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Sonic The Hedgehog is 10 years old

Sonic_the_Hedgehog_Next-Gen_Box_Art.JPG


Yes, folks, that Sonic The Hedgehog.

Sonic has gone through a lot of shit over the years but I believe it goes without saying this game, which was supposed celebrate Sonic's 15 anniversary, marked the absolute nadir of the Blue Blur's legacy. There's literally not a single thing that works about it except for the nice music. It basically took all the flaws that were present in Sonic Adventure 1 & 2 and amplified them to a maximum degree.

But you know what? Perhaps it's good that a game like Sonic 2006 exists, because in a way, it was a essentially a wakeup call for SEGA in terms of how much they screwed over their top series at that point. There's been many Sonic games since Sonic 2006 but honestly, even the worst of them aren't quite at its level. Even Sonic Boom just feels more like a shitty rushed tie-in game than a giant catastrophe like this game. Even if you don't like the Boost games, they're certainly amongst the most well-received outings Sonic has had in the modern day era. There's a reason why Project Sonic 2017's trailer opens up with "From the team that brought you Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations!".

So yes, Sonic may be pass his 90s glory days, but at the same time, I feel like his worse days are behind him. We may still get some duds like Sonic Lost World and Sonic Boom but nothing quite on the level of Shadow The Hedgehog or Sonic 2006.
 

StayDead

Member
I was very confused by this thread title and nearly lost my own sense of time and space. Thanks OP!

Also what made it worse was when I clicked on the thread it finally hit me what released 10 years ago (no idea why I always thought the actual game title was Sonic 2006). Why did you remind me that game existed OP...
 

L.O.R.D

Member
What are you talking about?
There is officiall sonic game released on 2006?
i think you are talking about the fan made game or something else,there is no such thing as sonic the hedgehog that released on 2006.

Oh,you mean sonic rivals? Yah,it was good game.

Sonic_Rivals.jpg
 
The saddest part of this game is that the setting and idea behind it were excellent and was exactly where the series needed to go. The focus on story, speed stages and puzzle aspects in the hub world was perfect, it wasn't afraid to introduce new characters or banish old ones and it genuinely felt like the last Sonic game that was trying to be a market leading platformer. It was hugely ambitious, which is why so many were excited for it.

The game was of course a mess technically and performance wise but I felt with another year of development to fix the rampant performance and bug issues it could have actually been a very good game.
The unfortunate legacy of this failure is SEGA just simply never tried again with Sonic. The last 10 years for the series has been nothing but one and done gimmick ideas, nostalgia pandering a child focused attempted reboot. It pains to think of what could have been for the series if Sonic 2006 had been successful.
 
The saddest part of this game is that the setting and idea behind it were excellent and was exactly where the series needed to go. The focus on story, speed stages and puzzle aspects in the hub world was perfect, it wasn't afraid to introduce new characters or banish old ones and it genuinely felt like the last Sonic game that was trying to be a market leading platformer. It was hugely ambitious, which is why so many were excited for it.

The game was of course a mess technically and performance wise but I felt with another year of development to fix the rampant performance and bug issues it could have actually been a very good game.
The unfortunate legacy of this failure is SEGA just simply never tried again with Sonic. The last 10 years for the series has been nothing but one and done gimmick ideas, nostalgia pandering a child focused attempted reboot. It pains to think of what could have been for the series if Sonic 2006 had been successful.

I don't know if that's where the series needed to go, but it's definitely a direction that would get me to never waste my time on a Sonic product ever again. Personally speaking.
 
It isn't great but there are glimpses of an ok game every now and then. I prefer it to Sonic Boom, at least 06 is somewhat fun, Boom is just boring.
 

Shifty

Member
Thread title verging on clickbait through sheer confusion.

Fuck that game. I can't believe I was naive enough back in the day to think they'd patch it. Seriously.
 
Sonic 06 was at least broken but funny while Sonic Boom was just broken but boring.

There are many great let's plays of Sonic 06 but I like the slowbeef and diabetus one especially when they reached crisis city and something was said like "well that sums up the games development." "Which bit; Crisis city or the flames of disaster?"

Screw all Sonic games except the Genesis/Megadrive games...
77945_front.jpg

Also released November 14th 2006. Never forget:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43Lr2jKe1Bg

But then again where else can you clear green hill act 1 in 12 seconds*?

*-more like 20 seconds if you include all the lag.
 

MrBadger

Member
Feels like just yesterday I picked up a copy, saw the gross realistic Eggman on the box and noped out of the Sonic franchise until 2010
 

Camjo-Z

Member
Hey fuck outta here with lumping Sonic Riders with the rest of these games. That game is very underrated!

Disturbingly lanky character designs in cutscenes aside, Riders really was awesome, especially with all the SEGA fanservice. Where else can you play as Ulala on a Hang-On bike while driving through a Samba de Amigo street filled with Opa-Opas?
 

nkarafo

Member
That's not the real Sonic the Hedgehog. He is an imitator. You can tell he is fake because he has longer legs, smaller belly and green eyes. He also talks too much and is very annoying.
 
I have to say, I'm just glad SEGA isn't rushing out Sonic Mania nor Project Sonic 2017 this year for the sake of Sonic's 25th.

These games obviously need a lot of time to make. I'd say they'd learned that the hard way after what happened with Sonic 06, but honestly even Generations felt like it was kinda rushed, to get it out for Sonic's 20th.
 

Joey Ravn

Banned
I'm personnelly waiting for the 10-year anniversary of Coldsteel the Hedgehog.

Now that's a character with a rad 'tude.
 
If people had to choose a game that should never have happened, would it be this or Metroid Prime Federation Force?

well Fed Force was instantly forgotten, and this piece of shit guarantees any public Sonic discussion inevitably gets over-ruled by bestiality.gif, so
 
If people had to choose a game that should never have happened, would it be this or Metroid Prime Federation Force?

Uh, this game. It's not even close, lol.

All Federation Force is is just some shitty minor spinoff they stitched together to give the 3DS another game in its schedule this year. That's it...Sonic 2006, on the other hand, was supposed this big deal. SEGA was hyping it up as Sonic's glorious return, and, well.....

Now, if you had said Other M instead of FF, I would of actually chosen that. Sonic 06 might be a trainwreck but at least Sonic had and still has games coming out after that. Other M on the other hand was the game that plunged the Metroid series into limbo. We haven't had a major title in over six years.
 

Village

Member
well Fed Force was instantly forgotten, and this piece of shit guarantees any public Sonic discussion inevitably gets over-ruled by bestiality.gif, so

hmmm Hold on Sonic Boom ROL and Shattered Crystal exists, there is a new " remove this " contender.

Disturbingly lanky character designs in cutscenes aside, Riders really was awesome, especially with all the SEGA fanservice. Where else can you play as Ulala on a Hang-On bike while driving through a Samba de Amigo street filled with Opa-Opas?

Now i'm upset again that they messed up sonic riders.
 

MrBadger

Member
If people had to choose a game that should never have happened, would it be this or Metroid Prime Federation Force?

Ten years and several good Sonic games later, people still make fun of Sonic 06 and Shadow the Hedgehog. I don't think there's really any living this down. Fed Force was just a poorly timed spinoff.
 

Malajax

Member
The saddest part of this game is that the setting and idea behind it were excellent and was exactly where the series needed to go. The focus on story, speed stages and puzzle aspects in the hub world was perfect, it wasn't afraid to introduce new characters or banish old ones and it genuinely felt like the last Sonic game that was trying to be a market leading platformer. It was hugely ambitious, which is why so many were excited for it.

The game was of course a mess technically and performance wise but I felt with another year of development to fix the rampant performance and bug issues it could have actually been a very good game.
The unfortunate legacy of this failure is SEGA just simply never tried again with Sonic. The last 10 years for the series has been nothing but one and done gimmick ideas, nostalgia pandering a child focused attempted reboot. It pains to think of what could have been for the series if Sonic 2006 had been successful.

What? I don't think so. Even if you iron out all the bugs and cut the loading times, the fundamental design is busted.

The story is laughably bad. Relying on time travel cliches, edgy-villain-that-looks-like-the-main-character-except-wait-they-did-that-already-and-it's-actually-the-same-character-somehow didn't work, and a forced love story was not a good idea. The characters were often not needed for a story perspective and merely exist for short gameplay segments that also didn't work.

The hub worlds absolutely didn't work. They were large and sprawling with not much to do in them and merely acted as filler between stages. And speaking of the stages themselves, they're not very well designed either. Larger, longer stages doesn't necessarily mean better since a large majority of them overstayed their welcome.

At best, if they were given another year, Sonic '06 would have been painfully mediocre. The kind of mediocre that isn't good but isn't offensively bad either. And SEGA has absolutely tried again. Several times! The Unleashed trilogy had a ridiculously huge budget and a ton of love and care put into it. They're the highest regarded Sonic games in the past 10 years. While some prefer the Adventure style gameplay, SEGA took a chance with a different direction and it paid off for them. I'm willing to bet that the next few years are going to produce even more drastically different Sonic games and I'm looking forward to what they try next.
 
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