Sonic the Hedgehog Q&A

By Staff, GameSpotPosted Sep 8, 2009 6:58 pm PT

With the Dreamcast anniversary at hand, we check in with Sega on its mascot and get teased about the upcoming Project Needlemouse.

Sonic the Hedgehog is one of the last remaining mascots of the 16-bit era of games. The unassuming blue hedgehog with attitude burst on the scene a little over 19 years ago and helped Sega gain its foothold in the market. The ensuing years have seen the blue blur undergo a steady stream of reinventions--some more successful than others--but he still endures. We got Sega’s Ken Ballough, associate brand manager at Sega, to reflect on the spiky hero and give us an idea of where he’s headed.

Sonic's back again in this yet-to-be-named adventure.

GameSpot: Why do you think Sonic has lasted almost 20 years now? What’s his appeal?

Ken Ballough: Sonic is a gaming legend, first and foremost. He comes from a series of games that defined a generation in gaming history, and his iconic personality was the epitome of speed in the early ‘90s, pushing the limits of what gamers knew and expected from high-speed action and platforming games. Throughout the years, Sonic has evolved with numerous different adventures, and likewise, his appeal has also spread for different reasons. Many older gamers appreciate him most for his attitude and the speed of his 2D games, while some younger and newer fans look up to him for his courage and his freestyle personality. Sonic appeals to many different people for many different reasons, but if there's one thing that has always stayed appealing, it's this: He's fast, he's blue, and he's a way fast cool hedgehog.

GS: What games do you think have captured that essence best over the years?

KB: Personally, the games that first come to mind are the Sonic Legacy titles, (Sonic 1, 2, 3, & Knuckles), Sonic Adventure, Sonic Rush, and Sonic’s speed in Sonic Unleashed. I think each of those games did a great job at propelling the series forward to a new generation, both visually and in terms of gameplay.

GS: What games do you think didn’t quite nail it?

KB: I think Sonic the Hedgehog Chaos was put in a bit of a situation. Coming out on the Master System with 8-bit graphics after you had seen Sonic on the Genesis in full 16-bit glory was a bit rough. Visually and speedwise, it was just not as impressive as its Genesis brethren.

GS: Do you think the expansion of the universe with additional characters helped or diluted Sonic’s image?

KB: I think it definitely added more depth to the character and created a much richer universe. A solid supporting cast gives you options, not only where to go with the story, but also where gameplay can go. I remember the first time I saw Sonic 2. What really stood out to me was the inclusion of Tails. I thought the idea of Sonic having a sidekick was awesome, but even more so was the fact that you could actually play Tails. I remember spending countless hours playing Sonic 2 with my little brother. Then came Knuckles, which was that final ingredient. If you think about it, you had all the key elements that make up your quintessential superhero: speed, flight, and strength. Once Sonic 3 came out, you felt like you had everything you needed. In the end I think Sonic’s image is much stronger because you have a solid core of supporting characters. Sonic is still Sonic, and he’s still your main hero. The rest of the cast just gives you a richer tapestry.

GS: Who do you think were the most successful companions? And, who do you think he could have done without?

KB: I think when it comes to characters, it’s all about what you do with them. It takes time to develop a cast and for them to find their niche. A lot depends on if there is a good story that allows the character to develop and grow. Tails and Knuckles, to me, are essential to Sonic. They bring the perfect blend of personalities to the mix. But those two have had over 14 years to grow. I think Shadow, Silver, Blaze, and Rouge have also been developed really well into interesting characters. I would love to see Tikal developed because I think she could be very interesting as well. I think the one character that has yet to find his place is Bark the Polar Bear. I hope he does eventually. It’d be nice to have a cool bear character.

GS: Over the past 19 years, Sonic has been in a variety of different games, some of which were a stretch. Were there any that didn’t happen because they were a little too out there?

KB: Not to my knowledge. There are definitely a lot of ideas that come up when we make games--any game. Some are left on the discussion table and some incorporated into the final product. The great thing about working on the Sonic franchise is that it’s a wonderfully collaborative effort, so we definitely try and refine good ideas and make them work within the gameplay framework. I have yet to be part of a project that was cancelled while in development.

GS: Looking back now, what do you think the biggest challenges have been in updating Sonic?

KB: When you break it down to the fundamentals, Sonic games stand for high-speed action with an edgy attitude. And it’s this essence that you want to keep, regardless of the platform. Sonic has such a rich history and a wide assortment of adventures that in reality, our biggest challenges at Sega are outdoing what we did before. How can we make the speed work better? Can he go faster? How do we build levels that allow Sonic to go to new places? These questions are what keep us working toward bigger and better games.

GS: Sonic CD is touted as the best Sonic ever made in some fan circles. Do you agree? Do you or the team see another as being the all-time best?

KB: Sonic been around for almost 20 years, so people have grown up with Sonic on several different platforms at different ages. I’m partial to Sonic 3--Sonic and Knuckles being my all time favorite. But that may be because I have the fondest memories playing that game. I definitely loved Sonic CD, and the great thing about this franchise is that there is a lot of choices and it’s not hard to search for the Sonic adventure that’s right for you.

GS: Why did Sega decide to bring Sonic back to 2D? Did the success of Sonic Rush and Sonic Rush Adventure play a part?

KB: Old-school Sonic fans have long asked to see Sonic return to a more 2D style of gameplay. Many liked the daytime stages in Unleashed but wanted to see a game that plays purely similar to the early games of the Genesis. Project Needlemouse is that critical first step that brings Sonic back to his 2D roots.

GS: What can you tell us about the game?

KB: I can tell you it’s a brand new 2D adventure coming out in 2010, it’s in HD, and to definitely stay tuned.

GS: With HD makeovers of classic games being popular right now, can we expect the game to use chunky old-school sprites or hi-res HD sprites?

KB: You can definitely expect HD graphics.

GS: Thanks for your time.

264 Comments

  • gamefreak197

    Posted Nov 25, 2009 8:03 am PT

    Old school Sonic. Perhaps Sega is finally doing something smart this time around.

  • ChiefSonic

    Posted Nov 18, 2009 1:51 pm PT

    Yeah if sonicteam wants to go back to te 3-D adventure, go back to the controlls with the Sonic Adventures one. They were amazing games..they're one of my favorites

  • rexeljet

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 2:15 am PT

    I think ken wasn't really thinking when he said Sonic chaos didn't nail it. It was good for a handheld 8-bit console. I mean the DS and the Xbox 360 are the same generation but the latter has better graphics. Plus, the SMS version only came out in places where it was still supported.

    Sonic games don't suck because they're 3D; they're just not properly capturing the feel of a sonic game or a 3D platformer. 3D games should be to explore. in most sonic games you are forced down a path, and if you tap the D-pad or analog stick you fall down a bottomless pit. The fangame Sonic Robo Blast 2 is how a 3D sonic game should be. Sega could still screw up with this game no matter how many dimensions it has.

    I like it how unleashed only had a few characters and is more cartoony. That's how sonic should be. I hope Project Needlemouse has no serious storylines, no swords, no guns, and no lack of fun. Some say that the switch from 6th to 7th gen consoles made sonic suck, but sonic hasn't captured the full amount of fun he should since 1994, and until sonic unleashed was released, there wasn't a good main sonic game since 2001. The portable games are good though.

  • Tainted_Chi

    Posted Nov 2, 2009 2:54 am PT

    Rexeljet, I'm with you 100%. Adding new characters just steals the spotlight from the main cast, and WTF is with all the humans all of a sudden?!?
    They need to put Sonic back in the retro universe and have Robotnik hatch up some crazy scheme to take over the planet... again Maybe bring metal sonic (Metalix was it? ) back and have him as a recurring pest (Ala knuckles in sonic 3 or chaos in adventure) under robotniks orders, as you progress. This was almost done in Sonic CD (IMO best Sonic game ever) but you only saw him once before you defeated him if i remember correctly. He was playable in multiplayer Sonic adventure 2:battle on the gamecube it was awesome seeing him again.

  • Hail23

    Posted Oct 28, 2009 3:24 am PT

    @punkdsk8erdude I know I'm like a month late but still had to say, that what you said is whats needed... sonic needs to claim back up that ladder to the number 1spot

    @ jose2serious
    Your funny yo, that's probably whats going on man.

  • rexeljet

    Posted Oct 22, 2009 10:05 am PT

    To be honest, I don't like any sonic character released after Espio the Chameleon. A lot of the characters released after that point were just almost like Official fan fiction characters. Not all of them were. SHadow would've been fine if he had only appeared in his introductory game (Sonic adventure 2) and Sonic adventure 2 Battle. Most games after sonic heroes lack fun, but I do like sonic unleashed, even the werehog stages. Even chip seems like a character that could be a recurring minor character at the very least. I didn't, however, like Big, Blaze or Silver. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Robotnik were enough in the early years, so why do they need to keep adding character after character? I hope no new characters are introduced this time round, but wouldn't mind if they got rid of some. I'd even like to see sonic in his old-school form, and the game being set in the original sonic universe where things weren't as serious in sonic's world as they are now, robots were made using flickies, and there weren't new characters appearing gamely.

  • Tainted_Chi

    Posted Oct 18, 2009 10:40 pm PT

    "I think Sonic the Hedgehog Chaos was put in a bit of a situation. Coming out on the Master System with 8-bit graphics after you had seen Sonic on the Genesis in full 16-bit glory was a bit rough."... ... ... Thats fair but Sonic Chaos was one of the best Sonic games in my opinion. Certainly the best 8-bit one and i prefered it (MasterSystem version) over sonic 1 on the MegaDrive (Genesis) back in the day... ... ...

    "I would love to see Tikal developed because I think she could be very interesting as well..." ... ... ... Fair enough, being a guardian of the master emerald shes not completely pointless like, um say, a random polar bear... ... ...

    "I think the one character that has yet to find his place is Bark the Polar Bear." ... ... ... Oh noes!? I bet he created it, lol. It's almost as crazy as a big slow cat that loves fishing as a playable character. Oh wait... ... ...

    "Were there any that didnt happen because they were a little too out there? KB: Not to my knowledge." ... ... ... You can say that again unfortunately ... ... ...

    "Old-school Sonic fans have long asked to see Sonic return to a more 2D style of gameplay. Many liked the daytime stages in Unleashed but wanted to see a game that plays purely similar to the early games of the Genesis. Project Needlemouse is that critical first step that brings Sonic back to his 2D roots. "... ... ... So in other words, it might not be perfect but we can atleast call this Sega starting to listen to us and experimenting to get a 'feel' for what we really want. It's going on my 'to watch' list for sure. I hope they put Metal Sonic in it from Sonic CD.

  • Tainted_Chi

    Posted Oct 18, 2009 10:13 pm PT

    That (very suspiciously) doesn't look much like Sonic's silhouette at the end... :S *cry* Theres always a catch... Hold on that looks a bit like Espio??? (check him out, he was suppossed to be in knuckles chaotix on 32X).

    Hmm.. needlemouse? Porcupine perhaps? (Aren't hedgehogs and porcupine's marsupials?). Maybe its baby Sonic, lol.

    Meh IDK just hope this is as good as it teases to be.

  • atomic_purple

    Posted Oct 15, 2009 4:12 pm PT

    i want project needlemouse to succeed! the recent games were really scraping the bottom of the barrel, and lacked in a fundemental factor from the older games- fun. hopefully, this will change things for the better.

  • Xanth93

    Posted Oct 12, 2009 7:36 pm PT

    Hopefully this brings Sonic back. Adventure 2 Battle was the last good Sonic game. The 2006 version of Sonic the Hedgehog was very annoying due to ridiculously long loading times, and Unleashed had the worst camera.

  • SonictheHeg

    Posted Oct 3, 2009 12:09 pm PT

    @ punkdsk8erdude :
    You're totally right , SA2 Battle had a verry verry interesting, well think story and various gameplay with different caracters (my favorite Sonic).But I'm a little disapointed with the few past Sonic games (Sonic been a Were-hedgehog, Sonic with a sword...). I'm ok with the fact that Sonic joins Mario for Olympics Games but not to turn th

  • punkdsk8erdude

    Posted Sep 27, 2009 2:00 pm PT

    but they talk about the sonic cast here and unleashed was lacking in cast. heroes and the hedgehog 360 overkilled on cast. to me, the best cast balanced game was SA2. all i need tho in a great game would be sonic, tails, and knuckles. ALL being running stages. tails and knuckles varied the old games enough with their unique abilities w.o compeltely changing the gameplay, they came close w/ heroes. i liked shadow a lot, silver was too slow for sonic, and amy/big/etc are pointless characters to play as..much better for just comedy relief and story than gameplay.
    I hope with needlemouse that the gameplay returns to that of sonic tails and knuckles, all runners, in at least 80% 2d gameplay not 50/50 lik unleashed daytime levels, and no other levels other than running levels. no emerald hunts, no shooting stages, etc. just good ol' running. individually of course. they could throw in shadow too. but cap it off at max with rouge. w/ graphics and level design like unleashed daytime. that to me would be ultimate sonic game. eitehr that, or remake sonic 1,2,3, knuckles, all w/ unleashed graphics, all in one game. the story in those games is one long story as we all kno. that would be incredible.
    and on a side note, as a mini game, id love for chaos to return. that would be great!
    i just hope they dont screw this up. everything on consoles after heroes was a complete failure. even unleashed, although it came the closest with daytime levels.
    sonic deserves better than this sega!!

  • punkdsk8erdude

    Posted Sep 27, 2009 1:58 pm PT

    ive been goin back lately and revisiting all my old sonic games, thanks to sonics ultimate genesis collection on 360. once i got that, play sonic the hedgehog, sonic 2, 3, sonic and knuckles, i broke out my old gcube discs - adventure dx, adventure 2 battle, and heroes. I also gave unleashed a try (demo on live). I love sonic, always have and always will. but all the games i jsut mentioned had major problems. adventure dx had a much more compellin story than A2B, and i didnt rly hav any issue with that game except it was a little too slow for me (big/amy esp) and the camera had issues. A2B's tails levels were such a drag compared to ADX, bc Tails was first and foremost a runner like sonic, not this tech savy-otherwise useless fox. to me only eggman shouldve had those shootin levels. And the knuckles/rouge levels were wayyy too slow. in sonic heroes, the camera crap wasnt AS bad, but still bad, and my biggest issue was some of the fighting rly slowed down an otherwise fast paced game, a game that many ppl overlook the fact that it rly brought sonic back to his fast paced glory. there were def issues though. some of the levels rly sucked..i.e. those casino ones. sonic the hedgehog on 360 was only so bad because it was so dang slow. sonic unleashed wouldve been incredible if it was ONLY day levels. sonic unleashed couldve used more of the 2d gameplay too, too much of the level were in 3d, although the 3d here was much better than any other sonic 3d game ive ever played

  • aniMAXXX

    Posted Sep 26, 2009 6:43 am PT

    I had a bad feeling with the project Werewolf and it was crappier then i though, i would rather play dynasty warriors, speedy sonic was okay, but i still love original sonic adventure and 2nd for 3D sonic games and missed good old 2D sonic..... but the intro was nice, my heart was beating in sync with the BGM, Needlemouse......I don't wan to see Sonic running on 4 "legs" or doing trick with his tail...=.=

  • vetalfox

    Posted Sep 18, 2009 11:50 am PT

    Just find Sonic Beyond video on youtube, this is next step for 2D Sonic games for me, and i hope this is how Project Needlemouse will look.

  • BrandonC3000

    Posted Sep 15, 2009 10:18 am PT

    I'll be brutally honest here. If you liked Sonic Adventure, that's fine, it was a good game but neither that nor Sonic Unleashed, a true SONIC game to me. Fact of the matter is, Sonic is a very unique game that exploits in-game trigonometry to produce incredibly smooth 2D platform ramping and loops.

    I've yet to play a single 3D Sonic game that has able to capture the magic of what made Sonic truly a fun game. It had nothing to do with the blistering speeds so fast you need motion blur to demonstrate them, and it also had nothing to do with amazing climactic scenes of Sonic running through various inversions.

    When I think of Sonic, I think of a 2D game with dozens of paths around a large level, and a speed that perfectly balances in with the level design. Obstacles that are actually obstacles and all very unique, not just targets for anyone to push B twice in the air to kill. Honestly, drop all this homing sh it all together. Bring back the electric/fire/bubble shields for christ sake.

    Sonic reached it's peak with Sonic 3 and Knuckles. Sonic CD made a valiant last breath, but after that, the Sonic that I knew, died. I just really hope this new game can capture the magic.

  • rgame1

    Posted Sep 15, 2009 1:35 am PT

    hope it turns out well.

  • hemoleech

    Posted Sep 14, 2009 10:32 pm PT

    I liked it when you could run so fast on the 2D games that you literally ran off the screen!

  • jose2serious

    Posted Sep 14, 2009 9:53 pm PT

    2d Sonic sounds about right, but Sonic Unleashed's daytime levels worked great. And the hedgehog engine is near perfect for a Sonic game. But Sonic 06 just failed...

  • jose2serious

    Posted Sep 14, 2009 9:50 pm PT

    Someone inside Sonic Teams planning team wants Sonic dead.
    There conversations probably go like this: Kewl guy: Hey I got a cool new idea. How 'bout we make a game that puts Sonic back into the basics, Speed. Everyone: Yeah that sounds good. Evil Guy(or Chick...): Yeah that seems nice...but...what if we make Sonic into a werewolf for two thirds of the game! Kewl guy: I don't think thats a good idea...
    Evil Guy: Nonsense...It worked for Twilight( Not really it sucks).
    (Not so smart)Everyone: He's right...

Project Needlemouse Quick Links

Summary | Previews & Features | Videos | Answers | Forum

advertisement

Related Content

Matches based on text similarity.

Project Needlemouse

Game Stats

  • Rank:
    3,877 of 77,168
    (up by 491)
    PC Rank:
    1,357 of 12,575
    Highest Rank:
    18 in 2009
    Tracking:
    39 Track It»
    Wishlists:
    24 Wish It»
  • Player Ratings:
    1
  • Top 5 User Tags:
    1. sonic2010
Full Game Details »Close
Also on

Games you may like…

Users who looked at content for this game also looked at these games.

See More Similar Games
advertisement