The Sonic franchise has dealt with its fair share of criticism in recent times with certain games not living up to the standard that the fans have come to expect. Well, that could all be set to change! SEGA Europe Marketing Director Jon Rooke has explained the company realises that the quality of recent Sonic titles have taken a nose dive so they are looking to create future games based on the templates that were there in the 90’s when the Sonic games were something special.
“Sega has publicly apologised to the fans as the quality of console games in the Sonic franchise hasn’t been acceptable over recent years. It’s been tough translating that iconic side scrolling 2D experience from the 90s into 3D but Sonic is still huge for us so the new games will be more inspired by how it played in its heyday.”
Thanks, MasterPikachu6
Finally the smart choice. Finally the good initiative. It took only over 10 years of never-ending criticism to realize it.
Geez, and I considered myself to be slow.
They said the same thing years ago after more experimental Sonic games like Unleashed or Black Knight. Don’t hold your breath.
If they come out with another one like Black Knight then this is going to be the last straw. I think they’re saving money by not making games at all.
To be fair, they do seem to have improved since the mid-2000s. Colors and even Lost World weren’t as bad as those.
I was too afraid to buy Colors, lol.
It’s pretty good, probably the best Sonic game I’ve played in recent times.
Then again, I’m not that much of a fan in the first place, so your mileage may vary.
true
Generations was also pretty good.
Never tried it myself but if so, it only adds to the evidence of them trying to improve. Lost World would disagree, though, but until another one is released, I’m willing to consider it a misstep.
Oh great game, it feels a bit like the old sonic games with a hint of Sonic 4. I myself haven’t tried lost worlds but I might cave if I see it for $20.
Gameplay wise which was finally done right and it only took them about 8 years and they still manage to fuck it up after right in the next few games. Generations is just a nostalgia bait to sell itself, 90% of the game are remastered levels from the past. Nothing original.
Why penalize an anniversary game for being an anniversary game? It’s not like it just copy and pasted assets or something, it wasn’t like the PC Unleashed Project mod. All this stuff was newly made and even then a lot of the reimagined 2d/3d versions of acts didn’t exist before this game was made. It’s also just the culmination of what they started in Unleashed. The day acts in Unleashed day stages were poorly made but not poor ideas as opposed to some of their other efforts in 3D which were bad ideas and badly made. Just like with Adventure to Adventure 2 they took what they started with and cleaned it up and released another game that does what the first one probably should have been which says they can still make good stuff but their management and scheduling are terrible and things get sent out before they’re ready.
It’s like saying why calling out Sonic 2006 for being shitty because it’s an anniversary game? First of all, anniversary means nothing but the game doesn’t deliver or work like 2006 did. Second, Generations was Sega playing it safe without going big and then risk self-destructing on fans, again, just like 2006 did.
And now you’re saying Unleashed Day stages are “poorly” done? WTF’s wrong with you? Night is what’s broken and poorly done plus overly used that made half of the game crappy instead of good as it should’ve been. Stop shielding crap when it’s called out.
It’s nothing like saying that. Sonic 06 isn’t hated because its an anniversary game, its hated because its not an actually finished game. You’re penalizing Generations for being an amalgams of past styles of the series in tribute and celebration which is usually what anniversary projects do.
Second thing: I don’t see how playing it safe is a problem? Being introspective, taking a step back and understanding what works and what didn’t is a really great thing to do and one of the smartest things they did starting with Unleashed since they knew day stages weren’t horrible on paper and could work and since they had already technically made them they could do it again and make it better just like any sequel is usually easier to make after making the first since you have a base to work off.
On Unleashed: I don’t buy the Night stages being what made the game bad, they are way too long and have a lot of awful panning with fake puzzles and platforming in between action but they weren’t particularly difficult and I didn’t find myself having any difficulty with them other than just having to actually play them. The day stages aren’t amazingly put together. Which isn’t to say I dislike Unleashed I liked it a lot but what Colors/Generations did with the style was a huge improvement. In Unleashed Sonic can be too fast and its difficult to react to things, they put in moves to help avoid obstacles and move around things but they did’t all work like drifting. Earlier areas have their slipperiness but it becomes more of a problem as the game goes on and you get to places like Abadat, Empire City, and Crimson Carnival. Off the top of my head there’s an awful area in Abadat’s main day act where you’re running across water and the slightest off move can get you a game over falling into the ocean.
It sure was, I didn’t mind that. Some times I like a new coat of paint on old gems. I wish Nintendo did it with SMW, keep the mechanics but bring back the glory.
Super Mario World in 3D graphics, keep the art style the same, leave most of the gameplay unchanged, extend the story mode by making the Special Zone do more to the game than just a cosmetic change as it will also lead to a new location that adds 2 or 3 more “worlds” to the mix, and boom! Money, money, money! I’d buy that shit in a fucking heart beat!
Oh & it has to stay as a sidescroller; this part is very integral to the magic of the original game.
2D sidescroller* Fixed.
yes yes! this and if they brought it for both the 3DS and Wii U I would be that sucker that paid twice for it XD
Don’t forget that they dropped the ball and bomb on Sonic 4 Part 1.
I tend to forget it exists, to be honest.
Episode 2 was at least decent. But the controls on the iPhone needed improvement.
I think I’m the only one that liked Unleashed. The day time levels were great.
It means Sega still didn’t learn shit or just “TOO SLOW!” shut up Sonic! XP
So basically “future game inspired by source material” which is probably the most redundant thing I’ve heard all day.
Further proves how stupid Sega still is. It’s like they forgot WTF Sonic came from and what’s his purpose.
Geezus, with the exception of Sonic Boom they aren’t THAT bad. They can apologize all they want, but they’re probably not going to attain a Mario level of quality in their Sonic games anyway. Maybe they should give Sonic a break and dip into one of their other numerous abandoned franchises that once made them great.
YES
Finally someone says it.
Also I don’t just want a 2d sonic rehash (Sonic 4). I just want something like the adventure games. They were the more appealing to most fans anyways…the non crazy ones anyways
I wouldn’t mind a “2D Sonic rehash” if it was actually good. Sonic 4 unfortunately was a let down on almost every front. But yeah, mostly I’d love to see something in the vein of the Adventure games. The crucial thing is to remember what the series has always been about. Speed alone simply doesn’t cover it, it’s about the combination of speed and platforming. The Adventure games understood that in a way that modern Sonic games simply don’t. They can start by ditching the boost button.
However, Sega have continually talked about bringing Sonic “back to his roots” for the past decade of failure. The day I believe it will be the day I play the game where they do it.
I just want some more chao garden in my life!
Sonic 2006, Sonic R, 3D Blast, Unleashed (Nighttime parts which is more than half of the game) and Sonic 4.
I would freakn’ LOVE a standalone Chao Garden game! It’s not cutting out Sonic as you had said but just enough.
And I’ve pretty much lost all hope for a Sonic Adventure 3 in which Chao Gardens will make a return, so I would settle for a standalone Chao Garden game at this point.
Mario Maker gets checkpoint
SEGA gets a brain
What now ?
lol XD
The world may be ending.
||The return of our Master will be the only thing that matters, these events are leading to a completion of a cycle preordained hundreds of years ago before you all came to be……
All you do is repeat yourself. Can we have a release date or something. Something like Q4 2016. Otherwise, you’re kinda like that crazy guy on the side of the street warning people that the end is nigh.
||Everything will come back to my words……
Sega already got that “brain” several times before and look what happened. Sonic 4, Unleashed, none of those even proved their blinded ambition to be true. Sega keeps fucking it up as usual because they’re too retarded to fully realize what they’re doing.
What now?
Hopefully a new frickin’ F-Zero game is announced.
I believe it wen a see it
In all honesty, I’ve enjoyed most 3D Sonic games.
Sonic Adventure, Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic Heroes, Sonic and the Black Knight, Sonic Colors, Sonic Unleashed, and even Shadow the Hedgehog.
I’ve enjoyed each and every one of them. Do they each have flaws? Of course, but what game doesn’t.
What game doesn’t? Mario 64, Metroid Prime, GTA5, COD4, Smash Bros. Melee, may I go on?
Come on, now. The imbalanced shitfest that is Melee is perfect now?
I mean, the gameplay is a blast, but the roster is arguably the worst in the series.
lol Excuse me motherfucker but Brawl and 4 is more of an imbalanced mess than Melee. In fact, according to the mass of fans, Melee’s gameplay flow was perfect. Fast paced and realistic physics at least.
You’re insane. You could have an argument if you were just talking about Meta Knight and arguably Falco in Brawl, but the rest?
Need I remind you Melee has a suicidal joke character? Besides balancing, the roster itself isn’t really representative of Nintendo’s franchises. 64 had the most popular at the time (Ness being the wildest card of the bunch), Brawl had a bit of everything and in 4 they’re practically running out of obvious choices for newcomers.
I’ve already stated that Melee has superior gameplay, so I don’t see why you point that out since I wasn’t debating that.
Slipping, light ass default character weight? At least Brawl had the least amount of clones and a better single player mode and mini games and content..oh and the soundtrack is fucking awesome.
You mean tripping? Yes, that’s a random event that affects competitive play, but it’s not unbalanced since it affects both players equally.
It felt a bit bloated to me. Many of the modes weren’t even that good.
Them cutscenes, though.
Random tripping was one of the worst things in Brawl- tripping cost me many matches and lives in Subspace. It’s like the game says to you “oh, trying to dash away from a smash attack after running towards your opponent? Not this time! TRIP!”
Brawl had the best game modes though- Subspace itself is infinitely better than Smash Tour, Smash Run, Target Blast (FUCK Target Blast)…
Smash Run > Subspace Emissary >>>>>> Smash Tour >>>>>>>>>>>>> Target Blast
Meh, I didn’t like Metroid Prime. The controls rather sucked, and the difficulty felt cheap at times.
Actually, most of Retro Studios games have cheap difficulty.
1. You obviously sound like you never played it and just bashing for the sake of defending that POS FF. How depressing. 2. Try Hyper Mode in Trilogy and for Prime 3, try playing in that mode without that PED “Hyper” Phazon Beam. You won’t get far.
GTA5 not having interiors and a half empty map were two major flaws.
Half empty?
Damn. Sega has determination, I’ll giv’em that.
More like blind ambition that they lack a fully functional brain to make happen.
>>>Tell me who does then, however if you mention Xbots or Sonyans, you lose all credibility you have left>>>
Its all thanks to the great Sonic Twitter account, that made SEGA realize ;D
That guy deserves heaven itself.
Note he said “Translate”.
“Oh, guess what we decided to translate Black Knight back to our roots, into 2D!!!”
tbh Sonic never translated well into 3D and when they tried 2D again it failed (Sonic 4).
Sonic is dead for me, but I was never a big fan regardless so whatever.
What? Adventures 1 and 2 were ahead of their time when they released. Sure, 1 hasn’t aged well, but it is remembered fondly.
Nah… They were glitchy messes with awkward controllers. I was just getting out of the PS1 and N64 era, I expected better and not worse.
Sonic 4 failed because SEGA, again being idiots, released it as parts and not making one full retail game. They also released it in response to NSMB Wii.
Sonic 4 was laughable too. The physics didn’t match. Boring levels. Not even the music redeemed the game. Meh.
I’ll believe it when I see it, Sega.
I actually really liked Sonic Heroes and Sonic Adventure 2: Battle. I would also say that Sonic Advance on GBA was better than the originals.
There’s were really good actually.
We all know how that turned out. :/ *Looks at Sonic 4*
Master System and Mega Drive were my first consoles. If only they could make Sonic games like they used to. Colours and Generations were fine but everything else has been meh. Not even Adventures aged well.
To be honest I just want a adventure stylr game. Doesnt even need to be called adventure. Just want a balance of 3D platforming and speed. In other words… Adventure 1 (idm adventure 2)
Dear Sega,
I am one of those guys who used to be (and still) in the opposition camp but did appreciate and love some of your franchise. Could you please, give us a new Alex kidd, a new shinobi, a wonder boy will be the best ever present you can give me and the only thing I can think of which will be even better than that, will be to add physcho Fox and Kid chameleon?
Best Regards
me
>>>And Golden Axe 4>>>
I’d give my left nut for a new Wonder Boy. It’s my favorite Sega franchise, unsurprisingly.
And a Billy Hatcher 2.
Well, Sonic does have an anniversary next year. 25 years I believe? Would be a good time for them to give Sonic a game worthy of his original glory. I won’t hold my breath though. I used to be a big Sonic fan, but he’s had so many lackluster titles. Lost World was alright though. If it would’ve had some better level design in areas, I think it could’ve been great.
looks like the sonic 25th anniversary will be great but i wonder how will they pull it off for next year sonic game.
I just feel mixed about it. Like the classic games were well made and great and all. But the modern games just needed more time. The 3D boost Sonic levels from Unleashed we’re pretty good and it only got better and more fun in Colors. Generations is just plain fun and great to replay to and how the modding community is large. But Lost World came in and tried to do something new. The flaws to me is how levels are drawn out and that there was too many gimmicks. And that all they could do from their mistakes is improve from it and avoid any more issues. Even from those problems, the game is okay.
Sonic maker. Let the fans create good Sonic games. ‘Cause Sega fucking can’t.
This is one of those franchises that probably never should have left the sidescrolling genre, to be honest.
I hope what he claims comes to fruition.. If only other devs/publishers would @ least make the same promise; maybe then the industry would return to form, & w/ out a crash.
As always, here’s hoping to new-but-classic…
Sonic, Crazy Taxi, NiGHTS, Shinobi, Billy Hatcher…
Prince of Persia, 3D Rayman, Buck Bumble…
Chrono Trigger, The World Ends W/ You, real Finaly Fantasy & Tomb Raider, FF Tactics, Secret of Evermore, Brave Fencer Musashi, Bushido Blade…
Klonoa, Ridge Racer, I-Ninja, Tekken…
Real Resident Evil, Okami, Viewtiful Joe…
Trauma Center, Ogre Battle/Tactics Ogre…
2D Metal Gear, real Silent Hill…
Sin & Punishment, Wave Race, F-Zero, 1080°, Golden Sun, Paper Mario…
Tenchu, Fear Effect, Oddworld, Earthworm Jim, Mushroom Men…
Etc., etc…