114 replies to this topic

[Felix]

So what begins? The process of making a shitty game slightly less shitty? Regardless, I didn't hate 06 because of the broken action gauge; the ability to cheat actually made it a bit less torturous.

I actually like '06 as a game, but I agree, using the gems is a great way to abuse the game's broken features. XD

[Felix]

A trailer for Sonic '06 released at Tokyo Game Show 2006. I remember being so hyped for this game...

[Azookara]

So, uh, I don't believe I know you.
As for 06 beta stuff, I suppose I may as well post this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPpnLuIKcwA

You know, even if you can't really keep it from being a bad game, I've always been interested in making this bad game better, especially when it's related to digging up prototype information about it.

Really glad to see someone took up the idea of doing this. Hope to see more, man!

[Indigo Rush]

Let's go back in time to the year 2005...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibq4-8H_IMw
...Wow.

Okay, so I'm going to assume most of you have seen this tech demo before. It's the precursor to the big 15th anniversary title that SEGA was going to give us. We were hyped. Really, everyone was excited after seeing this. This was it! After a couple years of grim-dark gun-toting alien hedgehogs, compilation re-releases and mediocre team-based gameplay, depsite the very dutiful (though admittedly low-key) handheld games on Nintendo's GameBoy Advance and DS, we were certainly ready for what Sonic Team had to offer us. Sonic the Hedgehog.

No Adventure 3, no Sonic 4, no subtitle, no twists, nothing. Just straight up Sonic the Hedgehog for the next generation. Sonic 2006, Sonic Next-Gen, whatever we called it, we were stoked.

Even gaming critics, when they got their hands on the pre-release, were hopeful:
http://ps3.ign.com/a...4/704899p1.html

At SEGA's pre-E3 event in late April, IGN grabbed its first look at the newest version of Sonic the Hedgehog. After Sonic's re-emergence from his rather somber Saturn days to the initially exciting Sonic Adventures revitalization on Dreamcast, followed by a mind-numbingly odd Shadow the Hedgehog, a dark version of Sonic with guns, Sonic is a tough nut to crack -- and an easy one to break. Think about it for a second, after his stunning debut as a 2D furry mascot with an attitude in the Genesis days, Sonic has wavered to and fro in the 3D landscape, an environment that's not his natural habitat, per say. That's why, when we watched the first live, in-game footage of Sonic, we knew SEGA was listening to its critics.

The key to re-introducing Sonic on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, a crowd of journalists was told at SEGA's San Francisco, Ca. headquarters, is focusing on the impact of his speed and sense of control from Sonic's early Genesis days, and the wild aerial jumps introduced in Sonic Adventures. In its 15-year anniversary, SEGA's new Sonic is one in which crisp high-res visuals, 60 frame-per-second gameplay, and an evolution of the hedgehog's general form will set the tone for his new games.

Sonic is no longer the stubby, kid-like bullet of blue spiky fur. While retaining his general form -- smirky smile, giant blue head spikes, and classic white and red outfit, replete with white gloves -- SEGA has grown Sonic into an adult by means of a few simple techniques. The team has basically stretched his legs and arms to relatively human proportions. Thus, Sonic still looks just like he always did, but now he's about 5'10". In fact, all of the characters we saw, Dr. Robotnik (Eggman) and Sonic's new nemesis, a white hedgehog, retained a relatively human-sized height. The effect is a little alarming at first. Sonic looks like a skinny dude in a Sonic suit now, at least when he's standing still. Once he starts running, it's all different. But still, you'll need to take second and third glance to get accustomed to his new look.

Due on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 this fall, Sonic's new game follows a simple narrative premise. In a pristine kingdom holding a royal family, a certain Princess Elise retains a chaos emerald -- and a deep secret. In an inevitable turn of events, Dr. Robotnik learns of the emerald and kidnaps the princess, and thus the emerald, and Sonic is compelled to retrieve her and the precious stone. The new rival, basically a cream-colored furry that looks remarkably like Sonic, appears in the following cutscene, peering down from an overlooking hill into a village, and proclaims, "I've finally found it, the Iblis Trigger." The Iblis Trigger we're told is Sonic, and this new rival is going to cause him great pain due to vaguely revealed supernatural powers. You'll also be able to play as the new character.

It's all a little cryptic at this point, honestly, but Sonic has, no doubt, got to rescue the princess, fight this new punk hedgehog, defeat Eggman (like always), and set the record straight on who the bad-assiest hedgehog in town really is. We all know it, but in a world of super-hero hedgehogs and all-powerful emeralds and techno-savvy fat men, well, things just work a little differently in that universe. You just have to go with the flow.

Sonic's new game is split into two types of gameplay: action and town stages. The action stages are gorgeously laid out sections of creative track, 3D aerial sections, loops, jumps, racing sections, and platforms floating in space, in which Sonic must ping pong through, race as fast as hedgehoggedly possible, and defeat simplistic enemy AI to reach a final goal ring. If you've played any of Sonic games at all, you'll notice the camera is closer and lower to the ground, helping to create a better sense of speed. The paths feature split sections, meaning that you can pick entirely unique branches, each with their own surprises.

Sonic appears to move with quick arcade-like controls and simple mechanics. He can walk and run freely, burst into a sprint, slide-stop, spin-attack enemies in air, and perform switch-stance skateboarding-like slides along invisible aerial paths. He can run onto walls Shinobi-style, grab onto nearby eagles for transportation, and quickly alternate from one action to another without a hitch. The action stages are a mix of familiar Sonic Adventure-style 3D platforms, mixed with new designs, aerial maneuverings, and Sonic moves, and they all take place while running at full speed. You'll still find speed bumpers, zip sections, breaking boxes, rings to collect, double air jumps, and danger zones.

The other type of stage is the town stage, which SEGA hid from us, so that we'd come by its booth at E3. Sneaky! The town stages are apparently open and free-roaming, giving Sonic the ability to mingle with other characters, explore and do things that heroic blue hedgehogs normally do (I wonder if there are chili dog vendors in this new town?).

Which leads us to E3. Sonic the Hedgehog (temporary name) for Xbox 360 and PS3 looks fast, colorful, and like good arcade-style fun. We're hoping the town stages make an excellent complement to the action stages. We'll soon see!

As Sonic's former stalker and rip-off artist once said...

"What could possibly go wrong?!"

The answer? Everything.

Ladies and Gentleniks, Sonic the Hedgehog for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 is a horrific tragedy. It's actually fairly depressing to read these hopeful articles from big-name gaming critics, only to see this title become the laughing-stock of the industry.

What happened? What went wrong? What is it about this game that caused so much disappointment and shame? It's not like this was E.T. the Video Game, right? Right?

We really have to analyze this one objectively and without bias. Sonic '06 is a hideous, but fascinating train wreck, far more than the average flop. There are indeed people who like this game, so is there something more to the game than we give it credit for, or is it simply a guilty pleasure to us? Some people enjoy some really terrible films and games for no good reason aside from nostalgia, perhaps. For me, I have this bizarre enjoyment when playing Sonic R sometimes. It's not a good game by any stretch of the imagination, but I can't seem to figure out why I liked it. I suppose it was solid enough, I mean, it still qualified as a game and kept me entertained.

Maybe we can look at Sonic 2006 the same way?



...Erm.

I really took the time to think about this. Why some people like it, but mostly why everyone doesn't. I can easily pass the former point to guilty pleasure, nostalgia or apathy. It's not that hard, if you like it, then you like it. No harm done.

But the amount of hate for this game is incredible. And that's the thing... I have this hatred for it, too. It might not burn as brightly as others, but for what it's worth, this game seems to provoke negative reactions from me that I don't get from Sonic Labyrinth, Sonic Spinball (for the Game Gear) or even Sonic's Schoolhouse. Those 3 are far worse than Sonic 2006, but have never managed to provide fuel for my angry furnace like Sonic 2006. What the heck is the problem?

It's this.



"Happy Birthday Sonic and Sonic fanbase, here's your present!"

Suddenly, it makes sense. This game made promises. Promises that it broke more violently than dynamite in a glass house. This game was supposed to be a celebration for 15 years of Sonic. 15 years of great games and a return to form. Sure, the last couple of games were misguided, but now we're going back to the games you loved, like the Sonic Adventure games, only more epic!

Wait.

Like the Sonic Adventure games, only more epic!

Like the Sonic Adventure games.

The Sonic Adventure games.

Sonic Adventure.

Here's the main problem, everyone, besides marketing. They had based their return-to-form upon the foundation that Sonic Adventure had set, not the originals.

What foundation did Sonic Adventure set? Multiple genres, hub worlds and relatively deep stories and cutscenes. Oh.

See, that's the first mistake they made. They founded their game upon the bits and pieces of a relatively good Sonic game that weren't very good. Amy, Knuckles, Big and Gamma played nothing like Sonic, and were generally seen as a chore to most people. Not everyone liked the hub worlds, and I can't imagine I'm the only one skipping through the cutscenes nowadays. The development team saw the success of Sonic Adventure 1 and 2, and drew their inspiration from those games. Unfortunately, this included their major flaws that should never have been repeated.

From the very start, the concepts and blueprints were flawed. No flow and no focus. You couldn't simply progress from one level to the next like traditional Sonic games, you had to navigate the barren hub worlds, complete town missions and find upgrades to keep going. This was a terrible idea, especially after actually getting progression right in Sonic Heroes and Shadow the Hedgehog!

And by the genre-roulette design, Sonic again had lost much of his spotlight. His story significance was depleted to that of rescuing the princess, losing the princess, rescuing her again, getting killed and contributing about 1/3 of the "hog-power" necessary to finish of the final boss. Meanwhile, Shadow and Silver are uncovering the truth behind everything and are the ones actually providing meaning to the story. Not only was Sonic gimped in terms of story, but also in gameplay. He took up about 1/3rd of the character roster, not including the dilution from the "Amigo" sections, and was actually slower than Omega. Excuse me?!

And it's not just Sonic himself that suffered from this, everyone did, in terms of personality and characterization mainly, but also in terms of gameplay. The whole thing is just unfinished. Speaking of unfinished, let's talk glitches. You see, I'm pretty much convinced that this game was never actually bug-tested, at least not by anyone with competence. How could so many glitches and errors be overlooked?

Good GRAVY.

And it's not like these are small bugs you can overlook, these are huge.

I don't think I need to talk much about the loading times and storyline convolution, questionable plot devices and overall rushed development time. These are a given. But as I was saying...

This game is downright tragic. It promised a whole lot, and it delivered almost nothing. Yuji Naka jumped ship. Sonic Team USA shut down. Directors were changed around again. Sonic became an example of what NOT to do. The general gaming public have no respect for Sonic anymore. Had it not been for the loyal fanbase and strong will of the company, Sonic would probably be gone right now.

And really, had this been anything other than Sonic, I don't think it would garner as much hate and panning. But Sonic was an icon, a face of the gaming industry. He was a pioneer that changed everything, and then this comes out. It's not worse than ET or Superman 64, but it's far more disappointing and disheartening than any other terrible game out there. It's because of the promises, the hype, and the end result. This was supposed to be Sonic's big break... and yeah, he broke alright.

The main good thing to come out of this game was that of a wake-up call to SEGA and Sonic Team. They couldn't let anything like this happen again. From then on, they put more heart into their games. Sure, we had a couple more "meh" games to wade through, but I think things are on the fast track to recovery now.

But still...

Again, quite a fascinating train-wreck.

Edited by Indigo Rush, 12 March 2012 - 03:35 PM.

[Felix]

Let's go back in time to the year 2005...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibq4-8H_IMw
...Wow.

Okay, so I'm going to assume most of you have seen this tech demo before. It's the precursor to the big 15th anniversary title that SEGA was going to give us. We were hyped. Really, everyone was excited after seeing this. This was it! After a couple years of grim-dark gun-toting alien hedgehogs, compilation re-releases and mediocre team-based gameplay, depsite the very dutiful (though admittedly low-key) handheld games on Nintendo's GameBoy Advance and DS, we were certainly ready for what Sonic Team had to offer us. Sonic the Hedgehog.

No Adventure 3, no Sonic 4, no subtitle, no twists, nothing. Just straight up Sonic the Hedgehog for the next generation. Sonic 2006, Sonic Next-Gen, whatever we called it, we were stoked.

Even gaming critics, when they got their hands on the pre-release, were hopeful:
http://ps3.ign.com/a...4/704899p1.html


As Sonic's former stalker and rip-off artist once said...

"What could possibly go wrong?!"

The answer? Everything.

Ladies and Gentleniks, Sonic the Hedgehog for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 is a horrific tragedy. It's actually fairly depressing to read these hopeful articles from big-name gaming critics, only to see this title become the laughing-stock of the industry.

What happened? What went wrong? What is it about this game that caused so much disappointment and shame? It's not like this was E.T. the Video Game, right? Right?

We really have to analyze this one objectively and without bias. Sonic '06 is a hideous, but fascinating train wreck, far more than the average flop. There are indeed people who like this game, so is there something more to the game than we give it credit for, or is it simply a guilty pleasure to us? Some people enjoy some really terrible films and games for no good reason aside from nostalgia, perhaps. For me, I have this bizarre enjoyment when playing Sonic R sometimes. It's not a good game by any stretch of the imagination, but I can't seem to figure out why I liked it. I suppose it was solid enough, I mean, it still qualified as a game and kept me entertained.

Maybe we can look at Sonic 2006 the same way?



...Erm.

I really took the time to think about this. Why some people like it, but mostly why everyone doesn't. I can easily pass the former point to guilty pleasure, nostalgia or apathy. It's not that hard, if you like it, then you like it. No harm done.

But the amount of hate for this game is incredible. And that's the thing... I have this hatred for it, too. It might not burn as brightly as others, but for what it's worth, this game seems to provoke negative reactions from me that I don't get from Sonic Labyrinth, Sonic Spinball (for the Game Gear) or even Sonic's Schoolhouse. Those 3 are far worse than Sonic 2006, but have never managed to provide fuel for my angry furnace like Sonic 2006. What the heck is the problem?

It's this.



"Happy Birthday Sonic and Sonic fanbase, here's your present!"

Suddenly, it makes sense. This game made promises. Promises that it broke more violently than dynamite in a glass house. This game was supposed to be a celebration for 15 years of Sonic. 15 years of great games and a return to form. Sure, the last couple of games were misguided, but now we're going back to the games you loved, like the Sonic Adventure games, only more epic!

Wait.

Like the Sonic Adventure games, only more epic!

Like the Sonic Adventure games.

The Sonic Adventure games.

Sonic Adventure.

Here's the main problem, everyone, besides marketing. They had based their return-to-form upon the foundation that Sonic Adventure had set, not the originals.

What foundation did Sonic Adventure set? Multiple genres, hub worlds and relatively deep stories and cutscenes. Oh.

See, that's the first mistake they made. They founded their game upon the bits and pieces of a relatively good Sonic game that weren't very good. Amy, Knuckles, Big and Gamma played nothing like Sonic, and were generally seen as a chore to most people. Not everyone liked the hub worlds, and I can't imagine I'm the only one skipping through the cutscenes nowadays. The development team saw the success of Sonic Adventure 1 and 2, and drew their inspiration from those games. Unfortunately, this included their major flaws that should never have been repeated.

From the very start, the concepts and blueprints were flawed. No flow and no focus. You couldn't simply progress from one level to the next like traditional Sonic games, you had to navigate the barren hub worlds, complete town missions and find upgrades to keep going. This was a terrible idea, especially after actually getting progression right in Sonic Heroes and Shadow the Hedgehog!

And by the genre-roulette design, Sonic again had lost much of his spotlight. His story significance was depleted to that of rescuing the princess, losing the princess, rescuing her again, getting killed and contributing about 1/3 of the "hog-power" necessary to finish of the final boss. Meanwhile, Shadow and Silver are uncovering the truth behind everything and are the ones actually providing meaning to the story. Not only was Sonic gimped in terms of story, but also in gameplay. He took up about 1/3rd of the character roster, not including the dilution from the "Amigo" sections, and was actually slower than Omega. Excuse me?!

And it's not just Sonic himself that suffered from this, everyone did, in terms of personality and characterization mainly, but also in terms of gameplay. The whole thing is just unfinished. Speaking of unfinished, let's talk glitches. You see, I'm pretty much convinced that this game was never actually bug-tested, at least not by anyone with competence. How could so many glitches and errors be overlooked?

Good LORD.

And it's not like these are small bugs you can overlook, these are huge.

I don't think I need to talk much about the loading times and storyline convolution, questionable plot devices and overall rushed development time. These are a given. But as I was saying...

This game is downright tragic. It promised a whole lot, and it delivered almost nothing. Yuji Naka jumped ship. Sonic Team USA shut down. Directors were changed around again. Sonic became an example of what NOT to do. The general gaming public have no respect for Sonic anymore. Had it not been for the loyal fanbase and strong will of the company, Sonic would probably be gone right now.

And really, had this been anything other than Sonic, I don't think it would garner as much hate and panning. But Sonic was an icon, a face of the gaming industry. He was a pioneer that changed everything, and then this comes out. It's not worse than ET or Superman 64, but it's far more disappointing and disheartening than any other terrible game out there. It's because of the promises, the hype, and the end result. This was supposed to be Sonic's big break... and yeah, he broke alright.

The main good thing to come out of this game was that of a wake-up call to SEGA and Sonic Team. They couldn't let anything like this happen again. From then on, they put more heart into their games. Sure, we had a couple more "meh" games to wade through, but I think things are on the fast track to recovery now.

Again, quite a fascinating train-wreck.

...Wow. In that one comment, you explained the hype, expectations, flaws, dissapointment and exposed the scars of Sonic '06. I must applaud you.

[SiLeNtDo0m]

Indigo does it again! Seriously, give this man an award or something.

[Felix]

Two screenshots, though with Sonic standing still, demonstrating the day & night system. His shoes and eyes also look somewhat more glossy.

Edited by Dr. Felix, 06 March 2012 - 12:11 AM.

[A Spray Can in Tokyo-to]

Jesus Christ, I thought Sonic looked like a stoner in 06. But in those screens he looks like a goddamn zombie. D;

Doesn't help that his eyes and shoes look like they're covered in dirt and dust, as if he had just gotten out of his grave. Sonic 4 Ep 1's visuals are Sonic Unleashed compared to that!

That isn't just ugly, it's utterly frightening.

Edited by A Spray Can in Tokyo-to, 06 March 2012 - 12:31 AM.

[Gen]

I'd say SEGA should have announced one thing at a time. They did promise too much, and the game was hyped out of the ball park.
I heard something about the game being released in late 2007. Is this true?

[A Spray Can in Tokyo-to]

I'd say SEGA should have announced one thing at a time. They did promise too much, and the game was hyped out of the ball park.
I heard something about the game being released in late 2007. Is this true?

The game was meant to be released in mid-2007,but was rushed to late 2006 for debated reasons:

• Meddling from Microsoft
• Rushed for the Christmas season
• Rushed for the 15th anniversary
• The fanbase

All I know is that it was rushed for some reason.

[Burnt Ash]

Pretty sure it wasn't Microsoft. I've heard things about MS rushing Sega or whatever, but I don't think that's true. Probably just rushed for Christmas season.

[Gen]

The game was meant to be released in mid-2007,but was rushed to late 2006 for debated reasons:

• Meddling from Microsoft
• Rushed for the Christmas season
• Rushed for the 15th anniversary
• The fanbase

All I know is that it was rushed for some reason.

What ever happened to making games for fans? *5 years later*
Wait..

[Felix]

This was concept art for the idea of introducing a new character in the game, called "Venice The Mink". It was a reference to how Soleanna is similar to the real-life city of Venice, Italy. This character eventually developed into as we know now, Silver The Hedgehog. Those eyes..... @_@

[Vertekins]

Giant Bomb claims that quality assurance testers said that the game was over-budget and so rushed for the deadline that bug testing was ignored for these two reasons.

[Felix]

Giant Bomb claims that quality assurance testers said that the game was over-budget and so rushed for the deadline that bug testing was ignored for these two reasons.

I also heard of a rumour that SEGA Of Japan fired the original game testers because the testers thought the game was bad. O_o

Edited by Dr. Felix, 06 March 2012 - 12:51 AM.

[Gen]

I also heard of a rumour that SEGA Of Japan fired the original game testers because the testers thought the game was bad. O_o

That DID happen. Crazy huh?

[Felix]

That DID happen. Crazy huh?

THEY PREDICTED THEY FUTURE.

[Gen]

THEY PREDICTED THEY FUTURE.

The thing that sucks is that it would play testers would say the same thing the last testers did. So, firing the first testers was pointless.

[Felix]

Behold, SSMB, the savior and true hero of the Sonic series, the greatest NPC and greatest Sonic character ever made...

HATSUN THE PIGEON.

[Gen]

Behold, SSMB, the savior and true hero of the Sonic series, the greatest NPC and greatest Sonic character ever made...

HATSUN THE PIGEON.

Is this real?