Four months ago, Sega teased Project Needlemouse, an upcoming downloadable 2D Sonic game coming to consoles sometime this year. As of yesterday, we have a name, a release window, a list of the consoles it’s coming to, and even a tiny sliver of gameplay footage. Woo!
Sega has chosen to go the Mega Man 9 route with the title, calling it Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I. Call it authentic, call it exploitative, but this is probably a pretty good idea considering how well MM9 sold. Not to mention that hearing the phrase “Sonic the Hedgehog 4″ reaches inside me and tickles some long-dormant old-Sega-loving part. Then again, the “Episode I” part is so new-Sega that it’s difficult not to feel like this is already some calculated attempt to squeeze the last bit of money and hope out of those of us who once loved the hedgehog.
They also put out another pretty exciting teaser, posted after the jump:
That logo, man. Gives me chills.
Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I is coming to Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network and WiiWare this summer. Here’s hoping it doesn’t surgically remove the last specks of optimism from our hearts.
Readers! Do you have any hope at all that this will end well? Does “Once a cheater, always a cheater” apply to video game franchises? Let us know in the comments!
Loading ...
Episode 1? EPISODE 1?! COME ON GUYS!
Know what? Screw you. I am not waiting around for another episode 3 that is never coming. Screw this. I’m opening up my genesis emulator, I’m playing me some Sonic and Knuckles, and I’m forgetting this thing.
You know what? You know what? Sonic never was a good as Mario. Think about it. Sonic can’t carry anything. Sonic doesn’t have multiple speeds he can run, trick jumps, combo jmps. All he does is cover a map as quickly as possible. And Mario never drip fed me a series of assaults to my childhood before writing me an apology letter like this with an “Episode 1″ PS that basically reads “Now bend over, and if you can still walk straight after this, we’re gonna do it again, and again, and again, and again….” (No, Mario gave us a torrential flood of assaults meaning I could take some and leave some and skip the crap.)
Seriously, the choice to make this episode 1 was the worst choice they could have made. Without that I would have thought “Oh, cool, they’re finally going back to the roots. That’s awesome.” With that their cold black heart is laid bare. You know what they’re going to do? It’s gonna be 3 worlds and they’re going to charge full price for it. Then they’ll release three more worlds in episode 2, and the last 2 worlds in episode 3, and in the end you’ve paid three times more for what will add up to one full game. Screw them.
And what if each episode is just as good as a regular game? What if they’re cheap?
All “Episode 1″ implies is that there will be AT LEAST an episode 2. And considering that this game looks great, more of a good thing = a great thing.
Calm down, we don’t have enough info to bitch yet, god damn.
Joe, I’m seriously considering making your comment the article and making my article a comment. That was probably the most articulate possible summary of my fears about this game.
Because you know what happened last time there were three fantastic entries in a series, and then, more than a decade later, they decide to revisit it with an “Episode I”? THE PHANTOM MENACE HAPPENED.
It needs to be episodic to properly include all of the deep, rich, and epic storytelling that the classic Sonic games are known for.
I know this is my mantra or whatever, and I hate that it is, but – SEGA’s gonna fuck this.
Just watch.
@Patrick Hancock – Telling us not to bitch when a company tries to exploit a game franchise that most of us gamers have grown up on is like telling the sky not to be blue. I’m sure that even if this Sonic 4 IS good people will find some reason to dislike it.
I’m pretty skeptical about this idea though. I’m not sure they could surpass Sonic 2.
@Nick Robinson I understand the concerns of the “Episode I” from Sonic 4 title meaning an incomplete experience. What I don’t understand is the common aversion towards prequels and sequels that don’t live up to the expectations of the public, regardless if they are good or bad by themselves and what they add to the story.
I think The Phantom Menace was good enough. I don’t see what is so wrong with the prequel trilogy, or the Matrix sequels for that matter. I think some people need to take out the rose-tinted glasses when comparing the predecessors with their successors.
…well that was completely off-topic.
I never understood Sonic. However, I never understood Mega Man or Contra, either, but I still love those new episodes true to the original. I’ll get this game as well and I’m looking forward to it. I’m not overhyped like a Sonic fan, though, so I probably won’t be disappointed.
I’m… I’m crying on the inside.
I think this is going to end badly. Its going to end up being like Half-life 2: episode 3 and take forever to release. Personally, I am not going to buy it because it is going to just end up terrible, like Super Mario Galaxy.
Jonathan, can you explain how Super Mario Galaxy is terrible. What can you point out to make a horrible game? What exactly makes a good 3d platformer? Any games you know of that got it right? In term of level design not just story or characters.
I have to say i do agree with mr. Larson cause i too grew up on Sonic and Mario (like everyone too). But if i imagine what the aftermath of all of this will be is that we’ll move on to the next good game and forget this game (if it sucks). And ultimately the one that’s really gonna hurt is Sega’s dignity lol. I’ve always liked Mario more than Sonic anyway.
The one thing I’m not gonna like is what Joe pointed out which is the Price. Because its Sonic and because its Sega a big company, they’re gonna jack up the price. Which i think will suck. Other than that i just love the fact that 2D animators still have a place to work XD.
Actually, the game is going to be fully 3D from a 2D perspective. No sprites or pixelart to be found in this one (sadly).
Right now, what I’m most worried about is the music. The way I see it, they’ve got three options: either reunite the entire SEGA Sound Team (including Michael Jackson), get Hideki Naganuma to reprise the fantastic job he did on the Sonic Rush soundtrack, or do something that SUUUUUCKS.
I think they’re gonna pick option 3.
Sigh, I was kinda hoping for this:
http://fc07.deviantart.com/fs31/i/2008/210/e/5/Green_Hill_Zone_by_Orioto.jpg
Oh well.
First of all where is the PC – Steam what ever? Secondly I remember only 2 great sonic games, while I played all except for one (3D blast), only really cool games were Sonic Genesis 1 and 2, those were like something you can play as long as you want, I play genesis one on emulator on my N97 now almost 20 years after I had it on console and it is still great. Sonic 3 was a so so, and after it, something wrong happened. Now if you would look into how the series were getting worse you would also notice it in graphic styles in the Sonic worlds, and what I can see from that very short 1 second video from the actual game is that background is not authentic sonic atmosphere, that makes me worried.
And yeah – I could never love Mario more than Sonic, even Kirby is better than Mario… come oN!
I hate to do this because I, live everyone here, grew up with Sonic. Sonic is a part of my childhood and as a child I insisted that based on bit-count alone Sonic was superior, but even back then I knew from the moment I played Sonic that when compared to Mario something was lacking.
Indication 1 was that the Genesis controller had an extra button over the Nintendo controller… and Sonic didn’t even try to use it. Next was attacks. Let’s go back to Sonic 1 here. By Sonic 2 he had the spin dash, but in Sonic 1 all he could do was jump on enemies, and Mario could do that, and did jumping on enemies ever yield new attacks, like jumping on a turtle shell did for Mario? Nope. Just like the buttons, all Sonic does is one thing over and over again. Indication 2: Count power-ups that change the game as you play. Mario’s got mushrooms, fire-flowers and super stars. Sonic’s got… well he’s got the super starts. Oh, and boots. Both of which disappear and you’re back to the plain gameplay you started out with.
The only thing Sonic’s got that Mario doesn’t is graphical superiority upon launch, the ability to never die so long as you can get one ring in your hand, and those pinball zone areas (those were cool). Mario has so much more, even if we just limit ourselves to the first Super Mario game. Open it up to the Marioverse and Sonic, for as fast as he is, is left in the dust.
And I hate to do this because I, in my youth, defended Sonic because he was on superior hardware. But if I’m being honest with myself Mario is where it’s at.
Well, they tried to open the Sonicverse…. the problem was they didn’t know how to do it properly. They didn’t realize Sonic is a cartoonish character rather than a epic character.
I don’t think Sonic is over yet. I played Sonic Unleashed on the PS2. The story was cringeworthy and the night (combat) levels were completely unnecessary, but the gameplay of the day levels was very enjoyable, including the 3D parts. They brought back that feeling of speed of the old games.
Ok I have to add something, I forgot about Sonic Advance 3, I mean I didn’t play that one also, and I am playing it now and IT IS GOOD, so yeah not every single one turned into trash, also I want to agree with Alex, Sonic wasn’t that bad in 3D it is not about perspective or where the camera is it is about feeling…
[...] Project Needlemouse is now Sonic 4 Episode I, coming this summer | Bytejacker [...]