SLW 0430 1 Windy1 10

In an interview with The Sonic Stadium, Sonic Team boss Takashi Iizuka has acknowledged that upcoming Wii U / 3DS exclusive Sonic Lost World shares similarities with Super Mario Galaxy — but argues that SEGA's new titles are still distinctly Sonic.

Sonic Team has taken a different approach to three dimensions this time, mixing elements of Sonic Colors with tube shapes and anti-gravity, giving it a look somewhat familiar to Nintendo's stellar Wii title and recalling cancelled Saturn title Sonic X-Treme. Iizuka declares that X-Treme had no impact on the title, as the team is completely different since that development, but recognises that comparisons to Mario Galaxy have been drawn.

Basically, because we have these geometries with their own gravity you hop to, you can kinda see the comparison there, but if you play the game on the show floor I think you’ll see the biggest difference is that it still feels and moves like a Sonic game.

Iizuka emphasises that the team wanted to take a different course with Sonic Lost World, stepping away from the fast focus of games such as Sonic Unleashed to put together a more "traditional" platforming title with greater control over speed. The visual style has also been simplified so that objects, such as rings and enemies, stand out more against the backgrounds — an occasional problem in Unleashed — and to secure a constant 60 frames-per-second frame-rate, while offering Sonic Team increased freedom in stage design.

The titles have been in development for two and a half years, with the home console version developed on PC until Wii U was announced. Sonic Colors Wii director Morio Kishimoto is at the helm of the Wii U edition, while Sonic Colors DS lead Takao Hirabayashi is directing the 3DS version. Sonic Unleashed composer Tomoya Ohtani is providing the soundtrack.

Finally, Iizuka attributes the Nintendo exclusivity of the games to past success with the platform holder, plus a feeling that fans of action platform titles will gravitate towards those systems. Are you excited to play either version of Sonic Lost World?

[source sonicstadium.org]