Iizuka relocating to USA to "oversee development of new games"

I'll be disappointed if a Mania successor isn't at least announced during 2019.

On top of all that, it'd be good for the image of their flagship brand - a brand that could really do with it.

 

Sonic 3 & Knuckles hasn't been ported in 8 years, not counting Xbox One getting the 360 port via backwards compatibility. Though it would be nice to get, I think tangling with Michael Jackson's estate is just not something Sega wants to do as of late. The Mania devs have been fiddling with their own projects, or moved onto other ones at other companies. Gigs come and go, but development of a S3K remaster, or even a Mania 2, has very likely not started yet.

Sonic Team being more a label the producer and director put on a project than a dedicated team really changes what I can expect from Sega at this point. Who at the company today has been consistantly involved that we can put trust in? A lot of the big players for the sound team have been consistent, like Senoue, Ohtani, Hayata, etc. Kumatani and Tokoi (nevermind, though what in particular?) seem to have gone elsewhere though. Iizuka is producer of course, but who is a reliable director that's still at Sega working on Sonic games? Level designers? Visual artists? It's going to boil down to who works on the project for me to be invested now, not who manages the label.

 

Here is a crazy opinion I have had for, around 5 years now.

SEGA needs to let Sonic Team go, and go, as in I mean, let those people, including Lizuka move on to another gig at another company.
Then, they need to build a new development team with the right people, preferably longtime fans of the franchise. In short, folks with the correct vision, drive, and determination, but more importantly, an idea of how NOT to ruin the franchise further and possibly bring it back from the brink, if that is even possible.

 

A compilation of the remasters missing S3&K is going to be feel lacking, but I think one including Spinball and 3D Blast would do quite a bit to make up for its absence. I mean, the source codes do still exist. They wouldn't even really need to base 3D Blast on the Saturn version, really, as preferable as it is (an option for either soundtrack like in Sonic CD is a no-brainer, whichever they choose).

That's not even mentioning R, which has a reputation that's nearly as disparaged as Sonic '06, so it'll likely never get a remaster. Not to say I wouldn't immediately purchase a version of that game that hadn't such a sluggish framerate, but I'm just one weirdo who cannot speak for everyone.

 

Honestly, for a compilation of the remasters, sorting out whatever rights issues are currently discouraging them from remaking Sonic 3 & Knuckles would definitely be the ideal - as the only entry of the original trilogy yet to get the Stealth/Tax treatment, its inclusion would definitely be the biggest draw.

If they ever did produce a compilation of the previous remasters along with Sonic 3 & Knuckles, I'd hope it'd contain something like the following:

• Sonic 1 Remastered - same as iOS version features-wise.
• Sonic 2 Remastered - same as iOS version features-wise, but with the expanded multiplayer mode now available locally in split-screen like Sonic Mania.
• Sonic 3 & Knuckles Remastered - new remaster from the ground up, incorporating extra features such as Time Attack from the previous iOS remasters.
• Sonic CD Remastered - an updated version of the 2011 remaster, adding Knuckles as a second unlockable character for consistency with the other games in the collection. Bonus points if the original vocal versions of Sonic - You Can Do Anything and Cosmic Eternity could also be restored to the intro/ending respectively.

The previously-existing remasters would probably need to be updated to have a consistent menu style so that they all feel like part of the same package - currently Sonic CD is the odd one out, though whether they'd stick with the Sonic 1/Sonic 2 iOS style or go for something a little more retro I have no idea.

I'd also probably simplify the unlock criteria for Tails/Knuckles in games they didn't originally appear in - simply beating their debut game with all emeralds while playing as them would unlock them for use in all other games in the collection.

 

One feature I would love in a Sonic trilogy remastered package would be the option to apply Mania sprites to each game. Also if they really wanted to go above and beyond they could add Mighty and Ray to each game as well, but that'd be asking for a lot. (Also an option to swap out Sonic CD's awful sound effects for the ones used in the other games please).

I think it'd be cool if they did that to give each game a Mania styled menu with a Sonic 3 esq save system with 8 save files for each game. One of the flaws with the Sonic CD port was that you couldn't choose to replay levels once you beat the game outside of the Time Trial.

 

Yes, a Sonic 3 or Sonic Mania styled save system for each game would be a great addition! Not sure about the suggestion of Mania-styled sprites though - since they have higher colour-depth than the original MD styled sprites, they'd clash a bit with their surroundings; particularly as each game has a bit of a differnt art style. I'd totally be up for the existing character and enemy sprites to have their animations smoothed-out with more inbetween frames to mimic Mania's smoothness, though - this was already done a little with things like the rings in the existing remasters, but it'd be great to see the characters receive the same upgrade too...!

I didn't suggest it myself, though, as I thought it was probably not something they'd be likely to actually do if a collection were produced; since each game has its own sprite set (barring Sonic 1 and Sonic CD, which have at least some overlap between the two), they'd need to smooth out three-and-a-bit entirely separate sprite sets for just Sonic alone, which would take a lot of work... Tails and Knuckles wouldn't be so bad, as unless they gave Knuckles a new Sonic 1/2 style sprite set he'd only have one set to upgrade; Tails would be a little more work, but he still shares a good chunk between Sonic 2 and Sonic 3 with one layer of shading removed in the latter game - providing they drew the shared animations in the Sonic 2 style it shouldn't be too difficult to then modify them into Sonic 3 style versions. Still, it'd be a lot of time and effort to do overall, and that's just the character sprites... probably outside of the scope of a project that would be mostly rereleasing existing remasters.

 

The Saturn version had sublime Special Stages. I'd be thrilled if those Special Stages were included in a a Sonic compilation - or even a Sonic Mania successor, as a Blue Sphere / Mean Bean style bonus.

• 
  
  There's one big thing I'd like to see added to Sonic CD - the option to choose different time zones (past, good future, bad future) in Time Attack mode. Similar to switching between Mania/Encore in Sonic Mania Plus' Time Attack, each version would have its own records.
  
  An art gallery would be nice too, especially all the unseen stuff. The older collections like Jam and Gems Collection had galleries, but recent stand-alone re-releases have been lacking in that area.
  
  
  Since a musically faithful remaster of Sonic 3 & Knuckles seems to be off the table, it might be best if they made a full on DELUXE version. If they re-released S3&K and the only difference was the music, that would just draw attention to the issue and leave people a bit disappointed. But if the whole game got a Tee Lopes soundtrack (a combination of remixes and original songs) and all of the ingame graphics (characters, level art, enemies, boss, items) got a Mania style revamp, along with all the extra bells and whistles we've come to expect from Whitehead and the team... that would be a really solid stand-alone release.

 

Last night I looked up GHZ 1's level map and couldn't help but admire the amount of detail. Sonic's debut stage lets you play fast and slow and looks very charming. Even by today's standards that's perfect. So, you want to upgrade Sonic 1's sprites to match with Sonic 2's sprites and so forth and so on? Way too awkward. That's what you call "the process of making a sequel". It kinda questions the necessity of technical improvements in video games.

What I wanna know is can you make another Sonic game like Mania but with modern graphics / without the retro styled presentation?

 

Another Genesis/Mania-styled Sonic game with contemporary presentation can be done, it depends on whether it's something the development team responsible for the next (2D) Sonic wants to do. Say what you will about the aesthetics or content of Sonic Fan Remix or Sonic 2 HD, they both demonstrate that a new Genesis Sonic project with accurate gameplay can be done with contemporary graphics, whether it be a 3D sidescroller or a fully 2D game.

I'm personally worried myself that if we do get a Mania followup, it may go the retraux route again on the basis of it being "cheaper" to do and on the basis of "well it worked for Mania so why not here" (not unlike Forces recycling Generations' main hook). But Mania's retraux approach worked for various reasons--it was novel in a sea of 2.5D/3D modern Sonic games, the graphical limitations made sense given the engine used, and the team went the extra mile of incorporating Sega Saturn-era graphical details that the original games could never do, instead of doing a straight visual Genesis throwback.

Mania's retro presentation was great, but it should be the floor of how Genesis Sonic games can look, rather than be the ceiling. I'm still waiting for a Genesis Sonic game that can visually go toe-to-toe with Retro's Donkey Kong games or Ubisoft's Rayman games to arrive. A Sonic game that looked like Tyson Heese's work (Mega Drive/Mania opening/Mania Adventures), Sonic CD's opening/ending, the Sonic OVA, or Sonic 2's concept art? Absolute bliss for me.

 

I'm skeptical of the graphical upgrade. To be clear, yes the gameplay can be done perfect but I can never adjust to the superior graphical fidelity when it comes to Classic Sonic. I had a similar reaction to them doing the latest Shantae game in HD vectors, it just never looked right.

I think at some point, it gets too clean to me. When Megaman X had it's graphical jump from X3 to X4, I thought it was great. Seeing Sonic 2 HD while beautiful, seems off to me. Kinda like Street Fighter 2 HD Remix, something ain't matching up and I can't figure what it is.

Edit: Yeah, too clean is definitely the problem. You have the clarity of digital but the depth/background integration looks off as a result. I think the Z-engine fixes this by having a 3d lighting engine which should be possible in Sega's Hedgehog engine."Integration" is the word that comes to mind.

Edit 2: I think I just need a CRT screen filter.

 

Oh! And also, an option to turn off the time travel loading animation. Just a flash of white and an instant change (like Back to the Future). That's what Ohshima wanted originally, but they couldn't make it happen.

Both Ohshima and Yuji Naka (who didn't even work on the game) were disappointed that the loading sequence was in the Sonic CD remaster - since it wasn't necessary anymore. He said he'd like to see the dev team of the remaster make a Director's Cut version with the loading sequence removed.

Source: https://www.famitsu.com/news/201606/24107383.html?page=2

 

I wish we could get something more concrete about this. Obviously it's asking a lot for a company to trust its consumers enough to tell them their biggest franchise is (technically) getting a change of "ownership", but if a move like this is happening, I feel it's important to make it known.

Maybe we'll have luck at SXSW, but I doubt it.

Either way, if this really is happening, I'm more curious about the future of the franchise than I've been in a long time.

 

Also get the ending at the proper frame rate. That might be one thing that really bugs me and I still don't know why they chose such a slow version of the ending. It feels so unnatural.

 

Also also, Amy should be unable to glomp onto Sonic if he has an active barrier equipped.

 

You fool, no measly shield can stand in the way of true love. Her tarrot cards said so. Actually, her using her hammer to break the shield if you had one would be an amazing touch, even if she may or may not have had the hammer before Fighters.

Anyway, a CD Re-Re Release would be neat, albeit doubtful. I'd still just prefer we get 1 and 2 released on something other than a phone but sure whatever.

 

With the SXSW Event coming, I want to be as optimist as possible for the future of Sonic. From the situation we had in 2-3 year with Sonic Forces and Sonic Mania, I guess there's room for plenty of speculation about what Sonic Team can come up with a next Sonic Project.

Aside from Sumo Digital's Team Song Racing that is coming this year, maybe with the Sonic Mania's.... well, mania... of the year prior, it will lead on a more nostalgic route of Sonic. And well... with that response of Iizuka's acceptance of a possible Sonic Adventure Remake, that is more clear in a period of "Nostalgia Remake" that we had with Crash's, Spyro's, Resident Evil's remakes and so on. But I hopefully think that is not actually the case and from that game we can have, sooner or later, a sort of a "Sonic Team's Reinassance" based on the attempt of SEGA today to receive again the fan trust (since 2015).

I don't know well the SEGA situation from 2006-Present, but if that affected the Sonic Team's lack of passion about the Sonic's franchise... maybe after Mania's success they can do a really good 3D game, the same can be after remaking Sonic Adventure or experimenting once more with the Sonic Franchise (at least not in a Lost World's manner) based on what is good with the entire franchise.

 

I'm hopeful that Sega can at least announce at SXSW what will be the next Sonic game, if a remake of Adventure, a sequel to Mania or something entirely different altogether. And perhaps they can announce who will produce, if Sonic Team, perhaps a partnership with Evening Star. Maybe a restructuring of Sonic Team. I know Team Sonic Racing and the movie are the big Sonic things coming out this year, but that doesn't mean they can't even hype what's coming. Cause I think we need reassuring after Mania was so successful and they didn't immediately say a sequel would eventually be made. We can only hope that is because a new Sonic 2D would not be an actual sequel to Mania, and it would be a totally new game without reused zones. And I do hope that sequel can have HD graphics, no reason to be stuck to sprites forever. Sonic 2 HD looks terrific. The devs probably would even be able to use the same engine Mania used. Sega has a good relationship with Arc System Works and their amazing modern "2D" graphics, the team that makes Mania could aspire to that, and they could even collaborate.

 

If there's any reveals of the next mainstream game, they're likely not going to be anything other than an announcement of an announcement; and they're going to leave us hangings for a couple of more months. Forces was a 30-second clip with a name reveal. Mania Plus was a small press release without any footage/screenshots. TSR was a vague silhouette.

Moreover, substantial reveals at the SXSW panels so far have been more of a bonus feature rather than the actual attraction. The main point is for Sonic fans get to talk to the Sonic Team/Sega PR group, tell some jokes and trivia, and have a bit of fun. Kinda annoying IMO given the dripfeed marketing tactics the series as a whole has taken on as of late, but it is what it is (unfortunately).

In regards to future projects: it's still rather difficult to determine what happens next, as not much in regards to new developments concerning Sonic management has come out since the reported Sega studio restructuring. Pretty much the only real news that has happened so far is the establishment of Evening Star, courtesy of Taxman and some of his associates. Which means we have an actual studio to point to on who is most culpable to make a new [Genesis] Sonic outside Sonic Team, as opposed to an assembled coalition of freelancers and indie developers that could be available today but unavailable tomorrow. (Although some of those who participated in Mania's development, such as Stealth/HC, aren't part of Evening Star and are busy with their own projects.)

 

Yeow's on-point with an excellent post, as always.

My personal opinion and inclination is we'll get some kind of indication of Sonic's future beyond Mania and whether it involves Evening Star - even if it's just a teaser - as Sega would presumably want to allay fans and affirm the notion that Mania style projects are still on the horizon given the game's immense commercial and critical success. So at best a trailer and announcement of the game - though more likely the affirmation that a Mania successor is happening with projects akin to Mania being important to Sega and an indication that they'll continue.

It honestly feels like, as Yeow said, that a full-blown announcement with a trailer is too early and perhaps not what Sega tend to do at SXSW events. But a teaser like last time? Probable.