #TV/Film, News

Dreams Come True’s Green Hill Remix Gets Music Video