Could new Sonic game be most polished ever?

[crackdude]

I really disliked SLW on the 3DS. It was just....boring.

[Barry the Nomad]

SLW on 3DS started out promising and then quickly became very boring, I agree. Stages were either too long, or too simplistic. Bosses were forgettable.

Wonder what a SJW would think of SLW?

[Tad]

So, when exactly is this event they're releasing new info? It's this week right?

edit: ah, right. Found it: http://www.sxsw.com/news/2016/taking-it-geek-stage-highlights-sxsw-gaming

[Tad]

A look at Sonic by Super bunnyhop: https://youtu.be/-kE9BR24XIw

[Radrappy]

Haha wow that was pretty engaging but also a huge downer by the end.  Hopefully quality can be a priority for ST going forward because we've had enough embarrassment to last a life time already. 

[Barry the Nomad]

Nice video, though I think it was a mistake to include Sonic Boom at the end yet he skips Spinball and every game on the Saturn. Boom was entirely a spin-off from a totally different team, and yet it gets included and not R or 3D Blast or Spinball?

Also, the SEGA tune on the SEGA CD was part of the bios wasn't it? It wasn't the in-game intro, it was the intro for every SEGA CD game.

MEGA CD started up like this, for example:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHIFyuiUT9M

[Tad]

He does say it's not every game.

I actually think he was a little harsh at times. He starts of with the "only first level" but quickly moves away from it and doesn't take into account technological limitations or genre popularity. The Hedgehog engine is a great bit of work from the them too. I do agree with him on the constant change in direction not good mind.

[Radrappy]

Boom was entirely a spin-off from a totally different team, and yet it gets included and not R or 3D Blast or Spinball?

Its a little weird that he didn't cover 3d blast but It seems like Boom is being lumped in with the rest by virtue of it being a supposed AAA release and an action platformer to boot as well.  He does acknowledge it was by BrB for what it's worth and in a discussion about how Sega is mismanaging the brand it is extremely relevant. 

[Barry the Nomad]

True, though I think if you include Boom, you include Spinball and 3D Blast as well. All three or none at all, as they all paint that picture of brand mismanagement.

I remember 3D Blast and Spinball very much being marketed as the "new Sonic game" of the moment, and there was no distinction being made of canon or spin-off or who developed it. With Rise of Lyric, meanwhile, SEGA said time and time again that it was a branch in the franchise and not a "main series" title.

[Radrappy]

That's definitely true with 3D blast; I can't remember at all how spinball was marketed.  Perhaps Boom would be less a topic of conversation if it weren't the last taste in our mouth when it comes to this series. 

[Tad]

Think that hits the nail on the head. After Colours and Generations, people thought we were finally seeing the series get stronger. We saw a side step with SLW and a complete wreck in Boom.

SEGA have said all the right things since about change, we just need to see it now. I just hope the majority of people at least are happy with the end result.

[FlareHabanero]

I just hope the majority of people at least are happy with the end result.

Never will happen. The Sonic series has gone through such a rough identity crisis that no matter what they do,  people will never be satisfied since there are a lot of small groups that has their own idea of how the franchise should work. It will never be fixed as long as the staff at SEGA are persistent with changing things just for the sake of changing things, and even if that problem is fixed I'm afraid the damage can't be reversed.

[Sharky]

The people who want Sonic to return to the Adventure days are drunk on nostalgia, I've been revisiting the Adventure games with my niece when I baby sit every Sunday morning. frankly even she, at 8 years old can see that they're not a patch on Colours or Generations that we played previously...

She loves the Chao garden, loves it... But the rest of the game aged really, really poorly. I'm constantly asking myself why am I doing this, (fishing, shooting etc) in a Sonic game and my niece has no patients for it either which puts a dampener on the experience.

[FlareHabanero]

People want to go back to both Sonic Adventure titles, people want to go back to the Genesis days, people want the boost back introduced in Sonic Unleashed, some people want to see Sonic Lost World tried again with improvements, some even want something completely different.

People want a more complex story, some people want it minimal. Some people want only Sonic to be in the picture, some want a whole cast. Some people want a darker tone, some people want a lighter tone.

A general agreement on what Sonic should be is pretty scarce. The only thing that is agreed on is Sonic should emphasize speed.

[Barry the Nomad]

I don't think SEGA needs to appeal to all the groups, and if - say - Adventure fans are pissed off at whatever is announced this year... fuck them. As long as the game is good and sells well.

I personally want a return to the 90s aesthetics (simple character designs, tropical islands, 50s era bi-planes, animal-inspired robot enemies) and refined Generations-style gameplay with both 2D and 3D stages. But if we get something entirely different, as long as it is a good game I'm happy.

Sonic Colors is a good example. When it was revealed I thought the idea of a theme park in outer space and the wisps did not fit with the franchise, but after playing it I loved the game. It wasn't what I expected or wanted from the franchise, but after playing it I rank it as one of the best Sonic games.