SOA Producer Dwyer Says Sonic Colors “Very Near Completion”

By
Tristan Oliver
– July 21, 2010

New Details on Story, Controls, and QTEs

In a lengthy interview with the staff of the Sega Addicts podcast, Sega of America producer Keith Dwyer dished some new details on the upcoming Sonic Colors, exclusive to Nintendo consoles.

Notable in his remarks was Dwyer disclosing the game is “very near completion,” and that it will be Sega’s Holiday offering–so expect a November or early December release time frame.

Colors, according to Dwyer, may have been conceptualized around the time of completing Sonic Unleashed and Sonic and the Black Knight.  Though the intent is to “build on the best of Sonic Unleashed,” according to him, the game “has to has its own life” and isn’t intended to simply be Unleashed Lite.

Dwyer notes Colors is meant to be part of the main Sonic series, so anything out of it will be considered canon.  On story, Dwyer explained how the game won’t have an overload of elaborate cutscenes, and will tone the content down.

“We wanted to keep it light,” Dwyer said.

The Wisps themselves are a core element of the story, and when prompted as to whether they would talk, Dwyer ambiguously stated, “Yes and no.”

Also of note–there will be some story deviation between the Wii and DS.  While both will share the same concept, there will  be different “scenarios,” in the producer’s words, between the console and portable edition.

Gameplay wise, the Wii version will share many moves that harken back to Unleashed, including the Quick Step, Spin Jump, Sliding, and more–that’s in addition to the power-up moves we know about.  Unlike Unleashed, rings will strictly be used for health in-game and have no effect on your Wisp boost power.  Collecting White Wisps will improve that gauge.  According to Dwyer, balancing health and boost power will be a key role in the game’s difficulty.

Some news some fans may not want to hear was also made public for the first time.  For one, Quick Time Events, or QTEs, will be returning, if sparsely.  Dwyer makes clear there will be less of it, claiming “very little QTE action” in-game.  Second, fans of Knuckles will be disappointed to hear he will not be appearing in the game, according to Dwyer.

On other notes, Dwyer explained how Sonic games have been appearing on the Wii in greater quantities versus the HD consoles.  “Part of it is circumstantial,” Dwyer said, electing not to elaborate on specific demographics.  “Sonic is more popular on the Wii.”

Finally, Dwyer touched on the fate of the Storybook franchise.  We reported in May that internally, the Sonic Storybook Series was dead, but Dwyer cautions “it’s entirely possible that it could continue.”

The full interview is available for listening at the link cited above.

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