Comment # 2

heh, I can see an ad being like this..

Sonic is…
Moving kicky fast! Sonic’s agility is what separates him from the pack to this day. No character’s inherent attributes are meant for pure destructive velocity like Sonic, save for like a couple characters like Sonic’s younger ‘cousin’ NiGHTS.

Posted by Mark on April 14th, 2008 at 3:32 pm

Comment # 4

Well ass the leader of a big Sonic community for more than 6 years now, i find this post rather interesting, at the beginning Sonic was awesomely influential to me, and to say the truth, he influenced me more than you can ever imagine, to the point, than in many conflictive times in my life, i didn’t gave up (AKA suicide) just because of the ideals of sonic of not looking back and such, im talking about 13 years or so, when i started to know Sonic real personality, it was a huge shock to me, since i always knew Sonic for the genesis games, where i couldn’t have an idea of what was on my hero’s head, anyway, Sonic has been a real important figure in my life, and now, with 20 years, Sonic has started to fade, he’s still important in some ways, i still buy every Sonic game i can even if i know its awesomely bad (like sonic the hedgehog on ps3, which im getting next month), i still find it fun, but what i find disappointing is, besides speed and such, Sonic don’t have those cool stories anymore… with Sonic heroes i was awesomely disappointed, after Sonic adventure 1 and 2, i hoped a huge plot with a lot of personality, but instead i got a really simple story with maaany things than made no sense (oh hi Shadow, wanna fight?, don’t mind you were supposed to be dead), but anyway, lately, some sonic games has been great and some were awful. Handled games seems to be always fun, all sonic advance, sonic battle was awesome, sonic rush rocked and introduced one of the best characters so far, sonic rivals… i dint played but it looks great and got nice reviews, i will play it soon, and the console ones… well its weird, sonic riders was nice, but not great, sonic and the secret rings was great, sonic heroes, shadow the hedgehog, and sonic 2006 sucked… but a LOT, its quite sad mostly because they were the ones than tried to follow Sonic Adventure 2, which i think is the best Sonic game ever, what made them suck a lot?, well, mostly the gameplay, the camera, and such, but more importantly, the storyline, so far i didn’t spoiled myself with Sonic 2006 story too much, i want to find it myself, but it looks like its actually good, so i want to watch it, but so far all the reviews says than the gameplay is horrible, i think Sonic Team would have to recheck Sonic Adventure 2 and try to make the gameplay more like that awesome game, but anyway, im pretty happy with the new releases, Sonic Chronicles promises a good story, i like that, i don’t mind no speed, it will be interesting to see how other companies handle Sonic, and Sonic Unleashed goes back to the old good classics like the handled games, so im almost 100% sure it will be great, i hope they add nice extras, the gameplay is addicting and not too hard, and the levels are not awesomely long like sonic heroes, but aside of that, i hope the story is at least decent, i don’t want another “hey eggman invited us to kick his ass, lets go” or “lets find the chaos emeralds before (insert excuse here)”.

Well this post became long!, anyway, im happy than at least Sega is starting to check forums and see what players want, lately it seemed than they forgot about that, i really hope somebody than can actually make a choice watch this topic, im still putting my hopes in Sega, even in the bad times, i still have my dreamcast and i would totally buy a Dreamcast 2, so go Sega! we still have faith, do the right thing! Sonic is an AWESOME character, even if mario games are funner sometimes, Sonic will ALLWAYS be a better character, everyone knows that, so PLEASE!, respect your fans and do your best, watch back to jewels like Sonic Adventure 2 and get your inspiration back, us fans are always here hoping for the best and we will support you guys no matter what, good luck!

(and i don’t need to say this, but if you guys need anything, i am here)

Posted by Jeremy Trigger on April 14th, 2008 at 3:56 pm

Comment # 6

Sonic is a character who once was respected by people of all ages. He, along with other games, single-handedly gave the Dreamcast an excellent launch and propelled the system into stardom. Yet, the Dreamcast was a console that targeted teens/adults, not little kids.

Huh?

What changed? Why is Sonic now a character whose games only target little kids, while older gamers are left embarrassed by the increasingly childish voice acting, story presentation, and slow levels with poor gameplay.

Sonic was always about a video game character who was “cool.” It was always about him going “fast” through inventive and colorful levels. This was always the goal of the series. Not to challenge the gamers with tedious platforming, 10-minute levels, and kiddy storytelling. Sonic CAN work with a story; the story needs to be charming, funny, and better-written than the overdramatic crap we’ve gotten lately. Secret Rings was a nice start but again…the kiddy voice acting and childish script has GOT to go, immediately.

Sonic levels need to return to being fast and fun; nobody is going to care if the game’s easy, as long as it’s fun. And give him his attitude back.

Posted by ShadowLegend on April 14th, 2008 at 4:22 pm

Comment # 8

Platforming and speed is what Sonic is to me. Being able to explore a nicely designed level and break through some walls with next to no glitches present. Mixing in levels like Green Hill Zone so I can just rush through it if I feel like it. It’s OK for the game to evolve. It shouldn’t stray to far from what Sonic games originally were. Walking around punching things or whatever isn’t Sonic to me. It’s Alex Kidd (who needs a comeback!). As Sega’s mascot Sonic’s games shouldn’t be rushed to make Xmas deadlines. His games should be delayed if they end up like a certain PS3/360 game. It’s like he’s being whored out.

Storyline wise, uh I’ve never seen a Sonic cartoon. Sonic 1, 2, 3 and CD I don’t remember the story being overly in-depth. When I played Sonic Adventure it was all in Japanese (which I don’t understand) so the story wasn’t important to me. To me the story lines are Sonic freeing little animals from Dr. Robotnik. They weren’t in-depth. But then these weren’t RPG’s I was playing. I don’t expect crazy in-depth story lines from my platformers.

I realize as an adult gamer that the games aren’t exactly aimed towards me anymore. But it would be nice if the story line didn’t come across as being so juvenile and corny that it totally turns me off from the game. I don’t need Sonic mackin’ on females or packin’ heat.

Posted by rf switch on April 14th, 2008 at 9:24 pm

Comment # 10

To be fair, Ryan/Sharky, if Sonic wasn’t dealing with monsters of the apocalypse (BTW, Chaos pwned. Solaris, Biolizard, and especially Metal Overlord were just lame copies. They REALLY need to come up with new final bosses.), he was dealing with weapons of the apocalypse. It seems to run in Eggman’s family; I mean, even his GRANDPA made a doomsday weapon.

Sonic is an old friend of mine. Like, I knew him before he was uber-famous. We used to hang out together, ya know? And then he got uber-famous, and things were great for a while. It was fun tagging along with him, venturing through frozen Icecaps and evil Death Egg doomsday machines. Even when he changed things a little bit and introduced his new friends to me, things were good. I mean, despite the more complex plots, we were still blowing up evil robots and tearing apart weapons of doomsday-ic destruction. And it was fun.

Then popularity got to his head. I don’t know how, but he somehow got the idea that he really needed to drastically change. Then Heroes came. Yeah, still fighting evil robots, still tearing apart doomsday–wait, we weren’t. I ended up fighting yet another Perfect Chaos clone, and a cheap one at that. He somehow got it in his head that he should say corny lines in an attempt to sound cool, too (REAL SUPERPOWER OF TEAMWORK!!!!1111!!). And then it went downhill from there. The game Shadow exists because Sonic went into therapy at the time, and his employers saw fit to try to change everything up again.

I didn’t even bother coming to the Next-Gen outing. Lately, my contact with Sonic has consisted of e-mails that usually go ignored. It’s like he forgot me or something. I talked to Tails and Knuckles recently, and they talked about feeling left out, too. They mentioned something about how they felt “replaced”. I must say that I agree. The Sonic I know and love has seemingly forgotten me.

If I had one suggestion for him, one that he would hear and understand, it would be to go back to the way things were. Not EXACTLY, but keep the old vibe. If he needs to see what I mean, he should talk to my other good friend, Samus. She knows everything about mixing the old vibe with new content successfully. And this includes the plot. Make it about destroying evil robots and giant weapons of doom, except make it a tad more complex. Y’know, shifting alliances and stuff. Don’t take it TOO seriously though, this ain’t Halo. He should also bring back his old buddies, they’re feeling unused. Give Shadow a break for once. Make the gameplay of EVERYONE consist of running, not just Sonic, but give Tails added platforming and Knuckles gliding, climbing walls, etc., just like old times. I doubt he’ll read this comment, but I hope that he gets better someday.

Posted by Silverevilchao on April 15th, 2008 at 5:07 am

Comment # 12

Sonic is an arrogant hedgehog, but hes still a hero.

And the series is not about romance. Eugh. I suggest paying attention to anything but the official Sega boards. It’s full of crazies.

Posted by Kei on April 15th, 2008 at 11:11 am

Comment # 14

Sonic has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I played Sonic the Hedgehog on my Genisis for many years. And when I was really young my Dad and I would watch the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon. When I got older I got a Playstation2 and was able to play new Sonic games (ie. MegaCollection, Heroes, Shadow the Hedgehog) and in the process was introduced to many new characters and concepts I would have never imagined during the Genesis days.

To me, Sonic is an arrogant, cocky, teenager with a sense of freedom. He is different from characters like Nintento’s Mario because he doesn’t go on an adventure because it is right or because he has to save the world. He does it to have a good time. I feel that Sonic games need to show more of this attitude and incorperate it more into the story. In recent games, sonic has become a simple hero who has taken to saying really corny lines (“THE REAL SUPER POWER OF TEAMWORK!” Sonic Heroes)

If Sega wants to make a good game worthy of our blue friend they need to bring back the character I grew up with. The character as he was originally portrayed. Sega is getting better at this though. For example I loved the lines Sonic would say in the middle of the levels of Sonic and The Secret Rings (“Whoops time to make a U-turn!” as he runs up the side of a wall Sharah thinks he is going to hit) Also in this game sonic performs a variety of stunts that scare the crap out of his genie. (hopping on a log and surfing down a river or riding on top of a speeding artillery shell)

I think more things like this would also benefit Sonic in future games and I hope Unleashed can incorperate this. And a word to the developers, please, please I beg of you. DO NOT RUSH YOUR GAMES! If you need more time, TAKE IT. Take a lesson from Nintendo. They delayed Brawl for several months, but the wait was worth it because the game was almost perfect.

Also, the speed in Sonic and the Secret Rings was perfect. Keep it up!

Posted by Matt on April 15th, 2008 at 2:10 pm

Comment # 16

If you do nothing else, please, for the love of god, never make it anything like that SatAM Sonic cartoon crap.

Posted by manonam on April 15th, 2008 at 8:39 pm

Comment # 18

right…the best games of sonic team is Sonic 1,2,3 kn and 3 kn… everyone still playing and im too…i like to play with tails(favorite) and use the emeralds to transform…in sonic adventure 1 and 2 its very bored to play…every time sonic team create more and more history lines and more CHARACTERS(i hate this, because more characters erase the olders, like tails and knuckles)…

Posted by Saberyoko on April 16th, 2008 at 8:22 am

Comment # 20

What Sonic is to me? Sonic is a cool character with fun games. I liked Sonic ever since I watched the cartoons as a little kid, and I’m still a fan. I enjoyed all the Sonic games I played and haven’t been disappointed with recent games. I still have fun with Sonic games even if other people have different opinions about them.

Posted by Steven on April 16th, 2008 at 5:45 pm

Comment # 22

Why can’t Sonic be his cocky super-fast self again, why can’t he turn Super Sonic anytime you wanted like in the Genisis days why can’t he have an unlimited adventure, why is he getting boring?

Posted by sirchadakiss18 on April 17th, 2008 at 1:40 am

Comment # 24

Just want to say thanks for all the responses, it’s great reading everyone’s individual take on Sonic… please keep them coming if you haven’t responded yet.

Posted by SegaDawg on April 17th, 2008 at 12:33 pm

Comment # 26

First off, great read, SegaDawg. It’s good to know that at least some folks at Sega are aware of what’s going on in the Sonic fanbase and understand the variety of opinions out there.

As the owner of a specialty Sonic fan site, however, I feel the need to point out that Sega’s Sonic boards are not even the half of the story as far as diversity in the Sonic fanbase is concerned. Please–If you do want to get a sense of the true scope of the Sonic fanbase, please visit some of the many other Sonic boards out there. I mean no disrespect by this, but many of us have long since departed Sega’s boards for greener pastures where we can have more rational discussions and/or won’t be subject to ridicule. Above all, realize that what may be seen as the opinion of the “mainstream Sonic fanbase” online is more than likely a very poor representation of the larger fanbase and consumers of Sonic products worldwide.

With that said, you’re dead on about the Sonic fanbase; we all see Sonic very differently, and the reason for this (which quizzically often goes unmentioned by those such as yourself) is that Sonic has indeed had many different–fully legitimate–representations throughout the years and across the various regions that he has been marketed in. These different “universes” and “continuities” are one of the franchise’s strongest assets because they expand the appeal of the character and make for a very active fanbase. Unfortunately, the conflict that this creates is also one of the franchise’s greatest weaknesses. It doesn’t have to be this way, but as long as Sega continues to ignore that fact, it WILL be. The key, therefore, is that fans need to be willing to compromise. Unfortunately, they are not generally willing to do so, and Sega does not seem to be willing to facilitate such a compromise. If Sega does ever change its mind, well, then you’ve got my number…

You’re also right that what Sonic fans want and what the general gaming population wants from a Sonic game are not necessarily one and the same. Still, I do think that we’re starting to see a bit of a consensus finally emerge in all of this: that people want simpler storylines/presentation in a 3D sidescrolling game that focuses on Sonic and a great platforming experience–not just speed. I do see great promise in Unleashed, but I do have some concern that Sonic Team may have once again “fixed one thing and broken another” in the process.

I did write an article about my thoughts on the direction of the franchise several months back, and if you are curious, it is up on my web site: http://www.saturdaymorningsonic.com/features/crossroads.html

Some very good feedback in the comments here. Mad props to Ryan/Sharky and Nuckles87 above for making some fantastic points. Nuckles- It’s great to hear from you again. You’ve been sorely missed.

Also thanks to Aaron Haney, Kai, and Glaber for speaking on behalf of the oft-ignored-yet-highly-active SatAM/Archie fanbases. I tip my hat to you.

Posted by PorpoiseMuffins on April 17th, 2008 at 4:05 pm

Comment # 28

Wow, you actually survived the Sonic Forums with your sanity. I’m impressed. I used to post there a decent amount, but the thing is, it does seem like they always just whine and complain about all the same things. (No, offense guys.) I kind of left there mainly because I am a Wii owner, and I’ve never played Sonic 2006, but I’m hoping that someday I will get the chance, so I’m in hiding to avoid all the spoilers, (And on that note, PC port, please! Come on, you gave us a port of Riders. You can give us a port of a game in the main series. Thanks, Sega!) and I’m kind of staying away for the same reason, but also because of the lack of desire to hear the same complaints and arguments over and over again. What seemed to make it worse, (though maybe it’s changed, I wouldn’t know) is that it seems like you either get sucked in with the “purists” who refuse to acknowledge that anything past Sonic and Knuckles doesn’t deserve a first glance, or you are labeled as a ’5T00P1D n00b” whose opinion is totally worthless, and you eventually get brainwashed and transformed into said stupid noob. The neutral people were few and far between and ever so welcome. Anyway, this is all off topic, and my post is already too long.

The first video game I ever played was Sonic 2, and I was pretty much instantly hooked, both on video games in general, and Sonic specifically. Back in the day of Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and The SatAM, I watched pretty much every time one of them was on and taped them when I couldn’t. Those two kind of did shape my primary views of Sonic, as Sonic’s character was kind of vaguely described in the games, though his personality in the games was described in the manuals similar to the portrayal in the cartoons. Now, I think Sonic has simultaneously grown up and lost some maturity. His voice and his appearance imply that the character is older, but the personality does seem to be fading a bit. I still even remember in the Sonic Adventure games, he seemed to have the attitude that he had in the old games and cartoons, but when heroes came along (Which I will admit is not one of the better Sonic games, but I still enjoyed the game play of) he lost his proverbial bark. The attitude was all but gone, and he became a major goodie-goodie. Granted, Sonic would help anyone who needed it at any time under any circumstance, but he would do it with an air that he was only doing what was natural, and was doing it for the fun of it. Traces of his attitude were there in Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic X, but it was more with the air of “It’s my duty because I’m the good guy.”

But yeah, that’s the personality side of it.

As for the game play, I actually tend to disagree with the “Sonic is all about speed” people when they keep saying to make the games faster. The Sonic Advance games and Sonic Rush were TOO FAST! You couldn’t actually see what was coming up on the screen, and because of this, as others have described, the games turned into “hold right until you win.” Plus, to compensate for the ridiculous speed, the features of the level had to be spread out so much that they weren’t really memorable at all. Of coarse, this problem doesn’t arise in 3D games where you can see ahead of Sonic, and it seems as if the problem may be resolved in Sonic Unleashed in that the camera is at an angle so that you may see far enough ahead to be able to see what’s coming. Regardless, I would rather the game be fast, but controllable, than as fast as possible. On the other hand, enemies should be destroyed after one hit, but possibly tougher to hit at all. Anyway, for 2D Sonic games, the balance of speed and control in the genesis games was perfect, and the thing is, they rarely ever went up to max speed. As for 3D, I think Sonic Adventure 2 was ideal. Actually, Sonic Adventure 2 Battle (Because it’s everything SA2 was and more) is one of my favorite games of all time, and I didn’t even really like the hunting or shooting levels that much. The speed levels were just that good. Now if only there was a game that played like the speed levels of Sonic Adventure 2 all the way through, I would be ecstatic. And one more thing: I’m perfectly okay with new characters. So far, every canon Sonic game has had at least one new character, (yes, purists, this includes every canon Genesis game.) and I see nothing wrong with that. However, there’s no reason why characters other than Sonic can’t have similar levels, even if they have different moves and abilities. Look at Knuckles in Sonic and Knuckles. This could actually squeeze more depth out of the same number of levels by having different characters be able to reach different areas.

Anyway, yeah. This has gotten waaaaaaay to long , and I’ve gone on way too many tangents. SegaDawg, if you’ve made it this far, I commend you again, and apologize for all the irrelevance. ‘k. I’m done. Later ,all.

Posted by Ongakujin / Aquamarine on April 17th, 2008 at 8:50 pm

Comment # 30

Sonic the Hedgehog. The name itself conjures up those memories of times past. An iconic character that initiated the 90s and introduced the new kid on the block that dared to rival the potbellied plumber. I was only 10 years old when the speedy blue hedgehog made its debut on the Genesis console; an age that transitions a little boy into the pre-stages of adolescence where discovering your cool factor became essential. What an appropriate era I grew up in! Sonic pushed the envelope of what video games such as Mario aspired to be back in the day. Even though I was Nintendo loyalist, I couldn’t help but to take a second look at what Sega had instored for their 16-bit console. I was floored by the graphics, the catchy upbeat soundtrack, and of course the speed since believe it or not, I was gullible to believe that blast processing was an existing technology. Sonic 1 and 2 were defining moments of Sonic’s career and I’ll always remember how debates would erupt in the school yard on weather Sonic was better than Mario and vice versa. As awesome and extreme Sonic seemed to the majority of game heads, I just wasn’t convinced enough to purchase a Genesis. It would take another a year before something groundbreaking, inspiring, and captivating would attract my attention to Sonic. I’m talking about the SatAM cartoon show that aired on ABC saturday mornings. At age 12, I was simply impressed on how this series was handled. It dared to raise the bar on how video game adapted cartoons were supposed to be. Unlike the Mario and Zelda cartoons, Sonic didn’t follow the games. Now some would completely write this show off due this particular flaw, but it’s this flaw that converted me into a Sonic fan. The cartoon expanded the simplistic storyline from the game manuals and developed it into an episodic serial that told a tale of how an evil and malicious dictator overthrown the planet Mobius and enslaved the populace into mindless robotic slaves. It’s up to Sonic to save his world from utter destruction, but a task of this magnitude is going to involve some assistance.

At this time, Tails was already the new Sonic character and was instantly loved by fans. However, the cartoon took it a step forward by adding brand new, unseen characters that to this day are prominent in Archie Comics. Princess Sally Acorn, Bunnie Rabbot, Rotor Walrus, and Antonie. These band of rebels known as the Freedom Fighters strategically planned out attacks to gradually cripple Dr. Robotnik’s empire and rescue their families. The emotion, compelling plot, the lovable characters immediately sold me on how cool Sonic was. The sci-fantasy/cyberpunk element is what drew me in while expounding on Sonic’s past and giving him sincere personality. A couple months later, I purchased a Genesis and every Sonic title that was available. I started to connect the dots on the games storyline vs the SatAM cartoon and realized how genius Sega’s marketing campaign was. Just when the cartoon was hitting its climax, it was cancelled without reason. I couldn’t begin to tell you how devastated I was when I found out that SatAM ended on a cliffhanger while a 3rd Season was planned. Though I still had the games to find solace, I started subscribing to the Archie Comics which allowed me to live vicariously through the cancelled cartoon show and to this day, I still enjoy reading.

So what exactly makes a Sonic fan? Someone that appreciates the character no matter what universe or subdivision hes involved in. I may enjoy the games as the next avid fan, but it’s the SatAM cartoon and Archie Comics that gravitated me towards the franchise. I’ve always pondered if Sega would ever adapt the SatAM/Archie characters into their games. The way the Death Egg Saga was presented was good start and after the cap was placed on it with Sonic 3 & Knuckles, I waited in anticipation for Sega’s next big release. In between, I became addicted to Sonic CD. The cut scenes, music, game play, story. It was a masterpiece. Unfortunately, post-Sonic 3 has brought out a couple of subpar titles like Sonic R and Sonic 3D Blast. They were excusable, but nothing compared to the 16-bit sides rollers I grew to love.

Finally, the gauntlet was thrown. 1999 was the year that hyped up the Dreamcast with the long awaited titled Sonic Adventure. Probably the most successful 3D Sonic game to date and the direction that was taken with it was astounding. Beautiful stellar graphics, an interesting storyline, and well designed levels. I was college when I got this game and it raised my hopes on what Sega’s plans were for the new millennium. Then comes Sonic Adventure 2 and the inevitable downfall of Sonic. Sonic Adventure 2 to Sonic and Secret Rings can be perfectly illustrated on how Sonic’s personality and dignity were gradually stripped away and dumbed down to a fisher price character. Where was that menacing finger fag we all loved? How come hes not tapping his foot impatiently? Furthermore, whats with that atrociously bad voice acting and dialogue? Its hard to believe that this is the same character that was aimed to an older demographic in the 90s. What made matters worse is the cavalcade of mediocre characters. Shadow, Rouge, Silver, Cream. The list goes on. Its not that I don’t have a problem with games introducing new characters, but its when they cram them in every new release without shaping their personality is what annoys me. Seriously, they might as well be cardboard cutouts they serve no purpose. The balloon cast is just utterly ridiculous and with the new Sonic Chronicles and Sonic Unleashed on the horizon, I honestly hope the rumors are true that the core characters such as Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles are the only playable ones. Of course, when the RPG game was announced I was optimistic that we might see SatAM/Archie characters surface since thats the type of game theyd be suited for. In addition, its been rife in the minds of SatAM fans for years!

But speaking of characters, I have gripes with one in particular and I’m sure most will agree with my assessment. What happened to Dr Robotnik? Whos brilliant idea was it to change his name to some retarded Mega Man boss ie Eggman?! Ok, I do realize in the original Japanese manuals that Eggman is his true name, but for Westerners that grew up with Sonic, we’ve known him as the sinister Dr Ivo Robotnik. A name in itself that strikes terror among his foes. Why was Robotnik reduced to a stereotypical, maladroit villain that’s seen in most children’s anime? The name Robotnik holds more relevance than Eggman ever could. Did you know that in Polish, Robotnik translates into “slave worker?” Which is essentially what he does. He turns innocent creatures into robots, hence the name. Getting back to the SatAM cartoon, he was the most feared among everyone since his attacks were unpredictable. His deceiving, maniacal ambitions is what nearly made him the next Darth Vader which I honestly thought was more appealing than anything Eggman could do. Ever watched Sonic X? Yeah, nuff said lol. Nobody with a name like Eggman can be taken seriously and if Sega really wants to give him his creditability back, the answer should be obvious. Bring back Dr Robotnik!

Sega basically needs to comb through their archives of successful titles and try to emulate that in their new titles. After reading about Sonic Unleashed, im became a bit ambivalent. The 3D sidescrolling action is the perfect compromise for young and older gamers, however the Werewolf element literally scares me. It just seems that it was randomly thrown in there for the sake of being different. However, it seems that Sega is rectifying what hasn’t worked in this decade and trying to appease their fans again. This is great way to win their fans back as well as newer gamers since Sonic has been the epitome of being bad ass. I’m 27 now and I still adore Sonic for what he used to represent in the past. After playing Brawl on Wii, it was such a nostalgic feeling to see him display those classic characteristics from the 90s. Judging from the aforementioned Sonic games coming this year, I’m optimistic that Sega might be taking a page from what Brawl delivered.

Yes Sonic the Hedgehog has experienced his share of success and failures, but its his supporting fanbase that will keep him running for years to come. Taking into account of Sonic’s popularity over the past 17 years, do you think he’ll eventually make his leap to the big screen? Now that would be Past cool!

Posted by AKR on April 18th, 2008 at 10:07 am

Comment # 32

I’m sorry you feel that way, NintFJr. Again, if we want to accomplish anything moving forward, we’re going to need to be willing to compromise. I think you may have missed the point of the article: that we all see Sonic a bit differently.

SatAM was far from a “cheap cartoon.” It was a Hollywood production with the biggest voice actors in the business that cost millions of dollars per episode to produce. I’m not sure why you feel the need to bash something that other people enjoy just because you don’t connect with it or you don’t know much about it, but I think it would be wise to relax and take a step back.

The “Mobius/Freedom Fighter” fans such as myself are generally willing to compromise on this stuff–are you? We’re really not asking for much, and we generally agree on the same points that other fans do when it comes to what needs to change in the video games. As for SatAM not coming back… Well, you’re probably right about that–but we did get the DVDs released and plenty of people said that would never happen. Does that count?

Posted by PorpoiseMuffins on April 19th, 2008 at 6:52 am

Comment # 34

I personally spend most of my time at the SRB2 forums and only recently checked in for information regarding the newest Sonic game. While I’d be sorely tempted to say Sonic is all about fast and furious gameplay, bare minimum of characters, and that there is no chance Sonic Team can pull off a decent game, that would not be my exact opinion but the general opinion of most of the people who know about Sonic that I respect and one that I in some ways can agree with.

When I think about it however, I can’t point to a game and say that is Sonic, but I can point to aspects of a handful of them. I loved the unique gameplay of Sonic and the Secret Rings and hope to see more games follow up on that alongside the series similar to Sonic Riders and Rivals. I liked the kind of racing in Rivals, though the lack of character variation and an infrastructure mode killed it after a while. I’ve played Sonic Adventure and enjoyed all but two characters, and in my opinion, has the best story of all the 3D Sonic games. My very first video game was Sonic 3 and I grew up with it and the subtle storyline in it is probably my favorite one shown thus far.

I’ve started to touch on the storylines, and here and with the characters is definitely where I am most critical towards Sonic. I feel that recent Sonic games haven’t been executed properly enough to do themselves justice. While I enjoyed the storyline of SA, I couldn’t help but cringe at some of Tikal’s lines and later games were embarrassing either due to the characters or the terrible script. (In Sonic Heroes, Amy was demanding marraige of Sonic. In SatSR, Sonic pinky-promises Shahra and the exposition of the Secret Rings backstory was hard to sit through…) If the presentation offers a simplistic storyline, I may not care, but if it has potential, I want to see it met.

And on to the characters, I don’t think there is one character I still like. I don’t mind a more serious Sonic, actually, I didn’t like the fact he took nothing seriously in Sonic Heroes. However the next game I played, Secret Rings, showed the sassy hedgehog I liked, but then he spontaneously turned and spoke intimately to the annoyingly sissy genie. Tails was the cute kid that followed Sonic and became his own hero, and he’s talented with machinery, just like the villain. Somehow the boy genius with the lab thing isn’t as interesting. Dr. Robotnik is becoming more and more pathetic, I’d rather fight his doomsday machine or giant intimidating mech than some monster or demon. Amy admires Sonic, which does not indicate romance, I enjoyed the scenes with her, birdy, and Gamma in SA. She’s positive and cheerful, and holds a view of hope in humanity that has converted at least two villains, this is what I like to see, not her relationship with Sonic. As for knucklehead, I’d like him to at least be stupid in a believable way. Sonic 3K didn’t degrade his character any even though he fell for Robotnik. I don’t mind seeing more/new characters, so long as they are developed properly and don’t feel like they were thrown in there for the sake of having them there.

So what makes an ideal Sonic game to me? I like thwarting Robotnik’s schemes with characters I won’t be embarrassed to listen to. Its a platformer at least in some way, but whether its 2d, 3d, or on-rails I don’t really care. I would prefer to see decent character development and a storyline that will interest me though, in most cases, it probably won’t prevent me from enjoying an otherwise decent game as it probably won’t meet my high standards.

Posted by JEV3 on April 19th, 2008 at 9:06 am

Comment # 36

Segadawg, what is making the games bad when they have perfect potential to be good is the time Sonic team has to make them. To me, Sonic is a victim of money greedy fools who is unwillingly forced to follow their bidding. Sonic was the old man down the street that gives free candy to all the kids that who helped him out. Now he’s not. Sonic used to be the employee of the month for 10 years straight. Now his boss wants more money and rushes him, so now he’s not. Sonic was your favorite toy. Now he’s not because you’ve grown out of it. SEGA of Japan hasn’t made a dang Sonic game since Sonic Heroes, and they took the games sold in Japan from SEGA of America, who the person in charge forces Sonic Team’s games to come out consistently, when for it to do it’s best, it needs to have some time. SEGA is riding a horse that was running for a few hours, and is getting tired, but has to keep running. Why? Because SEGA continues to work it until it collapses. We don’t want new characters because we don’t like how Sonic’s doing now, we want a well thought out game that takes time, so we don’t see the same thing every 7 months. Face it, SEGA wants money badly, so they force their greatest to be their cash cow, and they milk it constantly. Little do they know he’s going to run out soon, and they will go out of business.

That is the very least I could say about SEGA of America. They want money fast, so they use the fastest thing alive.

Posted by Governor _Of_California on April 19th, 2008 at 11:46 am

Comment # 38

Porpoise Muffins, I like the Mario Cartoon, but I don’t think that it’s the direction that anything Mario should go. I’m not bashing something other people enjoy simply because I don’t like it. I mean, really, you right that a few thousand SatAM fans have something to complain about my words then I fully expect to hear from the two billion Christians that I don’t agree with. Disagrement isn’t antagonizing. Simply put, this isn’t matter of agreement. In fact, it should be quite the opposite.

If you so closely associate yourself with something like SatAM that you can’t differentiate yourself from it, you should probably take a step back and reexamine that. I don’t mean to offend, but be critical.

The truth is, fans will be happy with pretty much anything they’re given. SEGA needs the opinions of noncommitted fans.

Posted by NintFJr on April 19th, 2008 at 6:37 pm

Comment # 40

A lot of great points have been illustrated here and its comforting to know to that Sega is willing to listen to their fans via this blog. I found it necessary to pour out my encyclopedic knowledge of Sonic in order to bring some help information from a veteran fan perspective. Even though Sonic fans have now reached the 3rd generation, it’s still worth investment in everyone’s time to understand Sonic’s past and WHY he was successful back in the day. My opinion is as valid as everyone else’s and after investing nearly an hour composing my comment to have it immediately shattered from some berating individual, really hurts.

In addition, NintFJr, its difficult to take your opinions seriously when you linked your name to faux website you so astutely created i.e. http://go.to.hell.com Real mature :eyeroll:

Posted by AKR on April 19th, 2008 at 11:10 pm

Comment # 42

PorpoiseMuffins, if we’re going by that state of mind, then why just SatAM? There are others who preferred Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic Underground, the Fleetway comic series, all that were completely different from each other.
Why should SatAM be so special as to be the direction the games take? Hardly seems fair.

And millions of dollars? Please. This is DiC. XD

Posted by TBarrett on April 20th, 2008 at 5:37 am

Comment # 44

TBarrett- I explained in my last comment why SatAM is a bit different from the other continuities that you mentioned. The “Freedom Fighters on Mobius” paradigm is much bigger than just SatAM as a TV show. Regardless, I never said that elements of Adventures, Underground, or Fleetway shouldn’t have an influence too! By all means, I think that they should get a nod as well. My point here is that Sonic needs a solid premise, and it is my impression that most people agree that the current state of the games just isn’t cutting it in that regard. What Sega needs to do is a critical evaluation of what has and hasn’t worked. Pick out the best of Sonic–past and present–and create something new from it. There is no reason why something like this cannot be done, as it is done all the time in industries like this. Honestly, your point seems a little moot since no matter what Sega does at this point, either some fans are going to feel a bit left out or EVERYONE is going to be completely left out. I think it makes more business sense to try my approach.

As for the budget issue, remember that this was the 90s when children’s animation was much more popular and studios actually spent decent cash on producing cartoons. I double checked and the correct figure is actually around a quarter million dollars per Sonic episode (not sure whether that’s just the animation or the entire production), which would come out to at least 3.2 million per season. Hand drawn animation and veteran voice actors like Kath Soucie, Rob Paulson, and Jim Cummings don’t come cheap.

Posted by PorpoiseMuffins on April 20th, 2008 at 1:12 pm

Comment # 46

SBiX- well let me start this off by saying ” WOW ” I can’t remember how long it’s been since SEGA actually had a serious topic about what the fans want…Congrats on what seems to be your first step to getting our beloved mascot back on track…..

I remember a while back when the creator of sonic was featured in Nintendo Power and talked about how happy he was with the “direction sonic was going in”, after sonic Heroes was released. After reading that , something inside me knew that sonic games weren’t going to be as great as the adventure series left us with…And It came true…Because shadow the hedgehog was by far the worst SEGA game ever made. Now why was that? Because for some reason like in Heroes, I guess your game developers were like ” duh… how can we make this game have the worst controls ever?” I mean seriously how can you go from great controls ( mind you, that they weren’t the best) in Sonic Adventure 2 to Heroes on a next gen system at the time and screw them up? SEGA” Here’s a good idea, lets take out the ability for sonic to walk before he runs”….Every single time I tried to do pin point movements….I would die or fall of the stage…because my character would madly dash off at the touch of the control stick! And in a game that’s is supposed to be fast you need those tight controls….
O and what the hell were you thinking when you made those levels in Heroes and Shadow? Those were probably the worst level designs in any game ever!So boring and repetitive! And why did you make the boss battles have sonic hit the boss like a million times? wheres the strategy in that? If you want to learn how to make great and fun boss battles….take a look a Nintendo’s Super Metriod….Nothing compares to those boss battles….
Now here’s the thing i don’t get… I remember watching a demo from some game conference for the code named project “sonic the hedgehog” for 360 and ps3. I watched it and as the guy playing the game demonstrated the controls and they looked amazing!…..NOW how is it that when i played a demo in a local store that those controls seemed to have completely disappear? It was like playing heroes and Shadow all over again. Why did you make this game so frustrating……? It’s like you were intentionally torturing us! And why did you change all the animations when sonic got hit by an enemy……it was like each time he flew in the air like he was frozen and then when he hit the ground…which also had no animation….it took another 3 seconds to get back up! Why did sonic love a human? Were you all on drugs???? I dont know sega it’s like you’ve gotten lazy…..Some rebirth of the series……more like death….
Then in 2007 i had high high hopes for sonic and the secret rings……The first two levels looked amazingly fun…….but those were the only ones…….I swear if i have to play that stupid skeleton dome level design ever again i will hunt you down! What were you thinking? That game had a great idea with so much potential but once again some how it couldn’t become any where near what we expected….
my last subject is on the current voice of sonic…..why did you hire someone who cant speak and always says stuff in the wrong tone? Get Ryan D back from Adventure he would be more than happy to do it…He has a site look him up!!! O and get the original Shadow voice back as well! And no more 4 kids crap!!!!!
it seems after heroes all sonic products were treated with little to know effort. a good example THE SONIC comics….i use to look forward to them every month, they had great stories and really kept the original sonic story alive…As like the games they suck now not worth the price and the amazing art which once filled every page is gone it’s just sad….
Also i recently bought a sonic x toy for my little brother and i swear it was the worst action figure ever made….cheapest plastic and i think the paint used to color it was lead…… Great impression there…..
And speaking of sonic X….wtf…..I like how the first episode was amazing and really set up the series in the right direction then the rest were all crap!!!! again it looked like the artists got lazy and writers ran out of material!!! Remember Sonic (Satam as us hardcore sonic fans call it) Even to this day that show is great!
O and what ever happened to updating the sonic central site? It hasn’t been updated since February but it’s not even worth it the site is so dull and pointless with it’s outdated info….Here’s an idea make a site where the fans can actually enjoy!!!!! Theres thes things called forums…..
See SEGA sonic is still the best game industry mascot out there and even more than that! I was hoping he would last forever and introduce him to my kids in the future….But lately he’s been put to shame and you are the guys in control of his fate…..
I’m crossing my fingers that SONIC unleashed will give me that same chill i had playing the final ending to Sonic Adventure 2……
SEGA all you need is to get the controls right, make great and fun levels and stop introducing pointless characters! Were playing sonic games for SONIC, TAILS, And KNUCKLES not cream the rabbit!!!!!
I still have faith….that sonic can regain his stature! please please don’t screw up sonic unleashed….please…. Sonic means so much to all us fans we grew up with him since the 90′s…..we dressed up as him, wore Sonic shirts, played sonic games till our thumbs were calluses! We want to relive those great times and want to enjoy playing the same level over and over again mastering every aspect of it ( the first level in Adventure 2) for years to come!

but for now I “gota juice!” Thanks for listening

Posted by SBiX on April 20th, 2008 at 4:10 pm

Comment # 48

Sonic is primarily about speed. So, no, I don’t think Sonic Chronicles is legit. Sonic the Fighters was slow-ER than most Sonic games, and that was fun if not mind-blowing, so maybe you can get away with it.

But my attention is not on that, As long as Sonic Unleashed is good — i.e., better than the secondary characters’ levels in Sonic Adventure, better than any level in Sonic Heroes and subsequent entries — I’ll be all over that game. I don’t mind sidekicks popping up as long as they either operate like Sonic or stay out of his way. I don’t mind plot as long as it stays along the lines of “Robotnik steals Chaos Emeralds, Sonic tries to get them back,” eschews the “massive, epic, corrupt government conspiracy” device that has plagued the series as of late, and doesn’t sag with pretentiousness.

And I don’t mind Sonic turning into a werehod AS LONG AS it feels natural. Smash Brothers-like, maybe. Enough with weird contrivances like the @#$% homing attacks!

The music in the trailer sounded okay, like the designers were trying to stay true to the spontaneous Genesis synth arrangements. Please, though, no emo vocals. Avoid the 4Kids voice actors if you can. Come to think of it, why haven’t you ever casted out of L.A.? You’ve got the budget now!

And that’s all I have to say…

Posted by JetDog on April 21st, 2008 at 11:47 am

Comment # 50

“Werehod?” Pardon me. “Werehog.” As if either were a real word.

Also, the Wii version looks awfully pretty from what screenshots have been released, but it ought to run at 60 fps, if possible. Graphics create a feeling of speed as much as gameplay and controls do.

Posted by JetDog on April 21st, 2008 at 2:28 pm

Comment # 52

My story was said as if Sally had died when SatAM died. Learn to use reasoning abilities. Yes, I’m well aware of the sad fact Sally still exists, but I was replacing Sonic’s Series and Mario’s Series stations in the universe. Think, please.

Posted by NintFJr on April 21st, 2008 at 4:10 pm

Comment # 54

Manonam- Don’t you think that’s a rather surface-level analysis of SatAM? I think most people with a basic, intuitive understanding of storytelling and characterization concepts would agree. I’d like to think that Sonic fans are capable of going a little deeper than that!

The Sally hate expressed by some members of the online fanbase is actually kind of an interesting topic. There was a thread about that on my site several months ago where we debated the reasons and many of our members had some great insights. You might want to take a look at it some time, as the points you made above were dissected in detail.

Sally was actually around before SatAM, although Len Janson (SatAM’s Story Editor) was the one who presumably took her and really developed her personality and backstory. She also appears in various forms in the British books/comics and even before that in some early SoA publications. She was actually derived as the Western form of “Ricky Squirrel,” the Japanese name for the small squirrel rescued from the robots in the Genesis titles… all of this is probably best left a topic for another time and place, though!

Solo- I think you hit the nail on the head in regard to Sonic’s personality and “style.” I’ve been trying to put the essence of that into words for so long and I think you just did it–I’m jealous!

Posted by PorpoiseMuffins on April 21st, 2008 at 8:17 pm

Comment # 56

Actually, I didn’t really see that much of SatAM as a kid. I played the video games and saw more of AoStH. I was very young back then, and it wasn’t until I saw the episodes straight through two years ago that I fell in love with it.

My love for the show actually has very little to do with nostalgia. My love for AoStH, on the other hand, has A LOT to do with nostalgia

Posted by PorpoiseMuffins on April 21st, 2008 at 10:00 pm

Comment # 58

Wow, took 15 years to realize the Sonic fanbase is divided? Well, better late then never.

I became a Sonic fan because of SatAM and Archie and became a fan of the games when SA1 came out (I didn’t play video games before that). So I do like both, even if I prefer one “universe” over the others. But SatAM fans are not some small minority. You just won’t see us around most game-oriented forums because we’re tired of being criticized. And if they haven’t already, maybe SEGA should go take a look at Shout! Factory’s sales figures for the SatAM DVDs; supposedly they were pretty good, although they’re not available to the public.

But I’m not asking for a SatAM game. What I’m asking for is for Sega to do something to bring together the different fan bases. I agree with PorpoiseMuffins that the diversity of Sonic continuities and interpretations is a good thing, but as long as Sega only recognizes one version, the fans of the rest feel alienated, and it gives fuel to those fans who want to discredit the rest of us. I think they can do this by acknowledging the differences among fans, something this blog seems to have finally started. Little things even, like advertising on the merchandise page of Sonic Central the various Sonic DVD box sets that have come out in the past year (Nintendo advertised Captain N on its site when the DVDs came out).

So what do I want to see in a Sonic game? Something that, as was said earlier, is not embarrassing to play, a trend that I find really picked up with Sonic Heroes for a number of reasons. I view Sonic the character as having a bit of an attitude and as a series, something that I can take somewhat seriously. I personally think of the games prior to SA1 as much more Sci-fi then most of the rest that came after. The earlier games just seemed to have the right balance of fun and a touch of darkness. Not to discount the newer games, though; I thought Team Dark’s storyline in Sonic Heroes was fairly well done.

Of course no one game can please everyone, but if they are going to have a new gimmick and go a new direction every time in an attempt to appeal to one group at a time, then maybe Sega should go back to what each group liked about the previous games and work from there instead of trying to make up something completely new. Right now, it feels like some of the games begin as a story idea, and then “Sonic-ness” is forced into it.

Posted by Elisto Dragonwings on April 24th, 2008 at 8:38 am

Comment # 60

I’m not saying that Sonic is getting less cool, it’s just that the stuff coming out recently have been less than Sonic-like. If another GOOD Sonic Adventure tyle game camy out, maybe with a little more of the goodness we remember from Sonic Adventure 1 or 2, it would probably make Sonic games more enjoyable.

Posted by Chaos &Void on April 25th, 2008 at 12:32 pm

Comment # 62

Sonic is known for his speed, but there is much more to him than that. It’s the thrill, the velocity, the coolness, the style and attitude of the hero himself. There is no single way to define Sonic; he is different in everyone’s respective minds. He brings his own special light to any game he stars in, even the bad ones. Sonic is cool. He’s fun to look at, fun to draw, fun to write about and, most importantly, fun to play as.

What is Sonic? Simply, he is the embodiment of freedom. The will to do anything, without any limitations. The feeling of space, and the abilty to run free in it, at his own pace. He is the wind. And like the wind, he may go in the wrong direction. But, we all turn around at one point in our lives, don’t we? Sonic will turn around. Sonic will run again. He will keep moving… and he will look cool while doing it.

That, is Sonic The Hedgehog.

Posted by NintendoBrad on April 25th, 2008 at 6:14 pm

Comment # 64

Also, you mentioned that you’ve come across a lot of threads asking about Sonic and Amy’s relationship. The fact that you even typed that up puts a smile on my face because I at least know that I’m not the only one asking that question.

Posted by K-Nakajima on April 25th, 2008 at 7:19 pm

Comment # 66

The blogger made a point that Sonic is many things to many people, which in a strange way actually answered the overall question! Sonic is many things to many people. To be arbitrarily obvious, Sonic embodies the very essence of freedom and constant movement into the future, backed by his cheesy grin, his amazing ability to uphold justice, and a fickle, selfish addiction to doing the things he does and loves best. Sonic himself knows he’s awesome, and it’s easy to be drawn to that type of confident personality as well as the overall motifs surrounding him. It’s because of it that I think there is some natural part of his audience and even his haters that is highly jealous of him; wanting to be without our usual and boring responsibilities and just do what we want to do for a change without having to worry about any consequences. Unfortunately it’s a forbidden love, and ultimately we’ve become divided over it because all anyone who’s stuck it out with him for this long wants to do is just to see something as precious as that well off and able to exist in the future. And being that we’re naturally human, we simply have our different ways of expressing it. Sonic cannot really be classified as one thing but special to anyone who’s known him. The ways in that he is special depends upon the overall person. All of this is why we should be rooting for Sonic Team to make games that are competently designed, not chastising them on aesthetic matters like werewolves and princesses and realistic levels or weird plots. If nothing else, good games are what their mascot deserves, and that is the most that Sega can give.

Posted by BlizShadow on April 25th, 2008 at 8:27 pm

Comment # 68

To me, one of the most pivotal aspects of the Sonic games of yore was the art direction. The surreal, colorful environments, composed of ethereal geometric shapes and oozing imagination from every pore- the classic Sonic games possessed an air of artistic creativity nonpareil throughout the games of that era and, perhaps, the history of gaming as a whole. This, I think, is what truly made Sonic stand out amongst it’s platformer peers way back when. Problem is, this surrealism is an element the series has been sorely lacking for the past decade or so, instead opting for half-assed attempts at faux realism, something wholy unfitting for a series about high speed technicolor mammals. It bores me to tears, seeing Sonic amidst carbon copies of real world locations and conversing with run-of-the-mill humans, both elements being completely devoid of any sort of effort or imagination. I want Mobius* back.

Of course, there’s a whole lot more to Sonic than eye candy. But, contrary to popular belief, it isn’t just his speed, or his (Presently nonexistant) “attitude”; the classic games weren’t considered to be as great as they are because they were fast. Nay, the classic games were all about /flow/, not speed. People tend to confuse the two, but “flow” is unique in that it describes that sense of satisfaction you get when you’re prompted to use your skill and reflexes to bound and weave your way through obstacles without ever having to come to a complete stop. See, in the Genesis games, you couldn’t just hold right to attain speed (Unlike Sonic’s handheld offerings of today)- if you tried that, you’d find yourself constantly ramming your retarded head against one obstruction or another, be it a short platform, or a cumbersome slope that’d be better traversed with a well-timed leap. Speed came with skill and experience.

I may or may not have done a good job in explaining that, but that, right there, is the one true defining element of the Genesis Sonic games- the brilliant, intricate level designs and physics- actually, let me just take a moment here to elaborate on that- the physics were yet another crucial aspect of the games. The original Sonic Adventure did a sufficient job of translating said physics to 3D, what with the wall running and everything. It’s ironic- they got everything just about perfect the first time around, yet the physics grow exponentially more diluted with each subsequent installment in the series. Is there any reason in particular as to why Sonic Team can’t just copy and paste the code from SA1 into each new game they create, as opposed to trying to reinvent the wheel every time and tripping over their own flaccid penises?

Anyways, yeah- the imaginative art direction, brilliant, intricate level design, robust physics, and, of course, speed- with their powers combined, Sonic becomes Captain Amazing. The latter element is the only aspect of the games that’s remained, because Sonic Team thinks that’s all we want. There’s just /so much/ more to Sonic than speed. It’s going to take a lot of work to bring Sonic back up to the level of excellence present in the classic games- more effort than they seem capable of expending nowadays. I’m certain Sonic Unleashed isn’t going to rectify the issue this time around.

Actually, you know what? For a condensed version of what Sonic “is” (Outside of gameplay mechanics and all), I direct you to the opening and ending animations of Sonic CD. Simply put, these two sequences represent the very essence of Sonic. They’re the ideal representation of Sonic’s speed and attitude. Seriously, the next time Sonic Team sits down and begin talks as to the concept of their next Sonic game, they need to consult these two animations and work upwards from there. Seacrest out.

Posted by Ritz on April 25th, 2008 at 9:45 pm

Comment # 70

I remember back when it was cool (and common) to be a fan of Sonic the Hedgehog. Now, however, you mention his name and you either get confused looks, or the ever common reply, “I haven’t played that in years.” They, of course, mean the Genesis era. Sonic was big back then.

Now, however, it seems he’s faded into obscurity. Which is a shame, because there’s a lot of potential to be found here. Unfortunately, Sega doesn’t care to try.

But, I’m going off track. Sorry.

To me, Sonic is a great series: vast worlds, colorful characters and there’s never a dull moment. The games have always had this, but the quality hasn’t been quite up to par.

Sonic really shouldn’t be totally focused on speed. It’s integral, sure, but enough to be a priority. if all you’re doing is running quickly and jumping once or twice, things get really dull at that same rate. There has to be a balance. Slow down every now and then to focus on standard platforming and exploration then, when no one expects it, crank it up about seven notches to really wow the players. You’re not really supposed to go into a Sonic game expecting it to be fast – that’s already a given – you’re supposed to be shocked at how fast it can REALLY be.

As for the character, Sonic really doesn’t have that much ‘tude lately. Sure he’s snappy, but it seems forced, tacked on and uninspired. He needs an edge.

Picture this: you’re squaring off against the Blue Blur for whatever reason and he says something extremely rude and emasculating, something that makes you go, “OH HELL NO! This hedgehog’s goin’ DOWN!!” That’s the Sonic we miss. The guy who’d help you out of a jam one second and make a snide comment about your situation the next.

It’s not just Sonic’s portrayal that has stilted. Everyone seems to have a personality that, while diverse, is stereotypical and unneeded. Not everyone in this world is as cookie-cutter as this bunch, you know.

Now, a great deal of people have been aggravated and disgusted by the series ever-expanding character roster. It’s gotten to the point that even Tails and Knuckles have had their removals requested. Personally, a planet full of nothing but small, everyday animals and ONE special hedgehog seems pretty lame. On the other hand, there’s no need to keep showing people no one cares about. Again, there has to be a balance.

Now, about the voices. I’d say either go the extra mile and hire quality voice actors – ones that fit the parts so well that there’s perfect harmony- or follow the critics advice and Sonic and the others completely mute, let their expressions do the talking. This will piss off a lot of people, but it’ll get the haters off your back.

Lastly, the story. Some want it to be batter, some don’t want it at all. Basically, there hasn’t been an amazing, ground-breaking story since Adventure 2. Sonic Next (360) came close, but there were so much we could’ve done without. Whomever’s writing for the games these days needs to be fired and replaced by writers who have more experience. Or just cut out the story altogether and have Sonic chase Eggman’s robots over and over again.

Either way, it seems that the current way of doing things is horrendously flawed and needs to change. There’s nothing but bitterness and scrutiny attached to this series’ label now, so there must be new direction, people who understand what’s gone wrong and are willing to do whatever it takes to repair the damage, even if it means making some sacrifices.

All in all, this franchise can be saved, Sega just needs to TRY. This is a meaningful series, not a cash cow. Sales have declined for a reason, and will continue to do so if quality isn’t improved. After all, the fans you’ve lost as of this writing number among hundreds of thousands, each one of them sick of waiting for the one game (or games) that will propel Sonic (and with him, Service Games) back to stardom. He doesn’t deserved to be passed over by Spyro the Dragon or Crash Bandicoot. Sonic is better than that and it’s high time you proved it.

All in all, Sonic, to me, is great. But it can be SUPER. All I ask of your company, SegaDawg, is to TRY.

If they won’t…I WILL. No matter what it takes.

Posted by Ryan Brown on April 25th, 2008 at 9:52 pm

Comment # 72

When I read this blog, I smiled and laughed too since I didn’t think Sega really cared about what the fans thought. It makes me happy that you guys are starting to see the Sonic fan base as it is. Despite all our different views we do all have one thing in common. We all are passionate about Sonic and want nothing more then the best for him. Evidently Sega wants the same thing or that’s what I like to think.

I was a Sonic fan before I even learned my ABC’s in Preschool. Now as a young women in college where I have grown up and been through many changes, I can’t say my interest for the Sonic franchise has changed since the time I was three years old. I grew up with Sonic, he is the Mickey Mouse of my time. Besides my parents, I like to think Sonic had something to do with my up bringing. As I adapted some of Sonic’s carefree attitude to some of the dramatic stuff life brings. I also like to credit the character Amy Rose for her willingness to never give up and her strong sense of girl power. Those things helped to some one like me who had it rough in the teen years, especially as a female.

To me Sonic is more then just speed. Sonic is a character who is carefree, isn’t afraid to take risks, and takes challenges head on with a great determination. What makes him “cool” to me, even though he’s a all round nice guy who can be sweet and cares about the well being of others. He can also come off as having an attitude, being impatient and sometimes down right insensitive. Which are flaws but I think it makes him more humanized which makes him more relatable as a character. Even though he’s good hearted nice guy he isn’t an angel either, like most good people are.

One problem I do have with Sonic is that he’s one dimensional as a character, as are most of his friends. I wish him and his friends were more in-depth, as to why they do they things they do and what’s their background story. They don’t grow or develop much, especially their relationships with one another. It’s stale and if characters can’t grow then the story becomes bland like most Sonic games are these days. Thus, the story seems all the same in every game which makes them become boring. It takes out the enjoyment to learn more or be excited as to what might happen next in the game’s storyline. Before you can add new characters to the mix lets try working with what we got (such as Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Shadow, etc) and go from there.

As for the criticized game play in recent Sonic titles, they seem all rushed just to make the deadline thus all the bugs in it. Which made me think Sega did not care about the quality but rather the money. Why not take your time on the game and release it when all parties feel it’s perfect and ready for the public to enjoy. I rather wait to have a great game than to have a mediocre game that was rushed. When you make games where the storyline doesn’t make much sense and the game play is bad repeatedly. People are going to start to lose faith in the product and it starts to decline. I see some Sonic fans already half expecting for the new Sonic games to fail due to past titles. If Sonic fans feel this way then I can only imagine people outside the fan base are expecting. I loved the 2D Sonic era it’s what made me a fan in the first place, but I also believe that the modern 3D Sonic has a lot of potential to be great too. Sonic Adventure for the Dreamcast was considered a great 3D Sonic game by many fans. Make me want to play the game over and over again even after I beat it. I hope Sonic Chronicles and Sonic Unleashed will do just that for the reasons I said above. I’m mostly looking forward to the Sonic RPG since I’m also a RPG fan. I like story driven games a lot and if the game play is great I’m hooked no matter what genre.

On a side note I noticed you mentioned Sonic and Amy in the blog. Which makes me laugh as I too wonder about that question. Sonic and Amy are both my favorite characters and their cat and mouse game is indeed cute. I do wonder though if it will even come to a head as they’ve been playing this game for years. Then again that all comes back to what I said about the stories and the characters being in depth and having growth. It would be nice to see their relation to one another move forward rather then be stuck in this continuous chase game over and over again. Hopefully they will move their relationship forward and finally get an answer if he truly feels for her or not. I’m hoping he does considering a few hints here and there, the games has given off. I know Sonic is mainly about action and I like it like that but a little romance (if done right) wouldn’t hurt either since it would make things very interesting between them. Just a thought….

Posted by Tazzy Taz on April 25th, 2008 at 11:08 pm

Comment # 74

Sonic is not only a character, but a gaming icon that’s revolutionised the industry over the past 17 years. The Sonic games are well known for their intense speed, colourful visuals, simple, addictive gameplay and great, varied character and level design.

Sonic as a character is as cool as any character can get. His design is completely unique and his cocky fast tempered attitude separates him from the majority. Along with his friends such as Tails, Knuckles and Amy, Sonic fights against the evil Dr. Robotnik/Eggman to keep the planet a safer place and to secure the safety of his friends.

The imagination behind Sonics universe is truly unique and Sonic and his friends/enemies characteristics certainly expand further adding even more depth. The majority of the latest games do not show this creativity and completely change Sonic and his friends personalties for the worse, along with lacking the special something the original games had, such as colourful levels, great gameplay and unique level design.

As a fan I feel many of the characters in Sonics universe are unique and can still be expanded on in future titles, however we still have much to explore in regards to Sonic himself. Sonic is what makes the games. Sonic is what sold the Mega Drive/Genesis all those years ago. Sonic is what fans want to see. SEGA switch the focus of games onto more story driven elements or side characters, a perfect example being Sonic the Hedgehog on Xbox 360 and PS3 released 2006. Straying from the original formula is also often seen in spin-off titles such as Sonic Riders or Sonic Chronicles. These spin-off titles are perfectly fine, but most feel unneeded while Sonic is in the current state that he’s in, referring mostly to Sonic Rivals 2 and Sonic Riders 2.

I feel Sonic Unleashed and Sonic Chronicles could very well be the turning point in Sonics future. Sonic Unleashed will cover everything a Sonic game should be, speed, gameplay, colourful locations and development on Sonics character with compelling attitude and speed. Sonic Chronicles on the other hand will provide development on other compelling characters while at the same time offering a much more cinematic storyline, being a spin-off RPG title.

My final definition of Sonic would be: A unique character that would show no sign of stopping or slowing down along with a universe full of interesting locations and many surprises.

Posted by Lee on April 26th, 2008 at 12:28 pm

Comment # 76

It is true that Sonic the Hedgehog means different things to different people. But I think that’s largely a factor of elements of each of the mediums Sonic has been a part of mixing into one another. You have elements from the cartoons (voice acting, darker storylines) and comics (twisting storylines, multiple parts for each character) all becoming part of the video game, and I believe that this is part of the major problem many fans have with Sonic right now.

Not to discount the comics or the cartoons, as I enjoyed everything Sonic had his face on when I was a kid. But I firmly believe that Sonic’s adventure into these mediums should be kept separate to the video game experience. Comics were created to give the video games more of a story – I would prefer to have modern day Sonic games with the simple task of defeating Robotnik/Eggman, and leave all the cutscenes and other fluff to the monthly comics, where the extension of the story would be appreciated. The game adaptions in Archie and Sonic the Comic do happen to be some of the fan’s most fondly remembered after all.

And the same deal with the cartoons too – another medium to tell a deeper story to Sonic, because the video games have done it best when it was simply “Robotnik’s trapping animals, running Death Egg/Egg Carrier/some thing and you must stop him” without a hundred and one action-stopping scenes inbetween.

Back in the day, you had Sonic the video game. The original Mega Drive (Genesis for my US friends) used speed as a hook, yes. Sonic was about speed, but not completely about speed. Sonic was a platformer, yes, but not even 50% platformer (assuming 50% speed). The main focus of Sonic the Hedgehog was its physics.

As a video game, Sonic the Hedgehog was all about the physics. Can you run around that loop at the speed you’re going at, or are you going to need to hit a spring? Can bumping off that star bumper get you onto that floating platform? How am I going to overcome Robotnik using his own bombs against him? See-saws, another nod to the use pf physics.

Design was always a big part of Sonic to me as well – for me, and many other gamers who have since departed from the Sonic community, Sonic Games = animal-style robots that fit in with the environment you were travelling through (Flasher bugs in Mystic Cave, Buzz Bombers in Green Hill, Piranha fish in Hydrocity), blue skies and an alternative vision of our real world.

These days, Sonic games (besides Rivals) tend to focus too much on our real world – even Sonic Adventure 2 focused on San Fransisco a little too much. Sonic the Hedgehog on Mega Drive was obviously influenced by real life examples, but I don’t believe there are many volcanic areas quite like Marble Zone on this planet. It added a certain charm and creativity that you don’t really see in games like Sonic Nextgen (PS3/360) because SEGA/Sonic Team try to imitate an anime far too much.

Some of Sonic the Hedgehog’s best video games have come from a collaboration of East and West. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on Mega Drive is one example. Had the East been a bit more collaborative, Sonic X-Treme would have been another fantastic Sonic game to have based our modern day games on. In many ways, the canned Sonic X-Treme represents the heart and soul of Sonic in a 3D platform most to me than anything in the last nine years.

Posted by Svend 'Dreadknux' Joscelyne on April 26th, 2008 at 1:45 pm

Comment # 78

Here’s a general question. Will any of our suggestions be relayed to Sega and taken to heart? Cause I recently discovered that Sega of Japan holds the cards to all business and creative decisions regarding Sonic the Hedgehog property which includes games, publushing, cartoons and other media. It’s wonderful that Sega of America is listening to us, but will the Japanese branch? That’s my main concern.

Posted by AKR on April 26th, 2008 at 2:47 pm

Comment # 80

Wonder if you take the time to read all the opinions
((English is not my maternal language… just so you know ^^;))
Well, to me Sonic is one blue speedy smug spiky rat with a lot of charisma, whether he’s running around at breakneck speeds, fighting around or guarding his lawn. His impatient, yet lovable personality is what I like the most.

Whether he’s on Earth or a psychedelical planet, it should be light-hearted and relaxing, with some oddities and elements that make the universe look a bit surreal, like the dancing flowers in retro games, advanced technology in Sonic Riders etc. What I like the most are colorful, bright levels or dark levels with something that makes them stand out in means of originality, so that it’s not just another stereotypical dull place of another cataclysm.

The more exciting it is, the better. It’s lovable to get into trouble that makes your heart beat at nearly the speed of sound, yet it’s taken so light-heartedly you aren’t discouraged when you fail at it. Or when you’re given the chance to explore the stages, with various oddities for you to play with. Be it the incredibly deep character of Hatsun the pigeon in Sonic06, the giggling monkeys in SA:DX… They’re all obscure, but fun altogether. The monkeys and other details keep me playing my SA:DX demo, just for the sake of finding the most hilarous way of losing all lives…

That’s of course only working when a game’s fully polished. It won’t change anything if the most basic elements of gameplay are wrong. Waiting for the game to load for an hour then glitching to fall through the floor is not exciting at all. (To the majority.) End of my terrible essay.

Posted by kuusou on April 27th, 2008 at 1:27 am

Comment # 82

Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2 thats what Sonic should be! I would love the idea of Sonic Adventure 3 which I learned was Sonic Unleasheds orignal name. I love the free roaming aspect of SA.

Posted by Brandon Aitcheson on April 27th, 2008 at 8:03 am

Comment # 84

Sonic is “the blue dude with the tude”, loves freedom and adventure, and hates injustice. I think that needs to be made a lot more obvious, I haven’t seen a whole lot of wisecracking, but that’s been changing quite a bit. And it doesn’t even have to be vocal. In Sonic and the Secret Rings, when he seems to be just letting Eggman as the King just fall to his death, only to catch him with his foot, looking up with a really annoyed look? We need that sort of subtlety.

Well, I think that what you’re doing with mixing oldschool and new school gameplay is great. Some person stated that they didn’t like the semi-realistic stages and the whole talking with humans. Well, I believe that if you mixed the surrealism of the original Sonic stages in a way that would make it seem plausible in a semi-realistic stage, that would be cool. I can see hints of it in the African style level of Sonic Unleashed…there’s no way that kind of adobe thing could be built in real life. XD Also, I always found the idea of human beings in a strange surreal world with golden rings and constant attacks from robots, trying to live their lives the best they can, very interesting. The Robotnik family, of Eggman, Dr. Gerald, and Maria are very interesting people. I honestly wasn’t expecting to like the GUN Commander due to…well, GUN’s obvious mistakes, but he grew on me. Unfortunately, the portayal of human characters like Chris Thorndyke in Sonic X and Princess Elise in Sonic ’06 aren’t exactly helping with people’s perceptions of human beings in the series. Chris is seen as a whining hanger on and Elise is seen as a plain hanger on. Not to mention that both characters have a very close relationship with Sonic, Elise even more so in some respects (some respects that have people VERY creeped out. I’ve read that Sonic was originally going to have a human girlfriend named Madonna and the “Mary Shelley” origin story had the Sonic in the story have a relationship with a human as well, so I think that revisiting that sort of thing in a recent Sonic game would’ve been a plausible choice. However, the reaction of Sonic having a romantic relationship with a human in 2006 isn’t exactly going to be the same reaction we would’ve have if we were introduced to Madonna in Sonic 1 all the way back in ’91!) This tends to rile people up, and it makes them less inclined to like any other humans. At the very least, try to make the human characters a bit more interesting, without trying to have some form of attachment to Sonic or any other character. I’d like to see some more offbeat characters such as Sonic Man.

Either way, Sonic should be great speed and physics based platforming with unique environments. If characters are going to be in it, they shouldn’t be one-dimensional, and an excuse to put a new character in should made an excuse to flesh out a pre-existing character. If a storyline is going to be a bit more mature, an attempt should be made to make it GOOD, none of these plotholes…but there should always be a sense of light hearted fun at it. If it’s going to be a bit more mature, it should never go above Sonic Adventure/Sonic Adventure 2 level. There should be plenty of situations that should make your jaw dropped.

…Just do your best at it, do NOT rush it. Rushing is what got us the absence of Hidden Palace Zone in Sonic 2, rushing is what got us Sonic 3 and Knuckles being two different games and rushing is what got us Sonic ’06. Rushing is Sonic’s job, your job is making that rushing appealing to most people. Never all people, that’s unrealistic. SEGA appears to be finally making the commitment to making a great new Sonic game. Make sure you deliver on that appearance. …’sides, if it’s good, it’ll be great to not have to hear all that whining and moaning about a fictional game character we care way too much about to not whine and moan about. XD

Posted by Inaudible on April 27th, 2008 at 9:46 am

Comment # 86

Sonic the Hedgehog is attitude. Cocky, over confident, somewhat rude, very impatient, but with a strong sense of justice – he’s the punk in highschool who is a jerk to everybody but will stand up for the dorks if a jock happens to be picking on them. But despite being impatient, he’s not hyperactive – he’s laid back, almost lazy; but when he wants to do something, he does it, right then and there with no tolerance for anything wasting his time.

Sonic the Hedgehog is speed. Not too fast, but not too slow – very controlled speed. Sonic is never out of control; he has remarkable gravity-defying agility. Sonic is not just speed, though, but he’s also exploration and platforming – a clever mix of all three. Recent Sonic games have divided these up almost in to character classes – Sonic is focused exclusively on speed, Tails is focused exclusively on platforming, and Knuckles is focused exclusively on exploration and/or combat. In relative terms, this is like eating the ingredients of a cake separately, expecting them to mix from within your stomach. What made the Genesis Sonic games so great was they were a balanced mixture of all three elements together. The levels were designed so there were clear points in which you could explore, could run very quickly, or had to destroy a lot of enemies. Each character had clear advantages and disadvantages and their own unique routes through a level that played to these strengths and weaknesses in their own ways.

Sonic the Hedgehog is wonder and fantasy, a surrealistic retro-techno visual style of flat shaded polygons and geometric patterns amidst ancient ruins, rolling hills and valleys, lush jungles, and smog-choked robot factories. Sonic represents the battle of Nature vs. Technology; Magic vs. Science; Eco-friendly vs. Industrial Pollution.

Sonic the Hedgehog is nostalgia; beyond other children’s properties like He-Man, G.I. Joe, GhostBusters, and Ninja Turtles, Sonic the Hedgehog has been a part of my best childhood memories and experiences for longer than any other. In a way, the character has directly or indirectly shaped a fair percentage of my entire life so far. My artistic skills, my desire to enter game development, and the abilities born out of those wants and dreams, began in 1991 with Sonic the Hedgehog. Watching the franchise these last five years has been like watching an old, dear friend of mine slip away and die.

Sonic the Hedgehog is hope lost, respect lost, appreciation lost. New games in the franchise begin to retroactively sour old memories, seemingly in the name of a quick buck. Sonic the Hedgehog was an industry super star. He was a foundation for Sega’s success in America, and stood next to Mario as one of leaders of the industry; a watermark of quality for all game software to strive towards. In my opinion, without Sonic the Hedgehog, there would be no Sega – at least not in America. For that reason alone, he deserves far, far more respect than he has been getting – not from gamers or journalists, but from the people who develop his games.

Posted by Ryan Bloom on April 27th, 2008 at 11:47 am

Comment # 88

Whenever I think of Sonic, I think of an individual who has enormous amounts of both courage and curiosity. He’s always in the mood to see something new, to meet someone new, and to tackle a new challenge which might endanger his life.
Sonic is also someone who isn’t selfish or egocentric despite his rebellious attitude. He never likes to watch a friend getting hurt, even if that friend is someone who makes him feel embarrassed or unconfortable.
Sonic is the type of guy who is capable of leaving a lasting impression to everyone and anyone that he ever comes across in his life. And this is the reason why I have always loved him, whether it was on a TV screen or on a comic book or in a videogame.

Posted by Eugene Sloupsky on April 27th, 2008 at 2:43 pm

Comment # 90

Sonic is the epitome of early 90s coolness.
He is calm, collected, full of energy and willing to get moving. Every confident, maybe a little cocky (but in a fun way), he’s always ready to help out his friends and set off on great adventures.

Posted by Sofox on April 28th, 2008 at 7:30 am

Comment # 92

Sonic – its Ryan Drummond.

Posted by Klonk on April 28th, 2008 at 9:15 am

Comment # 94

Y’know, there are two reoccurring motifs in the comments here I feel the need to refute:

1.) Sonic is all about speed:
I’m pretty confident if all you did in the original Sonic games was blast through the stages as fast as you could, you would miss out on a good deal of hidden treasures and miss half the fun of the game. Sonic games are just as much about EXPLORATION as they are moving really fast, and I think that’s one of the aspects all the 3-D games have managed to miss, even the relatively good ones like SA1 and Secret Rings.

Heck, I might even go so far as to say speed is one of the key things HURTING the 3-D Sonic titles. Most of the complaints lodged against the more recent titles-from cheap fall-off-the-stage deaths to a buggy camera-are problems created or exacerbated by the high speed the game requires you to move at.

2.) Sonic can’t tell a serious story:
I admit, I’m probably biased here: I grew up on SatAM and still read the Archie comics, so Sonic is far more associated with a good narrative in my mind than he might be for others. Nevertheless, I feel saying that Sonic shouldn’t attempt to tell a good, dramatic story simply because he is an anthropomorphic hedgehog is…kinda silly. “Usagi Yojimbo” has a pretty good narrative going, and its cast is comprised of nothing but anthros/furries/whatever-you-want-to-call-them.

Likewise, most of the ideas used in the recent games are not particularly offensive in concept; some are even quite clever. The problem lies in exectuion: horrible dialogue and voice-acting, and a steadfast refusal to give these characters much in the way of emotional range really hurt. I think SEGA would do well to take a page from Nintendo’s book and try to tell a story in much the same way “Super Smash Bros. Brawl” did in its Adventure Mode: cinematics without dialogue, but with a clear plot and excellent emoting on the part of its cast.

Just my two cents on those things.

Posted by gojira007 on April 28th, 2008 at 4:15 pm

Comment # 96

Wow… to me Sonic was the first video game I ever played… starting with Sonic 1 on the genesis while I was barely 3 years old… and I still remember playing it.
Sonic is about speed and about attitude sure but Sonic still represents what everyone has inside them: heroism and courage. That is what Sonic initially meant to me due to me finding Sonic that early in life as a game.
Other then that I think it’s important to note that while the world changes, certain things do not. I was most angry with the development of Shadow the Hedgehog mostly because first Sonic wasn’t the main character and secondly because there were weapons and guns everywhere. You don’t have to relate to “gansta’” culture at all, they don’t play games anyways. That by far was the worst Sonic game.
Now that I got the bad out, let me say the good things. The 3D games Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2 are still some of my favorite Sonic games albeit they were a little linear in level design. I missed the alternate paths in the older Sonic games and the exploration to try to find the shortest path so you can zoom through as Sonic!
I really liked Tails and Knuckles as characters, and Amy was okay, but now there are… 20 different characters? I still don’t know why and I don’t think it was particularly necessary either. Although some of them have been pretty good.
I’m an old school Sonic fanboy if you hadn’t noticed by now and what I want more is the levels to be in depth and Sonic to stick to the speed and crazy action. That’s what I miss most: the newer games have seemed somewhat watered down.
But I will say that I did love Sonic and the Secret Rings for the speed. That was fast.
In closing, Sonic needs to go back to his roots and not have crazy storylines introducing new characters and/or transformations.

Posted by TheOfficialSonicFanboy on April 30th, 2008 at 9:01 am

Comment # 98

There’s already quite a few respones, so I’ll try to keep this short.

Up until Sonic Adventure 2, the series was on a roll….a good roll. The genesis games were memorable, and once it properly took on a 3D form, it was the next step.

Sonic Adventure took what they had from Sonic 3 & Knuckles and enhanced it. They added more detail to the system of the Master Emerald and chaos emeralds, they added interesting history to Knuckles’ ancestory, and with the character E-102 it gave players a much different and even touching perspective- from a robot’s view.

Sonic Adventure 2 took a much more mature turn. Suddenly the world of Sonic wasn’t as full of “innocent fun” as it used to be, but it was for the better. It brought a stronger sense of respect for the characters. It made them more relatable as well. The story itself was so well-done. Interesting plot twists, different perspectives for the players (Hero and Dark stories), and a more deeper interaction with all the characters.

However, Sonic Heroes was when everything went downhill. Because the kids were whining for Shadow, he came back. Worst move ever. Don’t get me wrong he’s a good character, but I think the best decision would of been to keep him out of games for a while and then have him show up in one to help out or something as a surprise. Having him show up in the next game is really anti-suspenseful. It caused an uproar but everyone was really upset that there was no decent explaination. And once it was explained (Shadow the Hedgehog), it was done in a game with terrible gameplay, glitchy camera angles, and an unoriginal storyline.

Since then, every game has been trying too hard. They keep ADDING more and more elements and it’s making the Sonic series lose it’s identity. I think that if Sega wants to make a really good Sonic game that appeals to everyone, they need to start using what materials they have and enhance the world of Sonic with it. Adding more characters and stuff for the sake of an interesting plot is NOT creative and refreshing.

And more importantly, I think we need to have our focus back on Sonic. Lately Sonic has been reduced to ” the first character” instead of keeping that “The hero, the main guy, the star of the show” image. I think it would be really cool if there was a game that focused on Sonic and revealed more about his origins and his character.

Posted by CeeCee on May 8th, 2008 at 4:25 pm

Comment # 100

What is Sonic to me…

Personally it was what got me up in the mornings. It’s what had me and my oldest friend glued to the T.V. trying to get Super Sonic (and trying the cheat codes all wrong). He’s what made me proud to have a Sega Genesis when other kids where drooling over pictures of the PS2. He’s what started me to play video games and read comics while other girls my age were playing dolls and doing hair.

Character wise, Sonic is that fast as i don’t what hedgehog that makes it a good thing to be short. He’s cocky and does whatever he wants while helping out others in the process. In other adaptations, Sonic is a character who can be cool with almost everyone, can teach you something on almost every subject (like sexual harassment), and just that all around good guy. He has his flaws, but still lovable (especially in SatAM). HE’S PRACTICALLY EVERYONE’S BEST FRIEND.

Game wise, Sonic is the one character that doesn’t need to talk just to get his point and beliefs across. (If the player is nice) He’s the one impatient character who would probably wait till Tails comes floating back, after Tails decides to spin-dash the completely opposite direction, before continuing on the never-ending battle against Robuttnick (Robotnick, Eggman, whatever floats your boat). He’s the one character that doesn’t need a movie like story just to be interesting. He’s the one game with some insane replay value (How many games can you keep playing over and over again till you can beat it in 10 minutes then post it on YouTube??). So far the only games that I can happily hum the level songs to.

Basically Sonic is like the Michael Jackson of game franchises. He stars conflicts between people, he loses fans constantly, and still manages to grace articles of magazines. Sonic’s fall in popularity cannot be entirely blamed on the new games, like people keep saying it’s the fans being so separated. If kids around my age and younger (and I’m a month younger than Sonic) can stop praising Shadow and play some of the older games or even watch a couple of old T.V. shows heck maybe we can get something to agree on. They can even for once listen to the older gamers instead of bashing them, we can get at least a little peace. Some the older gamers should give the younger ones a chance instead of calling them all ignorant for liking Shadow. They’re what’s keeping the franchise going for now. People should also stop assuming all old school Sonic fans and T.V. show fans are furry fans. Not all of them are. That’s a stereotype and the last thing we need. Do we really need to find a Martian Luther King Jr. for Sonic fans?? Sega shouldn’t be so protective with Sonic. Right now he isn’t doing so hot and maybe is in need of some more third party people to help him out. BioWare can do it alone. Bring back some of the old cartoons, even Sonic Underground (I don’t mean finish the shows off just put some reruns on T.V. I see old episodes of All That and Kennan and Kel everyday why is Sonic so different?). I know it was corny with a lot of singing but beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Just cause you don’t like it doesn’t mean someone else won’t either. AND RELEASE MORE OLD SCHOOL T-SHIRTS (yeah i do realize that has nothing to do with anything but hey i need a new t-shirt that doesn’t require me shopping on eBay). Maybe you can get Big the Cat to do something constructive i mean I’m sure everyone can agree with that. STOP WITH THE SALLY HATE!! Sally fans, STOP WITH THE AMY HATE!! I do realize they are both annoying but still. Can we all get along? All the characters have their flaws, but must you address them openly with pictures and badly animated videos on YouTube. We all have our opinions on who Sonic should be with, but that doesn’t mean hate all the other ladies cause of it.

Sonic is what kept friendships together, what helped kids wake up on Saturday mornings after a full week of school and work, and what started kids on their never ending career as GAMERS. He’s the one character that last the battle with Mario. He’s shouldn’t die and he shouldn’t be remade. He just needs to go back to the good old days where he was silent and always running. He doesn’t need his characters taken away, he doesn’t need every character to tell his story, and he certainly doesn’t need his characters neglected. All we need is Sonic, his pals and rivals, and his enemy Robuttnick. No more guns, slow cars, tons of storyline, kissing of humans, treasure hunting, and swearing at every death moment. Just give us short, chubby, cocky, nonchalant, way past cool, SILENT Sonic (unless you want the YES! like on Sonic CD). Maybe Michael Jackson should do the music again or is that asking too much?? that’ll make 99.9% of the fans mad. just joking folks… or am I??

Nuff Said
Douces

Posted by Dani D on May 10th, 2008 at 9:44 pm

Comment # 102

Good a good Sonic game i hope. Pop.

Posted by Shenmue Tree on May 14th, 2008 at 10:16 pm

Comment # 104

I think SEGA should take a break with the Sonic the Hedgehog Series. They’ve already covered every genre and cliché there is in popular culture. 2-5 years should be a good enough time. They should work on other franchises like Vectorman, Ristar and who knows? Maybe an Alex Kidd sequel…

Posted by Jonathan on May 21st, 2008 at 12:04 pm

Comment # 106

To me, Sonic is about a hedgehog who can run over 700MPH. A game with a good villian (I’m a fan of Mephiles but, i’d much rather have Eggman take over the world with these super tough robots, and Sonic & Co. team up to save the world.) A game with an epic story (Like the story we got in Sonic Nex-Gen.) A game about how these little animals can defy all odds, and save he world from the terror that the evil Dr. Eggman is bringing among the world. Eggman needs a huge great empire, an army of awesome robots including Metal Sonic, Johnny, Egg Emperor, and the Egg Gunners, among many other really futuristic robots. Not the childish Egg Pawns. We need a dark story to keep us motivaed to keep playing the game, not some little kid humourus game that we’ll all eventually grow out of. Sonic needs a good team of cool frinds, and enemies. The characters should range from:
Sonic, Tails, Knuckes, Eggman, Amy, Metal, Shadow, Rouge, Omega, Cream, Silver, Blaze, Nega, Johnny, and possibly a new character once, and a while.
But, we need a good game that focuses on Eggman taking control of the world, and having this whole huge big army, and an epic empire.

Posted by Soul_Hedgehog on May 24th, 2008 at 7:00 am

Comment # 108

Sonic is sonic 1 to sonic 3 to sonic and knuckles 1 to 3 and satam!!!!!!!!!

the whole pokiemon meets dragonball z meets megaman that is sonic x is a embrasment along with the sonic
adeventures and the remake for the 360

the satam and archie stories gave us westerners a more real verson of sonic and his personality to over come all no matter what the odds ..along with his ff friends to support him in
such a dark world ruled by a evil tyrant known as Dr juilen ivo Robotnik and his nephew snilvy

Sonic represents the battle of Nature vs. Technology; Magic vs. Science
hes also sometimes careless and arrogant and rude but allways seems to make up for it
and sally is allways there for him when and if he ever gets down and will fight right beside him no matter the odds to win back the freedome of there friends and famley and of there world known as Mobius in the 31st centry along with all the ofther FF’s
Tails,Router,Bunny Rabbot,antone,lupy,and yes even that anoying dragon ducly etc. whould been nice to see knuckles,shadow,rouge in this stroy and metalsonic

this stroy telling of sonic gave us real sence of duty sonic has to his world and to his friends to stop a evil scitencest form turning its remaining population into mindless drone mechines and tells how everything came to be form point of orgion of how everyone came to be.

also it was done were the bad guy had already won and the good guys had to fight back . witch is more orginal stroy i think compared to this cookie cutter style thats been going on latey
also hes one of the most well known character’s in the world you say sonic and everyone knows who your talking about hes even got bands that do tributes to him
sonic is a rocker does and says what he likes no matter who they are.
but will stand up for the weak when and if he can

what ruined sonic is backsteping in his character and his stroy and turning the villens in his stroys into this watererd down loser that seems more of slap stick then a threat to anything besides himself basicley trying to reinvent him. and adding all these none bleavble pokiemon styled character’s to the stroys like the chous and tails love intrust
and the earth stroys and the dragon ball z fighting scenes to much flash kills guys come on.

and greed has also helped with his downfall witch we all know sonic is not about.

and satam whould have been cannon in sonic if sega didint stop the game form being made.

Posted by PyroAcid on June 6th, 2008 at 12:40 pm

Comment # 110

I think Sonic is about Speed, Platforming, Action, Challenge. Yes, that is what I truly think what it’s about. I think every Sonic game would need speed, no matter what genre it is so it could still have the Sonic we know and love in the game. Also, I would like to see one Sonic Game that would actually, you know, show another level of speed and all…

We do need Speed in a Sonic Game but then again, just blasting through the level may not have much to it. Yes, it could be fun but it may not last forever. There should be a way to have killer speed and challange to it. And we need more platforming in Sonic Games, especially the 3D ones. Oh, and some more cool action!

So, I think Sonic is about Speed, Platforming, Action, and Challenge.

Posted by LightSpeedBlast on June 6th, 2008 at 7:41 pm

Comment # 112

Sega,
Sonic ( or how I learned him) is everything and nothing. Now, you’ll probably say “that’s a lot of help!!!” Well, i liked the old Sonic games, and I like the new characters. But please!! Sonic is about attitude, speed, and beating badniks. NOT ROMANCE!! That’t the main reason I don’t like Sally Acorn!

Posted by anawsomefanatic on June 12th, 2008 at 11:19 am

Comment # 114

To be honest my very most favorite incarnation of Sonic has, and always will be, SatAM. I loved the plot, the characters, and it was just a memorable experience that still sticks with me to this day. The inconsistent plot lines and plot ties the games seem to be stuck with now a days could benefit from that sort of story writing.

As for the games themselves I loved Sonic CD the most. The colors, the music, a bit of animation, and a lot of interesting ways to run through a level.

Posted by Cookie on June 17th, 2008 at 11:06 pm

Comment # 116

I believe Ben Hurst should determine what the story for the next game should be. And bring back the characters and plot that SEGA swept under the rug! Fix the controls, fix the camera, and make the opponents cooler. Heck, introduce the swatbot. And get GOOD voices for the actors. And provide lots of detail in everything, detail to the level of professional artists with a few years of experience.

The previous commenter is right, without the hordes of the non-stop self-proclaimed fans who don’t know what they’re missing, SEGA would be sunk. Dependence on ignorance is not a good strategy here.

And in 1995 when SatAM was canceled, that’s when the downward spiral began. But dime to a dollar if the series continued, we might not be in this mess, and Sonic could be as popular as the Master Chief right now.

Posted by Louis on June 27th, 2008 at 9:06 pm

Comment # 118

adding to coment 117-

if you RELY pay attention, you might find what Sega is trying to say in there games.
Sega works very hard to satisfy people with there games. and they have done a good job at it to. so what if they make mistakes sometimes.

Posted by Randi on July 9th, 2008 at 10:43 am

Comment # 120

I posted a while back on this blog and just now I came back to see the responses after mine were. And I must say where is all this bratty whinnying for SatAm coming from? O_o I only see this type of whinnying in SatAm forums but not from the well known popular Sonic or Sega fansites…..hmmm I’m pretty sure I know the reasons why….

If people liked SatAm, thats great. What I don’t understand is 1. How some are claiming that SatAm was the best show of all to a lot of people. 2. How putting SatAm characters and storyline will make the games better. and 3. Giving up on Sonic games because it’s not SatAm. Lets start with 1.

1 Claiming SatAm was the best Sonic show ever for mostly everyone.

To say you THINK SatAm was the best out of all the other Sonic cartoons is fine because thats your opinion. But to say SatAm was the most beloved cartoon to most of the fans and people just a bit outside the fandom is not true. In reality SatAm was NOT the most popular or successful show based on Sonic because if it was it wouldn’t had been canceled. Money talks and if SatAm was bring in money it would have never gotten off the air so suddenly. Ben Hurst himself said that SatAm didn’t get good ratings and only rose a little bit as the show went on in his interview in the recent SatAm DVD. Point is if SatAm was as popular as some people claim it to be it would have never been pulled out the plug in the first place.

The one Sonic show that was the most successful was in fact Sonic X. People can hate Sonic X all they want but money and actions speak louder than words in a business. if Sonic X was unpopular it would have stopped at ep 52 where it was suppose to have ended, but it didn’t. Why? because it was in demand around the world. While it didn’t do too well in Japan it did mostly everywhere else. 4kids and “the Animation magazine” even said that Sonic X was one of the highest rating cartoons on Fox’s Saturday morning line up next to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. If Sonic X was such a “disaster” Sega nor Sonic Team would have ever funded all the merchandise it has, no other Sonic show even had as much merchandising like Sonic X did. Sonic X is still airing around the world in some places even after it’s been over since 2005.

2. Putting SatAm characters and storyline in the games will make it better.

No, just no. I disagree with this on so many levels, but I’ll only talk about the main ones. First and foremost like I said above SatAm isn’t popular as people swear it to be for the reasons I said above so why would Sega want to invest in something that didn’t make them much money in the first place. This is Sega we are talking about not DIC. Sega is in the game industry so their primary concern is what works in a Sonic game not what worked in a show, they are not in that type of business.

Sega already established the Sonic franchise to a worldwide market pushing characters such as Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Shadow, etc with it’s own continuity. So it wouldn’t make much sense to add other characters and a story that never really saw the light of day outside most English countries just so a small section of a larger fanbase can be pleased. It’s majority rules because it is what majority wants is what is going to make a company money. Thats just the cold hard truth despite what others wants.

There has been an attempt to make a SatAm game out of Sonic Xtreme but the SatAm storyline and characters were all axed out because they they didn’t “fit” the game the developers were trying to go for. Sonic Xtreme then added new characters but ultimately the whole projected ended up being axed due to complications within the team nor did Sonic Team (Including Yuji Naka) supported the project from the beginning. Point is just because you included SatAm themes doesn’t guarantee a successful game. What might be a good idea for a show will not always be good for a game.

There are so many questions to answer when making a game, What is the target audiences? what kind of genre? what type of theme and characters will make the game fun? What attributes will characters provide for the gameplay and how? And the list goes on. If there were making a SatAm game they will have to answer all these questions and if anyone thinks it will be like the show your only fooling yourself. I already can see problems if there were such a game pitch. first it’s going up against a establish popular Sonic continuity, so that questions sales. Characters? Tails is already a mechanical genius so where does that leave Rotor? I don’t see Sally being very fast or useful in a fun gameplay and same goes for Ant based off their SatAm personas and storyline. I don’t think none of these will work in a game unless it goes through some significant changes to fit the game, which I’m sure SatAm will not be happy about.

3. Giving up Sonic games because it’s not SatAm.

Now that sounds just silly. If thats what some people go by, then they really were not into the Sonic franchise to being with. SatAm didn’t start Sonic the games did. Majority of Sonic’s popularity was through his games. Did SatAm contribute to his popularity sure, like all shows, but it never became the primary bases of the Sonic franchise. Sonic is a video game characters and thats where most of the franchise focuses on. I can understand if someone did like the games and then lost interest, that happens. But if people can’t accept that there is more to Sonic than just SatAm, isn’t really a Sonic fan but a mere SatAm fan that can’t accept change.

Posted by Tazzy Taz on July 24th, 2008 at 11:37 am

Comment # 122

O.O Allo im just a droper by XD

Posted by Raven The hedgehog on February 6th, 2010 at 6:21 pm