Iizuka talks Sonic's 20th anniversary, hints at humans retur

[Happy Cat]

It appears that while Takashi Iizuka was publicly doing his interview rounds with the media over a week ago, UK retailer GAME also got to have a chat with him and quietly published their interview over on their Sonic Colours product page.

GAME managed to glean some interesting information, such as the Sonic games being split into two worlds; the human world and the non-human world (of which Sonic Colours falls into the latter). Iizuka was queried about why Sonic Colours is exclusive to Wii & DS, to which he explained that the team wanted to concentrate on those platforms and use their strengths to make the game the best it can be on both.

Addressed also in this interview are controls.  Iizuka told us that the game is being aimed at the six to twelve age group to ensure that anyone can pick up the controls and have fun with the game. In response to that age group target, GAME wondered whether SEGA will be alienating their older fans but Iizuka doesn’t think so, as Sonic 4 is on the way to appease fans who grew up with the franchise. Iizuka thinks that 3D Sonic game fans who found previous 3D titles to be on the difficult side will also enjoy Sonic Colours, due to its easier control scheme making it more user friendly.

The most interesting part of the interview came at the very end where Iizuka teased that we might be seeing something special next year for Sonic’s 20th Anniversary:

And what’s next for Sonic?
We’ve already announced Sonic Free Riders for Kinect, but if you look at 2011 that’s the 20th Anniversary of Sonic, so you might just be seeing something special for that.

You can check out the interview at GAME’s Sonic Colours Wii and DS pages.

http://www.sonicstadium.org/blog/2010/0 ... interview/

[Sega Uranus]

He thinks the controls were too complicated before, and that is why people thought they were too hard? They were not hard, they were frustrating due to bad/poor design. How can he not tell the difference?

And the two different world things... God, I hate this guy so much.

[Sharky]

Sonic games have been set in Human or Non-Human worlds since Sonic Adventure 1 a game that most people here including myself loved. Whats the big problem?

[Sega Uranus]

I do not care if there are many humans or none in Sonic games at all, but making two universes only splits the fanbase more. I mean obviously there is no way to fix the story in the series, but he is just making up stuff off the top of his head just to make it seem like Sonic Team are not hopeless.

If they were going to make two universes they should have split up normal stuff and weird Shadow-like stuff into two different franchises, one for the older fans and general gamers, and one for everyone else. Instead they have four now for just the games alone. 2D with humans, 2D without, 3D with, 3D without, five if you count the storybook series too (if you count everything else there has to be over 10). He is literally making the series more convoluted and confusing than it ever was before, and he just did it with a small paragraph.

[Barry the Nomad]

I saw the "two worlds" comment as nothing major. He said exactly what the Sonic universe has always had: two worlds. We have the realistic locations like Station Square, City Escape and most of Unleashed. Then we have the more out-there Sonic worlds like Green Hill, Red Mountain and most of Colors. Humans populate the former, talking animals populate the latter, but they all co-exist on the same crazy alternate planet Earth.

[Sega Uranus]

So people cannot coexist in a world where one section of it is covered in all kinds of plant life?

Do not try an back up Iizuka please. He is just making it up as he talks. The series was always designed with humans in the background in mind, I mean Robotnik is a human after all! Are you really going to try and argue all of those houses in the background of Chemical Plant and the like are only for Sonic's friends? Almost every different Sonic game on the Genesis took place on South Island and Angel Island. Two islands in a whole world. I bet if you looked in the real world you would find two, maybe even three islands in the world without people on them.

[fluffymoochicken]

HIS WORLD.... has humans in it. =P Time to face the facts, people.

[Sega Stylista]

I've resigned from my cause but it exactly this "make a game for X audience and make another game for Y audience" market-orientated game design that has made gaming shit.

Ironically, just committing to make a single game that just kicks ass and looks cool without looking to the market parameters is still the best way to make a game that's going to sell great and have the broadest appeal.

[fluffymoochicken]

just committing to make a single game that just kicks ass and looks cool ... is still the best way to make a game that's going to sell great and have the broadest appeal.

And that's why Sonic Colors is likely going to be awesome! ^__^

[Sharky]

I've resigned from my cause but it exactly this "make a game for X audience and make another game for Y audience" market-orientated game design that has made gaming shit.

Ironically, just committing to make a single game that just kicks ass and looks cool without looking to the market parameters is still the best way to make a game that's going to sell great and have the broadest appeal.

They are working on a game with that in mind... but i dont imagine it will be announced for a long time.

[Barry the Nomad]

So people cannot coexist in a world where one section of it is covered in all kinds of plant life?

Do not try an back up Iizuka please. He is just making it up as he talks. The series was always designed with humans in the background in mind, I mean Robotnik is a human after all! Are you really going to try and argue all of those houses in the background of Chemical Plant and the like are only for Sonic's friends? Almost every different Sonic game on the Genesis took place on South Island and Angel Island. Two islands in a whole world. I bet if you looked in the real world you would find two, maybe even three islands in the world without people on them.

All he's talking about is obviousness. If anything I find it rather silly that he even said that. It's like saying "Mario exists in two worlds, the mushroom kingdom and the human world where he is a plumber". Yes? So? Anyway, I'm assuming it is his english skills that made him say such an odd (and obvious) remark. I wouldn't take the Sonicverse too seriously, it's always shifting about and making new rules. Hell, I don't even know if Sonic '06 happened in the same universe that Sonic 1 or Sonic Colores occurred in. All I know is to ignore Sonic '06.

don't tell cube I said that!!!!

[crackdude]

Where did Sonic Adventure happen?

I know they tried to explain it in Sonic X but it was really stupid. Nice anime though.

[Aki-at]

I thought the planet had humans anyway? Who was living in the houses in Springyard and Starlight Zone? I would think Iizuka completely forgot those establishment exists.

Not that it matters, Sonic Team has little idea, nor care for the storylines established, as seen in the almost infinate amount of plotholes in Sonic Adventure 2 and other Sonic games heavy on plot.

[crackdude]

I think it's pretty funny how they vaguely try to make things connect but it doesn't matter anyway lol

[Barry the Nomad]

nerdy speculation alert:

While Sonic's world has shifting geography and huge assortment of locals ranging from the insane (Spring Yard Zone) to the slightly normal (City Escape), it hasn't stopped some fans from drawing out maps trying to make sense of everything. While some of the maps I've seen in the past are obviously pure fan speculation and are in no way official, they have put everything seen from Sonic 1 through to Colors in a rather plausible "world map" using information based on SA2's map as well as the names of the islands in the original Sonic games.

edit: ah hell, I couldn't find any so I just drew this up from what I remember seeing:


Sonic 1-3&K&4 would have taken place in the West/South island area as well as on Angel Island. Sonic CD's little planet was tethered to this region as well. Sonic Adventure 1 would have taken place somewhere on the coast of the United Federation continent and Sonic Adventure 2 would have taken place elsewhere in the coastal city of Central City (same area the beginning of Shadow took place) as well as on Prison Island and the areas east of the United Federation (these being desert areas). Heroes is all over the map, with Seaside Hill looking to be in the same region as South Island and levels like Rail Canyon being in the same region as SA2's Pumpkin Hill.

Sonic '06 probably took place far east of the map above, but since that game is shit I will ignore it. Unleashed takes place all over the globe, not stepping on the toes of any of the theories posted above, with one area called Empire City taking place somewhere within the United Federation possibly on the opposite coast of Central City acting as the New York of the Sonicverse, while Central City is on the opposite coast just as San Francisco is. Finally, Colors takes place out in space, tethered to some yet unknown earth location.

Of course, all that nonsense above is speculation, but it does illustrate that the Sonic world can form some semblance.