wikipedia said:

The game has gone through several name changes. It was first known as Hyper Sonic during a showreel of upcoming Wii games at the Nintendo Press Event at E3 2006 (possibly the name for the beta version of the game) [citation needed], then turned up as Sonic Wild Fire during the same event in all of the following trailers, and then changed to Sonic and the Secret of the Rings before being slightly modified into Sonic and the Secret Rings in August. Apparently, Sega preferred the original name "Wild Fire" over "Secret Rings", but due to copyright reasons, it had to be changed. This game was also one of the most popular at E3 and TGS 2006.

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wikipedia said:

Players will control Sonic with the Wii Remote by holding the controller sideways with both hands, much like an NES controller, and will be able to use the controller in unique ways that will take advantage of the Wii Remote's control mechanisms. Unlike other Sonic games, Secret Rings features an "on-rails" system whereby players will not have to hold forward to proceed; the game does it for you, making Sonic run in a semi-linear path. Sonic's movement will also be controlled by tilting the controller left or right, much like a steering wheel. Pulling the controller towards you allows you to make Sonic walk backwards, combining this with turning allows Sonic to rotate 360 degrees. The Number "2" Button is used to jump into the air while Sonic is running. If the player holds down this button, Sonic will slow down (and will even stop if it's held for a long time) to charge up a jump, and upon being released, he will execute a high jump through the air. This system resembles, somewhat, the system present in Sonic Riders. Tilting the controller forward quickly right after a jump will execute Sonic's "Homing Attack" featured in previous games to attack enemies or home in on items. Only by executing the sequence with proper timing will you be able to perform combo attacks, and hit other enemies or objects up ahead.

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wikipedia said:

The story begins with Sonic flipping the pages of the classic book, 1001 Nights. Suddenly, he is visited by the tale’s central character, Shahra the Genie, who reveals that an evil entity known as "Erazor Djinn" is absorbing the power of the One Thousand and One Nights book and causing pages of it to disappear. If he is not stopped, his power will be unleashed onto the real world unless a "blue hedgehog", according to legend, can stop him. Shahra grants Sonic the ability to travel into the book’s world, using a special ring. Armed with his signature speed, "Sonic and [his] crew take part in an epic quest" to save the missing pages and set the world of the 1001 Nights tales back in order.
The game's plot will be based on select excerpts from the book, 1001 Nights, including such fables as "The Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor" and "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves", all of which are inspired from the classic tales found within the book.

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wikipedia said:

Sonic and the Secret Rings will feature eight stages in the main game, but only six of them are officially known to the public at this time.

Lost Prologue:
The first stage of the game, this level serves as a Tutorial stage as Shahra "will show you the ropes on Sonic's various abilities".

Sand Oasis:
This level is set in the Arabian Nights theme from which the game's setting is designed from. The obstacles found throughout Sand Oasis include purple enemies that simply float, red enemies that spew fire at Sonic, as well as giant swords/axes that launch at Sonic, spikes on the ground and at the top of the building as well as the flame throwers inside a temple. The level's boss is a large purple scorpion.

Dinosaur Jungle:
Set in the Dinosaur era in the past, this level features new pathways such as prehistoric jungles and running across the backs of certain dinosaurs.
Obstacles found throughout Dinosaur Jungle include various cacti, green enemies that simply float, the red enemies that spew fire, as well as the dinosaurs themselves; if Sonic is attacked by any of these threats, he will lose a maximum of 20 rings. There are also treasure chests and a magic carpet dispersed throughout this level. The level's boss is a giant Tyrannosaurus Rex-like creature. This stage is based on the "Sinbad" tale, when Sinbad journeys on an adventure into a mysterious forest.

Pirate Storm:
This level is set in a stormy area on the shoreline, filled with pirate ships. Not much is known, but obstacles will include a section where Sonic rides a rocket high above the water. It is also claimed that this level will have plenty of old school platforming challenges.

Levitated Ruin:
This level resembles a floating palace high in the sky. The level's boss is a Gargoyle-like creature.

Evil Foundry:
A level with a large Arabian style palace filled with traps and hot molten metal. Very little is known about this level except a possible boss mentioned by the March 2007 issue of Nintendo Power, which described it as a metallic creature of some sort, arising out of a pool of molten metal.

Skeleton Dome:
Set in a mysterious cavern on the brink of collapsing, this level features trails that will fall beneath Sonic's feet if he's not fast enough, as well as "branching paths" mentioned previously in an interview. Players will confront a fork in a road and will be required to choose one of three paths, all of which lead to different areas to explore. Skeleton Dome features a skeleton-like boss. [29] Not much else is known about it at this time.

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wikipedia said:

Spot! Pitch Black!- Players use torches to light up panels in the dark and determine which one is different from the others.
Look Up! Skydiving!- Players race in the air, dodging thunderclouds and other obstacles along the way to the goal.
Seek! Edge Race!- Players control their very own Omochao and must guide it through a maze of pitfalls and obstacles to the goal.
Hold It! Treasure Haul- Players must sneak up on the asleep genie and carry gold away to their designated area without waking him.
Play! Violin- Players play their violins in tune with the genie as closely as possible for maximum points.
Whack! Hatchet- Players chop as much firewood as possible without hitting any Omochao that may appear.
Spin! Safe Dial- Players try to decode a secret code to open a room full of treasure, much like Sonic the Theif from Sonic Shuffle.
Aye, Aye Captain! Pirate Flag- Players try to mimic the pirate who raises flags in a game of Simon Says.
Shine On! Kri Ma Djinn- Players must eliminate all the Kri Ma Djinn lurking in the dark using mirrors.
Spike! Fruit Catch- Players catch falling fruit from the sky in an attempt to create their own
Get 'Em! Parasol Diving- Players must use parasols as they descend from the sky with goals of collecting airborne coins.
Spin! Cogwheel Relay- Players must spin gears and cogs to eliminate as many Kri Ma Djinn as possible.
Whack! Giant Stakes- Players must use hammers to knock down as many posts as possible before their rivals.
Stay Tight! Big Balloon- Players cautiously blow up a giant balloon without making it pop, similar to Bowser's Big Blast from Mario Party 2.
Row! Canoe Salvage- Players swim in a lake, trying to collect medals whilst avoiding hungry crocodiles.
Pull On It! Carpet- Players must yank as many carpets from underneath Pri Ma Djinn as possible.
Go! Mine Cart Race- Players race in a mine shaft.
Knockdown! Balance Battle- Players balance on giant balls to avoid falling off a platform, similar to Bumper Balls from Mario Party.
Hit It! Home Run- Players play a round of baseball with goals of striking homeruns, similar to that of Baseball from Wii Sports.
Grab It! Kri Ma Djinn- Players must catch Kri Ma Djinn falling from the sky using an extendable net.
Fore! Putting Golf- Players play a round of golf on a special golf course, similar to that of Golf from Wii Sports'.
Other mini-games will have players performing the following tasks:

Players shake the controller to listen to "ringing sounds" emitted from the Wii Remote's speaker in an effort of locating treasure.
Players shoot balloons on-screen using the Wii Remote.
Players race using canoes.

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wikipedia said:

Through a "Special Mode", players will also be given the opporunity to unlock some 255 bonuses using a "Special Book" that contains pages upon pages of unlockables (stated to be 225 on the official US Site). Some of these unlockables include new characters for party games, movies of the making of the game, cutscenes, video interviews, concept art, music from the game, and even new, secret modes. It has also been revealed through trailers that, not dissimilar to the next-gen title, Sonic the Hedgehog, players will also have to locate hidden medals scattered throughout each of the stages. These Gold and Silver medals will be used to unlock bonuses and other specials from the "Special Book". Through the Official US Site, it has also been revealed that through points earned in Party Mode, players can purchase "magic carpets" from the "World Bazarr". The purpose of these carpets is currently unknown but they are most likely to add replay value to the game.

The book consists of 15 seperate pages of different unlockables. It is likely that the US Site came to the number of 225 unlockables, [assuming] that there are 15 unlockables per page; the Producer for the game could've, likewise, inadvertently exaggerated the number of available unlockables for the game during a recent interview, claiming "255 unlockables". Nevertheless, the unlockables are categorized by pages inside the book, designated as follows:

New Characters/History of Sonic: Page 1
Artwork/Concept Art Unlockables: Pages 2-7
Music: Pages 8-9
Magic Carpets: Page 10
Other Unlockables: Pages 11-12
Gold Medal Unlockables: Pages 13-14
Special Unlockables: Page 15

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wikipedia said:

Each level will also feature a total of 12 different challenges, five of which are level specific, two of which are the normal "Story missions" or each of the two respective Act missions.

Beat the Clock: This mission requires players to complete stages within a specified time limit (essentially, a time-trial).

Stealth Attack: This mission requires players to avoid attacking all enemies.

Chain Challenges This mission requires players to hold onto their rings without getting attacked by an enemy or hitting an obstacle.

Rampage: This mission requires players to destroy a certain number of enemies.

No Pearl: This mission requires players to avoid charging their soul meters, the meter that enables Sonic to use his special abilities.

Specific: 5 seperate stage-specfic challenges that are dependent upon which level you play on. This may include a mission where players will traverse stages in reverse.

Interestingly, 6 of the 12 challenges for each stage must be cleared before players can progress to the next stage.

In addition, through information collected from trailers for the game, it has been confirmed that time totals, ring totals, and scores will be tabulated throughout the course of the game.

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miguel_c_hammer said:

will this be the game that pushes Sonic's waning fanbase over the edge?

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sp0rsk said:

The subtitle for this game should be "Hey, it's not like it can get any worse, right?"

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sp0rsk said:

The subtitle for this game should be "Hey, it's not like it can get any worse, right?"

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SHOTEH FOCK OP said:

Nice thread!

I actually reserved this game today, after watching the IGN videos and hearing such positive things about it. I too was burned by Sonic 360, but knowing that Sonic Team USA had nothing to do with Secret Rings makes me really happy.

What pushed me over the edge was hearing the music in the IGN videos. I LOVE THE MUSIC! The missions structure sounds cool, and the graphics are certainly nothing to sneeze at. Looks like good fun. And no shitty friends.

Nintendo Power has a seven page article about the game, it is their cover story for March.

The boxart is rather fugly, but oh well. What is with that font?

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keanerie said:

Sonic and the Secret Rings: The Last Hope.

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Oblivion said:

lol what.

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miguel_c_hammer said:

All I'm saying is that Sonic fans have been violated in the ass repeatedly, yet they keep coming back for more like the limpwristed bitches they are.

That being said, here we have the one Sonic game that's supposed to "make it"... the one that's somehow going to beat the odds. Yet we all know it's going to fail-- the only question is, how pathetically?

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Taurus said:

Didn't see this posted yet.
I don't know about the credibility of this game show since they gave Sonic the Hedgehog on PS3/Xbox 360 8.7

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CurseoftheGods said:

That being said, if this game turns out to be shit, I'd probably lose hope of ever playing another decent Sonic game. Especially since Dimps is not doing anymore 2D Sonics, which is a shame, since Rush was fantastic.

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GitarooMan said:

I'll be picking it up unless it totally sucks, but why they had to waste their time with mini-games instead of using that time to add levels/polish I don't know....

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That being said, if this game turns out to be shit, I'd probably lose hope of ever playing another decent Sonic game. Especially since Dimps is not doing anymore 2D Sonics, which is a shame, since Rush was fantastic.

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Taurus said:

I don't know about the credibility of this game show since they gave Sonic the Hedgehog on PS3/Xbox 360 8.7

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Morts said:

I've got high hopes, but only eight stages? And one of them is a tutorial? Even Sonic Adventure 2 had ten Sonic/Shadow stages.

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Pud said:

8 worlds, 12 stages each world. Plus a Sonic Shuffle (like a mini mario party) style multiplayer and hundreds of unlockables (including Sonic Anniversary stuff), with RPG elements to add to your character? I'd say the length of this title isn't in question, really.

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BocoDragon said:

aka the "Sonic fans cross their fingers" thread.

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Bebpo said:

I think this game will be "playable", which means it'd be about 100x better than the last bunch of Sonic games.

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GameSpot preview said:

In addition to these core elements, Sonic will earn experience that will allow him to gain new skills to enhance his abilities (you'll find 100 skills to choose from). The skills can be housed in special rings Sonic can equip. Besides passive extras, like starting with five rings, the skills include special moves that rely on a "soul gauge" you'll fill by collecting specific orbs. We checked out two: a speed break, which shoots Sonic forward with a quick speed burst accompanied by a sonic boom that takes out enemies, and a time break, which is essentially a bullet time effect.

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IGN preview said:

One of the biggest challenges befalling pretty much every 3-D Sonic title is the implementation of the in-game camera. It has become commonplace for Sonic titles to have completely broken cameras that often cause frustrating player deaths. Sonic and the Secret Rings cleverly sidesteps this problem by shooting the action from a dynamic camera angle which is not player-controlled, but which almost always does a perfect job of filming the scorchingly fast action. Although, we are usually sticklers for a manual camera, Sonic and the Secret Rings retains a classic Sonic the Hedgehog feel by taking the camera control out of the player's hands.

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The pics you provided are pics when the game was still in early stages >.>.

Sonic has some massive heart burn.

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