Sonic Interview with Tetsu Katano

By Joshua Callum Jeffery 03.03.2009 12

Sonic Interview with Tetsu Katano on Nintendo gaming news, videos and discussion

Recently the director of Sonic and the Black Knight, Tetsu Katano, spoke with Videogamer.com on the blue hedgehog's new game- While intentionally going off to topics that Sonic fans would be more interested in, such as Sonic's endeavours in 3D and that "disease" Sonic contracted in his recent multiplatform adventure, Sonic Unleashed.

VG: As you said earlier, Sonic is all about speed. A lot of people didn't like the Werehog in Unleashed, partly due to the fact that he was so slow. Do you think that character was a mistake, or should people be more open-minded?

TK:In principle, I think that the users are always right. They're the ones paying the money and playing the games. If they don't enjoy it, they're not going to buy it. I don't think that producing the Werehog was a mistake per se, but there were a lot of things we could have done better if we had more time and resources.

He then goes on to say "If I think of any ideas then Sonic Unleashed 2 will be the time for that, so I don't really have an answer for that. But you will see the Werehog again." Although he also says that the Werehog would reappear only if Sonic Unleashed 2 is actually made.

While he agrees that the users are always right, he assures the reappearance of the more controversial and hairy form of Sonic if a second Unleashed title is made. What do C3's members feel about his views on the Werehog's reception? In the meantime, be sure to read the full interview.

Box art for Sonic Unleashed
Developer

Sonic Team

Publisher

SEGA

Genre

3D Platformer

Players

1

C3 Score

Rated $score out of 10  6/10

Reader Score

Rated $score out of 10  7/10 (27 Votes)

European release date Out now   North America release date Out now   Japan release date Out now   Australian release date Out now   

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TaoFire is offline. TaoFire 03.03.2009#1

I lol'd

Aki-T spilt the water.
Show Spoiler
 
IxisNaugus is offline. IxisNaugus 03.03.2009#2

Well i didn't expect my news tip to actually be heard. Unless of course you stumbled across this by yourselves...

On topic: These people just do not listen do they? This is unfathomably baffling, can they not take a hint? Nobody liked the Warehog, people have literally got on their knee's and begged for a traditional 2D Sonic in HD, is that so hard to give? Honestly, a part of me feels that Sonic team are still trying to fight Mario and prove that Sonic can innovate as well.

How can they make games such as Sonic Rush... and then pull this kind of thing out, repeatedly as well! I cannot gather the logic in this, something is horribly horribly wrong, this makes NO sense.

there were a lot of things we could have done better if we had more time and resources.
It's a Sonic title. What time and resources?

Bowser. You Booz, you lose.
 
JoshSL is offline. JoshSL 03.03.2009#3

IxisNaugus said:
Well i didn\'t expect my news tip to actually be heard. Unless of course you stumbled across this by yourselves...

I noticed it on TSSZ a day or so back, your news hint reminded me that I needed to put it up ^^;

On topic: These people just do not listen do they? This is unfathomably baffling, can they not take a hint? Nobody liked the Warehog, people have literally got on their knee\'s and begged for a traditional 2D Sonic in HD, is that so hard to give?

I don\'t understand why Sonic Team would put it in again either, especially when one half of the game was so acclaimed, as far as 3D Sonic goes. Hopefully they won\'t. As for the traditional 2D Sonic in HD, I honestly don\'t see it being anything but Sonic Advance with better graphics, which would be great, but never on the same level as Sonic 2 or 3.

How can they make games such as Sonic Rush... and then pull this kind of thing out, repeatedly as well! I cannot gather the logic in this, something is horribly horribly wrong, this makes NO sense.

As long as they\'re willing to work on the werehog to make it less frustrating than before, may even enjoyable, it could be a good balance to the daytime gameplay ina hypothetical Unleashed 2. Of course we all know werehog will probably come out the same again.

It\'s a Sonic title. What time and resources?

For one thing, Unleashed is the most finished Sonic Team Sonic title for a long time, and they put together a new team to make it, which is why there is a noticable difference in effort between Sonic \'06 and Unleashed.

Although I do think they should give it a \"Mario development cycle\" for once. Galaxy took ages.

( Edited 03.03.2009 17:19 by SuperLink )

Twitter | C3 Writer/Moderator | Backloggery
 
trgdr777 is offline. trgdr777 03.03.2009#4

They're probably not listening because Sonic fans continue to buy Sonic games. People hated the Werehog, but there are a lot of optimistic Sonic fans hoping that each new Sonic will be one that restores him to his former glory.

 
JoshSL is offline. JoshSL 03.03.2009#5

trgdr777 said:
They're probably not listening because Sonic fans continue to buy Sonic games. People hated the Werehog, but there are a lot of optimistic Sonic fans hoping that each new Sonic will be one that restores him to his former glory.

If you've played the Daytime stages of Sonic Unleashed, you might be able to see why Sonic fans still have these hopes.

Sonic 2006 flopped by the way, and Unleashed is the most polished 3D Sonic title ever made, despite having the Werehog, the gameplay had very little flaws, it was just boring and tedious.

Twitter | C3 Writer/Moderator | Backloggery
 
Phoenom is offline. Phoenom 03.03.2009#6

Awesome, I've grown to love the Werehog levels in Unleashed, would love to see more. Smilie

 
JoshSL is offline. JoshSL 03.03.2009#7

Phoenixus said:
Awesome, I've grown to love the Werehog levels in Unleashed, would love to see more. Smilie

My bro loves them too. I saw him ploughing through the survival and time trials for each world and thoroughly enjoying it. Smilie

Definitely not sure I concur.

Twitter | C3 Writer/Moderator | Backloggery
 
RufDogRacing is offline. RufDogRacing 03.03.2009#8

I think it proves Sonic Team lack the capacity to listen. Or think.

That said, if the Warehog was drastically improved (I actually thought it was decent, just not Sonic) it could end up being pretty good.

Tom Barry [ Reviewer - Editor - Resident Sim-Racer @ Cubed3.com ] 
 
JoshSL is offline. JoshSL 03.03.2009#9

I highly doubt Dark Gaia will return if there is a Sonic Unleashed 2, this means there may be different types of enemies, there is still hope for more Sonic related bots (might help night stages look more like a Sonic game), especially since the animal badniks have been seeping back in recently.

Twitter | C3 Writer/Moderator | Backloggery
 
SuperShyGuy62 is offline. SuperShyGuy62 04.03.2009#10

i wonder if sliver will ever make a return....
Not
lol Smilie


Mario, Mega Man and Rayman FTW!!!
 
WP-Final is offline. WP-Final 04.03.2009#11

I enjoyed the early Werehog levels. The rest just went on for far too long though.

Also, the Camera in Werehog levels frustrated me so much. If they had just given us full camera control for the entire thing, I would enjoy the levels so much more. It just gets so irritating when the camera flickers to a fixed position when all you want to do is look around yourself.

So my Werehog tips for Sonic Team would be:

- Keep the Werehog levels to a set length.

- Give up trying to direct the camera.

- Shorten some of the fights. Fighting waves upon waves of enemies gets boring.

The daytime levels are great once you've learned what's what in them. The first play through of each level can be quite annoying as it's kind of a trial and error every time.

 
Rukumouru (guest) 02.08.2010#12

That's funny.

I loved the Werehog stages. Surely, not as much as the daytime action-filled Sonic stages, but the Werehog combat system is incredibly full of depth.

When in Unleashed mode, most people notice that the Werehog is faster and stronger, but that's not all. His finisher combos have beefed-up animations and increased area of effect. Also, QTEs (like Critical Attacks) leave you more time to react when Unleashed.

Also, if you use your Shield while executing a combo, you'll cancel it, allowing for infinitely long and creative combinations, as well as instant reaction to enemy attacks.

The first couple of Werehog levels were maybe fifteen to twenty minutes long, but after you get the hang of his platforming and his fighting system, you end the rest of the stages in 5-10 minutes at most.

Also, some complain Eggmanland is too damn hard. Scored 49 minutes and A rank in my first run, 24 minutes and S rank in my second run. After you've earned experience and have adapted to both Sonic's and the Werehog's playstyles, the last level is a cakewalk.

All in all, the Werehog was an enjoyable experience, and I would love to see him coming back. However, the ratio of Sonic:Werehog stages shouldn't be 1.2:1 like in the PS3/360 versions (more like 1:2 in the Wii one), but the Werehog should be seen more as an ocassional break from Sonic's high speed action.

One full Werehog stage after two Sonic high-speed levels sounds about right.

P.S: Guys, need I remind you that in Sonic Adventure, 1/6 of the game was Sonic? That in SA 2, a third of the game was speed?

I dare you to tell me that you honestly believe the Werehog's FIGHTING/PLATFORMING to be more out of place than Big the Cat's FISHING, E-102 Gamma's/Tails'/Eggmans' SHOOTING or Knuckles'/Rouge's EMERALD HUNTING.

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