Sonic Superstars won't feature the most iconic stage in the series, and fans are delighted. After years of being shoved into every Sonic game, Green Hill Zone won't appear in the upcoming 2D platformer, instead focussing on new environments and stages that the Sonic gang haven't been to before.
While this would be a disappointment in any other series, Sonic fans couldn't be happier with the news. After so many callbacks to Green Hill Zone, it certainly seems that the fanbase has reached its limit, and is looking forward to trying out something new, rather than going through the same nostalgia bait all over again.
This comes from an interview with series producer Takashi Iizuka (via IGN), who promises that Sonic Superstars will bring something new to the table, even if the gameplay is based on older games.
"What we wanted to do with Sonic Superstars is really create something new and go in there and create these brand new islands that you get to explore as Sonic," says Iizuka. "We wanted to make brand new places for Sonic to go in this new title."
This wording strongly suggests that at long last, we're free from stages that are taken straight from the classic games. Even Sonic Frontiers, with its brand new "open zone" design, couldn't help but shove in stages based on Green Hill Zone and Chemical Plant Zone. Multiple stages in fact, because of course.
It all comes as a pretty big surprise, given that Sonic's 2D offerings have typically been used to bank on Mega Drive-era nostalgia. Sonic Origins packaged four 1990s titles together for what felt like the billionth time, offering very few changes. Before the Sonic Superstars announcement, it looked like the only new title from the Blue Blur this year would be Sonic Origins Plus, a re-release shoving a few more older games in there. Even Sonic Mania, easily the most ambitious 2D Sonic game in years, retained the classic Sonic 16-Bit style. On the other hand, Sonic Superstars will use 3D models while keeping the 2D gameplay.
As you'll see in the replies to any post about this, the fanbase is ecstatic. Many are celebrating the lifting of the Green Hill "curse", and are looking forward to finally getting more areas to explore. We'll find out what these are closer to the time, as Sonic Superstars is set to launch this autumn.