Sonic's Re-think/New Direction 2012

[JetHawk95]

So, A while back SEGA/Sonic Team said they would soon be giving Sonic a makeover and a Re-Think.

I'm guessing soon enough a new Sonic game will be announced but what do you think there next move will be? Do you think they'll stay with the Hedgehog Engine to play safe or create something completely new and risk a repeat of Sonic 06?

What would you like to see? Would you like a full fledged 3D game like the Adventure series but in HD?

Would you want it to have 2D Sections included like the Unleashed saga?

Should new characters be introduced or should it start back off with the basics and slowly ease friends back into the games?

What other ideas do you think should be added to the future of Sonic The Hedgehog?

[Strife]

Well, for one thing, I'd like to see a return of the original Sonic/Tails/Knuckles trio, since their varying abilities would allow for more interesting and dynamic level design. I don't think it would hurt for Sega to move away from having Sonic as the only playable character as long as they don't go overboard with it.

I'm also hoping that they retain the upbeat tone that the series has taken recently (Colors, Generations, etc). I really feel like Sonic is more at home in a bright, colorful environment than in a darker and edgier setting.

[XeroNazoBlaze]

I hope they keep improving the gameplay, they are nailing it. About introducing new characters, no, Sonic doesn't need more friends. They need to focus in the old ones instead of introducing new ones and making everything a complete mess. I wouldn't mind a dark setting for a story as long the humor is present and bestiality shit is not.

Also, Knuckles needs to be relevant again. They can't leave such an awesome character in a corner.

[Ayling]

Based on how much time/effort was put into the Hedgehog engine, and the fact that Colors, Unleashed, and Generations have had such positive feedback, I think the engine is here to stay. It's an incredible engine anyway, both physics- and graphics-wise. I'd love to see more of Tails and Knuckles in a playable environment, an Adventure-styled game with adventure fields and plenty of levels would be simply wonderful

[Sparks]

source in case anyone asks

[DimensionWarped]

and I think, at this point, there’s a pretty good idea of what a Sonic game should be like — a fun, frenetic action game.

Wow, he sure does have a solid description there.

So is Sonic going to be more like God of War or Pacman?

[shadowgoten]

I dunno I thought generations was a solid effort. The fan base is practically split in 2, they're always going to piss off one set of fans with each game. I really don't know what I want out of sonic anymore. I love the genesis games, I LOVED adventure 1 and 2. Heroes I actually enjoyed for what it was, but the series as a whole is just all over the fucking place, it's really hard to yank it back and hit a stride. I feel like sega is going to continue to "reboot" and "redefine" the franchise with each game and it's always going to piss someone off.

[Ristar]

If he's using colors as an example then basically by "reinvent" he means "add another gimmick".

I'll hedge a bet that Modern Modern Sonic will be a cross between classic and modern sonic. Short spikes, green eyes, slightly shorter legs.

He doesn't need to "reinvent" the gameplay. He needs to take what they've learned and steer it towards successful past ideas. What I would like to see is basically the Modern Engine meets Sonic 3 & Knuckles style adventure. So pretty much the same levels for everyone but with multiple paths for each character.

[Strife]

I feel like sega is going to continue to "reboot" and "redefine" the franchise with each game and it's always going to piss someone off.

You could kinda say the same thing with the Final Fantasy series since they literally reboot everything with each title. xD In their case, though, they're always consistent with the quality of their work, whereas Sonic jumps the gun with both story/setting and quality.

Regardless, I think their latest engine will give them everything they need to potentially make something awesome.

[Serephim]

Final Fantasy has definitely managed to piss off some random group of people with each passing entry. There have been people complaining since 6 came out.

I think sonic has found a good formula with colors/generations. Now they just need to expand.

Just do what they did with the genesis games. You have a good base, right? He has friends, right? Add Tails and Knuckles. Don't seperate them with dumb shit. Sonic games are fun because Sonic games are fun. Not because we like playing with sonic characters. Stop making us play 8 different games and just make one really good one.

Ever since they decided that tails and knuckles couldn't roll into enemies or down hills anymore, the different character idea has just gotten worse and worse. Give Knuckles and Tails their original abilities back. The removal of Boost from tails/knuckles should be more than enough to let sonic retain his superior speed feeling.

More than anything, i just want them to bring rolling / spindashing back. It was fun in Sonic Adventure to press the roll button and gain ridiculous speeds down hills. With the superior collision engine used in the modern games, this should be far less tedious.

Back in the day, sonic rolled because he was a freaking hedgehog. I guess with generations they've pretty much made his evolution into a blue-energy boosting headbutter canon, but i think they can effectively reverse this if they start early. They dont NEED to, but they've been doing so well that i think they can safely make that step now if they want to.

[Duckboy]

They just need to stick with their formula they did for Sonic Generations because that game was the best Sonic game in a REALLY long time.

Well except for the final boss fight. That shit was dumb

[Serephim]

final boss fight was dumb, egg dragoon was annoying as fuck which sucks because it is one of my favorite sonic bosses ever

[Epon]

They need to add another foil to sonic. Not enough characters anymore.

[ila]

I propose Dumb Running Sonic for next new character.

[BlazeHedgehog]

I mentioned this on my Tumblr sort of recently but I really think the next Sonic game needs to be focused on expanding Sonic's mobility and traversal. More than momentum and loops, that was the real fun of the original Genesis Sonics. He felt agile.

So I think Sonic Team needs to be looking at games like Prototype and Hulk Ultimate Destruction and Infamous and how easy it is to just scale this huge surface in seconds and get around an environment in a cool, fast way.

I'm speaking blasphemy here but they could reboot it and just pretend Tails and Knuckles never even existed. Make Sonic so mobile that their abilities don't matter anymore because Sonic can go almost anywhere he wants, unrestricted.

The real challenge is building objectives around that idea.

[Serephim]

I mentioned this on my Tumblr sort of recently but I really think the next Sonic game needs to be focused on expanding Sonic's mobility and traversal. More than momentum and loops, that was the real fun of the original Genesis Sonics. He felt agile.

So I think Sonic Team needs to be looking at games like Prototype and Hulk Ultimate Destruction and Infamous and how easy it is to just scale this huge surface in seconds and get around an environment in a cool, fast way.

I've been suggesting this for the longest. Sonic is shown to be able to achieve all kinds of feats using his speed and acceleration, but the games seem to only capture this in scripted sequences. Sonic has been running up and down walls on cartoons for the longest time. I think giving sonic some free reign with mobility would be a wonderful idea, especially now that he's also able to apparently go from 0 to 300 in midair using ring energy. Or whatever.

I'd imagine New Sonic with more Sonic Adventure - styled levels. Think Speed Highway part 2, Emerald Beach and Sky Deck. Levels that have a few speed sections but are mostly stage interaction.

I'd imagine "combat" and "action" being more along the lines of the opening sequence of Sonic Unleashed -- sonic basically doing what he does in-game, except on a more visual level and with waaayyyyy more mobility, using the environment and speed to attack moreso than just homing chains. (like instead of hitting a weakpoint on an enemy's head by simply homing, you'd over walls and up onto the ceiling and strike from there. Super Sonic (if avaliable) could expand on this. With stages being more Interactive and Platformer based, being able to literally fly and blast through the air would be a much greater demonstration of Supersonic's power and ability.

This would be even MORE impressive with stage design as radical as infamous or The Incredible Hulk. A Modern version of Sky Deck would be a blast to destroy like this.

Knuckles and Tails can still have a place in this. If you reboot the series, then you should have no trouble giving them their original speed capabilities back. Knuckles doesn't have to be AS fast as sonic but he can still obviously spindash and run up walls. Tails uses the strength he uses to maintain flight to accelerate himself off the ground moving forward-- he should obviously be able to hold some speed.

[Andrew]

I'm speaking blasphemy here but they could reboot it and just pretend Tails and Knuckles never even existed. Make Sonic so mobile that their abilities don't matter anymore because Sonic can go almost anywhere he wants, unrestricted.

Not an entirely bad idea. I'd argue reboot the entire concept of the new Sonic games. Make the game without what has now become Sonic conventions. Basically, pretend they're making a flagship title for a new Sega console.

[1LT Worm]

They need to add another foil to sonic. Not enough characters anymore.

Yeah! You know what would be cool? ...A thin dog character that hunts cats with a shotgun...sorta like a foil to that fat cat that fishes.

[Aaron C-T]

The fan base is practically split in 2, they're always going to piss off one set of fans with each game... I feel like sega is going to continue to "reboot" and "redefine" the franchise with each game and it's always going to piss someone off.

I've seen this sentiment expressed a lot and I couldn't agree less. It's not as if these groups of fans just sprung out of thin air. It's entirely their own fault.

[Serephim]

It's impossible to cater to everyone with a game like Sonic. They've been trying to expand and innovate on what a sonic game is all about for years. Only recently since Unleashed/Colors/Generations have they found a formula that everyone seems to have a good standing with.

Games like Final Fantasy are the same way. They try and push the bar on something, but leave others behind with their decisions. Final Fantasy tries to expand on storytelling and cinematics, and it interferes with (literally) everything else in the game. Sonic tries to expand on speed, fumbles with, once again, everything else in the game.

Games like mario, on the other hand, have pretty much stuck with a single CORE thing and have just expanded from there. 64, Sunshine, and Galaxy 1-2 are pretty much all the same concept with a little twist here and there. Of course, Sunshine kind of veered from 64 a bit and i remember Fludd got some backlash. When's the last time you've seen Mario do something like that? Exactly. Those games are consistent, and nintendo finds ways to freshen them up WITHOUT ripping apart the foundation of the gameplay every 2 titles.

I personally think they should keep this current design. What i'd do though, personally:

1) Slow sonic's max speed down. Probably more along the lines of Sonic Adventure.

2) Boost should no longer instantly accelerate sonic to max speed. Instead, it should gradually allow him to reach max speed and increase his acceleration.

Now sonic doesn't control like a goddamn tank, and you can quickly shift from pro-platforming controls to "BOOOOOOOSH 895MPH" controls.

I really think that would work well. Sonic Generations had alot more 3D platforming than some of the others did, but sonic gets exceedingly difficult to control the longer you hold forward. The game defaults you into easier turning physics on some parts, but i think that's just a compensation.

[Aaron C-T]

I kind of feel like Sonic has become too focused on just going fast. Between the grind rails and the boost mechanic they've been going with I just feel like it's a bit too automated. I definitely agree with slowing him down, as I miss the focus on platforming. But I haven't played Generations so..

@Serephim: If vanilla is the only ice cream flavor there is, you like ice cream or you don't. The more flavors of ice cream there are, the greater the chance that you prefer very specific types.

I can't take the notion that they've been "expanding/innovating" seriously. That makes me think of artsy companies like Team Ico that focus on pushing their boundaries and delivering great experiences. Looking back at some Sonic releases, that just hasn't been the case.

[Serephim]

colors and generations were amazing games, though. Boost and Rails really detract from nothing. Unleashed was pretty fun as well, although those were the fastest and most linear of the 3.

I dont know how it'd be good to compare Team Ico to Sonic Team. They're a good example, yes, but they're on two completely different realities in terms of what they can change and cant

Play generations or colors. Either one works fine. I personally havent played past sweet mountain in colors (no wii), but the game felt amazing either way. I personally think the best stage from Generations was Seaside Hill in terms of the sheer number of paths and freedom in level design.

[Aaron C-T]

I was referring to Sonic Team's seeming lack of quality control/common sense at times.

The boosts/grinding thing is admittedly just preference. What little I played of Unleashed felt like I didn't have to actually confront enemies since I could blast through them, like you could replace them with a crate and it'd hardly be different. And there's nothing inherently wrong with grinding, but they do it a lot.

I actually have a cheap copy of Generations I bought on Steam, but I want to give it fair shake with a gamepad so I've yet to play it. Not sure how great of an experience it'd be on a keyboard.