Takashi Iizuka Discusses The Last Ten Years Of Sonic The Hedgehog

Proper now, Sonic is driving excessive, nevertheless it was a rocky street to get him right here.

Takashi Iizuka lately had an interview with Eurogamer the place he mentioned Sonic’s latest redemption arc, and the way it took each a change in method and in his bodily location to make it occur.

Since then, the collection went from certainly one of its absolute worst showings, the notorious Sonic Increase: Rise of Lyric, to the unimaginable Sonic X Shadow Generations, a remaster of one of many higher 3D Sonic video games hooked up to a brand new one that’s simply top-of-the-line within the collection.

All it took was for Iizuka to maneuver midway around the globe and basically change how Sonic Workforce dealt with the franchise.

Shifting From Tokyo To LA

It looks like a significant catalyst for this transformation was Iizuka’s large transfer from Japan to america.

“Ten years in the past, I moved from Tokyo to Burbank,” he says. “At the moment, the Sonic model was not in a really constructive house. Lots of people had been bashing on the model. They weren’t pleased with the issues popping out.”

That will be proper across the launch of Sonic Increase, nevertheless it wasn’t the one misstep for the collection at the moment.

Whereas Sonic Colours and Sonic Generations had been usually strong, Sonic Unleashed and Sonic Misplaced World had been divisive, and Sonic the Hedgehog 4 can charitably be described as a failed try to recapture the spirit of the unique 2D video games.

Once I moved over from Tokyo to Los Angeles, it was like an “oh my god” second. Like, we have to save the model, or this model isn’t going to be round for for much longer. – Takashi Iizuka

It looks like the important thing to saving the franchise was to show to the followers to see what they need, and to get their assist.

That’s how Sonic Mania, the Sonic 4 they all the time ought to’ve made, occurred, and whereas it considerably overshadowed its 3D brother Sonic Forces, Forces will all the time be a giant second for permitting Sonic followers to insert themselves into the story. Once more, giving the followers what they need.

Sonic Racing CrossWorlds Trailer with Sonic, Shadow, Knuckles, and Jet

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22 characters are strongly suspected to be within the recreation on launch, with extra on the way in which.

That brings us to in the present day. Sonic Frontiers was an excellent reinvention of the 3D video games in each its gameplay and storytelling, whereas Sonic Superstars was a strong continuation of the 2D collection, even when it by no means reached Sonic Mania’s heights.

There’s additionally the film collection that helped usher in a brand new period of online game films, a strong Netflix present, the rebooted comedian collection, which simply acquired a DC Comics crossover, and extra oddball entries just like the weirdly unimaginable April Fools 2023 shadow drop The Homicide of Sonic the Hedgehog.

They don’t plan on stopping any time quickly, both.

Sonic Racing CrossWorlds is on its method in September, and we’ve gotten a have a look at Sonic Workforce’s efforts with Unreal Engine 5.

“There’s so many issues which might be new,” Iizuka says, reflecting on how far the collection has come within the final decade.

Ten years in the past, I didn’t suppose any of us may’ve believed this might change into the conventional actuality. Pondering of it now, and us being profitable… in comparison with ten years in the past, it’s like… 180 levels. We had been combating to outlive. It’s completely completely different now. – Takashi Iizuka

Hopefully they will proceed to journey this excessive and carry ahead the success of Sonic Frontiers and Sonic X Shadow Generations.