I just played the Japanese demo.
I have been reserving my judgment and hadn't chosen a side, just laughing and entertained by the crying and defending. Thanks guys it's been a great few months.
As for the momentum/physics when you jump, I don't mind that Sonic stops dead in his tracks so much. It was kind of tricky to readjust Sonic in the older games when trying to jump on small moving platforms because he had so much follow through with his jumps. So with that said, I welcome his abrupt stop in the air when you let go of the directional pad.
Where the problem for me comes in is his roll and running. Hitting springs and going through a loop should supply enough momentum to push you through a good chunk of the level provided there is nothing in the way. Doing this in the demo, Sonic could barley make it up the hill not five Sonic lengths away from the loop. I let go of the D-pad and he just stops. I keep holding forward and he goes only a little further.
I read here someone saying hold diagonal down/forward to keep momentum. Sorry to sound like a hivemind but, that's not how it's supposed to work. You're supposed to be able to put the controller down and Sonic should keep rolling or running a good distance until he hits either a wall, an enemy or he slows down in a more natural fashion over time.
Nitpicks: Why on earth would they make him slowly walk and build up to a run? And I really don't care for the squished running animation with the oval pinwheel underneath him. Also his flipping, full speed running, and spin ball animations are too slow for the speed he's going most of the time.
The haters are right, I hate to say it. They kinda messed this game up.
Everything else is great. The look, the feel (of the environments), the sound (for the most part). C'mon Sega wtf dude!
I'm on the fence...