Official Sonic 2006 topic

[Daya]

I'd like to talk about the engine's latest build which was shown at E3 2006, with crystal clear quality:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuTeFr4-Okc

 

Aside for the obvious faster characters and prettier graphics, you'd notice Sonic lacks his power bar.

Which would mean that the idea of the gems were scrapped late in development to give the same power ups seen in SA1 and 2. That or they wanted to focus on Sonic's base capabilities.

 

I heard the idea why this isn't in the retail version of the game was because the latest build was unfinished, so they had to go back to an older version of the game, which was more stable:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_o5bQ3SzMM

 

This kinda makes me laugh. On all the thing the game has unfinished stuff, the engine is the most finished one.

[Milo]

I heard the idea why this isn't in the retail version of the game was because the latest build was unfinished, so they had to go back to an older version of the game, which was more stable:

 

pfft, "unfinished"

 

These E3 2006 and XBLA pre-release demos look more polished than the final game.

 

How Sonic 06 went from "could had been decent" to "would have to be completely remade to even be considered good" within the span of a year never ceases to amaze me.

[Daya]

The better question is: "How the hell can you make a game so big in a span of a single year, considering developpment started in 2005?"

 

It's typical SEGA idiocy here. See the Saturn and the Dreamcast marketing-wise.

It took Unleashed 2 years, the whole "15th anniversary" was stupid from the start and should've just been the game that marked Sonic's coming on the Next Gen.

Edited January 2, 2014 by Daya

[Sir Spacebar]

*Puts up flame shield*

I actually really enjoy this game, I'd say it's in my top 10 sonic games. I got this game in 2008 or 2009 when my dad came back with it. It was the game that actually got me into the series in general. Of course, maybe I only liked it because I was young foolish and 8 years old.

 

It wasn't the first sonic game i've played (that would be sonic heroes, but I hardly remember anything about it) but it was one of the best. The loading times were horrible and some of the town missions got really repetitive, I admit, but the game overall was, hate to say it, but it was FUN. I couldn't care less about the story, but the game was fun, it was the most fun I had since pokemon mystery dungeon 2 (wow I have this habit of loving the games everyone else don't.) The soundtrack, was so awesome that 75% of the time, i'd just hang out at the sound test, while annoying everyone else in the house.

 

But the best part was why the game was so terrible, I had the most fun with the glitches. Me and my bro would always discover weird glitches and break the game. (I even got silver outside of the invisible box.) the sky gem was basically the tool to our amusement (and sonic's abusement). 5 years have passed, I still love it. I revisit it most of the time when i'm bored, but the game wasn't as enjoyable as it was back then.

 

Sonic 06, official spacebaringly stupid score of 7,2222123/10

[Rey Skywalker-Ren]

I also love Sonic the Hedgehog 2006. The best way for me to explain why is through parts of my review on this game:

 

Sonic's gameplay, when I first played as Sonic, I really liked playing as him. I loved how fast he was and his homing attack and ring-dash. I really enjoyed playing as him. I also enjoyed that I could buy gems for his moves like the mach speeds. Mach speed sections, love them. I love the sense of speed I got when I run really fast and these stages fit Sonic. Now that I played other Sonic games, I still enjoy Sonic's gameplay in this game, like always he will always be my favorite. 10/10

 

• Tails was very boring. He was slow and should be made a little faster. And I didn't like the Ring Dummy attack. It was slippery. I always thought he should use his tails to attack. He played better in Sonic Adventure 2. 3/10
• Knuckles was good. When I first played as him, I enjoyed climbing on the walls. I think they should make more use of his punching like Sonic Adventure did. Like give him digging. I also didn't like that sometimes I would stick to a wall when I want to get off the wall. Overall he was enjoyed. 7/10

Shadow's gameplay, when I first played as him I thought he was also fun. I like his chaos control powers. He also has his own homing attack but he used chaos powers. I actually liked that it was different from Sonic's homing attack. He was also fast and I liked. He also had stages where you use cars and gliders and other weapons which I loved. When I played Shadow the Hedgehog, I loved it even more. I thought Shadow was fun. 10/10


 

• Rouge was also good to play as. The same as Knuckles but I had a better time getting off walls when I wanted to. The bombs were better than the dummy rung bombs. I like how I can stick bombs on places and they would explode. I think they should make her shoot bombs instead of dropping them. I liked overall. 8/10
• Omega was fun to play as. Because of him and E-102y, I like to play as robot characters. The shooting was alot of fun and the hovering was great. I do think that they should give in lock-ons to make the shooting better. But enjoyed. 9/10

Silver's gameplay, when I first played at him, I was confused but then I grew to love it. It was fun to use the phsycic powers and throw missles and boxes at the robots. I can also throw robots at other robots! I think they could make him a little faster, like Knuckles. He doesnt have to be as fast as Sonic because he doesn't need to run in his future but just a little faster. The puzzle was easy on the second try. I also liked that I can use my powers to move logs and the bosses as him were really fun. great gameplay overall. 9/10


 

• Blaze was fun to play as. I didn't like how she felt faster than Sonic. But I loved her fire powers and the double jump. I would slow her down a little bit. When I played Sonic Rush and Sonic Rush Adventure, I perfered her gameplay in this game then the other games. She played differently like Sonic except for the speed. I liked. 9/10
• Amy was okay to play as. I didn't understand why she had invisiablity powers when in the games before, she was just a little girl with a hammer. But it was fun to sneek up on the enemies and attack them. I didn't like the way she attacked with her hammer. I could only attack on the ground. When I played Sonic Adventure i think Amy should play like in Sonic Adventure but faster. The double jump I liked. It was okay overall. 5/10

 

Sonic's story I thought was a cute story and it made me like him as my favorite character. His story is that he was rescuing the princess from Dr Eggman. I loved how Sonic can inspire other characters and the scenes between him and Elise were super cute. And to see a character take his advice, I liked alot. Nothing starts until you take action. Sonic in his story, he was fearless and he went buy his own rules. He had no special reason to help people other than it's the Sonic Law and he really cares. He would do whatever it takes to save the princess and I felt sad when he didn't get to the ship on time. I loved Sonic's story. 10/10

Shadow's story was intense and I liked the intense stories (that was why I was given this game when it came out). He was doing missions until it was reveiled that Shadow was the one who sealed Mephiles in the past. Shadow tries to look him in the game. I liked how Shadow said that he lived by his own rules (not the same way as Sonic) and even if the world was against him, he would still fight. The Mephiles boss fights were intresting. It was an intresting story but a little confusing. 9/10

Silver's story was sad. His future was ruined by the fire monster (can't pronunce name) and he tries to be the hero. He was impatiant and he was naive and it was cute to see such a character try to be the hero of his future and save everyone in his time. He was misguided but I can understand why. He wants to get rid of the fire monster so he might listen to anyone who says they know. But he realized that Sonic didn't ruin his future. He sets off to find the key to save the future. I almost cried when Blaze sealed the flames and she disappeared. I think that Silver saw Blaze was like a big sibling to him. (same with Amy). His story was sad and cute. 10/10

Final story: The final story when Mephiles becomes Solaris was okay. I didn't like when Sonic died and I almost cried when he did. But I liked how all of Sonic's friends helped find the chaos emeralds to rescue Sonic' I didn't mind the kiss. They went back and time and blew out the flame. Which meant Soloris doesn't exist and no one will worry about the flames. But I was sad that one, Sonic and Elise would never meet. Because I thought they were cute together. And 2, the whole game never happened. I enjoyed the adventure alot. 8/10

 

 

Gameplay and story was awesome

[Komodin]

Well, as long as we're still in a gushy mood with the game, I'll just slip in a little confession of mine: I think Princess Elise is an alright character. I can wholeheartedly agree with the criticisms aimed at her (specifically, that her design is a tad too photorealistic for the otherwise cartoony cast, she got kidnapped more times in that game that Peach did in any given Mario game), but she and her plight just... clicks with me. I certainly wouldn't mind if she reappeared in a future title with a more Unleashed-styled design (not that that will ever happen, but still).

[SuperLink]

Well, as long as we're still in a gushy mood with the game, I'll just slip in a little confession of mine: I a think Princess Elise is an alright character. I can wholeheartedly agree with the criticisms aimed at her (specifically, that her design is a tad too photorealistic for the otherwise cartoony cast, she got kidnapped more times in that game that Peach did in any given Mario game), but she and her plight just... clicks with me. I certainly wouldn't mind if she reappeared in a future title with a more Unleashed-styled design (not that that will ever happen, but still).

I honestly agree.

 

Plus as a lover of all things anime girls she's cute. I think a lot of people would like her design if she appeared in a game the design was more appropriate for.

 

Literally the only reason she gets more shit than Silver is for her realistic design, they were both terribly written in the game they debuted in. (also the fact she kissed Sonic which is yeah writing)

[Dr. Crusher]

Well, as long as we're still in a gushy mood with the game, I'll just slip in a little confession of mine: I a think Princess Elise is an alright character. I can wholeheartedly agree with the criticisms aimed at her (specifically, that her design is a tad too photorealistic for the otherwise cartoony cast, she got kidnapped more times in that game that Peach did in any given Mario game), but she and her plight just... clicks with me. I certainly wouldn't mind if she reappeared in a future title with a more Unleashed-styled design (not that that will ever happen, but still).

 

If it makes you feel better, I'm the guy who doesn't mind (Elise) or is mostly indifferent to (Silver) the hated characters, yet the most/only loved thing about the game (Mephiles) is my least favourite Sonic character of all.

[TheOcelot]

Well, as long as we're still in a gushy mood with the game, I'll just slip in a little confession of mine: I a think Princess Elise is an alright character. I can wholeheartedly agree with the criticisms aimed at her (specifically, that her design is a tad too photorealistic for the otherwise cartoony cast, she got kidnapped more times in that game that Peach did in any given Mario game), but she and her plight just... clicks with me. I certainly wouldn't mind if she reappeared in a future title with a more Unleashed-styled design (not that that will ever happen, but still).

 

Agreed. I prefer her design over six-nipples Eggman any day. Probably the most realistic looking human in a main series Sonic game, if a tad pale. The performance by Lacey Chabert who voiced Elise was decent.

[Celestia]

Elise is actually a neat concept, particularly her main conflict. I mean, not being able to express negative emotions with fear of accidentally unleashing Iblis? That could make for an interesting character. Unfortunately, it was '06, so. Yeah.

 

I can buy the idea she'd eventually be sick of holding in her sadness over what happened ten years earlier, resulting in her finally breaking down once something remotely bad happened (hell, I wouldn't have lasted ten years without crying a little!) but instead she finally cried because.....Sonic, the dude she just met, died. I guess you could chalk it up to that being the last straw or something, but it's just badly executed.

 

I don't mind the romance angle, either, just the way it was handled...but I'm certainly in the minority there.

[Rey Skywalker-Ren]

Im not afraid to say that both Silver and Princess Elise are two of my favorite characters dispite them being the most hated along with Big, Mephiles and Chris Thorndyke

 

Elise - her design is very elegant and very princess-like except her dress isnt typically flowery and puffy and down to her feet which I find unique in princess dresses. And it wasnt pink! Not only that but she was a character to take Sonics advice and insperation to heart. She escaped from Dr Eggman not once but twice. And when Dr Eggman said he would reign terror on the people, Elise gave herself up, instead of running away. Showing that she also has a heart. Which is why she is my 7th favorite Sonic character.

 

Silver- hes one of the most hated characters from Ive seen, but I actually..... LOVE this guy. Hes number 3 on my favorites list and was afraid someone would flame me for it more than if I said I liked Elise or Big. The reason why I like him is his personality. Hes naive and unexperianced and like a mix of Amy and Cream but hes a guy. He wants to be the hero but doesnt know how to be one. He wants the people to be happy so he tries is hardest. the thing I like most is that he attaches himself to strong girls like Blaze and Amy because they have more leadership skills due to the lack of a female role model or motherly figure in his life. Also when I saw him, I didnt think he was a hedgehog I thought he was a cockatoo but when they said hedgehog I was embarrased www Yes he was a jerk in Sonic Rivals but he acts that way to try to be tough when he really doesnt know how to be a hero. Which is why I like him. 

 

 

So no your not alone on Elise

[Goldenlink64]

Honestly the only thing that bothered me about Elise was her friggin' legs. They're such a bright tint of orange and it contrasts so much with her pale white skin and her bright white dress, especially when you're carrying her in-game too.

 

I liked her voice too though. It reminds me of Meg from Old School Family Guy before it was canceled/revived (it is her old voice actor after all) so I get a little nostalgic from hearing that.

[Rey Skywalker-Ren]

Those were stockings though

[Goldenlink64]

I know but for some reason it just looks so jarring to me though. >.<

[SuperLink]

I know but for some reason it just looks so jarring to me though. >.<

Probably because who the heck wears bright orange tights with a white dress

 

like who. Clothing coordination fail.

[Rey Skywalker-Ren]

True.

 

All and all you shouldnt care about being flamed, You can like and dislike whichever character you want. Those characters I mentioned, most are my favorite characters except for Mephiles which I hate but do I care? No. I will keep saying why I like these characters when the time is right and not care who flames me or who says what. I play the games to have fun not to worry about a opinion

[PSI Wind]

Personally I don't think Unleashed would even exist if Sonic 06 hadn't failed as badly as it did, because Sonic Team wouldn't have recognised that they really, really, REALLY needed to step back and change the formula for the series to succeed.

 

I don't think we'd have had the exhilarating daytime Sonic levels or the light-hearted tone of Unleashed if it's predecessor had succeeded. We might've still had the werehog, though, because that particular element was definitely a relic of the "surely they don't want to play only as Sonic through the whole game?" mentality that the series desperately needed to shake off.

 

(Wouldn't mind a return to the option of alternate characters that run and jump like Sonic, but the mandatory alternate playstyle characters were bad and good riddance)

Actually, Unleashed was being developed along with 06, though it was more so the Hedgehog Engine. None the less though, Unleashed was also made to show off the HE, so I doubt the game would've changed much.

Also, honestly, when the game decides to work, it's actually decent. Though that's only in Sonic's levels and maybe 1 or 2 Silver levels. Shadow's are so glitchy (more so than the actual game), I can't stand them.

[Gabz Girl]

If Elise was actually an anthro hedgehog then I might've cared more for her. She just looks unnaturally pale and ugly in game.

Thank God they made humans look more cartoony in Unleashed!

[Daya]

Actually, Unleashed was being developed along with 06, though it was more so the Hedgehog Engine. None the less though, Unleashed was also made to show off the HE, so I doubt the game would've changed much.

 

Really doubt that because Sonic Retro's wiki states that Unleashed begun just after 06's fail:

 

 

In the aftermath of the commercial and critical failure that was Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), Sega wasted no time in creating a successor that would not only make people forget about their previous effort, but also embrace the game series as they once did back during the Mega Drive days. Using not only the in-house Sonic Team, Sonic Unleashed gathered talent from the United States and Europe to assist with the Japan-based team to help reinvent the franchise. Initially intended to be the next installment in the Sonic Adventure series, the team decided to give the game its own identity, feeling that the style of game was far enough removed from what the pair of Adventure games had done.

http://info.sonicretro.org/Game_Development:Sonic_Unleashed

[Gabz Girl]

I can buy the idea she'd eventually be sick of holding in her sadness over what happened ten years earlier, resulting in her finally breaking down once something remotely bad happened (hell, I wouldn't have lasted ten years without crying a little!) but instead she finally cried because.....Sonic, the dude she just met, died. I guess you could chalk it up to that being the last straw or something, but it's just badly executed.

 

I just wanted to go back to this because I have to ask (and I'm many others have mentioned it in this topic)...how the hell did she not cry for 10 years? Just...HOW? She was a little girl back then, nobody can never ever cry until some random blue hedgehog you met for a day dies! It's yet another one of the numerous plotholes in this game and shows that no one at SEGA was proofreading this crappy storyline.

[Silver*]

I personally find Elise to be a not so good character (I'm sorry, guys). She's very selfish to the point of not caring what happens to the world as long as she can see Sonic. Other than that, she literally has no personality outside being the standard princess.

[Emmett L. Brown]

*Puts up flame shield*

I actually really enjoy this game, I'd say it's in my top 10 sonic games. I got this game in 2008 or 2009 when my dad came back with it. It was the game that actually got me into the series in general. Of course, maybe I only liked it because I was young foolish and 8 years old.

 

It wasn't the first sonic game i've played (that would be sonic heroes, but I hardly remember anything about it) but it was one of the best. The loading times were horrible and some of the town missions got really repetitive, I admit, but the game overall was, hate to say it, but it was FUN. I couldn't care less about the story, but the game was fun, it was the most fun I had since pokemon mystery dungeon 2 (wow I have this habit of loving the games everyone else don't.) The soundtrack, was so awesome that 75% of the time, i'd just hang out at the sound test, while annoying everyone else in the house.

 

But the best part was why the game was so terrible, I had the most fun with the glitches. Me and my bro would always discover weird glitches and break the game. (I even got silver outside of the invisible box.) the sky gem was basically the tool to our amusement (and sonic's abusement). 5 years have passed, I still love it. I revisit it most of the time when i'm bored, but the game wasn't as enjoyable as it was back then.

 

Sonic 06, official spacebaringly stupid score of 7,2222123/10

 

That's the thing, really. To the individual player any game is as good as the experience it delivers. I couldn't even begin to count the number of objectively poor quality games I loved and replayed when I was eight years old. Like Rick Dangerous, which is basically Trial & Error Deathtraps - The Game, and one I found way too frustrating to get through when I retried it years later.

 

Even when it comes to bad Sonic games, I get a lot of fun out of them. I genuinely enjoy playing Shadow the Hedgehog, because I've got a handle on the wonky mechanics and I enjoy the story as a 90's Darker & Edgier satire (which it sadly isn't supposed to be). I wouldn't call it a good game, but I'll gladly proclaim it a helluva fun game. Having said that, I wouldn't expect the next person to enjoy Shadow's game the way I did, and wouldn't try to claim that my experience was any more correct than theirs.

 

...

 

I liked some of Silver's gameplay and the Red Gem was fun. There, I said it.

[Jet Prower]

That's the thing, really. To the individual player any game is as good as the experience it delivers. I couldn't even begin to count the number of objectively poor quality games I loved and replayed when I was eight years old. Like Rick Dangerous, which is basically Trial & Error Deathtraps - The Game, and one I found way too frustrating to get through when I retried it years later.

 

Even when it comes to bad Sonic games, I get a lot of fun out of them. I genuinely enjoy playing Shadow the Hedgehog, because I've got a handle on the wonky mechanics and I enjoy the story as a 90's Darker & Edgier satire (which it sadly isn't supposed to be). I wouldn't call it a good game, but I'll gladly proclaim it a helluva fun game. Having said that, I wouldn't expect the next person to enjoy Shadow's game the way I did, and wouldn't try to claim that my experience was any more correct than theirs.

 

...

 

I liked some of Silver's gameplay and the Red Gem was fun. There, I said it.

 

That is a very good look on things. We each are different and will get different experiences with how we play the game. There is a difference between a glitchy game that is still fun overall and a game that is just gamebreakingly bad to where it is almost unplayable bad. You can sometimes still have fun on a sort of average game like 06 here, but then if you get one of these games that are just nearly unplayable because of how bad they were programmed, that's a totally different story indeed. Sonic 06 is still playable, despite its glitches and such, but there are some games out there that are much worst to where no human could get enjoyment out of it, other than making fun of just how horribly bad the game actually is of course.

[GuyWithThePie]

I'd like to talk about the engine's latest build which was shown at E3 2006, with crystal clear quality:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuTeFr4-Okc

 

Aside for the obvious faster characters and prettier graphics, you'd notice Sonic lacks his power bar.

Which would mean that the idea of the gems were scrapped late in development to give the same power ups seen in SA1 and 2. That or they wanted to focus on Sonic's base capabilities.

 

I heard the idea why this isn't in the retail version of the game was because the latest build was unfinished, so they had to go back to an older version of the game, which was more stable:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_o5bQ3SzMM

 

This kinda makes me laugh. On all the thing the game has unfinished stuff, the engine is the most finished one.

 

On the topic on betas and other unused things, have you guys seen some of these images before?

 

http://sost.emulationzone.org/sonic_nextgen/index.htm

 

I especially like these two pictures. Sure, the Adventure grin is cheesy at best, but come on, this model looks MILES better than the final, which always looked annoyed and expressionless. I admit, the second one doesn't really have the best face and it looks a bit squished, but I still would rather have this.

This scene also looks really epic. I wonder if that's the back of the above models, or if that's a later version that's more like the final but textured better?

[Indigo Rush]

Yeah. Those screenshots are from the initial Tech Demo at E3.

 

They're more along the lines of "this is stuff we made on our computer - Sonic 2006 might be like this we think."