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 the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and the Nintendo 3DS. The game is 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 needed for the PS3 and Xbox 360.

Plot
Sonic's universe is thrown into chaos when a mysterious new enemy uses a special kind of power to erase time and space, which create "time holes", and pull Sonic and his friends back through time. As a result, he encounters some surprises from his past, including himself as he was in 1991.

After finding out everything is chalk white and losing color (thus giving it the subtitle: White Time and Space), both Modern and Classic Sonic team up to defeat this strange new enemy, save their friends, and find out who is really behind this diabolical deed. As they beat more levels, more of the white space is filled with color.

It's assumed this enemy teams up with Eggman, and both plan to recruit a number of known villains from previous games.

So far, Modern Sonic, Classic Sonic and Tails have been confirmed to appear, but other characters such as Knuckles, and Shadow could appear according to a French Q&A with Takashi Iizuka, who said that "they played a big part in Sonic's history and could be important in Generations as well." 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 this year'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. 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. What levels will appear and when it will be released is unknown.

It has recently been confirmed that it will appear at the Tokyo Joyopolis event and at the Summer of Sonic event in London. It might also appear at the Gamescon 2011 event in Germany.

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, and Speed Boosts. There is going to be a new interactive menu that allows for complete immersion into Sonic's universe, as you complete 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.

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 and Colors 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. Modern Sonic levels will use the 3-D effect of depth on the handheld version more actively.

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 you pass by someone.

Playable

 * Modern Sonic
 * Classic Sonic

Enemies

 * Motobug
 * Chopper (Gigantic and Normal)
 * Crabmeat
 * Buzzbomber
 * Newtron (Hinted by concept appearance) (appeared in 3DS gamepay)
 * Mono Beetle
 * Gun Beetle
 * Gun Hunter

Bosses

 * Big Arm (Launch Base 3DS)

Non-Playable

 * Miles "Tails" Prower
 * Doctor Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik (Modern and Classic) (Will appear as bosses in different timelines; classic form appears on the signpost at the end of the Classic level)
 * Unnamed new nemesis
 * Omochao (Video shows Omochao is not City Escape exclusive, appearing several times in Green Hill as well)
 * Fang the Sniper (cameo in City Escape)
 * Bean the Dynamite (cameo in City Escape)
 * Bark the Polar Bear (cameo in City Escape)
 * Mighty the Armadillo (cameo in City Escape)
 * Ray the Flying Squirrel (cameo in City Escape)
 * Chao (cameo in City Escape)
 * Perfect Chaos (cameo in City Escape)

Hinted

 * Knuckles the Echidna
 * Miles "Tails" Prower
 * Cream the Rabbit
 * Shadow the Hedgehog

Voice Actors
Even though no confirmed official list has been made, Roger Craig Smith is willing to voice Sonic again. His voice as modern Sonic can be heard in demo gameplay footage thus far (albeit in voice clips recycled from Colors and Free Riders). 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 future game as well. 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.

Classic Era

 * Green Hill (3DS + 360/PS3)
 * Casino Night (3DS)
 * Launch Base (Hinted for the 3DS by the appearance of the Big Arm)

Dreamcast Era

 * City Escape (360/PS3)

Modern Era

 * Spagonia (360/PS3)

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 has not 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.

Music

 * The title theme is a remix of Sonic the Hedgehog (Genesis) Theme (Ending version).
 * The Menu theme is a remix of Sonic Heroes' Stage Select Theme.
 * The Result theme is a remix of Sonic Adventure 2/Heroes Result Theme.
 * The modern levels made from a classic level have a remixed version of the original classic music.
 * The classic levels made from a modern level have a remixed version of the original modern music.
 * The music of the classic version of City Escape is a trance remix of Escape from the City by Ted Poley and Tony Harnell, that is the original theme of the Sonic Adventure 2 version of the level.

Other


Videos
Video:Sonic Generations - Teaser Trailer HD|Sonic Generations Teaser Trailer. Video:Sonic Generations Gameplay Trailer|A gameplay trailer. Video:Sonic Generations - Interview (Translated)  New Footage|Interview Video:Sonic Generations Extended gameplay footage|Modern and Classic Green Hill Zone gameplay Video:Sonic Generations Gamelay Interwiew 2|Sonic Generations Interview 2 With Gameplay Footage Video:Sonic Generations - G4 Gameplay Review and Interview|G4 Gameplay Preview and Interview Video:Sonic Generations Modern Sonic Green Hill |Game Trailer Preview Video:Sonic Generations E3 2011 Trailer CITY ESCAPE|City Escape Trailer Video:Sonic Generations - E3 2011 Demo: Green Hill/City Escape Gameplay|Gamespot Preview

Trivia

 * While this is the first ever game in the entire Sonic series where a character meets his past self, Sonic has already met past or future versions of himself in Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, SatAM, and Sonic the Comic.
 * Both of the Sonics' artwork are poses from past video games in the series.
 * This is the first game Classic Sonic is rendered in a CGI artwork.
 * This is the fifth game where Sonic's Classic form is rendered in 3D graphics. He was first 3D in the games Sonic 3D, Sonic R, Sonic the Fighters, and Sonic Jam.
 * Jun Senoue will be mixing all the tracks for this game. Playing as Classic Sonic on Green Hill Zone plays the original 16-bit version from the Genesis mixed with a techno beat to it, while Modern Sonic has a faster, rock infused version of the song. It is assumed that all the levels will be this way. The music also speeds up when Modern Sonic uses his boost.
 * Like Sonic Unleashed (Wii/PS2), when using the boost while on a Dash Panel, Sonic uses a Spin Dash.
 * The story of time getting out of control and characters having to team up with their past selves is similar to Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time.
 * Sonic Generations will be the first main series game for the Nintendo 3DS.
 * It seems there is a redemption points system. When a level is completed, the time converts to score then a grade; then there is a box that converts the score to points, and the points are seen next to a credit card icon. Although it hasn't been confirmed, speculation points toward unlocking new or secret stages, missions, or additional historical information like Sonic World from Sonic Jam. It's even more likely because the 3DS version will use StreetPass to unlock bonus content, so the console versions will need to have something similar.
 * Like Sonic Unleashed, this game has a different name in Japan.
 * 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 and Bark can be seen in "wanted" posters.
 * 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" we will likely learn 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.
 * Each gameplay trailer features an instrumental version of a famous song:
 * Tenderoni by Kele Okereke (Green Hill)
 * Na Na Na by My Chemical Romance (City Escape)
 * The only stage so far that has been confirmed for both PS3/360 and 3DS is Green Hill Zone.
 * SEGA has expressed their distaste in porting Sonic Generations to the Wii U because they don't want to re-release a game 6-8 months after the original release.
 * Takashi Iizuka revealed that the reason Sonic Generations is coming to the 3DS is because the Wii wasn'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.
 * Green Hill Zone for both versions of the game will have something that chases Modern Sonic from behind. The PS3/Xbox version has a giant Chopper chasing him, while the 3DS version with have a giant totem pole falling towards Sonic.