Sonic Superstars

**Sonic Superstars** (ソニックスーパースターズ Sonikku Sūpāsutāzu?) is an upcoming video game in the *Sonic the Hedgehog* series. It is a 2D side-scrolling platformer title, similar to the Sega Mega Drive entries, and follows Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy as they explore the mystical Northstar Islands to take down Dr. Eggman, who has teamed up with mischievous bounty hunter Fang the Hunter and a mysterious girl named Trip to aid him in his plans. The game is set for release on October 17, 2023.

What would become *Sonic Superstars* was originally conceived as a follow-up to 2017's *Sonic Mania*, but was abandoned. The concept was eventually revisited when Naoto Ohshima, co-creator of Sonic, expressed interest in making a new 2D Sonic installment. The title was almost entirely developed by Arzest, Ohshima's company, with assistance from Sonic Team.

## Plot

The story takes place on the Northstar Islands, an uncharted, wondrous archipelago known for their giant fauna. The notorious Dr. Eggman comes to these islands to turn these massive animals into Badniks and steal the Chaos Emeralds to conquer the world. To aid him in his operations, he hires the mischievous mercenary Fang the Hunter. At one point, Fang comes across a native of the archipelago, Trip, an armored, mysterious girl who is enlisted by the villains to protect and guide them in the islands' hostile environment. Having learned of Eggman's actions, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Amy join forces and travel to the Northstar Islands to take the villain down.

## Characters

* Sonic the Hedgehog
* Miles "Tails" Prower
* Knuckles the Echidna
* Amy Rose
* Trip
* Fang the Hunter
* Dr. Eggman

## Gameplay

**Sonic Superstars** is a 2.5D side-scrolling platforming game resembling the earlier 2D entries in the Sonic series. The art style is similar to the "Classic Sonic" levels in *Sonic Generations* and *Sonic Forces*. The player can control four playable characters: Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Amy. All four share the same base gameplay but have abilities of their own; the first three have their own moveset from games like Sonic 3 & Knuckles and *Sonic Mania*, while Amy's is taken from *Sonic Origins Plus*.

Gameplay is set across a series of twelve worlds called Zones, which are split into one or two levels called "Acts". The player can access these Zones from a hub world similar to the one from Sonic Generations which features the unlocked Acts and other options like customization. Certain characters also have Acts that only they can play. For example, Speed Jungle Zone, the second Zone, has a "Sonic Act" which is exclusive to Sonic. As with many other games in the franchise, Rings appear throughout the Zones in which collecting one hundred of them grants the player a Medal, as well as protect them from enemy attacks and many other dangers. Should the playable characters take damage, they will lose all of their Rings that they have collected. And if they are hit without any Rings, they'll die. Players can also die if they either fall into a bottomless pit, drown underwater, get crushed or run out of time. Upon dying, the player will retry the current Act from either the beginning or at the location of the last Star Post.

Like in the previous Classic games, the player can collect Chaos Emeralds from Special Stages, which can be accessed by interacting with Giant Rings which are hidden in the Acts. Each Emerald obtained allows access to a unique "Emerald Power" ability, such as climbing waterfalls or generating clones. While the game encourages the player to collect the Chaos Emeralds to unlock access to these powers, they are entirely optional, and the Acts can be completed without using them. Once all seven Emeralds are collected, the playable character will be able to enter a Super State which grants them invulnerability and increased speed at the cost of losing Rings.

The game will have a multiplayer mode called Battle Mode, where players control customizable robot characters and compete against each other in several mini-games.

The game will not have voice acting, monologues, or anything along those lines. Rather, the game uses the "Classic" style of storytelling from the *Sonic the Hedgehog* series, where there is focus on the actions of the characters.

## Zones

* Bridge Island Zone
* Speed Jungle Zone
* Sky Temple Zone
* Pinball Carnival Zone
* Lagoon City Zone
* Sand Sanctuary Zone
* Press Factory Zone
* Golden Capital Zone
* Cyber Station Zone