New Character Fang the Sniper Returns in Sonic Superstars, Naoto Ohshima Designing New Character

[T-Bird]

Well strike us down if the hits just don't keep on coming with Sonic Superstars! Your eyes don't deceive you - after a many-year hiatus, everyone's favourite Wolf/Gerboa is back as an antagonist in the upcoming 2D Classic Sonic game. And this time, it sounds like he has a friend; designed by none other than the original designer of Sonic himself!

Fang the Sniper (or Nack the Weasel, as the character was known in the West during the 1990s) was a sneaky gun-toting foe of Sonic's that originally appeared in the Game Gear classic, Sonic Triple Trouble. Besides a brief stint in spinoff game Sonic the Fighters, however, the character has not been seen or recognised in the franchise since. So for big Fang fans (like me!), his return as an enemy in Sonic Superstars is super exciting!

You can see him clearly at the end of the Sonic Superstars trailer as he hovers around in his trademark ship, the Marvellous Queen...

But if you're quick you can also spot him sneaking about at the very start of the trailer too!

What's more, is that a press release for the game has revealed that original Sonic designer Naoto Ohshima is on board with SEGA and Sonic Team to create a brand new character that Sonic and his friends will have to face. We are taking this to mean that whoever this mysterious new foe is will be teaming up with Fang in some way as well (after all, the Weasel does like to have a contingency plan in place!).

We'll share more details about Sonic Superstars as we get it!

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[Multikaris]

Yes, it’s cool to see our weasel/jerboa boi get a big break after the end of Archie and his Mania role. Maybe he’ll be selectable, maybe not, but with the new super moves he could have some fun ideas.

[Sonictrainer]

Thanks to the Intro Animation, we have have a first look at this character.

Apparently, they're wearing armor, although I'm not 100% sure what kind of animal they are.

The helmet makes me want to say Chameleon, although Espio doesn't have a tail like that.

Maybe it's a different kind of lizard?

[Johnny Boy]

It’s so great to see Fang in action after all these years. Wonder what animal the new guy is though.

[Danj86]

That's awesome. His cameo in Mania was a nice surprise, seeing him officially return is awesome! He's been one of my favourite characters, mostly thanks to the comics, so it's a genuine nice surprise. Seeing Mighty and Ray return in Mania Plus was cool too.

I was personally able to get Fang featured in Sonic and the Black Knight. That is my only claim to fame in this fandom. lol

[Sega DogTagz]

Thats a funky tail on new guy. Looks like its more stiff than fluffy but hard to say.

 

The eye holes situated more to the side of the helmet rather than forward facing do point to some kind of lizard tho. the horns on the head play into that as well.

[Tenko]

2 hours ago, Sega DogTagz said:

Thats a funky tail on new guy. Looks like its more stiff than fluffy but hard to say.

The eye holes situated more to the side of the helmet rather than forward facing do point to some kind of lizard tho. the horns on the head play into that as well.

Im guessing a Pangolin, the tail pattern kinda matches, tho Pangolin don't have horns. Those could just be on the helmet I guess? Pangolin can roll into balls too, so it would make it a natural fit with spin-dash etc. They also have long tongues being from the ant eater family, that could be a neat game mechanic or boss mechanic. I get the feeling they may be female too, something about the way they emote and move, could be totally wrong haha.

[Sega DogTagz]

As good a guess as any, and it fits the ball motif. I could see the tail being segmented armor pieces.

[DaBigJ]

Another look at the character but in 3D from the IGN direct footage