Sega SuperStars
Encyclopedia
Sega Superstars is a game developed by Sonic Team
in 2004 for the PlayStation 2
EyeToy
. It features a series of games based on previous Sega
titles. It also contains Chao
, the virtual pets
from the Sonic series.
More games in the Sega Superstars series were produced, including Sega Superstars Tennis
and Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing
. Both were developed for multiformats, including Xbox 360
, PlayStation 3
, Wii
and Nintendo DS
. However, rather than having been developed by Sonic Team themselves, instead, they were developed by Sumo Digital
.
, in which players use their body to play a variety of minigames. However, while that game only picked up player's movement, Sega Superstars uses a more advanced system. Before the start of each game, a setup screen with an orange area is shown. In order to start the game, players have to stand in a position where the orange area won't pick up any movement and select the continue button. This method determines what area is the background, allowing Eyetoy to pick up the player's position, as opposed to just what areas are moving. This is particularly prominent in games like Puyo Puyo, that uses the player's entire body.
Sonic Team
is a Japanese computer and video game developer established in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan in 1990, originally known as Sega AM8. The Japan-based division is also known as G.E. Department Global Entertainment. The studio has collaborated with several in-house Japanese studios as well as other American-based...
in 2004 for the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
EyeToy
EyeToy
The EyeToy is a color digital camera device, similar to a webcam, for the PlayStation 2. The technology uses computer vision and Gesture recognition to process images taken by the camera...
. It features a series of games based on previous Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
titles. It also contains Chao
Chao (Sonic the Hedgehog)
A is a fictional life form in the Sonic the Hedgehog video game series published by Sega. Chao made their first appearance in the 1998 Dreamcast game Sonic Adventure as digital pets. They have since appeared in several video games in the Sonic the Hedgehog series as digital pets, minor characters,...
, the virtual pets
Digital pet
A digital pet is a type of artificial human companion. They are usually kept for companionship or enjoyment. People may keep a digital pet in lieu of a real pet....
from the Sonic series.
More games in the Sega Superstars series were produced, including Sega Superstars Tennis
Sega Superstars Tennis
Sega Superstars Tennis is a tennis video game developed by Sumo Digital and published by Sega. The game was released on March 17, 2008 in Europe, on March 18, 2008 in North America, and on March 27, 2008 in Australia. The game includes 16 playable characters and 10 courts from Sega franchises...
and Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing
Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing
Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing is a racing game in the Sega Superstars series produced for Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo DS and Microsoft Windows, featuring characters from many Sega franchises. It is being published by Sega and developed by Sumo Digital...
. Both were developed for multiformats, including Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
and Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
. However, rather than having been developed by Sonic Team themselves, instead, they were developed by Sumo Digital
Sumo Digital
Sumo Digital Ltd. is an independent game development studio based in Sheffield, United Kingdom. Set up in 2003 following the closure of Infogrames Studios Sheffield/Gremlin Interactive...
.
Gameplay
Gameplay is similar to that of Eyetoy: PlayEyeToy: Play
EyeToy: Play is a video game for the PlayStation 2, released in 2003. It was the first game to make use of the PlayStation 2's video camera accessory, EyeToy. The game was initially packaged with the EyeToy when the accessory was first released. It features twelve mini-games to choose from. This...
, in which players use their body to play a variety of minigames. However, while that game only picked up player's movement, Sega Superstars uses a more advanced system. Before the start of each game, a setup screen with an orange area is shown. In order to start the game, players have to stand in a position where the orange area won't pick up any movement and select the continue button. This method determines what area is the background, allowing Eyetoy to pick up the player's position, as opposed to just what areas are moving. This is particularly prominent in games like Puyo Puyo, that uses the player's entire body.
Games
There are a total of 12 different full games to play in the main mode of Sega Superstars:- Sonic the Hedgehog – As Sonic runs down a round tunnel, he follows the position of the player's hand. Using this method, the aim of the game is to gather rings and Chaos Emeralds in order to obtain the highest score at the end of the game. It is much like the Special Stage on Sonic the Hedgehog 2Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit)Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is a 16-bit 1992 platform video game that was developed by Sonic Team members working at the Sega Technical Institute, and published by Sega for the Sega Genesis console. It was released in Japan on November 21, 1992 and in North America and Europe on November 24, 1992...
, Sonic HeroesSonic Heroesis a 2004 platforming single-player/multiplayer video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series developed by Sonic Team USA. It is the first multiplatform title in the Sonic series, developed for Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox and released in Japan in December 2003, in North America in...
, and especially Sonic RushSonic Rushis a 2005 platform handheld video game developed by Sonic Team and Dimps exclusively for the Nintendo DS as part of Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog series. It was released on November 15, 2005 in North America, November 18 in the PAL region, and November 23 in Japan. It is a 2D platform game, but Sonic's...
. - Samba de AmigoSamba de AmigoSamba de Amigo is a rhythm game originally developed by Sonic Team and released in 1999 by Sega in arcades, 2000 for the Dreamcast video game console, and developed by Gearbox Software and Escalation Studios in 2008 for the Wii. The player uses controllers shaped like maracas with the goal of...
– Players choose a song, and then must hit 6 different targets around the screen as the 'beat balls' reach them in time with the music. Posing with hands over 2 of the targets, or holding one position until a trail of beat balls is complete, may also be required from the player. - ChuChu Rocket!ChuChu Rocket!is a puzzle video game for Dreamcast developed by Sonic Team. The game was the first popular game with online mode support for any major video game console...
– Movement over a certain target on the screen will cause a bridge to raise, which the chu-chus then follow to the goal. The bridge also must be dropped at certain moments to prevent KapuKapus from destroying the score. - Puyo Pop FeverPuyo Pop FeverPuyo Pop Fever, known as in Japan, is the fifth installment in the popular Puyo Puyo puzzle game series, developed by Sonic Team, released on a wide variety of systems in several regions. Sega published all the Japanese versions of the game; the game was scarcely released internationally, and...
– Differently colored puyos will fall from the top of the screen, and the player's body must be positioned to guide them into the corresponding pots and allow bombs to topple off the bottom of the screen. - Crazy Taxi – Large movements and loud sounds must be undertaken to stop the Crazy Taxi and complete the level.
- Super Monkey BallSuper Monkey Ball (series)The Super Monkey Ball series is a series of arcade platform games developed by Amusement Vision and distributed by Sega. It features 4 characters : AiAi, MeeMee, Baby and GonGon...
– The player must move their arms into different positions in order to guide the monkey ball around obstacles and towards the goal, picking up as many bananas as possible along the way. - NiGHTS Into DreamsNiGHTS into Dreams...Nights into Dreams... , is a video game released by Sega in 1996 for the Sega Saturn video game system. The game's story follows two children entering a dream world, where they are aided by the main character, Nights...
– NiGHTS must be controlled and navigated through rings, collecting chips along the way, by raising the arms into a 'flying' position and adjusting them along the way. - House of the DeadThe House of the Dead (series)The House of the Dead is a video game franchise published by Sega and created by in-house designer Atsushi Seimiya of AM1....
– A multitude of different zombies must be attacked and defeated by hitting them. Innocent people who occasionally appear must also be avoided. - Virtua StrikerVirtua StrikerThe Virtua Striker video games are arcade-style soccer games by Sega. Originally developed by Sega AM2, the series moved to Amusement Vision with Virtua Striker 3...
– As footballs drop from the top of the screen, the aim is to head them into differently colored and scored balloons on the opposite side of the screen in order to obtain the highest score. - Virtua Fighter – Standing to one side, players kick and punch the corresponding attack prompts on the screen in order to defeat the opponent. Block and counter prompts also appear, and must be reacted to accordingly.
- Space Channel 5Space Channel 5Space Channel 5 is a music video game developed by United Game Artists under the direction of Tetsuya Mizuguchi and published by Sega. The gameplay features a system where the player must copy sequences of dance steps performed by the computer...
– Different dance move combination must be remembered when shown by the Morolians, and then repeated in time to the music by hitting six different buttons on the screen. - Billy Hatcher and the Giant EggBilly Hatcher and the Giant Eggis a video game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Nintendo GameCube. It was ported to Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X in 2006, exclusively for Europe.-Plot:...
– By waving their hands over two different targets, players must move Billy and the egg around, and crush enemies and collect fruits along the way to the goal.
Extra modes
- In the "Sonic the Hedgehog" game, successfully completing all three difficulties with Sonic will unlock Shadow's story, which allows to control Shadow instead of Sonic, although this story is much harder.
- In the "Puyo Pop Fever" game, by successfully completing all three levels, the player will unlock a mode called "Free Mode" that allows players to simply play around with puyos and experiment with moving them around.
- In the "NiGHTS into Dreams" game, successfully completing all three levels opens up a new night-time area (Twin Seeds) with harder levels and different scenery.
- Completing all three levels on both "Samba De Amigo" and "Chu Chu Rocket" unlocks an extra-hard difficulty setting.
- Also available is a variation of the Tiny Chao Garden from different Sonic games. Here, a Chao can be hatched and petted via different movements. It is also possible to interact with some scenery (shaking trees for fruit) and purchase items for the Chao using rings collected in the main game mode.
- In the "Samba De Amigo" game, if every song is played, DLC songs from the first game will be added.