Does SSMB prefer Adventure to the Classics?

[Komodin]

There are several degrees of differences between "making everyone a Sonic clone" and "essentially making everyone from different video game genres altogether".

[Nepenthe]

I don't think anyone here is asking for everyone to literally be a Sonic clone so much as just having a basic unifying thread of gameplay mechanics and traits to tie them all together. Losing a life because you lost a playful race with Sonic is a little odd, but people can take that because it's still for the most part based on the same fast, free-flowing platforming they already bought the game for and Tails's innate abilities don't impede that in any way (if anything boosting them, if you take it from anyone who's ever speedrunned Windy Valley). But why would you ever make a character slow and clunky in a Sonic game to make up for their strengths? It's not asking a lot that characters at least move and jump similarly to each other, or at the very least be able to attain a brisk pace through their own means (seriously, making the Werehog less Spiderman and more God of War is such a missed opportunity >_>;).

Similarly, if you're going to introduce "alternate gameplay" to a Sonic game, why lock it to one character? We've seen it before - Sonic knows how to pilot the Tornado, everyone can board to some extent if we're going off Riders, and as much as I loathe using Rise of Lyric as an example, at least it didn't restrict the Enerbeam to one character. I guess you could say it's consistent inconsistency, which can work even though it doesn't sound like it makes a whole lot of sense. And like the snowboarding example you mentioned, I personally feel it's better if these gimmicks are just stage gimmicks rather than game-wide ones to begin with, because if people like it it's a nice bonus and if they don't, it doesn't overstay their welcome - everyone wins.

I agree that it's ill-advised to make characters that are slow and clunky. There should definitely be an underlying base to how the characters should move, and any variation should be reasonable. But I find that there's a problem with the terms and base assumptions in this conversation when it's being discussed, specifically what even counts as alternate gameplay and is it always a thing to be avoided? Alternate gameplay is still considered an overwhelmingly negative attribute; people only want basic linear platforming and for the characters to be constrained as close to that and Sonic's move set as possible, which seems to leave a lot of ideas that would work in a context-driven platformer on the cutting room floor. Before we start talking about who can fly the Tornado (and I agree- Sonic should be able to fly it too since it was his plane first), we need to actually decide whether or not it's even okay for the Tornado to be flown at all anymore in this day and age.

As for the second question, what indeed even counts as alternate gameplay to people? Having boundaries would at least help in hashing out ideas for expanding the breadth of future games' design, yet we as a fandom can't even agree on how many alternate styles exist in Adventure. Some people say six, meaning the moment you vary up the goal even if it's the same control and physics at play- the only difference between Tails and Sonic's campaigns- you've completely changed to an alternate style. This means there's no ground to be yielded in thinking up interesting ideas if people are opposed to alternate gameplay as now putting a timer on the stages counts as an unspoken violation of the franchise's boundaries. Can finding things be allowed again? Many people seem to hate Knuckles' gameplay just for the goal being an outlier despite his movement having always been in line with Sonic's during this time, but Team Chaotix's campaign being more focused on finding things seems to get out this criticism of differentiation relatively unscathed (if only because they're potentially unmemorable, or perhaps people hate Heroes as a whole to the point that they need no special attention).

In general, I agree with you. I feel the characters' move sets and in-stage goals should be more defined within the gameplay by other canon skills and what the narrative calls for in the moment. Vehicles, finding things, collecting a number of rings, swinging around, and other ideas that augment or put a twist on the basic gameplay and controls should be on the table as viable ideas without people flipping their shit automatically about bad design. Or we can go a Sonic 06 route (wait please, come back) where everyone is constrained to just getting to the end of the level but has enough variation in skills, desire, gameplay goals, and even the level order and design to warrant Sonic Team even investing time into making them playable and meaningful to the overall experience. And no one needs to be as slow as Silver for this to work.

[Tara]

Many people seem to hate Knuckles' gameplay just for the goal being an outlier despite his movement having always been in line with Sonic's during this time, but Team Chaotix's campaign being more focused on finding things seems to get out this criticism of differentiation relatively unscathed (if only because they're potentially unmemorable, or perhaps people hate Heroes as a whole to the point that they need no special attention).

I'm thinking it's probably the latter, because I certainly don't know anyone who would defend the Team Chaotix missions in Heroes, and most certainly not myself, as those were even more rigorous and time-consuming.  Made even worse by the fact that the stages were clearly not designed specifically for a scavenger hunt setup, making it infinitely more tedious than the game really needs to be. The only reason we bring up Knuckles so often is because the treasure hunting stages are often seen as a blemish in a game that is otherwise enjoyed.  At least, that's how I've always seen it.

But enough of that.  At the risk of sounding more controversial, I've actually never had too much of a problem if even the characters' play styles are vastly different from Sonic's.  What some people derogatorily call "genre roulette," I actually find to be an interesting change of pace, which is what Sonic Adventure did for me back in 1999.  From a modern perspective, I do think that some of these alternative styles were poorly designed, particular a certain purple cat whom to this day I dread playing as, but I otherwise had no quarrels with Gamma or Amy, though I wish the latter had something to do other than be chased by a robot.

i do generally agree, however, that having a standard to build upon is probably better theoretically, as it could potentially avoid making alternative styles alienating to players who want something specific out of the series.  And yeah, I'm certainly not advocating that we have high speed platforming for one character and then go all Call of Duty for another.  I'm just saying that we can have something totally different, or at least, I'd be welcoming to it if it were designed and programmed well.

Edited November 11, 2015 by Tara

[Wraith]

I don't see many games at all attempt alternate in the same degree Sonic tried to, and the ones that did often got the same kind of complaints Sonic did for being unfocused and having a bunch of shallow gameplay styles instead of one properly fleshed out one. From a developmental standpoint, it only makes sense to bring the characters as close together as possible. 

I'd rather them have different stage layouts that take advantage of their abilities, even if they all pretty much move in the same basic way.

[Blacklightning]

what even counts as alternate gameplay and is it always a thing to be avoided?

This is admittedly a murky question and one I can probably only answer from my own perspective, so the following is probably going to be mostly spitballing.

Let's use the Tornado as our case in point, seeing as we're already focusing on it. It alone has a lot of wildly different iterations so it practically encompasses the entire spectrum in of itself. The first is the kind that works specifically with the existing gameplay in mind, using their traits to compliment one another, and in this respect the Tornado segment from Sonic 2 is fucking genius because it still functions as a platformer in an environment with almost zero actual platforms. You jump and spin into things to remove them as obstacles just as you already did in normal levels - all that really changes is that you can change where the ground level is by looking up or down, and it moves with you no matter where on the screen you are. Ideally, this is the kind of cooperation most characters should have with the core gameplay - they work hand in hand with each other, not expecting one to contort to the other's demands or outright packaging a completely different game in there in spite of it.

The next is the kind of change which is kind of out there, but at least speaks for itself and doesn't require a huge learning curve for the time you spend using it, and that pretty much sums up Adventure's use of the Tornado. It's a basic but functional and fun diversion from the standard gameplay, and as mentioned before, takes up no more than two levels of your playthrough (four, if you count 100%), so even if you don't like playing through it all that much despite relatively few objective flaws, at least you're not stuck there long enough to start saying to yourself "gee, I wish I was running and jumping instead of this". Honestly? As stage gimmicks, this is fine. Pinball levels are almost a staple of the series and are only slightly less out of place gameplay speaking, so it makes sense to cycle them in and out every now and then in varying amounts. Even if exclusive to certain characters, I can't help but wonder for example what would happen if the Mech were simply something Tails could locate and commandeer mid level in SA2 to cause brief sessions of missle spam in the face of large amounts of enemies, rather than something you had to put up with every single time you played as him.

And then there's Unleashed, which can only be described as "what the actual fuck even is this?", where you somehow defy every defined and logical precedent established to shoehorn in something that had no reason to ever be there. Sonic 2 established it simply as a different kind of platforming, it works and people like it. SA1 established it as a functional rail schmup instead, but it works, was simple enough to learn in an instant, makes sense within the capabilities of a plane, and people like it. So ideally if you bring back a plane segment again, I feel like it's not hard to agree it should be some variation of at least one of those two things, even if you prefer one over the other. "Jump on things with a plane following and catching you" or "fly around and shoot things" shouldn't be that hard to mess up, so to take everything we know and love about the Tornado and turning it into fucking Quick Time Events is missing the point in such ways that a human being legitimately shouldn't even be capable of. And while the Unleashed Tornado is the most blatant case of this, it's not hard to think of other times alternate styles have gone this bad - most of them around Unleashed's own time or earlier.

So this all in mind, it's a balancing act. Either the change in gameplay works hand in hand with what's already there and doesn't get in each other's way, or it's short, simple and sweet to make up for the fact that it doesn't, or it's just a level quirk which makes stages stand out as anything other than a different collection of platforms and curvatures in much the same fashion as, say, the spintops from Marble Garden. And I think it's more important than anything else to note that this issue isn't black and white, that there isn't an exact definition of what goes into the games and what doesn't, especially in this day and age when seemingly even Sega can't fucking stop using Sonic as a vehicle for irrelevant bullshit. So "good enough" is the next best thing in my book. If Sonic has to do a thing or two in left field, fine, as long as it doesn't ultimately dilute the reason I'm playing the games in the first place. There are other games I can play if I want to delve full-time into mech combat or beat em ups or friggin' pet sims, and all of them will be infinitely more developed and satisfying than anything a Sonic game will ever treat them to.

EDIT: Okay, admittedly I kinda just skimmed your post and saw the quoted fragment assuming that summed up most of what you said. Now that I've read it, there's one other little thing I wanted to say.

Can finding things be allowed again? Many people seem to hate Knuckles' gameplay just for the goal being an outlier despite his movement having always been in line with Sonic's during this time, but Team Chaotix's campaign being more focused on finding things seems to get out this criticism of differentiation relatively unscathed (if only because they're potentially unmemorable, or perhaps people hate Heroes as a whole to the point that they need no special attention).

This being the baseline here, I think the biggest distinction to make is that "finding things" wasn't always about actually being an obstacle to finishing the level, and it was rare that you were ever expected to backtrack to find said things. Sonic game typically have at least loosely defined paths, and picking up what you needed was usually just grabbing it on the way to the level's goal, so I don't feel it's hard to imagine how this kind of thing can get on people's nerves, especially when it doesn't take up like a whole eighth of the screen like these things do and you need a radar to find them. This is pretty interesting to think about when you consider how red rings have been received, where the only major criticism is usally "they can be in pretty fucking stupid spots sometimes".

I guess what I'm trying to say here on a personal level is that I really miss these big rings and the way they were treated, and I don't really feel anything the games have done since in the way of finding shit has ever really topped it, so that's the example I'd draw from the most - hidden goodies that help you with your current level and a game-wide collectible you can get a better ending from. That's not to say there isn't room left to play around with the idea a little. Hell, an open world or Metroidvania kind of Sonic game could flourish from something like this, and even just giving Knux his emerald radar in a normal Sonic game to flush out hidden secrets would be a really neat callback.

[Regen]

Adventure really dealt with the friends in two different ways,

I think 'Genre Roulette' is a better term for the most different gameplay of Sonic's friends in the Adventure Games rather than 'Alternate Gameplay'. The epitome of the difference in game styles, Sonic to Gamma or Big the Cat, is literally a different genre. Sonic is a fast paced platformer and Gamma is a fast paced shoot-em-up with some platforming elements. There's platforming in Gamma's stages, but it's really based around the shooting elements. Big is also a perfect example of this, his levels are fishing stages with virtually no platforming whatosver. I'm usually against putting multiple genres in a game because it usually leads to fragmented little stories where each game-style doesn't get enough focus. In Adventure's case, Big got the least focus (thankfully) and so his levels are absolutely terrible. There are some cases where it works. Halo mixed FPS and vehicle driving seamlessly, but it's incredibly rare for it to work naturally in my opinion and in Adventure it certainly didn't. There's also more of a case for arguing for vehicle combat to compliment an FPS, what exactly does mech shooting compliment to Sonic? What have they even got in common? Other Sonic games have taken this terrible idea on, the Werehog also fits in here for example because it mostly plays like a poor man's hack and slash. 

The other friends such as Tails, Amy and Knuckles are Alternate Gamestyles. They are platforming games at their heart, but with their own little gimmicks. So Tails can fly, Knuckles is a treasure hunter and Amy is always running and hiding. Amy probably flirts with 'Genre Roulette' the most, but her story's not a full blown stealth game, it's just a platformer with some terrible stealth bits whacked on. The reason these gamestyles mostly fail is because they are rubbish conceptually or executed badly. I think Tails has good levels, racing and flying about fits the tone and pace of a Sonic game. Meticulously checking everywhere for Emerald Shards doesn't fit the pace at all and Amy's levels are just terrible, they are boring and annoying to play and she's far too slow.

[NoirSuede]

 

I guess what I'm trying to say here on a personal level is that I really miss these big rings and the way they were treated, and I don't really feel anything the games have done since in the way of finding shit has ever really topped it, so that's the example I'd draw from the most - hidden goodies that help you with your current level and a game-wide collectible you can get a better ending from. That's not to say there isn't room left to play around with the idea a little. Hell, an open world or Metroidvania kind of Sonic game could flourish from something like this, and even just giving Knux his emerald radar in a normal Sonic game to flush out hidden secrets would be a really neat callback.

I'd love one, but good luck pushing it to the 90% who can't stand a hair of backtracking in a Sonic game.

[Diogenes]

My tl;dr about alternate gameplay styles is, the further it deviates from the core gameplay style, the less of it I want to see.

SA Tails is the closest the series has come to an alternate gameplay campaign that works, and its failings are more about its poor balancing than failure to be a reasonable alternate gameplay. Tails shares most of Sonic's abilities, controls, physics, etc, and most of the same level design philosophy (by way of sharing most of the actual levels). But he's got a slightly different gameplay goal (racing someone to the end rather than simply getting to the end) and the differences in their abilities make you reevaluate how you approach similar (/the same) obstacles. If Tails' flight wasn't so ridiculously overpowered, and SA not so janky in general, it'd be easy for me to point to it as The Right Way To Do It (aside from S3&K style).

If you go much further from the core gameplay, you get into territory better suited for minigames or level gimmicks. Boarding has a lot in common with Sonic gameplay, it's a sort of looser-controlled, pseudo-autorun, platforming-light variation of what Sonic does anyway. It's probably not well suited to a full campaign, but it's had pretty good presence in the series as a gimmick for part of a level, and I don't think I've ever seen it criticized for existing (specific implementations, like '06's, can rightfully get shit, but that's a different matter). Karts (Twinkle Park, SA2's Route stages, Heroes' bobsled) focus on fast, linear, mostly ground-locked turning and dodging. Pinball sections (Casino Night, Casinopolis, Heroes' casino stages) focus on the pinball-like movement physics with indirect (paddles) and/or limited direct control. These are what I consider the better gimmicks, the ones that are still exploring aspects of the core gameplay but in different ways. Less "Sonicy" gimmicks/minigames can still be acceptable, so long as they're kept to small doses to vary up the game a little. I'm not a big fan of Unleashed's Tornado levels, for example, and that sort of QTE-based gameplay doesn't really mesh with Sonic's in any way, but with there only being two in the entire game they don't do much to weigh things down, and if the mechanics were a little more engaging they probably could've been a nice enough diversion. On the other hand SA was kind of pushing it with 4 Sky Chase playthroughs, especially considering it's playing the same two (already pretty samey) levels twice.

And then you have the bad alternates, where they shove a whole campaign of Not Sonic on you. They aren't bad for being the most "alternate", clearly running and jumping as Knuckles or Amy has more in common with Sonic gameplay than just matching arbitrary button prompts. But they're neither close relatives of Sonic's gameplay like SA Tails, nor do they meaningfully explore aspects of Sonic gameplay in different ways like the abovementioned gimmicks. And yet they've often taken up a significant portion of the game, usually more than than the Sonic gameplay does when put together.

To focus in on one example, take SA Knuckles/Treasure Hunting gameplay. At first glance Knuckles seems to be in a similar position as Tails; they both share Sonic's core physics, trading a few of his moves in favor of their signature abilities. But Knuckles' goals are wildly different and lead to a wildly different kind of gameplay. Knuckles may be able to go fast in theory, but his level designs don't support it, and it wouldn't bring him any closer to his goal the way it does for Sonic and Tails. Knuckles needs to take a slower, more exploratory approach, where his strongest tools are his relatively static climbing and gliding rather than the fluid momentum-based physics. You don't go fast, you don't meaningfully conserve momentum, platforming is largely neutered by how powerful climbing and gliding are (which is more of a necessity for him, as you need to be able to explore freely to find the emerald shards, compared to Tails simply being overpowered). And in spite of being so contrary to Sonic gameplay's core elements, there's five of these levels in SA, and nine in SA2. That's more than a palate-cleansing diversion, and there's still more alternate gameplay on top of that.

[Badnik Mechanic]

 

But I would say that most people here tend to like Adventure. 

What exactly are you basing that off? Because you're kinda a new member here and whilst people here have their favourites, the majority don't particularly care what the game is like so long as it's competent and good.

Planeta Sonic, is spearheaded by a retard that spreads false information in order to keep Modern fans satisfied and very blind to the truth about the franchise's situation. 

Wait... what... what happened?

[CottonCandy]

I don't really care about the first three games that much. I understand where the praise is coming from but I personally don't put them up there as the "best games ever made". The only games from the classics that I liked was Sonic 3 and Sonic CD. Even then I had issues with those games too. 

Adventure is an odd case. I have alot of nostalgic attachment to it but I have to admit it's has alot more problems than the classics. On the positive side, 3D sonic gameplay has a nice control to it. It's not so slippery and clunky like the later games. So the potential is there. Plus, I still think playable characters ( excluding big and amy) are lot of fun to play.

In summary, I'm very neutral towards the classics and adventure. I don't know what to choose over the other. I have respect for both eras but I have no love for them. 

[Regen]

What exactly are you basing that off? Because you're kinda a new member here and whilst people here have their favourites, the majority don't particularly care what the game is like so long as it's competent and good.

It's complete anecdotal evidence, but it's just what I've noticed around here. I'm not saying it's wrong, I just think most people here would prefer to see a new 3D title over a 2D one.

[FriendBot]

Guess I'll put my 2 rings into this, I guess...

I like the classic games and I like the Adventure games. Though I do prefer to play through 3&K and 2 than SA1+2, that doesn't mean I look down upon those two games. While the Adventure games aged pretty badly, they're still really fun games to play and a lot of the ideas it had can definitely be something I can get down with in a future 3D title, action setpieces and all that jazz, I dig it.

Guess it helps that I don't really have a huge favorite in terms of gameplay and style in the series, I enjoy for what it is. I enjoy the classic games because they're good platformers to play, I like the Adventures because they provide some nice stories and atmosphere, I enjoy Boom because I find it funny and it never fails to make me smile when I have a shitty day or when I feel down.

So yeah, I just a Sonic fan. Not a Classic fan or an Adventure fan or a Boom fan. I like all things Sonic.

[ZDozer]

Wait... what... what happened?

I compared the world fanbase to the brazillian fanbase in my post.

Hog, believe me, I am in my perfect faculties when I say: Do not, EVER, check the brazillian fanbase. It's a cancer factory.

[Nepenthe]

I'm not entirely sure what the Brazilian fanbase has to do with things here?

[ZDozer]

I'm not entirely sure what the Brazilian fanbase has to do with things here?

Uh, on the previous page I said that I don't understand how Classic fans are more numerous than Modern ones (a thing that you said yourself), and then explained that such thinking line on my part must stem from me coming from the brazillian fanbase, one highly dominated by fanboys. Hog got confused by the post, I tried to explain.

Edited November 11, 2015 by ZDozer

[Leviathan]

I compared the world fanbase to the brazillian fanbase in my post.

Hog, believe me, I am in my perfect faculties when I say: Do not, EVER, check the brazillian fanbase. It's a cancer factory.

Cancer factory? Its worse than this if you ask me. There is ton of reasons for it, the first one being: They like to humiliate others. Most of the time its because, you like something they don't.

[Kuzu]

I don't see many games at all attempt alternate in the same degree Sonic tried to, and the ones that did often got the same kind of complaints Sonic did for being unfocused and having a bunch of shallow gameplay styles instead of one properly fleshed out one. From a developmental standpoint, it only makes sense to bring the characters as close together as possible. 

I'd rather them have different stage layouts that take advantage of their abilities, even if they all pretty much move in the same basic way.

This is what I'm mostly on board for. 

I understand the sentiment of wanting abilities and level design to cater to a character's abilities, but I don't think it's needed to the point of encompassing an entire campaign, especially if said campaign deviates from the core value of the gameplay. Like, ok Knuckles has exploratory abilities, but do we need whole fucking levels designed around that :V Its like, we accuse things like Sonic 3 & Knuckles of "copying Sonic's moveset onto other characters", but that only really applies to Tails and mostly because balancing his abilities is extremely difficult that even Adventure couldn't do it to reasonable levels. 

Knuckles tho? He has entire sections that only he can get through that have his abilities in mind, while still keeping the core of the game in mind. That's how I feel the series should handle additional characters. They all have sections that cater to their abilities and are reasonably fast-paced and quick, but their level objectives still remain the same and thus, do not deviate from the Sonic's gameplay.  

[Regen]

I don't want to fuel this anti-Brazillian Sonic fandom thing, but I would say that I hate it when people tell others that they shouldn't like something. When they actually get angry with someone for liking something.

Take me for example, I think most the 3D Sonic games are bananas, but I wouldn't get angry at someone for liking them. I would put my position forward, but I wouldn't ridicule and personally insult them for it. I can actually understand people who get mad when someone attacks something they like. I mean, it's totally overly-sensitive and ridiculous, but I can understand it, people don't like to see something they enjoy get attacked. But, getting angry at someone for liking something?

Fuck sake.

Edited November 11, 2015 by Regen

[Nepenthe]

Guys, stop shitting on the Brazilian fan base.

[TailsTellsTales]

I think generally people who grew up in the 90s (Born lets say before 1993.) who played on the Genesis will end up liking and preferring the Classic Sonic games since that is what they grew up with than. They are the people who experienced Sonic at its peak and when Sonic was all that and the main thing competing with Mario back in the day. This was when Sonic was doing great.

On the other hand people who grew up during the late 90s and 2000s (Born lets say during or after 1993.) would prefer the Adventure Sonic since that is what they grew up with particularly during the Dreamcast years than. This was when that Sega was struggling with their console and sadly left the console market for other things instead. That is what they grew up played.

This does not mean that people who grew up on Classic Sonic or Adventure Sonic hate the other version. It only means that they have preference based upon how they grew up but they probably like the other version. I feel generally that people agree that Classic Sonic is the best 2D Sonic and Adventure Sonic is the best 3D Sonic. I did grew up during the 1990s and of course I prefer Classic Sonic but have no problem with the other people liking the other Sonic Adventure version either.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

I think generally people who grew up in the 90s (Born lets say before 1993.) who played on the Genesis will end up liking and preferring the Classic Sonic games since that is what they grew up with than. They are the people who experienced Sonic at its peak and when Sonic was all that and the main thing competing with Mario back in the day. This was when Sonic was doing great.

On the other hand people who grew up during the late 90s and 2000s (Born lets say during or after 1993.) would prefer the Adventure Sonic since that is what they grew up with particularly during the Dreamcast years than. This was when that Sega was struggling with their console and sadly left the console market for other things instead. That is what they grew up played.

This does not mean that people who grew up on Classic Sonic or Adventure Sonic hate the other version. It only means that they have preference based upon how they grew up but they probably like the other version. I feel generally that people agree that Classic Sonic is the best 2D Sonic and Adventure Sonic is the best 3D Sonic. I did grew up during the 1990s and of course I prefer Classic Sonic but have no problem with the other people liking the other Sonic Adventure version either.

I'm a complete outlier then.

I grew up in the 90s, played Classic Sonic on the Genesis, which my all time favorite Sonic game happens to be on. Yet, I prefer lots of elements of the Adventure Sonic over Classic Sonic (the design, storytelling, the elements it got right) that I wish to see.

When it comes to gameplay, you'll hear me root for Classic Sonic while making it perfectly clear that I want Modern Sonic to find a way to surpass it. Anything else, and you'll likely hear me support anything that can work well with what this franchise is known for.

[isCasted]

This post might not say much on topic, but...

SEGA's brand policies and quality principles taught me to not care. The whole concept of Sonic is just so attractive and relatable for me that I see it on a conceptual level, with ability to ignore stuff like execution flaws. It's actually difficult to like Sonic for what it is, but this franchise gives you a huge field of opportunities to imagine what it could be.

Sonic games are diverse, fanbase segmentation is a huge issue thanks to that... But if you just sit and think: why do I (not) enjoy this? What's similar between games I hate and ones I love? What are the reasons other people love it (when I don't)? Finally, what changes could make me love it while not making others hate it? I got this mind game of my own, I haven't even played actual Sonic games for a while.

...My brain is a mess. 

That said, I think these games complement each other. Each of those games gave me some new feeling, some new way of thinking about Sonic and gaming in general. I don't pick - I want a full experience, a vision as a whole. Besides, what do you consider classics and what can be considered Adventure? Because I sure think SA1 is closer to S3&K than it is to SA2 in terms of general experience (flow, variety, artistic components).

Should the next game be 2D or 3D? Should it be more like Adventure or classics, or maybe Unleashed? It doesn't have to be any of those, as long as it's recognizable as a Sonic game (unlike Lost World, hurr hurr. j/k) and has Sonic-like flow and drive in every bit of its essense. Forget about retro vs modern, edge vs comedy, rivalling franchises, mass appeal, broken fanbase - let hedgehogs rock out, and everything will come together.

[Tailikku]

I prefer Adventure-style since it pushes for diversity and for story/character development.  The last time we had character development in a Modern game was in Lost World with Tails reverting back to his personality from the climax of his story from SA1 as well as Eggman's lackies starting to view Sonic as an ally.