Would You Like to See a Consistency Between the Worlds in the Games?

[Tara]

I'm not sure if there's a topic for this already, soooo yeah.  Feel free to close and/or merge if there is.

 

The games can never seem to agree as to where and when they're supposed to take place.  Yes, I am aware that there are multiple locations in the Sonic universe, but sometimes it's a little baffling.  You can argue some games are canon and some are not, but even in that instance, it's like, there's no indication that the time or location changed and yet everything's different.

 

Take Sonic Adventure, for example.  It takes place in a fairly modern metropolis known as Station Square.  You see that the Station Square police consists primarily of humans trained in the art of armed combat.  Nothing is particularly futuristic or anything.  The humans all look like, you know, humans as well.  Not incredibly realistic, but they all look like people.

 

Then in Sonic Adventure 2, things get a little weird.  Suddenly the military makes use of what seems to be primarily robots that shoot lasers, with the exception of the SWAT team that arrested Sonic after the first boss in the hero story.  I mean, maybe they funded the program to combat Dr. Eggman, but could that not have been addressed or something?  In addition, Station Square is mentioned, but it never tells us if they managed to rebuild or not.

 

Then in Sonic Heroes, we seem to live in a world that sort of has a mix between classic Sonic and realism.... but I'm going to let that one off because we don't see much of the world where people actually live and such, so there's no real point of debate with it.

 

Fast forward one year later, and in Shadow the Hedgehog, we're back to a mixture between SA1 and SA2, only now I guess the government cut G.U.N's funding or something because the military doesn't have the huge lasers like they had in SA2.

 

Then Sonic Riders comes around and suddenly we're in a futuristic, almost Jetsons-like world with flying cars and intricate building designs, etc.

 

Finally, in Sonic Unleashed, we see a wide variety of different locations, which is good... but suddenly thanks to global warming or perhaps radiation from the Black Comet in ShTH, all the humans have mutated into Disney-esque caricatures.

 

So with that said, the Sonc universe seems to be under a constant state of change.  So do you think by now they should just select a theme and stick with it?  I know continuity is not the Sonic series's strong point, but I'd personally like it if there was at least a bit of inner-connectivity between the games.

 

Also, which interpretation of the Sonic universe is your favorite?  I know this is probably just blind nostalgia, but I love the SA1 interpretation.  I liked the idea that Sonic and friends were just strangely misplaced beings in an otherwise human-populated world that nobody seems to question one way or the other.  There's just a sort of surreality about it that I think is charming and is a bit more... I don't know, appropriate.  It's a bit easier to relate to the characters when they live in what we recognize as very clearly our own time period and with a society very similar to our own.  Plus, it makes villains like Robotnik all the more startling.

 

But that's just my opinion!  Feel free to share your own!

Edited January 15, 2013 by Akito

[LATER BUDDY]

Nah, I like that Sonic can be this sorta endless imagination land where one minute it looks real while the next all hints of realism are void for a totally imaginary world. It really helps make Sonic seem timeless to me, and leaves excitement for what the next game could bring. That said I don't think I really have a favorite to be honest. Certain themes and worlds fit certain games that I find it hard comparing them really.

[Lady Soniko]

Yeah I'd like to see some form of consistency within Sonic's world, I love that SEGA have had this creative freedom over the span of Sonic with bright worlds of colour and pattern with wacky rollercoaster-esque landscapes and gimmicks, but then they try to bring Sonic into something semi-realism and just throw the original formula out the window, then return to it then proceed to try and meld the 2 together to find some form of harmony.

 

I think Unleashed got it the closest to perfect, with the whole stylized characters but bringing real world locations into Sonic's and twisting and warping them into the landscape architecture Sonic is known for whilst dosing the entire thing in bright bold colours and adding charm and character to everything to polish it off. 

[iDEATH]

Although it seems like there's a lot of different approaches you could probably argue a case that it all fits together.

 

Maybe the majority of people have normal cars but richer people can afford hover cars or something? I dunno but it's not too unusual that they're all together.

hover cars aren't too unusual for the series, Robotnik has used one since sonic 1 after all.

 

As for the jump from "realistic" to pixar humans, that doesn't bother me too much, I see stuff like that as nondigetic, it has to be or how can you explain that sonic changes style for every game also.

[smogfog]

Archie comic books already have a multiverse that can fit anything.

[Your Vest Friend]

The title specifically says that it's looking at the games only.

 

That said, I like the mish mash of styles that the games use. Give a wider approach to what can be done in terms of environment. 

[Potada]

I've honestly never really thought about this. Probably, I liked Unleashed's world the best since it had such a fun style to it with the people and locales. I also liked how it had an actual world map that gave you an idea of what Sonic's world is like.

 

Of course, I'm still kind of curious how places from Genesis-era games would fit into this or any other version of Sonic's world.

[Animatedmusic]

Sonic heroes also had Grand Metropolis

a city where roads are transparent light blue and people ride in floating cars like in Sonic Riders.

 

I thought every era had their own time-line of sorts.

but then Sonic generations came and threw this fan theory out the window

 

it is just weird that there are realistic City's in Sonic 06 and unrealistic one's like Star Light zone.

It is probably always going to stay inconsistent.

[Dr. Homem]

I actually believe there are ways to make the two types of environment seamlessly work as part of the same world. In one end of our balance, we have the realism, such as in Westopolis, or City Escape, or even Scrap Brain to a certain point. In the other end, there's the vibrant, cartoony and over-the-top styles - Circus Park, Grand Metropolis, Collision Chaos. In the middle there are environments which, in concept, would be realistic, but in execution, have fantasy as well - such as Rooftop Run.

 

What is the point here? That even when they are in the same game - they still don't feel out of place. Why does that happen? Sure, Sonic has always been pretty surreal, after all it's a talking hedgehog fighting an egg-shaped scientist. But in terms of feeling only - what makes this apparent inconsistency actually feel coherent?

 

Simple - it's a question of style and art direction, not the contrast. The world's style adapts itself to Sonic without losing its essence. This only means that as long as Sonic isn't changed to fit the world (eg. 2006) - the world will adapt itself to him since it is by concept free for imagination, and while at first it may look inconsistent, in the big picture it will still feel like it is, in fact, the same world.

[Salamander]

I don't think the games should be tied down to a consistent look or setting.  So long as the plot or world doesn't outright contradict elements of previous games - i.e., suddenly pretending that humans don't exist or something like that - then they should be free to present the game world however they please.  And stuff like the humans going from realistic to stylised isn't "canon," that's just a change of art style.  People didn't suddenly mutate without any of the game characters mentioning it.  Like Jake Bird said, that's non-diegetic.

[JezMM]

Generally I like the mish-mash.  I'd hate to have magical wonderlands like Aquarium Park gone from the series just as much as I'd hate to lose the thrill of blasting Sonic through a place that feels more familiar to me, like City Escape, Rooftop Run or Titanic Plains.

 

 

I also think people glamourise the surrealness of the classic games too much.  I mean, Spring Yard was pretty surreal, but the background sure wasn't.  Tenfold for Starlight, if you ignore the Sonic geometry and floating platforms it's basically just a construction site with a city in the background, nothing more.

 

 

 

 

As for justifying it all in-game, I see the surreal geometry as just something one must suspend disbelief on, and the mix-match style of technology as just an exaggerated futuristic version of real life.

 

Grand Metropolis/Megalo Station is to Station Square/Westopolis as is Tokyo to <insert capital city from a poorer country here I'm an uncultured swine>.

[PickleBrows]

I believe there was an interview with Izuka a few years back where he said the series would be split into two cannons: the human world and the non-human world. Not sure why he would bother mentioning that since that's what the series has been doing since it went 3D though. At any rate they seem to flip flop at any time depending on what the story dictates so I doubt we'll see a consistent world for the characters to populate.

[Diogenes]

it is just weird that there are realistic City's in Sonic 06 and unrealistic one's like Star Light zone.

How's Star Light any less realistic than '06's cities?

 

Anyway I'm not really bothered by having wildly different kinds of locations, tech levels, etc, in what is supposedly one world. It's not as if the real world is entirely uniform, even if the differences aren't as extreme as in games. And the games have plenty of leeway to make those exaggerations, considering they've never presented themselves as a fully realistic world. So I'm not really bothered by the idea that Station Square has a pretty typical modern-day SWAT while GUN has robots; SS and GUN have different priorities and different resources, so they maintain order and enforce the law in different ways.

 

I do think they could stand to be more consistent with the world as a whole though, I just don't think it's particularly necessary for the individual pieces to match up realistically.

[Indigo Rush]

I don't see how having drastically different locales should imply an inconsistent world. Just take a look at Earth. On one point in the globe, you'll find a prosperous futuristic city, many of them, in fact, and in some cases, you'll come across more moderate and rather old-timey location, places rich in history, and much of the time, areas in poverty. And then there's nature. Lots and lots of it.

 

You don't really need to spend time trying to reconcile highly advanced cities, more average towns and surreal nature. We already live in a world like that. So yes, I'm in favor for consistency, and we're not too far from it, actually!

[Tara]

And stuff like the humans going from realistic to stylised isn't "canon," that's just a change of art style.  People didn't suddenly mutate without any of the game characters mentioning it.  Like Jake Bird said, that's non-diegetic.

It's a joke. =x

 

I don't see how having drastically different locales should imply an inconsistent world. Just take a look at Earth. On one point in the globe, you'll find a prosperous futuristic city, many of them, in fact, and in some cases, you'll come across more moderate and rather old-timey location, places rich in history, and much of the time, areas in poverty. And then there's nature. Lots and lots of it.

 

You don't really need to spend time trying to reconcile highly advanced cities, more average towns and surreal nature. We already live in a world like that. So yes, I'm in favor for consistency, and we're not too far from it, actually!

While I see your point, throughout the games, it seems to change the rule as to what is normal for THEM.  Say even if, say, Station Square and Future City both existed in the same universe and one was just more technologically advanced, the characters all act like they're pretty used to the idea and have lived in such a setting for all their lives.  Of course, you could just use the "they travel a lot" excuse, but no matter how much you travel, there are still customs and practices that you would be more accustomed to than others.

[Animatedmusic]

How's Star Light any less realistic than '06's cities?

 

I am more talking about Solleana and not crisis city.

comparing Solleana that to a city with loops, fire canons and see-saws with a spike on one end.

You will probably see the difference.

But I personally prefer the over the top surreal city's from the classics.

Edited January 15, 2013 by Animatedmusic

[Diogenes]

That's only because you're comparing a level to a hub.

[Scar]

I like the crazy variety of it all. Its fun to think that you have crazy, ultra-futuristic cities in the same world as some normal citied and ancient ruins and traditional tribes. Its also fun to think that all the crazy geometry that defines Sonic games, is a natural part of the world. Its just cool.

 

The only think that I want consistant, is the gameplay and art style. Music, and stage variety can be as crazy as the developers want them to be.

[Kuzu]

It's not so much I want consistency because I like how Sonic's world is crazy enough where basically anything and everything can happen. But I would like some revisiting of past locations, moreso story based.

[Tara]

I'm just going to clarify because I think some people may be confused.

 

By "worlds" and by extension "interpretation of the worlds," I mean, everything that goes into the making of the worlds, to include artistic direction and the like.

[JezMM]

Consistency can be good. I've seen too many geographical plot holes in the Sonic universe already, like "How did he get to here from there?" and such.

 

Well uhh... this IS Sonic we're talking about.  Surely it's pretty obvious.

 

 

He took the bus.

[Tara]

Now I'm even more confused. Tell me more!

In general I mean when and where and how the world is presented.

 

Ex. Sonic Adventure:

When - Present

Where - Modern, somewhat realistic world

Presented - Somewhat realistic human look.

 

Sonic Riders:

When - Future, presumably

Where - High-tech city placeathing

Presented - No one aside from the main cast are in the game so that can't really be shown well.

 

I'm having a bit of difficulty fully explaining.  In addition to the actual worlds themselves, I'm also referring to how the worlds and by extension the people and other important aspects (such as the realistic design of the Tornado vs. the cartoony design in Unleashed) are designed and implemented.  Not sure if that clarified anything.

[Rexeljet]

I wouldn't call the big-eyed, noseless humans of Sonic Adventure any more realistic than the ones in Unleashed (This has always been a pet peeve of mine).

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

I wouldn't call the big-eyed, noseless humans of Sonic Adventure any more realistic than the ones in Unleashed (This has always been a pet peeve of mine).

But they certainly aren't as cartoony and fitting next to the cartoony anthropomorphic animals like Sonic. It's like sticking humans from animations of Batman or Superman next to that of Looney Tunes or Animaniacs and saying that they fit right next to each other in style - in other words, their designs clash because of those differences.

 

At any rate, regarding the topic, I kinda like things the way they are by having a completely different setting to the games. It's like no matter how much of the world we explore, the different locales in each game kinda signal that there's infinitely many places in the world we could still visit. I like having futuristic cities like Grand Metropolis being different from the village of Chun-nan or the city of Station Square and so forth.

 

But what I would like to see as far as consistency being the thing here is a revisit to those settings in the same game as the newer ones. It would be as if Unleashed allowed us to visit Grand Metropolis, Ice Cap, and Twinkle Park next to Chun-nan, Spagonia, and Apotos. It basically cements the idea that, yeah, this is the same world as always since a level from a past game is in this game. And in addition to that, it shows us that it's even more aware that every corner of the world is different despite living on the same planet: that despite their being sprawling futuristic metropolises and eerie castles, there are parts of the world that are just completely regular, or even lacking in technology but making up for it in other elements such as magic (since this series does play a lot with mythological elements both unique of it's own creation and that of derivatives like dragons and phoenixes).

[Tara]

I wouldn't call the big-eyed, noseless humans of Sonic Adventure any more realistic than the ones in Unleashed (This has always been a pet peeve of mine).

Well, "realistic" is probably the wrong word, but they certainly aren't the same style artistically as Unleashed.