History WhatCouldHaveBeen / SonicXTreme

[[caption-width-right:350:Concept art of the scrapped Tiara Cyberooski/Boobowski character that would have been the "true" LoveInterest to Sonic.]]

* A character named Tiara Cyberooski, later changed to Tiara Boobowski, was a Manx cat (originally conceived as a bandicoot) and the "true" LoveInterest to Sonic, as while Amy had a crush on Sonic, he didn't reciprocate it. She would have had [[TwoAndAHalfD 2.5D side scrolling]] gameplay. She was later scrapped in order to focus more on Sonic rather than the new characters themselves.

Intended for release on Christmas 1996 for the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn, it would've been ''Sonic'''s [[VideoGame3DLeap first true leap into the third dimension]]. However, it was canceled after undergoing the most TroubledProduction of any Sonic game, with the killing blow being two very important people in the project, Christina Coffin and Chris Senn, contracting serious illnesses from overworking; Chris was outright told he had six months to live if he didn't stop. ''VideoGame/Sonic3DFlickiesIsland'' was ported to the Saturn in its stead. This was also the reason why ''VideoGame/SonicR'', which was [[ChristmasRushed rushed out]] and a DolledUpInstallment of a Formula 1 Racing game by the same developers, was released in its stead.

Most obviously, there's [[VideoGame/SonicXTreme the game itself]]. But on a larger front, many fans to this day debate the larger impact this game's release might've had on the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn, whose failure was partially attributed to the lack of a major flagship Sonic game to drive sales, and Sega's ultimate fate as a console manufacturer. The game went through many different revisions along with [[http://info.sonicretro.org/Sonic_X-treme_storylines the game's storyline]], which had several different mechanics and gameplay styles.

* There was a side Sega Saturn ''Sonic'' game also titled ''Sonic Saturn'', with no relation to ''other'' ''Sonic Saturn'' that was in development, made by Creator/SegaTechnicalInstitute at the same time as ''X-Treme''. The game aimed to depict a more realistic rendition of Sonic's world, with the Badniks in the game's concept art looking [[https://lostmediawiki.com/images/2/28/Cybernik_badnik2.png more menacing and grotesque,]] due to being [[OrganicTechnology mutated organic metal hybrids]], and the game had an engine that would've used polygonal models and environments instead of pre-rendered sprites in a 3D environment like in the ''X-Treme'' game. The game was presented to Yuji Naka who didn't like the game, so the idea was scrapped without being formally announced. The developers wanted to reuse the game's engine for the special stages of ''VideoGame/Sonic3DFlickiesIsland'' as a pool style mini-game, but this was also rejected, and the ''[[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2 Sonic 2]]''-styled special stages were made for the game instead.

* In the ''Sonic X-Treme'' story, Robotnik builds a Death Egg so large it starts pulling in the planets around it. Tails tries to teleport Sonic straight to the Death Egg to stop it, but the signal is intercepted by a moving planet, so Sonic now has to hop from planet to planet to get to the Death Egg. Along the way, he rescues alien creatures called "Mips" that Robotnik was using to power his Badniks. The idea of saving aliens from Eggman was later reused for the Wisps in ''VideoGame/SonicColors''. The game would have had anti-gravity such as running upside down and standing on walls in a similar fashion to [[VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy another game released 10 years later]].