As Sonic fans, SEGA has invariably played at least some role in the tastes of everyone on the Sonic Stadium staff. Whether it is our love for their hardware, software or intellectual property, we each have a memory that either defined SEGA for us, or allowed SEGA to shape our tastes in gaming as a whole.
Today, on SEGA’s 60th anniversary, we thought it would be good to reminisce about the company that created a character we all have at least some fondness for.
Sonic the Hedgehog fans have been turning their creativity to Nintendo’s ultra popular Animal Crossing New Horizons – check out our favourite designs and customisations below!
You want box office and Rotten Tomato statistics? A wholly unnecessary return of LCD games from the 90s? A jacket stitched with three wildly different fonts!? We’ve got all that, and we’ll even remind you that all your favorite video game events are cancelled on this month’s Sonic Talk!
There was once a time where the idea of two bitter industry rivals sharing the same game (let alone the same console) would have you laughed out of the school playground; yet, Mario and Sonic have been collaborating with each other for over a decade now. In this latest installment for the Nintendo Switch, we find the two beloved platforming mascots once again battling for gold in the Olympic Games, and it’s a concept that may have lost its initial novelty. Does that mean that the game is doomed to fail? Far from it: there’s actually a fair bit to appreciate here!
The Sonic the Hedgehog movie has a whole heap of references to the franchise (and even a famous meme!), but one very brief moment in the film is jam-packed with Sonic the Hedgehog lore. Did you catch it? WARNING: Spoilers ahead!
In this episode of Sonic Talk, we discuss the Game Awards Show appearance that wasn’t, Sonic Adventure’s lost DLC, and Sonic’s latest holiday special. We also talk about the latest merch from Puma, First4Figures, Eaglemoss, and of course, Arby’s. Finally, we discuss a veritable boatload of movie news including, of course, baby Sonic! Continue reading Sonic Talk 66: Siri, Stop Playing Cats
The Sonic Stadium sped its way down to the premiere fan screening of Sonic the Hedgehog Movie in London late last month, for a chance to catch the film in its entirety before general release on Friday, 14th of February 2020!
Sonic Talk is back with it’s latest (and belated) episode. We originally recorded this in November, but circumstances unfortunately made editing the episode difficult. Nevertheless, here it is!
This month we discuss Mario & Sonic at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, the latest goings on in the Sonic comics, Movie Sonic’s new look, Headcannon’s Vertebreaker Kickstarter campaign, Sonic X’s return to Japanese airwaves, and of course, PUMA’s latest Sonic shoes. Before all that we also talk about some of the sweet new games we played ahead of the holiday!
Well, that was a decade and a half wasn’t it? So much has changed in the last ten years, it’s difficult to wrap it all up in a very succinct way. But don’t worry, The Sonic Stadium is here to help you remember. Let us take your hand and chuck you down this hellish warp zone we call a Retrospective, and blitz past all the crazy stuff that’s happened since 2010. Continue reading Sonic Decade in Review 2010 – 2019: The Games
If you never got to play Sonic Triple Trouble on the Game Gear before, you’re not alone. Sadly, Sonic’s handheld outings never got the attention they deserved, especially in the wake of the often more beloved 16-bit blockbusters on the Mega Drive. But what if you took that little adventure and applied it to a 16-bit-esque gameplay engine that really nailed the feel of a genuine SEGA Genesis game?
Why, you’d get Sonic Triple Trouble 16-bit, of course! And we’re happy to report that we scored an interview with the brains behind the operation. Noah Copeland has been hard at work on this fantastic re-imagining (seriously, if you haven’t played it yet, do so right here) and we’re excited to dig into his history with this project! Continue reading TSS Interview: Sonic Triple Trouble 16-bit’s Noah Copeland
When the original trailer for the Sonic Movie debuted in April this year, there was… a lot of material to work with, let’s just say. It was pretty common to see snapshots of Sonic’s teeth or dumbfounded expression across the Internet, and it was just as common to see it Photoshopped to be the butt of some joke.
Now, thanks to the new trailer that recently dropped (to some pretty high praise), the Internet has more material to work with, but with a much less “meme-able” design, is it still possible to poke fun at the Sonic Movie? The answer is “yes, absolutely!” Sit back and grab some popcorn (or a chili dog!), because here are our favourites we’ve found on Twitter: Continue reading Our Favourite Sonic Movie Memes on Twitter
Earlier today, Paramount Pictures uploaded the latest trailer for the Sonic Movie, complete with a newly cut trailer and a redesigned hedgehog! We all remember how… unique the first one was, but this new trailer features a few of the same shots! Check out some comparison shots below.
SAGE 2019 had a ton of exciting entries, some of which continued to crack the tough egg that is controlling Sonic in a 3D space! One of those is Sonic Islands, and it’s one of the best ones since the Sonic Utopia demo in 2016! It’s changed a bit since last year’s entry, in fact it looks like they started from the ground up! To get to the bottom of this, we went to the developer himself to see what Sonic Islands is all about.
Sonic Racing was one of the first titles announced for Apple Arcade, a subscription service exclusive to Apple devices meant to provide mobile gaming experiences free of loot boxes and microtransactions. As one of the service’s premiere exclusives, does Sonic Racing make good on Apple’s promise for better mobile gaming?
In this month’s episode, Sonic is blasting off as a mascot for a Jupiter space probe. Jason and Chris discuss Mario Kart World Tour while Alex talks all about Apple Arcade including Sonic Racing and Chu-Chu Rocket. Sonic rolls up into Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz as a playable character. We discuss the passing of Sonic the Comic artist, Nigel Dobbyn and finally see if Genesis does what Nintendon’t as a plug and play, mini console. All that and much more!
Sonic Smackdown was one of the many games featured at this year’s SAGE event, and probably one of the more notable. The game pays homage to the Capcom style of fighting games, drawing it’s inspiration from the Marvel series of beat ’em ups.
It’s the 25th anniversary of Sonic & Knuckles! 1994 was the year of the Death Egg Saga, and on this day 25 years ago that saga ended with a rather innovative little cartridge. You might think of it as the second half of Sonic 3, but I think it deserves a more fitting title: the betterhalf of Sonic 3! True, you can combine Sonic 3 & Knuckles to get the full experience, but today is Sonic & Knuckles’ birthday, not Sonic 3’s, and I say that if you look at them individually, you’ll find that Sonic & Knuckles has just a bit more to offer, and is the better game! Here are 7 reasons why this is the case.
Sega has just released a Mario and Sonic at the Olympics Tokyo 2020 demo onto the Japanese E-Shop. The demo is in full English and contains seven events. Five from the normal, Olympic games and two from the Tokyo 1964 mode. The events include 110m Hurdles, Surfing, Karate, Badminton and Archery on the Olympics side, along with Long Jump and 10m Platform Diving on the 1964 side. You can play as Mario, Sonic, Bowser, and Dr, Eggman in the Olympic events or just Mario and Sonic in the 1964 events. You can also add an analog mode to the 1964 events to give it that CRT TV look.
This year is the 20th Anniversary of the Western release of the Sega Dreamcast and flagship launch title Sonic Adventure (its European anniversary was actually yesterday)! But, while everyone can talk about the game’s original release until the cows come home, a lot less remembered is its Gamecube/PC port, Sonic Adventure DX. Let’s take a Look Back at it! Continue reading Hero of Legend’s Look Back – Sonic Adventure DX: Director’s Cut
Another month, another (incredibly late) episode of Sonic Talk!
In this episode, we discuss Sonic’s appearance in OK KO!, and how he single-handedly caused the series to end (kidding). We also chat about Tangle and Whisper, a Mighty plush, Sonic #19, Mario and Sonic 2020 Olympics arcade and much, much more! So what are you waiting for? RECENT topics?!! Hah! Like we’d do that!
“Speed returns, in an all new 2D adventure built from the ground up.”
Ten years ago, on September 8th, 2009, mere hours before the 10th anniversary of the Dreamcast, SEGA dropped a teaser trailer for “Project Needlemouse.” Catching the gaming community by surprise, this mysterious project promised to bring Sonic the Hedgehog back to its 2D roots with a new 2D platformer in the style of the Mega Drive games. This project would later be officially titled Sonic the Hedgehog 4, an episodic download game that hoped to please the older Sonic fans who grew up with the classics. Continue reading TSS Retrospective: The Needlemouse Debacle: Episode I
With all the hype surrounding Super Mario Maker 2 for the Nintendo Switch, there’s no doubt the thought of a Sonic-esque equivalent is on the minds of Sonic fans around the world. Indeed, what if there was a Sonic Maker?
Well, if you haven’t heard, one Sonic fan has gone above and beyond to bring this fantasy to life, and The Sonic Stadium is proud to provide you with an exclusive interview with the brains behind the project known as Sonic Studio!
Today marks 30 years since the SEGA Genesis (known as the SEGA Mega Drive elsewhere, the name was changed in North America due to trademark issues) made its debut!
This name would turn out to be quite fitting, as the SEGA Genesis became the system that would not only make SEGA and many of its franchises household names on the continent, it would also serve as the birth place for the company’s most successful character: a blue hedgehog named Sonic!
We caught caught up with IDW Publishing Sonic the Hedgehog comic artist Jennifer Hernandez at San Diego Comic Con 2019 to get the lowdown all things Sonical and comical!
While at Comic Con last week, I managed to grab a SDCC exclusive copy of Tangle and Whisper issue number one, The very first IDW spin-off mini series based on comic exclusive Sonic the Hedgehog characters. Written by Ian Flynn with art by Evan Stanley.
Who doesn’t like the constant reminder that Sonic the Hedgehog owns so much of our free time and money? As if our shelves weren’t already stacked high with game cartridges, many companies go out of their way to create a huge array of irresistible merchandise that become objects of desire amongst large parts of the fanbase. Entities such as First 4 Figures have established themselves as one such company that goes the distance and create highly detailed statues of video game and anime characters, Sonic and friends included, in gravity-defying and dynamic poses true to their source material. But as the complexity, scale, and limited nature / scarcity of these pieces of merchandise increase, so does the cost…
Forgive the lateness of our podcast as we recorded this one a few weeks ago, but that doesn’t mean it’s not chock full of Sonic-ey goodness! In this episode we discuss Jason’s trip to E3, the fan revival of Sonic Runners, Sonic Revolution 2019, Funko Pop Sonic cereal, an unofficial Sonic book that uses fanmade images and much, much more. Because hey, who needs copyrights when you can just slap a bunch of images together, right?
Special Note: We used the cover from the plagiarized Carlton Sonic book for this month’s podcast image. That render on that plagiarized book was created by Deviant Art user FinnAkira, and you can find it here.
Every year in June, Sonic fans and press alike (and the guys at The Sonic Stadium happen to be both!) descend unto the arid, star-studded land of Los Angeles to take on the ‘Video Gaming Superbowl’ that is E3. But, every year, on the Sunday before E3 festivities begin, there’s a whole other party happening in the same city just for Sonic fans. Continue reading Talkin’ Bout a Sonic Revolution: We Visit the 2019 Fan Convention
Ex-SEGA European Product Manager Tony Takoushi has recently created an account on instagram, and has shared an array of incredible images from early 90s Sonic merchandise, to original and development artwork from Sonic the Hedgehog designers.
TSS was given the opportunity at E3 to get a first hands-on look at the Sonic at the Olympic Games – Tokyo 2020 mobile title, set for release to coincide with the event next year, and although this date is still some time away, we were permitted to play a few rounds on an early demo of the game! Continue reading TSS Preview: Sonic at the Olympic Games – Tokyo 2020
While a good chunk of Sega’s booth was dedicated to Mario and Sonic at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, there was a corner showing off some of Sega’s other properties slated for release later this year. Among them was the Sega Genesis Mini, Sega’s answer to the NES and SNES Classic. I sat down in a bean bag (which means my fat rump had a hard time getting back up) and sampled SEGA’s miniaturized console.
The first thing you’ll notice when playing the demo at E3 is that the part of the booth you’re at looks like a living room, complete with a bean bag to sit in. Much like the virtual living room in some of the recent Genesis compilations, there are posters of Genesis games everywhere, along with with old VHS tapes with cheesy labels like “Cartoon collection! Do not erase!!” on them. They really went all-in on the “90’s bedroom” aesthetic.
The nostalgia doesn’t stop with the booth aesthetic, as the mini console itself gets a lot right. Its controller has an ergonomic feel and shape that perfectly replicates the original, and the console itself is a faithful, shrunk-down recreation of SEGA’s 16-bit system. Once you boot the mini console up, you’re treated to a screen filled with about a dozen Genesis titles, with the rest coming into view as you scroll down. I don’t know if I care for this, as it shrinks down the box art and makes each game feel less important. Hopefully, the interface can customized in the final product.
Despite the September release date, the console already feels ready for release, as all 42 games were playable on the show floor. I went with Mega Man: The Wily Wars and Road Rash 2 for this preview. Both played great and judging by Road Rash 2 alone, are identical to their original versions. The emulation is perfect.
Holding start for five seconds brings up a menu where you can make a save state and exit back to the main menu. There’s your usual options such as screen filters and what aspect ratio you want the game in, but one of the most interesting features is the language menu. You can set the game menu to many different languages and the games will play in their original language as well. Going back to aspect ratio, another neat feature is that many of the games feature a more natural 16:9 aspect ratio by zooming in on the game while keeping the UI in place. Sonic 2 was shown off as an example of that. It keeps the sprites from looking stretched, but at the cost of zooming in on the picture a bit.
Overall, with a great controller, cool menu features and pixel perfect emulation, the Sega Genesis Mini is something to get hyped for. It blows the old AtGames Genesis consoles out of the water in every way, and should definitely be worth picking up come September.
Adam Tuff on SEGA’s giant controller
In addition to the regular kiosks, SEGA also had a Genesis Mini running on a giant, 5-foot-wide Genesis controller that folks could play Streets of Rage and Sonic 2 on. When I tried to play Sonic 2’s Chemical Plant level, I had to stretch my arms out and punch the A button with my first just to get around. While it was a neat novelty, it wasn’t exactly the most wieldy controller, since I couldn’t even spindash with it.
Still, even on this giant cumbersome monstrosity, I was able to get enough rings to enter the special special. As I began maneuvering Sonic and Tails through the half-pipe, a crowd formed around me. Despite the massive controller, I made it through and even got a small amount of applause! Here’s hoping SEGA’s booth features and equally cool gimmick next E3.
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