Premise:  Not a lot is known about this cart, except that Sonic, Tails, and the rest of the crew are gonna be rendered using 3D workstations.  Sonic is expected to streak onto the 32X sometime in 1995!  Sega of Japan's development team has been working on the game for almost a year. (Game Players, 12/1994, p. 10)

Comments:  Two months after their "sneak peak," Game Players noted that they had received a query from Sega wanting to know from where they had obtained the Sonic 4 screenshots, thus confirming the game's existence.

Rating:  N/A

Variants:  Game Players referred to this unreleased title as Sonic Chaotix.  Their mistake in referring to this game as Sonic Chaotix is understandable, although I have no idea from where they got the title (perhaps it was from Sega?).  Sonic Chaotix was actually the second official working title of the game we know as Sonic Crackers, and which eventually became Kunckles Chaotix.  Unlike the game that Game Players pictured, Chaotix was definitely a 2D sidescroller in the same vein as earlier Sonic efforts.

Sidebars:  The four solitary screenshots to the left are provided courtesy of Game Players magazine (12/1994, p. 20).  These stills are actually taken from an in-house Sega video titled "Sonic Ride" utilizing pre-rendered graphics that are far more sophisticated than would have been possible on the 32X.  The video was reportedly produced for a simulated amusement park ride in Japan.  "Sonic Ride" can be found as part of the bonus video archives in the Sonic Jam collection for Sega Saturn.  I also note in passing that according to its creators, Sonic Xtreme - the legendary lost Sonic game for the Saturn - originated as a 32X showpiece title.  It was moved over to the Saturn once it became obvious that the 32X didn't have enough horsepower for what the programmers were planning.