Sonic Superstars: A New 2D Sonic Game (Fall 2023)

Didn't someone say that they're doing a screen warp effect in Speed Jungle 2 and using the lighting trick to mask it?

Can't tell if you're being serious or not about Sugar Lane being a "classic" but holy shit I love it and this is the exact guy who needs a spot on this soundtrack. I'm unfamiliar with this song mainly because I've only really played Lost World PC once, but it's THE most NiGHTs out of anything the series has put out. I think we need some of that for this game. And I guess the bonus is composing Sonic CD which also probably needs to influence the sound lol.

The thing I've said before about the whole "Give Tee Lopes the whole soundtrack Jun OBVIOUSLY can't do it" is from this exact place. NiGHTs: Journey of Dreams is one of my favorite soundtracks ever, this guy arranged so many of my favorite tracks from that (like Crystal Choir and Merry Memory go Round: Forest Adventure), I didn't even know his name and now, well, here's a name to put on a LIST of existing composers that could/should contribute some highlights to a soundtrack like this and he's so close to being written off just out of fear of a synth and the celebrity of a newcomer.

I really don't think they'd go for an (obvious) synth sound with something like this. Half of the reason it's not pixel art is because they don't want to scare off casuals (who are actually very interested in this game!) so going with that sound would just be misreading the essence of the project, which I don't think Jun would do as the director of the soundtrack (Part of the reason Sonic 4 sounded the way it did is specifically because they were going for the opposite effect, hardcore fans first casuals second, but obviously none of you took to it.)

And that last thing reads angry so let me just say it was written with a lighthearted tone in mind. I'm not mad, just a little frustrated and passionate. SEGA has such a vast pool of talent I just don't want to be overlooked just because Izuka only stated the recognizable names in an interview.

 

For the same reason they're not calling it versus mode, however unlikely it may be. Might just be too cynical but knowing this series' inconsistencies they could mean godawful Secret Rings-style minigames or something. I hope you're right but it is a little odd to even delineate it from this local co-op mode if it's just the same thing but a race. Like why can't we have online co-op then?

On the other hand, battle mode could just be one act races and no online for co-op could just be ST's lazy way of (not) dealing with players having netplay problems over long periods of time or something. Hoping for this even if it would still be a little lame.

 

It's kind of hard to point out what the issue was with Sonic 4 and Forces that they decided to go for that "retro" feel, but I get the feeling they decided to go with that direction is because they probably think that's what general audiences (not just the fanbase) remember Sonic sounding like.

At the same time, they have done it right with Generations and Mania. In fact, I think the classic remixes got it right, with songs like City Escape and Speed Highway really capturing the sounds of the early 2010s, but still having a retro sort of feel.

Not sure how to get that message across the sound team other than what people have doing these past few years (at least the ones that do it respectfully).

I do have hope though the music is going to be alright though. Ohshima really did have an eye of what Sonic should look like and sound. And going from interviews it seems he had the sound team for CD on their toes with the soundtrack. So hopefully that didn't change this time around.

 

Hot take: Sonic Forces' Classic Sonic stages are "bad" Sonic songs, but good Mega Drive songs.

 

Are we looking at another early November release like last year?

 

Ghost Town is a banger and I will never tire defending it.

 

Don't know about Ghost Town, but I do like Casino Forest. It has a Nokia 2280 ringtone quality to it that I unironically like. I think that was Hataya too, wasn't it?

 

That actually was Tomoya Ohtani lol.

 

Don't get me wrong, I also like songs from S4 and Forces. It's just that I feel those songs would've sounded better if they were not done to mimic the Mega Drive style.

I feel like songs like Egg Dragoon, Casino Forest and Ghost Town would feel more in their element with a CD or Mania direction.

 

This pre-render is really good, but it can be further refined by making Sonic slightly leaner and taller, as he was in japanese manual art.

What's more, there's a continuum-break between this render, the in-game character model and the Hesse-intro Sonic. All 3 are different artistic takes on the same character -- visible not only in the different proportions of each, but also in the different facial expressions, body language and how emotions are conveyed.

And IMO thus far, the in-game model looks the worst out of the 3.

It is in these fine details (which aren't even that minute tbh) where Nintendo does what SEGA doesn't. It is not the end of the world (obv), but it is just sloppy, disjointed and careless. Things like this "disjointed-ness" only serve to slowly erode and cheapen the brand.

 

That Ghost Town mix stinks. The strong lead from the synth version is completely snuffed out.

 

Battle Mode... I wonder if this is more involved than leaderboards. Regardless, it's something worth looking forward to hearing more about.

 

Your assumption is generally correct. In this GamesBeat interview, Iizuka elaborates on the very matter:

 

I'm just hoping that the online versus mode isn't scaled back like it was in Vanilla Mania. Only having a select number of zones? Horse shit.

 

The compositions are good, but instruments used are just kinda ass. Casino Forest has the same problem.



This works and I thought the original was listenable.

 

Hi-Res Summer Game Fest B-Roll added to the archive:
https://twitter.com/SVAProject/status/1668426792447688706?s=20

 

While the compositions are good, there's a "vibe" to Forces' entire soundtrack which insists in positing these "affirmative" and "motivational" tunes to the levels' music. Few times is the music a picturesque audio description of the environment you're in (i.e. Green Grove in Sonic 3D or Angel Island's theme in S3) and instead it is often like an "inspirational" mantra of sorts, especially in the chorus. Not a fan of it in the context of a Sonic game.

 

That's the same problem I had with the Cyberspace music in Frontiers. It never has any relation to the levels environment. It feels like nothing more than just white noise.

 

https://twitter.com/MmSONICmM/status/1668122735858286593

This had me suffocating

 

Palmtree Panic US theme fits very well with Speed Jungle tho'.