In the arc of Sega console history, it’s sometimes easy (at least in this part of the world) to forget there was a whole console between the Genesis and Dreamcast. While the Sega Saturn was ill-fated stateside for several reasons, including one of the most botched console launches of all time, a big reason was the lack of a big Sonic game for the platform. But infamously, the blue blur’s planned first foray into the third dimension, Sonic X-Treme, was cancelled – a dimension we can see in some new direct feed screenshots courtesy of Sega Forever.
Something extra special today!
From the archives: Screenshots of Sonic X-treme, prior to being cancelled for the SEGA Saturn. 😲
These are the original, actual screenshots used for promotion and magazine articles! No scans! #SEGAForever pic.twitter.com/BiPkgY3dsN
— SEGA Forever (@SEGAForever) August 4, 2023
The saga of X-Treme is too extensive to recount in full detail here, but you can see some interesting elements that were arguably ahead of their time: a mixture of sprites and 3d models, fields that rotate around fixed gravity points, and more. You can also kinda glean from the camera angles that the depth of field could use some work. As sad as it is that it never saw the light of day, that may have been for a reason.
Sonic would of course transition into 3D with Sonic Adventure on the Dreamcast, a stone cold classic that nobody can or should criticize ever. Attributes from X-Treme would end up making it into games like Sonic Lost World, but we hope that the concept sees a fresh new start sometime.
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Written by Amelia Fruzzetti
A writer and Nintendo fan based in Seattle, Washington. When not working for NinWire, she can be found eating pasta, writing stories, and wondering about when Mother 3 is finally going to get an official localization.
