Sonic the Hedgehog has been going through some pretty slow times as of late, having suffered a string of mediocre releases over the past decade. However, thanks to the efforts of a pair of fans, he’s found life in the 2010s through HD remasters of his classic titles, and today a campaign is underway to get Sega to support and release the HD Remaster of Sonic the Hedgehog 3.
The story goes back to 2011, when two die-hard Sonic fans, Melbourne-based Christian Whitehead, aka Taxman, and Los Angeles-based Simon Thomley, aka Stealth, put their heads together to create a prototype HD remaster of Sonic CD for mobile devices. Their efforts impressed publisher Sega so much that they were hired to work on an official release.
This remaster was so well received by the gaming public that Taxman and Stealth were asked to put out remasters of the first and second Sonic the Hedgehog games. Like CD, they were also well received.
With three successful classic Sonic remasters under their belt, the duo sought to add 1994’s Sonic the Hedgehog 3 to the list and now have a working prototype. Like the previous remasters, Sonic 3 Remastered features widescreen support, remastered graphics, animations, and music, a new boss attack, time attack, and online leaderboard modes, enhancements to the bonus rounds, and solo play support for the 2-player stages.
Unfortunately, Sega, which is now going through a financially dark period, has declined to support this effort the way they had done with the other three games.
As a result, a movement is now underway to get Sega to wake up and give Taxman and Stealth the backing they need to release Sonic 3 Remastered.
This campaign is taking place on two fronts: an online petition and, rather interestingly, a letter writing campaign. The online petition, which is directed at Sega as a whole, is pretty much as you expect, but the letter writing campaign is specifically aimed at CEO Haruki Satomi. According to the campaign’s FAQ, Satomi’s social media presence is relatively minimal, and considering that the Japanese still have a respect for the written letter, the organizers believe that a letter writing campaign would better convey fans’ earnestness at making Sonic 3 Remastered a reality.
Considering that A: Sega’s most recent Sonic games, Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal and Rise of Lyric were critical catastrophes, B: the company recently announced that they would be shifting their priorities towards PC and mobile platforms, and C: all previous remasters of Sonic classics were successful, it’s hard to imagine why Sega would not want to push forward with Sonic 3 Remastered.
In a statement to mxdwn, campaign organizer Madhu Sharma said:
Sonic Boom has generated a lot of negative press for Sega, with some popular publications claiming that the franchise is dead.Releasing Sonic 3 Remastered would instantly redeem Sega.Fans are so desperate for the game that they are sending cheques for the purchase price all the way to Sega’s Japanese headquarters!
For more information on Sonic 3 Remastered and how to support it, head on over to the official site.