The Jon Venture

Letting you know right away, I’ve already replayed the teaser trailer about a dozen times in disbelief that the day has arrived.

Leave it to SEGA to finally wise up and cast aside Sonic’s clunky foray into a 3D world by revealing the true identity of Project Needlemouse- Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1! Set to be released this summer as downloadable content on Xbox Live, PSN, WiiWare, and a still undisclosed platform, the Blue Blur will return to his glory days of blazing 2D side scrolling goodness using today’s 3D rendering technology. Though many can say that the Sonic series continued in spirit after Sonic 3 with Sonic & Knuckles on the SEGA Genesis, that very same title can also be pinpointed as the beginning of a trend that nearly toppled a franchise that once rivaled the popularity of Nintendo’s Super Mario.

Sonic doesn’t need lush sandbox landscapes or galaxies to explore, nor does he need an entire army of anthropomorphic animal buddies to save the day. Sonic needs to go fast. Really fast. Fast enough to revert me back to the joy I felt as a ten-year-old when my brother could only watch as his beloved Tails got left in the dust. I think I’ll give him a call- it’s been a good 15 years since Sonic has made my bro throw down the controller in frustration.