With Sonic Boom 2013 coming and going, there was quite a bit of new information revealed
for Sonic Lost World.
So we thought we'd rev up the old analysis machine to see what secrets all the latest
low-quality footage might be hiding
And to do so, we've again enlisted the help of our very own Sonic expert, Derrick "Tails"
Bitner
Now keep in mind that we won't be covering anything that was already talked about in
our past analyses so be sure to check those out if you haven't already.
You'll find links to them in the description below.
And with that out of the way, let's get started
So one of the first things to come out of Sonic Boom was a trailer that showed off a
brand new level in the Wii U version of Lost World.
Based on what's shown here, ti appears this one may center entirely around grinding, similar
to Rail Canyon from Sonic Heroes.
But this one appears to take place in some kind of industrial complex, with a track that
also winds its way through several underwater sections.
And like past Sonic games, it appears you'll be switching between side-scrolling 2D segments,
as well as 3D ones that allow you to hop between rails
Now interestingly, most of the rails appear to have your standard metallic appearance,
but some of them, such as the three in this scene, or the one off off to the right here
are green instead.
Does this signify something different about them?
Well, probably not, at least as far as we can tell: Especially because past Sonic games
also had different colors rails that acted the exact same, although the color contrast
wasn't quite as big as it is here.
But there does appear to be something new here: minecarts, of which we see two different
kinds of on display.
The first is yellow and filled with yellow cubes and rings.And if we slow down this clip,
we can that they appear to be dragging rings behind them that are ripe for the taking.
And on top of that, if you watch the mineart on the right here, it appears to move backwards
just before the scene changes--so it looks like they'll be able to switch directions
on the fly too.
Oh, and while they may not exactly be enemies, they can certainly still be destroyed, as
shown here
Now as for the second minecart type; this one is gray with some kind of red object inside.
But this time, the player purposefully avoids destroying it, and jumps over it instead.
Was this just the choice a player made, or could it mean this type of minecart might
be unbreakable, or damage you in some way
And speaking of things that can hurt you, we get a look at a couple of new enemies in
this level.
First up is this underwater eel-like creature.
But then we also get our first look at the return of the Nebulas enemy from Sonic 2.
But we actually get a better look at them in this clip fromt he casino level.
And they don't seem to have changed at all, acting pretty much the same as the Bladed
Spinners.
But those weren't the only new enemies we spotted.
In an off-camera gameplay demo of the 3DS version of the game posted by YouTube channel
SkySapphires, a player tries out the Frozen Factory level in which we can clearly spot
the return of the Penguinator from Sonic 3's Ice Cap Zone.
The level itself also hides a few surprises.
For one, it shows that Sonic will once again snowboard--again, in the 3DS version at least.
But it does appear that the player will have more control than the snowboard sections of
past games, as you can now control his speed with the shoulder buttons.
So even the 3DS version of Sonic Lost World really does seem to be emphasizing having
a real sense of control over just how fast Sonic goes in every kind of situation.
We can also see that tricks are back, but we're not sure what for, In past games they
would add to his score or boost meter but neither of those are present in Lost World.
Perhaps they're automatic and just there to showcase Sonic's personality?
Now later in the level, after Sonic ditches the snowboard, we can see that you'll encounter
all kinds of elements throughout the stage.
At first it just seems like a snowy version of Windy Hill's first stage but it's not long
before we see gears acting as stage hazards and changing up how Sonic platforms.
And it's not long after until he'll have to roll snowballs in order to activate pressure
plates and block icy wind that will instantly freeze him.
Finally, we get a look at the 3DS exclusive Ivory Wisp which grants Sonic the Ivory Lightning
power.
In the demo we can see that it allows him to attract rings similarly to how the Lightning
Shield worked in Sonic 3.
In addition, he can attach himself to special coils that allow him to cross to otherwise
inaccessible areas.
Speakinf of wisps, a Famitsu interview with the game's producer revealed two other ones
exclusive to the 3DS version : the Gray Wisp and the Red Wisp.
The Gray Wisp will grant Sonic the Gray Quake ability, turning him into solid rock.
He can use this ability to push stuck switches, crush enemies, and can even roll around by
tilting the 3DS's gyro sensor.
The Red Wisp and its Red Burst power are actually returning from the DS version of Sonic Colors
and the 3DS version of Sonic Generations.
And based on this screenshot, we're going to guess it'll function jsut as it did in
those games, turning Sonic into a fireball and allowing him to unleash explosions
Alright, that's enough about the 3DS version, because Sonic Boom also revealed the full
cutscene from the Wii U version that was hinted at during the recent Nintendo Direct.
And it gives us quite a few insights into how the story will play out.
Now we already know that Sonic travels to the mysterious world of Lost Hex where he
learns that Eggman has teamed up with the Deadly Six.
But they soon betray him forcing Eggman to work together with Sonic in some capacity
to stop the rampaging monsters.
Now during this cutscene, we can see and hear Eggman berating the Deadly Six for disappointing
him, suggesting this is where their relationship falls apart, as we speculated before.
Which would also suggest that Eggman has full control of them during the game's first world,
Windy Hill.
We also learn that Eggman is controlling them with some kind of horn--at least before Sonic
diarms him.
This allows the Deadly Six to psychically take control of Eggman's entire robot army.
But we highly doubt that's the last we'll see of that horn.
In fact, it may be one of the things Sonic is searching for as he travels from level
to level.
Also interesting is that Eggman refers to the Deadly Six as Zeti.
This likely means that they aren't mutated Wisps as we theorized before, but doesn't
rule out a connection to the Chaos Emeralds.
However, is it possible that more Zeti exist?
Or are the Deadly Six the last of their kind?
And then there's Tails.
Now while he doesn't do too much in the cutscene, we see that he still has his Miles Electric
device from previous games, only it's missing the Translation antenna.
This time he seems to use it to analyze Eggman's horn, but does it serve any iother purpose?
It's also interesting that despite being introduced quite a few years ago, the device looks remarkably
like the Wii U gamepad.
And there is one final detail brought to our attention by one of our fans The Luigi Dude.
He noticed that in this cutscene, while talking to the Deadly 6, Dr. Eggman says
As it turns out, if we go back to the Lost World Colors trailer, we can see Zomom eating
what appears to just such a sandwich.
Now that's attention to detail
And with that, we've analyzed everything we could find from the recent Sonic Boom 2013
event.
But with so much information out there, please let us know if we missed anything in the comments.
And be sure to subscribe to GameXplain or follow us on Facebook and Twitter for more
things Sonic and other things gaming too.