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I’m a big fan of Sonic Boom. I know, that might be controversial. Sonic fans have long debated which Sonic CD soundtrack is best between the Japanese and American releases.
For the opening at least, I’ve always loved the American version: Sonic Boom. The chugging electric guitars! The earworm vocal harmonies! The key shift from verse to chorus! Japan’s You Can Do Anything is a funky 90s bop that just sounds inherently Sonic, while Sonic Boom set the tone for the later rock-heavy Sonic Adventure games. I prefer that classic 90s sound overall but something about “Sonic boooom Sonic boooom” gets me so excited for another high-speed adventure – what can I say, I like the cheese.
All of which is to say, I love the Sonic animation intros. And the just-released intro for Sega’s forthcoming Sonic Superstars is hitting all the right notes.
Back in the 90s, Sonic CD’s animation blew my mind – seeing my favourite pixelated character speed around a brightly-coloured hand-drawn 3D environment, pinging off cliffs and scampering across water, was an absolute dream of a cartoon. Sega please, give us a 3D Sonic game in this style!
More recently, Sonic Mania gave us a more modern and stylised effort featuring Tails and Knuckles too, its song a cute and catchy, whirring little electronic number. Then Sonic Origins added in animated cutscenes to the original games using classic themes.
Sega is continuing that 2D legacy with Sonic Superstars: a return to sidescrolling platforming with its very own animated intro. “New thrills, classic feels,” it boasts.
Sonically (no pun intended), it’s got that classic bright and sunny Sonic feel, while the visuals have the quintessential checkerboard hills and loops. The hand-drawn style and colour palette bring Sonic CD to mind, sitting somewhere between that game’s vintage look and the slick modernity of Sonic Origins.
There are hints, too, of what the game will include: the iconic badnik and animal designs, emerald powers, and appearances from Robotnik, Fang the Hunter, and new villain Trip.
It’s not just Sonic either: Tails appears in his Tornado biplane, Amy’s smacking enemies with her hammer, and Knuckles looks angry. This is a four-player co-op game, of course.
In all it’s a great intro that – like the game itself – is giving all the right classic Sonic vibes. I can’t wait to play the full thing.
