When you think of iconic games characters, the odds are you think of Nintendo's portly plumber Mario first - or, if you were on the other side during the console wars of the late 80s/early 90s, you might have fonder memories of a bright blue hedgehog called Sonic, the mascot of Sega from the days when they still made consoles. With the travesty that was last year's Sonic Boom leaving many a Sega fan's hopes and dreams in tatters, it's perhaps just as well that the guy who invented the speedy hedgehog has distanced himself from the franchise of late, setting up his own studio instead. His latest brainchild? A part flying game, part platformer called Rodea: The Sky Soldier.
The idea of Rodea: The Sky Soldier actually goes back quite a way - to 2010 to be precise, when the famed Sonic creator, Yuji Naka, revealed his "very original action game based in the sky". In fact, the game was supposedly finished for it's original console of choice, the Wii, soon after in 2011, but never actually saw a release, sadly disappearing off the radar without so much as a whisper. But as the saying goes, you can't keep a good game down - and last year saw the re-emergence of the missing-presumed-cancelled game, this time with development shifted over to the Wii U (and 3DS).
Looking perhaps not quite as "very original" as it had been made out, and more like old SEGA classic (and another of Yuji Naka's games), Nights, Rodea: The Sky Soldier will seem instantly familiar to those of a certain age - but for everyone else, it might seem like a bit of a strange idea. Part classic platformer, with plenty of running, jumping and gunning, and part aerial action game, Rodea can leap into the skies, flying through hoops, spinning through enemies and avoiding airborne obstacles. Each stage has several different paths, with collectables and such hidden off the beaten track, so it's well worth exploring and experimenting along the way.
Boss fights also make use of Rodea's platforming/flying duality.
Those who pick up the game early on and manage to get their hands on one of the first print copies of the Wii U version will also get a free Wii game - a copy of Yuji Naka's previously unreleased, original concept for Rodea: The Sky Soldier, with unique Wii Remote controls and multiplayer for up to four players. And, while only confirmed for America as yet, 3DS early adopters can nab themselves a soundtrack CD as a bonus too, packed with the game in a collectible cardboard box. At the moment, however, whether the 3DS edition will make it outside of the USA is anyone's guess.
Rodea: The Sky Soldier will hit the Wii U and 3DS this autumn, on the 16th October (13th October in America). Why not check out the trailer below to get an idea of what's in store, and rock out to some amazing J-Pop:
