Though Takashi Iizuka focused on who IS making Sonic Superstars in a recent interview with VGC, he also discussed two notable groups who aren’t involved: Christian Whitehead and Headcannon, the developers behind 2017’s Sonic Mania… though not for a lack of trying.
Continue reading Whitehead and Headcannon Not Involved with Sonic Superstars, But Were Once in Talks for Next 2D Sonic
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In a tweet that went up a few hours ago, Headcannon confirmed that they have contributed to the upcoming new content for Sonic Origins Plus, including Amy Rose’s new sprites and Knuckles’ campaign in Sonic CD.
Headcannon specifically calls out the work of team members Andy A-Start and DashPadSPD for design and data management in the expansion. In addition to the character updates, Headcannon also supplied additional enhancements which were not specified. Closing out the thread, the team thanks SEGA for their openness to the developer’s feedback and suggestions, and they appreciate the level of trust SEGA put in them.
Headcannon was responsible for bringing Sonic 3 & Knuckles to the Retro Engine in Sonic Origins’ initial digital release. While our staff has had very positive experiences with collection, some members of the community and members of Headcannon itself have expressed dissatisfaction with its technical shortcomings.
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Headcannon studio developer Simon Thomley (aka Stealth) has expressed dissatisfaction with his experience working with SEGA on the recently-released Sonic Origins, claiming that the publisher made modifications to his work that led to the existence of bugs and glitches in the game.
Continue reading Headcannon “Unhappy” With Sonic Origins, Claims SEGA “Made Major Modifications” to its Work
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While many were happy that Sonic Mania developer Headcannon was involved in Sonic Origins, it seems that their contribution was in the Sonic 3 & Knuckles remaster work itself and not the overall package. In fact, their part in remaking the game appears to have been contracted entirely separately from the context of Sonic Origins. In a thread, the studio’s official Twitter clarifies:
But as was previously announced, Origins has features beyond the original Retro Engine remakes, such as its story mode, the coin system, mirror mode, the Museum, and… whatever classic mode is (be it the emulated originals or just letterboxed). Even Mission Mode, which features scenarios outside of the original games (like modified level designs and Knuckles in S3K Death Egg Zone), was developed by a team in SEGA as Headcannon further explains:
There are a couple of consequences to this separation of development. It does imply that SEGA has a team that has done work within the Retro Engine, developing small level and gameplay modifications, as well as hooks from these modifications to the external launcher (I.E. replacing lives with spendable coins). It also suggest that the versions of the games are otherwise the same Retro Engine versions previously released (hence no Knuckles in Sonic CD).
Thanks to the SSMB for this news tip!
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Headcannon has returned to Sonic to remaster Sonic 3 & Knuckles for Sonic Origins. The developer, which in the past worked on the widescreen mobile remasters for Sonic 1 and 2 and co-developed Sonic Mania, confirmed on their Twitter that they also developed the enhanced, widescreen version of Sonic 3 & Knuckles. This would also appear to confirm that the other versions are indeed ports of the Christian Whitehead remasters.
For Stealth, who started Headcannon, this is the completion of something he has wanted to do for some time. He had this to say on Twitter, “Hey! Remember how I repeatedly said “If Sega wants me to remake Sonic 3 (& Knuckles) I’ll do it”? Well, needing this game to complete their planned #SonicOrigins collection of remakes, Sega asked me to take on this huge task, and I recruited some of my Headcannon buddies to help!”
Headcannon also confirmed that SEGA developed Origins’ menus, integration, and overall presentation.
via Twitter
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A little over a week after is started, the kickstarter campaign for Vertebreaker, the next game from Sonic Mania developer Headcannon, has been canceled.
Continue reading Headcannon’s Vertebreaker Kickstarter Cancelled
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One of SAGE’s hottest showings this year was a little demo for a rather spooky game called Vertebreaker! It’s being developed by Head Cannon, one of the driving forces behind Sonic Mania, and now it’s come to Kickstarter to get a boost in funds to become a full-fledged indie title!
Continue reading Back Stealth’s Vertebreaker on Kickstarter With Money (and try out the Demo!)
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Following the worldwide release of Sonic Mania Plus last week, the first data indicates that the Nintendo Switch version accounted for 52% of all sales in the UK last week. The PS4 version accounted for 34% while the Xbox One version made up the remainder.
Continue reading Sonic Mania Plus Proves Popular In UK on Nintendo Switch
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Last year’s explosive release of Sonic Mania wasn’t just about a game that ended up thrilling both new and old blue blur fans. It was also proof that a brand new, ‘classic’ style 2D Sonic title will sell – and sell it most certainly did, cementing itself in the annals of hedgehog history. But, while widely regarded as one of the most critically-acclaimed Sonic titles in recent memory, there were some clear presentation omissions and missing elements in the base game – elements that you would think Christian Whitehead and co would have included, if they were just given more time to bake it in.
Enter Sonic Mania Plus. Continue reading TSS REVIEW: Sonic Mania Plus
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In more than ten years of writing for The Sonic Stadium, this article has by far consumed the most time, and required the most revisions. I guess this is because sometimes it’s hard to really convey what you mean when you’re in love, and I can say without a doubt that I am already in love with Sonic Mania. Continue reading The Spin: Sonic Maniacs In The Making
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Receiving news about a delay for a video game is a bittersweet occasion. On one hand, it means having to wait all the longer for a game’s already highly anticipated release as its launch is pushed further ahead, but on the other hand, one can’t really complain about extra polish to ensure greater quality from the final product. Continue reading Sonic Mania is Now ESRB-Certified for All Platforms Except Nintendo Switch
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It’s no secret by now that Sonic Mania will be borrowing many classic elements from the Blue Blur’s genesis years to shape up for one hell of a throwback experience. One of these elements that will no doubt delight Sonic 3 & Knuckles fans is how Tee Lopes has been composing the game’s soundtrack, as SEGA already confirmed that each Act of a given stage will be given a unique musical score. Continue reading Check Out Tee Lopes’ Fresh New Sonic Mania Remix for Green Hill Act 2
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SEGA showed off a very tongue-in-cheek infomercial two weeks ago for the Collector’s Edition of Sonic Mania, which starred familiar faces such as Aaron Webber and Kazuyuki Hoshino. Fans of old loved the nostalgic infomercial parody advert for parodying the original Sonic 2 commercial… which was also a parody of infomercials in itself. The rabbit hole gets so much more nauseating from there…
If you were interested in the filming process behind the Mania infomercial, then have no fear: Sonic’s got you covered. Check out the behind-the-scenes below!
Continue reading Here’s a Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Sonic Mania Informercial
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Sonic Mania keeps looking better the more we see from it, and all the more so with every little bit of footage sprinkling forward towards its Spring 2017 release. With that in mind, what if we looked better the more Sonic Mania we have on ourselves? Your dreams can come true today, as SEGA is selling a pair of official Mania T-shirts through Amazon – a Studiopolis Zone-based shirt and a “Triple Theat” tee starring icons of the game’s three playable characters.
However, this promotion is running for this month only, up until September 30th, and at the moment is only available through Amazon US. The Studiopolis tee, as well as a Triple Threat design with the Sonic Mania logo printed on it, were previously available on Amazon UK, though their listings appear to have vanished.
Have a closer look at the shirts themselves in the gallery below!
Continue reading Three Weeks Remain for Limited Edition Sonic Mania T-Shirts on Amazon
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Sonic Mania is the return to form classic fans have sought after for years, and expectations are high since its debut appearance at the 25th anniversary party in San Diego, revealing a remixed Green Hill Zone from Sonic the Hedgehog as well as a brand new stage with Studiopolis Zone. With this year’s PAX West winding down, more footage from the game has surfaced, all direct feed and featuring both Zones on full display!
Check out GameXplain and Polygon’s differing playthroughs of these levels after the jump, and be sure to leave us your thoughts in the comments.
Continue reading New Sonic Mania Footage from PAX West Shows off More of Green Hill and Studiopolis
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