Archie's Sonic #225 feeds of our SEGA memories

I'm on to you Archie! After losing me as a reader by not doing a Sonic Adventure 2 adaptation, you try to reel me back in with fancy double sized covers, anniversary logos and the promise of a return of the Death Egg. Well guess what, it's working. Recently revealed over at IGN is the super sweet cover art for Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog #225, which shows the current cast (what happened to Rotor?!) running from the (DUM-DUM-DUMMM!) Death Egg. My guess is that the cover was done by longtime Sonic artist extraordinaire Patrick Spaziante. The story arc is titled the Genesis saga and will play out over the summer during Sonic's 20th anniversary.

Looks like I'll be picking up a few Sonic comics over the summer! And then come winter they'll lose me again by starting a story arc involving Julie-su and Mina the Mongoose creating a girl band.

[source: Sonic Stadium]

Phantasy Star Online’s Elenor action figure is awesome

While the ladies of PSO have received figures in the past via the SEGA Gals capsule toy collections, Japanese action figure company Kotobukiya has upped the ante with this awesome 5.3" figure of Elenor from Phantasy Star Online. The figure is currently available to pre-order from amiami for ¥2,530 ($31). Per the product description, the figure was initially sold in 2003 at Wonder Festival as a garage kit (I assume a build glue vinyl model kit?). Kotobukiya has reproduced the mold as a poseable plastic model kit rather than a PVC figure. The figure will be pre-colored, so no need to break out any paint. I assume you'd have to put it together, but it should be simple.

Check out the product page for a ton of photos and some very cool poses. 


[source: SEGAbits]

SegaWorld Sydney had a Sonic Puppet Show!

Yes you read that correctly. In possibly one of the most bizarre but brilliant discoveries about Sonic in a very long time, SonnikuForever on the Sonic Retro forums (see the thread here) was sourcing the net for information on Sydney's SegaWorld park which was open between 1997 and 2000, particularly about that supposed live show of which a soundtrack CD was released to the Internet some years back. Barely anyone online could even recollect what the show was like but SonnikuForever found the website of the shows creator Phillip Einfield of whom he got in contact with and the puppeteer was kind enough to send over scans of photos of the show along with a full detailing on what the show was like, how it was made and more! Hit the jump for the full scoop:

Here's what Philip sent SonnikuForever about the show:

The Sonic the Hedgehog Puppet Show performed 3-4 half hour shows daily in Sega World Sydney throughout 1998-99.

It was performed on center stage, pretty much in the middle of Sega World next to the food court. People could dine at their tables while watching the show.
The show was designed, written, produced and performed by Phillip Einfeld Puppetoons. It involved 2 puppeteers and a live hostess.

Dr. Robotnik had devised a plan to finally defeat his arch enemy Sonic. He has concocted a robot making machine that would build the ultimate, evil, robot with every device needed to catch Sonic. With the help of his buddies Tails and Princess Sally, Sonic defeats the robot (Grounder) who turns out to be a bit slow physically and mentally. Robotnik blasts off back to his secret laboratory in anger and everyone lives happily ever after.

Originally, a show with dancers and costumed characters performed on the stage. The soundtrack you have heard is from that show. I think I may have the puppet show sound track in my files somewhere but it could take some time to find it.
When Sega decided to disband the original stage show, due to it not being very dynamic, late 1997, I was brought in to replace it with the puppetshow and some animatronic displays.

I redesigned the stage to represent planet Mobius, on either end were magic mountains, every 15mins except during show times, audio animatronic Sonic and Tails characters rose out of top of mountains and spoke to each other and audience, anouncing show times and upcoming events in Sega World. In center of stage stood the large, fully sculpted puppet theatre. Perched above the theatre was a big ,purple, animatronic bird that spoke to the audience. Above the stage was a large vid screen. Segments of the puppet show where filmed and appeared on the screen I.e when Robotnik blasts off in his space ship he is seen flying across a planet strewn sky above the audience (on the screen).

The puppets were large, muppet style creations, Sonic, Tails, Princess Sally, Dr. Robotnik and Grounder the Robot. A large 'Robot making Machine' prop was made along with special Sonic hats for children chosen from audience to wear. The show included much audience participation. I had 3 original songs recorded (I attached the lyrics).
I used all my own people for the voices (all approved by Sega) From memory I voiced Grounder, Dennis White voiced Dr.Robotnik, and Sonic, Tails and Sally were voiced by Alexis Nagy. The original music and songs were written and produced by myself and Mark Rosenberg.

The photos are just something else. It's almost like when Woody found out about his old cowboy puppet show in Toy Story 2. The puppets are huge and a little bit freaky but in a charming way. Sonic and Tails are adorable, Robotnik looks awesome and Sally is a bit of a ugly wreak, kind of like those plush toys of her that were sold at the park. There is also a puppet of Gronder from AOSTH, though his a bit off-model to say the least, but still neat.

The set is also inspired by the Adventures cartoon, and there are Sonic and Tails animatronics that popped out of the Dr.Seuss like scenery. The expression on Tails face is quite frankly hilarious. As a child though I would of love this to pieces, seeing as I loved puppet shows and Sonic. What a find! How many video game franchises can say they even had a puppet show based on them?

Btw this is just a good time as any of ask this: Sega Memories wants photos, memories and write ups about anything visitors of SegaWorld Sydney may have. If you went there back when it was open and something to say about it, we would love to hear from you!

2011 is a very special year for Mario and Sonic!

This year is the 30th Anniversary of Mario, and the 20th Anniversary of Sonic - how cool is that?!

I think we can expect some very special Mario and Sonic games and events to celebrate these milestones as the year progresses. I will report on what's happening as soon as I know anything worth writing about, rest assured!

Don't forget to check out my MarioSonicGames.com website for loads of free Mario and Sonic games that you can play directly in your web browser.

Paper Mario World 2 is a hit game!

I wasn't sure it would be a hit because it took so long to develop, but it turns out my new Paper Mario World 2 Flash online game is proving to be very popular, and it has been copied into many other game sites from my MarioSonicGames.com site. Hoorah!

If you're a true Mario fan you'll know that a new official Paper Mario game, with the current working title of "Paper Mario 3DS" (for the new Nintendo 3DS handheld console), is going to be released at some point this year, hopefully before the summer. So my "Paper Mario World 2" game can be a nice little "sampler" while we're all waiting for the official game to be released! :-)

Dreamcast Doujinshi Manga Comic

Cross posting this from the Dreamcast Junkyard, seeing as it is a Sega related comic though not an official one, and may be considered a not very common collectible to find on Ebay.

Probably the weirdest thing you'll ever see me feature for DCJY InsideOut, and actually a bit NSFW although unlike most Doujinshi (fan comics) it's not a flat out hentai porn comic, but it is in places a tad perverted with quite a few er..well you'll see. You have been warned.

The comic features short stories based on Shenmue, Space Channel 5, Code Veronica, Soul Calibur and many others, but they're pretty much all resort to rubbish and just plain weird jokes. The art is mixed, sometimes pretty decent and other times wonky.

Because  Maken X features in the Doujinshi I also decided to show off a Official  Maken X manga I bought years ago, which is just a tad more gory than I  recall the game being. So yeah, this one is defiantly not for the younger lot or easily offended this vid. :P

Stuff things into Sonic's Stomach and Carry Him About!

During my Birthday in late November and Christmas I was given a lot of Sonic gifts, many brought back from America. Of course being known for collecting just about anything with Sonic on it (within reason) does help in that case. One of my Xmas presents this time around was this rather large Sonic plush back-pack. Apparently these cost a small fortune in Sega's Gameworks park in Las Vegas (around $70!) but this one was found for a much less insulting $25 at a Fye's store. More photos after the jump.

This is made by the same manufacturer who made those Classic Sonic plush dolls including the rather neat Amy Rose one that I posted about a while back, and this back pack is a lot like the Sonic from that set, only much bigger of course and with more details. Unlike the plush toy the hands are not stitched to it's body in a waggling finger pose; instead they are quite thick and a bit bendy so it can give you a big hug, if you're into that sort of thing.

Here's some size comparing with the plush toy and one of those 3" figures to give you a gist of how big it really is. Of course it needs to be this big if it's supposed to be a back pack, and his belly is also quite big so stuff can be stored into it. As Stacey put it, this Sonic needs to lay off the chilli dogs, though I've seen fatter Sonic plushies funnily enough.

"Find the Computer Room!"

But that's the thing; you just can't store much in this. The storage is only the stomach part so you'd be lucky to even get a small book in here let alone your whole school supplies or something. Everything else is stuffed with fluff like Winnie the Pooh so his arms can't be used as pencil cases etc. As far as actually carrying anything around in it goes it's pretty useless.

Then again this was purchased for me knowing that'll it'll be sitting on a shelf with the other Plush toys as it is. So if you're after a large Sonic plush that just so happened to have a zipper on his belly and doesn't look like a lanky abomination like this one then you can do worse. As for storing stuff to carry around in a classic Sonic themed thing, you would do much better with one of these messenger bags which you may only look a bit of a tit carrying around instead of a complete tit. One thing I did notice with that bag however is at Summer of Sonic everybody had one. Yep...

Sonic Mega Mix DVD Provides an Uneven Animation Sampling

While SEGA Memories hasn't written about a Sonic cartoon DVD in quite a while, mainly because everything has already been released to DVD, an interesting single disc release of Sonic cartoons caught my attention. Single disc releases of Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog (SatAM) and Sonic Underground are nothing new. The studio which owns the English language Sonic cartoons have been making an number of these budget releases, either giving a random selection of SatAM episodes or collecting story arcs into a single disc set, such as AoStH's time travel story arc (well worth the $6 in my opinion) and Sonic Underground Secrets of the Chaos Emerald (collecting all the Knuckles episodes).

Unlike those releases however, which stick to a single series, the Sonic Mega Mix DVD collects episodes from all three DIC Entertainment shows. Since the set arrives on Sonic's 20th anniversary and features all three series, I thought I'd look into it and see just what exactly makes up a "Mega Mix" of Sonic cartoons. The disc kicks off with Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, featuring three episodes from the series: Spaceman Sonic, The Little Merhog and Fast and Easy. While these may appear to be a random sampling of episodes, after a little thinking I realized that all three episodes have a connection. Spaceman Sonic features Sonic and Tails chasing Scratch and Grounder through the Starlight Zone, The Little Merhog features Sonic saving an underground city located within the Labyrinth Zone and Fast and Easy features Robotnik going after the Chaos Emerald Ring in the Secret Zone of Mobius (think Special Stage). A collection of episodes featuring connections to the games, nice!

Edit: I realized that I confused The Little Merhog with the episode Submerged Sonic. Submerged Sonic has Sonic and a merman saving an underground city located within the Labyrinth Zone, while The Little Merhog has Sonic helping a merhog named Merna save her underwater city. It's almost the same plot! So you can see why I'd get confused.

Sonic the Hedgehog (SatAM) is represented by two episodes: Ultra Sonic and Super Sonic. While both are good episodes, I can't help but think that those charged with selecting the episodes simply chose them due to their similar sounding names. Unlike the selected AoStH episodes, Ultra Sonic and Super Sonic do not dip into the game universe for inspiration. Instead, Ultra Sonic features Sonic discovering that his Uncle Chuck is alive and is a robot while the episode Super Sonic has Sonic stripped of his speed ability while having to race Robotnik to a magic crystal.

As I said, these are good episodes but I found them to be poor choices for the collection. Why not have the SatAM episodes Heads or Tails (the series pilot which Sonic and Tails ward off an invasion of Buzzbombers) and Game Guy (Sonic is lured into a deadly game of pinball by Robotnik).

Believe it or not, this is a Sonic cartoon!

Two episodes of Sonic Underground round out the set with Underground Masquerade and Sonic Tonic. Underground Masquerade is an odd choice, as it focuses on Sonic's brother Manic joining a gang of theives. Meanwhile Scratch and Grounder Sleet and Dingo attempt to steal taxes from Robotnik. Sonic plays a part in the episode, but this is hardly a good representation of the series. Sonic Tonic is a better choice as the focus is on Sonic's speed ability. Robotnik develops a potion which allows his henchmen to run at speeds rivaling Sonic. Once Sonic and his siblings get a hold of the potion, Sonia and Manic resist the temptation of taking the potion themselves. Why resist? Just drink the stuff!

Like the SatAM selections, the Underground episodes could have been better. Friend or Foe would have been an excellent choice, as it introduced Knuckles and the floating island. Another good choice would have been Virtual Danger, the final episode of the series. Despite not being a finale, the episode has Sonic, Sonia and Manic getting sucked into a video game of Robotnik's invention.

So is the Sonic Mega Mix DVD really the Mega Mix that the 90's Sonic cartoons deserved? No. If you're looking to relive the best that the three series has to offer, I suggest picking up the season sets of your favorites or getting the single disc story arc releases. The Mega Mix disc would have been much better had the creators decided on a theme, such as Sonic Team game inspired episodes. As it is, Sonic the Hedgehog Mega Mix is best left for the casuals and the future Sonic fans who spot this in the bargain section and decide to give it a look.

Until next time, I'm up over and gone!

Streets of Rage Fleetway Comic Original Artwork

Hogfather on Youtube has got to be one of the most hardcore Sonic collectors on Youtube, it's a real shame he doesn't have a blog with photos of his stuff too. Not only does he own a massive collection of Nigel Dobbyn's Sonic the Comic artwork, but just recently he has uploaded a video of a collection of original artwork from S.T.C's Street of Rage comics, and had a chat with the artist Peter Richardson about them too! Jammy sod. Anyway, here's the video:

Make sure you check out Hogfather's Youtube for many more videos of rare and one-of-a-kind Sonic and Sega stuff.

3 figures I forgot in the last update, 1 new one, and 2 awesome 3 inch customs!

Hi I'm back! Lets kick things off with 10 inch Sonic! I love his sculpt and everything about this figure! But, sadly, I would not recommend to a friend. I went to Toys R Us and all their 10 inches have a broken hand. I hope this gets fixed soon.

Hello Tails! This is the best super poser ever! I want one so badly! It has no flaws literally! Great Sculpt, Great Articulation, and great colors! You need this figure is the cure to common cold!

Sonic Free Riders Sonic! He comes with goggles and extreme gear. He is just like the first 3inch Sonic except the fact that he has different gloves and different sculpted shoes that fit on the pegs in the extreme gear. Now we have Knuckles. Not just any Knuckles, MINI KNUCKLES! Now we have Knuckles tojoin the mini army!

I am Mephiles, Mephiles the Dark. This figure is awesome! This is one of the best custom 3inchs I have seen... But it has competion. Cosmo the Seedrian! I am trying to decide which one I like the best. Comment on which one you like the best!

All picture taken from Sonic Gear

First4Figures Statues: good news and bad news.

I'm aware I forgot to post the full set of new Metal Sonic statue photos here but if you haven't seen them yet you can check them out at First4Figures website. meanwhile, there's been some news about it. Some good, some bad. See after the jump.

May as well get the bad news out of the way first. I was e-mailed by First4Figures recently with news that there may be issues with metal Sonic statues being ordered from anywhere outside of the USA and Canada. To quote what they said:

"Thank you for your order for the Metal Sonic collectible statue. Unfortunately our license for Sonic the Hedgehog has expired in Europe and the rest of the world apart from USA and Canada. We wish to extend our resin license with SEGA so that we can fulfill your Metal Sonic order and we should get a reply from SEGA in early January. Please kindly bear with us until we have further information, we will keep you posted.

In the meantime, we have your order on file and will keep your product number/statue secure until we have an update from SEGA. If we can extend our license, your order will be fulfilled. If not, we will have to cancel your order. Please note, we have not charged your card and that your order is under pending status for now."

Well poop. The exclusive light-up Metal Sonic statue is only limited to 350 so the chances of me getting one of those now might be slim, but maybe I'll be lucky and they'll hold on to my order with an iron grip. I guess at the worst I could order the cheaper non-light-up one if they let me or if a shop like Forbidden Planet ends up stocking it (where I got the first Sonic one).

The good news this will not affect orders for the Super Sonic statues as they have finished production and will start shipping between the end of January or sometime in February. Of course we know the Super Sonic's have been produced because they posted lots of photos of them over at their facebook account. If you haven't seen these pics yet go have a look: it's a whole army of Super Sonics!

McDonald's Collectibles book Sonic set insights

 

So I found a book lying in the loft about McDonald's Collectibles (this one to be specific) and found a couple pages in there about the Sonic set of toys made in 1994 to promote Sonic the Hedgehog 3, and there is a few interesting bits of info in it along with scans. Above is the American promo art for it and below is the British one.

Check after the jump for scans and info taken from the book about all the different international releases and the toy variants.

 

The set first appeared in America between February 4th till March 3rd of 1994, later showing up in Canada and Puerto Rico later that year. The UK got the set from January 27th to February 24th 1995, Germany and Belgium in March, and in June both New Zealand and Japan finally caught up.

The American set and the European set have some differences. Firstly the US set had a little Sonic ball as an option for younger kids which was only available there. Also the Tails toy was completely different. In America, the toy was in two parts and flew off when you pulled the handle on a string. This version was recalled during the last week of the promotion according to the book due to problems with the pull string.

US Version (left) Euro version (right)

The European Tails toy has the same flat base of Tails himself but the toy itself was changed because they were worried kids would get hurt by a flying lump of plastic. On this one Tails is on base I presume is based on those floaty UFO things from marble Garden zone, and this one has a plastic zip pull thing that when pulled through the little holes makes the Tails (and er...his tails) spin about, but he doesn't fly off the base.

But even more interesting is the Japanese set. They didn't get the tails toy at all, and the Sonic and Knuckles were identical but the Robotnik toy got re-designed to match Japan's original Eggman design as opposed to the Adventures of Sonic cartoon one we got. I haven't seen this variant in particular mentioned or photographed anywhere online though I could be mistaken. EDIT: I was mistaken, there is a photo of it over at the Eggman Empire. If anyone owns this toy we'd love to see some more proper photos of it! Check out this cute artwork of the Eggman toy!

Thanks go to the authors of the book Ray and Ruby Richardson and David and Lesley Irving for these bits of Sonic toy info.