History VideoGame / SonicXTreme

''Sonic X-treme'' was planned to have two gameplay modes. Standard levels would have a fisheye camera known as the "Reflex Lens" which made levels appear as though they were moving around Sonic. Levels would also rotate around a fixed center of gravity as though they were small planetoids, allowing Sonic to run up walls and ceilings If this sounds familiar, some of those ideas were realized in the largely-forgotten ''VideoGame/SonicLostWorld'' 17 years later. Meanwhile, boss stages were free-roaming, with the boss fights themselves fixing the camera on an enemy in the middle of the arena, and Sonic running rings around them.

[[caption-width-right:243:The ''Sonic'' game which never was...]]

If you ever wondered why Creator/{{Sega}} never made a mainline [[Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog Sonic]] game for the entire lifespan of the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn, then the answer is that they did. [[{{Vaporware}} It was just never finished.]]

Following the release of ''VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles'', series co-creator Yuji Naka and the Japanese staff at STI returned to Japan, while all the other members of Creator/SonicTeam remained in the U.S. While Naka and co. were off making ''VideoGame/NightsIntoDreams'', the Americans were assigned to make the new Sonic game. What exactly the plot would entail changed a lot throughout development. It was originally conceived as taking place in the same continuity as the cult ''WesternAnimation/SonicSatAM'' cartoon on which the [[ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog Archie comic book series]] was based, along with popular {{Canon Foreigner}}s like Princess Sally and the Freedom Fighters, but Sega vetoed that. Other ideas ranged from Sonic battling demons who were sealed in the Master Emerald (a kernel of this idea made it into ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' in '98) to him trying to make it to a hot date with "Tiara Boobowski" (no relation to Rogue the Bat). Many of these pitches involved playing as Tails and Knuckles, plus the new addition Tiara. But as the production shifted to the Saturn, it was agreed that Sonic should be the sole playable character in order to keep things simple.

Watch the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6kdd8ZVf3g 4worlds demo footage here]]. For more detail on the game's development, see [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6v-_nC2CZZhetZnyLvxnGLzRzWiouEc7 the three-part video series]] by [=YouTuber=] miiyouandmii2, and Sonic Retro's [[http://info.sonicretro.org/Sonic_Mars comprehensive]] [[http://info.sonicretro.org/Sonic_X-treme guide]] which includes characters, stories, scripts, and artwork. As a sidenote, this game was at one point meant as a tie-in for a [[WhatCouldHaveBeen proposed live-action film]] called ''Sonic the Hedgehog: Wonders of the World''. The plot of the movie would have involved Sonic and Robotnik escaping from ''Sonic X-treme'' [[RefugeeFromTVLand into the real world]].

A special Christmas episode of ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'' was to be titled "An X-Tremely Sonic Christmas" in order to promote it. After the game's cancellation, it was renamed "Sonic Christmas Blast"[[note]]most likely to tie in with the aforementioned ''Sonic 3D'' port instead, whose American title is ''Sonic 3D Blast''[[/note]].

So what led to the game's cancellation? Basically, the dev team split into two (Team A and Team B), which is always a mistake. One team would concentrate on action stages and the other on boss stages. Team A's engine for the action stages ran great on computers, but struggled on the Saturn's hardware. They managed to get it working decently, but the team members who were supposed to demo it were just seconds late to a meeting (no joke) held with CEO Hayao Nakayama in March '96. Team A ended up demo'ing the beta version to Nakayama, who demanded that all of their inferior work be scrapped and the entire game be done in the style of the boss stages. And to get the game done by Christmas to compete with ''VideoGame/SuperMario64''.

Watch the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6kdd8ZVf3g 4worlds demo footage here]]. For more detail on the game's development, see [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6v-_nC2CZZhetZnyLvxnGLzRzWiouEc7 the three-part video series]] by [=YouTuber=] miiyouandmii2, and Sonic Retro's [[http://info.sonicretro.org/Sonic_Mars comprehensive]] [[http://info.sonicretro.org/Sonic_X-treme guide]] which includes characters, stories, scripts, and artwork. As a sidenote, this game was at one point meant as a tie-in for a [[WhatCouldHaveBeen proposed live-action film]] called ''Sonic the Hedgehog: Wonders of the World''. The plot of the movie would have involved Sonic and Robotnik escaping from ''Sonic X-treme'' [[RefugeeFromTVLand into the real world]]. A special Christmas episode of ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'' was to be titled "An X-Tremely Sonic Christmas" in order to promote it. After the game's cancellation, it was renamed "Sonic Christmas Blast"[[note]]most likely to tie in with the aforementioned ''Sonic 3D'' port instead, whose American title is ''Sonic 3D Blast''[[/note]].

* TwoAndAHalfD: The game uses 2D sprites on a 3D plain. This element eventually came to a detriment of the title: the Saturn was designed for 2D games and ''Sonic X-treme'' was an early 3D platformer, however ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'''s changed the game on how a 3D platformer "should" be. ''Sonic X-treme'' didn't look that technologically impressive when compared to its rival ''Mario'' game or the other 3D platformers. Attempts to fix this by making ''X-Treme'' more 3D failed.

Depending on who you ask, Team B's attempts to make this happen either compelled them to steal the engine from ''[=NiGHTS=]'' or create content that looked very similar to it; regardless, Yuki Naka saw this version of the game, went bannanas and threatened to quit Sega if Team B's engine wasn't scrapped entirely. The stress of having to finish a game from absolute scratch in just a few months made the project head, Chris Senn, contract pneumonia. Told that he would only have six months to live if he kept working at his current pace, he left the project and the game as a whole was cancelled, as it would no longer release by the holiday season. With no 3D Sonic to speak of, Sega decided to port over ''VideoGame/Sonic3DFlickiesIsland'' in its stead.

Following the release of ''VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles'', series co-creator Yuji Naka and the Japanese staff at STI returned to Japan, while all the other members of Creator/SonicTeam remained in the U.S. While Naka and co. were off making ''VideoGame/NightsIntoDreams'', the Americans were assigned to make the new Sonic game. What exactly the plot would entail changed a lot throughout development. It was originally conceived as taking place in the same continuity as the cult ''WesternAnimation/SonicSatAM'' cartoon on which the [[ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog Archie comic book series]] was based, along with popular {{Canon Foreigner}}s like Princess Sally and the Freedom Fighters, but Sega vetoed that. Other ideas ranged from Sonic battling demons who were sealed in the Master Emerald (a kernel of this idea made it into ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' in '98) to him trying to make it to a hot date with "Tiara Boobowski" (no relation to Rogue the Bat). Many of these pitches involved playing as Tails and Knuckles, plus the new addition Tiara. But as the production shifted to the Saturn, it was agreed that Sonic should be the sole playable character in order to keep things simple.

So what led to the game's cancellation? Basically, the dev team split into two (Team A and Team B), which is always a mistake. One team would concentrate on action stages and the other on boss stages. Team A's engine for the action stages ran great on computers, but struggled on the Saturn's hardware. They managed to get it working decently, but the team members who were demo it were just seconds late to a meeting held with CEO Hayao Nakayama in March '96. Team A ended up demoing the beta version to Nakayama, who demanded that all of their inferior work be scrapped and the entire game be done in the style of the boss stages. And to get the game done by Christmas to compete with ''VideoGame/SuperMario64''. Depending on who you ask, Team B's attempts to make this happen either compelled them to steal the engine from ''[=NiGHTS=]'' or create content that looked very similar to it; regardless, Yuki Naka saw this version of the game, went bannanas and threatened to quit Sega if Team B's engine wasn't scrapped entirely. The stress of having to finish a game from absolute scratch in just a few months made the project head, Chris Senn, contract pneumonia. Told that he would only have six months to live if he kept working at his current pace, he left the project and the game as a whole was cancelled, as it would no longer release by the holiday season. With no 3D Sonic to speak of, Sega decided to port over ''VideoGame/Sonic3DFlickiesIsland'' in its stead.

Following the release of ''VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles'', series co-creator Yuji Naka and the Japanese staff at STI returned to Japan, while all the other members of Creator/SonicTeam remained in the U.S. While Naka and co. were off making ''VideoGame/NightsIntoDreams'', the Americans were assigned to make the new Sonic game. What exactly the plot would entail changed a lot throughout development. It was originally conceived as taking place in the same continuity as the cult ''WesternAnimation/SonicSatAM'' cartoon on which the [[ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog Archie comic book series]] was based, along with popular {{Canon Foreigner}}s like Princess Sally and the Freedom Fighters, but Sega vetoed that. Other ideas ranged from Sonic battling demons who were sealed in the Master Emerald (a kernel of this idea made it into ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' in '98) to him trying to make it to a hot date with "Tiara Boobowski" (no relation to Rogue the Bat). Many of these pitches involved playing as Tails and Knuckles, plus the new addition Tiara. But as the production shifted to the Saturn, it was agreed that Sonic should be the sole playable character in order to keep things simple.

''Sonic X-treme'' was planned to have two gameplay modes. Standard levels would have a fisheye camera known as the "Reflex Lens" which made levels appear as though they were moving around Sonic. Levels would also rotate around a fixed center of gravity as though they were small planetoids, allowing Sonic to run up walls and ceilings If this sounds familiar, some of those ideas were realized in the largely-forgotten ''VideoGame/SonicLostWorld'' 17 years later. Meanwhile, boss stages were more free-roaming levels, with the boss fights themselves centering the camera on an enemy in the middle of the arena and Sonic running around them.

So what led to the game's cancellation? Basically, the dev team split into two (Team A and Team B), which is always a mistake. One team would concentrate on action stages and the other on boss ones, Team A's engine for the action stages ran great on computers, but struggled on the Saturn's hardware. They managed to get it working decently, but the team members who were demo it to the suits at Sega were just seconds late to a meeting held with CEO Hayao Nakayama in March '96. Team A ended up demoing the beta version to Nakayama, who demanded that all of their inferior work be scrapped and the entire game be done in the style of the boss stages. And to get the game done by Christmas to compete with ''VideoGame/SuperMario64''. Depending on who you ask, Team B's attempts to make this happen either compelled them to steal the engine from ''[=NiGHTS=]'' or create content that looked very similar to it; regardless, Yuki Naka saw this version of the game, went bannanas and threatened to quit Sega if Team B's engine wasn't scrapped entirely. The stress of having to finish a game from absolute scratch in just a few months made the project head, Chris Senn, contract pneumonia. Told that he would only have six months to live if he kept working at his current pace, he left the project and the game as a whole was cancelled, as it would no longer release by the holiday season. With no 3D Sonic to speak of, Sega decided to port over ''VideoGame/Sonic3DFlickiesIsland'' in its stead.

Following the release of ''VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles'', series co-creator Yuji Naka and the Japanese staff at STI returned to Japan, while all the other members of Creator/SonicTeam remained in the U.S. While Naka and co. were off making ''VideoGame/NightsIntoDreams'', the Americans were assigned to make the new Sonic game. What exactly the plot would entail changed a lot throughout development. It was originally conceived as taking place in the same continuity as the cult ''WesternAnimation/SonicSatAM'' cartoon on which the [[ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog Archie comic book series]] was based, along with popular {{Canon Foreigner}}s like Princess Sally and the Freedom Fighters, but Sega vetoed that. Other ideas ranged from Sonic battling demons who were sealed in the Master Emerald (a kernel of this idea made it into ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' in '98) to him trying to make it to a hot date with "Tiara Boobowski" (no relation to Rogue the Bat). Many of these story pitches involved multiple characters such as Tails and Kunckles, plus the new addition Tiara. But as the production shifted to the Saturn, it was agreed that Sonic should be the sole playable character in order to keep things simple.

Following the release of ''VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles'', series co-creator Yuji Naka and the Japanese staff at STI returned to Japan, while all the other members of Creator/SonicTeam remained in the U.S. While Naka and co. were off making ''VideoGame/NightsIntoDreams'', the Americans were assigned to make the new Sonic game. What exactly the plot would entail changed a lot throughout development. It was originally conceived as taking place in the same continuity as the cult ''WesternAnimation/SonicSatA'' cartton on which the [[ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog Archie comic book series]] was based, but Sega vetoed that. Other ideas ranged from Sonic battling demons who were sealed in the Master Emerald (a kernel of this idea made it into ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' in '98) to him trying to make it to a hot date with "Tiara Boobowski" (no relation to Rogue the Bat). Many of these story pitches involved multiple characters such as Tails and Kunckles, plus the new addition Tiara. But as the production shifted to the Saturn, it was agreed that Sonic should be the sole playable character in order to keep things simple.

[[caption-width-right:243:The ''Sonic'' game that never was...]]

If you ever wondered why Creator/{{Sega}} never bothered to make a new mainline ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' game for the entire lifespan of the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn, then the answer is that they did. Okay, well, they tried to make one anyway. They just hit a few snags along the way. [[DevelopmentHell A lot of snags]].

Originally intended for the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis 32X add-on under the codename ''Sonic Mars'', but moving over to the upcoming console during production, ''Sonic X-treme'' was a PlatformGame developed by Creator/SegaTechnicalInstitute. Intended to be the franchise's big [[VideoGame3DLeap transition from 2D to 3D gameplay]], the game began production in late 1994 before being [[{{Vaporware}} unceremoniously cancelled]] in 1997.

Following the completion of ''VideoGame/SonicAndKnuckles'', series co-creator Yuji Naka and all the Japanese staff at Sega Technical Institute went back to Japan, while all the other members remained in the United States. While the Japanese Creator/SonicTeam was off making ''VideoGame/NightsIntoDreams'', the American crew was given the task to make a new mainline ''Sonic'' game.

What exactly this new ''Sonic'' game would entail on the story side of things changed quite a bit throughout development. It was originally conceived as taking place in the same continuity as the [[WesternAnimation/SonicSatAM 90s Saturday Morning cartoon]] and the [[ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog comic book series]], sharing the same basic plot and characters. Sega would [[ExecutiveMeddling veto this idea]], and the team would go on to give their game several different plot proposals even into its final year of development. This included everything from a story where Sonic had to stop demons that were [[SealedEvilInACan trapped in the Master Emerald]] to one where our hero is just trying to get to a date with new character and LoveInterest Tiara Boobowski [[RaceAgainstTheClock on time]]. Many of these plots also involved having multiple playable characters, such as Tails and Kunckles, in addition to the aforementioned Tiara. But as the production shifted to the Saturn, it was decided that Sonic would be the sole playable character in order to keep things simple.

''Sonic X-treme'' was meant to have two different gameplay styles. Standard levels would have a fisheye camera known as the "Reflex Lens" that made levels appear as though they were moving around Sonic. Levels would also rotate around a fixed center of gravity as though they were small planetoids, allowing Sonic to run up walls and ceilings.[[note]]If this sounds a little familiar, some of these ideas came to be realized to some extent in ''VideoGame/SonicLostWorld'' seventeen years later.[[/note]] Meanwhile, boss stages were more free-roaming levels, with the boss fights themselves having the camera centered on the enemy in the middle and Sonic running around them in an arena.

So what led to the game's cancellation? Basically, the game started with two development teams (Team A and Team B) that dealt with normal levels and boss levels, respectively. Team A's engine for the normal levels ran great on computers, but struggled on the Sega Saturn's hardware. While they managed to get it working decently well after some time, the ones who could demonstrate this version were just ''seconds'' late to a meeting held with CEO Hayao Nakayama in March '96, who ended up seeing an earlier poorly-running version and demanded that all of that work be scrapped and the whole game done in the style of the boss stages instead. And to get the game done by Christmas to compete with ''VideoGame/SuperMario64''. Depending on who you ask, Team B's attempts to make this happen either had them use the engine for ''[=NiGHTS=]'' or create content that looked very similar to that game: regardless, Yuki Naka saw this version of the game, got quite irate about his engine being used, and threatened to quit Sega if it wasn't scrapped. The stress of having to now start from scratch to complete a game in just a few months had the head of the project Chris Senn contract pneumonia. Told that he would only have six months to live if he kept working at his current pace, he had to leave the project and the game as a whole was cancelled, as it would no longer release by the holiday season. With no 3D Sonic to speak of, Sega decided to port over ''VideoGame/Sonic3DFlickiesIsland'' in its stead, and the blue hedgehog wouldn't see his first true 3D adventure [[VideoGame/SonicAdventure for another two years]].

Watch the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6kdd8ZVf3g 4worlds demo footage here]]. For more detail on the game's development, see [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6v-_nC2CZZhetZnyLvxnGLzRzWiouEc7 the three-part video series]] by [=YouTuber=] miiyouandmii2, and Sonic Retro's [[http://info.sonicretro.org/Sonic_Mars comprehensive]] [[http://info.sonicretro.org/Sonic_X-treme guide]] which includes characters, stories, scripts, and artwork. As a sidenote, this game was at one point meant as a tie-in for a [[WhatCouldHaveBeen proposed live-action film]] called ''Sonic the Hedgehog: Wonders of the World''. The plot of the movie would have involved Sonic and Robotnik escaping from ''Sonic X-treme'' [[RefugeeFromTVLand into the real world]].

So what led to the game's cancellation? Basically, the game started with two development teams (Team A and Team B) that dealt with normal levels and boss levels, respectively. Team A's engine for the normal levels ran great on computers, but struggled on the Sega Saturn's hardware. While they managed to get it working decently well after some time, the ones who could demonstrate this version were just ''seconds'' late to a meeting held with CEO Hayao Nakayama in March '96, who ended up seeing an earlier poorly-running version and demanded that all of that work be scrapped and the whole game done in the style of the boss stages instead. And to get the game done by Christmas to compete with ''VideoGame/SuperMario64''. Depending on who you ask, Team B's attempts to make this happen either had them use the engine for ''[=NiGHTS=]'' or create content that looked very similar to that game: regardless, Yuki Naka saw this version of the game, got quite irate about his engine being used, and threatened to quit Sega if it wasn't scrapped. The stress of having to now start from scratch to complete a game in just a few months had the head of the project contract pneumonia. Told that he would only have six months to live if he kept working at his current pace, he had to leave the project and the game as a whole was cancelled, as it would no longer release by the holiday season. With no 3D Sonic to speak of, Sega decided to port over ''VideoGame/Sonic3DFlickiesIsland'' in its stead, and the blue hedgehog wouldn't see his first true 3D adventure [[VideoGame/SonicAdventure for another two years]].

''Sonic X-treme'' was meant to have two different gameplay styles. Standard levels would have a fisheye camera known as the "Reflex Lens" that made levels appear as though they were moving around Sonic. Levels would also rotate around a fixed center of gravity as though they were small planetoids, allowing Sonic could run up walls and ceilings.[[note]]If this sounds a little familiar, some of these ideas came to be realized to some extent in ''VideoGame/SonicLostWorld'' seventeen years later.[[/note]] Meanwhile, boss stages were more free-roaming levels, with the boss fights themselves having the camera centered on the enemy in the middle and Sonic running around them in an arena.

''Sonic X-Treme'' was meant to have two different gameplay styles. Standard levels would have a fisheye camera known as the "Reflex Lens" that made levels appear as though they were moving around Sonic. Levels would also rotate around a fixed center of gravity as though they were small planetoids, allowing Sonic could run up walls and ceilings.[[note]]If this sounds a little familiar, some of these ideas came to be realized to some extent in ''VideoGame/SonicLostWorld'' seventeen years later.[[/note]] Meanwhile, boss stages were more free-roaming levels, with the boss fights themselves having the camera centered on the enemy in the middle and Sonic running around them in an arena.

For more detail on the game's development, see [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6v-_nC2CZZhetZnyLvxnGLzRzWiouEc7 the three-part video series]] by [=YouTuber=] miiyouandmii2, and Sonic Retro's [[http://info.sonicretro.org/Sonic_Mars comprehensive]] [[http://info.sonicretro.org/Sonic_X-treme guide]] which includes characters, stories, scripts, and artwork. As a sidenote, this game was at one point meant as a tie-in for a [[WhatCouldHaveBeen proposed live-action film]] called ''Sonic the Hedgehog: Wonders of the World''. The plot of the movie would have involved Sonic and Robotnik escaping from ''Sonic X-treme'' [[RefugeeFromTVLand into the real world]].

* TwoAndAHalfD: The game uses 2D sprites on a 3D plain. This element eventually came to a detriment of the title: the Saturn was designed for 2D games and ''Sonic X-Treme'' was an early 3D platformer, however ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'''s changed the game on how a 3D platformer "should" be. ''Sonic X-Treme'' didn't look that technologically impressive when compared to its rival ''Mario'' game or the other 3D platformers. Attempts to fix this by making ''X-Treme'' more 3D failed.

* AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever: At one point in development, Nack the Weasel/Fang the Sniper was to be fought as a supersized boss.

So what lead to the game's cancellation? Basically, the game started with two development teams (Team A and Team B) that dealt with normal levels and boss levels, respectively. Team A's engine for the normal levels ran great on computers, but struggled on the Sega Saturn's hardware. While they managed to get it working decently well after some time, the ones who could demonstrate this version were just ''seconds'' late to a meeting held with CEO Hayao Nakayama in March '96, who ended up seeing an earlier poorly-running version and demanded that all of that work be scrapped and the whole game done in the style of the boss stages instead. And to get the game done by Christmas to compete with ''VideoGame/SuperMario64''. Depending on who you ask, Team B's attempts to make this happen either had them use the engine for ''[=NiGHTS=]'' or create content that looked very similar to that game: regardless, Yuki Naka saw this version of the game, got quite irate about his engine being used, and threatened to quit Sega if it wasn't scrapped. The stress of having to now start from scratch to complete a game in just a few months had the head of the project contract pneumonia. Told that he would only have six months to live if he kept working at his current pace, he had to leave the project and the game as a whole was cancelled, as it would no longer release by the holiday season. With no 3D Sonic to speak of, Sega decided to port over ''VideoGame/Sonic3DFlickiesIsland'' in its stead, and the blue hedgehog wouldn't see his first true 3D adventure [[VideoGame/SonicAdventure for another two years]].

For more detail on the game's development, see [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6v-_nC2CZZhetZnyLvxnGLzRzWiouEc7 the three-part video series]] by YouTuber miiyouandmii2, and Sonic Retro's [[http://info.sonicretro.org/Sonic_Mars comprehensive]] [[http://info.sonicretro.org/Sonic_X-treme guide]] which includes characters, stories, scripts, and artwork. As a sidenote, this game was at one point meant as a tie-in for a [[WhatCouldHaveBeen proposed live-action film]] called ''Sonic the Hedgehog: Wonders of the World''. The plot of the movie would have involved Sonic and Robotnik escaping from ''Sonic X-treme'' [[RefugeeFromTVLand into the real world]].

So what lead to the game's cancellation? Basically, the game started with two development teams (Team A and Team B) that dealt with normal levels and boss levels, respectively. Team A's engine for the normal levels ran great on computers, but struggled on the Sega Saturn's hardware. While they managed to get it working decently well after some time, the ones who could demonstrate this version were just ''seconds'' late to a meeting held with CEO Hayao Nakayama in March '96, who ended up seeing an earlier poorly-running version and demanded that all of that work be scrapped and the whole game done in the style of the boss stages instead. And to get the game done by Christmas to compete with ''VideoGame/SuperMario64''. Depending on who you ask, Team B's attempts to make this happen either had them use the engine for ''[=NiGHTS=]'' or create content that looked very similar to that game: regardless, Yuki Naka saw this version of the game and threatened to quit Sega if it wasn't scrapped. The stress of having to now start from scratch to complete a game in just a few months had the head of the project contract pneumonia. Told that he would only have six months to live if he kept working at his current pace, he had to leave the project and the game as a whole was cancelled, as it would no longer release by the holiday season. With no 3D Sonic to speak of, Sega decided to port over ''VideoGame/Sonic3DFlickiesIsland'' in its stead, and the blue hedgehog wouldn't see his first true 3D adventure [[VideoGame/SonicAdventure for another two years]].

For more detail on the game's development, see [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6v-_nC2CZZhetZnyLvxnGLzRzWiouEc7 the three-part video series]] by Youtuber miiyouandmii2, and Sonic Retro's [[http://info.sonicretro.org/Sonic_Mars comprehensive]] [[http://info.sonicretro.org/Sonic_X-treme guide]] which includes characters, stories, scripts, and artwork. As a sidenote, this game was at one point meant as a tie-in for a [[WhatCouldHaveBeen proposed live-action film]] called ''Sonic the Hedgehog: Wonders of the World''. The plot of the movie would have involved Sonic and Robotnik escaping from ''Sonic X-treme'' [[RefugeeFromTVLand into the real world]].

* AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever: At one point in development Nack/Fang was to be fought as a supersized boss.

* TakeThat: A live-action E3 promotional video features Mario and Luigi of ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' fame worrying about Sonic's next title. It even ends with the tagline "Mario Who?", implying gamers will forget all about Mario.

For more detail on the game's development, see [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6v-_nC2CZZhetZnyLvxnGLzRzWiouEc7 the three-part video series]] by Youtuber miiyouandmii2, and Sonic Retro's [[http://info.sonicretro.org/Sonic_X-treme comprehensive guide]]. Oh, and as a sidenote, this game was at one point meant as a tie-in for a [[WhatCouldHaveBeen proposed live-action film]] called ''Sonic the Hedgehog: Wonders of the World''. The plot of this movie would have involved Sonic and Robotnik escaping from ''Sonic X-treme'' [[RefugeeFromTVLand into the real world]].

* AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever: At one point in development Nack/Fang wass to be fought as a supersized boss.

For more detail on the game's development, see [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6v-_nC2CZZhetZnyLvxnGLzRzWiouEc7 the three-part video series]] by Youtuber miiyouandmii2. Oh, and as a sidenote, this game was at one point meant as a tie-in for a [[WhatCouldHaveBeen proposed live-action film]] called ''Sonic the Hedgehog: Wonders of the World''. The plot of this movie would have involved Sonic and Robotnik escaping from ''Sonic X-treme'' [[RefugeeFromTVLand into the real world]].

* UndergroundLevel: Red Sands is an underground cave level.

* TakeThat: A live-action E3 promotional video features Mario and Luigi of ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' fame worrying about Sonic's next title. It even ends with the tagline "Mario Who?", implying gamers will forget all about Mario.

* PromotedToPlayable: If the game had gotten finished, it could have been Amy's first playable role in a main game. Plans for other character besides Sonic existed, but it was decided to focus on Sonic until everything was perfected.

For more detail on the game's development, see [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6v-_nC2CZZhetZnyLvxnGLzRzWiouEc7 the three-part video series]] by Youtuber miiyouandmii2. Oh, and as a sidenote, this game was at one point meant as a tie-in for a [[WhatCouldHaveBeen proposed live-action film]] called ''Sonic the Hedgehog: Wonders of the World''. The plot of this movie would have involved Sonic and Robotnik escaping from ''Sonic X-treme'' [[RefugeeFromTVLand into the real world]].

Originally intended for the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis 32X add-on under the codename ''Sonic Mars'', but moving over to the upcoming console during production, ''Sonic X-treme'' was a PlatformGame developed by Creator/SegaTechnicalInstitute. Intended to be the franchise's big [[VideoGame3DLeap transition from 2D to 3D gameplay]], the game began production in late 1994 before being unceremoniously cancelled in 1997.

Much of the game's development is summed up in a [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6v-_nC2CZZhetZnyLvxnGLzRzWiouEc7 three-part video series]] by Youtuber miiyouandmii2, as well as [[TheWikiRule on the wiki]], but the short version is as follows: Following the completion of ''VideoGame/SonicAndKnuckles'', series co-creator Yuji Naka and all the Japanese staff at Sega Technical Institute went back to Japan, while all the other members remained in the United States. While the Japanese Creator/SonicTeam was off making ''VideoGame/NightsIntoDreams'', the American crew was given the task to make a new mainline ''Sonic'' game.

Much of the game's development is summed up in a [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6v-_nC2CZZhetZnyLvxnGLzRzWiouEc7 three-part video series]] by Youtuber miiyouandmii2, as well as [[TheWikiRule on the wiki]], but the short version is as follows: Following the completion of ''VideoGame/SonicAndKnuckles'', series co-creator Yuji Naka and all the Japanese staff at Sega Technical Institute went back to Japan, while all the other members remained in San Francisco, California in the United States. While the Japanese Creator/SonicTeam was off making ''VideoGame/NightsIntoDreams'', the American crew was given the task to make a new mainline ''Sonic'' game.