SEGA have revealed a new Sonic Boom game to be released later this year exclusively on 3DS. Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice is a sequel to Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal and developed once again by Sanzaru Games. You can view the announcement trailer below:
Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric and Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal were the worst selling Sonic games in the history of the franchise. I can only assume the reason for this follow-up is because SEGA has invested a lot in the cartoon and all the merchandising off-shoots that have followed. In all honesty I’m glad we’re getting a sequel to Shattered Crystal as it was the most playable of the two original Sonic Boom games. I would’ve preferred Streets of Rage 4 though.
Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric is a game we probably want to forget about at this point, but this demo reel from animator Tuan Nguyen shows the game’s environment looking considerably more fleshed-out. This footage comes from an earlier build of the game that featured more dense foliage. Check it out below:
If I was to hazard a guess as to why these details were paired back for the console release then I’d say it was because the Wii-U simply can’t handle it. It’s also worth noting that Rise of Lyric is the first Wii-U game powered by CryEngine 3 so Big Red Button were probably breaking a lot of new ground and learning as they went.
In what has to be one of the most peculiar decisions regarding Sonic Boom, the CG animated series that ties in with the video games will air in Europe in Autumn 2015 despite the games based on the series being released in November of this year.
The Sonic Boom cartoon airs in North America and France later this year which ties in nicely to the releases of the Sonic Boom video games which act as prequels to the series. The closer release windows for both the series and games in these territories are obviously designed to compliment each other and boost sales of the game as well as interest in the show.
So how does SEGA Europe intend on promoting the Sonic Boom games in the rest of Europe now the cartoon as fallen to late next year? Only time will tell but we’d bet some serious cash that the games are not going to sell as well in this territory when compared to France and North America unless SEGA Europe are willing to put some money into a big marketing campaign.
Siliconera have an extensive interview about Sonic Boom with Bob Rafei, the creative director and CEO of Big Red Button.
Key points to take away from the interview include:
– Sonic Boom will be more combat heavy than past Sonic games
– The game will have a larger focus on exploration similar to Sonic Adventure
– The game will also include cooperative gameplay and has been designed to maximise on this
– The game focusses on the strengths of each team member in a similar way to Sonic Heroes eg. Sonic is a speed character, Knuckles is a power character etc.
– Amy has been changed to a strong female character and no longer fawns over Sonic all the time
– Knuckles gets a chance to be the funny guy
– Sonic Boom will have a new main villain and Dr. Eggman will “pass the torch” so to speak
– Exploration will lead to the discovery of rare items and collectibles
The previously leaked Sonic Boom character seen on a poster has been made official by SEGA. The character is called Sticks and she’s a jungle badger who “will play an integral role across all Sonic Boom platforms.”
The announcement on the official SEGA blog has this to say:
“Sticks is wilder than the other members of Sonic’s team with unparalleled animal instincts and extremely sharp survival skills. She’s a fearsome combatant and a tenacious hunter who’s armed with handmade weapons at all times, most notably a handmade boomerang that she keeps in tow.”
You can see footage of Sticks’ voice actor and get further insight into her personality in the below video:
There’s not much else to say really. She looks a bit like Marine from Sonic Rush. She has a silly name. She will appear in the TV show and the games. It’s another new sidekick for Sonic.
Lots of Sonic news coming out of New York today! At a press event called “2014: Year of Sonic”, SEGA properly revealed a new animated series called Sonic Boom featuring new character designs for Sonic the Hedgehog, Knuckles the Echidna, Tails the Fox, Amy Rose and Dr Eggman. You can see the new character designs below:
Along with the character reveal, a trailer for the series was also uploaded. Take a look at Sonic in battle with Dr Eggman’s Burnbot and with Tails providing some bizarre lazer-whip thingy that I don’t quite understand at this time:
To tie in with the series, SEGA are publishing a tie-in video game as well. The real shock comes in the choice of developers. Sonic Team will NOT be handling the Sonic Boom game. The Wii-U version will be developed by Big Red Button Entertainment (a new studio) and Sanzaru Games on 3DS (famous for various Sly Raccoon games). Check out the announcement trailer for the game below:
Also confirmed is that the Sonic Boom continuity does not mess with the “official” Sonic the Hedgehog canon. The Sonic you know and love from games like Sonic Lost World, Generations and Colours belongs to the official canon with the Sonic from Sonic Boom existing in an alternate universe. Basically Sonic Boom does not replace the Sonic you currently know.
The Wii U version of Sonic Boom also has a subtitle and it is Rise of Lyric.
ORIGINAL STORY
The 3DS version of Sonic Boom will be called Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal and will have a much larger focus on platforming. This is at a juxtaposition with the Wii U version which focuses more on action and exploration.
Another interesting confirmation is that Sticks the Jungle Badger is actually playable and not just a non-playable character stuck in the game to flesh out the story. You can see a screenshot of her in action in the above screenshot.
UPDATE
SEGA have responded to the supposed leaked information about a new Sonic game, film and details about the new animated series ‘Sonic Boom’. Eurogamer received the below comment:
“Sega is yet to announce details of upcoming console video games for Sonic the Hedgehog or further details regarding the new Sonic CG TV series. The recent information coming out of Nuremburg Toy Fair was incorrect. For official and up to date news regarding Sonic the Hedgehog please go to www.sonicthehedgehog.com or follow Sonic on Twitter (@sonic_hedgehog).”
ORIGINAL STORY
A banner at the Nuremberg Toy Fair lists a new Sonic title to be launched in 2015 for PS4, Xbox One and Wii U. The title is unannounced by SEGA officially, but it’s a pretty solid bet that the news is genuine as it’s listed on an official Sonic merchandise board on a stand at the fair.
Other small details have also been confirmed such as the new CG animated cartoon ‘Sonic Boom’ airing on Cartoon Network this autumn. There will be a 52 episode run of 11 minute episodes and there is also confirmation of a CG animated film.
SEGA are declining comments on the leak at this time.
A new CGI animated Sonic series has been revealed for Autumn 2014. The series is tentatively titled Sonic Boom and the major reveal is the above image which introduces the lead character designs but only their silhouettes.
The show is aged at viewers aged 6-11 years of age and will air on Cartoon Network in the United States and CANAL J and GULLI in France. A worldwide rollout of the show will follow shortly after but no broadcasters have been announced for countries outside the US and France.
Sonic Boom 2013 took place in St Louis, Missouri on August 10th and saw Sonic fans gather at The Pageant for a day of Sonic-themed fun which included appearances by Crush 40, Takashi Iizuka and Kazuyuki Hoshino. You can see a short recap video of the day’s events below:
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