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  • Sega just released the first trailer of Sonic Lost World for the Wii U which gives us our

  • first actual look at the game--and what a look it is.

  • So of course we're going to do what we do best and analyze the hell out of it to see

  • what secrets it might be hiding. And to do that, we've again enlisted the help of our

  • resident Sonic expert, Derrick Bitner, to help get tot he bottom of it it all.

  • And with that, let's get right into it.

  • So the first thing the trailer shows off are a group of adorable woodland creatures animals,

  • right before the come under attack. But they're not just any woodland creatures.

  • All 3 types--the pig, chicken, and bird actually all actually first appeared in the original

  • Sonic the Hedgehog.

  • Back then, they were used to power Dr. Eggman's robotic minions, and you could actually see

  • them escape after smashing the Badniks to bits.

  • And it looks like the cuddly animals will be put to work for similar nefarious reasons

  • here as well, because if we slow down this scene, we can see them escaping as Sonic smashes

  • up the enemies

  • And if we slow down another similar scene, we can see what appears to be some kind of

  • fish animal escaping.

  • So it's pretty cool to see the game returning to its roots by bringing back the animal friends,

  • but it's far from the only classic Sonic element that's returning.

  • Let's take a look at the enemies that hold those animals captive, for example.

  • In the gameplay, we get a close-up look at the Choppers that made their debut in Sonic

  • 1, but there are a few others that make a blink-and-you'll-miss it appearance too, such

  • as the Motobugs here.

  • And if we freeze this clip, we can the Snail Blaster from Sonic 3 is here as well, And

  • he just happens to be the only enemy who didn't make an appearance in the original game

  • But that's not all. In this scene, we can see a projectile of some kind emerge from

  • behind the wall. THough we can't tell who--or what--created it, it looks very similar to

  • the projectile shot by the Buzz Bombers also from Sonic 1, which suggests they might be

  • back too.

  • And beyond the enemies, we can see the return of several other classic elements as well.

  • Of course, rings are back, but so are the Springs that launch you sky-high, and the

  • checkpoints allow you to restart from there if you die.

  • In fact, as you probably have already noticed, all of the gameplay shown so far appears to

  • take place in a level based almost exclusively on Green Hill zone from the original Sonic

  • the Hedgehog.

  • I mean, just look at the floor pattern. Or the fact that, if we pause this clip, we can

  • see that the background Totem Poles return too.

  • And the throwbacks don't end there.

  • In this clip, we can see that Sonic can again roll into a ball, which has only been used

  • in specific instances in most of Sonic's recent 3D adventures. This won't be the case in Sonic

  • Lost World however. According to an IGN interview, this is how Sonic will look when blasting

  • around at full-speed.

  • And thanks to that same interview, we now know Sonic will be the only playable character

  • in the game, just like Sonic 1, though Tails, Knuckles and Amy will all be appearing in

  • some form.

  • As you've probably noticed, the core gameplay looks similar to Sonic Colors, with both 3D

  • and 3D sections, there's even more of Colors here than might seem at first glace.

  • Take this clip for example--Based on the fact that there are three boost-pads here, which

  • likely means the track-switching gameplay of Colors is back too

  • Then if we slow down this scene, we can see that the rings are actually being pulled to

  • Sonic, suggesting some form of the boost mechanic will be back as well.

  • And if we pause this scene, we can see some diamonds littering the course, very similar

  • to ones that also appeared in Sonic Colors. And in another clip, if we zoom in on the

  • background, we can actually see a Wisp container too, which were basically power-ups in Sonic

  • Colors

  • In this case, it looks to be the Cyan wisp, which allowed you to fire Sonic like a laser

  • beam in Sonic Colors. Maybe it'll work the same way here? So since at least one of them's

  • back, does thta mean the rest are too?

  • Thankfully, that same IGN interview sheds a little more light on how the Wisps work

  • this time around.

  • For one, there will again be several different types, with each one granting a different

  • power that you'll control using the GamePad's touchscreen.

  • And it seems their primary use will be to gain access to otherwise unreachable areas.

  • Okay moving on, as you've probably noticed, the entire game bears just a slight resemblance

  • to Mario Galaxy, with its levels made up of platforms freely floating in air.

  • Only this time, all the action appears to take place above the surface of an actual

  • planet instead of in space.

  • And the gravity appears to work just like in Mario Galaxy as well, with the nearest

  • surface being the one you're pulled too, instead of the planet below exerting any actual influence.

  • You can even see the camera here dynamically shifting to keep Sonic level with gravitational

  • pull

  • Even thelevel design itself shares some similarities, such as this halfpipe scene that mimics a

  • slide found in mario Galaxy 2. Though we do have to give credit that Sonic 2 technically

  • did the half-pipe thing first

  • And actually we should also mention that the game as a whole does bear some similarities

  • to the never-released Sonic Xtreme game for the Saturn, but we're pretty sure this is

  • more coincidental than anything.

  • So clearly Sonic's going to be maneuvering around these environments a little different

  • than before, and that extents to his move-set.

  • For one, we can see that Sonic can now grab hold ledges and pull himself up if he can't

  • quite clear it with a jump.

  • And it seems he'll now be able to run along walls too, complete with the nifty motion-blue

  • effect. Which apparently is part of a new parkour system, as Sonic also exhibits that

  • same effect when effortlessly climbing this ledge

  • Finally, we can see Sonic using some kind of kick to take out enemies, instead of his

  • usual homing attack which looks to appear elsewhere in the trailer. What's the difference?

  • Alright, and that about covers it for the gameplay for now, what about the story.

  • Well, according to that same IGN interview, Sonic stumbles across a mysterious planet

  • called "Lost Hex" while chasing after Dr. Eggman, and it's here that he meets a new

  • group of baddies, known as the Deadly 6.

  • Okay, and that's really all we know at this point, but we can infer a few additional from

  • it, but first, let's bring up the image of the World that Sega released during the recent

  • Nintendo Direct.

  • So here's Planet Hex...which we're guessing is short for Hexagons, as the entire planet

  • appears to be made up of 6-sided tiles. And speaking of 6, that's also the amount of new

  • villains.

  • So it seems like the number 6 plays a pretty major role

  • So we're going to take a wild guess and assume that you'll encounter one of them per each

  • region, which assuming that's the case, means there are at least 6 regions in the game.

  • And if we take a close look at that map, we can pinpoint what all 6 are going to be.

  • Of course, we have he grassy plains shown in the trailer, which according to IGN is

  • known as Wind Hill. Then there's a desert, which also according to IGN is known as Desert

  • Ruins. And then we also have an ocean based region, an icy area, a forest-region, and

  • of course, a lava world

  • Now if you'll allow us to partake in some stereotyping, we might be able to guess which

  • region each of the villains will represent based on their color.

  • So the yellow one might be from Desert ruins, the red one could be the lava area, green

  • might be the forest, and blue and purple may represent the water and ice worlds respectively.

  • So that would leave just the Pink one left, But an IGN screenshot shows that you'll apparently

  • be taking him on in Wind Hill.

  • But it seems that you might have to chase him down first, if the screenshot is any indication.

  • And what's with that yellow planet-like object he's holding, which if we flip the image upside

  • down, appears to have a face on it. Weird!

  • And how does Dr. Eggman fit into all this? Is he working with the deadly 6? We know he'll

  • be in there somewhere thanks to both the interview and the sound of him laughing at the very

  • end of the trailer.

  • Okay, we're just about done here, but as usual, there are just a few final details left.

  • For one, you can see a golden bell appear at a couple of points in the trailer. What

  • could this be for?

  • We think they might be linked to the Gold Cannons IGN mentioned that blast you to alternate

  • paths. Perhaps you need a certain amount of rings to activate them?

  • Speaking of alternate paths, the IGN interview also mentioned there will be branching routes

  • will appear throughout the game, and we can see proof of that in this scene, with the

  • boostpad path in the center flanked by an alternate route

  • And if you look close at this clip, you can see Sonic passing by a bunch of sheep.They

  • don't appear to be robotic, so what are they about?

  • That same IGN interview did mention that the game will track the amount of animals that

  • you save--maybe you have to save these sheep too??

  • And did you notice at several points in the trailer, the ground appears to be collapsing

  • behind Sonic? Maybe that plays a major role in the game--it would make sense givent the

  • levels appear to all be floating

  • And finally, did you catch these flowers that form the shape of three arrows pointing where

  • to go?

  • Perhaps Sega's trying to make the signs of where to go a little more natural than past

  • games?

  • And with that, we're done covering everything we could dig up on Sonic Lost World. As always,

  • let us know if we missed anything by posting in the comments. Thanks for watching and make

  • sure to stay tuned to GameXplain.com for more on Sonic Lost World and other things gaming

  • too.

Sega just released the first trailer of Sonic Lost World for the Wii U which gives us our

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