57 replies to this topic

[DiGi Valentine]

...'the hell do they want now?

Seganerds just reported news that a rumour came up saying that Sega are planning to make a new 3D Sonic game, looking to be a sequel to 'Sonic the Hedgehog/Sonic 360'.

Link to the news is here - Blahblahblah More blue bullshit for the frying pan.


Right. Cash out. Place your bets, ladies and gentlemen. Eye on a winner.
The chances of a new 3D Sonic game actually being good once released?
I'm seeing a million to one!

[Jof]

But this time they'll promise to re-invent the series !
Carefull dedication to iron out problems for a new generation of players !
Massive amounts of focus on the exciting new puzzle and shooting stages !
Play as everyones favourite hedgehog... for a quarter of the game, then Shadow, then some other random new mysterious anime cliched character !
Knuckles ? Tails ? Who are they again ?! WHO EVEN CARES !? EXPLOSIONS AND DEEP STORYLINE set in yet another city full of Humans!

SHADOW!!

[Xenon]

Only a million, DiGi? Heck I'd be willing to double you!

Let's face it. The only really good 3D Sonic games were the ones for the Dreamcast when Sonic was completely SEGAs. Every 3D variant of sonic that has come out thus far (excepting the Sonic Aventures) has been downright bad. I can't say for certain on Sonic and the Secret Rings, seeing as I've never played it (I don't have a Wii T-T), but Sonic 360 was bad almost to the point of making me vomit. The camera was buggy, the level design was haphazard, and the voices were just /BAD/. Why on earth would Shadow need a MOTORCYCLE when he can run just as fast as Sonic? And What the heck is with all the newcomers?? Silver? Dumb. Stick to the base cast plz.

And let's not forget everyone's favorite! Shadow the Hedgehog! That game was great! *sarcasm beyond words*

But hey, I could very well be wrong. Lord knows I have been before. I'm only hoping that Sonic Team will put a little more effort into making the new one the best it can be instead of the rush-jobs they've had in the past. Then we can at least rest assured that the Sonic franchise isn't up the creek.

Jof, you certainly put it nicely.

[Zero-Shift]

Oh come on! Seriously, can these guys just stop? There hasn't been a good 3D Sonic since 2001. I'm not counting Secret Rings because that was on rails and not true 3D, but still. Heroes was crap. Shadow had a good soundtrack and was slightly better than Heroes but still crap. Sonic's load screen adventure was the worst effort yet. Thank Odin for Dimps, Backbone, and the handheld Sonics. Still waiting for more news on the DS RPG.

[Sk8teland85]

well this does not surprise me. But I hope they actually take there time for once rather than just rush a title out the door like they have with the recent games.

[DiGi Valentine]

Well, Iizuka did say in his 1Up interview that a different section of Sega are handling Sonic now....so who knows, really. I played 'Secret Rings' and i wasn't impressed, being honest. The voice acting was awful and the gameplay was ok at times but didn't feel like Sonic anymore so it kinda defeated the point of the game. The whole 'arabian' thing ain't Sonic, in my opinion. Neither are having humans all over the shop *bust shot at Sonic 360*.

What they need to do? Cut with the crap that involves Tails running around in a robot and shooting sh!t. Cut the 'find the missing emerald pieces AGAIN' with Knuckles. Cut introducing a new. bloody. animal. every. single. time. a. new. game. is. made! Cut humans and put them back on their own planet already. Cut the 'reinventing' thing because it ain't working.

Let's be honest here. Sonic Adventure 1 had some good running stages, didn't it? I'm sure most of you will agree that running through levels like Windy Valley and kicking up some speed was fun, correct? Sure, the game had a lot of glitches but in terms of the 'sonic feel', that is the only 3D Sonic game that had that feeling. What they need to do is bring back that sense of just bombing it through a level, like how the old Sonic games used to be on MegaDrive/Genesis. Sure, if you wanted to explore Emerald Hill zone in Sonic 2 then you could...but i prefered to just gun the level for the sheer sense of speed. That's what Sonic was meant to be. The thrill of speed. That's what made him cool in the 90's.
All they need to do is put Sonic back in that swing of things. It shouldn't be too hard. They almost had it in Sonic Adventure. Not quite but almost.

You all seen that Sega Tennis game coming out, right? Look at the Green Hill/ Emerald Hill Zone in that screen shot. That's what the fans want. The old skool stuff in 3D. If they can do it for a Tennis game then they should put it into an actual Sonic game. I think Sonic might reclaim some of those fans he lost over Sonic360. Kissing a Princess? Wtf was that all about? Put Sonic back to basics. None of this 'alternative universes' crap.

Actually, i'm gonna have to agree with Xenon there. A million to one ain't enough. Even if Sega come with the right formula, they're gonna rush it just like they rush everything else anyway. Sonic Rush Adventure (sonic and pirates? ...errr) was announced and within 3 months i seen the game on the shelves. What the hell was that about? Clue is in the title - Sonic 'Rush'.

[Denarssk]

I agree with what one of the comments in that article said. "That title screen is offensive to the 2 you've used in it"

*sigh*

Well, at least Sonic 360 had a good soundtrack. Maybe they'll get that much right again. Rather doubt it though.

[DiGi Valentine]

Cant say i've ever really listened to the Sonic 360 music very much. I heard a few songs here and there, nothing that really grabbed me though. Maybe i was listening to the wrong tracks. The theme song by those Zebrahead guys was pretty atmospheric. I like the combination of rock with violins and stuff. That song set the pace...even though the raps were particularly weak.
Then i heard RnB star Akon was remixing the Sweet Dreams song with the original singers. Being a fan of urban music, i was pleased to hear this.....aaaand then i heard the song and i considered it to be a bit sh!t.

A lot of Sonic fans were wanting Sonic 360 to play like the old games and they all said that if Knuckles, Tails and the rest were going to be in it then they should have the same stages as Sonic, kinda like how the old 2D games did it. I think that would have been a good idea, too. There was something cool about do the same levels that Sonic does but with Knuckles instead. I dunno why they introduced the whole 'find the emerald shards' thing. It was nice to explore but it got really boring really fast.

Bring back what Sonic used to do best. Blast through a level as fast as you can and enjoy the rush you get out of it.

[YamiLover13]

Actually I found Seceret Rings pretty enjoyable as far as gameplay goes. Sure the voices and storyline wasn't the best, but at least it was heading back in the right direction as far as Sonic games go. You are Sonic...and you run through the level. Thank GOD! I don't mind a few other characters....keyword there is a few though. But I want to be running through the darn level, not a million other things. Sadly I think Sega will continue in the wrong direction from the looks of it. *sigh* I don't think I want to buy another Sonic game to tell you the truth....Well no wait...it depends. I want Sonic Riders and maybe Sonic Rush Adventure. But I don't want to really get another normal 3D Sonic game again unless I hear some decent reviews about it.

I am glad I have never played the Sonic 360 game. I have never even tried a demo or anything. From the sound of it...it was terrible so I will take your guys word for it.

--Edit--
800 post.....I talk too much. T_T


Also, Jof, I couldn't stop laughing at your post.

[JaxTH]

Maybe they will name it Sonic the Hedgehog...2!!!

God Forbid they do that cause Sonic 2 is my favorite Sonic game.

[viperxmns]

I'm still pissed at them for f*!*ing up Sonic 360/PS3. The previews were looking so good.. so very good.. why, why why...

[b_boult]

I have a laundry list of things that I would like to see in this new game which I'm going to copy from Sonic Stadium, so here's my 2 pence on the matter:

- 3 main "good guys" only, Sonic Tails and Knuckles, only Sonic Playable.
- Dr Ivo Robotnik, none of this "Eggman" Japanese nonsense, thank you very much.
- A title screen with thought behind it again, they can help set the tone for the game. Frankly the recent ones have been ugly and depressing to look at.
- No convoluted multidimensional plot. No convoluted plot of any kind for that matter. Keep it simple like the original trilogy.
- No voice acting. It's never done right and can be really painful at times. Little written dialogue too, it slows the games down. Tell more of the story through the visuals like in the original games.
- Orchestrated soundtrack if the mood of the game warrants it, but definately melodies you can hum like in the original games.
- 2.5d visuals. This hasn't been done yet in the Sonic series and would make the new game feel like the older ones and yet original at the same time. Occasional full-on 3D sections too.
- Hidden sections to levels like before, with secret item rooms.
- LESS SPEED. People assume the reason Sonic games are so fun is all down to speed. The older games has slower platforming sections which made them fun too. Speed needs to be used more sparsely.
- Fewer bottomless pits, and where they are used, you should know that they are there, and not fall to your death unwittingly.
- Do away with the Sonic Adventure era art-work. It's grown pretty old pretty fast.
- A return to "cheats", i.e Up Down Left Right A + Start, simply because it used to feel so cool using them. Level Select is obviously standard now but other cheats could follow the old formula.
- The entire game polished debugged and properly tested before release. And furthermore, alloted an adequate development time.
- New gameplay features that don't interfere with the core gameplay or feel gimmicky. I felt Rush Adventure's levels sea levels strayed into both areas here.
- New level themes, not just a rehash of old. The rainbow theme hasn't been used in a Sonic game yet. I imagine a level in the clouds grinding along Rainbows in some capacity, especially in 3D segments could look pretty good if implemented correctly. An Ice Forest Level too perhaps? This hasn't been done yet. A glass-type level making use of mirrors, reflections and transparency effects? I've always had this idea for the "Final Zone" actually where Sonic is running in 3D into white, blank nothingness with only a few black lines/shapes indicating the pathway, done in a similar style to the computer room setting from the Matrix Reloaded where the people who manage the entry gates for Zion are based, and these blacklines would open out before him with an almost non-existant draw distance, so you can’t see what’s coming up so everything looks completely white and empty. The level would be on rails so you could go at full speed and not worry about falling off because you don’t know where you’re going. Infact the whole thing would be a bit like the last level in Secret Rings come to think of it, but with simply a white background and black outlines to guide your way.

Incidentally I agree with everything you've said in this thread Digi, and you're one of the first people I've seen to agree with me to say that Sonic Adventure was the only 3D game with the right atmosphere and "feel", despite it's technical shortcomings. SA2:B is pretty poor in this regard, and Heroes comes close to getting it right, namely in areas like Frog Forest, Hang Castle, Mystic Mansion and Egg Escape (or whatever), but things like Team Blast let the side down, and also situations with poor controls.

[DylanJohn]

The speed was the gimmick that made the original Sonic games different; they weren't good games simply because the character was fast, they were good games because they had top-notch level design. Sure the speed was part of it, but it wasn't everything. Nowadays, they focus too much on the speed and leave level design as an afterthought.

I'm not a big fan of the Rush games either; they're better than Heroes, Shadow, and StH06, for sure, but "oh, you fell into that hole you couldn't see? Well, maybe you were going too fast. But if you slow down so you can see what's coming, you won't have the momentum to make this jump just up here" stage design is a big problem.

If they focus on having good level design and work on ironing out the bugs, it'll be a good start. They won't, though.

[Kori]

Mmmph, another one? About 6 years ago, I'd be jumping for joy!

The last Sonic game I really enjoyed was Heroes, and even that was a reach. Secret Rings is pretty cool in its' own right, but it wasn't... I just couldn't get INTO it, yanno? Some piece of the winning Sonic formula has been lost along the way. Speed, level design, plot, characters (the Babylon Rogues were cool, because they WEREN'T HEDGEHOGS ZOMG!!), voice acting, it could be any or all of these.

I don't think camera control plays a huge part. I agree with DiGi and b_boult in that Adventure 1 captured the Sonic feel, despite technical shortcomings.

Maybe we're expecting something nigh-revolutionary... for instance, Mario games. Almost every flagship Mario game has had something new and exciting that took advantage of what the system had to offer. The only Mario game that fell short was Sunshine, and why? It wasn't a fresh look on the series, aside from graphical improvements. Now Mario Galaxy is the big thing, and everyone's talking about the new controls and capabilities.

All that said, Sonic never needed a new system to keep our interest piqued. But the original trilogy, and Sonic CD (crowning jewel IMHO!), had a little something different every time. I can't exactly pinpoint what, but if Sega could recapture that, I think we'd have much less to worry about.

[Koji_Tsunami]

I loved Sonic Adventure, personally.
But in SA2, Shadow is a clone of Sonic, Rouge of Knuckles, and Tails has a fricking mech!
And of course, in Sonic 360, you can't even be Knuckles and Tails!
Why?
Although I do appreciate the attempt to differentiate Shadow from Sonic,
I don't think they could make another game like Sonic 360
unless they changed it so much it isn't recognizable.

jeez!

[YamiLover13]

Am I the only one that had a lot of fun with Sonic Adventure 2? Well I did hate the shootign levels with a sever passion...but I liked the treasure hunting. I think it was fun...but it didn't really need to be in a Soinc game at all. That just left me enjoying the Sonic and Shadow levels the most. Sure that sounds bad, but I still had a lot of fun with the game. Or maybe it was because I was always trying to raise the chao....T_T Wow, that is sad when I want to play the game just to play with chao.

--Edit--
At least SA2 didn't have fishing!

[Tangocat777]

Damn I've been away for too long. Next thing you know, I'll check gonintendo and they'll have 16 billion articles on Zero Gravity. Mmmmm. Do we know any systems yet? I wonder what's become of Sonic RPG....

@Yamilover. SA2 is my second game ever-right next to Majora's Mask.

[viperxmns]

I liked SA2, but I share the exact same sentiments as above- Rouge has to be more differentiated from Knuckles before I'll consider her a legitimate character, Tails being stuck in the Cyclone was idiotic, and once again the joy of Supersonic was limited only to the last battle. I'm on the fence about Shadow as a character. He also needs to be differentiated from Sonic a bit more. Tails' and Robotnik's machine gameplay was severely limited in what you could do with them. SA2's graphics were nicer, but I completely understand the sentiment that SA1 was more 'pure'.

Tails should play something like Ratchet; he's an inventor; wouldn't it be nice to build stuff with Tails in-game?

[YamiLover13]

Not sure why some of you guys don't like Shadow. I think he is just fine...well was fine in SA2. It was all his roles and personality in the rest of the games that kinda messed things up for him. T_T Sure he is a recolor...sort...but it was still ok to me. But that was when there was only one other hedgehog besides Sonic! Not a good idea to bring more...

Also, I wish the storyline for the games were a little more like SA1 and SA2. That was another reason I liked those games, the story wasn't that bad. Sure there were a few things that got on my nerves, but it was still pretty good. I would like to See Eggman be the main villian one day again too....

--Edit--
Where did you hear of the Sonic RPG info? I kinda hope it is gone. I know Mario RPG and Paper Mario are fun and all...but I doubt Sega will be able to pull the same thing off with Sonic.

[animejosse]

Where did you hear of the Sonic RPG info? I kinda hope it is gone. I know Mario RPG and Paper Mario are fun and all...but I doubt Sega will be able to pull the same thing off with Sonic.

Which is why they got BioWare to develop the game.

[Tangocat777]

You know, I'm thinking more and more that the problem's not with Sonic Team, it's with gamers. There are no real Sonic fans any more, they all died a little inside after the Dreamcast. As for me, I've been playing Sonic games for a while, the only real problems I see are
A: Cream, Amy, Silver, and Big (I don't care what you say, I like Shadow)
B: they dropped A-Life
C: you can no longer transform in-game.
D: the Advance titles have an obvious lack of inspiration (although I did enjoy Sonic Battle)

I haven't played Sonic 06 yet......
Just my thoughts.

[JaxTH]

Sonic '06 is slow...

[Maki Izumii]

I like SA2:Battle for the GC a lot, mainly because of the Chao raising

Also, if you want to play an awesome present-day sonic game, get Sonic Rush and Sonic Rush Adventure. They're both two of the best games I've played on the DS (and I've played a fucktonne) and they're how a modern-day sonic SHOULD be done. I have no problem with the pirates in the second one either - if Zelda can do it, so can Sonic! D:

I mean, look at Street Fighter, Capcom vs SNK, etc. They havn't moved from 2D, and neither should sonic, unless sega can turn around and pull a Miyamoto (y'know, perfect transition of a franchise from 2D to 3D and all that hat) which, let's face it, isn't gonna happen anytime soon.

AND ANOTHER THING! I don't know why people bitch about the adding of new characters. Every franchise has to do it to keep its material fresh and exciting. I, for one, LIKE Blaze (though I think she should have been kept a Rush exclusive character and not be bought onto the 360 one :S )

[Sairus]

Okay, I'm going to go out and risk my rep as a Sonic fan here, but, I liked Sonic the Hedgehog on the 360. I really did enjoy most of it, however, it did have some fairly major flaws.
1) It was impossible to any of the sections where you ran on walls... controlls always freaked out.
2) The super fast running behind Sonic parts could have been the best parts of the game, but were ruined by your inability to control your jumps in the air. This bug basically made them unplayable.
3) The loading times. Oh GOD the loading times.
4) Story was a bit ridiculous.
5) ALL the Tails/Knuckles/Rouge/etc parts sucked majorly.

Aside from these flaws, which are basically completely exclusive to Sonic's story, except for the last one obviously, it played fine. Shadow and Silvers parts were completely enjoyable to me, and I hate both of those characters.
If the game had been given 6 monthes more to play test and fix the above bugs (and remove the side characters XD), it would have been fine, and I'd reckon the majority of people would have liked it.
The game was lovely on the eyes, there were a lot of extremely fast parts, the level design was remarkably good in most places and it had a decent difficulty... it as just those friggin glitches with Sonic's sections...

All in all, if they do make a sequel along the same lines as this one, while fixing the bugs, Sai'll be pretty happy.
Reinclusion of a Chao garden would be lovely too... XD

[Tangocat777]

Okay, I'm going to go out and risk my rep as a Sonic fan here, but, I liked Sonic the Hedgehog on the 360. I really did enjoy most of it, however, it did have some fairly major flaws.
1) It was impossible to any of the sections where you ran on walls... controlls always freaked out.
2) The super fast running behind Sonic parts could have been the best parts of the game, but were ruined by your inability to control your jumps in the air. This bug basically made them unplayable.
3) The loading times. Oh GOD the loading times.
4) Story was a bit ridiculous.
5) ALL the Tails/Knuckles/Rouge/etc parts sucked majorly.

Aside from these flaws, which are basically completely exclusive to Sonic's story, except for the last one obviously, it played fine. Shadow and Silvers parts were completely enjoyable to me, and I hate both of those characters.
If the game had been given 6 monthes more to play test and fix the above bugs (and remove the side characters XD), it would have been fine, and I'd reckon the majority of people would have liked it.
The game was lovely on the eyes, there were a lot of extremely fast parts, the level design was remarkably good in most places and it had a decent difficulty... it as just those friggin glitches with Sonic's sections...

All in all, if they do make a sequel along the same lines as this one, while fixing the bugs, Sai'll be pretty happy.
Reinclusion of a Chao garden would be lovely too... XD

Thank you. I knew it couldn't be all bad. We should start something for those of us who still like Sonic games.
Ya, we need chaos again.

[Zero-Shift]

AND ANOTHER THING! I don't know why people bitch about the adding of new characters. Every franchise has to do it to keep its material fresh and exciting. I, for one, LIKE Blaze (though I think she should have been kept a Rush exclusive character and not be bought onto the 360 one :S )

People hate the new characters because most of them are little more than cliche, archetypal bit characters who are often introduced for the sole purpose of justifying Sega's hair brained plotlines. This wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for for the fact they often take away screen time from the well established characters people actually like, namely Sonic.

Personally, the only post Sonic & Knuckles character I've liked without any gripes was E-102 Gamma. As for Shadow, I'll just summarize my complaints by saying he was alright in his debut, but he's overstayed his welcome.

[DiGi Valentine]

I agree with Zero-Shift, there. Shadow was actually kinda cool in SA2. He did make the game have a slight dark edge to it and although cheesy in some area's, it was quite nice. But he should have stayed dead. Seriously. The fact that they had to do that whole thing with 'omg clones' ruined it. The whole 'clone' thing get's boring after you see it in other games/comics/movies etc
Shadow would have been better if he stayed dead. At least he would have gone out as a hero and everyone would have respected him more for it...rather than just throw his ass into every next Sonic game that comes out.

[YamiLover13]

Glad to know I am not the only one that feels that way about Shadow. However, I think it was a good idea to bring him back since he is supposed to be Sonic's rival and what not. I just wished they had done it in a better way. I also wish they didn't make things worse by giving him his own game. T_T Whose idea was that again?

Hey I like Blaze too. She is one of the few new characters to come out thats pretty good in my opinion. In fact she has become one of my favorites. (Which scares me to say since all new Sonic characters get flammed beyond all measure.) I just didn't like that she had a Super form. Why they hell did they have to go and do that for?! >.<

*Looks at above post* Loading time...ha. You want to talk loading time, try having all your Sonic games on the PS2. I didn't own a Gamecube so thats what I had to do. (Played SA2B at Boyfriends place.) Try loading a level in Shadow the Hedgehog on the PS2. Sure I get Japanese voices...but dear god that damn system can't load a Sonic level or cut scene to save its life! Also................one of the worst things I have ever seen in gameplay happened on Sonic Heros of the PS2. If you try to play 2-player mode on there...It goes in SUPER SLOW MOTION. I mean, "OMG they are in a pool of molasses!" slow motion. I can't believe they released the game like that. I hope the 360 one isn't that bad, but god only knows. I am not sure why these high end engines can load CGI on the dime but can't load certain video game levels worth crap. Well know wait...I think I can.....its sad though.

Also....I will admit I still want there to be other characters in Sonic games...just not many. I would like to have Tails and Knuckles back. But not too much more than that really. If the other characters have the same kind of levels that Sonic does then they would be more welcomed. (Oh wait...Blaze does. Wow a new character that can actually run fairly well....and is not a hedgehog!) But what do I know. I don't really like Sonic himself much anymore. Ever since I have seen his personality in the 3D games....I really started to hate Sonic himself. I like his gameplay and all...but I don't like him. Kinda sad I know, but I'm more of a Tails fan. What are you going to do? I guess it really doesn't matter how the character acts for gameplay...but for me things are more enjoyable when you actually like the character.

[DiGi Valentine]

Personaly, I think Knuckles was Sonic's rival more. That's the way it was meant to be, i think. But after a while, Sonic Team put Knuckles closer to Sonic so now they end up looking like best friends. By the time Sonic Heroes had come out, it seems Sonic Team had totaly forgotten that Knuckles is supposed to guard the floating island. Now, he's going wherever he bloody likes.
Shadow staying dead would have meant they didn't put his ass into anymore games that could potentially ruin him....which it has done. Shadow the Hedgehog would have been a hero who sacrificed himself to save the day. That kinda stuff makes a character more memorable and in the long run he would have had more positive comments being made about rather than people saying he's crap.

You know, i don't like the way Sega treat their Sonic characters. Some characters that we only ever seen once or twice gained a cult fanbase but Sega act like they didn't even exist. Mighty, from the Chaotix, even though he was a Sonic sprite that got changed, he still gained a fanbase. When 'Heroes' came out and Mighty was not in it, that pissed off a load of people to no end. We hoped that maybe Chaotix's storyline was to save Mighty in the end...but he wasn't. He wasn't mentioned anywhere. It's for this same reason that people are worried about NiGHTS' return. Some characters are returning while others (like our beloved Jackle) are not to be seen. wtf sega?

[Purgatory]

DiGi, I guess they ran out of ways to trick Knuckles yet again without making him look like he had a mental problem. XD Every time he came about, he had been tricked by Eggman. If it happened again, I would think maybe he got boxed in the head a little too much and should retire...

In my Sonic the Hedgehog the Movie (old ass anime, not that new thingamabobber) Sonic and Knuckles were real chummy with each other, almost moreso than he and Tails. they had some crazy handshake they did and all ha ha. And Knuckles was a traveler, who looked for treasure all the time. It seemed odd, looking back on that Knuckles and at the poor Knuckles stuck sleeping at the foot of a giant emerald alone.

Also, I haven't looked forward to a Sonic game in years. Sonic Heroes taught me there is no Santa, the Tooth Faerie isn't real, and the Matrix will get you. It also touched me at night and killed my dog and I'm pretty sure it knocked up my girlfriend.

If you can't tell, I think its a bad game.

[YamiLover13]

Yeah...Knuckles was the rival until they messed all that up. They really seem to be changing the characters a lot actually. I don't even know what is the base storyline anymore. It keeps condradicting itself.

I think I now want to change my view on Shadow and agree he would have been better off dead. Especially since reviving a dead character is very cliche in itself, let alone the fact Sega can't revive him without screwing him over.

Really though...I have mixed feelings. There are characters I want to see again, but then again I don't because I know that Sega is just going to make them worse and hurt the character. Mighty should be happy he didn't appear in Sonic Heroes, just like Jackle should be happy he didn't appear in JOD. Most fan would rather remember their favorite character the way they were...and not some new waked out crap they decided to do to them. I just know if Jackle was in JOD they would have done something to him that would have pissed me off. But then the other side of me says...I still want to play or see them anyway! ;-; I don't know what to think. Maybe if we all think of Shadow the next time we say we want our favorite character to appear in another game. But seeing repeats of some characters is better than new ones sometims. They have plenty! We don't need anymore! We are fine thanks!

At least Sonic Heroes was kinda fun to play, even if the story sucked. Something to do I guess.......*plays her PS2 Sonic Heroes and falls though the floor.* Grrr......

Also...am I the only one that doesn't like whats happening to Eggman? I am sure I am not, but I would like to know. Poor guy...he was such a cool villian in the old days.

[DiGi Valentine]

Me, TRiPPY, Niraven and Martijn were in a restaurant in Amsterdam talking about Robotnik, actually. It made a good topic of conversation, lol.

I personaly think the best look Robotnik had was his SA1. Reason being was because he didn't change too much yet they made him look more stylized and sleek. I have NO idea what they were thinking for Sonic 360. He looked so stupid with that look. His most distinguishable feature is his moustache.....so why in gods name did they shorten it and comb it into place? *sigh*

I kind of agree with you after thinking it through, Yami. It is probably best that Mighty didn't appear in Sonic Heroes. They kinda raped a bunch of storylines to make that game.

[YamiLover13]

Yes, I think he did look best in SA1. SA2 was ok as well...just not as great. Sonic 360 (Why does that title always make me think of sports games?) Eggman was just awful. He lost so much fat too! He didn't look that way in Sonic and the Seceret Rings though, so there might be a chance we won't have to see him like that again. Maybe we will....I might just be getting my hopes up really.

Maybe Sonic fans need to start voicing their complaints more. There is so much we want out of Sonic games but we are not getting it. It seems like they haven't the slightest idea.

The storyline made me want to cry because it was so bad. The Chaotix story was "ok" though. Not as bad as the others. But really, there wasn't much storyline to Sonic Heroes at all when you think about it. What little it did have was full of plotholes and random moments. The one thing I did like about the story was Metal Sonic being there. That was kinda cool. But beyond that......

[Machenstein]

A follow-up to Secret Rings would be fine as long as Ogawa and crew hone the controls and stuff. I also wouldn't mind a basic free-roaming 3D Sonic that focuses solely on adapting a working 3D formula. Like I said in another thread, Sonic Team should just take an example for Mario 64. Simple story, no characters getting in the way, no full-on voice acting, no clusterfuck of alternate gameplay modes such as treasure hunting, fishing, shooting, team play, guns and vehicles and whatnot, just control Mario through a 3D environment. That's it. The joy of this formula is it allows the developers to focus solely on honing Mario's character movement, the controls, the game world, and even the camera.

What Sonic Team needs to do is strip the Sonic series down back its very basics. That way they can concentrate solely on Sonic's gameplay and designing a coherent game world. Can you imagine how good Sonic Adventure would have been if all that leftover development time was spent of programming a better camera and collision detection, instead of Big the Cat's fishing or Amy's mouth movements? If the game was designed for Sonic and Sonic alone, like with Mario and Mario 64, Sonic Adventure would have been a much better game.

You know what you must do, Sonic Team. Quality, not quantity.

[Sairus]

I am not sure why these high end engines can load CGI on the dime but can't load certain video game levels worth crap.

That happens in everything. When you're playing a video it needs no real processing power (Sonic 3D on the Mega Drive had an FMV), but when the console has to create the several hundred thousand polygons that make up the characters and levels, then use various mathamatical equations to reposition them 60times a second it's easier to get a bit of slow down.

I personaly think the best look Robotnik had was his SA1. Reason being was because he didn't change too much yet they made him look more stylized and sleek. I have NO idea what they were thinking for Sonic 360.

Personally, I loved Eggman in the 360 one. To fit in with the realistic humans it made sense to change him... and I just thought he looked friggin badass.
I definatly prefered Eggman in the SA series to his previous encounters, but the 360 one is currenly my favourite... albeit he doesn't fit into any game outside the 360 game universe.

[Tangocat777]

Look what has started. You know, I see this a lot, actually. *sighs*
About Eggman, gotta go with SA2 design. They didn't just stick him in a flying pod, he actually did something.
I like Blaze a lot. Sh has a much more refined personality than other new Sonic characters. I'm hoping she'll be in Zero Gravity.
I think Sonic Heroes was a bit below average, but not unplayable. I played for quite a while and stopped when I couldn't beat some of Chaotix's hard missions.
I really enjoyed Shadow the Hedgehog. I really have no complaints about the story or weapons. You hear people saying Sonic needs to get back to its roots, and that there's too many characters, and Shadow fixed that. You've got a single character going to the end of stages, which are branching in this case. That really increased the replay value for me. All the new things in Shadow the Hedgehog were extra and not neccessary to complete the game.

[NNR07]

I really enjoyed Shadow the Hedgehog. I really have no complaints about the story or weapons. You hear people saying Sonic needs to get back to its roots, and that there's too many characters, and Shadow fixed that. You've got a single character going to the end of stages, which are branching in this case. That really increased the replay value for me. All the new things in Shadow the Hedgehog were extra and not neccessary to complete the game.

Yeah... I found Shadow fun for me actually... well, at least, for a little while. Replay value didn't last too long, though, but... I had some fun with that game. Wouldn't touch it now though >_>.

[YamiLover13]

Yeah, this has developed into quite a topic, and I can't seem to shut up and just write my art history paper. Anyways....

Yeah Eggman did something...but it was shooting. Ok, I understand that people like some shooting games, but its not meant to be in Sonic. Especially third person shooting since that is the worst of all! Or so I heard and think. I don't really know since I hate shooting games. To put strange elements in a Sonic game and call it Sonic is just not right. I am not sure...but is that a reason Mario Sunshine was not as great as other Mario games too? Not sure, I never played it.

As for Shadow its a "ok' game once you get past the fact that its not Sonic. Actually its worse than ok for the type of game it is really. Sonic fans want to run through the levels. In Shaodw you run, then stop, shoot, run, stop, shoot, run, stop, look around and choose a path, run, stop, backtrack, run, stop shoot....you get the idea. I did have some fun playing the game...because I had nothing else to do and well...it was a Christmas present. I won't say no to a free game. It could have made a good game as far as gamplay goes if they had not put third person shooter in it and tried not to combine Sonic gameplay with it. It just doesn't work. Its not the worst game in the world mind you. I have played much much worse sadly...but the game was a sad attempt to attract a new kind of audience. Yes you are one character...but you are one character with a bunch of other characters yelling at you through the level. Its kinda fun to choose paths I guess...but the constant nagging and the type of missions and ah! That and I was not too found of the storyline. I like some of the music though. I still listen to Digital Circuit and The Ark. I don't think the game did too well of a job going back to Sonic roots since, well...it wasn't really Sonic. That is why most Sonic fans don't like the game. Its not Sonic...its Shadow. The gameplay is just too different. Either way I suked at it so woo hoo....

[NNR07]

In Shaodw you run, then stop, shoot, run, stop, shoot, run, stop, look around and choose a path, run, stop, backtrack, run, stop shoot....you get the idea.

Ahahah that's where I needz to stop you Yami XD; .

Guess who didn't do ANY shooting in the game. And I mean ANY. Except for like... once or twice on the big swarm levels.

...

It was real fun running through the "GET TO the END" levels without shooting and just normal Sonic Adventure-ish style playing. The shooting, I do gotta admit, wasn't entirely 100% a good idea... but it was something SEGA tried. It didn't work to well. But, Shadow was a Commercial Success... no?