Want to get Sonic Jump, Sonic Dash and Sonic All-Stars Racing on the cheap? Well today is your chance!
Android: Sonic Jump 99 cents
iOS: Sonic Dash 99 cents – SEGA All-Stars Racing 99 cents
Since we know that Sonic Jump is still going to get updates, Android users should jump on the sale before they release Sonic Dash and that takes up all your mobile time (and battery).
Hardlight Studio‘s Chris Southall and James Booth both took the time out to give us a short interview about their newly released mobile game, Sonic Dash. The addictive score based game has been draining the battery on our phones here at SEGAbits, so naturally we had burning questions that needed answering!
Via the Sonic Stadium comes news that SEGA’s Hardlight studio, the team behind Sonic Jump, is now at work on another Sonic title named Sonic Dash. The news came by way of job advertisements posted by the studio on LinkedIn. Sonic Dash is listed as a recent title, with Sonic Jump also being listed. The title has since been removed, but Sonic Stadium screen capped it to prove that they’re not talking nonsense. The job posting, pre-edit, read as follows:
Hardlight is SEGA’s third UK based studio and is focused exclusively on creating high quality, innovative game experiences for mobile and handheld platforms.
The Studio comprises small, agile teams working on new IP & well-known SEGA IP. Project durations are 5-10 months, building on the success of their first projects on iOS – Sonic Jump & Sonic Dash – Hardlight is now working on some new & exciting projects.
The team follows an ethos of staying compact, agile and focused – combining talent from a variety of game genres and backgrounds, and welcomes applications from candidates of all levels of experience.
More than likely, Sonic Dash will be a sidescrolling endless runner, not unlike the free app released around Sonic’s 20th anniversary entitled Sonic the Sketchhog or the more recent Sonic and Nike game Sonic X Vapor. The job listing appears to be for projects following Sonic Dash, which implies that the game is already finished and is awaiting release. Given that the game’s name came right from Hardlight and SEGA, we’re treating it as news but will slap a “rumor” tag on it just in case.
A patch was released today for Sonic Jump on Android devices. Fixes the text scaling issues that caused microscopic text, among other issues. So if you were having issues with Sonic Jump on your device. Go download the patch from the Play Store and see if it fixes the issues you were having. Let us know in the comments if the patch fixes the issues you were having or not. It fixed the issues I was having with microscopic text.
SEGA has released Sonic Jump to Android devices! Now Android users can see what all the fuss is about. The game is $1.99 on the Google Play store, and while the Android release doesn’t appear to have all the content that the iOS version currently has, the game will have free updates and will most likely get everything the iOS version currently has in time. Given the time it takes to level up, players probably won’t notice the lack of content until an update is set to appear.
SEGA has updated the iOS game Sonic Jump today, adding two new characters: Silver and Rouge, more boss battles, new level objects and gimmicks, new wallpapers, graphical updates and more. Upon starting up the game, players will notice additional screens including an easy to access pop up panel that gives gameplay records including completion percentages and ring totals, as well as a panel that shows total zone progress. Within stages, graphical flourishes have been added including animation on once static objects and new elements such as Green Hill Zone flowers. Later stages feature diagonal springs and swing gimmicks. Each zone has double the boss battles, with the sixth stage of each zone being replaced by a new Eggman fight featuring new layouts. Additional characters, Silver and Rouge, bring with them more levels with 30 looking to be the new maximum level to attain.
The iOS jumper game Sonic Jump, a remake of a 2005 mobile title of the same name, has received a rather big update today. The update, entitled the “High Flier Update”, adds Blue Sky Zone, Amy Rose as a playable character, a Global Challenge, new music, unlockable wallpapers and more. Blue Sky Zone features 12 acts, as well as an Arcade mode, new achievements, hazards and enemies. Amy Rose is initially locked, but can be bought with rings which are earned within the game’s acts. As for the Global Challenge, Sonic Jump players from around the world are tasked with working together to reach the moon which in turn will unlock a new character.
If you own the game, the update is free. If you don’t own the game, head on over to the iOS store and pick it up for $1.99!
While Sonic Jump is the first Sonic game designed with iOS and smartphone devices in mind, it’s not the first Sonic Jump game. Sonic Jump originally came out in 2006 on older cell phones of that period. This predates Doodle Jump which many claim this game is a knockoff of by almost three years. That’s right Sonic Jump didn’t rip off Doodle Jump. If anything, it’s the other way around.
But the most important question remains “is this game any good”? While I will say this is a much more improved and involved game than Doodle Jump, it’s not without its faults. Read on for the full review.
It looks like SEGA’s Hardlight Studio, the folks behind the Viking PC port, were also busy developing Sonic Jump. In this 15 minute Sonic Jump gameplay video, Hardlight’s logo appears before the game begins, confirming that the developer has shifted focus from Vita games to iOS. While their “unique action adventure” title is still M.I.A., Sonic Jump looks to be a fun smartphone update to the 2005 mobile phone game Sonic Jump. So before you call this a Doodle Jump ripoff, remember than SEGA did it four years before Lima Sky did.
The game features both a story and arcade mode, with the story being as simple as the Genesis originals. Eggman has captured your animal friends, and the player can choose Sonic, Tails or Knuckles as the hero who leaps skyward after Eggman. Series staples including letter grades, red rings, badniks, springs, rings, spikes and power-ups appear. Fans who have searched through the game’s assets have also found character images of Amy, Cream, Rouge, Shadow, Blaze and Silver. No word on if these characters are also playable. The game releases tomorrow, and we hope to have a review up within the week.
Sega has announced on Sonic’s Facebook page, the first screenshot and launch date of Sonic’s first iOS game “Sonic Jump”. The game will be available this Thursday, Oct 18th for $1.99 US, £1.49 Europe. No other details are out at this time, but it seems obvious now that this game will be a new version of the old Sonic Jump from mobile devices.
The image and the headline are all we know for now, but based on the name and platform it looks like Sonic will soon be entering the run and jump genre. To be honest, I don’t know why SEGA hasn’t done this sooner. Sonic the Sketchhog and Nike had run and jump Sonic games, but both were free promos available to play for only a limited time. This time out, they might make some money on it. Either as a free game that relies on in-app purchases or an inexpensive one time purchase.
Edit: I just realized that Sonic Jump was in fact a mobile phone game released back in 2005, which played a bit like Doodle Jump (released in 2009). So this could either be a port or an updated version of the game. After the break, check out some original Sonic Jump gameplay.