Today was the premiere of Sonic Central, a live stream event created to announce upcoming projects to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Sonic T. Hedgehog. As to be expected from the premiere, we were teased about a lot of upcoming projects, some that we knew about (the Netflix animated series Sonic Prime, for example) and some that we didn’t (something‘s coming in 2022, but we’re not sure what that is it).
Among the announcements came Sonic Colors Ultimate, a remaster of Sonic Colors that’ll be released on September 7th. If you missed out on the original game back in 2010, this is a good chance to check it out. The plot is fun (Eggman creates an amusement park and pinky swears that he’s not evil anymore) and in a twist that everyone saw coming, it turns out he’s been enslaving these adorable alien creatures called Wisps in an attempt to harness their energy to take over Earth via a mind-control laser.
Is this better or worse than roboticizing woodland creatures? I’ll let you decide.
While seeing this trailer put a smile on my face, I couldn’t help but be a bit sad when I heard Roger Craig Smith as Sonic. As I reported back in January, the voice actor announced that he was stepping down as the fastest thing alive. Smith has voiced Sonic for the longest time between all of the hedgehog’s voice actors and he brought such wonderful energy to the character.
After the Sonic Colors Ultimate trailer, we got a special guest: Roger Craig Smith himself! I figured, since he was the voice of Sonic for Colors, it was fitting to bring him back to talk about Ultimate. However, it turns out Sega and Smith had more in store for us.
Smith’s returning to voice the blue blur for the upcoming, two-part, animated tie-in Rise of the Wisps!
Ahhhhh, it’s SO GOOD to hear that voice in a new Sonic property, complete with Reach for the Stars, an absolute bop, and the main theme for Sonic Colors.
So wait, does this mean that Smith is back as Sonic for good?
I can’t fully express my gratitude for the @sonic_hedgehog crew and community.🙏
I hope to honor your support and passion as I’m officially back voicing #SonicTheHedgehog in games.
Can’t wait for ya to see what we have planned!
THANK YOU…from the bottom of my blue heart.💙 pic.twitter.com/KOLi2MJnUi
— Roger Craig Smith (@RogerCraigSmith) May 26, 2021
I’m sorry (not sorry) but there’s only one way to react to this news.
Okay, yes, Smith tweeted this yesterday before the live stream event, but I didn’t find out UNTIL he showed up to talk about Rise of the Wisps because I was a fool who hadn’t checked out Sonic Twitter News until, well, NOW. Smith says that he is officially back voicing Sonic in games, which means we can look forward to hearing him in whatever upcoming plans Sonic Team has for us – like that one trailer that just ends with 2022. Part of me wonders if this also extends into animation since Smith voiced Sonic for the Sonic Boom series and is doing Sonic in this two-part tie-in. By the way, Rise of the Wisps looks really cute, with a fun animation style and an appearance from Metal Sonic (who’s looking hideous as usual, according to Sonic).
Happy to have you back, Roger Craig Smith. I’m excited to speed through whatever zones you’re gonna take us to.
(Image: Sega)
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