Uncovered footage of a Sonic the Hedgehog tech demo from 2005 has shown off what the infamous Sonic 06 could have been.
The footage, courtesy of Adam Doree (below), shows almost ten minutes of gameplay that was celebrated by Sonic fans in a live demo during Sega’s next-gen showcase at 2005’s Tokyo Game Show.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2006, commonly known as Sonic 06, would become an infamous entry in the franchise with players criticising its poor game design, bland character abilities, and selection of technical problems. IGN gave the game a 4/10 at the time, plainly calling it “a mess” and “one hell of a disappointing game”.
The TGS footage painted a different picture of what Sonic 06 could have been, however. Opening with an extended cinematic trailer, it then switches to gameplay of Sonic exploring bright and colourful 3D environments, collecting rings and battling enemies.
Sonic co-creator Yuji Naka, who was reportedly arrested last year for insider trading, presented the demo, and told those attending the show that Sonic 06 would honour the 15th anniversary of Sega’s mascot.
Alas, Sonic 06 didn’t live up to those expectations. Alongside the myriad gameplay complaints, the game also received criticism for one particularly odd part of its story, in which Sonic smooches a human woman. Needless to say, Sonic 06 didn’t make it on IGN’s top ten Sonic games of all time list.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer and acting UK news editor. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.