Sonic runs solo in Project Needlemouse

SEGA's Project Needlemouse cast reveal has ruled out every one of Sonic's extended family of anthropomorphic friends, leaving the blue hedgehog as the only playable character in the 2D series reboot.

The trivia challenge progressively struck the likes of Charmy, Shadow, Amy and Big the Cat off the roster over the course of last week. Tails and Knuckles, who themselves date back to early instalments in the Sonic series, didn't even figure.

The post also shows some concept artwork depicting an enemy from the game - a robot crab - that's very much in the classic Sonic style.

Turns out brand manager Ken Ballough was messing with us when he said, "Tails and Knuckles, to me, are essential to Sonic... I think the one character that has yet to find his place is Bark the Polar Bear. I hope he does eventually - it'd be nice to have a cool bear character."

Project Needlemouse is a 2D Sonic game in high definition, due for release on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 this year.