Sonic Colors

Sonic Colors, entitled Sonic Colours outside of America, is an upcoming game for the Nintendo Wii console and Nintendo DS. It was first announced on May 26, 2010 in a press release by Sega for Italy, and included a teaser trailer.

Development
Sonic Colors will be available on the Wii and the Nintendo DS in Late 2010. Sonic Colors for the Wii seamlessly combines both 3D and classic 2D game play perspectives, similar to the day stages of Sonic Unleashed while the Nintendo DS version takes full advantage of the console's dual screen, similar to the Sonic Rush series. The Wii version is developed by Sega and Sonic Team whereas the DS version is developed by Sonic Team and Dimps.

The head supervisor is Takashi Iizuka. Morio Kishimoto will be directing the Wii version of the game, Kishimoto was also involved in the Sonic Storybook Series. Takao Hiyabayashi will be directing the DS version, Hiyabayashi was in the development of Sonic Unleashed.

 "The general difficulty of Sonic Colours will suit younger fans; zones still fly by and you’ll wonder at times just how much control you actually have. But each level is crammed, throwing you from one experience to the next. Couple that with the vibrant, colourful new world though and hopefully older Sonic fans will have enough to go at too."

Plot
Sonic Colors is a high speed action-adventure in which Sonic races through an outerspace theme park-inspired worlds to rescue a colorful alien race from the clutches of Dr. Eggman. An extraordinary amusement park has been seen orbiting around the home planet of Sonic the Hedgehog, and rumors are spreading that an alien race of Wisps, who have a unique colorful energy, are being held captive there by the evil Dr. Eggman. Soon after arriving at the amusement park, Sonic discovers he is able to use these mysterious alien forces to help the Wisps escape. The game also appears to have new characters called Robo-Sonics, they are created by Dr. Eggman which are only playable in co-op mode, however it could be possible that they take part in the storyline as IGN had stated that they are "Eggman's creations" which could prove that in the storyline it may be mentioned that the Robo-Sonics are made by Dr. Eggman.

It has also been revealed that the center of comedy will be Dr. Eggman and Orbot. Additionally, SA-55's name has been changed to "Orbot" in this game. The White Wisp with the curl on its head will have a specific name and in the beginning of the game, the first cutscene will show Sonic breaking the "Fourth Wall" and talking to the player. Also, there will be another counterpart of Orbot in this game named Cubot.

The story will be done by the writers of the famous SEGA game, MadWorld as stated by Takashi Iizuka and the writers of Happy Tree Friends to add humor to the cutscenes. The story of the Wii version and the DS version are different. The DS version will show a different role of the Wisps, the DS version also has Knuckles and Shadow in the story, but Takashi Iizuka must have suggested them as planned characters.

The Nintendo Power magazine reveals that the story is "minimalistic", "light-hearted" and appropriately "goofy".

Playable

 * Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Wisps (power-ups for Sonic to use only)
 * Robo-Sonics (exclusively for co-op)

Non-Playable
Shadow has not been officially confirmed, but is planned.
 * Dr. Eggman
 * Miles "Tails" Prower
 * Yacker
 * Orbot
 * Cubot
 * Shadow the Hedgehog (Not confirmed, just hinted)
 * Knuckles the Echidna (Exclusively for the DS version)
 * Amy Rose (Exclusively for the DS version)

Enemies

 * Egg Pawn
 * Spina
 * An enemy that resembles a Buzz Bomber.
 * Small unknown drill enemy
 * Large unknown drill enemy
 * Motobug
 * Crabmeat

Voice actors
The game features English voice acting. So far in this game, Sonic and Tails have new voice actors. However, it was said that all voices except for Eggman's were replaced.

Stages
(The game will feature more than 8 different planets, one of Eggman's ships and one satellite)


 * Sweet Mountain
 * Tropical Resort
 * Planet Wisp
 * Game World
 * Starlight Carnival
 * Aquatic Park
 * Asteroid Coaster

Special Stages
The DS version has Special Stages in which by completing each, a Chaos Emerald will be received. It is entirely similar to the Special Stages that were used in Sonic Rush, except instead of collecting rings, Sonic will have to collect colorful balls, like in Sonic Heroes. The player needs to collect the spheres of the same colors as the top screen. The rainbow ones can be collected at any time. There are also checkered ones, that if the player has collected all of them a 10 sphere bonus will be received.

Mini-games
The game will also feature mini-games as stated in the UK Computer and Videogames magazine. The writer, Tom Pakinkis stated that:

"This time they've deliberately placed mini-games where you need to jump between actual rails to collect maximum rings or avoid time-wasting drops."

Co-Op
Amazon's Japanese website reavealed a picture depicting a co-op mode, which was leaked information so it was removed from the website. This mode appears to be set in a color-less world.

It was then revealed by IGN on 2 September, 2010 that the picture is actually an optional co-op mode, they are unlocked by collecting red emblems throughout the in-game stages. Unlocking them is optional and will be selected on the menu screen. However Sonic is not a playable character in the co-op mode, instead there will be Eggman's creation of Robo-Sonics will be playable, they look exactly like Sonic but come in a wide variety of different colors and an antenna sticking out of their heads and other robotic features.

The co-op is mainly a 2D scroll co-op and the Robo-Sonics can activate Wisp Power as well. Most of the levels are very plain, with no specific look and a simple colored background.

Music
The theme song of the game is Reach For The Stars. It is sung by Jean Paul Makhlouf from the band, Cash Cash.

The music will be composed by SEGA Sound Team. Takashi Iizuka states that: "Since the game has an amusement-park setting and a more fanatastical visual style, they're trying to expand the usual "cool" Sonic sound and focus on making fun, up-tempo music that will really get players' blood pumping.""

The Nintendo Power Magazine praised the music by saying it's, "annoying, catchy and rubbish", and that is what they always liked about the music in Sonic games.

Controls
The controls for the game on Wii are said to be the same as Sonic Unleashed's day stages. The DS controls have been said to be the same as Sonic Rush. 

Videos
thumb|right|262px|Sonic Colors 2-player thumb|280px|left|Sonic Colors Trailer

Reception
A review of the Official Nintendo Power Magazine gaming studios said that the action was fast, the levels were nice and long, and that there were loads of different routes available through each level. Their favorite Wisp was the Drill Wisp. In the end they mentioned that Sonic was at his best at mimicking Mario elements similar to 2010's hit game Super Mario Galaxy 2. They said the game will be the equivalent of all-daytime stages of Sonic Unleashed. IGN said that Sonic Colors might be, "The best Sonic game of this generation", praising its level design and fully-packed action with vibrant colors. It also was also nominated as the Best of E3 by IGN, but however, it did not win. Sonic Colors was nominated for Best Platformer Game at Gametrailers E3 2010 awards.

Trivia

 * This game is the first game in which the 4kids voice actors will be replaced by new actors.
 * Dr. Eggman is the only character in the game to remain his voice actor since 2005.
 * The planet, Game Land, is eerily shaped like Sonic's head.
 * SA-55's name has been changed to "Orbot" in this game
 * If a customer pre-orders Sonic Colors at Gamestop, the customer can get a free hat with the look of Sonic's Sonic_Hat.png quills on their head.
 * This is the second game in which Egg Pawns wear certain clothing or armor depending on the stage enviroment, the first being Casino Park in Sonic Heroes.
 * This is the first Sonic Game since 2006 to have co-op or multi-player of any kind
 * Sonic can now move and jump during the end stage results screen. This feature has not been seen in a Sonic game since Sonic The Hedgehog 2.
 * Sonic Colors will mark the first 3D Sonic game since Sonic Heroes, to feature the classic level title cards at the start of a level.
 * Sonic's ability to gain items like rings and 1ups at the Results Screen is similar to how Sonic could gain items, such as shields, from end level sign posts in Sonic The Hedgehog 3.
 * Sonic is able to do a double jump in this game.
 * The Wisps in the DS version are different than those in the Wii version, with the exception of the orange, the white, and the cyan Wisps. They can also be used in different ways in each version.
 * Sonic Colors features a fully animated title screen; a feature not seen from a 3D Sonic game since the Gamecube remake: Sonic Adventure 2: Battle
 * Since the game has Special Stages in the DS version, it is very likely that Super Sonic will appear in the game.
 * In the gameplay video in Sonic Colors Sonic says SPIN! when he gets a drill but in the co-op video he says DRILL!.
 * Sonic Colors uses a lock-on homing attack similar to the one used in Sonic Unleashed.
 * This is the first 3D Sonic game where the player can interact with the Result screen.