Check Out These Rejected Sonic Boom Sonic And Eggman Redesigns

[Steven Bogos]

Check Out These Rejected Sonic Boom Sonic And Eggman Redesigns

Have a look at some of the radical Sonic redesigns that were rejected for Sega's recently launched Sonic Boom.

So while we can all agree that Sonic Boom was pretty awful, we should applaud it (if only a little) for trying something a little different, and slightly changing up the design [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/132090-Sonic-Boom-Segas-Upcoming-Wii-U-3DS-Sonic-Title-Revealed] (for better or worse) of the hedgehog and his pals. But now, concept art of rejected Sonic redesigns reveal that we could have had an even more radically different-looking Sonic in the new game.

Craig Harris' Facebook [http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=934141]) which show Sonic in ways we've never seen him before. There's a much more abstract, streamlined Sonic, a Sonic that resembles something from a Disney movie, and even a Sonic that looks like an actual hedgehog. Check em out:

[gallery=3531]

But all of these redesigns, while indeed quite different, are still, undeniably, Sonic. The Dr. Eggman (or Robotnik) rejected redesigns, on the other hand, completely eschew the doctor's iconic egg-shape in favor of a skinny, dorky, beanpole.



So could these substantially different redesigns have saved Sonic Boom? Probably not, but it would have been nice to see Sega doing something new for once...

Source: NeoGAF [http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=934141]



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[Signa]

Some of them look like as if Disney reimagined them. I'd actually be interested in the game if they did a redesign like that. I mean, it's not like it hasn't been done before; Toon Link was such a drastic change from the norm.

 

[Story]

Not gonna lie, I was never into Sonic's esthetic so I really dig some of these.

 

[Jacked Assassin]

Some of them look like as if Disney reimagined them. I'd actually be interested in the game if they did a redesign like that. I mean, it's not like it hasn't been done before; Toon Link was such a drastic change from the norm.

But the redesigns remind me less of Mickey Mouse.... Well except for 4/4 which looks like a cross between Mickey Mouse, Sonic, & Quack Pack.... Then 3/4 kind of reminds me of Mulan.... And 1/4 reminded me of Bonkers.... I didn't pay attention to 2/4 or the other sketches that weren't colored in.

 

[Lunar Templar]

eh ... the new designs aren't the problem, it's, as I understand, the fact the game is buggy and broken, and fairly dull to boot.

 

[Misterian]

Probably a good call Sega went with designs that looked more like their original counterparts.

The designs that she Sonic wearing actual clothes were interesting though.

 

[Johnson McGee]

Personally I like those designs way better than what they went with. It actually makes Sonic look like not-a-douche.

 

[Dr. Crawver]

Wait wait wait what? Sonic could have had a full explorer getup? Fully clothed? And they didn't? Damn I am disappointed.

 

[Nooners]

My mouth is literally hanging open in utter terror. No. No. No. I'm going to go get some brain bleach and apologize to my childhood for ever seeing that.

 

[Doopliss64]

I actually think the modern post-Sonic Adventure character designs are pretty awful, and I say this as a huge fan of the games themselves. I definitely see where they're coming from here, and I actually like some of the designs.

The last Sonic design (fully clothed) in particular is pretty cool, and not that much of a departure from how sonic looked in the original Genesis games. Also kind of makes me want to see 2D Sonic game done in hand-drawn animation, a la Rayman Legends.

 

[Not Lord Atkin]

some of those are actually quite lovely. like this one. I'm loving this one:

 

[Snotnarok]

I don't get all the anger for the Sonic redesign, for the busted game? Yes. But Sonic since his concept on a napkin to Sonic Generations has changed a lot.

A scarf, wraps and a few loose spines is totally out of the question. Honestly Knuckle's redesign ...minus the fingers I felt was a long time coming. Sonic was made more sleek and tall, why shouldn't Knuckles have been made more powerful looking and strong? Bit tall yeah but eh it looked neat, made him stand out.

Amy hasn't been remotely the same looking after her first game, after Sonic CD it was a wild left turn and to those who didn't know would think they were different.

 

[JMac85]

eh ... the new designs aren't the problem, it's, as I understand, the fact the game is buggy and broken, and fairly dull to boot.

Yeah, I watched some playsthroughs on YouTube and it's just a bunch of random game mechanics jumbled together. One minute you're quickly running on a path dodging obstacles, the next you're meticulously exploring a 3D environment, then there's a 2D platforming section switching between the characters, then it's interrupted with brawling sections. None of these are at all polished, they all looked like they could have each been taken from a cheap $10 Xbox Live arcade title.

Then there's the dreadful characterization where they're all stock archetypes at the most basic level. Sonic is the cool guy, Tails is the nerd, Knuckes is the dumb jock, and Amy is the... girl.

 

[TheRundownRabbit]

Redesigning the characters will not make it a better game. The perfect thing I can counter-compare Sonic to is Megaman

Megaman- "Hey, people like this game, lets throw some redesigns in along the way while not changing what people love about it."

Sonic- "Hey, people like this game...lets change almost everything and keep the characters the same...what?...That, that didnt work?...Oh ok, the problem isnt with the game, its with the character design! Oi Jim, redesign the Sonic characters!" "Ok boss....uhm, what if I add a scarf...some goggles...maybe a hammer" "...fucking brilliant, Jim."

 

[Fappy]

some of those are actually quite lovely. like this one. I'm loving this one:

Yeah, I second this. That's a legit redesign for Sonic if I have ever seen one.

 

[loa]

So could these substantially different redesigns have saved Sonic Boom? Probably not, but it would have been nice to see Sega doing something new for once...

You can say many things about sonic games past sonic 3 but not that they don't try enough new things.

 

[Brian Tams]

They really should've just saved themselves the trouble and rejected Sonic Boom in its entirety.

 

[SilverUchiha]

Robotnik designs are terrible and he should be left alone because his original design is pretty solid. The Sonic redesigns, I like them. Not all of them are great, but a new look for him would have been cool.

 

[gamegod25]

While there have been subtle changes the look of Sonic and the rest of the characters was rock solid which has helped them endure for so long. I'm not going to go purist zealot and say that any change is necessarily bad I personally found the Boom iterations to be kinda bleh. When I think about speed running the fist thing to come to mind isn't exactly scarves and bandages wrapped around shoes. With Knux they went overboard with the body structure and making him dumb as a rock just makes me facepalm every time. Tails and Amy are fine I guess but nothing special. Never watched the show and probably never will, it's clearly not for me so no point in subjecting myself to it.

 

[Roxas1359]

They really should've just saved themselves the trouble and rejected Sonic Boom in its entirety.

But then we wouldn't have gotten the decent show.
At least the show is good, but the plot of the game and it's connection to the show can best be summarized with this sentence:
"Here's the story of how Dr. Eggman got the bracelet he uses in the show. The End."
That's it, that is literally the only thing that connects the game to the show, and it's probably because of the fact that the game's original producer left the company last year.