Tracker_TD

We’d finally be free. Anyway, it’s not the most random idea but I think the way you want it is a bit... explicit. SA2 had the flash to white or whatever if you take too long and it led to raised stakes - maybe just do the same for Devil Doom but without them being picked off one by one, just the implication you were too slow to save them. Other than that it just sounds kinda grim for the sake of being grim.

This is bollocks. Sega AGES is a SEGA Japan iniative and even Sonic 1’s details haven’t been confirmed outside of Japan yet. Furthermore, we still don’t have full details on the likes of Phantasy Star, Alex Kidd or Gain Ground. Any announcements for new games will come from SoJ sources or Famitsu first, not SoA. That’s how it was with 3D Classics and even with the simultaneous release strategy, note that all of the marketing for the line so far has been exclusive to Japan. This is someone who doesn’t understand how that line works throwing shit at a wall to try and sound believable.

With a game like Mania, there's no guarantee of another chance to do it. And even then - it's a love letter to the Mega Drive titles. The only one that wouldn't have been represented without the Chaotix nods at this point would be... Chaotix. Even Spinball has the pinball table itself (and arguably the freeing friends mechanic, though smashed into Chaotix).

Yeah, I think folks need to realise that just because there’s unused content in a game, it doesn’t always mean it was cut due to time constraints or something. Sometimes stuff just gets ‘cut’ because it doesn’t fit (Tails original CPZ animation) or it was never intended to be used and is just a dev leftover (Scrap Brain sprites in the first build of Mania). Beyond really random conspiracies, there’s really nothing to suggest any kind of Metal Sonic addition. The devs have stated now that Mania is concluded, so it’s time to move on (and hope for Mania 2, innit).

The booklet is just the art book that everyone buying Plus physically gets. The most backstory it has is - Mighty is a pacifist and best friends with Ray - Ray is very enthusiastic and adventurous - SEGASonic is canon

Claiming Mighty and Ray are just reskins of Sonic and co gameplay wise only stands to prove the fact you haven't actually played it. I mean, of course, it's not out yet - but I have, and I can say you're pretty off the mark as such. The tag team concept in Encore Mode also stands as an interesting way to push the formula - in fact I found it akin to a more open take on something like Advance 3's team mechanics, and within much better level design to boot. That and whilst there's more variety amongst the Modern cast, quantity doesn't equal quality. I also find pointing out their designs weird. I mean, yeah. The Sonic characters... look like Sonic characters. Consistency, innit. I'm all for new stuff, but moreso I'm for good stuff, which is something Mania has well over any of the Advance games. I do think there could be more Modern 2D games, but I'd rather it be something unique than a la Advance when Classic can do that better anyway. Gimme a Tails Adventure sequel that takes advantage of the extended Modern cast by having them pop up and support Tails in his quest with items, or something. I dunno, just spitballing.

Holy Conspiracy Theory Batman! They’re promoting a game that releases in 3 days more than a game that releases in... at least 3 months, given we don’t even have a release date yet. It’s still being promoted a year later because Plus is about to come out and it adds a fair amount of stuff. Relax. Give it a month and the TSR marketing campaign’ll be into full swing.

...I’d rather they didn’t given I prefer the Classic characters and general aesthetic, but that’s neither here nor there. That and I’d rather the Modern branch of the series focus on 3D instead.

I’d rather they build off Mania than Advance, seeing as Advance was basically just the Classic series with worse physics and level design. Nothing to stop them adding more characters and such to Mania’s kind of framework and they already did stuff like enhancing the graphics to 32-bit standards a la Advance, as well as differentiating the characters with movesets (which was a thing since the Classic games anyway, but even moreso with Mighty and Ray’s addition).

Like you say, it’s subjective, so stop taking this like some objective insult that people don’t like Shadow or don’t think he fits in the Classic series. People have given their reasons, you either just don’t agree (which is fine) or don’t want to hear them. Again, why make the thread asking the question if regardless, you’re just going to get upset at people disagreeing and brand them “biased” and “unimaginative?” That doesn’t make for healthy discussion, it’s just you taking it personally, regardless of whether you realise it or not.

Had a glitch in Encore MMZ where I got crushed(?) during a leap into the background. T’was weird. Also noticed a fair few palette glitches. Mighty’s shell uses some incorrect colours for his shell’s highlights during Mean Bean Machine, and in Mania Mode’s post GHZ2 cutscene, the bottom of Eggman’s mech is bright orange all of a sudden. Shinobi’s orange gauntlet things turn black, so it seems the colour may have been swapped somehow.

All I got from that wall of text is that Shadow isnt just an anime sterotype, but you want him to be like [anime character] because that would... somehow fit him into the Classic universe? It kind of serves Deleter’s point that by the time Shadow was shifted about to fit more in the Classic universe, you’d alienate his fans while also risking alienating certain Classic fans (or even just the wider public honestly) who can’t be arsed with him in the first place. Perhaps I missed something but again, that post just seemed like a very overly flowery ‘rebuttal’ that didn’t actually rebute much. And if you were just going to whine that anyone who disagrees with you “has no imagination,” why even open the thread? For confirmation bias? Is that it? ...and why are folks taking criticism of Shadow so damn personally, anyway?

I think the people who found Shadow dumb would still probably find him dumb regardless of which game he's in. Because by the time you remove the stuff that they don't like about Shadow, he's not Shadow. Same for Silver and the like. It's not as easy as "stick it in a Classic game and people will like it." Shit, I saw people uneasy when Mighty and Ray were announced.

Damn, they’re gonna pack poison into every copy of the game? That’s rough.

If content is thin on the ground, then people are going to pick up on that. And when "what's there" is being called into doubt anyway (the team-racing gimmick is rather dubious and several previews have picked up on this), then it's not 'boring' so much as it is just fairly reasonable. Making a fully SEGA-cast spinoff would be great in the parallel world where that would sell, but Sonic is admittedly a fair part of why those games sold. Hence combining the market reach of Sonic and the SEGA characters was a great move, and all this has accomplished is alienating those who weren't particularly fond of Sonic, but were in it for stuff like Jet Set Radio or Panzer Dragoon. Particularly as, no matter how much they could perhaps argue otherwise, 99% of Sonic fans would've bought another Sonic & SEGA title anyway, because the bulk of the main Sonic cast would still be in it.