The remaster of the first Sonic game from 1991 is due to hit stores early next year.
Twenty-five years on from the first Sonic the Hedgehog and not one but two new entries to the franchise have been unveiled.
First introduced in 1991 as an effective rival to Nintendo's all-conquering mascot plumber Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog stood out thanks to the blue-spined sniffler's incredible speed. Now, that era-defining game and its four shimmering sequels that followed -- Sonic The Hedgehog 2, Sonic CD, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, and Sonic & Knuckles -- are to form the basis of a new franchise entry.
Sonic Mania (trailer here) is due early 2017 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows PC, and will both remaster the original games' best stages and provide a platform for new levels delivered in the same style.
Not that there haven't been other Sonic games to draw on since those halcyon days, but rather that they haven't all met the same high standards.Over the past few years, the high quality Sonic Generations and Sonic Colors have stood out, demonstrating fidelity to the Sonic look and feel, while upping the ante in terms of spectacle.
But other attempts, most infamously the failed 2006 Sonic the Hedgehog reboot, fell far short of expectations. In particular, 2014 spin-offs Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric and Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal were even received as being among the worst big-name releases -- and not just within the boun$s of the Sonic franchise.
So in an effort to ensure Sonic Mania gets it right, Sega has turned to US-based developers Christian Whitehead and Simon Thomley, serious fans who had already remastered Sonics 1, 2, and CD for the publisher, and who are now working with UK & US studio PagodaWest on Sonic Mania.
Also announced alongside Sonic Mania is a second game, this time set for the last quarter of 2017.
The in-progress Project Sonic 2017 is being developed by the same team behind Sonic Generations and Sonic Colors and, thanks to some similarities between its trailer (here) and those for Sonic Generations, it's being received as a de facto "Sonic Generations 2."
In the meantime, and for those with access to a Windows PC, online retailer Bundlestars is offering a Sega Genesis Classics Pick & Mix bundle until July 28, with 55 games to choose from (including Sonics 1, 2, 3 and CD) at US $1.99 for 5, $3.49 for 10, or $4.99 for a batch of 20.
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