Camp Sonic

Once again, the Camp Sonic fans pull through!  This time, it’s iNAUDible with a full writeup of Nintendo Power’s latest interview with Yoshihisa Hashimoto.  So, in case you missed our latest scans from Nintendo Power, or simply don’t like reading from image files, you can now view the full interview in all of it’s glory right here.

For those of you looking to go get this issue, complete with some brand new Nintendo Wii Screenshots, the good stuff starts on page 67.

Back On The Fast Track
by Steve Thomason

The Blue Blur resumes his solo career and rediscovers his 2-D roots in Sonic Unleashed for Wii.

Invariably, when a long-running franchise transitions from 2-D to 3-D, there are a few bumps in the road. Some may argue the path has been rockier for Sonic the Hedgehog than for most, but developer Sonic Team will try to get the series back on track by bringing 2-D and 3-D together in Sonic Unleashed. As Sega’s fleet-footed mascot races through each level, the camera switchs back and forth seamlessly between the two perspectives, and what we’ve seen thus far looks incredibly promising. The side-scrolling sections naturally hark back to the hedgehog’s beloved Genesis days, and the 3-D bits are on rails a la Sonic and the Secret Rings - only better because the developers have made an concerted effort to keep the action moving fast and furious.

Much has already been shown of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Sonic Unleashed, but what you see here are the first real screens of the Wii game. We also sat down with first-time producer and series vet Yoshihisa Hashimoto to lean more about Sonic’s exciting return to form.

NINTENDO POWER: With this game being the first Sonic game for which you served as team leader, what was your biggest goal going into the project?

YOSHIHISA HASHIMOTO:
We had two goals with Sonic Unleashed. First, to entertain customers with Sonic’s trademark speed and with a more-refined gameplay experience in both 2-D and 3-D, and second, to have Sonic himself perform new actions, which we have always done for previous Sonic titles.

We understand that a separate team is working on the Wii game. How closely are they working with the PS3/Xbox 360 team? What percent of the content would you say is original to the Wii version?

Although the Wii version is being made by a separate team altogether, that team has always kept in step and cooperated with the PS3/Xbox 360 team, sharing the same development direction and resources. Beyond that, however, it has tried to include a fresh sense of playing via Wii’s unique interface. Therefore, the stage designs are 100% original to the Wii version of Sonic Unleashed even though it shares the same motifs with the other versions. In particular, the teams that worked on Sonic Advance 2 and Sonic Rush helped us a lot on the Wii version.

Can you detail for us how Sonic Unleashed will take advantage of the Wii controller?

There’s basically no difference between Sonic’s basic actions in the Wii version and the PS3/XBox 360 version. The biggest difference is in the user interface. The nature of the Wii remote will allow players to physically experience the intuitive controls implemented in the game. In order to fully utilize the hardware, we aimed to create original content, which includes new control movements and level designs. Sonic Unleashed for Wii will use both the Wii remote and nunchuck. Basic actions such as character movement and jumping are assigned to buttons, but certain actions benefitting from physical experiences use the motion-sensing fuctions of the Wii remote. It will offer players the physical exhilaration of high-speed, acrobatic movements.

What are some of the most exciting new gameplay elements in Sonic Unleashed?

In addition to the stages where you experience traditional high-speed action and acrobatics, we have designed various stages to offer players something new and exciting. Specifically in the later stages, we took particular advantage of the motion sesor in the Wii remote and nunchuck to design interactive combat sequences unlike anything else out there. Players can enjoy a wide varitety of combat styles by using the Wii remote for different situations.

What new moves does Sonic bring to this adventure?

This time, in addition to familiar moves like the Homing Attack, all-new actions such as the Qucik Step (to elude obstacles without slowing down) and Sonic Boosts (to hyperaccelerate and blow up surrounding objects) are introduced to realize the most powerful high-speed experience yet.
Sonic Unleashed also introduces the “action-chaining” system, where you earn more accelerating energy if you succed in stringing together a set of actions. And repeated actions chains will allow you to access special moves and select shortcuts. Basically, the more skilled you become, the more exhilaration and secrets you get from high-speed, acrobatic movements.

Will the branching paths work the same way on Wii as they do in the other versions, where the player has to quickly input a certain button sequence in midair?

Yes, the Wii version features the same types of sequences as the other versions.

We understand that gameplay changes significantly as day turns to night. What can you tell us about that?

Sorry, that remains a secret for now. I think we can tell you all about that before long, though.

Is there an ever-changing day-and-night cycle, or is the time of day fixed in each level or at certain points in each level?

One thing I can tell you is that there is a clear difference between day and night stages. Having said that, and to answer your question, there’s no passage of time within the system in the action stages.

Can you tell us about the central hub? How does it fit into the game’s overall structure and what will players be able to do there?

In this title you travel through the game on a planet divided into several areas, moving back and forth among them. Each area has cities and villages where the player collects information to unlock new stages. Conversing with inhabitants is an important key for the story, and you can get various extra items through conversations with different people. Sonic Unleashed is full of these elements.

Will there be any other playable characters in the game? If so, what are their roles and how much of the game is devoted to them as opposed to Sonic?

Literally speaking, Sonic is the only playable character. However, there are various characters in the game. We’ll have more to say about this soon.

Can you talk a little bit about the game’s story and how it ties in to previous Sonic games, if at all?

In what might seem like the climax in any other adventure, this title begins with a scene where Sonic stands face-to-face with Dr. Eggman. Dr. Eggman traps Super Sonic, which is Sonic transformed through the power of the Chaos Emeralds, and uses the tremendous energy from the Emeralds to awaken a being living in the planent. This greatly affects both the planet and Sonic. From there, Sonic sets off on a journey to save not only the world but also himself. This title is a new page added to his various adventures and doesn’t have that much to do directly with his past adventures.

What’s been your approach to boss battles in Sonic Unleashed?

The design and attack variations for the boss battles are being shared with the PS3/Xbox 360 version. However, the battle style is original to Wii and makes full use of the Wii remote. It’s like nothing you’ve seen before, and the presentation is a sight to see when Sonic is delivering the coup de grace.

In previous interviews you stated that Sonic Unleashed began life as Sonic Adventure 3. Why the title change? Was it purely a marketing issue, or did the philosophy behind the game change as well?

The Sonic Adventure series is a monumental creation for our development team and a measuring stick when creating Sonic titles. This title was first envisioned as Sonic Adventure 3 for an ideological standpoint. But we ultimately decided to introduce further innovations where inheriting the ideology of Sonic Adventure. As a result, we thought a new title would be more appropriate for this game rather than calling it a sequel to Sonic Adventure.

As longtime fans of the series, we’re very excited to see Sonic returning to his 2-D roots. Why is now the right time to bring back that classic side-scrolling gameplay?

The introduction of Sonic to 3-D brought with it new and original aspects, but on the other hand some of Sonic’s 2-D nature was lost for sure, which was a shame for our development team. With Sonic Unleashed, we strongly intend to bring in good qualities of each and produce a high-quality Sonic title. It is not about “going back.” I’d put it as “taking lessons from the past.” Our stance is to take the good things from Sonic’s past and create something new by adding to them.

Why did you decide to go back and forth between 2-D and 3-D rather than simply sticking with one or the other?

Both the previous 2-D side-scrolling Sonic and the new 3-D action Sonic have some very good qualities. We intend to squeeze the fun of both Sonic experiences into Sonic Unleashed.

Is Sonic Unleashed for Wii running on a modified version of the Hedgehog Engine? If not, is it running on an existing engine from a previous Wii title, or an all new engine?

For the Wii version of Sonic Unleashed, we brushed up an existing engine developed by Sega.

In your opinion, what’s the key to making a great Sonic game? The sense of speed the player feels is very important. The same is true with experiences such as surprise, excitement, and trhills. How do you make the players feel these emotions? For all games, creators design the mechanisms to produce such feelings in the forms of game systems, stage designs and scenarios.

But with Sonic, the fluid tempo and sharpness are especially important.

Will Sonic Unleashed feature any multiplayer modes or online functionality?

No, those features won’t be included in the game.

Thanks so much for your time. Is there anything else you’d like to say to our readers about Sonic Unleashed for Wii?

Look forward to more information on Sonic Unleashed, including the bits we couldn’t talk about today. When the game launches, we hope you all experience the fun of Sonic Unleashed for yourselves!

Once again, thanks for everything iNAUDible! You’ve just earned yourself some Camp Sonic pins!