Sega announced it will release two new Sonic the Hedgehog games in 2017 for Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo consoles; and PCs. The Japanese game developer/publisher shared the big news at its Comic-Con party to celebrate the blue little creature's 25th anniversary. Sega's first game recreates classic levels from past Sonic games, while the second game includes old-school and modern versions of Sonic's adventures with mad scientist Doctor Eggman.
"Sonic Mania" includes graphics and gameplay that is evocative of classic Genesis games. That 16-bit console was released in Japan in 1988, and in North America the next year.
The 2D game includes zones and acts from past Sonic games including "Sonic the Hedgehog", "Sonic the Hedgehog 2", "Sonic the Hedgehog 3", "Sonic CD", and "Sonic & Knuckles".
Sega of America is teaming up with PagodaWest Games to develop "Sonic Mania". Developers who remastered Sonic ports for smartphones and tablets will also work on the game.
Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka said that Sega will report more about the game later this year. He shared that this is the first time Sega has partnered with other game developers and it was pleased to allow its party guests at Comic-Com to play the game.
"Sega Mania" will be available for Sony's PS4, Microsoft's Xbox One, and PC sometime in spring 2017.
The second Sonic title Sega announced is a new adventure game that includes classic and modern versions of titles featuring the blue hedgehog. It will be like "Sonic Generations" released in 2011.
Sega's second Sonic game is still untitled. However, it will be released for the 2017 holiday season on PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo NX, according to GameSpot.
The video game company also made some other big announcements. Its mobile game "Sonic Dash" for iOS, Android, Amazon, and Windows Phone devices has more than 200 million downloads.
Furthermore, the second season of the animated series "Sonic Boom" was also announced. "Fire & Ice" is the next game in the series and will be released September 27 for the 3DS portable.
In related news, Nintendo just released an online trailer for its NES Classic Edition mini console, according to The Verge. The $60 mini NES includes 30 built-in classic Nintendo games including "Super Mario Bros.", "The Legend of Zelda", "Final Fantasy", "Mega Man 2", and "Donkey Kong".
Here's the ending for Sonic 3: