After a year-long drought ofSonic the Hedgehog, fans are finally going to get a good look at what lies in the Blue Blur’s future on May 27th at 9am PT. CelebratingSonic’s 30th anniversary, Sonic Central will illuminate what games and merchandise are coming in the immediate future for the storied Sega franchise. After spending so long with only theSonic the Hedgehogmovie, comics, and fan projects to tide them over,Sonicfans are thirsty for something official to look forward to. And if some of the rumors are true, there’s going to be a lot to look forward to very soon.
Indeed, the rumor mill has been churning quite hard recently. Talk of HD re-releases and collections have abounded, and seem very likely. ManySonicfans are already pretty sure of a few things that will show up atthe May 27th presentation, and they have every reason to suspect as such. Sonic Team has clearly been keeping a lot under wraps since the pandemic started, and all of it could come rushing out over the course of this short presentation. There is a ton of easy guesses to make for a show of this magnitude, so here’s a compilation of what fans might see.
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Sonic Colors Remaster and Sonic 30th Anniversary Collection
There are at least twoSonicgames that seem like a lock for the show.ASonic Colorsre-release was leakedby a German dubbing studio called iksample, and since then it’s been looking more and more likely that it’s really happening.Sonic Colorswas a Wii game released in 2010, and was generally agreed to be the best 3DSonicgame released in a long time. Some still have it pegged as their favorite iteration of BoostSonicgameplay. The game was also recognized for looking and sounding amazing, and it will look even better now if it releases with a higher resolution on modern consoles.
There are also rumors of aSoniccollection of some sort coming for at least the PlayStation 4. This news comes from the French retailer Sogamely, which has a listing for something called merelySonic Collectionfor the PS4. The listing doesn’t feature any box art or a release date, but a compilation of some kind would make a lot of sense forSonic’s 30th anniversary.Soniccollections already exist, and could really use anHD re-release on current consoles. It would be even better if they could also start compiling the 3DSonicgames from the past couple decades as well as the 2D ones. While many of these games are available on Steam, it would be nice to have them collected in one place.
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A New 2D Sonic Game
It’s after those two that this event’s contents start to become unclear. Again, Sega has done an excellent job keeping its plans for the future ofSonicgames hidden throughout the pandemic. If a bet had to be placed down on what new games were coming next in theSonicfranchise, a 2D title would probably he brought up. The situation with theascended fangameSonic Maniacritically eclipsing Sonic Team’s ownSonic Forcesis still fresh in everyone’s minds, and Sega may want to take another crack at scratching the retroSonicitch with a 2D game of its own. It would certainly fit with theSonicseries' habit of constantly reinventing itself.
What thatSonicgame would be about is another issue entirely. The answer may well be lying under the fandom’s collective nose, as was hinted at several months ago. TheupcomingSonic PrimeNetflix showcould be the source of the game’s new setting, seeingSonictravel through a whole new world and deal with a new conflict. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time aSonicgame was made to synergize with a TV show, though unlike the variousBoomgames, this one may be made by Sonic Team itself instead of third-party studios. At any rate, the chances of seeing a new 2DSonicgame at this event feel quite high.
New or Old 3D Sonic Games
There is also a good chance that Sega wants to keep theMania/Forcesdynamic alive, and have both a 2D and 3D game in development at the same time. This could take the form of just about anything, givenSonic’s track record, but could also have something to do withSonic Prime. It’s really too soon to nail down any surefire guesses, but there are a number of hopes going into the reveal. 3DSonichas had a rocky history due to a nasty combination of mismanagement from Sega and a lack of focus from Sonic Team. Even if this wasSonic Forces 2, it would be nice to see Sonic Team take another crack at something it has already made. Withmore time spent on polishand more attention paid towards rooting out the bad ideas and focusing on the good, a truly great 3DSonicgame from Sonic Team is still possible.
Speaking of Sonic Team taking another crack at something it has already made, there is one more rumor that fans would love to see come to fruition: the return ofSonic Adventure. Sporting its own unique style ofSonicgameplay alongside a host of various other characters,Sonic Adventure 1and2remain in contention for the title of “best 3DSonic.” A return to this style of gameplay after so many Boost games would be welcome, no matter what form it takes. Sonic Team actually has a lot of flexibility as to what it can do with a newAdventuregame; it could be the fabledSonic Adventure 3, or it could hop on the remake bandwagon and be amodernization ofSonic Adventure 1. The sky is truly the limit when it comes to bringingSonic Adventureback, and it would be great to see its return. Whatever truth is in these predictions, it won’t take long for fans to find out what exactly this presentation has in store. Here’s to a great 30th anniversary for everyone’s favorite blue hedgehog, and an exciting Sonic Central for the fans.
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