When did Sonic ever lose form???

[Durxom]

I keep seeing all these things recently, because of the Sonic 4 announcements and such, saying as how, now, it is finally Sonic the Hedgehog's return to form, while the only thought it my head is "When did he ever lose form in the first place??".

I have playing pretty much every Sonic game to date (except for some of the Sega Saturn ones), and they have all been great, the Sonic revamp with the Adventure series, and it's peak in my eyes with Sonic Adventure 2, as the best game in the series to date. While some of the games since then haven't been amazing, they weren't really travesties either. Sonic Heroes tried to go back to an old style, cartoon-ish look and feel, with added gameplay; Shadow the Hedgehog, added some new mechanics, while not amazing, didn't stop it from having the same feel that the Adventure series had. And then the latest few next gen titles have been decent as well, with some few minor hiccups in them all.

So, did Sonic ever really get that bad? or is everyone's nostalgia glasses on too tight and can't get past Robotnik/Eggman change?

 

[apelsz]

He lost for around the time Sonic 3D Blast was released I think. He still had a couple good games, Heroes, the Adventure duo, but that's when his games started to go downhill in my eyes.

 

[Robert632]

Because all the popular internet critics have said so. Or maybe they've been considered awful by the general public, and you're just that minority that likes the newer games.Like me.

 

[SnootyEnglishman]

In my opinion Sonic died after the Sonic & Knuckles part of Sonic 3. Being placed in a 3d environment didn't work to well for him with the exception of Sonic Heroes & Sonic Adventure 2 battle. Every other one just seemed to gimmicky and just didn't feel right. The worst example would be Sonic Unleashed.

 

[Hollock]

sonic is great in 2-d, but adventure 2 battle are just passable, everything else sucks, and I've bought sonic waaaay past the point I should have given up on him. It's what I get for growing up with a genesis.

 

[Zeromaeus]

Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) was that bad.
Shadow the Hedgehog was that bad.
Sonic Unleashed was that bad.
Sonic and the Secret Rings was better than those three, but still bad.
Sonic and the Black Knight was on par with Secret Rings, but still pretty darn bad.

Look at Mario. Its been there since I was in the womb, but its still fun to play for people 6-60.
Look at Zelda. Its still fun to play for anyone whom likes Zelda.
Sonic doesn't have that appeal. Not any more. The original games are fun, but the new games are geared only toward gimmicks aimed at children. It just doesn't work for the fanbase, while, yes, it does work for the children.

 

[blankedboy]

I like SADX, and the old Genesis games, but apart from SH they're the only ones I've played. SH was terrible in my opinion, I couldn't stand the over-subdivided models, horrible dialogue and weird gameplay.

 

[xXAsherahXx]

I think the new gen titles are just horrible with the exception of Sonic The Hedgehog. Everything after that is just foolish because of crappy 9 year old dialogue and their insistence on adding new things to it. The new things are what killed it. Sonic and the Black Knight was a horrible idea. Sonic is about blazing through zones and battling the hardest bosses imaginable. Shadow the Hedgehog (the game not character) marked the slow downfall of Sonic.

Sonic Heroes was the last great title and hopefully Sonic 4 will be the one to revive it

 

[PhunkyPhazon]

Oh geez, I'm very opinionated on this subject, so I know this will be long as hell.

When it comes to Sonic's downgrade in quality, I'm never quite sure if I want to slap Sonic Team for throwing in so many gimmicks, or if I want to slap the fanbase for being so overwhelmingly negative about everything. Now, I do think current Sonic games are disappointing and I hate all these gimmicks. However, I think the absolute worst is behind us. They've certainly been getting better since StH 2006, and handheld Sonic has always been a blast even when the console games were at their worst. But the best way for me to say what I think is to make a list:

Sonic Adventure: I love it. They nailed Sonic in 3D perfectly, and most characters are fun to play as. (I really don't buy the 'Sonic doesn't work in 3D' argument, don't even bother trying to debate that with me)

Sonic Adventure 2: I like the speed levels, but the treasure hunting levels have been so mind-numbingly crippled that playing them is a slow and boring chore. The shooting levels are okay, I guess. I just didn't care for them enough the first time around that I wanted to see them return.

Sonic Heroes: It was fun at first, until I realized the game was essentially making me replay it three extra times. And giving every enemy a health meter really ruins the pacing. I don't mind if they throw in a big enemy with a life meter every now and then, but giving them to every enemy just makes it take longer then necessary.I also ran into a lot of glitches.

Shadow the Hedgehog: I avoided playing it for a while. The premise looked stupid, and all the negative attention put me off even more. But around a year ago, I got curious and rented it. Honestly, I didn't think it was near as bad as everyone says. It still felt like a Sonic game, despite the guns and vehicles which are mostly optional anyways. It certainly has problems and I still can't believe Sonic Team thought guns were a good idea, but all I can say is to try it before bashing it.

Sonic 06: I haven't played, but after finding that Shadow wasn't as bad as I heard I'm willing to give it a shot. All I can say is that the story sounds like fanfiction.

Secret Rings: I had fun with it. The camera is terrible when backing up, but the essential idea was to make a game reminiscent of Sonic 2's special zone. using motion controls. In that sense, they succeeded.

Unleashed: I actually love this game. To me, the day stages are almost perfect. And while I hate the idea of the werehog, I'd rather play as him then play any of the shooting and treasure hunting levels from Sonic Adventure 2.

Black Knight: Oh good god, a sword? Why? Ugh. Regardless, I enjoy it because it's still essentially Secret Rings. Just...with a sword. Anyways, I admit to enjoying the feeling of rushing through a level while slashing enemies at the same time. And yes, the game is actually fast. If you think it's slow because you feel the need to kill every enemy, then you're playing the game wrong. But please Sonic Team, no more gimmicks!

Sonic 4 is looking alright, though maybe a bit too re-hashy. The levels are all based off of pre-existing levels, and the bosses are just harder versions of bosses we already fought. AND GOOD GOD STOP WITH THE GIMMICKS!!! For those who didn't pay attention to the leaks, the second act of each level breaks up the gameplay. Like with a minecart, or earning 100,000 points in the Casino level. But regardless, this looks better then most of the stuff that's come out recently.

 

[ObsessiveSketch]

THIS ftw

 

[OmegaXzors]

Personally, I didn't like a single Sonic game. Probably a little weird but I didn't really care for the Mario games, either. Except the first one because it was bundled with Duck Hunt. Now, THAT was a game.

 

[Plurralbles]

I never enjoyed a Sonic game since Sonic And Knuckles and Three.