Lots of thinking went into what I should do for what is probably going to be one of a few monthly musing posts I'll be making over the course of the month. For my first though I wanted to go straight for the obvious.

I love Sonic. I like a lot of the extra characters that have been introduced. I like a lot of things that people hate. I know Jim did an article like this but my ideas I think are somewhat at odds with his.

1 - Give the friends a point
Sonic's friends provide opportunities that have yet to be fully realised. One of the best sets of Sonic games, the Sonic Advance series has multiple characters to choose from. However other than Amy in Sonic Advance 1 they all handle fairly simlarly. All with the spin attack and all capable of taking the same route through the level. Only Tails and Knuckles have ever come with abilities exclusive to them in the form of Knuckles' wall climb and Tails' hover/flying ability. If you can't give the new characters a decent gameplay reason for existing then get them out. Big could use his fishing rod as a weapon, or use Froggy to explode areas he can't fit into. Cream could use Cheese (the Chao that follows her around) to do the same thing with aerial areas. Espio could just have a wall jump seeing as he's a ninja. Just give us a reason to want to play as them.


Sonic Heroes, started to give the friends a point. Sega need to develop them further.

2 - 3D CAN WORK!!
This one's simple. Sonic Adventure and Sonic Heroes proved as far as I'm concerned that Sonic can work in 3D. Speeding through levels is possible as long as there's enough depth in the levels and the controls are right. Go back to those games (Sonic Adventure especially) and remind yourself that they are fun to play and easy to control. Don't cop out and return to 2D just because of fan pressure, 3D Sonic games have been good and they can be good again.


Sonic Adventure, this remains the benchmark for 3D Sonic after 9 years.

3 - Robotnik? Eggman?
Get some fucking consistancy. To my memory Eggman was first mentioned in Sonic Adventure as a derogatory nickname for Robotnik. Fast forward a few years and he's adopted it as his official name? How the hell does that work. Allow me to get a bit anal about this for a second but Robotnik originated when he was hit by a ray while holding a rotten egg (see the book 'Sonic and the Fourth Dimension'). Either be consistant about the character's name or just give up and find a new series villain. May I suggest Cinos who was created in much the same way and actually was the last boss in Sonic 2 on the Master System.


Sonic 2 on the Game Gear and Master System, a game that doesn't get the credit it deserves.

4 - Spinoff responsibly
Sonic has a lot of potential for great spinoffs and they go beyond the racing, sport and party games that keep Mario busy. In the past we got games like Tails' Adventure on the Game Gear and Knuckles Chaotix on the 32X. Move into the current generation and we have Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic Riders. Shadow however is the right idea. Take characters that don't suck and give them their own headlining game. I would enjoy a game with Blaze or Knuckles as the main character, or even a new Chaotix game now that Espio, Charmy and Vector are returning to the group. Hell I'll quite gladly take a new Tails Adventure game.


Tails' Adventure, possibly my favourite Sonic spinoff.

5 - Slow the feck down
Seriously. This is for me where most of Sonic's problems are. The speed has become too much of an overriding influence. Use Sonic's speed when it can enhance a set piece (the run down the skyscraper in Adventure as an example) but in standard platforming parts dial the speed down. Not slow enough that its not Sonic anymore but keep it at a managable speed for the control you're using.


Sonic 360, I think we all know how this went.

So there you go. That's how I think the Sonic franchise should be developed as time goes on. Make the friends worthy of inclusion, keep trying at the 3D thing, settle the Robotnik/Eggman debate, make some decent spinoffs and remember that its not all about the speed. I personally think that's a fairly foolproof plan that will not only make Sonic better, but mean that the universe remains relevant as the gaming world develops. Its that relevance that I think is the most important thing. Show the world that Sonic can still compete.

>NJ