What are your issues with Sonic?

Sonic was never fun.

Ever since the first game it felt like a soulless tech demo where the gameplay was more of a chore than entertainment.

Level design was tedious and uninspired often dragging on for longer than was necessary.

The fast scrolling was the only elememt that made Sonic stand out from the competition at the time. But it quickly became apparent that the game was a one trick pony that lacked any other redeeming features.

Sega badly needed a mascot at the time so they pushed the character and the franchise at every opportunity. But it should have been left to rot after the first disappointing game and never used again.

It was probably one of the first instances where marketing and style over substance was used to milk gamer's wallets effectively and the industry has been at it ever since.
 
that's another good point - not blowing their load on genesis levels and throwbacks leaves the door open for sequel material/DLC. speaking of:

this is the most obvious candidate for quality DLC, and yet nothing. really hoping sega's push to step their shit up for digi releases makes them realize how much potential $ they left sitting on the table here.

Each day, I look at my copy of Generations. Then I think about all the DLC levels, or even CHARACTERS that I'd like to purchase. I then become depressed and find something to do.
 
Am I the only one who's never liked Sonic period? Old games and all?
No:
Sonic was never fun.

Ever since the first game it felt like a soulless tech demo where the gameplay was more of a chore than entertainment.

Level design was tedious and uninspired often dragging on for longer than was necessary.

The fast scrolling was the only ele,emt that made Sonic stand out from the competition at the time. But it quickly became apparent that the game was a one trick pony that lacked any other redeeming features.

Sega badly needed a mascot at the time so they pushed the character and the franchise at every opportunity. But it should have been left to rot after the first disappointing game and never used again.

It was probably one of the first instances where marketing and style over substance was used to milk gamer's wallets effectively and the industry has been at it ever since.
I have a feeling this post is mostly based on experiences with the second zone of Sonic 1

if that was all I had played of Sonic I would make a similar post
 
Marble Zone isn't very good and is poorly-paced.

Each day, I look at my copy of Generations. Then I think about all the DLC levels, or even CHARACTERS that I'd like to purchase. I then become depressed and find something to do.
Generations is just one of those games like Pac-Man CE DX I like to throw in, turn my brain off, and play around with to time-attack stuff.

I'd love to have new DLC levels to practice with, though. :P

Am I the only one who's never liked Sonic period? Old games and all?
There are more people with this opinion than you think.
 
Each day, I look at my copy of Generations. Then I think about all the DLC levels, or even CHARACTERS that I'd like to purchase. I then become depressed and find something to do.

The upside is that the fan community has figured out a lot of the engine's tricks and are well on their way to making their own stages, as well as importing stages from Unleashed and other games.
 
Am I the only one who's never liked Sonic period? Old games and all?

you're damn sure not the first person to wanna post this opinion in a sonic thread, at least

Each day, I look at my copy of Generations. Then I think about all the DLC levels, or even CHARACTERS that I'd like to purchase. I then become depressed and find something to do.

it's cool. i ain't wanna invest in nu-Star Light Zone anyway. (;_;)

The upside is that the fan community has figured out a lot of the engine's tricks and are well on their way to making their own stages, as well as importing stages from Unleashed and other games.

when this happens...we need a thread.
a forever pinned thread.
 
I think they still talk about the mods in the Generations OT, if you can find it :P

Generations is just one of those games like Pac-Man CE DX I like to throw in, turn my brain off, and play around with to time-attack stuff.

I'd love to have new DLC levels to practice with, though. :P
Totally off-topic, but they should make new mazes for Pac-Man CEDX

and Battle Royal for PSN/XBL/Steam! :O
 
when this happens...we need a thread.
a forever pinned thread.
OT, but some of the stuff was posted in the community thread and a little bit of the Sonic Generations OT, but you can see most of it here and here.

Kakipi, the guy who has done some funky speedruns of Generations and Unleashed, is testing this out a little: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ib-gvBTTsaY&feature=plcp

TheOGB said:
Totally off-topic, but they should make new mazes for Pac-Man CEDX
This would be wonderful. It's just so damn addictive.
 
What amazes me more than anything is the quality of the guy's videos. Obscenely high quality, and apparently 60fps to boot? Jeez...
 
no, but we can't really do anything about it
There will always be ignorant people in the world, but I wouldn't say we can't do anything about it. We can lead by example, and we can stick up for people with unpopular opinions. It's really no more different than, say, putting an end to bullying, or other forms of ignorance or hate. And after all, someone had to have done something to change the world's views on women and African Americans, right? And I know you might think it's silly to compare that to ignorant gamers, but in the end ignorance is ignorance.

Well, that's my rant, I suppose. =P

I just wish all sides of the Sonic fanbase could learn to accept each other. It's really pretty ridiculous that they can't.
 
TheOGB said:
What amazes me more than anything is the quality of the guy's videos. Obscenely high quality, and apparently 60fps to boot? Jeez...
Y'know, looking at that Kakipi video sort of lends to the discussion we had the other day about Unleashed's general difficulty, and need for more practice and skill for the levels than either Generations or Colours, Eggmanland aside.

I wonder if people want Sonic games to be more difficult or easier? Does it even matter in this discussion, or do people just want the games to be fun?
 
OT, but some of the stuff was posted in the community thread and a little bit of the Sonic Generations OT, but you can see most of it here and here.

Kakipi, the guy who has done some funky speedruns of Generations and Unleashed, is testing this out a little: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ib-gvBTTsaY&feature=plcp

must go change pantsu~
you're a peach as ever, schalas! time to dig deeper...

I just wish all sides of the Sonic fanbase could learn to accept each other. It's really pretty ridiculous that they can't.

it's easy for me to forget there's guys like yourself that started with Adventures and favor it, but - and this is anecdotal for sure, but - the older fans that cant accept that, many of them seem to be people who aren't really interested in the franchise anyway, even when it does try to pander to them.

I wonder if people want Sonic games to be more difficult or easier? Does it even matter in this discussion, or do people just want the games to be fun?

i like a balance - fun is good, challenge is great when im looking for it, so time trials/less forgiving stuff in options is cool as well. for some reason in generations, i recall having the hardest time with shadow or silver or whoever it was with the cars, i just kept doing shit wrong.
 
I just wish all sides of the Sonic fanbase could learn to accept each other. It's really pretty ridiculous that they can't.

Because they believe in ridiculous things.

"SONIC 06 GAME OF THE YEAR!!!!"

Enough said.
 
My issue with Sonic games is that I'm mostly crap at them. And when I'm good at them I feel like the game's playing itself. Any input from me, like pushing a button, only makes Sonic lose his rings.

Green Hill Zone on Sonic 2 was my GOTY 1994. I was so bad at it I couldn't even beat Robotnik without losing all my lives.
 
I just wish all sides of the Sonic fanbase could learn to accept each other. It's really pretty ridiculous that they can't.

In your case, I accept your views. You are respectful, and well spoken. Others, I can't accept so much. Let's remember that the majority new-school Sonic fans are children. Most of them have zero respect for anyone.
 
Do I like Sonic? That's honestly not an easy question for me to answer.

I've played a vast majority of the games. Mean Bean Machine, CD, 3D Blast, and the portable games are the ones I can single out as not having played. I've gone from the heights of the series (S3&K/Generations) to the rank, stinky lows (06'/Secret Rings).

Yet despite all that, I couldn't tell you /why/ I consistently play the new releases or keep coming back to the series. Like, I can see some fun to be had with the games, but then the execution eventually goes awry and I end up not having as much fun, but I still come back to the next game expecting it to be better. Battered wife syndrome, I guess. Colors was the most fun I've had with a Sonic game, but Generations didn't quite recapture that feeling for me.

(To note, I'm in the weird spot where I've never been fond of "Classic" Sonic, yet I also hate most of Modern Sonic's conventions. I loathe the homing attack with a passion. The storybook gameplay can go die in a fire.)
 
They were never particularly good games. They never really offered an experience I'd in any way consider compelling, or above average. "Fun" and "sonic game" were never words I'd use in the same sentence. Which is fine and all, there are plenty of games out there I don't like and I can ignore. What really bothers me about sonic is the legion of fans, they're just as bad as maple leaf fans in that there are way too many of them, they all really, really like the franchise a bit too much and they're very obnoxious about it.
 
I loathe the homing attack with a passion.

Oooh, I don't think this hasn't been mentioned in here yet.

Yes, the homing attack is a terrible mechanic. It takes away any skill it takes to platform between enemies. Just another way to automate the process to make room for speed.
 
More momentum based platforming gameplay would be nice.

I don't like lanky, green-eyed Sonic with floppy spikes.

There are some really creepy fans, but any popular series with anthropomorphic animal characters will get those.

If we keep getting games as decent as Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations, then I'd be pretty content with that.
 
I'm okay with homing attack in 3D because it's hard to actually hit enemies while running at the speed of sound.


But in 2D... it is completely unnecessary and takes away the fun and satisfaction in attacking enemies.
 
I don't think there was ever a great sonic game, some of them were good but never great. I think there's 3 reasons why sonic was successful. It was a platform exclusive, it played fast and the levels were interactive and Sonic is a really cool character to children. I don't think the gameplay was ever a strong point and as time went on the games lost two of those advantages and now rely on nostalgia to sell to an older audience.

I thought generations was pretty cool but it was cool in the "the green hill zone violin cover looks amazing and it's looks how I imagined sonic looking back in the day" but mechanically, its just a more polished sonic game. All style and no substance.
 
I don't like lanky, green-eyed Sonic with floppy spikes.

It's amazing how much mileage we've gotten from this photoshop, but here:

u01R8.png


The eyes really do make a difference!
 
Another issue I had with some of the 3D Sonics, Heroes and 06 in particular (06 had a metric ton of problems, but this is one of them), is that to the average player, some of the stages are way too long. Casino Park from Heroes and Tropical Jungle from 06 are prime examples, both in which the final objective isn't very clear, it's ridiculously easy to get lost in and a lot of times it's hard to feel like you're making any progress in the stages.

Even Sonic Adventure 2 didn't escape it with the Emerald Hunt stages since, depending on how lucky you got, you could draw up some deviously hidden Emeralds that would have you looping around for an eternity to find them.
 
Another issue I had with some of the 3D Sonics, Heroes and 06 in particular (06 had a metric ton of problems, but this is one of them), is that to the average player, some of the stages are way too long. Casino Park from Heroes and Tropical Jungle from 06 are prime examples, both in which the final objective isn't very clear, it's ridiculously easy to get lost in and a lot of times it's hard to feel like you're making any progress in the stages.

Even Sonic Adventure 2 didn't escape it with the Emerald Hunt stages since, depending on how lucky you got, you could draw up some deviously hidden Emeralds that would have you looping around for an eternity to find them.

Goddd I agree so much. I hate long long levels in Sonic games. It's better when they're broken up into acts.
 
it's easy for me to forget there's guys like yourself that started with Adventures and favor it, but - and this is anecdotal for sure, but - the older fans that cant accept that, many of them seem to be people who aren't really interested in the franchise anyway, even when it does try to pander to them.

Sonic Adventure was one of those games I enjoyed back then, but replaying it years later I found it to be rather buggy and janky in spots. I don't know, it just hadn't aged that well to me.

Though interesting story, I never did own a retail version of Sonic Adventure. Instead I purchased a copy from a used bin at a Block Bluster video. The version ended up being a "Limited Edition" I paid 10 dollars for. For years and years I didn't think anything of it, lent out the game to my nephew along with my Dreamcast. he gave it back with Sonic Adventure scratched to hell. It was completely unreadable by the Dreamcast... At the time, I didn't really care because I only paid 10 dollars for it. But years later I find out this disc is actually fetching for a large price on Ebay. Go figure. I never would've guessed that it was worth anything back in the day...
 
Sonic Adventure was one of those games I enjoyed back then, but replaying it years later I found it to be rather buggy and janky in spots. I don't know, it just hadn't aged that well to me.

yeah, the Dreamcast collection re-release showed me just how poorly it holds up, i wanna say it was EmCee or Alberto or one of them at the time that pointed out one reason why is that it was a big deal at the time, but the stuff it does was done better for over a decade now, so it's naturally gonna hold up poorly as a result. replaying old DC games, im thrown off by weird shit that's been standard for so long now like camera control.

also, sucks to hear about your game, man!
 
I am sorry but unleashed and generations was just too much on rails for me to honestly like them as a gamer. Most times when he is just walking his strides are ridiculous feels like Im ice skating or something or really Like I have a lack of control. Theres no reason for that. They need to go back the sonic adventure and 06 route and make a big open world game stop putting him in a world thats so cluttered buildings and cars and bushit everywhere make it a huge landscape like a big ass sahara desert so sonic can run through the place like its a level or something, will make going to other levels fun and less chore like. Just imagine a ridiculously huge scale of the mystic ruins with so much beautiful landscape and space so you can run around to get to point a to point b. Make sonic fast again stop depending on boosts and boosts buttons just to make him go faster.. disgusting. They really need to make a huge overworld with no boost button so sonic can run and just pick up speed natrually. Take all the bullshit like red rings out of the game make the levels hard or give more but subtle platforming hints. Bring back older sonic themes like fightning knuckles and making him the bad guy or metal sonic. Focus more on chaos emeralds make the story more chaos emeralds orientent than just collectables to get. The recent sonic games feel like rides..but im not in the ride, Im just watching.
 
So yeah, now my question to throw in is this: Is Sonic just one of those things that was cool as fuck in the 90s because we were young and now that we've grown up it's embarrassing?

Back in the early-mid 90s = Michael Jackson
Late 90s-early 00s = random rock

We're not even talking about the same thing anymore. Sonic has really changed a lot over the years, and not just in terms of music. It has nothing to do with outgrowing the series.
 
I am sorry but unleashed and generations was just too much on rails for me to honestly like them as a gamer. Most times when he is just walking his strides are ridiculous feels like Im ice skating or something or really Like I have a lack of control. Theres no reason for that. They need to go back the sonic adventure and 06 route and make a big open world game stop putting him in a world thats so cluttered buildings and cars and bushit everywhere make it a huge landscape like a big ass sahara desert so sonic can run through the place like its a level or something, will make going to other levels fun and less chore like. Just imagine a ridiculously huge scale of the mystic ruins with so much beautiful landscape and space so you can run around to get to point a to point b. Make sonic fast again stop depending on boosts and boosts buttons just to make him go faster.. disgusting. They really need to make a huge overworld with no boost button so sonic can run and just pick up speed natrually. Take all the bullshit like red rings out of the game make the levels hard or give more but subtle platforming hints. Bring back older sonic themes like fightning knuckles and making him the bad guy or metal sonic. Focus more on chaos emeralds make the story more chaos emeralds orientent than just collectables to get. The recent sonic games feel like rides..but im not in the ride, Im just watching.

For your viewing pleasure: Sonic GDK Open Environment Test
 
Theyre just not good games any more. They're only ever above average licensed game fare, playing off old nostalgia. I mean graphically theyre always looking pretty good, but these auto playing things even show their distant memories of top of the industry quality when switching to 2d sections and not being able to achieve anywhere near the physics based gameplay from 20 year old videogames.

Then the fanbase for whom Sonic has become their entire identity in life rallies round these mediocre morsels and hypes them up like the second coming and can't comprehend why people who have moved on don't really give a shit about Sonic games anymore.

Hey Sonic fan, did you buy Rayman Origins at launch with that gorgeous 2d artwork and super fast momentum based platforming in latter stages? Or perhaps you were waving your money at the exhiliration of 3d titles like Bayonetta, Vanquish, Batman Arkham City or Gravity Rush right from day one? Oh, its got a throwback to Green Hill Zone does it.
 
I'd never liked a Sonic game until Generations. Even the originals I thought were pretty dull compared to other platformers of the time. Colours was okay, but it got worse as it went on. Generations was pretty solid all the way through, except for the bosses and Planet Wisp. Planet Wisp was terrible.
 
This thread just makes me want to play Sonic 4 Episode 2 again. You don't know how much joy I got out of the amusement park level. I thought I was playing Donkey Kong Country 2 for a while.

I liked Sonic 06. Kingdom Valley had such a nice atmosphere, and the music for that game was great. I could never get all the S ranks because of the clunky glitched fall deaths, but still. Generations was an okay game, but I don't like how modern Sonic plays. He's just too damn fast! I never liked the boost ability. I'm going to pick up the new SA2 port when it comes out, I'm a sucker for the Adventure games. I started with Sonic on the Dreamcast, and I still like Sonic Adventure despite the bad/inconsistent frame rate.
 
Hey Sonic fan, did you buy Rayman Origins at launch with that gorgeous 2d artwork and super fast momentum based platforming in latter stages? Or perhaps you were waving your money at the exhiliration of 3d titles like Bayonetta, Vanquish, Batman Arkham City or Gravity Rush right from day one? Oh, its got a throwback to Green Hill Zone does it.
Yes to all of those besides Gravity Rush (I'm not buying a Vita for one game alone), but I don't remember any of those games having an inexplicit throwback to Green Hill Zone from Sonic the Hedgehog.

I have no idea what the hell you're trying to say with this paragraph
 
Really what we need for 2D Sonic to work is 3840x1080 resolution TVs that are like 6 feet wide, and have insanely low response times.

3D Sonic is basically a case of running really fast down one of the three routes it gives you, then stopping dead at a wall and doing some shit platforming. It needs to be completely organic and player defined to the extent that the you can jump and plan a landing based on the momentum you'll get from it. They should take inspiration from extreme sports games, and Sonic GDK by the looks of things...
 
I never even played the older Sonic games, I was too young and into Nintendo at that point. Adventure 2 was the first Sonic game I played and that was the re-release for Gamecube, gotta say I absolutely loved it and it remains one of my most nostalgic games. I eventually played Adventure 1, and from there I followed Sonic games...06, Colors, Generations etc. I skipped over most of the trash looking games...werewolf sonic, knight sonic, golden rings sonic etc etc.

I just don't know anymore man. Sonic might need some time off for a while.
 
Everything was solved for me with Colors/Generations. I still hate everything to do with Sonic 4 though. What an abomination.

Here are the only "good" Sonic games:
Sonic 1, 2, 3, Knuckles, Adventure (only if you play as Sonic and ignore everything but the Action stages), Advance, Unleashed (ignore the Werehog and it's good), Colors, Generations.

Everything else is a downward slope to shit.
 
What needs to be done is simple. Give Sonic 2 and Sonic 3 & Knuckles the Retro Engine/Taxman treatment.

I'll buy them at a (very) high price.

edit:

That Sonic GDK is awesome. Someone call Sega.
 
Too much experimentation. They had a good formula in the 90's and a great transition to actual 3d with Adventures, and then they kept trying to find the revolution.
And Sonic 4... feels like 1 on steroids. They should have tried to improved on S&K and not on 1.
 
This obsessive-compulsive mode of thinking of Sonic being a super-fast running hedgehog produces bastard racing/platform gameplay that isn't much fun. I don't think there is much that can be done with a character like Sonic anymore, he was lucky to be popular in the first place.
 
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