The Sonic topic of utter positivity

[TheOcelot]

I think the Sonic franchise is great with many classic games (Sonic 1, CD, 2, 3 And Knuckles and Generations - haters gonna hate), many good games (Sonic Triple Trouble, Tails Adventures, Sonic and Sega All Stars Racing) and games that are so bad that they are good (Sonic R, and Sonic 2006 purely because of how terrible it was). Then there are the games that are mediocre but are fun if you are a fan (Sonic Adventure 1+2, Shadow I guess and Heroes).

I know a lot of people attack the Sonic franchise nowadays but that's a lot of decent games there. How many franchises can say they have 5 classic games?

The classics have aged incredibly well considering it's been about 20 years since they were first released. Just look at how well the re-release of Sonic CD has done. Fans still love playing those games and will continue to for many years to come. If SEGA did HD widescreen re-releases of Sonic 1, 2 or 3&K, I would buy them in a heart beat.

[Bright Eyes]

This is true... and I find that the great ones are also so replayable. I've lost count how many times I have played all the way through Sonic 2, Sonic 3/and Knuckles... I'm also gonna be a total sucker and pick up Sonic Adventure 2 when it is released on Steam. I played it on someone else's Gamecube back in the day so I didn't get to play it much, but I found it enjoyable enough.

I'm picking up Sonic Adventure 2 purely for Dreamcast nostalgia. I loved that multiplayer with my brother aha.

[Laser Heartstrike]

I love the Adventure games. :3

[Multikaris]

I adore Classic Sonic plush. They are really cute.

[Amomynous]

I'm here to talk about this

now I know what you're all thinking, the 'infamous line' right? Ignore that for a moment.

I'm talking about the exchange between Sonic an Erazor.

Sonic exudes cocky bastardry,he treats Erazor's possessions with as much casualness and conviction as if they were his own, making himself totally at home in Erazors palace, he looks down on Erazor from Erazor's own pedestal, before casually alighting on the throne and kicking some ass like a BAWSS.

I like how Sonic brandishes the lamp like it's a gun and his love expression when Erazor begs for Shahra to help him.

For the most part I found Sonic's insistence that he was a hedgehog to be redundant, Erazor knows Sonic is a Hedgehog, he's just trolling, but this particular instance was quite the satisfying payback for all the times Erazor called Sonic a rat.

SaTSR Sonic can definitely be quite the dork, but he's hardly on par with Sonic Heroes or Sonic Colours, he's pretty cool, not the total badass he is in SaTBK but seriously now, this is still one of my fav portrayals of Sonic.

EDIT:I just realised something, the 'I'm not a rat' gag makes somewhat more sense in the Japanese version:

since the Japanese word for hedgehog literally means 'needle-rat' or 'needle-mouse', the English equivalent would be calling Sonic a 'pig'.

Though 'rat' probably still makes more sense in English, because of some very superficial resemblance.

Sonic also apparently says "Im no filthy rat. I'm a pretty awesome hedgehog."

Edited October 1, 2012 by Mysterics

[Burnt Ash]

-Azure Blue World is probably one of my favorite tracks in the entire Sonic series, whether it be in Gens 3DS or Adventure.

-Regardless of what I think of the game, I find that Sonic Colors has a brilliant soundtrack.

-Unleashed's music always reminds me of how much I like the game, even if I don't play it that much.

-Come to think of it, I really like Generations as a sort of compilation of past stages and music.

-I like all three Sonic playstyles in their own little way.

[SweeCrue]

The fandom has it's moments of brilliance and creativity.

Both in the art:

http://fav.me/d5ghk3l

http://fav.me/d5ggo7v

The music:

Movies and animation:

And I haven't even mentioned fan games yet.

Edited September 30, 2012 by SweeCrue

[Dark Flame Master]

Sonic Unleashed is freaking great IMO. Seriously, I love it so much.

My experience with the game started with the sort of "meh" PS2 version. I thought it was good and had some pretty fun levels.

Then last Christmas, I received a PS3, my first "next gen" console, along with Generations. I instantly remembered I needed to get the "real" or "good" version of Unleashed to finally play it and get the full experience.

I loved it. It was so much better than the PS2 version and I had a whole lot more fun with it.

A while ago, I went back to it and played through it again to realize my love for the game did not subside, it had only increased.

Hedgehog's gameplay is amazing, so fast and full of life, racing through these environments.

Many people complain about the Werehog's gameplay, but it really isn't as bad as everyone says IMO.

Sure, there are times when I would get bored, but really, the Werehog brought us a fun change of pace by adding more platforming and a beat-em-up style, even if it did get repetitive at times.

Unleashed brought us two new characters. The much original Professor Pickle was a perfect addition to the game, acting as the knowledge source for Sonic but he was also very intriguing to watch and listen too. (Partly thanks to Dan Green.) The gag of cucumber sandwiches added some character and depth to him, too.

And now Chip. Some say he's annoying. Really? I personally think he was a well developed character and really did add to the story as it progressed, with him starting out without his memory, but then discovering more and more.

There was so much work put into this game, it's really amazing. If you want to just get through the story without many distractions, you can do that! But if you just want to take a break from it for a while, there's a lot to keep you busy. Each hub has a shop to buy food and souvenirs at, people to interact with, missions from said people to extend variety, and more.

That unlockable system is awesome to, with unlocking cutscenes, concept art, and the sort.

The soundtrack is amazingly diverse with tons of variety. Each spot on the map having their own sort of music to represent not only the towns/cities but also the level soundtrack. The orchestrated pieces fit nicely, and make the game feel like a true adventure, traveling all around and getting into these different songs with different moods.

I think the story is pretty cool, too. The whole planet breaking apart, while pretty illogical, is really well though out and the Dark Gaia affecting the way people are at night, including Sonic, is a very nice touch.

I love Unleashed, it's truly one of my favorites.

[Vertekins]

Seconded on Unleashed.

I honestly feel that my love for Unleashed and my love for Generations is stacked against one another. It's as if they edge each other out for the title of "favourite Sonic game" and whilst Generations' perfect re-realization of past stages with gorgeous visuals (How can you hate Sky Sanctuary? HOW I SAY!?) and it's wonderful reintroduction of Sonic's, Tails' and Eggman's classic iterations despite Classic's dumbass muting, Unleashed curbstomps it when it comes to story and the development of the world and the characters that inhabit it and to me, a BIG part of Sonic the Hedgehog is it's characters, settings, character development and involved-ness.

An additional thing that makes Unleashed so appealing is the obvious passion and care that was invested in it's development. From Hashimoto's blogs concerning his thoughts on development including photos to the Hamidashi blog involving two other members of Sonic Team discussing other aspects of Unleashed to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7QOdvxWAac, Unleashed was a game that oozed Sonic Team's creativity and is a fantastic example of how lovingly-made their games can be when they put their heart and soul into it. Did I mention the sheer degree of authenticity and feeling that was invested in the creation of the soundtrack? It's incredible.

I adore how Unleashed had a perfectly rendered Sonic in both forms, how it made an effort to play with Sonic's head and emotions similar to how Secret Rings did and I still immensely enjoy the thrilling sensation of speed in the day stages and the pleasingly smooth experience you can get from playing competently. Heck, I even really enjoy Werehog gameplay and Werehog form is my favourite Sonic form next to normal in both appearance and abilities. Unleashed also had such cool unlockables that Sonic Team went to great efforts to including such as the three very funny videos featuring Sonic, Chip and food.

Amazing game. Truly memorable and a firm favourite.

[Chaos Warp]

Eh, I love Unleashed for the reasons listed above by the last 2 posters, but I love Colours and Gens more simply because the gameplay-the core of the game itself, is more refined. The night stages I found fun sometimes, but they could get extremely tedious sometimes. The day stages, while still lots of fun and the better part of the game, are extremely linear and feature little to no platforming. Colours and Gens improved on this tons, especially Gens.

But this is the positivity thread, so I`ll stop now.........

[MegaMan_EXE]

I actually like Adventure. You know, I don't see why people hate it. It's a buggy mess? I ran into 1 or 2 glitches, but I haven't ran into a lot. Gameplay is bad? Well, Big's gameplay pads the game out in a bad way, and Amy's do feel a bit slow, but I enjoyed it for the most part. The voice acting is bad? I'm sorry, but I must be mistaken that many liked Ryan Drummond, and he did well in this game. It is cheesy, yes, but it's got that 90's style for one last time before the 2000's and I like cheesiness. Sure, some lines are said in a strange way, but it wasn't that bad. Although, a little more emotion could have been out into it. The story sucks? Not really. Chaos is a unique monster, and I like the mythos behind him and the Echidna tribe. I was interested in the story, and enjoyed it. Sure, the game is short, and doesn't have a lot of replayability, but I do find it to be a good game to play.

*Waits for death threats for liking SA1 and how I'm wrong for my opinion*

[Wentos]

I actually like Adventure. You know, I don't see why people hate it. It's a buggy mess? I ran into 1 or 2 glitches, but I haven't ran into a lot. Gameplay is bad? Well, Big's gameplay pads the game out in a bad way, and Amy's do feel a bit slow, but I enjoyed it for the most part. The voice acting is bad? I'm sorry, but I must be mistaken that many liked Ryan Drummond, and he did well in this game. It is cheesy, yes, but it's got that 90's style for one last time before the 2000's and I like cheesiness. Sure, some lines are said in a strange way, but it wasn't that bad. Although, a little more emotion could have been out into it. The story sucks? Not really. Chaos is a unique monster, and I like the mythos behind him and the Echidna tribe. I was interested in the story, and enjoyed it. Sure, the game is short, and doesn't have a lot of replayability, but I do find it to be a good game to play.

*Waits for death threats for liking SA1 and how I'm wrong for my opinion*

I can easily say I 100% agree with your opinion.

[Burnt Ash]

I...like Adventure, although I use the word kinda loosely. I have lots of problems with it, but I still kinda like it.

[Semi-colon e]

SA1 has design problems but a lot of it to me is just it aging badly. I still find it a lot of fun to play and every level is memorable. Even Hot Shelter.

[StaticMania]

I actually like Adventure. You know, I don't see why people hate it. It's a buggy mess? I ran into 1 or 2 glitches, but I haven't ran into a lot. Gameplay is bad? Well, Big's gameplay pads the game out in a bad way, and Amy's do feel a bit slow, but I enjoyed it for the most part. The voice acting is bad? I'm sorry, but I must be mistaken that many liked Ryan Drummond, and he did well in this game. It is cheesy, yes, but it's got that 90's style for one last time before the 2000's and I like cheesiness. Sure, some lines are said in a strange way, but it wasn't that bad. Although, a little more emotion could have been out into it. The story sucks? Not really. Chaos is a unique monster, and I like the mythos behind him and the Echidna tribe. I was interested in the story, and enjoyed it. Sure, the game is short, and doesn't have a lot of replayability, but I do find it to be a good game to play.

*Waits for death threats for liking SA1 and how I'm wrong for my opinion*

Most people don't like it because of the control and the Camera, and the rest just don't like BIG.

[Speedy]

I don't really see the point of any game 'aging badly'. It's something you read a lot on this board, people claim Sonic 3&K aged well and Sonic Adventure aged badly. When SA1 came out of Xbox Live I downloaded it as soon as I could (nostalgia striking ) and it never felt 'old' to me when I played it. It's one of the games I go back to frequently, because it's fun to run around freely in the stages. It's not a very difficult game and I enjoy playing it in the evenings, just to relax and have fun. I don't see what's bad about that. To me, the stages (especially Emerald Coast and Lost World) have a nice look, I like playing the pinball in Casinopolis, go down the hill in Ice Cap, riding the ridiculously weird hover kart thingy in Twinkle Park... Yeah, there's a lot in SA1 I thoroughly enjoy. And I don't let anyone spoil it for me. After all, video games are all about fun, right?

[MegaMan_EXE]

Most people don't like it because of the control and the Camera, and the rest just don't like BIG.

[Bright Eyes]

I don't really see the point of any game 'aging badly'. It's something you read a lot on this board, people claim Sonic 3&K aged well and Sonic Adventure aged badly. When SA1 came out of Xbox Live I downloaded it as soon as I could (nostalgia striking ) and it never felt 'old' to me when I played it. It's one of the games I go back to frequently, because it's fun to run around freely in the stages. It's not a very difficult game and I enjoy playing it in the evenings, just to relax and have fun. I don't see what's bad about that. To me, the stages (especially Emerald Coast and Lost World) have a nice look, I like playing the pinball in Casinopolis, go down the hill in Ice Cap, riding the ridiculously weird hover kart thingy in Twinkle Park... Yeah, there's a lot in SA1 I thoroughly enjoy. And I don't let anyone spoil it for me. After all, video games are all about fun, right?

Games age badly when, behind the contemporary flash, they aren't actually substantial. For example, Sonic Adventure has a poor camera, story alternate gamestyles, voice acting and an absurd amount of glitches. These were overlooked when the game was first released and was a much faster 3D game than anything at the time but now, with 3D platformers moving a long way, the problems are easily recognisable.

Games age well when. like Sonic 1,2,3 e.t.c, the core gameplay handles well even after the flash effect has worn off. The 'blast processing' is not so impressive now but these games still hold up extremely well today and thus have thought to have aged well.

[Frogging101]

What a great thread! We need some more positivity...

Sonic Generations was amazing. It's the first Sonic game I've played and I liked it a lot. I played it on PC, and am really happy that Sega is releasing games for the PC now (Buying games on Steam is awesome). I love tails, he's such a cute and nice character and I wish there were more Tails challenges in Generations. I've watched almost every episode of AoStH and I've ordered the DVDs. I love AoStH; it's what got me into Sonic, actually. Sonic was a great idea and I have a good amount of confidence for the future of Sonic. Just as long as that reboot rumor was false (Sonic going the Skylanders route with that sickening business model of buying toys), because that would destroy Sonic forever.

[Speedy]

Games age badly when, behind the contemporary flash, they aren't actually substantial. For example, Sonic Adventure has a poor camera, story alternate gamestyles, voice acting and an absurd amount of glitches. These were overlooked when the game was first released and was a much faster 3D game than anything at the time but now, with 3D platformers moving a long way, the problems are easily recognisable.

Games age well when. like Sonic 1,2,3 e.t.c, the core gameplay handles well even after the flash effect has worn off. The 'blast processing' is not so impressive now but these games still hold up extremely well today and thus have thought to have aged well.

Camera never bothered me at all. I really never had any problems with it in Sonic Adventure. Glitches? Didn't encountered many, not now, not earlier. Alternate game styles were fun to me (okay, Big's fishing was kind of uncalled for, but that's just a small part of the game). Voice acting... yeah, it's odd. But know what? I like odd voice acting more than no voice acting at all. Am I defending Adventure and saying I like it better than the Classics? Heck yeah, I am.

[tenchibr]

You know, I realize something new about Sonic everyday; today, it's the fact that the levels in Sonic games are more memorable than Mario ones. I mean, BY NAME.

Mario has the typical Mushroom Kingdom levels, Sonic has Green Hill and its variants. Mario has the underwater levels, Sonic has Water Palace and Hydrocity. Mario has the boss castles, Sonic has Death Egg and Scrap Brain.

My point is how many game franchises out there have levels you can remember a lot by name?

I think it's safe to say the "Sonic the Hedgehog" levels are overall the greatest in gaming history.

Edited October 11, 2012 by tenchibr

[Vertekins]

More positivity you say?

Sonic-Tails Bromance always puts a smile on my face. It was so charming to see in Sonic Adventure and was pretty amazing in Colours. The character relationship between Sonic and Tails is one of the most endearing aspects of the entire series to me personally and I really want to see more of it. If there was one thing the Storybook games piteously lacked, it was Sonic-Tails bromance. It is one of the very best avenues by which to develop both characters characterizations.

I freaking LOL'd at Sonic's deadpan snarkiness when Tails states the obvious when the Egg Carrier transforms.

And this is just plain WIN;

Would you look at that? Sonic is actually being rather protective of his little bro, placing himself between Eggman and Tails. Note how in the top image, the arm Sonic places in front of Tails never actually moves even as he's speaking down to Eggman. Generations also kept-up this protectiveness when it's shown in a cutscene when the Time Eater appears. Modern Sonic jumps in front of Classic Tails in a clear attempt at defending the little fella.

I find their relationship fascinating. Sonic is nearly twice the age of Tails yet puts him on the highest of pedestals, never really talks down to him (Screw Chronicles, Archie and Fleetway) and treats him like a complete equal.

[Frogging101]

More positivity you say?

Sonic-Tails Bromance always puts a smile on my face. It was so charming to see in Sonic Adventure and was pretty amazing in Colours. The character relationship between Sonic and Tails is one of the most endearing aspects of the entire series to me personally and I really want to see more of it. If there was one thing the Storybook games piteously lacked, it was Sonic-Tails bromance. It is one of the very best avenues by which to develop both characters characterizations.

I freaking LOL'd at Sonic's deadpan snarkiness when Tails states the obvious when the Egg Carrier transforms.

And this is just plain WIN;

[snip]

Would you look at that? Sonic is actually being rather protective of his little bro, placing himself between Eggman and Tails. Note how in the top image, the arm Sonic places in front of Tails never actually moves even as he's speaking down to Eggman. Generations also kept-up this protectiveness when it's shown in a cutscene when the Time Eater appears. Modern Sonic jumps in front of Classic Tails in a clear attempt at defending the little fella.

I find their relationship fascinating. Sonic is nearly twice the age of Tails yet puts him on the highest of pedestals, never really talks down to him (Screw Chronicles, Archie and Fleetway) and treats him like a complete equal.

This so much. There's a reason I chose that image for my avatar; the brotherly relationship between Sonic and Tails is part of the reason I like AoStH so much and was one of the best parts of Colors. It's awesome, it always makes me smile, it enhances Sonic's personality, and it's adorable on top of that.

Edited October 12, 2012 by Frogging101

[Kiah]

More positivity you say?

And this is just plain WIN;

Would you look at that? Sonic is actually being rather protective of his little bro, placing himself between Eggman and Tails. Note how in the top image, the arm Sonic places in front of Tails never actually moves even as he's speaking down to Eggman. Generations also kept-up this protectiveness when it's shown in a cutscene when the Time Eater appears. Modern Sonic jumps in front of Classic Tails in a clear attempt at defending the little fella.

I find their relationship fascinating. Sonic is nearly twice the age of Tails yet puts him on the highest of pedestals, never really talks down to him (Screw Chronicles, Archie and Fleetway) and treats him like a complete equal.

Yes indeed! I absolutely agree. But I would like to take a moment to look at the protective aspect the other way around as Tails is also protective of Sonic (as Verte perfectly covered Sonic protecting Tails), courtesy of Sonic Colors:

　

　

When Dr. Eggman was about to fire his mind control ray at Sonic, Tails pushed him out of harm's way, and took the hit. Tails had no idea what the ray could do but without thinking about himself, he saved Sonic's life with the possibility of him dying if in fact the purpose of the ray was to harm or even kill Sonic. Tails immediately reacted being more concerned with Sonic's welfare than that of his own. That was both incredible and impressive showing me that Tails has a lot of heart and character. Sonic Colors provided excellent examples of how Sonic and Tails care for each other by looking out for each other's well being. Very heartwarming.

This so much. There's a reason I chose that image for my avatar. The brotherly relationship between Sonic and Tails is part of the reason I like AoStH so much and was one of the best parts of Colors.. It's awesome, it always makes me smile, it enhances Sonic's personality, and it's adorable on top of that.

The same reason you have Sonic and Tails as your avatar (which I think is adorable, by the way), is the same reason that I have them as my signature. I think the image of Sonic and Tails with the brofist speaks for itself as to how awesome, warm and geniue their friendship is. It's especially impressive considering the 7-year age gap between them.

I could go on and on about how much I adore Sonic and Tails' bromance. Honestly I could. As bad as I would like Sonic's friends to be better utilized and have Sonic actually interact with them in the series, if Sega/Sonic Team kept portraying the brilliant bromance between Sonic and Tails like they did in Sonic Colors and on occasion in Sonic Generations that would be more than enough to keep me content. I enjoy seeing it that much as it make me very happy.

[Vertekins]

Yes indeed! I absolutely agree. But I would like to take a moment to look at the protective aspect the other way around as Tails is also protective of Sonic (as Verte perfectly covered Sonic protecting Tails), courtesy of Sonic Colors:

　　

When Dr. Eggman was about to fire his mind control ray at Sonic, Tails pushed him out of harm's way, and took the hit. Tails had no idea what the ray could do but without thinking about himself, he saved Sonic's life with the possibility of him dying if in fact the purpose of the ray was to harm or even kill Sonic. Tails immediately reacted being more concerned with Sonic's welfare than that of his own. That was both incredible and impressive showing me that Tails has a lot of heart and character. Sonic Colors provided excellent examples of how Sonic and Tails care for each other by looking out for each other's well being. Very heartwarming.

It's glorious when you take into account that Sonic and Tails' relationship is that of mutual respect and concern. You really feel sorry for Sonic when he's beginning to get torn about the prospect of fighting his bro. Great moment of heartwarmingness when he caught Tails as he fainted. Colours was fantastic but if you look into it more, Adventure also did it pretty well.

When both of them are shot out of the sky and the Tornado is ruined, it's clear that each of their very first thoughts are of the other; When Sonic landed head-first on the hotel's beach, his very first thought was of Tails. He was calling out to him repeatedly and when he extricated his head from the sand and tells the little girl who's watching him that she's not who he's looking for, he immediately runs off whilst voicing his worry over whether or not Tails is ok.

When Tails is temporarily knocked-out in Mystic Ruins, his dream involves chasing Sonic around. And then when he wakes up, he muses about how he owes so much to Sonic and he too is concerned if Sonic is ok. And then sets to assisting Sonic by finding an Emerald all by himself and rebuilding the Tornado. It was great when they reunited at the end of Red Mountain ^-^