@thankskenpenders / thankskenpenders.tumblr.com
Hello! Welcome to Thanks Ken Penders. This is a pinned post.
So I'd recently said that the only thing I was particularly worried about with Sonic Superstars was the music, mainly because the words "Jun Senoue" and "classic sound" make me immediately think of Sonic 4 - which the extended gameplay footage was using recycled music from as a placeholder. Even with Tee Lopes confirmed as a contributor (but not the lead composer), I was concerned about what the bulk of the music would sound like.
Well, fast forward a couple weeks and my fears have been abated!
First up was the trailer at the Nintendo Direct, which features some new Tee Lopes music (as confirmed by him on Twitter) that sounds phenomenal. I keep going back to this just to listen to the music:
Later, the extended overview video made for Sonic Central features this track and more, which continue to sound like they were written by Tee Lopes. The poppy early '90s style is very similar to the Sonic Mania sound (as well as other work by Tee, like the incredible TMNT Shredder's Revenge OST), and it's exactly what I'd want. If this isn't all by Tee Lopes, then Senoue is trying really damn hard to mimic his sound. These just sound like melodies and arrangements that Tee would go for, not ones that Senoue would write. Even underneath the wonky instrumentation of Sonic 4, Senoue had a distinct sound. You could tell it was the same guy who wrote the Sonic Adventure OST.
Curious, I decided to dig deeper, and found a video interview I'd missed from IGN. On the subject of the music, Iizuka (as translated by Sega of America's Austin Keys) said:
"The Classic Sonic music has always had this real fun pop vibe to it, and we wanted to stay true to the roots with the Classic series and go and create some great new music for Sonic Superstars. So what we did is actually, we're working with Jun Senoue, who was the music director on Sonic 3 and he's also worked on Sonic Mania. But we're using Jun, and he's partnering with other people who also worked on Sonic Mania music, and creating this new kind of sound and this new music that's going to be a perfect fit for a Classic Sonic game. Lots of fun, lots of pop."
I am perhaps a little peeved that they go all in on Senoue here and don't actually name Tee Lopes, almost implying that Senoue was the main composer on Mania (he was only credited as an audio engineer). On the flip side, it's a little funny to name drop Senoue and not acknowledge, you know... Crush 40? Sonic Adventure? But I get that they're trying to win over the Classic purists and not make people think Superstars will be full of butt rock lmao
Anyway yeah, it sounds like Senoue and Tee Lopes are collaborating pretty closely on this to create music that fits the Classic vibe without literally going for fake FM synth. It's possible a little of that is still in there, but every single track they've presented so far matches the style of Mania, not Sonic 4. That's the sound they want us to associate with the game.
I couldn't be more excited for this soundtrack now.
There have been some interesting bits of Sonic-related news lately! This is the post where I comment on them.
Finally! A new Sonic sidescroller! It's been too long.
Thanks to our new friends at Turtle Pals Tapes, we're putting out physical releases of the Super Lesbian Animal RPG soundtrack by @bumblequinn, newly remastered by Angel Marcloid and adorned with new art from the game's creator @ponett (wait that's me)
You can pre-order the entire soundtrack on two CDs, or you can get the set of two pride-themed vinyl LPs featuring a selection of 40 fan-favorite tracks from the game!
And, of course, the digital soundtrack is still available on Bee's Bandcamp, newly updated with the professional remasters done for the physical releases!
I'm still on hiatus here but I'm popping in to plug a neat little project by a friend of the blog: @onedegreeofsoniccomics, a blog showcasing other work by the many creatives who have been involved with the Sonic comics over the years, ranging from the cool to the cursed. Everything always comes back to Sonic eventually
Finally calling this one done! For both fans and newcomers, I wrote a great many thoughts about Mega Man Battle Network - my love of its premise and gameplay, thoughts on the nature of reboots, musings on growing up as a Mega Man fan in the '00s, and more. Enjoy!
Hello, wanted to say thank you, I'm really glad I found your work and I find your insights very helpful.
I wanted to ask something strange, as someone who has gone out of their way to dedicate a very detailed blog to the works of an outspoken artist, can you give me advice how to maintain healthy distance with ideas and individuals I might outright oppose, but have morbid sense of curiosity about them? Or it it just better to not indulge at all?
It's a difficult balance to achieve, and I won't pretend I've always been perfect about it on TKP
The thing is that you have to not obsess over the person too much. You have to focus on their work, not detailing every single thing they've ever done or said to keep receipts on them. You do not, under any circumstances, want to turn into the freaks who make and watch hundred hour long "documentaries" on CWC and Sonichu, or the people who run the Bad Webcomics Wiki
I have learned a very important piece of trivia about an early '00s Archie Sonic artist today - perhaps the most important. I have to preserve this on TKP
J. Axer won the TF2 propaganda contest back in the day with this painting
Which means there's a one-of-a-kind untradable hat in the game named after him
Mere hours after I made a lengthy post bemoaning the lazy, tiring trend of April Fools dating sim jokes and praising The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog for being a sincerely good little visual novel instead of a predictable ironic jab at dating sims, Sonic mobile game developer Sega Hardlight went and did the lazy joke. They didn't even get anyone to draw original art for it
(at least if you squint there's a mild allusion to whispangle in there)
It's a bit late, but I figure I have to touch on the big news from today, which is that for an (early) April Fools celebration Sega went and released a free visual novel about Sonic getting murdered
Here's a thing you should know about me: I am deathly allergic to ironic visual novels, and the related trend of announcing dating sims (which are synonymous with the medium of visual novels as a whole to many people) on April Fools
Aside from an incredibly small selection of titles that have seen wider success, it feels like much of the game industry is only willing to acknowledge visual novels as a punchline. And said jokes about dating sim stereotypes have been done a million fucking times by now. They're parodies of parodies of parodies. Even when these prank dating sims actually go and get made rather than just being a few fake screenshots, it feels like it's just because VNs are seen as cheap, disposable entertainment compared to "real" games. Companies can afford to commission some bullshit like the KFC dating sim and write it off as a marketing stunt. And it works. These games will get widely reported on for being so ~wacky~, while devs pouring their hearts into doing sincere, interesting work with the medium of visual novels are usually out of fucking luck. It's so, so tiring. The fact that this happens like clockwork every year has made me come to dread April Fools Day
So imagine my surprise when The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog drops out of nowhere and it's actually one of my favorite Sonic games in years
Aside from the intentionally tongue-in-cheek, attention-grabbing title (and Sonic doing the Family Guy Death Pose), there isn't an ounce of irony here. It's just a straight up whodunnit VN set on a train, albeit a lighthearted and pretty easy one. It's still a Sonic game, after all, and Sonic games are for kids. But it's so clearly made out of a place of love, both for the characters and for murder mysteries, rather than being a parody that's constantly winking at the camera and going "haha, isn't this absurd that this even exists at all?" Forget that. This wants to tell a genuinely good little Sonic story. Not to mention how gorgeous all of the artwork is throughout, with character illustrations from IDW cover artist Min Ho Kim (AKA deegeemin)
Like, for real. I've wanted the Sonic games to explore the supporting cast more for years, and I can't believe the game to finally do it is a murder mystery visual novel released for April Fools. This might be one of the best showcases of the cast... ever, in the games? The script from Ian Mutchler is so, so great, with fun and cute moments for everyone involved. And, smartly, you see the cast through the eyes of a new character (I named them "Blorbo") who isn't necessarily familiar with things like Blaze being a princess from another dimension, making this a surprisingly valid way to introduce people to the supporting cast. I'd say more, but it's a short game, so I think everyone should just go out and play it if you haven't already
There is still part of me that wishes a Sonic visual novel like this could've been greenlit for release any other day of the year, rather than being yet another April Fools visual novel. But regardless of the excuse they used to make it, I'm extremely happy that this exists
I don't know how many people will actually care, but in case you do: I did a little spring cleaning and untagged a handful of posts from the main TKP post tag that'd been made since my last proper Archie update. Didn't want there too much additional reading about random current events throughout the chronological archive. So like, if you're trying to find a post about my thoughts on the Frontiers gameplay reveal or whatever and it's not in the tag, that's what happened
(Also yes, I am still planning on coming back soon-ish. I'm still recharging post-SLARPG. The main thing in my way right now is wanting to reread the archive again as a refresher.)
MORE behind the scenes Sonic info and other tidbits from the BumbleKast as I continue to get caught up. These range from September 2022 to early December. (This means there are spoilers for Frontiers in here.)
They're doing episodes even more often now, so I've got a lot to catch up on and I'm sure most of y'all do too!
every week on sonic twitter someone has to make a thread being like "uhhhh hot take why don't the idw artists draw sonic's face CORRECTLY, like THIS??? clearly they don't understand the character like i do" and the reference material they provide for "on-model" sonic is pre-sonic 1 concept art by naoto ohshima that does not apply to how any artist at sega has ever drawn modern sonic's face. we will be having these arguments until the sun burns out
In the wake of Frontiers I've been thinking a lot about Sage, so here are some spoilery thoughts on her and the possibilities for further stories with her
Also no promises on dates, but as previously stated, now that SLARPG is finally out I'll be returning to updating TKP for real in the new year! I will probably still need some time to recharge because Jesus Christ I am exhausted but it's gonna happen, I'm gonna get back to Archie
The first eight episodes of Sonic Prime are out! I've been busy for obvious reasons this past week (I kinda released a video game), but I've now seen all eight episodes, and as such can give more structured thoughts on them.
Overall: pretty good! I like it! ...But it's not 100% there yet for me. In the spirit of Festivus, I'm here to air my grievances.
Uncover the secrets of the Sapphire Islands, acquire new magical abilities, and kiss your girlfriend in this classic-inspired RPG about love, anxiety, and fighting funny-looking monsters in dungeons.
Get it now on Steam or itch.io, or learn more at the game's website. (Or: read the free 12-page prologue comic here!)
Nearly seven years after it was first announced here on Tumblr, the game is finally complete. This has been a labor of love, and we think it shows. Enjoy the game, everyone!
And here it is! The long-awaited prologue comic for Super Lesbian Animal RPG, depicting events a couple months before the start of the game.
Illustration: @kyssimmee
To be continued in the game, launching TOMORROW (12/20/2022) on Steam and itch.io! More info at the game's website
I watched the first episode of Sonic Prime! It was good! Here are my impromptu thoughts after watching it copied verbatim from a Twitter thread:
anyway yeah it's fun so far, i like it, excited to watch more but i'm gonna take my time with it instead of binging all at once
Today marks the eighth anniversary of this blog. What better day to finally post my full, in-depth thoughts on Sonic Frontiers?
I explore how what could've been a cynical attempt to cram Sonic into a generic open world to please the shareholders somehow ended up being the most fun and earnest 3D Sonic game in years, even if it's not without some noticeable flaws. And, of course, I dive deep into the first mainline Sonic game story written by Ian Flynn and highlight some surprising parallels to Sonic comics both old and new
