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Sonic Colours (Wii)

From Sonic Retro

Revision as of 14:47, 20 May 2017 by Aruru The Cat (talk | contribs) (Promotional Material)
"Sonic Colours" and "Sonic Colors" redirect here. For the DS version, see Sonic Colours (DS).

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Sonic Colors Wii US title screen.png
Sonic Colours (Wii)
SC Wii save icon.png
System(s): Wii
Publisher: Sega
Developer:
Genre: 2D Platform
Release Date RRP Code Rating
Nintendo Wii
AU
2010-11-11  ? SNCP8P
Nintendo Wii
EU
2010-11-12  ? SNCP8P
Nintendo Wii
US
2010-11-16 $49.99 SNCE8P
Nintendo Wii
JP
2010-11-18 ¥6,090 w/ tax SNCJ8P

Sonic Colours, called Sonic Colors (ソニック カラーズ) in the USA and Japan, is a Sonic game released for the Wii in late 2010.

In a similar manner to the Sonic the Hedgehog games' début in 1991, which saw both a Master System / Game Gear 8-bit release and a Mega Drive 16-bit release concurrently, Sonic Colours was released both as a Wii game and a DS game. Both games share the major plot element in that Sonic has to save an alien race from an intergalactic amusement park run by Eggman. However, they differ significantly as well, in terms of both gameplay and story. The Wii version gameplay expands upon the 3D/2D gameplay style introduced in Sonic Unleashed, while the DS gameplay is more like Sonic Rush and Sonic Rush Adventure, but trades the trick system for the moves introduced in Sonic Unleashed, such as the Slide, Stomp, Wall Jump, and Air Boost.

Plot

Eggman claims to have developed a sense of remorse after his lack of judgement in the past and decides to build his next massive amusement park, Dr. Eggman's Amazing Interstellar Amusement Park, in space, using the power of small alien creatures known as Wisps to power the interplanetary monstrosity. While Sonic instantly suspects Eggman's evil intentions, Tails believes he has genuinely had a change of heart.

Gameplay

Sonic, the only playable character, retains all of his abilities from the game's predecessor, Sonic Unleashed, although certain limitations have been set on the Quick Step and Speed Drift abilities. The Sonic Boost returns, however, the ring energy system has been removed, the gauge has been shortened slightly, and meter refills are now found in the form of White Wisp capsules, which will fill a portion of the gauge. Quick Stepping can now only be executed in special "Quick Step" sections that will display an icon indicating that tapping left or right on the control stick will initiate a Quick Step in that direction. Similarly, there are special "Drift Sections" in which an icon will appear indicating that the player can execute a Speed Drift by holding the Bbtn.png button and leaning the control stick in that direction. Boosting is disabled in these sections. Level designs have been modified to fit these restrictions, and as such, these moves are no longer used as cooperatively.

Sonic has also equipped with a Double Jump to prevent players from moving too fast while in midair and overshooting small platforms. While 2D gameplay still focuses on rolling hills, curved slopes, springs, and ramps, it also has a focus on rectangular structures and 90-degree angles that slow down gameplay slightly. Because of the increased focus on exploration, the levels tend to span more vertically than they do horizontally. Many of these stages also tend to play more like short puzzles.

Wisps

When released from captivity, the alien creatures give Sonic unique abilities to help him traverse new areas. The game's signature nuance is the appearance of Wisps; small, color-coded, floating alien creatures that each contain a different ability that Sonic can harness by collecting them. When a Wisp is collected, the gauge on the bottom-left corner of the screen will display which Wisp is currently active. There are 10 available Wisps across the DS and Wii versions, with some version exclusive. The Wisps available on the Wii version are:

  • White Wisps, give Sonic the Sonic Boost, allowing for fast speed bursts which can damage enemies.
  • Cyan Wisps, turn Sonic into a laser, which allows him to ricochet between walls and go through formations of diamond shaped prisms.
  • Yellow Wisps, turn Sonic into a drill that can dig through certain surfaces, allowing access to other paths.
  • Orange Wisps, turn Sonic into a rocket that can blast into the air to reach higher areas.
  • Pink Wisps, give Sonic long, pointy spikes that allow him to stick to walls. Also, this Wisp is the only means by which Sonic can spin dash in the Wii version of Sonic Colours. (Wii only)
  • Green Wisps, turn Sonic into a balloon-like green orb that allows him to hover and perform the Ring Dash. (Wii only)
  • Blue Wisps, turn Sonic into a heavy block that crushes anything under it. It also creates platforms by turning blue rings into walkable platforms, and vice versa. (Wii only)
  • Purple Wisps, turn Sonic into a wisp-like figure that moves forward eating enemies and blocks, growing larger the more he consumes. (Wii only)

Yellow Springs

In some 2D acts, a set of yellow springs will hover beneath Sonic while slowly moving forward. Executing a Stomp will cause Sonic to bounce higher off of these springs, allowing him to reach more elevated platforms. Because these springs move relatively slowly and are often located above pits, going too fast may cause Sonic to fall off.

Blocks and Crates

Many of the 2D sections in the game feature blocks and crates that Sonic can interact with. These blocks are also sometimes used as obstacles, platforms, and parts of the level layout that Sonic must navigate around.

  • Breakable blocks appear to be made of some sort of dissolving metal material. Sonic can destroy them by stomping on them, but they will not reappear.
  • Reviving blocks are yellow and will reappear moments after being destroyed. Sonic can get rid of them without the assistance of Wisps.
  • Wisp blocks are dark with glowing lines around them. They can only be destroyed with the use of Color Powers. Red Rings and pipes are often hidden beneath them.
  • Blue blocks can be turned into blue rings and vice versa by using the Blue Cube Color Power.
  • Pushing blocks or crates can be pushed by pressing and holding Bbtn.png while standing close to them. Sonic will charge up and initiate a kick that pushes them depending on how long it is charged. This also can be used to defeat lines of enemies.
  • Solid blocks are dark with glowing blue edges. They cannot be broken and are usually used as part of the level design.
  • Bomb blocks are black with red outlines. Touching a bomb block will set off a timer that will cause it to explode, destroying any other bomb blocks surrounding it. If the bomb block explodes while Sonic is touching it, he will be injured.
  • Platform blocks are flattened blocks that Sonic can walk across or use to reach higher areas. They come in a variety of different designs and sizes to match each stage. Sometimes, triggering a switch will cause these blocks to move. Some platform blocks will fall if Sonic stands on them for too long.

Easter Eggs

By collecting Red Rings in the normal stages, you unlock levels in Game Land. By earning enough rings, you can unlock 3 Acts in Game Land per real level. At the end of the 3rd Acts in Game Land, instead of a Goal Ring, there is a Chaos Emerald. By completing Game Land entirely, you can gather all 7 Chaos Emeralds and earn a mode to play as Super Sonic in the main game's levels, the first time for a 3D Sonic title. Sonic Adventure and Sonic 06 have data when hacked suggesting they were going to have Super Sonic playable in the main game as well, but they were never finished. Super Sonic can be used in all levels but not in boss battles, including the final boss.

Miles Electric, with translated hexadecimal

In one of the closing scenes of Sonic Colors, Tails' Miles Electric computer displays three lines of hexadecimal data. These lines are encoded using Shift-JIS, and translate to the following text: [1]

  • thank you for saving us
  • you are welcome
  • If you can read this you’re a geek!

Some postings of this easter egg incorrectly indicated that the last one had a typo. Specifically, the word "you’re" is shown as "you'fre". This is caused by incorrectly handling the original data as ASCII instead of as Shift-JIS. (The Shift-JIS data 81 66 translates to the Unicode character U+2019, 'RIGHT SINGLE QUOTATION MARK'.)

Media

Marketing

GameStop pre-order gift hat

As a gift for pre-ordering the game at GameStop, Colors included a hat shaped like Sonic's head. A "Special Edition" of the game released in Europe, which came with a Sonic figurine as well as three wisp figurines (white, cyan and orange for the Wii version and yellow, red and blue for the DS version). The Special Edition was released in Spain, Italy, France and Germany. In France and Spain it was sold in Carrefour retail stores, naming the pack the "Carrefour Edition". Unlike Europe, Australia received the figurines and a blue Classic Controller.

Voice Actors

This game is notable for being the first widely played Sonic game to take place after the major North American cast change in 2010 (Sonic Free Riders was released slightly earlier, but its exclusivity to the new Xbox360 Kinect limited its dissemination). All of the 4Kids actors (besides Mike Pollock) have been replaced with a new cast from this game forward. The Japanese cast, as usual, remains largely the same since the first Sonic Adventure game.

Role English Voice Actor Japanese Voice Actor
Sonic the Hedgehog Roger Craig Smith Junichi Kanemaru
Miles "Tails" Prower Kate Higgins Ryo Hirohashi
Doctor Eggman Mike Pollock Chikao Otsuka
Orbot Kirk Thornton Mitsuo Iwata
Cubot Wally Wingert Wataru Takagi
Wisp Power Announcer Roger Craig Smith Fumihiko Tachiki

The Wii version has both voice language tracks included in the game disc and, in all its regional variations, features an option to switch between both English and Japanese voice language, together with a multi-lingual text language option. For some reason, these options can only be accessed after having started a new game and completed the first two acts of Tropical Resort.

Teaser Trailer

<mediaplayer>http://info.sonicretro.org/images/d/d2/Sonic_Colours_Announcement_Trailer.mp4</mediaplayer>

The trailer contains a portion of the game's vocal theme "Reach for the Stars", which features Jean Paul Makhlouf of the band Cash Cash.

Manuals

Image upload.svg This instruction manual requires additional or replacement scans.

Resources

Sales Data

NOTE: The following data comprises of sales from both the Wii console version and the DS handheld version of the game.

Number of copies sold Sega IR Reference Platforms Regions Cumulative sales total
1,850,000 FY2011 3rd Quarter Results Wii/DS US/EU/JP 1,850,000
330,000 FY2011 Full Year Results " " 2,180,000

Promotional Material

Sonic Colors Japanese Promotional Poster

Physical Scans

Wii, US
Colours Wii Box Front Aug10.jpg
Cover
Wii, EU
SonicColours Wii EU cover.jpg
Cover
Wii, UK
Colours-wii-eu-cover-complete.jpg
Cover
Colours-wii-eu-disc.jpg
Disc
Wii, JP
SonicColours Wii JP cover.jpg
Cover
Wii, Germany
SonicColours Wii DE cover.jpg
Cover
Wii, Australia
SonicColours Wii AU cover.jpg
Cover

Artwork

Wallpaper

Screens

External Links


Sonic Colours (Wii) / Sonic Colours: Ultimate
SonicColours Wii EU Title.png

Main page (Ultimate)
Comparisons (Ultimate)
Maps
Credits


Manuals
Promotional material (Ultimate)
Magazine articles
Reception
Merchandise


Development (Ultimate)
Hidden content (Ultimate)
Bugs (Ultimate)
Hacking guide
Wisps

Sonic the Hedgehog games for the following systems
Nintendo Wii
 2007  Sonic and the Secret Rings | Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games     2008  Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity | Sonic Unleashed     2009  Sonic and the Black Knight | Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games | Sega Fun Pack: Sonic and the Secret Rings & Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz     2010  Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing | Sonic Colours     2011  Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games