2006 was an interesting year for Sonic, to say the least. Fans were eagerly waiting for the release of Sonic The Hedgehog for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 that fall, but another game came into focus at E3 2006. SEGA showed up with another title specifically for the Wii, Sonic and the Secret Rings! Now thanks to some sleuthing and upscaling, Sonic Stadium has found two videos of gameplay footage from that E3 showcase when the game was under the title Sonic Wild Fire. You can check them out below!
It’s so weird to think that was 15 years ago now and yet, I remember these videos. I remember seeing these on IGN so vividly because E3 2006 was such a monumental year for the show. We got to see, for the first time, what the new generation of consoles would bring in terms of games. Of course, this and Sonic The Hedgehog caught my attention immediately as a lover of the blue blur. I forgot how rough the footage was here though compared to the final game. A complete UI change and early sound design are very interesting to see play out in the demo.
What I did not expect after this E3 was Secret Rings to be the better of the two by a mile. Yes, I’m in that camp. The Secret Rings has its issues with controls, but it’s at least playable. The new crop of gamers giving nostalgic lenses to Sonic The Hedgehog and not Secret Rings is truly baffling to me.
Sonic and The Secret Rings was released on February 20th, 2007 exclusively for the Wii. You can find a copy if you would like on eBay, or at your local retro gaming store.
What did you think of the game when it came out? Discuss in the comments below!
