A portion of a Polygon interview with Sonic brand manager Aaron Webber and producer Sam Mullen.
"Every enemy you see is a reference to a previous Sonic game, which could date all the way back to Sonic 1. So everything from the old Sonic games up until now make an appearance." - Webber
- Sonic teams with Eggman to take on the Deadly Six
- features a jungle level lifted from Sonic and Knuckles
- slide along rails and zip across narrow strips of grass
- avoid swathes of muddy water infested with alligators
"The whole parkour system, conceptually, comes from the simple fact that in past Sonic games, Sonic would move really fast and he was kind of uncontrollable, and then you'd run into objects and just stop. So we went back to basic controls and said, 'Okay, how to we get past this? People don't like running around fast, fast, fast and then stop.' It started out with really simple things, like when Sonic hit a corner he would just glance past it. So we thought, what if he runs up walls or grabs ledges? And it sort of evolved from there into the state it is now. It all boils down to the fact that we want the player to maintain a flow, even if they're not having a sort of perfect playthrough. This way, the flow of a high-level Sonic player can be enjoyed even by a novice player." - Mullen
- tutorial is completely optional
- Wii U tutorial selection bubble has been moved to the top of the GamePad screen
- select it at any time for tips.
- 3DS tutorials show up as floating question marks peppering each level
- collecting all the red rings unlocks "something special" that "Sonic fans are sure to love."
On Sonic's various attacks...
"It's a matter of giving players reasons to use that kick attack versus the honing attack, and having enemies where you'll have to use a certain combination, such as the honing attack and then a kick. It's really nice to have that kind of control in a Sonic game." - Webber
- one casino level has a brightly-lit corridor strewn with light rails that will electrify Sonic on impact
- also collect silver chips strewn throughout the area
- these chips can be cashed in at the end of each level for additional points and even allow players to progress to the next level more quickly
- in a snow level, Sonic rolls up into a giant snowball and must be navigated across thin floating platforms
- each level in the Wii U version has been completely redesigned for the 3DS version
"We're working with [Osaka studio] Dimps on the 3DS version, and Dimps has done a really great job on the previous handheld games, but in particular with this one, it's like getting to look at our piece from a different perspective and a different angle. So it's the same style and look of the game, but it's as if someone else is giving their own take on it.
We also wanted to give fans something brand new, so if you buy the Wii U version and then the 3DS [version], we didn't want to give you the exact same game. You beat those levels already. So for Sonic fans that are going to buy both, or even for people that will just get one or the other, you want something that not only works but feels at home on the platform. So 3DS will have some changes to it that make it feel more natural, better on the 3DS. And likewise there's some stuff on the Wii U that just makes more sense and fits better there." - Webber
On evolving Sonic
"Sonic has never stood still — it isn't about churning out yesteryear's game with new levels. That's not what Sonic is about. We did that with Sonic: Generations, but with Generations, that was the whole concept of the game. But Sonic as a property is about trying new things and taking him to places he's never gone before, and having him do new things. Lost World is all about going back and rethinking the way he controls, trying new things and just like we did with Colors [and the color power." - Mullen
On the exclusivity with Nintendo
"If we trace Sonic's third-party roots all the way back to just after the Dreamcast, we released Sonic Adventure 2: Battle on the GameCube and it did phenomenally well. We think that's because there was a lot of overlap between the Sonic/Sega and Nintendo crowd at that time, and we just found historically that Sonic performs really, really well on Nintendo platforms. Sonic Colors did great, Sonic and the Black Knight did well and Sonic and Secret Rings did well — all Nintendo. When we look at the numbers, we thought — this is clearly where our audience is." - Mullen
On Sonic in Smash Bros. Wii U/3DS
"We have no idea!" - Webber
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