That’s right ladies and gentlemen, a new Sonic the Hedgehog game is on the way. And none of this Rush, Adventure, Rivals, Olympics, or Black Knight/Secret Rings nonsense either. It’s the proper sequel to the Mega Drive (Genesis) series. It’s an old-school 2D side-scrolling platformer, just like Sonic 1-3 and the criminally underrated Sonic & Knuckles.
Sega has had a game in development for a few months now under the name Project Needlemouse, and leaked a teaser trailer to go with it. Fans quickly suspected that this was a new Sonic title, but yesterday they announced the game’s real title to the world: Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1. They also announced that the game will be available on all three major consoles, as a downloadable title from the Playstation Store, XBox Live Arcade, as well as via WiiWare. That gives the indication that it’ll probably cost less than €20. Sweet.
So what of the game itself? The official site claims that the plot “follows the adventure of the series’ main protagonist, Sonic the Hedgehog after the events of Sonic & Knuckles. Following the destruction of the Death Egg and Angel Island back in the sky, Sonic takes a break and explores new territories by himself. However unknowingly his nemesis Doctor Eggman had also survived their last encounter and is preparing a new trap to get rid of Sonic.”
Sega has also released a 48 second preview video for the title, which is due out some time this summer, of which only 3 seconds is actual in-game footage. That 3 seconds has got me excited though. It’ll be like playing the Mega Drive all over again, and who wouldn’t love to dust theirs down and give it a go. Remember how good/annoying (delete as appropriate) Casino Night Zone was from Sonic 2? Well, imagine that again, except in HD. Excited? I know I am.
Oooh boy, this is indeed a great news! It’s been a long time since the last Sonic game. I think it’ll also be available on iPhone. Yay! I can’t wait for summer.