According to 1Up.com (Gaming's second most unreliable news source.), Sega is back at work on a new Sonic game, cited to be a "real" Sonic game.

Your thoughts?

If it's along the main 3D line, I hope it isn't just all about fancy graphics on top of a really old flawed game engine with tons of bugs, like some of their recent attempts have been...

If it's along the lines of 2D style, I hope it could live up to the Rush series.

This also depends entirely on what a 'real' game is.

Do they mean old school, just Sonic v Eggman/Robotnik, 2D style thing?

Do they mean a 3D, high action adventure with the older characters.

Do they mean the second thing I said, plus new characters?

Do they mean a 3D, great graphics, little to no bugs, awesome storyline, and such?

Same as last thing, except 2D?

It's different to different people.

I must agree with The Professor...

"Real" could be interpreted in so many different ways... it's a unusual way to describe things.

Perhaps, they'll use a real hedgehog, painted blue.

Hmm...a hedgehog painted blue....

The real question is that if this is true, what will they do? Will they only focus on the Graphics? Will they try to improve the plot, somehow or someway? Or will they just make it like Sonic adventure 2 battle?

I hope it's like SA2:B...I loved that game. (Beat Knuxallen over 999 times! I love that game)

Heh, couldn't resist.

Anywho, if you wanna know my opinion, I can't say I have my hopes up. That's exactly what happened with Sonic Next-Gen and I fell pretty hard. Even though games before it might not have lived up to the hedgehog's former glory, I still enjoyed them a lot. From what I've played of Sonic Next-Gen... it really wasn't so much fun as it was frustrating. And the loading times... holy crap, the loading times have to be the worst of ANY game, Sonic or otherwise. It takes a minute (believe me, that's longer than you might think) to load something that last for 10 seconds before loading again! It's ridiculous! And there's something awkward about the controls... I can't put my finger on it, but something about the characters feels harder to control than in past games.

Of course, that's just the gameplay stuff. There's also other things about it that bug me. Now, yes, the graphics for the characters are quite awesome... very Final Fantasy-esque. The humans look like real people! But... that's just the problem. They shouldn't. It looks weird with Sonic there, who no matter how much detail you give him will still look like a cartoon character. And Robotnik... hoo-boy, since when does Robotnik take visits to the Health and Beauty Spa?

Click Here!

And of course, as DP has pointed out in the past, this game is responsible for the mass confusion regarding where (or when) Blaze comes from (which is also where Silver and Eggman Nega come from).

Click Here!

And to top all of this off, Sega has the gall to title this game simply "Sonic the Hedgehog". How pretentious is that? So, you know what, guys? This isn't the first time that Sonic will be "come back" in a "real" Sonic game... and trust me, it won't be the last. I'm sorry if I sound cynical and/or pessimistic, but this really isn't the first time that Sega's claimed to be "bringing back Sonic to his roots"... but what can you expect? Sonic Team isn't even Sonic Team anymore. Pretty much everyone who worked on all the fantastic games back in the day are no longer a part of Sonic Team. When it comes right down to it, I think the only thing that'll really make for a "real" Sonic game would be to bring back all the people who used to be part of Sonic Team (including Sonic's creator, Yuji Naka), but I don't see that happening.

x_x Heh... sorry for the rant... I originally wasn't intending on typing all that. :heh:

XD Those comics are hilarious!

Hmm... I still haven't play Sonic 06... but loading times? And long ones at that... does anyone else find that ironic? And not the good ironic, the sad ironic. ;_;

I have a theory about this...

And that theory is that Blaze from the Rush series is a completely different character than the Silver-knowing one in Sonic 2006. Nothing I've read about Blaze relating to Sonic 2006 seems to fit with how she is in the Rush series (like the fact she's supposed to be friends with Silver in Sonic 2006, but is much more of an isolated type in the Rush games, not knowing friendship until after the events of the first SOnic Rush).

That does seem to make some sense, I guess, though there's also the weirdness of Eggman Nega in the Sonic Rivals series claiming to be a descendant of Dr. Robotnik. So... unless there's also two different Eggman Negas just like there's two Blazes, if your theory is correct.

Sega's starting to piss me off with their inconsistent continuity...

Sonic Team should really get there stories right. It's a pain in the butt to try and string together the plot holes they insist on making *cough*SonicBattle*cough*

Whoa. What happened to this page?

Anyways, I hope its 3D, but this is what I want done.

* Get rid of the useless characters. Big. Cream. Chaotix. Rouge. Omega. All of them, gone. The only characters that should be there are Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, Silver, Amy, and Robotnik. No more. No less. No new characters either.

* Stop screwing over Robotnik. Come on. The old "he's the villain until some unknown force causes him to be a good guy" storyline is as stale as week-old potatoes that have been sitting in the African sun. Make him the main guy. Make him the guy we face at the end of the game. Not some "time-bending" deity that none of us could give two craps about. When I face the final boss, I want an emotional connection. You think I'm gonna get that with some mutated lizard? No way! You put the villain we've been battling for sixteen years in there, though, and then we've got a connection. We want to beat this guy. The Biolizard? Great fight, gameplay and music-wise, but emotionally? I'm not feeling a thing until Shadow "dies".

* Level design. It sucks. Granted, the last two game had alot better level design than I expected, with some originality, but Sega, your track record leaves alot to be desired. Look at "Shadow". Yeah, it had a couple levels that really stood out on their own, but the majority of levels were just cheap rehashes. Same with "Heroes". I understand you were trying to go for that oldschool "two act" feel, but come on. It just didn't work. Nextgen? It had some cool levels. Flame Core? Awesome. Aquatic Base? Pretty cool, though not what I was hoping for. Give us that originality, again.

* Give us back the old Sonic. The Sonic we have now? Way past uncool. The lame gestures that look like an aerobics video? The lack of any arrogance? Thats not Sonic! The Sonic we know and love is brash, arrogant, and knows he can't be beat. The Sonic we have now? Boring. Doubting. Did you hear me, Sega? DOUBTING. That sure as hell isn't the Sonic I grew up idolizing. I think I speak for everybody when I say that I want the Sonic from the past back. Arrogant. Carefree. He knew he couldn't be beaten, and he'd let his enemies know that too.

* Another thing. Where's the speed? You've promised time and time again with each game that Sonic would be faster than ever, but guess what? HE'S SLOWER. Now, I know it's hard to make a game superfast with 3D and all, but you don't even try! The only thing remotely close to what he should be was the Mach-Speed Zones in Nextgen. But just for one part of the game? No. I want this to be the norm, of course, after you guys uncheapen it.

</avengerant> (For now, at least.)

Wow. Avernger29, you make some very good points.
But you forgot one very important thing. I want crush 40 to do the main theme again >.<
Bugger off zebrahead. I'm happy with Jun ^^
Also, if I'm gonna be honest with you, I don't see the need in having Silver :/
Shadow was cool, but having 3 hedgehogs like that? Might just be me, but I'm thinking it's a tad to much.
Also, I wanted to add that I liked the level design from SA2B XD
Or weren't you including them when you said that the levels suck?
Anyways, I agree with most of ya demands :)

Rouge > 800 Silvers. The Sonic world doesn't need the time-traveling confusion and the "yet another hedgehog", that Silver brings to the table...

And I think avenger was saying that the level designs have been extremely uninspired and all pretty much the same stuff that's been in previous games. Am I right in this guess?

Oh ya ¬.¬ I only just noticed that rouge was in that list <_< I think that rouge as a character has a lot of potential.
Anyways, we don't want another arguement over who we want to get rid off. I believe we've already done that XD

Ah, thanks DP, that makes more sense. I think I understand now. I would agree with you that the level designs in recent games have been very... samey.

Yeah. Extremely uninspired level design. Especially in Shadow, where we had about five levels on or near the ARK. Come on. And just for the record, those levels were extremely buggy too.

As for SA2's levels, they were ok. City Escape was brilliant, and I love Metal Harbor. Those kind of levels are what I want to see. Not the same rehashed crap I've played a million times.

And as for Silver, I'm kinda turned off by the confusion he creates and the fact he was a hedgehog instead of a mink, but his powers are what make him stand out. Telekinesis is always an awesome gameplay element. All Rouge is, in my eyes, is just a big-boobed Knuckles ripoff.

Meh, we all have our own opinions on characters. I don't wanna start another fight about characters that should or shouldn't be dropped XD
Anyways, those two levels were great. I loved ALL of sonics levels. There ain't one that I don't like. Shadows levels on SA2B on the other hand... Well, actually White forest (was that what it's called?) and the 1st level weren't to bad... I guess. I also enjoyed some of knuckles levels but, ya. Most of the others sucked :p

I happened. XD

I don't consider Rouge to be useless, as far as the story goes. She has a lot of potential, particularly because she's a government spy. That potential hasn't really been utilized quite well, I'll admit, but it's there. Plus, my Knuckles x Rouge fanboyness wouldn't allow for Rouge to be axed. XD

As for the Chaotix... since they originated during the Genesis era, I'm totally against getting rid of them. If anything, I want to see more characters from the golden age of Sega. But, one thing I do wanna say about those characters, as well as the Chaotix... and a lot of other characters, for that matter, is this: They should NOT appear in EVERY SINGLE GAME!! Only use them when you need to. I don't mind having a lot of characters, but I do mind that ALL OF THEM seem to have to be used for practically EVERY game since their appearance.

And there's something I've been keeping in for a loooooong time since I've been afraid of the kind of responses I might get, but I have to say it here and now because I just can't keep it in anymore. Hopefully everyone won't start throwing spiked, thorny objects as me. *ahem* Shadow no longer serves much of a purpose. HOLY CRAP, A STAMPEDE!! *runs*

No, but seriously. I kinda feel like he had a purpose in SA2. But then he came back and... I dunno, it's like the emotional ending of SA2 was cheapened. Besides that, his whole purpose was to avenge Maria. When he found out that Maria didn't want revenge and then paid the price to right his wrongs... well, there's nowhere else for the character to go. I dunno... I'm probably (or maybe MOST DEFINITELY) alone in this opinion. It's not that I don't like Shadow, I do. I just... don't think the character is necessary beyond SA2. And to have Shadow not die in SA2 kinda... like I said, cheapens his sacrifice. It's pretty obvious that Sega didn't originally intend to have Shadow appear beyond SA2, but he became popular so Sega figured they'd make him come back and be a regular. In many ways, they sorta semi-ruined the character. Which brings me to Knuckles...

Boy, I'm getting controversial tonight, aren't I? Anywho, if any of you are old enough, you might remember a time when Knuckles... was... THE MAN!! I remember being so pissed off that Knuckles never appeared on AoStH or SatAM, and he was the coolest character in all of Sonicdom! When the ability to play as Knuckles by using "Lock-On Technology™" appeared, it was the most awesome thing... EVER!! Everybody loved Knuckles... EVERYBODY! You ask any kid on the playground who his favorite Sonic character was, chances are they'd say Knuckles.

But that is not the case anymore. And while the existence of several other characters is partially to blame, there's a LOT more to it than that.

In a lot of ways, Shadow took Knuckles' place as "the fan-favorite", as well as the place as Sonic's main rival. Shadow is kind of the new Knuckles. In fact, he's going down the exact same road that Knuckles went down.

Let's look at this: Knuckles was mysterious and you didn't quite know who's side he was on. He was cool. He had a purpose in the game he appeared in, but since that appearance, he's been little by little deviating from his purpose. Furthermore, where he was once Sonic's rival, he's now one of his sidekicks. Seriously, for a supposed "Guardian of the Master Emerald", he sure has been shirking his duties quite a bit, recently. Also, Knuckles was originally the ultimate loner. Now he's hanging out with Sonic & Friends all the friggen' time. I like Knuckles a lot, but I feel like too much has happened that simply lowered the coolness the character once possessed. I'd like it if Knuckles were once again Sonic's main rival instead of what he is now. But, of course, he can't be Sonic's main rival now that Shadow is occupying that spot. Don't worry, though, I'm sure Sega will introduce a new character in a future game that'll make Shadow one of Sonic's sidekicks. Already Shadow is seeming less an anti-hero and more "one of Sonic's buddies".

I'm a bit tired tonight, so I'm not sure how much sense I'm making. I'm mostly just ranting, but I'm being honest here stating some of the things that bug me. And ya, do we really need this many hedgehogs? Silver's powers are cool, but how many more hedgehogs do we need?

As for Knuckles... well, this isn't so much a thing with Sega, but it's something I want to rant about. I hate... HATE the way Knuckles is portrayed in Sonic X. Yes, he was tricked by Robotnik in his initial appearance. I can understand that... but come on. It happened once and then in Sonic X they turn it in a running gag that Knuckles is some muscleheaded idiot that'll believe anything Robotnik tells him! What is supposed to be a badass, awesome character is turned into a friggen' comic relief! Giving us Chris is bad enough, did you have to turn Knuckles into a moron, too, Sonic X? Not to mention that a lot of uninformed young people watched Sonic X and that might have been their sole portrayal of the characters. Great... thank you, Sonic X, for ruining Knuckles' reputation.

*sighs* I miss my childhood. I used to own a pair of Sonic & Knuckles shoes. I wonder what ever happened to them... even though they would totally not fit me anymore, I'd love it if I still had them.

Robotnik as the final boss! What a concept! Seriously, the "surprising twist" that Robotnik isn't the final boss has gotten old now. It's not longer a surprise... and quite frankly, I'm getting tired of it. If they're gonna have a villain other than Robotnik, at least don't lie to us about it anymore. But seriously, I'd like Robotnik to actually be a threat again.

The ironic thing is that they did an incredible job of conveying a sense of superfast speed when they helped in developing F-Zero GX. Believe me, they can do it... so why aren't they doing it with Sonic?

Well... dunno if I have anything else to say, really. But ya.

Okay, I can't even read the all of this page and I have a widescreen monitor. Maybe I just missed the scroll-over control area, though. :LOL:

Analysis time!

First off, Shadow... Meh... I don't know... He's cool and all, but I have to agree. His only purpose these days is to provide the emo kids with an edgy, gun-toting psychopath. I hate to bash my boy like this, but seriously. Shadow is only around because of the emo kids not wanting to let go of him. Thanks to them, he's kicked Knux out of the way.

Speaking of him... I read everything you typed about the old Knux, and I gotta say, it brought a tear to my eye, remembering the golden days of Rad Red, especially those shoes you mentioned. I had a pair of those, and a pair of Sonic 3 shoes. He used to be so awesome. I always wanted more Knuckles. Now, to see him be degraded to some boneheaded background character... Its rather saddening.

And I have to believe that Sonic X is one of the lowest points in Sonic history. Yeah, it was cool to see Sonic on Saturday mornings again, but come on. It was just too painful to enjoy.

Okay, I discovered how to scroll over.

Arrow keys. :heh:

Sorry 'bout that. :heh: However...

ARROW KEYS!!

If you click on an empty area...

...and press the right arrow key...

...you can scroll to the right. :p

Amen to that. :Knuckles:

EDIT: Gah! Ninja-post! TVoL discovered it just as I was explaining it! XD

Hooray! I'm not the only person here who doesn't like Shadow (though the other half of my dislike of Shadow, besides the overshadowing of Knuckles, is that I really dislike the whole "Chaos Control" thing)

And CPoC! If you have comics that are 10 feet wide, post them as links, or split them apart so you can post some of the panels below the first pannels!

Meh, I just zoomed out so I could read all of it XD
But seriously though, I'd agree with all of you that Shadow has lost his appeal (although, I didn't actually like him to start with :heh: )
But ya, I think that Knux needs to take back his crown as coolest character again. He used to be so kick-ass XD
But now he's just another tails :( (well, still not quite as annoying).
Also, who else thinks that it should just be sonic, tails and knuckles as playable characters again for a game? (maybe including amy). Might just be me, but I think I'd prefear it that way. And that doesn't meen sticking tails in a mini-mech and giving him slow and boring levels, or having the master emerald smashed up for the 3rd or 4th time (within a couple of years) and having him searh for it AGAIN.
Anyone agree with me?

Heh, I fixed them. I would have liked to do the splitting panels thing, but... I'm lazy, so links will have to do.

And ya, I dunno. I don't hate Shadow, personally, but I just don't think he really "fits in" (so to speak) in anything other than Sonic Adventure 2.

And ya, I do think we need to go back to basics. A game should concentrate on Sonic as the main playable character and restrict any other playable characters to just Tails and Knuckles (and possibly Amy). I really liked Sonic Advance since it was essentially, in my opinion, what a modern Sonic game should be like to still feel like a real Sonic game.

It seems like, for the most part, the only Sonic games that are pretty true to the classic formula are the handheld games.

And ya... I hate treasure-hunting levels. You know the Sonic and Shadow levels in Sonic Adventure 2? That's what ALL the levels should be like... not just some of them... of course, the levels still aren't quite as good after that game, especially taking Sonic '06 into account.

AMEN.

*gives a thumbs up* TS APPROVED!!!

But really, all levels should really be like that. No real goal but to get to the finish. That...and kill anything that stands in your way.

Personally, I liked the speed and how you had to have quick reflexes if you were going fast enough. Like a robot appears when you're going insanely fast, you're all like "OH SHI-!" And you barely avoid the robot. Then, you want to do that AGAIN. To me, it was awesome.

I agree with all of you lot. Back to basic's would be good, great even. As long as they don't screw up with the level design. That is a key aspect of any game. That doesn't meen that sega can make one or two great levels and make the rest cruddy. We do notice these things XD
Also, I've noticed the game's getting darker and darker. I much prefeared it back in the day when they used nice, bright colours. Like in Sonic Adventure. Nice and happy :D

I love the Sonic and Shadow levels in SA2, it's pure Sonic, speed and some robot butt kicking in the middle. No mechs, no treasure hunting, no guns and no psychic abilities.

I think they should get rid of the new characters and get some of the characters from the Archie comic series! AND I think they should bring back Mighty, I don't think it's fair that they only used him for a non-home console game (SEGASonic) and a team up one (Chaotix).

And I TOTALLY agree with the whole having pretty much recycled levels, I ain't feelin' it anymore now the new 2D Sonic games are great! And I think now that Sonic X is over get rid of the 4kids voices and get some good ones, altough I would mind if they brought back the Sonic Adventure voices...is it true they changed the voices 'cause the old voice actor of Eggman died?

Also, yea no more new god-like/super enemies for the final level! And bring back the hyper forms and super forms for Tails and Knuckles! and PLEASE for all that is decent get rid of the most hated background, utterly useless thing that first appeared (I think) in Sonic Adventure 2, Omochao!

Yea, concering the 3D Sonic games I agree they DENFINATLEY need to be more fast-paced. It's just too slow. Minus the machspeed level (or was it levels? I'm sure there was only one. I haven't played it for awhile, meh.) but you'll die about fifty times on that before you complete it. So not THAT fast.


Ok, I'm finished ranting for now...

Sega join forces with Nintendo If they are making new game what's the story going to be about?