Iizuka & Hoshino Interview "Burning Sonic Questions Answered"

[Tenko]

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2017/06/10/more-burning-questions-about-the-sonic-the-hedgehog-franchise-answered.aspx

Had any burning Sonic the Hedgehog related questions running around in your head lately? Perhaps this recent interview with Iizuka and Hoshino will cool that fire, and supply some interesting topics to discuss.

Sonic is apparently a vagrant, and does indeed have two eyes. Metal Sonic's favourite pastime is idling, and Mighty the Armadillo is in fact part of the "classic world and still exists" with potential to be seen again. Find out what Iizuka and Hoshino have to say about Mephiles, Elise and other hot topics like how many times have Sonic & Tails crashed the Tornado?

Do any of these answers put your mind at ease? Have they just opened up more questions with these answers? Did you find out something you didn't already know? Let's discuss below!!

[Flyinpenguin117]

Well, it sets my mind at ease since it confirms that Sonic has no canon.

[Polkadi~☆]

13 minutes ago, Flyinpenguin117 said:

Well, it sets my mind at ease since it confirms that Sonic has no canon.

It has a canon, it's just super messy, and the fanon is almost ten times better.

[Spееdy]

Could someone please copy and paste the article here, seems like gameinformer is blocking my IP address for some reason and I can't reach their website. Thanks.

[Polkadi~☆]

8 minutes ago, Spееdy said:

Could someone please copy and paste the article here, seems like gameinformer is blocking my IP address for some reason and I can't reach their website. Thanks.

Does Sonic live in Green Hill Zone, or does he just visit there often?

Takashi Iizuka: He does not live in the Green Hill Zone, he just enjoys running around it. He visits often.

Does he live in any particular Zone?

Iizuka: Sonic does not have a house. He's just constantly on the move and enjoying wherever life takes him.

What's the hottest vacation destination in Sonic's world?

Iizuka: Emerald Coast.

If I got a Chaos Emerald, how much could I sell that for?

Kazuyuki Hoshino: [laughs] Priceless!

What about eBay? Everything has a price there!

Iizuka: [laughs] It's priceless! I couldn't put a price on it.

Does Sonic have one eye with two pupils in it? What's going on with his eyes?

Hoshino: [Holds head, laughs]

Iizuka: [laughs] He does have two separate eyeballs. It may look like they're connected, but they are two separate eyeballs.

What about Metal Sonic?

Hoshino: It's not eyeballs. It's monitors with a camera behind the monitor.

What does Metal Sonic do in his free time?

Hoshino: [laughs] Idling!

Has anybody noticed that Mighty the Armadillo is missing?

Iizuka: Mighty is a part of the Classic world and the Classic group of characters, and some of the Chaotix did get interpreted for the Modern vision of the games. However, Mighty still exists in the Classic world, so maybe we'll see him in the future in some Classic iteration.

Hoshino: How popular is he? [laughs]

What is Chaos up to these days?

Iizuka: Good question! We probably think you'll see him again soon.

Is Mephiles still hanging around?

Iizuka: Mephiles was created for the Sonic the Hedgehog game we published in 2006. He existed in that world and was very useful for that narrative, but we don't have any future plans for having Mephiles show up.

What about Princess Elise? Has she moved on to another Hedgehog love interest?

Iizuka: [laughs] She's probably just hanging out in the human world, enjoying her life as a princess. Maybe she's a queen now. We're not really sure.

In Sonic Adventure 2, Eggman blew up the moon. Is the moon still in pieces?

Iizuka: As we see the moon as it's presented in Sonic games now, we see one side and it looks very nice and presentable. However, maybe the dark side of the moon is how everyone remembers it to be.

Did that affect the tides at all?

Iizuka: [laughs] No... no.

How many Tornado planes have Sonic and Tails crashed at this point?

Iizuka: [laughs] I haven't counted how many. These are very unique questions!

It used to be that Eggman was the sole human. Starting with Sonic Adventure, we're seeing more and more humans show up in the stories. Where are they all coming from?

Iizuka: The world that Sonic lives in and the world the humans live in are separate worlds. But, some of the canon games do have Sonic and humans together, and part of that is based on what world is being portrayed when the game is developed. There are kind of different worlds that do exist and sometimes there's some crossover.

Sonic and Mario have now competed in a few different games now. Who is Sonic's best friend from Mario's crew?

Iizuka: We believe it's probably Sonic and Mario, so that although there's that rivalry there, we think there's really a good friendship as well.

What athletic event do you think Mario could possibly beat Sonic in?

Iizuka: Trampoline! [laughs]

What happened to all of the Super Emeralds?

Iizuka: The Super Emeralds really only existed in the Sonic & Knuckles game and that's the only place they're going to exist in the Modern versions of Sonic the Hedgehog we have now.

Hoshino: They're gone. I don't know how it happened, but they're gone.

Has Dr. Eggman given up building Death Eggs?

Iizuka: Dr. Eggman does like thinking of sinister, malicious things to do and create, so most likely he'll probably try it again.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

*Sonic's World separate from Human World*

Seriously, fuck this "Two Worlds" nonsense. It's this shit that makes me prefer Archie's canon more than the games.

If anything, this whole thing really made it clear that this stuff is a mess.

[Person]

17 minutes ago, Polkadi said:

Has anybody noticed that Mighty the Armadillo is missing?

Mighty still exists in the Classic world, so maybe we'll see him in the future in some Classic iteration.

 

Good to see Iizuka is open to more Classic style games in the future. Don't even care if Mighty ever shows up, it's just good to know that Sonic Mania is looking promising enough to open up the possibility of more "Classic world" games.

[Zaysho]

1 hour ago, Conquering Storm's Servant said:

*Sonic's World separate from Human World*

Seriously, fuck this "Two Worlds" nonsense. It's this shit that makes me prefer Archie's canon more than the games.

If anything, this whole thing really made it clear that this stuff is a mess.

On one hand, it's possible it's literal, but sometimes I wonder if this really was the case... why was it never forced onto the comic? I saw it pointed out earlier, but maybe he means it in the sense Sonic is often off doing his own thing away from humans but then he has moments where he ends up in big cities and places with lots of people? I dunno. Couldn't put it past Sonic Team to mean it literally like it was shown in Sonic X.

 

Admittedly this did pique my curiosity if Chaos, amid all the destruction going on, will turn up in the story for Forces? That'd be neat to see.

[JezMM]

I do wonder if many of these answers would've still applied back when they were in the thick of trying to build a consistent narrative back during Heroes, Shadow and 2006.

Still, amusing responses even if the two worlds thing is infuriating, and it's nice that they got a chance to hear that some people care about these details, maybe it will inspire small nods of consistency and more explainative plots in the future.

[Blue Wisp]

3 hours ago, Polkadi said:

What is Chaos up to these days?

Iizuka: Good question! We probably think you'll see him again soon.

Holy fuck Chaos is coming back? OH MY GOD I hope it's Water Kaiju Chaos that goes REEEEEEE and not a trick or a scam. Fucking love Chaos. I know Monsters of the Week formula is shitty most of the time but Iiiii loved Chaos and Solaris.

[Bowbowis]

The most galling thing about this two worlds nonsense is that it's clearly something they just pulled out of their asses to justify a split between the Modern and Classic games, despite it being both unnecessary and in direct contradiction to information established in the games themselves. As I said when we first learned of the two worlds thing: "This is why you don't try to fix what ain't broke".

[Blue Blood]

Iizuka: The world that Sonic lives in and the world the humans live in are separate worlds. But, some of the canon games do have Sonic and humans together, and part of that is based on what world is being portrayed when the game is developed. There are kind of different worlds that do exist and sometimes there's some crossover.

What a dumb answer. Sonic Team and SEGA don't really know what doing with Sonic, do they? 

I'll continue to interpret this in my own way - there's only one universe and all of the games are canon and take place in the order they were released unless there's obvious, clear and sensible reason for that not to apply. You have the Classic series followed by the Adventure and Advance series, Heroes, Shadow... Etc etc. They all happen - flying cars and the futuristic city of Grand Metropolis exist alongside the mundane and realistic Spagonia. And way up in the sky above those cities, Eggman built a space amusement park with a planet made of cake. It all just depends on the game they want to make.

SEGA sure as hell don't know how to make a cohesive world and canon, and I'm not going to tailor the notion that they actually put any forethought into this at all. 

[big_smile]

That has to be the greatest interview ever! Although I wished they went really nerdy and asked about Bark, Bean, Fang and the timeline.

Some thoughts

Classic games
It's strange. In an earlier interview Iizuka said Bark, Fang, Bean and Espio weren't part of the classic series, but now Mighty is. It also sounds like Chaotix is part of the classic storyline even though in other interviews he implied that the Team Chaotix in Heroes were new characters. 

It also sounds like Mania is not going to be the last in the Classic series.... 

Worlds
He once again talks about there being two worlds. Although here it sounds like there's more than two, such as a classic world which still has Mighty and Super Emeralds.  It also sounds like the Super Emeralds disappeared rather being retconned out. 
 

[Lord-Dreamerz]

I'll repeat what I said in my status update and say... To be fair there has always been multiple worlds in Sonic to some degree. Little Planet. All the alien worlds in Colors. The Lost Hex... Couple of those Sonic came across just floating in the sky while on whichever normal world he was on at those times.

[Blue Blood]

8 minutes ago, Lord-Dreamerz said:

I'll repeat what I said in my status update and say... To be fair there has always been multiple worlds in Sonic to some degree. Little Planet. All the alien worlds in Colors. The Lost Hex... Couple of those Sonic came across just floating in the sky while on whichever normal world he was on at those times.

Those are explicit different settings set within the world, much like Angel Island. They're places that definitely exist that Sonic and co travel to as the plot demands it. What's being suggested in this interview is that there is more than one world/universe in which the games are set, and there's no distinction between them. 

[Your Vest Friend]

13 minutes ago, big_smile said:

Classic games
It's strange. In an earlier interview Iizuka said Bark, Fang, Bean and Espio weren't part of the classic series, but now Mighty is. It also sounds like Chaotix is part of the classic storyline even though in other interviews he implied that the Team Chaotix in Heroes were new characters. 
 

Nah, that's not changed. They're not in the classic games (ie Sonic 1-3K + CD), but they're still in the old games, so technically viable. Chaotix also hasn't been made part of the classic storyline, and it explicitly says that they were interpreted for modern aka made new. 

5 hours ago, Zaysho said:

On one hand, it's possible it's literal, but sometimes I wonder if this really was the case... why was it never forced onto the comic? I saw it pointed out earlier, but maybe he means it in the sense Sonic is often off doing his own thing away from humans but then he has moments where he ends up in big cities and places with lots of people? I dunno. Couldn't put it past Sonic Team to mean it literally like it was shown in Sonic X.

Archie is an offshoot that muddles everything up completely. Ian has acknowledged that the games have two worlds but he's sticking with just one. Sonic's team scenario is completely different to the games. Modern Mighty doesn't exist and the comic has that. 

Besides, the response to the Elise question makes it seem very literal to me. 

 

[Indigo Rush]

Classic and Modern Sonics living in different continuities is fair enough at this point; I've long abandoned the 'continuity' ship and am perfectly content with it. 

What irks me though is their insistence on there being a human world and an animal world and not explicitly presenting this in any of the games. The closest thing we've ever gotten to a confirmation for this being the cosmology of Sonic's universe is in Sonic X, and that's a TV show.

It's dumb, but if you're going to make that your setting, then actually show it. Show us that Sonic's travelling from Earth to 'Mobius' or whatever you goons are calling it these days, don't just plop him wherever and expect us to be distracted by Green Hill Zone for the umpteenth time. 

 

[Your Vest Friend]

They're calling it Sonic's World.

[pppp]

7 hours ago, Polkadi said:

Does he live in any particular Zone?

Iizuka: Sonic does not have a house. He's just constantly on the move and enjoying wherever life takes him.

Oh really Iizuka? Then what was up with that house at the beginning of Secret Rings?

Sonic Team doesn't know their own franchise plain and simple.

[Teoskaven]

Don't forget Sonic Labyrinth.

[Bowbowis]

Or Sonic Battle.

[PC the Hedgehog]

Sonic's world is just as fluid as Mario's. Character, locations, and the like can change from game to game, as the plot warrants. It's the kinda thing that's not worth thinking too hard about.

I really like it when interviewers ask hard-hitting questions instead of the same generic crap over and over again. I highly recommend checking out their other articles interviewing the developers of other series like Pokemon, even if the interviewees pretty much BS all their answers.

[SenEDDtor Missile]

2 minutes ago, PC the Hedgehog said:

Sonic's world is just as fluid as Mario's. Character, locations, and the like can change from game to game, as the plot warrants. It's the kinda thing that's not worth thinking too hard about.

I really like it when interviewers ask hard-hitting questions instead of the same generic crap over and over again. I highly recommend checking out their other articles interviewing the developers of other series like Pokemon, even if the interviewees pretty much BS all their answers.

Except Mario's world was always focused on the gameplay first, so we could easily accept that those worlds were fluid and changing.

SONIC's world on the other hand (at least up until after Sonic Adventure 2 and maybe Unleashed) was generally always tied to some level of cohesion or at least made it clear that places were clearly defined, and there was at least some level of cohesive lore and story to go with it. It's only after that point that Sonic Team just stopped caring and did whatever, assuming they ever really bothered to understand what made the earlier works work in the first place.

[Multikaris]

Well, I wouldn't trust this stuff, considering the things that they've said in interviews before (Werehog is primed for a comeback (but he doesn't outside of a mobile game years later), no more classic (Forces), self-contained bubbles of worlds (wtf?), etc.), but if I were to take it at face value, I see them as symptoms of a transitional period akin to the one between Unleashed and S4E1/Colors. The apparent want of Chaos and Mighty back seems more or less like they will be used incorrectly, especially Chaos as an Adventure element. They didn't mention if Tikal would return with it or if it would end up a big lipped alligator moment like last time. It seems more like they want to use it because the Adventure games had it, to appease those Adventure fans. Some responses seem more or less like jokes, like the Metal Sonic one. Mark my words; the next game after Forces will be a Sonic 4 for Adventure fans. 

[big_smile]

1 hour ago, VEDJ-F said:

Nah, that's not changed. They're not in the classic games (ie Sonic 1-3K + CD), but they're still in the old games, so technically viable. Chaotix also hasn't been made part of the classic storyline, and it explicitly says that they were interpreted for modern aka made new. 

It really doesn't make sense. In this interview he explicitly says "[Mighty is] part of the Classic world and the Classic group of characters," but then in the other interview he says "There are posters of Espio and Fang in the background. *laugh* There are also Bark and Bean. They don’t appear in the Classic Sonic series".

Although to be fair, Japanese is a context sensitive language, so I guess when he was walking about Espio etal, he probably meant Classic to be just Sonic 1-3K + CD, whereas when discussing Mighty, Classic means everything pre-Adventure.  

Either way, this new interview does suggest that Mighty etal weren't dropped. They must be part of the "Classic world and the Classic group of characters", so that means Chaotix must still be a part too (But then Chaotix were reinterpreted for Modern Sonic, so you just go round and round in circles, unless by reinterpreted he means redesign). 

I guess there's no right answer. It's just up to interpretation. Which is probably for the best as it stops anyone being disappointed!