Sonic Shuffle
Encyclopedia
is a video game for the Dreamcast and was Sega
's answer to the Nintendo
party game
, Mario Party. The game was developed by Hudson Soft
, who also developed Mario Party, and co-developed by Sonic Team
.
franchise
. The game supports one player in Story Mode and up to 4 players simultaneously in Versus Mode and the Sonic Room. Further to the simultaneous play, the game allows for players to play in teams and play against one another on a giant game board, going around and playing mini games to collect Emblems. Whoever has the most emblems at the end of each board wins. The overall goal of each board is to collect the most precioustones, out of a total of 7. There are 5 boards in total: Emerald Coast, Fire Bird, Nature Zone, Riot Train, and Fourth Dimension Space.
The game also featured 8 playable characters, each with their own unique abilities, and 4 of which needed to be unlocked. The available characters were: Sonic, Tails, Amy, Knuckles, Super Sonic, Big the Cat, Gamma, and Chao.
The game featured around 50 mini games and around 30 mini events. Mini games ranged in variety and challenge and they were divided by Teams of 2, Teams of 3 versus a Single Player and a Free-For-All. The mini events generally involved a little story, or event, and usually a choice given at the end to determine your prize or punishment. As well as having a single-player Story Mode and a two- to four-player Versus Mode, the game had a “Sonic Room” where you could play your favorite mini-games, after unlocking them, with your friends without starting a full game in a place called the "Toy Box", as well as a stereo to play your favorte soundtracks. Both of these must be unlocked by buying Photos from the Photo Album. (Although during the mini-games, most of the time, the Emeralds tended to land nearest to CPU characters, rather than the player(s)'s character, making it difficult to win, and the CPU could "read" the player's cards and almost always stole the best card for moving)
called Maginaryworld, which they inadvertently stumble upon one day. A villain named Void has shattered the Master Precioustone into many pieces, resulting in chaos in every part of the world. Lumina Flowlight and the rest of MaginaryWorld are counting on Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Amy to restore it and bring Illumina back, who mysteriously disappeared after the disappearance of the Precioustone. At the end of the game it is revealed that Lumina and Void both are Illumina, and that Illumina doubted herself. Sonic and friends leave Maginaryworld knowing that it is now safe again and during the credits, the four head off to their next adventure.
Unlockable Characters
Each character had their own unique ability. With the exception of Chao, who only had one ability, each character has an ability for the Board and an ability for Battles.
, Illumina. She is a pink, fairy
-like creature who bears an extremely high resemblance to NiGHTS
. In the beginning of the game, she brings Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy and (unknowingly) Robotnik to Maginary World in order to get their help to repair the Precioustone, which was shattered by Void. Later, she and Void cancel each other out, following her revelation that Void is the nothingness in the imagination that allows people to dream. She and Void are actually the two halves of Illumina that make her a complete entity.
Lumina and Illumina are voiced by Elara Distler in the game.
-like villain from Sonic Shuffle. At the start of the game, Void shatters the mysterious Precioustone, which controls his world, Maginaryworld. Sonic and friends then set out on a quest to defeat him and repair the stone. Throughout the game, Void shows signs of depression and loneliness which touches the hearts of Sonic and his friends who, in turn, want to help him amidst the evilness within him. At the end of the game, it turns out that Void is needed for the balance
in Maginaryworld, as he is the nothingness that gives people the ability to dream. He is in fact one half of Maginaryworld's ruler Illumina. Lumina is the other half. As such, Sonic and his friends do not destroy him, and leave Maginaryworld knowing that Lumina and Void cancel each other out. Cosmo from Sonic X
bears a resemblance to both Void and Lumina. He was voiced by Lani Minella
in the English version and Urara Takano
in the Japanese version.
Prototype storylines for the Archie comics included a mention of Void as an upcoming antagonist, undoubtedly for a Sonic Shuffle adaptation that was never published.
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
's answer to the Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
party game
Party game
Party games are games that some people play as forms of entertainment at social gatherings. Party games usually involve more than one player. There are a large number and styles of party games available and the one selected will depend on the atmosphere that is sought to be generated...
, Mario Party. The game was developed by Hudson Soft
Hudson Soft
, formally known as , is a majority-owned subsidiary of Konami Corporation is a Japanese electronic entertainment publisher headquartered in the Midtown Tower in Tokyo Midtown, Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, with an additional office in the Hudson Building in Sapporo. It was founded on May 18, 1973...
, who also developed Mario Party, and co-developed by Sonic Team
Sonic Team
is a Japanese computer and video game developer established in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan in 1990, originally known as Sega AM8. The Japan-based division is also known as G.E. Department Global Entertainment. The studio has collaborated with several in-house Japanese studios as well as other American-based...
.
Overview
In Sonic Shuffle, the player can select one of the main characters of the Sonic the HedgehogSonic the Hedgehog (character)
, trademarked Sonic The Hedgehog, is a video game character and the main protagonist of the Sonic video game series released by Sega, as well as in numerous spin-off comics, cartoons, and a feature film. The first game was released on June 23, 1991, to provide Sega with a mascot to rival Nintendo's...
franchise
Media franchise
A media franchise is an intellectual property involving the characters, setting and trademarks of an original work of media , such as a film, a work of literature, a television program or a video game. Generally, a whole series is made in a particular medium, along with merchandising and endorsements...
. The game supports one player in Story Mode and up to 4 players simultaneously in Versus Mode and the Sonic Room. Further to the simultaneous play, the game allows for players to play in teams and play against one another on a giant game board, going around and playing mini games to collect Emblems. Whoever has the most emblems at the end of each board wins. The overall goal of each board is to collect the most precioustones, out of a total of 7. There are 5 boards in total: Emerald Coast, Fire Bird, Nature Zone, Riot Train, and Fourth Dimension Space.
The game also featured 8 playable characters, each with their own unique abilities, and 4 of which needed to be unlocked. The available characters were: Sonic, Tails, Amy, Knuckles, Super Sonic, Big the Cat, Gamma, and Chao.
The game featured around 50 mini games and around 30 mini events. Mini games ranged in variety and challenge and they were divided by Teams of 2, Teams of 3 versus a Single Player and a Free-For-All. The mini events generally involved a little story, or event, and usually a choice given at the end to determine your prize or punishment. As well as having a single-player Story Mode and a two- to four-player Versus Mode, the game had a “Sonic Room” where you could play your favorite mini-games, after unlocking them, with your friends without starting a full game in a place called the "Toy Box", as well as a stereo to play your favorte soundtracks. Both of these must be unlocked by buying Photos from the Photo Album. (Although during the mini-games, most of the time, the Emeralds tended to land nearest to CPU characters, rather than the player(s)'s character, making it difficult to win, and the CPU could "read" the player's cards and almost always stole the best card for moving)
Plot
The story involves Sonic and company getting caught up in a mess in a dream worldDream world (plot device)
Dream world is a commonly used plot device in fictional works, most notably in science fiction and fantasy fiction. The use of a dream world creates a situation whereby a character is placed in a marvellous and unpredictable environment and must overcome several personal problems to leave it...
called Maginaryworld, which they inadvertently stumble upon one day. A villain named Void has shattered the Master Precioustone into many pieces, resulting in chaos in every part of the world. Lumina Flowlight and the rest of MaginaryWorld are counting on Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Amy to restore it and bring Illumina back, who mysteriously disappeared after the disappearance of the Precioustone. At the end of the game it is revealed that Lumina and Void both are Illumina, and that Illumina doubted herself. Sonic and friends leave Maginaryworld knowing that it is now safe again and during the credits, the four head off to their next adventure.
Gameplay
The game play involves playing randomly given cards. The deck of cards has four of every card numbering 1-6 and four wild cards. Three of the wild cards have an “S” and the remaining card is the “ROBOTNIK” card. Playing the cards would dictate the distance your player would move on the board. The S cards could be played as a 7 if you had decent timing as the card changed from 1 to S. The "ROBOTNIK" card was bad fortune for one or all of the characters and would generally cause trouble for the players in myriad ways. A full game could take anywhere from 20 minutes to two and a half hours, depending on how many precioustones you decided to be available to you at the beginning.Mini Games
There was a wide variety of mini-games found within Sonic Shuffle. In some mini games, the players all play against each other, while in other mini games the players are split into 2 teams of two and 1 vs. 3.Playable characters
- Sonic The HedgehogSonic the Hedgehog (character), trademarked Sonic The Hedgehog, is a video game character and the main protagonist of the Sonic video game series released by Sega, as well as in numerous spin-off comics, cartoons, and a feature film. The first game was released on June 23, 1991, to provide Sega with a mascot to rival Nintendo's...
- Miles "Tails" ProwerMiles "Tails" Prower, better known by his nickname , is a character, as well as the main deuteragonist in the Sonic the Hedgehog series of video games, comics, animated series and film released by Sega....
- Amy RoseAmy Rose, known earlier as Rosy the Rascal, is a video game character who appears in most of the Sonic the Hedgehog series of video games developed by Sega's Sonic Team, debuting in Sonic CD as the third recurring protagonist. Amy Rose was created by Kazuyuki Hoshino and based on one of Kenji Terada's...
- Knuckles the EchidnaKnuckles the EchidnaKnuckles the Echidna is a video game character of the Sonic the Hedgehog game series, including spin-off games and comics. His first appearance was in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, released in 1994 to introduce a new rival for Sonic. He was presented as an antagonist who was tricked by Dr. Eggman into...
Unlockable Characters
- Big the Cat
- E-102 Gamma
- Super Sonic
- ChaoChao (Sonic the Hedgehog)A is a fictional life form in the Sonic the Hedgehog video game series published by Sega. Chao made their first appearance in the 1998 Dreamcast game Sonic Adventure as digital pets. They have since appeared in several video games in the Sonic the Hedgehog series as digital pets, minor characters,...
Each character had their own unique ability. With the exception of Chao, who only had one ability, each character has an ability for the Board and an ability for Battles.
Lumina Flowlight
Lumina Flowlight is the guardian of the Precioustone in Maginary World, along with the world's goddessGoddess
A goddess is a female deity. In some cultures goddesses are associated with Earth, motherhood, love, and the household. In other cultures, goddesses also rule over war, death, and destruction as well as healing....
, Illumina. She is a pink, fairy
Fairy
A fairy is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, a form of spirit, often described as metaphysical, supernatural or preternatural.Fairies resemble various beings of other mythologies, though even folklore that uses the term...
-like creature who bears an extremely high resemblance to NiGHTS
Nights
Nights may refer to:*The plural form of night*"Nights" , by Ed Bruce*Nights , the main character in the video games Nights into Dreams... and Nights: Journey of Dreams...
. In the beginning of the game, she brings Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy and (unknowingly) Robotnik to Maginary World in order to get their help to repair the Precioustone, which was shattered by Void. Later, she and Void cancel each other out, following her revelation that Void is the nothingness in the imagination that allows people to dream. She and Void are actually the two halves of Illumina that make her a complete entity.
Lumina and Illumina are voiced by Elara Distler in the game.
Void
Void is the impImp
An imp is a mythological being similar to a fairy or demon, frequently described in folklore and superstition. The word may perhaps derive from the term ympe, used to denote a young grafted tree.-Folklore:...
-like villain from Sonic Shuffle. At the start of the game, Void shatters the mysterious Precioustone, which controls his world, Maginaryworld. Sonic and friends then set out on a quest to defeat him and repair the stone. Throughout the game, Void shows signs of depression and loneliness which touches the hearts of Sonic and his friends who, in turn, want to help him amidst the evilness within him. At the end of the game, it turns out that Void is needed for the balance
Balance (metaphysics)
In the metaphysical or conceptual sense, balance is used to mean a point between two opposite forces that is desirable over purely one state or the other, such as a balance between the metaphysical Law and Chaos — law by itself being overly controlling, chaos being overly unmanageable,...
in Maginaryworld, as he is the nothingness that gives people the ability to dream. He is in fact one half of Maginaryworld's ruler Illumina. Lumina is the other half. As such, Sonic and his friends do not destroy him, and leave Maginaryworld knowing that Lumina and Void cancel each other out. Cosmo from Sonic X
Sonic X
is an anime series based on the Sonic the Hedgehog video game series. It was produced in Japan by TMS Entertainment with the partnership of Sega and was created by Sonic Team and Sonic Project. In the United States, 4Kids currently owns and manages copyright and branding of the series.- Series 1 ...
bears a resemblance to both Void and Lumina. He was voiced by Lani Minella
Lani Minella
Lani Minella is a voice actress who has voiced in over 500 computer and video games as well as several TV and anime series. She is best known for voicing Nancy Drew, Millie Strathorn, Loulou the Parrot and Freddie in the Nancy Drew computer games, Ivy Valentine in the Soulcalibur video game...
in the English version and Urara Takano
Urara Takano
is a Japanese voice actress from Togane, Chiba. Takano runs the talent agency Remax, although she was originally affiliated with Ken Production. She is the mother of actress Anna Kirie. Her real name, as well as her former stage name, is , in addition, she and Jennifer Tilly both does Celia...
in the Japanese version.
Prototype storylines for the Archie comics included a mention of Void as an upcoming antagonist, undoubtedly for a Sonic Shuffle adaptation that was never published.
Reception
The game received generally mixed to negative reviews. Ratings from online gaming sites include:- Planet Dreamcast: 9.5/10
- IGNIGNIGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
: 4.7/10 - GameSpotGameSpotGameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
: 4.5/10 - GameProGameProGamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...
: 5/5 - Official Dreamcast Magazine (UK)Official Dreamcast Magazine (UK)The Official Dreamcast Magazine was a video game magazine published by Dennis Publishing in the United Kingdom between 1999 and 2001. The magazine featured news, reviews, previews and features on Dreamcast games. The magazine held the official magazine license for the Dreamcast in the UK and...
: 8/10 - Gaming Age: C
- Game Revolution: B-
- Electronic Gaming MonthlyElectronic Gaming MonthlyElectronic Gaming Monthly is a bimonthly American video game magazine. It has been published by EGM Media, LLC. since relaunching in April of 2010. Its previous run, which ended in January 2009, was published by Ziff Davis...
: 5.5/4.0/6.0 - According to the ABCAustralian Broadcasting CorporationThe Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
video game show, Good GameGood GameGood Game is an Australian video gaming talk show television programme created by Janet Carr and Jeremy Ray currently on ABC2. It premiered on ABC on 19 September 2006...
, it was "Mario Party minus the fun". - ScrewAttackScrewAttackScrewAttack . is a video game-related website that showcases original entertainment for an audience of video game enthusiasts. Its content is also shown on GameTrailers and IGN...
ranked it #3 in its list of worst Sonic games, commenting on how it was "copying the competition" and "a terrible rip-off of Mario Party. But what it did offer was a massive storyline...that sucked."