The Sonic topic of utter positivity

[SuperLink]

Sonic Generations is probably one of my favourite games ever, the Classic physics didn't get in the way of my game's enjoyment, the graphics were gorgeous and the replayability is great.

I can play that game over and over for hours and it's been a long time since I've wanted to do that with a Sonic game every time I think things aren't so great for Sonic atm I just remember that wonderful game that came out last year, Happy 20th Anniversary indeed!

EDIT; Oh and what Groosinator said about Colours, I adored Colours too

Edited June 14, 2012 by SuperLink

[Komodin]

I've said this before, and I'll say it again:

With the exceptions for Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), Sonic Chronicles and Sonic Blast, I like, love, or at least kinda-sorta tolerate, every Sonic game I've played. I mean, perhaps it's just how I am as a person, but I just can't find any flaws in them egregious enough that I find myself wanting to avoid playing them. I'm a fanboy? Perhaps... but at least I'm a happy one.

[The Tenth Doctor]

Sonic games are untouchable in the soundtrack department. Most games (forget chronicles ) has a mind shatteringly good score. No other game series has ever had so many catchy songs.

[Soniman]

Time for me to glorify another game, though this one is far more controversial.

I really, really like Sonic Heroes.

It was the first Sonic game I had ever owned, so excuse the bias here. I see a lot of people hate on this game for reasons such as general glitchyness and controls. Well for me the controls are something I adapted to pretty easily and things like glitches don't really get in the way of me having fun most the time.

The general gameplay at it's best is fun, intense, and you almost never have to stop because you have a good flow going (Ocean Palace and Grand Metropolis), though at it's worst it can sometimes be a drag with constant stopping and fighting (Final Fortress and Mystic Mansion), though for at least for me that often isn't the case. The team gameplay really is fun to use as I enjoy the many ways I can take out an enemy or progress through a stage. I would love for Sonic Team to expand on this idea and make a game based on it. I have consistent fun with this game 85% of the time. Though I know it's not for everyone, some tolerate it, others loathe it, but I enjoy it for what it offers.

The art style is absolutely wonderful and is the closest thing a 3D Sonic has gotten to translating the general style and feel of the classics into 3D. You have forest with giant mushrooms, large casino pinball tables, and large fleets crafted by the Eggman himself. It also created a few tropes of it's own that has never been done in the series such as haunted mansions and large canyons. They even have psychedelic special stages, even if they do play kinda lamely. All of this creates a game that has it's own style and feel, separate form the Adventure games.

And this is definitely helped by the music.

Sonic Heroes has a terrific soundtrack, my two personal favorite being Special Stage; Bonus Challenge and Ocean Palace. Hell I think Sonic Team knows how great the game's visuals and soundtrack are, given how often they use it in spin offs, which I don't mind at all.

Bottom line, it's a decent and fun game that I can still play even today.

Edited June 14, 2012 by The Groosenator

[t0ms0nic]

Now this is the kind of topic Sonic needs, considering everything else going on across the internet as a whole. Sorta need to get this off my chest, since there's nowhere else that would welcome it.

Quite a number of people bash the Modern games these days, whether they're Sonic fans, just a normal gamer, or even neither of those and are just observers. They bash it for having barebones gameplay, say that other games do the gameplay side better and actually have the control in your hands at all times.

Thing is, those other games just don't make it as fun to be involved in as Sonic does. No other series has such a vast array of solid, enjoyable music and beautiful, one-of-a-kind stages with incredible attention to detail as the last three main Sonic games has. It's not just from a fanboy perspective either; Sonic's just more interesting to be along for the ride with. He has atmosphere like no other series does, and the developers aren't afraid to at least hide a bit of control from you to throw in something like an out-of-left-field giant Chopper badnik eating at the grinding rails right behind you as you're going along them, or firing you upwards from a cannon across a short distance to give you a grand view of the beauty of Planet Wisp's natural habitat before you dive into the heart of Eggman's base. They want you to see Sonic's special blend of action one way or the other, and they mix the gameplay and autopilot sections together with a seemless flow when you're not trying to make the game do otherwise.

And personally, no other game has had a moment like where the very opening of Planet Wisp's music back in Colours sent a shiver down my spine the first time I heard it, and continues to do so each time I listen to it; wether it's the music on it's own or starting Planet Wisp Act 1 up again in Colours for the nth time. Such a beautiful piano melody was new to the kind of typical upbeat, rock n' pop musical style Sonic and he nailed it first time while providing us with one of the greatest levels of one of the best looking and playing Wii games. Despite all those years of such varied and different flavors of Sonic games, this still came as a surprise. He's still being surprising, he's still standing out. He's got fuel in the fire when the series was condemned as dead back in 06, when he was presumed to have lost his way.

Sonic's not offering anything new? Screw that, he's got bigger balls for trying to be interesting than any of the videogame heroes wearing clothes. It's still 9 days early, but Happy 21st Anniversary Sonic. Keep on running.

[...]

I want to say this.

Sonic, whatever you do. Never stop running.

[Kuzu]

I want to say this.

Sonic, whatever you do. Never stop running.

Well what happens when he has to pee?

[...]

Well what happens when he has to pee?

Then he'll run in place while he pees.

[Nattala]

- 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.

Yes this. Shadow is Heroes minus Power/Fly plus Guns. Plus the level design is greatly improved in areas; the rail grinding is smooth, there's less bottomless pits and the level gimmicks work and don't dump you into a pit.

[Kiah]

Wow, what a great topic! Focusing on the positive aspects of Sonic is a refreshing change of pace! I'll mention a few things, otherwise I would be on here typing all night about the endless things that I love and see positive in regards to Sonic, which is pretty much everything. My complaints are few and are usually more linked to things Sega and the Sonic Team has done in regards to decisions as opposed to Sonic himself.

There isn't a Sonic game that I hate or dislike even. Some I like way more than others, but for me to either sell a Sonic game or refuse to buy it due to hating or disliking it is out of the question. I can mention something positive about each and every Sonic game out there. But for the sake of everyone's sanity (especially mine; I'm already going to write an essay here as it is), I won't. Just trust me when I say all Sonic games have something favorable in them to a degree, whether wide or narrow, it's there.

Verte hit the nail on the head describing the potrayal of Sonic in the Storybook games. But there is one detail that I would like to elaborate on from Sonic and the Secret Rings from one of her quotes:

Concerned for Shahra's emotional fragility despite his own life on the line,

Immediately that made me think of this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAo-q3_DULI

This cutscene here, these 49 seconds in short, are full of so much win! It is clearly obvious that Sonic is in a lot of pain and collaspes, yet he refuses to let his guard down nor allow Shahra to worry about him or place the blame on herself for Sonic being struck with that flame. Sonic didn't want to show that he was in pain; therefore the half-hearted chuckle trying to cover it up, which he was trying to do so Shahra wouldn't worry about him. This selfless attitude of Sonic deeply impressed me, as the last person he was thinking about was himself. Also notable is how Sonic changed the situation quickly from negative to a positive to cheer Shahra up. This is all something a good friend would do and Sonic demonstrated that here and throughtout the game as he always does. I thought Sonic saying "It's gonna take more than some tiny flame to bring judgement down on me!" was a pretty convincing line that he was okay and still the same ol' Sonic amid all the pain he was in. Despite the fact that he was suffering, Sonic was optimistic. He usually is no matter what! He never gives up nor allows anything to get him down. This cutscene really showed me among many other times that Sonic has a lot of heart and is truly a hero.

Kids love Sonic. Recently I've seen kids wearing Sonic T-shirts, walking around playing Sonic games on their DS and pointing Sonic out on the advertisments for the Redbox movie rentals. There was even one time I overheard a group of kids talking about Sonic Heroes and how awesome all the characters are...and I agree! It makes me so happy to hear kids talk about that awesome blue hedgehog I've come to love.

In the end, Sonic is a fighter, having to go through some tough times with some bad games, yet he is still around delighting us fans everywhere today. I mean, how many video game characters become icons, let alone lasting for more than 2 decades? Things aren't pefect, but for nearly 21 years Sonic has amazed us for the most part with beautiful music, gorgeous graphics and level design and an unforgettable personality.

As I've said before, I was away from the Sonic series for a significant amount of time (15 years-it was due to something else that I "fell away", not being disappointed or fed up with Sonic; I'll explain my story one of these days hopefully!) and I am glad that Sonic has stuck around all this time in order to give me the chance to come back to enjoy everything from the past 20+ years and hopefully many more to come.

Like I've said, I could go on and on mentioning positive things that I love about Sonic but I have said more than enough so far, haven't I?

[Wittymations]

This doesn't really focus too much on a particular Sonic game. But two things that have impressed me about the franchise since its humble beginnings.

No one can ever deny Sonic Team's ability to create some of the most brilliant cutscenes the gaming world has ever witnessed. At times, you could believe you're watching a 3D movie by Pixar -- Sonic Unleashed opening scene is a perfect example.

This is another good example of cutscene usage, though nowhere near as pretty, is one that I thought fit very well with Sonic's attitude (until the tissue part) from Sonic and the Secret Rings:

[media=]

Even 2006 was very pretty.

Their music selection tends to be very well thought out. Maybe not for everything (like poor Knuckles who doesn't chuckle), but they're no stranger to getting some very ear pleasing material. Have been since the beginning.

For instance, they tend to choose well for the Doc

www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMlM0-E5CjA

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbhX7XKgkDU

www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSClR8_pmCc

www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGIdkStbjVc

www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvERHiTfx9w

www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkoGeWN9CxQ (Personally ,I love the military feel)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=QovDgfjB6Ek (Finall boss music, not really a theme, but yeah)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wy3FOIeJckw (another final boss)

Point is, the Sonic Team knows music and graphics. They fixed the general playability, can still improve though. If their financial situation doesn't destroy them, they can, hopefully, keep this up. Let's just hope they don't try too much 'experimenting' with the franchise.

Of course, I'm stating what everyone already knew.

[Dr. Mechano]

What do I love about the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise?

That would be Dr. Eggman, who- to this day- remains my single favorite character in any media. The series has had its ups and downs, but Eggman has always been well-written, colorfully portrayed, and phenomenally entertaining in even his worst appearances. I just can't get enough of the sinister scientist, and hope to see many more fantastic roles for Eggman in the franchise's future.

At the end of the day, Eggman always keeps me coming back, and I won't ever fully lose interest in the series as long as he's around.

[T-Min]

Ah, about time we've had a topic like this.

ANYWAY, I freaking love Sonic. The character is awesome. Most of the other characters are awesome, too. The platforming is awesome. The speed is awesome. The exploration - when prominently featured - is awesome. This series is just...wait for it...

AWESOME

And so this is the part where I glorify all of the Sonic games that have affected me the most. Each of these games has left the biggest impact on me out of all of the games in the franchise and I find myself coming back to most of them pretty regularly for my fix. Even if they do some things worse than other installments, they still have a special quality about them, something that makes them so compelling that I can't stop playing them. And thus we start.

SONIC ADVENTURE

Yes, yes, yes! Though it's a story told many times, it is one that must be told again. My first ever experience with a video game was with a demo of Sonic Adventure, which featured the ever-memorable stage: Emerald Coast. At the age of no more than 3, I took my first step into gaming, and what a WHALE of a step it was. *shot* But regardless, I received the game for Christmas that year and thus began an obsession of epic proportions. Even today, I find myself coming back to it quite a lot. Not only is it special to me in the most nostalgic of ways, but honestly...I do think it kind of holds up. For as much as some fans keep insisting that it's aged as well as steaming pile of crap, I still genuinely have fun when I go back to play it. Though it's a bit unpolished, the gameplay and level design are probably the closest we would ever get to a classic game in 3-D and, for me, it's still tons of fun. Heck, I even get a kick out of most of the other characters. And honestly, for as much as we give the fishing levels flack, they really only annoyed us that much because of how out of place they were. On their own, I really don't think the fishing stages were that bad. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuiGRLXswuM,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7Pt9Lh70ms.

SONIC ADVENTURE 2

Yeah, yeah, scream OVERRATED all you want. I freaking loved this game and I still do. The Sonic and Shadow levels are still to this very day some of the most fun and, at the very least, memorable out of all of the 3-D games, if not the entire franchise. Yeah, they're technically small, but the game uses that to its advantage to provide an experience based on fast-paced action, style and sometimes even proper timing, but in doing so doesn't become bland or insubstantial. There's plenty of diversity as well, and I still thoroughly enjoy the mech shooting and treasure hunting stages. Yeah, they're a bit out of place in a Sonic game, but are nonetheless enjoyable in their own right. And dat replay value. Dang. The missions, the A-Ranks, the Chao Garden...by the time I had collected all 180 Emblems, my file had over sixty hours on it. The main story only takes about five hours to complete. That is insane. Throw in an interesting and engaging, albeit...somewhat poorly-written storyline and a great soundtrack and you have an imperfect, but nonetheless awesome game that I would possibly even call one of my personal favorite platformers.

SONIC HEROES

Eh...yeah. Really out of character, I know, but I suppose I should take this opportunity to talk about what I do like about this game. There is still a lot of nostalgia riding on this game for me, as I did love it when I was a kid. And, for as much I joke about it, I really wouldn't say I hate Sonic Heroes. In fact, I rather like several aspects of it, including about half of the levels. Seaside Hill, Ocean Palace, Casino Park, Bullet Station, Lost Jungle (sort of), Mystic Mansion and Egg Fleet are all fairly enjoyable levels, and even I can't help but appreciate the game's diversity. The visuals and setpieces of all of the levels are quite nice and the soundtrack is freaking good. The special stage is pretty enjoyable, I have to say, even if the physics are a bit wonky. And the team gimmick is a pretty neat idea that, for the most part, isn't executed too badly. It was a pretty cool way to change things up from the Adventure games and in most cases it does what it sets out to do well. And even if I don't like the story or appreciate the cheesiness of the script, I like that it attempted to go for a lighter tone than the previous two games. So yeah, I praised Sonic Heroes. Happy now? :/

SONIC 3 & KNUCKLES

This is easily my most nostalgic of the classic Sonic games. In fact, it's the only one I spent a significant amount of time with before Mega Collection Plus came into my life. Instead, I played this one on Sonic & Knuckles Collection for PC, which I received for Christmas at age 4. This game here...it's a truly special one. It's really nigh-on perfect. Sandopolis Zone aside, each Zone is incredibly fun and beautifully designed. They're absolutely freaking massive as well, even when compared to its two older brothers and the game is probably even the fastest out of all of the classics. Not to mention it has the element shields, my favorite Special Stage in the entire series, three playable characters with their own movesets - and playing as Knuckles will, in fact, change what you see in the levels and story significantly - and a simple, but nonetheless compelling plot that's told without a single line of dialogue and you've got the...SECOND best of the classics.

SONIC CD

Depending on who you ask, Sonic CD is either an overlooked masterpiece or an overrated crapsterpiece. Personally, I fall in the former category. I truly can't think of a single thing I seriously find fault with it. Sure, the levels are labyrinthine in design, but honestly...I love that about. Levels are possibly even more gigantic than those in S3&K, the speed is definitely still there and the platforming is still very fun and creative. Also, the time travel mechanic is very unique and adds even more depth to it by actually changing just what you see in the level even aside from the aesthetics. And speaking of the aesthetics, those are pretty awesome, too. The Zones are all very pretty and screw all y'all, I love the American soundtrack. And the animated opening and ending. Those are fantastic. Oh yeah, this game also introduced Metal Sonic, and you even get to have a bad@$$ (and challenging) race against him. How freaking cool is that. Yes, I believe I would say that this is my favorite Sonic game. Of course, at least one game has come quite close...

SONIC FRIGGIN' GENERATIONS

This game is simply wondrous. The Modern Sonic stages and Classic Sonic stages are both incredibly enjoyable in there own ways, and each and every one of the level designs is simply beautiful. While the recreation of Classic Sonic's gameplay and physics wasn't quite perfect, it was close enough that I didn't care and the levels were still very large and platform-tastic. Not to mention that the game completely improves upon the Modern Sonic gameplay, especially where 3-D sections are concerned. Each stage has been reimagined with so much love and heart that it makes me proud to be a Sonic fan, and for the first time in ever in a 3-D Sonic game, the boss designs actually left me satisfied. I even enjoyed completing the Challenge Acts and don't even get me started on the soundtrack. Yes, there isn't much of a story, but really, the story was even farther from the point than usual with this one. It was more or less just an excuse to have Classic and Modern Sonic revisit locations from the past and encounter some old friends, and I have to say, what little plot was there, I did enjoy. I still prefer Sonic CD if only for its depth and uniqueness, but this game comes very close to topping it.

Outside of the games, I was a huge fan of AoStH back when it aired on Toon Disney and I still do find it to be very funny, in a sort of "so-bad-it's-good" kind of way. I also received the movie (or OVA) on VHS for Christmas when I was 4, and I have watched a simply ludicrous number of times. Because it's awesome and freaking Metal Sonic, guys.

Freaking.

Metal.

Sonic.

Oh yeah, another thing I have to say about Heroes: even though he didn't get much screen time, Neo Metal Sonic is freaking cool.

So yeah, that's all I have to say. d:

Edited June 15, 2012 by T-Man

[batson]

I think Sonic 2, 3 and S&K all remain some of the very best video games of all time, all genres, all platforms, all eras included.

[Amomynous]

What do I love about the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise?

That would be Dr. Eggman, who- to this day- remains my single favorite character in any media. The series has had its ups and downs, but Eggman has always been well-written, colorfully portrayed, and phenomenally entertaining in even his worst appearances. I just can't get enough of the sinister scientist, and hope to see many more fantastic roles for Eggman in the franchise's future.

At the end of the day, Eggman always keeps me coming back, and I won't ever fully lose interest in the series as long as he's around.

Dr Eggman is generally one of the better written characters in the series.

I especially like how Dr Eggman's been recently; Sonic Unleashed, Sonic Colours and Sonic Generations, he's silly,hammy and affably evil but also quite threatening.

He's actually quite different in each game, In Sonic Unleashed he seems a bit more cheerful, it seemed more like he enjoyed insulting and hurting Sonic and enjoyed his schemes.

In Sonic Colours he's less exuberant and a bit more passive-aggressive; more condescending and sarcastic as opposed to the complete lack of subtlety he usually has, though he's still a glorious ham when he wants to be.

In Sonic generations he's much angrier and more desperate, it seems like he sees his actions as something he MUST do and it seems like he may even have lost a little of his confidence, both because of his desperation and that he saw more opportunity for his own error; his plan lacks the holes it usually does.

I think they all work very well, I think his Sonic Unleashed portrayal is truer to his 'original imagining' but one can be too obsessed with keeping a character 'true to original'

The only thing I have is that his Generations portrayal lacks the affable evil-ness, which IMO is a cause for concern but minor as long as it doesn't leave his character entirely.

I just adored his PA announcements in Colours.

Edited June 15, 2012 by Mysterics

[Vertekins]

Immediately that made me think of this:

[media=]

This cutscene here, these 49 seconds in short, are full of so much win! It is clearly obvious that Sonic is in a lot of pain and collaspes, yet he refuses to let his guard down nor allow Shahra to worry about him or place the blame on herself for Sonic being struck with that flame. Sonic didn't want to show that he was in pain; therefore the half-hearted chuckle trying to cover it up, which he was trying to do so Shahra wouldn't worry about him. This selfless attitude of Sonic deeply impressed me, as the last person he was thinking about was himself. Also notable is how Sonic changed the situation quickly from negative to a positive to cheer Shahra up. This is all something a good friend would do and Sonic demonstrated that here and throughtout the game as he always does. I thought Sonic saying "It's gonna take more than some tiny flame to bring judgement down on me!" was a pretty convincing line that he was okay and still the same ol' Sonic amid all the pain he was in. Despite the fact that he was suffering, Sonic was optimistic. He usually is no matter what! He never gives up nor allows anything to get him down. This cutscene really showed me among many other times that Sonic has a lot of heart and is truly a hero.

Aside from the wonderfulness of Sonic's enormous resolve and his concern for not worrying Shahra, I truly think that this scene is amongst the best portrayal's of Jason's VA'ing.

That nervous laugh was right on. That audible tone of worry bubbling below the surface yet the way he covers his voice with something akin to cheeryness as he tries to perk his voice up when he says "Looks like my time limit is about up" is...so emotive, so well acted. And then there's his calm tone of voice when he's genuinely sorry about worrying Shahra and really didn't mean to. This VA'ing made me love Sonic even more in SatSR and made him so much more believable. Those lines wouldn't have as much emotive depth to them if it weren't for Jason tapping into Sonic's mannerisms in selflessness and bring them out so amazingly well.

The fact that he brings up their promise, which amounts to Sonic wanting to make her smile by the end of their adventure as a means of giving her something to focus on than her own concern and shame for putting him in that position is so very touching.

Really, SatSR had such an interesting story and it is probably the best game when it comes to tapping into Sonic's psyche, what makes him tick.

Edited June 15, 2012 by Verte

[Soniman]

Alrighty, this one is going to be different, time to praise.

DA SONIC ADVANCE GAMES!!!11

I always had a soft spot for these games, maybe because of the art design, maybe because of the fun gameplay (for the most part), maybe because of the sweet music, either way I always feel these games were a sequel series to the classic era though obviously not as popular or debatably not as well constructed, but they were still fun games and their pick up and play nature is perfect for the handheld GBA.

You just get a immense feeling of joy when you boot up Sonic Advance for the first run through Neo Green Hill, it's such a chill and laid back level, I like most of Sonic Advance's level tropes such as Ice Mountain and Secret Base. Sonic Advance also has the distinction of having it's gameplay and general level design come the closest to reaching the classic, and it's a fun game for it.

Sonic Advance 2 is a different beast, instead of being like the classics in design, it't pretty much a beta version of Sonic Rush featuring high speed gameplay and level design that always encourages this, it's still a fun game though, even if it isn't as deep as Advance 1. My personal favorite levels are Ice Paradise, for it's godly music and beautiful aesthetics and Hot Crater for the same reasons as well as it's sense of progression (you start at the top and get deeper and deeper into the crater).

Oh boy and here we arrive at Sonic Advance 3, the most..... controversial advance game. Released in 2004 it was riding on the team gameplay trend that Sonic Heroes started and it was....okay I guess. I think it would have been fine if the level design wasn't so haphazard though even then it does have it's excellent level tropes. Personal favorites are Route 99, Chaos Angel, and Twinkle Snow. Overall Advance 3 is an okay game, though not as well constructed as it's predecessors.

To end this here is some kickass music! REMASTERED!!!

[media=]

Edited June 15, 2012 by The Groosenator

[Alice Twilight]

Alrighty, this one is going to be different, time to praise.

DA SONIC ADVANCE GAMES!!!11

I always had a soft spot for these games, maybe because of the art design, maybe because of the fun gameplay (for the most part), maybe because of the sweet music, either way I always feel these games were a sequel series to the classic era though obviously not as popular or debatably not as well constructed, but they were still fun games and their pick up and play nature is perfect for the handheld GBA.

You just get a immense feeling of joy when you boot up Sonic Advance for the first run through Neo Green Hill, it's such a chill and laid back level, I like most of Sonic Advance's level tropes such as Ice Mountain and Secret Base. Sonic Advance also has the distinction of having it's gameplay and general level design come the closest to reaching the classic, and it's a fun game for it.

Sonic Advance 2 is a different beast, instead of being like the classics in design, it't pretty much a beta version of Sonic Rush featuring high speed gameplay and level design that always encourages this, it's still a fun game though, even if it isn't as deep as Advance 1. My personal favorite levels are Ice Paradise, for it's godly music and beautiful aesthetics and Hot Crater for the same reasons as well as it's sense of progression (you start at the top and get deeper and deeper into the crater).

Oh boy and here we arrive at Sonic Advance 3, the most..... controversial advance game. Released in 2004 it was riding on the team gameplay trend that Sonic Heroes started and it was....okay I guess. I think it would have been fine if the level design wasn't so haphazard though even then it does have it's excellent level tropes. Personal favorites are Route 99, Chaos Angel, and Twinkle Snow. Overall Advance 3 is an okay game, though not as well constructed as it's predecessors.

To end this here is some kickass music! REMASTERED!!!

[media=]

I always found these titles to be much better than the genesis games. I've always loved the art direction, the levels and the music. And I love the character sprites and the waiting animations too.

But that's just my unpopular

oops wrong thread

Needless to say, I'm still positively postive.

I love Sonic!

[BlueBlurMe]

Now it's time to explain why the games are awesome!

Sonic Adventure

This game has amazing hub worlds. Personally, I like to get lazy and just play around in the hub worlds. You get to explore around the Egg Carrier for pete's sake! How many times do you get to walk around Eggman's lair? It's always a stage. And the cars in Station Square? You can RIDE ONTOP OF THEM. I'm kind of weird that way, but sometimes I like a free ride.

All the characters have their own type of stage. The stages were fast-paced for Sonic, you have to race for Tails, avoid an enemy for Amy, treasure hunt for Knuckles, fish for Big, and shoot things with Gamma. It's nice to change things up. And when people complain about how they make you play with a different playstyle every stage, they can't for this game! If you want to keep playing this way, you can! But it you want to play differently, just change your character!

Sonic Adventure 2

I know some people hate this game. But personally, this is one of my favourites. The Sonic and Shadow stages were fast-paced at some parts, and tricky platformer at parts. They mixed it together perfectly! Knuckles and Rouge had complex treasure hunting stages with different rooms and obstacles in your way. Giant areas, where the Emerald could be hidden anywhere! It's always a challenge. Tails and Eggman stages aren't that bad. You aren't that fast, but that's what Sonic & Shadow stages are for. This is all platformer, and you get to shoot robots. It's executed perfectly so that it doesn't feel dark and evil, but just trying to make your way through. And who doesn't like shooting things and makin' 'em fly all over the place?

Sonic Heroes

The stages are absolutely gorgeous, as someone already said. They had different ideas, not just with the gameplay, but with stage designs. Huge mushrooms, canyons, I agree that those are awesome. Not to mention a stage where you are playing like you're in a pinball machine! It's tricky, but fun at the same time! And the crazy music that goes along with it.

Now. The whole team gameplay thing. I love it! Instead of only having speed, flight, or punching, you get all of it at once! Haven't you always thought it would be easier to get places in a Sonic stage if you could fly? Or be able to punch through things as Tails? Now you have it all here! Though they don't change the stages for each team, they change the difficulty level (except for Team Chaotix. That's a totally different story). I think it's nice to have an easy team like Team Rose's because it's a nice place to start in the Sonic series if you haven't already. I know this was the first Sonic game a lot of people had. You have Team Sonic, for the average player. It's the normal difficulty level for Sonic games. But then there's Team Dark, when you want a challenge. They have more badniks all over the place, and I know that for me it's harder to keep all of my rings. It's always nice to play something really hard every now and then. Team Chaotix is like mission mode; some missions you like, and some you don't. But this gives variety to the game, which is always a good thing.

Sonic 3

I'll make this brief. FREAKING TAILS. TAILS IN THIS GAME IN FREAKING AWESOME. When you're playing with Sonic and Tails, not only do you have awesome 2-player right there (which I love because I have a sibling who always wants to play with me), but Tails can FLY YOU PLACES. Did you miss that high path? I'll fly you up there. Do you want to get that shield or star post you missed? I'll fly you there. AND with those stupid spike badniks (not exactly sure what it's name is), you can let Tails get hurt and defeat it instead of you! Your rings are safe!

And what I said before about the platforming.

Now Sonic's character. Do I really have to mention this? DC111's post explains it all. Oh, and this:

I'm glad I could get that all out finally.

Edited June 15, 2012 by BlueBlurMe

[#AR]

I have no clue why, but something that I've always enjoyed when it comes to Sonic:

THE BOSSES

I usually always look forward to fighting the bosses, probably as much as I do racing through the levels. Not counting the extremely simple ones like Tails vs. Eggman in SA2 or the Ferris Wheel boss from Colors, most boss battles definitely keep me on my toes, because there's always that one simple mistake that can screw you over completely.

The classics may not have had the most epic/movie blockbuster-type appearances, but the simple design of them was still charming. I love the creativity that went into creating some of the older bosses (like the shooting pillars in Sonic 2, or the "Treadmill" boss of Sonic CD). And of course, the big robots were impressive as well (Death Egg Robot, Big Arms, the final bosses of S3&K, etc.).

The more recent games of course have more extravagant designs thanks to the improvements in graphical technology. These foes definitely have some great new designs. Many "OH SHIT"s were uttered throughout the playing of these games (as in "Awwww shit, it's about to go down" or "Ohhhh shiiiiiit...That's a huge fuckin' monster", etc.).

Some of my favorite recent bosses:

EGG VIPER (ADVENTURE)

"GET A LOAD OF THISSSS!!!"

This menacing, badass-looking piece of machinery is definitely one of my Top 5 favorite Eggmechs. It provided a good challenge for me, and it got to the point where Eggman wasn't fuckin' around anymore.

KING BOOM BOO (ADVENTURE 2)

"BLARRRRGH!!!! BLARRRRRGH!!!!"

I know the design is simplistic, but this was probably my favorite SA2 boss. Why? I mean look at that thing! It's a bigass, fire-breathing white ghost with a rainbow-colored tongue! It's just so freakin' wacky! I love it!

THE G.U.N. MECHS (ADVENTURE 2/SHADOW)

"Hold still, you DEVIL!"

I dig giant robots. So of course I have to give G.U.N. some recognition on this. Their designs aren't as extravagant as Eggman's big bots, but the thing I really liked about the G.U.N. mech bosses: They were the first main series robot bosses that weren't built by Eggman. In a future game, I'd definitely like to see a full-body G.U.N. mech (akin to the mecha from various anime).

IBLIS (2006)

I'm not too fond of Sonic 06, but one thing I loved about it was Iblis. When I first saw it, I was reminded a lot of Chaos from Sonic Adventure, except Iblis is a lot bigger and is made of molten lava. Out of all the "monsters" in the Sonic series, I'd have to say that Iblis is my favorite. It just looks too awesome.

EGG DRAGOON (UNLEASHED/GENERATIONS)

"Time for a change of PACE!"

This big motherfucker right here...this is my favorite Eggmech. Also one of my favorite non-final bosses from the Sonic series. Eggman outdid himself with this one. Definitely the most fearsome out of all his robots.

And of course I can't forget about the Final battles.

For the most part, I've enjoyed the Final Bosses. The gameplay isn't the best, but I love the sense of urgency these battles bring. and Super Sonic. I love me some Super Sonic. Not to mention that the music is awesome.

Speaking of music, That's another thing that I love about the bosses: a lot of times they have some of the best music in the game. The work that goes into most of the boss music is extraordinary. They range from catchy, to badass, to epic, to foreboding, pretty much almost every mood. They also help immerse me into the game even more than usual, getting me hyped up during the more fast-paced bosses, or making me more careful during the slower, more ominous pieces.

Two of my favorite boss battle themes:

TL;DR: I like bosses. A lot. They are awesome.

[Amomynous]

Sonic fans.

Everyone complains about Sonic fans, how they're unpleasable (occasionally, the exact opposite; that they'll swallow anything), how the shippers are ridiculous how the fanfiction is bad.

But really, they're generally quite underrated.

Sonic fans are a large part of what keeps me a regular in the 'Sonic scene' ;they provide me with a fix when SonicTeam has it's 'drier' periods and truly can provide some good Sonic-related fun, great titles like Sonic Megamix, Sonic 2 Retro remix, Sonic Axiom, Sonic Classic,Eggman hates furries, and Sonic Boom(fangame) come to mind.

[Speedy]

I think it's time to praise a spin-off: the Sonic Riders series. 'Cause I think they make really fun and amazing racing games.

The whole theme appeared pretty unique to me when it came up. We'd all seen kart games, racing in cars, with and without gimmick weapons, racing on foot even... but on futuristic hoverboards? That was a new one and I found the boards fun from the beginning on. (I kinda want one for real life. That'd totally rock.) Also, finally a racing game where really the player going through the track best, mastering shortcuts and stunts wins... and not the one most lucky with items.

The story of the first game was, while maybe not deep or anything, still fitting for the game, explaining the Grand Prix, introducing the Babylon Rogues (who by the way are interesting antagonists and also not really like any other characters the series already had) and it had a boss showdown thingy in the end. And there are teams again! *shot*

I know a lot of people have complained about the controls in both Sonic Riders and Sonic Riders ZG, but I don't have any problems with them. They are maybe more complex than the controls for a fun racer like Mario Kart, but once you get a hang of them they're rather fine and accurate and you can do a lot of stunts and other awesome stuff.

The different skill types (speed, power and flight) for characters and Extreme Gear are also a concept somewhat unique to the series that makes the gameplay quite variable. You can pick a speed type character and board and grind along rails, you can choose to prefer flying shortcuts instead or use a power type character or board and just rush through the stage punching everything out of your way. The more different boards, roller blades and characters you unlock, the more different options you have to choose from and it never gets boring. I also thought the bonus gears were great, those you unlocked by completing the story mode for example. Racing on a broomstick or a magic carpet is pretty cool I think.

Also the missions mode adds a lot to the games' replay value. Some of the missions are easy and fun to complete, others are just insanely difficult and challenging. A bit like some missions in Secret Rings or Unleashed... It's extremely satisfiying completing a mission you had to work hard to get through. And in the end, after you got S-ranks on all the missions you really are an expert in the game. And even after you beat all the missions, you get Super Sonic to race as and he's just another challenge to handle.

Sonic Free Riders is quite different from the other two Riders games due to using the Kinect. I've bought it recently, because I buy every Sonic game and because I was admittedly curious if the weird controls would work at all. Well, they do. Sure, they got bugs (although I don't think they're the game's fault, other Kinect games can also sometimes do weird things if the sensor has trouble picking up the player's movements correctly). The gameplay is still a lot of fun anyway, especially if you do it with a few friends. There are a lot of different race modes, the weapons are funny (like the bowling ball or the rockets you can throw at other racers) and the tracks look nice and sometimes stuffed full of fresh gimmicks.

The story sadly got a little short with no fully animated cutscenes and a rather shallow plot, but the dialogue still was worth a few laughs. It's the kind of game anyway that doesn't really live off a complex story. It's a game about various characters competing in a racing competition and does a good job at being very unique with its concepts.

So, I love the Sonic Riders series. I'd like to see it get another game sometime. Gotta speed.

[-Mark-]

I will never, ever get sick of the Sonic CD opening cutscene (JP audio). It's simply the single most iconic piece of Sonic media to me, and likely always will be. No other Sonic thing has ever left such a strong, mind-blowing impression on me. Even though I'm not the biggest fan of CD, the opening basically defines Sonic for me.

Sonic X has massive nostalgic value to me and will forever remain a not-so-guilty pleasure of mine. I still remember how awestruck I was watching it back when it first aired in Japan, spending three hours to download a low-quality 40MB RM each week on a 56k connection, raw Japanese without subtitles. It was the first show I ever saw in Japanese, and at the time just felt so special and amazing.

Oh, and that bit in Rofftop Run (Unleashed HD) where you spiral down the clock tower? Pure gold. I remember how my jaw literally fell open in amazement the first time I saw that. Kind of a shame they made it less dynamic in the Generations version of the stage, but eh.

EDIT: Oh yeah, I also love the Riders games to bits (especially the original) and adore Jet. Whilst Free Riders is most certainly the weakest link in the trilogy, I love how it really gave Jet some character development; whereas in the original, he didn't think twice about cheating to win, in Free Riders, he outright gets annoyed when he suspects Wave might have been helping him cheat to win.

I also love how Jet's an honest-to-goodness rival character. No evil, no trickery, no misunderstandings. He's just a rival for rival's sake. He doesn't hate Sonic, they're on decent terms, but at the same time, they want to outdo each other. There's never really been another character like that, because every other 'rival' has either been a villain-turned-anti-hero, or simply tricked/ misunderstanding.

Edited June 16, 2012 by -Mark-

[Sean]

I will never, ever get sick of the Sonic CD opening cutscene (JP audio). It's simply the single most iconic piece of Sonic media to me, and likely always will be. No other Sonic thing has ever left such a strong, mind-blowing impression on me. Even though I'm not the biggest fan of CD, the opening basically defines Sonic for me.

Same, except in my case replace it with Sonic Boom and this sums up my feelings on the opening to a tee.

[Vertekins]

Thirded That intro is simply mindblowing and it genuinely feels like Sonic's establishing character moment in the series.

You see his dazzling acrobatic moves at the speed of sound and you can tell that this character is truly something else. He looks pretty serious throughout the animation yet you can tell that he is focused. You see the disbelief in his face when he sees Little Planet. He's clearly grim and serious when he makes it to the tip of that mountain, not only disgusted by what Eggman's done to it but the detemination too, that he's totally going to undo this mess.

The JP music is so wonderfully Sonic-esque and so well made as a remix of Green Hills Zone's theme that it's like the cherry on a marvellous cake. That and the amazing dynamicness of Sonic's movements and his incredibly endearing appearance and expressions all come toghether to make a truly incredible sequence.