Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 speeds to WiiWare

Oh yeah, official site open too. http://sonicthehedgehog4.com/

Sweet! I don't wanna get my hopes up, but my hopes are pretty up. Don't let me down, Sonic!

Sp they get a great concept like Sonic the Hedgehog 4 off the ground, and then cock it up by making it episodic? Nice one, Sega.

Yep, videogames are now considered a series.... Just like anime :P
Btw this news sucks for me, i dont have wiiware. If Sega bring Sonic 4 episode 1 to a wii disk, i'll be happy.

What difference does it make? Would it be a better game if Episode 2 was called Sonic the Hedgehog 5 instead?

I have a feeling they probably will end up releasing all the 'episodes' on a retail disc when everything's finished. Unless SEGA hates money.

Which... yeah.

Edit: wtf, Gamespot interview's been taken down.

Holy shit, I pretty much came my pants after reading this! But then I was let down by the fact that the game is episodic...

Exactly...

http://palgn.com.au/15946/new-sega-console-coming-soon/

=o Now my life won't be complete until I try a SEGA Zone.



'Fight & Lose' is a great name for a game!

Really, the only game besides the new FF's that I am looking out for this year. I really do hope it kills me with nostalgic love.

Uh guys, episodic isn't exactly a bad thing - of course that assumes SEGA define episodic the same way Telltale does with Sam & Max/Homestar Runner/Wallace & Gromit/Monkey Island series.

If they subscribe to the Valve/Penny Arcade idea of 'when its done' episodic content, then yes you are allowed to hate on them.

If each episode was the length of, say, Sonic 3 and Knuckles, then yes, it would be better. If they slap up with perhaps 3 zones an "episode" and leave us waiting weeks until the next three come out, then I will be pissed off. I don't care about your logic behind it, I want the whole thing released in one go.

That teaser trailer is just like the very beginning of the MM9 trailer where it goes from 1-9.

Also, Scott, I think each episode is going to be about the length of Sonic 3 with future episodes being like Sonic And Knuckles.

That would be nice, but then it'd make any additional content feel tacked on, and makes the idea of it being episodic rather moot, when it's just a game with dlc.

Do you demand this of TV episodes, I wonder? Should the people behind, say, Lost, wait until they've finished all seasons and then release massive amounts of video all at once so you don't have to wait a week between each episode? Yeah, it's slightly more convenient at the end, but the trade-off is you don't get to see it at all until years after you would have otherwise. There is always a trade-off, and choosing one way over another isn't a cock-up, it's just a different choice.

Calling it an episode or calling it a full game doesn't change the fact that if you want more content it will either take more time, cost more money, or both - and similarly simpler, shorter games will come with the benefits of being cheaper or more quickly produced. The stupidest thing about the episodic content trend is not anything it does to games themselves, but the way it somehow makes people think this simple reality has changed.

This is looking great! With Sonic 3 & Knuckles as one of my favourite games of all time, this has gotten me excited. I hope they don't screw us over by selling them as 'episodes' though.

**** yes.

That is all.

Edit: Wait.. he actually looks to be running normally..
NO, THIS IS BAD! HIS LEGS MUST BE SPINNING ROUND AND ROUND.

It's an entirely different medium. Coupled with the fact that releasing the entire game in one go isn't unheard of in the land of Vidya games. I'd rather the game come out later in the year if we get it all in one go. Since it is a Sonic game, I'd imagine it wouldn't take nearly as long to create as LOST, and I wouldn't imagine "episodes" of Sonic 4 to continue to come out 5 years after it's initial release, like LOST.

Instead of comparing it with umbrella logic, take each instance as a separate thing.

That's not what Gus meant, Scott.

Knew I had seen it somewhere before! Cheers for the pickup!

It's not specifically what he said that bugged me though, its the fact he went all Gus over it (Which typically includes umbrella logic, rather than something specific to the incident at hand). I already said I didn't care about his logic, and that I wanted it to be released all at once. And I still do. Episodic releases just makes it look like an attempt to get money in as fast as they can for it.

I'm 90% sure that the Sonic2 running animation is WRONG.
It has the swirls, which were from the beta version.
Feel free to prove me wrong, but I'm fairly certain of this..

Edit:
http://www.s2beta.com/Comparisons
the top one. then look at video.

Of course Sonic 4 won't take as long as Lost to develop; that's fine, I was arguing principle, not degree. I could have used some little miniseries as the example instead, but I thought it'd be easier if I picked something you'd likely actually heard of. And releasing the whole thing at once isn't unheard of in TV-land either. We call them films, or movies. They're shorter time-wise (not story-wise) than most games, but again, that's a matter of degree. The point is that in film it's perfectly acceptable to either deliver in short packets over a long time or in long packets in a short time. So no, it's not "entirely different" at all.

But if you want to rely on the "it's different" defence...would you care to explain why episodic TV is fine and episodic games are automatically a cock-up? What is the difference in the concept of episodes between the two media?

Yeah, because nobody releases full games to make money.

http://au.gamespot.com/xbox360/actio...&mode=previews

That gamespot interview for ya Infernal...

Gus'd.

They could get revenue faster though, if they release a portion of it early for say, 800 Wii Points.

Ok. We get it Scott. You want it all in one go. Time to be quiet now.

Interested to see how this goes. Also, I agree with Dave... needs more legs spinning like roadrunner. I wouldn't have minded seeing this type of game in the same style as that wario shake game or whatever it was called.

Not having his legs spin, not only looks weird by comparison, but it would also make me assume he'd take a more angled style of running, which wasn't there either.

You sure love to complain everything that isn't JRPG related.

Everyone else was talking about the lack of leg spinning before me, so I added to it.

This doesn't change on how you complain about everything that is not JRPG related.

Uh... yeah, ok.

Anyway, I hope more information comes out soon as to how the episodes will be structured.

And you will complain again.

Well, probably not, I've already made it apparent about how I feel about it being in Episodes to begin with.

Don't deny it Scott, it's inevitable.

Ok I'm like so getting this and the rest in the series, if it means the same style and continuation of the original games!

This looks promising.

Wonder how they'll manage to screw it up :P

That running style. Is anybody else reminded of 3D Blast?

Scott: Just wait out for a disc release of it all, and pretend it doesn't exist until, if that is how you'd like the game to be presented as. If it doesn't get a disc release as a full 'series' of episodes just grab all the episodes in one go when it seems they've finished :)

Yeah the running animation is trash. It looks like he is power walking or something...

Oh, and a little interested I guess, really curious how many Zones are in the game though.

I was (and to a lesser extent, Sonic Rush). The running animation was just awkward in 3D Blast.

I have reservations about releasing the game in episodes, but I'll wait it out like I have done with previous Sonic games and make a decision when there's more information at hand. I haven't been impressed at the overall package delivered by the recent Sonic games (though each have had some likable elements) so in a sense, I don't want to get my hopes up. I'm more geared towards Mega Man 10 at this point in time.

Also :sadface: for the inclusion of Gus umbrella logic.

Heading to WiiWare, PSN, Xbox Live Arcade and the iPhone... Pretty much every mainstream console existing at the moment, and people where concerned it would only be for consoles supporting HD.

I love it how the SEGA Intro is back.

Reminds me of the good old days.

Why do they have to keep it so short.....? It's annoying.

Can't believe it's taken them 16 years to finally make a sequel to Sonic and Knuckles.

Nice hype train. Hopefully we get a good number of stages in each episode. Be kind of annoying if they had just one area zone for each chapter. Ie. Green Hill on Ep1, Marble on Ep2, etc. Unless it was like 6 stages for each Zone. I'd be happy with that. The More Green Hill the better!!!

Yeah I really hope its not just 1 zone per episode... that would be l-a-m-e. Speaking of which how many episodes are they planning? Anyone know?

The trailer analysis continues over at neogaf. My favourite so far has been the realisation of a level resembling the special stage featured in the original Sonic the Hedgehog. See the gif below.



Also:

:P

Geez, alot of posts about a game from a certain hedgehog in a Nintendo forum. =P

I practically squealled when my friend mentioned this to me last night, looking foward to it and at the same time being a little cautious not to get my hopes up. Although hearing a little bit of the music and seeing the concept pictures of a few revamped badniks does have me bouncing in my seat. Gotta admit that it's odd not seeing Sonic doing his good ol' leg spin given the style of game though. I hope he has a little more animation than whats there though, like him leaning foward with his arms out or something since that'll probably annoy me if that's all there is to it. xD

Also, not to spark up more arguments or whatever, but I'm kinda with Scott and Leon with the whole "I'd prefer it in one go" thing. But if Episode 1 is like Sonic 3 in length (about 6 Zones, 2 Acts each) and the next is like Sonic & Knuckles like Thomas_Hill said, then really that's not so bad. It'll be like the Lock-on system all over again. =P

Perhaps we're looking at it the wrong way.

A lot of games and their sequels are episodic, as they take place one after another. I think the reason why this game will be called Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 is that Sega would like to release future installments of the franchise while retaining the integrity of the name Sonic the Hedgehog 4.

After more than fifteen years, it wouldn't make sense to release Sonic the Hedgehog 5 so shortly after the fourth, and it definitely sounds better than Sonic the Hedgehog 4 2.

Hmm never thought of it like that. On second thought it would be better that way!

I wish they kept the classic look of Sonic 3's sprite. Oh well...

Ah, a very good point indeed. Although Capcom thinks Megaman 9 and 10 are fine. Anyways, I see what you mean.

For people whining about the episodic-ness, the solution is simple. Wait until all the episodes are out. Personally I'd be majorly cheesed if when I finished level 3 I had to wait for level 4, so I'll avoid that by waiting.

As for making it downloadable, I'd say that is a death sentence on the Wii, and not exactly favourable on the other platforms.

I'm not really ready to judge the game after having seen about 5 seconds of it.

People can't wait for local releases, but can wait for all the episodic releases? :P

Ideally, I'd want the entire game to come out when Episode 1 does, but depending on how it's structured, I might wait until it's all released to even get it, disdainfully, of course.

What's all this "Finally a direct sequel from Sonic and Knuckles"? You are aware of Sonic SEE DEE right?

Wasn't that released a year before Sonic 3? I didn't see the game in the promotional video either.

I almost read that as Sonic SD, as in standard definition (on Wii). As opposed to Sonic HD, which is what Sonic 4 was originally advertised as. Despite the lack of a true HD resolution on Wii, a Wiiware release seemed plausible due to SEGA's commitment to the Virtual Console. Not to mention the market share that the Wii holds.

Sonic CD wasn't all that flash, either. It's stages were cluttered and seemingly lacked any real structure in which to run freely about.

Was still a 2D sidescroller though.

Wow. I could never excepted a squel of Sonic 3 & Knuckles. I throught that series ended.

You've waited over a decade, whats a few more months?

In the same way that reconstituted food is food?

I like to live in a world where Sonic CD doesn't exist.

That's the approach I usually take.

I like to imagine myself living in a world where Sonic CD was a pretty darn good Sonic game, with a great FMV, interesting game-play, great presentation, and great music.

Holy crap, I do!

Everytime I hear something like this, I think of Duke Nukem Forever. =(

(btw... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIrxbgjSQ8k)

In other words 'A couple months' isn't a good thing when you're being teased.

But, I also think, this has to save us from bad sonic games, which means they shouldn't rush things, otherwise it will never fill the gap we want it to.

The latest issue of Game Informer magazine contains a Sonic 4 interview with Takashi Izuka according to a member at NeoGAF who claims to posses a copy. Details are believed to have been confirmed due to the screenshots of the magazine posted, which supporting the member's comments on the returning tunnels. In any case, the details can be found below.



Take it as you want. I suspected there was a reason for omitting obvious characters like Tails and Knuckles from that IGN character countdown feature a while back. Could this be the work of the SDLC yet again?

Not sure I like the idea of having to recollect all the chaos emeralds for every new episode.

I can't remember if it's been mentioned at all, but do we know how long each episode is yet?

Four zones.