The greatest Sonic game we never got to play

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A brilliant 3D Sonic game? On the Saturn? It very nearly happened. We talk to one of the designers of the one that got away

Cut to later in the year. Despite the hiccups of platform changes and alterations to the staff line-up, the Sonic X-treme team was finally getting into its stride and starting to produce some very exciting results. The game was already shaping up to be an incredibly fresh, invigorating and downright drool-worthy reinvention of Sonic. It was a tight, focussed extension of what the 16-bit games had been, marrying exhilerating bursts of speed with inventive platforming and exploration.

The team was split into two factions. One, led by Senn and Alon, beavered happily away on the main game levels, while the other, headed up by irrepressable human-dynamo Chris Coffin, worked on a more free-roaming, ‘arena-style’ 3D engine for the game’s many boss fights. The future of Sonic, the Saturn, and Sega itself was looking great.

However…

David Houghton
David Houghton
Long-time GR+ writer Dave has been gaming with immense dedication ever since he failed dismally at some '80s arcade racer on a childhood day at the seaside (due to being too small to reach the controls without help). These days he's an enigmatic blend of beard-stroking narrative discussion and hard-hitting Psycho Crushers.