Sonic Shuffle

Last updated

Sonic Shuffle
Sonicshufflebox.png
North American box art
Developer(s) Sega [a]
Publisher(s) Sega
Producer(s) Hirokazu Kojima
Shuji Utsumi [1]
Designer(s) Hidenori Oikawa [1]
Programmer(s) Yasuhiro Kosaka [1]
Artist(s) Hisashi Kubo [1]
Series Sonic the Hedgehog
Platform(s) Dreamcast
Release
  • NA: November 13, 2000
  • JP: December 21, 2000
  • PAL: March 9, 2001
Genre(s) Party
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Sonic Shuffle [b] is a Sonic the Hedgehog -themed party game developed and published by Sega for the Dreamcast in 2000. The game plays like a board game much in the same vein as Nintendo's Mario Party series, with up to four players moving their characters across a game board filled with a variety of spaces which can trigger different events. Some spaces will launch minigames that pit the players against each other in short competitive events.

Contents

Sega contracted Hudson Soft, the developers of Mario Party, to assist with development. For the game's graphics, they used the same cel shading technique used in their earlier game Jet Set Radio (2000). An online multiplayer mode was planned, but it was pulled so the game could launch in time for the 2000 holiday season. Although critics praised the graphics, the game's excessive load times and poorly explained, overly complex minigames were found to be significantly detrimental to the overall experience. Critics classified Sonic Shuffle as an inferior clone of Mario Party.

Gameplay

Sonic walking across a minigame space Sonic Shuffle screenshot.png
Sonic walking across a minigame space

Sonic Shuffle is a party game for up to four players, playing like a board game in a similar fashion to the Mario Party series. [2] The game is set in a dream world called "Maginaryworld", where a fairy asks Sonic the Hedgehog, Tails, Knuckles the Echidna, and Amy Rose to retrieve "Precioustones" to help her save Maginaryworld from Void, the game's villain. [3] [4] The players can choose to play as one of these four characters, or Big the Cat, E-102 Gamma, Super Sonic, and a Chao if unlocked later. Each character has unique abilities they can use to traverse the game boards. [3]

Players take turns moving across the board in an effort to collect the most Precioustones; this is done by picking cards and moving the amount of spaces specified on it. Each player is dealt seven cards at a time, and their deck is visible on their personal VMU screen in their controller, keeping it a secret from other players. [c] When it is a player's turn to move, they can choose to play a card from their hand, or play a random card from another player's hand. There is also a card which can be used to steal cards, swap hands with another player, or move one to seven spaces as decided by a short slot machine style game. Finally, there is a card that will summon Doctor Eggman, who will steal the player's rings or swap their position on the board with another player. [2]

There are a variety of different spaces on the board. The most common spaces increase or subtract the player's ring count. [2] Rings can be used to purchase power-ups in the form of "forcejewels" at special shop spaces. [3] These stones can give the player numerous advantages, such as selecting more than one card in one turn or teleporting to other players' positions. Battle spaces pit the player that lands on the space in a short card game against an enemy. There is also always one space that harbors a Precioustone. When one of these is collected by a player, another one is placed on the board. The goal of each game is to collect the most Precioustones. [2]

Finally there are minigame spaces. These spaces will launch a random minigame with either all the players, or just the player that landed on the space. The solo minigames are story-like sequences where the player must answer a question to win rings or gems, or lose them if answered wrong. The minigames that involve all the players come in a wide variety. Some are free-for-all games, while others pit the players against each other in two-versus-two or one-versus-three situations. [2]

Development and release

Sonic Shuffle was developed by Sega, [2] with assistance from the Hudson Soft team behind Mario Party (1998), [5] [6] and supervision from Sonic Team. [1] Most sources attributed Sega as the developer [2] [3] [7] although some attributed the game to Sega's internal development team Smilebit. [8] [9] Smilebit had previously developed Jet Set Radio (2000) for the Dreamcast which was well regarded for its cel shaded visuals. [10] Sega used the same cel shading techniques in Sonic Shuffle. [2]

Sega revealed that a Sonic Adventure spin-off was in development alongside Sonic Adventure 2 in October 1999. [11] The game was revealed in the June 2000 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) with the tentative title Sonic Square, shortly before the E3 trade fair that year. Sega had planned to reveal information about Sonic Adventure 2 to EGM for the issue, but decided the game was not ready to be shown, and shared Sonic Square instead. [5] Support for online multiplayer through SegaNet was planned, it was ultimately cut so the game could ship ahead of the 2000 holiday season. [7] Sonic Shuffle was released for the Dreamcast in North America on November 14, 2000, [12] in Japan on December 21, [13] and in Europe on March 9, 2001. [14] The game was expected to appear in the 2002 compilation Sonic Mega Collection , [15] but was ultimately not included. [16]

Reception

The game received "mixed" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. [17]

Critics were quick to identify the game as an inferior clone of Mario Party. [2] [3] [9] [21] [23] They found the minigames to be overly complex, poorly explained, and generally not as enjoyable as those in Nintendo's flagship party series. [21] [23] [24] Both GameSpot and Eurogamer felt as though the minigames were an afterthought, only appearing sparingly whereas in Mario Party they were central to the experience. [21] [23] GameSpot noted that it was possible to play through an entire game without ever playing a minigame, and felt that they were "a test of who can decipher the needlessly bewildering gameplay first". [23] IGN complained about needing to land on certain tiles to play the minigames. [24] Official Dreamcast Magazine (UK) argued that the minigames interfered with the main board game. [2] PlanetDreamcast felt that they were inconsistent in quality, and wished there had been an option to turn them off. [3] The long load times when transitioning between the main game board, the minigames, and other scenes was another common complaint. [9] [26] [27] GameSpot wrote: "The combination of the unbearable load times, the smattering of minigames, and the poor minigame design make Sonic Shuffle a boring diversion at best." [23] Eurogamer felt that Samba de Amigo (1999) was a better party game. [21] Greg Orlando of NextGen concluded his review of the game by saying: "In the end, this shuffle is a decent one, and the hand that's dealt from it can hardly be considered a throwaway." [25] Dr. Zombie of GamePro said that the game "can be tedious in one-player mode, but it's clearly intended for multiplayer fun. Although it's the only party game for Dreamcasters, Sonic Shuffle deals a great hand for all to play." [28] [e]

Most reviewers praised the colorful and cartoon styling of the cel shaded graphics. [23] [24] [4] GameRevolution praised the environment textures and felt the graphics were of the same high quality as Jet Set Radio. [4] However, the graphics were not enough to convince critics. [9] [21] Eurogamer wrote that the visuals and audio were "deceptively good", hiding the bad gameplay underneath. [21] Edge appreciated the visuals, but wrote that "ultimately, the game is dull. Under the dark shadow of Sonic Adventure 2, this tepid, diluted affair will have difficulty proving itself, even to franchise stalwarts". [9] [f] Official Dreamcast Magazine (UK) and its American counterpart both felt that the game was more fun with human players rather than computer-controlled opponents, and complained about the lack of online support. [2] [27] GameRevolution agreed, finding it boring waiting for computer players in single-player mode. [4] Official Dreamcast Magazine (US) felt that with more development time and support from Sonic Team, the game could have been saved. [27]

Notes

  1. ↑ Hudson Soft assisted on development.
  2. ↑ Japanese: ソニックシャッフル, Hepburn: Sonikku Shaffuru
  3. ↑ If a player does not have a VMU, their cards are shown on the television screen for all to see. [2]
  4. ↑ Three critics of Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the game each a score of 5.5/10, 4/10, and 6/10.
  5. ↑ GamePro gave the game two 4.5/5 scores for graphics and sound, 5/5 for control, and 4/5 for fun factor.
  6. ↑ Edge gave the game four out of ten.

Related Research Articles

<i>Nights into Dreams</i> 1996 video game

Nights into Dreams is a 1996 action game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Sega Saturn. The story follows the teenagers Elliot Edwards and Claris Sinclair, who enter Nightopia, a dream world where all dreams take place. With the help of Nights, an exiled "Nightmaren", they begin a journey to stop the evil ruler Wizeman from destroying Nightopia and consequently the real world. Players control Nights flying through Elliot and Claris's dreams to gather enough energy to defeat Wizeman and save Nightopia. The game is presented in 3D and imposes time limits on every level, in which the player must accumulate points to proceed.

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 its Sonic the Hedgehog series and games such as Nights into Dreams and Phantasy Star Online.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dreamcast</span> Home video game console

The Dreamcast is the final home video game console manufactured by Sega. It was released on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, Nintendo's GameCube, and Microsoft's Xbox. The Dreamcast's 2001 discontinuation ended Sega's 18 years in the console market.

<i>Sonic Adventure</i> 1998 video game

Sonic Adventure is a 1998 platform game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Dreamcast. It was the first main Sonic the Hedgehog game to feature 3D gameplay. It follows Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, Knuckles the Echidna, Amy Rose, Big the Cat, and E-102 Gamma in their quests to collect the Chaos Emeralds and stop Doctor Robotnik from unleashing Chaos, an ancient evil. Controlling one of the six characters—each with their own abilities—players complete levels to progress the story. Sonic Adventure retains many elements from prior Sonic games, such as power-ups and the ring-based health system. Players can play minigames such as racing and interact with Chao, a virtual pet.

Chao (<i>Sonic the Hedgehog</i>) Fictional life-forms in the Sonic the Hedgehog video game series

Chao are fictional life-forms in the Sonic the Hedgehog video game series published by Sega. They are small, childlike creatures that go through a complex life cycle and exist in several visual forms depending on how they are raised. Developer Sonic Team incorporated Chao into the games to encourage players to explore levels and support the good–evil dichotomy of Sonic Adventure 2.

<i>Phantasy Star Online</i> 2000 video game

Phantasy Star Online is an online role-playing game (RPG) developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega in 2000 for the Dreamcast. It was the first successful online RPG for game consoles; players adventure with up to three others over the internet to complete quests, collect items and fight enemies in real-time action RPG combat. The story is unrelated to previous games in the Phantasy Star series.

<i>ChuChu Rocket!</i> 1999 video game

ChuChu Rocket! is a 1999 action puzzle game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Dreamcast. The objective is for the player to place arrows on a board to lead mice into escape rockets while avoiding cats. The game features single-player modes in which a player must save all the mice on a board, and a multiplayer mode in which players battle to collect the most mice.

<i>Virtua Tennis</i> (video game) 1999 sports video game

Virtua Tennis, known in Japan as Power Smash, is a 1999 tennis arcade game created by Sega. The player competes through tennis tournaments in an arcade mode. It was ported to the Dreamcast in 2000, and to Windows in 2002. A Game Boy Advance version was also released in 2002, followed by an N-Gage version in 2003. For the home console market, the game was expanded with the introduction of the campaign mode.

<i>Sonic Advance</i> 2001 platform video game

Sonic Advance is a 2001 platform video game developed by Sonic Team and Dimps and published by Sega for the Game Boy Advance. It was the first Sonic the Hedgehog game to be released on a Nintendo console with Sonic Adventure 2: Battle on the GameCube, and was produced in commemoration of the series' tenth anniversary. The story follows Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy as they journey to stop Doctor Eggman from taking over the world. Controlling a character, players are tasked with completing each level, defeating Eggman and his robot army, and collecting the seven Chaos Emeralds.

<i>Skies of Arcadia</i> 2000 video game

Skies of Arcadia is a 2000 role-playing video game developed by Overworks and published by Sega for the Dreamcast. Players control Vyse, a young air pirate, and his friends as they attempt to stop the Valuan Empire from reviving ancient weapons with the potential to destroy the world.

<i>18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker</i> 1999 video game

18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker, known in Japan as 18 Wheeler, is an arcade game developed by Sega AM2 and distributed by Sega. The game was released in arcades in 1999 and ported to the Dreamcast in 2000. It was released for the PlayStation 2 in 2001 and GameCube in 2002 by Acclaim Entertainment. Sega followed up on the success of 18 Wheeler with a sequel, The King of Route 66, which was released in the arcades in 2002 and ported to the PlayStation 2. This was one of the final arcade games to be ported to the Dreamcast after its discontinuation, before Sega became a third-party developer.

<i>NFL 2K1</i> 2000 sports video game

NFL 2K1 is an American football simulation video game that uses remediation, and was published by Sega and developed by Visual Concepts. It was released on Dreamcast on September 7, 2000, with multiple in-game commercialization like its Dreamcast ads in stadiums. Randy Moss of the Minnesota Vikings is featured as the cover athlete. Upon its release, it outsold the PlayStation 2 version of Madden NFL 2001 by 13,000 units in its first week, and 49,000 units its second week.

<i>Sega Rally 2</i> 1998 video game

Sega Rally 2 is an arcade racing game developed by Sega for the Model 3 arcade hardware. It is the sequel to 1994's Sega Rally Championship. The game was first released in arcades in February 1998, and was later ported to the Sega Dreamcast, becoming one of the console's earliest titles when it was released in Japan on January 28, 1999. The Sega Dreamcast version was released in Europe as a launch title on October 14, 1999, and then in North America on November 27. A PC version was released in Japan and Europe that same year, with the North American release following suit in September 2000, where it was published by Mattel Interactive.

<i>Red Dog: Superior Firepower</i> 2000 video game

Red Dog: Superior Firepower, also known as simply Red Dog, is a shooter game released in 2000 for the Sega Dreamcast; it was developed by Argonaut Games.

<i>Illbleed</i> 2001 video game

Illbleed is a survival horror game developed by Crazy Games and released for the Dreamcast in 2001. It was published by Crazy Games in Japan and Amusement Interface Associate (AIA) in North America. The game follows Eriko Christy, a high school student who explores a horror-themed amusement park to find her missing friends. The player explores six haunted house attractions based on fictional horror films, detecting and neutralizing hidden traps and enemies which can harm or frighten Eriko and her friends.

<i>Sega Marine Fishing</i> 2000 video game

Sega Marine Fishing is a 2000 fishing video game published by Sega for the arcade, Dreamcast, and Windows.

<i>Ooga Booga</i> 2001 video game

Ooga Booga is an online multiplayer video game for the Dreamcast, focusing on the combat of "Kahunas" using thrown shrunken heads, riding animals, staffs, or using spells. The game received positive reviews from video game critics.

<i>World Series Baseball 2K1</i> 2000 video game

World Series Baseball 2K1 is a sports video game developed by WOW Entertainment and published by Sega for the Dreamcast in 2000.

<i>Floigan Bros.</i> 2001 video game

Floigan Bros. Episode 1, also known as simply Floigan Bros. or Floigan Brothers, is an action-adventure video game developed by Visual Concepts and published by Sega. It was released in 2001 only for the Dreamcast.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Sega. Sonic Shuffle (Dreamcast). Sega. Scene: End credits.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Huhtala, Alex (April 2001). "Sonic Shuffle" (PDF). Official Dreamcast Magazine (UK) . No. 18. Dennis Publishing. pp. 66–69. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 19, 2023. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 zerothreat (November 17, 2000). "Sonic Shuffle". PlanetDreamcast . IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on January 31, 2009. Retrieved August 5, 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Sparks, Shawn (December 2000). "Sonic Shuffle Review". GameRevolution . CraveOnline. Archived from the original on September 20, 2015. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  5. 1 2 EGM staff (June 2000). "Sega Strikes Back: Sonic Square" (PDF). Electronic Gaming Monthly . No. 131. Ziff Davis. pp. 146–47. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 8, 2023. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  6. ↑ Reyes, Francesca (Christmas 2000). "Coming Soon: Sonic Shuffle" (PDF). Official Dreamcast Magazine . No. 10. Imagine Media. pp. 74–75. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  7. 1 2 EGM staff (January 2001). "Preview: Sonic Shuffle". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 138. Ziff Davis. pp. 98–99. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  8. ↑ Randall, Neil (March 2001). "Sonic Shuffle". GamesMaster . No. 105. Future Publishing. p. 21. Archived from the original on August 7, 2018. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Edge staff (February 2001). "Sonic Shuffle" (PDF). Edge . No. 94. Future Publishing. p. 97. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  10. ↑ Justice, Brandon (October 27, 2000). "Jet Grind Radio". IGN . Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on December 16, 2023.
  11. ↑ Justice, Brandon (October 4, 1999). "Sega Speaks Out on Sonic Adventure Follow-up". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on December 16, 2023. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  12. ↑ Trueman, Doug (September 6, 2000). "Segalicious Sonic Shuffle Promotion". GameSpot . Fandom. Archived from the original on February 12, 2001. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  13. ↑ "ＳＯＮＩＣ ＳＨＵＦＦＬＥ | ドリームキャスト | 家庭用ゲーム | SEGA". Sega (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 23, 2008. Retrieved August 5, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Sonic Shuffle sur Dreamcast". Jeuxvideo.com (in French). Webedia. Archived from the original on April 10, 2023. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  15. ↑ Lake, Max (July 9, 2002). "Sonic's Mega Collection Revealed?". Nintendo World Report. NINWR, LLC. Archived from the original on September 1, 2023. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  16. ↑ IGN staff (July 12, 2002). "Sonic Mega Collection Details". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on April 10, 2023. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  17. 1 2 "Sonic Shuffle". Metacritic . Fandom. Archived from the original on April 26, 2024. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  18. ↑ Torres, Ricardo (December 6, 2000). "Sonic Shuffle". Gamecenter. CNET. Archived from the original on January 23, 2001. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
  19. ↑ Sewart, Greg; Johnston, Chris; Einhorn, Ethan (February 2000). "Sonic Shuffle" (PDF). Electronic Gaming Monthly . No. 139. Ziff Davis. p. 130. Archived from the original on February 11, 2001. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
  20. ↑ Tapia, James (January 5, 2001). "Sonic Shuffle". The Electric Playground . Greedy Productions Ltd. Archived from the original on July 11, 2004. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Bramwell, Tom (March 22, 2001). "Sonic Shuffle". Eurogamer . Gamer Network. Archived from the original on April 13, 2001. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  22. ↑ Fitzloff, Jay (January 2001). "Sonic Shuffle". Game Informer . No. 93. FuncoLand. p. 115.
  23. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Davis, Ryan (November 17, 2000). "Sonic Shuffle Review". GameSpot. Fandom. Archived from the original on February 11, 2001. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  24. 1 2 3 4 Chau, Anthony (November 15, 2000). "Sonic Shuffle". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on September 5, 2023. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  25. 1 2 Orlando, Greg (March 2001). "Sonic Shuffle". NextGen . No. 75. Imagine Media. p. 85. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  26. ↑ Shea, Cam (March 2001). "Sonic Shuffle". Hyper . No. 89. Next Media Pty Ltd. pp. 70–71. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  27. 1 2 3 Maineiro, James (March 2001). "Sonic Shuffle" (PDF). Official Dreamcast Magazine (US). No. 12. Imagine Media. p. 75. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 9, 2023. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  28. ↑ Dr. Zombie (February 2001). "Sonic Shuffle" (PDF). GamePro . No. 149. IDG. p. 81. Archived from the original on August 11, 2004. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.