Even though I didn’t own a single Sega system until the Dreamcast, I was a huge fan of Sonic growing up. I loved the Archie comic series and the cartoon (the later one that actually had a storyline). When I got the chance to play the games at friends’ houses, I drank them in. I mean, I’ve always had more of a preference for the Mario platformers, but the first few Sonic games (Sonic CD especially) were pretty darn cool.

I completely lost track of the series after playing through the so-so Sonic Adventure 2. I can’t even be trendy enough to hate on the more recent games - I didn’t even care enough to play them. Still, the mysterious Project Needlemouse piqued my interest.

As it turns out, hints of a Mega Man 9-style franchise reboot weren’t far off the mark. Sega revealed today that Needlemouse, now called Sonic the Hedgehog 4, is an episodic, download-only throwback to the early days of the series. The first episode, which will hit XBLA, PSN, and WiiWare this summer, picks up the storyline (what storyline there is) right after the end of Sonic & Knuckles. Sonic will run from left to right and take on robots with his spin dash, power sneakers, and a homing attack. Players on the Wii and PS3 will be able to control Sonic by tilting the Wii Remote and Sixaxis respectively, which could either make or break the game depending on how well the option is implemented.

Click past the cut for a trailer, and stay tuned for more details as we find them.

Interview with Sega’s Ken Balough