is a 2014
action-adventure
The action-adventure genre is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres.
Typically, pure adventure games have situational problems for the player to solve to complete a storyli ...
platform
Platform may refer to:
Technology
* Computing platform, a framework on which applications may be run
* Platform game, a genre of video games
* Car platform, a set of components shared by several vehicle models
* Weapons platform, a system or ...
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
developed by Big Red Button and published by
Sega for the
Wii U
The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4.
Th ...
.
Along with ''
Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal'' for the
Nintendo 3DS, it is a spin-off of Sega's ''
Sonic the Hedgehog'' series and is a part of the ''Sonic Boom'' franchise, which also consists of an
animated television series (whose games serve as a prequel), a comic series by
Archie Comics, and a toyline by
Tomy
is a Japanese entertainment company that makes children's toys and merchandise. It was created from a merger on March 1st 2006 of two companies: Tomy (founded in 1924 as Tomiyama, changing the name to Tomy in 1963) and long-time rival Ta ...
. The game explores on
Sonic,
Tails,
Knuckles and
Amy, who must stop Lyric the Last Ancient from acquiring the Chaos Crystals by powering up a robot army and wiping out all organic life, after Sonic accidentally awakens Lyric from a thousand year rest, while escaping
Doctor Eggman
Doctor Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik is the main antagonist of Sega's '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' franchise. Eggman was created and designed by Naoto Ohshima as part of many design choices for Sega's new mascot. After the creation of Sonic the Hedgehog, ...
.
''Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric'' began development under the tentative title ''Sonic Origins'' in 2011, initially intending to be a ''
Jak and Daxter
''Jak and Daxter'' is an action-adventure video game franchise created by Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin and owned by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The series was originally developed by Naughty Dog with a number of installments being outsourc ...
''-style game (later retitled ''Sonic Synergy'') and would have focused around four-player concept; intended for release on
PC and other consoles, it moved development to the under powered
Wii U
The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4.
Th ...
as part of a three-game exclusivity deal Sega had signed with
Nintendo. Since the game's engine (
CryEngine
CryEngine (stylized as CRYENGINE) is a game engine designed by the German game developer Crytek. It has been used in all of their titles with the initial version being used in ''Far Cry'', and continues to be updated to support new consoles and ...
) was not intended to run on the Wii U, many of the gameplay concepts were hastily removed or simplified, while the story was rewritten due to Sega gaining full control over the television series.
Richard Jacques
Richard Adrian Jacques (; born 1973) is a British composer of film, television and video game music. Best known for his critically acclaimed orchestral scores for blockbuster franchises such as '' James Bond 007: Blood Stone'', ''Sonic R'', '' ...
, who was the lead composer for ''
Sonic 3D Blast
known in Europe and Japan as is a 1996 platform game in the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series for the Sega Genesis and Sega Saturn. As Sonic the Hedgehog, the player embarks on a journey to save the Flickies, birds enslaved by Doctor Robotnik ...
'' and ''
Sonic R
is a 1997 racing game developed by Traveller's Tales and Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Sega Saturn. It is the third racing game in the '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' series, and the first to feature 3D computer graphics. The player race ...
'', returned to write the soundtrack.
''Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric'' released in North America, Europe and Australia in November 2014, and the following month in Japan as ''Sonic Toon''. Sega did not provide reviewers with advance copies; it received
overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics for its controls,
camera system
In 3D video games, a virtual camera system aims at controlling a camera or a set of cameras to display a view of a 3D virtual world. Camera systems are used in video games where their purpose is to show the action at the best possible angle; m ...
, combat, story, gameplay, dialogue, and numerous bugs and technical issues. Some described it as both one of the worst games of 2014, and one of the worst ''Sonic'' games ever made. The game was also
a commercial failure, with the combined sales of ''Rise of Lyric'' and ''Shattered Crystal'' totaling 620,000 copies by March 31, 2015, making them among the worst-selling games in the franchise.
Following the failure of ''Rise of Lyric'', Big Red Button had nearly considered shutting down.
Gameplay
''Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric'' is an
action-adventure
The action-adventure genre is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres.
Typically, pure adventure games have situational problems for the player to solve to complete a storyli ...
game with a stronger emphasis on exploration and combat compared to previous ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' installments,
featuring four main characters whom players control:
Sonic,
Tails,
Knuckles, and
Amy. Gameplay is divided into four main styles: speedy
platforming stages similar to the main series ''Sonic'' games, high-speed tracks in which players need to dodge obstacles quickly, slower stages with a bigger emphasis on exploration, and
boss
Boss may refer to:
Occupations
* Supervisor, often referred to as boss
* Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier
* Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization
* Fire boss, ...
battles.
All characters are able to execute various fighting actions,
as well as collect up to 100 rings
and scrap metal to upgrade various stats.
Each character has their own unique abilities and gameplay mechanics: Sonic can use his speed and homing attacks, Tails can fly and use various gadgets, Knuckles can burrow underground and climb on walls, and Amy can use her hammer to swing on poles.
Each character also possesses a whip-like weapon called the Enerbeam, which allows them to perform various actions such as hanging from speeding rails, removing enemy shields, and solving puzzles. Throughout the game, players are able to switch between all four characters, although not all of them are available at all times.
The game supports local two player co-operative play, as well as several mini games with up to four players at once.
Plot
Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy pursue
Doctor Eggman
Doctor Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik is the main antagonist of Sega's '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' franchise. Eggman was created and designed by Naoto Ohshima as part of many design choices for Sega's new mascot. After the creation of Sonic the Hedgehog, ...
until they encounter an ancient tomb with carvings of Sonic and Tails on the entrance. Sonic is stopped twice by Amy from opening the door, but when
Metal Sonic
The ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' video game franchise began in 1991 with the game ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' for the Sega Genesis, which pitted a blue anthropomorphic hedgehog named Sonic against a rotund male human villain named Doctor Eggman (or Doctor ...
ambushes the group, Sonic opens the door and the group escape. Inside, they encounter an imprisoned, but powerful snake villain named Lyric the Last Ancient.
Lyric recognises Sonic from events transpiring one thousand years ago and captures the group,
but Tails deactivates the shackles and turns them into beams named Enerbeams for the group to use.
After meeting Cliff, the group discovers that Lyric planned to power an army of war robots with the Chaos Crystals to create a world of twisted metal and robots,
but was imprisoned by The Ancients when they discovered the plan; the group then set out to retrieve the Chaos Crystals before Lyric.
At an abandoned research facility, they meet MAIA, a robot who rebelled against Lyric, who assists them by creating a portal, allowing Sonic and Tails to go one thousand years back in time to retrieve a map showing the location of the Chaos Crystals. Sonic and Tails are then attacked by
Shadow
A shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object. It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section of a shadow is a two-dimensional silhouette, ...
, but defeat him, enter the portal, successfully retrieve the map from inside Lyric's weapon facility and trap him inside for future imprisonment by The Ancients.
Lyric reluctantly forms an alliance with Eggman, but after no success, Lyric turns on Eggman by programming Metal against him. The group defeat Metal and Eggman and retrieve the final Chaos Crystal, but Sonic is then surrounded by Lyric and his robots. Lyric demands the Crystals; Sonic refuses to give them up, but Tails, Knuckles and Amy agree to do so. Sonic is then attacked by Lyric's robots and buried under rubble, but recovers and the group set out to Lyric's lair to stop him. During the battle, Lyric reprogrammes the Enerbeams to ensnare the group, but before he can take advantage of the situation, Eggman ambushes Lyric from behind, freeing the group. Sonic then ties up Lyric with assistance from his friends and removes Lyric's technopathy device to incapacitate him; Knuckles discards it. The group celebrate, but Eggman recovers the device and uses it to revive Metal.
Development
Conception
Los Angeles-based game studio Big Red Button developed the game under supervision by
Sonic Team
is a video game developer owned by the Japanese video game company Sega as part of its Sega CS Research and Development No. 2 division. Sonic Team is best known for the long-running ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series and games such as '' Nights int ...
and long-time ''Sonic'' game designer
Takashi Iizuka
, better known by his ring name , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his 33-year career in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was a three-time IWGP Tag Team Champion. He has also worked for Pro Wrestling Noa ...
.
The game was built on
CryEngine
CryEngine (stylized as CRYENGINE) is a game engine designed by the German game developer Crytek. It has been used in all of their titles with the initial version being used in ''Far Cry'', and continues to be updated to support new consoles and ...
and is centered on "combat and exploration".
Sega outsourced the game to Western developers in order to increase the game's appeal in Western markets, culminating in a separate westernized Sonic franchise.
The video game concept came after the television series plan. Big Red Button was chosen due to the studio's
adventure game portfolio and leader,
Bob Rafei of the ''
Crash Bandicoot
''Crash Bandicoot'' is a video game franchise originally developed by Naughty Dog as an exclusive for Sony's PlayStation console. It has seen numerous installments created by various developers and published on multiple platforms. The series c ...
'', ''
Uncharted
''Uncharted'' is an action-adventure video game franchise published by Sony Interactive Entertainment and developed by Naughty Dog. Created by Amy Hennig, the ''Uncharted'' franchise follows a group of treasure hunters who travel across th ...
'', and ''
Jak and Daxter
''Jak and Daxter'' is an action-adventure video game franchise created by Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin and owned by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The series was originally developed by Naughty Dog with a number of installments being outsourc ...
'' series.
Portions of the game were co-developed by
IllFonic
IllFonic, LLC is an American video game developer based in Golden, Colorado, with further offices in Tacoma, Washington, and Austin, Texas. The studio was founded by Charles Brungardt, Kedhrin Gonzales and Raphael Saadiq in 2007. IllFonic is b ...
, who assisted with some of the game's level design, art assets, and code.
Chris Senn worked as a level designer, his second ''Sonic'' project after having previously worked on the cancelled ''
Sonic X-treme
''Sonic X-treme'' was a platform game developed by Sega Technical Institute from 1994 until its cancellation in 1996. It was planned as the first fully 3D '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' game, taking Sonic into the 3D era of video games, and the firs ...
'', initially planned for release in 1996.
''Sonic Boom'' started development in 2011 as ''Sonic Origins'', intended to be a ''Jak and Daxter''-style game focused around four-player
co-op multiplayer.
The plotline for the game would have explained the origins of Sonic, with him and Doctor Eggman once being friends, only for Eggman to break their friendship after an incident related to
time travel
Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a ...
causes the both to have a feud. One of the "pillars" for the game was to create a more "organic and natural world" with a cartoonish art style, something a former developer for the game admitted to fan site ''Sonic Paradise'' isn't as apparent in the final game. Eventually, the development studio created a
vertical slice
A vertical slice, sometimes abbreviated to VS, is a type of milestone, benchmark, or deadline, with emphasis on demonstrating progress across all components of a project. It may have originated in the video game industry.
The term "vertical slic ...
over the course of two years to show to Sega of Japan, intended to be released on
Steam, with releases on the
PlayStation Store
The PlayStation Store (PS Store) is a digital media store available to users of Sony's PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 game consoles via the PlayStation Network.
The store offers a range of downloadable conten ...
and
Xbox Live if it sold well enough.
The vertical slice was titled ''Sonic Synergy''.
Transition to Wii U and development issues
At around the time of ''Synergy'', Sega had signed an exclusivity contract with
Nintendo in which three ''Sonic'' games would be developed exclusively for Nintendo consoles, particularly the
Wii U
The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4.
Th ...
and
Nintendo 3DS due to them just being released. This included both ''
Sonic Lost World
is a 2013 action-adventure platform game developed by Sonic Team. It is part of the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series, and was released in October 2013 for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS in PAL regions by Nintendo and by Sega in North America and Japan. ...
'' and ''
Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games'', which both released in 2013 after the announcement of the deal.
In late 2012, Sega showcased the ''Synergy'' demo to Nintendo, who agreed to include it as part of the deal. Sega later announced the decision to switch to the Wii U in 2013, as well as mandating a 3DS port of the game; the 3DS port eventually became ''
Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal'', developed by
Sanzaru Games
Sanzaru Games, Inc. is an American video game development company that was founded in Foster City, California in 2006. Sanzaru also has a satellite studio based in Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario called Kitazaru, as well as an office in Dublin, Califor ...
. Sega of Japan also forced several changes, including altering the character designs to be closer to the originals, increasing the speed, and rejecting the origin storyline.
Further issues came when the game was being ported to the Wii U due to Cry Engine 3 not being designed to run on the system, resulting in Big Red Button receiving help from
Crytek
Crytek GmbH is a German video game developer and software developer based in Frankfurt. Founded by the Yerli brothers in Coburg in 1999 and moved to Frankfurt in 2006, Crytek also operates further studios in Kyiv, Ukraine and Istanbul, Turkey. ...
to get it working.
Several gameplay elements were also simplified; the four-player aspect was reworked into a two-player game, while levels became much linear than designed. At the same time, a separate ''Sonic'' television series was being produced, however eight months before release, Sega gained full control over the series and made further changes to the world; Knuckles was made more dimwitted, many filler cutscenes were added in an attempt to explain the story, and the Ancient's role in the story was reduced greatly.
Other elements removed from the game included
Chao, a ring-banking system, and a biplane segment between Sky Citadel and Lyric's Lair. The game was renamed to ''Sonic Boom'' due to Sega wanting to make the brand global, and ''Synergy'' losing its original meaning by the end of development.
Bob Rafei later stated that they had added too many mechanics early on into development and that it led to its later development difficulties, something Sega of America producer Stephen Frost agreed with. British composer
Richard Jacques
Richard Adrian Jacques (; born 1973) is a British composer of film, television and video game music. Best known for his critically acclaimed orchestral scores for blockbuster franchises such as '' James Bond 007: Blood Stone'', ''Sonic R'', '' ...
composed the music. Jacques was selected for his experience with ''Sonic'' games including ''
Sonic 3D Blast
known in Europe and Japan as is a 1996 platform game in the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series for the Sega Genesis and Sega Saturn. As Sonic the Hedgehog, the player embarks on a journey to save the Flickies, birds enslaved by Doctor Robotnik ...
'', ''
Sonic R
is a 1997 racing game developed by Traveller's Tales and Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Sega Saturn. It is the third racing game in the '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' series, and the first to feature 3D computer graphics. The player race ...
'', and ''
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
is a kart racing video game developed by Sumo Digital and published by Sega. It was released for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii U in November 2012, for PlayStation Vita in December 2012, for Windows in January 2013, for Nintendo 3DS i ...
''.
Release and marketing
After footage was shown off at the
Game Developers Conference
The Game Developers Conference (GDC) is an annual conference for video game developers. The event includes an expo, networking events, and awards shows like the Game Developers Choice Awards and Independent Games Festival, and a variety of tuto ...
(GDC) 2013, Sega officially announced ''Sonic Boom'' on February 6, 2014.
The franchise was designed for Western audiences
and serves as a prequel to the television series. Sega of America's marketing director Marchello Churchill explained that the new franchise was not designed to "replace modern Sonic".
The Western developer's CEO explained that ''Sonic Boom'' Sonic is "very different ... both in tone and art direction",
and that it is a separate continuity to the main series. Customers who had pre-ordered the game through
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential econo ...
in the U.S. or UK would receive special lighting suits for the playable characters, with UK players additionally receiving a T-shirt if it was pre-ordered on Nintendo's online store.
''Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric'' released in North America on November 11, 2014,
and in Europe on November 21.
Although not initially intended to be released in Japan,
it was later revealed that it would release on December 18, 2014, as ''Sonic Toon: Ancient Treasure''.
On the first day of the U.S. release, a
glitch
A glitch is a short-lived fault in a system, such as a transient fault that corrects itself, making it difficult to troubleshoot. The term is particularly common in the computing and electronics industries, in circuit bending, as well as among ...
was discovered that allowed players to jump to infinite heights by pausing the game during Knuckles' jump, which could be used to bypass most of the game.
Speedrun
Speedrunning is the act of playing a video game, or section of a video game, with the goal of completing it as fast as possible. Speedrunning often involves following planned routes, which may incorporate sequence breaking and can exploit glit ...
ners managed to beat the game in under an hour using the glitch;
one of the writers of the television series referenced an edited episode clip mocking the bug. In January 2015, a one
gigabyte patch was released to fix a few problems with the game, including the "Knuckles Jump" glitch.
Reception
Pre-release
Pre-release demos featured at
E3 2014 received mostly negative reception from journalists.
Destructoid
''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017, and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022.
History
...
nominated ''Rise of Lyric'' for "Best Platformer" and "Best Nintendo Exclusive" for their "Best of E3" awards.
In contrast,
GameCentral wrote, "the very worst game in the line-up was Sega's ''Sonic Boom'', which was so unspeakably awful we couldn't even force ourselves to play through the whole demo".
Shortly after the end of development in July 2014, many employees began leaving the company due to the poor work experience, leading to concerns about its quality.
Post-release
Unlike previous games, Sega did not provide reviewers with advance copies of either ''Shattered Crystal'' or ''Rise of Lyric''; they could only begin reviewing once the game was set for sale. Upon release, ''Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric'' received
overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics. It has a
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
score of 32/100
and a
GameRankings score of 33.15%,
making them the lowest-scoring ''Sonic'' games on either site.
Reviewers near-universally criticized the numerous technical issues.
Don Saas of
GameSpot
''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
called the world "more bug-ridden than the tunnel from ''
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom''", highlighting sound effects not playing most of the time, being able to clip through various environments, and the game once
crashing his Wii U.
''
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' was less negative, writing "''Rise of Lyric'' isn't fundamentally broken or unplayable; it's just thoroughly disappointing and unpolished."
''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
'' also noted frame drops, regarding the whole game as rushed and unpolished.
The gameplay was similarly poorly received for its "tedious" combat and low difficulty, although some praised the multiplayer minigames.
Reviewers also panned the overall presentation.
''IGN'' felt that the characters were well animated, but that the game as a whole was "further dragged down by nearly every aspect of its presentation", particularly the overuse of the same character quotes for basic actions.
Tim Turi of ''
Game Informer
''Game Informer'' (''GI'', most often stylized ''gameinformer'' from the 2010s onward) is an American monthly video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and associated consoles. It debuted in August 1991 w ...
'' was similarly critical stating "These guys won't shut up about how much they love rings. Dr. Eggman even spouts out groan-inducing, poorly-aged meme references, like 'Nailed it!' or 'That. Just. Happened.'"
Destructoid
''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017, and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022.
History
...
felt that the characters and indoor environments looked good, but that the outdoor environments were half-finished.
David Jenkins from ''GameCentral'' considered ''Sonic Boom'' the worst game of 2014, sarcastically saying that one of the few positives was that "it proves previews do give a relatively accurate impression of a game's final quality".
''
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
'', ''Game Informer'', and
Yahoo!
Yahoo! (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web services provider. It is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and operated by the namesake company Yahoo Inc., which is 90% owned by investment funds managed by Apollo Global Manage ...
all listed ''Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric'' as among the worst games of 2014, while
Nintendo Life
Gamer Network Limited (formerly Eurogamer Network Limited) is a British mass media company based in Brighton. Founded in 1999 by Rupert and Nick Loman, it owns brands—primarily editorial websites—relating to video game journalism and oth ...
listed it as the worst ''Sonic'' game in the series' history. Sega announced that both ''Sonic Boom'' games had sold a combined 620,000 copies as of March 31, 2015, making them one of the lowest-selling in the franchise.
Notes
References
External links
*
{{Portal bar, Video games
2014 video games
3D platform games
Action-adventure games
Asymmetrical multiplayer video games
CryEngine games
Nintendo Network games
Sega video games
Wii U games
Wii U-only games
Wii U eShop games
Video games scored by Richard Jacques
Video games developed in the United States
Video games featuring female protagonists
Single-player video games
Sonic the Hedgehog spin-off games