Sonic Lost World Gamescom Trailer Reveals Multiplayer Mode

A new video has popped up from Gamescom for the next iteration in Sega’s headliner franchise, Sonic Lost World, particularly the Wii U version.

As expected, the video spoils little odds and ends for the game. Newly revealed enemies include spiders, giant rolling bombs (again, flashes of Super Mario Galaxy), gigantic eels and owls, and so forth.

Now, officially revealed is the game’s multiplayer aspects. There will be the prerequisite competitive mode, in this case relegated to 2 player races. One plays with the GamePad while the other cops another controller (unrevealed, but possibly flexible enough to be any alternate control) and looks at the TV screen. The players’ Miis are displayed on the TV, and they both play Sonic, but neither are blue.  And no, they’re not using color powerups either. Since it is treated as a race, both screens will display a progress bar showing off who is ahead.

Cooperative multiplayer, also two player, is actually the more interesting story here. Player 1 controls Sonic, while Player 2 is apparently Tails himself, not controlling Tails on screen but a small flying UFO apparently he commands. The trailer shows that he can easily clear up obstacles for Sonic, with the apparent intent of helping him get around faster.

This mode is curious because we get no indication either player is relegated to the GamePad, or any indication what controller Player 2 can use. In fact, I suspect Tails’ little flying machine may be somewhat tethered to Sonic in some way. In short, this leaves us asking more questions than answering them.

In a prior Nintendo Direct, Iwata explained 3DS and Wii U connectivity for people who had both versions of the game. The 3DS could send over data to the Wii U, providing Sonic with an assistant drone just like this one. Like I said, the plot just gets thicker and thicker.

Finally, the trailer reveals you can share items on Miiverse, which is a great implementation of the service, and one I expect other games will copy soon enough.

If this Japanese event is any indication, Sonic still has a lot of support in Sega’s homeland, and might be a bigger hit than most people expect. Can Sonic go toe to toe with the Playstation 4 launch and get revenge from Sony after all these years? We’ll find out this October.