Sonic Generations lacks a few fairly obvious features

[Solid SOAP]

Let me open by saying I absolutely love Generations. I got it day 1 and although I didn't find much time to play it at school with work and social life taking precedent, ever since the summer began I've played it near;y every day. By myself, with friends, with anyone it just seems to be a fun game that anyone can pick up and play or watch and be easily entertained by how well crafted its levels are in combination with the rocking soundtrack and fantastic visual design. It's a great game all around, and it's probably my favorite 3D console Sonic game. That said, as a longtime fan, it baffles me that there were a number of features absent from the final product that seemed like obvious inclusions to either pay homage to the classic games, create a more replayable product, or just make the game as a whole better.

 

No, this isn't a "the physics suck!!!" topic or anything; The game itself is an homage to both classic and new Sonic and I truly wouldn't change anything about how it controls or looks because it is its own product with level design to accommodate the physics and controls the developers intended to play the game with, there are just a number of things that I'm sure most of you would agree would have been obvious inclusions.

 

Special Stages

 

Not really a necessary feature that I wished to be in the final product, but in a game paying homage to Sonic's history it really left me scratching my head that there wasn't even a mention or hint as to anything pertaining to special stages and their relevance to the Sonic brand in the entire game. They only really have been in the classic and portable titles, but they were a big part of the original titles and I was pretty surprised that you had to attain the Chaos Emeralds through boss battles exclusively instead of going into special stages. I know that the 3DS version had them, but in my eyes it's the console version of the game that should be most indicative of the game's image and I really felt that the game could have used Special Stages to spice it up and greater pay homage to the original titles. Whether they were the Sonic 1 fish puzzle, the classic half pipe, blue spheres, or maybe even a brand new concept, the game seemed lacking in this respect.

 

Robotnik/Eggman mech battles

 

Another aspect of the classic titles that went without any sort of notice was Robotnik's mech battles after every 2nd/3rd act of the original titles. I know that we technically do fight Eggman in his Egg Robo and Egg Dragoon at the beginning and end of the game, but when every classic game ended their zones with a Robotnik fight, I felt as though it would have been appropriate to include them somewhere. Hell, they could have replaced the entire Time Eater fight with a barrage of Eggman battles of yore and I would have been happy.

 

Marathon Mode

 

One final thing that my friends and I both agree would have been an awesome feature to include is a marathon or time trial mode. After playing Sonic Colors' challenge mode which takes you through each level one after the other, I was truly at a loss as to why this feature was absent from Generations. The game is clearly meant to be sped-run considering that each level has such a girth of multiple paths and options as well as the fact that it's not a particularly long game, I really wish that this was included in the final game.

[KrazyBean]

You also couldn't change your storage device through the game. You have to quit the game to choose another save file, which is long.

[Your Vest Friend]

If it makes it any better, the "automatically get Emeralds through story progression" thing WAS a prominent thing in the Millenium era, so it isn't completely unprecedented. And the one Millenium era game that didn't have that? It was recognised in the 3DS version*. The Eggman battles are a little less easy to make excuses for since they've been in every game up to...well, Generations.

 

*I actually have my own little crackpot theory about this. With the Heroes special stage covering every single era and its level and boss representations being in two different eras over the two game versions? I think the developers were trying to say that Heroes transcends time.

[Jolt_TH]

I think they really missed a trick and should have done a Super Sentai Red Ranger anniversary thing (I think it was during the Shinkenger run) and has it so you could use the various forms from Sonics history, Classic, Modern, Super, Darkspine, Werehog, Excalibur. Sure it would mean more playable characters but I still think it would have been a great throwback (and I'd love to see Werehog again! )

[Autosaver]

The 3DS version was a huge disappointment. Instead of focusing on the handheld history, it focused on console games. The handheld games iirc have had a wider variety of level tropes (ie: Music Park) and seeing those in action in 3D would have been fantastic.

[Emmett L. Brown]

Apart from that awful final boss I'm quite content with the boss selection in Generations. It had more non-recycled boss fights than any other 3D game in the series. Special stages would have been cool, but with the Super Sonic boss fight they'd have been mandatory, and mandatory special stages seem a contradiction to me. You should be able to reach the end credits without playing special stages.

 

I'm aware the 3DS version had mandatory special stages and I didn't like them.

[SkyLlama]

You also couldn't change your storage device through the game. You have to quit the game to choose another save file, which is long.

 

This bothered me a ton. I got the 4GB Xbox and then added a hard drive. I'd often chose the wrong device by mistake and it took forever to close and relaunch. More often then not I'd just play a different game.

[Eternal EX]

You know, the only thing that really bugged me about the game was the lack of levels. We only got 9.....er 18 levels throughout the whole game. Where with DLC we could have seen at least 20-30 stages. Sure some of them would have been recycled clones of another but then we would have had some legendary and annoyingly great stages. Crazy Gadget for one. And there is always Doomsday and EggmanLand. Personally I saw that as a huge missed opportunity. 

[Jay Leno]

 

Robotnik/Eggman mech battles

 

This! The classic stages felt so empty without a boss at the end, they could have at least had the Egg Wrecking Ball, Chemical Plant Boss and Mecha Sonic for Sky Sanctuary. Ah well, still love Gens though.

[Johnny Boy]

Don't forget that they left out Ice Cap zone in favor of fucking Mushroom Hill in the 3DS version.

[Jet Prower]

More levels would have definately been a plus with the game, since that has been a gripe I've had with many of the modern game since after unleashed, such as colors and gererations is that the games are way too short. Would have hated if they had done the game and then DLC'd more levels in, since DLC is a total rip off anyway. Why make the user pay for more that should already be there in the first place. Still, these games need to at least start doubling their playtimes to where you dont finish the games in one or two sittings and you are left with little replayability, other than achievements and such like that.

 

Special stages would have been nice, but I dunno. The point about the ending needing a mandatory super sonic does make sense though, since if he is needed to do the final level, having to require the special stages can definately keep some people from finishing the games. Sonic 2 and Sonic Hero special stages are big examples, because of how difficult they can be to get the last ones.

[Cyclone T-301]

It surprised me that Generations didn't have plans for DLC, some extra stages would have been nice. Hydrocity will always haunt my mind as the stage that I'd have loved to see in HD.

[Chaos Incarnate]

Generations is my favorite Sonic game of all time, but if there's one thing it lacks for me, aside from a good final boss, and dlc, is a competent story that doesn't feel extremely lazy and predictable. They really could have brought some stuff up, like how the hell Crisis City is there and no one seems to care, plus Classic Tails seems to come out of no where. I would have liked to see Sonic and Tails be a bit more surprised that they're meeting, well.... their f!cking past selves! They didn't look all that shocked, and shouldn't some characters have worried about screwing over the time stream by interacting with them? Also, why exactly are we fighting Silver and Shadow? Doesn't Classic Metal Sonic's destruction sort of screw over the timeline too? I would have liked some more clarification in this story. 

[RobotOmega]

Yep, I think DLC was what was really missing from Sonic Generations. Just imagine Emerald Coast from SA, or some of the maps from Sonic Riders! 

 

And no, the mods don't count.

[Indigo Rush]

For me, the biggest disappointments were the lack of a proper Casino Zone for the HD version as well as Sonic 3 representation. I'd have been happy with Casino Park instead of Seaside Hill, and really, as much as the 3DS version reeked, it could have at least bothered to use a Sonic 3 level instead of Mushroom Hill. Ice Cap or Hydro City would have been great. Finally, a lack of strong DLC support. If there was any Sonic game out there that warranted downloadable levels, it was this one. Not just new levels though, I'd have been happy with some extra acts, something to beef up the bare-bones 2-act structure we got.

 

But nope. 

[Jet Prower]

I'm so surprised to hear people think the game needed DLC. I often see DLC as an exploit these companies use to squeeze more money out of us. It would be one thing if it was offered for free of course, but charging for additional levels just because your game is selling just doesn't seem right to me. I still agree that the game needed more levels, but honestly, it should have been there from the beginning. The game is just way too short. I shouldn't be able to finish the game in less than six or seven hours.

[Diogenes]

Sonic Generations lacks a few fairly obvious features

It sure does, soap. It sure does.

Don't forget that they left out Ice Cap zone in favor of fucking Mushroom Hill in the 3DS version.

Hey, Mushroom Hill's a good level. It's one of my favorite "first levels", even.

[Cyclone T-301]

I'm so surprised to hear people think the game needed DLC. I often see DLC as an exploit these companies use to squeeze more money out of us. It would be one thing if it was offered for free of course, but charging for additional levels just because your game is selling just doesn't seem right to me. I still agree that the game needed more levels, but honestly, it should have been there from the beginning. The game is just way too short. I shouldn't be able to finish the game in less than six or seven hours.

 

In this case, it would have been created from scratch, I don't see problem with that. After all, DLC is supposed to add extra content to lengthen the game and add new features. Locked content on the other hand...

 

I know that some companies use DLC in a such way, but adding new content legitimately (a la New Super Luigi U for example), seems alright, personally.

[Jet Prower]

In this case, it would have been created from scratch, I don't see problem with that. After all, DLC is supposed to add extra content to lengthen the game and add new features. Locked content on the other hand...

 

I know that some companies use DLC in a such way, but adding new content legitimately (a la New Super Luigi U for example), seems alright, personally.

Yeah, its all preference anyway. I don't think DLC is evil when used in the right way, but so many companies charge way more than what the DLC is worth and don't drop the price of it over time like the games drop in price over time. Sort of why I sometimes feel fishy about downloaded content. Sometimes the DLC costs more than the game eventually. Its a good practice, just not used the way it should be by some greedier companies. =)

[Emmett L. Brown]

I think the problem was that the DLC for Sonic 06 and Unleashed was entirely based on existing levels using existing props and textures.

 

Since Generations already had over seventy short levels based on the main ones, DLC using existing resources would be incredibly redundant. I really, really, wish they'd have diverted the resources to creating some brand new levels for DLC, though. I'd gladly pay extra for 2 acts of Ice Cap or Egg Fleet.

[JezMM]

I'm so surprised to hear people think the game needed DLC. I often see DLC as an exploit these companies use to squeeze more money out of us. It would be one thing if it was offered for free of course, but charging for additional levels just because your game is selling just doesn't seem right to me. I still agree that the game needed more levels, but honestly, it should have been there from the beginning. The game is just way too short. I shouldn't be able to finish the game in less than six or seven hours.

 

Thing is, DLC is probably the ONLY way we could have got more levels.  Overall, level-wise, this had about the same amount as Sonic Unleashed (if you consider all of Classic Sonic's acts to be equal to Unleashed's numerous, but smaller original acts).

 

They BARELY managed to squeeze Unleashed onto an Xbox 360 disc.  I imagine space was tight here as well.  The only reason the game is so short is because they finally gave what the fans wanted and cut out the 90% of the filler.

[Jet Prower]

Thing is, DLC is probably the ONLY way we could have got more levels.  Overall, level-wise, this had about the same amount as Sonic Unleashed (if you consider all of Classic Sonic's acts to be equal to Unleashed's numerous, but smaller original acts).

 

They BARELY managed to squeeze Unleashed onto an Xbox 360 disc.  I imagine space was tight here as well.  The only reason the game is so short is because they finally gave what the fans wanted and cut out the 90% of the filler.

 

It is sad they cut so much from it really. It definately needed alot more in the game. I know DLC'd levels would have bee great, I just think many companies price them wrong. Like if here, hey, if you pay us two or three dollars for these two new levels, we will give them to you. Ok, I can put up with that. I too often see, Hey, pay us five or ten dollars for one or MAYBE two maps. Just doesnt seem worth it. Why I like games that have GOTY editions that stick them all in later for you.