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[Hot Coldman]

Sonic is just TOO EXTREME for the, er, world, where... er...

Where the fuck does Sonic live again? That's one reason the series is still kinda shitty- zero cohesion.

 

[Shadow Hog]

I think the series has been fairly consistent in that Sonic's a bit of a drifter. He doesn't live anywhere, specifically (other than living on some alternate Earth); he just goes wherever the plot demands.

 

[Hot Coldman]

Yeah, but he doesn't appear to live on any one planet either. I know he doesn't have a home, per se, but the locales he visits vary wildly in tone from game to game. The Adventures look hella different from Heroes, which looks hella different from 06, which looks hella different from Unleashed.

 

[Combichristoffersen]

Sonic is just TOO EXTREME for the, er, world, where... er...

Where the fuck does Sonic live again? That's one reason the series is still kinda shitty- zero cohesion.

According to the Japanese manual for the original game, Sonic was born on Christmas Island, and lived on South Island, a fictional Pacific island. So I assume the old games were set in a fictional version of our world, with the later games and media adding Mobius and all that.

 

[Hot Coldman]

According to the Japanese manual for the original game, Sonic was born on Christmas Island, and lived on South Island, a fictional Pacific island. So I assume the old games were set in a fictional version of our world, with the later games and media adding Mobius and all that.

The new games appear to be set in plot device land, though. I liked the look of old Sonic a lot- this weird mix of slightly surreal natural environments and a hyper mechanical look. It certainly isn't reminiscent of the real world, so I think they failed there, but whatever. Sonic Adventure world isn't bad either, slightly more realistic but that works. It's the newer games where consistency has been thrown out of the window to the point where SA can barely be called a remake, and when Generations comes along and says all games are canon? Ehhhhhh. It's bizarre when Mario is both way stranger and yet way more consistent.

 

[Nocturnowl]

Sonic is just TOO EXTREME for the, er, world, where... er...

Where the fuck does Sonic live again? That's one reason the series is still kinda shitty- zero cohesion.

Sonic lives on the edge, "yeah this is happening!"
So basically I have no idea, maybe it's different Sonic's in different worlds.

 

[Emitan]

SA2 switches from several San Francisco inspired levels (City Escape, Radical Highway, Metal Harbor?) to South American forests at the drop of a hat. Who knows?

 

[Shadow Hog]

And Egypt. Don't forget Egypt.

 

[Emitan]

And Egypt. Don't forget Egypt.

I was going to mention Egypt and then I realized if I started naming every location I'd have to figure out where Pumpkin Hill is so I stopped.

 

[Hot Coldman]

I was going to mention Egypt and then I realized if I started naming every location I'd have to figure out where Pumpkin Hill is so I stopped.

TRANSYLVANIAAAAAAAAAA

 

[Emitan]

And Windy Canyon, or whatever that Shadow stage is called.

Aquatic Mine and that high security Rogue lever are indoors, so we can't tell where they are.

And then... SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE

 

[Combichristoffersen]

I think Classic Sonic is living in some long-forgotten cell in Sega's basement, while Modern Sonic lives back in the 90s together with his XTREEEEEEEEEEME dudebro friend Poochie.

 

[Nocturnowl]

And Windy Canyon, or whatever that Shadow stage is called.

Aquatic Mine and that high security Rogue lever are indoors, so we can't tell where they are.

And then... SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE

The security hall was on the military island or near the jungle I think judging by the enthralling plot turns involving explosives and Shadow rescue drama, Sky Rail is basically Pumpkin Hill.
Hang on SA2 has a level select map just for this purpose anyway...not that we can make any sense of things with it.

 

[Rlan]

STH #237 / SU #40 / SA #18 Previews

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #237
"Loyalty" Part One: Team Fighters links up with Grand Chief Lupe as they track down the Death Egg. As they deal with the ferocious Felidae Warriors and Dark Egg Legion, a mysterious figure tracks them. Meanwhile, in “Heart to Heart,” Nicole and Mina finally confront each other!
Script: Ian Flynn
Art: Ben Bates, Steven Butler, Terry Austin, John Workman and Matt Herms
Cover: Tracy Yardley!, Terry Austin and Matt Herms
Shipping Date: 5/16
On Sale at Comic Specialty Shops: 5/30
32-page, full color comic
$2.99 US.

SONIC UNIVERSE #40
"Scrambled" Part Four: The explosive conclusion! It’s the showdown decades in the making: Dr. Eggman vs. Snively! As the two mad geniuses clash one thing is for certain: whoever wins, the good guys lose! Don’t miss the grueling final fight with a sinister twist you won’t believe!
Script: Ian Flynn
Art: Jamal Peppers, Jim Amash, Jack Morelli and Steve Downer
Cover: Jamal Peppers, Jim Amash and Steve Downer
Shipping Date: 5/2
On Sale at Comic Specialty Shops: 5/16
32-page, full color comic
$2.99 US.

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG ARCHIVES #18 (TR)
Sonic Archives, Archie Comics' most successful graphic novel series ever, is back! Sonic and Tails have defeated the evil wizard, Ixis Naugus, and rescued the long-exiled inventor Nate Morgan! Now for the hard part: getting home in one piece! All the while, a mysterious presence strikes out at Sonic from space! Also in this volume, Lupe and her pack of Freedom Fighters make a discovery that will change her family forever! Blast into the past at Sonic speed with this all-new volume, collecting Sonic the Hedgehog #67-70!
Script & Art: Various
Cover: Patrick "SPAZ" Spaziante
978-1-936975-07-5
$7.99/$8.99CAN
5 x 7 3/8”
Trade Paperback
112 pp
Direct Market On-sale: 6/13

 

[Sciz]

I'm vaguely disappointed that Robotnik isn't in his El Gran Gordo costume for SU#40, but the Sonic the Fighters and badnik shoutouts make up for it easily.

 

[Azure Dream]

I'm kind of impressed they slid in Honey the Cat (the furthest left icon).

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

I'm kind of impressed they slid in Honey the Cat (the furthest left icon).

They're getting better at their cross-media referencing, I'd say. Probably Ian Flynn's decision, becuase he actually does his homework when writing for an IP.*

*See all of the Mega Man issues thus far.

 

[Dark Schala]

Someone explain to me why Eggmanland in the Wii version of Sonic Unleashed is way better than the HD version of Eggmanland.

Different designers, and the HD designer was looking for a borderline masochistic level design?

Wii version of Eggmanland/Cool Edge > HD version.

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

That problem's been solved now. We have only Takashi Iizuka to worry about.

—But that's not good either, lol.

 

[Azure Dream]

Someone explain to me why Eggmanland in the Wii version of Sonic Unleashed is way better than the HD version of Eggmanland.

Different designers, and the HD designer was looking for a borderline masochistic level design?

Wii version of Eggmanland/Cool Edge > HD version.

The Wii version saves all the real time Sonic/Werehog swapping for the extra puzzle rooms (which ads more interesting twists to the mechanic than just tagging hourglasses), so it doesn't bog down Eggmanland.

I also liked some of the mechanics in the Werehog side on Wii better, like having to hold the reinforced box above your head to not be hurt by the flames. And all of the sectioning up of Eggmanland helps a lot, too, instead of one gigantically-long marathon run of a level.

 

[Pietepiet]

I'm kind of impressed they slid in Honey the Cat (the furthest left icon).

Haha, that's awesome!

I've been catching up with the comics from 160 on, really enjoying it so far. The iPhone app sadly didn't have them all though. And it doesn't seem to be keeping up, as the last one that's on there is 233 :\ Can I buy them online somewhere to read on my PC? They're hard to come by here in the Netherlands.

 

[Azure Dream]

I've been catching up with the comics from 160 on, really enjoying it so far. The iPhone app sadly didn't have them all though. And it doesn't seem to be keeping up, as the last one that's on there is 233 :\ Can I buy them online somewhere to read on my PC? They're hard to come by here in the Netherlands.

You're not that far behind, 237 shown above doesn't ship until mid-May.

 

[Sciz]

Haha, that's awesome!

I've been catching up with the comics from 160 on, really enjoying it so far. The iPhone app sadly didn't have them all though. And it doesn't seem to be keeping up, as the last one that's on there is 233 :\

No, you're current. Solicits for the series stay about four issues ahead of what's actually in stores.

 

[Pietepiet]

Ah, excellent! Thanks guys.

Really love the coverart for the Archives bundles, too. Shame the actual comics aren't like that. The art improved drastically when Tracy Yardley started doing most of it, though. Really nice style.

 

[qq more]

Guilty Pleasure:

I am enjoying Sonic Blast's OST atm. Specifically the Boss Theme and Yellow Desert Zone's song.

 

[Sneaky Gato]

Pokecapn: You're going straight to hell

 

[Dark Schala]

The LP vid was posted in both threads, but I'll just stick to here. Thanks to both who posted the vid, though.

I never noticed that Shadow's Chaos Emerald showed up as the fourth Chaos Emerald before. :lol

I also liked some of the mechanics in the Werehog side on Wii better, like having to hold the reinforced box above your head to not be hurt by the flames. And all of the sectioning up of Eggmanland helps a lot, too, instead of one gigantically-long marathon run of a level.

Same. The mechanics for the Wii version of Eggmanland were better and better implemented.

Whoever decided that Eggmanland should not be split into several sections in the HD version is an insane person. My first time through it was very lengthy. It's an endurance run in itself. :/

 

[Tizoc]

I'm vaguely disappointed that Robotnik isn't in his El Gran Gordo costume for SU#40, but the Sonic the Fighters and badnik shoutouts make up for it easily.

Heh same here, but I'm really looking forward to those issues X3

So when can we expect them to get to Ian Flynn's run as far as the Archives go?

 

[J@hranimo]

This is a few days old, but TSSZ News posted a link to the Sega Blog where they were taking questions about the music in Sonic Generations. They said that Jun Senoue, Tomoya Ohtani, Kenichi Tokoi, and Alex Makhlouf from Cash Cash were going to answer some of them in a few weeks. The link is here if anyone is interested.

I hope they choose my question about the lack of Carnival Night, Icecap, and Launch Base songs to choose from.

 

[Azure Dream]

I hope they choose my question about the lack of Carnival Night, Icecap, and Launch Base songs to choose from.

I have my suspicion they won't. I think when somebody not too long ago opened their mouth and officially confirmed Jackson had a part in the Sonic 3 music, it caused a tumble of legal headaches. If it did, they probably won't be able to comment on it on an official fashion.

Apparently someone on Retro went nosing around, asking a few questions about Sonic 3 music to various people involved. Most of them were polite, but one of them snapped back, was super-paranoid and mentioned ongoing "legal shit."

"what do u want? from me ? why do u want to know?
you can contact my lawyer
first off I don't know who u are or what you really want you don't have anything to do with my personal biz so why would I just give info to a stranger while im in the middle of some legal shit . tis is my personal biz so if you don't mind quit asking me about my biz"

Cirocco Jones also mentioned a lawsuit going on.

It's pretty depressing to think about what a gigantic fight Sega has to go through any time they want to use older Sonic music, because they didn't lock up the rights back when the games first came out. Imagine Mario games where they were never allowed to remix the original NES and SNES themes without paying fees or arguing fresh contracts, each time.

That's why I've said over and over that I hope the Dreams Come True issue is settled. If DCT still has the classic Sonic music held hostage after all the hoops Sega jumped through for Generations, I'll be very disappointed.

 

[Dark Schala]

SonicGAF... I really really really want a Sonic game for my Vita. Rayman Origins and Lumines look so wonderful on this thing. :3

It's pretty depressing to think about what a gigantic fight Sega has to go through any time they want to use older Sonic music, because they didn't lock up the rights back when the games first came out. Imagine Mario games where they were never allowed to remix the original NES and SNES themes without paying fees or arguing fresh contracts, each time.

That's why I've said over and over that I hope the Dreams Come True issue is settled. If DCT still has the classic Sonic music held hostage after all the hoops Sega jumped through for Generations, I'll be very disappointed.

Is there a link to all the legal stuff regarding this issue (ie: the legal documents)? I'm pretty interested in that.

That's still ridiculous, and I guess Sega at the time didn't think they'd have to get the rights to use the music as long as the series remains viable at the time. I wonder how much they paid to get some of the original music in Generations?

 

[RobbieNick]

SonicGAF... I really really really want a Sonic game for my Vita. Rayman Origins and Lumines look so wonderful on this thing. :3

If you have a PS3, you could buy Sega Genesis collection PSP to play on the Vita. Sonic Rivals 1 & 2 are on sale, but I wouldn't recommend them. Here's detailed instructions on how to do that. http://segabits.com/blog/2012/02/22...ega-psp-games-on-your-vita-if-you-have-a-ps3/

 

[Azure Dream]

Is there a link to all the legal stuff regarding this issue (ie: the legal documents)? I'm pretty interested in that.

The court case? I'm not the most familiar with the subject, sorry. The topic I linked was the first I heard of it, and the person didn't follow up at the insistence of the Retro Admins and oldbies.

On a more general topic of who controls what Sonic music? I thought about posting a topic, listing some of the notable installments and the legal issues or questions regarding their music, but I may not be the best-versed person to discuss the finer details. I was also worried the standard "lolsonic" threadshitting would kick into gear.

Plus it does come across as a "Sega why can't you get it together" post, when they're obviously trying to get it together lately.

That's still ridiculous, and I guess Sega at the time didn't think they'd have to get the rights to use the music as long as the series remains viable at the time. I wonder how much they paid to get some of the original music in Generations?

It's kind of interesting how they approached it, they've nearly always tried to bring in real musicians (obviously not putting down all the brilliant chiptune artists and musical programmers of that day, I just mean people who went out touring, put out albums to stores, etc) and build them into Sonic, rather than just do the music in-house. It probably goes back to his original designs as being a part of a rock band. Like you said, there's probably no reason for them to expect in 1991 that they'd have to some day decide whether or not to license Green Hill's music 15, 20 years later.

 

[Hot Coldman]

Part 8 of the Generations LP has one of the posse's best lines they've ever done: "Your desire to murder is your undoing." :lol

 

[Shadow Hog]

So was I the only one here mentally screaming "QUICK STEP DAMMIT" during the Shadow fight? I mean, he made it work, but really, it'd have worked so much easier...

 

[RobbieNick]

http://segabits.com/blog/2012/02/23/sonic-the-hedgehog-4-episode-2-gameplay-trailer/

sonic 4-2 gameplay trailer is here!

 

[Emitan]

Ewww. Still looks terrible.

 

[qq more]

Looks a lot better than Ep 1.


Sucks to see Homing Attack is still there though. :|


In speaking of, did anyone ever managed to outrun the flipping card bridge at the end of Casino Street Act 2 WITHOUT using Homing Attack or Spindash to pick up speed? I ran at maximum unassisted running speed and the cards still managed to catch up and put me into the death pit. Why the fucking shit does the game punish you for not using the homing attack? Seriously, fuck you Dimps.

 

[checkeredknight]

Ewww. Still looks terrible.

Glad I'm not the only one who thinks so. A heck of a lot better than Episode 1, but it still doesn't look very good. I see Sonic running through walls of ice there face first and the return of the homing attack is not very appealing. I'll try the demo, but if it's 1200 points / if it plays as bad as Ep 1 did it's a definite pass for me.

 

[Beefwheat]

Hooray, I finally finished the first Sonic the Hedgehog and I wanted to write a few quick thoughts where somebody might actually see them and/or care.

I never owned a Genesis as a child, so first experience with this game was a mall demo kiosk when it came out. Since then I've played it on an irregular basis (with friends, Sonic Mega Collection, etc.) but never put a serious effort in until just recently.

- Labyrinth Zone is horrible. I told it how much I hated it, more than once.

- Actually the difficulty curve in this game seems kind of odd to me. It's relatively gradual until it leaps sky-high for Labyrinth Zone, after which Star Light Zone seems like cake. And then you get thrown back into misery for Scrap Brain Zone, which seems like something Astar would've been right at home in. There are some seriously devious traps and tricky sections here, leading into another stab at a Labyrinth Zone-type level. And then the final boss, which is oddly simple after all the traps and pain.

- No I did not get all the chaos emeralds. It took me twenty years to beat the game in the first place so I was still happy with my victory. (Got four though!)

- For a game and character that are supposedly all about going fast you are actually given relatively few opportunities to safely do so. After Green Hill I learned pretty quickly that straight-aways typically end with me losing all my rings. I guess "Careful the Hedgehog" isn't as easy to market.

- The music is still awesome.

- Sonic 2 has always been my favorite game of the franchise, but I don't think I've ever gone all the way through without cheating. I'm looking forward to taking it on soon!

 

[Nocturnowl]

I've never actually finished Sonic 1, i've got a save state on the Mega Drive Collection at Starlight Zone but i'm on my last life so game over is inevitable.
I really don't enjoy the first Sonic that much, I particularly dislike Marble Zone, what a horribly slow and boring set of stages. Music is kind of middling as well outside of Green Hill and Starlight. Now Master System Sonic 1, that's the real Sonic 1 to me, not sure how well it's aged though.

I've also never finished Sonic 2 either but that's because the final boss just kicks my ass and at this point I lack the patience to bother with the one hit and i'm dead dilemma of learning how not to die the hard way, I beat the rip offs of said boss in Sonic 4 and Generations so that will do.

You know I think Careful the Hedgehog might be the way I choose to remember Sonic 1 now you mention it.

 

[nns3d]

- Actually the difficulty curve in this game seems kind of odd to me. It's relatively gradual until it leaps sky-high for Labyrinth Zone, after which Star Light Zone seems like cake. And then you get thrown back into misery for Scrap Brain Zone, which seems like something Astar would've been right at home in. There are some seriously devious traps and tricky sections here, leading into another stab at a Labyrinth Zone-type level. And then the final boss, which is oddly simple after all the traps and pain.

The difficulty-wise goes one easy level, then a hard level following it (GHZ to Marble, Springyard to Labyrinth, Starlight to Scrap Brain). It could've been worse, iirc Labyrinth Zone was supposed to be the second level instead of Marble Zone.

That also reminds me that I've yet to beat Sonic 2 without cheat codes. I'll probably do that once I get back home.

And Sonic 4 Ep. 2 looks A LOT better than Ep. 1, doesn't look like they did a thing with the physics though. Also enemies with lifebars look like they're returning.

 

[Shadow Hog]

I'm pretty sure I've beaten all the mainline Genesis Sonic games at this point... Sonic CD and Sonic 3&K more than Sonic 1 and Sonic 2, though.

Sonic 1 really is a bit of an oddity. The lack of a Spin Dash is probably the most glaring aspect, but it generally feels less refined than its sequels in pretty much every respect. Much slower-paced than its sequels overall. Also, I swear some of the things it does seem a bit out-of-place, considering later entries. Hiding an entire secret path in Labyrinth Act 1 with a floating platform that doesn't appear until you've dived down and hit a switch that does something else, without any indication? Scrap Brain 3 practically belonging to another zone entirely?

Also, barring Knuckles' campaign in Sonic 3&K (which was surprisingly difficult), it's also easily the hardest of the lot, too. Green Hill and Marble are pretty much piss easy, Spring Yard is fairly easy, Labyrinth is frustratingly difficult (if only because of that boss, egh - that was the major roadblock for me for most of my life), Star Light is back to being rather easy (provided you're decent at platforming, else you might fall into a pit), and Scrap Brain is hard, but not as hard as Labyrinth (even the Labyrinth section, considering the shortcut you can take almost immediately after starting). Also, I cannot for the life of me remember the layouts of the special stages barring the first one and the first "wide-open" one (for lack of a better word), while I could probably play a good chunk of the Blue Sphere ones in my head.

It's just kind of... weird, looking back on it. I can't really put it into words.

 

[Lijik]

I really enjoy Sonic 1 and have played through it multiple times, but I don't think I have ever once bothered with the chaos emeralds in it.

 

[Beefwheat]

It could've been worse, iirc Labyrinth Zone was supposed to be the second level instead of Marble Zone.

Eugh, I read that somewhere as well! And I hadn't thought about the easy-hard alternating but that makes sense. Good to know that by general consensus I've got the toughest one out of the way.

 

[Sciz]

- Actually the difficulty curve in this game seems kind of odd to me. It's relatively gradual until it leaps sky-high for Labyrinth Zone, after which Star Light Zone seems like cake. And then you get thrown back into misery for Scrap Brain Zone, which seems like something Astar would've been right at home in.

The Genesis games do this across the board. Sonic 1 does it more dramatically, but all of them have easier zones sprinkled in to give the player a breather once in a while. 2 has Casino Night and Sky Chase, 3 has Ice Cap, Mushroom Hill, and Sky Sanctuary, and CD has Stardust Speedway.

 

[Anth0ny]

Apparently someone on Retro went nosing around, asking a few questions about Sonic 3 music to various people involved. Most of them were polite, but one of them snapped back, was super-paranoid and mentioned ongoing "legal shit."



Cirocco Jones also mentioned a lawsuit going on.

It's pretty depressing to think about what a gigantic fight Sega has to go through any time they want to use older Sonic music, because they didn't lock up the rights back when the games first came out. Imagine Mario games where they were never allowed to remix the original NES and SNES themes without paying fees or arguing fresh contracts, each time.

That's why I've said over and over that I hope the Dreams Come True issue is settled. If DCT still has the classic Sonic music held hostage after all the hoops Sega jumped through for Generations, I'll be very disappointed.

Crazy how the history of the Sonic 3 soundtrack is still such a mystery. I really hope it gets cleared up eventually. I'd love to hear MJ's demo tapes.

 

[Combichristoffersen]

Crazy how the history of the Sonic 3 soundtrack is still such a mystery. I really hope it gets cleared up eventually. I'd love to hear MJ's demo tapes.

I'm sure they'll leak someday. Hell, Brian May and Roger Taylor announced in November or December last year that the demos of the collaboration between Freddie Mercury and MJ would be brushed up and released officially for the first time. The MJ clan and record companies will surely scour the vaults to find whatever old MJ material they can release.

Oh, and congrats on beating Sonic 1 for the first time. Now go get those chaos emeralds, as Sonic 1 is the easiest game of the original trilogy to get all emeralds in IMO.

 

[Professor Beef]

Now go get those chaos emeralds, as Sonic 1 is the easiest game of the original trilogy to get all emeralds in IMO.

Sonic 2 is way easier. I'd argue 3 is easier too, because of how many Special Rings there are in each act.

 

[Kjellson]

So what's the deal behing the Eggman Vs. Robotnick debate? Which one's right?