Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode II joins the SEGA Forever mobile lineup

Remember Sonic 4 Episode II? It’s back, in SEGA Forever form!

Revealed today, the 2012 console and mobile game Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode II has joined the SEGA Forever mobile lineup. The updated release makes the game free to play, with ads, or $1.99 to remove ads. The Episode Metal DLC, once only unlocked if you owned both Sonic 4 episodes on the same platform, is now unlocked from the start.

Prior to its original release, fans were cautious of Sonic 4 Episode II following the release of Sonic 4 Episode I. But upon playing it, the second episode was seen as a marked improvement over the first episode. Physics were more in line with what was expected from a 2D Sonic game, stages and bosses were more creative, bosses were better and the addition of Metal Sonic (and tie-in to the recently rereleased Taxman and Stealth version of Sonic CD) was fun.

If you want to play the SEGA Forever version of the game, simply check the stores for your iOS and Android devices!

The Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Island Finally Has A Name

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Sonic the Hedgehog 4 has been previewed, played, reviewed, picked apart, dissected and a whole host of other actions. We’re not here today to do any of those things. This article isn’t about how Sonic 4 Episodes I & II played or the behind-the-scenes politics of how the game came about. This article is about how a few fans with too much time on their hands bothered SEGA enough about silly little details.

Way back in 2010, SEGA revealed Sonic the Hedgehog 4, and speculation ran rampant. How would it play? How would it tie to Sonic 3 & Knuckles? Could we expect a Sonic 4 Happy Meal? These and many more questions were asked. Now, six years later, many of those questions have been answered and with the upcoming Sonic Mania, fans are looking towards the future while Sonic 4 Episodes I & II remain in the past. But one little question has always gone unanswered, and that question is “What is the name of the island in Sonic 4?”. Following the game’s release, I reached out to SEGA for an answer, but I came back with just a few names of the bosses from Episode II. We tried again last year in an interview with Aaron Webber, but aside from his own head canon answer there was no apparent official name.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episodes I & II hitting Xbox One backwards compatibility today

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Larry Hryb aka Major Nelson of Microsoft announced via Twitter that Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode ISonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode II would be hitting Xbox One Backward Compatibility today, meaning you can play the Xbox 360 games on your Xbox One. The recent additions means that Xbox One owners can now play the original Sonic SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive games as well as Sonic CD and the Sonic 4 duology on their Xbox One… as they truly imagined it! For as much flack as the Sonic 4 games get, they’re worth checking out – especially Episode II and Episode Metal.

Then again, with Sonic’s anniversary party tomorrow, we just may see a game announcement that is so amazing it wipes Sonic 4 from our memories (let’s hope!).

Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode 1 for iPhone and iPod Touch receives graphical update

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Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode 1, that highly controversial 2D episodic game that has since released to just about every platform, has received a long overdue graphical update for the iPhone and iPod Touch version of the game. When Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode 1 first released, there were several different versions out there. Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 received the version of the game with the best graphics and sound while the Wii version was a step below, with less than stellar graphics and sound. Below that was the iPhone and iPod Touch version which not only featured very blocky graphics, but also had stages that existed before SEGA overhauled the game and did away with the mine cart and pinball machine levels. SEGA marketed these as “2 EXCLUSIVE LEVELS!!!”, but savvy fans knew that SEGA likely just didn’t have the time or resources to retool the mobile versions as they did the console versions.

SEGA Humble Bundle sale slashes 75% off some great games

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Open up your E-Wallets folks! There’s a big sale going on at Humble Bundle and SEGA is one of the main publishers, so get in on the big clearance ‘cuz everything must go! Although, technically it’s digital so it really doesn’t go anywhere. Just…data gets copied from a server and onto your computer but that data also stays at the server so it’s not like…..NEVERMIND! Anyway,here are some of the great SEGA deals going on:

And many many more! The sale ends soon, so come on down and take a gander.

SEGA digital deals roaming around the internet [submit yours]

Hey, its that time of year where websites are slashing prices on goods, especially digital goods to earn some of your hard earned cash. You probably heard of the November holiday. Thanks what? No, I’m talking about Black Friday and Cyber Monday. We American’s rather have bargains than being grateful. Getting on with the savings, here is a short list of digital SEGA goods you can buy right now. If I left stuff out, submit it via the comments. Happy shopping.

Round Table: Our thoughts on Sonic 4: Episode II

If you can believe it, it’s actually been over a year and a half since the first episode of the polarizing Sonic the Hedgehog 4 series of games hit digital download services. But after what felt like an eternity, the adventure can finally be continued. And what did the good ol’ SEGAbits staff think of the long-in-development Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II and the reception it has received so far? Read on to find out, and don’t forget to comment and leave your own thoughts on the game below!

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Another Sonic 4 Video, Another Release Date

Another, longer, higher quality Sonic 4 video, this one with a presentation from a SEGA rep. Not much new information in this video, except for one piece of info: the game is still coming out in May. This flies in the face of what Phandroid reported earlier with their video, though it does pretty much lock down a Spring release window for the game. The SEGA rep also confirms that the game is launching on Tegra powered devices a few weeks before it’s released on other consoles.

Sonic 4 Episode 2 is being built for multicore mobile phones

SEGA has just has released a press release which gives us a hint at what kind of game we can expect for Sonic 4 Episode 2. The game is being built for multicore mobile phones, and SEGA is working with nvidia on a version for the worlds first Quadcore mobile phone processor for android.

This news personally has me really excited. It’s great to see that SEGA is putting so much concern for quality for Episode 2. For those who don’t know, the TEGRA quadcore processor is capable of running XBOX 360 and PS3 style games.

Hit the jump for the press release

Rumor: Sonic 4 Episode 2’s first stage called Cryptic Clock Zone?


Adding to yesterday’s exclusive rumor on Sonic Episode 2, this time we hope that we are revealing the first stage name for the game. According to the anonymous e-mailer the first zone is going to be titled ‘Cryptic Clock Zone’.

The first stage is titled Cryptic Clock Zone, set in a dark moonlit stonehenge like area.

I’m pretty sure if this turns out to be true, that this is an original level idea, unlike the first episode that seemed to borrow themes from past Sonic titles. Or am I wrong? Is there a super secret stonehenge inspired Sonic stage that I missed?

Edit: Put rumor in the title after some sites started running the story as a fact. This is a rumor and has been filed under rumor since I posted it.

Rumor: Sonic 4: Episode 2 not fixing physics complaints


We got an anonymous tip from a fellow reader that has actually played Sonic 4: Episode 2 and his opinion on the title wasn’t a positive one. He stated that the game uses the same physics from the first episode.

“I have obtained access to a prototype build via the Xbox Live PARTNERNET program, and what is concerning is that the physics are exactly the same as they were in Episode 1. Yes, letting go of the stick makes Sonic drop like a brick. The reason I am telling you this information is that if it is out in the open, the fans will have a chance to speak out and make Sega delay the game. I am worried if it is left too late Sega will push out yet another disappointing software product.” – Anonymous e-mail

Some fans didn’t seem to hate the new physics, but many did. We have more Sonic 4 information that he leaked, we will be posting something everyday, so come back when you can. Hopefully we can get some screenshots as well.

Edit: Put rumor in the title after some sites started running the story as a fact. This is a rumor and has been filed under rumor since I posted it.

Mike Hayes: Sonic 4 Episode 2 will be “excellent”

Though it’s been said before, it never hurts to hear it again. SEGA of America and Europe president Mike Hayes has recently said that the company has heard the voices of fans who were disappointed with Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1, and that he believes Episode 2 will take these opinions into account and be “excellent.”

“I know there were some quality issues that we had there that we’ve taken on board and there will be further episodes following up on that. I think the next one’s excellent. I think that’s going to overcome some of the issues that we had on the first one.”

Nothing about Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2 was present at either E3 or Sonic Boom; Probably SEGA’s hoping to keep everyone’s attention this year on Sonic Generations. If Episode 2 controls similarly to Sonic Generations’ classic Sonic stages, I’m sure (rational) fans will be much happier with it than they were with Episode 1.

[Source: ScrewAttack]