Tetsu Katano talks about Sonic-ness

In a previous news entry, Black Knight creator Tetsu Katano spoke about Sonic and the Werehog. Now he's been interviewed by SEGA of Europe's own Sonic City Blognik, on his decisions for Black Knight's direction, and "Sonicness".

After much struggle that gave me both pain and joy, I finally decided to throw Sonic into a world of sword and magic. I confess that I've always wanted to see Sonic holding a sword. I also wanted to see Knuckles or Shadow, the usual suspects, back as strong foes, not just as side characters. This is how the plot of "Sonic and the Black Knight" came into a shape.

Perhaps most challenging was to make Sonic have a sword. I had to hold on to the Sonicness. If he loses that as a result of having sword, then it would be preposterous. I sought advice from many people about this. My favourite bit would be when everyone in Sonic Team started to see the great game that this was becoming. I am proud of this game and I will be most happy if users will enjoy this game too.

He then goes on to talk about creating theme music for Blaze the Cat in Sonic's new title. Be sure to read the full interview for more, including a brief explanation of Katano's history at SEGA.

What do our readers think of "Sonicness"? Do Sonic Team still have the passion?