SEGA Japan has given a big update to their Sonic Generations website and among the additions are 15 new images from the game’s story introduction scene. The game opens with a picnic Sonic’s friends are holding for his Birthday, before new enemy creature Time Eater comes along and sucks up Sonic and his friends into warp holes spread out across Sonic’s 20 year history.

Take a look at the images in our gallery.

Details of the story introductions from the HD version and the 3DS version have also been revealed and we have English translations of those courtesy of San.ake from Sonic Retro.

PS3/Xbox 360/PC version

Today is Sonic’s Birthday.
A party is about to start, full of treats Sonic’s friends prepared.

Or so it was supposed to…
A mysterious monster attacks out of the blue,
Sonic’s friends are absorbed into a vortex,
and Sonic is left helpless.

Nothing but a white world in front of his eyes…
What is this place? Where are his friends?
Everything remaining a mystery,
an adventure that crosses both space and time starts!

3DS version

Sonic is invited to a birthday party Tails organized.
With a chili-dog in hand, Sonic is in a good mood. However…

A mysterious monster attacks out of the blue
Tails is absorbed into a vortex
and Sonic is left helpless.

Nothing but a white world in front of his eyes…
What is this place? Where is Tails?
Everything remaining a mystery,
an adventure that crosses both space and time starts!

Source: SEGA Japan’s Sonic Generations website

Thanks to SSMB members The Dead Skin and Torcano Sanctuary for the heads up!

If you forgot the story of Sonic the Hedgehog 4, here’s a recap:

…But this humiliating defeat only serves to further Eggman’s rage, and he has determined once and for all to rid himself of Sonic. Eggman revisits – and improves – the very best of his creations to defeat our spiked hero.

And so a new Adventure begins…

Wow, I’m so glad they got rid of all those grammatical and typographical errors.  That was embarrassing before.

Anyway, regardless of what people say or discuss, this story is final.  It’s still fun to discuss other options, however.  So… let’s do that!

Ken “This Is How You Imagined It” Balough said to G4TV during E3 that Sonic 4 was the end of the “Death Egg” saga and the beginning of a new one.  Then, he compared Sonic to LOST and made my face hurt.  Since Sonic 4 has been in the minds of Sonic fans for 16 years now, there has been many fangames, fan fics and discussion about what this game would be about in the event that it would be made.  Now that it is being made, I’ve noticed some old ideas pop up now and again that are either somewhat along the lines of SEGA’s Sonic 4 or something totally different.  Today’s Sunday Poll is:

If you were in charge of the story for Sonic 4, you would…

1. …continue the “Death Egg” saga with a direct sequel to Sonic 3 & Knuckles.
2. …do something along the lines of SEGA’s story.
3. …create a story completely different from the top two choices.
4. …put Sonic in a post-apocalyptic world with all of his friends to fight Killdark the Bloodwulf.
5. …say “fuck it” and play Sonic Colors.

Feel free to elaborate on your choice, especially if you pick #3.  Your unrelated Sunday video this week is criminally catchy and NSFW in one little nugget:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Cee-Lo is the man.

Sonic Retro has been on point lately with digging up information within the Sonic the Hedgehog 4 website.  Retro member darkspines35 found the intro story inside the website and handed it off to Retro admin Scarred Sun to share to the world.  Read it below (spoilers and what not):

Story thus far:

It began as Sonic’s animal friends begin disappearing from South Island. Soon Sonic discovers that evil scientist Dr. Eggman has been kidnapping them and turning them into robots to collect the legendary treasure – The Chaos Emeralds. Sonic decides it’s up to him to save them and embarks on a quest to free his animal friends. Sonic battles Eggman through many different zones. Sonic eventually pursues Eggman to Final Zone where the first in many epic battles between them begins. In the end Sonic is victorious and Eggman’s Mecha fly’s away badly damaged. Sonic returns to Green Hill Zone and re-unites with his friends.

Their reunion is short lived however, as Eggman resurfaces and begins kidnapping Sonic friends again, in an effort to create more workers to finish his ultimate Weapon – The Death Egg! Teaming up with the newly met, Miles ‘Tails’ Prower, Sonic embarks on a new mission through West Side Island in an effort to free his friends and ensure Eggman does not obtain the 7 Chaos emeralds to fuel the Death Egg.

Once the West Side Island is freed, Sonic and Tails eventually board the Tornado and assault the Death Egg itself. After destroying Mecha Sonic, Eggman flees and enters his new Eggman Robot attacking Sonic! After a heated battle Sonic destroys the Eggman Robot and the Death Egg begins to explode.

Sonic and Tails fly down and come across mysterious island called Angel Island. This island is floating by the power of the precious stone called Master Emerald, but now this mysterious island are dropping down to the ocean surface because the Death Egg had been falling on this island. Sonic and Tails are attacked by a Red Echidna named Knuckles the guardian of the island.

Knuckles steals the Chaos emeralds from Sonic, being tricked by Eggman that he is an enemy come to take the Master Emerald.While Sonic and Tails are entangled by Knuckles, Eggman repairs the Death Egg and preps it for launch.

Sonic manages to jump on Death Egg just as it’s flying off. After confronting Eggman on the Death Egg, Sonic defeats Eggman once more and the Death Egg plummets back to Angel Island.

Back on the ground Dr. Eggman begins the repairing Death Egg again. Feeling Knuckles has served his purpose, he sends EggRobo to eliminate this potential threat. EggRobo finds Knuckles relaxing in Mushroom Zone and drops a bomb on him but Knuckles manages to survive. Enraged, the Wild Echidna sets off to defeat EggRobo. Meanwhile Sonic and Tails explore the island to find traces of the Death Egg and find out Eggman’s fate. After and Epic showdown between Sonic and Knuckles, Eggman uses the opportunity to finally steal the Master Emerald and re-launches the Death Egg. With the power of the emeralds, Sonic goes after Eggman, who has taken the Master Emerald into space.

Sonic and Tails secure the Master Emerald and return it to Knuckles on Angel Island. With it’s power restored, the Angel Island lifts off into the sky as Sonic and Tails fly off into the sunset.

But this humiliating defeat only serves to further Eggman’s rage, and he has determined once and for all to rid himself of Sonic. Eggman revisits – and improves – the very best of his creations to defeat our spiked hero.

And so a new Adventure begins…

Eggman’s best creations, eh?  That explains all the rehashing of badniks.  Although, I wouldn’t call the motobug one of “Eggman’s Finest.”

[via Sonic Retro]

The Leipzig Games Convention takes place tomorrow, and we can expect plenty of fresh information on Sonic Unleashed. According to the TalkPlayStation Blog however, one reader (called ‘Dan’) couldn’t contain his secrets any longer and apparently spilled some massive story-based beans. Among the unsupported claims is talk of Sonic and the Werehog having separate ‘Super’ forms, Tails appearing with the Tornado and something about a Chaos Golem. Here’s TalkPlayStation with some more tidbits:

The returning character is called Fang the Sniper. He’ll be reinvented like the Chaotix were when they were reintroduced in Sonic Heroes. Fang the Sniper is hired to destroy the Werehog with the promise that he can get the Emerals from his dead body. He becomes an occasional rival in three or four boss battles. In their final battle, he reaches the last Emerald before Sonic and has an adverse effect.

Again, there are no official sources confirming this, so don’t go over the top with this newfound information, kids. There’s a chance that reader ‘Dan’ may just be, you know, making it up. But GC’s only tomorrow, so we’ll know soon enough.

Source: Sonic Unleashed Story Leaked – TalkPlayStation

After weeks of hype and hearsay, SEGA finally confirm the existance of Sonic Unleashed which will be released almost universally on all major platforms: XBox 360, Nintendo Wii, Playstation 3 AND PS2.

The game is set to use a new “Hedgehog engine” which will combine (as many have already seen) both 2D “classic” gameplay with rich new 3D environments. The aim of this is to amalgamate the new look of Sonic the Hedgehog with some older elements back from older Sonic titles. SEGA say “The Hedgehog engine will help re-define the gameplay experience for Sonic fans and newcomers to the franchise alike.”

The premise of the story details Dr. Eggman breaking the world apart, and once again Sonic must retrieve the Chaos emeralds in order to piece it back together again. The Seven different continents of the shattered world look set to provide the different environments throughout the game.

The game will also offer differing gameplay in both day time and night time scenarios (as some of the leaked artwork has already hinted) and we can also expect “four new modes” to play in, as well as “new combat, movement and functional abilities.”

Overall there is a lot of potential in this game, in that SEGA are set to provide for both fans who desire elements of older gameplay again, as well as those looking for something new.
What we can say for sure is, it’s going to be pretty hard not to get excited, or at least be a little bit curious, about what looks to be an exciting new installment to the Sonic the Hedgehog series.

Arrrooooo!

EDIT: Go and check out the Sonic Unleashed Page at SEGA too!

SEGA Europe

For those unable to view the site, the stry revealed there is as follows;

One day, a mysterious energy signal appears on Tails’ radar and he quickly grabs Sonic to go and investigate. As they fly further and further, a sudden storm comes and bowls them way off course. Soon after, Tails loses control of the plane and they go into a tail-spin over one of the islands.

Strangely enough, as Sonic races through the chaotic world, Blaze appears. What has brought her from her alternate dimension? It’s up to you to unravel the mystery!

Sonic Rush Adventure has an American release date of the 18th of September 2007.

Many thanks to .:Dark.Prowl:. for the tip-off!

According to the press release, Tails and two new characters are confirmed to be in the game, though details have not been revealed on the latter two characters at this time. More tidbits include a “jostling” new control scheme, allegedly meant to bring better customization and style to the existing control scheme, allowing for “tighter” competition. Sounds peachy.

Screenshots:

Other tidbits from the press release:

• Battle Mode: Players select from six ways to thrash their rival buddies: Knockout, Ring Battle, Race, King of the Hill, Capture the Chao, and Tag.

• Single-Disc Game Sharing: Two players can easily access the multiplayer challenge with just a single disc using the Wi-Fi function.

• Intriguing New Storyline: The Chao seem to be disappearing and all eight rivals must work fast to find out who is behind it.

• New PlayableCharacters: Join Tails and two new characters for even more fast-paced action with your rivals.

• Free Play Mode: Free from rivalry, experience the challengin gold-school Sonic-style map at your own pace.

• Expanded Card Collection: Collect 150 new cards for loads of new options to customise your playable characters.

Looks like this game is good to go! Stay tuned to Sonic News for further developments. And keep an eye out for those missing Chao. Poor chao! =(