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Difference between revisions of "Sonic Unleashed/Development"

From Sonic Retro
(Also sprucing this bad boy up.)
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[[File:Hedgehog engine sonic19.jpg|thumb|right|300px|[[Sonic Team]] gives a presentation on the [[Hedgehog Engine]] during ''Unleashed's'' game development.]]
 
[[File:Hedgehog engine sonic19.jpg|thumb|right|300px|[[Sonic Team]] gives a presentation on the [[Hedgehog Engine]] during ''Unleashed's'' game development.]]
  
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''[[Sonic Unleashed]]'' has gone through several changes over its development process. There are several rejected ideas, levels, and other things that were left on the cutting room floor. The following details several of these things.
+
''[[Sonic Unleashed]]'' went through many ideas and changes during the development process. What follows is a collection of items related to the game's development.
  
−
According to the [[Sonic CulT]], the game was developed by Sega's development teams from Japan, the United States, and Europe in an attempt to reinvent the franchise for a multi-platform release in November 2008.
+
==Development Process==
  
−
[[Yoshihisa Hashimoto]] claims that “…The whole development team is aiming to make Sonic Unleashed the best Sonic game ever, and that includes the Genesis-era titles! We hope that even people who haven’t played Sonic games will feel “Wow, Sonic is back!”…”
+
In the aftermath of the commercial and critical failure that was ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)]]'', Sega wasted no time in creating a successor that would not only make people forget about their previous effort, but also embrace the game series as they once did back during the [[sega:Sega Mega Drive|Mega Drive]] days. Using not only the in-house [[Sonic Team]], ''[[Sonic Unleashed]]'' gathered talent from the United States and Europe to assist with the Japan-based team to help reinvent the franchise. Initially intended to be the next installment in the ''[[Sonic Adventure]]'' series, the team decided to give the game its own identity, feeling that the style of game was far enough removed from what the pair of ''Adventure'' games had done.
  
−
Art Director [[Sachiko Kawamura]] stated that when designing the Sonic character model, she aimed to creat the 'ideal' Sonic that fans around the world would recognise.  It is notable that Sonic's mouth now appears on the side of his muzzle in the classic tradition, rather than the centre as had become the norm in previous 3D games.
+
[[Yoshihisa Hashimoto]], the Director and Lead Game Designer of ''Sonic Unleashed'' stated that "the whole development team is aiming to make Sonic Unleashed the best Sonic game ever, and that includes the Genesis-era titles! We hope that even people who haven't played Sonic games will feel 'Wow, Sonic is back!'"
  
−
The main theme song: "Endless Possibility", was composed by [[Tomoya Ohtani]] and sung by Bowling For Soup's lead vocalist, Jaret Reddick. The ending theme, "Dear My Friend", is sung by Brent Cash.
+
With that same mindset, Art Director [[Sachiko Kawamura]] looked at redesigning the Sonic character model, aiming to create the 'ideal' Sonic that fans around the world would recognize. Moving away from the lanky model of ''Sonic 2006'', she tried to find a balance between the modern design of [[Sonic the Hedgehog]] and his classic appearance in the original titles. One of the many noticeable changes to the Sonic model was the placement of his mouth, which appeared on the side of his face when used in cutscenes to resemble the look of the original model art for the character, rather than the center as had become the norm in previous 3D games. As for the level designs, each was based on a real life locale, the idea being "what if Sonic were in the real world?" Even though its cues were taken from reality, the game still strove to be more cartoony than the previous effort.
  
−
===See also===
+
It was also decided early on that [[Sonic the Hedgehog]] would be the only playable character in the game, so they could focus on the game mechanics for the hedgehog and not worry about numerous other characters and how they would control. This desire to illuminate what made the character of Sonic so appealing inspired the team to come up with the concept of the [[Sonic the Werehog|Werehog]] gameplay. Trying to think of a way to bring in players who had never touched a Sonic the Hedgehog game and let them experience the world of Sonic, it was decided this alternate playstyle would be implemented. Even though Yoshihisa Hashimoto knew from the get-go it might cause friction with the existing fanbase, he hoped that the fans would be open enough to understand why he would introduce this new form of Sonic, carefully designing Sonic the Werehog to appeal to both newcomers and avoid alienating the pre-existing fanbase.
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*[[:Category:Sonic Unleashed Concept Art]]
 
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**[[:Category:Sonic Unleashed AOKIstudio Concept Art]]
 
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*[[:Category:Sonic Unleashed Game Development Images]]
 
  
 +
Not wanting to leave the Nintendo Wii out of this reinvention, Sega also contracted development group [[sega:Dimps|Dimps]] to help port the game to the Nintendo system as well as the Playstation 2. Having been responsible for such titles as the ''[[Sonic Advance]]'' series and the two ''[[Sonic Rush]]'' games on the Nintendo DS, they seemed the perfect candidate to write up the code for the standard-definition version of the game. Instead of being a direct port, however, the level designs for the game were completely different between the two, the HD version released on the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3 becoming the one with more content.
 +
 +
The main theme song "[[Endless Possibility]]", was composed by [[Tomoya Ohtani]] and sung by [http://www.bowlingforsoup.com Bowling For Soup]'s lead vocalist, Jaret Reddick. The ending theme "[[Dear My Friend]]" was composed by [[Mariko Nanba]] and [[Takahito Eguchi]] and sung by [http://www.brentcash.net Brent Cash].
 +
 +
==Concept Art==
 +
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===Character Concept Art===
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====Sonic/Chip/Werehog====
 +
 +
<gallery>
 +
Image:Unleashed Blog Concept 1.jpg|Various designs of [[Chip]].
 +
Image:Unleashed Blog Concept 2.jpg|Various designs of Chip surrounding [[Sonic the Hedgehog]].
 +
Image:SUGuri8.jpg|[[Sonic the Werehog]] and Chip. From [http://www.gurihiru.com Gurihiro Studios].
 +
Image:Unleashed Blog Concept 7.jpg|Concept art of [[Sonic the Werehog]].
 +
Image:Unleashed Blog Concept 8.jpg|Concept art of Sonic the Werehog.
 +
Image:Unleashed Blog Concept 9.jpg|Concept art of Sonic the Werehog.
 +
Image:Unleashed Blog Concept 10.jpg|An early design of Sonic the Werehog.
 +
</gallery>
 +
 +
====Non-Playable Characters====
 +
 +
<gallery>
 +
Image:SUGuri4.jpg|A collection of NPC sketches used in [[Apotos]]. From [http://www.gurihiru.com Gurihiro Studios]
 +
Image:SUGuri5.jpg|A seagull. From Gurihiro Studios.
 +
Image:SUGuri3.jpg|A collection of NPC sketches used in [[Shamar]]. From Gurihiro Studios.
 +
Image:SUGuri6.jpg|A collection of various NPC sketches. From Gurihiro Studios.
 +
Image:SUGuri7.jpg|A collection of various NPC sketches. From Gurihiro Studios.
 +
Image:SUGuri1.jpg|The female ghost from ''[[Night of the Werehog]]''. From Gurihiro Studios.
 +
Image:SUGuri2.jpg|The cast of ''Night of the Werehog'', sans Sonic and Chip. From Gurihiro Studios.
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept96.png|[[Professor Pickle]].
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept64.png
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Image:Unleashedconcept65.png
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Image:Unleashedconcept66.png
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Image:Unleashedconcept67.png
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Image:Unleashedconcept68.png
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Image:Unleashedconcept69.png
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Image:Unleashedconcept70.png
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Image:Unleashedconcept71.png
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Image:Unleashedconcept72.png
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Image:Unleashedconcept73.png
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Image:Unleashedconcept74.png
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Image:Unleashedconcept75.png
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Image:Unleashedconcept76.png
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Image:Unleashedconcept77.png
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Image:Unleashedconcept78.png
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Image:Unleashedconcept79.png
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Image:Unleashedconcept80.png
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Image:Unleashedconcept81.png
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Image:Unleashedconcept82.png
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Image:Unleashedconcept83.png
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Image:Unleashedconcept84.png
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Image:Unleashedconcept85.png
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Image:Unleashedconcept86.png
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Image:Unleashedconcept87.png
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Image:Unleashedconcept88.png
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Image:Unleashedconcept89.png
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Image:Unleashedconcept90.png
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Image:Unleashedconcept91.png
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Image:Unleashedconcept92.png
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Image:Unleashedconcept93.png
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Image:Unleashedconcept94.png
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Image:Unleashedconcept95.png
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</gallery>
 +
 +
===Enemy Concept Art===
 +
 +
====Dr. Eggman's Robots====
 +
 +
<gallery>
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept01.png|Concept art of [[Thunderball]].
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept02.png|Concept art of [[Aero-Cannon]].
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept03.png|Concept art of [[Mole Cannon]].
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept04.png|Concept art of [[Interceptor]].
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept05.png|Concept art of [[Aero-Chaser]].
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept06.png|Concept art of [[Egg Launcher]].
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept07.png|Concept art of [[Egg Fighter Spring]].
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept08.png|Concept art of [[Egg Fighter Knight]].
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept09.png|Concept art of [[Egg Fighter Shield]].
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept10.png|Concept art of [[Egg Shackles]].
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept11.png|Concept art of [[Egg Blizzard]].
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept12.png|Concept art of [[Egg Flame]].
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept13.png|Concept art of [[Egg Typhoon]].
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept14.png|Concept art of [[Spinner]].
 +
</gallery>
 +
 +
====Dark Gaia's Forces====
 +
 +
<gallery>
 +
Image:Unleashed Blog Concept 3.jpg
 +
Image:Unleashed Blog Concept 4.jpg
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept15.png|Concept art of [[Dark Bat Sniper]].
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept16.png|Concept art of [[Dark Bat]].
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept17.png|Concept art of [[Dark Bat Thunder]].
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept18.png|Concept art of [[Killer Bee]].
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept19.png|Concept art of [[Spike_(enemy)]].
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept20.png|Concept art of [[Dark Master]].
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept21.png|Concept art of [[Fire Master]].
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept22.png|Concept art of [[Lightning Master]].
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept23.png|Concept art of [[Nightmare]].
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept24.png|Concept art of [[Deep Nightmare]].
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept25.png|Concept art of [[Big Mother]].
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept26.png|Concept art of [[Rex]].
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept27.png|Concept art of [[Dark Fright]].
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept28.png|Concept art of [[Titan]].
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</gallery>
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===Hub World/Level Concept Art===
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<gallery>
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Image:Unleashedconcept29.png|Concept art of [[Apotos]].
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Image:Unleashedconcept30.png|Concept art of Apotos.
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Image:Unleashedconcept31.png|Concept art of Apotos.
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Image:Unleashedconcept32.png|Concept art of Apotos.
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Image:SU Black4.jpg|Concept art of [[Windmill Isle]]. From [http://www.massiveblack.com Massive Black].
 +
Image:SU Black5.jpg|Concept art of Windmill Isle. From [http://www.massiveblack.com Massive Black].
 +
Image:Unleashed Blog Concept 6.jpg|Concept art of [[Mazuri]].
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept36.png|Concept art of [[Spagonia]].
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept37.png|Concept art of Spagonia.
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept38.png|Concept art of Spagonia.
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept39.png|Concept art of Spagonia.
 +
Image:Unleashed Blog Concept 5.jpg|Concept art of [[Chun-nan]].
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Image:Unleashedconcept40.png|Concept art of Chun-nan.
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Image:Unleashedconcept41.png|Concept art of Chun-nan.
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept42.png|Concept art of Chun-nan.
 +
Image:SU Black11.jpg|Concept art of [[Dragon Road]]. From [http://www.massiveblack.com Massive Black].
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept33.png|Concept art of [[Holoska]].
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept35.png|Concept art of Holoska.
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept34.png|Concept art of [[Cool Edge]].
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept43.png|Concept art of [[Arid Sands]].
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept44.png|Concept art of Arid Sands.
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept45.png|Concept art of Arid Sands.
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept46.png|Concept art of Arid Sands.
 +
Image:SU Black6.jpg|Concept art of [[Skyscraper Scamper]]. From [http://www.massiveblack.com Massive Black].
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept53.png|Concept art of [[Adabat]].
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept47.png|Concept art of [[Jungle Joyride]].
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept48.png|Concept art of Jungle Joyride.
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept49.png|Concept art of Jungle Joyride.
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept50.png|Concept art of Jungle Joyride.
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept51.png|Concept art of Jungle Joyride.
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept52.png|Concept art of Jungle Joyride.
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept54.png|Concept art of [[Eggmanland]].
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept55.png|Concept art of Eggmanland.
 +
</gallery>
 +
 +
===Cutscene Concept Art===
 +
 +
<gallery>
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept56.png|Sonic landing on Dr. Eggman's fleet.
 +
Image:SU Black1.jpg|[[Super Sonic]] and [[Dr. Eggman]] facing off in the first cutscene. From [http://www.massiveblack.com Massive Black].
 +
Image:SU Black2.jpg|The planet breaking apart from the power of [[Dark Gaia]]. From [http://www.massiveblack.com Massive Black].
 +
Image:SU Black3.jpg|A closer image of said breaking. From [http://www.massiveblack.com Massive Black].
 +
Image:SU Black7.jpg|Concept art of the planet bost-breakup. From [http://www.massiveblack.com Massive Black].
 +
Image:SU Black8.jpg|Eggman's fleet. From [http://www.massiveblack.com Massive Black].
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept57.png|
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Image:Unleashedconcept58.png|
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Image:Unleashedconcept59.png|
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Image:SU Black10.jpg|Dark Gaia breaking apart the world. From [http://www.massiveblack.com Massive Black].
 +
</gallery>
 +
 +
===Other Concept Art===
 +
 +
<gallery>
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept60.png|Dr. Eggman's control room.
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept61.png|Another angle of the room.
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept62.png|
 +
Image:Unleashedconcept63.png|[[Professor Pickle]]'s study.
 +
</gallery>
 +
 +
==Game Developer Images==
 +
A collection of images of the people behind ''Sonic Unleashed'' working on the game, among other things.
 +
 +
<gallery>
 +
Image:Unleashed Blog 4.jpg
 +
Image:Unleashed Blog 9.jpg
 +
Image:Unleashed Blog 10.jpg
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Image:Unleashed dev 001.jpg
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Image:Unleashed dev 025.jpg
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Image:Unleashed dev 026.jpg
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Image:Unleashed dev 032.jpg
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Image:Unleashed dev 043.jpg
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Image:Unleashed dev 147.jpg
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Image:Unleashed dev 148.jpg
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</gallery>
 +
 +
==See Also==
 +
 +
*[[Hedgehog Engine]] - The force behind the graphical power of the HD versions of ''Sonic Unleashed'', including development images.
 +
 +
==External Links==
 +
*[http://www.sonicteam.co.jp/SonicWorldAdventure/director/ Director Blog] - The official blog for ''Sonic World Adventure'' by [[Yoshihisa Hashimoto]]. Written in Japanese.
 +
*[http://www.sonicteam.co.jp/SonicWorldAdventure/hamidashi/ Hamaidashi Blog] - A secondary blog for ''Sonic World Adventure'' run by [[Natsuha Matsubara]] and [[Utako Yoshino]]. Written in Japanese.
  
 
{{SUOmni}}  
 
{{SUOmni}}  
  
 
[[Category:Game Development|Sonic Unleashed]]
 
[[Category:Game Development|Sonic Unleashed]]

Revision as of 23:16, 7 March 2011

Sonic Team gives a presentation on the Hedgehog Engine during Unleashed's game development.

Sonic Unleashed went through many ideas and changes during the development process. What follows is a collection of items related to the game's development.

Development Process

In the aftermath of the commercial and critical failure that was Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), Sega wasted no time in creating a successor that would not only make people forget about their previous effort, but also embrace the game series as they once did back during the Mega Drive days. Using not only the in-house Sonic Team, Sonic Unleashed gathered talent from the United States and Europe to assist with the Japan-based team to help reinvent the franchise. Initially intended to be the next installment in the Sonic Adventure series, the team decided to give the game its own identity, feeling that the style of game was far enough removed from what the pair of Adventure games had done.

Yoshihisa Hashimoto, the Director and Lead Game Designer of Sonic Unleashed stated that "the whole development team is aiming to make Sonic Unleashed the best Sonic game ever, and that includes the Genesis-era titles! We hope that even people who haven't played Sonic games will feel 'Wow, Sonic is back!'"

With that same mindset, Art Director Sachiko Kawamura looked at redesigning the Sonic character model, aiming to create the 'ideal' Sonic that fans around the world would recognize. Moving away from the lanky model of Sonic 2006, she tried to find a balance between the modern design of Sonic the Hedgehog and his classic appearance in the original titles. One of the many noticeable changes to the Sonic model was the placement of his mouth, which appeared on the side of his face when used in cutscenes to resemble the look of the original model art for the character, rather than the center as had become the norm in previous 3D games. As for the level designs, each was based on a real life locale, the idea being "what if Sonic were in the real world?" Even though its cues were taken from reality, the game still strove to be more cartoony than the previous effort.

It was also decided early on that Sonic the Hedgehog would be the only playable character in the game, so they could focus on the game mechanics for the hedgehog and not worry about numerous other characters and how they would control. This desire to illuminate what made the character of Sonic so appealing inspired the team to come up with the concept of the Werehog gameplay. Trying to think of a way to bring in players who had never touched a Sonic the Hedgehog game and let them experience the world of Sonic, it was decided this alternate playstyle would be implemented. Even though Yoshihisa Hashimoto knew from the get-go it might cause friction with the existing fanbase, he hoped that the fans would be open enough to understand why he would introduce this new form of Sonic, carefully designing Sonic the Werehog to appeal to both newcomers and avoid alienating the pre-existing fanbase.

Not wanting to leave the Nintendo Wii out of this reinvention, Sega also contracted development group Dimps to help port the game to the Nintendo system as well as the Playstation 2. Having been responsible for such titles as the Sonic Advance series and the two Sonic Rush games on the Nintendo DS, they seemed the perfect candidate to write up the code for the standard-definition version of the game. Instead of being a direct port, however, the level designs for the game were completely different between the two, the HD version released on the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3 becoming the one with more content.

The main theme song "Endless Possibility", was composed by Tomoya Ohtani and sung by Bowling For Soup's lead vocalist, Jaret Reddick. The ending theme "Dear My Friend" was composed by Mariko Nanba and Takahito Eguchi and sung by Brent Cash.

Concept Art

Character Concept Art

Sonic/Chip/Werehog

Non-Playable Characters

  • A collection of NPC sketches used in Apotos. From Gurihiro Studios

  • A seagull. From Gurihiro Studios.

  • A collection of NPC sketches used in Shamar. From Gurihiro Studios.

  • A collection of various NPC sketches. From Gurihiro Studios.

  • A collection of various NPC sketches. From Gurihiro Studios.

  • The female ghost from Night of the Werehog. From Gurihiro Studios.

  • The cast of Night of the Werehog, sans Sonic and Chip. From Gurihiro Studios.

  • Unleashedconcept64.png
  • Unleashedconcept65.png
  • Unleashedconcept66.png
  • Unleashedconcept67.png
  • Unleashedconcept68.png
  • Unleashedconcept69.png
  • Unleashedconcept70.png
  • Unleashedconcept71.png
  • Unleashedconcept72.png
  • Unleashedconcept73.png
  • Unleashedconcept74.png
  • Unleashedconcept75.png
  • Unleashedconcept76.png
  • Unleashedconcept77.png
  • Unleashedconcept78.png
  • Unleashedconcept79.png
  • Unleashedconcept80.png
  • Unleashedconcept81.png
  • Unleashedconcept82.png
  • Unleashedconcept83.png
  • Unleashedconcept84.png
  • Unleashedconcept85.png
  • Unleashedconcept86.png
  • Unleashedconcept87.png
  • Unleashedconcept88.png
  • Unleashedconcept89.png
  • Unleashedconcept90.png
  • Unleashedconcept91.png
  • Unleashedconcept92.png
  • Unleashedconcept93.png
  • Unleashedconcept94.png
  • Unleashedconcept95.png

Enemy Concept Art

Dr. Eggman's Robots

Dark Gaia's Forces

Hub World/Level Concept Art

  • Concept art of Apotos.

  • Concept art of Apotos.

  • Concept art of Apotos.

  • Concept art of Apotos.

  • Concept art of Windmill Isle. From Massive Black.

  • Concept art of Windmill Isle. From Massive Black.

  • Concept art of Mazuri.

  • Concept art of Spagonia.

  • Concept art of Spagonia.

  • Concept art of Spagonia.

  • Concept art of Spagonia.

  • Concept art of Chun-nan.

  • Concept art of Chun-nan.

  • Concept art of Chun-nan.

  • Concept art of Chun-nan.

  • Concept art of Dragon Road. From Massive Black.

  • Unleashedconcept33.png

    Concept art of Holoska.

  • Unleashedconcept35.png

    Concept art of Holoska.

  • Concept art of Cool Edge.

  • Concept art of Arid Sands.

  • Concept art of Arid Sands.

  • Concept art of Arid Sands.

  • Concept art of Arid Sands.

  • Concept art of Skyscraper Scamper. From Massive Black.

  • Concept art of Adabat.

  • Concept art of Jungle Joyride.

  • Concept art of Jungle Joyride.

  • Concept art of Jungle Joyride.

  • Concept art of Jungle Joyride.

  • Concept art of Jungle Joyride.

  • Concept art of Jungle Joyride.

  • Concept art of Eggmanland.

  • Concept art of Eggmanland.

Cutscene Concept Art

Other Concept Art

  • Dr. Eggman's control room.

  • Another angle of the room.

  • Unleashedconcept62.png

  • Professor Pickle's study.

Game Developer Images

A collection of images of the people behind Sonic Unleashed working on the game, among other things.

  • Unleashed Blog 4.jpg
  • Unleashed Blog 9.jpg
  • Unleashed Blog 10.jpg
  • Unleashed dev 001.jpg
  • Unleashed dev 025.jpg
  • Unleashed dev 026.jpg
  • Unleashed dev 032.jpg
  • Unleashed dev 043.jpg
  • Unleashed dev 147.jpg
  • Unleashed dev 148.jpg

See Also

  • Hedgehog Engine - The force behind the graphical power of the HD versions of Sonic Unleashed, including development images.

External Links


Sonic Unleashed
SonicUnleashed title.png

Main page
Comparisons
Maps
Achievements
Downloadable content
Credits

Manuals
Promotional material
Magazine articles
Reception
Merchandise

Development
Hidden content
Bugs
Technical information

Items
show;hide
  • Levels
  • Eggman's Robots
  • Dark Gaia's Minions
  • Bosses
  • Prereleases
  • Media

HUB Worlds:

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