Sonic dying a slow and painful death...

(too long to double space, doesn't mean I'm changing my ways, though)

After seeing that image of the three hedgehogs, I'm not too thrilled. They should've kept it as Sonic and Shadow probably. However...there's also the possibility that it could be a fused Sonic and Shadow? Maybe? Eh? Eh? Probably not...

All I have to say is wait until E3 before we start going to conclusions. So far it's just been screenshots. I want to see the actual gameplay...the low quality shit on IGN doesn't cut it for me. All I ask is for a good storyline, good gameplay, and the ability to switch to the Japanese voices. Remember kids, if it's 4Kids and not Ryan Drummond, it sucks.

As far as this Sonic dying a slow and painful death...I won't believe it unless this new Sonic game flops. Until then, I think that's bullshit. The Genesis games were awesome, yes...to this day, my favorite is Sonic 3 & Knuckles. However, I am SO sick of hearing people say "Sonic doesn't work well in 3D. I wish he'd go back to 2D..." WAHHHHH!!! Go buy a frickin Game Boy Advance and get your 2D hard-on there. And while we're on the topic of 2D Sonic, Sonic Advance 1 was awesome. Sonic Advance 2, a little aggrivating trying to find those 7 rings in a stage but it was alright. Sonic Advance 3...forget about it, I didn't even bother to look for the emeralds. Sonic Battle...decent, but I'd prefer a Gamecube/PS2/XBox version. Sonic Pinball Party...again, decent. Almost reminded me of the days of Spinball. Just when I thought the 2D Sonic franchise was going downhill, they bust out Sonic Rush for the DS and save it from doom. While I'm not too fond of the 4Kids voices, the gameplay made up for it. The special stages were easy to find, but not easy to do...which is fine by me. I'll eventually get a PSP and find out how this Sonic Rivals fares.

Back to the 3D stuff...when I first played Sonic Adventure, it was awesome. The transition from 2D to 3D for Sonic was a success, imo, with that game. Um...I'll just skip Sonic Shuffle...decent game, but they could've done better. Sonic Adventure 2 was quite possibly the greatest game, graphically, for Dreamcast. While it didn't have the run around and find levels element like it did in the first Sonic Adventure, it more than made up for storyline and the ability to finally play as Dr. Robotnik. I was a bit skeptical about Shadow at first, but he turned out to be awesome. The Adventure series more than made up for the Sonic games that were released on the Saturn.

Before I go on...I forgot about Sonic CD. Though it was the only Sonic game on Sega CD, it was one of the best from the 16-bit era. Also, that was probably the first time I heard songs with lyrics in a video game.

On to the somewhat decline in the recent Sonic games. Sonic Heroes was alright...while it didn't live up to the Adventure games, imo, it was still a great game. Then, we move on to...Shadow the Hedgehog. While I got to hear Shadow and Sonic say "damn" in English for the first time, that didn't make up for what this game was...slowdown galore. My problem with the game is what everyone else had a problem with...you were too busy shooting enemies instead of running through the level. If one good thing came out of this game, it had to be "I Am" by Crush 40, that song freakin rocks.

Sonic Riders...I'd enjoy the game if the controls weren't too freakin complicated. I dunno, I must be doing something wrong because I keep screwing up and I can't beat Jet (oh, bad idea to introduce those three new characters). Sure, I probably suck at the game...it's alright, I understand.

The point is...there's a trend here. Just when I think Sonic might be going downhill, he comes zooming back up to the top again.

He goes downhill during the Saturn era, but comes zooming back up in the Dreamcast era with the Adventure series.

He goes downhill with Sonic Advance 3, comes zooming back up with Sonic Rush.

He goes downhill with Sonic OVA, comes zooming back up with Sonic X Seasons 1, 2, AND 3.

Now I hope that with this recent downhill with Shadow and Riders, he comes zooming back up with the new Sonic the Hedgehog game.

I can't be sure of anything...I like what I see so far, but once again...I can't be sure of anything until E3. All I have to say is...don't count Sonic out just yet. He's still cool, true blue, with an attitude.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Kaiten

Oh and SuperSonic, if you liked Sonic CD's music, you should really check out the link I have on my signature, it has a link to both the US and Japanese Sonic CD games.

Already have both versions, but thanks for the offer.

Originally Posted by Sin Ansem

Super Sonic hit the nail right on the head, although I'd have to disagree with you regarding game choice.

Advance 3 was an opposite try on Advance 2, and it was the best of the three. Rush is Advance 2 minus the suckiness. Thought I'd point that out.

Well, I just thought there was too much damn stuff in Advance 3.

I dunno, maybe I'll give it another shot this summer.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Ulysses

I think they're emphasising "realism" (if you can call it that, it looks a bit half-assed to me) to justify the expense and power of the newer consoles. It's not about making the game better, anymore than the hardware requirements of Windows Vista are to make the PC better. It's about keeping stock moving and continuous growth in the industry. As someone else mentioned, a cute blue hedgehog in that kind of environment looks totally out of place.

As much as I'd hate to admit it...he's right. After looking at the screens again, the springs look out of place too. Once again, we'll see...this week, as a matter of fact (maybe).

Originally Posted by NovaX

Anyone trying to defend Sonic in 3D, obviously hasn't played any of the 3D Sonics. Fact.

This and every other 3D Sonic title will suck, period. Trying to make Sonic more mature won't help the poor gameplay.

That statement makes no sense. I've played the 3D Sonics and that's why I'm defending them...from Adventure to Heroes. I can't agree with you on the 3D Sonic titles sucking, however...I can agree with you on "Trying to make Sonic more mature won't help the poor gameplay." Once again, that was proven in Shadow the Hedgehog.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Kostaki

What is this now, Sonic "dying" a slow and painful death?

All this being said while kicking a dead hedgehog. Why did it die? Ask Sega, they forgot to feed it some AWESOME so it rolled up and died instead of gaining super speed.

The 3D Sonic games were alright, but they are not nearly as fun as the 2D games are. When I play any Genesis/Advance title versus Adventure/Heroes, you can clearly see the difference. Sonic is not dying, he is dead until they learn how to either nurture 2D/3D gameplay, or stick strictly with the Advance line.

Sonic is not dead, period. He's suffering from a little lapse from Shadow and Riders. In all honesty, Sonic should stick to 3D. After the Adventure series and even Heroes, he should stick to the 3D gameplay. Now if they keep coming out with stuff like Rush, then yeah...keep him going on 2D stuff on the handheld market. As far as next-gen goes, keep him on 3D. That's how he's been viewed since 1999, and that's how it should be.

Originally Posted by Monkey King

Sonic is one game series that could really benefit from some well-done cel shading. Here I gesture wildly at Klonoa 2 for an example of just how good the results can be. It is completely possible to show off the awesome graphical power of the console without turning the environments into Half-Life maps; if anything, it shows off even more if you can have rich, detailed environments running at 60 FPS with a graphics filter on top of the works.

You know what Sega really needs to do? Knuckles Chaotix 2. There's a series that desperately needs a revamp.

I like how you say well-done cel shading, because I get the feeling you weren't too happy with how they did it in Sonic Shuffle? I wasn't too thrilled about it at first either, but it was decent. I almost wanted to say he was like that in Sonic Rush, but I'm probably wrong. I wouldn't mind giving a cel-shaded Sonic another chance. It could prove to be a very good thing.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Maybe I'm just too hopeful about the next-gen Sonic game for the PS3/360 and for the Wii, but that's all I can do. All I've seen are screens and videos. I can't give a verdict on anything until I actually PLAY the game. If it fails, I'll probably just be like the rest of you except I'll remember the good Sonic games like Adventure & Adventure 2 and even Heroes, not just the Genesis ones.

I was speaking idiomatically.