Think Chao Gardens will come back?

[Surge]

Do you think we'll ever see a Chao Garden similar to the ones in the Sonic Adventure series? Or even one like the Sonic Advance series on a handheld? I hope so because I loads of time in SA2's Chao Garden. Even more time than playing the action stages. So what's your opinion? Would you like to see them return?

[redmenace]

I wouldn't mind either way since I wasn't fond of raising Chao. It could though, to reinforce a game "replay" value.

Edited June 18, 2009 by redmenace

[Diogenes]

Chao Gardens are as dead and as useless as Mighty. This series is having enough trouble just getting its main gameplay right to worry about creating a full-fledged virtual pet game along with it.

[Nacho]

I really did like Chao even though they were useless. I had loads of fun with it and hope it returns.

[Gold]

Now I know many people who love the little creatures, but I doubt Sega will really bring them back. After all, the... main director, I think, of chao or something was the main on Unleashed. They have other priorities, sadly.

[BlazingTales]

I doubt we will ever see a full Chao garden again, but it would be a nice feature! I always thought it would be cool if a Chao garden was Cream's gameplay, although not manditory. It would also be nice to have just a Chao Garden Wii channel or a game for the DS, but this is all wishful thinking...

[Blue Blood]

I would love to see Chao Gardens return, but I'm more than content with the idea being pushed to the side for focus on the main game. They did it Unleashed and not adding multiplayer to that, and I'm glad they did. If they ever do return though, two things need to be kept in mind:

1. No more emblems obtainable only in the garden. Didn't bother me at all really, but I know that they're the reason that some people still have never played Green Hill in SA2.

2. More Chao in Space posters to go alongside those in SA1, SA2 and '06. (If you've never seen the latter, it's a beat up and burnt sign in Crisis City)

[BlitzChris]

The mini-games on SAdvent2 need to be thought out better...

But i'd love to see them return to both console and hand-held. Maybe this time, mutated chao (bred with animals) will actually show up with their wings and their claws on the DS.

Thinking about it, the DS could probably hold a 3D chao garden. I did like the GBA games though...

[JezMM]

I doubt we will ever see a full Chao garden again, but it would be a nice feature! I always thought it would be cool if a Chao garden was Cream's gameplay, although not manditory. It would also be nice to have just a Chao Garden Wii channel or a game for the DS, but this is all wishful thinking...

I always thought if Cream ever made it into a multi-character Adventure type game, a 3D remake of Sonic 3D Gameplay but with chao instead of flickies would be cool.

I agree, there's nothing wrong with them, just don't make them mandatory for 100% completion like in SA2. Achievements maybe at the most (but nothing hard - like on SA2 perhaps just an achievement for just getting a Hero, Neutral and Dark Chao being the most difficult one to get).

[Infectus]

A Wiiware chao garden would be awesome in my opinion, but there's pretty much no chance of another chao garden any kind.

[BakingBluePotatoe]

I agree with Infectus. A Wii-ware Chao Garden wouldn't be a bad idea...

Edited June 18, 2009 by Blue Streak

[Badnik Zero]

Dio is right. Like them or not, the Chao Gardens were probably conceived as a way to incorporate the Tamagotchi and virtual pet phenomenon into a regular Sonic title. I don't think Chao themselves are going anywhere though. Cheese the Chao is attached to one of our supporting characters like tails are attached to Miles Prower. They'll probably end up in more hide-and-seek type missions and other mini-games like their recent appearances. I seriously doubt we'll see the Chao Garden return unless it's something much larger than that. I couldn't really get into them anyways, it seemed like too much of a distraction from the main gameplay.

Edited June 19, 2009 by Badnikz

[SuperStingray]

It's possible at some point. But I'd rather they get the base gameplay down first.

[Blacklightning]

The Chao Gardens were a fantastic boost to the replay of the first few games for a very simple reason - they required you to play the main game anyway to raise Chao. A disturbingly large number of people seem to neglect that fact, for one reason or another. It's also for that very same reason that don't detract from the main gameplay either, because again, you HAVE to play the main game either way. Not to mention, it actually made fairly decent use of Rings as a currency - something that most other games lack beyond buying one-time collectables and upgrades.

That said.. should Chao Gardens come back? Maybe. Will they make the game better? Fuck no. Will they make the game last longer? Definently. It obviously a matter of taste in genre for the most part, but it's something you really can't go wrong with as long as it's optional and relies on the core game for support.

As far as standalone Chao Garden prospects go, yet again as mentioned, the best of them rely on existing games as a component for items and currency, and most attempts at a stand-alone version, quite bluntly, have sucked. Not that it's impossible to make one, mind, but that's the area where the line between Chao Garden and Sonic-themed Tamagotchi starts to blur, and there's not much telling which way to go about it at this point.

[Cyberblade]

I wouldn't mind to see Chao return...separate from Sonic. I always thought they felt a bit tacked on to the whole Sonic series, ever since I first got a Dreamcast in 1999 with Sonic Adventure. Sonic is suppose to be about running fast from point A to B and then beating the snot out of Robotnik, not about virtual pets. It was a creative use of the VMU, but that was about it.

I think it would be best for it to return on DSi Ware. The DSi is almost perfectly suited for it in market and hardware. Figure out some basic audio and facial recognition and you could have your Chao react to how you talk to it, or how you look at it with the DSi's cameras. The graphics don't need to be fancy for it to work. If something is too limited by the DSi's power, it could always be expanded upon on Wii Ware.

Given the DSi's high market appeal, and the casual crowd that's been purchasing them, the Chao could be a rather successful virtual pet for the DSi Ware. And it wouldn't be a massive investment to produce as a digital download. However, given SEGA's current directions, and the fact they've not even been mentioned since SA2, I do think it's highly unlikely it will ever happen.

[Sean]

I quite liked the Chao, although I didn't like how they were mandatory to get all of the emblems. After I had finished with the annoying races etc., raising them at my own pace proved to be rather pleasant. At least until they kept dying off, but then I got a couple of Light Chao and went home.

[Gabz Girl]

I really liked Chao~ they're so cute, and it was always fun to see how each animal or fruit changed their looks and abilities.

I would really like to see it again but, think about it. Since SA2, it's been 8 years since a 3D Chao Garden has appeared. Yeah..I don't think the chances are high we'll see them again soon. .-.

[Gamenerd]

I wouldn't mind having Chao raising return, under two criteria.

1. Make them story relevant! They had a role to play in the plot of SA1, and Chaos was actually a Chao mutated by Chaos Emerald energy. If they're going to bring back Chao, it has to be for a reason as opposed to just saying "hey, remember how you loved raising Chao 8 years ago? Look, they're back!".

2. Intergrate them into the hub. It pissed me off at the end of Sonic Adventure when Tikal reasoned with Chaos, saying how humans and Chao live together in harmony, because in actuality they were kept as seperate as possible. It'd be so much better if the hub and the Chao Garden were one and the same. Can you imagine what it would've been like to see your Chao crawling around Station Square? It would have been awesome.

[Blue Blood]

I wouldn't mind having Chao raising return, under two criteria.

1. Make them story relevant! They had a role to play in the plot of SA1, and Chaos was actually a Chao mutated by Chaos Emerald energy. If they're going to bring back Chao, it has to be for a reason as opposed to just saying "hey, remember how you loved raising Chao 8 years ago? Look, they're back!".

2. Intergrate them into the hub. It pissed me off at the end of Sonic Adventure when Tikal reasoned with Chaos, saying how humans and Chao live together in harmony, because in actuality they were kept as seperate as possible. It'd be so much better if the hub and the Chao Garden were one and the same. Can you imagine what it would've been like to see your Chao crawling around Station Square? It would have been awesome.

1. The whole Chao raising concept in SA1 and 2 was entirely irrelevant to the plot. I'd rather have 10 games with a somewhat random Chao Garden that 10 with Chao based plots. They'd be overused just like the Chaos Emeralds.

2. Chao wondering the hub? Hell no. That would be plain awkward and ridiculous. They were hardly separate anyway. The hotel manager, along with several of NPCs in Station Square talked about raising Chao and the Garden.

I think that in the expected Chronicles sequel it would be really awesome if all the Chao eggs you get hatch into a plain and simple normal baby Chao (called Cheezlet in Chronicles). And then you go to a full on Chao Garden to raise them anyway that you like. You could find chaos drives and animals from enemies, and perhaps buy some special eggs and upgrades from shops. The thing that really irked me about the Chao in Chronicles was that the first egg you get, before your first battle even, could be one of those 1 hit KO chao (Spartoi) , elemental chao (like Pyraz and Griff, who were too common) or some other superpowerful one such as the perfect POW moves Chao (Ferox). Not to mention that the garden was more of a menu anyway...

[Picchi]

Do I think they'll bring them back anytime soon? Not anytime soon, but IMO they should.

Chao were good in the sense that one, they made playing the levels more relevant, and two, they added replay value for when the game was over. Do they need to be relevant to the story? Not necessarily but it would be nice if such a thing could be attempted at the very least on a gameplay level.

In addition to the races, and chao fighting games, I'd love to see them get their own mini-games and mini-stories, though. fighting games/chao karate for instance should allow players to actually take control of their chao when they fight, with the little guys perhaps growing capeable of developing upgradable movements, or using items that they may win in races.

Mini-stories may serve as short episodes that feature your chao and, depending on the personality the people they affiliate with and the actions you make for them with them, will unlock a different, particular set episodes thus enhancing the replay value even if some of your chao have the same personality. In these mini-stories chao rely on all the gameplay enhancements they've developed (be it from animals, chaos drives, prizes, etc.), to play and win levels so that they can complete the episode. Mini-stories may also serve as a way for gamers to get to know and understand other Sonic characters in ways that they might not have been able to in the mainstream part of the game.

[Crystal Kingfisher]

I'd like to see the Chao Garden return. I used to spend lots of time in them in SA2, and I named all of my Chao after famous Sega characters (my lucky Chao is named Vyse). I was disappointed in Sonic Chronicles when they made the "Chao Garden" only a place where you can store Chao, instead of raising them. Lame.

[BakingBluePotatoe]

Ya know what'd be awesome?

A WiiWare Chao Game... and you can transfer your Chao to and from Chronicles 2. (kinda sorta like PkMn-DPP and PBR and MPR where you can use your DPPmons on BR and PR...)

THAT. WOULD. BE. AWESOME.

Edited June 21, 2009 by Blue Streak

[Gamma V]

Perhaps a Chao Garden WiiWare game could be made to interact with other Sonic games on Nintendo hardware. New areas could open up in the Garden depending on what game is currently in the Wii. Having NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams, for example, could open up a Nightopia-themed Garden where you could raise a Chao based on NiGHTS or Reala. Perhaps you could even breed a Chao with Nightopians from JoD and get some kind of wierd, or possibly awesome, hybrid. Maybe you could even transfer Chao into it from SADX/SA2B.

[Leon K Fox]

I'd love to see the Chao Gardens return, or even a Tiny Chao Garden in a Sonic Rush game, but I really don't think we'll be seeing them again.

[HelenBaby]

I don't know about Chao Gardens, but Pok

Edited June 21, 2009 by HelenBaby