Games - Sonic X-treme

Home > Listing Index > Games > Sonic X-treme

	Games - Sonic X-treme

Sonic X-treme is an unreleased platform game in the Sonic the Hedgehog
series. It was originally developed by Sega for the Sega Genesis but was moved to the Sega 32X and eventually to the Sega Saturn and intended to be released around Christmas of 1996, but after numerous problems and a long hiatus of development hell, it was finally dropped in 1997. It would have been the first fully 3D Sonic game and the first original Sonic title developed for the Sega Saturn.

Storyline

As rumored, the storyline involved Professor Gazebo Boobowski and his daughter, Tiara, who are the keepers of the six magical Rings of Order, as well as the ancient art of Ring smithing. Gazebo and Tiara fear that Dr. Robotnik is after the six Rings of Order, and call on Sonic to get the Rings before Robotnik can. Robotnik has already made one previous attempt at stealing the Rings.

As of January 2006, artwork of Tiara and her father have been released by Chris Senn along with various other details based on the game.

Gameplay

To further the traditional Sonic "go-anywhere-or-run-through" formula, every level was designed in a tube-like fashion; Sonic would be able to walk onto walls, thus changing the direction of gravity and the rotation of the level itself, much like the special stages in Knuckles' Chaotix. In addition, an unusual, fish-eye lens-styled camera was put into place so players could see more of their surroundings at any given time.

It is now known that at one point in the developement process, there was a possibility for 4 playable characters. The characters planned were Knuckles the Echidna,Tiara Boobowski,Miles "Tails" Prower,and Sonic the Hedgehog. Each one also would've had a unique gameplay style. Knuckles and Tiara would've been closer to Genesis-style play, having top-down and side-scrolling vies respectively. Sonic had the fish-eye style levels, and Tails would play in first person flight mode.

There were four planned Zones: Jade Gully (as pictured), Crystal Frost, Red Sands, and Galaxy Fortress. Sonic himself was to be equipped with a large set of new moves, including a spin slash, a ring throwing ability and a downward dash.

Other characters intended to be included in the game were Fang the Sniper and Metal Sonic, who would have been bosses in the final game and whose design and programming was actually finished by the time Sonic X-treme was axed.

Development history

Sonic X-treme was originally intended to be developed for several other game systems prior to the Sega Saturn. In its earliest conception, the game was set to be released on the Sega Genesis and later on the Genesis add-on console 32X, under the name Sonic Mars (based upon the codename for the 32X). However it was quickly decided that the game would require much more powerful hardware to cope with the new engine, and for commercial reasons, the release of a Sonic game on the new Sega Saturn console was a necessity.

Sonic X-treme was eventually cancelled because of many internal problems. The game was being developed by Sega Technical Institute, a US-based developer that had worked on such games as Sonic 2, Sonic Spinball and Comix Zone. Originally it was based on the engine of NiGHTS Into Dreams, at the time Sonic Team's most current work.

However Sonic Team's projectleader (and Sonic creator) Yuji Naka was unaware of this, and due to intense rivalry between the Japanese and American divisions, he demanded the NiGHTS' engine be pulled from development once he discovered it was being used by STI. As of such two separate engines started work; one was for the main levels, while the other was for the bosses. Development picked up again and it seemed the game's deadline for release would be met after all.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Sonic X-treme ]

Searches on eBay

sonic x-treme