ASonic the Hedgehogfan has imagined how the series' most-recent side-scrolling entry,Sonic Mania, might look if it were released for the Sega Saturn. While Sega’s 32-bit console often remains obscure, this concept art shows that the console shouldn’t be forgotten.
Sonic Maniais a callback to the series' 16-bit heyday, but less people remember Sega’s efforts immediately following the Genesis games.The Sega Saturn was not a success for Sega, harming the company and theSonic the Hedgehogbrand. Sega tried to develop a blockbuster 3D Sonic title for the system, known asSonic X-Treme, but a variety of factors kept the game from ever coming to fruition. In its place, Saturn owners received pseudo-3D platformerSonic 3D Blastand racing game/platformer hybridSonic R, neither of which took the gaming world by storm.
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Reddit user Spencer87023 rendered one ofSonic Mania’s villains, the illusionist robot called Heavy Magician, as a 3D model. The model bears more than a little similarity to some of Sega’s earliest 3D games, such asVirtua Fighter, as it has a blocky, polygonal look. WhileSonic Maniadoes feature some 3D models, these are mostly restricted to the game’s Special Stages; Heavy Magician and other villains do not appear in 3D anywhere.
While Sonic did eventually establish several straightforward 3D gameplay styles in later years, that wasn’t always the case.Sonic X-Tremeis infamousfor having Sonic’s movements be viewed through a fish-eye lens at one point during development. This confusing and unintuitive way of depicting Sonic’s world would take away from the pixel art and classic aesthetic that makeSonic Maniaso enjoyable to watch in motion.
The best way for fans to see Sonic in 3D on the Sega Saturn is through the gameSonic R, but that game principally positions the camera behind the characters' backs, making it hard to appreciate the work that went into character models. This means fans looking to see moreSoniccharacters rendered in this style may want to check outSonic the Fighters, an arcade-exclusive fighting game. While it is not often seen as a great game, it has a bright and cartoony aesthetic in line with the model shared by Spencer87023.
This is not the only blocky iteration ofSonic Maniato have been developed as of late. Thanks to a widely supported fan idea,LEGO will produce aSonic Maniasetdepicting the game’s first level, Green Hill Zone. While the proposal is liable to change before the commercial version is unveiled, it includes a LEGO version of Heavy Magician. This means fans of the Saturn-styled Heavy Magician aesthetic may be able to see something similar in real life soon.
Sonic Maniais available now on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
