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Prerelease:Sonic Unleashed (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)

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This page details prerelease information and/or media for Sonic Unleashed (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3).

This cactus is UNDER CONSTRUCTION
This article is a work in progress.
...Well, all the articles here are, in a way. But this one moreso, and the article may contain incomplete information and editor's notes.
SOMETIMES I SEE A TEXT BOX AND I JUST CAN'T HELP MYSSDFGFFDHFGDJGGFSHGDFH
This page sucks.
If you could make it suck less, that would be awesome.
Specifically:

I'm dumping all this crap here, unedited - I'd sort it out myself but A) I know nothing about the sources, and B) trying to decipher this beyond it not being from the game proper makes my head hurt.

This page's formatting could also do with some touch-ups.
Hmmm...
To do:
  • Obtain better-quality images where possible and provide more info on the sources of them.
  • Early cutscene screenshot that's using the '06 Sonic model [1]
  • Change certain screenshots as per the Image Guidelines.

March 2008 stuff

Hmmm...
To do:
Organize these images and maybe document the rest of the leaked images because there's a TON of them

One of the stranger (subsequent) mysteries that wasn't solved until 2022 was the origin of a infamous image relating to Unleashed, where Sonic makes a contorted face of horror while being shocked in Eggman's machine. Believed to be an early version of the same shot from the opening, it's actually quite different in the final FMV. This image was found to be sourced from a March 2008 leak of images that included pictures of a work in progress intro FMV, along with other images of Unleashed. It would later be forgotten.

March 2008 Final
SonicunleashedSONICNOOOOOOOMarch2008.png SonicunleashedSONICNOOOOOOOfinalclear.png

Sonic Unleashed Early FMV March 2008 screencap 1.png Sonic Unleashed Early FMV March 2008 screencap 2.png Sonic Unleashed Early FMV March 2008 screencap 3.png Sonic Unleashed Early FMV March 2008 screencap 4.png Sonic Unleashed Early FMV March 2008 screencap 5.png Sonic Unleashed Early FMV March 2008 screencap 6.png Sonic Unleashed Early FMV March 2008 screencap 7.png SonicunleashedSONICNOOOOOOOMarch2008.png Sonic Unleashed Early FMV March 2008 screencap 9.png Sonic Unleashed Early FMV March 2008 screencap 10.png Sonic Unleashed Early FMV March 2008 screencap 11.png

(Source: Sonic Emerald blog post)


Leaked Trailer

A trailer for the game was leaked at around the same time as this, showcasing actual gameplay, and revealing just how incomplete the game was at this point:

  • Graphics are far more basic than the final game:
    • The lighting is more generic and less bright, most noticeable on Sonic and rainbow rings.
    • Most of the special effects (particularly grinding sparks and collecting rings) are missing. Sonic's boosting effect is also quite different, with air rushing past him instead of the final's blue aura.
    • Geometry is more basic, lacking various details and having rather noticeable pop-in at various points.

E3 Trailer

The E3 trailer was the first official reveal of gameplay, being the X360 version.

  • The most noticeable difference is the frame rate, which is running consistently at 60 FPS. While the final PS3 version does have an uncapped frame rate, it is very unstable and prone to dipping, while the final X360 version only supports 30 FPS (with frame drops still occurring). Presumably, the footage was being recorded on a development kit, which was known to be significantly more powerful than the real hardware.
  • The blur effect is much stronger in this build.
  • The draw distance seems to be further in this build; it's most obvious when gameplay of Apotos starts with distant buildings being clearly visible in the E3 footage, but not in the final.
  • The object layouts for all the stages are different, generally being much emptier than the final.
  • The lighting is significantly further along than the leaked footage, but still not finalized as areas generally look darker than the final game.
  • Egg Fighters in this build T-pose for a few frames whenever hit by Sonic, which wasn't the case in the leaked footage.

Early User Interface

Title Screen

The E3 version has a different "PRESS START BUTTON" prompt compared to both the Preview Build and the final game.

E3 Beta Title.png


Hedgehog HUD

Featuring the same gauge as the final, with a completely different font and different time and score bar. The file is still present in the final game in Sonic.ar.00 titled ui_ps1_gauge1

20080317-181728-000041.png


Werehog HUD

Has a more simplistic design, also featuring the current distance from the player's spawn and coordinates.

Early Hud E3 SU.png


Time of Day Display

Elementary, my dear Cactus.
This needs some investigation.
Discuss ideas and findings on the talk page.
Specifically: This is purely just speculation based on the images and lack of info provided by the original submitter - could also do with elaborating.

A scrapped HUD element to display the current time of day, perhaps suggesting time would pass dynamically rather than using the hourglasses.

Something SU 1.png Early Hud Manual SU.png

Early/Cut Objects

1-Up Capsule

At the 2:46 mark of this video is a 1-Up item capsule design which ended up being used in the Wii version of the game.

One Up Capsule SU.png


Shield Capsule

Seen at the 53-second mark in this video, reusing the model and textures from Sonic '06.

Shield Capsule SU E3.png


Accelerator Gun

The Accelerator Gun, visible at the 23-second mark, uses a red outline in the E3 prototype.

E3 Final
Early Quick Step SU.png Final Version SU Obj.png

Early Geometry

Apotos - Day

TRAILERS

You can see Apotos at 0:56.

Mazuri - Day

TRAILERS

Found in "Sonic Unleashed - Leaked Trailer".

SCREENSHOTS

PREVIEW BUILD

You can see the full alpha geometry in this video: