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Please note that this site is no longer being updated or maintained; as a result, there may be design issues, and links to images and other media may be broken.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.
Slingerland is a staff writer and editor for both The Sonic Stadium and Sonic Retro. His area of emphasis is the inner-workings of the games and laughing at everything.
Sonic Fan Games HQ is having its third annual “Sonic Minigame Contest” and is offering a sweet grand prize this time around. The winner of this year’s contest can choose from either $20 at the PlayStation Network, 1600 Microsoft Points, or 2000 Wii *ahem* I mean…Nintendo Points. Check out these rules, straight from the source:
Contestant submits one Sonic themed minigame for the contest.
Minigame is defined by a shorter game with simple mechanics, typically inserted into a game to add brief bits of variety.
Sonic examples include snowboarding, the star post bonus stages from Sonic 3&K, or ANY special stage.
Entry may be made using any format as long as it runs on my (or a Judge’s) PC without having to buy anything.
3 Judges picked from all over the Sonic community.
Open to anyone, but an SFGHQ forum account would be nice.
Prize will be one of the following based on the winner’s choice: $20.00 PSN Card OR 1600 Microsoft Points OR 2000 Wii Points. If winner is unable to use any prize, sorry. If less than 5 entries, the prize will be substituted for something else.
Due to Gmail’s file restrictions, entries will be submitted by yousendit. Optionally AIM file transfer may be used, or just e-mail with a URL. e-mail is ilascottATgmailDOTcom.
Entries due by Noon, December 1, 2008.
That’s right, guys! Any format! That means it can be made in flash, Games Factory, Multimedia Fusion, Game Maker, C, anything! Hop to it, because the contest ends in a month!
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It is that time once again for another installment in The Sonic Stadium’s own podcast, The Sonic Show. After a one month delay, caused by me (my bad, but school comes first), the fourth installment of the second season is ready to hit your iPods with style. What is jam packed into this episode?
Turbo, from “Turbo Drive Live,” guest hosts!
All the latest Sonic news
New Unleashed and Black Knight footage and trailers
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I was attracted by the title alone, but I was even more pleased after I clicked it. This flash short by DeviantArt user, coycoy, features Sonic…being an asshole…to Shadow. SIGN ME UP. Click the image below to go the movie, broskis.
The visuals are great and the animation is pretty rad, especially considering that this video is coycoy’s first Sonic related flash video. I thought the premise was simple and entertaining, something that I am rather fond of. I don’t like a movie when something, either the premise or the joke, drags out too long. After chuckling at Shadow getting owned, I looked in the description to find this:
sonic and shadow belong to Sega yo.
Best copyright listing ever yo.
Would you or a friend like to be featured here at The Sonic Stadium? Send a PM to Slingerland on the SSMB!
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The people at GoNintendo have posted a new article to follow up on the comments from Akinori Nishiyama, the GM of Sonic Team, where it seems that he has changed his mind. Nishiyama’s translator said the following to an interviewer:
“Actually, he has been working on Sonic Advance and Sonic Rush and is very keen on keeping the 2D game. But, having said that, he also thinks 3D Sonic [is good]…And he has been thinking so hard to incorporate those good things from both 3D and 2D. And this is one of the reasons that in Sonic Unleashed we have both 3D and 2D mixed gameplay, kind of switched, going back and forth…Although he thinks that the original 2D game was really good, he doesn’t intend to publish kind of a remake of the original game.”
Hopes elated, then deflated. Oh, well. I knew it was not going to happen anyway. If you need a fresh, 16-bit fix, I know a place where you could get it. (lol plug)
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Guess who has been busy? Me! Sorry for you Crossfire fans who have had to wait an entire month, but them’s the brakes. With college kicked into full gear, in addition to more Sonic Nexus development after the surge of popularity, I never usually get time to myself. Working on the project, with it being a classic Sonic title and given the positive response that it has received everywhere, got me thinking about something…
In the past week, I have played the absolute hell out of Mega Man 9, Capcom’s return to the original Mega Man series and 8-bit gameplay and presentation. I am enjoying every minute of it, because I am not just riding a wave of nostalgia, but I am also impressed with the refined gameplay. The fact that a game straight out of 1988 can be successful in 2008 is downright admirable and eye-opening. It makes me wonder, as a Sonic fan, if a retro reboot is in order for another blue hero: Sonic. Would a 16-bit foray treading new ground be a commerical success or another step towards irrelevancy? Today, we take a look at whether or not SEGA has the potential to make some magic, akin to Capcom and Nintendo, and if looking backward has the potential to push forward.
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IGN(6.5/10) lets everybody continue the Sonic community’s on-going trend of bias (ridiculous, by the way) against Sonic with their latest Sonic review. “Sonic Chronicles isn’t a bad game overall, but it does suffer from a list of things that keep it from being a title we can recommend to just anyone. The character balancing is strong, the game is simply beautiful, and there’s more effort put into the front end and general flow of the game than most DS titles out there. On the gameplay front though, players will need to suffer through tedious point-to-point fetch quests with very little story to push the experience, and a battle system that gets too repetitive far too fast.”
WorthPlaying.com(6.5/10) goes against their initial perception of the title by labeling Sonic Chronicles a completely average RPG: “If [Sonic Chronicles] wasn’t for the fact that it had Sonic characters in it, it wouldn’t stand out at all [against other RPGs]. The combat system is interesting but flawed, the gameplay is slow and rather tedious and the plot is as cookie-cutter as they come. There is very little attempt made to make the game feel anything like a Sonic title, and if it weren’t for the occasional loop, you could easily replace Sonic and friends with original characters without losing anything but name recognition.”
VideoGamer.com(8.0/10) makes note that Chronicles is not the greatest RPG out there, but is still a title worth your time and cash: “If you’re not a Sonic fan and instead are simply looking for a quality RPG, there’s better on the DS, but Chronicles still comes highly recommended. If you’re a Sonic fan Chronicles really is an essential purchase. It’s one of the best Sonic games we’ve played in ages (given the quality of some Sonic games in recent years this doesn’t come as a surprise) and, despite it not being as in-depth an RPG as we’d hoped, it’s really a lot of fun while it lasts.”
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A Sonic community member, Sonicsuperstar1, has taken the rumor of a DS fighting game, featuring SEGA and Capcom characters duking it out, and turned it into some cool fan art. Check it, son:
Would you or someone you know like to be featured on TSS’ Fan Spotlight? Contact Slingerland on the SSMB and link him up!
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THE ONE-SIDED TALK SHOW RETURNS TO SEGASONIC RADIO NEXT TUESDAY AT 3 PM EST.
Tristan Oliver, you’re on notice.
Not only will I be taking calls to get opinions on the new game, Sonic Chronicles, but I have a personal axe to grind. Since TSSZ News finds it appropriate to make clean laundry dirty and then show it to the rest of the Sonic community, I’ll happily play along. Since TSSZ News finds that making controversial stories is the best way to get page views, I’ll gladly play that game, too. The mud-slinging continues, because as of right now, I am extending an invitation to Tristan Oliver to be on the show to lose in a debate that he never even had a chance winning. Tristan, if you are reading this post (which I know you are), give me an answer in a PM box anywhere that you so choose, be it SSMB, SFGHQ, or whatever. Get Skype, a microphone, and some bandages ready once you accept this invitation, which in turn, is accepting your inevitable defeat.
The One-Sided Talk Show has had its share of heated debates, but this one looks to be the most personal of them all. Fair warning, Tristan: when you mess with the best, you go down like the rest.
UPDATE: Sorry, 3 PM EST. Typo, there. Sorry for the confusion, guys.
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DeviantArt user ILoveKnucklesShadow has made a pretty funny comic of Sonic and Co. all on computers, looking at horrible (aka “most”) Sonic art. Some funny panels include things such as characters having sex and/or looking sexy or questioning how they are drawn.
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What’s up? Your community writer, Mister Sling, has something totally awesome to show you. I like to peruse DeviantArt and look for some talented Sonic artists and I have found one today in a member named “Neodaft. The work of art that caught my attention is straight out of Sonic and the Secret Rings:
Not gonna lie…that is pretty rad right there. Neodaft said that he used Prismacolors, white paper, eraser, a “pilot H-165 clickable pencil” and Photoshop. As a fan of Secret Rings, I dig it. As a fan of Sonic art, I really dig it. The style of the art really draws on the storybook theme of the game and the blur added in Photoshop makes Sonic’s speed convincing.
Visit neodaft’s DeviantArt page for more awesome art. I’ll catch you guys later for another Fan Spotlight. I really enjoy seeing how talented everybody in this community is.
Do you know of some fan created work that is totally awesome? Submit it to the Fan Spotlight, so it can be featured here! Send a PM to Slingerland on SSMB!
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Welcome to the Fan Spotlight, a segment that shines on creative works in the Sonic community that you should check out.
Over at Sonic Retro, member ColinC10 has made a brand new ROM hack that tests not only your time attacking skills, but your boss killing skills as well. “Robotnik’s Revenge” is a Genesis ROM hack that pits you against every single boss from both Sonic 1 & 2. Back to back, you are presented with these familiar challenges inside the Death Egg, a design reminiscent of the version of the Death Egg found in the “Sonic 2 Long Version” hack. The hack is incredibly addicting, as your previous experience with these bosses leaves you coming back for more if just so happen to die. I died a few times near the end and kept telling myself, “I know that I can beat this game! I’ve done it a thousand times!” Then, I kept playing.
The hack offers a time attack mode (unlimited lives) and a survival mode (with lives). You can play with Sonic or Tails in both modes. Please, give it a play, because it is really cool to see the Sonic 1 bosses implemented into the Sonic 2 engine.
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Hey, kids, it has been a while, but the Roarey’s comics are back with the third iteration. Feel like I’m misrepresenting the community with my overt pessimism? Well, you are full of shit, because a good deal of us feel the same way.
If anything, the other bloggers are representing the optimistic crowd rather well, so don’t get all bent out of shape about it. It’s Sonic the Hedgehog for crying out loud.
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If you did not see the desperate, red banner of attention at TSSZ already, Sonic 2 HD, the project spearheaded by members at the Sonic Retro community, have released the first, playable demo of the game. Personally, I cannot play it myself, as the game absolutely munched every last bit of my RAM (and then some), but if you manage to get it running smoothly, I heard it is a nice showcase of their physics engine and the artwork, especially the fluid animations. I also heard that it is fun distraction at work. Take your pick. 😉
Head on over to Sonic Retro, download the demo, and comment!
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SEGA of America’s official YouTube profile has released the Unleashed trailer of the China level, as seen at the LGC. In this video, you can catch some mad “game playing itself” action, “homing attack badniks over bottomless pits” action, as well as some “repetitive button mashing with howling” action. So much action, so little time!
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What has Sonic enthusiast and budding superstar, Charles the Hamilton, been up to lately? Well, he recently released the first in a series of mixtapes, entitled “Death of a Mixtape Rapper.” These eight mixtape releases will lead up to his label debut in 2009. In light of this release, DJ Booth caught an interview with the 20-year old up-and-coming rapper where he discusses his musical inspirations, the fallout with his mother, and his continuing adoration of the blue blur. At the end of the interview, DJ Booth asks Hamilton to freestyle, which he promptly does with incredible flow.
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I want you to play my Sonic game. I want you to read the articles on the site. I want to make sure that you are actually reading the site by commenting on the posts. So, that is what we have done over at the Sonic Nexus Development Blog. You can freely comment on anything you want over there, so when an article peaks your interest and a question arises, you can now ask it and promptly get an answer. We will be more than happy to answer it.
Cheating. This guy did it.
Secondly, we are eleven days into the Time Attack Challenge and we currently have 13 entries. That number is pretty damn good. So, hey, let’s keep it up! Record yourself playing the latest demo and upload it to YouTube as a video response to the “hub video” and you could win a $15 gift card. No joke here, folks. Spread the word!
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Yeah, the demo is here. Once we missed SAGE, we took our dear sweet time, but now it is here to make your Labor Day even more awesome. You can play two acts of Sunset Shore and that’s about it. However, the level is sprawling with branching paths, so it warrants a few playthroughs for you to see everything. Nexus truly illustrates what a person can do in the brand new Retro-Sonic interface, so we hope it is a clear too you indication that this summer was a long, time-consuming process on making a brand new iteration of the engine. We also felt that we should take our time in creating our ideal product, as a hasty release definitely will piss people off (see: ProSonic). It was time well spent.
Secondly, you can record your best time with screen capture software and upload it to YouTube for a chance win $15. Yes! All you have to do is post your time attack run as a video response to the contest “hub” video, WHICH IS RIGHT HERE!
Finally, I encourage everybody to read our Nexus website and development blog, as the team and I will be updating it frequently, Smash Bros. Dojo style! You’ll see new screenshots, features, gameplay videos, and updates at least once a week, if not more. New music will be added to the on-site player periodically, as well. The community has always been left in the dark when it comes to Nexus’ development, as I only have been shedding light on details around SAGE time, but now, you can read about it year round. The website is essentially the game’s manual, so it will have all the goods. The first feature on the site is “Meet That Badnik,” where we go in-depth on one of Robotnik’s mechanical mercenaries. You can expect articles of similar quality coming down the pipe.
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Hey, dudes, The Crossfire is back! I’m tied up with school and a few loose ends on the ooool’ fangame project, but SSMB member, Cake, is here to fill the void with a guest Crossfire! Let’s see how this goes, shall we?
—
Everyone craves getting caught in The Crossfire so we can’t just stop, can we? What do we have for today’s topic? Each Sonic game seems to throw out the welcome mat for a new character, and the simple question is, are all these characters contributing to the series in a positive way, or are things getting crowded to the point that the blue blur has no room to run?
POINT: New characters take away from Sonic, while serving no purpose in the long stretch of things.
Why are we still calling these things Sonic games? The games barely even feature the blue blur anymore, he’s usually overshadowed (pun completely intended) by someone else, or his time is taken up by some other random character. Who is usually stronger then him too. I mean, Shadow is a seemingly darker version of Sonic, able to match our hero in speed and abilities. But, Shadow has a better grip on Chaos Control. And he knows his way around guns. Lots of guns. Continue reading The Crossfire: Guest Edition
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Time Twisted and I have a history together. The game debuted during the same SAGE as my project and we have made an appearance at the show for three years running now. It is always a good sight to see that a project is still alive. Secondly, we both chose the path of emulating Sonic CD, which is a plus, in my book. It remains a highlight of the show for anybody looking for a demo with more content than most (three zones here, broskis). Nonetheless, personally, I am gradually more and more disappointed with each subsequent release.
When it came down to gameplay, the physics are similar to Sonic Panic, in that they are manageable and are not intrusive to the action. A much needed improvement that I noticed this year was the beefed-up spin-dash. It only takes one touch of the space bar to power up Sonic to full speed and that is a godsend, in my opinion. The core gameplay experience does not twist the fun, but there are a few questionable gameplay choices that will. For example, ring loss is, apparently, absent. Sure, it happens, but I cannot collect any rings. None.
Time Twisted, as stated earlier, takes after Sonic CD and its time travel element. In previous years, I did not think there was a reason for the time travel, as Overbound, the creator, might not have thought of a purpose for it at the time. That said, now that development is three years in, there should be a reason why I should even bother going back to the past. I had to destroy something in the past levels of Sonic CD, so there was a reward for keeping my speed up in the present. Here, I am simply unmotivated to brave the journey through time. Time Twisted treats this feature like a novelty and it feels phoned in for the sake of having time travel while other fangames do not. Continue reading SAGE ’08: Sonic – Time Twisted
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SAGE director, Shadix, and I got to interview Richard Jacques during SAGE and we had an extensive discussion on his favorites, creative process, and various other thoughts. The interview takes about a minute to get into it, as there’s a strange hiss for a bit, but yes, there is an interview after that noise. Also, whenever a caller-hangs up, there’s a bit of dead air. Technical difficulties, ya know.
Also, reminder! At 9 PM EST on Thursday, August 20th (which would be today), Mike Pollock, the voice of Dr. Eggman, will be in the chat channel to field questions and on the air to host a gameshow! It’s a can’t miss event!
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There are always short demos on the show floor, so I’m combining them into one post here. Today, I’ll be reviewing a few of the lesser known titles at the show, in order to give them some exposure. The bigger games you already know about and will be getting larger reviews, like Fated Hour, later this year. I’m holding those off, as they always update with bug fixes and stuff throughout the expo.
The following, arbitrary scoring system will be used for these review round-ups:
Sucks: Avoid at all costs
Kinda Sucks: You might like it, but probably not
Meh: Doesn’t suck, but isn’t cool either
Interesting: Worth your time
Way Past Cool: Must see!
SONIC PANIC – Meh
Spike has had this game running for nearly 3 years now and this year, we get new content and a brand new name. Formerly named, “Sonic the Hedgehog 4,” Sonic Panic follows Sonic as he chases Robotnik across various galaxies and planets. The demo features the Planet Mech level of Rail Road, which is a Genesis revamp of Sunset Park from Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble on the Game Gear. I am a complete sucker for Game Gear levels, so I went into the demo with modest expectations.
First off, you will notice that the music is awful. The instrumentation is simply horrific and you will be cursing FL Studio for having such poor guitar samples. Once you get past that, your attention will be directed towards the “close, but not quite” physics of the game, which are decent enough. Jumping could use some improving and the spindash is extremely weak, but otherwise, the whole gameplay experience is serviceable and is hardly game-breaking in the slightest.
As a Genesis-styled game, the level design features branching paths and “awesome secret walkthough wall shit.” While it is nice to have many places to go, there is simply not much to do. The whole level is devoid of any activity, mostly due to the lack of badniks, as I only encountered a couple. There are a few industrial-themed gimmicks in there to tide you over in spots, however.
Augmenting the demo’s emptiness has to be the graphics. Essentially everything is black and any variety the foreground tries to offer is thrown out the window. There is the occasional yellow, construction stripe, but that is about it. The background is nice, with the sunset and all, but the black silhouettes of the towers in the background have no contrast to the foreground, thus adding to the black attack. Continue reading [SAGE ’08 Review] Review Round-Up #1
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The man on the left is Kuzko. He found his groove in Disney’s The Emperor’s New Groove. In this forgettable animated movie, starring David Spade and John Goodman, Kuzko (Spade) is turned into a llama by some crazy, usurper bitch and Pacha (Goodman) has to save him. They run around and do a whole bunch of wacky shit, avoiding the crazy, usurper bitch as much as possible. They get to Kuzko’s palace to reverse the process, an epic battle ensues, and Kuzko returns to being emperor and the big, stupid, comic relief character teaches some kids how to talk to woodland creatures. What does Kuzko learn? While a llama, he changes his arrogant, selfish ways and embraces the world and the people that inhabit it. His 180-degree turn is truly heartwarming, albeit formulaic and uninteresting.
What does Kuzko have to do with a Sonic fangame? Well, BlazeHedgehog’s Sonic: The Fated Hour has been in development for ten years. Ten. Read up on it, because I’m not lying here. Finally, after years of gameplay changes and data wipes, Fated Hour has finally found its “groove” in the alpha version of Sonic Worlds. Kuzko’s change of heart happens after he is transformed back into a human and Fated Hour is at this point still in the “llama” stage. The project has made a huge change for the better, hopefully leading to greater things, but there is still a long way to go to fully develop its character, like Kuzko.
Fated Hour offers up your standard fare of Genesis-styled gameplay, while expanding upon it to keep it more unique amongst the sea of booths at SAGE this year. These new inclusions are first made apparent by Amy Rose, who offers to explain the controls to the game. Rather than only have the jump button, there are four in use during the game. However, only two are in use during this showcase: jump and jump cancel. Jump cancel will break the ball Sonic normally goes into during a jump and allows him to grind a rail or wall-kick. The multiple button setup sounds good on paper, but trying to wall-jump between two walls with two buttons is cumbersome and mapping Sonic’s wall-stick to the jump button or making it automatic would work better. When the game offers high scores for best times, the time-attackist might have difficulty trying to blow by a section of wall jumping. This button tandem is like an old man, because it threw off my groove. Continue reading SAGE ’08: Sonic – The Fated Hour
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IT’S FINALLY HERE! THE 2008 SONIC AMATEUR GAMES EXPO IS HERE!
We invite any and all Sonic fans to come to the 13th iteration of this long-standing, Sonic community tradition, hosted by one of the community’s original sites, Sonic Fan Games HQ. Play the latest and greatest fan projects all in one place for one glorious week of celebrating not only Sonic the Hedgehog, but our community as well.
Please, hop right into the chat room, look at the schedule, and just read everything there is to read about the show! It’s going to be great!
A word of warning about certain booths: Sunday is usually the slowest day for the booths section, as dead links will be weeded out and some people will be putting up their demos throughout the day, due to time zone differences. Bear with that fact, because it happens every year. Come Monday, everybody should be ready to roll.
Be sure to check here for TSS Staff’s input on all the fangaming action!
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It must be that time of the year, being that the few days before SAGE are always filled with last minute hype videos for just about every project. I am well prepared to wait and let ’em all pile up, rather than flooding this here front page, devoting a single news post to a game’s preview video.
With one entire day before the show (which starts at 12 AM EST, by the way), SFGHQ members Aylingling, Nitemare, and Shadow5561 have released preview videos of their SAGE demos of Sonic Zenith, Super Mario Kingdoms, and Sonic Unleashed Advance, respectively. You can check them all out in the links below:
In other news, SFGHQ member, Streak Thunderstorm, has jumped the gun and has released the SAGE demo of Mecha Madness early. You can access his SAGE booth, which has the download to the demo, at the following link:
One last thing to be on the look out for is the ever-updating schedule, because we have added two new guests to SAGE: Lee Brotherton and Eric Iwasaki, a developer from Naughty Dog studios (Crash Bandicoot series). Times have yet to be set in stone, but they are confirmed to be guests in the SAGE chat room. Special thanks goes out to SSMB member EXshad for annoying the living shit out of us until we got him into the chat room schedule.
When the show begins, we will have the entire front page staff reviewing all the games with playable builds. You read correctly, I will not be the only one doing SAGE reporting. Please check back throughout the week for more SAGE 2008 coverage (100% free of pretentiousness and the word “first”).
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Sonic 1 Megamix has been at the forefront at the hacking community, considered by most to be somewhat of a gold standard when it came to adding content to Sonic ROMs. However, Wednesday marked the end of the Sonic 1 hack after controversy, unnecessary drama, and just plain bullshit permeated the project’s thread for the entire month of August. I’m too lazy to recall the whole story behind the leak earlier this month and all the stupid crap that ensued (and if you’re involved in the community, you already know about it), so let’s just get the project’s director, Tweaker, to comment on the end of an era:
We have chosen to release the work we have. The game has had many changes, including a port to the Sega CD by Stealth. There is one ISO for each region, and the game should work perfectly on hardware, with a few exceptions; a few Knuckles sections will crash the system, and the pitch adjustment in the sound test doesn’t work on hardware either. However, BRAM is fully functional, among other things. This is nowhere near what an ideal final release would be like, but there’s really nothing more to be said. The game is in a playable state, although it is stressed that this is by no means in an ideal state for a full release. There were many things we had planned but could not achieve, and these things will never be achieved.
To read his entire post, check the link below. Oh, and take some time off, Tweak. You’ve earned it.
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Hey, Sonic Show fans! Are you ready for another episode of TSS’ chart-topping podcast?! Well, here it is! Season 2, episode 3 is a “Summer of Sonic” special episode, so this go-’round is not your traditional offering of Sonic Show goodness, as it mostly acts as an archive of all the media Jay (aka Disco Ponies) and other expo-goers managed to film at the event.
However, there are a few non-SoS skits in there, so there are some surprises to be had in this episode! Featuring:
Exclusive Summer of Sonic coverage and footage! Featuring all the concert numbers by Richard Jacques, TJ Davies, and Lee Brotherton, T-Bird’s Quiz Show, and more!
An exclusive promo video for the re-opening of the Sonic Cage Dome!
The SAGE 2008 Promotional Video!
What’s going on as SoS U.S.A.? Our cameras dropped in on the show!
RedHedgehog doesn’t have an episode this time, but they show up to announce a new contest! What is it and what is the prize?
Slingerland’s Corner at the Olympic Games
With the Olympics in full swing and my love for attention, I shoved a Corner segment out the door. Fun fun fun. RedHedgehog will return to its usual antics next week, as well. We really hope you enjoy all the SoS coverage in this episode, though. The audio quality of the concerts is really good!
Episode 4 will air on TSS on September 5th. Be on the look out for brand new content and higher production values?
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Hey, broskis, we’re taking a break from the aesthetics of Sonic game design and talking about an equally important part of the game industry, public relations. Today, we’re following up on the GameDaily interview with SEGA VP of Marketing, Sean Raticliffe, which was covered so brilliantly by me last week. I felt that the fanbase could be split on the remarks by Mr. Ratcliffe, in that they could be the soothing words that calm the fan backlash of the newer Sonic titles or that they are partaking in the same PR bullshit that SEGA has been spewing for years now. Where do you stand?
Sean Ratcliffe: Full of Sanguity or Shit?
POINT: SEGA has fully acknowledged its mistakes and the future Sonic games will be of better quality.
We have rarely seen somebody from SEGA step forward and field a question like the one that GameDaily asked (“Aren’t you concerned about the brand though when game after game is mediocre at best?”). Ratcliffe admits that the criticism is indeed warranted, thus proving that the Sonic community’s constant complaining was good for something, in a sense. We can continue to/finally be optimistic about the future of the franchise. Continue reading The Crossfire: Ratcliffe Reactions
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I just wrote a goddamn Crossfire feature on SEGA’s wonderful PR department at 8 PM Central Standard Time on August 11th. On the same day 3 hours later, I read the following blunder of an interview. What an absolutely delicious convenience. Sometimes, I simply love just posting the news, but this story is another opportunity that I cannot refuse to inject hilarious, yet warranted, opinion into.
SEGA should just stop doing interviews. They say blockheaded things in these one-on-one discussions with the gaming media and it really brings a palm to my face. The latest installment in “SEGA PR Adventures” (now available on Wii Shop Channel) features Mr. Simon Jeffery, the president of SEGA of America. We have been down this road before. Remember when he called us all 13-year olds for liking Sonic? I know Svend does.
In late July, Simon Jeffery was on a “quest for cool” during an interview with Forbes Magazine, as reported by Kotaku. He really set the bar low by saying that SEGA should be equal to or better than THQ. Yes, T-H-Q.
If that was not enough “lulz” for you, as of yesterday, he is practically asking, no, begging for us to be disgruntled at him once more in his latest interview with Gamasutra. His first Sonic related question was why Sonic is hopping around play-styles in order to find his niche in the 3D world. His response:
SJ: I think the Japanese side, at Sonic Team, have realized that old Sonic doesn’t really gel with today’s consumer and today’s kids especially.
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SEGANERDS forum member, STORM! has taken photos of all the pages in the new Degenki Magazine. The new feature gives us a better taste on what the Wii version of Unleashed is going to look like. Also, there is a manga, too, following the (mis)adventures of Sonic the Werehog and the new, unnecessary “chihuahua” character, but you do not care about that, right? You want to see this game!
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I pretty much called this one. Since everybody always works up until the last minute on their games, booths, or both, you can register your booth all the way up to the 16th of August, the last day before the show. If you have already registered, but did not submit a link to your playable demo, you can re-register to make your booth a “featured booth.”
Remember, only booths with demos will be accepted as “featured booths,” getting bigger advertising than those without. Another key point to remember is that if you are a banned member at Sonic Fan Games HQ, you are not allowed to enter SAGE under any circumstance. If a member on your team happens to be a banned member, but you are not, you should probably consider kicking him out if you plan to register to what is to be the biggest SAGE of them all. Finally, booths that have dead links on day 1 will be removed without notice. That is all.
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WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE SOME EXCLUSIVE FOOTAGE OF SOME SELECT TITLES COMING TO SAGE? OOOKAY!!!
This 3-minute video ran at the Summer of Sonic during the day, but if you didn’t go, catch a glimpse of Sonic Nexus’ new engine and animated cutscenes, the action of Sonic: Time Twisted, the beauty of Emerald Ties: Crossing Fates, and more!
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SEGA’s Vice President of Marketing, Sean Ratcliffe, sat down with Game Daily for an in-depth interview and discussed the lack of quality control in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise.
It is about time. Ratcliffe said:
“Some of that criticism is probably warranted. We definitely recognize that a franchise that has been going as long as Sonic, you really have to put a huge amount of effort in to make sure that you maintain that quality, and arguably a disproportionate amount of effort. However, I would say we recognize it, which is why you’re seeing us this year taking the first steps in making sure the quality is right, and we’re constantly looking at innovation. We can’t just stand still with Sonic; we’ve got to be looking at different ways to develop the character, different genres, and so on.”
He added:
“So your point [about quality] is a fair one, and it’s a challenge to Sega to make sure we’re pushing and making sure the quality is there with Sonic. Do we get concerned about it? Yes, of course we’re always concerned about how we’re developing that franchise. And a lot of time and effort is spent discussing how we develop Sonic.”
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CLICK THE IMAGE ABOVE TO SEE THE SCHEDULE! ALL TIMES ARE EASTERN STANDARD.
Pink slots are workshops, red slots are SAGEcasts, skin-tone (wtf color is that) slots are interviews in the chat room, and baby blue slots are concerts. Other colors are just random events.
Well, now we can finally confirm the first SAGE workshop, as Chris Senn, the developer of Sonic X-Treme, has agreed to hold a workshop on game design on Monday, August 18th at 6 PM EST!His regular interview time in the SAGE chat room has been changed from the last post. He is now appearing at 6 PM EST on Thursday, August 21st.Continue reading Current SAGE Schedule released, confirms times and more
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Mike Pollock, the voice of Dr. Eggman for 4kids, is going to be a SAGE chat guest along with the aforementioned Ryan Drummond, Chris Senn, and Richard Jacques. Chris Senn’s appearance now has a time and date confirmed. This show just keeps getting bigger and bigger! Here’s the entire rundown of what is brand spanking new as of today:
MORE GAMES
Sonic GEDA – a game that pays tribute to Sonic CD by emulating its play style
Sonic Fusion – no idea what this game is, but it’s coming
MORE EVENTS
Mike Pollock – time and date have yet to be determined
Chris Senn – confirmed to be in the chat room at 9 PM EST on Thursday, August 21st.
MISCELLANEOUS
Slingerland’s Super Sonic Super Trvia Game Super Show – there will be a trivia bot in the SAGE chat room, just like there is every year. However, now it will keep track of rankings! The top few people will meet head to head in a live SAGEcast that tests their Sonic knowledge. I am hosting and I will probably be as ridiculous as possible.
That’s all for today, folks! Oh, you want a source for this information? Well, it is not in any SAGE threads yet, but let’s just say that I have my methods (and that would be…talking to the director -easy enough).
Check back for more SAGE updates and check this story out later today at TSSZ when it is copy pasted over there (ouch).
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Ugh, it’s 3 AM on Monday…no wait…it’s Tuesday now. I am slaving away on my demo, but for the sake of procrastination, I am going to fill you in on more SAGE game confirmations. With the first day of registration over, the following games were confirmed to show up at SAGE 2008:
ProSonic – Developed by saxman, this Sonic development kit is being hailed to be the “perfect” Sonic fangame creation tool, allowing users to replicate the original games “to the letter.”
Emerald Ties: Crossing Fates – This game has been in and out for years now, sitting on the border of obscurity, but it we are finally going to get to see some new content from this famous Sonic fangame.
Mecha Madness – When it comes to unique experiences, SFGHQ member Streak Thunderstorm has the bases covered. A simple, yet intuitive, combat system, an impressive array of elemental shields, and tried & true Sonic gameplay meets luscious production design to create a can’t miss SAGE experience. Continue reading More SAGE game confirmations!
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Level design has changed with Sonic’s ever-increasing emphasis on speed. Some people have enjoyed blowing through levels at 300-miles per hour, while others have disliked the new levels’ lack of actual platforming. Along the lines of last week’s Crossfire segment, this iteration presents the choice of whether or not the level design of Sonic games needed to change. Are the more linear designs of the Rush series or the upcoming Unleashed title make it stand out in the vast sea of 3D platformer games or are they hardly considered those at all and are labeled as cutscenes that we occasionally get to control?
Before we start the point/counterpoint part, I present to you a diagram that a friend of mine showed to me a few weeks ago. It is so true that it is funny. Continue reading The Crossfire: Level Design
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In the past week, I have played the absolute hell out of Mega Man 9, Capcom’s return to the original Mega Man series and 8-bit gameplay and presentation. I am enjoying every minute of it, because I am not just riding a wave of nostalgia, but I am also impressed with the refined gameplay. The fact that a game straight out of 1988 can be successful in 2008 is downright admirable and eye-opening. It makes me wonder, as a Sonic fan, if a retro reboot is in order for another blue hero: Sonic. Would a 16-bit foray treading new ground be a commerical success or 
What has Sonic enthusiast and budding superstar, Charles the Hamilton, been up to lately? Well, he recently released the first in a series of mixtapes, entitled “Death of a Mixtape Rapper.” These eight mixtape releases will lead up to his label debut in 2009. In light of this release, DJ Booth caught an interview with the 20-year old up-and-coming rapper where he discusses his musical inspirations, the fallout with his mother, and his continuing adoration of the blue blur. At the end of the interview, DJ Booth asks Hamilton to freestyle, which he promptly does with incredible flow.
Time Twisted and I have a history together. The game debuted during the same SAGE as my project and we have made an appearance at the show for three years running now. It is always a good sight to see that a project is still alive. Secondly, we both chose the path of emulating Sonic CD, which is a plus, in my book. It remains a highlight of the show for anybody looking for a demo with more content than most (three zones here, broskis). Nonetheless, personally, I am gradually more and more disappointed with each subsequent release.
Spike has had this game running for nearly 3 years now and this year, we get new content and a brand new name. Formerly named, “Sonic the Hedgehog 4,” Sonic Panic follows Sonic as he chases Robotnik across various galaxies and planets. The demo features the Planet Mech level of Rail Road, which is a Genesis revamp of Sunset Park from Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble on the Game Gear. I am a complete sucker for Game Gear levels, so I went into the demo with modest expectations.
The man on the left is Kuzko. He found his groove in Disney’s The Emperor’s New Groove. In this forgettable animated movie, starring David Spade and John Goodman, Kuzko (Spade) is turned into a llama by some crazy, usurper bitch and Pacha (Goodman) has to save him. They run around and do a whole bunch of wacky shit, avoiding the crazy, usurper bitch as much as possible. They get to Kuzko’s palace to reverse the process, an epic battle ensues, and Kuzko returns to being emperor and the big, stupid, comic relief character teaches some kids how to talk to woodland creatures. What does Kuzko learn? While a llama, he changes his arrogant, selfish ways and embraces the world and the people that inhabit it. His 180-degree turn is truly heartwarming, albeit formulaic and uninteresting.
Fated Hour offers up your standard fare of Genesis-styled gameplay, while expanding upon it to keep it more unique amongst the sea of booths at SAGE this year. These new inclusions are first made apparent by Amy Rose, who offers to explain the controls to the game. Rather than only have the jump button, there are four in use during the game. However, only two are in use during this showcase: jump and jump cancel. Jump cancel will break the ball Sonic normally goes into during a jump and allows him to grind a rail or wall-kick. The multiple button setup sounds good on paper, but trying to wall-jump between two walls with two buttons is cumbersome and mapping Sonic’s wall-stick to the jump button or making it automatic would work better. When the game offers high scores for best times, the time-attackist might have difficulty trying to blow by a section of wall jumping. This button tandem is like 
I just wrote a goddamn Crossfire feature on SEGA’s wonderful PR department at 8 PM Central Standard Time on August 11th. On the same day 3 hours later, I read the following blunder of an interview. What an absolutely delicious convenience. Sometimes, I simply love just posting the news, but this story is another opportunity that I cannot refuse to inject hilarious, yet warranted, opinion into.
Mike Pollock, the voice of Dr. Eggman for 4kids, is going to be a SAGE chat guest along with the aforementioned Ryan Drummond, Chris Senn, and Richard Jacques. Chris Senn’s appearance now has a time and date confirmed. This show just keeps getting bigger and bigger! Here’s the entire rundown of what is brand spanking new as of today:
