Well it’s been revealed, Project Needlemouse is no more. You can now refer to the game by it’s official name. Sonic the Hedgehog 4, an episodic adventure coming this summer. Sonic is going back to his roots, reliving the kind of gameplay that was in the Sonic 3 & Knuckles (which was also episodic) The visuals aren’t the same as the classics, they didn’t go the Mega Man 9 and 10 route. It’s full 3D images, but on a 2D plane. It looks like Sonic Rush helped inspire the model for Sonic. GameSpot got first dibs with a trailer as well as an interview. The interview isn’t too extensive, but I’m sure we’ll be hearing plenty more of the game. The game also has a new site, www.SonictheHedgehog4.com, with some info about the game. Although most of the website is still locked up, there’s a few countdowns on the site with the closest one ending about 1 day 6 hours from now.
I just want to talk quickly about what I’m seeing on the site. On the left side you see four categories. Game Info, Characters, Multimedia, and Community. Game Info has 2 links, news and the countdown that ends in just over a day. Characters has Featured and another countdown ending in 5 days. Multimedia has 4 links. 3 of them are locked, one has a countdown ending in 2 weeks, with the only part being opened the concept art. Community has 7 things in it with Forums, Blogs, and Newsletter unlocked and then 4 locked sections. This isn’t all that’s locked though. Just below those sections there’s what appears to be another little menu thing blocked, and a small sliver in the top right of the page locked. The most interesting thing I find on this page however is just below that small locked sliver. There’s a little bigger block that’s locked, but it has some text on it. “Coming Summer 2010. Playstation Network, Xbox Live Arcade, ???” and it has a picture with a rectangle with ??? on it and a lock. So the game will be available for download on the 3 major services, and then one more that for some reason they don’t want to tell us about. I’m confused, why would they being keeping secret one of the platforms it will be released on? Other than that there are 2 more things locked on the main page, one being at the very bottom with the logos for WiiWare, XBLA, and PSN. So that one again is just the mystery console. And then one more block that only has a lock, nothing else.
But guess what, there are more things locked inside other parts of the site! Yay! If you go into News there isn’t anything locked, but it just says “News coming soon…”. But guess what you’ll see if you go to Featured Characters? Two blocks, one being Sonic and one being a ? lock. If you click on the lock you get some text saying “??? Who could it be now”. The run a contest to tell us Sonic is the only playable character, and they give us this? I’m gonna guess Sonic really is the only character you can play as and this is Robotnik (I refuse to call him Eggman). While under Sonic you get a bit more info.
Our legendary hero returns! With the Death Egg finally destroyed, and Angel Island back in the sky, Sonic decides it’s time to take a break and heads off to explore new territory on his own However unbeknownst to Sonic, Eggman has survived their last encounter, and has begun taking measures to rid himself of our hero. Armed with his signature Speed, super Spin Dash – and powerful Homing Attack, Sonic is ready for an all-new adventure!
Screw Eggman! I was really hoping it be the return of Dr. Robotnik. There’s also concept art that will unlock in a week. OH and one last thing about the site, it’s littlered with sound from the Sonic Adventure menu. Now to the stuff you’re probably really here looking for. Below you’ll find the new trailer, the interview on GameSpot along with a video that features a small bit of the music in the game.
GameSpot: Why did you choose to go with a title like Sonic 4? Does this mean this is a direct sequel to the Genesis games?
Ken Balough: I think one aspect to keep in mind is this game is truly a labor of love. A lot of us grew up on the Sega Genesis console; in fact, I remember vividly the first day I got mine with Revenge of Shinobi and Moonwalker. Ever since Sonic & Knuckles, Sonic the Hedgehog 4 has been a game classic Sega fans have always wanted to see. It was the right people, at the right time, getting together and finally making this game we’ve all wanted to see.
While the game is a brand-new adventure, it will definitely pick up after Sonic & Knuckles. However, what you are looking at is the beginning of a new story arc.
GS: The subtitle is Episode 1. Does this mean it’s episodic content?
KB: As mentioned, I think the best way to view it is as a first part in a much larger adventure. When Sega released Sonic 3, ultimately it was the part 1 of a story that saw its conclusion in Sonic & Knuckles. In that same spirit, Sonic the Hedgehog 4 is a bigger story, and this is that first chapter. I think it’s also safe to say that by the end of the episode one, fans will be very excited to see what’s in store for episode two!
GS: Why did you decide to make this a downloadable title?
KB: In recent years, we’ve seen a huge surge of classic game properties making a return in this arena. [Downloadable] games offer players a chance to play terrific games without breaking the bank. It’s also a promise to Sonic fans. We’re going to deliver a Genesis-era Sonic game as if it were created today that goes to the core of what classic Sonic fans desire. This means [the fan] gets to judge us on our work each step of the way, and we plan on delivering that goal in a big way.
GS: In terms of graphics, the game appears to use 3D graphics. Why take that route instead of an HD makeover or a more traditional approach like Capcom’s recent Mega Man games?
KB: One of our goals was to make a gorgeous-looking 2D Sonic game. This approach allows fans new and old to see what a 2D Genesis-style game would look like today with modern graphics.
GS: As far as gameplay goes, should we expect classic old-school Sonic 2D mechanics or something new added into the mix?
KB: All the Sonic favorites [are] here for sure! Spin dash, power sneakers, etc. But you will also see the homing attack added, and in true Sonic fashion, you can compete with your friends for the fastest level times through leaderboards.
GS: What can we expect from the music? Will it sound like the old Sonic games?
KB: It will sound like an evolution from the original series. Expect to hear very familiar tempos and styles of music that resonates with 16-bit games but also has a modern appeal.
GS: Will there be any differences between the different versions? That is, will the Wii have motion control, or will the PS3 and 360 run at 1080p?
KB: For all intents and purposes, the games are designed to be identical. There are a few differences per what each console can output visually: Wii will be at 480p, while the XBLA and PSN versions will run at 1080p. However, for certain areas of the game, the Wii will be able to use motion control, and the PS3 will be able to use the Sixaxis.
GS: Is this where the Sonic franchise is moving, or can we still expect to see console and portable titles?
KB: Sonic as a brand is definitely not moving away from our packaged console versions. Making Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I for download is just a new way to offer a great Sonic experience through a different medium.
GS: Thanks for your time, Ken.
Chris Parker - Head Admin 
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Can’t. Wait.
Just read about this and shot over here to break the good news, but- I should have known you’d get it up here first.
I was all over this, wasn’t gonna be anyone who told me the news before I found out on my own. I sat at the Sega blogs refreshing, just waiting for this news to show up. You have no idea how excited I am about this game. I’m also very excited to see what gets unlocked on the Sonic 4 website tomorrow at 11am.
Rumor has it the blacked out console is the iPhone and that the game will be coming to us in July. That’s 5 more months away
Dude, how long have we waited for any Sonic game to be exciting? I’ll be honest, anything after ‘Heroes’ (save for the RPG for the DS) hasn’t kept my interest longer than a few levels before I push it to the wayside. I can wait until July.
I was super pumped to for Sonic Adventure on Dreamcast, but I never owned a Dreamcast so I waited until both Adventure games came out on Gamecube. Other than those I haven’t really been super excited for any Sonic games, I’ve just seen them and been like “oh that looks ok”. Well except for Unleashed, that had me extremely excited until I saw the night stages. Still don’t know wtf they were thinking on that one. I never really gave Heroes a shot and most people say that’s been one of the better ones. I did enjoy Secret Rings for some reason though. But I cry a little everytime I see that Sonic 4 logo, it’s beautiful. And actually I made my own custom Firefox “persona” as they’re call and place the logo in it
3 days 20 hours until something under Characters is unlocked.
Wait- Character…S?
Oh man, if it’s not Tails or Knuckles, I can hear a whole lot of crying happening in 3 days and 19 hours…
Well they have 2 characters under featured, one is Sonic and one is locked. I assume that one is Robotnik. But then under featured is another slot which I’ll assume are either badniks or other support characters, hopefully only Tails and Knuckles.
Also speaking of characters, I’m sick of these characters they keep introducing in the video games. I want a game that takes place on Mobius, the Archie comic world.
Another countdown ended, revealed some concept art. Another concept art countdown began and will be ending in a week as well as another section under Multimedia.
And one more thing, SEGA has mentioned that the running animation you see in the trailer is not Sonic at full speed, full speed looks more like Sonic 3 & Knuckles or Sonic CD.