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The Sonic topic of utter positivity


Speedy

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I find Sonic 06 fun and was relieved that it played like the adventure games when I got it in December 2006 :) I adore every episode of AoSTH and most of the episodes of SatAM and I like the episodes with Knuckles in Sonic Underground, especially love the teenage voice he has.

Though Generations story was kinda minimal, I think it still lived up to what a Sonic game is all about, racing through colourful zones to stop Robotnik/Eggman and the game played like a dream and I'd continuously welcome the boost style of recent games for a few more years to come, hoping the add Tails and/or Knuckles with similar gameplay.

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I also adore the boost. First of all because it's fun and exhilarating just rushing through a stage and seeing everything blaze by you, and secondly because I think it's a good way to speed up quickly. If you want to take it slow and relaxed, you don't need to use it.

And yup, that it had a bit of an Adventure-y spirit is also something I enjoy about Sonic 06. It got adventure fields, you can talk to townspeople, you can play (at least in certain stages) as another character but Sonic. I also like the interaction/relationships between the characters in the game, how Sonic, Tails and Knuckles come across as a team again, how Amy Rose befriends Silver, how Rouge and Omega stand behind Shadow... I thought it was done nicely.

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One thing I've stressed is that Sonic's inconsistency has always created a lot of division in the fanbase, so this should be a fantastic topic.

One game in the series that I've gained an immense amount of admiration for recently is Sonic Unleashed. I used to have a more negative bias against the game when it first came out, but going back to it after the release of Colors and Generations, I've been able to appreciate how innovative the game truly has been for the series. In terms of aesthetics, plot development, and gameplay, it absolutely turned around the series for me. A detail that I love most is the attention to detail that went into the HUB worlds and characters, they felt much more fleshed out than the ones in previous Sonic titles, and it would be great to see some of them return in the future.

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Attention to detail in level design and hubworlds is also something admirable. Even if Sonic Unleashed and Generations are probably outstanding with the many little things that you can find in the backgrounds and stages, also previous games had stages where you could find a lot of nice stuff to look at (that Sonic Adventure can't quite match Sonic Unleashed's details is clear, consoles just didn't have the power to handle all those objects).

You're right, Sonic Unleashed handled the characters in hub worlds much better, with their backgrounds and stories they just seemed more alive than the people just standing around in Adventure and 06 for example. The characters in Unleashed could really motivate me to do a mission for them. (By the way, some of them were really funny if you think about it, like the tea collecting guy. The world's in pieces, nightmare monsters are haunting the nights... let's go on a trip to colllect teas.biggrin.png There was something really lighthearted and somewhat cartoony about those townspeople. Made them fit better into a game with colorful anthropomorphic animals IMO.)

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Despite the awkward controls, I found Secret Rings to be a really enjoyable game. It starts off a bit slow but once you unlock a few skills, the controls become a lot smoother. Your running speed gets pretty fast too (and once you get the Crest of Wind, it just gets insane.) I really like the environments and music as well. Levitated Ruin especially has a great atmosphere and a great sense of speed. I don't really find the on-rails aspect that disturbing either. It is still one of the toughest Sonic games to date, especially if you're going for 100%. The difficulty may be a bit cheap at times, but the amount of satisfaction you get when you get a gold medal on an especially nasty mission is just priceless. :D

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One thing I've stressed is that Sonic's inconsistency has always created a lot of division in the fanbase, so this should be a fantastic topic.

One game in the series that I've gained an immense amount of admiration for recently is Sonic Unleashed. I used to have a more negative bias against the game when it first came out, but going back to it after the release of Colors and Generations, I've been able to appreciate how innovative the game truly has been for the series. In terms of aesthetics, plot development, and gameplay, it absolutely turned around the series for me. A detail that I love most is the attention to detail that went into the HUB worlds and characters, they felt much more fleshed out than the ones in previous Sonic titles, and it would be great to see some of them return in the future.

Agreed, despite controls not being as good as Colours and Generations (which took the same gameplay style and improved on it) I actually did enjoy Unleashed more than those games, partly because of all the characters and how they interacted with Sonic, they give you this sense that this is what Sonic is fighting for, and Sonic actually has a reasonable sense of urgency.

I find it entirely likely that having loads and loads of NPCs ala Unleashed would probably get old if they kept doing it, but for Unleashed, it certainly helped towards the general experience.

I also found the game to be very cinematic, the story , the way the characters are written, how the cut-scenes are animated and directed (storyboarded?), the soundtrack, it all seems very much movie-material to me, both in style and quality, in other words, see sig.

Edited by Mysterics
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I don't really have much to say here, except...

I Love EVERYTHING about Sonic. Everything.

All of the characters? Love 'em. Even the ones with annoying voices. Love 'em. I can honestly say, there's not a single sonic game I haven't played that I haven't enjoyed. Even 06, which has frustrating at first, I found a way around, and I'd still find myself coming back to even when I'd completed all the stories. I probably know crisis city off by heart.

I love the direction Sonic is going in. I really like all voices sonic has ever had (Jaleel white being the only exception), and I think Roger is a pretty good fit for the current generation.

I have faith in Sonic Team, and I think the next Sonic Game will undoubtably be awesome.

I just really love the Sonic series. All of it.

...Well, that's me done.

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Ah, this'll be fun.

Though my opinion of the game itself isn't what a lot of Sonic fans would agree with, one thing I've always loved about Sonic Adventure 2 is the music. It is awesome. What I love is how every character has their own genre to go with their stages - Sonic has some snazzy work tunes while Rouge's are filled with jazz. And it's just that the music in general is just so well done that makes it good. Favorites of mine include the songs for Radical Highway, White Jungle, Security Hall, Hidden Base, Metal Harbor, Pyramid Cove, and Meteor Herd (at least the background music of it). I'm also a fan of the music that plays during the final Sonic Vs. Shadow and the classic Live and Learn. And of course my favorite will always be Supporting Me, the song that plays during Shadow's initial battle with the Biolizard.

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Sonic CD. I'll keep on going back to that game, simply because of its soundtrack. Though the game itself does spawn one of my favourite levels of all time; Stardust Speedway. It's probably one of the fastest stages coming from the classic era, alongside Chemical Plant.

I like songs from both soundtracks, and that's another thing that stands out for me. It has two different soundtracks. How badass is that?

I can see myself going back to Generations time and time again for the whole nostalgia thing and again, the soundtrack. Sonic Generations and Sonic CD have (to me) the best soundtracks going as they're so varied.

The Sonic The Hedgehog anime OVA. Besides the English dub having Sonic sound like a someone from Cambridge University and Tails with his blocked nose, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Light humour, some serious moments with "Hyper" Metal Sonic and just seeing Sonic do the peel-out in an almost one-hour epic just sends shivers down my spine.

Knuckles' Chaotix. The fact that you can choose from five different characters who each have their own attributes and play the game like a regular Sonic classic with a dash of ring-linking just shows how diverse it can be. Bring it on the Xbox Live I say!

Edited by Tylky
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Someone has to say it eventually: I LOVE Sonic 3. I love the way it blends speed with platforming. It gets heavier in the obstacles than Sonic 2 but just the way the level gimmicks work right and the platforming and enemies are challenging without being cheap for the most part. If you stuffed up it's your fault and when you succeed it feels so great. Plus there's so much to do with the multiple paths and the Bonus Stages and the Special Stages that it doesn't get old easily.

I also love Sonic Advance for playing like a classic whilst being styled like a Modern. The level themes may be generic but the in level gimmicks work really well with solid platforming and the bosses are awesome! Metal Knuckles who shoots missile. Just Metal Knuckles who shoots missiles. Also playing Amy is so much fun as not only does she absolutely WRECK, once you've mastered her Down B move you'll be bouncing around the level everywhere. PHYSICS!

Oh and on the shows; SatAM has an intriguing mythology, AoSTH is hilariously random, Underground has some great character development for Bartleby, the OVA has an awesome plot and seeing the modern game cast just all hanging out and interacting with each other in Sonic X is so entertaining.

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It's just a really great platformer to get into.

The first game was really something else, aside from a certain plumber who does blocky platforming.

Anyways..

Sonic's been my favorite series for as long as I can remember, levels are really good, Music is great, I love the characters and well I just REALLY love Sonic.

Every game is atleast somewhat fun to play, heck I even play 06 from time to time.

Sadly, Negative opinions about Sonic speak louder than positive ones, why is that?

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I'm just so happy to see the series making a full recovery to the kind of fun, colourful, challenging but not frustrating, games that got me to fall in love with this series in the first place. Colours, Sonic 4 (fuck yeah - I said it), and Generations are all games that make me feel just like a kid again.

I can't wait to see what's in store for the next game.

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The intent of this topic is admirable. happy.png

I actually used to have a completely positive mindset towards everything Sonic before the beginning of the "Unleashed Era", which started the decline of my interest in the series.

I still find a lot to enjoy out of games that some people consider to constitute the "dark age" of Sonic, such as:

- Shadow the Hedgehog: cheesy storyline and unbalanced gunplay aside, this game greatly improved the Speed gameplay of Sonic Heroes, and added a ton of variety in levels and interesting branching missions. I often have the impression that negative reviews and scores are overly exaggerated on account of people disliking the concept behind the game.

- Sonic and the Black Knight: a truly terrific game in everything but controls, I can tell that much love was put into this, from the wonderful presentation, music, plot, and characterizations. The sword-play is very well integrated and allows for really rewarding play, a well-accustomed player can go through any entire level at full speed while slashing through every obstacle. This is an even more appalling case of biased reviewers when it comes to scores.

The "Swan song" of the series, as far as I'm concerned.

- Sonic Chronicles: while the execution was flawed, the concept had it all, and it still delivers great fun for me on many levels. Hand-drawn backgrounds, gameplay variety, colorful characters with very well written dialogues and interactions make up for the several poorly implemented aspects of the game.

- Sonic 2006: I haven't had the chance to play this myself, but there are several things I can appreciate of this game from the playthroughs I've watched, which makes me wonder once again about the fairness of the review scores, though i can't judge in this case. Still, I find the story to be much less gloomy and convoluted than it's usually depicted, and I actually consider Shadow's part to be one of the highlights of the entire series, it did so many things right, from character focus and interactions, to continuity aspects and themes, to straight-out epicness.

- Sonic X (un-edited by 4kids): this isn't a game, though I can't help but associate it with the ones I've listed above, because of how much (mostly) undeserved bashing it gets, at least when it comes to Season 3. S1 and S2 had their charm, but also left huge room for fixes and improvements; S3 did all those, and much more. It turned the show away from the uninteresting humans' world to something more Sonic-like and anime-like at the same time. This time the focus is balanced and always on Sonic characters, the story goes seamlessly from comical and light-hearted scenes, to epic and heart-breaking sessions, while always keeping every character true to him/herself.

A lot could be learnt from Sonic X - Season 3, when it comes to making great Sonic stories.

There are many more positive things I could say about this series, but I chose these examples because they stand out among all the bashing that they usually get.

Note that everything I said is 100% just my own very personal take and impression, let's keep the topic positive, as intended. smile.png

Edited by ilcane87
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This thread had to be made sooner or later.

Anyways, here's what I gotta say. I utterly love Sonic Unleashed. (The HD version). It just looks and feels like a great game. Good story, excellent music, good atmosphere that is a perfect mix of lightheartedness and seriousness. It shows that realistic environments in a Sonic game can work. It makes it feel like you're in the real world, but it still looks Sonic-y. Unlike '06. There's so much stuff to do during and after you complete the game. The game itself shows the massive amount of effort was put into this game. The hubs worlds have actual life, and one thing. WENTOS. Best NPC ever, alongside Hatsun The Pigeon and Sonic Man. I just love about everything about the game. it just feels like a great, epic Sonic adventure. The Werehog sorta was bit of a drag, but I liked it. I love this game with a passion. It's my favorite Sonic game.

To be truthful, I've never been this big of a Sonic fan up until Generations came out. I was introduced to the franchise when I got Sonic Heroes for the PS2 in 2004 as a late birthday gift. It was the first video game I ever played, actually. Not only did it get me into the Sonic franchise, but into video games in general. I did grow up with Sonic in his "dark age", which was somewhat unfortunate. I played Shadow and '06, which I completed, and basically sold after finishing them, and I took a break of Sonic games until I played Unleashed, then Colors. Both which slowly invigorated my interest in the franchise. Generations turned me into the huge Sonic fan I am now.

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I love the entire cast, each and every one of them has their own unique set of personalities and their own stories to tell as well as hilarious dynamics among them. They help enrich the series as well as give Sonic and co. numerous adventures among them.

I also love the most recent games, yeah they're flawed, but not severely so unlike the post-Sa2 era; they've managed to help Sonic make a steady, and gradual climb back to grace and I applaud them for it, even if their efforts generally go overlooked in the gaming community, as well as the more cynical members of the Sonic community, I'll always give them props for effectively breathing life back into an almost dead franchise, I mean how many franchises can say they came back from the abyss like this one has?

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I liked Sonic Chronicles. I was too busy playing the game to pay attention to the soundtrack.

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I will never stop exalting the Storybook games' portrayals of Sonic. SatBK is the indisputable platinum standard of Sonic characterization and though I've watched the cutscenes many a time, I still find myself subconciously smiling about how extraordinary it all is and how clear it is that the writer(s) have such a firm grasp of what makes Sonic....Sonic in terms of personality.

This, this is just plain crazy awesome and just because Sonic isn't kicking robot ass in a badass manner a 'la Unleashed opening, it's no less awesome for it especially if you're a character aficionado.;

Couldn't agree more. SatBK's characterization, heck, the entire story is so wonderfully thought through and really brought the characters to life for me. I almost every cutscene, no matter how often I watched them, I can't help but think that this game got the best characterization of Sonic himself out of all the games. He's just really Sonic, with all the fine details, from this leisure cockiness in the opening cutscene (throwing up the chilidog, defeating a bunch of bad guys and catching the chilidogs again as if he'd do it that way all the time), his 'I play by my own rules' attitude, his way dealing with Caliburn and his morals, to the moments when he refuses to give up totally ignoring that he's probably critically injured when Merlina turns against him... and of course his forgiving manner in the end. Superb characterization. I'd love to see it done like that in more games.

As for SatSR, Sonic's selflessness and badassery. Concerned for Shahra's emotional fragility despite his own life on the line, makes it very clear that he neither wants to be referred to by honorific titles such as "Master" and that he wants to be Shahra's friend, not her slavemaster which shows Sonic's modesty despite his arrogance and the ending, which is made of win in EVERY area (That includes the hankie wish, so sweet!) That is all.

I think Secret Ring's ending cutscene is still my favorite Sonic cutscene of all. First of all I find it really sweet of Sonic to use his first wish to bring Sharah back to life even after what she did, and that he got her the hankies. But what makes this scene totally win is how Sonic puts Erazor back into his lamp and blows out the flame on it. 'I told you, I'm not a rat. I'm a hedgehog.' It's just epic. biggrin.png

I guess I'm like Paradox, I like everything Sonic. happy.png

In Sonic Adventure I really found it nice how you can be to the same place with different characters in their respective stories (Sonic and Knuckles both go to Lost World, Red Mountain, City Hall and so on.) I found it really neat that you could start a stage and then get to a place and think 'Hey, I've been here as Knuckles before'. It kinda made the different story lines feel more connected.

Also the adventure field were pretty cool in my opinion (also their equivalents in Sonic 06 and Unleashed). To get to a new stage, you had to run around on the adventure field first, take the train, a boat, open a door and things like that. As the story progressed, new places became available, new routes opened or you could find new items. It was a really good way to tie story and stages together I think, in some other games you're kinda left wondering how the characters came from one stage to the next.

I also found Adventure's story really awesome, especially the arc about the ancient echidnas, Tikal and Chaos and what happened to them had something mysterious and epic. And it gave some more backstory to Knuckles. I really like him a lot, as both a character and gameplay-wise. It's a lot of fun climbing onto stuff and exploring in his stages in SA1 and 2. smile.png

God, I could talk so much just about one game. I like them all too much. ^^ I could probably write a novel about what I like best in Sonic Heroes. It was my first Sonic game, maybe that's a reason I just insanely adore it. I find the whole team dynamic really nice, how the team members are talking to each other even in-game (although it can get repetive I find it funny)... and I just think having three different character with different skills made the gameplay quite varied.

Sonic 06 has some really cool stages, Flame Core (it got a really peaceful sounding soundtrack in the cave part of the stage, too), Crisis City of course and Aquatic Base. I especially think Aquatic Base is really cool and had some interesting gimmicks (like the floating magnetic ball thingies, the ball you're walking on or the glowing poles that kill surrounding enemies).

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Even though I think the classics are still the best, the modern games are still awesome. Both the pre-STH era and from Unleashed onward. Sure, they've got flaws, and sure there is still lots of room for improvement, but what can I say? I still love them (varying degrees of love depending on the game).

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Crisis City in Sonic Generations, particularly Act 2, is just incredible. It is both linear and short, but it's one hell of a ride. Between the giant loops, the scenery gorn of a desolate ruined city, the fantastic remixes of the music from the original (the heavy Classic one is great but I adore Modern's beautiful violin), the sweet platforming, the enemies being somewhat challenging, the tornado stealing the goal post in Classic, the windows randomly smashing, it's just dramatic all the way through. I also think the tornado section in Modern's level is one of the few honestly well designed Quick Step sections, considering where you step could mean taking a higher path meaning a shortcut (or the last red ring), or a tricky precarious platforming section, or even a simple spring. It's actually rather intricate considering it's just the short cinematic tornado part that ends the level. I also consider the Modern level a great example of a blocky stage design that somehow flows really well, and where the boost can be cleverly used to make shortcuts. And there's the little bit where you run alongside the wall as well if you choose to before the big arse loop.

It is the perfect balance between speed and platforming and proves that aesthetics can go a long way to making a level great. It's not a mega popular level, but it's one I'll never forget, especially considering the game it originated from.

...and there's a shit ton of other great levels throughout the series. No matter what type of fan you are, there will be several levels that just hit the right spots.

Edited by Semi-colon e
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I love SA2. All of it. I thought it was amazing along with Heroes; the soundtrack was unbelievable, the gameplay was my favourite, and the stages were badass.

Someone has to say it eventually: I LOVE Sonic 3. I love the way it blends speed with platforming. It gets heavier in the obstacles than Sonic 2 but just the way the level gimmicks work right and the platforming and enemies are challenging without being cheap for the most part. If you stuffed up it's your fault and when you succeed it feels so great. Plus there's so much to do with the multiple paths and the Bonus Stages and the Special Stages that it doesn't get old easily.

Exactly what you said there. Challenging, while mixing speed and platforming. I also liked Chronicles as well.

I will never stop exalting the Storybook games' portrayals of Sonic. SatBK is the indisputable platinum standard of Sonic characterization and though I've watched the cutscenes many a time, I still find myself subconciously smiling about how extraordinary it all is and how clear it is that the writer(s) have such a firm grasp of what makes Sonic....Sonic in terms of personality.

This, this is just plain crazy awesome and just because Sonic isn't kicking robot ass in a badass manner a 'la Unleashed opening, it's no less awesome for it especially if you're a character aficionado.;

That line "Yeah maybe but...I play by my own rules. Remember that". He's like, screw Caliburn, he's doing things the way he wants to going by his own morality and putting that above business. Benefitted him in the end too, showing his way was ultimately the right way to go about things even if it's debateably unconventional.

Sonic neither alter's probability on a whim. Nor does he pull wins out of his ass. He worked so hard to gather those sacred swords and won them in fair fights and yet Excalibur transformation occured clearly unintentionally. The most hopeless situation you're likely to find in a Sonic game and yet Sonic's success came about completely believably.

As for SatSR, Sonic's selflessness and badassery. Concerned for Shahra's emotional fragility despite his own life on the line, makes it very clear that he neither wants to be referred to by honorific titles such as "Master" and that he wants to be Shahra's friend, not her slavemaster which shows Sonic's modesty despite his arrogance and the ending, which is made of win in EVERY area (That includes the hankie wish, so sweet!) That is all.

I couldn't agree more. 'It was never about chivalry for me; I just gotta do what I gotta do, that's all!' That was also an awesome line. It shows that he helps people from the goodness of his heart, not just to look good.

I loved SatAM. It was the show I grew up with. I loved all of the adventures and action going on. You can't forget the interactions between the characters- especially Sonic and Chuck. Sonic never gives up in trying to unroboticize him.

That's all I can think of for now.

It wasn't very elaborate because right now I'm lazy and tired, so I'll edit it later. biggrin.png

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