Filmmaker Reacts: Sonic Unleashed Opening Cinematic

[@PhilipHarts]

What is your favorite Sonic Game?! Subscribe here and Follow me on twitch.tv/philiphartshorn Join my discord to help me choose my next video: discord.gg/J85mKhG Watch my film work here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fILKZpVsl8aafdU Follow my Twitter: Twitter.com/philipharts

[@khileemyers3059]

We Need More Extended Fighting Short films from you

[@LycanMOON]

Unpopular opinion,but sonic forces My first sonic game and I got it just to see if people were over exaggerating

[@BlurBlizzard]

I would love for you to react to more sonic openings.

[@rehaansiddiqie]

Coincidentally Sonic Unleashed is my favorite Sonic game, although the latest released Sonic Frontiers is a close second.

[@pepsi.r]

If you liked it then do watch "sonic night of the werehog"

[@theretrosilvergamer7061]

Fun fact: in the game’s manual, it briefly describes the opening as “Sonic and Eggman’s FINAL BATTLE”. So if it weren’t for Eggman’s plan to harness Dark Gia’s power, they were looking to end things between them once and for all

[@edwardbo4666]

Nah sonic was about to off eggman?

[@fransiscayulianita68]

​​@@edwardbo4666 I mean, he was ESPECIALLY pissed off during his ACTUAL final battle with Eggman in this game. So it's not too far fetched to think that Sonic was considering clapping the Egghead after their "last" battle during the intro.

[@edwardbo4666]

@@fransiscayulianita68 cool.

[@jimbob1862]

​@@edwardbo4666Sonic is always ready to off someone tbh and I think in the old Archie comics Sonic offed Eggman in like the first 50 issues lol, the Eggman after that is an alternate version

[@C_SonicDude]

Woah I never knew that! *New “What IF” scenario unlocked*

[@ultrachristian28]

basically Unleashed starts just at THE ENDING of almost every other sonic game -sonic already travelled all the levels -gathered the emeralds to transform with them -invade eggman's base and fight his final robot -sonic wins transforming in super sonic but instead of ending there this time eggman was ready to use this cycle for his advantage, transforming the normal ending of the journey in the starting point of a new one and i think that's genious

[@GuilFernandes]

Never actually thought about it, and maybe that's why i find it to be so genious!

[@bella_daze3092]

Oh my fucking God I never thought of that 0-0 that’s so SMART

[@SilverAshes109]

Hey you’re right! I forgot you don’t go through the world collecting chaos emeralds, you already have them, they need to be restored. Man, this game is better than I remembered!

[@Axxidous]

It's a shame that they didn't try to tie the ending of Sonic Prime to this since this starts with a conflict we know nothing about. But it's clear that Prime takes place after this at least from Prime's perspective. idc how long it takes for them to retcon their statements about that show, the games don't seem to reflect that Prime ever happened so as far as I'm concerned, it didn't. lol

[@statickaiinaweirdworld179]

Still the best video game opening ever made.

[@oOSonicexeOo]

Honestly with the cgi in sonic unleashed shadow the hedgehog night of the werehog and 06 it’s annoying we didn’t get an animated movie but the ones we got are still good

[@Kookie_13_]

@@oOSonicexeOoyeah marza could definitely deal with a movie, given the budget

[@oOSonicexeOo]

@@Kookie_13_ the thing is aswell sonics in both wreck it wralph movies and is even in ready player one so it’s definitely possible for literally any animation studio to to possibly make a good sonic animation

[@Kookie_13_]

@@oOSonicexeOo marza have experience with the action side of sonic and are owned by sega

[@oOSonicexeOo]

@@Kookie_13_ I know I’m just saying that literally any animation studio of the past 10+ years could of made a sonic movie if they had the rights

[@rehaansiddiqie]

One insane thing about this cutscene is that it was made in 2008.

[@cyclops8238]

Probably even earlier since the game was in development for a couple years.

[@BLOODY__FATALITY]

You should see Shadow The Hedgehog's opening. It is of this same quality despite coming from the GameCube vs the Wii and coming out years before this. They weren't f**king around with their cutscenes back then.

[@rehaansiddiqie]

@@BLOODY__FATALITY Yeah, I know, bro. Going from Heroes to Shadow was the biggest jump ever made.

[@jaredtherock5692]

I love how a guy with just a little knowledge about Sonic can also have that "oh no" moment when the emeralds are ripped away from Super Sonic. Most fans feel that weight because of how many times they have used Super Sonic in the last level, the last boss. Im so glad how that power is conveyed in the scene so that even without context, you understand that its serious when that transformation is ripped away.

[@noobiticjj]

According to Sega, they said this was one of their most amazing projects, and the cutscenes were made separately from the game.

[@Beninator174]

Yeah. Clearly!

[@crestofhonor2349]

They were done by Marza Animation Planet, the same studio who did CG cutscenes for other Sonic games and the CG work for the movies as well. Marza is owned by Sega Sammy so it's internal work just by a separate team

[@noobiticjj]

ya ik@@crestofhonor2349

[@orbboom6119]

I wish they do something like this again. Closest we've gotten were the Mania animations

[@TheLivelovelaugh165]

The reason everything is so polished in this game is because the fate of Sonic Team was at hand. Unleashed was either going to succeed or be the last major Sonic game, so the teams went all in.

[@alexkimball4910]

One thing to note, In regards to the idea that both Mario and Sonic have fun doing what they do, I feel there is a key difference in perspective. Mario has joy and optimism IN THE FACE of adversity Sonic has fun and excitement BECAUSE of adversity When it comes down to it, Sonic is an adrenaline junkie 😅

[@dusk173]

I understood that reference.😏

[@Velvetloss]

Fitting.

[@NewSkater3000]

comment so good i might just screenshot it

[@nintony2994]

@@NewSkater3000 comment so good i might print it out and frame it

[@dranoradragonqueen1494]

true sonic is an adrenaline junkie

[@misschieflolz1301]

It's still shocking how well animated this is for 2008. I'd legit have watched a full length movie of this.

[@crestofhonor2349]

Marza has done other stuff. They did the animation for the movie Lupin the Third: The First

[@DrMoonRose]

No way what! ​@@crestofhonor2349

[@drdewott9154]

@@crestofhonor2349 Makes perfect sense, that movie looks absoltuely stunning and kinda fits into a similar style to this. Apparently they also did some work for the live action Sonic movies made in the US but of course those are very different conditions.

[@normallymute0131]

@@crestofhonor2349lupin the third looks so well done. The 3D look still keeps the goofy feel good feels of the art style used

[@Chibiknux]

I love how much squash and stretch Sonic has in his animations here. If you pause anytime during Eggman's robot hand chasing him you'll get very wacky Sonic stills

[@bella_daze3092]

I NOTICED THAT

[@rickyronny4019]

This and Sonic Prime understand that Sonic is best animated via squash and stretch

[@franklinreed7614]

The monster that was awoken named Dark Gaia has infected Sonic with its power. A lot of people get this confused, but Sonic actually didn't turn into a werewolf. Since Sonic absorbed Dark Gaia's power he ends up looking like one of the basic enemies in the game that were created by Dark Gaia's power. Due to Sonic's pure heart however, he was able to keep his mind from being corrupted.

[@lucabratz4452]

Basically Devilman but Sonic

[@franklinreed7614]

@@lucabratz4452 Devilman?

[@lambousginiguccigod2007]

Real fans call him werehog!

[@buster3041]

And they forget sonic's stretchy arms are used by enemies in the game. That also shows he has dark gaia's power.

[@coyotix]

The fact that this game came out in 2008 astounds me. The animation here is better than most films today. Gotta love Marza Animation Planet, they're so good at animation. Gotta recommend their short films Night of the Werehog, which is about Sonic and his friend Chip from this game encountering mischievous ghosts, and Ghost Tale, a short they made for 2023 Halloween about said ghosts. Really incredible stuff

[@ameliawalker1046]

I've got exciting news for you about that: I'm hoping that I'll start working with them next month!!!!!

[@Kuzamer]

Or as they were known as back then. "VE Studios"

[@kennmaskin]

If that's true, that's amazing! Good luck!@@ameliawalker1046

[@TalkingBook72]

I'm glad that they're involved in the animation of the movies

[@Slappy985]

There's a sequel to Night of the Werehog that was made a while ago by that studio its on their KZbin channel if you wanna check it out.

[@DylanofScreenTime]

I think it’s cool how when Sonic starts transforming, his movements mirrors Dark Gaia, already implying whatever is happening to him is connected to this monster coming out of the planet.

[@SBaby]

So this will probably inevitably be mentioned by someone at some point. But this game was done by the person who did the Metarex Saga in Sonic X. That season was known for its darker tone and more mature themes, especially given it was in a kid's show.

[@oOSonicexeOo]

Technically it was an anime that then got dubbed into a cartoon through censorship like with Pokémon and one piece basically the 2000s was the decade of make everything child friendly even if it ruins the plot at least the dub of sonic x had the actual voice actors from the games

[@hyperlink6547]

@@oOSonicexeOo i cannot watch the subbed version of Sonic X solely because i love the english VAs so damn much.

[@oOSonicexeOo]

@@hyperlink6547 in my opinion if someone edited the English voices onto the Japanese version it would be almost perfect or better yet an official redub of the whole thing but we probably will never get that but tbf I actually like the English dub apart from the censored/altered scenes and not all but some of the repetitive bgm but I do like some of the sound effects they gave to characters like when sonic sounds like a jet or the sound his spin attack has

[@nellewoodruff6337]

​@oOSonicexeOo @hyperlink6547 hard agree to both of you. I wanna see all of the deleted stuff outside of a compilation video, but the dub cast is too comforting to me

[@oOSonicexeOo]

@@nellewoodruff6337 I know what you mean though like I can’t even watch the fan dubs because the voices just don’t feel right in my opinion the best way to watch it is English dub but everytime it gets to a heavily altered part watch that part in Japanese it’s more effort and you’d have to have the clips ready for those episodes but in general it would be better because most of the altered parts like the baseball episode as an example when cream flirts with the robot that scene is fine in the dub and actually makes a little more sense for creams character but the heavily altered scenes throughout the show that mainly involve knuckles shadow and rouge are just not the same and obviously worse

[@filippogiannico8830]

It's very fun and light hearted "Earth proceeds to split in half"

[@NIDER3]

The Chaos Emeralds basically are the chaotic energy of life in the form of crystals, which can be transformed into power by someone who know how to connect with this energy.

[@33pandagamer]

They turn thoughts into power.

[@NIDER3]

@@33pandagamer yeah kinda

[@oOSonicexeOo]

I find it funny how he talks about it seemingly being light hearted and all that while the planet gets destroyed plus I’d love to see him react to night of the werehog 😂

[@bestgifttanada9139]

This cutscene alone makes me question eggman's net worth😂

[@smalllfox]

well he does own multiple casinos

[@benalor1973]

​@smalllfox , also owns an off shore oil refinery large enough to be considered a literal ocean and running entire transportation grids, and probably many other businesses he has his fiingers in.

[@Player_circle]

he probably doesn't get his money in a legal way

[@Orange_Swirl]

​@@Player_circle I personally think he gets his money in both legal AND illegal ways. He will stop at nothing to complete his goals.

[@LycanMOON]

Some lore context -the gems are the chaos emeralds,7 rocks that turn sonic into super sonic (the goku transformation) -Eggman zapped in with some dark Gaia energy,dark Gaia the big thing that came out of the planet and opposite of light Gaia -the energy transforms sonic into a furry for some reason

[@richardkirkland6805]

Isn't Sonic already a furry?

[@SBaby]

It turned him into a more primal state, kind of a cross between regular Sonic and Dark Sonic. Long story short, this game was written by the person who did the Metarex Saga in Sonic X. That storyline was known for its dark tone and very adult subject matter for being in a kid's show.

[@GlyphAnim]

eggman taking sonic's power in this was also totally ironic in a way, with sonic using the same power that he holds onto to protect the world only for it to be used to power a weapon of mass destruction and rip the one he protected apart

[@XR-Creator_YT]

​@@richardkirkland6805no, just no

[@lindseylindsey9200]

@@richardkirkland6805a furrier furry

[@smugsneasel]

06:34 Yes. Truly the Possibilities are never-ending. He sees it. He sees it now.

[@33pandagamer]

It's always been inside of him

[@melaniepereira6010]

And now he feels so free

[@Ivan210bluboi]

Endless possibilities

[@thatrandomredengine9430]

The fact this was Sonic over a decade ago, and no other Sonic game could come CLOSE to the level Unleashed was on.

[@DLGanimator]

"Super saiyan,, "Crystals,, "Oh yes, jim carrey. Such a good eggman,, Those beginner sonic fans 😂 never gets old. I am surprised you didn't say: He's using the dragon ball like emeralds!

[@VelvetAura]

I do love to see it though, reminds me that my lil blue boy is still capturing people's hearts today

[@lehashura490]

"Infinity stones" always a fun one

[@bobtheball5384]

Me too ngl, it's really funny

[@birdup2141]

when he transforms its literally just called super sonic

[@SBaby]

Or in the movies it's just known as 'golden god' form.

[@HydraCity-Z]

@@SBaby They just called it that for the time being I think, I'm sure in Sonic 3 they'll give it a name.

[@SBaby]

@@HydraCity-Z Most likely. But there could be some other reason why they're not using that term in the movies (at least not yet). It just depends on what they decide to do with 'certain things'.

[@Icepiq72]

Sonic Unleashed sort of starts at where a normal Sonic game would have almost ended. He collected the chaos emeralds and went to space to fight Eggman, resonant of Sonic 2, except in this fight he loses, and the entire world splits open

[@thatfriendwhosesanityyouquesti]

So glad you pointed out the music! They actually did something brilliant with the songs. There are two themes, one for Sonic and one for Eggman, being played back and forth all dependent on who has the upper hand in that moment. The triumphant music you pointed out is a good example of what I mean! But then at the end, when the big purple monster appears, _Dark Gaia’s_ theme plays, completely overtaking Sonic’s _and_ Eggman’s themes. It’s developed further as the game continues, but this is essentially the first moment communicated to the Player that Dark Gaia is a third party, rather than an extension of Eggman. They actually continue this clever use of music through the rest of the game too. If it ever interests you, AlTheBoi made a great video on it Always fun to see someone experience this intro for the first time. I’m really glad you enjoyed it! ^-^

[@michaelcarlton1484]

Sonic is a god killer and this intro just shows how easily he can beat Eggman's armies.

[@mysterholmes345]

It's Super Sonic. Whoever uses the power of the emeralds to transform in this golden state, they are called "Super *Insert their name*". So if it were Shadow transforming, then it's Super Shadow.

[@33pandagamer]

Not everyone turns gold. Knuckles turns pink.

[@mysterholmes345]

@@33pandagamer True. I was thinking about Sonic, Shadow, and Silver when typing this. But my point is, is that when they transform by the power of the emeralds, it's their name with some sort of name of the form in front of it. I didn't say all characters who use it turn gold. Just that when someone does, it is their Super form.

[@DrJose2014]

​​@@mysterholmes345well sonic turns gold silver turns a sort of cream color and shadow turns kinda whitw

[@rehaansiddiqie]

I would LOVE to see you react to Night of The Werehog. It was made a little while after Unleashed and looks surprisingly better than this opening CGI cutscene, especially when it comes to using Squatch and Stretch.

[@cinnamonsakura1418]

YES PLEASE!

[@NeonStudios763]

A little bit of context 7 Chaos Emeralds are the mystical gems of the Sonic series, possessing them grants the user power from their thoughts, and all 7 makes the user borderline invincible. When a character like Sonic grabs them, they gain a transformation, becoming stronger and faster, becoming their super form. (Super Sonic, Super Knuckles, etc.) Sadly, after using them, they scatter and disperse, meaning they’d have to be collected again, like the Dragon Balls. In terms of gameplay… it depends. In some games, you can get the Emeralds from Special Stages and use them in the levels. Using the Super Form requires 50 Rings, at minimum, and the form burns your ring count. In other games, like Sonic Unleashed, it’s only for the final boss. Of course, that also means villains want them for their own means. The werewolf-lookin form is the Werehog. Sonic was infused with the power of an ancient beast called Dark Gaia, the manifestation of evil and negativity. The energy turned Sonic more beastly and rough, but in a twist of fate, the form doesn’t change his personality. Which is a pretty awesome story thing. Sonic is such a beacon of positivity that he can’t even be mentally corrupted by an outside force.

[@Axxidous]

The lore for stuff like the Chaos Emeralds in regards to how they appear is an anime concept called Hammerspace where they’re able to put objects away in an implied metaphorical pocket without explanation. It usually happens off screen or blocked by something. But this is a case where they had him summon them with no hands, sorta confirming for the first time that he’s not physically carrying them on his person the entire time. Since there, there’s been in-game transformation animations where he poses as the Emeralds appear around him before he transformers in a flash.

[@Cypherior88]

This cinematic animation and the quality imo was way ahead of the standard back then, which is a good thing.

[@greenknight9000]

Super Sonic just looks so gorgeous, the power radiating off of him, and that subtle shininess like how he was in Sonic Adventure, Adventure 2 and Heroes is such a brilliant touch!

[@calebdrake-rh1jz]

Omg the sonic is my favorite series is my favorite I'm so happy you react to it.

[@THEonlyAEON]

I searched for an analysis like this for this cutscene a week or two ago and couldn't find anything decent. So I was very happy to see this. Puting Sonic and the chaos emeralds into a Dragon Ball perspective, Super Sonic is like Super Sayain if Goku had to use the dragon balls to achieve that power each time, and the Chaos Emeralds are like the Dragon Balls expect instead of granting wishes they are a near infinite source of power.

[@irishuisman1450]

Unleashed was actually my first Sonic game ever (and is partially due to that still my favorite to this day, closely followed by Frontiers and Mania), and boy howdy was this intro one hell of an introduction :D

[@byonty886]

ah yes, the best cinematic in the sonic franchise

[@Zegner2435]

welp, here comes the loredump (mostly my interpretation of things, so please don't take it all as full facts): 1 - The Chaos Emeralds are seven powerful gems that contain basically chaos itself, just one allows people with the will to perform amazing things beyond normal, like teleportation or time manipulation, and collecting all 7 grants you incredible power that used correctly could make you invincible. Such is the case on Sonic, who harnesses the energy of the emeralds on his own to transform into the (almost) invincible Super Sonic using the positive energy flow of the emeralds. He can also kinda summon them at will and also like, feel them, something that's never really explained beyond a strong connection to the things which do have a mind of their own sometimes. 2 - The creature sealed within the planet is Dark Gaia, the embodiment of darkness itself who awakens every eon or so to engulf the world in a darkness above anything else, usually put back into slumber by its opposite, Light Gaia. In this specific case, Eggman used the power of the emeralds to force Dark Gaia's awakening, splitting the planet in 7 pieces. As a consequence of the impact, Dark Gaia, not being fully recovered from his slumber, couldn't withstand it's own form and divided itself across the world to regain its power using the darkness inside all living beings, to soon regain itself and fulfill the prophecy, as the Gaia Manuscripts foretold. 3 - Related to Dark Gaia, beings that hold some amounts of Dark Gaia's energy within them are subject to various effects, from simply a very pessimistic demeanor to complete transformations into dark beings who normally lose all control. Sonic transformed into the form known as "The Werehog" as an unexpected effect of Eggman's machine, which while draining the energy of the emeralds injected Sonic with some of Dark Gaia's power. The why a werewolf exactly is beyond anyone, but it made for some pretty hard AMVs if memory serves right (it likely doesn't). Oh, and there's literally no context nor explanation to that huge fleet or how Sonic got up there, it just starts like that and then gets absolutely no mention afterwards, that was just normal Sonic stuff at that point lol another fun little thing, as Eggman's about to fire the laser, you can see a Sega Dreamcast on his seat.

[@Baskat682]

Oh wow. This is a surprise. Wasn't expecting a Sonic Unleashed reaction. This is one of my first Sonic games along with being my favourite one. I honestly believe that this game was ahead of its time. The story was interesting. The difference between the day and night stages was great. I'm feeling so nostalgic Incredible to think this intro is from 2008

[@Michaelp37122]

I like how he said that this planet is a sick place to have game play possibilities... (6:30) It's almost like the possibilities are... endless... 👀

[@raidenmei9064]

Nature vs technology has been a big theme in the series since the first game, cool that you picked up on that.

[@matthewsimmons9277]

The planet has an atmosphere double the size of earth. So no they aren’t actually in the vacuum of space.

[@BlamedAxis]

When this game originally came out, a lot of people hated on it and didn't like the parts of the game where you played as Werewolf Sonic (aka Werehog). But over a decade later, a lot of those people that hated it at first have come to appreciate it, and now it is a very beloved game in the Sonic community. You can find it in many people's Top 10 Sonic games

[@richardkirkland6805]

The form in the beginning is called Super Sonic

[@ChrisLuigiTails]

Would never have thought I'd see Sonic content from Philip, super excited for this!

[@Percy_studios]

“What’s happened to sonic something’s not right that’s not right man” 😂

[@TekkaDGoofy]

This might be weird, but i kinda love how this opening shows us that Eggman sees sonic as a Genuine Threat. Like, the second he realises sonic is here, he sets his entire fleet on him.

[@DreamyLuigi1]

I never realized this until today, but sonic just turned a bunch of ships into debris. And where is that debris going to go? Into earth

[@aaronmayernik8973]

I'm subbing. I'm a Sonic fan and the way you reacted to the Sonic Unleashed opening was awesome! If you want to learn more about our favorite blue blur just ask me or any other fan who's been around this guy for a while and we'll help you out buddy.

[@alborjat2657]

With how good this looks I just can’t believe this was 2008! Even the sonic frontiers cutscenes don’t look this good!

[@crestofhonor2349]

That's because it's CG

[@Safalmao]

frontiers trailer cgi looks this good, also in shadows game from 2005 it also looked just as good as this.

[@TalkingBook72]

Frontiers' does look this good, because it's made by the same animation studio, Marza. They're still around and they still do animation for each Sonic game, as well as the movies

[@Omen_Rocks123]

Easily one off the best video game openings of all time

[@dextra_24703]

straight up starting with peak Sonic

[@DePietre]

I really wish there was a Sonic movie with animation like that, I would really enjoy it

[@WierdozJunkary]

The same company who made the CGI cutscenes for this game also created two short animations with it as well. “Night of the Werehog” and “Ghost Tale”. Though Ghost Tale only has the ghost seen in Night of the Werehog

[@bmc4857]

Sonic Unleashed is one of my favorite Modern Sonic games reasoning being that the levels are fun not short by any means and there's different paths that can be taken in certain levels in the game.

[@MrFluffy06]

Sonic the hedgehog 2006 also has an amazing opening cutscene done by the same animation team! you should definitely react to it!

[@DLGanimator]

Ha, that's a pretty snazzy performance there

[@MrFluffy06]

im sure it's just the wind...@@DLGanimator

[@andraw4002]

Ha ha, One!

[@ameliawalker1046]

Actually, it was Blur studios from California that created the CGI scenes for Sonic 06 and not Marza animation planet who created the opening cut scene for Sonic Unleashed...😅

[@MrFluffy06]

i totally forgot about blur lol but they're both amazing teams doing amazing work on not only this series but other gaming franchises as well especially in the case of blur studios like man... HALO 2 CUTSCENES ANYONE???? @@ameliawalker1046

[@33pandagamer]

The transformation at the end is called the Werehog (it's like a werewolf) and it's caused by the Dark Geia energy that was released when Eggman split apart the earth.

[@ever.4.n]

I loved watching your reaction to this cutscene as both a gamer and former film student. Sonic Unleashed is my favorite game of all time. Period. I've done 100%. I speedrun it (close to 3:30:00 at this point and practicing new tricks). It's a masterpiece, and this cutscene stands as a testament to the love and care the team poured into this game. Also the "that is not normal" comment made me laugh lol. Loved the video!

[@rickyronny4019]

Sonic Unleashed is not only an amazing game but it still got one of the best cinematic cutscenes in the whole series, nothing will top this

[@delsinlockhart]

God i miss old Sonic games on the PS3/Xbox360. While the gameplay wasnt too great most of the time, they had some of the most entertaining stories ever, the best cutscenes ever, and the best music ever too and thats what made them so special to me

[@BironColinn33]

Bro, I love so much the Werehog transformation, is so amazing & if you don't know, Sonic The Werehog can stretch his arms & he's so powerful like Knucks, is so crazy but is so fantastic in my opinion.

[@sheric3602]

This is my childhood game, this is where I still learning more about sonic. There’s more CGI animation like in few other sonic games, including the Mario and sonic at the Olympics game’s series. There’s night of the werehog that is also represented this game but as its own mini movie. It’s fun to watch, especially on Halloween. #sonicunleashed

[@Creepo_J]

This blew my mind as a kid and still does to this day

[@sonic2blue]

Sonic: Night of the Werehog is short Halloween special made by the same people, to promote the game. It feels like a Pixar film. It both game and short came out in 2008. DEFINITELY worth watching

[@Tzarina8472]

This has long been revered as one of the greatest video game opening sequences of all time, even by today's standards (They don't make 'em like they used to...) Those are the Chaos Emeralds. Usually you have to fight the strongest sub-bosses or solve the hardest puzzles in a very limited amount of time just to collect one of them. In this game, Sonic actually starts with all 7 but, as you can see, they ended up drained of their powers. Over the course of the game, you have to recharge the Emeralds and leave them behind instead of collect them... to fans who have played these games for a while, it's almost like we're playing the game backwards here.

[@mannyegarica12]

People said the days levels where you play as a regular Sonic what are the best parts but the night levels as werehog are slower and based on combat and puzzles.

[@Slappy985]

So basically what happened at the end there when Super Sonic got caught in Dr. Robotnic's trap and when the laser fired while Sonic was connected to the purple shocks, as the laser was breaking the earth apart to release Dark Gaia, some of that power was transferred over to the source of the beam, aka at that moment Sonic and the Chaos emeralds, then he sort of inherited the power of Dark Gaia and became a werewolf or as he is known in that form, a werehog. In classic werewolf fashion it only appears at night, but Sonic isn't in a feral state of mind he's still just 100% humorous blue blur Sonic but can punch with beefy stretchy arms and kick with his legs. Would have been real interesting if he was kind of feral and rabid or was heading toward that state of mind with each night that passes, as he progressed through his journey to restore the planet and the emeralds.

[@deecollinssuperitandficays863]

The intro with the music makes this the best Sonic game opening to date

[@Mohamed58290]

I wish the sonic movies had this beautiful art style instead of live action trend bs but i still like the movies they are still good

[@magical_pixie_horse7346]

Sonic transforms using the chaos emeralds. Just one allows certain users to control time and space, which is usually just warping from one short location to another. In some locations, each one offers a different ability. Some individuals, like Sonic, can use all 7 to have a super form.

[@TheInsaneRazor123]

That warping ability is Shadow's iconic ability: CHAOS CONTROL!

[@magical_pixie_horse7346]

@@TheInsaneRazor123 I know. I didn't feel like telling him that

[@magical_pixie_horse7346]

@@TheInsaneRazor123 not that he would see my comment

[@Princeofunderworld32]

The one and only time eggman took the chaos emeralds away from sonic and turned him back to base form cause usually once’s he’s super he doesn’t turn back until after eggman is defeated

[@Sonic171K]

Sonic Team will never make another 3D Sonic game this good and feels so complete ever again. You should definitely check out the other Marza shorts. There’s funny short clips of Sonic and Chip doing things. Also have Night of the Werehog to watch. This is my favorite video game of all time. I own it on Wii, PS3, PS2 and have the soundtrack.

[@scientistservant]

As much as I am a huge Sonic Adventure 2 fan, the opening to Sonic Unleashed is honestly one of the best looking, even after all these years! Can you believe this was back in 2008?!

[@av_8596]

"On the juice"? Dude, you are retro!

[@benb.8170]

That infectious Philip smile and energy 😊

[@TheUnknownGhost.9907]

6:30 “That’s gonna be a sick place to have like gameplay, possibilities…” I guess you can say “Endless Possibilities” (Context: The song is the main theme for Sonic Unleashed)

[@33pandagamer]

The game is split into two main gameplay styles. One is the Day Time stages where you play as normal Sonic. The other is Night Time stages where you play as Werehog Sonic. The general consensus in the Sonic fan base is that the Day Time stages are good and that the Night Time stages are bad.

[@caity_strophic]

I love this ❤ this scene is actually wat got me into sonic 😍 gives me goosebumps everytime, i shiver watching it XD and this was released in 2008!

[@FreddyMannLive]

When Sonic turned into a Werehog, he was taking in Dark Gaia's (The monster coming out of the Earth) energy

[@SKB_91]

It’s such a treasured piece of Sonic content to this day and I absolutely love it.

[@Off_lucci]

my favorite sonic game ever made tbh

[@artistanthony1007]

This isnt even the only visual thing with that CGI in & for the game and if you think Dark Gaia is terrifying now, you have to see the cutscene before the fight with Dark Gaia as Super Sonic.

[@CrimsonMoonM]

Marza Animation Planet did an amazing job on their early 2000s Sonic projects. I really hope Sega decides to hire 'em again for future titles now that Frontiers has sold well enough to justify the costs of bringing them in again in the future.

[@noahmeyer9756]

Marza is actually Sega' internal CG studio (operating as a subsidiary of Sega-owned) and are involved with the film series. They also did a Lupin III film, if you wanna see what a pure Marza feature looks like.

[@CrimsonMoonM]

@@noahmeyer9756 Makes sense. I just noticed that they're credited for Frontiers' CG trailers, but I hope they get brought on for more elaborate cutscenes within the games themselves in future projects since Frontiers were noticeably lacking in this department compared to even the likes of Colors.

[@Kookie_13_]

I love this game, the werehog is fun, as long as you ignore upgrades for normal sonic, it is one of the most cinematic sonic games, and that’s why it’s one of my favourites, they didn’t shove every character in there for the sake of it but the characters that are here definitely prove that if they never stopped the unleashed way of doing things, the sonic series could have stayed like this.

[@smalllfox]

unfortunately critics hated the game and unleashed was basically sonic team's last chance after the failure of shadow the hedgehog and sonic '06. after unleashed got bad reception sega really stopped giving sonic team the budget and time to make a game that ambitious. they also changed writers for the 2010s and then aimed at a younger audience

[@Kookie_13_]

@@smalllfox the problem with that is critics hated the werehog, but sonic team, taking the wrong lessons, decided to make sonic a self aware comedy in colours as if that were the issue. It might be partially because sonic is often compared with mario and mario is a fun family friendly franchise, people expect sonic to be similar, but he wasn’t, that was the whole point of his entire existence

[@Steg1118]

you should watch the sonic the hedgehog (a.k.a sonic 06) opening I believe its the same animation studio and its very good

[@Safalmao]

yup 06 opening is amazing, even tho sonic doesn't appear until like two minuets in its still great

[@danielreyesmusic]

in all these years i never realized how much sonic’s werehog state resembles goku’s great ape form 😭 it makes so much sense considering how super sonic is inspired by super saiyan

[@geetargenius]

i feel like this vid is the perfect thing to show someone an example of a good sonic game. people hate on it because the werehog form stages go on for a bit long but genuinely stunning visuals and animation for this, best 3d sonic game for sure

[@shadowthehedgehog370]

6:32 I guess you could say endless possibilities

[@mrcwillis6970]

This is still the best animated sonic opening, everything about it is just peak sonic. 💙

[@farhanyudaputra6422]

this opening lives rent free in my head

[@tood9077]

As a fan of both Sonic and Dragonball, I absolutely love when people call Super Sonic; Super Saiyan. I love the dragon ball inspirations in Sonic

[@Safalmao]

yup sonic is a mix between mickey mouse, mario, dragon ball, and star wars.

[@TheWaffleFactory]

One of my favorite sonic games and sonic storylines! They really raised the bar with this game

[@jeffreysfamily5466]

ik its not sonic but cant wait for him to react to the new honkai short anime

[@sameergill-raza711]

Finding out that this was made in 2008, and looking back at stuff today. WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED?!

[@KKTunez]

2008, from 2008 man and it STILL looks this fantastic, they went from unfinished 06 to the best sonic game. The budget, the art direction, the music, the gameplay ideas were just outta this world and they made an amazing artistic game out of it. This was my genesis sonic growing up, my PS2 was the best part of my childhood, even though I played the worse version as a kid, I remembered the game literally looking like the xbox version 🥲and now having played both I can say they both still are amazing games. we didn't appreciate it as much at the time as much as we do now, they really just absolutely nailed this opener, there is a lot of lore through the game you hear, unlock and can piece together with environments but it's an interesting idea starting in the middle of sonics adventure, he already had the emeralds, he was already after eggman, then you get little bits hinted from eggman what he did recently to make sonic go after him with the gaia manuscripts and he knew something would happen when he found a way to lure sonic and shoot the emerald power and then the camera work signifies some sort of connection between werehog sonic and dark gaia forming out of the earth. Just... 🤌

[@TonyHughes_]

Thanks a lot for a reaction to this, such an amazing opening! Pixar sonic is by far the best version sonic🙌🏽

[@OmegaNasod]

I wish Sega made an entire movie like this for cinemas

[@DarioAcereto]

12:58 That's what happened in Sonic 3 & Knuckles, you get all Chaos Emeralds in Sonic 2, and at the start of the third one, you have them and you are Super Sonic (you lose them, but it's a good detail).

[@ryan41226]

Sonic Unleashed Is My All-Time Favorite Sonic/Video Game Ever. I Would Literally Pay Money To Watch This 6 Minute Masterpiece At A Movie Theater On The Big Screen. The "Super Saiyan" Form Is Called "Super Sonic". Which He Can Transform Into Once All 7 Chaos Emeralds Are Obtained. As For The Werwolf Form, That Is "Sonic The Werehog". The "Alien" Eggman Awoke Is Called "Dark Gaia". And The Chaos Emeralds Energy Drained & Were Filled With Dark Gaia Energy, Resulting In Sonic Transforming Into The Werehog. Sonic Unleashed Is A Day & Night Style. During The Daytime, Sonic Is In His Regular Form. But During The Nighttime, Sonic Becomes The Werehog.

[@Safalmao]

sonic adventure one, sonic 06, sonic unleashed and sonic frontiers are all very similar style games

[@ryan41226]

@@Safalmao And Colors, Kinda Lost World, & Forces.

[@Safalmao]

@@ryan41226 well in those there isn't open area's to explore, and you can't move the camera so they aren't on the same level to me personally.

[@ryan41226]

@@Safalmao Well I Didn't Know You Were Referring To Those Specific Aspects Of The Games.

[@Roastbeef-w9c]

15:00 to answer this question ...so the general opinion when it comes to critics of the time is that sonic unleashed was one of the worst sonic games of all time (which was VERY harsh and kinda uncalled for bc they didn't even play the damn game right) but now the general opinion when it comes to fans of sonic is that its a great game with a few shortcomings, and i feel that is very true. its not a perfect game but its sure a fun one.

[@artistanthony1007]

We got Forces and 2010s Era so we look back and see that this game was much more than we thought it was, I loved this game though but began with the PS2 Version, did you know there was a really amazing Site during the game's existence?

[@DemonikPrizm]

I love seeing non-fans see just how insane some Sonic plotlines are.