CONFIRMED - Yoshihisa Hashimoto has left Sonic Team for Square-Enix

[YoshiUnity]

Well... I'm not going to sit here and sing,"Nananana... NanaNAna HEY! HEY! HEY! Goodbye!" I thought he was did a pretty good job with Unleashed, and he seemed very eager to help the franchise move forward. It's a real shame that the main version did so underwhelming in sales, let alone was torn limb from limb in reviews, but I'm not stepping in that flame so I'll just end that there.

Yeah, there were some moves that should have been avoided,(The constant QTE's got on my nerves more than the Werehog ever did.) but you learn from your mistakes and try again the next game... Even though making any move whether design, gameplay or grins spells YAY! and BOO! all mixed together in a bowl of ABC cereal with this franchise. Whoever the next guy/gal is to take charge, I wish him/her well.(GOOD LUCK, MOTHAFUCKA! Don't forget your Tylonel for you fanbase headaches!)

IMO, I hoping for Ogawa to go for it. Whether people like his game direction or not, it seems like he's not letting it get to him, which I admire. When there are a ton of people hoping for a great gaming experience, it's good to hear feedback, but stick with your gut most of all. Plus, he already has experience, and I do like how Secret Rings and Black Knight was designed: Linear like your small intestine. Your going straight, but it's so all over the freaking place to where it doesn't seem like that... just give me more platforming acts instead of missions. That's all I really ask.

Yoshihisa Hashimoto, I wish him the best for whatever project he works on with Square-Enix.

Edited July 11, 2009 by YoshiUnity

[Phos]

Since we were talking about QTE's, I'd like to mention that I like the way Tomonobu Itagaki puts it. I don't recall his exact words, but he basically says that if you're just going to put the button right there on the screen, why bother displaying anything else at all?

Since we're all talking about good choices for directors, I think I'll explain my reasons for wanting Kawamura to direct the next game.

First off, I might have mentioned this before, but she was responsible for you playing as Sonic the whole time and not a new character. From my understanding, Hashimoto wanted to include a new playing character. I'm guessing the Werehog represents some kind of compromise in that regard. For how terrible of an idea it was, It came off looking OK. I also found out via one of the Japanese blogs that she's really bad at Unleashed, so if she were to direct a game, I would expect it to be less reliant on memorizing the levels.

[JezMM]

This is all news to me, and on that knowledge and reasons you stated in your post Phos, I have to agree. When one director is the face of the game, you forget who came up with all the ideas.

[Candescence]

Since we're all talking about good choices for directors, I think I'll explain my reasons for wanting Kawamura to direct the next game.

First off, I might have mentioned this before, but she was responsible for you playing as Sonic the whole time and not a new character. From my understanding, Hashimoto wanted to include a new playing character. I'm guessing the Werehog represents some kind of compromise in that regard. For how terrible of an idea it was, It came off looking OK. I also found out via one of the Japanese blogs that she's really bad at Unleashed, so if she were to direct a game, I would expect it to be less reliant on memorizing the levels.

It wouldn't be the first time an artist has taken the reins of a major franchise. Some people seem to believe that the artist Tetsuya Nomura literally does everything at Square Enix, except he used to do very little for them except Kingdom Hearts and TWEWY, and his first director role for Final Fantasty is Versus XIII, which is ironically being lauded by many of his detractors as a creative, fresh new direction for the series, unlike that other "Nomura anime crap".

Edited July 12, 2009 by The Sniper

[Leon K Fox]

It's been confirmed? Fuck

I really wanted another game based off of Unleashed's build as well (the day stages anyway, as much as I liked the werehog I didn't want him to return whatever happened)

[JaidynReiman]

I don't see why Sega can't base a game off of Unleashed without Hashimoto. Just because they don't have the same director doesn't mean they can't use the same formula. Besides, he's only a DIRECTOR. He's not the one who programmed it. Why does everyone seem to think that a director is the only thing that makes the game good or bad? When '06 turned out bad, who did everyone blame? The director. Same for Shadow. Despite the ironic fact that the same director who did Shadow also did (correct me if I'm wrong on the first one) Sonic 3, Sonic Adventure 2 (both highly praised games), and Sonic Heroes (a game with some mixed opinions; many positive, many negative).

On the other hand, Yuji Naka is also highly praised, and also hated, for some of the things that he has done/allowed. Its pretty damn stupid if you ask me. A good director can help make something better or worse, but the director isn't the "only" person working on the game. The way people keep treating this issue it sure as hell sounds like that's what everyone's saying. They can get a different director in to design a similar game concept, or they can do something else. But I hate how people are saying that Hashimoto has left that it instantly means they can't do another Unleashed-based game, which is total bogus.

[Mike]

I don't see why Sega can't base a game off of Unleashed without Hashimoto. Just because they don't have the same director doesn't mean they can't use the same formula.

Everything's all set and ready to use. All they need to do is make more levels. If they need help they can just flip open their DS's and recreate Sonic Rush levels.

[JezMM]

The thing is though, humans are often selfish bastards. Of course, it's usually a team decision, but it'll mostly be the director who decides what elements they liked about the last director's game and what they didn't. Add to the fact that they won't be able to resist sprinkling in their own ideas.

What kind of boring director just copies exactly what the last one did? A pretty damn non-creative one is what.

[Leon K Fox]

The thing is though, humans are often selfish bastards. Of course, it's usually a team decision, but it'll mostly be the director who decides what elements they liked about the last director's game and what they didn't. Add to the fact that they won't be able to resist sprinkling in their own ideas.

What kind of boring director just copies exactly what the last one did? A pretty damn non-creative one is what.

Except in this case it would be a good thing with some tweaking, which is why I'm so god damn annoyed that Yoshihisa has left Sonic Team to be honest as Unleashed was the best 3D Sonic in years, the best since SA2B without a shadow of a doubt.

[Eternal EX]

Everything's all set and ready to use. All they need to do is make more levels. If they need help they can just flip open their DS's and recreate Sonic Rush levels.

BAM! There is no way I could've said it better myself.

[Chaos Skies]

I don't see why Sega can't base a game off of Unleashed without Hashimoto. Just because they don't have the same director doesn't mean they can't use the same formula. Besides, he's only a DIRECTOR. He's not the one who programmed it. Why does everyone seem to think that a director is the only thing that makes the game good or bad? When '06 turned out bad, who did everyone blame? The director. Same for Shadow. Despite the ironic fact that the same director who did Shadow also did (correct me if I'm wrong on the first one) Sonic 3, Sonic Adventure 2 (both highly praised games), and Sonic Heroes (a game with some mixed opinions; many positive, many negative).

On the other hand, Yuji Naka is also highly praised, and also hated, for some of the things that he has done/allowed. Its pretty damn stupid if you ask me. A good director can help make something better or worse, but the director isn't the "only" person working on the game. The way people keep treating this issue it sure as hell sounds like that's what everyone's saying. They can get a different director in to design a similar game concept, or they can do something else. But I hate how people are saying that Hashimoto has left that it instantly means they can't do another Unleashed-based game, which is total bogus.

Agreed 100%. If SEGA decides Unleashed is the way to go for the next mainstream sonic game, then the loss of Hasimoto will not stop them one bit. Certain aspects of the game may change, but the overall build will be the same. Honestly, I'm not sure how important the title "director" is anymore, minus being the person who takes either all the credit or the blame. The director is still constrained. I doubt Hasimoto was the reason for Sonic Unleashed. The actual creation of that is definitely more of a collective thing, just as the next game will be. A good director can definitely make the difference (in terms of organizing, overseeing, etc), but again, the director can still only do so much.

-CS

[edge.]

That is really bad, because I loved SUHD. SUWii had better gameplay controls-wise but other than that, it was still awesome. I hope the next game will be as good as SU.

[Phos]

Agreed 100%. If SEGA decides Unleashed is the way to go for the next mainstream sonic game, then the loss of Hasimoto will not stop them one bit. Certain aspects of the game may change, but the overall build will be the same. Honestly, I'm not sure how important the title "director" is anymore, minus being the person who takes either all the credit or the blame. The director is still constrained. I doubt Hasimoto was the reason for Sonic Unleashed. The actual creation of that is definitely more of a collective thing, just as the next game will be. A good director can definitely make the difference (in terms of organizing, overseeing, etc), but again, the director can still only do so much.

Yeah, no.

I suspect that Hashimoto's departure was not by choice. After all of the talk, that he knew what Sonic fans want, that Unleashed was going to make Sonic dignified again, after Sega gave him the largest budget a Sonic game has ever had, the game was slammed by critics and had Amazon selling it for half price the week it came out. I suspect the higher ups were rather displeased with this turn of events. Worse, unless his translators were taking some creative liberties, he did so in a rather pompous manner, believing that he could somehow succeed where others have failed by trying to build off off Iizuka's broken ideas. Worse yet, SoA and SoE both told Sonic Team (And thus Hashimoto) not to include the Werehog, but he did anyway. Brilliant move there, Hashi, you ignored the divisions of your company that deal with the territories in which Sonic is actually popular, the sort of people who's job it is to judge what the fans want.

I thought this might have been fake at first, because the comical coincidental factor would be (and are) off the charts if it were true. After numerous people complaining that Dark Gaia looked like a Final Fantasy rip off, now he's working for the people responsible for making FF in the first place.

[Kintor]

Agreed 100%. If SEGA decides Unleashed is the way to go for the next mainstream sonic game, then the loss of Hasimoto will not stop them one bit. Certain aspects of the game may change, but the overall build will be the same. Honestly, I'm not sure how important the title "director" is anymore, minus being the person who takes either all the credit or the blame. The director is still constrained. I doubt Hasimoto was the reason for Sonic Unleashed. The actual creation of that is definitely more of a collective thing, just as the next game will be. A good director can definitely make the difference (in terms of organizing, overseeing, etc), but again, the director can still only do so much.

-CS

I agree with this sentiment completely.

Sonic Team is made up of many talented people; the loss of one person does not diminish the abilities of the entire organisation. Corporations are designed to cope with staff coming and going, slight changes such as this will have virtually no affect on Sonic Team’s capabilities. The rest of the staff which made Sonic Unleashed remain, all of the skilled programmers and artists from this team still know how to make a game like Sonic Unleashed. If anything, having finished a game before, these same people are better prepared to make a new Sonic game. Even with a new director, the old team will continue to develop games in the same vein and quality as Sonic Unleashed. So, I'm confident that the next Sonic game, produced by this team, will be just as good as its predecessor.

Edited July 14, 2009 by Kintor

[Chaos Skies]

Yeah, no.

I suspect that Hashimoto's departure was not by choice. After all of the talk, that he knew what Sonic fans want, that Unleashed was going to make Sonic dignified again, after Sega gave him the largest budget a Sonic game has ever had, the game was slammed by critics and had Amazon selling it for half price the week it came out. I suspect the higher ups were rather displeased with this turn of events. Worse, unless his translators were taking some creative liberties, he did so in a rather pompous manner, believing that he could somehow succeed where others have failed by trying to build off off Iizuka's broken ideas. Worse yet, SoA and SoE both told Sonic Team (And thus Hashimoto) not to include the Werehog, but he did anyway. Brilliant move there, Hashi, you ignored the divisions of your company that deal with the territories in which Sonic is actually popular, the sort of people who's job it is to judge what the fans want.

I thought this might have been fake at first, because the comical coincidental factor would be (and are) off the charts if it were true. After numerous people complaining that Dark Gaia looked like a Final Fantasy rip off, now he's working for the people responsible for making FF in the first place.

hmm interesting. I'm still in the belief that the problems of Sonic Unleashed fall on the heads of many more people than just Hasimoto, but if he was the sole reason for Sonic Unleashed then this statement;

Sonic is all about speed

definitely makes me a little happier that things may move in a more positive direction. I think Sonic's speed is an important play mechanic and I did enjoy Unleashed, but I think reducing Sonic down to a one-trick horse is not the way to go.

Edited July 14, 2009 by Chaos Skies

[JaidynReiman]

Actually, this sounds like good news, not bad news. The most criticized part of the game was the Werehog. Many people did enjoy the game, but it still did face some bad sales, and bad press representation. Hashimoto was the one responsible for the Werehog, among other things. In my opinion, they can take the basis of Sonic Unleashed, include a few extra characters with slightly altered abilities, and improve it in other ways (such as dropping medal requirements) to enhance it.

Hopefully this doesn't ruin chances of an improved Unleashed formula... This system probably was one of the better ones, despite some of the flaws involved in it.

[Leon K Fox]

Actually, this sounds like good news, not bad news. The most criticized part of the game was the Werehog. Many people did enjoy the game, but it still did face some bad sales, and bad press representation. Hashimoto was the one responsible for the Werehog, among other things. In my opinion, they can take the basis of Sonic Unleashed, include a few extra characters with slightly altered abilities, and improve it in other ways (such as dropping medal requirements) to enhance it.

Hopefully this doesn't ruin chances of an improved Unleashed formula... This system probably was one of the better ones, despite some of the flaws involved in it.

You do raise some good points there, but given the Sonic series' habit of (with the exception of Sonic Heroes to Shadow the Hedgehog) of changing the engine and overall formula with every passing game, the loss of Unleashed's director is not a good sign. To me it seems like we may potentially get yet another complete overhaul despite Unleashed's being the best one outside of the Adventure series. (well, in my mind anyway)

[Chaos Skies]

You do raise some good points there, but given the Sonic series' habit of (with the exception of Sonic Heroes to Shadow the Hedgehog) of changing the engine and overall formula with every passing game, the loss of Unleashed's director is not a good sign. To me it seems like we may potentially get yet another complete overhaul despite Unleashed's being the best one outside of the Adventure series. (well, in my mind anyway)

While I do agree with you that the Sonic series does seem to have ADD when it comes to staying consistent on certain things, hasn't a big critique of the series in recent times (at least up until the post-Sonic '06 era) been that the games never really evolved from the Sonic Adventure formula and such? When you think about it, the Storybook series and Unleashed are really the first few attempts to actually recreate Sonic somewhat (fore better or for worse).

A lot of people have demonstrated instances where Hashimoto may have angered and/or upset various people at SEGA with the inclusion of the werehog and so forth. From that argument then, my question is what were the chances he was even going to direct the next main-Sonic game?

For me it's difficult to be either happy or sad at this news since there's just so many factors going into the next Sonic game. Personally, I have no idea how Hashimoto leaving will affect that.