Everyone knows the Sonic series has gone into the crapper, and it's a damn shame. This series was once of the best, if not the best in the eyes of many gamers. It was routinely taking on Mario, and in some cases, beating it handily.
But then, something happened, and the games... well, they just stopped being good all together. And a lot of people just stopped caring about the series, which is a shame. There's still much potential to be had in the Sonic series... but Sega just isn't using it. It's like they don't know what the hell to do.
So, out of a bit of boredom and a bit of hope that maybe someday, somewhere, someone from Sonic Team or Sega will see this and take the advice, I present to you some of my ideas on how to fix the Sonic series for the better.
To begin with, we undo what Sonic X slightly tried to do - tie together the comic and game series. In fact, we go a step further - this new Sonic is a retcon of the entire series. Storyline wise, it dumps just about everything after Sonic 3. In a sense, it's Sonic the Hedgehog 4.
Yes, you heard me. Almost all of the garbage after Sonic 3 goes away, though some elements and characters will remain. This new Sonic would be much darker, and in fact, would be more in line with the comics and Saturday morning cartoon that was on ABC way back when. on top of that, the
Game play style, the entire series is shifted back to what it was before; a pure, speed-based adrenaline rush through each level with loops, spirals, pits and traps strewn throughout, with a heavy emphasis on the more traditional parts, including platforming elements and multiple paths through a level. The key, though, is wrapping all of this up in a way that not only flows, but delivers a sense of speed and challenge. Ever since Sonic Adventure's first level, except for tiny parts of both Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic and the Secret Rings, the series has lost its way on consoles. On handhelds, it's a different story, but they're also putting those games out in 2-D, much like the days of old. That won't fly on the current generation of consoles, sadly.
The best way to do that is *gasp* to put the game a little more on rails and a little less on 3-D roaming. The second you hit a rail in one of the newer games and come to a sudden stop, you lose the sensation of speed. By restricting our movement a bit more, we can help restore that sense of speed and control that Sonic has without running into such issues. On top of that, incorporating rumble more into the game, so that your controller really starts vibrating wildly when you're at full speed, will help the gamer feel more of a sense of speed. When he goes fast, slow the world around him down, because in the wonderful world of physics, that's what things appear like. Make the world around him blur like crazy... he's supposed to be the fastest thing alive, dammit!
When it comes down to characters... well, there's too many of them taking the focus off Sonic as the main character. Here's an interesting thought, Sega: most of the best games of 2007? They did not have 8-12 playable characters. Galaxy had 2. Prime 3 and Halo 2 had 1. Call of Duty 4 had three, but there was little difference. Mass Effect? There was only Sheppard, but you could customize him/her as you wished. They relied on other characters to help flesh out and tell the story, not to directly tell it. So, in order to help make Sonic better... we've got to do some cutting.
These are your core characters:
Playable:
Sonic
Tails
Knuckles
Unplayable:
Amy Rose (as a NPC)
Cream the Rabbit (as a NPC)
Rouge the Bat (as a NPC and potential boss)
Eggman/Robotnik (as a NPC and The Final Boss)
Metal Sonic (as a Boss)
Shadow the Hedgehog (not sure if he will be playable or not yet... but leaning towards no)
As you can see... that's pretty much the core group of the Sonic series. Most of the auxillary characters are removed completely from this storyline (maybe some will have cameos as background, non-speaking characters like Team Chaotix), but it eliminates part of the problem that has plagued Sonic recently: there's just too many damn characters. Sonic needs to focus more on the title character and his two long-time allies in Tails and Knuckles.
The remaining major characters would be pulled from the pool in the comic/animated series. Princess Sally, Bunnie, Antoine and Rotor get the nod here, as well as Snively, who appeared in both the comic and cartoon as Robotnik's nephew. And while we're speaking of Robotnik, we're going to be using the comic/ABC series version of him, replacing the bumbling fool demeanor with that of a sadistic, twisted dictator. Eggman appears in the comic, too, but he and Robotnik are not one in the same: Eggman's actually the evil robotic version of Robotnik, but we can put that off for another game. And no, there will be no ultimate power beyond our friendly doctor. We'll leave that whole "more power villain than the last guy" thing to crap like Dragon Ball Z.
And yeah, you can do the whole dual realities thing: The Legend of Zelda series is already pulling it off, because for all intensive purposes, there's no other way to explain the order of the Zelda games and the histories contained with each of them.
What else gets the axe? The entertaining, but unnecessary Chao Gardens do. Same with putting Sonic in the real world with loads of humans about. Put him back on Mobius, where he belongs. The Mario series is proof enough that you don't have to have a game in the real world for it to be a success, and when you do move these kinds of games onto planet Earth...
Yeah, moving on...
Sonic games should not be pumped out every year, like they are right now. Take your damn time, Sega, and put out games when they are done so we don't have issues like really bad camera angles or god awful scripts. Also, in the same vein, cut down on the spin-offs. Axe Sonic Riders to focus on one Sonic game for all three platforms, and don't rush it. You won't lose money if you wait and make a great game. You will if you rush and make a crappy one.
The music... it needs to improve. Enough with the lyrics. Give us something cool, something instrumental like it was back in the day. I could honestly do without the pop rock crap we've gotten in the last few games. You're making a game, not a top 40 record.
Maybe I'm completely on the wrong path here. Maybe I'm not even close to figuring out what needs to be changed in Sonic, but those are just a few somewhat-rough suggestions I'd have for Sonic Team and Sega. Maybe if they considered some of them, their next Sonic game wouldn't suck... but I'm sure it will, anyways.
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(# 0) on 01/26/2008 23:39
(# 1) on 01/26/2008 23:39
Make his ass 2d and run till he can't run no more. or at least make it 2d style with 3d graphics. seriously it works.
or if we HAD to be 3d, revert back to Sonic Adventure style. not that SA2 crap where it's good vs. evil and you're forced to play with whoever they felt like throwing at you in the storyline.
and I agree with the music bit. Sonic Adventure just barely passed with the opening theme (and it's only cause it goes well with the opening.) but come on..not EVERY game needs some rockin soundtrack thats complete rockin shit.
(# 2) on 01/26/2008 23:43
Also, minor word correction:
It was routinely taking on Mario, and in some cases, beating it handedly.
I think you mean “handily”.
(# 3) on 01/26/2008 23:44
(# 4) on 01/26/2008 23:54
But anyway, there is no way to fix Sonic. I don't think it's possible. I think the reason all the bad stuff we complain about is still there again in every new sequel is because they honestly don't have a solution. If gamers want Sonic in 3D, this is what they're getting.
There is no other logical explanation for Sonic's fail since jumping to 3D.
(# 5) on 01/27/2008 00:00
@everyone else: Yes, I want to try and fix Sonic. The problem to me hasn't been that "Oh, the game sucks now in 3-D", it's that the team behind it has no clue what they're doing. :)
(# 6) on 01/27/2008 00:02
(# 7) on 01/27/2008 00:03
(# 8) on 01/27/2008 00:12
second, lets get some 2.5d in the mix. I want sonic in 3d and the stages in 3d. the gameplay goes back to the 2d format. Hell lets make it cell shaded for the fun of it.
NEXT, we get the original deal of Sonic. You run. you run till you hit spikes or run into an enemy or a red pushy thingy bounces you in any direction. Add the classic tails follow (and dying/rebirth.) and we're closer.
don't forget those loop de loops. it's a need. Corkscrews also.
Lets work on that music now. I want some music just like in the old ones where even the ones you hated, were still likeable. this is just as important as making Sonic 2d gamplay.
Bosses. Lets be creative here. Robotnik is here obviously. now the machines he uses at the end of each act is where the diversity needs to shine.
Voice acting...do we really need this? it's more of a privlage now then a given.
(# 9) on 01/27/2008 01:28
The old games never really put sonic in one specific place outside of angel island or the death egg. I dont mind if its another dimension or earth or whatever just fuck that Mobius crap.
whatever happened to sonic being fun and bright and awesome, instead it always has to be darker and more mature. Im sorry, but the only thing that came out of that was that awful shadow game.
(# 10) on 01/27/2008 01:35
Besides... it's better than what we've got now. Sonic Team can't write for crap.
(# 11) on 01/27/2008 02:09
But really the approach to the next Sonic game is simple. Sonic Team just needs to think straight and listen.
I'm currently too busy to be really talking about this.
(# 12) on 01/27/2008 03:29
(# 13) on 01/27/2008 06:42
I agree with you on pretty much everything. I think the games should stick to 2D (or 2.5D) if they want to be any good. I think it could even work in 3D (Sonic and the Secret Rings was a damn good start, but could use a lot of work), but I would much rather have a 2D Sonic game over a 3D one.
The series started downhill after Sonic & Knuckles, but I do think that Sonic Adventure 1&2 were good games. They're kind of that gray area between the total awesomeness of the 2D platformers before it and the total failure of anything in 3D that came after. Sonic didn't transition from 2D to 3D quite as well as Mario did, but I think that's the best they could possibly do with that kind of set up (3D with unrestricted movement).
Everything after Sonic Adventure 2 was complete and total fail, though. The handheld games make up for it a bit, but I haven't played a good console Sonic game since SA2. I almost enjoyed Sonic and the Secret Rings, but the controls weren't responsive enough. At the beginning, anyway. The upgrades actually improve the quality of the gameplay as you get more of them, but it's stupid that you have to play the game for hours until the controls get decent.
The comic references are exactly what I was thinking when the topic of setting and characters came up. Rider_Chop made a good point that the older games didn't have much of a story, but if we had to have one, wouldn't you rather have something that's well established and not just some crap that Sonic Team's just pulling out their ass? The comics weren't always dark and depressing like I hear they are today (I never kept up with them well, but the ones I own are in the 1-50 range, with a few newer ones). The series started out much more lighthearted and similar to the Genesis games.
I don't really see too many games that go without story these days, so I don't know how well a new Sonic game with zero story would do these days. I think the comics are the best way to go, assuming they use the older stuff (with the Freedom Fighters and such), rather than the newer (darker) stuff.
By the way, you pretty much nailed the character issue. Sonic should have a world of his own, not with humans. They just don't fit together. It just creates uncomfortable situations that SHOULD BE AVOIDED AT ALL COSTS. Just as I was saying, the comics are a great reference point and I would love to see characters like Sally, Rotor, Bunnie, and Antoine in the games. The different stages could take place in different locations on Mobius.
Again, I don't really see story as a requirement, but if it had to be there, I would love to see some references to the comics I loved to read as a child.
Okay, I should just stop here, since I could go on forever about what they should include in the next Sonic game. Sonic is still my favorite video game character and favorite series of all time, even though every game after SA2 was just shit. I love him and Sega and I hope they both make a comeback someday. My hopes aren't too high right now, though. I played Sonic the Hedgehog (360) for the first time a few months ago and it made me cry a little, it was so bad.
Oh, wait, I do have one disagreement (kinda)! I think the music was awesome in the Adventure games. The stuff with lyrics was kinda meh most of the time (the exceptions being Open Your Heart, Live and Learn, Escape from the City, and It Doesn't Matter -SA2 version-), but I remember some of the level music being pretty cool. I suppose I'd rather have somebody else doing the music for the newer games (HIDEKI NAGANUMA).
Live and Learn still gives me chills every time I hear it. :P
(# 14) on 01/27/2008 07:39
But I agree with most of your points. Sonic Heroes came sorta close by making everything really big, fast paced, and having multiple paths, but the class-based system and the unfair insta-death scenes ruined what could have been a brilliant game.
(# 15) on 01/27/2008 14:42
(# 16) on 01/28/2008 00:10