Rumor: Sonic 4 screens and footage leaked

If this is really leaked off-screen footage and screenshots of Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 sent in to 1UP, we're surprised to say that it really, for real looks like a Sonic game. Despite a lazy jump animation, it actually looks like something that could satisfy those of us desperate for a genuine Sonic experience. Therefore, we predict either that this stuff is an elaborate fake, or that, after the first level, Robotnik freezes Sonic solid and you spend the rest of the game as Amy Rose dragging Sonic in a little red wagon. Those are the only ways we can reconcile what we see and what we know about Sonic games.

Visible in both the video and the screens is a menu that reveals stages called the Splash Hill Zone, the Casino Street Zone, and the Mad Gear Zone (which probably isn't a Final Fight crossover), as well as a Sonic 1-style Special Stage. Check out the video after the break and face the terrifying proposition that you may become interested in a Sonic game.

Frustratingly, this footage is as wobbly as all furtive "leaked" off-screen game footage is -- despite the fact that the person shooting it clearly had enough control to turn on the system and start the game on demand, suggesting that this wasn't a spur-of-the-moment video opportunity. Maybe the shaky-cam effect makes it look more like what people expect of a leak.