Sonic HQ

It didn't take long with E3 in full swing. Sega released another trailer for Team Sonic Racing. Their press release below: 

Sonic and Friends Race Into E3

With New Team Sonic Racing Gameplay Trailer

Fasten your seatbelts Sonic fans — you’re in for a high-octane ride! This week, SEGA® is heading to the 2018 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) to showcase never-before-seen content from the recently announced multiplayer racing experience, Team Sonic Racing™, developed by Sumo Digital. For those heading to the show or keeping up with the latest news at home, SEGA has unveiled a brand-new trailer today, giving fans a sneak peek at the speedways, race cars and fan-favorite characters coming to Team Sonic Racing. Take the game for a spin this winter when it launches both physically and digitally for Sony PlayStation® 4, Microsoft Xbox® One and Nintendo Switch™, with a digital only release on PC.

Ready to see more? Rev up your engines and head over to the official Sonic the Hedgehog YouTube Channel to watch Team Sonic Racing in action with music by fan favorite Crush 40: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=765jJE7HjUA&feature=youtu.be

For fans that are just getting up to speed, Team Sonic Racing combines the best elements of arcade and fast-paced competitive style racing with nostalgic characters and environments from across the Sonic Universe. Play solo or with up to 12 drivers online as Sonic, Shadow, Tails and other beloved characters in thrilling single and multiplayer game modes, including Grand Prix, Time Trial, Team Adventure. Throughout the race, players will be able to utilize various team mechanics including Item Transfer, Slingshot, Skim Boost and more to assist your teammates throughout the race to secure your spot atop the podium while having the option to customize their vehicle to suite their racing style.

E3 attendees are encouraged to stop by the SEGA & ATLUS Booth at West Hall #5222 from June 12 - 14, to hit the track with Sonic and Friends and take Team Sonic Racing for a spin!

To pre-order the physical edition please visit www.teamsonicracing.com, details of digital pre-order will be available at a later date.

It’s just a couple weeks away from E3 2018 but Sega’s Team Sonic Racing wasn’t able to cross that finish line as Wal-Mart has leaked its first details and screenshots before its announcement. 

Team Sonic Racing is expected to release for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. Sega will share more details in the near future.

Here are the first details and screenshots:

Team Sonic Racing combines the best elements of arcade and fast-paced competitive style racing as you face-off with friends in intense multiplayer racing. Race together and work together as a team by sharing power-ups and speed boosts. Take control of your racing style – Choose from 3 distinct character types and unlock game changing vehicle customization options to suit your racing style. Speed up. Gear Up Team Racing at Sonic Speed!

Article updated with official Sega press release

Twitter Tease!

Sonic’s official Twitter posted the above image. This was from Sonic Mania Adventures, but do you see the fine print? We will blow it up for you!

Well well well, we have a tease for an upcoming announcement. Could this be the previously teased Sonic racing game? My guess is it is but who knows! Also confirmation of Mania Adventures Ep 3 this month! ^_^

Stay tuned for more details. 

Dreamcast Reveal

It's hard to believe, but 20 years ago today, Sega announced & revealed the Dreamcast in Japan at the New Challenge Conference. I was only 11 years old then and was excited and wowed by upcoming PlayStation games such as Metal Gear Solid and Gran Turismo but when the Dreamcast was announced my mind was blown. Do you all remember the first time you ever saw Sonic Adventure? Not only were the graphics breaking edge, it was at a flawless 60fps. What are your favorite memories of the console? Let us know and click the article for their official press release!

90s Flashback!

We’re looking back at the start of it all for a little nostalgia! Does this bring you back? This was an exciting time to be a gamer indeed! Electronic Gaming Monthly - Issue 22 (May 1991). Sonic The Hedgehog coverage. Despite being the cover story, their coverage was only two pages. Check out those early Zone names... (Click Article for Images)

Mania Plus OST bundled in Japan!

Sonic Mania Plus is getting two CDs with the full soundtrack included in the Japanese physical release, according to their Japanese website. What all is included on the soundtrack? It features the full 54 track double CD, which not only includes all of the songs that appeared on the Data Disc's Sonic Mania album release, it also holds all of the “re-imagined” classic stage songs.

If you've been wanting to listen to the soundtrack while relaxing in the tub, the Japanese version is the one for you! Amazon Japan has it for the same price as the western release.

Sonic Mania Plus gets a release date!

Sega has announced that the awaited Sonic Mania Plus will release on July 17 this year! A new trailer dropped the release date along with some new gameplay footage that includes the two new playable characters, Mighty and Ray. Mania Plus is an updated edition of a digital release from last year for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. The physical version includes holographic packaging, a 32-page art book, and a reversible cover that gives it Sega Genesis-style cover packaging. In-game, Sonic Mania Plus adds an Encore Mode and an expanded four-player competition mode, along with the two new characters. Watch the trailer below! 

Additionally there has been an interview with Sonic series producer Takashi Iizuka that sheds more light onto Mania as well as the Plus edition. Was translated by PlayStation Lifestyle.

Famitsu: Please tell us the details on how you get to produce Sonic Mania Plus.

Iizuka: Sonic Mania started as a digital-only title at first, but when we tried creating it, we received a lot of requests from both inside and outside the company to “release it physically as well,” so we decided to release it as a gratitude to everyone.

However, since it would be difficult to sell the physical version with the same price as digital, we’ve prepared something as additional values to compensate the price hike, which turns out to be new characters and the Encore Mode.

Famitsu: How did you decide on the additional features?

Iizuka: Sonic Mania’s lifeline is giving stimulus to fans’ curiosities and expectations, so we thought of something that if added would make it the most exciting, and the results were Ray and Mighty. There were people requesting for them, who appeared in the arcade version, to appear again.

Personally to me, they were supposed to be “sealed characters” that would never be planned to be added to games. But in this title we are squeezing in all series materials aimed for specific manias, so the stage for them to appear has already been prepared. In that case, we should unlock that seal (laughs).

Famitsu: How did you decide on the two’s unique actions?

Iizuka: Mighty the Armadillo has a setting of being a strong guy, and he has a hard shell on his back. By making use of that, we made it into a technique to drop vertically to the ground and make it shake.

Also, he can repel enemy bullets with the shell, and when he’s curled up he can prevent damage once. Doing a sudden drop to the ground is a rare action in the classic series indeed.

Famitsu: What about Ray?

Iizuka: Since he’s a flying squirrel, we instantly decided on a gliding action. Although it may be similar to Knuckles’ gliding, Ray can raise up with effort. Depending on the [player’s] technique, he can fly for very long.

Famitsu: What kind of gameplay will Encore Mode have?

Iizuka: The stages themselves are the same as Sonic Mania, but by re-arranging the objects and gimmicks, you can enjoy them with a different sensation. Besides, it also makes Mighty able to make use of his actions more. For example, we’re adding the ability to open holes in the ground with Mighty’s Hammer Drop.

Famitsu: Finally, please leave a message to the fans.

Iizuka: Thanks to everyone who bought the original Sonic Mania, we’re able to continue it to Plus, and we’re really grateful for that. There may be some impressions that Sonic Mania was aimed for people who knew of the Genesis-era games simply because it is a 2D game that feels like the past, but in actuality, people from a very broad age range are playing it.

Especially outside Japan, the highest user demographics of digital downloads came from grade schoolers. This time we’re selling it in a form and price that’s easy to obtain, so to those who haven’t got to play this yet, please kindly get this. I can proudly recommend this title to Japanese grade schoolers as well.

Sonic the Hedgehog boardgame set to bolt onto the scene!

Sonic HQ has been following the progress of Sonic Battle Racers since it was announced on kickstarter. On our previous article on the game, we reported that it had been fully funded and showed off some of the items that would be included with the game. Recently Be Bold Games has done a quick video overview of the game. Please enjoy and remember this game is available now on Indie Gogo and you can secure your copy here: https://bit.ly/SonicBRIGG

You might feel old after reading this post.

Twenty years ago today, this site sprung forth under the moniker "Sonic HQ" (prior to that it was known as Zifei's Sonic Page) with its own domain at sonichq.org. Unfortunately, we lost that domain over the years but now we have sonichq.net.

We're not as popular as we were before but we're not trying to be. Most traffic is for comics information and so that has been our main focus as of late. The recent launch of Sonic under IDW gives a breath of fresh air and so we will follow it and provide a "feed" of upcoming issues along the left side on the main page.

Many also still come here simply for the nostalgia which now sits comfortably in the "Archives" section.

If you have suggestions for what SHQ should have more/less of, please feel free to chime in, in the comments.

In any case, thanks for being a part of Sonic HQ's 20 years! Lets see if we can go for another 20 more (at least).

To celebrate Sonic HQ's 20th, we're bringing back the image rotator from the early 2000s era that had some of the below images that you may remember.

Enjoy!

Last month at the Game Developers Conference, Hirokazu Yasuhara (game designer) and Naoto Oshima (character designer) gave a talk about the history of creating Sonic and the original game. That talk has just been uploaded to the GDC Vault for free! There's a bunch of neat tidbits in here for fans and developers alike. Look at those dance animations that didn't make it into the game due to space limitations.

Check out the video here!