10 Super-Sonic Moments to Remember From 2018
Sonic Mania and Sonic Forces
Although released in 2017, these games were still "new" to gamers. Sonic Mania Plus was released later, and Forces kept players busy with Avatar skins/accessories.
1 Mania's insane amount of Easter eggs and classic goodies: Super-Peel Out; CD-like opening sequence; small Amy appearance; Mean Bean; Bark, Bean, and Nack; the Metal Sonic projector and the machine in the past...the list goes on and on.
2 It's retro style was what Sonic 4 should have been, and it pleased many.
3 Plus re-introduced Mighty and Ray, who haven't been around since the 90s, (SegaSonic the Hedgehog and Knuckles' Chaotix). Other Note: Ray's shoes redesigned blue, in honor of his appearance in the Archie comics.
4 Forces saw a new concept come to light: designing a character. Inspired by the amount of fan creations out there, Forces lets players customize the "Avatar," who would have their own ability and a unique look.
5 Forces saw the return of the most characters since Sonic Generations. The only major characters absent (that had been in Generations) were Blaze (who, remember, is from another dimension) and Cream.
6 Forces may have centered around Sonic, Classic, and the Avatar, but it also was the first time Shadow had been playable in a Sonic game since 2010 (Free Riders) and playable in a "main-game" since 2006 (Sonic 06). In addition to being playable in certain Sonic levels, he has his own "episode" (although it's very short) which serves as a prequel.
IDW's New Sonic Comic
IDW released their new Sonic comic this year, which was released every week for 4 issues, then monthly.
7 Sonic and friends deal with the "Fallout" from Sonic Forces. The comic slowly introduces the characters to new readers (Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Blaze, the Chaotix, Eggman, Team Dark, etc).
8 New characters are introduced, including Tangle the Lemur, Whisper the Wolf, and (LAAAAME) trouble makers Rough & Tumble. It should be noted that Tangle will become a major reoccurring character.
9 In addition to starting a new story arc involving a familiar mechanical villain, IDW released it's first one-shot, which is a prequel to Team Sonic Racing, the up-coming 2019 game. Curiously, it's set "in the world of Team Sonic Racing," not the "main" IDW story (why am I getting "in another time, another place" vibe?*).
Sonic Mania Adventures
To support the release of Mania plus, a short animated series was made in the style of Mania's opening. On Youtube, it picked up directly where Forces left off (from Classic's point of view).
10 Mania Adventures brought the entire "classic cast" of Mania together. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Ray, Mighty, Metal Sonic, and Eggman.**
*"In Another Time, Another Place" was Archie's way of adapting the videogames. Luckily, IDW isn't just copying the game's opening cutscene and slightly shortening it.
**Update: Mania recently added an extra addition to the series that features (previously sidelined) Classic Amy Rose.
2019
Next year we have more comics to look forward to, as well as Team Sonic Racing. What else will happen?
- What other games will Sega be making?
- Is Classic strictly an anniversary character or will he have his own spin-off series now that he's "from another dimension" and not just time-travelling?
- Are they ever going to replace the current voice actors?
- How long will Sonic Boom last?
- Will the Archie comics be revived or left in the shadow of IDW?
- Are we going to get more on the Sonic Movie (please, no!)?
- Sega, can you please, please, please make a game were Sonic, Shadow, and Blaze have playable stories?
Ah, well. I guess we'll just have to wait and see! 2019, here we come.
