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Sonic the Hedgehog Community Thread: Green Hills and Laughing Iizukas

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The sonic 06 soundtrack is pretty rocking I must say from that game I loved the graphics music and the idea of the chaos monster but fire type. If they had the adventure engine and maybe a Star Wars type force for silver I still think it woulda been great
The plot and the level-design would still have been asinine, though. It'd have graduated from one of the worst games of all time to merely mediocre... not sure which is worse.

The music is genuinely quite good, yes, but outside of Chronicles and Sonic Genesis for the GBA, what Sonic game's music hasn't been genuinely good?
 

qq more

Member
The sonic 06 soundtrack is pretty rocking I must say from that game I loved the graphics music and the idea of the chaos monster but fire type. If they had the adventure engine and maybe a Star Wars type force for silver I still think it woulda been great

no


And I never got the praise for the graphics in the game... it was so lifeless and boring. Even the ugliest NSMB game had more style than that. The music is decent at least.


The plot and the level-design would still have been asinine, though. It'd have graduated from one of the worst games of all time to merely mediocre... not sure which is worse.

The music is genuinely quite good, yes, but outside of Chronicles and Sonic Genesis for the GBA, what Sonic game's music hasn't been genuinely good?

Sonic 4 Episode 1 comes to mind. It isn't quite near the levels of Sonic 1 GBA and Chronicles but the OST was really halfassed. I'm not just talking about the instruments, I'm also talking about the composition on some of the songs. Worst final boss theme ever.
 

Dark Schala

Eloquent Princess
I dislike looking at Sonic 2006 a ton. Everything about it was so bland and boring to look at. The Sonic model in that game is one of my least favourite ones too. Legs too long, torso too skinny, quills don't look very good, modeling in cutscenes is off, etc.

also you guys Tales of Xillia 2 is better than Xillia 1 so far. srsly.
 
Sonic 4 Episode 1 comes to mind. It isn't quite near the levels of Sonic 1 GBA and Chronicles but the OST was really halfassed. I'm not just talking about the instruments, I'm also talking about the composition on some of the songs. Worst final boss theme ever.
The percussion sounds like a load of gunfire, oh man I don't remember it being this bad.

also you guys Tales of Xillia 2 is better than Xillia 1 so far. srsly.
Do you have some sort of "Tales Scale" of which I can try to assess this rating by?
 

Dark Schala

Eloquent Princess
Do you have some sort of "Tales Scale" of which I can try to assess this rating by?
Is it better than Tempest and VS (and maybe Abyss)? Y/N.

Just kidding.

A lot of what goes into me enjoying an RPG is quest variety, general design, battle system, etc. I'm having more fun with Xillia 2 than I did with Xillia 1, though. Some of the flaws have been rectified, but some of the issues I had with the original are still there. We'll see what I think of it in the long run, though, but I find it more engaging than the first Xillia.

I looked at the livestreams a few days ago, and I'm seriously reconsidering my decision to not import it before playing Xillia 1.
After a few hours into it, I think it's one of the least import-friendly Tales games I've played unless you have a walkthrough/translation thingy beside you just because of the decision-making you have to do (some of which are timed). I've heard that in NG+ it tells you the decisions that you should make to get relationship boosts with other characters, but on the first playthrough you have to make-do without one unless you're following a wiki or something. There are also decisions to make when you're in the middle of some skits, which is weird. Like, Ludger's pretty badass in cutscenes and in-battle, but it's a shame that he merely grunts or says "mmm, ugh, hmm..." most of the time.

I think you could try to import it if you feel like your JP is strong enough or try to get through it from a battle perspective, but some of the story would be lost. And the game is much darker than previous Tales games. I can see why it was rated CERO C this time (lots of blood). The story's more interesting than Xillia's so far.
 
While Schala's on the topic of RPGs, I was walking aroudn today wondering what types of battle systems would actually fit in a Sonic RPG, aside from what BioWare did in Chronicles.

First thing I thought of was giving it the battle system from the Kiseki/ Trails in the Sky series. It's been a while since I've played Trails in the Sky (I need to re-buy this off of PSN to play on my Vita), but from what I remember, the game uses a command-input turn-based battle system. Can't really explain it since my memories a bit dodgy, so I'll just leave a gameplay clip here for you to watch
andthenyouwilllaterbuythisgamebecauseiwantyoutoanditneedssalesbecuaseofblahblahblah
.

I also think a Sonic-themed dungeon-crawler could work, especially as a rougelike. This mostly comes from my love of Zetta Hero Project, which I really need to make an RTTP/Appreciation Thread for. For those who don't know, rougelikes are dungeon-crawlers that heavily penalize death. Each dungeon is randomly generated, and contain a certain number of floors, each with an exit that eventually leads to the boss floor. Dungeons contain many traps and enemies that'll block your way towards the exit. Death comes into play in that there are many ways to die, and if you die in the dungeon, you lose all of your items, get booted back to the hub, and have to restart from the beginning of the dungeon.

I think there are a number of ways how this could work with the Sonic formula. First off, unlike most rpg sub-genres, rougelikes normally don't feature party systems, which means Sonic would most likely be the only playable character. In terms of battle flow, think of it as a psuedo-turn-based dungeon-crawl, as in when you move, so does the enemy In the dungeons, you not only need to successfully incapacitate enemies, but managing your status and items is also key. This is where I think that classic Sonic items such as ringboxes and shields could come into play. In rougelikes, you have health and energy (stamina); as you travel through dungeons, your energy begins to deplete little by little, and once it's fully gone it compensates by eating away at your health. You can replenish your health and stamina by eating food that you either find in the dungeons or buy in stores in various sizes and quantities. I was thinking that this since this is Sonic, that ringboxes would substitute for edible items, probably in increments of 10 (10% recovery), 25 (25% recovery), and 50 (50%recovery). With shields, they can both amplify Sonic's defense and offense along with having its own unique utility. For example, the electric shield could not only give Sonic an electric attack, but becuase it attracts rings in the classic games, it can help slow down the depletion rate of your stamina by half.

I think this pretty much covers the basics of how I think it could work; there are a lot more things that I think could be in a Sonic rougelike, but I need to start playing Zettai Hero Project again to see whatever I missed. :p

Dreams of an Absolution was pretty good.

I still miss Bentley Jones. :(
 
After a few hours into it, I think it's one of the least import-friendly Tales games I've played unless you have a walkthrough/translation thingy beside you just because of the decision-making you have to do (some of which are timed). I've heard that in NG+ it tells you the decisions that you should make to get relationship boosts with other characters, but on the first playthrough you have to make-do without one unless you're following a wiki or something. There are also decisions to make when you're in the middle of some skits, which is weird. Like, Ludger's pretty badass in cutscenes and in-battle, but it's a shame that he merely grunts or says "mmm, ugh, hmm..." most of the time.

I think you could try to import it if you feel like your JP is strong enough or try to get through it from a battle perspective, but some of the story would be lost. And the game is much darker than previous Tales games. I can see why it was rated CERO C this time (lots of blood). The story's more interesting than Xillia's so far.

I could probably manage. I'm playing through Destiny 2 at the moment (without a translation guide) and I can sort of follow along with what's going on. And even then, I'd be in it for the battle system more than anything.

The silence thing really kind of baffles me, though. Seems a bit weird for a series that prides itself on developing character interactions.
 

Sciz

Member
The music is genuinely quite good, yes, but outside of Chronicles and Sonic Genesis for the GBA, what Sonic game's music hasn't been genuinely good?

Spinoffs have about a 50% success rate. The failures generally aren't Chronicles bad, but there's plenty of blandness and mediocrity to go around.

also most of SA2 and Heroes
 
I kind of think the ideal Sonic RPG would be very action-focused, try and play up that strength of the franchise. Maybe do some kind of variant of the Panzer Dragoon Saga battle style, where positioning is both important and handled in real-time, meaning you have to keep moving around the enemy to dodge attacks or get into the most ideal position, but moving means your ATB bar doesn't fill up as quickly.

I dunno.
 

Dark Schala

Eloquent Princess
If it were KH-like, it'd have to build up on the strengths of BbS because otherwise I probably wouldn't play it, lol.

As for Trails, Trails's strongest suit isn't its battle system, though. It's the story. And after finishing SC recently, SC's miles better than FC. Sonic could use something like that, but it would just be a slightly modified traditional RPG experience. Something like Nayuta no Kiseki would work, if we're still talking Kiseki. It facilitates the use of another character, has lots of quests, it's better than Zwei in that you don't just get XP from eating food and you can platform around, etc. It's just too bad that Nayuta's really easy.

As for a Sonic roguelike in the style of ZHP (which is super-underrated, I agree), it would depend on the context of the story. I certainly wouldn't mind it, but I'm not sure if a lot of people would enjoy it.

Shadow Hog said:
I kind of think the ideal Sonic RPG would be very action-focused, try and play up that strength of the franchise.
I completely agree.

Mario and Luigi style with Sonic and Knuckles, done.
This definitely works too.

Seven Force said:
I could probably manage. I'm playing through Destiny 2 at the moment (without a translation guide) and I can sort of follow along with what's going on. And even then, I'd be in it for the battle system more than anything.

The silence thing really kind of baffles me, though. Seems a bit weird for a series that prides itself on developing character interactions.
Maybe, plus the wikis are pretty much updating quickly so you could use those. They seemed to have lowered Jude's speed stat or his movement animation speeds because he really is slower than his Xillia version. Ludger's pretty fun to use with his dual knives, though. Really fun.

Ludger's silence is really really weird!

*Jude explains Arousal Orb, says it's replacement for Lilial orb*
Ludger: "?"
*Jude explains what Arousal Orb is for while Ludger remains silent for the whole time*

I don't like it at all.
 

BlackJace

Member
What was the appeal for active time battle? It put a lot of pressure on you, and it effectively removed any long term tactical thinking in battles for me. In games like Blue Dragon and Persona, having as much time as you want to think ahead and heal helped a lot.
 
I liked that ATB kept me on my toes (especially FFV), and most of the games had a "Wait" option so that you could take your time with forming a strategy anyway. It's made it a bit hard for me to go back to regular turn based, really.
 

BlackJace

Member
I thought XIII's was decent. But it was again screwed by ATB. Stats really didn't matter, because if the enemy had a ridiculous amount of ATB slots, then can decimate you with myriad yet weak attacks. Fucking annoooooying.
 

Dark Schala

Eloquent Princess
I like ATB a lot. It was revolutionary for its time because you aren't merely waiting to select your commands plus you can react readily to something that the enemy is doing to you. If you aren't prepared to think quickly, though, there's a Wait option in the menu that freezes the action as you're selecting a command.

It still functions on a speed/agil stat like TTB does, but the action's in real-time, and it makes battles far more exciting and exhilarating.

And I'm not much of a fan of FF13's CSB regardless of the fact that I know the ins and outs of the system very well.
 
I generally prefer proper turn-based, like FF1, pretty much any Mario RPG or Skies of Arcadia, but when done right, ATB can really feel awesome. Panzer Dragoon Saga was one of those cases. I also kind of liked it in Chrono Trigger I guess.

I never figured out the whole "Wait" option. Isn't that only if you have a menu open? Like, if you have all 3-5 bars filled and are just on the Attack/Magic/Special/Defend menu, I'm pretty sure if you sit around doing nothing, you still get attacked. Open up the Magic menu, though, and suddenly things stop attacking. Correct me if I'm wrong on that.
 
No because the enemies had too much hp and if you didn't stagger them, you were screwed. We do not need a system based around a bunch of sponges.
 

Dark Schala

Eloquent Princess
No because the enemies had too much hp and if you didn't stagger them, you were screwed. We do not need a system based around a bunch of sponges.
Sounds like Tales on Chaos/Unknown mode with stoopid multipliers.

Edit: I have noticed that I've started to prefer ARPGs or battle systems with a very tactical focus (Radiant Historia, SRPGs) or chaining/comboing attacks (FFX-2, DDS, Shadow Hearts 2/3), though. ATB feels kinda slow for me sometimes unless I've got haste on my side or I could speed up the battle (ie: have enemies attack faster).
 

qq more

Member
Wow I just realized how lively this thread is tonight.


I should probably start that survey... it's for a project I probably won't start a few years from now. (Have to at least finish Emerald Ties first)

How would you guys feel about a fan game that's pretty much Sonic Generations but for the portable era games instead? Oh and it'd have 4 eras instead of 3 to balance out Classic/Modern Sonic.
 

Kokonoe

Banned
Wow I just realized how lively this thread is tonight.


I should probably start that survey... it's for a project I probably won't start a few years from now. (Have to at least finish Emerald Ties first)

How would you guys feel about a fan game that's pretty much Sonic Generations but for the portable era games instead? Oh and it'd have 4 eras instead of 3 to balance out Classic/Modern Sonic.

Well, I'm not that crazy on the portable levels, but I think it's an interesting idea.
 
Wow I just realized how lively this thread is tonight.


I should probably start that survey... it's for a project I probably won't start a few years from now. (Have to at least finish Emerald Ties first)

How would you guys feel about a fan game that's pretty much Sonic Generations but for the portable era games instead? Oh and it'd have 4 eras instead of 3 to balance out Classic/Modern Sonic.

They would really have their work cut out for them because some of those Sonic Game Gear games were just plain bland, the stages were similar to the Genesis ones and it'd mean they would use a stage from Sonic Blast.

And if they choose Sky Canyon or Altitude Limit...=/
 

TheOGB

Banned
Sonic 4 Episode 1 comes to mind. It isn't quite near the levels of Sonic 1 GBA and Chronicles but the OST was really halfassed. I'm not just talking about the instruments, I'm also talking about the composition on some of the songs. Worst final boss theme ever.
Sonic 4, both episodes, have some really lame compositions. It's really sad, especially when I hear shit like this

I only bring that up because it's been stuck in my head all damn day
 

qq more

Member
They would really have their work cut out for them because some of those Sonic Game Gear games were just plain bland, the stages were similar to the Genesis ones and it'd mean they would use a stage from Sonic Blast.
If I ever start on this project, I plan to keep the levels interesting. Sonic Generations did a fine job with that (you know, the whole 4 cities thing ended up all being different from each other).

And if they choose Sky Canyon or Altitude Limit...=/
In an unlikely scenario of these levels being picked, I would make sure they will be damn good levels... or at least not Dimps' "quality".
 
Then I really hope Music Plant and Toy Kingdom make it in. Spy Base is also a fine choice from the Advance series. Or the one Techno style level from Advance 3.
 

qq more

Member
Then I really hope Music Plant and Toy Kingdom make it in. Spy Base is also a fine choice from the Advance series. Or the one Techno style level from Advance 3.

Music Plant has a good chance considering its reputation. Not to mention the game's level list won't exactly stick with 1st most voted level all of the time. Sometimes I might go with a runner-up depending on the situation.
 
Egg Rocket and Music Plant are what I'd consider to be the standouts of the Advance games. Can't think of an Advance 3 stage since I hate pretty much every one.
 
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