Official Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Websites

[Aquaslash]

It looks like he's dodging Sonic's slag like The Matrix

[Blue Blood]

So I've taken all 17 hi-res screenshots (with the correct colours) and including the watermarked one's on IGN to make a cycling wallpaper for my desktop. It looks lovely.

[Barry the Nomad]

What if Shellcracker is a Casino Street enemy? I mean, Bubbles in Splash Hill was rather unexpected.

[Blue Blood]

What if Shellcracker is a Casino Street enemy? I mean, Bubbles in Splash Hill was rather unexpected.

I guess Bubbles will be universal. Sort of like the Egg Pawns, except there are other types of enemy too. I think Shellcracker will be in Mad Gear, cause the Asterons are there too.

[Barry the Nomad]

Yeah, I thought that too. But then I remembered that Crawl was the only enemy to feature in Sonic 2's Casino Night and he is pretty similar to Shellcracker:

I'm leaning towards Mad Gear as well, but I'm hoping we'll get a curve ball.

[Blue Blood]

Well, Batbot from Carnival Night was in the Sonic 4 announcement trailer...

Edited March 25, 2010 by Blue Blood

[Barry the Nomad]

RIGHT! I totally forgot about him. Perhaps Batbot will be what Bubbles is to Splash Hill. The hovering chain attack badnik.

[Rusty Spy]

Yeah, that hovering Newtron is a really bizarre screen. I almost picture him leaping over Sonic as Sonic is about to hit him.

Edited March 25, 2010 by Black Spy

[Blue Blood]

I hope not. All Bubbles ever did was float around a little, but Batbot chases you. He should work like that again, rather than be downgraded.

[Unholy Sonic]

I don't know if it has been mentioned but its the second pic where there is a lock-on on a box right after Sonic took a spring instead of having a lock-on when he jumps on his own.

Does that mean that at anytime when he leaves the ground he can home on both boxes and badniks?

[Barry the Nomad]

I don't know if it has been mentioned but its the second pic where there is a lock-on on a box right after Sonic took a spring instead of having a lock-on when he jumps on his own.

Does that mean that at anytime when he leaves the ground he can home on both boxes and badniks?

Also looks like he lost some rings in the right corner, despite looking to come in from the left. Whats going on in that screen?

[Diogenes]

Does that mean that at anytime when he leaves the ground he can home on both boxes and badniks?

It means he can homing attack after hitting a spring. Which is nothing new.

[Unholy Sonic]

Also looks like he lost some rings in the right corner, despite looking to come in from the left. Whats going on in that screen?

My guess is that Buzzer shot him somewhere.... from a higher ground, Sonic fell down, then he ran away.

But the more I look at that pic, the less it can be said like that since the blue trail is clearly showing us that...

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WAS THAT A CO-OP PLAY AND TAILS GOT SHOT, FELL DOWN THE PIT AND SONIC PASSED AT THAT MOMENT!?

Nah.... but still mysterious..

It means he can homing attack after hitting a spring. Which is nothing new.

Now that I remember SU, SatSR & SatBK where it was possible... okay guess its alright then.

Edited March 25, 2010 by Unholy Sønic

[Rusty Spy]

Looks like he jumped up the spring, got hit, and quickly jumped up again to HA thew spring. The blue trail suggests that he was standing still just after the pulley and jumped up to do the HA, otherwise he would've just ran straight into the spring after coming from the pulley.

[Detective Shadzter]

ROCKET NEWTRON XDDDD he looks very strange there like he trying to dive on Sonic for a hug XD overall this is a alright update I would of perfered a video of splash hill in motion but looks like we have to wait longer.

He looks like he's jumping to me, he'd have his legs and tail tucked away if he transformed into his rocket form wouldn't he? Unless he rises up like that and then transforms in the air, perhaps they snapped a pic of him just before he transformed?

[DaBatGuy]

I hope Newtron is jumping, I like the idea of enemies being able to dodge Sonic if he moves too fast, kinda like the grasshoppers in Marble Garden Zone.

[Phos]

New batch of screen shots, new batch of uninspired design.

Yeah, that hovering Newtron is a really bizarre screen. I almost picture him leaping over Sonic as Sonic is about to hit him.

Just like those enemies from SAdv 2.

[Badnik Zero]

Newtron looks like he's swimming through the air, like kicking his arms and legs. Maybe that's his new rocket animation - an air swimming chameleon?

The extra life pic is confusing. It looks like he took a hit right after exiting the pulley gimmick, then homing attacked the spring. But he's got 27 rings somehow.

[Unholy Sonic]

Newtron looks like he's swimming through the air, like kicking his arms and legs. Maybe that's his new rocket animation - an air swimming chameleon?

The extra life pic is confusing. It looks like he took a hit right after exiting the pulley gimmick, then homing attacked the spring. But he's got 27 rings somehow.

2 box of +10 rings with some rings he picked up after being hit since on both side of the spring, there isn't an equal amount of rings droped off.

[Blue Blood]

He looks like he's jumping to me, he'd have his legs and tail tucked away if he transformed into his rocket form wouldn't he? Unless he rises up like that and then transforms in the air, perhaps they snapped a pic of him just before he transformed?

I just played GHZ to check- Newtron materializes in mid-air, falls to the ground and then turns into a rocket. He stays ground level in rocket form, so this is the part before he transforms.

[DaBatGuy]

But Newtron always materialized on a wall of some sort. Either he appears in midair anywhere now or he's jumping.

[Agent York]

Another possibility is maybe the rocket is flickering (like how they used to in old games) and it's flickering in the shot, though don't know why they'd choose the flickering shot to post.

[BaronSFel001]

The thing with the post-1998 design is that it isn't a sign of a canon change, but a retcon altogether. According to SEGA, Sonic always had green eyes, Eggman always had that militaristic outfit, and Amy always had the bulbous bouffant.

I think it's a change for the better, honestly. I love classic Sonic, but for the sake of franchise continuity and to prevent something similar to the overseas storyline confusion that took place prior to Sonic Adventure, I think they should keep it to one universal design, and what better design than the one that's been used longer than the old one? It's not like it's bad or anything.

That is just it: I hate retconning. In the effort to make things easier to take in as a whole, for those of us completist perfectionists (or any of the sort) it only serves to screw with our take on things. Up to this point, I felt that with a full enough application of logic, most of the minor to moderate inconsistencies could be ironed out. I took considerable pride in feats such as evaluating how 10 of the 12 Game Gear games could fit into the canon and how the inconsistent number of Chaos Emeralds served as evidence to the existence of multiple sets. I cannot fault Sega for failing to make storyline a priority, but the simple task of keeping things together was apparently too much to hope for. Not that that is anything new.

Oh, and I do not think overseas confusion has anything to do with any of it, because Eggman has always looked the same in the games on all sides of the ponds. I agree that the modern design is not bad, but I think you got my point that Sega is rubbing me the wrong way by doing it this way. After all, what is wrong with the classic design? Think of how cool it would be to see a modern iteration. Personally, I did not fully appreciate the classic design until I saw the OVA, but it is definitely much more egg-like, and in light of the modern design, seems underappreciated by comparison.

Edited March 28, 2010 by BaronSFel001

[Diogenes]

That is just it: I hate retconning. In the effort to make things easier to take in as a whole, for those of us completist perfectionists (or any of the sort) it only serves to screw with our take on things. Up to this point, I felt that with a full enough application of logic, most of the minor to moderate inconsistencies could be ironed out. I took considerable pride in feats such as evaluating how 10 of the 12 Game Gear games could fit into the canon and how the inconsistent number of Chaos Emeralds served as evidence to the existence of multiple sets. I cannot fault Sega for failing to make storyline a priority, but the simple task of keeping things together was apparently too much to hope for. Not that that is anything new.

...but it doesn't affect anything.

I could understand if they were screwing with major plot elements (I'm still a bit pissed that the S4 website is saying Knuckles' story takes place during Sonic's in S3&K), but this...

It doesn't affect anything.

[BaronSFel001]

...but it doesn't affect anything.

I could understand if they were screwing with major plot elements (I'm still a bit pissed that the S4 website is saying Knuckles' story takes place during Sonic's in S3&K), but this...

It doesn't affect anything.

You make a good point. The extent of my dilemma would be to choose which one to ingnore, and if Sonic 4 is beyond a shadow of a doubt confirmed to take place between Sonic & Knuckles and Sonic Adventure, then that choice would be obvious. But I still hate retconning for the foundations it carelessly brings down.