UPDATE 8 JAN 2020 – Article updated with new information.
Assets related to the Sonic the Hedgehog series was uncovered within the files of Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 by a fan-modder. SEGA has since deleted the publicized findings.
A number of textures and voice-lines of the titular character, Sonic the Hedgehog, were uncovered by Puyo Puyo fan-modder ‘AB1‘.
The assets, internally labelled “Character 28” according to the modder, included new custom artwork, cut-ins, and voice-overs by English voice actor Roger Craig Smith, and Japanese voice actor Jun’ichi Kanemaru.
A verbal reference of the 1993 title Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine, a variant of the 1991 title Puyo Puyo, was said by Smith. Smith also verbally referenced the popular tagline from the 2003 anime Sonic X, “Gotta Go Fast”.
The feasibility of the newly-found assets were demonstrated by ‘AB1’, as well as ‘NickW’ and ‘/Res/’, in two deleted videos uploaded on YouTube. It showcased a proof-of-concept that reimplemented Sonic’s assets on top of existing assets.
The tweet announcement and two videos, which were linked in this article as of the morning of 27 December, has since been deleted due to numerous copyright claims by SEGA as of the evening of 27 December, Tails’ Channel has learned.
The modder found the Sonic assets alongside three other characters that might be unveiled in the game at a later date: Ms. Accord, Lidelle, and Ocean Prince.
Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 was released on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series X and S as of 8 December 2020. A worldwide release on Windows is scheduled for early 2021.
