Sonic The Hedgehog

By Johnny Minkley Published 22 September, 2006

TGS: Hands-on, and chat with Masahiro Kumono.

Sonic, in case you missed it, celebrated his 15th birthday earlier this year. Which is more than can be said for some of the costume-clad girls tottering around the TGS showfloor by the looks of it. But SEGA's defiantly evergreen mascot is currently undergoing yet another rejuvenating makeover as the core 3D action-platform element of the franchise evolves onto next-gen.

Having already treated us to a playable glimpse of the title at E3 and Leipzig, Sonic Team very thoughtfully whacked together a brand new demo for its Japanese showcase - a single level affair which gives you the choice between Sonic and Silver as before, while adding Shadow the Hedgehog to the guest list.

Anyone who's experienced a 3D Sonic title since Adventure helped launch the ill-fated Dreamcast console should know the drill. Think rocky outcrops, verdant swathes of foliage, bottomless drops and dizzying towers, infested with an angry mob of robotic menaces intent on flogging a 'hog.

The multi-character experience is now a well-worn path for the series to tread. Each character, as you'd expect, has unique abilities and in the demo we rattled through earlier this afternoon, each has its own distinct and fairly linear route through the stage.

Back to basics

'Next-gen' Sonic does not suggest anything that obviously equates to a generational leap in gameplay on this evidence. But after the wayward, ill-advised travesty that was Shadow the Hedgehog, it's little wonder that SEGA has opted so very consciously to return squarely and unashamedly to what it believes it does best.

The 'official' reason for the move back to the traditional style of the 3D outings is a desire to capture the essence of Sonic's appeal in honour of the indefatigable critter's birthday. As the game's producer, Masahiro Kumono, explained to us after our playtest: "This is the 15th anniversary Sonic title so we've gone back to his roots - that's the speed and also the coolness of his style. We wanted to use the power of the next-gen to really bring this out in the Sonic universe."

'Sonic The Hedgehog' Screenshot 1

Sonic's path is a mix of high-speed ring collecting, bumper-cannoning and enemy droid-clobbering, interspersed with scripted interlocking sections which move you around the terrain - Sonic gets to cling perilously to the claws of a swooping eagle at one point; and he also glides along magical, cloud-like rails. There are brief moments when a burst of speed is required, but in the main your platforming skills and ability to use Sonic's homing attack and dive-bomb actions offer the keys to success.

Shadow, mercifully gun-free in this demo, shares many of Sonic's characteristics as you'd expect, while lacking the breakneck pace. Shadow works a different route, and you can pummel your way to the end-of-stage star. Though not in this level, we're told Shadow can also take control of a number of vehicles throughout the game.

Silver does bring new abilities to the table. Namely psychic powers which, with the tap of a right shoulder button, afford telekinetic abilities that let you grab objects large and small with one button press, then fling them enemy - or catapult-wards with another. Not only that, but Silver can also use his mind to bend open iron bars blocking his way, while using hefty crates to pound down the occasional stone-based obstacle.

Tails you lose

'Sonic The Hedgehog' Screenshot 2

Kumono added that while Sonic, Shadow and Silver are the main protagonists in the adventure, a further nine veterans, including (just when Tom thought it was safe) the likes of Tails, will also make appearances at appropriate junctures in the story to assist the leads.

Visually, the attention to detail and animation look lovely in HD and the single environment on display is rendered vivid in colour and grand in scale. The sporadic bursts of alacrity are satisfyingly, well, speedy although at this stage in its development the action could on the whole run a little more smoothly for our liking - on both the PS3 and 360 versions. Technically, it's no cure for Alzheimer's, but it does still carry a next-gen sheen sexiness.

Our biggest gripe was with the dodgy camera - an ongoing issue with the series, and one that appears not to have been fully resolved if the instances where we were fighting to swing it round towards our immediate foes were anything to go by. And the stalwart spirit-crushing frustration of ostensibly random plunges into bottomless gorges when using the homing attack remains a source of considerable pain.

A game of two halves

'Sonic The Hedgehog' Screenshot 3

So far so familiar, as far as the TGS demo is concerned. However, Kumono insisted that such action sequences will only form half of the finished next-gen Sonic experience. In a heavy tribute to Sonic Adventure, hub worlds and locations the characters must visit and explore will form a fundamental part of the game.

This element in the Dreamcast launch title split opinion right down the middle and was, rightly or wrongly, unceremoniously dumped in subsequent titles. But it seems both RPG-lite adventuring as well as classic platforming will define Sonic's next-gen outing.

"The playable demo represents only a small part of the game itself," Kumono confided. "It's just an action stage. The whole title includes a town stage which includes adventure elements; you can interact with other people. When Sonic is in the town he can go to the store and buy upgrades - to make him faster for instance - using customised shop items.

"I worked in production on Sonic Adventure and we wanted to expand that element and make it so you communicate with people in the town and have sub-missions," Kumono added. "We wanted to make it more like an adventure game - not just another action-oriented Sonic."

It's a decision that is sure to prove controversial, but one that does at least alleviate our concerns that the section covered by the demo hardly represents the giant leap for the series the initial hype led us to expect.

As such, it's pointless attempting to draw any meaningful conclusions until Sonic Team and SEGA see fit to lay bare their hero's rediscovered adventurous spirit. What's there at present will certainly satisfy without particularly wowing fans of 3D-era Sonic; and will surely again fail to sway the classic 2D-worshipping purists. Whether this bold blending of styles will prove a mature design development or simply a 15 year-old's teenage tantrum remains to be seen. But intrigued we most definitely are.

Picture of Johnny.

About Johnny Minkley

Eurogamer TV's Johnny Minkley is a veteran journalist with a lifelong passion for games and the games industry. He uses Twitter more than most people use air.

Read more articles from Johnny by visiting the Johnny Minkley archive page.

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Comments (37) Latest comment 5 years ago

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  • Tomo #1 5 years ago

    Hmm. I didn't particularly enjoy Sonic Adventure and never bothered finishing completing it so I don't think this is for me :[

  • Blood_and_Thunder #2 5 years ago

    Yeah, the 3D ones have never been that good really. Anyone remember those treasure hut levels with knuckles in sonic adventure 2? How annoying could a level possibly be?

  • paul_haine #3 5 years ago

    The hub world adventures sound awful. So does the inclusion of Shadow, Silver, Tails et al - why are they saying this is a return to Sonic's roots when it's clearly just another dodgy 3D adventure-platformer?

    Pfft. Sonic's rubbish anyway.

  • sanchez_thedude #4 5 years ago

    They need to develop a 2D gameplay with 3D graphics based sonic game. I loved Sonic in 2D but the 3D were dire.

  • Santino #5 5 years ago

    i wonder if they ever will? perhaps it will have something to do with rings....secret rings....

  • ecureuil #6 5 years ago

    Sounds like it's going to be another disappointment. They need to ditch these fringe characters and b-movie stories, and just give it the classic Sonic treatment. I reckon they could make a good 3D game, if it was just Sonic, and the story involved maybe a few seconds of voiceless cutscene per level ala Sonic 3/& Knuckles.

  • Steroyd #7 5 years ago

    Jeez louise i "was" excited about this new Sonic game but when they started with that multi-character nonesense... I just refuse to touch the game.

    The big difference between Mario and Sonic these days is that Mario is the main charcter who STAYS the main character throughout the whole game unless the title of the game says otherwise (with Mario 64 DS being an exception), with the other character doing some on screen co-op like the good ole' days.

    Is it so hard for Sega to do a Sonic game that just involves Sonic is that so hard to ask? :-(

  • Shrike #8 5 years ago

    I liked both Sonic Adventures, but I agree with ecureuil that the height of storytelling in the series was Sonic 3/Knuckles. That said, I think the very last parts of Sonic Adventure 2 (specifically the Sonic vs. Shadow levels) were fairly awesome, and it was just a bit disappointing that stuff like that didn't make up the bulk of the game.

    Tbh the Wii Sonic game is looking more up my alley than this.

  • xandoodle #9 5 years ago

    Sonic Adventure was better than Mario64.

    I'm not kidding either, I LOVED SA1. Can't wait to play this...just need a next gen console...

  • Dirtie #10 5 years ago

    They should make a quasi-3D game, with next gen graphics and everything, but in the classic side-on 2D style. No voice acting or even talking at all, just some badass Sonic attitude.

  • HIGHVOLTAGE #11 5 years ago

    For what its worth I thought the 1st Sonic Adventure was an fab game, very underated. It had a number of superficial flaws that took the shine off it, but they could have been fixed. The sequels however not only failed to fix flaws but were lazy Sonic by numbers production line dross that got progressively worse and have sadly given ammo to those who never liked Sonic in the first place to call for the 'hog to be hung for crimes he never intentionally commited. I hope this sequel will be better but it is somewhat worrying that Sonic creator Yuji Naka has of course jumped ship. Though to be honest I always felt he had the same relationship with Sonic as Kurt Cobain had with Smells like Teen Spirit i.e. it pissed him off that people only seemed to know him for that title and he wanted to move on. We'll see if this is beneficial to both parties...

    But the real problem with 3D Sonic is that cartoon platformers no longer have the relevance they did back in the 16 bit era. You always get people comparing 3D Sonic to 3D Mario, but the truth is Mario 64 was far from flawless too and ultimately failed to recapture the impact the 2D originals had. Tomb Raider was the 3D platformer that captured peoples imagination in that period. Which is why most platformers these days-thats Ico, Prince of Persia, God of War etc all take their influence from that game. But even those games are struggling to get attention in the era of the Grand Theft Auto clone. Nintendo fans are the only people who care about cartoon platformers anymore, Nintendo fans who of course hate Sonic in the 1st place because of the childish Sonic vs Mario of that period and therefore blow every "failing" of the Sonic games out of proportion to try and kill the filthy Satan 'hog. So its left Sonic in something of a bad place regardless of what you think of the quality of the games. Do they try and promote him to Ninty fans who'll never accept him or mainstream gamers who don't care anymore?

  • PhakeDC #12 5 years ago

    Well said Highvoltage. I for one wouldn't touch a Mario game, and I hardly expect many Ninty fans to be playing nextgen Sonic. I liked Sonic Adventure 1 but it veered so much from the original formula. The series peaked in S3&K and all this XTREME bull just won't go far. Sonic will die if Sega keeps denying his roots.

  • Santino #13 5 years ago

    I thought since sega went 3rd party sonic games sold best on nintendo systems? and as for platformers taking their cue from tomb raider? please....the controls for that game were hardly natural and lending to a 3d environment, not every 3d platformer handles like controlling a tank now do they?

    Mario and sonic are so different from each other that they should never be compared, the similarities end at being a 2d sidescroller, and being rendered in 3d for the later titles.
    Edited by 2 at 23/09/06 @ 13:54

  • MasterThief #14 5 years ago

    Wow HIGHVOLTAGE. That was a truly superb piece you just wrote. And oh so true.

    Most poignant bit was that of the cartoon platformer. The odd Jak and Ratchet aside, it is a dying genre, in terms of its importance to the industry. Only the Mario-Is-King faithful really care anymore. And if you look at 1996, it is tR's legacy that has blazed deeper trails, not Mario 64's.

    Again, good stuff.

  • Lex_Luthor #15 5 years ago

    It all went to hell when they started throwing in humans(who weren't Robotnik) into these games.

    Plus, that bloated 'supporting cast' could do with less characters, not more Sega.

  • PhakeDC #16 5 years ago

    Santino, I was referring to my juvenile prejudice of old.

  • myutwo33 #17 5 years ago

    just to get my voice in here, I also thought sa1 was fab. In fact, it was easily one of my favorite games ever. Times have changed alot in sonic team since the completion of that game however. Yuji Naka has always been prominent in stating the companies disire to always try something different, and as soon as sa1 was finished his main project became phantasy star online as aposed to sonic adventure 2. The merger of sega with sammy has drastically changed the management system at sega and they are now focused on producing low risk high profit games. I personally feel this is the key reason for so amny of segas star developers leaving the company. However, there still seems to have been alot of good people around to work on this new sonic game. I just hope it still maintains some of the magic that was part of sonic adventure and hasn't become too much of a "make money/play it safe" rehash of sonic adventure with nothing more that nicer graphics.

  • Santino #18 5 years ago

    PhakeDC

    ah my bad i've edited my post.

    Anyways a bit off topic but what the hell...
    i was always a NES/SNES guy back in the day, but i was never one for being anti sega or its main franchise, i enjoyed playing them too. The way i see it i was saddened when they left the hardware industry because Sega and Nintendo were the only true games companies in the industry. Like nintendo, their harware complimented their own games and vice versa, opening up new gameplay possiblities, both companies in a sense shared the same focus on what new ideas they can bring to gaming. A lot of people may not agree with me but Nintendo and Sega were/are the only companies in the industry with balls to try new things and shake it up, not playing it safe.

    I didn't think any of the respective fans were still 'against' each other, especially now because at the end of the day sega and nintendo as companies had much in common, it just wasn't as noticeable as it is now that 2 of the 3 players in the industry aren't solely games companies. They care about games as long as the industry is profitable, if gaming becomes unpopular and non-profitable, sony and MS will simply call it a day and get back to what they do. Nintendo and Sega have never had the luxury of using gaming as a source of suplimental or potential income, they are gaming companies through and through.

    i'm not one for putting thoughts down very well so if this makes no sense or you think i am talking shit, apologies all round ;)

  • smelly #19 5 years ago

    I liked the "sonic" parts of sonic adventures, but hated the other characters (especially the wanky treasure hunts).

    So if this is JUST pure sonic in 3d.. then i'll be happy.

    If not, then at least the wii version looks like it might be just "pure" sonic gameplay...

  • Santino #20 5 years ago

    yeah smelly from most of the accounts ive read Sonic on the Wii is finally 3d sonic that feels like sonic of old, just sonic and he wants to go fast

  • Lex_Luthor #21 5 years ago

    "yeah smelly from most of the accounts ive read Sonic on the Wii is finally 3d sonic that feels like sonic of old"

    It looks like Sonic of old too ;)

  • PhakeDC #22 5 years ago

    I completely agree Santino with your remarks about the industry.. I might be getting a Wii as well, and try to overcome my antiquated prejudice. Cheers :)

  • Fatnick #23 5 years ago

    hmm.

    Its irritating that they keep paying lip service to Sonic's past, yet the new one appears to be carrying on with the faults that plagued the Sonic Adventure games.

  • Kami #24 5 years ago

    I've said it before, but will repeat.

    There is a very big difference between Sonic and Mario, and it's quite clear when you look at it from the eyes of someone who loves both equally. Mario has matured far, far more than Sonic has, and while yes Mario still has his moments of utter direness, you get for the most some sound, solid gaming which has developed and doesn't take itself seriously. Sonic, sadly, has not grown, has not matured, and is still acting like a spoilt teenager. The fact that the Sonic games repeatedly try to TELL YOU they're cool is a testament to the utter desperation of a series in a terminal creative dead-end.

    Simply put, like Mario, Sonic needs to diversify. Many knock Nintendo for pimping Mario out to many spin-off titles but you know what? They're GOOD titles and it reinforces a message that Mario - save the Party series and Sunshine - delivers fun and a good laugh. Until Sega-Sammy get the message that Sonic needs to grow up now and branch out a little, nothing will save the blue hedgehog from being roadkill. I've been with Sonic since the very first game. And these days, I weep to see what Sonic has become...

  • chupachups #25 5 years ago

    "They need to develop a 2D gameplay with 3D graphics based sonic game. I loved Sonic in 2D but the 3D were dire"

    Yeah, this would be a really good idea, a number of non-Sonic games have done this and it's worked fairly well.


    "Simply put, like Mario, Sonic needs to diversify. Many knock Nintendo for pimping Mario out to many spin-off titles but you know what?"

    They did do this though with things like Sonic Heroes (and others like Sonic Spinball, Sonic R, Sonic Blast etc). None of them sold very well though, maybe Sega just isn't very good at making successful spin-offs.
    Edited by 2 at 23/09/06 @ 17:08

  • PinkSpider #26 5 years ago

    Didnt mind the Sonic levels in the first SA, quite basic but fun to look at on the most part. In SA2 they somehow fucked this up AND forced you to play the boring tails/ knuckles etc levels.

    Just sonic pls, with platforming levels and sans vehicles!

  • rez606 #27 5 years ago

    Dear sonic team, what we want is a 3d sonic adventure that is just that. A whole game of superfast onrails 3d platforming action, like the Sonic-only stages in Sonic Adventure 1 and 2!

  • albertofustinoni #28 5 years ago

    I think what keeps Sonic from successfully leaping into 3D is the speed which has become trademark of the series in the 16 bit age: it is simply impossible for the player to control a character in a 3D space with the same accuracy as in the 2D space, not to mention camera issues, so the gameplay has to be slowed down.
    This is the reason why all 3D Sonic games just don't feel true to the series spirit and end up being mediocre at most and is also the reason why Mario has had greater success: its traditional gameplay was slower to begin with.

  • chupachups #29 5 years ago

    "I think what keeps Sonic from successfully leaping into 3D is the speed which has become trademark of the series in the 16 bit age: it is simply impossible for the player to control a character in a 3D space with the same accuracy as in the 2D space"

    I think you're on to something there, Sonic seemed blazingly fast when it first appeared, it made the Mega Drive seem quite amazing, and it's probably no coincidence that Sega overtook Nintendo after releasing the first Sonic game.

    Mario was always more about exploring levels and finding secrets, so it was a lot more adaptable to new formats.

    Maybe Sonic needs to be a driving game or something...

  • Shrike #30 5 years ago

    I say keep an eye on the Wii's Sonic title.. by keeping it on-rails they may well come pretty close to 2D gameplay, and that would be good for the series.

  • JonFE #31 5 years ago

    My 7-year old son is a big fan of all Sonic games I've given him so far, so I'll probably have to get both this and Wii's release. I have a gut feeling he will enjoy Wii's offering more - just have to wait and see.

    BTW, a +1 on what Kami said.

  • Megapocalypse #32 5 years ago

    I love the sonic (and shadow) levels of the Adventure games. The well designed ones flow brilliantly allowing you to keep up the speed while in control. Its when things slow down, and you're required to think about the enemies (as apposed to just ploughing straight through them) that things start to go wrong. And as mentioned in the article; the homing attack still needs more 'homingness' to it and less sending you to oblivion.

    Looking forward to this and its Wii counterpart though.

  • secombe #33 5 years ago

    I still think the speed of Sonic games is entirely innapropriate for 3D gaming, and in my opinion they have never yet got it right. Mario works in 3D because he is slow, yet even those games suffer camera issues sometimes.

    Will anyone be brave enough to create a classic 2D platformer in this day and age, and would anyone buy it? I've still not played a 3D platform/adventure game remotely as gorgeous, entertaining or compelling as Quackshot on the Mega Drive (as an example)

  • Kami #34 5 years ago

    @ Chupachups;

    Sonic R and Riders were average, Heroes wasn't so much a spin-off as more of an absolute disaster! But how about a Sonic RPG spin-off? Just to show people they can write the series a half-decent storyline? And as for racing, that's nice, but can't they do anything else? I know Nintendo have pretty much covered the sporting spectrum but still...

    Thing is, Sonic IS 2-Dimensional. Mario has been rounded to be a hero with weaknesses, sometimes you get that brief flash of Mario getting it totally wrong and it adds a touch of humour to the whole affair. Mario has had quite a few adventure-style RPG outings to give writers the chance to really develop the Mario world, and it's all good. Sonic in comparison is as flat as a pancake, immature and trying to tell people he's so cool when truthfully, he's anything but.

    The two series once upon a time went head-to-head, and I loved that. But today, Mario is just the clear winner. It's managed to grow and adapt with its audience, keep things relatively fresh and deliver for the most some truly inspired gaming moments. Sonic needs a miracle in the form of a whole new creative team... I just don't think "Sonic Team" as they seem to still call themselves have got a cvlue about what they're doing...

  • DocTep #35 5 years ago

    *Goes fishing...*

    Maybe they should experiment by handing the franchise over to an outside developer to see what would happen. Such as ...Bizarre Creations?

    *Waits to see if the line twitches...*

    O.o

  • Crashdown #36 5 years ago

    I hope they make another 2D version. just cos games can be 3D doesnt mean they should be, it worked for mario but not sonic.

  • Fatnick #37 5 years ago

    oh god! the demo's up on live - it's dreadful. Poor camera and terrible twitchy controls :(

  • TheBoyChris #38 5 years ago

    I loved Sonic Adventure on the Dreamcast - once you got past the fact it was 3D (shock horror omgz nooooes!) it was a really good game.

    Anyone remember the sequence running down the side of the skyscraper? Brilliant - just brilliant.