Sonic Superstars Will Feature New Villain

Sega gives fans more details about Sonic Superstars' newest character, a villain who is working alongside Dr. Eggman and Fang.

Sega and Sonic Team have given more details regarding Sonic Superstars' newest villain, Trip, who is working alongside Dr. Eggman and Fang the Hunter. This new entry in the long-running franchise is a throwback to the series' roots on the Sega Genesis, being a 2D platformer focused on speed. Unlike previous games in the series, Sonic Superstars has a focus on multiplayer co-op, where four players can all play at once in one session, with Sonic, Amy, Tails, and Knuckles all being playable characters. The game will also introduce a brand-new character introduced to the franchise, known as Trip.

Since Sonic Superstars is a throwback to older Sonic games, it features the classic versions of Sonic, his friends, and Dr. Eggman. Fang the Hunter from Sonic Triple Trouble makes his grand return to the games, after only making comic book-only and cameo appearances in past media as well. Trip, who is designed by Sonic's original character designer, Naoto Ohshima, makes her debut in Superstars as the third member of the villainous trio. Sonic Team's Takashi Iizuka gave some more information about Trip and what to expect from her.

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According to an interview between Iizuka and Game Informer about Sonic Superstars, Trip was designed as a collaboration between Sonic Team and Ohshima, who is the president of the game's co-developer, Arzest. This newcomer was added to compliment Eggman and Fang, where the former was an omnipresent villain in the franchise, while Fang is a classic villain making a grand comeback. The team also explained their design process, where Ohshima went back and forth with Iizuka in designing the armored villain, basing it off of the ouroboros. According to Iizuka, Trip is a sungazer lizard, though in Japanese she is an "armored lizard," which compliments her lizard-like tail and armor.

Unlike other Sonic the Hedgehog villains, she isn't the same world ending threat that fans have seen in games like Sonic Adventure, Sonic Unleashed, or Sonic Frontiers, but rather is a weak and lost character in Superstars. The interviewer noted that they first encountered Trip in one of Amy's Acts in Lagoon City Zone, where she helps escort Trip out of the level. Iizuka commented on this, stating that Trip starts out as a rather clumsy enemy, hence her namesake, but as the game progresses, players will get to see her transformation into an effective villain, while keeping it consistent with the same limited storytelling conventions of the classic games.

Fans have speculated about Trip and her role in Sonic Superstars very early on, ever since fans first spotted her in the game's opening title animation. Many believed that she could potentially be a brand-new playable character, while others think she could end up usurping both Eggman and Fang in some way. While it's possible that Trip can become playable after initially beating Superstars, this is just speculation at this time.

Sonic Superstars launches in Fall 2023 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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Source: Game Informer

Freelance writer and enthusiastic gamer regarding all things Sonic, Mario, Yakuza, Persona, and much more.