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The Many Styles of Sonic the Hedgehog: Round 2 - World Design


Jack / Joker

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Classic style artwork is a bit of a mixed bag for me for a few reasons. When it's on point, it's absolutely engrossing. When it's not, it can range from underwhelming to just plain ugly. For one, I think the bright, geometric aesthetics are best experienced in their proper element amidst pixel artwork and the trippy 80s and 90s-inspired pop music. S1, S2, and S3&K are well-developed experiences that have an appealing edge to them not because of their art, but because the art fits the overall design ideals of the game and character they were trying to create: a slick, electronic, colorful, Japanese-American science-fantasy conglomeration. But it can still be taken too far. I'm sorry, but Sonic CD is just a complete clusterfuck for me. Claustrophobic levels means lots of design elements are going to be squeezed into a small space, and add onto the fact that most of the graphics aren't even identifiable materials, I feel like it misses part of the point. The other classics are a retro-grade stylization of the real world. Nearly everything in them is something from real life, and the abstraction actually lessened as time went on. Sonic CD just feels like an exercise in how many colors and lines you can throw onto the screen.
 
Similarly, I feel like this context is missing for later games which, while appealing to varying degrees, aren't really capturing a significant whole of the classic aesthetic which in turn undermines the artwork. Coupled with the reception of a few bad games basically being the catalyst for this style's usage today, and nowadays it feels to have an undercarriage of cynical pandering. Like, the games are pretty, but the original Sonic games were lightning in a bottle, and we can all point out tons of ways Sega isn't really making use of the nostalgia anyway. Doesn't help that I feel Heroes is butt-ugly by today's standards, with its mixmatched colors, textural, and lighting schemes, and Colors just feels a bit washed out? Like, look at Sweet Mountain for instance: there's a weird underwash of brown there. Lost World's bright and appealing though, so I'll certainly give it that! But taken as a whole, I've got an on-and-off relationship with this style.
 
Photo-Surrealism though is my sugar daddy. It gives me everything I absolutely need from a Sonic game: varied, identifiable locations abstracted to various degrees either through the use of scale and bright color and solidified through sheer graphical and lighting fidelity. Considering once again that the style of Sonic games got less abstract as the team got a handle on both the style and the hardware, Adventure itself felt like a natural next step in the development of the franchise, especially since it was still early enough in the series' lifespan to include character design and musical cues that were endemic to the series' identity. It was new yet still fitting. Unleashed does its best to kinda ape Adventure's precedent, and while it doesn't include outright nostalgia trips like Tornado Scramble to further give context, it nonetheless has its own clear-set goals and themes that are appropriate for the franchise, which it nails in spades through the use of ridiculous attention to detail that makes the world feel alive. Pixar-styled Sonic games, you say? If Unleashed was any indication, I physically need more of them.
 
As for Style 3, the two things I can say about it: Sonic 06's environmental art was really interesting as a novelty. The locations didn't feel particularly drab to me in terms of color and design, and the use of realistic rendering- especially in the cutscenes- frankly isn't out of place from what you'd see in a CGI animated film. It's not something that I want to see come to the forefront, but it's not as much a turn-off as most of ShtH's offerings were. Also, I don't consider SA2's design to be in this vain, but perhaps a unique mix between the first two styles. I still do love the contrasting use of bright neon Crayola colors and dark in levels like Radical Highway, Iron Gate, or Final Rush, the really, really bright sunny days that befall levels like City Escape and Route 280, and the overall use of hard edges and simplistic geometric shapes throughout the space. There's something about SA2's style that's just kinda "cool" or "anime" about it. It had a personality all its own. A shame that it is always and without fail completely dismissed. Frankly, I would love to see a game like it with current Sonic Team's handling of art design. It'd be fuckin' awesome.
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I disagree with your categorization. I remember I made a post about this years ago that I turned into a topic over at Retro. I'll dig it up -

 


The Sonic series, ever since its inception, never seems to have completely settled into one type of atmosphere for several games. This is clear simply by looking at the environments Sonic traverses throughout each game. With the exception of the classics, which maintained a similar style from Sonic 1 to Sonic 3 & Knuckles (though CD exaggerates this style a bit), each game seems to have its own distinct style that makes it different from the other games. So I figured I'd do an analysis of each game I remember clearly: All of the classics, the Adventure games, Heroes, 06, and Unleashed. So without further ado, let's start with the classics:
 
Sonic the Hedgehog had a very unique style from the time of its release to today. Everything was bright and colorful, the enemies were comical robot versions of many different animals, and the environment had a ton of little slopes and loops to grant Sonic more speed or serve as an obstacle you needed to build up speed to pass. With the exception of the final levels, everything felt lighthearted and whimsical. Sonic 2 and Sonic 3 & Knuckles follow this style very faithfully as well, with the only real changes being due to improvements in graphics. Because of this style, even when the levels did become more serious and sported less happy themes (Scrap Brain Zone, Chemical Plant Zone, Oil Ocean Zone, Metropolis Zone, etc.), it never felt quite real. You were always exploring these interesting, abstract environments not present on our lovely, boring Earth. Sonic CD took this a step further by seemingly basing many of its levels off of Sonic 1's and making them a bit... crazier. Palmtree Panic with its oddly shaped plants and triangular earth, Wacky Workbench with that giant... spring thing (?) at the bottom, and Stardust Speedway with its massive clusterfuck of lights and roads; nothing was a huge stretch of the imagination, but it was by no means realistic.
20091015203559%21Ghz.pngEGG-HVC-goodfuture.png
 
Sonic Adventure introduced a brand new style for the franchise. Never before had we seen such an odd blend of realism and whimsy, and it was a very interesting way of introducing Sonic to the real world. With the exceptions of Emerald Coast and Casinopolis (though the latter probably would have fit this style quite well had the developers not wanted to rely on the pinball mechanic, and the former simply because it seemed rather light on speed and was probably built to let the player learn the controls), all levels have a very "Sonic-like" style to them; featuring your trademark loops, corkscrews, platforms, several layers of pathways, and other abstract elements to keep it from feeling too separated from Sonic's previous atmosphere. The most blatant example of this is Speed Highway, featuring roads that would be absolutely absurd in real life, yet still obviously being in the realistic environment of a bustling city at night.
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Sonic Adventure 2 stepped away from this design philosophy of blending real life and fantastical elements, instead favoring segregation between "realistic levels" and "unrealistic levels". City Escape had barely any "Sonic-like" features in it, being almost completely devoid of loops, corkscrews, or other reality bending aspects. It was, in all honesty, a bit bland in comparison to Adventure's levels, with all of the peculiar attributes being relegated to Sonic himself, rather than the level design. Though the city itself doesn't have many distinguishing features, Sonic's little boarding segment at the beginning of the level was anything but normal. To contrast this, we had Radical Highway, which in my opinion, is a rather underwhelming Speed Highway twin. It had less bright, flashing colors, less interesting enemies, and lacked any segment as interesting as Speed Highway's building run. Despite this, it still prominently displayed Sonic Adventure's "blending of realities". Several other levels are like this, which... with the exception of Pyramid Cave and the space levels, are all Shadow levels. ... Huh. I've actually never noticed this until just now, but it seems that Shadow's levels are generally more "unreal" than Sonic's, even when they're in the same place (Green Forest vs. White Jungle). Interesting. Anyhow, it's definitely true that the game features more realistic environments than Sonic Adventure (which to me, goes hand in hand with the darker tone of the game), and this is also where the fanbase has its first real "split" (especially since Sonic Adventure essentially feels like a classic game in 3D, whereas Adventure 2 decides to try something completely different).
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Sonic Heroes goes against this trend of introducing something as of yet unseen and attempts to go back to the more fantastical style of the classics. This is clearly seen in stages such as Seaside Hill, a very obvious homage to Green Hill Zone and Bingo Highway, which looks very similar to Casino Night Zone. The decision for Heroes to have this style was probably made to cater to those who preferred the atmosphere of the classics over those of the Adventure games. Unfortunately, Heroes was ultimately not as praised as Sonic Adventure 2 before it (though obviously for gameplay reasons), which may have influenced Sonic Team's decision to return to the more realistic style of Sonic Adventure 2.
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Now... Sonic 06. If we're going to ignore Shadow, this is where the franchise took a huge jump in one direction and feels like a flanderized Sonic Adventure 2. Everything seems more realistic, even the "abstract levels" of the game. Looking at the levels themselves, it's clear that the game followed Sonic Adventure 2's segregation of styles between levels. While several of the levels do indeed seem unreal, the slight majority is of those that feel more realistic. Despite this though, the more unrealistic levels only ever really go to the same extent as Sonic Adventure 2's levels did; "Sonic-like", but never quite as fantastical as Adventure's stages. Rather than being realistic places blended with the flair of the previous games, they seem to be realistic places with some "Sonic-like" (how many times have I used that term now?) aspects thrown in in order to keep the levels from being to jarringly different from what Sonic made himself known as. For example, while Windy Valley is taking a realistic environment (mountains) and blending it with Sonic's usual flair (tornado's everywhere, highways in the sky, giant fans, etc.), Kingdom Valley seems like a realistic place with a few "Sonic" segments dispersed throughout the level (and mostly in the phases that were widely publicized. The opening phase (or at least what I think was the opening phase didn't really have many features that made it distinctly "Sonic")). The tone of the story also took more cues from Adventure 2 than anything else. It was more serious, more dark (by Sonic standards, anyway), and even more of a step away from Sonic's roots, rather than an evolution, as Adventure 2 was. This flanderization of the style created in that game created an even more noticeable split in the fanbase.
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Unleashed proved even further that Sonic Adventure 2 wasn't so much a sequel to Sonic Adventure as it was a completely different game banking on a successful name. In my opinion, Sonic Unleashed is the true Sonic Adventure 2, with Adventure 2 being something completely different, and 06 being a sequel to that. Unleashed completely throws away the whole idea of segregation and instead goes back to the style introduced in Sonic Adventure; having a bunch of realistic area and turning it into something completely "out there", while still maintaining the nature of the original environment it was based off of. Savannah Citadel is instantly recognizable as Africa, yet never feels like it doesn't belong. The same goes with the other levels, with the most distinguished one, coincidentally, being Skyscraper Scamper. Skyscraper Scamper is extremely similar to Speed Highway in every way, with the only real difference being the lack of color (which is obviously intended, as smog is clearly visible throughout the level, most likely to emphasize the feeling of a massive, polluted city like New York). The similarities to Sonic Adventure don't end there though, as Unleashed's story also had a very similar tone, with key story elements being blatantly copied from Adventure.
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The classics introduced a style that Sonic the Hedgehog fit perfectly. Interesting, abstract environments that kept a supersonic blue hedgehog from feeling out of place. As time went by, this style, for whatever reason, seems to have been abandoned in favor of other styles, some of which work, while some don't. Sonic Adventure sought  to utilize new technology to introduce Sonic to our world, and Sonic Adventure 2 took this one step further. Sonic Heroes was a sadly ignored return to form, and this was the last we saw of this type of atmosphere in the mainstream games. Sonic 06 seemed to have the same desire as Sonic Adventure, but rather than do the same thing, took Sonic Adventure 2's style yet another step further. Sonic Unleashed was yet another return to form, but unlike Heroes, decided to emulate the style of Sonic Adventure, rather than the classics. Colors, while not included in the analysis, is worth mentioning for having a style completely of its own; going beyond the classics completely in terms of surrealism.
 
Which style suits Sonic the most? Which did the best job of doing what it set out to do? Personally, I think the styles of the classics, Colors, Adventure, and Unleashed all suit Sonic very well, with the only ones that I felt as "off" being Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic 06.
 
So... thoughts?
 
Edit: Added a few pictures to make the post seem like less of a wall of text and help picture what I'm trying to say.
 
It's obviously very old (July 2011), but I think much of it still applies. In summary and updated with my current thoughts -
 
Sonic 1/2/Heroes - Surrealism. Looks wacky and colorful, but still very much rooted in reality. For Sonic, this is what I consider to be complete balance. A 50/50 split between reality and the bizarre.
 
Sonic CD/Colors - Abstract Surrealism. More wacky, less reality. Still not completely garish, though.
 
Sonic 3&K/Adventure/Unleashed/Generations - More Realistic Surrealism. Like how CD and Colors took out the realistic in favor of being more cartoony, this does the opposite. Both remain fairly balanced, however.
 
Sonic Adventure 2/Shadow/06 - Real Realism. Ew.
 
Lost World - Mario. Completely Bizarre. Everything is outlandish and crazy, and much like SA2, 06, and Shadow leaned too far into the realistic, this game did the exact opposite.
 
Personally, my favorite is the Realistic Surrealism, but I dig all of them barring Real Realism and Completely Bizarre, which I don't like at all.
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I almost feel like there isn't a way to categorize these styles. They're all kinda too different from one another. Even within the Classics CD is FAR  more insane than the others for example.

 

The only games that really look bad to me are SA2 and Shadow. 06 may be a shit game but even it has it's moments artstyle wise.

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I don't think I could (strictly) categorize Generations and Colors in the "classic" artstyle.

 

Colors lacks the Genesis/Saturn-era fantasy Sonic elements to it, but at the same time it's a lot more surreal than the levels in Unleashed and Generations. I'd say Colors just barely fits in the photo-surrealism category, but in all honestly I think Colors could fit in a league of it's own of high surrealism. The only other Sonic game I could add to it off the top of my head are probably Sonic CD and Knuckles' Chaotix. Speaking of spinoffs, I believe the Storybook Series count as photo-surrealism. Especially Night Palace in Secret Rings.

 

As for Generations, pretty much all of the levels for Generations have photo-surrealism in them to varying degrees. I'd argue most of the Adventure-era and Unleashed-era levels have high levels of photo-surrealism, while the Classic-era levels have a dose of fantasy elements to not be strictly photo-surrealistic. I think pretty much all of the city/town-based levels (Speed Highway, City Escape, Crisis City, Rooftop Run) as well as Seaside Hill are arguably pure photo-surrealism. Chemical Plant I would argue is a mix of both classic and photo-surrealism, because to me it looks more like a photo-surrealistic factory in terms of design, but art-wise has the colors of the classic era. Green Hill's larger-than-life mountains, waterfalls, and totem-poles in addition to it's checkered walls, and giant corkscrew from Emerald Hill, as well Sky Sanctuary's aerial garden location/design and Atlantis-esque transportation tech serve as fantasy elements to keep them out as photo-surrealistic. Planet Wisp is likely photo-surrealism or plain surrealism for the above aforementioned reasons.

 

 

Classic style artwork is a bit of a mixed bag for me for a few reasons. When it's on point, it's absolutely engrossing. When it's not, it can range from underwhelming to just plain ugly. For one, I think the bright, geometric aesthetics are best experienced in their proper element amidst pixel artwork and the trippy 80s and 90s-inspired pop music. S1, S2, and S3&K are well-developed experiences that have an appealing edge to them not because of their art, but because the art fits the overall design ideals of the game and character they were trying to create: a slick, electronic, colorful, Japanese-American science-fantasy conglomeration. But it can still be taken too far. I'm sorry, but Sonic CD is just a complete clusterfuck for me. Claustrophobic levels means lots of design elements are going to be squeezed into a small space, and add onto the fact that most of the graphics aren't even identifiable materials, I feel like it misses part of the point. The other classics are a retro-grade stylization of the real world. Nearly everything in them is something from real life, and the abstraction actually lessened as time went on. Sonic CD just feels like an exercise in how many colors and lines you can throw onto the screen.

 

I don't really think Sonic CD in general suffers from this problem. I'd argue that some of the more factory/city-based levels that appear halfway through the game, and some Good Future / Bad Future variations, would be a large offender of this. But not levels like Palmtree Panic, Tidal Tempest, or Quartz Quadrant, or most levels' Past variations.

 

Palmtree_Panic_-_Sonic_CD.pngqqpast.pngscd-tt-appearanceimg3.pngStardustSpeedwayPast.gif

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What is that platform Sonic is running on made out of in the first screenshot? Natural bark? Because it looks instead like processed cork to me. And what's that serrated pillar under it? And what kind of plant can you reasonably assume that star-thing to be? Like, the flower's clearly a flower, even though it's a geometrically abstract one, but that thing next to it is just a green star.

 

Same with the platforms in the second. What are they made out of? It looks like three different ambiguous materials comprising one object. Like, if the part you run on is wood, why does said wood (and the pretzal-looking sides) surround a metallic looking material? What is the purpose of that part? Is it real? Is it fake?

 

Why are there polka-dotted spaces in that underwater level, especially when they clash with the shaping and color scheme of everything else in the shot? In fact, what can you reasonably assume those to be made of? It doesn't have the dullness of stone nor the hard reflections of metal. So is it plastic?

 

Speaking of which, why are are the vines in that shiny like a metal surface? They're metal I think, but are the leaves metal because there isn't all that much of a contrast between the reflections and shadows of them, nor do they appear to be reflecting anything.

You cannot tell what's real or what's fake, or even what certain materials are, in a lot of the assets in Sonic CD as a result of this mish-mash of textures and implied lighting on them. This isn't true for any other classic Sonic game, with perhaps the exception of Spring Yard Zone in S1 and Casino Night in S2. *shrugs*

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You are seriously reaching with your categories, to be honest. I would certainly not consider SA2 to be in the same category as Shadow or '06. Hell, even those two are very different.

 

Let's be honest, no-one's voting for this style. Drab, edgy, unexciting, and so pseudo-real that the pseudo is barely even there any more. I'm even having a hard time talking about it. What's your favorite SA2 stage? Is it military base, military base, or freakin' military base? Goddammit, man. I don't know what to say let alone without sounding heavily biased. You guys are always better at saying things than me, so let's GO GO GO

 

... because there's no sign of the neon-lit city, desert, jungle, the Ark (inside and outside), Eggman's pyramid base, Pumpkin Hill, Dry Lagoon, etc... Seriously, what? Not even one of Knuckles or Shadow's levels takes place in the military base.

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Count me as another as Discoid's categorization of artstyle elements, I think Joker's may be a bit too broad, especially considering my previous post on exactly what category Colors and Generations fit in.

 

What is that platform Sonic is running on made out of in the first screenshot? Natural bark? Because it looks instead like processed cork to me. And what's that serrated pillar under it? And what kind of plant can you reasonably assume that star-thing to be? Like, the flower's clearly a flower, even though it's a geometrically abstract one, but that thing next to it is just a green star.

 

Same with the platforms in the second. What are they made out of? It looks like three different ambiguous materials comprising one object. Like, if the part you run on is wood, why does said wood (and the pretzal-looking sides) surround a metallic looking material? What is the purpose of that part? Is it real? Is it fake?

 

Why are there polka-dotted spaces in that underwater level, especially when they clash with the shaping and color scheme of everything else in the shot? In fact, what can you reasonably assume those to be made of? It doesn't have the dullness of stone nor the hard reflections of metal. So is it plastic?

 

Speaking of which, why are are the vines in that shiny like a metal surface? They're metal I think, but are the leaves metal because there isn't all that much of a contrast between the reflections and shadows of them, nor do they appear to be reflecting anything.

You cannot tell what's real or what's fake, or even what certain materials are, in a lot of the assets in Sonic CD as a result of this mish-mash of textures and implied lighting on them. This isn't true for any other classic Sonic game, with perhaps the exception of Spring Yard Zone in S1 and Casino Night in S2. *shrugs*

 

I should (have) elaborate(d) that the pictures I brought up were specifically targeting the points about CD going overboard on it's use of colors and (to a lesser extent) cramming design elements everywhere. I think all four pictures settle on about four dominant/primary colors while also not pouring a bucket load of details onto them (although I think Stardust Speedway Past may be an exception here with it's details on the grass platforms).

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What art style does Knuckles Chaotix fall into?

 

 

My vote is for "hallucinogenic."

 

Looks like the Sonic CD's dreamlike artstyle taken higher than high up to eleven.

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Style 1 FTW, but I appreciate style 2 for trying to make the real word look more cartoony in the world of Sonic, which worked out surprisingly well. Sonic Adventure was more like a fusion between the two styles, and while I applaud them for trying, it doesn't hold up very well behind a veil of dated graphics. Style 3.. let's not even go there. Sonic's supposed to be an out-of-this world, cartoony series. It didn't look too bad in Adventure 2 unless humans aside from Eggman showed up on-screen. Seriously, that scene with Sonic and Tails entering the President's Limo was akward beyond all hell. Shadow the Hedgehog had some cartoony enviroments, but it was trying too hard to be grim and gritty. 06 has some nice looking environments, but the realistic art style doesn't scream "Sonic" at all.

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If I may be honest, I too think those categorizations are a bit too broad. I mean, if we compare the classic trifecta (Sonic 1, 2, 3&K) for instance, even they have their differences and oddities among each other. Sonic 3&K is a bit more grounded in realism then Sonic 1 was for example.

 

That said, I find Unleashed to have the best design in the series. It's rooted in realism, yet it still feels like I'm playing a game about a blue cartoon hedgehog that runs really really fast. It's got that slight cartoon, Pixaresque-edge that just works for the series.

 

 

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Style 3: #nofunallowed (Sonic Adventure 2, Shadow the Hedgehog, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG (2006))

 

Let's be honest, no-one's voting for this style.

Because you skewed it so negatively to sure no one does. :rolleyes:

 

Gonna go with Discoid's categories and say it's hard to choose between the Surrealism and Realistic Surrealism, tho I wouldn't call SA2 or even ShTH "real" realism when the former matches SA1 style and the latter matches Heroes with levels like Mad Matrix (if anything, only Sonic 06 should fit "real" realism since that was said to be its concept by Yuji Naka iirc).

 

I really like stages like Grand Metropolis futurism with levels like Chun-nan representing China. Just shows that Sonic's world is really all over the place and is as diverse and unique as our own world, with a number of outlandish elements unique to it.

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The categories seem too broad as the others have said.

 

I'm probably going to go with Unleashed. Every location in Unleashed (Except Eggmanland) looked like it could be a location on our planet, but still has that cartoony, yet serious feeling that suits Sonic very well.

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To be honest, as others have mentioned, I think the categorizations are too broad for this particular round. But hey, it is what it is, and going with the categorizations at had I am going to go with number 1: Classics, especially since Sonic Colors was lumped in this category. This style screams "Sonic-y" to me more than anything with it's bright colors, iconic loop-de-loops and checkered backgrounds amid many other details, bursting with creativity and I find it to be very fun.

 

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Sonic 1 and Sonic Colors provide a sample of the bright colors and amazing creativity in Sonic's world. smile.png 

 

Photo-surrealism works in the Sonic series, as Sonic and the gang I feel blends in well with it. Sonic Unleashed I felt was outstanding in displaying this. It is set in realism with the whole world-wide theme going on in the game, but at the same time it still feels like I'm playing a Sonic game. Sonic Unleashed has that slight cartoony, Pixar-like vibe that just works for the series and looks really great. If this style was to be implemented in the future in Sonic games, I would definitely be okay with this.

 

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The beauty of the world in Sonic Unleashed is incredible and breath-taking.

 

Sonic '06's and Shadow the Hedgehog's take on Sonic's world is one I'm really not fond of. It doesn't work well at all. Both games have Sonic's world predominately portrayed as bland, ugly, dark (bar a few exceptions, and I do mean few) and the characters themselves  particularly look as if they don't quite belong there, especially considering that they are bright, cartoony anthropomorphic animals. They just seem to clash amid this style, sticking out like sore thumbs and don't seem to be "Sonic-y" at all. 

 

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I'm not really feeling the styles of Shadow and Sonic '06. Then again, I'm not fond of these two games themselves...

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To be honest, as others have mentioned, I think the categorizations are too broad for this particular round. But hey, it is what it is, and going with the categorizations at had I am going to go with number 1: Classics, especially since Sonic Colors was lumped in this category. This style screams "Sonic-y" to me more than anything with it's bright colors, iconic loop-de-loops and checkered backgrounds amid many other details, bursting with creativity and I find it to be very fun.

 

gXpbDAM.png?1

 

BIwkCth.jpg?1

Sonic 1 and Sonic Colors provide a sample of the bright colors and amazing creativity in Sonic's world. smile.png

 

Photo-surrealism works in the Sonic series, as Sonic and the gang I feel blends in well with it. Sonic Unleashed I felt was outstanding in displaying this. It is set in realism with the whole world-wide theme going on in the game, but at the same time it still feels like I'm playing a Sonic game. Sonic Unleashed has that slight cartoony, Pixar-like vibe that just works for the series and looks really great. If this style was to be implemented in the future in Sonic games, I would definitely be okay with this.

 

e2077Nt.png?1

 

h7W7So8.png?1

The beauty of the world in Sonic Unleashed is incredible and breath-taking.

 

Sonic '06's and Shadow the Hedgehog's take on Sonic's world is one I'm really not fond of. It doesn't work well at all. Both games have Sonic's world predominately portrayed as bland, ugly, dark (bar a few exceptions, and I do mean few) and the characters themselves  particularly look as if they don't quite belong there, especially considering that they are bright, cartoony anthropomorphic animals. They just seem to clash amid this style, sticking out like sore thumbs and don't seem to be "Sonic-y" at all. 

 

p7gZ9em.png?1

 

WvgzXNY.jpg?1

I'm not really feeling the styles of Shadow and Sonic '06. Then again, I'm not fond of these two games themselves...

SA1 did the realistic environments of ShTH and Sonic '06 much more favorably, in my opinion.  For one, the scenery was bright and beautiful, and though it was more realistic, the way you interacted with the environment felt a lot more alive and Sonic-ish.  In contrast, even the Sonic-like elements in ShTH and '06 felt contrived, as though they were ripped from a Sonic game instead of naturally belonging.  Like, why is there a huge road that's in the shape of a loop in Westopolis?  Why would that ever be the case?  Also, the faded colors were repulsive looking.  (And even in the more brightly-colored areas, they managed to choose only the least desirable color schemes!)

 

Unleashed has those moments too, mind you, but there seemed to be a clear distinction between gameplay elements and the actual world elements, so it wasn't like they were just... there.  Overall, though, I feel Colors and onward has a much better atmospheric setting simply because everything sort of melds together.  But that's just me.

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What art style does Knuckles Chaotix fall into?

 

 

My vote is for "hallucinogenic."

 

My vote is for "best".

 

Although, hold on, what's Sonic R? I think THAT one may be "best".

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My vote is for "best".

 

Although, hold on, what's Sonic R? I think THAT one may be "best".

 

I think that would fit in the (fantastic and whimsical) surreal style of the Genesis games. You have a stage that takes place within a giant multicolored emerald, another stage that has sphinx statues with echidna faces on it.

 

As for which style I prefer, I think the classic-era surrealism edges out the photo-surrealism of Unleashed and Adventure by some hairs. I think the photo-surrealism of Adventure and Unleashed are in a sense art evolution of the classic style in terms of visuals and graphics, but it's still lacking something as Dio said. I think it's lacking the fantasy-based elements of the classic artstyles and level terrain, which coupled with that era's vibrant colors, are very appealing and gave the series it's distinct visual identity. I think Generation's Classic-era levels (and Seaside Hill to a lesser extent) levels are what the classic-era games would look like with today's graphics, so naturally I'd like to see that artstyle become the norm. Kudos to Sonic Team if they can create levels with this artstyle at 60 fps without making it an on-rails level like Azookara said.

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So I made a graph.

By this, I think my preference falls somewhere in the light blue/yellow area.

Though to be picky I'd argue CD and SLoW should be switched. CD gets a lot closer to that Chaotix-ish almost abstract art kind of look (Wacky Workbench Good Future in particular is practically a Chaotix level visually). SLoW has sky tubes with dancing plants and geometric patterns but there's never really a problem understanding what you're even looking at.

I mean come on..

Actually looking at these the two Unleashed levels seem pretty bland. Maybe just because you chose "the gray level" and "the brown level", but...
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Ah, I've been stalling my thoughts on this topic for so long. But I just can't keep these stallions in their stable anymore!

 

Oh, wait. Hold on.

 


 

p7gZ9em.png?1

 

 

Slightly off topic, but despite what you said about Shadow's artstyle (which I totally agree with btw), I don't think this picture entirely proves your point. To be honest, this beautiful CG makes the artstyle 100 times better than it actually is. But that's just me. :P

 

Ok. Now onto the matter at hand:

 

x1713.jpg

 

When it comes to a series like Sonic, I see it as the perfect mixture of the realistic and the fantastic. It can take a setting that wouldn't seem even remotely related to a blue talking hedgehog, and yet twist it into the most wonderful of playgrounds for the whole lot of them to run through.

 

Case in point: Sonic Unleashed. Let's take Spagonia as an example since everybody else took better suiting ones and I can sound somewhat original. As almost all of the game's settings are based on a real world location, the Croatian city of Dubrovnik in Europe could be cited as a possible inspiration:

 

10761138-this-is-a-close-picture-of-dubr

 

Now, here's Spagonia, or Rooftop Run. You can see the inspiration, but it certainly doesn't look exactly the same, right?

 

feature-sonic-generations.jpg

 

Yes this screenshot is technically from Generations, but my point still stands. Just like many other zones in this game, Spagonia's  based on the real world. At the same time though, Rooftop Run feels undeniably Sonic like. You can definitely tell what dish the chef made, but when you taste it, you can taste the chef's personal touch taken to it. Unleashed had that amazing amount of charm that could make just about anything seem Sonic like, and I greatly appreciate that.

 

With that said, a series like Sonic can also take that same idea, and put it into the reverse. As seen in Colours and Generations, many locations in Sonic's world can be as fantastic as ever, and yet feel like you could actually go there.

 

558997-sonic-generations-windows-screens

 

Sonic-Colours-Starlight-Carnival-art-2.j

 

speed-highway-modern-sonic-18.jpg

 

Sonic-Generations-Sky-Sanctuary-Zone-Scr

 

This kind of realistic amount of detail gives Sonic's world so much life. They're breathtaking, absolutely gorgeous. These zones have the Sonic look and feel, but also makes you want to just reach out and touch them. Without a doubt, Photo - Surrealism is the choice for me. It fits Sonic to an S, and it makes Sonic's world feel like an actual world.

 

As for the other styles, while I vastly prefer a perfect blend, I can appreciate little dibbles and dabbles onto either side of the spectrum. As long as we don't hit either extremity, or come too close to it, then I'm fine.

 

Personally though,  I'd consider Lost World to be on the borderline of Whimsy and Potland territory. I mean...

 

maxresdefault.jpg

 

Just, look at that.

 

I'll be back with my thoughts on the writing style, cuz this feels like a lot of typing.

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By this, I think my preference falls somewhere in the light blue/yellow area.

Though to be picky I'd argue CD and SLoW should be switched. CD gets a lot closer to that Chaotix-ish almost abstract art kind of look (Wacky Workbench Good Future in particular is practically a Chaotix level visually). SLoW has sky tubes with dancing plants and geometric patterns but there's never really a problem understanding what you're even looking at.

 

Yeah you're right, I did this kind of late at night so the chart as a whole is slightly off (its not even symmetrical, lol). 

 

 

Actually looking at these the two Unleashed levels seem pretty bland. Maybe just because you chose "the gray level" and "the brown level", but...

 

Yeah, Chun Nan was a bit of a bad choice, but I know I've seen more yellow-tinted shots of Shamar. I just kinda chose whichever pictures wouldn't be such a high resolution that the post doesn't do that thing where there's a massive space of nothing. :v

 

Let me find some bigger shots with more of what I meant, actually (in spoilers)..

 

Sonic_Holoska_3.jpg

Unleashed_dev_021.jpg

mazuri-13.png

eggmanland-3.png

(why can't I find a good picture of Eggmanland.. I guess cuz they didn't make press photos of it..)

 

Even with the more desaturated levels though, it's still surprising how well they fit with the more classic-y environments thanks to this art style they've been following. I love the bold and crazy colors of Lost World, but I can only hope that kind of thing is a one-off moment and that the previous style is really here to stay.

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Ah, I've been stalling my thoughts on this topic for so long. But I just can't keep these stallions in their stable anymore!

 

Oh, wait. Hold on.

 

 

Slightly off topic, but despite what you said about Shadow's artstyle (which I totally agree with btw), I don't think this picture entirely proves your point. To be honest, this beautiful CG makes the artstyle 100 times better than it actually is. But that's just me. tongue.png

 

Either you didn't understand what I meant, or I didn't make myself clear, which would be surprising seeing that I usually write way too much in my posts. But let's go ahead with the notion that I didn't make myself clear with that post, and for that I apologize. smile.png Allow me to explain then... 

 

I absolutely agree with you with the fact that the CG is beautiful and the characters look great in that shot. I'm not debating that at all. What I was contesting in that picture is the fact that bright-blue Sonic and his colorful band of friends are running around in a dark, bland, dreary city that is stricken with chaos and violence. They just stand out in such a setting, and not in a good way, mind you. Basically what I meant is that I just find Sonic and the gang in that environment from Shadow to be unfitting, as I do with the game as a whole.

 

I hope that makes sense and I hope we are both on the same page now. Sorry for not making that clear from the start. happy.png

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Either you didn't understand what I meant, or I didn't make myself clear, which would be surprising seeing that I usually write way too much in my posts. But let's go ahead with the notion that I didn't make myself clear with that post, and for that I apologize. smile.png Allow me to explain then... 

 

I absolutely agree with you with the fact that the CG is beautiful and the characters look great in that shot. I'm not debating that at all. What I was contesting in that picture is the fact that bright-blue Sonic and his colorful band of friends are running around in a dark, bland, dreary city that is stricken with chaos and violence. They just stand out in such a setting, and not in a good way, mind you. Basically what I meant is that I just find Sonic and the gang in that environment from Shadow to be unfitting, as I do with the game as a whole.

 

I hope that makes sense and I hope we are both on the same page now. Sorry for not making that clear from the start. happy.png

 

Ah, I see. Looks good in CG, but unfitting. Now I get it. Thanks!

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