Project Needlemouse is now...Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1

[Gazanator101]

For all of those who doesn't know what Project Needlemouse is, it was the project title of a rebooted 2D game of Sonic the Hedgehog. Many 'old-skool' fans of Sonic like me were really unimpressed with Sonic's recent games on the next generation consoles i.e the 2006 Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic Unleashed. Sega are actually looking outside the box for once and realising Sonic is going downhill...and through a loop. Last year, they showed a teaser trailer indicating they are sending Sonic back to his 2D roots and we were all thinking about if they can save Sonic from the abominations they put him in, in recent years.

Until today, another teaser trailer popped up. Yes, it is now called Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1.


GameSpot Video: Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 Teaser Trailer

Watching the trailer, I went escatic and a shine of light shined down on his blue furball and hope was now possible. Sonic 4 will be available on the Xbox Live Arcade, Playstation Network and WiiWare this summer and judging by the 'Episode 1' title, it's not going to be the first. This is going to be the next Sonic 3 to a future Sonic & Knuckles. To Sega and the Sonic Team, please don't f**k this up!

If you are an 'old-skool' Sonic fan or just a fan of everything that is Sonic, watch this trailer and post what you think about Sonic Team's New Hope. Thank you.

[Freezing Beast]

I think its a smart move and I'm glad they are doing this. I remember playing sonic all the time altough i like if he's 2-D or 3-D

[SaiyanFury]

I've been a SEGA man since I was 9 years old. My Dad got me my SEGA Genesis back at Christmas of 1989 and it came with the original Sonic the Hedgehog. I've been a fan ever since. I got Sonic 2 and Sonic 3 respectively when they were released. I never did own Sonic and Knuckles, although I did recently buy a copy off eBay for my low-def home theatre/retro gaming setup. The recent games have been shyte since Yuji Naka left Sonic Team several years ago. They've been misguided and just plain wrong. Like Metriod, Sonic is meant to remain in 2 dimensions, not 3. I refer, of course, to the modern Metroid Prime games of which I could never get into. This new game looks very promising, and if it's as decent as the video shows, I think I'll be rocking out to some new Sonic action this coming summer. It's only been 16 years....

[Gazanator101]

Originally Posted by SaiyanFury

I've been a SEGA man since I was 9 years old. My Dad got me my SEGA Genesis back at Christmas of 1989 and it came with the original Sonic the Hedgehog. I've been a fan ever since. I got Sonic 2 and Sonic 3 respectively when they were released. I never did own Sonic and Knuckles, although I did recently buy a copy off eBay for my low-def home theatre/retro gaming setup. The recent games have been shyte since Yuji Naka left Sonic Team several years ago. They've been misguided and just plain wrong. Like Metriod, Sonic is meant to remain in 2 dimensions, not 3. I refer, of course, to the modern Metroid Prime games of which I could never get into. This new game looks very promising, and if it's as decent as the video shows, I think I'll be rocking out to some new Sonic action this coming summer. It's only been 16 years....

I thought Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 were pretty decent. Yes, apart from them, the rest sucked and Sonic should have remained in two dimensions as you said.

I have never heard of a 16 years old sequel have you? lol
Can you think of any other game sequels that took many years to come out?

[SaiyanFury]

Originally Posted by Gazanator101

I thought Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 were pretty decent. Yes, apart from them, the rest sucked and Sonic should have remained in two dimensions as you said.

I have never heard of a 16 years old sequel have you? lol
Can you think of any other game sequels that took many years to come out?

Hah, not unless you count Duke Nukem Forever, that game's been in limbo for over a decade. A friend of mine had a penchant for making his own DN levels and was really quite skilled at it. Aside from that, yes Sonic Adventures 1 and 2 were quite good, I own both of them for my Dreamcast. But yeah, setting aside those two titles, Sonic should have remained in 2D. My all time fave in the series is Sonic CD, which thanks to my PC, I can emulate at any time with superior graphics filters.

[Gazanator101]

Originally Posted by SaiyanFury

Hah, not unless you count Duke Nukem Forever, that game's been in limbo for over a decade. A friend of mine had a penchant for making his own DN levels and was really quite skilled at it. Aside from that, yes Sonic Adventures 1 and 2 were quite good, I own both of them for my Dreamcast. But yeah, setting aside those two titles, Sonic should have remained in 2D. My all time fave in the series is Sonic CD, which thanks to my PC, I can emulate at any time with superior graphics filters.

I had Sonic CD on the PC as well back when I was around 10 years old, but now I'm trying to make it work on Windows 7 - it's kind of impossible. It's a shame really, I love Windows 7, but it has a few really bad compatibility problems with some old-ish software and games. With the power of Google, I can find the answer and get Sonic CD running on my laptop immediately without hassle - or I could just download a Sega CD emulator.

[casperthedog]

Thing that i fine annoying in that trailer, is that when sonic is going fast in that section of gameplay, his feet dont turn into a blur of fast feet, which while a minor thing which wont effect the game, i just noticed it. Still ill try the demo on 360/PS3 when its out.

[Gazanator101]

Yeah, I did notice that Sonic wasn't that fast in the trailer when it got to Sonic 4, but it is about 2 seconds of new footage and maybe Sonic wasn't maintaining enough speed or something. I wouldn't need to worry, I'm sure he will be as fast as ever and his feet will turn into a blur when running, just like in the old games.

[SaiyanFury]

Originally Posted by Gazanator101

I had Sonic CD on the PC as well back when I was around 10 years old, but now I'm trying to make it work on Windows 7 - it's kind of impossible. It's a shame really, I love Windows 7, but it has a few really bad compatibility problems with some old-ish software and games. With the power of Google, I can find the answer and get Sonic CD running on my laptop immediately without hassle - or I could just download a Sega CD emulator.

Gaz, if you need an emulator to run SEGA CD games and others let me know. You can find me on MSN Messenger: saiyanfury666@hotmail.com. Or PM me here if you wish. Or even then just post here and I'll feed you some more information.

[Gazanator101]

Originally Posted by SaiyanFury

Gaz, if you need an emulator to run SEGA CD games and others let me know. You can find me on MSN Messenger: saiyanfury666@hotmail.com. Or PM me here if you wish. Or even then just post here and I'll feed you some more information.

That will be awesome dude, could you post a link to where I can download this decent Sega CD emulator please? I already have the Sonic CD iso ready.

There can be a problem though, because I have Windows 7 64-bit edition, and some emulators might not be compatible on Windows 7 or 64-bit systems for that matter. Could you try and get one that can work with what I've got, thanks dude.