Recent reports suggest that Sonic Mania 2 is not currently in development, leading to speculations of a falling out between publisher Sega and the developers behind the successful 2D revival of the iconic blue hedgehog. However, the truth is quite different. In a recent interview with Game Informer, Sega’s Takashi Iizuka and Sonic Mania’s lead developer, Christian Whitehead, shed some light on the situation. Both the creative team at Sega and Whitehead made a collective decision to explore new horizons after the triumphant release of Sonic Mania in 2017.
Contemplating Fresh Concepts
After the success of Sonic Mania, the team at Sega, along with Whitehead and studio Headcannon, wanted to venture beyond the pixel art style that paid homage to Sonic’s 16-bit origins. Their goal was to create a 2D Sonic platformer that appeals to as wide an audience as possible. Iizuka explained, “When you make a 2D game using pixel art, you kind of end up targeting a very specific core audience. We wanted to bring this game to as many people as possible and in order to really make it look and feel as appealing to a wider audience, we needed to use 3D assets to give it that current look.”
Whitehead expressed that his studio, Evening Star, had always planned to venture into 3D titles and original intellectual property (IP) following the success of Sonic Mania. Instead of solely focusing on 2D pixel art, they had ideas for 2.5D and hand-drawn 2D games. In fact, they even created a 2.5D Sonic prototype using their Star Engine. Since the release of Sonic Mania, Evening Star went on to create the vibrant 3D platformer Penny’s Big Breakaway, while Sega teamed up with developers Arzest to develop the cooperative platformer Sonic Superstars. Despite this, Whitehead made it clear that Sonic Mania 2 was never in development due to creative differences, emphasizing that the relationship between the developers and Sega remains friendly.
Iizuka acknowledged that Sonic Mania and the original Sonic trilogy played a crucial role in inspiring Sonic Superstars. The focus of this new game is to bring something fresh to the Sonic series in terms of visuals and design, while still maintaining the nostalgic essence of the classic Sonics. He stated, “We do know that core fans want that old Classic Sonic look, they want that old classic Sonic feel, so we focused on making sure the controls were solid and the look and the feel was really representative of a classic Sonic game. The game was created from zero – from absolutely nothing – but we were still looking at all those four Classic games and creating physics that are going to match and feel like what the Classic series needs to be, from scratch.”
A Bright Future for Sonic
While Sonic Mania 2 may not be on the horizon, fans of the blue hedgehog can look forward to something fresh and exciting. Both Sega and the developers have decided to explore new concepts and move beyond the limitations of pixel art. With their friendly relationship intact, the future of Sonic is indeed bright.
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