Mitchell Superstars

***Mitchell Superstars*** is an upcoming video game in the *Mitchell Van Morgan* series developed by Black Forest Games, published by THQ Nordic and distributed by Nickelodeon Interactive Games. It is a 2D side-scrolling platformer title, similar to the Game Boy Color entries, and follows Mitchell, Gavin, Martin, David, Nicholas, Carolyn and Jennifer as they explore the mystical Northstar Islands to take down Marquessa, who has teamed up with mischievous bounty hunter The Border Sniper 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 *Mitchell Superstars* was originally conceived as a follow-up to 2017's *Mitchell Mania*, but was abandoned. The concept was eventually revisited when Micah Ian Wright, co-creator of Mitchell Van Morgan since Constant Payne, expressed interest in making a new 2D *Mitchell* installment. The title was almost entirely developed by Black Forest Games, THQ Nordic's video game development company, with assistance from MITCHELL Project.

## Plot

Template:Spoiler
The story takes place on the Northstar Islands, an uncharted, wondrous archipelago known for their giant fauna. The notorious Marquessa comes to these islands to turn these massive animals into Marquessa Badniks and steal the Power Stones to conquer the world. To aid him in his operations, he hires the mischievous mercenary The Border Sniper. At one point, Border 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 Marquessa's actions, Mitchell, Gavin, Martin, David, Nicholas, Carolyn and Jennifer join forces and travel to the Northstar Islands to take the villain down.
Template:Endspoiler

### Characters

* Mitchell Van Morgan
* Gavin O'Neal Davis
* Martin J. Moody
* David Jessie Drake
* Nicholas Dunn
* Carolyn Ashley Taylor
* Jennifer Hooker
* Trip
* The Border Sniper
* Marquessa

## Gameplay

 File:SSPromo1.jpg
*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.

 File:Sonic Superstars Avatar.png
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.

### Objects

#### Items

* Power Stone
* Giant MVM coins
* Item Box
	+ Invincible
	+ Power Sneakers
	+ Shield
	+ Super MVM Coins
* Medal
* MVM Coin

## Characters

### Playable characters

 File:Sonicsuperstarsteam.jpg
* Carolyn Ashley Taylor
	+ Super Amy
* Gavin O'Neal Davis
	+ Super Gavin
* Jennifer Hooker
	+ Super Jennifer
* Martin J. Moody
	+ Super Martin
* Mitchell Van Morgan
	+ Super Mitchell
* Nicholas Dunn
	+ Super Nicholas

### Skins

* Max the Rabbit (Sonic)
* Mecha Sonic (Battle Mode)
* Metal Amy (Battle Mode)
* Metal Knuckles (Battle Mode)
* Metal Sonic (Battle Mode)
* Metal Tails (Battle Mode)

### Non-playable characters

 File:SuperstarsTeamEggman.png
* Marquessa
* The Border Sniper
* Trip Template:1st
* Animals
	+ Cucky
	+ Flicky
	+ Pecky
	+ Picky
	+ Rocky

### Enemies

* Batbrain
* Buzz Bomber
* Chopper
* Crabmeat
* Skorp
* Splats
* Vultron

## Zones

Like in most other 2D *Sonic* games, the stages in *Sonic Superstars* are called Zones have a similar structure to those in *Sonic 3 & Knuckles* and *Sonic Mania*, with most of them having two Acts with a boss at the end of each. There are confirmed to be twelve Zones in the game, all completely original.
Template:Div col

### Special Stages

*Main article: Special Stage (Sonic Superstars)*
The Special Stages in *Sonic Superstars*, much like in previous games like *Sonic 3 & Knuckles* and *Sonic Mania*, are accessed through Giant Rings which are hidden in the stages. Here, the player has to swing from spheres to catch a Chaos Emerald..

### Bonus Stages

*Main article: Bonus Stage (Sonic Superstars)*
The Bonus Stages in *Sonic Superstars* are a recreation of the Special Stages from the original *Sonic the Hedgehog*. They are accessed by touching a Star Circle that can be opened up after passing through a Star Post with enough Rings. Instead of Chaos Emeralds, these stages award the player with medals.

## Development

### Background

 File:Sonic Mania title screen.png
In the 1990s, Sega became one of the major corporations in the video game industry with several games in its new flagship franchise, *Sonic the Hedgehog*, being released for its many systems. The major titles were 2D side-scrollers that included *Sonic the Hedgehog* (1991), *Sonic the Hedgehog 2* (1992), *Sonic the Hedgehog CD* (1993), and *Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles* (1994), all of which have received critical acclaim and made the series' mascot one of the most popular characters in the world.

The next major installment was *Sonic Adventure*, released for the Dreamcast in 1998 in Japan and 1999 in the rest of the world. The game gave the series' cast redesigns and saw the departure of Naoto Ohshima, one of Sonic's co-creators. After leaving Sega, Ohshima would form an independent game developer called Artoon, which was absorbed into AQ Interactive in 2010. He and other former Artoon members would go on to form another company, Arzest. Ohshima would be active on social media, with a reputation as the series' co-creator, and had considered making a new *Sonic* game for a while.

The early 2010s saw the release of *Sonic the Hedgehog 4*, an episodic game developed by Dimps and released as a spiritual successor to *Sonic 3 & Knuckles*, to lukewarm reviews at that time. In 2017, another continuation to *Sonic 3 & Knuckles*, *Sonic Mania*, was developed by Christian Whitehead and Headcannon, amongst other people, and received critical acclaim.

### Conception

Following *Sonic Mania*'s success, Sonic Team contacted Whitehead and conversed with him about ideas for a potential future 2D game. For this new title, some ideas were proposed; Sonic Team wanted to move on from the 2D pixel art and use 3D assets instead, though other art styles, like hand-drawn 2D or 2.5D graphics were also considered. Meanwhile, Whitehead went on to found a new company, Evening Star, and made a 2.5D prototype of these ideas. However, the project was abandoned, as Whitehead's team went on to work on a game of their own, *Penny's Big Breakaway*.

> "*Ohshima-san said, 'Hey Iizuka-san, we should get on Zoom and have a drinking party together.' We did and we started drinking and chatting, and had the conversation of, 'Hey, we want to bring back a Classic Sonic game,' and in that drinking party, Ohshima-san said, 'I really, really want to get involved. Let's get together and and make this happen,' and that's how it all kicked off.*"
> ― Takashi Iizuka on the conception of *Sonic Superstars*
>
>

Sonic Team's current head, Takashi Iizuka, maintained a positive relationship with his ex-colleagues, Ohshima included. During the COVID-19 lockdown in Japan, Iizuka and Ohshima held a drinking game in a Zoom video call for fun. Both men eventually expressed mutual interest in developing a 2D *Sonic* game together and began discussing a collaboration. While Evening Star had already departed, many of their ideas would be revisited by Sonic Team and heavily influenced the ones for what would become *Sonic Superstars*.

### Arzest-Sonic Team relation

 File:Naoto Ohshima in 2016.png
*Sonic Superstars* was primarily developed by Arzest. However, Sonic Team was closely involved too. Both teams would frequenly contact each other and share ideas and production duties. Iizuka served as director, and he and Ohshima were co-producers. The former handled marketing and the latter mainly managed development. Various Sonic Team staffers would travel from Burbank, California to Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture to help in development. Other members, like Morio Kishimoto, had no participation in the development as they were instead more focused on the second and third major updates for *Sonic Frontiers*. Iizuka felt like Ohshima was a natural fit for this game due to his experience as the co-creator of the franchise and developing games.

### Graphics and locations

Unlike the original titles, *Sonic Superstars* uses 3D graphics, similar to those employed in *Sonic Generations* (2011) and *Sonic Forces* (2017), which allows for new gameplay opportunities that would be otherwise very hard to replicate using the pixel art graphics from the previous games. The decision to use these graphics instead of the pixel art from games like *Sonic Mania* steemed from Iizuka's desire to make a 2.5D game that would look more appealing to a wider audience while still maintaining the "retro" feel from the original games. Unlike *Sonic the Hedgehog 4*, which featured "Modern Sonic" graphics, *Sonic Superstars* leaned towards a "Classic Sonic"-like graphic style. *Sonic 1*, *Sonic 2* and *Sonic 3 & Knuckles* were used for inspiration.

Past titles, including *Sonic Mania* and *Sonic Frontiers*, featured locations from the early *Sonic* games like Green Hill and Chemical Plant, prompting complaints from fans due to these areas' frequent reappearances, and causing Sonic Team to promise to avoid bringing them back in the near future. With *Sonic Superstars*, the developers instead aspired to make something new in the franchise and create entirely new locations for the game's major setting, the Northstar Islands.

### Gameplay

While *Sonic Frontiers* was designed for hardcore gamers in mind, *Sonic Superstars* was made for "Classic Sonic" fans and children. The designers sought to replicate the gameplay of the Mega Drive games and thus decided to tell the story without using voice acting and text. *Sonic 4*, *Sonic Generations* and *Sonic Forces* all received criticism for their physics, which many fans felt did not replicate the ones from the original titles very well. For *Sonic Superstars*, the developers prioritized making the physics feel exactly like those from the 16-bit games. When it came to the playable characters, the developers choose Sonic, Tails and Knuckles since they were "obvious picks", while Amy was introduced to please fans. Amy had been intended to be playable in *Sonic Mania*, but was not implemented due to time constraints.

The development team wanted to introduce something unique to the gameplay in this installment. Unlike in previous games, where the player would be awarded with a Super State upon collecting all seven Chaos Emeralds, the crew wanted to give them a smaller reward with every Emerald that would be collected, which came in the form of "Emerald Powers", unlockable skills that would allow the player to complete the levels in a different way than usual. Inspiration on these abilities came from the Color Powers that were introduced in *Sonic Colors*. The powers were introduced to be optional and not disrupt the gameplay formula.

*Sonic Superstars* is the first *Sonic* game to feature a cooperative mode between four players; previous games only had co-op for two players, while *Sonic Mania Plus* supported four players in competition mode only. Due to the fast gameplay of the *Sonic* games, this feature could never be fully implemented in the past, so the developers challenged themselves in making one for this title. To do so, they played several platform games (particularly those in the *New Super Mario Bros.* series) for inspiration. Online multiplayer was not introduced to avoid lag.

### Characters

Sonic Team was surprised by the excitement from fans upon the return of the obscure characters Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel in *Sonic Mania Plus*, so they wanted to feature a similarly obscure character for *Sonic Superstars*. They chose Fang the Hunter, who was an antagonist in *Sonic the Hedgehog Triple Trouble*. Ohshima also designed a new antagonist, named Trip. He worked closely with Iizuka to lay down the character's traits.

 File:Classic Amy model comparison.png
The models of the characters for *Sonic Superstars* prompted complaints on Twitter by fan artist Rafa Knight, who noted that they strongly resembled her own CGI models of the same characters that were used for merchandise, even observing that the little imperfections in her models were transferred over to *Sonic Superstars* too. She stated that she was not credited for her work either, instead being ghosted by Sega and related figures. In response, Katie Chrzanowski, head of the official *Sonic* social media accounts, apologized for the misunderstanding and said that the models were custom-made for the game, promising to privately email Knight and give her more details later on.

### Miscellaneous

 File:Sonic Orion.jpg
The trailer thumbnail on the game's English website used an early version of the title screen with the name "***Sonic Orion***". The logo used a modified version of the *Sonic Origins* logo, implying that was an early name or codename for *Sonic Superstars*. This thumbnail was swiftly replaced with one showing the correct trailer thumbnail.

## Soundtrack

Jun Senoue, who has made the soundtracks of most *Sonic* games since *Sonic the Hedgehog 3* (1994), served as the music director for the music in *Sonic Superstars*. He also received assistance from internal teams at Sega and Tee Lopes, composer of the *Sonic Mania* soundtrack, to make the music resemble the "classic Sonic vibe" from the original 2D *Sonic* titles.

## Promotional

 File:Sonic-Superstars-la-Newsletter-rivela-il-costume-alternativo-di-Amy-Rose.jpg
*Sonic Superstars* was unveiled at Summer Game Fest 2023 on June 8, 2023. Here, players were provided with a demo of the title where Bridge Island Zone and Speed Jungle Zone were playable. That day, the game's trailer was released by *Sonic*'s official YouTube accounts and on social media. It was also revealed that players who signed up to the game's official newsletter before January 31, 2024 would get a DLC code that would allow them to play as Amy in her "Modern Amy" outfit. The following day, a demo of *Sonic Superstars* was playable as a continuation of the Summer Game Fest 2023 event.

During the 2023 *Sonic Central* presentation, an interview with Takashi Iizuka and Naoto Ohshima was shown. It was also announced that people who pre-ordered the game would get a Lego-styled skin of Dr. Eggman for free as part of a collaboration between Sega and Lego, with a Lego-styled skin for Sonic being available to all players as a free download.

In Gamecom on August 22, 2023, it was revealed that the game will have a Digital Deluxe edition that will include: Sonic's old rabbit prototype design, which will be available in the game as a skin, Mecha Sonic's parts will be made available in Battle Mode, and the LEGO Fun Pack will include additional LEGO skins for Tails, Knuckles, and Amy, as well as LEGO levels for battle mode. A digital artbook and OST, and bonus menu wallpapers will all also be available. It was also stated that Metal Sonic and Metal Knuckles will be included in Battle Mode in an upcoming DLC, with other Badniks to be included.

A day later on August 23, Sega Asia revealed the Asia Limited Edition, which comes with an 80mm long Sonic figure, a three dimensional 150 mm X 150 mm acrylic stand, and a 210mm (H) x 170mm (W) artwork reproduction featuring Takashi Iizuka and Naoto Ohshima's signatures.

On August 24, Sega of Japan announced that they will also release a DX edition that will include a stylized ink painting wall scroll featuring new art of Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy. Additionally, there will be a set of 5 acrylic figures and some wall stickers included in this edition. They also states that several retailers will have respective exclusive bonus offers:

* Amazon: Downloadable Content “Comic Style Skins” (Comic-Style Sonic, Comic-Style Tails, Comic-Style Amy, Comic-Style Knuckles)
* Lawson: “Sonic × Korone Inugami Collaboration Illustration” Vinyl Pouch
* AmiAmi: Acrylic Keychain
* FamilyMart: Original Masking Tape
* Treasure Vault Group / fammys.com: Original Tin Badge
* Gamers: Acrylic Keychain
* Neowing: Original Tin Badge
* Rakuten Books: IC Card Sticker
* WonderGOO: Original Tin Badge

Meanwhile in the United Kingdom, GAME will have a Sonic Superstars Acrylic Stand only available from GAME stores and game.co.uk.

## Release

*Sonic Superstars* is slated for release on October 17, 2023 for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, Nintendo Switch, Steam and Epic Games Store.

## Trivia

* *Sonic Superstars* is the first non-compilation 2D game since *Sonic Mania*.
* This marks the first physical appearance of Fang since *Sonic the Fighters* in 1996.
* This is the first time Naoto Ohshima has been involved with a main series *Sonic* game since *Sonic Adventure* in 1998.
* This is the first *Sonic* game to be supported in Thai language.
* Ian Flynn stated in a Bumblekast that the game takes place after the "Classic" comics by IDW Publishing, but he does not specify when, preferring people to play the game first.
* The level clear theme is reused from *Sonic Mania*.
	+ Additionally, Sonic does the same victory animation from the games when clearing a stage.
* The intro animation was not done by Tyson Hesse; rather, it was done by a Japanese animation team with Hesse's character sheets as reference. This makes *Sonic Superstars* the first game whose intro was not made by Hesse and was animated in Japan since *Sonic Riders*.

## Videos

* Announcement trailer (EN)
* Announcement trailer (JP)
* IGN Japan gameplay
* Nintendo Direct
* Lego Content Trailer
* Opening Animation
* Multiplayer Trailer
* Multiplayer Trailer (30s)

File:Sonic Superstars - Announce Trailer

File:『ソニックスーパースターズ』アナウンストレーラー

File:原点回帰の2Dソニック『ソニックスーパースターズ』10分のゲームプレイ

File:Sonic Superstars - Nintendo Direct 6.21.2023

File:Sonic Superstars - LEGO Content Trailer

File:Sonic Superstars - Opening Animation

File:Sonic Superstars - Multiplayer Trailer

File:Sonic Superstars - Multiplayer Trailer (30s)

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Mitchell Superstars (June 8, 2023). Retrieved on June 8, 2023.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Mitchell Superstars - Multiplayer Trailer. *YouTube*. Mitchell Van Morgan (August 21, 2023). Retrieved on August 21, 2023.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Robinson, Andy (June 11, 2023). Mitchell Superstars is developed by original designer’s studio, THQ Nordic confirms. VGC. Archived from the original on June 11, 2023. Retrieved on June 11, 2023.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Robinson, Andy (June 23, 2023). Interview: How Sonic Superstars was born from a Zoom drinking party. *VGN*. Retrieved on July 27, 2023.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Shea, Brian (July 27, 2023). Why Didn't Sonic Mania 2 Happen?. *Game Informer*. Retrieved on July 27, 2023.
6. ↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 6.12 6.13 6.14 Template:Cite journal
7. ↑ Sega Announces Sonic Superstars, a Brand New 2D Sonic Game. *IGN* (June 8, 2023). Retrieved on June 8, 2023.
8. ↑ Meet Trip, The First New Sonic Character Created By Naoto Ohshima In Decades (2 August 2023). Retrieved on 5 August 2023.
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `SSupergameplay1`
10. ↑ Sonic Superstars - Tails in Speed Jungle at SGF 2023. *YouTube* (June 9, 2023). Retrieved on June 9, 2023.
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Sonic Superstars - Sonic Gameplay at SGF 2023. *YouTube* (June 9, 2023). Retrieved on June 9, 2023.
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Shea, Brian (July 25, 2023). Sonic Superstars Preview - Exclusive Look At Every Emerald Power. *Game Informer*. Retrieved on July 25, 2023.
13. ↑ DonnaDee on Twitter. *Twitter* (February 4, 2023). Retrieved on August 25, 2023.
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Sonic Superstars: Discussing the new classic Sonic game with Takashi Iizuka and Naoto Ohshima. ntower. Retrieved on August 30, 2023.
15. ↑ 原点回帰の2Dソニック『ソニックスーパースターズ』10分のゲームプレイ. *YouTube* (June 9, 2023). Retrieved on June 9, 2023.
16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 Peppiat, Dom (June 11, 2023). 32 years later, Sonic Superstars proves that new 2D Sonic games can still be good – hands-on. VG247. Retrieved on June 11, 2023.
17. ↑ Sonic Superstars - Nintendo Direct 6.21.2023. *YouTube* (June 21, 2023). Retrieved on June 21, 2023.
18. ↑ [August 20, 2016 IGN's Top 100 Games of All Time]. *IGN* (2003). Archived from the original on https://web.archive.org/web/20160820070817/http://top100.ign.com/2003/81-90.html#90.+Retrieved on July 27, 2023. “***Sonic the Hedgehog*** - While others attempted to emulate Miyamoto's platform innovations, Sonic Team brought something new to the genre with the little mascot that could. Faster and prettier than any previous platformer, Sonic also took the genre vertical and upside- down. The spiky-haired, blue hedgehog became Sega's mascot and managed to dethrone, if only for but a brief while, a seemingly invulnerable King Mario.”
19. ↑ Colantonio, Giovanni (5 May 2023). The 50 best video games of all time. *Digital Trends*. Retrieved on July 27, 2023. “30. *Sonic the Hedgehog 2*”
20. ↑ Towell, Justin (February 6, 2013). Why Sonic CD is one of the greatest games ever made. *GamesRadar+*. Retrieved on July 27, 2023.
21. ↑ Artoon And Feelplus Also Absorbed Into AQ Interactive // Siliconera. *Siliconera*. Archived from the original on August 17, 2010. Retrieved on July 27, 2023.
22. ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I for Wii Reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved on July 24, 2023.
23. ↑ 'Sonic Mania' First Impressions – The True 'Sonic 4' Has Arrived, and I'm Begging You Sega, I Need It On Mobile. TouchArcade (August 15, 2017). Retrieved on July 27, 2023.
24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Tracker on Twitter. *Twitter* (June 8, 2023). Retrieved on June 8, 2023.
25. ↑ Kishimoto, Morio (June 11, 2023). Morio Kishimoto on Twitter (Twitter). Twitter. “**ToonStuff☔️**: 岸本さん、ごめんなさい。あなたが『ソニック スーパースター』の制作に関わっているかどうか知りたいのですが。ありがとう！ [Mr. Kishimoto, sorry. I would like to know if you are involved in the production of *Sonic Superstars*. thank you!] / **Morio Kishimoto**: この新作は別の監督のタイトルです。私はいまフロンティアの第二弾と第三弾アップデートに集中しているので、このタイトルには、ぜんぜん関わってません。2Dソニックゲームの新作になるので、私もとても楽しみです！ [This new work is the title of another director. I'm currently focusing on *Frontiers*' second and third updates, so I'm not involved with this title at all. It's going to be a new 2D *Sonic* game, so I'm really looking forward to it too! ✨]”
26. ↑ Plant, Logan (June 9, 2023). Sonic Superstars Developers Explain Why They're Finally Abandoning Green Hill Zone. *IGN*. Retrieved on June 11, 2023.
27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 27.3 Minotti, Mike (June 10, 2023). Sonic Superstars wants to give fans a classic 2D game with new surprises. *VentureBeat*. Retrieved on July 28, 2023.
28. ↑ Knight, Rafa (June 8, 2023). • RafaKnight • DM for Commission 🇧🇷 on Twitter. Twitter. Retrieved on June 11, 2023. “I didn't even fully alignedTemplate:Sic with the image, but c'mon. For me the biggest thing that confirms any doubt is the red thing on her head having the exactly same shape. The warpy look when at 3/4 was a mistake on my part once it is supposed to look completely smooth.”
29. ↑ Knight, Rafa (June 8, 2023). • RafaKnight • DM for Commission 🇧🇷 on Twitter. Twitter. Retrieved on June 11, 2023. “I will need to make a comparison by overlapping the models with the Sonic Superstars video. But I think that they used these old models for it. Amy does even has the weird "bump on her red thing" around the middle quill on her head, which was something I messed up on the model.”
30. ↑ Knight, Rafa (June 10, 2023). • RafaKnight • DM for Commission 🇧🇷 on Twitter. Twitter. Retrieved on June 11, 2023. “It would be so nice if anyone could reply or send a email to me, instead of ghosting me up, just so I can clear up if it's the Amy model I made, and if I would be credited properly for it. @Sega, @KazuyukiHoshino, @KatieChrz. I just want to clear it up and move on. The whole deal with the ghosting is what makes me worried if I will not be credited at all. Or on the worse case get credited with my full name, which is not something I want for safety sake.”
31. ↑ Chrzanowski, Katie (June 11, 2023). Katie - MiniKitty on Twitter. Twitter. Retrieved on June 11, 2023. “Hey, sorry, the whole team has been busy this weekend with Summer Game Fest. The tl;dr is that these models were custom-made by the team for this game, but I'll send you an email this week as well when we're back in the office!”
32. ↑ Sonic Superstars (June 8, 2023). Archived from the original on June 8, 2023. Retrieved on June 8, 2023.
33. ↑ Goslin, Austen (June 8, 2023). All Summer Game Fest 2023 announcements and best trailers. *Polygon*. Retrieved on June 9, 2023.
34. ↑ The Sonic Stadium (June 8, 2023). The Sonic Stadium ✪ Sonic News on Twitter. Twitter. Retrieved on June 9, 2023.
35. ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog (June 23, 2023). Sonic Central - June 23rd, 2023. YouTube. Retrieved on June 23, 2023.
36. ↑ Dreadknux (June 23, 2023). SEGA and LEGO Announce Sonic Superstars DLC Collaboration. The Sonic Stadium. Retrieved on 26 June 2023.
37. ↑ nuckles87 (August 22, 2023). Sonic Superstars Digital Deluxe To Include Prototype Rabbit Skin, Mecha Sonic, LEGO Fun Pack. The Sonic Stadium. Retrieved on 22 August 2023.
38. ↑ The Sonic Stadium (August 23, 2023). The Sonic Stadium ✪ Sonic News on Twitter. Twitter. Retrieved on August 23, 2023.
39. ↑ Sonic Superstars. Sega Store (24 August 2023).
40. ↑ Sonic Superstars (PlayStation 5). game.co.uk (24 August 2023).
41. ↑ Sonic Superstars Official Site. Sega Asia (June 9, 2023). Archived from the original on June 9, 2023. Retrieved on June 9, 2023.
42. ↑ BumbleKing Videos (August 23, 2023). Surge's Forehead = BILLBOARD?! | BumbleKast for August 23rd, 2023 - Ian Flynn Q&A Podcast. Youtube. Retrieved on August 23, 2023.
43. ↑ Hesse, Tyson (July 19, 2023). Tyson Hesse on Twitter. Twitter. Retrieved on January 29, 2024. “Credit where it is due, I did not direct or take part [in] this intro. This [was] done fully in Japan by a Japanese team. My only contribution was the character sheets from Origins, which were used again by the team here.”

## External links

* Official website
* THQ Nordic website
* Black Forest Games website