Sega’s Takashi Iizuka on why Sonic 4 has taken so long to come about…
“Ever since Sonic Adventure was released in 1998, Sonic has evolved into a game which is faster and features new actions for Sonic. On the other hand, the sense of speed from side scrolling means that the popularity of ‘classic’ series still remains high. Even now a lot of fans enjoy playing those classic games via the Wii’s Virtual Console. The aim for Sonic 4 is to provide a ‘new classic series’ using modern techniques that have only been around for the past few years for fans from all around the world who love the ‘classical’ series.”
Iizuka on how long the game has been in development and what separates it from other Sonic titles…
“About a year including concept development. As this is a downloadable title, the data size and price is very different from a packaged title. We just focused on old school classic game content to minimise data size and price.”
Iizuka on whether he was inspired by the success of New Super Mario Bros. for Wii/DS…
“At first we weren’t aware of it. At the beginning of the development we wanted to create a downloadable exclusive title but knowing that the Wii version of New Super Mario Bros. has become a major hit in Japan and also around the world, it encouraged us as even now 2D platform action is loved by a lot of people.”
Iizuka on whether the vs. mode from Sonic 2/3 will be in the game…
“We don’t provide Vs Mode in Episode I. Unfortunately, I cannot answer about further episodes at this point.”
Iizuka on whether the Wii version will be any different than the PS3 version…
“Basically we prepared identical game content so users could enjoy playing with their preferred hardware platform. However, some hardware specific capabilities are implemented. For Wii, you can enjoy a special stage by using the Wii Remote’s tilt control.”
