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  1. Sonic Team is going to include a bunch of unlockable GBA mini-games in the Gamecube release of Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg. The games will be able to be downloaded onto a GBA using a Gamecube link cable. SEGA's official website was recently updated to mention these bonus titles, which include NiGHTS into Dreams, Puyo Pop and ChuChu Rocket! The site states that there may be more mini-games to unlock as well. This isn't the first time Sonic Team has done this. Last year, the studio included NiGHTS and Puyo Pop games within Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II, and later offered a bunch of these games (plus ChuChu Rocket!) to Japanese department store shoppers. Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg is due to release on 26 September, 2003 in the US, so we'll be able to find out more for ourselves then. Source: Gamerfeed
  2. Ten colourful new screenshots of Sonic Heroes have been revealed, and not only do they show off gameplay from Team Dark, Team Rose and Team Chaotix, but they also feature a brand new stage that we haven't seen before! Until now, we've only been treated to Team Sonic gameplay within a seaside stage in press images. Now we see how the other Teams play - and it seems like the way they work in game is similar to Sonic, Tails and Knuckles, in that each character is designated a Speed/Fly/Power type that can be switched around at will. As for the new stage, it appears set within a mountainous region, with a lot of grind rail action. Could this be near Eggman's base? Guess we'll have to wait and find out! Check out all the screenshots below, courtesy of Gamingchart.com... See more screenshots on our Sonic Heroes Gallery page!
  3. Sega of Japan has launched a new Sonic Adventure DX commercial, their second. The commercial has Dr. Eggman's Japanese voice and is 15 seconds long, click below to view it. The volume of Eggman: 56k | 500k If you want to see the previous Japanese commercial for the game, which came out around the time of its release, you can watch that below too.
  4. More Phantasy Star Online Episode III goodness for those of you who live in Japan - SEGA has announced that the upcoming card-based online RPG will be available to demo at the Kodansha Super Character Festival (K-Fes) 2003, in August. The event takes place at Tokyo's Makuhari Messe on Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th August, and admission is free. If you arrive at Sonic Team's booth to play PSO Episode III, you may nab yourself one of these cool-looking branded fans (they're all the rage this time of year in Japan; it gets QUITE hot in the Summer months). Hit the K-Fes website for more information. You'll need to understand Japanese, though. Good luck. Source: Sonic Team PSO Episode III Website
  5. The beta test for Phantasy Star Online Episode III: C.A.R.D. Revolution has begun in Japan, and Sonic Team is offering players who participate in this online trial period a number of special edition gift cards that will carry over into the final version of the game. According to the official PSO Episode III Japanese website, there are three different kinds of special cards to collect from playing the online trial. The first is a spooky 'Halloween' Rappy that will no doubt strike fear into your enemies. The second, as you can see below, is a Sonic-themed card that gives your character Knuckles-style fists. The third special card has yet to be unveiled, and we're guessing it's a bit of a surprise (you can see teaser images of that one at the bottom though). It's highly likely that this trial version is only available to Japanese players, which is kind of a bummer, but just in case you want to try it out you can sign up for the trial by filling the form on this page. Here are some more details about what to expect/how to have the most fun in the PSO Ep III Trial, thanks to PSO World: Happy hunting/carding/whatever!
  6. You gotta hand it to Naka-san. He has one heck of a (Sonic) Team. A Team that, since its actual 'proper' founding (when they made themselves more well known, and pretty much expanded) during the Sega Saturn era, has created some of the world's best-loved games. One of which will most probably keep haunting poor Yuji's dreams (and inner child) until the day he makes NiGHTS 2 and says, "there, you all happy now, you bunch of ingrates?" ;P Sure, things have been a bit rocky for the team as of late, and they've been getting quite some stick from non-Sonic Team fans. To put it through the perspective of magazines like NGC though, for a console (Gamecube) that by all rights should be winning the console war, they're probably bitter and have to play loads of crappy Gamecube games. As a result, the recent ports by Sonic Team have unfortunately come under fire (save for Phantasy Star Online). As people are losing faith in Sega as a respectable gaming company altogether, how are constant Sonic Adventure re-hashes going to prove the world otherwise, really? But, within Sonic Team's latest games lineup, we have a shining ray of hope. A glimmer of the good old days of NiGHTS, Burning Rangers and other original titles like ChuChu Rocket! This bright star comes in the form of Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg. You control Billy, sent off on a mission to bring a magical world back to its former glory. Some evil git King has managed to capture many of the inhabitants of Billy's land and bung them into Golden Eggs, whilst pulling off a popular party trick: turning the land into an eternal night. Using a legendary suit, Billy has the power to control special eggs in order to save the day. Or night. Or whatever. It really is as weird as it sounds. Playing the game and wearing your dapper chicken suit of legend, you're able to collect magical eggs around the various stages and control them. Using items that you can find in the levels, you can make your egg grow and grow, nurturing the poor fella cooped up in the egg you're bashing about with. To control an egg, all Billy needs to do is run right into one, and you're away! Using the A Button to jump and cross certain gaps, rolling the egg around makes the game play a lot like Super Monkey Ball, as you can hit good speeds whilst rolling down hills and such (with Billy clinging onto dear life as he ponders how the heck he ever got into this situation!). As your egg gets fatter and fatter, you'll find you'll be able to hatch it good and proper, thus revealing a little buddy to help you along the levels. At the moment, these smaller creatures seem to be more attack-based than anything else, so perhaps in some later levels you'll find animals that can help solve puzzles... Billy can hatch the eggs by pressing the R trigger once they're ripe and tender, and you can command the little chum that pops out by pressing the X button afterwards. Until then, they follow you about the stage like a wee pet. Bless. The animal attacks can be helpful when fighting multiple foes, but ultimately the most satisfying power lies in smashing enemies with the bulk of your unhatched egg itself. Noice. Pass this title up all you want, but this is already looking better than Sonic Heroes, and that's no word of a lie. The graphics, as you can see, are superb and utilises a lot of the Gamecube's grunt. Given that this game sounds wacky, a lot of people will dismiss it at first glance. But this is a Sonic Team game, where their ingenuity is only matched by Nintendo themselves. Give Billy a chance, and you could be playing this much more than Sonic Heroes. Watch this space at TSS for future developments. Check the Screenshots Archive for more Billy Hatcher images:
  7. If Sonic Adventure DX, Sonic Heroes and Sonic Battle aren't enough to keep you satisfied, don't worry - fresh rumours are circulating that yet another Sonic the Hedgehog title is being planned for Nintendo's Gamecube. A new report from the recent Nintendo Gamers' Summit (which was a press event hosting demos of a large number of upcoming Gamecube games) claims that a Nintendo of America representative has let slip that a new game is in the works at SEGA - and they don't mean Sonic Heroes, which was already present at the event in the form of a one-stage demo. According to Gamecube Advanced, the suggestion is that the new title could be a compilation... although what it could involve is a total mystery, given that we already have Sonic Mega Collection and the entire slate of Game Gear titles re-released on the Nintendo console. Sonic CD? Gamecube Advanced writes: Very curious mystery indeed. We'll keep our ear to the ground on this one and if we hear anything more, we'll be sure to let you all know. Source: Gamecube Advanced
  8. Sonic Heroes was recently showcased at a special press event hosted by Nintendo, and the latest impressions coming from this new demo have been extremely positive. Gaming website IGN attended the Nintendo Gamers' Summit and played a one-stage trial of the upcoming Sonic title on the Gamecube. The write-up marvels at the game's ability to hit a consistent 60 frames-per-second experience, improved camera mechanics and extra 'polish' that it says is miles ahead of the recent Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 ports on the system. "Seriously, Sonic fans will be amazed at the raw pace of the game as Sonic and pals blur over environments," IGN writes. "The camera follows the action more smoothly and accurately than ever before and as a result the end experience is more refined and cinematic to boot. "The downside is that I found myself taken out of the speedy pace of the game whenever I was called upon to use Tails because the character's ability to fly, while cool, is just plain slow, and frankly maneuvering over chasms at a snail's pace just isn't as fun as roaring down rollercoaster paths as Sonic. I'm hoping Sega can speed it up - even if just slightly." IGN also posted a couple of new gameplay videos from the event, which you can watch here. It definitely looks like we're going back to the old-school with Sonic Heroes, with amazing-looking colourful environments and abilities that perfectly match each character's traits and personalities. The videos also show off the three different routes you can travel in the stage, depending on the character you choose to play as. The IGN preview heaps more praise on the demo. "I have to admit, it surprised me. I truthfully didn't have high hopes for Sonic Heroes going in, but now that I've gone through the GameCube demo, which plays faster than any 3D Hedgehog game before it and shines with an enhanced camera system and all around updated, colorful graphics, I'm looking forward to the finished product." It sounds like Sonic Heroes is shaping up really well. We can't wait to hear more - and get our hands on it - as we near release day (whenever that is!). Images via IGN.
  9. Sonic Heroes was first announced late last year/beginning of this year. People have since been pondering over the game's style of play - after all, it's understandable that after a couple of good 'Real-Life' Sonic Adventures, people wanted a 3D game that is more true to the classic form of Sonic design - brown chequered blocks, huge piranha fish, massive gold rings that take you to special stages... that kind of thing. It'd be folly to say that Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 were terribly bad - they were excellent games in their own right, if you consider that it was taking Sonic to a different kind of universe. But the advent of Sonic Heroes makes every Sonic fan's dream come true - and with a twist. As you can see from the screenshots, you'll be able to play as THREE characters at once. Not one, not two, but three of the nippy buggers. Sonic, Tails and Knuckles will partner up as the player will control all the action between them. Confused? Here's how it will work. It's most likely that you won't be able to control ALL of the characters on display - rather, one at a time, with computer AI controlling the others alongside you. This will be an immense action game of sorts from what we're hearing, because you can switch between each character at any given point to use their unique abilities to progress through the game. Excellente! In Sonic, Tails and Knuckles' case (collectively named 'Team Sonic'), there are three 'formations' - each featuring different special abilities. For Sonic, you have the Speed Formation - here, the team will link hands and go shooting off into the distance. Sonic also has the ability to wall-kick, nicking Mighty the Armadillo's move from Chaotix (which, animation-wise, works similarly to the jump-pads in Sonic Adventure 1). Controlling Tails harnesses the Fly Formation, which can utilise Tails' flight ability to get the team across chasms. Knuckles has control of the Power Formation, which when used, makes Knux grab Sonic and Tails like bowling balls and lob them towards nearby enemies. All of these Formations can assumedly be linked together to make massive combos. The Team Sonic won't be the only playable team in the game however. Sonic Team has announced at least three other teams will be available: Team Dark (consisting of Shadow, Rouge and a new robot character named 'Omega'), Team Rose (Amy Rose, Cream the Rabbit and Big the Cat), and - most excitingly - the return of the CHAOTIX! Team Chaotix has Vector, Charmy and Espio - although Mighty is nowhere to be seen at present, he's pretty much a cross between Knuckles and Sonic anyway. Team Chaotix have also been given an overhaul, with Vector in particular sporting funky chains. There will be different levels for each team, so we assume that each team will have different types of formations rather than the ones already announced in Team Sonic. Each of the levels will have different routes as well, so there's plenty of replayability promise in the game. That and the fact that you could only go one route, as demonstrated in the Sonic Adventure games, is becoming a bit tiresome in the Sonic series. Watching the E3 Promo Movie, we can see a section where Sonic, Tails and Knuckles are riding a Kart of some sorts, which requires Tails to push, Sonic to power and Knuckles to steer. To be frank though, this lacked the speed fix from every other part in the game, and first impressions from game sites like IGN have expressed their slight dislike for the seemingly unnecessary addition. But, things like this may well be present in every level in Sonic Heroes - let's just hope that they're all much better executed in play than the kart. As if things couldn't be good enough, a glance at the movie shows the return of the much-loved Special Rings (that lead you to a Special Stage, natch)! Eggman looking as fat as ever! And... if you're still feeling dubious about the return to classic Sonic form, let us re-introduce you to an old friend... take a bow METAL SONIC! That's all we got at the moment. Any new info that leaks will head straight to Sonic News, then here in a substantial new Preview Slot. Stay Tuned to TSS!
  10. We were kinda hoping that nothing big would go down while TSS was under, but a whole heap of new screens have been revealed over the past months, a release date has been set, and several new features have been added to what was Sonic's biggest and best groundbreaking 3D game ever! The newest shots come straight from E3, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, held every year at Los Angeles. Older (and several more) shots can be found at the screenshots section of this game. Sonic Team have since revealed a release date for Europe - June 2003! Which means that us Europeans best get saving now if you want to play Sonic's first adventure all over again. This date will most likely mean that Sonic Team are planning an earlier date for US and Japan, or a worldwide release in June to coincide with Sonic's 12th Birthday (2 years since the 10th Anniversary already!?). Better yet, new features have been added to make the game a little more playable over the DC version. The graphics have had a huge overhaul, and while earlier shots did not show this, these later ones show classic scenes (like Sonic getting chased by 'that' whale) with a completely new sexy body for the blue blur. And Sonic Team have taken away the "Mr Sheen" shiny-ness that plagued the early models, which is decent of them. The Chao Gardens will be renovated to harness the same sort of raising models and techniques as can be found in Sonic Adventure 2 Battle - consequently, SADX will link up with either Sonic Advance 1, Sonic Advance 2 or Sonic Pinball Party on the GameCube to take Chao Raising on the move. Best of all, there are more Emblem missions to master, meaning that each stage now has the standard 5 missions instead of the original 3 in Sonic Adventure. And, upon collection of a number of emblems, you can earn bonuses, including 'exclusive items', of which everyone probably knows about now is the addition of all the Sonic Game Gear games being able to be played on your GameCube, Sonic Mega Collection-style. SADX sounds like a worthy addition to what could be another great port to the Nintendo GameCube. Our review will be here in the coming months.
  11. If you live in the US, get ready to head to the shops, because Sonic Adventure DX has just been released on the Nintendo Gamecube. According to Gamespot, SEGA of America announced the launch in a press release, where the company also talked about the remake's new mission mode and unlockable Game Gear Sonic titles included on the disc. Here's a quote from SEGA America's VP of marketing, Mike Fischer, on the launch: We will have a review of the game on the Sonic Stadium very soon, so keep an eye out for that. And enjoy the game!
  12. Following its debut at E3 2003 last month, SEGA has released some new screenshots of upcoming Sonic Team original, Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg. We get to see a few new eggs, a new penguin critter that follows you around, and a first look at a frosty snow level. It looks like, alongside massive bird enemies, you'll get to tackle humungous toads, snapping lizards and... purple cats? This can't be a reference to Big the Cat, can it? Check out the new screenshots below!
  13. It feels like a lifetime ago, but way back in the early 2000s, the Sonic Team studio was known for more than just Sonic the Hedgehog. And yesterday was the 20th anniversary of one such non-Sonic title - Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg. Former Sonic Team developer Satoshi Okano took to Twitter yesterday to celebrate the anniversary of the Japanese release of the game with a short message; "This is a very nostalgic job. The Sonic team at this time was really innovative, such as Burning Rangers, Modern Sonic, Samba DE Amigo, Giant Egg . I'm honored to have worked on those projects. HBD for 20th Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg." Released for the Nintendo Gamecube in 2003, Billy Hatcher was one of the last original games that Sonic Team would develop before becoming known exclusively as a Sonic production house. In it, you control a young boy with egg-rolling powers, transported to a land of chickens and tasked with rescuing the inhabitants from an army of crow-controlled bad guys. It was a bit wonky in places, but we loved it when it released - you can read our old-school review from 2003 right here. The game launched in Japan on October 9 (yesterday), but it actually released in the US much earlier, on September 23. In PAL markets, the game arrived on October 31. Ah, the good old days of staggered global release days, eh? We certainly don't miss it. We're big fans of Sonic Team's more original games though - did you ever play Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg? Any fond memories? Let us know in the comments section below! Original Post Content: View full story
  14. It feels like a lifetime ago, but way back in the early 2000s, the Sonic Team studio was known for more than just Sonic the Hedgehog. And yesterday was the 20th anniversary of one such non-Sonic title - Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg. Former Sonic Team developer Satoshi Okano took to Twitter yesterday to celebrate the anniversary of the Japanese release of the game with a short message; "This is a very nostalgic job. The Sonic team at this time was really innovative, such as Burning Rangers, Modern Sonic, Samba DE Amigo, Giant Egg . I'm honored to have worked on those projects. HBD for 20th Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg." Released for the Nintendo Gamecube in 2003, Billy Hatcher was one of the last original games that Sonic Team would develop before becoming known exclusively as a Sonic production house. In it, you control a young boy with egg-rolling powers, transported to a land of chickens and tasked with rescuing the inhabitants from an army of crow-controlled bad guys. It was a bit wonky in places, but we loved it when it released - you can read our old-school review from 2003 right here. The game launched in Japan on October 9 (yesterday), but it actually released in the US much earlier, on September 23. In PAL markets, the game arrived on October 31. Ah, the good old days of staggered global release days, eh? We certainly don't miss it. We're big fans of Sonic Team's more original games though - did you ever play Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg? Any fond memories? Let us know in the comments section below!
  15. How do you like your eggs? Fried? Scrambled? Poached? On Toast? None of that for our plucky new hero, Billy Hatcher - he likes his eggs hatched, with a big fat old monster inside them. Erm, right. Sonic Team's newest creation for several years, Billy Hatcher has all the charm of those chickens in the Legend of Zelda. Although, you don't want to stab him or anything. The shameful thing is that Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg has been shunned by many Sonic fans because of the way it looks. As I always say, you're only a Sonic fan if you're willing to at least try anything Sonic Team throws at you, and those 'fakers' out there are really missing out on something special here. Forget all those stupid conceptions about how 'naff' the game looks, or the cutesy graphics. Bet you any money the graphics in Yoshi's Island on the SNES didn't deter you from the absolute genius gameplay it contained. As Billy, you are transported into Morning Land, a world inhabited with nothing but chickens - a farmer's nightmare, I'll bet. Billy is called to this place because of his courage - evil crows have come to overthrow the Morning Land as their own and turn the land into an eternal night. So, strapped into a magical chicken-y outfit, Billy Hatcher sets out to save the world. The game plays a lot like a mix between Super Mario 64 and Super Monkey Ball. On your own, you can jump about and run some distance, but that's as far as your base ability goes. Wearing the chicken suit, you can grab hold of the many eggs in the stage, and roll it around to give you many more moves. Pressing the A button makes you jump higher than usual, while you can also perform a bounce jump, a dash with the R trigger, and many funky attack manoeuvres, including slamming into the ground and chucking the egg ahead of you to bump enemies on the bonce. The game plays very smoothly indeed, and controlling the egg is perfect as Billy. However, there are some camera problems when playing some of the harder levels, which can get annoying sometimes. There's also a weird bug where, upon jumping up to a ledge with your egg, at times your egg gets put up on the ledge, but you fall down to where you started. But other than that, the entire game is a sheer joy to play. Enemies pop up, and are pure 'Sonic Team' in design. You can perform combos with your egg - for example, if you hit one enemy with your egg, the enemy bounces around before going up in smoke. If that enemy hits others while flying, you can start a chain combo. When circles of baddies appear, you can hit one and knacker them all by way of domino effect. There are plenty of opportunities for combos (with animal taming, egg-attacking and egg hatching adding to your combo count), but it takes an advanced player to pull off so-called 'Rainbow' combos each time. This is the universal playing level of the game that Sonic Team has created in Billy Hatcher, and it's wonderful. You can feed the eggs using fruit laid about the course of the stage - and many larger enemies spew forth some fruit when you knock their blocks off too. There are different egg types you can collect, and different eggs react differently to certain fruit, so a 'favourite fruit' will fatten one particular egg as quick as you can click your fingers, whereas the same fruit won't make much of a difference on a different egg. When fully fattened, you can use your Chicken Call to hatch the egg you hold. Different eggs of different designs hold different things. You can get small animals, with a one-time passive power, which can be used with the Y Button. Chameleons, for example, make you invisible for a short time. You can also hatch items such as hats, and there are special animals that follow you about the stage. For those creatures, you can use the X Button to use their special power several times - and those powers are needed on occasion to proceed through the level. For example, you can use penguin dude Clippen to douse flames, and flying monkey boy Recky to electrify something. You can also find HUGE animals that you can ride around the level, such as a wicked Ninja-looking Shark, to help you cross water. Pressing the X button makes you hop off their backs, but the B button can make them use their specialised attacks for as long as you require them. The stages themselves are egg-cellently laid out, and make full use of the eggs you can find. There are roughly seven missions in each world, each one opening up a new section of the stage, making playthroughs all the more fun. The first mission of each world features the entire stage engulfed in night, with your task to rescue the Chicken Elders, who have been turned into golden eggs. Once you save them, it becomes morning once more. Upon completing each mission, you earn a Courage Emblem, which are the equivalent of Stars in Mario 64. You can also find Chick Coins in each stage - collecting as many of these as you can will enable you to play with special Sonic Team oriented animals, including Chao, NiGHTS, Knuckles and even Sonic himself. Other extras include Joy Carry games, in which you can link up a Game Boy Advance and download short games such as Puyo Pop, ChuChu Rocket! and NiGHTS Score Attack. As if that wasn't enough, Billy Hatcher also comes complete with a formidable multi-player mode. Unlike the Sonic games, which have all been below-par multiplayer experiences (save for Sonic 3's Head to Head), this game has real multiplayer potential. The fact that the lineup is exactly representative of the Super Monkey Ball character lineup just proves that Sonic Team had this with a multiplayer in mind: Billy is the all-rounder, Rolly is the nimble girl, Chick is the young'un (also a bit of a cheeky bleeder, watch out for him), and Bantam's the big fat git. You can play a simple deathmatch, where rolling eggs into each other's faces becomes ample entertainment - having your opponent run in terror as you unleash your animal's attack is sheer fun. You can also indulge in a timed battle option, and a 'Hatching' mode where you have to hatch the most eggs in the time limit (this is where you get hold of the BIG monsters - chasing someone on the back of a huge lion/kangaroo crossbreed is an experience unfound in any other game). The multiplayer mode complements the solo game very well. A game like this has some control issues, as explained before, and the general difficulty of the game later on will cause some impatience issues. But in general this game will be one of the lightest and freshest games in recent years. I have a bad feeling this game will be under-appreciated amongst fans, which is a crying shame because if any gamer should have learnt by now it's not to judge a game by face value. Rent Billy Hatcher, get addicted to it, then buy it. It's as simple as that. Soon you'll be singing that sickenly stupid (but DAMN good) theme tune like nobody else. Hey, I have the tune on my mobile phone, so. =) Worth a purchase, definitely. View full story
  16. How do you like your eggs? Fried? Scrambled? Poached? On Toast? None of that for our plucky new hero, Billy Hatcher - he likes his eggs hatched, with a big fat old monster inside them. Erm, right. Sonic Team's newest creation for several years, Billy Hatcher has all the charm of those chickens in the Legend of Zelda. Although, you don't want to stab him or anything. The shameful thing is that Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg has been shunned by many Sonic fans because of the way it looks. As I always say, you're only a Sonic fan if you're willing to at least try anything Sonic Team throws at you, and those 'fakers' out there are really missing out on something special here. Forget all those stupid conceptions about how 'naff' the game looks, or the cutesy graphics. Bet you any money the graphics in Yoshi's Island on the SNES didn't deter you from the absolute genius gameplay it contained. As Billy, you are transported into Morning Land, a world inhabited with nothing but chickens - a farmer's nightmare, I'll bet. Billy is called to this place because of his courage - evil crows have come to overthrow the Morning Land as their own and turn the land into an eternal night. So, strapped into a magical chicken-y outfit, Billy Hatcher sets out to save the world. The game plays a lot like a mix between Super Mario 64 and Super Monkey Ball. On your own, you can jump about and run some distance, but that's as far as your base ability goes. Wearing the chicken suit, you can grab hold of the many eggs in the stage, and roll it around to give you many more moves. Pressing the A button makes you jump higher than usual, while you can also perform a bounce jump, a dash with the R trigger, and many funky attack manoeuvres, including slamming into the ground and chucking the egg ahead of you to bump enemies on the bonce. The game plays very smoothly indeed, and controlling the egg is perfect as Billy. However, there are some camera problems when playing some of the harder levels, which can get annoying sometimes. There's also a weird bug where, upon jumping up to a ledge with your egg, at times your egg gets put up on the ledge, but you fall down to where you started. But other than that, the entire game is a sheer joy to play. Enemies pop up, and are pure 'Sonic Team' in design. You can perform combos with your egg - for example, if you hit one enemy with your egg, the enemy bounces around before going up in smoke. If that enemy hits others while flying, you can start a chain combo. When circles of baddies appear, you can hit one and knacker them all by way of domino effect. There are plenty of opportunities for combos (with animal taming, egg-attacking and egg hatching adding to your combo count), but it takes an advanced player to pull off so-called 'Rainbow' combos each time. This is the universal playing level of the game that Sonic Team has created in Billy Hatcher, and it's wonderful. You can feed the eggs using fruit laid about the course of the stage - and many larger enemies spew forth some fruit when you knock their blocks off too. There are different egg types you can collect, and different eggs react differently to certain fruit, so a 'favourite fruit' will fatten one particular egg as quick as you can click your fingers, whereas the same fruit won't make much of a difference on a different egg. When fully fattened, you can use your Chicken Call to hatch the egg you hold. Different eggs of different designs hold different things. You can get small animals, with a one-time passive power, which can be used with the Y Button. Chameleons, for example, make you invisible for a short time. You can also hatch items such as hats, and there are special animals that follow you about the stage. For those creatures, you can use the X Button to use their special power several times - and those powers are needed on occasion to proceed through the level. For example, you can use penguin dude Clippen to douse flames, and flying monkey boy Recky to electrify something. You can also find HUGE animals that you can ride around the level, such as a wicked Ninja-looking Shark, to help you cross water. Pressing the X button makes you hop off their backs, but the B button can make them use their specialised attacks for as long as you require them. The stages themselves are egg-cellently laid out, and make full use of the eggs you can find. There are roughly seven missions in each world, each one opening up a new section of the stage, making playthroughs all the more fun. The first mission of each world features the entire stage engulfed in night, with your task to rescue the Chicken Elders, who have been turned into golden eggs. Once you save them, it becomes morning once more. Upon completing each mission, you earn a Courage Emblem, which are the equivalent of Stars in Mario 64. You can also find Chick Coins in each stage - collecting as many of these as you can will enable you to play with special Sonic Team oriented animals, including Chao, NiGHTS, Knuckles and even Sonic himself. Other extras include Joy Carry games, in which you can link up a Game Boy Advance and download short games such as Puyo Pop, ChuChu Rocket! and NiGHTS Score Attack. As if that wasn't enough, Billy Hatcher also comes complete with a formidable multi-player mode. Unlike the Sonic games, which have all been below-par multiplayer experiences (save for Sonic 3's Head to Head), this game has real multiplayer potential. The fact that the lineup is exactly representative of the Super Monkey Ball character lineup just proves that Sonic Team had this with a multiplayer in mind: Billy is the all-rounder, Rolly is the nimble girl, Chick is the young'un (also a bit of a cheeky bleeder, watch out for him), and Bantam's the big fat git. You can play a simple deathmatch, where rolling eggs into each other's faces becomes ample entertainment - having your opponent run in terror as you unleash your animal's attack is sheer fun. You can also indulge in a timed battle option, and a 'Hatching' mode where you have to hatch the most eggs in the time limit (this is where you get hold of the BIG monsters - chasing someone on the back of a huge lion/kangaroo crossbreed is an experience unfound in any other game). The multiplayer mode complements the solo game very well. A game like this has some control issues, as explained before, and the general difficulty of the game later on will cause some impatience issues. But in general this game will be one of the lightest and freshest games in recent years. I have a bad feeling this game will be under-appreciated amongst fans, which is a crying shame because if any gamer should have learnt by now it's not to judge a game by face value. Rent Billy Hatcher, get addicted to it, then buy it. It's as simple as that. Soon you'll be singing that sickenly stupid (but DAMN good) theme tune like nobody else. Hey, I have the tune on my mobile phone, so. =) Worth a purchase, definitely.
  17. It's the bedtime story that you tell to your kids in bed, or the scary ghost story you tell your brother or sister in a tent. That fabled story of when SEGA was a respectable console manufacturer. And the most interesting chapter - the Dreamcast saga - where the company bailed out from their fans and went third party. There was outrage. There was disappointment. There were even death threats to the arcade company being mumbled under most irrational people's breaths. But for SEGA to survive, they needed to make this move. Ultimately, the fans should understand that, otherwise how can they be fans of the company? The alternative was to soak in the epitaph of one of the greatest games developers in the industry. Two or three years down the line, and we see that SEGA could well be double-backing on itself and what they said, although some well-built relationships have been formed within the company. Smilebit have been shaking hands with Mr. Bill Gates™ of Windowsland™, with AM2 not far behind (despite the Xbox's constant failure to make a stand in Japan, which is most ironic), making games destined to be exclusive to Microsoft's big money box for the foreseeable future. You can also see the majority of SEGA studios teaming up with the casual gamer's no-brainer option: making exclusive games for the PlayStation 2. Finally, we have the Nintendo Gamecube's support network. Plenty of SEGA games (although paltry compared to the exclusive luxuries that the other two consoles get pampered with - Beach Spikers anyone? *Yak*), sure, but at least Nintendo have become good exclusive pals with Amusement Vision and Soni- ... Erm. Was I going to say Sonic Team? Backtrack to the very morning, I decide to write this: hanging at my reliable Gamecube news site, checking out the latest screenshots of Sonic Adventure DX. "Tasty," I thought - although it was really nothing I hadn't seen (or completed) before. I would most probably get SA:DX just for the sake of being one of the most avid collectors of the blue blur out there. Exactly the same reason I bought Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, in fact (another port from an old Dreamcast title). Then something caught my eye. SEGA's E3 list for May 2003. Perfect, I thought, as I read with glee, the latest Sonic game information caught my eye. Heart thumping with immense excitement for the official word on "Sonic Heroes" (that's what it's gonna be called, natch), I read something that might shake up the fury meters of some Nintendo/Sonic fanboys: "SEGA's legendary mascot Sonic The Hedgehog makes his historic PlayStation 2 and Xbox debut!" Port-o-bingo? Let's take a short history lesson. When SEGA split from the console market and onto third party production, it was made quite clear that Nintendo would be Sonic Team's mainstay. Because of that, Sonic fans have been happy that they can get all their Sonic games on one console. Meanwhile, Nintendo fans have a chance to not only see what Mario's former arch rival is capable of, but they also get some exclusive 'ammo' in the rather over-exaggerated and over-publicised console war. Because, besides Nintendo's own games, there aren't not a lot of exclusives on Gamecube to attract casual gamers. Sonic was seen as one standout reason to get a Gamecube over a PS2 or Xbox. And Sonic Team, quite frankly, seem to exclusively be on something of a porting job. The first Gamecube "exclusive" was in the form of Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, which was nowhere near as exciting to play as the original Dreamcast counterpart (and is actually a worse version). But it was an enjoyable game nonetheless. I certainly didn't mind Sonic Team working on one port just to make themselves known on Nintendo's new console. I was certain that the big Sonic gaming guns would come after SA2:B. What came next? Sonic Mega Collection. Good value for those who have never experienced Sonic before, but I could have played any of those games without shelling out £40 - and would have definitely been better off without the cack Archie scans and boring-as-hell movies, cheers Japan VRI. Then we had Phantasy Star Online. Ah yes, Sonic Team's chief cash cow. A very very good game in it's right, but why did it have to be ported to every single console in existence? Rather than just making a proper sequel that wasn't repetitive to play on your own? A few months ago I was beginning to worry about the state of Sonic Team - never before had they been so dependent on bringing out rehashes of old Dreamcast games. After PSO, here comes the inevitable - what everyone had been predicting since day one - Sonic Adventure 1 ported and tweaked in some obscure way to make it a "Director's Cut". While in my opinion SA1 was better than SA2... I don't think there was really any need to bring this one out on Gamecube? When they could have been concentrating on original games? Not to Worry... My point thus far is that most people (including Sonic fans that have become Nintendo fans) could feel like they have been mistreated by Sonic Team. Who can blame them really - the studio could have made one or two exclusive new Sonic games on Gamecube before dipping their toe in the water for other consoles. It wouldn't have been at a loss either - seeings as pretty much every Sonic fan had taken heed of Naka-san's apparaisal of Nintendo's machine and bought a Gamecube. In this respect, the main question those people will be asking is "Will Sonic Team just leave Gamecube now that they're looking at Xbox and PS2? Leaving all of the real Sonic fans behind while the studio tries to appeal to non-Sonic-fans?" And my answer to that would be: Not a chance. Yes, it does seem that Sonic fans have been given a bit of a raw deal - Sonic Team has only up to this point [in this generation of consoles] provided ports of games we pretty much already own. I am slightly dubious about Sonic Team's outreach to non-Sonic fans, as that would mean even more ports and perhaps - worst comes to worst - a complete departure of "true Sonic gameplay" in later games. Looking at SEGA's E3 list, it seems that only Sonic Heroes is destined for a multi-platform release. The other games are sticking with Gamecube and Game Boy Advance, which is an echo of what Naka-san was talking about a few years back when he said "If you're a fan of Sonic Team, it's best to get a Gamecube". Which is a huge relief. And to be honest, Sonic is the mascot of SEGA after all - and perhaps the best way of getting the entire company known is to let the hedgehog stretch his feet on more than one platform. As has been said many times before, Sonic Team has some kind of crush on the Gamecube, so if there are any Sonic games being released soon, you can bet your bottom dollar they will at least head to Nintendo's console first. You know, the console you bought because you were led to believe that the newest Sonic games would release there. You see? He wasn't lying, was our Naka-san. Quite why Sonic is heading to different platforms now probably has to do with a SEGA-controlled decision to gain a bit more respect for its company name. Or, it was Naka's idea of 'dipping a toe in the water' in order to spread the name and popularity of the blue blur. Besides, take a look at what's to come to reward loyal Sonic Team fans - exclusive to Gamecube. Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg looks set be a true-to-form comeback of the innovative Sonic Team that we knew back in the NiGHTS into dreams... days. Phantasy Star Online Episode III, being a possible Ninty exclusive, leaves loads of room for Game Boy Advance and e-Reader connectivity (what with the game being based on cards and all). And let's not forget what's a given anyway - Sonic Heroes. Even if that one isn't exclusive, Gamecube owners are still getting it. The only fear anyone should have with this multi-platform Sonic business is the fact that Sonic Team may not be used to making multiple versions of the same game. The studio's only experience so far has been working on Phantasy Star Online Episodes I & II. But we sense, like PSO, that Sonic Heroes will be made for each console with their unique strengths in mind. Which could mean that the Gamecube and Xbox versions shouldn't have terrible PS2 graphics, etc. So no, Sonic Team is not turning its backs on us loyal fans, but rather reaching out to potential new fans. This is the 'Year of Sonic' in full swing. Funnily enough, all this fuss about GC ports, and Naka-san hasn't even made a Saturn remake of NiGHTS yet!
  18. We've been for a new entry in the Phantasy Star Online series for absolutely ages, and we're finally getting one in PSO Episode III: C.A.R.D. Revolution. But if a report on TSSZ is to be believed, we should enjoy this spinoff title as much as we can because it seems this will be the last we'll see of the RPG series. TSSZ writes that, "according to reports, Sonic Team has announced that Phantasy Star Online Episode III: C.A.R.D Revolution will be the last game in the PSO series for the foreseeable future. The team has not given any specific reason for the decision." The TSSZ report references a report on a BBoard called Alwaysgame.com. It could be that there was a member of the press on the E3 show floor that got this quote from Sonic Team and posted it on this message board, but until we know for sure take this with a pinch of salt.
  19. Cube-Europe has posted an article from an interview with 'the man' Yuji Naka, with the bulk of him explaining that there will not be a continuation in the Sonic Adventure series. Quite frankly, this has been said before, but it seems that many fans were not sure up until now. The reason being is that Sonic Team are currently focused on Sonic Heroes, Phantasy Star Online III and Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg. However, in a more shocking stance, Chicken-boy Billy may be the last Gamecube exclusive that Sonic and SEGA fans will ever see, due to "poor sales of its games on the platform". This is sure to cheese off a lot of SEGA and (especially) Sonic fans, who bought the Gamecube solely for the purpose to play Sonic Team's games on the console. Furthermore, in light of the apparent arrival of Sony's PSP (PlayStation Portable, FYI) handheld console, SEGA have announced they will indeed be making games for the console to rival Nintendo's Game Boy Advance.
  20. A new batch of screenshots for Sonic Adventure DX on Gamecube have been released for E3, and have to say it's looking incredibly clean. These images focus mostly on the opening scene of Sonic's story in the game, where he does battle with Chaos 0. You can really see how the Gamecube's added power is being put to use on the improved Sonic model here. These improvements also extend to the other characters in the game, as other screenshots show off Tails, Knuckles, Amy and Big in various scenarios. Many of these images really want you to notice the character models here, as there are a lot of close ups. Do you think SEGA has done a good job here?
  21. We now know what Sonic Heroes looks like, but how does it actually play? Well, it's peak E3 season right now and lots of gaming websites are sharing their opinions on the game, with a lot more information on how the three-way team system is supposed to work. According to a preview by Kikizo, "you control Sonic, Knuckles and Tails simultaneously, with the heroes often speeding along side by side - although one character is always under 'primary' control. As far as we know, the characters never split up and leave each other." Each character in the team has their own unique abilities, which can be combined to create even more interesting styles of attack and travel. Players can swap between Sonic, Tails and Knuckles at will by pressing the X button, but there will sometimes be scripted areas which automatically swap you out for a specific character. Doing this is important (besides wanting to simply play as your favourite character), because some levels will have hazards and puzzles that can only be cleared using a certain hero's moves. "For example, some areas may be behind a solid rock-type surface that only Knuckles can destruct, while others are so high that only Tails can fly the three heroes up there. It is much, much better than in 16-BIT Sonic 2 , where Tails merely 'followed' Sonic pointlessly, often dying, due to massive lack of intelligence." It sounds like even the formation of the team will change depending on the character you are playing at the time and the moves you make. Here's Kikizo on the specifics: The opening stage, which is the area Kikizo played, was apparently very fast to play through with the action being "amazingly fluent, fast and seamless... levels are many times bigger than your average Sonic Adventure 2 level. They are huge - but at the same time, quite varied." The preview mentions that some stage elements have changed to consider the three-character play, with classic loop-de-loops adapted to include three separate tracks for each hero to run around. Overall, it sounds like Kikizo really enjoyed what they played! "Graphically, Sonic Heroes is beautiful. The game is so fast that some kind of technical compromise would have been understandable - but there are no such compromises. The 3D graphics are very solid and tangible, and the frame rate never drops below sixty even when there's loads happening on screen... Yuji Naka and the Sonic Team will definitely be onto a winner with Sonic Heroes, but ultimately the success of the game depends on how well the subsequent levels are designed." We'll share more on Sonic Heroes as soon as we can spot it!
  22. We finally get to see it! E3 is about to kick off and SEGA has released the first screenshots of Sonic Heroes, the next major Sonic game being developed by Sonic Team! Take a look at the images below - they look absolutely gorgeous! We know, from our last report on this, that Sonic Heroes was going to feature team-based gameplay - where players would control three characters at once to complete stages. We knew of Sonic, Tails and Knuckles. But as you can see, these screenshots also show off other characters. One team has Shadow, Rouge, and a robot that looks like a beefcake E-102 Gamma, another has Amy Rose, Cream the Rabbit and Big the Cat, and another amazingly has Vector the Crocodile, Espio the Chameleon and Charmy Bee from Knuckles' Chaotix! We thought SEGA had completely forgotten about these long lost characters! The screenshots are extremely colourful and really have that classic SEGA/Sonic feel to them, with the beach-like stage having an almost Green Hill look to it (as many first stages do - which is what we assume this is!) More information as we get it from E3 2003!
  23. If you live in Japan, you may not have long to wait until the next major Sonic game arrives on store shelves. An article by Gamers.com says that both Sonic Heroes and the handheld fighting game Sonic Battle are being planned for a 'Winter 2003' release. On top of this, Sonic Team's other games have also been given release windows. Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg and PSO Episode III CARD Revolution will release in 'Fall 2003'. No word on a Western release for any of these, but seeings as these games usually arrive in Japan first, we may be waiting until 2004 for Sonic Heroes and Sonic Battle. Fingers crossed for a Christmas miracle though.
  24. A brand new preview of Sonic Adventure DX has been published by Gamespot - along with a whole bunch of screenshots! - and with it some more details about the game has come to light, including new minigame modes and Chao raiding improvements lifted from Sonic Adventure 2 Battle. The Mission Mode and minigame challenges will be where you'll get to unlock the many Game Gear bonus games included in the Gamecube port. According to the preview: Later in the preview, Gamespot talks about the Chao Gardens in Sonic Adventure DX and they have been vastly improved compared to the Dreamcast original. Some of the new features found in Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Adventure 2 Battle have been brought into this prequel release, making it familiar to anyone who is used to how Chao evolve in SA2. Overall, Gamespot thinks SADX is shaping up to be "relatively solid," although it had some concerns over the graphics that "are still a bit rough around the edges... at the moment, the game doesn't match the visual quality seen in Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, and it even falls a bit short of matching its Dreamcast cousin in some spots...the game's frame rate fluctuates a bit, which can be jarring." However, "judging from what we've seen so far, Sonic Adventure DX is poised to offer a relatively solid dose of retro gaming for those who are up for it." Read the rest of the preview on Gamespot's website - and check out the website's HUGE collection of screenshots captured from their playtest as well.
  25. Now's the time to put your money where your mouth is if you want to buy Sonic Adventure DX in the US. Gamestop is now taking pre-orders for the game. The retailer is running with a tentative release date of June 17th, which is a little more final than the 'Summer 2003' that we reported back in January. The game will cost $39.99 USD, and no doubt will have a similar price in other markets. Go ahead and pre-order the game on Gamestop's website here. via Sonic HQ
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