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If you want to know what’s happening in the world of Sonic the Hedgehog, then you’re in the right place! The Sonic Stadium’s News section is your first stop for all the latest information. Whether it’s news about video games, comics, TV shows or even movies, we have you covered!
SEGA has uploaded a clean version of that Sonic Superstars opening animation that we recorded during our Summer Game Fest coverage last month. With this, we also get our first taste of the game’s soundtrack! It seems Tee Lopes has confirmed that this particular track was produced by both him and Jun Senoue.
You can check it out at the Sonic the Hedgehog Youtube channel, or in the embed below:
Sonic Superstars is expected to launch sometime this fall.
Jakks Pacific, the prolific manufacturers of various Sonic toys, will have a panel at this years San Diego Comic Con. The panel will take place July 21 at 9PM EST. The panel will be livestreamed on their Instagram at /jakkspacific.toys, though we will also have someone on the ground to provide coverage!
New reveals can be expected this panel, though chances are at least some of them will be ones that have already been leaked, such as their upcoming Blaze figure. Nevertheless, we should at least get time frames for upcoming waves!
via Twitter
The Sonic the Hedgehog Speed Cafe is now open for business, and as you’d expect it is full of fast, filling Sonic food and fun! New images and details about the menu, merchandise and pricing have been revealed for anyone curious to find out before they visit (or stuck in the UK, like me – no, I’m not bitter).
These images come from the YouTube channel Parks and Cons (via the SDCC Unofficial Blog), who took the time to pop in to the pop-up on its early opening day yesterday. You can see the special branded packaging above that comes with your sides and chili dog – definitely worth unfolding and keeping if you’re a dedicated merch hunter!
Speaking of sides and mains, it appears that we weren’t told the full menu in our previous report by the restaurant organisers, as the above photos outline some helpful vegan options as well as alternative sides with some great names (we would totally go for a Chao Down Combo just for the title alone).
And here’s the part that we’re particularly interested in – the exclusive merchandise! You can order yourself a hoodie, hat or t-shirt, with an exclusive black t-shirt available in limited quantities for those ordering a “Gotta Go Fast” SDCC Bundle. We will have @Jason Berryvisit the pop-up to fully cover this as well as other Sonic elements of SDCC 2023, but I have to say personally I’m quite jealous that I won’t be able to waste my credit card on the above items myself.
You can check out the full video from Parks and Cons below.
It’s no secret that Youtube isn’t exactly the best place for animators these days. From radical shifts in the algorithm to unfriendly policy changes, animation channels have had it rough. Youtube’s latest method of making things difficult for animators stems from its habit of forcing random animated videos to be marked as “Made for Kids,” seemingly only because the video in question features animation and children-friendly characters.
Amongst the channels they’ve seemingly targeted in order to force this designation is the Sonic animation channel Balena Productions. They’ve been going after Balena since last year, marking several of their videos as “made for kids.” Balena’s latest video, their “Sonic in Scared Stupid: The Final Chapter” preview video, was hit by this not long after it was uploaded. You can check it out below, but be forewarned, this “kids” video features a werehog zombie with its flesh falling off:
So, why is this such a big deal? Videos hit by this designation have their ability to do well in Youtube’s algorithm neutered, while also having their comments disabled, and existing comments deleted. And as a side effect, videos that clearly aren’t made with kids in mind end up finding their way into Youtube’s supposedly kid-friendly app, effectively defeating the purpose of the whole thing.
To give you an idea of how targeted towards animation this is, even our own Youtube has been affected by this, with most of our uploads focusing on animation from the games forcibly being marked “Made for Kids.” The latest video of ours to be hit by this was our off-screen recording of Sonic Superstars’ animated opening. Our other off-screen recordings of the game remain untouched.
But what is a minor annoyance for us can be apocalyptic for channels like Balena Productions, which relies on their channel’s ad revenue to fund their animations. Since MFK videos do very poorly in Youtube’s algorithm, that limits a video’s views, and thus its ability to generate revenue, affecting a channel’s ability to survive. Of course, when a video is marked MFK, it can be appealed, both through Youtube’s built-in appeal system and through Twitter, but these appeals are often rejected, sometimes within minutes of the appeal being made. Anyone who follows Balena on Twitter is probably familiar with how this typically goes with Team Youtube at this point. They’ve sometimes managed to get the designation removed from a video, but it’s always a fight.
What’s especially strange about all this is that it even goes against Youtube’s own policies, as Balena has pointed out. Specifically, videos made for “everyone” aren’t required to bear this designation. Balena’s videos are not usually brimming with cursing and gore, but they are very much something made for general audiences, something many of their videos note at their start (though this doesn’t always save them.)
So…what can be done about this? Well, you can check out the marked videos for one, like the ones we embedded above. You can also watch older videos and like, comment, and subscribe on the affected channels. You can see what Steven Page had to say about this at his Sonic Revolution panel here.
In the meantime, Youtube’s policy adds even more uncertainty and stress to animation Youtubers who are typically already dealing with a lot. On Twitter, Page has increasingly indicated that, due to Youtube’s policies, continuing to make these animations is becoming untenable. He may be near the end of his rope, “For the past week since the teaser was flagged, I’ve had a migraine and mild panic attacks. I also haven’t been sleeping much, and I feel numbness traveling through my body. It’s a ton of pressure to even stand up to these creeps, and it’s not worth it anymore.”
Hopefully, YouTube will eventually change this strange policy. The whole point of Youtube Kids is to make Youtube compliant to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (or COPPA). Something tells me that forcing videos featuring zombified hedgehogs and a violent video game death to be made for kids doesn’t exactly make them COPPA compliant. Youtube’s community of animators deserve better than this.
Back in the early 90s, Sonic was so big that SEGA was ready to put him on everything. That includes a remake of Nihon Falcom’s popular PC88 sidescrolling action-RPG “Popful Mail.” For decades, it was thought that the game was once going to be localized in the West as “Sister Sonic,” before being mysteriously canceled in favor of a straight-up localization of Popful Mail. As it turns out, that isn’t the full story. The people at Did You Know Gaming have discovered that Sister Sonic wasn’t just a western localization of the game, but it was going to be the SEGA CD version of said game, with an altered story to suit the new character.
This revelation comes from DYKG’s latest Sonic video. In it, they reveal that they dug through various Japanese language primary sources, discovering in an interview that Sister Sonic was to be one of five initial games developed under SEGA Falcom, a joint venture between SEGA and Falcom meant to remake Falcom games for SEGA hardware.
In an interview from the November 1992 issue of BEEP! Megadrive, which DYKG used as a source, SEGA Falcom’s director said that they chose this direction because “it makes more sense for us to use Sonic, who’s already popular all around the world.” He also confirmed that, despite the name, the game wasn’t about “Sonic’s sister” but instead a female relative. She was to be the first female Sonic character, She would still be a bounty hunter, like Popful Mail, but she would be a “more mature girl” with a “flirtatious and sexy charm.”
At the time of the interview, Sister Sonic was one of five SEGA Falcom games in development, and also the furthest along. It was expected to release in Japan and overseas with Japanese subtitles at nearly the same time. Ultimately, a letter writing campaign from Popful Mail fans would cause SEGA to rethink its plans, leading to Sister Sonic’s cancellation.
Popful Mail would eventually launch for the MEGA CD in April 1994, followed by an American release in February of ‘95. These days, Popful Mail is considered a SEGA CD classic and one of the best games on the platform, though the US localization is generally considered a downgrade due to its difficulty being increased during localization. Thankfully, there is a fan patch out there. These days, the game is quite rare, and typically goes for a pretty penny.
You can find the full Did You Know Gaming video here.
We have firm details and hi-res photos of the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog pop-up restaurant in San Diego, offering a little taste of what fans can expect to see when the venue opens. And it opens on July 13th! That’s tomorrow!
Called the Sonic the Hedgehog Speed Cafe, the restaurant is the result of a collaboration between SEGA and Secret Sauce Society restauranteur Andy Nguyen, with blue blur iconography throughout the venue as well as themed food to order.
And yes, chili dogs ARE on the menu.
Photo Credit: Noah Red
There will be much more on offer than just ‘dogs, though. The full menu features a crispy fried chicken “Knuckles Sandwich”, as well as an egg salad “Evil Genius” sandwich alongside “Sonic’s Classic Chili Dog”, with “Golden Ring” onion rings and “Fast Fries” on offer as tasty sides. For drinks, you can order a “Blue Blur” blueberry slushie (representing Sonic), a “Smashing Echidna” cherry slush (Knuckles), a “Flying Fox” mango orange slush (Tails) or a “Team Dark” mocha milkshake (Shadow).
Best of all, for all you merch hunters out there, there will be exclusive Sonic the Hedgehog Speed Cafe merchandise available to buy on site including t-shirts, hoodies and hats. And if you’re that way inclined, the food itself will come with Sonic-themed packaging too, so you can take that home if you don’t mind your bedroom smelling of chili.
Photo Credit: Noah Red
The Sonic the Hedgehog Speed Cafe will be situated at 910 J St Space 2, San Diego, CA 92101, and will formally open on Thursday July 13, 2023. The pop-up will be open until August 20, 2023 – so you will have a month to visit if you wish. After that, the venue switches back to its old Chick’NCone location.
For those attending San Diego Comic Con, there will be a special pre-con launch party for the restaurant on July 19.
Photo Credit: Noah Red
Here are the opening times:
If you’re going to be at San Diego Comic Con 2023 in a week’s time and you’re hungry for some chill dogs (we assume the restaurant will be serving child dogs… there’s kind of no point to doing this otherwise), why not take some time out of the convention hall and have a little search for Sonic?
EDITOR’S NOTE: A previous version of this story (Wed 12 Jul, 08:50am UK) focused on two off-street photos taken from a user called ‘royabagheri‘ and posted on the SDCC Unofficial Blog. We include these photos below and have edited the rest of the story to reflect updated information.
The results of an election that would determine whether or not SEGA of America workers will unionize are in, and it’s official: they are now unionized. This makes SoA’s union, AEGIS-CWA, the largest multi-department union in the game industry. The results weren’t especially close, at 91 for, 26 against. AEGIS must now go to the bargaining table with SEGA management to hammer out a union contract.
You can read all about what led to the union forming here. This election comes months after AEGIS announced its formation and requested voluntary recognition from SEGA management. When SEGA refused to grant it, an election date for the union was chosen near the end of May. A few weeks later AEGIS accused SEGA management of interfering with their right to organize ahead of the election. AEGIS said SEGA management “initiated an anti-union campaign.”
So, where do things go from here? Well, I’m no expert on unions, but I’ve followed unions enough that I think I can give you a broad idea. For one, SEGA and AEGIS representatives will need to meet to work out the details of a union contract. This contract will cover a certain number of years, and guarantee SEGA employees certain benefits. This tweet likely gives us an idea of what AEGIS will be trying to get.
Once union leaders have a tentative contract with SEGA management, they will take it to their union members for a vote. If a plurality of members vote for the contract, it becomes official. If SEGA and AEGIS are unable to agree on a contract that can win a vote from members, a strike becomes a possibility. A union may authorize a strike ahead of or during negotiations. If a contract can’t be agreed upon, AEGIS members will be able to strike, which will allow them to refuse to work until a contract is signed. We are a long way from a strike, however. AEGIS hasn’t given us any sort of time table for when a contract will be agreed to, but we’ll know more in the coming weeks and months.
via Twitter
Sonic’s only foray into the RPG genre, Sonic Chronicles, famously ended on a cliffhanger, one developer Bioware had plans to resolve in a sequel. Nearly 13 years later, that sequel seems extremely unlikely to happen, but we at leas finally have some idea of how it’s plot would have played out, thanks to research done by Did You Know Gaming.
In a new video released earlier today, DYKG dished on the canned sequels plot. The previous game ended with the defeat of Ix, the Nocturnes echidna clan chief, in the Twilight Cage pocket dimension. Upon returning to Earth, Sonic and friends found that their world had been conquered by Eggman. Sonic Chronicles 2 would start with Sonic’s friends being separated and forming separate parties in different parts of the world. The world has now been remade in Dr. Eggman’s image: people have been rounded up and enslaved, with world landmarks like the Pyramids of Giza and the Eiffel Tower remade in Dr. Eggman’s image.
This all came from DYKG’s interview with Sonic Chronicles Lead Designer Miles Holmes. In the video, Holmes compares the game to Terminator’s future on a few occasions, saying Eggman’s machines have created a very dystopic “Terminator future.” Eventually, the aforementioned different parties will start freeing populations from around the world, so that they can “build a multinational army to storm Eggman’s base and restore world order.”
Just before Eggman’s defeat, a God alluded to in the previous game, Argus, shows up, forcing Sonic and Eggman to team up to defeat him. Even Super Sonic isn’t enough to defeat Argus. During what is presumably the game’s final boss fight, Eggman has to fire Super Sonic out his “mega death laser” to even beat the boss’s first phase. This weakens Argus enough to allow all of the races imprisoned by Argus to escape, and engage in a climactic final battle to defeat the god.
The aftermath would apparently re-establish the status quo (echidnas aside), with Dr. Eggman running off again. DYKG also says that Shade and Knuckles will be able to “continue Knuckles’ bloodline.” The game would end with a final teaser that would set up future plot points: the reason Argus imprisoned races in the Twilight Cage to begin with. An oracle told Argus that one day, he would die at the hands of a mortal, so Argus trapped the universe’s most powerful races in the Twilight Cage.
In reality, however, the oracle was tricking Argus into building a team that would eventually destroy him. The identity and motivation of this oracle, or as Holmes calls them, a “trickster god,” was something that could be explored further in future games. Any future games would not have been made by BioWare, however, since they considered their obligations finished after the first game.
The video also reveals that Takashi Iizuka expressed interest in using Shade and Argus in other games, meaning that Chronicles could have had a larger impact on the franchise had it been allowed to continue. Unfortunately, the video doesn’t really give us any new insights on why a sequel never happened, though they speculate that it might have been due to the Ken Penders lawsuits. They interview both Penders and Holmes on the lawsuit, but we aren’t really given any new insights.
You can find the full video here. The video also reveals new info on Sister Sonic and Sonic Day, which we will cover later!
Yuji Naka, the man best known as the co-creator of Sonic the Hedgehog, NiGHTS into Dreams, and his work on Phantasy Star, has been been sentenced to two and a half years of prison, but that sentence has been suspended for four year, during which time he’ll be on probation. Provided he has no trouble with the law, he’ll never serve time in prison. He has also fined two separate times for ¥20 million and ¥170 million, or a total of roughly $1.25 million USD.
This comes after a seven-month-long legal battle where Naka attempted to, among other things, blame his secretary for giving him information he wasn’t supposed to have in an attempt to get a lighter sentence.
via Twitter
DiC’s Sonic the Hedgehog, AKA Sonic SatAM, is finally returning to DVD with a new box set from NCircle. A pre-order listing for the DVD has appeared on Amazon, with a price of $19.99 and a release date of September 19, 2023. The series will be printed on two DVDs, and has new box art. The listing and the box art do not mention this containing any of the extras from the old Shout! Factory box set, which unfortunately may mean it won’t have them.
Check out the DVD’s box art below:
Sonic SatAM was among the last Sonic cartoons to still be out of print, with Sonic X, Sonic Underground, Sonic Boom, and Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog all receiving complete series releases over the last few years. NCircle has been responsible for the bulk of these releases.
You can pre-order the DVD here.
Sonic Channel has launched the latest poll for its Sonic Calendar 2023 art series, and this time fans are being asked whether they would like to see Blaze the Cat partnered with Silver the Hedgehog or… Omochao.
The poll is open until Friday 7th July, so if you want your voice heard hit the Google poll and make a choice. Whoever wins will feature in a special Calendar artwork for August 2023, matching the special theme of “Isekai Ohgiri” (which is a ‘fantasy scenario’ series that puts Sonic characters in new and interesting situations).
Blaze and Silver, of course, have already featured in official fantasy art pieces in previous months, but we suspect that the legion of “Blaze x Silver” (Silaze? Blilver? What do you call it?) subfans out there will make it their lifelong mission to game the results so their favourite ship can get together. We voted for Omochao, pretty much to just piss Twitter off.
Best of luck to both not-real cartoon candidates!
Via Twitter
SEGA has filed a trademark for what appears to be another Sonic game, “Sonic & Friends.” The trademark was published today in the Japanese trademark website “Chizai Watch,” where it was filed on June 23rd. Some cursory research suggests this is almost definitely a game, as it shares many many of the same categories including Machines and Appliances, Toys, Clothing, Paper, and perhaps most importantly, Education and Entertainment. Toys, paper and clothing likely apply to merchandise, as Frontiers’ trademark possessed both of these categories in addition to “leather.”
The trademark also makes mention of “commodity service programs for home-use television game machines.” As is typical of game trademarks, a variety of potential media and other things are also mentioned, including magnetic tape and magnetic disks. But most importantly, ROM cartridges and optical disks are also mentioned. The trademark does mention games for mobile phones, but Frontiers did as well, so that is not necessarily relevant to the platform.
For a look at the full trademark, translated on the website by Google, take a look at the screenshot below:
So, this being a game seems to be extremely likely, but what could this be, exactly? We’ve known for some time that a new mobile game from SEGA Hardlight is in development. I attempted to compare this to a mobile game trademark from SEGA, but the only one I was able to find was 404 Game RE:SET, which more or less utilizes the same game related categories as this and Frontiers. So it could certainly be a mobile title.
Alternatively, it could be some sort of spin-off. Perhaps a party game? Well, whatever it is, we’ll probably find out about it in the coming months. You can find a link to the trademark here, though as of this article’s publication the page appears to be having issues loading.
Please note that the Sonic & Friends logo used for the feature image is not the logo the game itself will use. Special thanks to Twitter user Dejimon11 for the news tip!
Californian baseball fans were given a super Sonic treat over the weekend, as the regional team Oakand Athletics paid a tribute to SEGA’s mascot while celebrating their players on the Jumbotron during a recent game.
The video above, shared on social media by ‘Dizzydennis‘, features a number of present and past A’s players as they raced around a Green Hill Zone style level collecting baseballs and knocking out evil robot villains. At the very end, former player Eric Chavez appears to ‘win’ the game, while the team’s elephant mascot dances in victory.
It’s a really cool thing for sports fans to see, and just goes to show how mainstream Sonic the Hedgehog still is across all forms of media. Let us know what you think of this tribute in the comments below.
Knock knock, it’s Knuckles! The powerful Master Emerald protector takes the spotlight in the next month’s Sonic Wallpaper art series, as shared online by the official Sonic Channel social media account.
As described by Sonic Team designer Tomoko Hayane, you can really feel the “dynamism and power of Knuckles” in this latest artwork. In the Sonic Channel blog post, Hayane wonders if the enemy Knuckles is fighting here is either a bigger and stronger opponent, or just a foe that happens to be flying in the sky. What do you think?
We have JPG versions of both the Desktop and Mobile wallpapers below, but if you want the super hi-res real deal, head on over to Sonic Channel’s website and download the PNG versions straight from there.
Today’s Sonic Central reveled a whole host of new merchandise for Sonic collectors out there, even our heads are still spinning!
Just in case you missed it, here’s our whistle-stop tour of what we can expect in the coming weeks and months!
We saw Eggman take over LEGO HQ, and showcase not only a new and improved LEGO Eggman figure (they even got in on the joke no one liked the brick Eggman), but Sonic, Tails, and Amy to boot as well. There are 5 sets on the way, including Sonic’s Speed Sphere, a monster Green Hill Zone set, and a Death Egg Robot!
Love ’em or hate ’em, Crocs have collaborated with Sonic to prouce some Sonic-red clogs which you can customise with official Sonic Jibbitz™ charms.
They’ve missed a trick not doing Vector-themed ones though.
The Jakks Pacific merchandise keeps coming thick and fast at the moment, and the line up just got even bigger – figuratively and literally – with the Death Egg Playset!
The monster sphere features an internal playset in which Sonic can grind on rails and battle against Dr. Eggman. We think this would look great hanging from your ceiling.
For those heading out to enjoy a picnic in the sun, the sixteen-bit style Playmate cooler from Igloo for those wanting to keep their Sonic ice creams cool on the go. 623 coolers purchased today will include an exclusive Sonic sticker/decal, so get yer skates on.
Boutique clothers Hypland are bringing a range of apparel to market that feature deisgns that cover a huge range of designs from across the Sonic time and space. The collection includes shirts, hats…and even rugs.
If you are local to LA, check out the launch at the pop-up Hypeland store; if not, the collection will be available online on June the 26th.
At long last! Lifted straight from Sonic Adventure 2 artwork comes a statue of epic proportions from new brand S-Fire. This Sonic and Shadow statue begins pre-orders today, but comes in at a rather hefty ¥44,000 ($300) before shipping, so this one is for the serious collectors. It does look awesome though.
More info at S-Fire.net
ESP Guitars will be releasing another Sonic the Hedgehog-themed guitar later this year. The brand have released guitars before (including copies of the iconic guitars used by Jun Senoue) but have come with a premium price – this one looks to be aimed at fans with a more modest budget.
More details soon!
The Cable Guys (not the Jim Carrey film) are adding two modern era Sonic figures to their controller stand line in the form of Sonic the Hedgehog and Shadow the Hedgehog.
They can also hold other things!
Stay tuned for more merchandise updates!
The Sonic Symphony World Tour’s larger touring schedule has finally been unveiled! In addition to the previously revealed cities of London and Los Angeles, which the tour will go to in September, the symphony will also go to Paris, Sao Paulo, Boston and Chicago by the end of October.
Beginning in February, the tour will also head to Asia, kicking off in Tokyo. For a full list of confirmed cities, check out the image below. More cities will be revealed in the future.
Sonic Prime got a nice little trailer at today’s Sonic Central, which dished some new info on the upcoming episodes.
Shadow explained to Sonic that in order to restore their world, they needed to gather the pieces of the paradox prism, which has one piece in each shatterspace. Sounds like Sonic and Shadow will be working together, at least for a bit! We also get to see a little more of that phantom Green Hill that was used in the footage released yesterday, including a ghost Big.
The worlds and characters of each Shatter Space also appear to be merging, with buildings from New Yoke City growing out of the ground in Boscage Maze. Finally, the trailer ends with the debut of….some sort of new robot Sonic?
Check out a gallery of stills taken from the trailer below:
Sonic Prime is set to debut July 13. You can watch the full trailer in the embed below:
“Happy Birthday, Sonic. Now feel our mighty laser blast!” That’s something we’d imagine the combined forces of Gemerl, Orbot and Cubot would say to the blue blur as they stomp around Station Square in this Mighty Morphin’ mech of mass destruction.
Yes, it’s time for Sonic Channel’s Calendar artwork for July 2023, and as you know already the theme this year is “Isekai Ohgiri”, which puts Sonic characters in unique and unfamiliar scenarios. And I don’t know about you, but I definitely wouldn’t see the otherwise meek and gentle servants Orbot and Cubot join forces to create something mega-deadly. Gemerl… eh, he’s had previous.
As with all Sonic Calendar 2023 art pieces, the scene is awesomely dramatic, and we just love the craziness of this setup. On the Sonic Channel website (where you can download a PDF of this month’s calendar art to print off for yourself, here), there is talk of “pests” and “insecticide”, which makes the whole thing sound even more off-the-rails. Which is great. More of that, please.
Sonic Channel usually throws in a full story to complement each month’s Calendar art, but this time around it appears to be coming a bit later (probably because it’s Sonic’s birthday today – lots of other things going on!). So keep checking the link above if you’re curious about what Sonic Team ‘canonically’ has to say about this intense robot partnership!
Via Twitter
It’s time to party! Because it’s Sonic the Hedgehog’s birthday today! SEGA Japan has marked the occasion by sharing the latest artwork in its Sonic Pict series. And as you’d expect, the focus is on the birthday boy himself.
Staging a massive concert in the middle of Studiopolis Zone, Sonic is truly king for the day. And you can see many Sonic characters in the audience celebrating with him – Tails, Amy, Mighty and Ray are all rocking glowsticks and raving out with the blue blur.
SEGA Japan released this artwork with the following message (machine translated):
The highlight of this year’s birthday party is Sonic’s birthday live!
To thank you for always celebrating with us, we will perform a lively performance
Before I knew it, the studio police camera team had arrived, and the stage was getting more and more gorgeous…! The best night is coming!
Happy Birthday Sonic
Happy Birthday Sonic, indeed!
It’s hard to believe that THIRTY-TWO YEARS AGO today, the original Sonic the Hedgehog video game arrived on store shelves. And since then, the heroic blue blur has catapulted himself to super-stardom, appearing on everything from comics to TV shows and movies, to coffee cups and t-shirts and a whole lot more!
SEGA’s mascot has had the kind of celebrity life that many can only dream of: the dizzying highs of ‘Sonic Mania’ in the early 1990s; the crushing lows of ‘Sonic 2006’ in… well, 2006; a series of make-overs and interesting fashion choices; the always-classic “five year lull”; and a comeback story that celebrates both his retro early successes (Sonic Origins, Sonic Superstars) alongside his more Adventure-ous contemporary works (Sonic Colours Ultimate, Sonic Frontiers).
If any character proved that they can truly stand the test of time, Sonic the Hedgehog is that guy. Several times.
To celebrate, SEGA shared an incredible fan art piece today by Serxx – you can see it below and catch the original SEGA post here.
We’ll be updating Sonic News throughout the day with cool things that the official Sonic channels have done to pay homage to the blue blur on this day. How will you be celebrating? A little bit of Sonic Adventure 2? Reading the latest IDW Sonic issues? Watching the Sonic 2 movie? Let us know in the comments below!
Oh, and don’t forget – today is also the day SEGA hosts its annual ‘Sonic Central’ showcase, which is bound to include a number of interesting surprises.
Happy birthday, Sonic!
It’s really happening: Classic Amy is getting her own one-shot comic from IDW in celebration of her 30th anniversary. This will be in keeping with the Classic Sonic and Tails 30th anniversay one-shots, which have practically made these Classic Sonic comics an annual tradition.
The comic will be written by Ian Flynn, with art by Aaron Hammerstrom and Reggie Graham. The issue will release in September for $5.99. Check out the full solicit with the plot summary below:
Cool, sweet, and pink! All words that describe our absolute favorite hedgehog. That’s right, step aside, Sonic, and have no fear, because Amy Rose is here!
Ian Flynn, Aaron Hammerstrom, and Reggie Graham are back for another Classic Sonic special! And this time, Amy’s doing the saving!
After Metal Sonic interrupts her picnic, Amy uses her Fortune Cards as a guide to free her friends and stop Doctor Eggman. Can she save the day and still get back in time for tea?!
The comic has three covers, with Cover A done by Aarom Hammerstrom, Cover B being done by Mauro Fonseca, and the retail incentive cover being done by Jennifer Hernandez. Check them out below:
The Sonic Origins Plus DLC has officially rolled out on all platforms as of midnight EST. Playstation, Xbox, and Switch players can all play it, and Steam users can…well, buy it, at least, for a slight mark-up.
Unfortunately, as of this writing, the Sonic Origins 2.0 patch with all the fixes and DLC content has yet to become available on Steam, meaning Steam players are locked out of the DLC even if they buy it. This will hopefully resolve soon, but anyone on Steam hoping to play the game at midnight will need to hold off.
Steam users are also currently being charged a dollar more for for the DLC, for some reason. We have reached out to SEGA for comment.
Patches now, DLC later.
Continue reading Sonic Origins 2.0 Patch Has Begun RolloutBuilding bonuses.
Continue reading Pre-Order Sonic Superstars to Get an Acrylic Standee and to Fight… LEGO Eggman?SEGA’s twitter account gave us a sneak peak inside of their brand spanking new refurbished offices in the Tokyo office, which now have a distinctly Sonical theme!
Sonic Team veteran artist Kazuyuki Hoshino was part of the team working on the project, which includes 6 themed conference rooms along with a space for seasonal artwork to be displayed.
Check out each of the spaces and their unique artwork in the video above!
These hedgehogs just can’t get along, huh?
Sonic and Shadow are duking it out in a new clip released by Netflix Malaysia as part of their “What’s New in July” video compilation. The clip sees them fighting as Shadow seemingly attempts to steal Sonic’s “tech.” Interestingly, the battle takes place in a weird, off-color version of Green Hill. It seems the new batch of episodes may shed more light on what exactly happened to Sonic’s original friends and home. You can check out the clip below:
So, Sonic fans got to see a brand new trailer for Sonic Superstars earlier today. It was incredible. But it seems SEGA isn’t done spoiling Sonic fans with mews just yet. Sonic’s birthday is a couple of days away, so SEGA has decided that it is time to have a Sonic Central broadcast!
Read more: A Sonic Central Is Speeding Your Way This Friday!The description for the Sonic Central isn’t unsurprising. It’s the usual info telling us that it will feature “a sneak peek of our upcoming projects, partnerships and events”. Of course, these things will only be for this year, so any information about 2024 and onward is not something you should be expecting at all. Nevertheless, there has been lots of anticipation for the next Sonic Frontiers update, so this may finally be the time that we will get to learn more about it!
Via Twitter
Developers Evening Star, made up of the team behind Sonic Mania, have revealed their first novel IP title, Penny’s Big Breakaway!
Showcased during today’s Nintendo Direct, the title see’s the player take control of the title’s namesake Penny, navigating their way through obsticles and tackling hordes of penguins.
While we only have 90 seconds of footage to go off, fans will no doubt see a lot of the Mania team’s DNA in the art direction throughout, alongside some unique gameplay gimmicks and stages.
We can’t wait to find out more!
Knuckles is CLEARLY not happy about being a part of this.
Continue reading Sonic Socials: Spruce Up Your Phone With Chibi Wallpapers for Sonic’s BirthdayShe doesn’t want to talk to you, just like the real Sage.
Continue reading Sonic Frontiers’ 8-Inch Sage Plush Available for Pre-Order From GEE(Spoiler Warning, but hopefully you know what you’re getting into if you saw the article title).
One point of the fanbase’s longstanding curiosity with Sonic Origins Plus and its addition of Amy Rose has been “Will she have a super form?” It appears we may have an answer. A video posted to YouTube channel “Sekaimen” feature all four character’s Super and Hyper transformations, including the previously unseen Amy transformations.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx4mQrn8M8A (embed prevented, region blocked)
While you (like me) may be skeptical of the footage this early given the strange nature of the channel itself, we took a good look at the sprites compared to other official sources, and they do line up. Much like most other Super forms, Amy gains enhanced speed, though she does not appear to have a unique sprite to her form (much like Tails or Knuckles). Her Hyper form doesn’t seem to visually change her, nor does this video show off any additional abilities (if there are any).
SEGA has kept a tight wrap on Amy footage up until yesterday’s Sonic Official Stream, but with the DLC releasing next week, this might be our first external peek at what she can do. Those hoping Amy’s Super inclusion would buck a visual trend set across the 16-bit styled games may be left wanting, but her consistency here and her inclusion in Superstars has cemented her as an important character to the Classic Sonic series.
Thanks to _jubbalub on Twitter for the tip!
The Sonic Superstars website has been updated with an image of classic Amy’s modern Amy skin, which will be given away to anyone who subscribes to the website’s newsletter by January 31, 2024.
It doesn’t completely change Amy’s look, only altering her clothes while leaving her classic spikes intact. Check it out below. You can subscribe to the newsletter here. You can only sign up for one platform per email, and Steam does not appear to be selectable right now.
The Knuckles series cast list just got a little bit longer! Variety has revealed that five new actors have joined the cast, including Christopher Lloyd. Lloyd may be best known for his roles as “Doc” in Back to the Future and for murdering cartoon characters in as “Judge Doom” in Who Frame Roger Rabbit. He’ll be joined by Stockard Channing (West Wing, Six Degrees of Separation), Cary Elwes (Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Princess Bride), Rob Huebel (Children’s Hospital, Bob’s Burgers) and Paul Scheer (The Greatest Event in Television History, Veep).
Paramount+’s Knuckles is expected to debut later this year. According to Kid Cudi, filming has already wrapped and it’s set to release this fall.
via Variety
Sonic Origins Plus is right around the corner, and to keep the hype going the Sonic social media account has released some new official artwork that highlights one of Sonic 2’s biggest remastered secrets.
The artwork is excellently produced by Tyler McGrath, a favourite of ours who has worked on many amazing Classic Sonic art pieces over the years. It’s great that his work is being tapped by SEGA and hopefully this leads to more official recognition!
As you can see, the piece features the Classic Sonic team posturing in Mystic Cave Zone. Knuckles is beckoning the others down a chasm that he has found, but what could be Hidden (Palace) down there..?
Of course, the whole thing is a reference to the introduction of a Sonic 2 lost level that was re-imagined and restored in the Christian Whitehead-led iPhone remaster of the 16-bit classic. Because Sonic Origins (and Plus) includes this new version of the game, Hidden Palace Zone can be accessed the same way on consoles and PC now too.
All you’ve gotta do is keep to the low route on Mystic Cave Act 2 until you hit a chasm with a drawbridge lever. Ignore the lever and just fall right into the hole. Just… make sure you’re only doing that on the iPhone or Sonic Origins versions of Sonic 2. You don’t want to give it a go on the Mega Drive/Genesis originals…
Source: Twitter
Get ready to argue if it’s “Waldo” or “Wally,” because you’re going to need to squint to pick out all the new and old merch in SEGA’s booth at Brand Licensing Expo 2023. Naoto Ohshima on Twitter snapped a photo of the packed shelves of toys, plush, calendars, books, and sporting goods. Here’s a taste of what we can pick out, but I’m sure Twitter will be combing through this for days, so don’t consider our initial look exhaustive:
Of the especially new and cool stuff, one thing that stands out most is the previously rumored Death Egg playset from Jakks Pacific, and as we can now see, is a legit full Death Egg that flips around to reveal the final boss of… (Care to guess? No seriously, I want you to guess. Because you won’t be able to.) Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II. Listen, I know how you feel about the overall Sonic 4 project, but that last boss, the one where you fight Eggman in a giant robot heart is rad, and I won’t hear otherwise.
Near the bottom right at the intersection of IDWtown and Plush Junction is a previously unannounced plush of our favorite mad scientist drama club kid, Dr. Starline (almost certainly coming from Great Eastern Entertainment), bringing the IDW-to-plush character count up to three.
Finally (because we simply cannot highlight every major item there), it’s worth taking a good look at the previously announced Knuckles the Dread Pirate Ship playset, because it’s a LOT bigger than you may think it is from the promotional pics. I recommend using the actual human head and back behind the toy as a scale reference.
I’m certain the comments will have quite a blast picking apart what else can be found hiding in Mr. Arzest’s treasure trove tweet, so have at it, and we’ll be sure to keep you up to date on when we have official public announcements for some of these new merch items.
Sonic Superstars looks absolutely gorgeous. We should know, we said it. But that’s on the most powerful hardware – if you’re wondering whether the game also looks great on the Nintendo Switch, we now know the answer is ‘yes’, kinda.
The first still images of Classic Sonic’s latest outing running on Nintendo’s hybrid gaming console have arrived, and you can take a gander for yourself below.
Now, it clearly doesn’t look as sharp as its PS5 or Xbox cousins, but that is often the case with Nintendo Switch versions of cross-platform games. But at least the colour, character and charm doesn’t seem to have been impacted.
As with most things of this nature, it’s best to wait until we can see the Switch version moving and in action. Sometimes these lower-IQ situations aren’t as noticeable while actually playing. In the meantime, what do you think?
Source: Nintendo Everything
