Admit it guys, there has not been a great (or even very good) console Sonic game in years. I think it would be awesome if they just re-made Sonic 2 in HD (a la Street Fighter 2 HD Remix) and release it on all of the platforms' virtual stores. I would gladly pay over $10 for something along those lines.
Sonic the Hedgehog
Character » appears in 177 games
Sonic the Hedgehog is one of the world's most famous video game characters and the mascot of Sega Enterprises Ltd. Sonic was introduced on June 23 1991 with the launch of Sonic the Hedgehog for the Sega Genesis. His super speed makes him one of the fastest fictional characters.
We are way overdue for a truly AWESOME Sonic game
It looked decent, the Sonic stuff looked awesome, the Werehog stuff just looked naff. I don't know why Sonic Team feel they can't just have a Sonic game where you just play as Sonic. I loved Sonic Adventure as a kid but even fishing as Big the Cat was just unusual.
An XBLA release? A true Sonic game perhaps? Instead of trying to keep up with Mario's succesful reinvention. Mario in space works, Mario in Super Smash Bros works, Mario in a go-kart works. Sonic saving Planet Earth, kissing humans, turning into a 'werehog' or making friends with a talking cat that fishes. Sorry to rant but he is a childhood hero of mine. I just feel that Sonic should do something new but enjoyable!
Sorry!
unfortunately, this isnt helping http://www.destructoid.com/sega-announces-sonic-and-the-black-knight-96293.phtml
I've gone and lost all hope that Sonic will ever be good again. As much as I'd like to think that Sonic Unleashed will be good I just can't do it.
I've been thinking about this a lot recently, in part due to Sonic's reappearance in my life via Super Smash Bros Brawl. The 2D nature of the fighting in that game, as well as some top-notch character controls, means Sonic shines: holding down and tapping B for the spin-dash should elicit excitement from any fanboy of old. There's the homing attack (circa Sonic 3, Sonic Adventure), the skyward launch from the bright red spring, the blurred circular motion of the 'hog's legs. When activating Sonic's finishing move - a 30 second transformation into a hi-def Super Sonic - I really remembered how much I loved this character.
Not long thereafter I played the 3D proper title, Sonic the Hedgehog, on the PS3. All I can say is fuck that shit. Sonic is slow. The bugs are ubiquitous. Shadow the Hedgehog rides a fucking motorcycle? The level design is utterly flawed and removes any real control from the player. Boosts and springs send you on your linear path to the extent that you don't even need to hold forward. Easy, simplistic, generally bollocks, seemingly a dire attempt at recreating Sonic Adventure's rapid play style.
But that's demographics. Search for Sonic on a community like DeviantArt. You'll be inundated with drawings by fourteen year olds, of new! really! cool! hedgehogs, borne from their imagination in the vein of Shadow or this new abomination, Silver the Hedgehog. Pregnant two-tailed foxes. Or, worse yet, you'll see the growing popularity of the sideshows. Big the Cat, Amy Rose, the vamp chick (none of which really stand up to classic Tails & Knuckles) making out with each other. And there lies the problem. Sonic remains a game marketed to kiddies - albeit a new generation - and so the games have a very low standard to reach; furthermore, these kids have no recollection of the Good Old Days. To them, Sonic wielding a sword might seem perfectly legit.
We've grown up, but the games, the marketing, has not. It's no wonder that most Sonic games since Dreamcast have fallen short of our expectations: we expect Sonic to be as fast, slick and full of attitude, speeding through levels only to come into contact with some massive new Robotnik invention. We don't expect Sonic to be standing around conversing with humans.
But kids are buying these games. Kids probably love Silver the Hedgehog. If Sega and Sonic Team is still making a buck from watered down, neutered versions of their landmark character, who am I to criticise them, really?
But that's demographics. Search for Sonic on a community like DeviantArt. You'll be inundated with drawings by fourteen year olds, of new! really! cool! hedgehogs, borne from their imagination in the vein of Shadow or this new abomination, Silver the Hedgehog. Pregnant two-tailed foxes. Or, worse yet, you'll see the growing popularity of the sideshows. Big the Cat, Amy Rose, the vamp chick (none of which really stand up to classic Tails & Knuckles) making out with each other. And there lies the problem. Sonic remains a game marketed to kiddies - albeit a new generation - and so the games have a very low standard to reach; furthermore, these kids have no recollection of the Good Old Days. To them, Sonic wielding a sword might seem perfectly legit.I agree with you 100% but... think about it... we were kids when we played these games and cos it was BRAND NEW it was totally awesome. To these kids, probably NONE of them have ever seen the original Sonic games or even a Mega Drive/Genesis for that matter. Their first memory of computer gaming would maybe stretch back as far as the N64 or the ill fated Sega Saturn and that's it. SEGA are still making games for kids that barely know how to hold a joypad. We all grew up but they didn't.
We've grown up, but the games, the marketing, has not. It's no wonder that most Sonic games since Dreamcast have fallen short of our expectations: we expect Sonic to be as fast, slick and full of attitude, speeding through levels only to come into contact with some massive new Robotnik invention. We don't expect Sonic to be standing around conversing with humans.
But kids are buying these games. Kids probably love Silver the Hedgehog. If Sega and Sonic Team is still making a buck from watered down, neutered versions of their landmark character, who am I to criticise them, really?"
You think about it though... The Sonic games have constantly been evolving but where as on the originals it was more about the need for some things... like... we need to make this 2 player... okay Sonic has a buddy called Tails and we will make him able to fly as it'll help in certain levels from a design point of view. Same kind of idea with Knuckles and the S&K cart was just a stoke of genius, letting you play as him in Sonic 2 and 3.
Amy was brought in so Sonic had a girlfriend... understandable.
Big the Cat was just like huh ?... Where did this come from ?
Plus I'm convinced that Shadow and Rouge the Bat were bought in ONLY because at the time, in the UK at least, dunno about the US, kids were getting WAY into like skateboarding and like heavy metal. Goths started becoming like a big thing and like I think this was SEGA's pitch to them. Sonic got SOAP shoes to let him grind and Oh here's a DARK Sonic with like hover shoes who can do tricks and a Bat cos goths love bats.
From there they just totally lost there way. Look at the latest run of Sonic games. The one on the 360 was utter garbage. Sonic kissing a human ? Dude What ?... this whole Sonic is a Werewolf stuff... Even more Dude What ?. NO... What are you doing ? This game looked AWESOME untill you brought this announcement out. *sigh*
I'm so like disheartened with the whole Sonic universe now. You look at Mario and like Mario Galaxies on the Wii and you think WHY can't Sonic be this good.
Plus I'm convinced that Shadow and Rouge the Bat were bought in ONLY because at the time, in the UK at least, dunno about the US, kids were getting WAY into like skateboarding and like heavy metal. Goths started becoming like a big thing and like I think this was SEGA's pitch to them. Sonic got SOAP shoes to let him grind and Oh here's a DARK Sonic with like hover shoes who can do tricks and a Bat cos goths love bats.
From there they just totally lost there way. Look at the latest run of Sonic games. The one on the 360 was utter garbage. Sonic kissing a human ? Dude What ?... this whole Sonic is a Werewolf stuff... Even more Dude What ?. NO... What are you doing ? This game looked AWESOME untill you brought this announcement out. *sigh*
I'm so like disheartened with the whole Sonic universe now. You look at Mario and like Mario Galaxies on the Wii and you think WHY can't Sonic be this good.
"
You're right about the generation playing Sonic now. It'd be selfish to expect them to adhere to our old-school views, stuck in the past as we are. Shit, if I was ten years old right now I probably would think of Shadow as the badassest hedgehog evurrr. But that character diversity really detracts from the games, in my opinion. I know the latest ones are bringing in B-list furries like the bumblebee and crocodile from the old Sonic the Comics. Even in Sonic Adventure 2 you ended up playing as eight characters or something. As a consequence, gameplay is less focussed, less lucid.
And that whole thing you mentioned, about the "way cool" goth-references and grinding, stinks of your favourite band selling their soul to the record companies; it's more about accessibility than quality control; sales, not suave. Which is why you have Sonic running like a girl or becoming a werewolf. Those are not good ideas. The kiddy Sonic market will buy them. But they are not good.
The best iteration of Sonic I've seen in ages actually appears in a Mario game (Smash Bros Brawl). That is a pretty good summary of the state of affairs regarding the Sega and Nintendo mascots I guess.
And that whole thing you mentioned, about the "way cool" goth-references and grinding, stinks of your favourite band selling their soul to the record companies; it's more about accessibility than quality control; sales, not suave. Which is why you have Sonic running like a girl or becoming a werewolf. Those are not good ideas. The kiddy Sonic market will buy them. But they are not good.Yeah, you hit the nail on the head there, they are just whoring the Sonic franchise out in the most obscene way, trying to appeal to the masses.
The best iteration of Sonic I've seen in ages actually appears in a Mario game (Smash Bros Brawl). That is a pretty good summary of the state of affairs regarding the Sega and Nintendo mascots I guess."
To me really Sega just have to admit that the best Sonic games so far are in 2D. The ones on the Gameboy Advance and the DS are reportedly the best in the Sonic franchise right now because they stuck with the same 2D go fast to the right formula that made the Sonic games of our youth totally immense. Drop the whole crappy ass storylines, Sonic and the Black Knight anyone ?. Like seriously I thought that new Sonic game coming on the 360 looked awesome with its old school Sonic style in 3D till they annouced the Werehog thing. Sonic used to be so awesome without all those gimmicks.
I remember the BBC running a report on how the Sonic games moved so fast across the screen it was giving kids epileptic seizures trying to keep up with it. That's how awesome they were. Oh yeah and don't forget "Blast Processing" =P
The whole Sonic on a Nintendo thing is crazy to me too... I remember getting like Nintendo Power magazine once and it had some kid who'd wrote in and sent a cartoon of Mario decappitating Sonic. Same thing in reverse in the Sega mags. They were arch enemies. If you were to bring a Sega fanboy from our youth and show him the future of Sonic... they would just like be soul destroied. Sonic on Nintendo... Dude What ?. NO WAY ! *head explodes*
I would never admit that it's Sonic's time to die. Many franchises looked like they were on their way out, but they have come back fighting.
Sonic, however, is hanging by a thread. The franchise has been slipping since Sonic Heroes, and it culminated with Sonic 06. I must say, that game broke my heart.
Sonic Unleashed shows promise, but the Werehog gimmick slightly ruins it for me. It might very well be enjoyable, but what SEGA really needs to do is make a game just about speed... no cheesy gimmick, no annoying side-charachters - just Sonic ripping through stages at high speed.
I am excited about Sonic Unleashed it sounds good also the Sonic RPG also looks good but Sonic and the Black Knight I am not so sure of.
Personally I don't think we're "way overdue" as to me the last awesome Sonic game was Sonic Rush.
Really while the idea of Sonic with a sword is really silly, might as well give it a chance. Can't be as Shadow and guns...
With Unleashed...It's really going to be hit or miss. More likely the daytime parts will be awesome, Sonic style while the night time parts are the worrying part of the game.
As long as the camera and controls are tight then it'll be fine I think and if the stretch arms can help with ledges then it also helps.
I think you guys are forgetting that there were a few crap Sonic spinoffs even back in the old days of Sonic 2D gaming. We had things on the Game Gear like Sonic Drift and Sonic Labyrinth. Also, Sonic Spinball on the MegaDrive. So spinoffs certainly isn't something new, and the 'Story book' Sonic games, such as Sonic and the Secret Rings and Sonic and the Black Knight are basically spinoffs to me. They don't destroy the canonicity of the Sonic universe because I can see them as spinoffs.
Sonic Adventure one was the first foray into 3D Sonic. It had bad camera angles, but overall it wasn't that bad for a first go. It introduced Big the Cat, which wasn't a huge deal at the time. One new character isn't too bad. Sonic Adventure two, I believe, was much better than Sonic Adventure one. The camera was still a bit iffy, but mostly improved. The gameplay was better, the story was pretty epic for a Sonic game. Even the introduction of Shadow and Rouge wasn't that bad and added to the story well I thought. The whole hero side and dark side of the story added depth and replayability to me. The two Sonic Adventure games combined was the first time we really saw a proper story within the Sonic franchise and I felt it was handled rather well.
It was only after Sonic Adventure two that things really went downhill though, and that was with the re-introduction of Shadow the Hedgehog. In Sonic Adventure two he was pretty cool, and they really ruined that. Sonic Heroes, gameplay wise, was pretty annoying to me, but at least they didn't make any new characters, just brought back the Chaotix team, which was like a happy trip down memory lane. I haven't played the Sonic DS games, but I don't understand why they had to bring out new characters for them both. Then, Sonic 06.. Well, it had potential. The gameplay felt even worse than Sonic Adventure, but it was the story that really bugged me about that game. Even Silver I didn't mind at all, his gameplay sections brought something new to the game and were more enjoyable than Sonic's. Maybe if they had worked on the problems, the glitches, the camera, it would have been the game it had the potential to be. The mach speed sections of Sonic were kinda fun!
When Sega introduce a new character, I can see that they are looking for ways to vary the gameplay, and I agree with most of you that too much variety can make the game feel mishapen. I believe the reason that they introduce the 'Warehog' into Sonic Unleashed was to add an element of combat to break up the speed of Sonic's levels, similar to how Sonic 06 was broken up between Sonic (Speed), Shadow (Combat) and Silver (Puzzle and slower platforming). In Sonic Unleashed, Sonic doesn't have much platforming action throughout the day time stages, it's all about creating a good pace, and having too many platform elements would break that up I think. But adding in the 'Warehog' gives you platform elements and combat elements.
As awesome as the Sonic Unleashed daytime stages look, the gameplay would get very boring after a while if it was the same; racing through stages, and that is why, I think we have the 'Warehog' stages, to break that up and add variety. As long as Sega doesn't add anything extra to that formula, I think it will be balanced enough to work.
But why they decided on a 'Warehog' character is beyond me. They could have just brought in Knuckles, and let him have all the platform and combat bits. Knuckles hasn't been awesome in a long time :(
It is about time we got a good 3D Sonic game to be proud of the last really good one was Sonic Adventure 2.
I've never understood how Sonic could work in 3D. Tha game is all about speed and on some levels, complete memorisation. In 3D, that dynamic just doesn't work and that's been proved over and over again. I suppose they could release a new 2D Sonic but it would always seem dated no matter how it was done.
Hell yeah I think we are overdue for a good Sonic game I wish Sega would take a page from Capcom's book and release a new Sonic game that's 2D and only includes the original cast.
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