Sonic Lost World

"Rise Against the Deadly Six!"

- The game's tagline.

Sonic Lost World (ソニックロストワールド) is an upcoming video game and the next main installment in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. The game is being released exclusively for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS on October, 2013. The game is currently under development by Sonic Team for Wii U and Dimps for Nintendo 3DS, and is to be published by Sega (in Japan and America) and Nintendo (in Europe and Australia).

Story
Sonic is chasing after his longtime foe, Eggman. He encounters a mysterious floating island known as “Lost Hex,” where he runs into the Deadly Six and learns that Eggman used them to harness their power until they rebel against the Doctor himself and threaten to destroy the planet. Sonic and Eggman are forced to work together in order to save the planet and put an end to their misdeeds.

Gameplay
The player controls Sonic the Hedgehog in an action platformer. The setting of the gameplay takes place on spherical worlds that shift in perspective, allowing for both 2D and 3D gameplay. Similar to past installments in the series, the player has to reach to the end, where the single capsule, which contains animal friends that are ready to be released from the capsule. After pressing the large button on the top of capsule, the player has completed that act in the zone.

The boost-integrated gameplay from previous 3D titles has been eschewed in favor of a new control style. On the Wii U version, using the D-pad or left control stick will move Sonic at a moderate pace, whilst holding down the right trigger button will engage his running speed. Pressing both triggers allows Sonic to perform Spin Dash. The game introduces also the "parkour" system, which is allowing Sonic to maneuver across obstacles and climb walls. The Homing Attack can be chained in quick succession. Sonic will also be able to do a jumping Kick attack that can destroy enemies the Homing Attack cannot in the Wii U version. The Nintendo 3DS version will give Sonic a Somersault, that can stun enemies for a short time. The game will also feature returning and new Color Powers, gained from Wisps, a returning element from Sonic Colors, with different Wisps exclusive to both versions of the game.

The 3DS version of the game will also contain fully 3D gameplay similar to the Wii U version, unlike the handheld versions of Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations. The 3DS version will not, however, be a port, but rather, a separate game with different level design, similar to the handheld versions of Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations, and use slightly different controls due to the 3DS's button layout, compared to the Wii U Gamepad.

The Wii U version will offer both competitive and cooperative multiplayer, but there will not be an online multiplayer mode. When playing in multiplayer mode, one player will control Sonic using the Wii U gamepad while the other will use the Wii remote to either help (co-op) or race against the other player (versus). The 3DS version will also offer four player local and online multiplayer modes, and connectivity with the Wii U version of the game.

According to the IGN Walkthrough on June 7, 2013, Sonic Lost World will contain numerous references to many of the past Sonic games, such as the Super Peel Out animation when Sonic gains a certain amount of speed, and the Red Star Rings from Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations, which can be collected for unlocking collectible content. While capsules, that release Animal friends, do appear in not only the end of each stage, there are smaller capsules throughout the zones themselves.

During an interview between Nintendo World Report, Takashi Iizuka had revealed several information about Sonic Lost World, such as the multiplayer option and the reason behind the multiple different worlds in each of the zones. According to Iizuka, he quotes "In previous games you would go to World 1 Stage 1, World 1 Stage 2, and the aesthetics would look similar, maybe a little bit different, but kind of similar and the gameplay you also could expect what you were going to get to a certain degree. This time they wanted to surprise players and create a lot more variety visually and in the gameplay sections, so [hence] the two stages in Desert Ruins." According to Aaron Webber, he mentions that acts on levels that are opposite of the stage name exist inside the level, such as the casino-themed act in Frozen Factory exists inside the zone.

While news about Sonic Lost World is mostly hefty for the Wii U version, a preview at the Penny Arcade Expo for the Nintendo 3DS version of Sonic Lost World, according to an Australian previewer "..did not feel enjoyable," raising questions to if the Nintendo 3DS version, which is being produced by Dimps, will be as good as the Wii U version. However, this was only a demo, as there could have been little bugs that cause the gameplay to feel unpleasant.

Development
Originally, Sega registered the trademark and the web address of the game's website on May 16, 2013. The game was first announced at a presentation of Nintendo Direct on May 17, 2013. According to Nintendo's Satoru Iwata, it is announced that Nintendo itself has entered into a worldwide partnership with Sega regarding the Sonic the Hedgehog series.

The first teaser image was revealed during the Nintendo Direct, showing Sonic and Tails flying with Tornado to the new main setting of the game, later being revealed and named as Lost Hex. A week later, Sega uploaded another teaser picture to the Facebook account, which showed silhouettes of mysterious new characters. On May 28, 2013, the debut trailer was released by IGN, revealing the Deadly Six and showing the first gameplay clips. The next day, story details, new gameplay mechanics and collectible contents was revealed.

On June 7th, 2013, Richard George on IGN showed a walkthrough tutorial of Windy Hill and Desert Ruins with Aaron Webber. While Takashi Iizuka has revealed to be producer of the game, he announced that the game is directed by Morio Kishimoto and Heido Bayashi, while the game's soundtrack is composed by Tomoya Ohtani, who has done music for Sonic Unleashed. More information is to be revealed by the game's development team in an upcoming event celebrating Sonic's 22nd anniversary, which is held at Tokyo Joypolis. However, no information was revealed during June 23, 2013 about Sonic Lost World.

Iizuka also stated game being under the development for two and half years, which has been started during Sonic Generations development as prototyping the different geometries. The reason why the game's development has been then moved on to Wii U has been giving the second screen feature for the game and Sonic's selling success on Nintendo platforms. Sonic Lost World will be playable at the 2013 Summer of Sonic event held at London, England. Both the Wii U and the Nintendo 3DS versions will be playable.

On July 16, 2013, new coverage of Sonic Lost World was revealed. This included the first quote of Zavok, the new zones, including a new desert-themed act for Desert Ruins and Silent Forest, and two new Color Powers: the Crimson Eagle Wisp, and the Magenta Rhythm Wisp. Several days later, Frozen Factory was revealed via screenshots, and shortly, GameSpot previewed a new stage demo trailer featuring coverage from Windy Hill, Desert Ruins, and Frozen Factory.

The "Colors Trailer" for Sonic Lost World not only raise questions on the new Wisps, but also the strange ESRB rating of "Everyone 10+". Only "Mild Cartoon Violence" is shown for the reason behind the rating, but it was learned eventually that aggressive and violent dialogue where the cause of this, having such quotes such as "You’re going home in a box" and "One second you’re contemplating genocide". Also, several scenes within the game also depict laser and fire explosions that could be crude to audiences.

Characters

 * Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Miles "Tails" Prower
 * Amy Rose
 * Knuckles the Echidna
 * Doctor Eggman

Animal Friends

 * Flicky
 * Picky
 * Chirps
 * Pecky
 * Ricky
 * Rocky

Wisps

 * Cyan Wisp
 * Pink Wisp
 * Yellow Wisp
 * Orange Wisp
 * Indigo Wisp
 * Crimson Wisp
 * Magenta Wisp

Deadly Six

 * Zavok
 * Zazz
 * Zeena
 * Zik
 * Zomom
 * Zor

Enemies

 * Moto Bug
 * Chopper
 * Newtron
 * Orbinaut
 * Sandworm
 * Caterkiller
 * Snail Blaster
 * Bladed Spinner
 * Buzz Bomber
 * Anton
 * Gohla
 * Grabber
 * Balkiry
 * Blaster
 * Crawlton
 * Unknown butterfly enemies flying around at Act 2 of Desert Ruins.
 * Unknown bee enemies on long rows at Act 2 of Desert Ruins.
 * Unknown Bobbit Worm enemies growling under sand pools at Act 1 of Desert Ruins in Nintendo 3DS version.
 * Mushmeanie
 * Dragonfly
 * Clucker
 * Boo
 * Slicer
 * Egg Pawn
 * Crawl
 * Nebula

Levels
Sonic Lost World contains six zones for both Wii U and Nintendo 3DS versions. Similar to Sonic Colors, each zone has six acts for the player to complete. For the first time in the series, most of acts can have completely different theme or atmosphere, which can have different, emergent gameplay style with old or new gimmicks and features.

Windy Hill
Windy Hill is the first zone in Sonic Lost World. It takes place on planetoids similar to Green Hill Zone from Sonic the Hedgehog. Classic badniks such as Motobug and Chopper appear in the stage as well. There is a tutorial mode that takes place on this stage, as well. The Cyan Wisp and a new Wisp, known as the Indigo Wisp, appear in the stage, on the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS versions, respectively. There appears to be a afternoon-time stage that appears only on the Nintendo 3DS version.

Desert Ruins
Desert Ruins is a zone on Sonic Lost World for the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U versions. The Wii U version has three levels so far: a candy-theme act similar to Sweet Mountain from Sonic Colors, a Tree-like Mach Speed segment act which are similar to the Knuckles' Chaotix Special Stages and a third that lives to the name of the stage, taking place in a wide-open desert, with a sand-tornado chase sequence. The Nintendo 3DS version also lives up to the name of the level, as it takes place in the desert where Sonic goes through parts of ruins.

Silent Forest
Silent Forest is one of zones in Sonic Lost World. It takes place on deep jungle, where the player has to move on similar tubular routes. It only doesn't involve lot of badniks and spikes around, there are also numerous, small rail sections, where minecarts and dangerous crocodile-type enemies are seen moving on. There are also known to be second, night-themed act, which is seen taking place on higher places of the jungle. In this act, large Owls are sleeping at the night background, while the player is hanging on rocky ruins with thorn vines above the jungle.

Frozen Factory
Frozen Factory is one of the zones in Sonic Lost World. There are two variations of this zone so far; a winter-themed zone and a casino-themed zone. So far, the casino-themed zone has been revealed, which bears strong resemblance to the Casino Night Zone from Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Casino Park from Sonic Heroes. Roulette tables, slot machines, and Pinball tables appear in the act, as well. Not much is known about the other themed level, a winter-themed zone.

Other Known Zones

 * Untitled tropical-themed Zone.
 * Untitled volcano-themed Zone.

Release
Both the Wii U and the Nintendo 3DS versions of Sonic Lost World will be released first in Europe on October 18th, 2013. The US release of the game will be on October 22nd, 2013, while both versions of the game will be released in Japan on October 24th, 2013. Because Nintendo and Sega are working cooperatively, Sega will release the game in US and Japan, while Nintendo works as the distributor of the game in Europe and Australia markets.

As the game gets released in Japan on October 24th, Sega has also revealed as launching two accessory kits as collector items during the release. The first kit contains protection cover only for Nintendo 3DS XL models, a small Sonic-themed storage bag. The kit also contains bonus soundtrack CD of the game. The second kit contains different collector items as two, blue colored earphone jacks and two different small keychains, which are pair of Sonic's Speed Shoes and Tails' set of tails.

Comic Adaption
In Sonic Super Special #9, an adaption of Sonic Lost World. Not much is known about this adaption yet, other than that it will contain an In Another Time, In Another Place-esque story within the issue. The game adaption in the issue is 20 pages long, making it to this day the longest game adaption featured in Archie Comics.

Trivia

 * Sonic's original Tornado is seen in the concept artwork but is slightly altered from the last version seen in Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II.
 * This game shares its name with an action stage from Sonic Adventure.
 * Interestingly, one of Sonic Lost World's stages is Windy Hill, which is the same name as a segment from another Sonic Adventure stage, Windy Valley.
 * The music used in the debut trailer is a instrumental version of "Cinema" by Benny Benassi. The Nintendo 3DS trailer of the game uses instrumental version of "Gameboy" by Invigilators x Ceezlin.
 * The Super Peel Out makes a return in the game as Sonic's standard running animation, which was last seen in Super Smash Bros Brawl.
 * This will be the first 3D Sonic game since Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) to feature item capsules in 3D stages. In addition, this is the first 3D Sonic game since Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) that allows Sonic to charge and perform a Spin Dash. This is also the first 3D Sonic game since Sonic Adventure 2 where Sonic automatically grabs on to the edge of ledges.
 * The game shares some similarities to Sonic X-treme, a cancelled game for the Sega Saturn. Both games have a story where six creatures get out of Eggman's grasp (which was one of several stories for the latter), both have a first stage inspired by Green Hill Zone (the former Windy Hill and the latter Jade Gully Zone), both have freely floating level structures and both have gravity playing a key role. Despite  Sega of America employee  Aaron Webber noting the game was an influence, Takashi Iizuka has claimed that the developers of Sonic Lost World did not know about Sonic X-Treme, meaning it had no influence on Sonic Lost World whatsoever.
 * It also shares some similarities to Super Mario Galaxy, another game that has freely floating, circular level structures, traveling between several planetoids, and has gravity playing a key role. Windy Hill Zone, Act 1's segmented structure resembles the levels from the Super Mario Galaxy series and Super Mario 3D Land.
 * Interestingly, Takashi Iizuka admitted that Sonic Lost World had "...ended up a bit too close to [Super] Mario Galaxy."
 * The Badniks in Sonic Lost World bear cartoonish designs rather than their more menacing designs used in recent games like Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations.
 * This is the second main series Sonic game to feature a double jump after Sonic Colors. The handheld version will also be the second game in the handheld series to feature the double jump, the first being Sonic Blast.
 * The Invincibility's and Speed Shoes' theme is an instrumental version of "Sonic Heroes".
 * Large floating cannons in this game are similar to ones from Oil Ocean Zone in Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
 * This is the first main Sonic game to be on the Wii U, however it is the second main Sonic game to be on the Nintendo 3DS, the first being Sonic Generations, and the second Sonic game overall on the Wii U, the other being Sonic & All-Stars Racing: Transformed.
 * Bonus Points from the original Sonic the Hedgehog will return in the game.
 * This is the second main series Sonic game to be released exclusively for Nintendo platforms (the first being Sonic Colors).
 * Like the Wii version of Sonic Colors, the player does not earn an extra life upon collecting 100 rings.
 * In the Wii U version, the lives counter, timer, animal counter, Red Ring counter, only appear when Sonic is at a completely dead stop, but occasionally show up when Sonic destroys an enemy, gets rings, gets and extra life, or collects red rings.
 * The Wii U version has a countdown time limit in each stage, as the player have a limited time to complete each stage much like some of the Super Mario adventure genre games. However in the Nintendo 3DS version, it's a stopwatch timer counting up just like the Sega Genesis video games.
 * When Sonic is Parkour Running on walls on the Wii U version, you can see Sonic's after-images when doing so, In the 3DS version red, and white stars are shown.
 * According to ESRB, violent quotes such as "I'm going to skin you alive.", "I long for death's cold embrace", "I'll get fat eating your black hearts", and "As long as I can strangle a Zeti, my hands are fine" will be used in cutscenes and gameplay. There's even the mention of genocide in one of the quotes.
 * This is the fifth Sonic game to be rated E10, following Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2006, Sonic Unleashed and Sonic and the Black Knight.