Mario and Sonic seem to have made amends throughout the last decade, as Sega has made the blue hedgehog a very prized guest in the Nintendo lineup. From Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, to Sonic being a guest star in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, to three Sonic games (Sonic Lost World being one) being exclusive to the Wii U, Nintendo has found in Sega a very gracious supporter. Now it seems that Sega has no problems admitting that they may have taken inspiration from its former rival as well, as Takashi Iizuka, the head of Sonic Team, said in a interview with Official Nintendo Magazine, that some levels of Sonic Lost World were reminiscent of Super Mario Galaxy.
In multiple previews of Sonic Lost World, gamers saw some segments where Sonic sped along Windy Hill stage, a floating level which lacked gravity and enabled him to run upside-down. Many Mario fans have wondered if this was inspired by Super Mario Galaxy, which used this same mechanic throughout multiple stages. When asked by reporters if these level designs were inspired by the Mario title, Iizuka replied: “With Lost World we wanted to evolve how Sonic works in 3D. When you think about a 3D level, it’s still limited – the sides are limited – so we talked about making levels as cubes or tubes.” He added: “Expanding the sides around 360 degrees enables players to take many paths, not just two or three. We ended up with a tune stage and realized we were a bit close to Mario Galaxy!”
While Sonic Lost World does look like it took a page from Super Mario Galaxy, we have seen only an ounce of what Sega has to offer.
Sonic Lost World is an exclusive title to the Wii U, and will be ready for release during this year’s holiday season. A Nintendo 3DS version will be released simultaneously as well.
