German dubbing studio has listed “Sonic Colors Remastered” in their works, along with a French store listing “Sonic Colors Ultimate.”
Sonic Stadium reports German dubbing studio Iksample have leaked “Sonic Colors Remastered” among their upcoming projects. At this time of writing, Iksample’s website has gone done for oh-so-conveniently timed maintenance. However, screenshots from the website create doubts [1, 2, 3, 4].
Firstly, the game is listed under their 2020 works (specifically localizing the game in December 2020). This is not entirely abnormal if they conducted the work during 2020. The other projects listed are also suspiciously hard to find other sources for, such as Final Fantasy XIV patches 5.3 to 5.4, an unspecified Zelda game (possibly Link’s Awakening or Skyward Sword HD), and Alan Wake.
The latter could only be the content from Control‘s AWE expansion, as the Alan Wake and Alan Wake’s American Nightmare launched in 2010 and 2012. Wii Cross 2 is another, as the game seemingly does not exist, and developing games for the Nintendo Wii even in 2020 would be far too outdates.
The Sonic Colors Remastered listing also features artwork from Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice. While it being a placeholder is a likely possibility, it begs why older images from Sonic Colors was not used.
However, there is other evidence to point it to being true. French retailer Sogamely has listed “Sonic Colors Ultimate – Limited Edition” for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. The game’s release date is listed as December 31st. However, the price of €34.99 EUR (roughly $42 USD) is likely a placeholder for a higher price, especially considering it is supposed to be a limited edition.
In earlier news, a business-to-business advert for Sonic the Hedgehog confirmed new games will be revealed in 2021 for the series’ 30th anniversary; along with a wave of new merchandise. Sonic Colors was well received on Nintendo Wii, and even a mere HD port could help win back some much lost faith after the middling reactions to Sonic Forces [1, 2, 3, 4].
Even so, a port or remake may send mixed messages. We previously reported how Roger Craig Smith announced would no longer voicing Sonic the Hedgehog, after voicing the character for ten years. Other major voice actors and actresses also revealed they would not be making the cut; however Mike Pollock as Dr. Eggman remained.
A simple port would likely not need altering voice actors, meaning Sega would be releasing a game with different voices to whatever they use in other Sonic games (possibly a brand new one released around the same time), and the upcoming 3D animated cartoon Sonic Prime on Netflix. If the game is being remade, it may mean lines are re-recorded with a new dub.
Overall, despite Iksample’s listing irregularities, we think there is a high chance this rumor is true. The existence of a store listing is not infallible, such as when Amazon France listed multiple PlayStation 4 titles as coming to PC.
However, they are usually the result of human error making private and work-in-progress pages public before they should. These include The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD [1, 2], Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake, Neromunda: Hired Gun, Tomb Raider: Definitive Survivor Trilogy, and many, many more.
The only question that remains is what makes the game “Ultimate”? Will it be a straight port with graphical improvements, or will there be new features? We will keep you informed as we learn more.
Sonic Colors is available on Nintendo Wii, and Nintendo DS.
Image: Sega
