Sega’s iconicSonic the Hedgehogfranchise has seen some difficult years in recent history, but it appears to be turning a new leaf. For one thing, Sonic Team is hard at work onSonic Frontiers,a new game with “open zones” that could let players run around and capitalize on Sonic’s powers with unprecedented freedom, which sounds like a lot of fun. For another,Sonic the Hedgehoghas managed to inspire a surprisingly successful movie adaptation. Simply calledSonic the Hedgehog,the movie broke multiple box office records, and it seems to have kicked off an entireSoniccinematic universe, thanks to upcoming sequels.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2willfeature Knuckles as a secondary antagonistand finally bring the Chaos Emeralds into the movie series, meaning it has the potential to motivate a lot of other compelling cinematicSoniccontent. Beyond movies and TV, though, one wonders if there’s any hope that the newSonicmovies will ever return to their roots.Sonic the Hedgehogseems ripe for a video game adaptation, thanks to the unique story it tells using theSonicseries. Bringing the movie’s story back to its original genre would be a great way to celebrateSonic’s newfound success in theaters.
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A Game of the Sonic Movie
2020’sSonic the Hedgehoghas a few important elements that could motivate a compelling video game. For instance,Sonic the Hedgehogfeatures a ton of travel. Much of the movie is defined by a cross-country road trip as Sonic travels to San Francisco in search of his portal-generating rings, and near the end of the movie, those rings are used to quickly travel all over the Earth as Sonic battlesJim Carrey’s Dr. Robotnik.Sonic the Hedgehog’s many real-world settings could serve as great inspirations for 2D platforming levels based on real-world locations like San Francisco’s Transamerica Pyramid.
The story of the movie could also motivate a lot of fun character interactions thatSonicgames don’t usually feature.Sonic the Hedgehogis all about Sonic’s early years when he’s still learning how to put his powers to good use, and James Marsden’s character Tom Wachowski provides a significant new lens through which to view Sonic’s life. A game of theSonicmovie could feature all kinds of side missions that have to do with Sonic learning about the human world and ticking off bucket list items with Tom’s help. Not manySonicgames give players the chance towatch Sonic grow up, so a game that borrows that narrative from theSonicmovie could really stand out.
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Sonic is Going in a Good Direction
Beyond the qualities of the movie, a game adaptation would simply be valuable as a means of acknowledging howSonic the Hedgehog’s place in pop culture has changed for the better in recent years. While severalSonicgames from the last few decades have failed to meet expectations,theSonicmovie has brought fans togetherin a big way, likely contributing to the excitement that surroundsSonic Frontiers.It’d be great to see Sega and Sonic Team work together to acknowledge the movie’s accomplishments by retelling it in a playable format.
If theSonicmovie franchise continues to succeed, then video game adaptations of the movies seem inevitable. Whether they’re traditional 2D platformers or whether they take on a completely different genre, video game versions would bring theSonicmovie franchise’s success full circle in a highly appropriate way. For now, though, Sonic Team is probably saving its energy for the mysteriousSonic Frontiers,which stands to reason. ASonicmovie game might be far away, but at leastSonic the Hedgehog 2is around the corner. The upcoming sequel should shed plenty of light on where bothSonicmovies andSonicgames might go from here.
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