SEGA Games Co. made a surprising announcement at the San Diego Comic Con on July 23. The Japanese video game developer told the guests during the convention that they are working on the return of "Sonic The Hedgehog" and it will be released in 2017.
The game developer stated that they are doing this in celebration of the 25th anniversary of "Sonic the Hedgehog" franchise. SEGA named the new sequel of the game as "Sonic Mania." Takashi Iizuka, head of Sonic Team, also confirmed the news that the classic game is coming back and getting an upgrade to fit in with the new gaming genre.
But despite some improvements, "Sonic Mania" will be in 2D platform and feature most of the movements and gameplay techniques that were used in the original game. The reason for retaining such features is for the game to bring out its old school feel which made it popular in the 90s.
On Sonic the Hedgehog's Twitter, the coming of the latest Sonic game was also introduced through an update which reads: "Introducing SONIC MANIA! A new 2D Sonic platforming adventure experience!" The 25th anniversary tribute video was also attached in the post.
SEGA collaborated with Pagodawest Games, Simon Thomley and Christian Whitehead to create the brand new Sonic gameplay. The team will incorporate fresh ideas and re-imagined facets from Sonic The Hedgehog 1 &2, Sonic CD and Sonic The Hedgehog 3 and Knuckles, to come up with one amazing game.
In a press release, Iizuka said that "Sonic Mania" is a passion project because it was developed out of the fans' fondness for the original 2D platform games made by Sonic. He added, "This type of collaboration is a first for SEGA and we hope everyone will be both surprised and delighted by this title."
SEGA relayed that "Sonic Mania" is going to be available for PS4, Xbox One, NX and PC. Target date of release is Spring of 2017.
Check out Project Sonic 2017 debut trailer below:
