26 replies to this topic

[Noctourne Wonderland]

Ahhh, Sonic. Depending on who you talk to, this either brings to mind a fun series revolving around the exploits of a teenage, blue rodent. To others, it's an idiotic series which fell from gratness right into the toilet. =P

With my experience in Sonic fandom, there seems to be a polarizing effect on fans- Either you love the newer games or hate them. Despite this, I tried to cover all the camps and add an "Other" option, just in case. This is quite a touchy subject with some folks, so lets not start flame wars, just mature debates. Remember- opinions are different from facts, and this is about opinions. Let's try not have anyone banned, shall we?

My opinion is that, since Sonic Adventure 2 (Which I used, along with Sonic Heroes as a landmark due to the fact that one was created for Sega systems and one wasn't), the series has added WAY too many chacters. Knuckles started out as Sonic's rival, then Shadow, then Jet (Who seems pretty confined to the Riders games), then Silver...and Knuxie ended up Sonic's friend. This, along with Shadow's miraculous reincarnation in each game gets old fast.

Your thoughts?

[Musashi_HUmar]

I still think they're fun as ever. You don't have to pay attention to the cheesy cutscenes. It's the gameplay that makes them fun!

[phosphorus]

Mostly awesome till Sonic Adventure 2, which kind of sucks.

Sonic can always be saved, Sega just needs to get the right guys for the job. Sonic Unleashed might be this.

[Saifer Dracondrali]

Isn't there another topic like this? well thats ok... cuz I said it once I'll say it again
Sonic is on a one way ticket train down the toilet!
it was good but I don't know what Sega/ Sonic Team is thinking with these sequels... and quite frankly I don't wanna know...

[Nemoide]

I honestly stopped having fun with Sonic Adventure 2. That game frustrated me in some parts in which I would fall off a level or else spend WAY too long failing to find the pieces of the master emerald as Knuckles/Rouge (I remember royally sucking at the asteroid level).
Sonic Heroes was even worse. Sonic Riders was okay but not a real Sonic game. I haven't played anything newer as I don't have a current-generation console.

However I actually DID enjoy Shadow the Hedgehog. Even though the game was hyped a lot for being "edgy" and "badass" (and panned by critics/fans for that reason), I thought it was a solid experience. I very rarely fell off of the level, which is good. Also the gun did make for interesting gameplay and the "dark" storyline contrasted well with the typical Sonic things.

I also very much loved Sonic Rush. I don't have Sonic Rush Adventure but I've heard it is about equal in quality? The Sonic Advance games were also fairly nifty. When Sonic is on a handheld platform, they seem to be able to do it right.

I have high hopes for Sonic Chronicles.

[Zero-Shift]

As far as I'm concerned, the series has been holding on fairly well. Since the release of the GBA and onwards, the handheld Sonics have continued to be various degrees of good. While Sonics on home consoles took a bit of a nosedive with Sonic Heroes, reaching its nadir with Sonic 2006, there is still a good chance for Sonic to rebuild his name. I thought Secret Rings was good, and Unleashed looks more promising than it has any right to be.

[Noctourne Wonderland]

I honestly stopped having fun with Sonic Adventure 2. That game frustrated me in some parts in which I would fall off a level or else spend WAY too long failing to find the pieces of the master emerald as Knuckles/Rouge (I remember royally sucking at the asteroid level).
Sonic Heroes was even worse. Sonic Riders was okay but not a real Sonic game. I haven't played anything newer as I don't have a current-generation console.

However I actually DID enjoy Shadow the Hedgehog. Even though the game was hyped a lot for being "edgy" and "badass" (and panned by critics/fans for that reason), I thought it was a solid experience. I very rarely fell off of the level, which is good. Also the gun did make for interesting gameplay and the "dark" storyline contrasted well with the typical Sonic things.

I also very much loved Sonic Rush. I don't have Sonic Rush Adventure but I've heard it is about equal in quality? The Sonic Advance games were also fairly nifty. When Sonic is on a handheld platform, they seem to be able to do it right.

I have high hopes for Sonic Chronicles.

Rouge is my favorite Sonic character ever, so I tolerated my gazillion tries on Mad Space. She's the only one I have all A's as.

Sonic Heroes was fine, but Cream's voice is EVIL! And Frog Forest's magical disappearing floors (that game needed better programers) is cruel and unusual punishment. Rouge looked like a Power Ranger, but I digress...

Shadow grated on my nerves. The concept was cool, but couldn't thay have used someone other than a gun-toting angsthog? If it was annother character from another series, I probably would have liked it more. The fact that he said, like, three diffrent phrases (I disliked his overusage of swears.), and the fact that everyone swore along with him bugged me. When I rented the game, my mom thought that I got something rated "M".

MARIA!

[Dreamer#96]

It died after sonic adventure two,I really didn't see sonic heroes as "fun" ,but I think it can be saved.

[Dark Magician]

I believe that Sonic the Hedgehog games kind of fell after Sonic Adventure 2 (Sonic Heroes' Emerald chases are evil), but as a faithful fan I believe that Sonic can be saved. We just need people who still remember and care about the way the series "felt" to work on it.

[Dark Messiah]

I guess I have a different opinion considering I played the games and read the comics...

I've always hated the two being separate stories, but at the same time I loved it because it gave different view points to how things unfolded. But after Sonic Adventure 1 came out, they started to bleed those characters into the comics, and much as Nocturne said, nothing is making any sense anymore with all these characters.

I can't say any of the news games have intrigued me - in fact I gave up playing when the Wii released and that whole... what was it called? Ring of something another? I still refuse to play Shadow the Hedgehog - I mean, really, it's not hard to picture Shadow with a gun - any idiot could use one, but watermelons?! >_<

but yea...slowly, I'm giving up on the sonic games until something gives me hope to the slowly spiraling downhill game...

[Nemoide]

I still refuse to play Shadow the Hedgehog - I mean, really, it's not hard to picture Shadow with a gun - any idiot could use one, but watermelons?! >_<

Watermelons? The game has none. However there were jokes about how Shadow is the "Black" Sonic and how he would collect "bling" and "watermelons" (in order to fit with racist stereotypes). These are not to be taken seriously however!

[iLLViLLAiN]

^^ Sounds like something straight out of 4chan lol

There's been topics like this before I think but oh well I'll still post in this one. For me Sonic games have gone from incredibly fun to just some parts fun, some parts not fun. I think the biggest thing about the earlier Sonics is that they were cutscene and voice acting free. I'm not sure of anyone else but I have a deep appreciation for fast paced games with little to no voice acting or cutscenes. For example NiD. Anyway, Sonic games on the Genesis were more faced past because nothing ever broke from the speed except for the screen when you beat an act and those were acceptable. When cutscenes were added it kinda broke away from the action and the series started to become too focused on a story. Even worse the stories became much too series or at least the way they played out became too serious. I think this happened around the time when Sonic X started coming on 4kids not to blame 4kids. It's just the time things seemed to try to go for a more mature story... with cartoon characters. That can work in comics but the games were never too heavy on story as much as they were about speed. Hell I didn't even know Sonic 1 had a story until several years after I played it and looked to see if it had one and because it was so basic it was ignored which may have been for the best.

Also, another thing that ruined things for me were actually in one of my favorite Sonic games. I never liked having to play other characters in Sonic games. Shadow was fine since his levels were still fast paced but treasure hunting and robot fights just weren't my thing. At least in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 when you chose Tails it was all still in the same story and the game was still fast.

Wow that was long.

[Dark Messiah]

Watermelons? The game has none. However there were jokes about how Shadow is the "Black" Sonic and how he would collect "bling" and "watermelons" (in order to fit with racist stereotypes). These are not to be taken seriously however!

I just know what I've heard. Either way, I've been skeptical about it since it came out. But thank you for clearing that up for me. @@'

^^ Sounds like something straight out of 4chan lol

You lost the game. >> << -skitters-

[Moonlighttrill]

I chose other, so i gotta comment now

SA2 was the pinnacle of sonic, it was great, it was perfect, and i believe one of the best DC/GCN games ever. After that, it kinda went poof. Sonic heroes came out, i love it, i played the ps2 version, which was fun, but i own the pc and it is AMAZING, but not as good as SA2 . Everything after that went boom, until Sonic Riders and Zero G. AWESOME games, but, not quite sonic.......I just bought Sonic and the Secret Rings. It's a good game, i like it more than SH, but still not as much as SA2. Iv'e played the other sonic game released since SA2, but these were the only ones that showed any hope for SEGA. I believe they can do it, and they 'have' made good games, but it's almost random with SEGA if the game itself is gonna be good or not. Im looking forward to Dark Knight as opposed to Unleashed nowadays, YAY FOR SONIC AND SWORDS!!!!

[Bannipper]

I chose other, so i gotta comment now

SA2 was the pinnacle of sonic, it was great, it was perfect, and i believe one of the best DC/GCN games ever. After that, it kinda went poof. Sonic heroes came out, i love it, i played the ps2 version, which was fun, but i own the pc and it is AMAZING, but not as good as SA2 . Everything after that went boom, until Sonic Riders and Zero G. AWESOME games, but, not quite sonic.......I just bought Sonic and the Secret Rings. It's a good game, i like it more than SH, but still not as much as SA2. Iv'e played the other sonic game released since SA2, but these were the only ones that showed any hope for SEGA. I believe they can do it, and they 'have' made good games, but it's almost random with SEGA if the game itself is gonna be good or not. Im looking forward to Dark Knight as opposed to Unleashed nowadays, YAY FOR SONIC AND SWORDS!!!!

Black knight looks decent, but not all that great. As for Unleashed, that will DESTROY the Mario franchise. Especially that disppoining E3 thing that they had, with Captain Rainbow (you may hurl if you wish) and what-not. Sonic has his chances of being saved, and I think that SEGA just took it. GO SEGA!!!

[Rhapsody]

I chose 'other'...


Personally, I have been a Sonic fan all my life. I get sick of the bashers out there all the time. I'm glad to see that people still believe that Sonic can "redeem himself", if he ever needed redeeming... In my opinion, I think videogames have gone in a direction where people must be immediately caught or they despise the game. Whatever happened to playing games for fun, with no purpose except to try to have a great time, no matter how crappy the game was? I mean, videogames are in the "Entertainment" category...

[ayamemaiden]

Other option: It was good when Naka as there.

[Zero-Shift]

Whatever happened to playing games for fun, with no purpose except to try to have a great time, no matter how crappy the game was? I mean, videogames are in the "Entertainment" category...

You should never have to make a conscious effort to have fun when playing video games. A game with slow parts is one thing, but why bother playing a game that immediately displeases you the moment you push start? That's why I never finished that abomination known as Sonic 2006.

[viperxmns]

I guess I'll throw a penny in, aided by the appearance of fictional Sonic games in my dreams last night, for some odd reason or another.. there are two main aspects that have failed recent Sonic games; game direction, and technical flaws.. Game direction as in introducing excess characters (looking at you, Rouge. Do something Knuckles can't do, please), a human princess, having all three characters play at once, guns and a motorcycle. I think a sign of bad game direction is when the gamer/fan can immediately pick up on where the developer went wrong with their own characters. Shadow should rely on the powers of Chaos Control. There's just so much potential there. I challenge anyone to disagree. And on the technical side, there's no excuse for sloppy controls. I played a bit of Sonic 360 at Gamestop to see what the deal was. And I've seen those ridiculous loads the game has. But I'm still unsure about Secret Rings. It's either worthy or more meh depending on who you ask.

And although the Sonic Advance titles and such have been a much more reliable series (albeit with too many of those grind rails, IMO, and accessing the special stages in SA2 is waay too time consuming trying to find those damn rings, but I digress), Sonic's console career is still in the toilet as we all know. Needs fix.

[WiNGS.]

Rouge is my favorite Sonic character ever, so I tolerated my gazillion tries on Mad Space. She's the only one I have all A's as.

Sonic Heroes was fine, but Cream's voice is EVIL! And Frog Forest's magical disappearing floors (that game needed better programers) is cruel and unusual punishment. Rouge looked like a Power Ranger, but I digress...

Shadow grated on my nerves. The concept was cool, but couldn't thay have used someone other than a gun-toting angsthog? If it was annother character from another series, I probably would have liked it more. The fact that he said, like, three diffrent phrases (I disliked his overusage of swears.), and the fact that everyone swore along with him bugged me. When I rented the game, my mom thought that I got something rated "M".

MARIA!

Yes, I quite like Rouge. And her alternate SA2 outfit is pretty damn hot. I personally hate her new voice though. Guhh.
I also thought Sonic Heroes was okay, just a whole different mechanic of gameplay, with a dash more cheesy (..the power of TEAMWORK D: ) but not a bad game. I really liked the last boss music too. And I think Cream's voice went up a few keys in Shadow, which made me fall down.

I didn't buy any of the games after Shadow, and Shadow I bought mostly on principle. I thought, surely it can't be as bad as all that... maybe I'll like it anyway. And well. It was okay. But on the other hand I didn't buy any of the games that came after it... so uh. Well.
Didn't help that I REALLY disagree with some of the new voice talent.
But that's a side issue.

[Saifer Dracondrali]

I remember when Shadow the Hedgehog was coming out... everyone was going "omg it's a Sonic game where you can use guns and swords! you can even ride a motorcycle!!! this is gonna be epic!"
Was I the only one who was saying "idk... this game looks more like an epic fail to me..."

[DylanJohn]

I really don't think any of the recent games have been entirely so bad, so much as they've been completely mediocre with lashings of wasted potential and poor implementation of promising concepts. Even Shadow and Sonic 06 can be entertaining and fun if you're willing to work around the flaws; but you shouldn't need to do that to enjoy a game.

New Sonic games could still be good, they just need to give them the development time necessary to fulfill their potential and stop rushing them out the door.

[Murasaki Doku]

However I actually DID enjoy Shadow the Hedgehog. Even though the game was hyped a lot for being "edgy" and "badass" (and panned by critics/fans for that reason), I thought it was a solid experience. I very rarely fell off of the level, which is good.

O_o ...seriously?

We have had completely opposite experiences then. Every time I attacked an enemy that was near a cliff of doom with a homing attack, you can damn bet your ass I'd be falling down that cliff in the next 5 seconds. I do rapidfire homing attacks (instilled by Sonic Adventure 2, with those bouncing...upgrades...whatever they were called) and the game would lose track of my homing attack target and I'd end up going over them instead of at them. So, in summation: I was too good and it led to my demise.

I also vividly remember getting several headaches from the grenade launchers, ect. because they were the only ranged weapon that didn't have auto-target, so you were forced to manually target things in the distance which was pretty much impossible because moving just 1 degree clockwise would move the target 90 degrees clockwise 50 yards away. Or you could get all up in the grill of your enemies, and end up having your own grenade launcher injure yourself as well as the opposing force. Also, WTF is with usage limits on SWORDS? I remember finding a katana and being like "f*** YEAH KATANA!" and killing three guys and being "...where the hell did the katana go"

I'd have to say it was the worst gaming experience of my life. >_>

[WiNGS.]

mmyeah, I was vaguely upset with how utterly useless the homing attack was in that game. Seriously. Ultimate life-form. What happened??

[Nemoide]

Huh, maybe I just got lucky when I played through? Maybe the Gamecube version (which I have) has better controls than PS2 or Xbox (if you played one of those versions)?

But I don't think I fell of levels more than 5 times or so and they all felt "valid" unlike Sonic Heroes when it's just "oops you didn't see the curve coming so you somehow end up off the level"! Also the homing attack worked a lot better for me than it did in Sonic Adventure 2 (where I would often jump from enemy to enemy before circling around one several times without hitting it and fall to my death).
It's odd that we would have such different experiences with it though!

[Murasaki Doku]

I played the Gamecube version myself. And yeah, I know what you're talking about when you mention the circling...but I never had that result in death (as far as I can remember anyway)

[venomnights15]

I agree that the games I have sunk but there have been positives recently. I believe sonic riders series did good in my mind and sonic and secret was the right game to make for the wii. hopefully the new one that is coming out (name escpaes) me will be more of what we loved back in the genesis era