I'm sorry but I hate SA2

[castell-neath]

i replayed SA2 on my PS3 today and realised I hate it.....and Hate it with a vengence.

 

The replay missions are rubbish - "find a chao"....seriously?, the controls are patchy and homing attack for things like springs and rails are VERY hit and miss, the voice acting (for Tails and Rouge especially) is just not right for some reason, and the story feels rushed and under developed.

 

I HATE the Knuckles Rap/ RnB music, I hate the Tails/Eggaman and Knuckles/ Rouge Levels, and the Sonic and Shadow levels are too few and far between.

 

I have no desire or patience to raise bloody Chaos and being "thrust" to the garden every now and then is annoying. I don't mind SA1, Unleashed but I realsed today that I even (whisper this) prefer Sonic 06 over this, for all its faluts, load time and kiss scene and all. At least it TRIED to be ambitious and has made half arsed. There's no real excuse for SA2

 

I know LOADS of people Love this game, but is there anyone out there who gets where I'm coming from or is it just me?

Edited August 22, 2013 by castell-neath

[Jin.]

Sonic and Shadow are the only remotely interesting gameplay characters in this game. shotsfired

Shooting sections are bland, long and boring and hunting sections are either too easy or too hard.

 

And... That's all I care about. If 2/3 of the gameplay sucks for me I don't want to play it.

Edited August 22, 2013 by 少佐 Jin H. Kisaragi

[Wraith]

While I wouldn't call the game outright terrible, it's very....lacking. It's not even bad. It's just boring. Two of the three gameplay style just aren't fun to play due to the design choices of the game. Sonic and Shadow are pretty fun though. 

[Vertekins]

I like SA2, it's one of the Sonic games that holds some of the fondest memories for me, enjoy the Chao-raising and find the gameplay satisfactory.

 

Like Sonic 3 and Knuckles and Colours though, it is quite overrated and heralded for things that other games did equally as well or better.

[Soniman]

A mediocre game overall but I wouldn't consider it...awful or anything, I just wouldnt play it again anytime soon.

[spinny]

SA2 is... a game. I don't necessarily say I'd hate it, but it's extremely lacking at times, even as Sonic and Shadow (linear level design in City Escape, Metal Harbour, Radical Highway and White Jungle say hi) and the other gameplay styles are extremely tedious. Really... I'd consider it the weakest out of the Dreamcast era (SA1, SA2, Heroes).

[Willsy]

Everything except Sonic's stages, Shadow's stages, and the soundtrack is bullshit. 

[TheOcelot]

I played SA2 for the first time last year and I love it. That said, it does have it's share of problems. The mech and treasure hunting stages can be fun, but can also be a damn right chore. Maybe if I had played the game when it was first released over 10 years ago I might not like it as much. However, I will always love the glorious music and the entertaining story.

Edited September 28, 2013 by -Bender-

[Wraith]

I do have to say, the game is a pretty poor successor to SA1. The game takes nearly everything that game did right and does it in a worse way, the chao garden being one of the exceptions.

[Spidey3525]

I admit it hasn't held up well, but it is still kinda fun.

[Jix Hedgehog]

Played til the end when it came out for the Dreamcast and never went back.. should've been a lot better since it was the sequel to the amazing original. Soundtrack was pretty good thou

[Speederino]

I think it's alright. I like Sonic and Shadow's stages, the mechs are tolerable enough (though nothing I ever feel like replaying), and I LOVE the Chao Garden. But the treasure hunting stages ranges from mediocre to downright terrible. And since the game is mostly mech and treasure hunting, it just ends up being an okay game. It's not terrible, it's not great. It's middle of the road..

[Kuzu]

What're you apologizing about?

[Sky]

What're you apologizing about?

In case he offended anyone.

[castell-neath]

Another thing i hate about this game I just realised, is also the whole eggaman / gerlad robotnik idea. It ruined Eggman as a "mysterious" villain for me. Oh and GUN...no need to have set Sonic on Earth. he used to live on Mobius before 1996......

 

Cannot understand why everyone loves the theme music as much as they do too.. Didn't sonic get its credibility from its techno / dancey vibe.  (and I'm an alternate music fan) But this title "bolted" on rock to a series of games that should have gone in the direction of the Chemical Brothers or something....it was late 90s in development FFS

[Emperor Robrainiac]

I agree, it's an overrated game. I wasn't too fond of how dark the story was, the level design was pretty boring, and the gameplay (Aside from maybe Sonic and Shadow) Was kinda boring as well.

 

Due to some nostalgia factor, I can't really hate the game... I think it's a good time waster if I have nothing else to do, but on the other hand, I can't really say it's one of the best sonic games of all time as some of the fans make it out to be.

[castell-neath]

Sorry I'm just very angry with this game at the moment. = Ranting!! LOL!

[LordMetallix]

You know SA2 is a game thats in a unique position for me, I love it and hate it all at the same time.

 

I adore Sonic and Shadows gameplay and up until Lost World, I found it to be the pinnacle of Sonic gameplay dare I say. It exemplified what I loved about this series, interesting level design and gimmicks, tons of abilities to experiment with, and plenty of secrets to find with said abilities. The music is also, while not as good as SA1 or Heroes for me, is still a kickass soundtrack and continued the trend of awesome music that this series is known for. Tunes such as Escape from the city, Metal Harbor, Radical Highway, Supporting Me, and of course Live and Learn, are some of the most memorable tracks in the series and some of my personal favorites. The story was definitely the darkest of the series at that point, though "dark" may not be the right word it did play with some dark elements like genocide and government cover-ups by killing scientists, but at the same time kept it low key so that younger audiences didn't get alienated. And I personally enjoyed it. 

 

BUT

 

The mech stages were boring and outside of Eggman not even needed. HELL Tails could have not been playable and no fucks would have been given in terms of story development. The stages started to feel the same and while the control was improved over Gamma's, the shoot enemies to progress tactic was boring and tedious as all hell. 

 

The emerald hunting stages....UGHHHHHHH, I hate this part of the game with a burning passion. They took a tolerable and slightly enjoyable part of Adventure 1 and COMPLETELY shat all over it by gimping the Emerald radar (SERIOUSLY ONLY 1 EMERALD AT A TIME? THATS BULLSHIT!) And don't even GET me started on Meteor Herd and Mad Space.

 

The chao gardens I couldn't really talk about because it didn't keep my attention long enough to warrant it, which should speak for itself on that note.

 

I honestly feel that while the game did many things right and improved on a lot of things from SA1, it brought itself down with a lot of BS changes and stupid game design decisions that kept it from being the true successor that SA1 really deserved. It shouldn't be held on such a high pedestal and I'm glad Sonic Team is moving away from that kind of style personally.

[DarkLight]

Another thing i hate about this game I just realised, is also the whole eggaman / gerlad robotnik idea. It ruined Eggman as a "mysterious" villain for me. Oh and GUN...no need to have set Sonic on Earth. he used to live on Mobius before 1996......

 

Cannot understand why everyone loves the theme music as much as they do too.. Didn't sonic get its credibility from its techno / dancey vibe.  (and I'm an alternate music fan) But this title "bolted" on rock to a series of games that should have gone in the direction of the Chemical Brothers or something....it was late 90s in development FFS

 

But Sonic's always been on Earth.

[Stasis]

I've played this game to pieces over the years on the Dreamcast and still go back to it. However, I purchased the HD version and have only played it for about an hour and I have no idea why.

[Tara]

I love the game, personally, but I don't think it's perfect.  By "love" the game, I simply mean that I had fun playing it.  That doesn't mean there's anything really good.  All the faults you mentioned are more than valid, and I acknowledge them as there and as huge problems that would probably hinder my enjoyment if I played it today.

 

Actually, I'd be lying if I said that I ever enjoyed Knuckles/Rouge's treasure hunting stages, or that I wasn't bothered by Tails and Eggman being in a walker when I was a kid.  At least with the latter, I considered it a nice little successor to Gamma's gameplay from SA1, but it came at the cost of being boring and simply not what I wanted to do for most of the game, especially as Tails.  Yet, despite the misery of those stages, I can't really say that I find it that bad.  I guess it's like Unleashed.  The werehog stages are fun when you're playing at your own leisure, but when you're forced to for several stages on end because it's your first playthrough or whatever, it's just beyond dreadful.  At least, that's the way I see it.

 

Oh and the final boss is incredibly underwhelming, but then, at least it's better than SA1's "three hits to kill before he comes back without little to no added strengths to him."

 

Overall, a pretty mediocre title by today's standards, and even at the time, I think it failed to capture what made SA1 great for its time, but, I just can't say I hold anything but pure love for the game.

Edited August 22, 2013 by Akito

[JezMM]

It came out at a time where Sonic fans were much more forgiving of its weirdness and now nostalgia holds up that weirdness for a lot of fans, including myself.  For some, the style and attitude (which is quite different from recent games) may be preferred and keeps people loving it.

 

I agree it's aged badly.  I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who wasn't into Sonic already, but I still love it myself.

[DarkRula]

Well, I have to say, it's the first game of Sonic I ever played way back on the Gamecube. I loved it, and I've possibly been one of those that defended it to the last on some occasions. Ever since I bought SA1 though, I've been more and more thinking back to whether SA2 really is as good as I first thought.

 

Put it this way. Out of both games, in comparison, I like three gameplay styles in SA1 [sonic, Tails, Gamma] but only one in SA2 [running]. Out of stages I like nearly all of them in SA1 but only City Escape, Metal Harbour, Pyramid Cave and White Jungle [and possibly Radical Highway] from SA2. Soundtrack wise, again, more like SA1's than SA2's.

The only thing that was improved was the chao garden, by giving it a hub. The only thing in SA2 to have one.

 

However, I still go back to both quite often, although I do have the New Challengers mod active on SA2 to liven things up a bit, but now that I have played SA1 I think the only reason I liked SA2 so much is that I didn't really know SA1 existed [in the way you tend to forget prequels exist in games when you skip the first].

 

Multiplayer is one of it's best elements I think. Countless hours spent on multiplayer when I've had friends round.

[SkyLlama]

Generations was the first 3D Sonic game I ever played and I got SA2/1 only after completing it. I was very disappointed by SA2 and SA1. Maybe they've just aged badly, maybe it's because I have no memories of them, but I find both to be terrible games.

The control is abysmal, the gameplay style ranges from terrible with some characters to mediocre with others, the stories are not great, the voice work is meh and the games are both glitchey to a point I can't tolerate them.

If I had went from the classic era to the Adventure games I'd had been very disappointed. The only game from that era I enjoy is Heroes, otherwise I don't go back to any games from that era.

 

/opinions
 

Edited August 22, 2013 by SkyLlama

[castell-neath]

Now SA1 i can handle, and enjoy replaying (not as much as the pre 1997 games, but still) even 06 I can handle in parts.

I even had, and enjoyed HEROES on the PS2, (that REALLY re-iginited my love affair with sonic....i want a Heroes 2!!) but SA2, just.....no.

 

A side effect this game has also had is my sort of "indifference" to Shadow. He's not the "rival" for Sonic many people see him as. In SA2 he's just there for you to go "Ohhhh a balck and red sonic" (which again, took some of Sonic's "uniqueness" away from him)

 

I got through  Sh.T.H  on PS2 and again,  didn't mind it as I saw and read that as the series was trying to "expand" with a new main character and thought a "darker"  version of sonic felt right for that kind of game. But as that idea fell flat on its face and Shadow has been "pulled" back in to the "main series" (although has he? no real contribution since 06) I see him as just another "side character".