It hasn't even been that long since we did our last analysis on Sonic Lost World yet
and yet the details keep pouring out, such as at the recent Gamescom event that included
a new trailer and new demo levels.
So you know what that means.
Let's rollout the old Analysis Machine and see what other secrets all the latest footage
might be hiding.
And to do so, we've again enlisted the help of our resident Sonic expert, Derrick Bitner.
But do make sure to check out our previous analysis videos if you haven't already as
we'll only be covering the new stuff here--you can find them to them in the description below.
And with that, let's get going.
So the new Gamescom trailer opens up with a look at some familiar artwork of Lost Hex
. But then the scene shifts to Sonic and Tails flying on the Tornado toward the Windy Hill
section of the Lost World.
Okay well, maybe not so much flying, as actively crash-landing as one of the wings is clearly
smoking., which probably isn't a good sign.
So the question is, are Sonic and Tails just randomly having plane trouble after coming
across Lost Hex, or could it be that Eggman's defensive systems shot them down.
while they're en route to foil Eggman's latest plan.
Either way, it looks like the two of them didn't land on Lost Hex by choice.
But then, how do Knuckles and Amy fit into the plot since both have been confirmed to
make appearances?
Moving on, the trailer gave us a pretty lengthy look at the new multiplayer modes.
First up is co-op which works exactly as we predicted in our last analysis, allowing the
second player takes control of different kinds of Remote Control vehicles like the helicopter
that we saw before, or some new ones too, such as a flying saucer, fighter jet, and
hovercraft And though it seems like all these RC vehicles
will handle similarly, they'll also have at least one unique ability too that'll change
how exactly the second player can help out.
As we can see, the Fighter Jet can launch missiles that'll automatically home in on
enemies, the helicopter can drop bombs, the hovercraft can flip upside down and create
a temporary platform, and finally, it looks like the UFO can slow down time to help Sonic
time things better.
And it sounds like Tails will actually be the one in control of these vehicles, as we
can hear him jabbering throughout this section.
And we're going to take a wild stab in the dark and guess that he'll be using his Miles
Electric device as the remote control Of course, this begs the question, why can't
the second player just play as Tails, like the old-school Sonic games?
Well, besides practical technical reasons--like the game being a single-player focused adventure,
do you remember that cutscene we talked about in our last analysis, where Tails nearly nearly
got wiped out in the second world?
Maybe he's actually injured, and that's why he helps out from the sidelines with RC vehicles.
Although some of those vehicle scene are from the first world in the game, before said injury
would have occurred, but this could easily be explained away if you can revisit levels
like in Sonic Colors.
Okay, we're probably way over-thinking this, but that's what we're paid to do.
It would just be that Tails is trying to repair the Tornado, but is able to tinker with his
RC toys in his spare time Now along with cooperative play, players can
race against each other using Virtual Hedgehogs or Sonic bots, which return from Sonic Colors.
Unlike that game though, the races now take place in the actual levels rather than simple
courses designed exclusively for multiplayer.
There's no need for splitscreen though as one player can use the Gamepad while the other
uses a Pro Controller and the TV.
The trailer, along with the demo that premiered at Gamescom, also shows off several new levels.
The first of which is in Frozen Factory and is similar to the one that the 3DS demo had
at Sonic Boom, such as with cogs you can see all over the background.
There's also a nice bit of detail here as we see Sonic switch to an ice skating stance
once his feet hit the slippery ice And thanks to Gamespot's showcase of the Gamescom
demo, we have some reallu great footage of the two other Frozen Factory levels shown
off so far.
One is much more linear in nature and features Sonic trapped in a large snowball while trying
to navigate thin paths.
And in case you're wondering, this is all done with the analog stick rather than motion
controls.
It also features the return of the vent platforms from Oil Ocean Zone in Sonic 2.
And we can see that there are also pool table elements to be found in this level, which
ties in nicely with the casino theme of one of the other Frozen Factory levels.
Oh, and even more classic Sonic enemies make their return here as well, such as Crabmeats
and Bombs, both from Sonic 1 along with Cluckoids from Sonic & Knuckles, which like before,
will attempt to blow you around The other Frozen Factory level in the demo
is actually the casino level we've talked about before.
There's not much new to note here except that we now have a clearer picture of how those
collectible casino chips will work.
In this case, you collect them just like rings except they follow behind you.
You can then deposit these chips at certain points through the level--and if you deposit
enough, they'll take you to a special pinball table.
Here you'll have to earn a certain amount of points before you can leave, but it's unclear
what exactly any of this does for you The next demo level shows off Zone 4 of Windy
Hill, and this one starts off as a 3D stage before switching to a side-scrolling one about
half-way through.
And since this level is indeed Zone 4, it confirms that each world will have more than
the 2 or 3 acts of older Sonic games, and instead might be structureed closer to Sonic
Colors with six or more levels per world.
Windy Hill Act 4 also shows off the new Asteroid power and reveals that it does more than just
break apart enemies and the level itself, as there are hidden areas that you can only
access with the power.
In the case of the demo, it led to a Red Ring.
But there's something else to the Asteroid ability, at least in 2D.
The amount of debris you have affects how high you can jump.
If you don't have enough, then you can't reach the Red Ring as we saw in Gamespot's demo.
The last demo level is actually from Silent Forest and involves rail grinding while dodging
giant mechanical alligators.
There's really not much to comment on from what we've seen except that it houses another
returning enemy, the Mad Moles from Sonic & Knuckles, as well as a new spider bot that
must be kicked down before it can be homing attacked.
The trailer also gave us a look at what two of the boss fights against the Deadly Six
will be like.
Zor was shown remarking how much Sonic's happy personality has irked him while going on to
make Shadow Clones.
There's no footage of the fight itself, but it's safe to assume those clones will come
into play.
And if we had to guess, the number of clones will increase the longer the fight goes.
Also of note are the owls in the background.
They're the same ones shown during the Silent Forest level where they project spotlights
that Sonic has to avoid.
This not confirms that Zor is indeed the boss of this world, as we mentioned back in our
analysis of the Colors trailer, but also hints that maybe that level leads up to the Zor
fight itself rather than being his own level, as was the case in Sonic Colors.
There's no way to prove this, but it would make sense if Sonic had to someone sneak past
all of these owls in order to confront Zor himself.
The other fight we see is against Zazz.
There's still no clue as to what the object he's carrying is though it almost seems like
he's trying to smash Sonic with it.
And this is one of the few times that Sonic himself is being chased in a boss fight rather
than him doing the chasing or battling it out in an arena.
Okay, we're almost done here, but there's just a few more things we'd like to point
out.
First of all is that the name of the fifth world has been revealed, Tropical Coast.
It's actually the place that houses the underwater grinding level that was showcased at Sonic
Boom.
The trailer also gave a taste of what Miiverse integration will add to the game, as it appears
you can share item boxes through the service, though it's unknown if you can only do it
for friends or anybody.
So far we know that Invincibility, Speed Shoes, the Shield, Lightning Shield, and the brand
new Black Wisp's Black Bomb ability can be shared.
Interestingly, the Black Bomb can only be obtained through Miiverse.
It allows Sonic to roll around, crushing enemies before exploding on top of them.
At first, we weren't sure what the stars shown underneath the Items could mean.
We thought they perhaps noted how many you could use of each, but the star count remained
the same.
Instead, we think they're a measure of usefulness.
But a screenshot of the world map screen was recently it and it better shows off how Miiverse
might work.
Players seem to offer up items the same way comments pop up during New Super Mario Bros.
U.
But there's no way to know whether these items are just gifted to another player, or if they
have to be bought by some means in order to unlock their use.
And beyond that, we also get a glimpse of one of the individual area maps, and it appears
to be very similar to Sonic Colors, where Sonic will actually run from Act to Act, which
further supports that each world will have quite a few levels
Finally, a special version of Sonic Lost World was unveiled, the Deadly Six Bonus Edition.
It provides the Nightmare DLC which can be accessed at any point in the game.
In it, Sonic and the Deadly Six are pulled into a world of nightmares by Wizeman from
Sega's famous game, Nights into Dreams.
He has to take on the Deadly Six, who are all teamed up with various bosses from the
Nights games.
Completing the DLC unlocks the Black Wisp ability to be used anywhere, not just through
Miiverse.
It's a pre-order bonus so fans looking to upgrade can do so for free.
And with that, that's all the new information we uncovered on Sonic Lost World.
With the release so close, it looks like the basic gameplay has all been revealed.
The only thing to see is how the story plays out, what the other levels could be, and what
other Wisp powers will be available.
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Thanks for watching.