Sonic the Hedgehog 4

[SlaughterX]

It's 2D (http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3177817)! Coming to the 360, PS3, and Wii.

[Nephlabobo]

It's also DLC only and *episodic*.

Thanks for the effort Sega, but no thanks.

[Foobar]

They're selling it in "episodic" format.

Not interested.

[Dave3]

I'm definitely interested in this, could be the best Sonic game in years. I really enjoyed Sonic 2 and 3 on Sega Genesis and I still play them sometimes. I agree that the episodic format is not ideal, I would rather just buy the full thing on it's own. However, if it's as good as it looks and the episodes are a decent length for a decent price, I'll be checking this out.

[jeffx]

It's also DLC only and *episodic*.

Thanks for the effort Sega, but no thanks.

My thoughts exactly. Plus you forgot to mention that they're gonna shoe-horn motion control into the PS3 and Wii versions. Yayyyyyy *BARF*

EDIT: I will give it a try though, especially if said motion control is *optional*. At any rate, I'm glad to see they've gone back to a traditional look. I'm more pleased than displeased, and I guess it's inevitable that they'd go the DD route, BUT it sure would be nice to get a PSP port.

[philtord]

i think its time 4 sonic to visit the vets and be put down once and for all. hes had such a miserable life of late, it would be the kindest thing to do.

[Rednusander]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esToFGwSvAE

[Soushi_Grapple]

I'm not even a Sonic fan (but my gf has picked up every game) and I'm even saying @%#@^# finally they went back to their roots!

[philtord]

vids excellent, although i would have thought hed turn to crack by now

[LordGeo]

It's also DLC only and *episodic*.

Thanks for the effort Sega, but no thanks.

My thoughts exactly. Plus you forgot to mention that they're gonna shoe-horn motion control into the PS3 and Wii versions. Yayyyyyy *BARF*

Wow, you guys sure like being downers when you have no hard evidence to be so.

First off, in the GameSpot interview, it was mentioned that the "Episode 1" idea would be similar to how Sonic 3's story was handled (you know, how the story was split up between two full games?). There was no indication that "Episode" meant "Zone"; in fact, it meant more like this is "Part 1" of the story and is a full-game in its own right.

Also, you honestly think that with it being released across XBLA, PSN, and WiiWare that the motion control will be highly extensive? You honestly think that a developer would try to do anything extensive with SIXAXIS technology? If anything, the motion control will be minor and, more than likely, be an extra for those who want to use it.

Finally, since when is being a downloadble game automatically = massive suckage? Oh yeah, to people who seem to feel that a game is only enjoyable when it has a larger budget and is on a disc. The interview showed that this is a "labor of love" from people who loved playing the original games on the Genesis and they wanted to follow that style, meaning that a retail release is not necessary for this game.

Use your heads before going straight into baseless assumptions.

[Enzeru]

[Let's not start flame wars with personal insults, please. - Red]

But anyway, I don't like how people are reacting so negatively to this. I don't really play Sonic very much (but Adventure 1 and 2 were AWESOME), but this seems like they are actually trying. Episodic? That just means that you get it earlier and in smaller bites to consume, and if you don't like it, don;t buy anymore. That's what I did with Fable II! I liked Episode 1, and then proceeded to get 2 and 3, but I never really finished 3 so I didn't need to buy 4. And complaining about things being download only is getting quite old, if you ask me. It's better to be download only then to not be released at all. I don't hear people raging at Zeno Clash because it's download only!

[philtord]

thankyou.

[Kakizaki]

It's also DLC only and *episodic*.

Thanks for the effort Sega, but no thanks.

My thoughts exactly. Plus you forgot to mention that they're gonna shoe-horn motion control into the PS3 and Wii versions. Yayyyyyy *BARF*

Wow, you guys sure like being downers when you have no hard evidence to be so.

First off, in the GameSpot interview, it was mentioned that the "Episode 1" idea would be similar to how Sonic 3's story was handled (you know, how the story was split up between two full games?). There was no indication that "Episode" meant "Zone"; in fact, it meant more like this is "Part 1" of the story and is a full-game in its own right.

Also, you honestly think that with it being released across XBLA, PSN, and WiiWare that the motion control will be highly extensive? You honestly think that a developer would try to do anything extensive with SIXAXIS technology? If anything, the motion control will be minor and, more than likely, be an extra for those who want to use it.

Finally, since when is being a downloadble game automatically = massive suckage? Oh yeah, to people who seem to feel that a game is only enjoyable when it has a larger budget and is on a disc. The interview showed that this is a "labor of love" from people who loved playing the original games on the Genesis and they wanted to follow that style, meaning that a retail release is not necessary for this game.

Use your heads before going straight into baseless assumptions.

I agree with you man. I have seen similar backlash regarding Yakuza 3 finally being localized for the West. It totally perplexes me.

It has become pretty fashionable to criticize Sega over the past few years. While I definitely think they deserve some heat for poor decisions, people fail to mention or neglect a lot of the decent to great work Sega has created or produced over the last few years.

People have been clamoring for a back to basics Sonic for a while now, and while Sonic Rush kind of provided that, the concept art I have seen for this Sonic leads me to believe it will be even more old school. Sega seems to be damned if they do or damned if they don't.

I understand people being confused or irritated about the episodic release, but how about we wait to get more details before we blow our lids?

Also, for whatever reason, a certain someone keeps trolling this thread. Its cool if you do not care for Sonic, but your juvenile responses are pointless and are going to get you nowhere.

[philtord]

look i did LIKE sonic. but the last few releases have been awful. this stops now. i will keep an open mind, and take the high road


edit - If you want to give a cheapshot because you figure a mod can't respond, do it on another board. Last warning. - Kakizaki

[jeffx]

philtord: yikes man.

I have clarified my thoughts, I did not mean to be such a negative nancy. I am looking forward to clarifications w/ regards to motion control.

Also Red, thanks that was hilarious!

[Kakizaki]

^You know, I do the same thing. A lot.

I think I am more just irritated with comments regarding Sega lately in general - and to do with Yakuza 3 in not so general terms.

I was probably just venting a little. ;)

I'm not hot on the motion controls either. I'm just expecting there to be another option.

[Soushi_Grapple]

I don't see how it being episodic is such a big deal. I assumed it was just part 1 in a series of games..

[unknown]

Because there's a possibility that they're going to charge $10-$15 per episode.

[Nephlabobo]

Finally, since when is being a downloadble game automatically = massive suckage? Oh yeah, to people who seem to feel that a game is only enjoyable when it has a larger budget and is on a disc. The interview showed that this is a "labor of love" from people who loved playing the original games on the Genesis and they wanted to follow that style, meaning that a retail release is not necessary for this game.

Use your heads before going straight into baseless assumptions.

There is no reason to release this episodically except for greed.

[Kakizaki]

You have no idea how long each episode is or how it will work yet. Slow down.

[Vyse of Arcadia]

I just hope that DIMPS (Sonic Pocket Adventure, Sonic Advance games, Sonic Rush) is handling development. Those guys know how to do 2D Sonic games, and do a damn fine job. And they've developed under the guise of Sonic Team before.

I hope it's episodic in the same way Sonic 3 and Sonic and Knuckles are episodic. I wouldn't mind purchasing Sonic's, Tails', and Knuckles' stories separately. But I'm not cool with "wait a month and pay $10 more for Zone 2!"

If DIMPS is doing this one, I have no doubts it'll be the best Sonic game since Sonic Rush. If Sonic Team itself is more than marginally involved, it will be a horrible, bug-ridden mess.

I wonder who's doing the music. I'm pulling for Jun Senoue or Richard Jacques. Or both. I wouldn't mind hearing Hideki Naganuma or Tomoko Sasaki either.

[elf_boobs]

If only they had done this about 10 years ago, their mascot might still be relevant. I remember a time when I loved these games (Sonic and Knuckles being the last game I had any interest in.) An episodic side scrolling platformer? Weird. Hope it works.

[Vyse of Arcadia]

GoNintendo just posted the Sonic 4 Title Screen music (http://gonintendo.com/viewstory.php?id=113316).

I love the Genesis synth drums, but the rest is way too crisp to be Genesis samples. And it's grown on me after 10ish listens, but, man, if they force any more nostalgia down my throat I'm going to start getting angry.

And this has to be Jun Senoue. It's got his style written all over it. If it isn't Jun Senoue, I'll eat something unpleasant.

[TheDoctor]

I think Sonic music started to be a little bad after Sonic 2.

I've heard Sonic Rush had really good music, need to check that out.

[Soushi_Grapple]

Because there's a possibility that they're going to charge $10-$15 per episode.

Depending on the content per episode that may not be that much. Sonic games are usually $10 by the time theyre worth picking up nowadays.

[ViolenceJack]

If an Episode is as Long as Sonic 1, 2, or 3, I'd say $15 is reasonable, if its only a few zones then I would agree thats ridiculous. But we dont even know how long an Episode is yet.

If I recall in Sonic a zone consisted of 3 stages, and a 4'th 'boss' stage, all stages were jam packed with secret areas, and alternate routes, and you also had the chaos zones you could enter. I forget but I think in Sonic 2 the zones were condensed to 2 stages, and a 3rd 'boss' stage.

[Vyse of Arcadia]

If I recall in Sonic a zone consisted of 3 stages, and a 4'th 'boss' stage, all stages were jam packed with secret areas, and alternate routes, and you also had the chaos zones you could enter. I forget but I think in Sonic 2 the zones were condensed to 2 stages, and a 3rd 'boss' stage.

In Sonic 1, all zones(not including Final Zone, et cetera) were three stages with the boss at the very end of the third stage. In Sonic 2, all zones were two stages with the boss at the end of the second (with the exception of the three-stage Metropolis Zone), and again excepting Death Egg zone and the like. And yeah, you could get to special stages to get Chaos Emeralds in almost all stages.

I don't think mainline Sonic games had separate boss stages until Sonic Adventure (for 3D games, Sonic Advance 2 for 2D games.) Or Sonic 3D if you count that as a mainline.

But yeah, an episode as long as a mainline Genesis Sonic game is perfectly fine for me. Even releasing Knuckles' stages or something separately.

[Nephlabobo]

You have no idea how long each episode is or how it will work yet. Slow down.

Doesn't matter - the motivation is obvious.

[Kakizaki]

^They are a business. Of course the motivation is to profit. But I guess I should have taken into account the statements you have made previously in other threads regarding DLC and whatnot.

Regardless, I still maintain until further info is available, it is pointless to get worked up.

[AlexDM]

:/ well seems like i'm one of the other guys here that remembers how sonic really was. It was and still is a fantastic game to play (Reason why i bought the collection game for my ps2) Can't wait to see/play the 4th one.

[ViolenceJack]

Yeah I still rem Playing 1, 2, 3, & Knuckles on the Genesis, lol Sonic 2 with Knuckles was soo freaking easy.

[HIRO]

I am excited for Sonic 4

[Foobar]

I agree with you man. I have seen similar backlash regarding Yakuza 3 finally being localized for the West. It totally perplexes me.

It has become pretty fashionable to criticize Sega over the past few years. While I definitely think they deserve some heat for poor decisions, people fail to mention or neglect a lot of the decent to great work Sega has created or produced over the last few years.

People have been clamoring for a back to basics Sonic for a while now, and while Sonic Rush kind of provided that, the concept art I have seen for this Sonic leads me to believe it will be even more old school. Sega seems to be damned if they do or damned if they don't.

I understand people being confused or irritated about the episodic release, but how about we wait to get more details before we blow our lids?

Well, you're the guy with the aversion to J-Pop in Persona games, why does the backlash to how the game is being issued bother you? We can turn music options off, but we can't seem to make Sega listen to gamers.

Sega just had the opportunity to redeem the franchise in a tremendous way and they pushed it into one of the industry's more annoying trends - making an incomplete game.

I've already heard people say that "Maybe Sega's doing it this way to build a better game through user feedback." Phantasy Star Online and PSU say "hello."

None of the feedback and monthly fees Sega was given from the GameCube or Xbox versions of PSO ever went to fixing those version, instead they went toward making another version - PSO: Blue Burst on PC - a better game. And all the feedback and fees for Phantasy Star Universe? Those went to making handheld games that were improved over the Xbox, PS2 and PC versions.

So with that in mind, all the failings of Sonic attempting to become Mario, the mishandling of Shenmue, disbanding numerous great internal teams and the like - no, my cynicism towards Sega is not some new trendy thing. Its been ongoing for a decade now.

Were it not for the fact that Phantasy Star Zero, PS Portable 2 and various interesting RPGs were being published by Sega, I could have dropped them a long, long time ago.

Doesn't mean I'm still not just a bit frustrated with them. Ever since Sammy took hold, they haven't exactly improved as a game developer so much as they have a game publisher.

Getting back to Sonic 4, my problem is that if they're going to stiff us with 7 levels per "episode" the least they could do is take a page from Little Big Planet/Chu Chu Rocket and incorporate a version of the Sonic The Hedgehog Level Creator they have on playsega.com.

User-generated levels would be a real form of feedback for Sega and a nice gesture to keep a DLC version such as this interesting. Nintendo did it with Mario Vs. Donkey Kong - people are still adding stuff to it.

[Kakizaki]

Well, you're the guy with the aversion to J-Pop in Persona games, why does the backlash to how the game is being issued bother you? We can turn music options off, but we can't seem to make Sega listen to gamers.How in the hell do those two things correlate in any way? For starters, the soundtracks in question were a known commodity. Many factors regarding the segmented release of this new Sonic title are not yet known. Also, my statement was in regards to the Sega backlash in general. Miss my comment about Yakuza 3? Apparently.

All I have stated in regards to the episodic release, if you bothered to pay attention, is that there is waay too little information available at this point to get worked up over. I even mentioned I understood peoples' frustration to a degree - you quoted it.

You are a perfect example of my point with your "Sega frustrations over the past decade." Past decade? Really? Too bad. While people like you were whining about how pathetic Sega has become, I guess you all missed out on Panzer Dragoon Orta, Outrun 2, Outrun 2006 Coast to Coast, GunValkyrie, Jet Set Radio Future, Spike Out, Shinobi, Nightshade, Rez HD, Yakuza 1-3, Bayonetta, all of the amazing Sega Ages collections that were put out after Sega took over their production (of which there are many), After Burner Climax, Dynamite Deka EX: Asian Dynamite, Outrun Online, SDF Macross, Virtua Fight 4&5.....just to name a few. Although if you are only concerned with PSO, then I guess you would most likely miss out on a lot.

Yes, I wouldn't disagree that Sega isn't what it used to be, but it also does still release a lot of high quality titles. Fans are also to blame for Sega's slide and I don't think I need to explain why. High quality titles, PDO for example, didn't exactly burn up sales charts. I highly doubt the merger with Sammy affected quality. Sega would have most likely been forced to restructure with or without the merger. Traditionally, Sega was an arcade first company. As many arcades as there still are in Japan, and even though they can still be an impressive sight, arcades have been steadily on the decline for quite some time there. That has significantly eaten away at a steady and reliable stream of income for Sega. Plus, at least in the U.S., people don't want to pay full price for arcade type title conversions on console(outside of fighting games). Yet another strike for Sega profit-wise. If anything, the Sammy merger probably helped to draw a little more money out of the arcades.

I'm guessing that if Sega were to release a large 2-D Sonic for consoles, people would not be willing to pay full price. Depending on price structure, this episodic release may in effect allow for people to sample the game without being obligated to pay more / regular price for a larger game. Oh wait, but that would be glass half-full. This is hardly similar to "turning the music off."

Oh, on a side note - you can refrain from attempting to stir the pot. The antagonistic nature gets a little old.

[Kyoko]

I've been waiting for this game!
I hope that it'll better than the last games.
Thanks for telling us.

[TheDoctor]

You are a perfect example of my point with your "Sega frustrations over the past decade." Past decade? Really? Too bad. While people like you were whining about how pathetic Sega has become, I guess you all missed out on Panzer Dragoon Orta, Outrun 2, Outrun 2006 Coast to Coast, GunValkyrie, Jet Set Radio Future, Spike Out, Shinobi, Nightshade, Rez HD, Yakuza 1-3, Bayonetta, all of the amazing Sega Ages collections that were put out after Sega took over their production (of which there are many), After Burner Climax, Dynamite Deka EX: Asian Dynamite, Outrun Online, SDF Macross, Virtua Fight 4&5.....just to name a few. Although if you are only concerned with PSO, then I guess you would most likely miss out on a lot.


The only thing disappointing about Sega is that they can't afford to make risky games like they used to so they have to rely their big franchises like Sonic and it seems their production of these games is greater than anything else.

I don't agree with some of the games you listed like Nightshade, Outrun but they have been putting out pretty cool original games here and there like Blood Will Tell and Valkyria Chronicles.

Rez HD being a HD port of a Dreamcast game (not a bad game) shouldn't be counted as something "new".

Also Bayonetta was developed by Platinum Games.

I think the general backlash against Sega comes from people who can't see past the recent Sonic game and don't know of their other small releases.

[LordGeo]

So with that in mind, all the failings of Sonic attempting to become Mario, the mishandling of Shenmue, disbanding numerous great internal teams and the like - no, my cynicism towards Sega is not some new trendy thing. Its been ongoing for a decade now.

In what ways has Sega tried to make Sonic become Mario, outside of the whole "He's Sega's mascot, of course they're going to try to expand him out into other games and try to market him to as many people as possible!"?

Also, how in the hell would you have handled Shenmue? It was uber-ambitious and came with a developmental cost that was just as big as, if not bigger than, Yu Suzuki's goal with the game. Shenmue 1 was a giant seller on the Dreamcast alone, but the game's development cost made Sega still lose money on it, and Shenmue 2 wasn't going to suddenly become even bigger.

Finally, the whole "disbanding numerous great internal teams" wasn't exactly Sega's complete doing. People seem to conviniently forget that "Sega" is a part of Sega Sammy Holdings now and that Sammy had to buy Sega in order for Sega to even continue living as an entity. When Sega Sammy formed, Sammy decided to disband a lot of those teams and consolidate them... It's called saving money from a business perspective, as only a few of those teams, like Sega AM2, were able to actually make profits from their games. Yeah, I also liked a lot of the games Sega made when they had 10 or so developmental teams at once, but how many of them do you think were actually making money?

[Vyse of Arcadia]

Sega just had the opportunity to redeem the franchise in a tremendous way and they pushed it into one of the industry's more annoying trends - making an incomplete game.

I would like to point out that, gameplay-wise, Sonic was redeemed some time ago by DIMPS. All of the Sonic Advance and Sonic Rush games are fantastic, as good as anything to ever grace the Genesis. The problem is that they were ignored because they're portable. If any of them were ported to consoles tomorrow, there would be critical acclaim the likes of which Sega hasn't seen for a Sonic game since Sonic Adventure.

[Kakizaki]

You are a perfect example of my point with your "Sega frustrations over the past decade." Past decade? Really? Too bad. While people like you were whining about how pathetic Sega has become, I guess you all missed out on Panzer Dragoon Orta, Outrun 2, Outrun 2006 Coast to Coast, GunValkyrie, Jet Set Radio Future, Spike Out, Shinobi, Nightshade, Rez HD, Yakuza 1-3, Bayonetta, all of the amazing Sega Ages collections that were put out after Sega took over their production (of which there are many), After Burner Climax, Dynamite Deka EX: Asian Dynamite, Outrun Online, SDF Macross, Virtua Fight 4&5.....just to name a few. Although if you are only concerned with PSO, then I guess you would most likely miss out on a lot.


The only thing disappointing about Sega is that they can't afford to make risky games like they used to so they have to rely their big franchises like Sonic and it seems their production of these games is greater than anything else.

I don't agree with some of the games you listed like Nightshade, Outrun but they have been putting out pretty cool original games here and there like Blood Will Tell and Valkyria Chronicles.

Rez HD being a HD port of a Dreamcast game (not a bad game) shouldn't be counted as something "new".

Also Bayonetta was developed by Platinum Games.

I think the general backlash against Sega comes from people who can't see past the recent Sonic game and don't know of their other small releases.

Yes I realize that Bayonetta was developed by Platinum but it was still published by Sega and is full of Sega references.

My list wasn't all encompassing of the past decade. It wasn't meant to be. I just threw out a handful quality Sega titles from the past decade that came to my head immediately (Rez in any form would still fall within that anyway).

I have been a Sega fan for a very, very long time. My first gaming console was a Master System. I still collect a lot of older Sega junk and check out many different Sega websites and forums. The backlash extends beyond "the recent Sonic game."

[TheDoctor]

I meant to say recent Sonic games.

But yeah the hand-held Sonic games are pretty good but also disregarded.

[Vyse of Arcadia]

Apparently there was a leak. DIMPS is developing Sonic 4. (http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2010/02/16/sonic-the-hedgehog-4-gameplay-footage-leaks-developer-revealed/)

So it looks like it'll be a good game, then!

[MSD]

Looking forward to this one for sure. I haven't enjoyed a Sonic game since Adventure 2 and I will always love the Genesis titles. If this can bring back the style of gameplay I grew up with, I will love this game. Although, I did play Rush and while it was better than the other recent titles, I still found it to be a pretty flawed and annoying game. I hope this doesn't suffer the same fate, but of course I will be waiting until I actually play it before I make any judgements.

At the very least, it will still be better than most of the other games in the series to come out lately.