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137-664: Sonic Unleashed is a 2008 platform game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega . An installment in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, it follows Sonic as he attempts to restore the world after his nemesis Doctor Eggman shatters it with a powerful laser to unleash Dark Gaia, an ancient evil which periodically transforms Sonic into a werewolf form (dubbed a "Werehog"). Gameplay features two distinct styles: daytime stages incorporate Sonic's traditional platforming and trademark speed; while night-time stages see Sonic transform into

274-608: A true 3D platformer is a French computer game called Alpha Waves , created by Christophe de Dinechin and published by Infogrames in 1990 for the Atari ST , Amiga , and IBM PC compatibles . Bug! , released in 1995 for the Saturn , has a more conservative approach. It allows players to move in all directions, but it does not allow movement along more than one axis at once; the player can move orthogonally but not diagonally. Its characters were pre-rendered sprites, much like

411-452: A 1980 arcade release by Universal , is sometimes credited as the first platformer. Another precursor to the genre from 1980 was Nichibutsu 's Crazy Climber , in which the player character scales vertically scrolling skyscrapers. The unreleased 1979 Intellivision game Hard Hat has a similar concept. Donkey Kong , an arcade video game created by Nintendo and released in July 1981,

548-401: A 2D plane are called 2.5D , as they are a blend of 2D and 3D. The first platformers to simulate a 3D perspective and moving camera emerged in the early-mid-1980s. An early example of this was Konami 's Antarctic Adventure , where the player controls a penguin in a forward-scrolling third-person perspective while having to jump over pits and obstacles. Originally released in 1983 for

685-401: A 3D boss battle. The course of the game differs depending on whether Sonic or Blaze is chosen; the seven zones are the same, but are accessed in different orders. During boss battles, Blaze fights Doctor Eggman and Sonic fights an Eggman doppelgänger called Eggman Nega . As the characters' stories progress, they meet each other several times and unite in the final zone that comes after

822-551: A 3D Sonic game, Sonic Adventure , for its Dreamcast console. It used a hub structure like Super Mario 64 , but its levels were more linear, fast-paced, and action-oriented. Sonic Rush Sonic Rush is a 2005 platform game developed by Sonic Team and Dimps for the Nintendo DS as part of Sega 's Sonic the Hedgehog series . It was released on November 15, 2005, in North America, November 18 in

959-462: A balance between open-ended and guided exploration. Another platform-adventure released that year, Pony Canyon 's Super Pitfall , was critically panned for its vagueness and weak game design. That same year Jaleco released Esper Boukentai , a sequel to Psychic 5 that scrolled in all directions and allowed the player character to make huge multistory jumps to navigate the vertically oriented levels. Telenet Japan also released its own take on

1096-481: A bouncing car that jumps on various platforms such as buildings, clouds, and hills. Jump Bug offered a glimpse of what was to come, with uneven, suspended platforms, levels that scroll horizontally (and in one section, vertically), and differently themed sections, such as a city, the interior of a large pyramid, and underwater. Irem's 1982 arcade game Moon Patrol combines jumping over obstacles and shooting attackers. A month later, Taito released Jungle King ,

1233-525: A brief burst of episodic platformers where the first was freely distributed and parts 2 and 3 were available for purchase. The abundance of platformers for 16-bit consoles continued late into the generation, with successful games such as Vectorman (1995), Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (1995), and Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (1995), but the release of new hardware caused players' attention to move away from 2D genres. The Saturn , PlayStation , and Nintendo 64 nevertheless featured

1370-450: A forward-scrolling effect similar to Sega's 1985 third-person rail shooter Space Harrier . 3-D WorldRunner was an early forward-scrolling pseudo-3D third-person platform-action game where players were free to move in any forward-scrolling direction and could leap over obstacles and chasms. It was notable for being one of the first stereoscopic 3-D games . Square released its sequel, JJ , later that year. The earliest example of

1507-600: A gameplay mechanic previously used in the Sonic Rush series called the Sonic Boost, which greatly increases Sonic's speed, allowing him to smash through objects, destroy enemies instantly, or even access different level paths. In the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions, an on-screen "Ring Energy" meter displays how much Boost is available. The amount of Boost remaining may be increased by collecting more rings, and

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1644-609: A high quality of animation. The 1988 shareware game The Adventures of Captain Comic was one of the first attempts at a Nintendo-style platformer for IBM PC compatibles . It inspired Commander Keen , released by id Software in 1990, which became the first MS-DOS platformer with smooth scrolling graphics. Keen's success resulted in numerous console-styled platformers for MS-DOS compatible operating systems, including Duke Nukem , Duke Nukem II , Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure , and Dark Ages all by Apogee Software . These fueled

1781-425: A higher grade, and when playing as Sonic, accessing the special stage. Although the game is primarily two-dimensional, there are three-dimensional elements which create a 2.5D effect. The game has a two-player mode in which Sonic and Blaze race to the end of a chosen level from the game. There is also a feature in which players who own the game can send a demo of the game to other Nintendo DS users. Blaze

1918-512: A licensing agreement with Sega Europe to produce Java versions of Sega properties, and that its first game would be a version of Sonic Unleashed for mobile devices. It was released in June 2009 in PAL regions. The mobile version of Sonic Unleashed is strictly a side-scroller reminiscent of the original Genesis games, featuring new level designs and character abilities. Sonic Unleashed was released on

2055-631: A number of successful 2D platformers. The 2D Rayman was a big success on 32-bit consoles. Mega Man 8 and Mega Man X4 helped revitalize interest in Capcom 's Mega Man character . Castlevania: Symphony of the Night revitalized its series and established a new foundation for later Castlevania games. Oddworld and Heart of Darkness kept the subgenre born from Prince of Persia alive. The difficulties of adapting platformer gameplay to three dimensions led some developers to compromise by pairing

2192-563: A playable Pixar film. Praise was given to the technical competence of Sega's new Hedgehog Engine as a whole on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions, with "bright cartoonish graphics that fly by without a stutter"; however, some complaints were raised about frame rate reduction when large numbers of enemies appeared during the Werehog sections. Although the Wii and PlayStation 2 versions do not use

2329-667: A possibility after the game's release. A demo version was released on the Xbox Live Marketplace on December 8, 2008, and on the American and European PlayStation Stores on December 18 and 24, 2008, respectively. The demo does not contain any of the Werehog stages. Sonic Unleashed was released for PlayStation 2, Wii and Xbox 360 on November 18, 2008, in North America, and on November 27 and November 28, 2008, in Australia and Europe, respectively. The PlayStation 3 version

2466-441: A quarter and a third of all console games. By 2006, the genre had experienced a decline in sales, representing a 2% market share as compared to 15% in 1998. In spite of this, platformers are still being commercially released every year, including some which have sold millions of copies. A platformer requires the player to maneuver their character across platforms to reach a goal while confronting enemies and avoiding obstacles along

2603-699: A re-imagined version of the Egg Dragoon boss. The Hedgehog Engine would be refined for future entries, being reworked into Hedgehog Engine 2 starting with Forces . In March 2013, a group of fans created a mod for Sonic Generations titled the Unleashed Project, which ported the daytime stages of Unleashed to the Generations engine. Platformer The genre started with the 1980 arcade video game Space Panic , which has ladders but not jumping. Donkey Kong , released in 1981, established

2740-418: A sequel to Sonic Unleashed , should one be made. In the lead up to the release of Sonic Colors (2010), producer Takashi Iizuka expressed regret at the inclusion of the Werehog, stating that it clashed with Sonic 's core gameplay. Another short featuring the ghost characters from Night of the Werehog , titled Ghost Tale , was released by Marza Animation Planet on October 31, 2023, 15 years after Night of

2877-470: A shift in design. Later 3D platformers like Banjo-Kazooie , Spyro the Dragon , and Donkey Kong 64 borrowed its format, and the "collect-a-thon" genre began to form. In order to make this free-roaming model work, developers had to program dynamic, intelligent cameras. A free camera made it harder for players to judge the height and distance of platforms, making jumping puzzles more difficult. Some of

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3014-406: A side-scrolling action game some platform elements: jumping between vines, jumping or running beneath bouncing boulders. It was quickly re-released as Jungle Hunt because of similarities to Tarzan . The 1982 Apple II game Track Attack includes a scrolling platform level where the character runs and leaps along the top of a moving train. The character is little more than a stick figure , but

3151-725: A teenager with a rebellious personality to appeal to gamers who saw the previous generation of consoles as being for kids. The character's speed showed off the hardware capabilities of the Genesis, which had a CPU clock speed approximately double that of the Super NES. Sonic 's perceived rebellious attitude became a model for game mascots. Other companies attempted to duplicate Sega's success with their own brightly colored anthropomorphisms with attitude. These often were characterized by impatience, sarcasm, and frequent quips. A second generation of platformers for computers appeared alongside

3288-473: A template for what were initially called "climbing games". Donkey Kong inspired many clones and games with similar elements, such as Miner 2049er (1982) and Kangaroo (1982), while the Sega arcade game Congo Bongo (1983) adds a third dimension via isometric graphics . Another popular game of that period, Pitfall! (1982), allows moving left and right through series of non-scrolling screens, expanding

3425-420: A year figuring out the technical aspects. In terms of technology, Hashimoto remarked that the visual style was born out of desire to see a global illumination solution used for the game's lighting — that is, light reflecting from one object in the scene onto others, feeling that contemporary HD games looked too flat. To this extent, development on the renderer for this process began, and the final solution allowed

3562-464: Is a point system based on the one in Sonic Advance 2 but displaying points in multiple categories. Sonic Rush introduces a "Tension Gauge" on the left side of the screen which is filled by doing tricks and defeating enemies. The energy it generates allows the player to use boosts of speed while moving; defeating enemies, moving through the level more quickly, which results in more points and

3699-488: Is central to the genre, though there are exceptions such as Nintendo 's Popeye and Data East 's BurgerTime , both from 1982. In some games, such as Donkey Kong , the trajectory of a jump is fixed, while in others it can be altered mid-air. Falling may cause damage or death. Many platformers contain environmental obstacles which kill the player's character upon contact, such as lava pits or bottomless chasms. The player may be able to collect items and power-ups and give

3836-608: Is decreased by using the Boost. In contrast, the PlayStation 2 and Wii versions of the game represent available Boost using bars, which may be added by performing "Action Chains", destroying multiple enemies in quick succession through the use of homing attacks, or by collecting rings. Japanese game company Dimps helped design some of the stages. Night-time levels are slow-paced and action-oriented, while also featuring simple puzzle elements. Gameplay focuses on Sonic's new "Werehog" form, which gives him great strength and stretchable arms. As

3973-474: Is in a vector game called Major Havoc , which comprises a number of mini-games, including a simple platformer. One of the first raster -based platformers to scroll fluidly in all directions in this manner is 1985's Legend of Kage . In 1985, Enix released the action-adventure platformer Brain Breaker . The following year saw the release of Nintendo's Metroid , which was critically acclaimed for

4110-459: Is saddened by Blaze's departure, but Sonic assures her that Blaze promised to return someday. Sonic Rush was developed by Sonic Team and Dimps , and published by Sega . Yuji Naka , Sega's executive managing director, announced the game at Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2004, along with Project Rub . A demo of the newly titled Sonic Rush was featured at E3 2005, and won video game publication IGN 's "Biggest Surprise" award. Blaze

4247-465: Is the endless runner , where the main character is always moving forward and the player must dodge or jump to avoid falling or hitting obstacles. Various names were used in the years following the release of the first established game in the genre, Donkey Kong (1981). Shigeru Miyamoto originally called it a "running/jumping/climbing game" while developing it. Miyamoto commonly used the term "athletic game" to refer to Donkey Kong and later games in

Sonic Unleashed - Misplaced Pages Continue

4384-626: The Atari 2600 , with 256 horizontally connected screens, became one of the best-selling games on the system and was a breakthrough for the genre. Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle was released on the ColecoVision that same year, adding uneven terrain and scrolling pans between static screens. Manic Miner (1983) and its sequel Jet Set Willy (1984) continued this style of multi-screen levels on home computers . Wanted: Monty Mole won

4521-683: The MSX computer, it was subsequently ported to various platforms the following year, including an arcade video game version, NES , and ColecoVision . 1986 saw the release of the sequel to forward-scrolling platformer Antarctic Adventure called Penguin Adventure , which was designed by Hideo Kojima . It included more action game elements, a greater variety of levels, RPG elements such as upgrading equipment, and multiple endings . In early 1987, Square released 3-D WorldRunner , designed by Hironobu Sakaguchi and Nasir Gebelli . Using

4658-530: The Master System with Alex Kidd in Miracle World . It has horizontal and vertical scrolling levels, the ability to punch enemies and obstacles, and shops for the player to buy power-ups and vehicles. Another Sega series that began that same year is Wonder Boy . The original Wonder Boy in 1986 was inspired more by Pac-Land than Super Mario Bros. , with skateboarding segments that gave

4795-631: The Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985, became the archetype for the genre. It was bundled with Nintendo systems in North America, Japan, and Europe, and sold over 40 million copies, according to the 1999 Guinness Book of World Records . Its success as a pack-in led many companies to see platformers as vital to their success, and contributed greatly to popularizing the genre during the third and fourth generations of video game consoles. Sega attempted to emulate this success with their Alex Kidd series, which started in 1986 on

4932-513: The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 , one by Sonic Team and Dimps for standard definition consoles such as the PlayStation 2 and Wii , and one by Gameloft for mobile phones . The game was released worldwide in 2008. Public anticipation for Sonic Unleashed was high, as video game journalists saw it as a possible return to Sonic's platforming roots. While it was commercially successful, selling 2.45 million units, initial critical reception

5069-451: The Sonic franchise, was involved in the design of the daytime areas for these versions. In addition, overall, the PlayStation 2 and Wii versions have fewer daytime levels than the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 counterparts. The title Sonic Unleashed was trademarked by Sega on March 12, 2008. Screenshots of cutscenes, artwork, and a video were leaked ten days later from their FTP server, with

5206-605: The Xbox Live Arcade throughout late-2009 and early-2010, however in late-2010, Sega delisted all Sonic games with below average Metacritic scores from retailers and digital stores so as to increase the value of the brand following the positive pre-release reception to Sonic Colors and Sonic 4: Episode I (2010), including Sonic Unleashed . However, it was added to the PlayStation Store in April 2014, and

5343-537: The virtual camera , it had to be constrained to stop it from clipping through the environment. In 1994, a small developer called Exact released a game for the X68000 computer called Geograph Seal , which was a 3D first-person shooter game with platforming. Players piloted a frog-like mech that could jump and then double-jump or triple-jump high into the air as the camera panned down to help players line up their landings. In addition to shooting, jumping on enemies

5480-818: The Cat is somehow pulled from her native dimension into Sonic's world. Her world had seven Sol Emeralds—similar to the Chaos Emeralds —but they were stolen by Doctor Eggman. She then makes it her goal to retrieve them. While searching, she meets Cream the Rabbit and is surprised by her politeness. Meanwhile, Sonic is searching for the Chaos Emeralds, which have been stolen by Doctor Eggman Nega, Eggman's alternate counterpart from Blaze's dimension. Sonic briefly encounters Blaze during his search, but she departs before he can question her. His friend Tails learns that

5617-453: The Cat, a new character, was revealed at Tokyo Game Show (TGS) 2005. The game's 2.5D format was based on Sonic Team's idea to combine elements from 2D and 3D games in the series. Director Akinori Nishiyama stated in a September 2005 interview with GameSpot that Sonic Team "wanted to keep the elements from 2D, yet still explore some of the new elements from 3D." At TGS 2005, he stated that while working on Sonic Advance 3 , he realized that

Sonic Unleashed - Misplaced Pages Continue

5754-511: The Chaos Emeralds and the Sol Emeralds. Blaze declares that she is the only one who can save their worlds, without anyone's help. Sonic and Blaze fight each other, until Sonic wins the fight and Blaze realizes the error of her ways. After Eggman kidnaps Cream, Blaze goes after him while Sonic takes on Nega . Sonic collects the last of the seven Chaos Emeralds and catches up with Blaze, who fails to prevent Eggman and Eggman Nega from draining

5891-516: The Egg Dragoon. During the battle, the three sink into the core of the Earth and encounter Dark Gaia. Eggman orders Dark Gaia to destroy Sonic, but it turns on him, knocking him away with one of its tentacles, and absorbs the power that turned Sonic into a Werehog, curing Sonic of lycanthropy . Dark Gaia then attacks Sonic and Chip, but Chip protects Sonic and calls all of the Gaia temples together to form

6028-492: The Emeralds' energy to fire an enormous laser and unleash a powerful beast, Dark Gaia, from the center of the planet, which has devastating consequences, shattering the planet into seven pieces. In addition, the process has the unforeseen side-effect of transforming Sonic into a "Werehog" — a beast form that loses speed but gains greater strength and abilities — at night. Eggman ejects Sonic into space, who then lands safely onto

6165-468: The Enchanted Castle , which was only modestly successful. That same year, Capcom released Strider in arcades, which scrolled in multiple directions and allowed the player to summon artificial intelligence partners, such as a droid, tiger, and hawk, to help fight enemies. Another Sega release in 1989 was Shadow Dancer , which is a game that also included an AI partner: a dog who followed

6302-498: The Hedgehog Engine, graphics for these platforms were still praised for their high quality, with the game being nominated for Best Graphics Technology for the Wii by IGN in its 2008 video game awards. The soundtrack to the game was also praised as being an improvement on more recent installments in the series; use of an orchestral score, rather than rock as in more recent games, was appreciated. A generally negative reaction

6439-476: The Hedgehog into 3D. Their project, titled Sonic Xtreme , was to have featured a radically different approach for the series, with an exaggerated fisheye camera and multidirectional gameplay reminiscent of Bug! . Due in part to conflicts with Sega Enterprises in Japan and a rushed schedule, the game never made it to market. In the 1990s, platforming games started to shift from pseudo-3D to "true 3D," which gave

6576-481: The Light Gaia Colossus and fight Dark Gaia. The Gaia Colossus seemingly destroys Dark Gaia, but Dark Gaia is not finished with them or the Earth yet, and consumes the entire world in darkness, becoming Perfect Dark Gaia in the process. Chip then gives the restored Chaos Emeralds to Sonic, allowing him to turn into Super Sonic and continue their fight, until he finally destroys it; Dark Gaia sinks back into

6713-449: The PAL region, and November 23 in Japan, and was the final game in the mainline Sonic series to be produced by Yuji Naka before his departure from Sega. It is a 2D platform game, similar to earlier games in the series like Sonic Advance , as well as later ones like Sonic Mania . Levels in the game are side-scrolling and displayed using both of the DS's screens. However, boss battles,

6850-423: The PlayStation 2 and Wii versions feature menu-based map systems, in which players simply click on areas to talk to townspeople and find information, and Gaia Gates in which players can access levels using the tablets that open doors. Within both day and night-time levels are medals that Sonic may collect, two types of which exist: Sun and Moon. In the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions, collecting these medals allows

6987-412: The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, consisting of four Chun-nan daytime stages and two night stages in addition to two new missions. DLC was later released for the remaining stages except for Eggmanland. A short animated film was released online to tie in with the game on November 17, 2008, titled Sonic: Night of the Werehog , produced by Marza. In the short, Sonic and Chip come across a haunted house during

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7124-707: The PlayStation 3 version was relisted in April 2014 and added to PlayStation Now in March 2017, while the Xbox 360 version was relisted and made backward compatible for Xbox One in November 2018, and extended to the Xbox Series X/S while receiving a performance boost on November 15, 2021. Sonic Unleashed is a platform game in which the player controls the titular Sonic the Hedgehog in two modes: fast-paced levels that take place during daytime, showcasing and using Sonic's trademark speed as seen in previous games in

7261-499: The Sol Emeralds's power for their Egg Salamander mech. As the world begins to destabilize, Sonic and his friends help Blaze realize the meaning of friendship. This restores the Sol Emeralds, and Sonic and Blaze use both sets of Emeralds to transform into Super Sonic and Burning Blaze. The two destroy the Egg Salamander, restoring the dimensions to normal, and Blaze returns to her world, now better understanding her powers. Cream

7398-469: The United Kingdom press. Examples include referring to the " Super Mario mould" (such as Kato-chan & Ken-chan ) as platform games, and calling Strider a "platform and ladders" game. The genre originated in the early 1980s. Levels in early platform games were confined to a single screen, viewed in profile, and based on climbing between platforms rather than jumping. Space Panic ,

7535-436: The Werehog 's release. The gameplay of the daytime stages would be reused and expanded upon to become the defining gameplay of the franchise for the following decade, with Sonic Colors , Sonic Generations (2011), and Sonic Forces (2017) taking inspiration from Unleashed . The console/PC versions of Sonic Generations contain remakes of the "Rooftop Run" stage and the Egg Dragoon boss fight. Sonic Forces also contains

7672-467: The Werehog and engage in slower combat against waves of enemies using the Werehog's brute strength. The game's development began in 2006, after the creation of its game engine , the Hedgehog Engine. It was initially conceived as a sequel to Sonic Adventure 2 (2001), but developer Sonic Team began to introduce enough new innovations that separated it from previous games, and it was renamed Sonic World Adventure in domestic markets. The Werehog gameplay

7809-489: The Werehog was "being slapped on" to the Sonic experience. In stark contrast to the Werehog sections, many reviewers found the daytime levels to be enjoyable, especially the "exhilarating" sense of speed they provide; with "the most satisfying gameplay of any Sonic title in years", the game "perfectly [captures] the feel of classic Sonic". Many also enjoyed the mixture of, and transition between, 2D and 3D sections. Indeed, many reviewers remarked that they would have appreciated

7946-405: The Werehog, the player can cling to distant objects, move items around and perform combo attacks to defeat enemies and advance through the level. Collecting rings replenishes the Werehog's health, while a special move, Unleashed Mode, allows him to channel his energy into increasing the power of his attacks for a short time. Night-time levels are adjusted in the PlayStation 2 and Wii versions to allow

8083-532: The Wii version a lower score than its Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 counterparts. Nevertheless, the game was a commercial success and sold 2.45 million units combined making it Sega's third bestselling game during their last fiscal year period of 2008. Positive elements of Sonic Unleashed remarked upon by reviews include the environments, such as the "postcard-perfect architecture", and the graphics, with stages looking "absolutely gorgeous" and being "very pretty and lovingly animated", with one reviewer comparing them to

8220-683: The Wii version to greater use of the Wii Remote , such that players may control the arms of the Werehog by using the Wii Remote and Nunchuk in order to grab onto objects and proceed in the levels. The PlayStation 2 and Wii versions also expand upon the ratio of night-time levels to daytime, with more than three times as many night-time levels (twenty-five in all). After night-time levels are completed, Dark Gaia Points are gained, allowing access to bonus moves. In addition to these two gameplay types, Sonic Unleashed also features hub worlds, in which

8357-408: The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions respectively, and 66 out of 100 for the Wii and PlayStation 2 versions. The added element of motion controls for the Werehog sections, as well as text-based hub worlds and better Werehog level design and camera system , were reasons cited for the higher review scores for the Wii and PlayStation 2 versions of the game, though a few review websites, such as 1UP, gave

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8494-446: The Xbox 360 due to space limitations, but eventually decided to instead reduce their resolution so the whole game to fit onto one disc. In addition, the Xbox 360 version is capped at 30 frames per second , while the PlayStation 3 version has a variable framerate. Because the game was being developed for two levels of hardware capability depending on the target platform, two development "silos" were set up to work on two separate builds of

8631-455: The Year". Another term used in the late 1980s to 1990s was "character action games", in reference to games such as Super Mario Bros. , Sonic the Hedgehog , and Bubsy . It was also applied more generally to side-scrolling video games , including run and gun video games such as Gunstar Heroes . Platform game became a common term for the genre by 1989, popularized by its usage in

8768-529: The acrobatics evoke the movement that games such as Prince of Persia would feature. B.C.'s Quest For Tires (1983) put a recognizable character from American comic strips into side-scrolling, jumping gameplay similar to Moon Patrol . The same year, Snokie for the Commodore 64 and Atari 8-bit computers added uneven terrain to a scrolling platformer. Based on the Saturday morning cartoon rather than

8905-415: The basis for the non-linear mission structure found in most open-world, multi-mission, sidequest -heavy games. Another Capcom platformer that year was Bionic Commando , which popularized a grappling hook mechanic that has since appeared in dozens of games, including Earthworm Jim and Tomb Raider . Scrolling platformers went portable in the late 1980s with games such as Super Mario Land , and

9042-494: The best qualities of 2D and 3D Sonic gameplay and address the criticisms directed at previous 3D entries in the franchise. Additional code to dynamically adjust the speed of the game for different situations was used to properly balance its fast pace with traditional platforming elements. The addition of Ring Energy used for the Boost was made to give the rings more importance in gameplay, noting that having more than one would make little difference in gameplay beforehand. As well as

9179-536: The change of pace, the new style of gameplay that accompanies the night-time levels was widely criticized, involving "frustrating" platform elements and combat described as not "terribly interesting" and "boring", with "awkward" action sequences overall. Some reviewers felt that the Werehog as a concept did not mix well with the daylight areas and traditional Sonic gameplay; GamePro ' s review described them as "dreadfully out-of-place", while IGN stated that they have "nothing to do with Sonic whatsoever", feeling that

9316-472: The citizens, and completing side quests. In the PlayStation 2 and Wii versions, Sun and Moon Medals are earned after completing stages and clearing their objectives. The medals are used to open up doors in the Gaia Gates, which allow players access to puzzle rooms where they can earn bonus content. In a cold open , Sonic is pursuing his nemesis, Doctor Eggman , bounding around a fleet of spaceships. After

9453-422: The concept of the Werehog was born, in addition to exploring its own mythology and ideas for the story. Director Yoshihisa Hashimoto felt from the outset that there would be both praise and criticism, but hoped that long-term Sonic fans would understand and empathise with the ideas and direction the team had taken. The game's human non-player characters were designed by Japanese artist team Gurihiru . The opening

9590-609: The console as the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in North America, along with Super Mario World , while Sega released Sonic the Hedgehog for the Sega Genesis . Sonic showcased a new style of design made possible by a new generation of hardware: large stages that scrolled in all directions, curved hills, loops, and a physics system allowing players to rush through its levels with well-placed jumps and rolls. Sega characterized Sonic as

9727-401: The crisis by traveling the world's continents, finding Gaia Temples that will restore the Emeralds' power, in order to return the world, and himself, to normal. After six out of the seven continents are returned to normal, Chip is able to regain his memory; he is in fact Dark Gaia's opposite, Light Gaia. Since the beginning of time, the two of them had been in a cycle where Dark Gaia would break

9864-421: The criteria of a platformer, and was billed as an action adventure . It used true 3D characters and set pieces, but its environments were rendered using a rigid engine similar to the one used by Wolfenstein 3D , in that it could only render square, flat corridors, rather than suspended platforms that could be jumped between. Sega had tasked their American studio, Sega Technical Institute , with bringing Sonic

10001-473: The defeat of several of his robots, Sonic transforms into Super Sonic and corners Eggman on the main spaceship. However, Eggman traps the hedgehog using the energy field of a powerful new ray weapon called the Chaos Energy Cannon, which forcefully reverts him to his normal state and removes the Chaos Emeralds out of him as well as their power, causing them to turn grey and useless. He then uses

10138-480: The developers to use distributed rendering over hundreds of computers to calculate lighting for each 8 to 20 kilometer action stage in around two or three days. Characters, enemies and objects are then lit at run-time with Sonic Team's "Light Field" technology to blend them in with the surrounding pre-calculated lighting. Due to the size of the GI maps, the developers considered splitting the game across two or three discs on

10275-412: The development process to reduce the number of characters present in the game, as well as to make Sonic the only playable character; this decision was taken to get more quality out of fewer characters. While it felt that these ideas combined with traditional Sonic gameplay was a good beginning, it also had to consider how to introduce newer gamers unfamiliar with the Sonic franchise to the series, and so

10412-419: The earlier Clockwork Knight . The game plays very similarly to 2D platformers, but lets players walk up walls and on ceilings. In 1995, Delphine Software released a 3D sequel to their 2D platformer Flashback . Entitled Fade to Black , it was the first attempt to bring a popular 2D platformer series into 3D. While it retained the puzzle-oriented level design style and step-based control, it did not meet

10549-521: The first award for Best Platform game in 1984 from Crash magazine. Later that same year, Epyx released Impossible Mission , and Parker Brothers released Montezuma's Revenge , which further expanded on the exploration aspect. The first platformer to use scrolling graphics came years before the genre became popular. Jump Bug is a platform-shooter developed by Alpha Denshi under contract for Hoei/Coreland and released to arcades in 1981, only five months after Donkey Kong . Players control

10686-482: The foreground and background, and the camera panning and curving around corners. Meanwhile, Pandemonium and Klonoa brought the 2.5D style to the PlayStation . In a break from the past, the Nintendo 64 had the fewest side scrolling platformers with only four; Yoshi's Story , Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards , Goemon's Great Adventure , and Mischief Makers —and most met with a tepid response from critics at

10823-470: The game a greater sense of speed than other platformers at the time, while its sequel, Wonder Boy in Monster Land added action-adventure and role-playing elements. Wonder Boy in turn inspired games such as Adventure Island , Dynastic Hero , Popful Mail , and Shantae . One of the first platformers to scroll in all four directions freely and follow the on-screen character's movement

10960-423: The game for its usage of elements from older Sonic games. GameSpot , IGN , and Nintendo Power compared the game to older games in the series, specifically those on the Sega Genesis . GameSpy staff writer Greg Sewart offered a similar opinion, also praising the game for its "gorgeous graphics". The visuals were well received, with some calling it "gorgeous" and "colourful". The game's overall quickness

11097-449: The game more had it consisted solely of, and expanded upon, the daytime levels. GameSpot' s review for the Xbox 360 version, however, argued that the controls were "unresponsive" in the daytime levels, and that most of them were "horribly designed", instead describing the Wii version as a "vastly superior experience", with its daytime levels praised for better control and design. Aside from the criticism of Werehog levels, further aspects of

11234-451: The game were criticized, contributing to the mixed review scores. The quests that players must undertake in hub-towns were described as "inane" and "tedious", where "figuring out what happens next involves aimlessly wandering through towns and speaking to citizens, only to discover that most of them don't know what we're looking for". The story and overall tone of the game, including the new character Chip, were criticised, some remarking that it

11371-460: The game with three lives, one of which is lost when the character is hit without any rings in their possession, crushed, drowns, falls into a bottomless pit, or reaches the act's 10-minute limit; losing all lives results in a game over . Both of the DS's screens are used to display the play area, with the player's character moving between them as necessary. Levels in the game are divided into "zones", each consisting of two acts of normal gameplay then

11508-488: The game, the player may choose to advance the time of day in order to play as either Sonic or the Werehog; in the PlayStation 2 and Wii versions, time is advanced automatically. Daytime levels focus on Sonic's speed, and to this extent, sees the player control Sonic through fast-moving stages containing both 2D and 3D styles of gameplay. 2D sections are reminiscent of the Mega Drive/Genesis -era Sonic games where

11645-430: The game: one for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 version utilizing the Hedgehog Engine, and one for the PlayStation 2 and Wii version, which instead utilizes a modified version of an existing, internal Sega engine. Hashimoto, who had never directed a Sonic game before, incorporated new features such as a "Quick Step" mechanic allowing players to dodge obstacles with the left and right bumpers. Hashimoto sought to combine

11782-498: The gameplay from its precursor but traded the frog-like mech for a cartoony rabbit mech called Robbit. The title was successful enough to get two sequels and is remembered for being the first 3D platformer on a console. Rob Fahey of Eurogamer said Jumping Flash was perhaps "one of the most important ancestors of every 3D platformer in the following decade." It holds the record of "First platform videogame in true 3D" according to Guinness World Records . Another early 3D platformer

11919-457: The genre continued to maintain its popularity, with many games released for the handheld Game Boy and Game Gear systems. By the time the Genesis and TurboGrafx-16 launched, platformers were the most popular genre in console gaming. There was a particular emphasis on having a flagship platform title exclusive to a system, featuring a mascot character. In 1989, Sega released Alex Kidd in

12056-413: The genre, such as Super Mario Bros. (1985). Donkey Kong spawned other games with a mix of running, jumping, and vertical traversal, a novel genre that did not match the style of games that came before it, leaving journalists and writers to offer their own terms. Computer and Video Games magazine, among others, referred to the genre as "Donkey Kong-type" or "Kong-style" games. "Climbing games"

12193-454: The levels were open and had objectives. Completing objectives earned the player stars, and stars were used to unlock more levels. This approach allowed for more efficient use of large 3D areas and rewarded the player for exploration, but it meant less jumping and more action-adventure . Even so, a handful of boss levels offered more traditional platforming. Until then there was no settled way to make 3D platformers, but Super Mario 64 inspired

12330-604: The limitations of the Nintendo DS' sound chip . Sonic Rush introduced Blaze, who has become a recurring character in the series. Blaze appeared for the second time in Sonic the Hedgehog in 2006, and then in Sonic Rush Adventure , the sequel to Sonic Rush , and numerous other games. Sonic Rush was released on November 15, 2005, in North America; November 18 in Europe; and November 23 in Japan. It

12467-451: The main character new abilities for overcoming adversities. Most games of this genre consist of multiple levels of increasing difficulty that may be interleaved by boss encounters, where the character has to defeat a particularly dangerous enemy to progress. Simple logical puzzles to resolve and skill trials to overcome are other common elements in the genre. A modern variant of the platform game, especially significant on mobile platforms,

12604-494: The main characters, and a special stage are rendered in 3D, creating a 2.5D effect. The game's storyline follows the intertwining adventures of the series' main character, Sonic the Hedgehog and a new character, Blaze the Cat . They respectively battle Doctor Eggman and his doppelgänger Eggman Nega at certain points. The game was announced under the working title Sonic DS at Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2004, and under Sonic Rush at E3 2005. The game's 2.5D format

12741-489: The maze game, Namco's 1984 Pac-Land is a bidirectional, horizontally-scrolling, arcade video game with walking, running, jumping, springboards, power-ups , and a series of unique levels. Pac-Man creator Toru Iwatani described the game as "the pioneer of action games with horizontally running background." According to Iwatani, Shigeru Miyamoto described Pac-Land as an influence on the development of Super Mario Bros. . Nintendo's Super Mario Bros. , released for

12878-405: The more linear 3D platformers like Tork: Prehistoric Punk and Wario World used scripted cameras that limited player control. Games with more open environments like Super Mario 64 and Banjo Kazooie used intelligent cameras that followed the player's movements. Still, when the view was obstructed or not facing what the player needed to see, these intelligent cameras needed to be adjusted by

13015-534: The new wave of consoles. In the latter half of the 1980s and early 1990s, the Amiga was a strong gaming platform with its custom video hardware and sound hardware . The Atari ST was solidly supported as well. Games like Shadow of the Beast and Turrican showed that computer platformers could rival their console contemporaries. Prince of Persia , originally a late release for the 8-bit Apple II in 1989, featured

13152-452: The night and are hounded by a group of ghosts. In addition to its online release, the short was shown for free at nine selected theaters in Japan for three weeks starting on December 20, 2008, in collaboration with T-Joy Corporation. Archie Comics also published an adaptation of Sonic Unleashed featuring the opening cutscene and Sonic's transformation into the Werehog. In May 2009, mobile game developer Gameloft announced that it had secured

13289-433: The planet apart, and Light Gaia would put it back together. Chip was released along with Dark Gaia, but because both of them were released prematurely, he lost his memory, and Dark Gaia was broken apart. They are able to place the last Chaos Emerald in the shrine on the final continent at Eggman's new empire, "Eggmanland", but are interrupted by him; Sonic then defeats Eggman who is using a robot that utilizes Dark Gaia's power,

13426-425: The planet below. After landing along with the Emeralds, Sonic encounters a friendly creature who appears to suffer amnesia . Assuming he has caused it with his fall, Sonic decides to assist him in his quest to find out who he is, and the creature becomes a guide for Sonic; he then gives him the nickname "Chip". Sonic's quest begins, and with the help of some old friends, such as Amy and Tails , he attempts to solve

13563-566: The planet, but the battle takes its toll on Super Sonic. Chip saves Sonic by throwing him to the surface, before returning himself to the inside of the planet; he leaves behind his necklace and some parting words. Sonic places the necklace on his hand as a bracelet to remind him of their adventure together before speeding off with Tails, flying alongside him on the coastline in the Tornado plane. Development on Sonic Unleashed began in mid-2006 at Sonic Team , with Yoshihisa Hashimoto as director. It

13700-408: The platform-action game, Valis , which contained anime -style cut scenes . In 1987, Capcom 's Mega Man introduced non-linear level progression where the player is able to choose the order in which they complete levels. This was a stark contrast to both linear games like Super Mario Bros. and open-world games like Metroid . GamesRadar credits the "level select" feature of Mega Man as

13837-416: The play area. Nintendo 's flagship Super Mario Bros. (1985) was a defining game for the nascent genre, with horizontally scrolling levels and the player controlling a named character—Mario, which became a mascot of the company. The term platform game gained traction in the late 1980s, as did the alternate form platformer . During their peak of popularity, platformers were estimated to comprise between

13974-561: The player around and aid in battle. In 1990, Hudson Soft released Bonk's Adventure , with a protagonist positioned as NEC 's mascot. The following year, Takeru's Cocoron , a late platformer for the Famicom allowed players to build a character from a toy box filled with spare parts. In 1990, the Super Famicom was released in Japan, along with the eagerly anticipated Super Mario World . The following year, Nintendo released

14111-599: The player controls Sonic in a side-scrolling fashion, while 3D sections see the camera placed behind Sonic so the player may move in all directions. In addition to moves available in past games, such as the Homing Attack, new moves are also introduced. For instance, a new sidestep feature known as the Quick Step is available, allowing Sonic to dodge left and right, and a Drift feature, which allows Sonic to make tighter turns without slowing down. The game also features

14248-487: The player may reveal, as well as advance, the story of the game. Hub worlds operate differently depending on the version of the game being played; the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions feature fully interactive, explorable 3D hub worlds, similar to those in Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic Adventure , in which townspeople may be interacted with and side quests may be undertaken, in order to gain experience or unlock items, such as artwork, videos and music tracks. In contrast,

14385-405: The player more control over the character and the camera. To render a 3D environment from any angle the user chose, the graphics hardware had to be sufficiently powerful, and the art and rendering model of the game had to be viewable from every angle. The improvement in graphics technology allowed publishers to make such games but introduced several new issues. For example, if the player could control

14522-416: The player to level up Sonic's Sun and Moon stats, and these must be increased to reach new stages in the game, with a certain number of Sun Medals for Hedgehog levels, and a certain number of Moon Medals for Werehog levels. Because only the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions feature playable hub worlds, these are also the only versions in which Sun and Moon Medals may be found by exploring the towns, talking to

14659-1048: The player. In the 1990s, RPGs , first-person shooters , and more complex action-adventure games captured significant market share. Even so, the platformer thrived. Tomb Raider became one of the bestselling series on the PlayStation , along with Insomniac Games ' Spyro and Naughty Dog 's Crash Bandicoot , one of the few 3D games to stick with linear levels. Moreover, many of the Nintendo 64 's bestsellers were first- and second-party platformers like Super Mario 64 , Banjo-Kazooie , and Donkey Kong 64 . On Windows and Mac , Pangea Software 's Bugdom series and BioWare 's MDK2 proved successful. Several developers who found success with 3D platformers began experimenting with titles that, despite their cartoon art style, were aimed at adults. Examples include Rare 's Conker's Bad Fur Day , Crystal Dynamics 's Gex: Deep Cover Gecko and Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver , and Shiny Entertainment 's Messiah . In 1998, Sega produced

14796-502: The series like Sonic Advance as well as later ones like Sonic Mania . The player controls either Sonic the Hedgehog or Blaze the Cat , who differ in terms of special abilities. In the tradition of past Sonic games, gameplay consists of moving quickly through levels, collecting rings and defeating enemies. The player collects rings as a form of health; when they are hit by an enemy or harmful obstacle, their rings bounce in all directions and can be recollected. The player begins

14933-415: The series was becoming more complicated, opting for a "fast, dynamic action" approach to the next title in the series. The music was primarily composed by Hideki Naganuma of Jet Set Radio fame. Additional music was composed by the game's sound director Teruhiko Nakagawa, along with Masayoshi Ishi and Hiroyuki Hamada of T's Music. Composing the music was a challenge for Naganuma, who had to work under

15070-406: The series, and slower, night-time levels, during which Sonic transforms into the Werehog, and gameplay switches to an action-based, brawler style of play, in which Sonic battles Gaia enemies (those created by the main enemy in the game, Dark Gaia). Each level takes place on a particular continent, each of which is based on a real-world location. In sections of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of

15207-416: The seventh. The game features special stages the player can access via certain handles in order to obtain the Chaos Emeralds . These Special Stages resemble those of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and use the DS's stylus controls. New features include a grading system that grades the player based on the time it takes for them to complete the level; they can return to levels later to try for a higher grade. There

15344-489: The time. Despite this, Yoshi's Story sold over a million copies in the US, and Mischief Makers rode high on the charts in the months following its release. The term 3D platformer usually refers to games with gameplay in three dimensions and polygonal 3D graphics. Games that have 3D gameplay but 2D graphics are usually included under the umbrella of isometric platformers , while those that have 3D graphics but gameplay on

15481-508: The title confirmed by Sega on April 3, 2008, with a small selection of screenshots and an updated video. Initially, it was stated that Unleashed was to be intended solely as a single-player experience, and would not offer any multiplayer or online modes. This was cast into doubt when references to online modes were alluded to around E3 2008 , but later interviews re-iterated that Unleashed would have no online modes at all. However, downloadable content , including additional levels, would remain

15618-540: The top down perspective, Frogger (1981) as climbing games. In a December 1982 Creative Computing review of the Apple II game Beer Run , the reviewer used a different term: "I'm going to call this a ladder game, as in the 'ladder genre,' which includes Apple Panic and Donkey Kong ." That label was also used by Video Games Player magazine in 1983 when it named the Coleco port of Donkey Kong "Ladder Game of

15755-416: The two dimensions are merging somehow, and both will collapse if the process is not stopped. Suspicious of Blaze, Sonic and Tails begin searching for her. Upon finding Blaze and Cream, Sonic questions Blaze about her nature, but she refuses to give any information and leaves with Cream. Sonic follows her to Eggman Nega's base, where it is revealed that Eggman and Eggman Nega are working together to collect both

15892-585: The unique motion-based gameplay mechanics, the Wii version of the game also supports the GameCube controller , and also the option of using the Classic Controller . The daytime levels for the PlayStation 2 and Wii versions were altered to accommodate the Wii's motion control-based boost mechanic, while night-time levels include a mostly behind-the-back view and different platforming styles and combat mechanics. Developer Dimps, who had past involvement in

16029-437: The video game industry internationally. The following year, Donkey Kong received a sequel, Donkey Kong Jr. and later Mario Bros. , a platformer with two-player cooperative play . It laid the groundwork for other two-player cooperative games such as Fairyland Story and Bubble Bobble . Beginning in 1982, transitional games emerged with non-scrolling levels spanning multiple screens. David Crane's Pitfall! for

16166-455: The visual flash of 3D with traditional 2D side scrolling gameplay. These games are often referred to as 2.5D. The first such game was Saturn launch title , Clockwork Knight (1994). The game featured levels and boss characters rendered in 3D, but retained 2D gameplay and used pre-rendered 2D sprites for regular characters, similar to Donkey Kong Country . Its sequel improved upon its design, featuring some 3D effects such as hopping between

16303-428: The way. These games are either presented from the side view, using two-dimensional movement, or in 3D with the camera placed either behind the main character or in isometric perspective . Typical platforming gameplay tends to be very dynamic and challenges a player's reflexes, timing, and dexterity with controls. The most common movement options in the genre are walking, running, jumping, attacking, and climbing. Jumping

16440-413: Was Floating Runner , developed by a Japanese company called Xing and released for PlayStation in early 1996, before the release of Super Mario 64 . Floating Runner uses D-pad controls and a behind-the-character camera perspective. In 1996, Nintendo released Super Mario 64 , which is a game that set the standard for 3D platformers. It let the player explore 3D environments with greater freedom than

16577-453: Was a primary way to attack. This was the first true 3D platform-action game with free-roaming environments, but it was never ported to another platform or released outside Japan, so it remains relatively unknown in the West. The following year, Exact released their follow-up to Geograph Seal . An early title for Sony's new PlayStation console, Jumping Flash! , released in April 1995, kept

16714-419: Was animated by Marza Animation Planet with Shinji Aramaki as director. Sonic Unleashed ran on the Hedgehog Engine, which began development in mid-2005 after Hashimoto was put in charge of making a Sonic game for high-end hardware. While excited at the prospect of creating a game for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 , with no development environment prepared for them, he and several other developers spent

16851-419: Was based on Sonic Team 's idea to combine elements from 2D and 3D games in the series. Upon release, Sonic Rush was well received by critics, with praise stemming from the game's visuals, music, and similarity to older games in the series and criticism stemming from its overall quickness. A sequel, Sonic Rush Adventure , was released in 2007. Sonic Rush is a 2D platform game , similar to earlier games in

16988-499: Was conceived to help introduce newer gamers unfamiliar with the Sonic franchise to the series and is what influenced the use of Unleashed as a subtitle for western markets. The game's existence was first brought to light when Sega trademarked the Unleashed name in March 2008, and shortly after, images and a gameplay video were leaked . Three versions of the game were developed: one by Sonic Team for high definition consoles such as

17125-532: Was found in any previous game in the genre. With this in mind, Nintendo put an analog control stick on its Nintendo 64 controller, a feature that had not been seen since the Vectrex but which has since become standard. The analog stick provided the fine precision needed with a free perspective. In most 2D platformers, the player finished a level by following a path to a certain point, but in Super Mario 64 ,

17262-453: Was given by critics to the Werehog concept and corresponding night-time sections, which contributed greatly to the lower than expected review scores. Some reviewers compared the Werehog sections to God of War . Complaints stemmed from the game's change of speed, from high-speed daytime sections to the slower, night-time sections; the "pace-breaking combat levels" were described as "plodding", as well as "lethargic" and "combat-heavy". Further to

17399-497: Was mixed. Reviewers praised certain elements, such as the sense of speed in daylight stages and the graphics and audio that make up the environments, but criticized others, such as the Werehog game mechanic, as well as several gameplay and design concepts; many felt Unleashed was not the game to reinvigorate the series. Sonic Unleashed was delisted from retailers in 2010, following Sega's decision to remove all Sonic games with below-average Metacritic scores from sale. Despite this,

17536-502: Was not as well received. GameSpy's Greg Sewart, although giving a mostly positive review, complained that "it's so fast you almost can't tell what's going on most of the time." 1UP.com and GamePro thought similarly. The game's music was well-received, called "bright [and] buoyant" by 1UP.com and compared to that of Jet Set Radio by GameSpot. GameSpy called the music "all very fitting and very catchy", noting its use of sampling and unconventional structure. In 2008, Sonic Rush

17673-488: Was originally intended to be the third installment of the Sonic Adventure series and subsequently, at an early development stage, had the working title Sonic World Adventure , complete with a work-in-progress logo. However, the development team began to introduce enough new innovations to separate it from the Sonic Adventure games, and so a new title, Sonic Unleashed , was decided. Sonic Team decided early on in

17810-662: Was released a month later on December 9 in North America, on December 18 in Australia, and on December 19 in Europe. In Japan, the Wii version was released on December 18, 2008, with the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions being pushed back to the next year due to manufacturing issues, on February 19, 2009; the PS2 port was not released in the region. It was revealed that the game's name in Japan would in fact remain Sonic World Adventure for its release there. On March 12, 2009, Sega released Sonic Unleashed ' s first DLC for

17947-407: Was released as a three-disc set in Japan on January 28, 2009. The vocal theme track, "Endless Possibility", written by longtime Sonic game composer Tomoya Ohtani , features Jaret Reddick of the American rock band Bowling for Soup . The ending theme music for the game is a slow tempo ballad, "Dear My Friend", and features singer Brent Cash . Initial anticipation when the first media for Unleashed

18084-434: Was revealed was high, as the demonstration videos hinted at a possible return of Sonic to his traditional platforming roots, especially because of the series' declining quality in recent years, and a number of poorly received games in the franchise that preceded it, such as the 2006 game, Sonic the Hedgehog . Sonic Unleashed received "mixed or average" reviews, with Metacritic aggregate scores of 60 and 54 out of 100 for

18221-418: Was the first game to allow players to jump over obstacles and gaps. It is widely considered to be the first platformer. It introduced Mario under the name Jumpman. Donkey Kong was ported to many consoles and computers at the time, notably as the system-selling pack-in game for ColecoVision , and also a handheld version from Coleco in 1982. The game helped cement Nintendo's position as an important name in

18358-503: Was the ninth best-selling DS game of December 2006. It sold 360,000 copies in Europe from March 2006 to March 2007. The game received a "Platinum" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), indicating sales of at least 300,000 copies in the United Kingdom. The game was released to "generally favorable" reviews, according to video game review aggregator Metacritic . Critics praised

18495-526: Was then added to PlayStation Now in April 2017. In November 2018, it was additionally relisted to the Xbox Games Store with backwards compatibility for the Xbox One ; on November 15, 2021, its compatibility was extended to the Xbox Series X/S , including FPS Boost to allow it to run at 60 frames per second. The game's soundtrack, Planetary Pieces: Sonic World Adventure Original Soundtrack ,

18632-484: Was too juvenile, or comparable to that of a Saturday morning cartoon. Speaking after the game's release, Sonic Team member and Sonic and the Black Knight (2009) producer and director Tetsu Katano remarked that although he did not feel the Werehog concept was a mistake, time and resources were a limiting factor in the game's production. He also remarked that the Werehog may reappear in future games, or possibly in

18769-540: Was used in Steve Bloom's 1982 book Video Invaders and 1983 magazines Electronic Games (US)—which ran a cover feature called "The Player's Guide to Climbing Games"—and TV Gamer (UK). Bloom defined "climbing games" as titles where the player "must climb from the bottom of the screen to the top while avoiding and/or destroying the obstacles and foes you invariably meet along the way." Under this definition, he listed Space Panic (1980), Donkey Kong , and despite

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