Sega has announced an all-new animated short based of its iconic mascot Sonic the Hedgehog. Titled Sonic Colors: Rise of the Wisps, the animation looks to expand upon the story of 2010's Sonic Colors.
The announcement comes as part of today's Sonic Central stream event. Celebrating the 30th anniversary of the blue blur, Sega gave fans a peek at the various upcoming media releases for the franchise over the course of the next year or so, which included multiple games, shows, and more.
Sonic Colors: Rise of the Wisps is the first installment of a two-part animation series set to debut this summer. As can be seen in the trailer, the short looks to possibly be a retelling of the plot of Sonic Colors, albeit with full dialogue and a fully voiced cast, including the return of two legendary franchise voice actors. Kate Higgins, who voiced Miles "Tails" Prower in Sonic Colors, is reprising her role for the first time since 2013. Additionally, and more significantly, fan-favorite Sonic voice actor Roger Craig Smith will be returning to his role as well. Smith just yesterday revealed his return after announcing he was stepping down earlier this year.
Sonic Colors: Rise of the Wisps comes in tandem with the announcement of Sonic Colors Ultimate. A remaster of the original game, Sonic Colors Ultimate will include upscaled visuals, an additional game mode, and refined controls among other improvements. While the original 2010 version was exclusive to the Nintendo Wii and DS, the remastered version will launch for PC, PS4, and Xbox One, in addition to Switch. While Rise of the Wisps has yet to receive a specific release date beyond the vague "summer" window, it stands to reason that it would be late in the season, likely dropping shortly before the launch of Sonic Colors Ultimate.
One of the Sonic Central presentation's biggest focuses was on the re-release of older Sonic the Hedgehog titles. In addition to announcing the new content surrounding Sonic Colors, Sega also revealed its Sonic Origins collection. The retro lineup of Sonic titles includes Sonic the Hedgehog 1-3, Sonic & Knuckles, and Sonic CD, with a release window of 2022. Fans hoping to see the blue blur in a new title were given just a tidbit in the form of a vague teaser trailer, showing the Sega mascot running through a forest with a pixelated trail. While fans hoping for the much-rumored Sonic Adventure remake were left disappointed, there's still a chance a reveal could be made at next month's E3.
The presentation does mention it is the "first" Sonic Central, leaving the door open for future installments to announce more content. With plenty of gaming industry events happening over the next few months, and the fact that Rise of the Wisps is part one of a two-part series, it should be interesting to see what else Sega may have up its sleeve for the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise.
Sonic Colors: Rise of the Wisps releases this summer.