Alright. I think one thing any Sonic fan or Sonic anti-fan can agree on these days; Sonic is in trouble. In fact, he's staring down the barrel as we speak.
Now I realise a lot of people aren't going to read a random guys thoughts on a video game icon from the 90's, but at this point I'll happily draw any attention to the problem I can, so listen up kids.
First of all, I love Sonic the Hedgehog. I was a Sega boy, I played the Genesis more than my Nintendo and for some reason a figure of timeless New York/Brooklyn Americana just doesn't appeal too broadly to a little British kid on a familiarity level. So naturally I went for the magic blue bush rat. I'll say it again, I love Sonic, when I was six I had him painted on my wall- that said, I all but hate pretty much every SOnic installment in the last generation of gaming or so. StH [2006], Sonic Unleashed, those Wii game washouts- okay, I'll admit some of the handhelds have been pretty decent- but it just seems like everything since Sonic Adventure 2 (Battle, for the 'Cube) has been a downward spiral after tripping on the so-so rock that was Sonic Heroes.
I mean no offence to anyone who enjoyed these games, except perhaps for Shadow the Hedgehog which got the critical responce it deserved, but it's now widely accepted that Sonic is on his last leg: and when you make a career out of running, that's a problem. Many would blame this on the lack of innovation from a game franchise trying to enter a more demanding market. I say no, innovation is the reason Sonic is failing. Sounds proposterous I know, but think about it. In STH2006 you had open world maps, in Sonic Unleashed you had the hated Warehog mechanic, and in Heroes you had a tri-team approach to what should essentially be a one-horse playstyle... and of course, in Shadow the Hedgehog, you had guns. Alongside games like Sonic and the Black Knight which adds swords, and the Sonic Chronicles which try to immitate the popular culture of JRPGs these 'innovations' are not steps towards the right formula, they are steps away from it.
Speaking on the basic level, Sonic runs fast. That's what he does, that's his thing. Mario jumps on crap and saves a Princess from a turtle- has that ever changed? Sure there will always be tie-ins and spin offs but the core Mario saga has never really changed and that's still sitting pretty on Nintendos new party trick the Nintendo Wii. On a side note, I don't regard the Wii as much of a games console, but when your basis of a game is "go sideways and jump" you can't really go wrong no matter what you're playing it on. What I'm trying to convey here is, the first four or five sonic games were so great [yes they were] because they put the little blue guy in the right spot. Some may argue this renders him useless in the modern era, but to claim one run and jump game can't work these days is to disregard all others. Mario Galaxy anyone? [Great game, in case you missed it.]
What Sonic needs now, is to go back to basics. Release a game honest to its roots, basic mechanics with no flashy gimmicks or else we'll be seeing Sonic Golf and no gaming icon deserves that.
Sorry, it just slipped out.
In all seriousness though, if Sonic came back in a game where running and jumping were the core elements and not magic swords, elastic arms or gunplay, damn I'd be uplifted. Many of you would have me pinned right now as a fanboy of the Retro-Scene. People, I was five when this era was about, I'm only eighteen now. I appreciate these games because they were good- there's a reason old titles like Zelda, Metroid, Final Fantasy, Prince of Persia, Kirby and Megaman are still about. It is because their original games were AWESOME- and most importantly, because much of what made them great is still there and not too heavily messed with. We all know were finding that boomerang, and we all know that one laser upgrade will get us through the game single handedly. If Sonic takes a similar approach and sticks with what made it great, perhaps tweak aspects into the game that don't stagnate the entire project like a salmon sized anchovy on a mini-pizza, Sonic and Mario could try beating the crap out of one another once again. And I don't mean in Brawl.
Speaking of unecessary additions though, Mario and Sonic seem to be tied on the idea that new games should have new characters- but while Mario does this sparingly enough that people can learn to relate to these new additions, every new Sonic game seems to include at least two completely new faces that seem to stick to the little blue mascot like they were impaled on his spines. Sonic was originally a loner, who only broke the tradition when he started pairing up with impressionable young boys- that's right, Sonic is like Batman. That joke aside, about 90% of the Sonic universe could be cut out without anyone really giving a monkeys. Case-in-point, if I was asked to choose which characters from his franchise I'd keep it would be as follows; Sonic himself, Tails his side-kick, Knuckles his hard shelled but well meaning rival, Amy his comical love interest, Eggman [Robotnik] the cheesey but timeless villain, and Shadow. Why Shadow? Because until Shadow came along Eggman was utterly alone on the villains side of things bar from a few creations who never listened to him in the first place. Rouge the bat? Basically just an equal to Knuckles for the treasure hunt levels in SA2. Metal Sonic is more a tool than a character, so I'd be happy to keep him along for the ride, but I can imagine reliving the rollercoaster scene from Sonic CD would get old fast.
Alright, so this seems more like a report than an opinion [I might just hand this in at college] but I think a few points made here are at least valid enough to consider. I know there are those who would rather see Sonic vanish forever, but even hardcore Ninetendo fans must have something of a soft spot for the polar-opposite rival to their beloved mascot, right? The only reason Sonic gets a free ride these days is because of nostalgia about games that WERE good.
If Sonic doesn't appear in a game that IS genuinly good, eventually, nostalgia is going to lose its market value.
Now I realise a lot of people aren't going to read a random guys thoughts on a video game icon from the 90's, but at this point I'll happily draw any attention to the problem I can, so listen up kids.
First of all, I love Sonic the Hedgehog. I was a Sega boy, I played the Genesis more than my Nintendo and for some reason a figure of timeless New York/Brooklyn Americana just doesn't appeal too broadly to a little British kid on a familiarity level. So naturally I went for the magic blue bush rat. I'll say it again, I love Sonic, when I was six I had him painted on my wall- that said, I all but hate pretty much every SOnic installment in the last generation of gaming or so. StH [2006], Sonic Unleashed, those Wii game washouts- okay, I'll admit some of the handhelds have been pretty decent- but it just seems like everything since Sonic Adventure 2 (Battle, for the 'Cube) has been a downward spiral after tripping on the so-so rock that was Sonic Heroes.
I mean no offence to anyone who enjoyed these games, except perhaps for Shadow the Hedgehog which got the critical responce it deserved, but it's now widely accepted that Sonic is on his last leg: and when you make a career out of running, that's a problem. Many would blame this on the lack of innovation from a game franchise trying to enter a more demanding market. I say no, innovation is the reason Sonic is failing. Sounds proposterous I know, but think about it. In STH2006 you had open world maps, in Sonic Unleashed you had the hated Warehog mechanic, and in Heroes you had a tri-team approach to what should essentially be a one-horse playstyle... and of course, in Shadow the Hedgehog, you had guns. Alongside games like Sonic and the Black Knight which adds swords, and the Sonic Chronicles which try to immitate the popular culture of JRPGs these 'innovations' are not steps towards the right formula, they are steps away from it.
Speaking on the basic level, Sonic runs fast. That's what he does, that's his thing. Mario jumps on crap and saves a Princess from a turtle- has that ever changed? Sure there will always be tie-ins and spin offs but the core Mario saga has never really changed and that's still sitting pretty on Nintendos new party trick the Nintendo Wii. On a side note, I don't regard the Wii as much of a games console, but when your basis of a game is "go sideways and jump" you can't really go wrong no matter what you're playing it on. What I'm trying to convey here is, the first four or five sonic games were so great [yes they were] because they put the little blue guy in the right spot. Some may argue this renders him useless in the modern era, but to claim one run and jump game can't work these days is to disregard all others. Mario Galaxy anyone? [Great game, in case you missed it.]
What Sonic needs now, is to go back to basics. Release a game honest to its roots, basic mechanics with no flashy gimmicks or else we'll be seeing Sonic Golf and no gaming icon deserves that.
Sorry, it just slipped out.
In all seriousness though, if Sonic came back in a game where running and jumping were the core elements and not magic swords, elastic arms or gunplay, damn I'd be uplifted. Many of you would have me pinned right now as a fanboy of the Retro-Scene. People, I was five when this era was about, I'm only eighteen now. I appreciate these games because they were good- there's a reason old titles like Zelda, Metroid, Final Fantasy, Prince of Persia, Kirby and Megaman are still about. It is because their original games were AWESOME- and most importantly, because much of what made them great is still there and not too heavily messed with. We all know were finding that boomerang, and we all know that one laser upgrade will get us through the game single handedly. If Sonic takes a similar approach and sticks with what made it great, perhaps tweak aspects into the game that don't stagnate the entire project like a salmon sized anchovy on a mini-pizza, Sonic and Mario could try beating the crap out of one another once again. And I don't mean in Brawl.
Speaking of unecessary additions though, Mario and Sonic seem to be tied on the idea that new games should have new characters- but while Mario does this sparingly enough that people can learn to relate to these new additions, every new Sonic game seems to include at least two completely new faces that seem to stick to the little blue mascot like they were impaled on his spines. Sonic was originally a loner, who only broke the tradition when he started pairing up with impressionable young boys- that's right, Sonic is like Batman. That joke aside, about 90% of the Sonic universe could be cut out without anyone really giving a monkeys. Case-in-point, if I was asked to choose which characters from his franchise I'd keep it would be as follows; Sonic himself, Tails his side-kick, Knuckles his hard shelled but well meaning rival, Amy his comical love interest, Eggman [Robotnik] the cheesey but timeless villain, and Shadow. Why Shadow? Because until Shadow came along Eggman was utterly alone on the villains side of things bar from a few creations who never listened to him in the first place. Rouge the bat? Basically just an equal to Knuckles for the treasure hunt levels in SA2. Metal Sonic is more a tool than a character, so I'd be happy to keep him along for the ride, but I can imagine reliving the rollercoaster scene from Sonic CD would get old fast.
Alright, so this seems more like a report than an opinion [I might just hand this in at college] but I think a few points made here are at least valid enough to consider. I know there are those who would rather see Sonic vanish forever, but even hardcore Ninetendo fans must have something of a soft spot for the polar-opposite rival to their beloved mascot, right? The only reason Sonic gets a free ride these days is because of nostalgia about games that WERE good.
If Sonic doesn't appear in a game that IS genuinly good, eventually, nostalgia is going to lose its market value.
