New 2D Classic Sonic Platformer Sonic Superstars Announced

Hm, so when I originally saw the trailer I was more mixed on it than anything. Though, after rewatching it a bit I think I'm more on the positive side now than anything

It's nice to see 2D Sonic being split off into its own, original thing. While the game overall does still look decidedly last gen, it also still looks nice visually. Colors pop, some animations are clean, there's some interesting use of depth of field, I approve. Also, while the environments all seem to be mostly original so far... I do hope we get other more unique/ rare to the series level themes in here too. Nice showing so far though.

Also, kinda like what I'm seeing of the gameplay. Gimmicks seem to be more movement based so far which is lovely and they even added rail grinding in. Really adds to this being a fully new and original title over just more classic nostalgia.

Though with all that being said... yeah, still wouldn't call myself a classic style fan so the game overall isn't really hyping me up or anything. It's more of a "looks good for what it is" in my mind. I've ranted about my gripes with the classic style multiple times so I won't bring down the mood here with it lol. I'm happy for the people who are celebrating this.

I will say I am a bit weary of a few other actual things here. One, co-op. While not really anything new to the series, it is a tricky thing to balance in terms of level design. I fear that having levels built for 1-4 players might prove a bit too difficult for the tight balance 2D sonic gameplay demands. Also, it seems to be local only which is... underwhelming.

Second, the animations. While the opening one is nicely done (have no idea if it was done in-engine or not but looked to be... which is also probably a complement to it lol) and a lot of the movement is well done but then you have them standing statically mad at the boss towards the end of the trailer while shit is happening around them which just looks bad imo. Stuff like that works with sprites but not as well with 3D models. Makes the game feel kinda cheap and also worries me for any sort of narrative potential that could possibly be here... which isn't a lot already due to the nature and audience this is more for but hey.

Lastly... idk man, if this is ST behind this I'm going to wait and see. Them being able to make a good 2D game at this point in time seems so alien to me. I want to believe, but a literal decade+ screams to me that shit ain't happening unless it's the Mania team behind it lol.

But yeah, I'll be following this one at least. The full $60 price tag is a bit hard of a pill to swallow for me (not saying 2D games can't ask for that price or anything, just more so that I have yet to feel that value for one personally... hell that price for any Sonic game atm feels weird) but hey, if it's good I'll be fine.

You know, if they add extra characters as DLC, I would like to see something like a 6 player mode where 6 players can play the game at once, kinda like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge where the same thing could be done. Maybe there could be more than 6 players, up to 8, if we are even luckier.

I'm pretty excited although I don't totally love the visual style. Something about it reminds me of Sonic 4 Epispde II. It's definitely an improvement on that, but it's still there.

Fortunately, it looks like there's fun gimmicks and original concepts here that make this more than just S4E3.

Bring on the gameplay footage!

I've just noticed that Fang was right there hiding behind a tree in Emerald Hill at the begining lol 

Just now, Jango said:

I've just noticed that Fang was right there hiding behind a tree in Emerald Hill at the begining lol 

I actually noticed that the moment I saw the trailer when it showed at the Summer Games Fest event. I saw Fang there hiding behind the tree, as you described.

Speaking of the beginning...did anyone notice how blurry Sonic kinda looked during it?

2 hours ago, DaBigJ said:

Something about this specific moment irks me

Ignoring the obvious "SO RETRO" jokes, I don't like how flat these models look, I feel like they had the opportunity to mimic the genesis styled shading but they...didn't. 

This us giving me pac man vibes tbh. I'm surprised no one brought that up yet, especially the squids.

Just now, A super No.1 washedupgamer said:

This us giving me pac man vibes tbh. I'm surprised no one brought that up yet, especially the squids.

Well, speaking of the squid forms, if a crossover were done, Sonic and company would now fit in with the Inklings and Octolings in Splatoon. *Drum noise occurs*

...Yeah, I see the door to my left.

38 minutes ago, ShinyGems said:

Well, speaking of the squid forms, if a crossover were done, Sonic and company would now fit in with the Inklings and Octolings in Splatoon. *Drum noise occurs*

...Yeah, I see the door to my left.

Or...

I have a feeling this is not being developed by Sonic Team, at least not fully. They always put their logo right at the beginning in these teaser trailers, it's SEGA's legacy studio, why wouldn't they? They did the same thing for Origins. But both Frontiers and Forces had it... I doubt it's Headcannon tho'. 

I just hope when their in that form they don't run into this guy

14 minutes ago, A super No.1 washedupgamer said:

Or...

Lol Very good joke there! I like that one better than mine!

The squid is a good way to allow Sonic to swim without drowning I guess lol

This is rather a pleasant surprise.  I do like the look of the game and look forward to it.  The only thing that rather is...lacking is the title.  Sonic Superstars?  They couldn't think of something...more?  Sonic Beyond The Stars?  I don't know, they used Superstars with the past racing title so using Superstars now just seems kinda like they're just recycling titles.   Still look forward to it.

1 hour ago, A super No.1 washedupgamer said:

Or...

I think it's more a jellyfish than a squid, but regardless, they're also exploring Royal Road from Kirby Triple Deluxe (Mixed with Access Ark from Robobot as well offcourse).

Well, besides, I think that this game will explore the lore of the ancients, possibly being the only modern element allowed to influence the classic branch of the franchise.

There seem to be a lot of emphasis on "cyberspace" in this game, and the Chaos Emerald powers turn Sonic into a watery thing... I may add that turning into a jellyfish when the ancients were jellyfish people might also mean something, but maybe not.

Oh my god, this looks so freakin' HYPE. My only little gripe is that Sonic Team appears to be allergic to letting Sonic and Co. blink their eyes during gameplay animations, which adds to the Mascot Suit problem that we've all heard so much about.

LET SONIC BLINK SEGA, HIS GIANT EYE HURTS

For anyone who was worried about the physics specifically:

So since there seems to be no online play, how do you think theyre going to tackle this 4 player coop concerns?

Zoom out the screen really really far for all 4 players / top speed running? Raise the speed cap for each additional player added to the campaign? Have 1 player be the main “ring holder” while everyone else can get hit whenever they want? Ape NSMB’s “bubble” mechanic?

Or will they simply split screen everything? 2x2 or 4 small screens?

What seems like the best and most likely solution they could come up with?

I wish sonic team would just stop playing and tackle online play for once but I guess this isn’t the game to be.

7 minutes ago, StriCNYN3 said:

So since there seems to be no online play, how do you think theyre going to tackle this 4 player coop concerns?

Zoom out the screen really really far for all 4 players / top speed running? Raise the speed cap for each additional player added to the campaign? Have 1 player be the main “ring holder” while everyone else can get hit whenever they want? Ape NSMB’s “bubble” mechanic?

Or will they simply split screen everything? 2x2 or 4 small screens?

What seems like the best and most likely solution they could come up with?

I wish sonic team would just stop playing and tackle online play for once but I guess this isn’t the game to be.

From the looks of the trailer, I'm led to believe it dynamically follows whoever is the furthest ahead at a given time. I'd like dynamic zoomout and an NSMB-type system too. 

21 minutes ago, The Deleter said:

For anyone who was worried about the physics specifically:

We're reaching nuclear levels of "back" right now

26 minutes ago, The Deleter said:

For anyone who was worried about the physics specifically:

WE ARE SO FUCKING BACK BABY

Honestly when I watched the trailer I just rolled my eyes because it uses classic models but it looks like Generations and it's made by Sonic Team so I assume it's just going to play like Generations. Maybe Sonic Team will have actually learned something but the thought of paying $60 for Classic Sonic levels from Generations 13 years later is about as exciting to me as Nintendo dusting off the NSMB games. 

@ZinogreVolt From the giant robot whale scene where all 4 players are running along, Sonic is almost touching the far right of the screen, which led me to think of “main player holds all the rings” since that little screen space likely barely gives the Sonic player any reaction time for any upcoming obstacle. I would like a dynamic cam just zooming in and out too tho.
 

Im just wondering what theyre gonna do for the players who will try to go in a different path since this game is bound to have different routes to choose from and have characters with unique abilities to go through specific routes if that amy / sonic scene is anything to go by. Maybe theyll just do what Sonic games always do there and just make everyone player 1’s bitch but they have to convince them their path is better.

Didn't thie guy invalidate NDA stuff or something? Plus it's technically SEGA's property, right?

It doesn't really matter.

Very cautious optimism.

The gameplay and physics look really similar to Generations/Forces. The classic gameplay in Forces in particular was easily the worst part of that game and was extremely boring and tedious to play through. Generations hasn’t aged well either. I suppose I’ll get to make a proper judgement when I play it for myself or when more info comes out.

On the other hand it’s very clear there’s been some serious effort put into the assets & level design. I don’t mind the new take on GHZ. Lots of throwbacks and new assets being put into the game. The level design looks like a significant improvement over the other classic-style 2.5d games we’ve seen. Levels seem to flow nicely based on the gameplay. But you can’t put lipstick on a pig if the core gameplay is rubbish (which from my point of view it looks like has been recycled from ST’s other 2.5d offerings). The physics and controls will be what makes or breaks this game imo just like Sonic 4.