Sonic Superstars

Sonic Superstars is a 2.5D side-scrolling platformer that returns to the series’ classic roots. The story follows Sonic the Hedgehog and his friends—Tails, Knuckles, and Amy Rose—as they journey to the North Star Islands to stop Dr. Eggman, Fang the Sniper, and a new villain named Trip the Sungazer from conquering the region and turning its animals into robotic Badniks. Players must complete 12 zones, defeat bosses, and collect Chaos Emeralds in special stages to unlock powerful new abilities and a super state. The game features local co-op for up to four players and a separate online or local Battle Mode where players can customize robots and compete in various challenges.

Sonic Superstars: A Triumphant, Flawed Return to Roots

Introduction

In the ever-evolving landscape of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, a series perpetually torn between its revered 2D past and its ambitious 3D future, Sonic Superstars arrives as a bold declaration. Developed by Arzest in collaboration with Sonic Team and released on October 17, 2023, this 2.5D side-scroller represents a conscious effort to modernize the “Classic” Sonic formula without abandoning its soul. It is a game built on a foundation of profound legacy, helmed by the series’ original creators, yet burdened by the immense weight of expectation. The thesis is clear: Sonic Superstars is a visually polished, mechanically faithful, and often exhilarating homage to the Genesis era, but its ambitious new additions frequently stumble, preventing it from reaching the legendary status of the titles it so desperately wants to emulate.

Development History & Context

The genesis of Sonic Superstars is a story of reunion and recalibration. Following the critical and commercial success of the fan-developed Sonic Mania in 2017, Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka saw a confirmed market for the classic 2D style. Initial plans for a follow-up collaboration with Mania’s developers (who had formed Evening Star) fell through, as both parties agreed a direct sequel would feel like a rehash. Iizuka wanted something fresh that could appeal to a broader audience beyond the hardcore pixel-art faithful.

The project found its true north during a casual Zoom drinking session between Iizuka and Naoto Ohshima, the original designer of Sonic and director of Sonic CD, who had left Sega in 1999. Ohshima, president of development studio Arzest, expressed his enduring fandom for the series, and a collaboration was born. This marked Ohshima’s first significant contribution to a Sonic game since 1998’s Sonic Adventure, a homecoming 25 years in the making.

Development began in early 2021, a two-and-a-half-year process led by director Shunsuke Kawarazuka. Arzest handled primary development with support from Sonic Team. The goal was starkly different from the previous 2.5D attempt, the maligned Sonic the Hedgehog 4 episodes. Iizuka was adamant: this was to be a true sequel to the Genesis trilogy, inspired specifically by Sonic 1, 2, and 3 & Knuckles, not the more recent Sonic Advance titles.

The technological challenge was immense. Using the Unity engine, the team’s first and most crucial task was replicating the precise physics and “feel” of the 16-bit originals—a task they approached with almost archaeological rigor. They rebuilt classic stages in the new engine and overlaid them with footage from the original games, cross-referencing until the movement, momentum, and jump arcs were indistinguishable. This painstaking effort was the bedrock upon which everything else was built. The gaming landscape at release was fiercely competitive, with Superstars launching just three days before Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros. Wonder, a coincidence that invited immediate and inevitable comparison and would later be cited by Sega as a factor in its slightly softer-than-expected launch sales.

Narrative & Thematic Deep Dive

Sonic Superstars tells a simple, archetypal Sonic story, deliberately eschewing the voice acting and complex narratives of the “Modern” series in favor of the pantomime storytelling of the Genesis era. The plot is conveyed through expressive character animations and interactions between stages. Dr. Eggman, accompanied by the returning bounty hunter Fang the Hunter (last seen in 1996’s Sonic the Fighters), arrives on the mystical Northstar Islands. Their goal is to capture the islands’ giant animals to fuel an army of Badniks and seize the Chaos Emeralds.

The key new narrative element is Trip the Sungazer, a mysterious, armored native of the islands designed by Ohshima based on a sungazer lizard. Initially coerced into aiding Eggman and Fang, Trip’s character arc involves breaking free from their influence. Iizuka stated a desire to create a villain with a relatable, empathetic backstory, a stark contrast to characters like Forces’ Infinite. This ambition, however, is scarcely realized within the game itself. The story provides a basic motivational framework—stop the bad guys, save the animals—but deeper lore regarding the ancient civilization that left ruins across the islands or the origin of the new Emerald powers is almost entirely absent. As one critic noted, the game leaves significant “homework” for ancillary media like the IDW comics or TailsTube to explain, a notable shortcoming in the wake of Sonic Frontiers‘ initiative to codify series lore.

Thematically, it is a return to pure, unadulterated adventure. The themes are classic Sonic: freedom versus mechanization, nature versus industry, and the power of friendship, the latter emphasized by the four-playable-character setup. The narrative’s simplicity is both its greatest strength, evoking nostalgic purity, and its weakness, feeling underdeveloped compared to the gameplay systems it introduces.

Gameplay Mechanics & Systems

At its core, Sonic Superstars’ gameplay is a triumphant success. The core physics engine is a near-perfect recreation of the Genesis titles. The sensation of building momentum, launching off springs, and tearing through loop-de-loops feels authentic and satisfying. This is the first 2.5D Sonic game where the controls feel neither floaty nor overly stiff; they are precisely tuned. Players can choose from Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy from the outset, each with their unique abilities faithfully translated: Tails’ flight, Knuckles’ glide and climb, Amy’s hammer and double-jump. Unlocking Trip after the main campaign adds a character whose moveset combines Amy’s jump with Knuckles’ climbing.

The game structures its 12 zones with a refreshingly varied number of acts—some have one, some two, some three—which helps maintain pacing and avoid predictability. The level design is largely excellent, offering the series’ trademark multi-layered routes with upper paths rewarding skilled play with speed and lower paths offering exploration and secrets. New stage gimmicks, like grinding on vines in Speed Jungle or transforming into a voxel creature in a digital zone, are creative and well-integrated.

The two most significant new mechanics are the Chaos Emerald powers and the four-player local co-op. The seven new Emerald powers, obtained through special stages (a 3D bubble-swinging challenge), are a bold innovation. Each Emerald grants a unique ability:
* Ivy (Green): Spawns a climbable vine.
* Avatar (Blue): Creates a swarm of clones to attack and collect rings.
* Slow (Yellow): Slows time.
* Extra (Silver): Grants a character-specific enhanced attack.
* Water (Cyan): Turns the character into a liquid to traverse water and waterfalls.
* Vision (Purple): Reveals hidden platforms and rings.
* Bullet (Red): Launches the character like a fireball.

While conceptually interesting, these powers are deeply flawed in execution. Their utility is wildly inconsistent; many feel situational to the point of being superfluous, and activating them via a radial menu often kills the game’s flow during critical platforming sequences. They are a novel idea that clashes with the core design philosophy of speed and momentum.

The local co-op mode for up to four players is the other major addition and its most significant misstep. While a laudable ambition, the single-screen approach is fundamentally incompatible with Sonic’s high-speed, multi-route gameplay. It devolves into chaos, with slower players constantly teleported to the leader or frustrated experts dragged back by mistakes. The lack of online co-op only compounds the issue, limiting its practicality. Critics almost universally panned it, with many stating the game is best experienced as a solo adventure.

The new Battle Mode, an online and local PvP mode where players customize “Metal Fighters” and compete in mini-games like races and last-man-standing battles, was widely criticized as shallow, tacked-on, and lacking meaningful incentive.

Finally, the boss battles proved to be a major point of contention. While some are creative, many, particularly in the late game, are criticized for being overly long, reliant on tedious trial-and-error, and featuring unclear attack patterns that brutally halt the game’s pacing.

World-Building, Art & Sound

Sonic Superstars presents a stunning visual overhaul for the classic formula. Abandoning Mania’s pixel art for a 2.5D style was a deliberate choice to broaden appeal, and it largely pays off. The character models are beautifully animated, full of personality, and perfectly capture the classic designs in 3D. The game’s zones are vibrant, colorful, and imaginative, from the sun-drenched beaches of Bridge Island to the metallic gears of Press Factory. The ability to move between the foreground and background adds a welcome new dimension to the level design. The opening anime cinematic, directed by Sonic X’s Toshihiko Masuda, is a particular highlight, bursting with style and nostalgia.

However, the critical reception to the art style was divided. Some praised its polish and charm, calling it the best 3D interpretation of the classic aesthetic. Others found it overly safe and occasionally lacking the detailed personality and identity of the original zones, sometimes veering into a generic “Unity engine” look.

The soundtrack, led by series veteran Jun Senoue with contributions from Tee Lopes, Hidenori Shoji, and others, aimed for the pop-rock style of the Genesis days. The result is similarly divisive. Tracks like the main theme and certain zone music were praised as energetic and catchy, fitting the Sonic mold perfectly. Yet, many critics found the overall soundtrack unmemorable and inconsistent, failing to reach the iconic heights of the original games or even Sonic Mania’s stellar score. The sound design itself, from the ring collection chime to the spin dash rev, is perfectly executed and deeply satisfying.

Reception & Legacy

Sonic Superstars launched to a mixed-to-average critical reception, garnering a Metacritic score of 73 on PS5 and 67 on Switch based on 69 and 13 reviews, respectively. The aggregate score of 72% on MobyGames tells a similar story. Praise was universally directed at its faithful physics, fun core gameplay, beautiful visuals, and successful emulation of the classic feel. Criticism was overwhelmingly focused on its flawed new mechanics: the underwhelming Emerald powers, the disastrous co-op implementation, the tedious boss fights, and the shallow Battle Mode.

The common critical refrain was that it was a marked improvement over Sonic 4 but ultimately inferior to both the original Genesis titles and Sonic Mania. As Nintendo Life stated, it is “the first original 2D Sonic game that feels truly authentic to the Genesis titles without aping the classic pixel-art style,” but IGN summarized the consensus well: it has “a mix of both interesting and ill-advised new ideas, making it an enjoyable Sonic game but not exactly a Super one.”

Commercially, Sega reported that initial sales were slightly below expectations, which president Haruki Satomi attributed to the fierce competition from Super Mario Bros. Wonder. However, by June 2024, Sega reported it had “sold well,” and a later accidental disclosure revealed sales of 2.43 million copies by June 2025—a respectable figure, though not a blockbuster.

Its legacy is still forming. It proved there is a viable path forward for 2D Sonic games with a modern 3D art style. It successfully reintegrated Naoto Ohshima into the franchise and brought back Fang, pleasing long-time fans. However, it also serves as a cautionary tale about the risks of over-complicating a proven formula with underbaked new features. It won no major awards, though it was nominated for Best Family Game at The Game Awards 2023, losing to its direct competitor, Super Mario Bros. Wonder.

Conclusion

Sonic Superstars is a game of fascinating contradictions. It is simultaneously a triumphant technical achievement, a heartfelt love letter to the past, and a frustrating case of missed potential. Arzest and Sonic Team deserve immense credit for perfectly capturing the elusive “feel” of classic Sonic gameplay, a feat that had eluded them for over a decade. The moment-to-moment platforming through its creatively designed zones is some of the most fun the 2D series has offered in years.

Yet, the game is persistently hamstrung by its own ambition. The Emerald powers, while innovative, feel incongruous and poorly implemented. The co-op mode is a failed experiment. The boss battles often bring the experience to a grinding halt. These elements prevent it from standing alongside the Genesis greats or the refined excellence of Sonic Mania.

Ultimately, Sonic Superstars is a very good, often great, 2D Sonic game that is best enjoyed as a single-player experience. It is a flawed but important step in the evolution of the classic Sonic formula, proving the blue blur can still run smoothly in 2D—he just occasionally trips over the new obstacles placed in his path. Its place in history is secure as a noble, beautifully presented effort that came achingly close to superstardom but settled for being merely very good.