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SEGA Releases Playable April Fools Game, "The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog"


Solister
GX -The Spindash-
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This topic was good and got turned into SEGA Releases Playable April Fools Game, "The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog" at some point.

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Never in all my life did I EVER think that a game released for April Fools' Day, let alone one called "The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog," could actually be a legit contender for my Game of the Year, but yeah. This was completely delightful in every way. The art, the dialogue and character interactions, the humor... everything just made me smile so much. Kudos to the social team and I really hope they keep bringing us more of this kinda stuff. 

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Spoiler

I had no problem with them killing the train at the end.

 

It does pick up on the Sonic Adventure line of thinking where there is some kind of connection between the badnik and the flicky that powered it. Setting it free comes at a cost, but its an ends justify the means kind of deal to allow the soul of the badnik to go free and carry on. Its what happened with Gamma.

 

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19 hours ago, Solister said:

 

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I know everyone was expecting Sonic to not truly be dead, but it's interesting how they wrote around it, but I do must admit at the end I was expecting a bigger plot-twist as in the OC being the murdered, the retired driver or especially Amy or Tails himself, though Espio was like my 4th or 5th suspicious of the eligible cast. Also, unless I didn't catch some detail (which is very likely), was there any actual hint to suspect him at first? Because every character looked like to had good pros and cons.

Spoiler

I feel like that was the point. Maybe I'm just reaching to try and find any justification for possibly poor writing, but I think it makes sense that Espio was the one that seemed to be the least suspicious but ended up being the murderer.

He's a ninja, secrecy and covering up his tracks is his entire thing. It'd make sense that out of all the characters, he'd be the one who covered up his tracks the best.

 

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The game was an absolute delight.

- Characterization is just adorable. Our nameless protagonist (kinda wish he had a placeholder name ) is hilariously way out of his depth at every level and his interactions with Tails are just adorable. Everyone else is fun too, but from lesser characters, I think Blaze was the best. She's always stoic straight man, so it's breath of fresh air seeing her letting loose, being more wild and casual. (Her cart is one of the best in the game).

- The gameplay is very simple, almost just an excuse to call it a game. So I was pleasantly surprised that the climax actually takes a little more thought I was 90% sure the "murderer" will be Eggman or something like that, making the whole investigation pointless. But without spoiling, it's not that simple. Sure the actual climax is running minigame rather than detective work, but I think the game earned it by then. (Running minigame itself was thiiis close to getting repetitive, but the game's short length prevented it)

- All art is great, with many cute outfits and fun expressions. Plenty of references, but they're mostly very subtle. The worst I can say is that Vector and Shadow get much blander costumes than the rest.

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This game seems like it written by people who really get these characters.

These are the type of interactions I would want out of any Sonic story and have been waiting for it to exist anywhere outside of the comics.

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The game was an absolute delight. We need more stuff like this.

Spoiler

You, Blaze, Rouge, and Tails trying to plan an elaborate heist just so a Chao won’t notice you stealing something killed me.

 

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8 hours ago, MetalSkulkBane said:

Our nameless protagonist (kinda wish he had a placeholder name ) 

For the record, it's Barry, according to both the launch trailer and game files.

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Question, how good detectives you were?

Personally

Spoiler

- At the very start I just assumed Eggman will be behind everything, but that's more of a save bet.

- My first guess was that Sonic "killed" himself. It looked like he forgot cake for Amy so I assumed this is his way of stalling for time.

- Cart-by-cart mysteries were fairly simple, so I was delighted to learn by the last cart that there is an actual murderer. And I'm proud to say I quickly caught on Espio has the worst alibi and the perfect opportunity to kill Sonic. Or that blueprints Rouge found were in his cart.

- There are a few coup-outs that are impossible to predict (Espio reading super fast or the vent being too small for 2 people), but the only thing I genuinely missed is Espio being Amy's secret source. In my defense, there weren't any clues, just a logical hunch.

- Train being evil Eggman creation was a safe bet from the start. But his actual motive? Well, that I realized it like minutes before it's said out loud

 

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Despite being Amy's bestie, Cream's absence on her birthday was odd. And charmy too.

Frankly tho, they'd be more of a sore thumb filler than anything else.

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7 hours ago, MetalSkulkBane said:

Question, how good detectives you were?

 

I did pretty well.


 

Spoiler

It was mostly a matter of figuring out who-done-it by omission. You go into the story knowing that only 1 character was motivated to outright lie to you about the murder itself, so anyone with an alibi that could be confirmed by at least 2 people was in the clear. The only characters that had no alibi at the time of the murder were Blaze, Espio and Shadow. So that is the first easy narrow down to make.

Blaze actually gains a strong alibi as no one ever saw her leave the casino once she entered. That is in effect 3 people telling you it wasn't her.

So it all comes down to Espio and Shadow. Espio was unaccounted for at the time of the murder (because no one could see him) and Shadow has the proximity to Sonic. The kicker there was Amy's hot tip. Since the tip was proven misleading while interrogating Shadow, you know that the person who gave it to her had to be the murderer as it would be the only person with the motivation to lie about it. Espio is the only suspect left, so it had to be him.

The game also spent a good deal of time bending over backwards to establish Espio's alibi and even had other characters stick up for him to throw you off the trail. Which was something of an out-liner. Furthermore, another clue to his guilt was his choice of book. "Trains are cool" is all fine and dandy, but a photographic memory of the train and all its systems would benefit a murderer big time. I had my hunch about Espio as soon as his choice of reading material was revealed.

 

I would like to commend the writers for doing a pretty good job covering up the trail. Even his choice of book was explained away as a narrative choice in the next car, as the knowledge you gleamed from it helped save you from the bomb, putting the odd choice of reading material out of mind and lowering your suspicious in a roundabout way. I'm also quite relieved that the story did not lean into character specific abilities like Chaos Control. That would have made it feel cheap and unpredictable. It would have been easy to have Espio turn invisible to sneak around the train, or have Shadow stop time to scoot by unnoticed, but the game did not take that low hanging fruit and the payoff is better for it.

 

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I haven't been able to play the game yet but I've watched videos on youtube, mostly just to see how the characters are characterized and how they interact. And I gotta say, I'm loving what I've seen. You can tell that this is a case of "the inmates running the asylum", aka hardcore fans of the series being in charge of the game, and I say that as something entirely positive. The little, subtle touches regarding the characterization are a bliss to behold for an old-timey Sonic fan like me who quite honestly felt that a lot of 2010's Sonic products were a nightmare in regards to keeping the characters the way they've been since they first showed of their canonical personalities during the Adventure era, when dialogue first became a feature of the games (I know a lot of people love the characterization in Frontiers and while I do like it, I feel like that game simply went too far with making the characters act brooding and mature). Granted, some of the personality traits shown in this game were kind of new, but that's perfectly fine since they seem to be believable in relation to what we already know about the characters instead of being contradictory or feeling like they came right out of the blue. Like Espio being apt at poetry. Espio always seemed both introspective, sophisticated and philosophical, so I can totally see him having a knack for that particular artform. An another note, I'm pleasantly surprised at how much Rouge was portrayed in her traditional "sexy femme fatale" manner. After Sonic Prime I suspected that Sonic media produced in the west would follow suit and try to de-sexualize her, but in this game she's right back to her old character design in terms of body shape, and back to wearing slightly revealing outfits. Also they aknowledge her in-universe attractiveness by her boasting about how she should be able to easily distract someone with her "feminine charms". Amy is also reverted to a more traditional deciption of her than what we've usually seen for some time, being very energetic and optimistic in a slightly childish way. On a final note regarding characterization, I like that the game found a way to make Shadow seem as more or less a part of the friend group but without sacraficing his fundamentally asocial personality core. I think the trick is to write dialogue that lets him be friendly with the other characters but does it without him actually saying all that many pleasant things about them. It's difficult to explain exactly what I mean, but regardless of what I'm trying to say, I think they nailed it.😅

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Spoiler

I wonder how it's even possible to go directly from the lounge to the library through the hidden passage, considering the train's geometry and distribution of the cabins. I feel like they messed up there.

 

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I've just realised this is the first Sonic game I've played opening weekend since Sonic Generations.

Gotta agree with everyone else, this was a delight. Loved the art, loved the script, loved the fan service.

Spoiler

I got a massive smile when It Doesn't Matter started playing speaking to Sonic near the end, and that turned into a guffaw at the Sage / Metal Sonic reveal. The whole heist section was a hoot too!

Incredible they've been working on such a ludicrous idea for a year, and they smashed it out the park. This franchise man. Nothing's off the table if they keep letting the passionate staff go wild like this.

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The mini game at the end was challenging for me but I didn't want to give up and I finally beat the train. I love the art and overall enjoyed the game.

 

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4 hours ago, batson said:

Like Espio being apt at poetry.

I don't think any of Espio's poems were meant to be good.

He was probably getting better the more you interacted with him though.

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1 hour ago, Covskin said:

I've just realised this is the first Sonic game I've played opening weekend since Sonic Generations.

Gotta agree with everyone else, this was a delight. Loved the art, loved the script, loved the fan service.

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I got a massive smile when It Doesn't Matter started playing speaking to Sonic near the end, and that turned into a guffaw at the Sage / Metal Sonic reveal. The whole heist section was a hoot too!

Incredible they've been working on such a ludicrous idea for a year, and they smashed it out the park. This franchise man. Nothing's off the table if they keep letting the passionate staff go wild like this.

AGREED.  I ended up setting the minigames to invincible so I could enjoy the story, and I'm glad I did!  The art and game play are SO adorable!!!!!  And I love Barry the Quokka!  I hope we see him again soon!

And I absolutely ADORED Espio!  He's always been one of my favourite characters; I've always thought his character design and colour scheme are gorgeous.  It was wonderful to see him in the spotlight!  This game really is a labour of love!

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Yeah, I just beat it today. This is genuinely, pretty incredible. On all fronts. Storytelling, characterization, dialogue, sprite work, music, the fact that it's funk'n free. The brightness I've been feeling from this series for so long continues to shine even brighter. I've been beside myself with how many things there continue to be that I enjoy.

Spoiler

Our mystery buddy who everyone is calling Barry felt so Apollo/Phoenix to me and somehow in their own way. Obsessed with searching the trashcans for validation, their fondness for caves, and proclaiming that Shadow will be ashamed of his words indeed when his microwave chili-dog is delicious are all wonderful. I doubt it but I do hope to see them again.

Loved the Spagonia and Professor Pickle references. Always up for that Unleashed acknowledgement. Espio's poems were great and I remain happy that writers never fall into the trap that most fanfic writers do of making him out to be this super serious ninja character when his standing amongst the Chaotix has him way more colorful and silly than that. God, even Blaze charmed me in this. Leaning into the Princess stuff and having her chastise our buddy's manner of dress and stuff was funny. 

Tails was adorkable as hell in this too. Feeling bad for everything they came across and telling stories of how Sonic failed to save him from a juice spill that saw them both embarrassingly landing into an old dude's shopping cart... ugh, it's so good. I wish to see more slice of life stuff like this. I love what we got in Frontiers but there's merit to chilling out and hanging with old friends too. 

Also, it's just really nice that they seem to be letting up on Shadow now. Dude went through the train and locked all the doors just to keep his surprise for Amy a secret. Granted it was for his social status but the fact that he even cares about that is a step up too.

Eggman has a Sonic rubber ducky.

It doesn't need to be an April Fools thing but more visual novels with these characters feels like a must to me. The fact that I got five hours out of this free game and more substance from the cast than the 40 dollar Sonic Forces makes me feel incredibly fulfilled. 

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15 hours ago, MetalSkulkBane said:

Question, how good detectives you were?

Personally

  Reveal hidden contents

- At the very start I just assumed Eggman will be behind everything, but that's more of a save bet.

- My first guess was that Sonic "killed" himself. It looked like he forgot cake for Amy so I assumed this is his way of stalling for time.

- Cart-by-cart mysteries were fairly simple, so I was delighted to learn by the last cart that there is an actual murderer. And I'm proud to say I quickly caught on Espio has the worst alibi and the perfect opportunity to kill Sonic. Or that blueprints Rouge found were in his cart.

- There are a few coup-outs that are impossible to predict (Espio reading super fast or the vent being too small for 2 people), but the only thing I genuinely missed is Espio being Amy's secret source. In my defense, there weren't any clues, just a logical hunch.

- Train being evil Eggman creation was a safe bet from the start. But his actual motive? Well, that I realized it like minutes before it's said out loud

Spoiler

I was a horrible detective. I 100% suspected shadow from the start, only because I expected sega's mandates to get in the way and force shadow to be in another one of his "I hate sonic for no real reason and will do anything to prove superiority" motives. Though that started to waver once the concert tickets bit happened, and I adored all of that part because it's so nice to see Shadow actually have a personality outside of being "gruff and anti-fun" for once. Plus him showing up to Amy's birthday at all was sweet, probably a thanks for what she did back during SA2.

Was pleasantly surprised that it was Espio though. I love Espio and really wish we'd see him more, so I was really glad to see he actually had somewhat of a starring role in this game, even if he was the "villain" for it. Also just found it funny that Espio was given a note by a robotic hand and didn't question it whatsoever, and just went "yeah okay sure I can do that". 

 

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It has an amazing story, but is too simplistic on the point and click adventure part. It has great art as well. It is fantastic. 

...but it is an April Fool's game.

 

I do not doubt people like this game, but I am not sure if it is going to be respected the way major stories in the franchise are like Unleashed, Battle, SA1, SA2, OVA are because this is a silly April Fool's game. I find it unlikely the higher ups are going to respect it unless it makes a serious impact in the fandom (like not being popular for only a week) or outside the fandom (not seen only as a silly side thing). Because despite putting effort into it I am not sure how many people involved on the SEGA end do view this as just as valid of an experience as any of the games or shows. When this is bringing stuff sorely lacking from the series like good jokes that do not feel like they are trying to be meta or obnoxious, greater definition to character dynamics rarely explored, and just interactions that do not feel like they only exist in service to a plot. 

Frontiers was fine , Prime is fine, IDW is....complicated, but this is like a genuinely good script/story all around, but I feel like its biggest strength of character interactions and characterization is going to be ignored because few people are going to hold it with a high amount of respect (which is again more than just liking it). This game should be studied and brought up when discussing what is considered quality writing in this franchise.

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Being released on April Fools day won't really be the game's lasting impact if it's not a one-off.

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51 minutes ago, StaticMania said:

Being released on April Fools day won't really be the game's lasting impact if it's not a one-off.

I am not sure if this is gonna be something SEGA is going to actually invest in and even then I doubt this will actually become a real product.

 

Regardless I do not want storytelling doomed to be a bunch of cheap visual novels.

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The last free-of-charge labor of love of this magnitude was.... Night of the Werehog?

 

I'd put Murder on that tier. Its probably a bit higher than both TSR Overdrive and the Colors short. I could see this crew doing more stuff like this in the future, but as promotional material for a game rather than just fan-service for the sake of fan-service.

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IDW has unironically the best character interactions, Frontiers too but they are relatively limited to a small focused cast which is not bad. In general I feel like IDW has the best variety, in terms of cast and its use, also variety in storytelling. You have standalone arcs like Scrapnik Island, character focused "filler" like Trial by Fire and Chao Races, which are the breather between major arcs, smaller focused major arcs like Power Surge and big catastrophe arcs like the Metal Virus.

Without derailing this thread, I think the franchise can use this type of variety, April Fools was the perfect opportunity for this interaction based fun story, there are also the combo characters calendar stories from Sonic Channel, but also major stories like Frontiers in the main game. We need both types.

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3 hours ago, Sega DogTagz said:

The last free-of-charge labor of love of this magnitude was.... Night of the Werehog?

I'd put Murder on that tier. Its probably a bit higher than both TSR Overdrive and the Colors short. I could see this crew doing more stuff like this in the future, but as promotional material for a game rather than just fan-service for the sake of fan-service.

That is fine but that also means the strengths of this game are kind of lost.

Also IDW's variety of character interactions fails when you realize how rarely game cast members have an interaction that is not from their Heroes Team, does not involve Sonic, and does not involve a new character.

Further more I would put this game far above stories like Trial By Fire and more than half of the annuals, I am not even sure if that is controversial look at how the fandom responded to the Belle Saga overall.

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I don't know if it makes sense to compare the two in that way. IDW is largely told from Sonic's pov and by killing him off early this had a lot more flexibility. I think IDW could stand to be more creative with character pairings for sure though.

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