Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric and Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal are unlikely to be talked of fondly in years to come, which is a pity for the slightly more competent 3DS title. Rise of Lyric on Wii U, however, was particularly poorly received, from the character designs down to the gameplay, but most importantly the fact that it was rather mediocre in its execution.

For Sonic fans it's a case of wondering what's next, and whether Knuckles has tested positive (yet) for illegal steroids. Only time will tell, but fans over at Sonic Stadium have been digging around and discovered some early design details from the website of Edward Moore, a UX/UI design consultant on the games. An alternative name for Sonic Boom was known to have been in place at one point, but an image taken out of some flow charts by Moore confirm it to have been Sonic Synergy.

Sonic Synergy

Another image picked up was of an early character screen, and differences in the Sonic design have got fans chatting.

Sonic Characters

In the context of the spin-off universe and cartoon series, Sonic Boom may have actually been a better name, though that's only one viewpoint.

Would you have liked this name or 'tan arms' Sonic design, or does it make little difference if the core game is disappointing? Let us know what you think.

Thanks to Benson for the heads up.

[source sonicstadium.org, via coroflot.com]