There were spin-offs across various Sega consoles and handhelds, but the mainline series suffered a strange absence. While Sonic had briefly been more popular thanMickey Mouse—though claims of this are disputed—in the late 1990s, he was nowhere to be found. The reason for this? The canceledSonic X-Treme.
RELATED:10 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets You Never Knew About The Making Of Mass Effect Andromeda
The story of its development and its cancellation doesn’t just tell the story of a failed game Really, it follows the story of the meteoric rise and devastating fall of one of the biggest video game companies of all time.
10Only A Sliver Of The Team Who Made The Original Sonic Trilogy Worked On It
As Sega’s headquarters was located in Japan, the firstSonic the Hedgehoggame was developed there. Due to internal troubles with the leadership in Japan, the team left to work in the United States where they would develop the sequel. They took residence within the offices of the Sega Technical Institute (STI).
STI, a separate American team, would collaborate with their new Japanse partners onSonic the Hedgehog 2. However, due toeven moreinternal troubles, the biggest being a language barrier between the two sides, the Japanese team madeSonic the Hedgehog 3andSonic and Knucklesalone even though they still worked within the STI offices.
9The Various Ideas For What It Could Be
The initialSonicsequels had their developments mapped out for them. All they needed to be were speedy platformers through a variety of colorful zones. However, the American side of STI had their work cut out for them. From the start, they wanted the game to be a new take on the franchise.
Sonic Mars,Sonic Bluestreak, andSonic-16were some of the many titles considered for the project.Sonic-16would’ve been more of an adaptation of the Saturday morning cartoons. There would have been more of a focus on story and unique gameplay mechanics and less on speed.Sonic Marswas going to be Sonic’s first foray into 3D. Yuji Naka, one of Sonic’s creators, wasn’t impressed by either of the prototypes. Instead of words of wisdom, he only told the team “good luck.”
Losing a key member of a production team can spell doom for almost any production.Mass Effect AndromedaandSolo: A Star Wars Storyare two high profile examples of a project being railroaded by a key creative leaving.
Thanks toeven moreinternal troubles, the lead designer, Dean Lester, left the project before it was even titledSonic X-Treme. Chris Senn, who had no experience leading a project, was left in what was meant to be a brief role before another lead could be found. Unfortunately, no one ever was, and Chris Senn was left in charge of the game for the majority of the development process.
74. Tiara Boobowski, Sonic’s Lost Love Interest
There were many concepts of what the games' story could be, but most of them included a new love interest for Sonic named Tiara Boobowski. Since the game originally was going to be based on the Saturday morning cartoon, it’s possible she was inspired by Sonic’s love interest in that show.
Various plotlines included Sonic either trying to get to his date with Tiara on time or her being a damsel in distress for him to save. However, the original reason for her inclusion would have been as a playable character who could match Sonic in terms of personality and attitude.
6How It Would Have Played
While some prototypes, likeSonic-16, would have been 2D, it was decided early on that the game would be in 3D. An initial idea was that Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Tiara would all be playable characters so that they could make the most of the 3D. Tails would have the camera fixed behind him, Knuckles would be handled from the top looking down on him, and Sonic would have a more adjustable camera so he could have more freedom of movement. Tiara would have a classic 2D style gameplay, with the camera looking at her from the side.
5They Weren’t Even Sure What Platform It Would Go On
From the beginning of the game’s development, it was unclear where the game would even launch. For a moment, they thought it would be on the Sega Genesis add-on, the Sega 32X. However, when that add-on failed, development was moved to a console that would be an even bigger failure, the Sega Saturn.
RELATED:10 PlayStation 1 Games that Deserve Remasters
The Sega Saturn would disappoint for a number of reasons. Poor advertising played a big part, but its major downfall was its inability to compete with theNintendo 64and the firstPlaystation. It began Sega’s downfall from one of the biggest brands in gaming into a company that was always lagging behind its competitors until it was forced out of the console game.
4America VS Japan
From the beginning, there was tension between the American and Japanese sides of the Sega company. Before the first game released, the American branch of Sega fought hard to take out various parts of Sonic’s original personality like fangs or a human girlfriend.
Working onSonic X-Tremewas no different. Sega shot down concepts, brought in outside development teams, and changed direction drastically throughout the games' development without the team’s input. Once Sega saw the free-roaming concept for boss battles, they forced STI to focus on that instead of linear levels. STI hoped they could have more help from Sega, but even that resulted in further disaster.
3A Christmas Special Was Made And Released To Promote It
In the 41st issue of theSonic the Hedgehogcomic book series, a Christmas special was advertised calledAn X-Tremely Sonic Christmas. It was going to be a continuation of the showThe Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog. It’s never been confirmed, but it is highly theorized that this was meant to promoteSonic X-Treme.
RELATED:10 Sega Vs. Nintendo Memes That Are Too Hilarious
The special involves Sonic trying to find presents for his girlfriend, Princess Sally. Her inclusion even might be because the game was meant to be based on the Saturday morning cartoon.
2The Final Straw
Sonic Team, which had moved on to make a new franchise, was working on another 3D game calledNIGHTS into Dreams. To help speed up production, STI asked if they could borrow that games' engine. They were granted permission and worked along with it for a fortnight. However, that would end up being wasted time. When Yuji Naka found out they were using his engine without his permission, he threatened to leave the company unless STI relented.
With a deadline to finish the game by Christmas, the team went into overdrive. A programmer on the team, Christina Coffin, worked so hard on the game she contracted pneumonia, and doctors believed that continuing work on the game may prove fatal. Forced to quit, the project lost one of its most crucial team members. The team told higher-ups that the game couldn’t meet its deadline.
1Its Lasting Legacy
STI quickly attempted to pitch aPCport, even though Sega had ordered them to quit production, but that was denied, as well. Later on, team members such as Chris Senn, Christina Coffer, and Mike Wallis shared extensive details about the games' production on the internet as the games' existence and cancellation became a legend in the Sonic community.
Textures leaked from the game and a demo of the boss engine was put up for auction. The concept of tube-like level structure and giving Sonic the ability to run up walls was later seen in 2015’sSonic Lost World,which was made by Sonic Team proper. Developers on that game denied that it was inspired bySonic X-Tremeand even denied knowledge of the game ever existing.
NEXT:10 Sonic The Hedgehog Cameos & References We All Forgot About
