Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II Prototypes Found with Unused Ending

I wasnt actually aware of the project sonic term being used before, so that does actually make it more interesting. Although I was also corrected that the actual code name was sonic wars, i guess ive just forgotten more about forces than I realized (good).

If only that energy had actually carried into the final product

 

I'd be fine with that honestly. Sonic 4's OST didn't have bad melodies for the most part, just bad instrumentation. The Splash Hill Zone remix in Olympic Games 2012 and the Invincibility Theme remix in Generations really uplift those songs.

Though they'll probably go with Stardust Speedway because, well, duh.

 

Yeah, Jun was so close to greatness with Sonic 4, we just need to put a shock collar on the guy to stop him from using that fucking KORG VST....

 

Just a reminder that he's always been pretty horrible with synth instrumentation. What he needs is someone with a better ear for it to do a second pass that he can't touch.

 

That's a demo track. It's not meant to sound perfect because they know it's going to be converted and cleaned up for the Mega Drive. Even Masato Nakamura's Sonic 1 demo tracks sound like basic MIDIs because he knew that was all that was needed.

The problem is when Jun actively tries to make something that sounds Mega Drive-y.

 

TBF it was Dimps' mandate. Jun didn't want to be held back by having to mimic MD music.

 

I mean, I've always loved the Sonic 4 soundtrack despite the instrumentation. In my honest opinion, Casino Street Act 2, Mad Gear Act 1, Metal Sonic's theme and Death Egg mk.II Act 1 are such brilliant tracks that the soundfont doesn't hurt them at all.

 

John Tay solved this three years ago.

But hey, about about those prototypes, rather than "Sonic 4 is bad lol" - anything actually interesting?

 

Only thing I can provide to redirect the discussion, is that when I was trying to figure out if I could import the cutscene from the prototype build as a mod into the final release all I was able to figure out is that there are cutscene assets in the final release on pc and I couldn’t find a basic movie file. Are they rendered in real time on pc and pre-rendered in the mobile version?

 

Holy shit, new information regarding Sonic 4 makes me feel like a less... bad version of when Spinel's left in the garden and finally gets news on what the world's been up to thousands of years later lmfao

What gets me though is there's a Sonic 4 Knuckles in our possession. This rivals the Spikeout Sonic revelation a few years back in "what the fuck" ness. Nice!!!!!!!

 

Do you have a source on that? Because honestly that just doesn't make sense on the surface level - why would Dimps have that kind of control over SEGA's IP? Even if it did, Jun still ended up doing the same shit with Superstars, so I find it hard to believe that Dimps is to blame here.

 

I remember when fans called this song, "Dr Robotnik's Big Gay Circus".

 

I like the way Forces deals with the Classic/Modern situation by saying Classic is from another dimension, probably best to just leave it at that. The whole Generations thing was cute, but it's time Classic and Modern had a divorce and went their separate ways - I'm sure fans of Modern would agree with this too.

 

Yep, I didn't care because I just consider myself to be a fan of the Sonic series itself. Most of us also knew Sonic Team only separated the dimensions that because that was the only way they'd be able have more freedom with the plots. Now they have to follow rules for everything to make sense. For example, now you can never play with the idea of bringing a Classic Shadow. You also see now Sonic 4 does not fit into the timeline even more. People throw dirt on Forces all the time but it was a blessing in disguise for both Modern and Classic to be from separate dimensions. They could still go back to that if they wanted to. It isn't like that would hurt the Frontiers plot.

 

Frankly, the idea of splitting them into two different characters in two separate timelines never really sat well with me. Sonic is Sonic, green eyes or otherwise. It’s an art style thing, even classic Sonic was depicted differently over the years before SA1.

 

SEGA wasn't doing anything interesting with Classic Sonic when it was a separate timeline, anyway. The only meaningful difference it made was for Forces itself to connect to Mania, and that was generally considered a mistake overall to begin with. Frankly, the idea that they could have done that was part of what bothered me. I didn't like the suggestion that the modern games we were playing were not sequels to the classic games, but to unseen versions of the classic stories that starred the modern incarnations of the characters.

While this is much less of a big deal to me overall, I do agree with Blue Blood that specifically invoking classic's style as "what Sonic and co. looked like younger" was a mistake, in that the series should be able to do whatever the heck it wants with the visuals regardless of the canon.

...but the reason it's not a big deal to me is because I'd rather they just stick with the modern designs anyway, unless they have a specific reason to go back to the classic era.

 

I've noticed there's a subsection of fans who really want a Dragonball Z-esque timeskip where Classic Sonic is essentially "Kid Sonic" and Modern Sonic is "Adult Sonic" and this desire always confuses me because like, what difference would that even make? Sonic is pretty much a static character, he doesn't really go on a journey of great inner discovery or growth; he's the same character as he was in 1991 lol.

It's not like they're ever going to make a game where Sonic is settled down and has like a wife and kids lmao

 

While I do agree with that, I do also think that the designs changing with time is a good way to show progression, which can feel nice if you've stuck with the series for a long time (plus, Sonic actually does go on some kind of training pilgrimage pre-SA1).

I always thought it'd be really funny if we did a timeskip with new designs, and when we came back, Tails had grown a third tail.

 

at this point I've stopped caring about timelines and progression in anything that isn't explicitly tied to past events (eg, Shadow's backstory). Sonic is a collection of stories and adventures about a trickster god who embodies certain ideals and the people he helps out, to me.

 

I think it's just because of what goes down in Sonic Adventure.

Redesigns aside the story does feel like a timeskip happened.

Sonic went on his training/pilgrimage and "returns" and even in his first recap saying "I’m back from a long journey!"

Characters like Amy are remembering their old adventures. Tails and Amy go through character growth. Knuckles learns more about his people's past etc etc.

So it naturally creates a feeling in many fans that the characters "grew up" from their classic versions.

It doesn't help that when they redesign them they did want the characters to look more grown up (but not actually being older) so that just added fuel to the fire.

Then even other material like Archie Sonic where there were flashbacks and it showed the classic versions of the characters.

So that created the need in many of making the "timeskip" official.