Super Sonic Galaxy

[Dr. BUGMAN]

I wish I could hear Eggman's allegedly sardonic comments, but the damn music drowns 'em out.

I did catch something about the starter world not being "dangerous enough for visitors yet".

[Esrever]

It's kind of funny that they had to take the indirect inspiration of making Sonic "more like Mario" to do it, but it looks like a Sonic game will finally have some platforming in it again!

Looks great to me.

[Radrappy]

The official website has been updated with some nice samples of the menu music and someone was kind enough to upload them to youtube:

Starlight Carnival
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gi4gWn2ipBk

planet wisp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DCufGTmJRs

Tropical Resort
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mc-Tg1xW5c

I think these are fantastic. Each has a great build up and really gives off a nostalgic Nights into Dreams vibe.

[Kogen]

I think all of this being a Mario ripoff is equivalent to tearing out Sonic's rectum and wrapping it over him wholly.

The series being shite was bad enough, but now they just openly show that they are never going to have an original idea ever again. Being a 'me too' shadow of the Mario franchise is against the whole intent of the original series. It is no wonder that everyone quit and wants nothing to do with it.

[Rob-Bert]

Or maybe you're just blowing what they said out of proportion, as per usual.

[Kogen]

Or maybe you're just blowing what they said out of proportion, as per usual.

Or maybe if I wanted to play Super Mario World I would go do that. I expect a Sonic game to be a Sonic game which this is not.

[Radrappy]

So you. . . didn't like the music?

[Kogen]

It is adequate background music, I guess!

Except the third one. That is terrible, horrible, horrendous, no good.

[FlashTHD]

Being a 'me too' shadow of the Mario franchise is against the whole intent of the original series.

I agree that it's a sad commentary, but you need to chill out. Even I (an apparently notorious non-fan of almost the entirety of Unleashed) have to admit this is looking suprisingly decent, and next to Sonic 4 it looks goddamn crystalline. That's not to say that you could play much worse - because that's kind of defending mediocrity - i'm saying it looks more interesting than you're giving it credit for.

[Kogen]

Yes, Mario is an interesting game. I am not disagreeing there!

My point is that this is just a pathetic ripoff. They are copying Mario in order to appear as if they have some sort of creative quality to their design team when really it is just copy and paste design from Nintendo. I am sure it is better than Sonic the Hedgehog 4 but it seems entirely pointless when you can just go buy the real thing (Mario Galaxy 1, 2, NSMB). It is obviously not as good as those games.

So what exactly is the benefit of even having this game for a Sonic fan? I can only see people wanting it if they are comfortable with second-rate Mario clones. I never even tried the first Galaxy game yet, so I am certainly not! I was expecting a Sonic game.

[Crowbar]

Does this really have more to do with Galaxy than "space" and "collectable cute critters"?

Watching any videos of actual gameplay from the two games would suggest that they are rather different.

[Kogen]

The overall design seems directly inspied from the Galaxy games, so yes? Iizuka already admitted that is is meant for 'Mario fans'. Looking to what you mentioned in addition to the map design, character portrayals, multiplayer (the first thing I thought of when seeing it in motion was Mario 3's multiplayer), and music, it all seems extremely 'Marioish'.

The second-rate aspect comes when you mix in platforming with a game engine not designed for it. Anyone who played through Unleashed on Wii would know what I mean.

[Crisis]

I almost agree with Kogen. I've always thought the game looked shallow and derivative and I'll be surprised if it has a single original thought to call its own. The game does owe a few things to Mario (power up items that briefly give you new ways to explore, space theme, actual platforming). But there are worse audiences to pander to, and I think it actually looks like fun, although it'll have to be pretty damn good to get me to actually put money on it.

[Rob-Bert]

The overall design seems directly inspied from the Galaxy games, so yes? Iizuka already admitted that is is meant for 'Mario fans'. Looking to what you mentioned in addition to the map design, character portrayals, multiplayer (the first thing I thought of when seeing it in motion was Mario 3's multiplayer), and music, it all seems extremely 'Marioish'..

-Mario didn't invent maps.
-The character portrayals.....have not even been seen yet, and what little we do now sounds more like Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog than Mario.
-The multiplayer in this game is absolutely nothing like Mario 3.
-The music sounds like nothing I've ever heard in a Mario game. Tropical Resort has friggin' surf rock for chrissake.

[Esrever]

So it was only the lack of power-ups and starry backgrounds that were keeping the Sonic franchise from transforming into a complete Mario rip-off? Amazing!

I think that if Iizuka had kept his mouth shut, and if the game wasn't superficially set in space, no one would be comparing it to Mario Galaxy. The title that Colours ACTUALLY looks like is -- let's face it -- Sonic Unleashed, albeit in a slower-paced and more elaborately designed form. Sure, now there's power-ups and more platforming... but as far as I'm concerned, those elements are just as much a part of Sonic's history as they are of Mario's, and the Unleashed formula seems to have benefited dramatically from their addition.

Classic Sonic it is not, but I think it looks like a lot of fun.

[Rob-Bert]

From the beginning I've thought it looks like a slower Unleashed with the trippy theme park aesthetic from Knuckles Chaotix. This is not a bad thing in my book.

[Dr. BUGMAN]

What was the first game to use world maps?

[CM August]

Sonic 1 for Master System/Game Gear had one, although it was just to show your progress between stages rather than a level select.

[(No Imagination)]

What's wrong with trying to be like Mario, only quicker and more elaborate? It worked fine for Sonic 1. Come think of it, that was the plan behind Sonic - make a better Mario to beat Nintendo at their own game, wasn't it?

...speaking of which, Mario Galaxy reminds me a bit of that Mad Space level. And Mario himself runs across Sonic's trademark fancy wavy platform surfaces and quarter-loops these days, too....and before Sonic came along, Mario used to run on flat surfaces with nary a slope or three per level. But yeah, the unleashed engine looks like it doesn't handle that signature 2D sonicy platforming very well...from what I've seen, the 2D platforming bits kind of look like boring block cities as opposed to trademark sonicish slopes and ramps terrain...good to know there's lots of variety of paths, at least.

... this is not the 3D Sonic I'd really want to like own ASAP, but it's definitely got the whole thing going in the right direction. Away from that creepy pseudo-real world Unleashed presented, at least. I don't like the food level, and personally think some of those levels would be better suited for a Mickey Mouse game, but I'll live.

I think this is kind of an opposite to Sonic 4...it isn't a game I would buy because I was a Sonic fan, but rather something it'd buy because it looks fun.

[Rob-Bert]

Methinks Kogen has trolled himself into a corner this time.

[Ngangbius]

But there are worse audiences to pander to...

Yeah, like GTA's and Final Fantasy's audience.

Besides, people calling Sonic a "second-rate Mario" isn't anything new. Argueably, the creation and marketing of Sonic was based on "a cooler version of Mario".

[Edgerock]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tk2DbZZC ... r_embedded

New trailer.

[Dr. BUGMAN]

This game begs a tie-in cereal. Pink spikes may leads to litigations, though.

[(No Imagination)]

Argh Kogen you evil troll you made me realize how flat and slope-less all the surfaces were, and now I can't stop noticing it. The new trailer has been ruined! Ruined!

Though, the planet binding chain from Sonic CD is a nice touch.

[J.E.Smith]

Nintendo Power is giving this a 9 (Blow them up if the text is too small):

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v135/ ... s_NP01.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v135/ ... s_NP02.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v135/ ... s_NP03.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v135/ ... s_NP04.jpg