What Are Your Thoughts on Sonic Boom, 4 Years Later

f04SEGA went pretty far out there to have Sonic Boom be a huge launch which included a TV Show, video games, comics and even a toy line by Tomy. SEGA America had big plans for the new look and new ‘direction’ of this Sonic series, which would have existed along side with modern Sonic the Hedgehog. Sadly the video games launched by SEGA had rough sales and slowly SEGA turned the wheels on Sonic Boom by cancelling the comics and video games.

But the Sonic Boom TV show still remained, the last episode aired on November 11, 2017 and the series has ran for two seasons spanning 104 episodes. While I’m not a huge fan of the redesigns or video games, I will admit something about the Sonic Boom TV show (and even comic) really had me entertained. I know they aren’t perfect but I always found the writing on the TV show to be witty and well done. Now SEGA is launching the excellent Sonic Mania Adventures web series, could we see classic Sonic take away Sonic Boom‘s TV spot? Do you think that SEGA should continue Sonic Boom as a TV show brand and what is your overall thoughts of Sonic Boom, 4 years later?

Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal and Rise of Lyric receive Nintendo eShop price drops through March 21st

Shattered Crystal 3DS box

Both Sonic Boom video games, Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal for the 3DS and Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric for the Wii U, are currently on sale over at Nintendo’s eShop. Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal has dropped from $39.99 to $19.99 (50%), and Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric has dropped from $29.99 to $19.99 (33%) while the original retail price was $49.99. If you’ve yet to experience either game, and really really want to own it digitally, these are the lowest prices as of yet. Meanwhile, the physical versions are about on par with the $19.99 price point at select stores. We have been told that these prices go through March 21st.

I reviewed Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal way back with it released, and awarded it a C+. Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric has yet to receive a SEGAbits review, but from my experience I’d avoid it and just check out the 3DS game.

Thanks to SEGAbits Forums member fernadeth for the tip!

SEGAbits & Sonic Retro present Boom Talkalaka #2: The Boom, the Bad and the Ugly

SEGAbits and Sonic Retro team up to bring you a podcast focused on SEGA’s new Sonic Boom franchise! Hosted by Barry the Nomad of SEGAbits.com and David the Lurker of SonicRetro.org, Boom Talkalaka features discussion of the many aspects of Sonic Boom – from comics and episodes of the cartoon, to the video games and toys.

In the second episode, Barry and David review the latest episodes of the TV show through to “Eggheads”, 2014’s final episode, discuss the direction the comic book is taking, and Barry shares his thoughts on the 3DS and Wii U games.

Give the show a listen and in the comments tell us what you think! If you have any questions or comments you want David to read on the next episode, leave your message here with the subject line “Boom-Grams”: http://segabits.com/contact/

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Review: Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal (Nintendo 3DS)

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In late October, SEGA released the first piece of the Sonic Boom franchise by way of the Archie comic book series of the same name. Despite the much touted TV series and video games, the comic book was our first official trip into the Sonic Boom universe. In my review of the first issue, I noted that I really enjoyed the fun, loose, self-referential nature of the comic book series. I compared the Sonic Boom comic to Archie’s early Sonic the Hedgehog issues. My exposure to the franchise continued with the TV series, which I also enjoyed, noting that the series felt very much like DiC’s 1993 series Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog. By this point, I was feeling fairly positive about Sonic Boom. And then the video games released.

Sonic Talk #29: That’s a bounce pad!

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It’s time for another episode of that OTHER Sonic podcast on Segabits, Sonic Talk!  This week, Nuckles87, GX and Shigs discuss all things Sonic Boom. From the cartoon and comic to Shattered Crystal and go into great detail on Rise of lyric. You’ll hear our personal thoughts on the game and whether it’s a decent Sonic title or a glitchy, unfinished mess. Maybe both! Listen in and enjoy!

Swingin’ Report Show #73: Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal Interview with Mat Kraemer of Sanzaru Games

This week on the Swingin’ Report Show podcast Barry and George are joined by Mat Kraemer, Lead Designer at Sanzaru Games, developer of Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal for the Nintendo 3DS. Topics covered include the development process of the handheld title, how Sanzaru interacted with various teams including the TV show crew and the team at Big Red Button, what Sonic games Sanzaru looked to for inspiration, and Mat’s favorite classic SEGA games and consoles.

There has been a lot of talk about the Sonic Boom franchise this past week, so it was great to sit down with Mat to learn more about how the 3DS game came to be. Hey! Why are you still reading this when you should be listening?

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SEGA releases launch trailers for Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric and Shattered Crystal

SEGA has released the launch trailers for Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric for the Wii U and Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal for the Nintendo 3DS. Both games hit North America and Latin America today and will be in stores in Europe on November 21st. We’ll be sharing our own thoughts on the games soon, and next week expect some behind-the-scenes information on the development of the games. In the meantime, check out the Wii U trailer above and the 3DS trailer after the break!

Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal (3DS) Demo now available on eShop

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Earlier last month a demo of Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal was confirmed. Off of the heels of today’s NintendoDirect, NintendoLife reminds us that the demo for Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal is now available to try out. A special 3DS theme based off of Sonic Boom will  apparently also be made available with the demo. According to this NeoGAF thread, the demo comes with eight uses and takes up 944 blocks of space.

Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal for the 3DS and its companion title, Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric for the Wii U, will release in North America on November 11th and in the United Kingdom and Europe on November 21st.

Credit for the image goes to the above-linked NintendoLife article.

Sonic and friends rescue a cat from a tree in a new Sonic Boom commercial

Regardless of your opinion of SEGA’s upcoming Sonic Boom franchise, you gotta admit it’s nice to see some creative SEGA TV ads. Unlike past adverts for Sonic titles, which used actors in body costumes, the Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric TV ad features CG renderings of Sonic and his friends in the real world, using their teamwork to rescue a real cat (not Big, sadly) from a tree. Sonic Boom the TV show is set to air this coming Saturday at 7am EST, while the Wii U and 3DS games are set for a November 11th release in the US, and a November 21st release in Europe. The comic book is in stores now, and you can read our full review right here. Stay tuned to SEGAbits and Sonic Retro for all your Sonic Boom news, reviews, and information.

Go behind-the-scenes with the Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal development team

SEGA has uploaded a new behind-the-scenes video to the Sonic the Hedgehog YouTube account, taking fans behind-the-scenes with the Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal development team. Shattered Crystal, the Nintendo 3DS Sonic Boom title, is unique in that it is the first fully original handheld Sonic title since 2008’s Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood.

While Sonic Colors, Sonic Generations, and Sonic Lost World on the 3DS were pared down versions of what home consoles had (albeit with unique stages and layouts), Shattered Crystal is a separate title from Wii U’s Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric with a unique story, stages, and an exclusive character named Sticks the Badger. In the above video, Sanzaru Games, Inc. delves into how they’ve collaborated with Sonic Team and Big Red Button, as well as how the 3DS and Wii U titles will connect.

Yeah, they even have a sports tape gag at the end.

Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal demo coming to the eShop on November 4th

According to Nintendo World Report, a demo of Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal will be released on the eShop on November 4th. It isn’t known if or when a demo of its Wii U counterpart Rise of Lyric will also be released or if this is the same demo that was playable at events like Sonic Boom or PAX.

The site also recorded a playthrough of the Sonic Boom demo with direct feed audio, so you can also listen to what the game’s music is like. They recorded some gameplay of the Rise of Lyric demo as well, which can be seen after the jump.

SEGAbits boosts to New York City for Sonic Boom 2014 – videos, photos, & impressions

SEGA’s Sonic Boom event took place this past Saturday in New York, and SEGAbits was there! Before I run through the day’s events, I want to thank SEGA, all the special guests, and the attendees for making the whole event a memorable experience. I know it was a big deal when SEGA chose to host last year’s event in St. Louis, but I can only imagine that planning this year’s event in America’s most populated city from the other side of the country was a lot of hard work on the part of SEGA. Thankfully, the hard work paid off. Within the span of five hours, SEGA treated guests to gift bags, autograph signings, game demos, live music, and both scripted and unscripted entertainment – and despite a large turnout, there was room to walk about and enjoy just about everything the event had to offer.

New Trailer for Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric and Shattered Crystal Shows Shadow and Metal Sonic

As you could expect from the Sonic Boom event, a new trailer for the TV show isn’t the only new Sonic thing that got revealed today. SEGA also showed a new trailer showing gameplay and cutscenes from both upcoming Sonic Boom games: Rise of Lyric for Wii U and Shattered Crystal for 3DS.

The most notable thing this trailer shows is more of Shadow and Metal Sonic, who appear in both games as either bosses or rivals to race against. Also it has overly dramatic music and an ancient evil because why not.

Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric pushed up to Nov 11

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Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric for Wii U has been pushed up to November 11th from it’s original release date of November 18th. While Sega has not given a reason for this push, one can only speculate that they either wanted to match up to the release date of Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal on 3DS or they didn’t want to get smashed by any competition coming out around the same time. The European release dates have not been changed and are still due to come out on November 21st.