RadioSEGA Interview With Mat Kraemer of Sanzaru Games

11 December, 2014 16 February, 2021

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Those in the Sonic community may be familiar with RadioSEGA. Some might know about their show, The SEGA Lounge, where guests are invited to the show to be interviewed and potentially take part in a challenge that could end up being anything such as a quiz or the guessing of tracks that had been played in reverse. I brought it up a few months back as the show is hosted by KC and I. Occasionally the interviews can find out some interesting info. This week was no exception as we interview Mat Kraemer of Sanzaru Games, just one of the many whom make up the company that worked on Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal on 3DS.

You can now listen to the 43 MB pre-recorded interview here via download. There are segments like Donnie’s News Corner to get through first but the interview is worth it. If for whatever reason you’re unable to hear the interview I jotted down the highlights while the interview took place. Bear in mind that hearing what was said yourself is something that I recommend in case I misheard anything and that the notes I put down are out of context or just inaccurate.

Sanzaru HQ is close by to SEGA HQ and they know some of the staff there. They were approached by SEGA to develop the game.
The game began development long after Rise of Lyric started development but Shattered Crystal‘s development time was short. They finished the game in June/July 2014.
The group had nothing to do with Rise of Lyric‘s development but they did see the script to Boom cartoon episodes to get a feel for the tone of the show. Rise of Lyric and the cartoon, however, were inspirations for Shattered Crystal.
Knuckles’ glide was tossed around as an idea for Shattered Crystal.
The game is mainly 2D because of time constraints and having to throw out an engine, the latter because of a changing of gears caused by the coming of the PS4 and Xbox One.
They tried to include fan service and little cameos to cater to the fans.
They know about the critical reviews the game has gotten. They said that Sonic Boom is supposed to be new and different and feel that comparing it to previous titles isn’t the same. Nevertheless they’re proud of their work with the little time they had.
The game is supposed to appeal to kids who have already seen the cartoon.

This post was originally written by the author for TSSZ News.

19 Comments

I completely agree reviewers shouldnt compare boom to the previous sonic games since it isnt meant to be anything like previous ones its meant to be its own series.

Superfield says:

11 December, 2014 at 7:46 PM

I find that many reviewers do exactly that. The problem is that the conclusion is the same: The game sucks.
MM2 says:

12 December, 2014 at 5:24 AM

Too bad that’s exactly what will happen in any long running series.

If it has elements of the old games then gee golly willickers Batman they JUST MIGHT hold it to those standards.

But the fact it became a mediocre Crash Bandicoot ripoff is not a good thing to consider either.
Ash says:

12 December, 2014 at 9:43 PM

It doesn’t matter if it’s supposed to be it’s own series or not. It’s STILL being marketed as Sonic- you can’t just slap Sonic the Hedgehog on some generic title and say “Welp, it’s Sonic. Oh but you can’t criticize it because it’s also it’s own series.” People are GOING to treat it like it’s a part of the Sonic series.

But even judging it as a standalone series, most of it is garbage. The only thing that’s good is the TV show (though I think it’s incredibly stupid, I won’t deny it’s success).

Wonder how much time did they have to make the game, the reviewers biggest complains are the lack of replayability and the need to collect a bunch of unlockabels on each level to procede in the story…

“There are segments like Donnie’s News Corner to get through first but the interview is worth it.”

You don’t need to be so modest. The News Corner portion is also super interesting and cool. By the way, RadioSEGA must have a wicked fast hosting service. It is one of the few fan sites and even sites in general that comes close to fully using my Google Fiber here. I was seeing 45 MB/sec for downloading the podcasts. I tried downloading a different podcast just to be sure it wasn’t a freak thing. Super Sonic web hosting FTW.

Twinny says:

11 December, 2014 at 11:45 PM

Hey this is Twinny, staff member of RadioSEGA. On behalf of the site, I appreciate your comment there! Our site (rather Media section) is managed quite well from out Web Dev team. Glad you were able to download our podcasts with good speed. 🙂
1. Hifihedgehog says:
  
  12 December, 2014 at 12:35 AM
  
  No problem! But the most important thing is that the site’s content is up to snuff and that is where you guys really shine. I can wait a measly hour or two if it means I am going to be get something worth listening to and won’t disappoint.
  1. Twinny says:
    
    12 December, 2014 at 11:21 PM
    
    😀 Appreciate the words! Funny thing, KC & SSF were also supposed to have someone from Big Red Button on the show…but gotten cancelled. “For some reason” :V

“Knuckles’ glide was tossed around as an idea for Shattered Crystal.”
So you toss out the glide and give us pretty much nothing except for the fact that Knux digs.
Fucking wow.
And it doesn’t matter if it’s “new and different” from past Sonic games. It’s still not fun to play.
Also, how does the coming of the PS4 and XBone affect a 3DS game? I don’t get that.

SSF1991 says:

11 December, 2014 at 11:39 PM

The latter confused me too but to be fair my mind blanked out for a little bit and I didn’t quite hear the whole thing. I highly recommend listening to the interview itself. XD

Aaaannndd, my comment disappears into the void.
Sonofacrap.

SSF1991 says:

11 December, 2014 at 11:38 PM

It’s been rescued!
1. RobotHobo64 says:
  
  12 December, 2014 at 12:15 AM
  
  Thanks very much my dear sir.

At least Sanzaru has enough nalls to own up to the Boom mess. BRB? LOL what a bunch of pussies.

I’d imagine the team feeling like this
http://rs1img.memecdn.com/at-least-nobody-got-shot-while-watching-spiderman_o_551966.jpg

The game has design flaws that make it bad. The wiiu version has even worse design flaws with plenty of technical problems that makes it worse. I’m not sure of the time frame but I’d imagine crunch time from beginning to end.