Sonic Superstars

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Super Fast. Super Fun. Superstars!

— Tagline

Sonic Superstars (ソニックスーパースターズ, Sonikku Sūpāsutāzu^?) is a video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It is a 2D side-scrolling platformer title, similar to the Sega Mega Drive entries, and follows Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Amy as they explore the mystical Northstar Islands to take down Dr. Eggman, who has teamed up with mischievous bounty hunter Fang the Hunter and a mysterious girl named Trip the Sungazer to aid him in his plans. The game was released on 17 October 2023, closely to Super Mario Bros. Wonder.

What would become Sonic Superstars was originally conceived as a follow-up to Sonic Mania (2017), but was abandoned. The concept was eventually revisited when Naoto Ohshima, co-creator of Sonic, expressed interest in making a new 2D Sonic installment. The title was almost entirely developed by Arzest, Ohshima's company, with assistance from Sonic Team.

Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot, ending details or any kind of information follow.

The story takes place on the Northstar Islands, an uncharted, wondrous archipelago known for their giant fauna. The notorious Dr. Eggman comes to these islands to turn these massive animals into Badniks and steal the Chaos Emeralds to conquer the world. To aid him in his operations, he hires the mischievous mercenary Fang the Hunter. At one point, Fang comes across a native of the archipelago, Trip, an armored, mysterious girl who is enlisted by the villains to protect and guide them in the islands' hostile environment. Having learned of Eggman's actions, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy join forces and travel to the Northstar Islands to take the villain down.

Storylines

Main

File:Sonicsuperstarsteam.jpg

Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy encounter one of Dr. Eggman's mechs.

Alongside Fang and Trip in Eggman's base, he is looking at the capsules containing giant animals of Picky, Flicky, Rocky, and Pecky. Satisfied with the results, the doctor then hands Fang a giant bag full of money as payment. Fang then poses with the moneybag until Eggman tells him he's not done yet, and then provides Fang with a drawing he had drawn earlier depicting what resembled a winged cow and told him to locate it. Fang then departs while closely studying the drawing, while Trip panickily tries to follow him, only to end up slipping and falling onto Fang from behind just before he departed from the door. Fang then scolds her for bumping into him as she nods repeatedly in shame as Eggman watches. Suddenly, the base's alarms started blaring, causing all three to turn around in response, with Eggman throwing a tantrum upon realizing from the overhead screen that Sonic and Tails are headed toward the island via the Tornado.

As Sonic and Tails travel, they pass by Green Hill Zone and Angel Island, where they are seen by Amy and Knuckles respectively. Both of them follow the plane in order to join the duo, the latter having been prompted by the Master Emerald beginning to emit light as it flew by.

Aboard the Tornado, Sonic and Tails chase after Fang who is transporting the giant Flicky he captured on his Marvelous Queen. As Fang gets away, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy land in Bridge Island. They catch the attention of one of Eggman's Badniks as it follows them until the heroes defeat it by leading it to ram on the terrain. As dusk sets on the island, the heroes are intercepted by Dr. Eggman who pilots a mech, but the heroes destroy it and continue their way to Speed Jungle.

They catch up to Fang and see him putting the caged giant Flicky inside a giant mosquito Badnik as a power source so the heroes quickly defeat it, freeing the Flicky from captivity. Later, Fang tries to hunt down Sonic, but after a long chase Fang ends up crashing into Trip, losing Sonic in the process. The heroes then fight another of Eggman's mechs and successfully defeat it. Trip then tries to activate a trap but she loses balance and accidentally activates the trap on Fang. The heroes hop on a strong wind caused by a propeller and end up in Sky Temple. From there they find a lab containing various prototype robots. They defeat the Egg-copter but before fleeing, Dr. Eggman snatches one of the robots and escapes while the heroes grab a balloon and descend to Pinball Carnival.

They manage to defeat a clown-like robot and another one of Eggman's mechs, which destroys his monument in the aftermath of the fight. The heroes then jump into a tube that leads them right to Lagoon City where they defeat a giant jellyfish robot. Trip tries to activate a trapdoor on the heroes but it jams, she tries to check the trapdoor but instead she falls, much to Fang's shock. She then finds herself stuck an underground passage and begins to cry. Shortly after, Amy goes into the underground passage and finds Trip in tears, and offers to help her get out. After getting her out, she gives Trip an apple and leaves to regroup with the heroes. They fight another one of Eggman's mechs and ride a giant viper's tail to reach Sand Sanctuary, where they defeat Eggman's drill mech.

The heroes reach Press Factory and battle a monkey robot, resulting the factory to become unstable with an explosion being immanent, the heroes escape in time by a vacant rocket only to be intercepted by another of Eggman's mechs. The heroes defeat Eggman and arrive at Golden Capital, defeating a golden piggy-bank based robot. Knuckles finds a sealed vault that he breaks open with a punch, inside the vault there is a mural depicting Black Dragon. Fang attacks an unsuspecting Knuckles and manages to knock the Chaos Emeralds out of him. The heroes catch up to Fang and manage to defeat him after a long battle that takes place in one of Eggman's facilities inside the Golden Capital. Trip then manages to grab the Chaos Emeralds and transforms into her dragon form. She then knocks out Fang. Amy greets Trip and introduces her to the rest of her friends. The heroes end up in Cyber Station where they face off against a Prototype that Eggman had snatched from Sky Temple. Upon defeating it, the heroes open a Capsule that is full of other prototypes, and they prepare to fight a gigantic version of the defeated prototype. After destroying it the heroes open the real capsule and free more animals before moving to Frozen Base. There the heroes witness the Egg Fortress taking off and they prepare to fight a giant pterodactyl robot. Later, Tails was able to build Egg Mobiles and the heroes use them to fly over to space where they fight another of Eggman's mechs. The heroes blast a hole in the Egg Fortress to infiltrate it, and they end up damaging it heavily. Eggman activates his ultimate device which allows him to rewind time, undoing all the damage in the process. He repairs his final mech to crush the heroes, but they eventually defeat him and end up damaging the Egg Fortress again.

In the aftermath, Tails is able to locate a working Egg Mobile and finds the rest of the heroes and escape the Egg Fortress in time, the heroes drop off Knuckles back to his Master Emerald shrine on Angel Island. and the rest of the group return to the Northstar Islands to celebrate with the forest critters their victory over the villain.

Trip

Trip is rejoicing with the forest critters when one of Dr. Eggman's aircrafts flies over them, Trip spots it so she takes off her helmet and begins going after it. Trip goes through the same areas and fights the same robots and mechs the heroes faced before along with Fang, with the only difference being that the mechs are piloted by an Eggrobo instead of Eggman, much like during Knuckles' story in Sonic & Knuckles and Sonic 3 & Knuckles. Once she reaches Frozen Base where she sees a rebuilt Egg Fortress taking off in the distance and once she's inside the base, Trip rides a vehicle that resembles the Egg Scorcher Mark III and flies it to infiltrate the Egg Fortress. Trip causes damage to the fortress but the Eggrobo activates Eggman's device and rewinds time to undo all the damage. Shortly after, Fang appears and ambushes Trip with a modified Marvelous Queen, when Trip defeats him he pilots a giant robot mech that is modeled after his appearance. Trip is able to defeat it and the result of the fight leads to the destruction of the Egg Fortress and Trip escapes with an Egg Mobile. Back on Northstar Island the forest critters celebrate Trip's victory while Sonic and Tails smile approvingly and Sonic congratulates Trip for a job well done.

Last

A mysterious portal appears from the surface of the water and from it emerges the Black Dragon that was from the ancient mural. Having collected all seven Chaos Emeralds, Sonic transforms into Super Sonic and faces off against the beast, during the fight Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and Trip appear occasionally to aid Super Sonic with more rings. After damaging him enough, the Black Dragon powers up and transforms into darker form. But Super Sonic is able to wear him out enough so Trip is able to use the Black Onyx to seal the Dragon back to where it came from. Sonic returns and powers down to celebrate his victory with Trip and the forest critters carry them and cheer them on for saving them.

Characters

Image	Character	Biography
File:Sonic Superstars Sonic.png	Sonic the Hedgehog	The fastest thing alive! Sonic the Hedgehog runs at mach speeds and is quick to engage those that threaten his friends, his freedom, or the natural world around him. He loves to relax when he's not on an adventure but will jump at the chance to thwart any evil plot from Dr. Eggman.
File:TailsSuperstars.png	Miles "Tails" Prower	Miles "Tails" Prower is an energetic fox, a genius mechanic, and the pilot of Sonic's plane, the "Tornado." Once bullied for having an extra tail, he has since found strength in his uniqueness: by spinning his two tails together, he can propel himself forward and even fly short distances in the air! One of Sonic's closest friends, Tails is the best sidekick anyone could ask for.
File:KnucklesSuperstars.png	Knuckles the Echidna	Knuckles the Echidna is said to be the last of his kind and is bound by duty to protect the Master Emerald on Angel Island. He is known for his immense strength and can use his spiked fists to smash enemies, climb walls, and even destroy solid rock. Gliding is another of his abilities, allowing him to quickly traverse the varied environments of his island and the world beyond.
File:AmySuperstars.png	Amy Rose	Still learning to use her own surprising strength, Amy is a pink hedgehog who wields the huge "Piko Piko Hammer." She has a strong sense of justice and will always follow her heart to protect the weak, even though that often means putting herself in danger.
File:TripRender.png	Trip the Sungazer	Not much is known yet about Trip, the mysterious girl first encountered by Fang on the Northstar Islands. While a bit clumsy, Trip is heavily armored and has been enlisted by Fang and Dr. Eggman to protect and guide them around the wonders of this uncharted region.
	Fang the Hunter	Fang is a springy jerboa that is light on his feet and is always looking for the next big score. A bounty hunter by trade, Fang the Hunter has been known by many different names over the years, likely due to his "WANTED" status with the authorities. Always trying to stay one step ahead, he’s constantly modifying and upgrading his primary mode of transportation, the Marvelous Queen.
File:EggmanSuperstars.png	Dr. Eggman	An evil genius with an IQ of 300, Dr. Eggman wants to expand his Eggman Empire through world domination. With armies of robots at his disposal, he is a constant threat and is always looking to bolster his power through stealing objects like the Chaos Emeralds. Perhaps this is what has drawn him to the Northstar Islands...

Gameplay

File:SSPromo1.jpg

Sonic in Bridge Island Zone, the first Zone in Sonic Superstars.

Sonic Superstars is a 2.5D side-scrolling platforming game resembling the earlier 2D entries in the Sonic series. The art style is similar to the "Classic Sonic" levels in Sonic Generations and Sonic Forces. The player can control four playable characters: Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy. All four share the same base gameplay but have abilities of their own; the first three have their own moveset from games like Sonic 3 & Knuckles and Sonic Mania, while Amy's is taken from Sonic Origins Plus.

Gameplay is set across a series of twelve worlds, called Zones, which are split into one or two levels called "Acts". The player can access these Zones from a hub world similar to the one from Sonic Generations which features the unlocked Acts and other options like customization. Certain characters also have Acts that only they can play. For example, Speed Jungle Zone, the second Zone, has a "Sonic Act" which is exclusive to Sonic. As with many other games in the franchise, Rings appear throughout the Zones, in which gathering one hundred of them will grant the player a Medal, as well as protect them from enemy attacks and many other dangers. Should the playable characters take damage, they will lose all of their Rings that they have collected. And if they are hit without any Rings, they'll die. Players can also die if they either fall into a bottomless pit, drown underwater, get crushed or run out of time. Upon dying, the player will retry the current Act from either the beginning or at the location of the last Star Post.

File:Sonic Superstars Avatar.png

Sonic using the "Avatar" Emerald Power to attack a boss.

Like in the previous Classic games, the player can collect Chaos Emeralds from Special Stages, which can be accessed by interacting with Giant Rings which are hidden in the Acts. Each Emerald obtained allows access to a unique "Emerald Power" ability, such as climbing waterfalls or generating clones. While the game encourages the player to collect the Chaos Emeralds to unlock access to these powers, they are entirely optional, and the Acts can be completed without using them. Once all seven Emeralds are collected, the playable character will be able to enter a Super State which grants them invulnerability and increased speed at the cost of losing Rings.

The game has a multiplayer mode called Battle Mode, taking place in a secret lab owned by Dr. Eggman, where players control customizable robot characters called "Metal Fighters" and compete against each other in several mini-games.

The game does not have voice acting or monologues. Rather, the game uses the "Classic" style of storytelling from the Sonic series, where there is focus on the actions of the characters.

Controls

Button formation				Movement
PlayStation 4/PlayStation 5	Xbox One/Xbox Series X/S	Nintendo Switch		Sonic	Tails	Knuckles	Amy	Trip
		Pro Controller/ Joy-Con (Pair)	Joy-Con (Single)
Template:Left Analog Stick/Template:Directional Buttons (PS) left/right	Template:Left Analog Stick/Directional buttons left/right	Template:Left Analog Stick/Template:Directional Buttons (Switch) left/right	Template:Analog Stick left/right	Move
Template:Left Analog Stick/Template:Directional Buttons (PS) up	Template:Left Analog Stick/Directional buttons up	Template:Left Analog Stick/Template:Directional Buttons (Switch) up	Template:Analog Stick up	Look up
Template:Left Analog Stick/Template:Directional Buttons (PS) down	Template:Left Analog Stick/Directional buttons down	Template:Left Analog Stick/Template:Directional Buttons (Switch) down	Template:Analog Stick down	Look down/Crouch
Square/Cross/Circle	Template:X Button (Xbox One)/Template:A Button (Xbox One)/Template:B Button (Xbox One)	Template:Y Button (Switch)/Template:A Button (Switch)/Template:B Button (Switch)	Template:B Button (Switch)/Template:X Button (Switch)/Template:A Button (Switch)/Template:Directional Buttons (Switch) left/right/down	Spin Jump
Move + Template:Left Analog Stick/Template:Directional Buttons (PS) down	Move + Template:Left Analog Stick/Directional buttons down	Move + Template:Left Analog Stick/Template:Directional Buttons (Switch) down	Move + Template:Analog Stick down	Spin Attack
Crouch + Square/Cross/Circle	Crouch + Template:X Button (Xbox One)/Template:A Button (Xbox One)/Template:B Button (Xbox One)	Crouch + Template:Y Button (Switch)/Template:A Button (Switch)/Template:B Button (Switch)	Crouch + Template:B Button (Switch)/Template:X Button (Switch)/Template:A Button (Switch)/Template:Directional Buttons (Switch) left/right/down	Spin Dash
Spin Jump > hold Square/Cross/Circle	Spin Jump > hold Template:X Button (Xbox One)/Template:A Button (Xbox One)/Template:B Button (Xbox One)	Spin Jump > hold Template:Y Button (Switch)/Template:A Button (Switch)/Template:B Button (Switch)	Spin Jump > hold Template:B Button (Switch)/Template:X Button (Switch)/Template:A Button (Switch)/Template:Directional Buttons (Switch) left/right/down	Drop Dash	N/A	Glide	Hammer Rush	Ring Rolling
Spin Jump x2	Spin Jump x2	Spin Jump x2	Spin Jump x2	N/A			Double Jump
Spin Jump > tapping Square/Cross/Circle	Spin Jump > tapping Template:X Button (Xbox One)/Template:A Button (Xbox One)/Template:B Button (Xbox One)	Spin Jump > tapping Template:Y Button (Switch)/Template:A Button (Switch)/Template:B Button (Switch)	Spin Jump > tapping Template:B Button (Switch)/Template:X Button (Switch)/Template:A Button (Switch)/Template:Directional Buttons (Switch) left/right/down	N/A	Fly/Swim	N/A
Template:Left Analog Stick/Template:Directional Buttons (PS) up/down (on wall)	Template:Left Analog Stick/Directional buttons up/down (on wall)	Template:Left Analog Stick/Template:Directional Buttons (Switch) up/down (on wall)	Template:Analog Stick up/down (on wall)	N/A		Wall Climb	N/A
Template:Right Analog Stick/L1/R2	Template:Right Analog Stick/Template:LB Button (Xbox One)/Template:RB Button (Xbox One)	Template:Right Analog Stick/Template:L Button (Switch)/Template:R Button (Switch)	Template:SL Button (Switch)/Template:SR Button (Switch)	Select Emerald Power
File:PSTriangleButton.png	Template:Y Button (Xbox One)	Template:X Button (Switch)	Template:Y Button (Switch)/Template:Directional Buttons (Switch) up	Activate Emerald Power
OPTIONS	Template:Menu Button (Xbox One)	Template:Plus Button (Switch)	Template:Plus Button (Switch)	Pause

Objects

Items

• Air Bubble
• Banana
• Black Onyx (first appearance)
• Chaos Emerald
• Floating Item Box
• Giant Ring
• Item Box
  • Invincible
  • Power Sneakers
  • Random
  • Shield
  • Super Ring
• Medal
• Ring

Gimmicks and obstacles

• Bomb
• Bumper
• Bumper Wall
• Capsule
• Color Block
• Conveyor Belt
• Crusher
• Dash Panel
• Dash Ring
• Elevator
• Fan
• Flipper
• Goal Plate
• Grind Rail
• High-speed Warp Tube
• Iron ball
• Jump Stand
• Magnetic Sphere
• Pulley
• Reverse
• Sinking Pool
• Snowblower
• Spikes
• Sphere
• Spring
• Star Post
• Up and Down

Characters

Playable

File:Sonicsuperstarsteam.jpg

The four main playable characters.

• Amy Rose
  • Super Amy
• Knuckles the Echidna
  • Super Knuckles
• Metal Fighter (Battle Mode) (first appearance)
• Miles "Tails" Prower
  • Super Tails
• Sonic the Hedgehog
  • Super Sonic
• Trip the Sungazer
  • Dragon Form (first appearance)

Skins

• Shadow Costume (Sonic)
• Rabbit (Sonic)
• Holiday Costume (Sonic)
• LEGO Sonic
• Comic Sonic
• LEGO Tails
• Comic Tails
• LEGO Knuckles
• Comic Knuckles
• LEGO Amy
• Comic Amy
• Modern Amy
• IHOP Amy
• LEGO Eggman

Battle Mode

• Clown
• Item Box
• Knight
• Mad Fighter
• Mecha Sonic
• Mecha Rabbit
• Mecha Wolf
• Metal Amy
• Metal Knuckles
• Metal NiGHTS
• Metal Sonic
• Metal Tails
• Metal Trip
• Prototype
• Pumpkin
• Robotic Bear
• Warrior

Non-playable

File:SuperstarsTeamEggman.png

The two main antagonists, with Trip.

• Animals
  • Cucky
  • Flicky
  • Pecky
  • Picky
  • Pocky
  • Ricky
  • Rocky
• Dr. Eggman
• Fang the Hunter

Enemies

• Anton
• Barrel Thrower
• Batbrain
• Blaster
• Buzz Bomber
• Caterpillar Mecha
• Chopper
• Coaster Buzzsaw
• Cooperation Mecha Group
• Crabmeat
• Crawlshell
• Crawlton
• Darts Mecha
• Eggrobo
• Electrical Discharge Mecha
• Electric Catfish Mecha
• Elephant Mecha
• Enemy 10
• Fly Thorn
• Fly Thorn 03
• Grapes Mech
• Green Beetle Badnik
• Hotaru
• Item Mecha
• Jellyfish Mecha
• Kanga Clanga
• Light Bird Mecha
• Mecha-Bu
• Mini Ptera Mecha
• Mole Mecha
• Scarab Beetle Mecha
• Soap Bubble Mecha
• Skorp
• Slicer
• Snail Blaster
• Spider Mecha
• Splats
• Spotted Garden Eel Mecha
• Spring Mecha
• Tails Doll
• Tick-Tock Drone
• Toad Mecha
• Trampling Mecha
• Uni Uni
• Unnamed enemy based on Bottaco from Fantasy Zone
• Unnamed enemy based on Coulon from Fantasy Zone
• Unnamed enemy based on Dralinfuller from Fantasy Zone
• Unnamed enemy based on Moocolon from Fantasy Zone
• Unnamed enemy based on Sourtham from Fantasy Zone
• Unnamed enemy based on Quili-Quili from Fantasy Zone
• Unnamed pixel cat enemy
• Unnamed wall-mounted laser cannon enemy
• Watermelon Mecha
• Water Strider Mecha

Bosses

• Mosasaurus (first appearance)
• Bridge Island Zone boss
• Speed Jungle Zone mini-boss
• Speed Jungle Zone boss
• Sky Temple Zone boss
• Pinball Carnival Zone mini-boss
• Pinball Carnival Zone boss
• Lagoon City Zone mini-boss
• Lagoon City Zone boss
• Sand Sanctuary Zone boss
• Press Factory Zone mini-boss
• Press Factory Zone boss
• Golden Capital Zone mini-boss
• Fang the Hunter
• Metal Fighter
• Frozen Base Zone mini-boss
• Frozen Base Zone boss
• Egg Fortress Zone boss
• Unnamed Fang robot
• Black Dragon (first appearance)

Zones

Like in most other 2D Sonic games, stages in Sonic Superstars are called Zones. These Zones have a similar structure to those in Sonic 3 & Knuckles and Sonic Mania, with most of them having two Acts with a boss at the end of each. There are twelve Zones in the game, all completely original. To enter the final Zone, players must collect all seven Chaos Emeralds on a save file, and complete both the main story and Trip's story. After the prerequisites are completed, the Last Story will be selectable from the main menu.

1. Bridge Island Zone
2. Speed Jungle Zone
3. Sky Temple Zone
4. Pinball Carnival Zone
5. Lagoon City Zone
6. Sand Sanctuary Zone
7. Press Factory Zone
8. Golden Capital Zone
9. Cyber Station Zone
10. Frozen Base Zone
11. Egg Fortress Zone
12. Last Story

Special Stages

The Special Stages in Sonic Superstars, much like in previous games like Sonic 3 & Knuckles and Sonic Mania, are accessed through Giant Rings which are hidden in the stages. Here, the player has to swing from spheres to catch either a Medal or a Chaos Emerald.

Bonus Stages

The Bonus Stages in Sonic Superstars are a recreation of the Special Stages from the Sega Genesis version of the original Sonic the Hedgehog. They are accessed by touching a Star Circle that can be opened up after passing through a Star Post with enough Rings. Instead of Chaos Emeralds, these stages award the player with medals.

Development

Background

File:Sonic Mania title screen.png

The title screen of Sonic Mania (2017), another side-scrolling Sonic game that, like Sonic Superstars, served as a reimagination of the 2D Sonic titles released in the 1990s.

In the 1990s, Sega became one of the major corporations in the video game industry with several games in its new flagship franchise, Sonic the Hedgehog, being released for its many systems. The major titles were 2D side-scrollers that included Sonic the Hedgehog (1991), Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992), Sonic the Hedgehog CD (1993) and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles (1994), all of which have received critical acclaim and made the series' mascot one of the most popular characters in the world.

The next major installment was Sonic Adventure, released for the Dreamcast in 1998 in Japan and 1999 in the rest of the world. The game saw the departure of Naoto Ohshima, one of Sonic's co-creators. After leaving Sega, Ohshima would form an independent game developer called Artoon, which was absorbed into AQ Interactive in 2010. He and other former Artoon members would go on to form another company, Arzest. Ohshima would be active on social media, with a reputation as the series' co-creator, and had considered making a new Sonic game for a while.

The early 2010s saw the release of Sonic the Hedgehog 4, an episodic game developed by Dimps and released as a spiritual successor to Sonic 3 & Knuckles, to lukewarm reviews at that time. In 2017, another continuation to Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Sonic Mania, was developed by Christian Whitehead and Headcannon, amongst other people, and received critical acclaim.

Conception

Following the release of Sonic Mania, Christian Whitehead founded the game studio Evening Star. Evening Star worked with Sega to explore possible directions Classic Sonic could go after the success of Sonic Mania. The two studios agreed early on that rather than make a Sonic Mania 2, the game should be fresh and feature hand-drawn 2D or 2.5D graphics. At the time Evening Star was developing their Star Engine and created a prototype Sonic game that played with depth in 2.5D and other gameplay ideas. However, Evening Star did not continue production on the game.

Ohshima-san said, "Hey Iizuka-san, we should get on Zoom and have a drinking party together." We did and we started drinking and chatting, and had the conversation of, "Hey, we want to bring back a Classic Sonic game," and in that drinking party, Ohshima-san said, "I really, really want to get involved. Let's get together and and make this happen," and that's how it all kicked off. — Takashi Iizuka on the conception of Sonic Superstars

Sonic Team's current head, Takashi Iizuka, maintained a positive relationship with his ex-colleagues, Ohshima included. During the COVID-19 lockdown in Japan, Iizuka and Ohshima held a drinking game in a Zoom video call for fun. Both men eventually expressed mutual interest in developing a 2D Sonic game together and began discussing a collaboration. While Evening Star had already departed, many of their ideas would be revisited by Sonic Team and heavily influenced the ones for what would become Sonic Superstars.

Arzest-Sonic Team relation

Naoto Ohshima

Takashi Iizuka

Naoto Ohshima (top) and Takashi Iizuka (bottom) co-produced Sonic Superstars in their first collaboration since Sonic Adventure.

Sonic Superstars was primarily developed by Arzest. However, Sonic Team was closely involved too. Both teams would frequently contact each other and share ideas and production duties. Iizuka served as director, and he and Ohshima were co-producers. The former handled marketing and the latter mainly managed development. Various Sonic Team staffers would travel from Burbank, California to Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture to help in development. Other members, like Morio Kishimoto, had no participation in the development as they were instead more focused on the second and third major updates for Sonic Frontiers. Iizuka felt like Ohshima was a natural fit for this game due to his experience as the co-creator of the franchise and developing games.

Graphics and locations

Unlike the original titles, Sonic Superstars uses 3D graphics, similar to those employed in Sonic Generations (2011) and Sonic Forces (2017), which allows for new gameplay opportunities that would be otherwise very hard to replicate using the pixel art graphics from the previous games. The decision to use these graphics instead of the pixel art from games like Sonic Mania stemmed from Iizuka's desire to make a 2.5D game that would look more appealing to a wider audience while still maintaining the "retro" feel from the original games. Unlike Sonic the Hedgehog 4, which featured "Modern Sonic" graphics, Sonic Superstars leaned towards a "Classic Sonic"-like graphic style. Sonic 1, Sonic 2 and Sonic 3 & Knuckles were used for inspiration.

Past titles, including Sonic Mania and Sonic Frontiers, featured locations from the early Sonic games like Green Hill and Chemical Plant, prompting complaints from fans due to these areas' frequent reappearances, and causing Sonic Team to promise to avoid bringing them back in the near future. With Sonic Superstars, the developers instead aspired to make something new in the franchise and create entirely new locations for the game's major setting, the Northstar Islands.

Gameplay

While Sonic Frontiers was designed for hardcore gamers in mind, Sonic Superstars was made for "Classic Sonic" fans and children. The designers sought to replicate the gameplay of the Mega Drive games and thus decided to tell the story without using voice acting and text. Sonic 4, Sonic Generations and Sonic Forces all received criticism for their physics, which many fans felt did not replicate the ones from the original titles very well. For Sonic Superstars, the developers prioritized making the physics feel exactly like those from the 16-bit games. When it came to the playable characters, the developers choose Sonic, Tails and Knuckles since they were "obvious picks", while Amy was introduced to please fans. Amy had been intended to be playable in Sonic Mania, but was not implemented due to time constraints.

The development team wanted to introduce something unique to the gameplay in this installment. Unlike in previous games, where the player would be awarded with a Super State upon collecting all seven Chaos Emeralds, the crew wanted to give them a smaller reward with every Emerald that would be collected, which came in the form of "Emerald Powers", unlockable skills that would allow the player to complete the levels in a different way than usual. Inspiration on these abilities came from the Color Powers that were introduced in Sonic Colors. The powers were introduced to be optional and not disrupt the gameplay formula.

Sonic Superstars is the first Sonic game to feature a cooperative mode between four players; previous games only had co-op for two players, while Sonic Mania Plus supported four players in competition mode only. Due to the fast gameplay of the Sonic games, this feature could never be fully implemented in the past, so the developers challenged themselves in making one for this title. To do so, they played several platform games (particularly those in the New Super Mario Bros. series) for inspiration. Online multiplayer was not introduced to avoid lag.

Characters

Sonic Team was surprised by the excitement from fans upon the return of the obscure characters Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel in Sonic Mania Plus, so they wanted to feature a similarly obscure character for Sonic Superstars. They chose Fang the Hunter, who was an antagonist in Sonic the Hedgehog Triple Trouble. Ohshima also designed a new antagonist, named Trip. He worked closely with Iizuka to lay down the character's traits.

File:Classic Amy model comparison.png

Comparison by Rafa Knight between the model of Amy used in Sonic Superstars (left) and her own model of the character (right).

The models of the characters for Sonic Superstars prompted complaints on Twitter by fan artist Rafa Knight, who noted that they strongly resembled her own CGI models of the same characters that were used for merchandise, even observing that the little imperfections in her models were transferred over to Sonic Superstars too. She stated that she was not credited for her work either, instead being ghosted by Sega and related figures. In response, Katie Chrzanowski, head of the official Sonic social media accounts, apologized for the misunderstanding and said that the models were custom-made for the game, promising to privately email Knight and give her more details later on.

Miscellaneous

File:Sonic Orion.jpg

An early thumbnail on the Sonic Superstars website with the name "Sonic Orion".

The trailer thumbnail on the game's English website used an early version of the title screen with the name "Sonic Orion". The logo used a modified version of the Sonic Origins logo, implying that was an early name or codename for Sonic Superstars. This thumbnail was swiftly replaced with one showing the correct trailer thumbnail.

Soundtrack

File:Sonic Superstars Original Soundtrack.png

The cover of Sonic Superstars Original Soundtrack.

Jun Senoue, who has made the soundtracks of most Sonic games since Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (1994), served as the music director for the music in Sonic Superstars. He also received assistance from internal teams at Sega and Tee Lopes, composer of the Sonic Mania soundtrack, to make the music resemble the "classic Sonic vibe" from the original 2D Sonic titles.

On 23 June 2024, the Sonic Superstars Original Soundtrack was released on digital streaming services, in celebration with the franchise's 33rd birthday.

Promotional

Cosmetics and merchandising

File:Sonic-Superstars-la-Newsletter-rivela-il-costume-alternativo-di-Amy-Rose.jpg

Classic Amy in her "Modern" attire.

Sonic Superstars was unveiled at Summer Game Fest 2023 on 8 June 2023. Here, players were provided with a demo of the title where Bridge Island Zone and Speed Jungle Zone were playable. That day, the game's trailer was released by the official Sonic YouTube accounts and on social media. It was also revealed that players who signed up to the game's official newsletter before 31 January 2024 would get a DLC code that would allow them to play as Amy in her "Modern Amy" outfit. The following day, a demo of Sonic Superstars was playable as a continuation of the Summer Game Fest 2023 event.

During the 2023 Sonic Central presentation, an interview with Takashi Iizuka and Naoto Ohshima was shown. It was also announced that people who pre-ordered the game would get a Lego-styled skin of Dr. Eggman for free as part of a collaboration between Sega and Lego, with a Lego-styled skin for Sonic being available to all players as a free download.

File:Sonic Superstars - Digital Deluxe Upgrade featuring LEGO®.jpg

Digital Deluxe Upgrade featuring LEGO®.

At Gamecom on 22 August 2023, it was revealed that the game would have a Digital Deluxe edition that will include: Sonic's old rabbit prototype design, which will be available in the game as a skin, Mecha Sonic's parts will be made available in Battle Mode, and the LEGO Fun Pack will include additional LEGO skins for Tails, Knuckles and Amy, as well as LEGO levels for battle mode. A digital artbook and OST, along with bonus menu wallpapers, would also be made available. It was also stated that Metal Sonic and Metal Knuckles will be included in Battle Mode in an upcoming DLC, with other Badniks to be included.

A day later, on 23 August, Sega Asia revealed the Asia Limited Edition version of the game, which comes with an 80mm long Sonic figure, a three dimensional 150 mm by 150 mm acrylic stand, and a 210 mm by 170 mm artwork reproduction featuring Takashi Iizuka and Naoto Ohshima's signatures.

On 24 August 2023, Sega of Japan announced that a "DX" edition would also be released, including a stylized ink painting wall scroll featuring new art of Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Amy. Additionally, a set of five acrylic figures and some wall stickers are included in this edition. They also states that several retailers would have respective exclusive bonus offers:

• Amazon: Downloadable Content "Comic Style Skins" (Comic-Style Sonic, Comic-Style Tails, Comic-Style Amy, Comic-Style Knuckles)
• Lawson: "Sonic × Korone Inugami Collaboration Illustratio" Vinyl Pouch
• AmiAmi: Acrylic Keychain
• FamilyMart: Original Masking Tape
• Treasure Vault Group / fammys.com: Original Tin Badge
• Gamers: Acrylic Keychain
• Neowing: Original Tin Badge
• Rakuten Books: IC Card Sticker
• WonderGOO: Original Tin Badge

Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, GAME will have a Sonic Superstars acrylic stand only available from GAME stores and game.co.uk.

File:Sonic-Superstars-Shadow-Costume-dlc-Classic-Sonic.jpg

Classic Sonic in a Shadow "onesie".

On 15 February 2024, further DLC for the game was released that allowed players to obtain a "Pajama" onesie for Sonic based on the likeness of Shadow the Hedgehog. This DLC was added as part of the promotion for the then upcoming Sonic X Shadow Generations, which released in October of the same year.

Story additions

Sonic Superstars: Trio of Trouble

File:Sonic Superstars TOT Logo.png

The title screen of Trio of Trouble, a short released in promotion of Sonic Superstars.

On 20 September 2023, a short titled "Sonic Superstars: Trio of Trouble" was released in promotion of the game on YouTube, published by Sega and directed by Tyson Hesse and Evan Stanley.

Sonic Superstars: Trio of Trouble acts as a prequel of the title's story, and focuses on Eggman, Fang and Trip exploring an ancient temple in search of an unknown artifact.

Sonic Superstars Start Book

File:Sonic Superstars - TGS 2023 start book.jpg

The cover of Start Book, a manga released in promotion of Sonic Superstars.

The next day, on 21 September, a demo of the game was playable at the Tokyo Game Show 2023. Attendants were given for a free, physical manga titled "Sonic Superstars Start Book", produced by Sega.

Sonic Superstars Start Book features Sonic the Hedgehog and Miles "Tails" Prower arriving on the Northstar Islands, encountering Doctor Eggman menacing the inhabitants, and introducing the game's gimmick, Emerald Power, in a narrative, which is missing in the game.

Sonic Superstars: Fang's Big Break

File:Fang's Big Break Cover.jpg

The cover of Fang's Big Break, a comic released in promotion of Sonic Superstars.

On 24 September 2023, it was announced that a free digital comic produced by the staff from IDW Publishing, titled "Sonic Superstars: Fang's Big Break", would release in parts leading up to Sonic Superstars. Starting on 25 September, the official Sonic Twitter account published 4-pages per release over the next three weeks.

Sonic Superstars: Fang's Big Break acts as a prequel of the title's story, and focuses on Dr. Eggman's recently hired bounty hunter, Fang the Hunter, investigating the Northstar Islands to aid the doctor's quest to conquer the world. The digital comic ends with Fang's first encounter with the island's inhabitant, Trip the Sungazer.

Release

Sonic Superstars was released on 17 October 2023 for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, Nintendo Switch, and PC through Steam and the Epic Games Store.

Achievements

These are the achievements and trophies for the Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Steam versions of Sonic Superstars.

Image	Name	Description	Trophy Class	Achievement	Gamescore
File:SuperstarsAch4.png	Emerald Expert	Unlocked all trophies. (PS4/PS5 only)	Template:PSN Trophy Platinum	N/A	N/A
File:SuperstarsAch1.png	BRIDGE ISLAND Completed	Cleared all of BRIDGE ISLAND.	File:PSN Trophy Bronze.png	File:SuperstarsAchArt1.jpg	15
File:SuperstarsAch1.png	SPEED JUNGLE Completed	Cleared all of SPEED JUNGLE.	File:PSN Trophy Bronze.png	File:SuperstarsAchArt1.jpg	15
File:SuperstarsAch1.png	SKY TEMPLE Completed	Cleared all of SKY TEMPLE.	File:PSN Trophy Bronze.png	File:SuperstarsAchArt1.jpg	15
File:SuperstarsAch1.png	PINBALL CARNIVAL Completed	Cleared all of PINBALL CARNIVAL.	File:PSN Trophy Bronze.png	File:SuperstarsAchArt1.jpg	15
File:SuperstarsAch1.png	LAGOON CITY Completed	Cleared all of LAGOON CITY.	File:PSN Trophy Bronze.png	File:SuperstarsAchArt1.jpg	15
File:SuperstarsAch1.png	SAND SANCTUARY Completed	Cleared all of SAND SANCTUARY.	File:PSN Trophy Bronze.png	File:SuperstarsAchArt1.jpg	15
File:SuperstarsAch1.png	PRESS FACTORY Completed	Cleared all of PRESS FACTORY.	File:PSN Trophy Bronze.png	File:SuperstarsAchArt1.jpg	15
File:SuperstarsAch1.png	GOLDEN CAPITAL Completed	Cleared all of GOLDEN CAPITAL.	File:PSN Trophy Bronze.png	File:SuperstarsAchArt1.jpg	15
File:SuperstarsAch1.png	CYBER STATION Completed	Cleared all of CYBER STATION.	File:PSN Trophy Bronze.png	File:SuperstarsAchArt1.jpg	15
File:SuperstarsAch1.png	FROZEN BASE Completed	Cleared all of FROZEN BASE.	File:PSN Trophy Bronze.png	File:SuperstarsAchArt1.jpg	15
File:SuperstarsAch1.png	EGG FORTRESS Completed	Cleared all of EGG FORTRESS.	File:PSN Trophy Bronze.png	File:SuperstarsAchArt1.jpg	15
File:SuperstarsAch2.png	Trip's Courage	Cleared Trip's story.	File:PSN Trophy Silver.png	File:SuperstarsAchArt2.jpg	30
File:SuperstarsAch3.png	Victory Fanfare	Defeated the true boss.	File:PSN Trophy Gold.png	File:SuperstarsAchArt3.jpg	80
File:SuperstarsAch1.png	Whirligig World	Cleared 1 Bonus Stage.	File:PSN Trophy Bronze.png	File:SuperstarsAchArt1.jpg	15
File:SuperstarsAch1.png	Fruity Frontier	Cleared an ACT "Fruit".	File:PSN Trophy Bronze.png	File:SuperstarsAchArt1.jpg	15
File:SuperstarsAch1.png	Buddy Bond	Cleared a Stage with a friend.	File:PSN Trophy Bronze.png	File:SuperstarsAchArt1.jpg	15
File:SuperstarsAch2.png	Charge!	Used the Blue Emerald power "Avatar".	File:PSN Trophy Silver.png	File:SuperstarsAchArt2.jpg	30
File:SuperstarsAch2.png	Fire!	Used the Red Emerald power "Bullet".	File:PSN Trophy Silver.png	File:SuperstarsAchArt2.jpg	30
File:SuperstarsAch2.png	All-seeing	Used the Purple Emerald power "Vision".	File:PSN Trophy Silver.png	File:SuperstarsAchArt2.jpg	30
File:SuperstarsAch2.png	Flow Like Water	Used the Light Blue Emerald power "Water".	File:PSN Trophy Silver.png	File:SuperstarsAchArt2.jpg	30
File:SuperstarsAch2.png	Vine Climb	Used the Green Emerald power "Ivy".	File:PSN Trophy Silver.png	File:SuperstarsAchArt2.jpg	30
File:SuperstarsAch2.png	The Gentle Flow of Time	Used the Yellow Emerald power "Slow".	File:PSN Trophy Silver.png	File:SuperstarsAchArt2.jpg	30
File:SuperstarsAch2.png	Distinctive Flair	Used the White Emerald power "Extra".	File:PSN Trophy Silver.png	File:SuperstarsAchArt2.jpg	30
File:SuperstarsAch2.png	Supercharged	Turned super using the 7 Chaos Emeralds.	File:PSN Trophy Silver.png	File:SuperstarsAchArt2.jpg	30
File:SuperstarsAch2.png	Ring King	Collected 10,000 Rings.	File:PSN Trophy Silver.png	File:SuperstarsAchArt2.jpg	30
File:SuperstarsAch2.png	Two Birds, One Stone	Used the Goal Plate to reveal the hidden Item Box.	File:PSN Trophy Silver.png	File:SuperstarsAchArt2.jpg	30
File:SuperstarsAch1.png	Fruitful Endeavor	Turned Lagoon City's Goal Plate into a pile of fruit.	File:PSN Trophy Bronze.png	File:SuperstarsAchArt1.jpg	15
File:SuperstarsAch1.png	Heroic Blue Blur	Used Sonic's Drop Dash to defeat 100 enemies.	File:PSN Trophy Bronze.png	File:SuperstarsAchArt1.jpg	15
File:SuperstarsAch1.png	Aerial Takedown Artist	Used Tails' aerial attack to defeat 100 enemies.	File:PSN Trophy Bronze.png	File:SuperstarsAchArt1.jpg	15
File:SuperstarsAch1.png	Crimson Guardian	Used Knuckles' glide to defeat 100 enemies.	File:PSN Trophy Bronze.png	File:SuperstarsAchArt1.jpg	15
File:SuperstarsAch1.png	Tenderhearted Hammer-wielder	Used Amy's Hammer to defeat 100 enemies.	File:PSN Trophy Bronze.png	File:SuperstarsAchArt1.jpg	15
File:SuperstarsAch1.png	Prickly Protector	Used Trip's double jump to defeat 100 enemies.	File:PSN Trophy Bronze.png	File:SuperstarsAchArt1.jpg	15
File:SuperstarsAch2.png	Zap Scrap Star	Cleared Zap Scrap in Frozen Base without taking damage.	File:PSN Trophy Silver.png	File:SuperstarsAchArt2.jpg	30
File:SuperstarsAch2.png	Medal Maestro	Collected 100 Medals from Bonus Stages.	File:PSN Trophy Silver.png	File:SuperstarsAchArt2.jpg	30
File:SuperstarsAch2.png	ACT "Fruit" Aficionado	Collected 600 or more Rings from ACT "Fruit".	File:PSN Trophy Silver.png	File:SuperstarsAchArt2.jpg	30
File:SuperstarsAch2.png	Ring Collector	Collected 200 or more Rings when clearing a Stage.	File:PSN Trophy Silver.png	File:SuperstarsAchArt2.jpg	30
File:SuperstarsAch3.png	All in a Day's Work	Defeated 1,000 enemies.	File:PSN Trophy Gold.png	File:SuperstarsAchArt3.jpg	80
File:SuperstarsAch3.png	Gold Enemy Hunter	Defeated the gold enemies in all Stages.	File:PSN Trophy Gold.png	File:SuperstarsAchArt3.jpg	90

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator	Score
Metacritic	TBD (PC) TBD (PS4) 73% (PS5) 67% (Switch) TBD (Xbox One) 76% (Xbox S/X)
Review scores
Publication	Score

Sonic Superstars has received favorable to mixed or average reviews from the critics.

Sales and public performance

Despite selling 63% less units in its first week than Sonic Frontiers in its own, Superstars was still able to debut in fourth place on the UK physical charts. Like most Sonic games, it sold low in Japan with only 4,128 physical copies sold on Switch in Japan. It was the ninth best selling game in the US in its first month. A majority of Sonic Superstars physical sales have also been for the Nintendo Switch system, having a total of 49% of its sales stemming from there when it debuted in the UK.

Trivia

• Sonic Superstars is the first non-compilation 2D Sonic the Hedgehog game since Sonic Mania in 2017.
• This marks the first physical appearance of Fang since Sonic the Fighters in 1996.
• This is the first mainline Sonic game since Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) to feature a "Last Story".
• This is the first time Naoto Ohshima has been involved with a main series Sonic the Hedgehog game since Sonic Adventure in 1998.
• This is the first 2D Sonic game since Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice (2016) to have an incarnation of Amy as a playable character in the base game.
• Sonic Superstars is the tenth Sonic game where Super Sonic fights the final boss that are not Dr. Eggman, the others are Sonic Adventure, Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic Heroes, Sonic Advance 3, Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), Sonic Unleashed, Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, Nintendo DS version of Sonic Colors, and Sonic Frontiers.
• This is the first Sonic the Hedgehog game to be localized in Thai language.
• Ian Flynn stated in a BumbleKast that the game takes place after the "Classic" comics by IDW Publishing, but he does not specify when, preferring people to play the game first.
• Takashi Iizuka stated that the game takes place between Sonic Mania and Sonic Adventure.
• The level clear theme is reused from Sonic Mania.
  • Additionally, one of Sonic and Knuckles' victory animations is the same one from Sonic Mania.
• Sonic's waiting animation, where he lies down with one foot kicked over the other and wags his finger, is a direct recreation of the one from Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
  • In his super form, Sonic does a recreation of his idle animation from Sonic 3 & Knuckles.
• Amy's Modern outfit using her pose from her Sonic Advance artwork.
• This is the first time Takashi Iizuka wrote the story of a game since Sonic Rivals 2 (2007).
• The intro animation was done by the Japanese studio Telecom Animation Film, using the character design sheets from Sonic Origins' animations as a reference.
• This is the first 2D Sonic the Hedgehog game to contain no lives.
  • However, despite having no life count, a Game Over can still occur during fruit-related acts.

File:SonicSuperstarsSonicandTripHandshake.jpg

• In the scene where Sonic and Trip shake hands during Sonic's ending, Sonic was incorrectly drawn with two eyes.
  • In the same shot, Amy was also incorrectly given pink arms.

Videos

Trailers

Announcement trailer (EN)Announcement trailer (JP)IGN Japan gameplayNintendo DirectLego Content TrailerOpening AnimationMultiplayer TrailerMultiplayer Trailer (30s)Launch TrailerAccolades TrailerLive Action TrailerLEGO® Fun Pack Trailer"Sonic Superstars is REAL?" Trailer

File:Sonic Superstars - Announce Trailer

File:『ソニックスーパースターズ』アナウンストレーラー

File:原点回帰の2Dソニック『ソニックスーパースターズ』10分のゲームプレイ

File:Sonic Superstars - Nintendo Direct 6.21.2023

File:Sonic Superstars - LEGO Content Trailer

File:Sonic Superstars - Opening Animation

File:Sonic Superstars - Multiplayer Trailer

File:Sonic Superstars - Multiplayer Trailer (30s)

File:Sonic Superstars - Launch Trailer

File:Sonic Superstars - Accolades Trailer

File:Sonic Superstars - Live Action Trailer

File:Sonic Superstars - LEGO® Fun Pack Trailer

File:Sonic Superstars is REAL?

"Speed Strats" promotional videos

Speed Strats - Single PlayerSpeed Strats - Emerald Powers

File:Sonic Superstars- Speed Strats - Single Player

File:Sonic Superstars- Speed Strats - Emerald Powers

Advertisements/TV Spots

Japanese Samsung advert (15 sec)"No Running!" TV Commercial

File:Samsung｜ソニックスーパースターズ Web CM(15s)

File:Sonic Superstars – "No Running!" TV Commercial

External links

• Official English website
• Official Japanese website
• Official Asian website

Sonic the Hedgehog console mainline games

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