Super Sonic (Saturn)

That's Sonic's model from Fighting Vipers, isn't it?



Probably a codename for a prototype version of Sonic the Fighters. This scan was probably Winter 1995 or early 1996 (given its proximity to Time Commando), so the timeline matches. And there was a version of StF heading to the Saturn at one point, it just never made it out.

 

An issue date would be useful, it mentions E3 and if this is 1996, then I'm going to go on a limb and say this is just Xtreme under one of it's zillions of alternate names. But the model render doesn't look like one of STI's so might be 1997 when SEGA was *really* keen to try and get people interested in Sonic Jam and R - I remember the UK Sega Saturn Magazine did a massive feature on both in early phases. Maybe teaser art for Sonic Jam?

The model render looks more like the AM2 Fighters model than any other model. It seems more in line with the slimmer Japanese look rather than the weird chubby Sonic STI and TT used during the Saturn era

EDIT: Darn Blaze beat me to it, that model does look pretty close - maybe SEGA was just dropping promo shot teasers in the hopes that Xtreme would be looking presentable by that E3?

 

I definitely remember seeing a whole bunch of screenshots of this model and a Tails one (also from Fighting Vipers code) in a magazine as a kid (maybe an issue of either CV+G or Mean Machines Sega), some with this same basic floor and others with an early looking build of green/emerald hill, so I would assume they were all from a very early build of Sonic the Fighters and EGM is just using that screenshot here for illustration. No way that is from some unknown Sonic Saturn game. They might have even been talking about what became the 3D world in Sonic Jam.

 

Well yes pre-rendered sprites for most of development till the very late where they did have a 3D model. but this is 1996 so too early for that.

Sonic Jam coverage starts in June 1997 - and believe it was as much a rush-job as Sonic R was. So I think Jam wasn't even on the cards at this point.

That said maybe this is related to some early tinkering for the Sonic World segment of Jam (when ST were playing with the concept) , but even then it doesn't fit the model for that or the one for Christmas NiGHTS.

 

Totally plausible they just saw some random render and went with it.

Still neat to see stuff we haven't seen, after all these years, though.

 

Sonic the Arcade game, in this instance, referring to SegaSonic Arcade, not Sonic the Fighters

 

"It wont be a conversion of the Sonic arcade fighting game"
They were referring to Sonic the Fighters, not SegaSonic the Hedgehog.

 

Of course you did! They're all right here and everyone checks the wiki first (although this one is more relevant).


This is EGM making up crap, using a very old screenshot of Sonic the Fighters while talking about something that involves pre-rendered sprites. "We've seen something that doesn't feature polygons, here's some polygons".


I looked this up a while ago and couldn't find a second source for the "Super Sonic" name - all roads lead to the earlier project.

 

There was something similar in a 1995 issue of Gamesmaster magazine, a 3D depiction of a barely-visible Sonic running through a Green Hill Zone loop with the Eggmobile hovering overhead. It was captioned something along the lines of: "Is Sonic ready to handle the 3D power of the Saturn?" (which makes me think they made the "screenshot" themselves).