Sonic Boom announced (Wii U/3DS)

[Naysu]

okay, after all the talk on crash bandicoot this came to mind --> http://i3.minus.com/ibxqzgDc2XM8sA.jpg
that caused a lot of talk but wasn't used for anything. same idea of inflating random areas of a character though. xD

[Kuzu]

The mentioning of combat being a major component is seriously harshing my vibe.

 

Look on the bright side, its a spin off so don't have to worry about it ever.

[Red Hot Jack]

I recall it was in the press release, and hinted at here: http://www.gonintendo.com/?mode=viewstory&id=221898

 

and on the main Sonic Boom web page. Seems this will be a whole new continuity that runs alongside the old one.

 

Yeah but it looks like it was removed from the press, or I simply can't find it. But they are treating the Wii U and 3DS versions as separate games.

[SlickEvan]

I was gonna make a long post about how angering it is to see how quickly fans put something down. but then decided against that. I now have to say, this looks frakin fantastic to me everything about seems so good, but then 2D harshed my cheery attitude. I'm still loving everything so far but.. 2D. Still SUPPPER EXCITED THOUGH.

[TrueBlue]

The mentioning of combat being a major component is seriously harshing my vibe.

 

Understandable. I just hope they can integrate whatever combat exists well into the overall flow of the levels.

[KrazyBean]

Sonic Boom will feature interconnected hubs, with the game's narrative determining which two characters are available for play in each area and all four characters featuring in boss levels.

 

Ah, so you only use two characters at a time?

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

Ah, so you only use two characters at a time?

I think it means that first time through you only get 2, but can play with more perhaps

[Willsy]

Better than just one I guess. I'm hoping for online co-op.

[Waveshocker Sigma]

I was gonna make a long post about how angering it is to see how quickly fans put something down. but then decided against that. I now have to say, this looks frakin fantastic to me everything about seems so good, but then 2D harshed my cheery attitude. I'm still loving everything so far but.. 2D. Still SUPPPER EXCITED THOUGH.

 

The 2D part is a bit of a bummer, but as long as it's done well, I think it'll be alright.

 

All in all, I'm still super hyped for this. This may be the game that finally replaces Heroes as my favorite 3D game in the franchise. <3

[SilentDoom]

Ah, so you only use two characters at a time?

 

Which is confusing because there's one point in the trailer where you see Sonic, Tails and Amy all on screen (the bit where Tails is shooting the lasers)

[Conando]

Wait, 2D? So it has 2D segments like the BOOSTAN Trilogy and Lost World? I'm sure it will be fine.

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

The 2D part is a bit of a bummer, but as long as it's done well, I think it'll be alright.

 

All in all, I'm still super hyped for this. This may be the game that finally replaces Heroes as my favorite 3D game in the franchise. <3

The way its implied to me, sounds like it might be a 2.5D brawler sections akin to perhaps Streets of rage, rather than traditional 2D

 

Which is confusing because there's one point in the trailer where you see Sonic, Tails and Amy all on screen (the bit where Tails is shooting the lasers)

They said bosses have all 4, and they mentioned 4 player split screen, might be that in single player or coop you only get two, but you can have more, however those 2 ARE required to beat the level, akin to say lego games, where you only have 2 active, but can use more

[Waveshocker Sigma]

Wait, 2D? So it has 2D segments like the BOOSTAN Trilogy and Lost World? I'm sure it will be fine.

 

But the 2D sections in Lost World weren't too great. It was a very odd case where the 3D ones actually controlled better.

 

Sonic's control scheme just did not mesh will with the already awkward level design.

 

 

The way its implied to me, sounds like it might be a 2.5D brawler sections akin to perhaps Streets of rage, rather than traditional 2D

 

I'd be alright with that. I wouldn't mind it being blended in with traditional 2D stuff either as long as it's better than Lost World. If anything, make it more like Sonic Advance.

[Chaos Incarnate]

EDIT:  Ignore this post please.

[KrazyBean]

Which is confusing because there's one point in the trailer where you see Sonic, Tails and Amy all on screen (the bit where Tails is shooting the lasers)

 

Maybe they were talking about when you play by yourself. When you play co-op then it can range from 2-4 players.

[Burnt Ash]

Ah, so you only use two characters at a time?

 

I think so; the way the article is worded makes me think that the two characters per level are narrative specific; like if a cutscene focuses on say, Sonic and Knuckles doing something, the level after that'd have you playing as Sonic/Knuckles. 

[KrazyBean]

So this is an official reboot? I'm sorry, but fuck this, this game looks hilariously bad.

 

No, this is not a reboot. It's an alternate direction for the franchise.

[DarkLight]

Yes, it's been confirmed to not replace the main series and will be it's own little thing.

 

Don't panic.

[Detective Shadzter]

Caught up on all of the news and I quite like the look of this game. The character models don't look as good as in the TV series, but I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOOO happy to finally have more playable characters that I don't care too much. The environments are beautiful. Can't wait to see more.

[Chaos Incarnate]

NO, this is not a reboot.

Thank god. I'll cool down a little bit, looking into it more, this game is looking more like a side story than anything else. I'm still not tempted to really bother with it though.

[Mr. Taxi]

they probably have a good team on their hands

 

The level designer is Chris Senn.

[VO.SUPER]

Coming from a Polygon interview with Sonic game designer Takashi Iizuka...

"As part of completely thinking about the West, we wanted to make sure we had Western game developers and make it a part of Western television. We wanted to make sure it was developed best for Western audiences primarily; this was very important.

The whole thing started with the television series. Our previous series, Sonic X, was made in Japan and influenced by Japanese anime; the main audience it was made for was in Japan, although it came to the West as well. So Sonic Boom is something made specifically for the Western audience. For the TV series to be successful, we pretty much had to make it for that audience, and the games tie into that strategy."

Coming from a Polygon interview with Sega of America producer Stephen Frost...

"One of the things is, if you think about it at a high level, all the key aspects of this new initiative for Sonic, whether it's the cartoon, the game or the toys, is centered on the Western side, and we wanted to be unified in that. It's very challenging to create an initiative like this where everything works in a nice synergy if you have a lot of people scattered around the world. Granted, we're doing our [animation] stuff in France, but really, the leads of each group are at Sega of America. And it was really important — I think this is where many other initiatives might fail — is that we really we see each other every day, we're talking to each other every day, and that was really important.

Sonic Team is great and they make really great speed-oriented games, but this game is not just about speed. Speed is an important aspect of it, but exploration, combat and the strong narrative of the storyline are very big aspects of the game, more so than I would say in the past. So again, we wanted a strong storyline and art design that Western audiences can resonate a little bit better with the synergistic relation for all of us at Sega of America is why we drove toward a Western developer across the board."

Coming from a Polygon interview with Big Red Button's Bob Rafei...

"There's moments where you're funneled back to the main gameplay and we have to do that also for the necessity of cooperative play, where we didn't want to have the two characters venture off in two different directions. It's a classic structured game, so we have the critical path, and part of our project pillars, among many, was to make sure that it's accessible to new fans. So we want you to be able to finish the game but for fans who want more, you will have to find the additional, the secondary paths and all the hidden secrets.

We were exploring different outfits and we went through a lot of iterations and the scarf was something I've used in the past and it works for me and it works for the character. Really, the history of that comes from the old western days, with John Wayne, and as a kid watching a lot of those westerns, that really stuck with me. And you see the use of the afghan in a lot of action movies because of the soldiers and what's happened with more association with the Middle East. So that DNA made its way into what makes a character action hero nowadays.

I was part of the team that created Uncharted, so it's hard to take the DNA out of that. We're making the games we want and want to play and it's hard not to tap into, what feels right to you. And given our past with a lot of team members worked on Jak and Daxter, Ratchet and Clank, so you want to make sure we're not just doing the same thing. We took the best of what we know from those games and applied it to what works for Sonic canon. That was really important to us, not to make another Ratchet and Clank game or another Jak and Daxter game. It was important to make sure that it feels like a Sonic game.

(Amy will be more) capable, agile and graceful. I want to bring more girls into gaming and have them play characters that they can associate with and not feel like they're created by just a bunch of men. I want her, if it's just me purely, and I'm sure the Sega team agrees with me, I want her to be see as a very capable character adventure character in herself. If she was to break out and have a game of her own you'd probably get an idea of what that would look like based on this game."

Coming from a Polygon interview with Sega of America producer Stephen Frost...

"Not specifically towards that but for me, Sonic is about joyous movement. Everything he does is that too maybe. But it's a key thing. The reason we repeat this stuff is because, from a foundation sense, it's what so important about these properties. And we wanted each character to navigate and do everything in their own unique way that really sells their personality. For example, Amy is very graceful, she's like a ballerina. Everything she does which would normally be difficult for someone, she does with so much fluidity and grace. And yet, it balances out because she's so awesome."

- currently no plans to bring the Sonic Boom games or cartoon to Japan

- show will launch in North America and France later this year

- game is "coming soon"

- Japanese Sonic Team will continue to make Sonic games parallel to Big Red Button

[TrueBlue]

So this is an official reboot? I'm sorry, but fuck this, this game looks hilariously bad.

 

I'm glad I won't be missing much, as I don't own a Wii U, but good god are these designs awful. I don't like the way they're rendered, Sonic's arms being blue is such a pointless design change, and nothing about the gameplay looks special to me at all. 

 

It seems like another example of this game pointlessly changing for the sake of changing. I have no interest in following this game's hype train whatsoever, so ya'll can count me out.

 

Calm down. This is the start of a new sub-series. The main franchise (along with the Modern designs) will continue.

[Badnik Mechanic]

 

 

Shhhh that game doesn't exist remember.

[Pawn]

Maybe if Sonic Boom games end up being released regularly between main series installments, it will ease the pressure on Sonic Team and give them the time they need to produce better results.

 

One can hope.