One could easily argue that Sonic The Hedgehog has never been a more popular character than it is right now. The only other time you could argue his “peak” was when he first came out and he was the mascot that helped race Sega into the mainstream to go and fight Nintendo in one of the initial console wars. However, after that war ended in The Big N’s victory, Sonic has been very much up and down in terms of quality. But now that he’s back in the “good graces of gamers,” they want to see titles like Sonic Advance come back with a fresh coat of paint.
That’s not a random thing to ask, either. After all, Sega is about to drop a remaster/remake of another title, which will upgrade the looks of Sonic’s side of the game while also dropping all-new content featuring Shadow the Hedgehog. However, fans are now looking at Sonic’s early games on the Game Boy Advance and wondering if they could get the remaster/remake treatment. In a chat with VGC, Sonic Team boss Takashi Iizuka had this to say on the matter:
“There’s currently no plans for the Sonic Advance series to be remade or remastered, but we don’t know what the future holds. Katsuyuki Shigihara was a director on Sonic Origins, which took Sonic 1, 2, 3 and CD, and we remastered that and brought it out for fans to enjoy. And if we have the chance, if there’s an opportunity for the Advance series to also get that treatment, or whatever circumstances may pop up, we’d love to do it.”
One would be fair to point out that, should the upcoming remaster work and sell good numbers, Sega and Sonic Team would be foolish not to attempt another remaster or remake of its like. We already know they’ve had thoughts about a certain other part of Sonic’s franchise getting a return, though you won’t simply see a Chao Garden game, no matter how much you beg for it.
Another element of this is, naturally, the upcoming third live-action movie with Sonic, which will bring Shadow the Hedgehog into the mix to up the ante even more. With the one and only Keanu Reeves voicing him, you can expect a great amount of drama, action, and potentially guns…lots of guns. Okay, not really. The Sonic Team has already said they won’t give him a gun again, but Shadow will get a bike!
So, with all that’s happening, anything is possible in Sonic’s universe.
