Sonic Generations

"DOUBLE THE SPEED, DOUBLE THE FUN! Celebrate 20 years of Sonic with Sonic Generations."

- SEGA.com

Sonic Generations (ソニック ジェネレーションズ) is an upcoming game for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo 3DS. The game is being made to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Sonic the Hedgehog series. The Japanese version has different subtitles: White Time and Space (白の時空) for the home consoles, and Blue Adventures (青の冒険) for the 3DS version. This game can be played in 3D on the 3DS and on the console versions also, but a 3DTV as well as a pair of 3D glasses are required for the PS3 and Xbox 360.

Plot
The story takes some time after Sonic's last encounter with Eggman. Sonic and his friends are having a picnic to celebrate Sonic's birthday until a mysterious force sucks all of them back in time. This causes Sonic to go back in time and meet his past self. After a surprising meeting, the two realize that the world is losing color and the time-line has been messed up for unknown reasons. The two Sonics team up to bring the world into its colors, learn how to fix up the timeline and save their friends.

Iizuka says the 3DS edition will only have Sonic friends "who are integral to the story" - a contrast from the console counterparts. The 3DS version will use handheld game stages only while the console versions will use games from the console main series. "For the PS3 and 360, none of the stages we're selecting are going to be from the handheld." Iizuka said. "However, on 3DS we're looking at picking stages from handheld as well." The 3DS will have minor story changes as well. The writers for the story are credited as Ken Pontac and Warren Graff of Happy Tree Friends fame. They also worked on Sonic Colors and MadWorld. Tetsu Katano, who directed Sonic and the Black Knight and did work on the Adventure series, is directing the 3DS edition. Sonic Team and Dimps are co-developing the 3DS edition. The 3DS version will feature more levels from the Game Boy Advance and the Nintendo DS than from the Sega Game Gear.

Sonic Boom
A Sonic Generations demo was playable at 2011's E3 Expo, under the name Sonic Boom. It was the first major American Sonic event, being hosted by SEGA, and took place on June 8th, at 6pm PT. At E3, Sonic Generations was playable in both console and handheld versions. Although only Green Hill was playable for the console versions, City Escape was shown; Green Hill was playable, including the boss Big Arm, was playable for the 3DS version. There was also a Birthday Song for Sonic sung at Sonic Boom and the ending of the song, "Happy Birthday Sonic!" will appear in Sonic Generations. It appeared at the Tokyo Joypolis event and at the Summer of Sonic event in London. It appeared at the Gamescon 2011 event in Germany.

Demo Release
The Australian government’s OFLC rated a multi-platform demo release of Sonic Generations, and SEGA formally announced at E3, that they will release a demo for PSN and Xbox Live on Sonic's 20th Anniversary, June 23rd. The demo only contained Green Hill, and only the Classic Sonic playthrough. The demo is only available until July 12th, at which point it will no longer be available, including for players who have already downloaded it; the file has essentially locked itself. In the Xbox Live version, one has to be an Xbox Live Gold Member to download the demo. The name of the demo is "Sonic Generations Green Hill Zone Demo #1", indicating that a Modern Sonic demo is on the way. A recent hack on the PS3 version has revealed that a demo of modern Green Hill Zone will be released, and there is a strong likelihood of a Rooftop Run demo release sometime on October 2011.

Gameplay
The game features levels derived from 20 years of Sonic history, ranging from the Classic era, through the Dreamcast era, to the Modern HD era. There will be a level taken from each Sonic game to represent the different times. Each level can be played with either Classic Sonic or Modern Sonic, each taking their own routes throughout the level. Classic Sonic's levels are strictly two dimensional side scrolling stages, using classic moves like the Spin Attack and the Spin Dash. Modern Sonic's levels, on the other hand, carry on the modern 2D/3D gameplay of recent titles such as Sonic Unleashed and Sonic Colors, featuring Homing Attacks, Combo Tricks in the air, Drift, and Speed Boosts. There is going to be a new interactive menu that allows for complete immersion into Sonic's universe, as the player completes the game, extras are unlocked such as favorite characters and hidden treasures.

Hub worlds like the ones in Sonic Unleashed have been comfirmed in an interview with Takashi Iizuka. He said that the hub world starts out as the white space, but opens up more as the Sonics pass through more levels. Patrick Riley, the Director of Sega America, has talked about updated gameplay issues.

The speed boost on Green Hill inclines appears to have been fixed, among other physics issues a few noticed when Generations gameplay was first revealed to the world. A few issues remain, although they will be addressed. The handheld version, unlike the console versions, will make the Modern Sonic gameplay similar to Sonic Rush. Special Stages based on Sonic Heroes, along with the appearance of the Chaos Emeralds were confirmed. Casino Night is one of the 3DS exclusive stages, and the boss Big Arm is also confirmed as exclusive; City Escape is a console exclusive. It has also been confirmed that some bosses are played as Classic Sonic and some are played as Modern Sonic. This game like most other Sonic games will feature acts, with Act 1 played as Classic Sonic and Act 2 played as Modern Sonic, there will be several other acts for each level along with missions.

Classic Sonic
Classic Sonic stages consist of him running in a permanent 2-D perspective, platforming all the way towards an end sign post, just like in the original games. Patrick Riley referred to Classic Sonic levels as "Momentum-Based Platforming". The Spin Dash has also been confirmed. The handheld 3DS version will use stereoscopic 3-D to give a sense of depth. SEGA's Community Manager Aaron Webber revealed that Classic Sonic will be speechless.

Modern Sonic
Modern Sonic's console stages consist of running extremely fast through the stages while the perspective switches between 2-D and 3-D such as in his more recent games, Unleashed (PS3/Xbox 360, daytime levels only) and Colors (Wii only) specifically. There will also be new Combo tricks, which are performed in the air, and fill up the Boost Gauge. It has been confirmed that there will be a new visual element to all returning levels, such as the cave in Green Hill. There will be a bit more platforming involved, like the sections after the cave in Green Hill. In the handheld version, Modern Sonic's gameplay will be similar to Sonic Rush and Colors (DS version) and will have Sonic Boost, the ability to slide under obstacles, jump off walls, and use the Homing Attack. In the console versions, the camera is immovable, unlike how it was in Sonic Unleashed. Also, invisible walls can hinder the exploration aspect. Modern Sonic levels will use the 3-D effect of depth on the handheld version more actively, although the console versions will be 3D TV compatible.

Genesis
It is known that there will be limited demos of the classic 16-bit games on the console versions.

Local 2-Player Race Mode (3DS version only)
There will be a local wireless 2-player race mode in the 3DS version of the game.

Street Pass (3DS only)
It has been confirmed that StreetPass will be used to unlock special content and challenges as one pass by someone else.

Playable

 * Sonic (both Classic and Modern)
 * Super Sonic (both Classic and Modern)

Non-Playable

 * Omochao (Option for Omochao to guide the player in every level)
 * Dr. Eggman/Robotnik (Classic and Modern)
 * Miles "Tails" Prower (Classic and Modern)
 * Amy Rose (Classic and Modern)
 * Metal Sonic (Classic confirmed)
 * Knuckles the Echidna (Modern confirmed)
 * Espio the Chameleon
 * Vector the Crocodile
 * Charmy Bee
 * Shadow the Hedgehog
 * Rouge the Bat
 * Cream the Rabbit
 * Cheese
 * Blaze the Cat

Cameos

 * Fang the Sniper (cameo on a "Wanted" poster in City Escape)
 * Bean the Dynamite (cameo on a "Wanted" poster in City Escape)
 * Bark the Polar Bear (cameo on a "Wanted" poster in City Escape)
 * Mighty the Armadillo (cameo on a "Missing since 1993" poster in City Escape)
 * Ray the Flying Squirrel (cameo on a "Missing since 1993" poster in City Escape)
 * Chao (cameo on a billboard advertising the famous "Chao In Space 2" in City Escape)
 * Perfect Chaos (cameo on "Chao In Space 2" billboard, or a character with his likeness, also appears as a boss)
 * Blaze the Cat (she makes a brief cameo as the sign of a shop in City Escape is titled Blaze's Coffee)
 * Amy Rose (she makes a brief cameo as the sign of a shop in City Escape is titled The Amy Shop)
 * Big the Cat (makes a cameo in the Casino Night Zone DLC)

Enemies

 * Motobug
 * Chopper (Gigantic and Normal)
 * Crabmeat
 * Buzzbomber (With blue heads and red heads)
 * Newtron (Hinted by concept appearance) (Appeared in 3DS gameplay)
 * Mono Beetle
 * Gun Beetle
 * Gun Hunter
 * EggRobo
 * E-10 Cop Speeder
 * Aero Chaser
 * Grabber
 * Spiny
 * Egg Fighter
 * E-1001 Egg Pawn

Bosses

 * Classic Metal Sonic (PS3/360)
 * Big Arm (3DS)
 * Giant Mech (Hinted)
 * Perfect Chaos (Hinted)
 * Shadow The Hedgehog
 * Time Eater

Voice Actors
Even though no confirmed official list has been made, Roger Craig Smith said that he's willing to voice Sonic again. His voice as modern Sonic can be heard in demo gameplay footage thus far with a higher voice than in Sonic Free Riders and Sonic Colors. Classic Sonic will remain silent throughout the game, but will still show his personality through his actions and gestures. Cream the Rabbit and Vanilla the Rabbit’s Japanese voice actress Sayaka Aoki revealed on her blog that she has been recording some voice work for a game that will be released in the future as well (whether or not she was referring to Generations is unknown). She also mentioned Jun'ichi Kanemaru, Sonic's current Japanese voice actor.

In a joint-interview with Segabits and Sonic Stadium, Takashi Iizuka revealed there will be voiceovers for all nationalities, not just English and Japanese. Proof of this is that Sonic has received a German voice actor as heard in the Chemical Plant and City Escape video released by German game site, Gameswelt.

Soundtrack
The soundtrack for Sonic Generations is called "History of the First Stage: White Edition" for the console music and "History of the First Stage: Blue Edition" for the 3DS music.
 * "Menu" is a rendition of the Sonic Heroes Menu Theme.
 * "Invincibility" for both Modern and Classic is based off the original Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) theme.
 * "Green Hill Zone" is obviously based on the Green Hill Zone theme of Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)﻿
 * "Drowning" based on Sonic Adventure ' s drowning tune.
 * The 1-Up theme is based on the unused 1-Up Theme from Sonic Sonic-Generations-OST-3DS.jpgture
 * "Escape from the City (Classic)" is a pop mix of the original Escape from the City from Sonic Adventure 2.
 * "Escape from the City (Modern)" is a rock theme similar to the original song for the Modern version of City Escape from Sonic Adventure 2.
 * "Chemical Plant" is based on the theme from Sonic the Hedgehog 2. The Classic mix is nearly the same, while the Modern mix is a rock remix.
 * "Big Arm"  is a new remix of the Final Boss theme for Sonic The Hedgehog 3, rendered by Alex Makhlouf  of Cash Cash.

Stages
Stages will be divided into 3 eras. Classic, Dreamcast (including Sonic Heroes), and Modern. Levels and Bosses will be different between the console and 3DS versions with the exception of Green Hill Zone. So far 7 levels for the console version and 5 levels for the 3DS version have been officially confirmed by Sega.

Classic Era

 * Green Hill (Sonic 1)
 * Chemical Plant (Sonic 2)
 * Stardust Speedway (Sonic CD) (Playable During Boss Fight With Classic Metal Sonic.)

Dreamcast Era

 * City Escape (Sonic Adventure 2)
 * Seaside Hill (Sonic Heroes)

Modern Era

 * Rooftop Run (Sonic Unleashed)

Classic Era

 * Green Hill Zone (Sonic 1)
 * Casino Night Zone (Sonic 2)
 * Launch Base Zone (Sonic 3/Playable During Boss Fight with Big Arm.)
 * Mushroom Hill (Sonic & Knuckles)

Dreamcast Era

 * Emerald Coast (Sonic Adventure)

Modern Era
TBA

Special Stages
Special Stages will appear in the 3DS version. The style of the play is akin to the Special Stages in Sonic Heroes. A Chaos Emerald will be achieved if the stage is completed. It hasn't been confirmed whether Super Sonic will be playable. It was called "Unlockable Special Stages" during SEGA's press conference regarding the 3DS version of the game. For the console versions, there will be an alternate way of getting the Chaos Emeralds.

Spoilers
After the first demo release, that was for the XBLA and PSN, on June 23rd (which was the 20th Birthday of Sonic the Hedgehog), hackers from Sonic Retro mined out installed information from the demo due to the file size. Several kinds of information such as Levels, Hub World Missions, Boss Fights, elements, models, music and characters were extracted from the demo. These are the following:

Levels

 * Green Hill (Sonic The Hedgehog)
 * Chemical Plant (Sonic The Hedgehog 2)
 * Stardust Speedway (Sonic CD) (Played during the boss fight against Classic Metal Sonic)
 * Casino Night (DLC; Pinball Mini-Game Based On The Original Level From Sonic 2)
 * Sky Sanctuary (Sonic 3 & Knuckles)
 * Speed Highway (Sonic Adventure)
 * City Escape (Sonic Adventure 2)
 * Seaside Hill/Ocean Palace (Sonic Heroes)
 * Crisis City (Sonic '06)
 * Rooftop Run (Sonic Unleashed)
 * Planet Wisp (Sonic Colors)

Boss Fights

 * Classic Metal Sonic (Boss of Stardust Speedway; race similar to the race from Sonic CD)
 * Shadow the Hedgehog (Sonic Adventure 2)
 * Silver the Hedgehog (Sonic '06)
 * Death Egg (Sonic The Hedgehog 2)
 * Perfect Chaos (Sonic Adventure)
 * Egg Dragoon (Sonic Unleashed)
 * Time Eater (Final Boss)

Supporting Characters
Images of characters with their Japanese names written in circles (representing icons) were also extracted. The names written are the following: In the list of leaked Hub World missions, it states there will be missions with co-op, and missions where the player will battle, race or perhaps play as these characters. There are also recurring missions called "Sonic Ghost", which is most likely a Time Trial mission.
 * Miles "Tails" Prower
 * Knuckles the Echidna
 * Amy Rose
 * Cream the Rabbit
 * Rouge the Bat
 * Espio the Chameleon
 * Charmy Bee
 * Vector the Crocodile
 * Blaze the Cat

Genesis
Files were found in the game to do with some sort of system called 'Genesis'. There is therefore speculation that there will be limited demos of the classic 16-bit games for the console versions.

Additional

 * Two of the icons have pictures of the Spike Wisp and the Rocket Wisp which suggests that they will be playable in the leaked level, Planet Wisp.
 * The leaked boss battle against Egg Dragoon could mean the return of Sonic the Werehog since that was the form Sonic took when he battled against Eggman's Egg Dragoon.
 * There is an icon with a set of Chaos Emeralds which confirms Super Sonic for both Sonics.
 * There are also unknown icons such as a broken stopwatch, a bolt of lightning, fire, bubbles, and one that has a ring and a Motobug. It is not known how these items will affect the gameplay. The stopwatch might freeze time, and the bolt of lightning, fire and bubbles are the shields from Sonic 3. The ring with the Motobug could also give damage, similar to the Robotnik/Eggman Item Box.

Gallery

 * For more: Sonic Generations/Gallery.

Videos
Video:Sonic Generations - Teaser Trailer HD|Sonic Generations Teaser Trailer. Video:Sonic Generations Gameplay Trailer|Official Green Hill gameplay trailer. Video:Sonic Generations Extended gameplay footage|Modern and Classic Green Hill Zone gameplay. Video:Sonic Generations E3 2011 Trailer CITY ESCAPE|City Escape Trailer. Video:Sonic Generations Japanese City Escape trailer with Modern Music!|Japanese City Escape trailer with Modern Escape from the City. Video:E3 2011 Sonic Generations Green Hill Walkthrough Video|Aaron Webber's Green Hill walkthrough. Video:Sonic Generations HD Gameplay (Chemical Plant Zone and City Escape)|Chemical Plant and City Escape Modern and Classic Japanese Video:Sonic Generations: Two Sonics Trailer|Two Sonics trailer.

Merchandise
The game had two newly revealed action figures at Comic-Con 2011. Now early on Nintengo has released these official new Sonic Generations shirts to remark the 20th birthday for a kicking price of $82.00 each.

Trivia

 * This is the first Sonic game to have 3D capability.
 * The artworks are poses from past video games in the series.
 * This is the first game Classic Sonic, Classic Tails and Classic Amy are rendered in a CGI artwork.
 * Jun Senoue will be mixing all the tracks for this game. The music also speeds up and slightly changes when Modern Sonic uses his boost.
 * The Classic version of City Escape is remix of the Endless Mine theme from the multiplayer mode of Sonic the Hedgehog 3.
 * Like Sonic Unleashed (Wii/PS2), when using the boost while on a Dash Panel, Sonic uses a Spin Dash.
 * The E3 Demo, Sonic Boom, is named after the opening theme in the US version of Sonic CD. Crush 40 and Cash Cash performed a remix of this song at Sonic Boom.
 * In the City Escape trailer, Fang, Bean, Bark can be seen in "wanted" posters, while Mighty and Ray can be seen on a "missing" poster.
 * Like the street signs in Empire City from Sonic Unleashed, City Escape has various buildings named after characters, such as Tails' Pizza, Coffee Blaze, Amy's Market and Vector's Daily.
 * Patrick Riley confirmed the appearance of Leaderboards for the console versions, he also revealed some unannounced form of "internet functionality" that will likely be learned about at a later date.
 * At one point in Green Hill Zone, Modern Sonic is being chased by a giant Chopper, clearly a reference to when he was chased by a whale in both Sonic Adventure and Sonic The Hedgehog (2006).
 * When doing a finish to one of his mid-air Combo Tricks after going through a rainbow-colored hoop or a special dash panel ramp, Modern Sonic does the same widely recognizable pose as he does on the cover for Sonic Adventure.
 * Each gameplay trailer featured an instrumental version of a famous song:
 * Tenderoni by Kele Okereke (Green Hill)
 * Na Na Na by My Chemical Romance (City Escape)
 * Takashi Iizuka revealed that the reason Sonic Generations is coming to the 3DS is because the Wii isn't a good fit for the game, since the primary goal for the console versions is to reimagine classic stages in vivid, HD graphics. So they decided that, for the Nintendo audience, it would come to the 3DS.
 * This is the first time Modern Sonic gets Boost Energy from both Rings and Enemy Power in a handheld console.
 * This is the first time that Classic Sonic gets a rank on his stages.
 * In this game, Classic Sonic has different waiting animations. One looks similar to Sonic 2, one looks similar to Sonic 3 and one looks similar to Sonic 3D Blast.
 * During a Spanish interview with Diana Redetski, a spokesperson form SEGA Spain, she revealed there might be a way to do a Modern Sonic/Classic Sonic switch, as a toggle feature. In addition, in the list of leaked missions, it seems there are levels played right before the HUB worlds, in every stage, where the player plays as "Both".
 * Red Rings will be in the game.
 * This game has been in development since Sonic Unleashed was released.
 * If noticed, the PS3/XBOX 360 versions have a white colored design on top and bottom, where as the 3DS version has a replacement for blue, this is reference to the consoles and handheld's version's Japanese name, White Time and Space (PS3, XBOX) and Blue Adventures (3DS).
 * The Big Arm boss fight used Doomsday Zone's music in the E3 2011 demo, but was changed to the final boss theme of Sonic 3 in the Gamescom 2011's demo.
 * Takashi Iizuka recently said via Twitter that, after seeing Sonic CD on Xbox Live, he is upset that they missed their chance for Wacky Workbench in this game, with "bouncy floors and boosting".
 * Since the depiction of Stardust Speedway is the Bad Future version and Crisis City is one of the stages (even though the ending of Sonic '06 negates it), it would seem to imply that areas from alternate timelines are taken as well as the ones from the primary timeline.
 * Shadow's confirmation for the game is suprisingly not the artwork. Shadow was actually confirmed in an interview.
 * This is the third Sonic Anniversary game in a row not released for the Wii. Sonic Adventure 2 was released for the Dreamcast and remade for the Gamecube, Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) was released for the PS3 and Xbox 360, and this game will be released for the PS3, Xbox 360, and 3DS.

Pre-Order
All versions of Sonic Generations is available for pre-order:
 * Xbox 360- The Xbox 360 Version is available to pre-order at Gamestop for $49.99.
 * Playstation 3- The PS3 Version is available to pre-order at Gamestop for the same Price as the Xbox 360 Version.
 * Nintendo 3DS- The Nintendo 3DS Version is available for pre-order at Game.co.uk for £39.99.


 * Links
 * Xbox 360 and PS3 Pre-Orders
 * Nintendo 3DS Pre-Order