How Sega Ruined Sonic the Hedgehog 108
The always entertaining RetroGaming with Racketboy has a long post up railing against Sega for ruining Sonic the Hedgehog. The blue, spikey hero has had a rough time of it of late. Outings from the series like Shadow the Hedgehog, and even the next-gen title simply named Sonic the Hedgehog, have gotten simply terrible reviews. He longs for a return to simple, fun, not-creepy play. From the article: "As the new generation of platforms emerged, Sega used Sonic as a way to show off their newest graphical technologies. There is no doubt that the new Sonic the Hedgehog for the XBox 360 looks nice, but as the abysmal reviews indicate, graphics are not everything. In order to push its cutting-edge graphics to the limit, Sega, in their infinite wisdom, felt the need to bring Sonic and his friends into a more realistic world, filled with life-like humans. As you can see from this video, there is something creepy about some giant hedgehogs interacting with humans. My point is that Sega doesn't seem to know what it wants to do with Sonic. It seems like Sega assigns various quick-and-dirty development projects in order to see what ideas sticks with consumers. Unfortunately, Sega fans have had to suffer through this process."
Start the video at 00:34 (Score:5, Informative)
Start the video at 00:34 to avoid the blithering asshat.
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Hope for the Wii version (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ruxm9D0p6P8 [youtube.com]
Some of the environments in the screenshots look fantastic too. The game looks just like the 2D games in 3D, which is probably what they should have done in the first place.
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Why? (Score:3, Insightful)
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Re:Hope for the Wii version (Score:5, Insightful)
I'd go further than that - Sonic Rush is the Sonic game all these people have been waiting for. It's amazing to me that so many people complain about the current Sonic games and hardly any of these people have bothered playing Sonic Rush. It's rarely even mentioned in any of the talk about recent series entrants.
Sonic Rush is a much more natural evolution of the Sonic series than any of the recent 3D games on home systems. Ironically, Sonic Rush is 3D, in the same way the Klonoa series is - the graphics are mostly cel-shaded 3D, the gameplay basically 2D. This lets the old-school gameplay that Sonic fans want shine through, while still adding some new 3D elements and the fully 3D boss battles.
One of the big sites - it was either GameSpot or GameSpy - called this game the "most significant" Sonic game in many years. I would agree with that if only more people had played it. It is an example of what Sonic games can be in the modern age, although unfortunately for all concerned, it didn't sell particularly well. What lesson does Sega take from that?
If you want good Sonic games, buy the good Sonic games. If you don't buy them, Sega won't make them. And that's what's happening now; Sega is unsuccessfully searching for a new formula, having apparently been convinced that the original formula no longer works in the marketplace.
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But yea, it's a step in the right direction but still needs work.
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Sonic Rush changed some of the basic rules of the game, with the biggest being that, when Sonic jumps, he spins and remains spinning until he touches the ground again. While he's spinning, he destroys any enemies he touches if they are not spiked, electrified or fiery in some way. When he lands on a foe while spinning, he bounces back up into the air, still spinning, and returns from the height from which he fell. And when running on the ground, pressing
Sonic Heroes (Score:2)
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I'm certainly one of those people who have complained about the current Sonic games (Shadow the Hedgehog was just horrid on many levels) and I hadn't heard of Sonic Rush... I was curious why, so I looked it up and realized it was for the DS.
While I think the DS is intriguing and if I was going to get a portable that's probably what I would get, but I just don't li
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You call that looking good? It was uninspired, drab, bland. Man, gamers nowadays will call anythign with a high texture rate goodlooking. Get over it. Art design trumps resolution 99 times out of 100.
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True. Look at Diablo II; a beautiful game, lousy resolution, but it didn't matter. Or any one of a number of PS2 games.
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To Late (Score:1)
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That game actually looks fast and fun. I hope I'm not alone in saying, I don't get particularly attached to a game world, be it Sonic, Mario or whatever (IMHO Mario remains insanely popular because so many of the games have been high-quality, not because of any intrinsic interest in a plumber in the Mushroom Kingdom).
Original Sonic was amazing because of the incredible speed and excitement, not because of a smartass blue hedgehog. That Wildfire footage looked fun t
Sega should of made a real sonic pinball game (Score:1)
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Someday you'll be asking someone if they "of" any spare change.
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The xbox 360 game is terrible. (Score:3, Interesting)
But good luck, it is very very bad. Doesn't look the worst but it is impossible to control. The camera goes all over the place and the little bastard you are supposed to be controlling just flys about the place very quickly, yes that is what sonic is supposed to be, but it is not good when you have to follow him at this pace.
No idea how a modern Sonic game should go, I think it would be best if they just gave up on this one, maybe release a newer version of the platform game on the arcade services for the new consoles. I don't think anything else would work.
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But frankly, the only sonic games of recent years worth playing were the ones on the GBA.
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Actually, the newfangled 3D Samus does Sonic better than Sonic does. The morph ball puzzles in the Metroid Prime games are some of the best parts. I'd pay good money for a Sonic that did that kind of stuff, but required quicker reflexes.
The whole concept of praying (Score:5, Funny)
Re:The whole concept of praying (Score:5, Funny)
my 2 cents... (Score:3, Interesting)
But how should Sonic look and behave next-gen? (now, current gen?) It's simple.
-Keep sonic badass. Sonic has always been badass, but not OVERDONE. He always looked badass just by looking mean and shaking his finger. Tails should serve as a foil to his badassness. Shadow makes me cringe as a one-time sonic/sega fan -- way too overdone.
-Keep the former cast of Sonic. There was no need to create a slew of new characters, IMHO. With the comic book series from a few years back, plus minor characters from other games, was there a need for new characters? Guess the old ones weren't cool enough for 'next-gen.' Familiar characters would have kept old fans coming back. Sonic has even had love interests in the past! Don't tell me you can't work that into a game.
-Most importantly -- KEEP the feel of GAMEPLAY. The old Sonic games were easy to pick up and play. You couldn't really get lost, and there wasn't a myriad of moves to learn just to understand the game. Mario made the transition well into 3D; Sonic didn't. I saw another
So ends the rantings of a former fanboy. I must also admit, I haven't played many of the recent Sonic iterations, but if reviews (user and site) are any indication, I'm not missing out on much. Sonic needs to return to its roots.
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Give the DS games a try. (Score:1, Redundant)
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I think the big problem for sonic is speed. Even in Sonic's 2d adventures, the camera had minor issues, in his 3d adventures you have two options. Make the camera always exist behind him even i
Profit (Score:4, Insightful)
Today Sega's games are (pretty much) released 'on schedule' whether or not they're complete or not; this means that Sonic the Hedgehog and Shadow the Hedgehog are terrible games that never stood a chance of being good in the first place.
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Wow (Score:5, Funny)
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Giant hedgehog = win, Cheesy plot device = lose. (Score:4, Insightful)
Boy, I bet Disneyland is going to give you a heart attack.
Actually, it'd be really funny if we could have a "Grand Theft Sonic" game, or Ico with Sonic, or "Metal Gear Sonic". Putting a giant blue hedgehog into a realistic, serious game = comedy gold. I'd love to see Sonic beating up hookers or sneaking up on a guy and snapping his neck.
Seriously, though, the clip looks like they combined Sonic with Final Fantasy and Dragonball Z. WTF? The realistic humans I don' care about, but it looks like they took some of the cheesiest parts from the "kid's anime epic playbook" and put it in Sonic.
And despite what the title of the video says, no Sonic does *not* get an erection in the clip. That's his hand, maybe his thumb, which is on the other side of his body. Too bad, it'd be *awesome* if it was
Re:Giant hedgehog = win, Cheesy plot device = lose (Score:2, Funny)
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Tell our youth the truth! (Score:2, Interesting)
I've only ever passed the first level in these games (heroes and shadow) once, and never EVER felt the urge to play again. You can't see what your doing, but your sure to do it fast. And if the gameplay wasn't enough of a reason to ignore these games, the whole repulsive attitude thing is, as it will
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The big problem most people had with the Sonic Adventure games was that you didn't actually play as Sonic for most of the game.
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You may be the only person in the entire world that thinks so.
Super Mario 64 is still by almost all standards one of the greatest games of all time. Sure, it's out-dated now, but the challenges are still fun. Good enough that many people felt compelled to repurchase it on the DS to get the new stars that were added, and to play through it again with the new characters.
Be honest with us, you never did really play it did you? That's okay, it's not too late f
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Not that I expect the one of the most pioneering games ever to do everything perfectly. It broke ground in the 3D genre and set the standard for all other games. It was one of the most important games of all time.
I bought it for the DS, thinking that maybe it was just me being new to 3D games that put me o
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I come from a background of Atari and Sega - and while I had played SA 1 and 2, they didn't feel like sonic games.
Then I got a Wii and downloaded Super Mario 64. Within seconds, I was saying to myself: "_This_ is how it should be done!" It was amazingly intuitive, with better 3D motion and camera control than many games coming out today - and every detail made it feel like a Mario game.
Sonic Adventure 1/2 can't compare to Mario 64 (Score:2)
Owning both a DC and a N64, I can tell you with some authority that you are the first person I've ever seen make that claim.
The DC games weren't particularly bad - especially compared to modern 3D Sonic games. But they had quite severe flaws (especially during the non-sonic stages). They simply can't compare to Mario 64.
Project S (Score:5, Interesting)
The real tragedy here (Score:2)
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Suggestion (Score:3, Funny)
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wtf (Score:1)
Sonic Made the Leap to 3D in 1999... (Score:2)
http://www.gamespot.com/dreamcast/action/sonicadve nture/review.html [gamespot.com]
Why they haven't been able to replicate that success is puzzling.
Many people are pointing out the very good Sonic Rush for the DS. The developer deserves credit for that game, not SEGA: http://www.dimps.co.jp/pro/list-hard.html [dimps.co.jp]
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SEGA died.
What we call SEGA these days is actually SEGA Sammy Holdings [segasammy.co.jp] a different, and much more unsavory beast.
Development teams were merged, staff was let go, staff left rather than be a part of the new entity.
If Sonic represents the face of SEGA, then it is no wonder that he is a shambling, grotesque abomination lacking the spark of life that the old Sonic had.
Although, honestly, I don't see how a company which is "Realizing gr [segasammy.co.jp]
Put Sonic on Rails (Score:2)
If you want to keep the original fun of Sonic then p
Sega Makes Murder Porn! (Score:1)
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2005/03/11 [penny-arcade.com]
Babies are cute (Score:1)
I've seen that clip before... (Score:2)
srb2 (Score:1)
3d (Score:1)
3d
Here's A New Follow-up (Score:1)
I've followed up on the original article with my thoughs on what Sega could do to bring Sonic back to his former glory while making the most of the modern consoles
http://www.racketboy.com/retro/2006/12/how-sega-c
Funny (Score:2)
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Read it again
"Sega's one redeeming endeavor has been the portable titles. The Sonic Advance series has at least replicated the original Sonic experience about as much as the GBA could, and Sonic Rush on the DS was probably the best Sonic game in over a decade. (Although, the really botched the new Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis for the GBA)
Sonic Advance and Sonic Rush are essentially the only Sonic games since the Genesis (sans the initial buzz of Sonic Adventure) that the majority
Cool to hate on Sonic (Score:1)
One of the many arguments is that it should be like the older games, and then they reference the GBA games. Uh, they aren't like the older games. Sure, they're 2D, but are they well designed? It doesn't seem like it. Sonic has a kick move that brings him to a full stop, he can grind on rails, but only for about two times in the entire game. In general, the games seem to try to make you go as fast as possible, with boosters all over the place.
Sonic Advent
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Why not? What's so bad about playing with multiple characters at the same time?
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As for the other teams, there's one difference that puts them in two groups. The Sonic and Dark teams have the power characters boxing with and throwing the other characters, while the Rose and Chaotix teams have the power character launch the others instead of boxing and performing a rebounding smash move towards the ground when in the air.
In general, though, the other teams are the different d
omg (Score:1)
Looks ok. (Score:1)
Humans hang with Sonic everywhere but games (Score:2)
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Revisiting old video games while minimizing the impact of decade+ old prejudice yields fascinating insight into the mechanics of electronic entertainment from the past. The original Sonic the Hedgehog games were very tightly designed, fast-paced action games with emphases both subtly and distinctly different from Nintendo's action roster. A non-verbal, edgy-looking character in a surreal universe having to balance his strengths (i.e. going really, really fast and being nearly invincible when attacking) w