Poll: I've had enough of SEGA.

[Swenglish]

I'm confused. When I lived in England I watched this console called "Dreamcast" fall to pieces as I sat there playing Lylat Wars on my N64.

I have only vauge memories of the Dreamcast, I can recall playing one in a supermarket, only to be frustraded since I found the controller unlogical and confusing.

All my friends had the N64. In our weekends we ran home to each other, brought along som extra controllers in a Tesco's plastic bag and played Super Smash Bros, trying ever so hard to unlock hidden characters. We would trade and battle Pokémon on Pokémon Stadium. And when we had enough we would simply play Mario Kart, OoT, Goldeneye, Banjo Kazooie, you name it.

I was behind my very own Iron Curtain; Locked away from the evil clutches of the PS1 and the Dreamcast, or that's what my friends told me. I never got to play a Dreamcast title. Sonic was just a blue hedgehog. Mario was a hero, a rolemodel. You get the picture. (My mates were Nintendo fanboys back then. These days they all own a PS3)

But now, these days, when I read about the new Sonic spin-off I shed a tear and whisper: Not again. Why, you might ask.

It's because I know that SEGA was once a gaming company. They had Sonic, a super-fast 2D platformer with attitude. They had a mascot, a good one too. They had a great console, great games. Nintendo knew that if they made one false move SEGA would eat them up.

SEGA had dignity.

These days, in the shattered remains, there is none. They have simply exploited Sonic in so many ways it should be illegal. And every time they had it has not been bad, it has not been good, it has been mediocre. 5/10.

And that, is the worst score you can get. Everyone knows what Big Rigs is. It's the worst game ever made. Everyone knows who MGG is. Some of you think he writes the worst reviews in the world. But noone remembers games like Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights for the PSP. Noone remembers Enchanted Arms for the Xbox 360.

And now, SEGA has tried to remake Nights for the Wii. Some say it was the best game ever made. And those who claim that and play the remake/sequel say the exact opposite.

I therefore plead, nay, pray to SEGA, to read the reviews of these games they have made during the last years, understand what is wrong, listen what the crowd wants and get their act together. Make the best Sonic/Nights title that has ever existed.

Which brings me to you. The Escapists forum is known to be the most sophisticated gaming forum on the web. What do you reckon is the most important thing SEGA has forgot in their Sonic Games over the past years? And would SEGA be able to produce a sequel that has everything you'd excpect a really good Sonic game?

 

[Necrohydra]

I'd say it's that they're trying to introduce new characters ALL the time.

Think about it. Let's take a look at a video game icon that's been around for about as long - Mario. What character's did we have in the first game? Characters you could say were central to the game? We had Mario and his 2P equivalent, Luigi. We had the Princess, who you were rushing to rescue. And Bowser, the villian. Now, who did we have in Galaxy. Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Bowser..in their respective roles (I know Galaxy isn't 2P, but Luigi's still basically a sidekick). Sure, they added one or two characters on the way, but the game STILL focuses on Mario doing what he can to save Peach and stop Bowser.

Can you say that for Sonic games? Seems like EVERY game they add in new characters and change the focus from Sonic more and more. Give me a game where you play Sonic, and ONLY Sonic, as he stops Eggman. You can throw in Tails for 2P support as well.

 

[tendo82]

I'm having a flashback to 1996.

 

[GoldenOrion]

Looks like it's real easy to get banned here.

Anyway, I remember the Dreamcast and as much as your bashing it, it was a fine console, it was the first console to feature online capabilities and it besides it's ability to break at the first sign of dust is design was pretty good ergonomically.

I would agree that these days Sega are painful to watch as they churn out games with more flaws than the american presidents excuses for war & I do wish they just merged with nintendo, at least then they'd be able to keep the quality at a decent standard.

 

[Blayze]

I'd like a Sonic game where you can actually stay at maximum speed for a reasonable length of time, and that is designed to offer maximum fun at maximum speed. It seems that every time I build up enough speed to actually start having fun, I come up against yet another speed-decreasing, hedgehog-halting obstacle.

 

[Tacgnol]

The transition to 3D meant they had to make the world 3D as well allowing sonic to explore and return to some city thing. Sonic adventure continued the sonic tradition of having sonic run fast through a level and occasionally having an awesome loop or something. The story was crap but it still played like a sonic game. Sonic Adventure 2 allowed (I mean forced) you to play as a whole lot of different characters, and some of them (tails and Egg Man) resulted in an almost entirely different game, a game that sucked ass. The level designs for sonic/shadow encouraged you to make accurate decisions at high speeds and resulted in some actually pretty good gameplay, however it was only good if you played really well, one small mistake and the game comes to a screeching halt. I never wound up playing Sonic Heroes, or that one where shadow has a gun. Shadow is black so he needs a gun? This is clearly a problem with SEGA's higher ups having no idea who their audience is. But I remember other reviews and friends saying that the Shadow game was flat out difficult to control, lousy camera, off screen enemies would kill you, etc. It sounds to me like SEGA's real trouble is control, and they have somehow fallen into a rut of failure. I admit it's probably pretty hard to have a scheme where someone can be moving at breakneck speeds making good decisions, and the same buttons do the same thing at a walking pace. The two gameplay types would also require unique camera angles, and the low speed portion of the game would likely require the camera to be manually placed and then throughly tested at every corner. It sounds like SEGA has fallen so far that they can't even afford the time to perform the level of polish they so desperately need.

 

[Prons]

Wow, the poll is tied at 33.3% each. Anyway, I've been a SEGA fan my entire life, owned a Sega Genesis (I want to own a Master System, I see hundreds and millions of Master System games in thrift stores and stuff, but never any of the systems. It's like one person owned a million SMS games but lost their system), got a Dreamcast right as it came out, etc. etc. etc.

So of course I'm sad to see how Sonic is. Sonic the Hedgehog on the Xbox 360 was one of those things where everything was *GREAT*, but there were one or two minor details that messed it up. The eight hour loading times were one, and also the random "Oh you moved the joystick, sonic will stop running mid rocket jump and fall into the lava." It got to a point where I was dying and getting game overs (Yeah that game had one of those nonsenseical life system things) entirely due to the game's bugs.

Great speed, great graphics, great sound, but horrible loading times and chock full of bugs.

I'm planning to buy Smash Brothers because I want to see Sonic the Hedgehog in a *decent* game at least one, last, time.

 

[Kronopticon]

in all seriousness, i had a dreamcast, and thought it to be a bloody good console, it was very dead even with the N64 in my eyes, if not better, it had a completely original idea, with the save games and memory blocks, YOU COULD PLAY GAMES ON THE MEMORY CARD, not the same game you were playing on the dreamcast console, but for games that require upping stats, it was a genius idea, but due to sony stepping in and nintendo being there anyway, being cheaper i presume, they won the majority, and SEGA died out, i still have my mega-drive, and that is still brilliant in my eyes.

crawling feverishly back to the topic at hand, were going to stick to characters from previous generations because there are always going to be new kiddies on these games, who will promptly now be directed to the wii, as any child would probably prefer, to the big hard consoles like the 360 or PS3, so im sorry to admit, yahtzee, that remakes are going to happen, and always will, for the benefit of newcomers who will still buy it. and for the benefit of people who are obligated to play and review games, y'know, just for those extra dollars in your halifax savings account.

 

[Woozy]

Sonic games have gotten shitty because there is no longer a worthy console for them to exist on. I would suck too if someone programmed me for a Wii.

 

[Iori Branford]

What Sonic needs is a goddamned rest. Go back to the arcadey action games, Sega. Shinobi, Fantasy Zone, Virtua Fighter, etc.

Heck, Phantasy Star 5 (i.e. offline) wouldn't hurt either...as long as it keeps the lightning-fast turn-based combat of PS4.

 

[Denmarkian]

The Dreamcast was an amazing blip of a thing in the history of videogames.

As for Sonic the Hedgehog games, the pinnacle of Sonic Team's design skills, in my opinion, is Sonic & Knuckles. I have never continually enjoyed myself as much as I do playing that game. I've yet to beat that blasted final level with Robotnik's mammoth mecha stalking you across the space platform. I'm sure that when I finally get my hands on a copy of Sonic 3 and can play the entire game, that will become my favorite.

Everything that has come since Sonic 3D Blast has been a disappointment, to me at least. Of all the games in the Sonic Mega Collection and Sonic Gems collection, I can't stand to play any other than the 4 core games of the franchise (1, 2, 3 & Knuckles), and even then the original Sonic the Hedgehog shows its age in comparison to Sonic 2.

I think that to stay true to what makes the franchise great, they really shouldn't have stepped out of the 2D realm. The day I see a 3D Metal Slug is the day that SNK has sold what's left of its soul to the devil. Not all games can make the jump to 3D. Mario64 was a rare success in that, and they have managed to keep that going the storyline of Mario Sunshine notwithstanding. What I think makes it successful is that Mario IS NOT built for speed, you have the opportunity to observe your environment and react better to what you see.

3D is not good for Sonic because it gives the environment too much breadth. now you have to use the analog stick to AIM sonic down a path (or steer the wiimote in the case of the Secret Rings >_<) instead of just holding the D-pad to the right to accelerate and not planning on stopping until you hit a wall or the end of the level. Utilizing the D-pad also allowed for tighter controls and a more immediate response to the game's environment.

I could go on and on, but I really should get to bed. If anything comes to me I'll post again tomorrow.

 

[The Madman]

I've still got my ol' Sega Genesis, works great too. And sonic, damn, Sonic was FUN!

Not so much anymore though. If it weren't for the fact Sega publishes the Total War games, I could honestly say I wouldn't give a damn whether or not they stayed in buisiness. It's not like they've done much of worth lately that I know of. But still, I hope Sega doesn't go under for the simple reason that'd put Creative at risk, and I loves me the Total War strategy games.

Sonic? Sonic might as well be dead. The hedgehog's grand climax was the Dreamcast Sonic game, since then it's been nothing but epilogue. Poor lil' mascot!

 

[hickwarrior]

The best sonic game i have played is sonic rush, i nwhere they go back to their roots(not counting adventure).

I think their biggest mistake is not focusing on the speed that made sonic games fun. The main part of the game was speedy platform action, and today they are trying to 'mix' things up with minigame BS.

I think that's their biggest flaw, the minigames. And that sonic seems to be made for only 2D platforming action.

 

[Sylocat]

At least the Sonic franchise has at least TRIED to put an interesting story in their last few installments, instead of using the exact same story as an excuse to make the exact same game over and over again. As fun as Super Mario Galaxy was to play, I'm getting mighty sick of rescuing the same pathetic girl from the same giant turtle over and over again.

 

[Disgustor]

What do you reckon is the most important thing SEGA has forgot in their Sonic Games over the past years?

I think SEGA has forgotten that franchises don't have to last for ever. I'd like to see some cool new IPs instead of these tired, pedestrian old ones. I hope recycled ideas don't become a staple feature of these long-established gaming names, but we seem to be headed that way, with Mario and Sonic - the two biggest players out there - still being shipped out en masse by their respective companies with a range of quality that varies considerably these days. Examples from Nintendo in particular abound, but the former duo are the "key" symbols of a fiercely conservative industry.

[...] would SEGA be able to produce a sequel that has everything you'd excpect a really good Sonic game?

SEGA? No. There was a time where that might have been so, but when it comes to their Sonic games they seem to lack any quality resources to pool. But were I to suggest the perfect Sonic game, it would be an end-all, to-the-death, über-cinematic punch-up between Mario and Sonic alone, no supporting characters or annoying NPCs. It would mark the co-ordinated finale of both franchises. And this time, it would be developed by Nintendo

 

[Stomp224]

I WAS a Sega fan until Sonic 06 and NiGHTS:JoD. I think Sonic team should change their name.... I voted D:Focus on Sonic, but i would also vote for A & B (Does a game about a cartoon hedgehog really need a gripping story-line? Dr Robotnik kidnapping fluffies was/is good enough for me.

 

[dislea]

I don't think SEGA will ever be able to make a Sonic sequal that feels fresh, or fills you with excietment and is just fun to play, because Sonic is a 2D game, it should only ever be a 2D, countless itterations in the third person have proved it just doesn't work. I think Sonic Rush DS and Sonic Rivals are the closest we're going to get to the old Sonic games.