So chances are this will already be posted by the time I sort this out... In 1993 STI developer Bill Dunn pitched an isometric puzzle/platform game which would have stared Tails in a solo treasure hunting adventure. The pitch didn't get very far but it was uncovered recently by Craig Stitt on a VHS resume tape. A few stills were provided but not the actual vid. Twitter link because I'm on mobile... https://twitter.com/Sonic_Hedgeblog/status/1295532174565810176?s=19 The original source is a Facebook group but most of the secondary sources are not linking to it.. I have no idea why. Edit: There's technically no video each image was originally just a static mockup. You can probably tell since Tails' sprite is the same in each shot.
Link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/segaretrogamers/permalink/2932435326860816/ It's a private group, but there are no requirements to join other than agreeing to the rules. Also, Craig updated his post, turns out Bill Dunn wasn't involved:
Dude Craig has been going OFF with these new reveals to the public. This on top of his other failed game pitch Astropede, and his submission for Sonic's sidekick which actually looked to be more useful. Also appreciated his Hidden Palace post since he did the artwork and all.
Astropede moves in a very similar way to shadow. He has a very quick running animation to gain speed, then switches to his skating like animation. It just screams shadow to me.
Huh. Not that I'm saying there's any real connection, since there's a broadly finite amount of gameplay styles, ideas, and tropes, but my first thought was of the Captain Toad games. Was this prior or after the initial development of Tails' Adventure on the Game Gear? That was a platformer in a Metroid-esque style of nabbing powerups and backtracking, but it has a similar approach of a solo Tails game featuring treasure hunting. EDIT: Okay, so Tails Adventure was released in 95. When did production start? And was it always a Tails game, or was it a Tails-themed reskin in the same way that our Retro sleuths discovered that Tails' Skypatrol was a reskin on a Disney-esque game? Perhaps it was inspired by this mockup/pitch?
Epic! I'm not late for a discovery for once... I like the look of this! Posted images here for easy viewing
The director/producer's previous game was Sonic Drift 2 and the two artists' previous game was Sonic Triple Trouble. As it was developed by Aspect in Japan, it's unlikely to have any connection to anything STI pitched for Genesis in America.
All US Mega Drive games sound the same because they all use the GEMS sound driver. But I wouldn't be surprised if Sega had put together some sort of common art package too. If everyone was using, say, Deluxe Paint, it wouldn't be surprising if palettes and graphics and whatever all looked suspiciously like any program presets. The clue is usually in the fonts.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/segaretrogamers/permalink/2933120746792274/ The screen before the screenshots says: Treasure Tails Playfields Genesis CANCELLED February 1993
