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While the 360 and PS3 have their own, more typical 3D sonic adventure, the Wii demanded something a little different. I was lucky enough to tuck into Sonic and the Secret Rings, and chat with Yojiro Ogawa, game director and key Sonic Team member.
Ogawa-san’s previous titles include Panzer Dragoon, Chu Chu Rocket, Phantasy Star Online, Sonic the Hedgehog for next-gen and the first truly 3D Sonic title; Sonic Adventure.
Pro-G: It is immediately obvious when you pick up Sonic and the Secret Rings that there is a return to the incredible speed of the original Mega Drive series. How important was this to you when you developed the game?
Ogawa-san: The feel of speed was very important. Since this title has a route set on-rails with Sonic following a set channel, the development team were able to fix the camera in position in most cases and not worry about the player controlling it whilst controlling their own movements. This allowed for far faster movement and far greater speed. However, it was always important that the player could actually feel and control the game, rather than letting it get too fast.
Pro-G: You chose the setting of Arabian Nights for the game. The results are beautiful, but what were the reasons for this rather unusual choice?
Ogawa-san: There was no specific reason, other than that I really liked it. I looked to the movies, books and games I enjoyed and when I returned to Arabian Nights it was filled with magic, adventure, and huge creatures, and had a mysterious environment that I felt would be perfect for Secret Rings. We also wanted to create something very distinct from the 360 and PS3 Sonic games.
Pro-G: How did you find coming up with a Wii remote based control system for the game?
Ogawa-san: It was a very unique experience. We worked very hard experimenting with different techniques, including using the Nunchuck, which never made it to the final game. It was very important for the player to be able to feel the game and feel in control, so a lot a work went into getting the sensitivity of the tilting just right.
Pro-G: How did you find developing Sonic and the Secret Rings for the Wii on the whole?
Ogawa-san: At first we found the Wii quite difficult to work with which meant we had to try several things again and again, such as the controls.
Pro-G: Can Sonic fans expect to see a return of playable characters from across the series, such as Tails, Knuckles, Amy and Shadow?
Ogawa-san: There are two game modes: Adventure and Party mode. In the Adventure mode you will see characters from past Sonic titles dressed in Arabian Nights style but they won’t be playable. In the Party mode you will be able to choose between eight playable characters from the previous Sonic games. When we started to make the main game the Wii was called Revolution, so we wanted this game to be a revolution and not stick to the past too much.
Pro-G: The main game gets fairly hard. Was this your reason for including the 40 mini-games in Sonic and the Secret Rings?
Ogawa-san: The intention was to get the whole family playing together and enjoying it, but also because the controls in the Adventure mode were fairly simple and similar, and players might be playing for a long time. With party mode they can enjoy all of the controller’s functions fully and do a lot of different things.
I was then immediately given a Wii remote and made to take on Ogawa-san head-to-head. After a shaky start I prevailed, finally beating one of Sega’s leading directors at his own mini-games, to the delight and laughter of the rest of the assembled Sega staff.
Pro-G: Sorry about that Ogawa-san! And thank you for your time.
Ogawa-san: Thank you, thank you. Brilliant fun. We could play all night.
