Author Topic: Sonic 25th Anniversary - Offical Topic.  (Read 303743 times)

Offline crackdude

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Re: Sonic 25th Anniversary - Offical Topic.
« Reply #405 on: August 25, 2016, 03:32:58 am »
Tad has put it better than I ever could.

For videogames I choose to go the old-school approach. Look at some screenshots, see a trailer or two and read some general info of the game. If it sparks my interest, I get it.

Fuck reviews. I avoid them completely. Mainly because they come from a person who is consistently looking for flaws while playing, instead of actually enjoying what the game is.

One time there was a Godzilla fighter for Gamecube and reviews complained that the fighting mechanics weren't deep, gameplay was shallow, etc. Completely missing that the main point of the game is to reenact the battles from the Godzilla games. The devs clearly didn't set out to create a competitive fighting game, only something for fans to feel happy about, which is fine but will get you a 6/10 ez
SEG4GES

Offline FlareHabanero

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Re: Sonic 25th Anniversary - Offical Topic.
« Reply #406 on: August 25, 2016, 05:15:50 am »
I can perfectly understand why Sonic 2017 would be uneasy with people. First warning is of course it being made by Sonic Team, which as people are aware made really questionable products in the past. It's a natural feeling, like you wouldn't trust someone that smacks you behind the with a frying pan, so why trust a development team handle something they struggle with on even the most basic level. The second red flag is them trying to be dark again, which is commonly associated with really notorious games like Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic '06.


Sonic Mania meanwhile gets less hate because the people behind it genuinely care about the franchise and have personally proved they can make good level design and engines with either rom hacks or custom made engines. However, because of past games, again some people simply can't trust their word based on past principles. Not helping that this isn't the first time an attempt was made to make a game that was a throwback to past Sonic games, and Sonic 4 ended up being half-baked.


The only way to get rid of this stigma is to flat out prove that Sonic can be salvaged. Not even a "fluke" like in the same way Sonic Generations was, a consistent stream of quality products.

Offline Tad

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Re: Sonic 25th Anniversary - Offical Topic.
« Reply #407 on: August 25, 2016, 10:11:39 am »
The team behind Sonic 2017 is the "main" team responsible for unleashed (widely seen as a step in the right direction), Colours (above average scores) and Generations which is also seen as good. I do agree they need to keep the quality up, but the stigma isn't going to go in till they get a string of solid titles out. I think it's fair to say, from this team, we're starting to. Although not bad, SLW didn't help and the less said about Boom the better.


@Crackdude

I dislike how the scoring system now works too. It's suppose to be:

1 - awful. Nothing good, stay away.
5 - average. You'll get some enjoyment in this, but their are issues.
10 - perfect. A masterpiece and one you shouldn't miss.

Here's how it actually is:

6 - awful
8 - average
9 - perfect.

« Last Edit: August 25, 2016, 10:20:47 am by Tad »

Offline Barry the Nomad

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Re: Sonic 25th Anniversary - Offical Topic.
« Reply #408 on: August 25, 2016, 11:47:01 am »
First off, I think the "oh noes its by Sonic Team" thing is bullshit. Sonic Team gave us Unleashed, Generations (which in what way is a "fluke"?), Sonic Colors, and Lost World (which is a good game). The bad Sonic stuff from 2008 onwards mainly came from bad business deals from upper management (Nintendo exclusives, Boom) and external developers like Dimps and BigRedButton. At the anniversary party when they showed the Sonic Team trailer and name dropped Generations and Colors, I thought it was worthy of a well earned cheer. Whatever negative stigma people claim the Sonic Team name carries is their own personal bias by this point.


Offline crackdude

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Re: Sonic 25th Anniversary - Offical Topic.
« Reply #409 on: August 25, 2016, 12:01:46 pm »
Americans are full of biased shit against Sega.

None of that bullshit in Japan, and even in Europe Sega is pretty well respected although it's granted it doesn't have the same quality as in the 90s.
SEG4GES

Offline FlareHabanero

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Re: Sonic 25th Anniversary - Offical Topic.
« Reply #410 on: August 25, 2016, 05:11:26 pm »
First off, I think the "oh noes its by Sonic Team" thing is bullshit. Sonic Team gave us Unleashed, Generations (which in what way is a "fluke"?), Sonic Colors, and Lost World (which is a good game). The bad Sonic stuff from 2008 onwards mainly came from bad business deals from upper management (Nintendo exclusives, Boom) and external developers like Dimps and BigRedButton. At the anniversary party when they showed the Sonic Team trailer and name dropped Generations and Colors, I thought it was worthy of a well earned cheer. Whatever negative stigma people claim the Sonic Team name carries is their own personal bias by this point.


Basically Sonic Generations was a hope spot wedged between many games that have received mixed to negative reception. In a sense, it was the exception to the rule and as a result for SEGA and Sonic fans they finally had something universally liked, and it gave hope that the series can finally get out of a rut that's arguably been plaguing the series since the mid 90's or 2005-ish. Which sadly got contracted by the later Sonic Lost World and especially Sonic Boom. So while Sonic Generations gave fans the hope they needed, it just ended up being a fluke in the long run.


Also ironic that you mention Nintendo exclusives and Dimps harming the Sonic brand. In fact, several of the better received Sonic games were exclusive to Nintendo consoles and developed by Dimps like Sonic Rush. Yes, this also includes Sonic Colors. The thing with Sonic Lost World and Sonic Boom though is that they were doomed right from the start. Sonic Lost World went far too deep into experimenting territory right after Sonic Generations proved they had a working formula, and the game as a whole ends up being confused as to what it wants to be. Sonic Boom meanwhile was always destined to be a mediocre game. Even if you put the game on technically stronger platforms to fix the CryEngine problem, it still wouldn't fix the fact that the game has problems like very monotonous combat and a very bare plot that fails to be a prequel to a new continuity. Some would argue it could of been fixed, but since the general Sonic Boom franchise has been conceptualized since at least 2007 or 2010 (that's another kettle of fish to talk about) and the Wii U/3DS thing was basically last minute, I doubt it.


As for Unleashed, it in a similar vein to Sonic Lost World was a victim to experimenting. After Sonic 06' horribly tainted the reputation of the brand, they needed a drastically different direction so to help fix the brand. Though unlike Sonic Lost World, it had something working for in the form of the Daytime stages, and it's often cited as one of the game's strongest aspects. Sadly the Daytime stages despite being well received, were overshadowed by the more prominent (especially in the Wii/PS2 version) Night stages. I know it's a cliche to complain about the Werehog, but the general mode feels like it's trying to be something like Devil May Cry or God of War, but it misses it's mark. For example, stages having a habit of being too long and tedious, redundant moves, and hit detection being shoddy in certain spots. The concept could of been an enjoyable novelty if given the right execution, since those type of games are proven to have worked. That's a problem, but even the Daytime stages have some rough areas that get fixed in later games like Generations. So Sonic Unleashed is in general a step in the right direction, but because of a big misstep the game felt like it missed potential to be something better. I mean it was one of the games that was pulled from circulation for a reason.


As for the Sonic Team thing? Keep in mind with that particular development group, it's pretty much in-name-only. Many of the key people that made the Sonic games on the Genesis and the cult classics on the Saturn like NiGHTS left. Naturally when people that help make the entire system work in the first place leave, you're left with people trying desperately to fill in the void, and because of the constant restructurings it's one of the reasons why many of their games have a habit of being inconsistent. Sonic Team by technically is involved with other games, Puyo Puyo being an example, but because the "Sonic Team" logo is heavily associated with Sonic to the point only Sonic games actually use the logo these days, naturally people associate Sonic Team with Sonic. This as a side effect means that Sonic Team gets the blame for anything that goes wrong with a Sonic game. Which is especially jarring because the other games the division is involved with tend to be competent, yet kept quiet about it. To be honest, I can see why people would be uneasy whenever the Sonic Team logo shows up, since they're inadvertently associating themselves with flawed games.
« Last Edit: August 25, 2016, 05:22:39 pm by FlareHabanero »

Offline Randroid

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Re: Sonic 25th Anniversary - Offical Topic.
« Reply #411 on: September 08, 2016, 03:39:13 pm »
Sega just started a Twitter Poll for a Sonic Mania Collector's Edition physical release.

https://twitter.com/sonic_hedgehog/status/773936650434990080

You all know what to do.

I would buy one for each system I have that they made one for, not even a question.

Offline Tad

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Re: Sonic 25th Anniversary - Offical Topic.
« Reply #412 on: September 13, 2016, 11:14:21 am »
Collectors edition is going ahead! Whoo hoo!

Offline crackdude

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Re: Sonic 25th Anniversary - Offical Topic.
« Reply #413 on: September 13, 2016, 11:50:21 am »
Not in Europe. What the hell
SEG4GES

Offline Trippled

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Re: Sonic 25th Anniversary - Offical Topic.
« Reply #414 on: September 13, 2016, 12:33:30 pm »

As for the Sonic Team thing? Keep in mind with that particular development group, it's pretty much in-name-only. Many of the key people that made the Sonic games on the Genesis and the cult classics on the Saturn like NiGHTS left. Naturally when people that help make the entire system work in the first place leave, you're left with people trying desperately to fill in the void, and because of the constant restructurings it's one of the reasons why many of their games have a habit of being inconsistent. Sonic Team by technically is involved with other games, Puyo Puyo being an example, but because the "Sonic Team" logo is heavily associated with Sonic to the point only Sonic games actually use the logo these days, naturally people associate Sonic Team with Sonic. This as a side effect means that Sonic Team gets the blame for anything that goes wrong with a Sonic game. Which is especially jarring because the other games the division is involved with tend to be competent, yet kept quiet about it. To be honest, I can see why people would be uneasy whenever the Sonic Team logo shows up, since they're inadvertently associating themselves with flawed games.

"Desperatly filling the void" is a disservice to all the developer houses where senior developers have left. I guess because Naughty Dog or Retro Studios have different developers now, they are also just "in name only".

Offline Randroid

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Re: Sonic 25th Anniversary - Offical Topic.
« Reply #415 on: September 13, 2016, 02:22:21 pm »
Looks fantastic, but a bit disappointing. I was hoping for the game on disk, or at least a soundtrack CD. Also, not sure what a Cartridge Cast with Gold Ring is supposed to mean.

Offline Barry the Nomad

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Re: Sonic 25th Anniversary - Offical Topic.
« Reply #416 on: September 13, 2016, 03:48:27 pm »
Regarding the lack of physical copy: I'm a huge proponent of disc media and physical copies of games. However, I understand that it is not possible for every game to receive a disc release and to be honest, I was not expecting it for Sonic Mania given SEGA America is largely behind it. So this Collector's Edition was a surprise to me, as it is a lot more than what I was expecting for North America. I got the PC version, which had it been a disc it would have been used once anyway and likely had a product key or some sort of DRM. A code on a metal card isn't a physical disc, but it is something physical at least. Better than a steam code or a piece of paper (I have Sonic 4 Episode 2 physically via a Starbucks download card, lol).

Regarding Europe: It sucks. Blame SEGA Europe. SEGA of America is in no way stopping Europeans from getting this. It's like the Sonic 20th release in reverse. I was pissed at SEGA of America, now Europeans should be pissed at SEGA Europe.

I think the Cartridge Cast is a plastic cast of a Genesis/MD cart and it slides open to reveal a ring. Given the 20th box came with a ring, I'd prefer something different OR that they place the download code card inside the cartridge and give the ring its own package.

Offline Tad

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Re: Sonic 25th Anniversary - Offical Topic.
« Reply #417 on: September 14, 2016, 12:53:35 am »
I don't know what's going on with SoE. They used to be brilliant with this sort of thing, but since the change to mostly digital, they've become very uninterested.

Offline CrazyT

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Re: Sonic 25th Anniversary - Offical Topic.
« Reply #418 on: September 20, 2016, 03:12:24 pm »

Offline Tad

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Re: Sonic 25th Anniversary - Offical Topic.
« Reply #419 on: September 20, 2016, 03:57:59 pm »
Best gaming ad ever!