Welcome to the "SatAM Secret Vault"! This portion of the site contains all of the rarely-seen content from SatAM Sonic. Most of the content on this page is hard-to-find, and are things you'd never find by watching the show itself, and shows some behind the scenes making of SatAM! We still ask YOU DO NOT TAKE THESE PICTURES AND IMAGES for your own site, without permission. You can ask permission by shooting an email to admin AT mobianlegends.com with the subject "MobianLegends - Can I Borrow your Secret Vault Material?".
Model Sheets The Void Outline Backgrounds The SatAM Bible Master Cel
The Haystack Patrol Vehicle 1 Patrol Vehicle 2 Patrol Vehicle 3 Patrol Vehicle 4
Power Ring Sonic's Backpack Trashcan and Lid Hedgehog Alert Light
Heads or Tails
Boomer's Backpack 1 Boomer's Backpack 2 Boomer's Bib Boomer's Fish Floating Eye Robot
Catapult 1 Catapult 2 Catapult 3 Halo Catapult Catapult Broken Arm
Catapult Repaired Arm Cluck's Eyeball Uncle Chuck Photo Sleek Hoover 1 Sleek Hoover 2
Sleek Hoover 3 Sleek Hoover 4
Hooked on Sonics
Robotnik's Hoover (Bad Quality) Button on Chair Laser Howitzer Shredder Remote (Bad Quality) Sonic Radar (So-So Quality)
Sonic Racer
Hoover Racer (Bad Quality) Antenna Relay Generator Computer
Others (will be seperated and organized soon)
Box With Screen (Secret Scrolls) Freedom Stormer (Secret Scrolls) Telescope (Warp Sonic)
I have no idea what these are...
Car Pipe Sonic Watch (I want one) Spitball Bullet
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Outline 2
Cover
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Interesting to note that on Page 10, whoever was marking on the sidelines (probably its author, Len Janson) mentions a game ("Will not appear in game. He [Tails] rolls up instead.") I didn't notice it at first, but I remember hearing rumors about a game called Sonic Mars that was to take place in the SatAM/Archie world; perhaps this was a reference to this game... OR the more likely answer, since it was revised before Sonic 2 came out, it's Sonic 2 that they're refering to. It's entirely possible that Len could have been referring to the Sonic-16 demo that was made (as it was based off SatAM, and would later evolve into Sonic Mars).
The last thing to note is on the last two pages there are story ideas. The Quest obviously later on became Sonic Boom, Heads or Tails became... well thats obvious, but the original concept is different. As for Bug Off, it either evolved into two seperate episodes, Harmonic Sonic, Sonic Past Cool (the spying on Knothole, and someone wanting to keep a pet), or the idea was scraped all together.
Do Not Take for your Own Site Without Permission!
Cover
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"The story I heard when I bought it back in 1999 was that this is a one-of-a-kind cel that was painted for the first producer of the show back in 1992 or 1993. The producer of the show was pretty ticked at Sega when the show was ended so abruptly that he wanted it out of his house. In 1994 or 1995, his neighbor (while visiting his garage) took a liking to it and asked how much he wanted for the cel. It was sold to this neighbor "DDD" for $USD 100. Later DDD sold it on eBay to me in 1999 for $200. I've had it ever since..."
This story seems to fit. The characters are in their "Season 1" appearance, and Cluck is present. Were this made during Season 2, we'd probably have Season 2 Rotor, Sally with a vest, and Irises in their eyes as opposed to being a solid color. I would say this probably hung in some important hallway in DiC with other such cels of thier shows, as offices as such sometimes have. Below are Low-Quality and High-Quality Versions of this cel.
Low-Quality | High Quality
Model Sheets The Void Outline Backgrounds The SatAM Bible Master Cel
Model Sheets
MiscellaneousThe Haystack Patrol Vehicle 1 Patrol Vehicle 2 Patrol Vehicle 3 Patrol Vehicle 4
Power Ring Sonic's Backpack Trashcan and Lid Hedgehog Alert Light
Heads or Tails
Boomer's Backpack 1 Boomer's Backpack 2 Boomer's Bib Boomer's Fish Floating Eye Robot
Catapult 1 Catapult 2 Catapult 3 Halo Catapult Catapult Broken Arm
Catapult Repaired Arm Cluck's Eyeball Uncle Chuck Photo Sleek Hoover 1 Sleek Hoover 2
Sleek Hoover 3 Sleek Hoover 4
Hooked on Sonics
Robotnik's Hoover (Bad Quality) Button on Chair Laser Howitzer Shredder Remote (Bad Quality) Sonic Radar (So-So Quality)
Sonic Racer
Hoover Racer (Bad Quality) Antenna Relay Generator Computer
Others (will be seperated and organized soon)
Box With Screen (Secret Scrolls) Freedom Stormer (Secret Scrolls) Telescope (Warp Sonic)
I have no idea what these are...
Car Pipe Sonic Watch (I want one) Spitball Bullet
"The Void" Outline
Outline 1Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5
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Outline 2
Cover
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Backgrounds
SatAM Bible
This is a copy of the SatAM Bible. It's not the first bible, and it's obviously not anywhere near the last. This bible contains the original name for Snively (Quizley), says Antoine's accent is British (not French, as we know it is), and talks about Nate Morgan. Yes, Nate Morgan of the Archie Sonic the Hedgehog comics series was originally a SatAM character! However, perhaps it's for the best that they decided to change things the way they did, or else we would have had another AoStH. I mean, as much as I like AoStH, we don't need two series of it.Interesting to note that on Page 10, whoever was marking on the sidelines (probably its author, Len Janson) mentions a game ("Will not appear in game. He [Tails] rolls up instead.") I didn't notice it at first, but I remember hearing rumors about a game called Sonic Mars that was to take place in the SatAM/Archie world; perhaps this was a reference to this game... OR the more likely answer, since it was revised before Sonic 2 came out, it's Sonic 2 that they're refering to. It's entirely possible that Len could have been referring to the Sonic-16 demo that was made (as it was based off SatAM, and would later evolve into Sonic Mars).
The last thing to note is on the last two pages there are story ideas. The Quest obviously later on became Sonic Boom, Heads or Tails became... well thats obvious, but the original concept is different. As for Bug Off, it either evolved into two seperate episodes, Harmonic Sonic, Sonic Past Cool (the spying on Knothole, and someone wanting to keep a pet), or the idea was scraped all together.
Do Not Take for your Own Site Without Permission!
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"Master Cel"
An "Animation Cel" was sent to us recently by user "Denn". His story is this:"The story I heard when I bought it back in 1999 was that this is a one-of-a-kind cel that was painted for the first producer of the show back in 1992 or 1993. The producer of the show was pretty ticked at Sega when the show was ended so abruptly that he wanted it out of his house. In 1994 or 1995, his neighbor (while visiting his garage) took a liking to it and asked how much he wanted for the cel. It was sold to this neighbor "DDD" for $USD 100. Later DDD sold it on eBay to me in 1999 for $200. I've had it ever since..."
This story seems to fit. The characters are in their "Season 1" appearance, and Cluck is present. Were this made during Season 2, we'd probably have Season 2 Rotor, Sally with a vest, and Irises in their eyes as opposed to being a solid color. I would say this probably hung in some important hallway in DiC with other such cels of thier shows, as offices as such sometimes have. Below are Low-Quality and High-Quality Versions of this cel.
Low-Quality | High Quality
SatAM Transcripts are slowly getting here! A Transcript is like a normal "script" except without all the cues, and scene descriptions, and rather just the dialogue of something. You can help by submitting your own Transcript of an Episode, by making a Transcript of an Episode you do not see Below. You can send them to luke@sonicscene.net with the Subject "Sonic Scene - <Episode name> Transcript". Like "Sonic Scene - Doomsday Transcript".
The following is a list of SatAM Transcripts:
Pilot Episode - Heads or Tails - Transcribed by: HazyAssaulter (Taylor Nast)
Download Zip File
1st Episode - Sonic Boom - Transcribed by: HazyAssaulter (Taylor Nast)
Download Zip File
2nd Episode - Sonic & Sally - Transcribed by: HazyAssaulter (Taylor Nast)
Download Zip File
3rd Episode - Ultra Sonic - Transcribed by: HazyAssaulter (Taylor Nast)
Download Zip File
8th Episode - Hooked on Sonics - Transcribed by: Salamander
Download Zip File
14th Episode - Sonic Conversion - Transcribed by: SoulTenor
Download Zip File
For a complete collection of all the Transcripts you can visit Sonicsatam.com's Episode Transcripts page.
The following is a list of SatAM Transcripts:
Pilot Episode - Heads or Tails - Transcribed by: HazyAssaulter (Taylor Nast)
Download Zip File
1st Episode - Sonic Boom - Transcribed by: HazyAssaulter (Taylor Nast)
Download Zip File
2nd Episode - Sonic & Sally - Transcribed by: HazyAssaulter (Taylor Nast)
Download Zip File
3rd Episode - Ultra Sonic - Transcribed by: HazyAssaulter (Taylor Nast)
Download Zip File
8th Episode - Hooked on Sonics - Transcribed by: Salamander
Download Zip File
14th Episode - Sonic Conversion - Transcribed by: SoulTenor
Download Zip File
For a complete collection of all the Transcripts you can visit Sonicsatam.com's Episode Transcripts page.
SatAM
Q: Why is this version of Sonic called SatAM?A: SatAM stands for Saturday Morning. In some countries, the SatAM series actually aired on Sunday or other times. The reason it's called SatAM in USA, is because it aired along the syndicated Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, and fans called it SatAM to differentiate between the two; other countries just adapted the name SatAM.
Q: Why is Princess Sally pink in Heads or Tails? For that matter, why is everyone different?
A: The original Princess Sally was pink, and this was the one used for Heads or Tails. Also, Heads or Tails was the pilot episode. Lots of testing grounds go into a pilot including looks and personalities.
Q: If Bunnie wasn't roboticized in Blast to the Past: Part 2, why is she roboticized in the future?
A: Who said Bunnie HAD to be roboticized in Blast to the Past: Part 2? My guess is she was roboticized along the line somewhere, NOT in that episode. Think of this too, robot parts don't grow, if Bunnie was Roboticized in BTTP Part 2, she'd have very small limbs in the future.
Q: Why were those two crappy shorts with Antoine made?
A: ABC said DiC had to make them, I have no idea why, but that's the answer.
Q: Whose eyes were behind Snively in the elevator?
A:Ixis Naugus. Not Metal Sonic, NOT Knuckles, Ixis Naugus.
Q: Why was it cancelled?
A: Two reasons: One, it didn't get the ratings it needed what with it competing with Power Rangers and all. Second, the new ABC president didn't like the series, so he simply had it cancelled. If you want more information, check out our Cancellation Page Page
Q: I heard a movie for SatAM was in the works. Is this true? Is Ben Hurst involved?
A: A LOT of rumors are flying around about a possible movie. If you heard there was a movie in the works from anyone, it is untrue at this point. Until someone has a document signed by SEGA saying they relinquish the rights of Sonic for a movie, a movie will not happen. Don't get your hopes up about a movie. If one happens, well good, but the prospects are very slim at this point. Chances are even if there is a movie, it will be more of an Archie movie than a SatAM movie. As for Ben Hurst's involvement, long-time Sonic the Hedgehog fan Sonique confirmed that he is not involved in anything Sonic related at the time, and doesn't plan to in the future unless he's approached by SEGA.
Q: How do I know my DVDs are not bootlegs?
A: See the DVD relatedsection.
Other cartoons:
Q: Where can I get Sonic X, SU or AoStH info?A: Search online for it. We won't have that data for a while here, if ever.
DVD-related Q: Where can I buy the DVD?
A: At amazon.com at this link and pretty much any other online store that sells videos. It should also be available at stores like Best Buy, Circut City and anywhere else that sells videos. It will be in the family section.
Q: How do I know my DVDs are not bootlegs?
A: The cover art should be a dead give away. Here is the cover art of the Complete Series released by Shout Factory in the US. In the UK and other Region 2 areas, this boxartart was used. This boxartart was used on a Season 1 boxset released only for Region 2 users. Anything else is a bootleg. Do not be fooled by fakes on eBay. They will be of poor quailty and generally have watermarks on them. Unless it's one of the covers above, it is a bootleg and should be avoided at all costs.
Website Stuff:
Q: Can you get pictures from 'suchandsuch' episode(s) up?A: If you don't see pictures from a certain episode on the pictures page, it means I don't have pics from the episode, or I don't have a copy of the episode in decent enough quality to make pictures. So asking me to get them up is a waste of time, unless you have the image(s) that you want me to post. In which case, simply email me about it.
Q: Can I take [whatever] from your page?
A: Not without permission, now. If you'd like to ask me about this, send a E-mail called 'MobianLegends - Permission to Use', with a description of what you want to borrow to admin AT mobianlegends.com (don't forget to de-spam that email address!).
Q: If I cannot take the files, can I link to them?
A: NO! That's even worse than taking my files! It slows down the server for everyone else, and wastes my bandwidth!
Q: Will you link/affiliate to my page?
A: I only link to pages that I really like and that I feel are worth the time to visit that I found on my own, but I'll probably add you if your website is good enough.
Q: When will you start accepting SatAM Sonic-based fanart/fanfiction?
A: We accept Fanart, and Fanfiction through a Automated system! Make an account with the appropriate system (forums, art gallery, fanfics area), and start uploading your art or story today!
Contact: Q: Can I Contact You about the Site?
A: Yes! The E-mail is admin AT mobianlegends.com, please, make the subject of ALL E-mails "MobianLegends - <<Your Subject here>>" , like "MobianLegends - Site Problem" or "MobianLegends - I Have an Idea!". PLEASE Read the following Questions for guidelines on E-mailing me, though!
Q: Do you have Ben Hurst's email?
A: No. I do not know how to contact him. You can probably GET this information from Quexinos/Sonique, the old Webmaster/Owner of satamsonic.com, on a needed basis, but... I do not have it, nor do I need it!
Q: Can I have Ben Hurst's E-mail? I have an idea to bring SatAM back and only he can hear it!!!
A: Once again, I do not have it! Also, PLEASE Do not beg or Bother Quexinos/Sonique for it, as she does not have it, either. As well, PLEASE Do not send E-mail telling OR Asking me "You Know how to Bring Back SatAM" or "How Can I bring Back SatAM?". The easiest way to do that, is to Mail / E-mail Sega, DiC (well, Cookie Jar Entertainment, since they bought DiC in 2009...) and in a well-thought-out letter.. to let them know you are interested! Just do not spam them, or be constantly incessant about it! That means, don't bug them constantly, or they'll ignore you! Regarding communicating with Ben Hurst, he passed away, so unless you are a medium that can communicate with the dead, I don't think you'll get a response.
Q: What's your AIM or ICQ?
A: If you want to talk to me, you can contact me via the different programs I use, located at the Contact Page.
Benjamin Hurst
1951—2010
It is our unhappy duty to report on the passing of our dear, beloved chief writer of SatAM. Benjamin Hurst has died at the age of 59. The cause of death was reported to be a diabetic coma that he never reawakened from.
Ben was the chief writer of SatAM, and together with Len Janson, created the whole American "SatAM Sonic" universe. His impact on the fandom cannot be understated, as he transformed Sonic from being a video game sensation, into a cartoon and comic book juggernaut that continues to this very day (as of 2010), and without him, there would be NO American Sonic the Hedgehog, or SatAM, as we know it! Though SatAM is long gone from our airwaves and cable boxes, its spirit still lives on in the form of Archie's "Sonic the Hedgehog" comic book series — a direct inspiration from Ben's cartoon show, featuring all of the same characters and locations.
After SatAM ended, he even attempted to use many of his ideas for SatAM in the first few episodes of Sonic Underground, when he was chosen to be the writer for that show in 1995. However, due to creative pressures and differences with DiC, he would part ways. After Sonic Underground ended in 1998, Ben became more active within the SatAM Sonic fandom, and had gone above and beyond what most staff members would do in terms of keeping in touch with the fanbase. In 2005 and 2006, he even answered questions at the Sonic Amateur Games Expo (SAGE). His last known film credit (writer or otherwise) would be his 2007 interview for the SatAM Sonic the Hedgehog DVD box set, relased by Shout! Factory.
In later years, he would maintain and display exhibits at the Smithsonian Museum, in Washington, DC, United States.
Filmography
Ben's full filmography is below:| Year(s) | Series | Production Company | Staff Role |
| 1987 | The New Archies | DiC Entertainment | Writer |
| 1988-1989 | Slimer! And the Real Ghostbusters | DiC Entertainment | Writer |
| 1989 | Ring Raiders | ??? | Writer |
| 1990-1991 | The Wizard of Oz | DiC Enterprises | Writer |
| 1990-1991 | Tiny Toon Adventures | Amblin Entertainment/Warner Bros. Animation | Writer |
| 1990-1996 | Captain Planet | DiC Entertainment | Writer |
| 1991 | Star Street | ??? | Writer |
| 1992-1995 | SatAM Sonic the Hedgehog | DiC Entertainment | Chief Writer |
| 1993-1994 | Double Dragon | DiC Entertainment | Writer |
| 1993 | Bums | ??? | Chief Writer |
| 1995 | Sonic Underground | DiC Entertainment | Writer |
| 1995 | Dumb and Dumber (film) | ??? | Writer |
| 2007 | Way Past Cool!: A Conversation With Ben Hurst | DiC Entertainment and Shout! Factory | Interview |
External Links
SatAM Sonic was released at the peak of Sonic's popularity, which lasted from 1992 until 1995. The cartoon series' characters even saw cameo appearances within Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball. There were plans of a full-fledged SatAM-oriented game as far back as 1992, when the cartoon series was still in development, as the game and cartoon would tie-in to each other, but these things would not come to pass for a few reasons.
There were several incarnations of a SatAM Sonic game, but none of them made it off the ground. The history of the SatAM video games is closely tied-in with the history of Sonic X-treme, the final also-aborted project of a 3D Sonic game that utilized many of the SatAM games' ideas, and Sonic Adventure, which in turn used many of Sonic X-treme's ideas. This page will chronicle all of them, and what might have been.
In 1992, plans were already in place to make a video game based off of SatAM and its characters in their struggle to overthrow Robotnik, as mentioned in the
The sprites and background are reported to have been 32-bit within a 16-bit game. The video game's artwork would have been reminescent of the cartoon series, rather than the artwork used in the regular video game series, such as Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Much like Sonic 3, the levels would be generally larger than previous Sonic games, though unlike other Sonic games, the sprites and level art would be much larger as well.
Even though it looked like a slower-paced game than preceeding games, the game was intended to have faster-moving segments. It would also have been much more story-driven than the previous games, to allow for tie-ins between the cartoon and the game.
Although Sonic moves much slower than in previous games, he has been given a new set of moves. Despite being a side-scroller like other games, Sonic-16 also adds the ability to move "up and down", instead of just left-and-right with jumping, to add the illusion of depth and side-stepping. Sonic is also able to hold his back to the wall to avoid being detected by enemies, and peek around corners (similar to Solid Snake of the Metal Gear Solid series of games). Similar to Lara Croft in Tomb Raider, Sonic is also able to grab and pull himself up onto ledges.
Three very interesting attack moves were also shown in the demo: a ring attack, a buzzsaw attack, and a spike blast attack. The ring attack was shown where Sonic uses rings from his life bar and tosses them like projectiles to destroy enemy robots. The buzzsaw attack move would be used to clear obstacles, performed in mid-air, similar to Sonic Adventure's Homing Attack, or the Insta-Shield of Sonic 3. The final (and in this webmaster's opinion, the coolest) move, is Spike Blast. Sonic is able to shoot out quills in eight different directions at the same time, outward from himself to damage surrounding enemies. This is also performed in mid-air.
Concept & Demo: Peter Morawiec
Graphics & Animation: Peter Morawiec, John Duggan
Other Staff: Chris Senn
After Sonic-16 was cancelled, Chris Senn had decided to make a mock-up of an isometric Sonic game on the Sega 32X, similar to Sonic 3D, but before 3D was released. It is unknown if this would have been built into another game, as the concept design was not finished further.
The image to the right shows the mock-up of the Untitled STI Sonic Game, which Chriss Senn has reported to be another stage of development of Sonic X-treme. The image was created by Chris Senn, during his tenure as an employee of STI. There was no actual game engine created, nor any game data such as levels or sprites, and there was no actual work done to create a game based upon the image, as it was merely concept art. The image shows what the game could have been, if developed. Had the game gone into development, it quite possibly could have turned out far different from Sonic 3D, featuring a less wide-open environment, due to there being single-column walls, platforms, and fixed paths to run on. The game would be an "on-rails" game, similar to Sonic Riders. Its focus may have been more on platforming (like Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Sonic Riders) than exploring (like Sonic Adventure and Sonic R). However, from this single screen, it is simply impossible to determine if this is entirely true, partially true, or if there were more open areas to move around in. According to Chris Senn this mockup was created before Sonic 3D was released and was during the development of the 32X.
As the game's development progressed, the 32X version was cancelled, most likely due to the add-on's limitations (which caused its ultimate failure in the marketplace). The game was intended to be the first 3D polygonal Sonic the Hedgehog game, but the DiC / SatAM characters were dropped due to disinterest from the development team.
As the 32X started to fail and fade from public view, the focus on the game was switched yet again, to the upcoming and far more powerful Sega Saturn. The game's storyline was altered heavily, removing the Freedom Fighters later on in development in favour of original characters (possibly due to licensing issues, as well as general disinterest from the development team, or at the insistance of Yuji Naka). The game then became what would be popularly known as the cancelled Sonic game, Sonic X-treme.
An early script of Sonic Mars by Micheal Kosaka was leaked in 2007. This would be one of two Sonic Mars scripts released, with the other being a script written by Don Goddard. The cover page of the Micheal Kosaka script is dated May 19, 1994, while the Don Goddard Script was created later, according to Chris Senn, one of the developers of the game.
According to leaked Micheal Kosaka game script, this version of Sonic Mars was estimated to be 16-megs have two players simultaneously and be completed by June 1995. The final story of the game would have taken place in a 3D Virtual Reality world, similar to its predecssor, Sonic-16. The premise of "Sonic Mars" was as follows:
While Sonic is away checking on a security alarm in a remote part of the Great Forest, his pals (Sally, Bunnie, Tails and Knuckles) have discovered a strange message from within one of Robotnik's super computers. [Dr. Robotnik is trying to take over a computer VR world (Micro Mobius) and the message is a plea for help from its peaceful inhabitants.] Sonic returns to Knothole to discover that Robotnik has captured his friends and taken them into his VR world. Sonic attempts to save his friends and thwart Robotnik's plan to "reformat" Micro Mobius (Courtesy Sonic X-treme Compendium (SXC)).
Continues in the game would be earned by gaining a minimum of 255 rings. Certain events would also trigger dialogue from your partner, such as completing a certain task, or collecting an item. Levels would be made of 2 to 4 floating cubes suspended in mid-air. The End Level Sign propels Sonic (or his character) and can be swatted back and forth, similar to in Sonic 3. Also, like in Sonic 3, when the sign hits the ground, there is a chance that the sign's impact will be knocked upwards and out of the ground. At the end of the level, your accumulated rings would splash out of a tube.
The game had several badniks lined up, such as Skuzzy, Socket, Cache Masher, Stacker, Viruz, Chipset, Floppy, Stagnat Sentry (which activates when someone is near), Patrollers (which follow a dedicated path), and Hunter-Killers (these act the same as Stagnat or Patrollers, and follow the player).
Don Goddard's script came after Micheal Kosaka's, and is generally considered to be a revision. It is also sometimes referred to as Sonic 32X, despite the Sega Mega Drive / Genesis being mentioned in the script, with no mention of the 32X add-on. It is a drastic revision from MIcheal Kosaka's script, as while Sonic is the main character, no others are mentioned. Interstingly, the script mentions sprites AND polygons, so it probably was bound for the 32X. The reason for this assumption is that there was only one Sega Mega Drive / Genesis game that used polygons, and the processor used to crate the polygons (similar to the Super-FX chip used in Nintendo's Star Fox gameStar Fox game) brought the cost of the cartridge up to $USD 100.
Alongside making the general design, Chris Senn also made a few sprites and concept art pages. These can be found within the Chris Senn subfolder of the Don Goddard Script folder.
The story of the game contained Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Metal Sonic, Nack, and involved two new original creations: Professor Gazebo Boobowski and his daughter, Tiara (recycled from Sonic Mars, originally with the last name Cybernooski). The professor and his daughter were the guardians of the six magical Rings of Order, as well as the ancient art of Ring smithing. They feared that Dr. Robotnik is after the six Rings of Order, and called on Sonic to get the Rings before Robotnik can. The playable characters in the game were Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Tiara, and would have unique storylines to that character, similar to Sonic Adventure.
Levels within Sonic X-treme were designed as "tubes", with changing gravity so Sonic (or the other characters) could walk and run, regardless of their physical orientation. One idea recycled from Sonic-16 and Sonic Mars was Sonic's ring-throw ability, where he would toss a ring at a badnik or enemy to knock them out. Sonic X-treme would have also featured Nack the Weasel and Metal Sonic as bosses.
However, Sonic Mars and Sonic X-treme would live on, as many of the ideas from those two games were salvaged and recycled into one of the biggest Sonic games ever, Sonic Adventure for the Dreamcast. Ideas that were recycled from Sonic X-treme include character-specific storylines, Robotnik trying to steal a secret ancient object, and using new characters.
There were several incarnations of a SatAM Sonic game, but none of them made it off the ground. The history of the SatAM video games is closely tied-in with the history of Sonic X-treme, the final also-aborted project of a 3D Sonic game that utilized many of the SatAM games' ideas, and Sonic Adventure, which in turn used many of Sonic X-treme's ideas. This page will chronicle all of them, and what might have been.
What was "Sonic-16"?
"Sonic-16" was one of the most ambitious projects in Sega, and was a victim of the times, as Sega was going through internal power struggles. Sonic-16 was intended to be a 3D video game on the Sega Mega Drive / Genesis involving the Freedom Fighters from the ABC show "Sonic the Hedgehog", and was the first of several early incarnations of the cancelled Sonic X-treme. If the game was completed, it would have been a radical departure from the mainstream Sonic series' games up to that point. Development began in November of 1993, around the same time Sonic's popularity was approaching its peak. Part of the project staff included Chris Senn, who designed demo animations in order to persuade executives at Sega, and Micheal Kosaka, who was the staff leader and the game's producer.In 1992, plans were already in place to make a video game based off of SatAM and its characters in their struggle to overthrow Robotnik, as mentioned in the
The sprites and background are reported to have been 32-bit within a 16-bit game. The video game's artwork would have been reminescent of the cartoon series, rather than the artwork used in the regular video game series, such as Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Much like Sonic 3, the levels would be generally larger than previous Sonic games, though unlike other Sonic games, the sprites and level art would be much larger as well.
Even though it looked like a slower-paced game than preceeding games, the game was intended to have faster-moving segments. It would also have been much more story-driven than the previous games, to allow for tie-ins between the cartoon and the game.
Although Sonic moves much slower than in previous games, he has been given a new set of moves. Despite being a side-scroller like other games, Sonic-16 also adds the ability to move "up and down", instead of just left-and-right with jumping, to add the illusion of depth and side-stepping. Sonic is also able to hold his back to the wall to avoid being detected by enemies, and peek around corners (similar to Solid Snake of the Metal Gear Solid series of games). Similar to Lara Croft in Tomb Raider, Sonic is also able to grab and pull himself up onto ledges.
Three very interesting attack moves were also shown in the demo: a ring attack, a buzzsaw attack, and a spike blast attack. The ring attack was shown where Sonic uses rings from his life bar and tosses them like projectiles to destroy enemy robots. The buzzsaw attack move would be used to clear obstacles, performed in mid-air, similar to Sonic Adventure's Homing Attack, or the Insta-Shield of Sonic 3. The final (and in this webmaster's opinion, the coolest) move, is Spike Blast. Sonic is able to shoot out quills in eight different directions at the same time, outward from himself to damage surrounding enemies. This is also performed in mid-air.
Sonic-16 — References
Sonic-16 — Game Cast:
Production Leader: Micheal KosakaConcept & Demo: Peter Morawiec
Graphics & Animation: Peter Morawiec, John Duggan
Other Staff: Chris Senn
Untitled STI Sonic Game
For more information, see our STI Game section, Untitled STI Sonic Game at SonicRetro.org.After Sonic-16 was cancelled, Chris Senn had decided to make a mock-up of an isometric Sonic game on the Sega 32X, similar to Sonic 3D, but before 3D was released. It is unknown if this would have been built into another game, as the concept design was not finished further.
The image to the right shows the mock-up of the Untitled STI Sonic Game, which Chriss Senn has reported to be another stage of development of Sonic X-treme. The image was created by Chris Senn, during his tenure as an employee of STI. There was no actual game engine created, nor any game data such as levels or sprites, and there was no actual work done to create a game based upon the image, as it was merely concept art. The image shows what the game could have been, if developed. Had the game gone into development, it quite possibly could have turned out far different from Sonic 3D, featuring a less wide-open environment, due to there being single-column walls, platforms, and fixed paths to run on. The game would be an "on-rails" game, similar to Sonic Riders. Its focus may have been more on platforming (like Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Sonic Riders) than exploring (like Sonic Adventure and Sonic R). However, from this single screen, it is simply impossible to determine if this is entirely true, partially true, or if there were more open areas to move around in. According to Chris Senn this mockup was created before Sonic 3D was released and was during the development of the 32X.
Untitled STI Sonic Game — References
http://www.senntient.com/forums/viewtopic.php?pid=8572#p8572 Chris Senn's discussion of the Untitled STI Sonic Game, on his forumsUntitled STI Sonic Game — Game Cast:
- Image Mock-up: Chriss Senn
What was "Sonic Mars"?
For more information, see Our Sonic Mars data, andAs the game's development progressed, the 32X version was cancelled, most likely due to the add-on's limitations (which caused its ultimate failure in the marketplace). The game was intended to be the first 3D polygonal Sonic the Hedgehog game, but the DiC / SatAM characters were dropped due to disinterest from the development team.
As the 32X started to fail and fade from public view, the focus on the game was switched yet again, to the upcoming and far more powerful Sega Saturn. The game's storyline was altered heavily, removing the Freedom Fighters later on in development in favour of original characters (possibly due to licensing issues, as well as general disinterest from the development team, or at the insistance of Yuji Naka). The game then became what would be popularly known as the cancelled Sonic game, Sonic X-treme.
Sonic Mars — Micheal Kosaka's Script
See also: our copy of the Micheal Kosaka script (Pages 1-49 are of the script, 50-122 are of concept art), courtesy of Sonic Cult.An early script of Sonic Mars by Micheal Kosaka was leaked in 2007. This would be one of two Sonic Mars scripts released, with the other being a script written by Don Goddard. The cover page of the Micheal Kosaka script is dated May 19, 1994, while the Don Goddard Script was created later, according to Chris Senn, one of the developers of the game.
According to leaked Micheal Kosaka game script, this version of Sonic Mars was estimated to be 16-megs have two players simultaneously and be completed by June 1995. The final story of the game would have taken place in a 3D Virtual Reality world, similar to its predecssor, Sonic-16. The premise of "Sonic Mars" was as follows:
While Sonic is away checking on a security alarm in a remote part of the Great Forest, his pals (Sally, Bunnie, Tails and Knuckles) have discovered a strange message from within one of Robotnik's super computers. [Dr. Robotnik is trying to take over a computer VR world (Micro Mobius) and the message is a plea for help from its peaceful inhabitants.] Sonic returns to Knothole to discover that Robotnik has captured his friends and taken them into his VR world. Sonic attempts to save his friends and thwart Robotnik's plan to "reformat" Micro Mobius (Courtesy Sonic X-treme Compendium (SXC)).
Sonic Mars — Micheal Kosaka Script: Game Play
Sonic Mars had an easter egg placed during the Sega logo. Pressing any button besides Start will play a "Sega shout" by either Sonic, Tails, Sally, or Robotnik. This screen can be bypassed by pressing the Start button. A second cheat was to be hidden on the Title screen. A cheat menu would activate after a certain button sequence is entered.- Zone = Zone name.
- Act = Act number.
- Sound = Sound number.
- Music = Song name.
Continues in the game would be earned by gaining a minimum of 255 rings. Certain events would also trigger dialogue from your partner, such as completing a certain task, or collecting an item. Levels would be made of 2 to 4 floating cubes suspended in mid-air. The End Level Sign propels Sonic (or his character) and can be swatted back and forth, similar to in Sonic 3. Also, like in Sonic 3, when the sign hits the ground, there is a chance that the sign's impact will be knocked upwards and out of the ground. At the end of the level, your accumulated rings would splash out of a tube.
The game had several badniks lined up, such as Skuzzy, Socket, Cache Masher, Stacker, Viruz, Chipset, Floppy, Stagnat Sentry (which activates when someone is near), Patrollers (which follow a dedicated path), and Hunter-Killers (these act the same as Stagnat or Patrollers, and follow the player).
Sonic Mars — Don Goddard's Script
See also: our copy of the Don Goddard script (Pages 1-49 are of the script, 50-122 are of concept art), courtesy of Sonic Cult.Don Goddard's script came after Micheal Kosaka's, and is generally considered to be a revision. It is also sometimes referred to as Sonic 32X, despite the Sega Mega Drive / Genesis being mentioned in the script, with no mention of the 32X add-on. It is a drastic revision from MIcheal Kosaka's script, as while Sonic is the main character, no others are mentioned. Interstingly, the script mentions sprites AND polygons, so it probably was bound for the 32X. The reason for this assumption is that there was only one Sega Mega Drive / Genesis game that used polygons, and the processor used to crate the polygons (similar to the Super-FX chip used in Nintendo's Star Fox gameStar Fox game) brought the cost of the cartridge up to $USD 100.
Sonic Mars — References
Sonic Mars — Game Cast:
- Director/Game Designer: Chris Senn
- Technical Programmer: Ofer/Ofar Alon
- Lead Programmer/Game Designer: "Me" (Don Goddard?)
- Tools Programmers: Mark
- Tools Programmers: Robert
- Reference: Adrian
- Producer: Mike Wallis
Alongside making the general design, Chris Senn also made a few sprites and concept art pages. These can be found within the Chris Senn subfolder of the Don Goddard Script folder.
Sonic X-treme
Sonic X-treme was intended to be the first original Sonic game for the Sega Saturn, as well as the first true 3D sonic game, but was cancelled due to development issues, though its history is very colourful (as shown in the above section, its roots of Sonic Mars).The story of the game contained Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Metal Sonic, Nack, and involved two new original creations: Professor Gazebo Boobowski and his daughter, Tiara (recycled from Sonic Mars, originally with the last name Cybernooski). The professor and his daughter were the guardians of the six magical Rings of Order, as well as the ancient art of Ring smithing. They feared that Dr. Robotnik is after the six Rings of Order, and called on Sonic to get the Rings before Robotnik can. The playable characters in the game were Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Tiara, and would have unique storylines to that character, similar to Sonic Adventure.
Levels within Sonic X-treme were designed as "tubes", with changing gravity so Sonic (or the other characters) could walk and run, regardless of their physical orientation. One idea recycled from Sonic-16 and Sonic Mars was Sonic's ring-throw ability, where he would toss a ring at a badnik or enemy to knock them out. Sonic X-treme would have also featured Nack the Weasel and Metal Sonic as bosses.
However, Sonic Mars and Sonic X-treme would live on, as many of the ideas from those two games were salvaged and recycled into one of the biggest Sonic games ever, Sonic Adventure for the Dreamcast. Ideas that were recycled from Sonic X-treme include character-specific storylines, Robotnik trying to steal a secret ancient object, and using new characters.
