Dr. Crusher Presents: The 30 Days of Sonic the Hedgehog Mk.II (Daft and Tolerating It)-PAGE 72, FIN

[Sonictrainer]

Question #22: Which commercials are the most memorable for you?

 

I can't seem to find it but there's one ad for Sonic X where it showed Sonic with different running animations.

 

I used to try to draw them and experiment with different ways show Sonic moving fast.

[Adamis]

Question #24: What was your most intense or nerve-wracking IN-GAME moment(s)?

 

- Trying to get all required items to access special stages in the Advance series, and quitting out of frustration.

- When I was a kid, trying to find my way in Scrambled Egg zone act 1 and 2...

- Shadow the Hedgehog, the mission where Knuckles asks you to find some bombs... I could never beat that level without, later, a walkthrough !

- Some of the Werehog levels (360 version) and ALL of them (Wii version)

- Sonic Heroes, the rail glitch : sometimes the characters will aim for the rails facing the wrong way, often leading them to their fall...

[Forte-Metallix]

Day 24: My most nerve-wracking experience:

 

Sonic Generations was a near-flawless game: Great music, two Sonics to give us the best of both worlds, and loads of challenges!

 

However, there is one mission I always dread:

 

 

 

Think you can keep up with me?!

 

This mission

 

 

 

Scrambling all over the place, trying to time your Homing Attack to hit that accursed note, having to deal with Sonic's awkward 3D controls! This took me- I kid you not!- FIFTY-TWO ATTEMPTS TO S-RANK!!!!

 

 

 

Now I kinda wish Mighty was brought back in Heroes instead of Vector.

[RosaRosaRosalina]

DAY 22: MOST MEMORABLE COMMERCIAL
 
Well, to be frank, I remember a lot of commercials. Some I liked more than others, but there's two that I believe stook around with me for longer than I remember.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQPOtS1-PGw
 
The Sonic Heroes commercial was just one of those commercials that made me go "Hey, I want that game!" when I was smaller and just started to get interested into playing Sonic games. I always remembered how the commercial started, too, with my sisters peeking interest into the game as well.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWmH3uTmz5o
 
The Sonic Colors commercial is also another one that stuck around with me. It was just always pretty funny to see Sonic just waltz in and eat that apple. And apparently it was all slowed down footage, too, so that makes it TWICE as hilarious! 
 
DAY 23: OBLIGITARY TIME TRAVEL QUESTION
 
RETRO 1: PLUSHIES
 
No, I don't really own any plushies of any sort of character. I'm certain I said I had one last year, but at this rate, I believe it's gone forever.
 
Buuuut I'd like to get my hands on a brand new Sonic plushie. Any sort, really. 
 
RETRO 2:  FAVORITE ZONE TROPES
 
Tropical Zones: I know, these types of zones are pretty common, especially in terms of Sonic games, but seriously, a lot of these zones look very nice and cozy. Green Hill's hella peaceful when not being attacked...or made with spike pits...or hell, if it just didn't have any traps altogether.

 

Mining Zones: I've really grown a liking to how Quartz Quadrant looks to me. Seriously, the good future counterpart looks like such a happy place, and the present looks really busy. The past seems a bit barren, but progress was being made. It's development like that I enjoy the most.

 

Underwater Zones: To be honest, I didn't really appreciate much of these back in the day, due to their slowness. But despite that, these zones are some of the more sight seeing types of zones. I enjoy that, actually, because levels like Coral Cave and Aquarium Park are beautiful to look at. 

 

RETRO 3: FAVORITE NON-EGGMAN VILLIAN 

 

I guess I give my biggest props to both Metal Sonic and Nack/Fang the Weasel/Sniper. These two have been of interest for a long time. Guess I could give a shout out to T. W. Barker as well, since he seems to be almost as prominent as Eggman himself.

 

RETRO 4: FANBASE FRIENDS

 

Giving a huge thanks for a lot of the guys I've met on this forums. I don't exactly want to give out names, but seriously, for those of you that know who you are, you guys are great and give me a lot of inspiration towards the series!

 

DAY 24: NERVE WRECKING MOMENTS

 

Aside from the already mentioned demon spawn of hell (aka that damn hand glider from Sonic 2 8 bit), Sonic 2 16 bit has given me a lot of stress too when I was younger. The Chemical Plant Zone Act 2 underwater section was always a bitch to go through. I would have missed my jump and "run" to the same platforming section over and over and over until I'd reach the next section, which was just as much of a problem because I hate precision platforming as much as I hate underwater platforming! 

 

Also this:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H8hZzdx6dA

 

I could NEVER get this right for the life of me. Like, ever. Damn you, motion controls.  You and your accursed inaccuracy! 

[Kiah]

Day 24: What was your most intense or nerve-wracking IN-GAME moment(s)?

My frustrations full of intense and nerve-wracking moments are many. Per what I said in DAY 4 of this event, I've even had issues successfully playing Green Hill Zone! That said, I'm only going to mention a few as could honestly do this ALL day due to how many things I have found intense and nerve-wracking in Sonic games.

Most nerve-wracking moment? The Special Stages. Especially since this would always happen:


In Sonic 1...


...and in Sonic 3 & Knuckles

I got so frustrated with the Special Stages in these Sonic games that I simply stopped bothering trying to get them. Because of that I learned the hard way that these exist:





Bad endings for Sonic 1 and Sonic 3 & Knuckles respectively.

The Special Stages are nerve-wracking due to some of them having absolutely no room for error. One mistake and you are done which always happened to me. As much flak as Sonic 2's Specials Stages get those issues don't automatically apply.

Most intense moment?

Playing the final boss of this game:



After engaging in various fun battles which included such with beloved badniks Scratch, Grounder, and Coconuts, the final level of Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine involved a fitting showdown with the Doctor himself, that was very intense. I lost count of how many times he crushed me in frustrating defeat, as it had to be like at least 50 times that happened before I finally won. As soon as it looked like I would finally beat him, he would never fail to pull a strong string of chain reactions that would cause me to run out of space and lose the battle. Dr. Robotnik laughing at me didn't help matters when I lost. 

[Blue Swallow]

DAY 20: LETS GO OUT TO THE LOBBY TO GET OURSELVES SOME CHILI DOGS

SONIC CD ENDING

Like Chrusher, I first saw CD's opening and ending in Mega Collection, I was wowed by the animation, especially since it reminded me of the OVA.

Both the opening and the ending are great, but I like the ending a little a more. It's cool to see all the zones, especially the race with Metal Sonic in Stardust Speedway, I always thought that was cool. I love Sonic's expressions during the ending, he's wearing a serious frown through most of it, except when he's destroying badniks, then he's got a cocky smirk. As far as the music, I like both soundtracks, but if I had to choose, It would be Cosmic Eternity ~believe in yourself~, it's a wonderful song, and Keiko Utaku has a great voice.

SONIC 3 & KNUCKLES: HIdden Palace to Sky Sanctuary

This might just be my favorite cutscene, I've probably played hidden palace more than any other zone in S3&K because of it.

It's when thinks really get good, after whooping his behind, Knuckles finally sees who the bad guy is. Robotnik is great in this scene, stealing the master emerald right from under Knuckles' nose, and the electrocutes the poor, gullible echidna. I love that the game lets you attack Eggman while he's doing it.

SONIC ADVENTURE OPENING

There's so many things to choose from, but I had to go with the opening, it's just too awesome, it's still the best opening in my opinion. I think the Animation still holds up pretty well too.

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DAY 21: WHERE ARE THE CHILI DOGS MCDONALDS?

I'll have to go with this one,

http://youtu.be/CKl3mwiiLyA

It's a very cute commercial. It's nice to see Cream in a commercial, and the CGI looks nice and doesn't clash or seem out of place. The actors do a good job too.

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DAY 22: FOR FRIENDS YOU DON'T HANGOUT MUCH

Honestly I'd like to see everyone interact with everyone. The one I'd like most though, is Shadow and Cream. We really haven't had much interaction between them, just Cream thanking him for finding her in cryptic castle. I like to believe Shadow Is good with kids, and gets along with them well. There's a really cute fanfic about Shadow and Cream spending time together around Christmas. Cream helps Shadow out of his shell, and Shadow becomes something of an older brother/father figure for Cream. I'd love to see something along those lines in the games. I imagine there could be something similar to how Cream and Emerel interacted in her story in sonic battle.

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DAY 23 ~RETRO STYLE~: SO TAKE ME BACK IN TIME TO ANOTHER 30 DAYS: AKA HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY SONIC THE HEDGEHOG.

DO YOU HAVE PLUSHES?

I have one Sonic plush, but I'd love to have at least one plush of everyone some day. I really want Tails, Cream, and Amy Plushes.

TOP THREE ZONE TYPES

1) Beaches: I love beaches in real life, so of course I love them in Sonic. These are usually some of the prettiest zones in the games.

2) Robotnik's Bases: Specifically ones on a planet, though the space ones are nice too, these are usually fun to play (Metropolis Zone can take a long walk off a short pier), and always interestingly designed. I especially love ones on or near the water, like Launch Base and Reactive Factory.

I'm not too sure about a third, the rest kind of vary depending on the game, but I guess i'll go with.

3) Ice/Snow: These are nice because they can be a bit different from each other as far as level design and gimmicks, and although a mountain setting is the most common, you can mix Ice/Snow with pretty much any other zone type.

FAVORITE VILLAIN

I love Snively, even though he's bad guy, I can't help but feel sorry for him sometimes. Eggman treats him so horribly. On the other hand, he can be so sneaky and underhanded, I can't wait to see what happens with him in archie.

SUPER SONIC FRIENDS

I said last 30 days that I was going to be less of a lurker and make some friends here. That hasn't happened yet, but I'm gonna try this time, this place is full of awesome people. This reminds me that I never added Ryan back after the server wipe, so I'm gonna do that now.

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DAY 24: SONIC, YOU'RE ON MY LAST NERVE

I don't want to use the Eggviper again, so I'm going to use something more recent,

Marble Zone Act III SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2013 IOS

I had such a hard time with this, for some reason with the touch screen controls I just could not beat this act, it was extremely frustrating. I don't even remember how many lives I lost. And I'm pretty sure I had to start over a couple times. But later when I played sonic 1 on both the Genesis and Mega Collection, I breezed right through it, no problems.

[The Deleter]

Day 21: Which character interactions would you like to see?

(Note: Bit in a rush here, so I'll edit in more details and days once I can)

 

 

Metal Sonic and Eggman

 

Metal Sonic has been Eggman's lacky for quite a while, but we hardly ever see Eggman acknowledge him outside of the comics. Even when he takes over his entire army, he still doesn't say a word towards him, even after he's beaten. I think it'd be fun to see Eggman talk with someone he respects, unlike orbot and cubot, and how he behaves towards his creation centered around copying Sonic down to the eyebrows.

 

The Chaotix / anyone else

 

The Chaotix are my second favorite team of characters in the Sonic universe, (right behind Team Hooligan) so this has to do more with how often they've been used in the games more than anything. But really, seeing them interact with anyone in universe is just barrels of fun to watch. From Vector talking smack about Rouge, to Charmy going gangsta on Eggman's butt, to Espio cautiously observing Silver from a distance while Vector is yanking at his chain to charge right into the situation anyway, these guys are just really fun characters that I wish we'd get to see more of, much less interact with more characters overall.

 

 

Day 22: Favorite commercial

 

 

The comercials at 2:04 and 3:14

 

The former was the first commercial I saw that really showcased SEGA's rivalry with Nintendo, and as a result it's probably the funniest Mario and Sonic parallel for me.

 

And besides the latter one being a great cheesy 80's commercial, hearing Sonic say those lines with that voice is pretty funny.

 

"Hey, Kid. Want some more??"

 

Retro Question #1: Do you have any plushies/figures of any Sonic characters, and/or are there any Sonic characters that you'd LIKE to have a plushie/figure of?

 

I don't own any figures currently, nor do I usually have the urge to purchase them, but if there's any figure I'd want, it'd probably be this bad boy:

 

 

 

 

Seriously, the attention to detail and posing of this model is seriously awesome, and it's based around my favorite part of City Escape. Definitely a cool figure in my book.

 

Retro Question #2: What are your top three zone types/tropes/etc in general?

 

I did tropes last 30 days, so this time I think I'll choose different elements that I like to see in stages overall.

 

3: Dark Green themed levels.

 

Sewers, jungles and the like... I just really like this prominent color in stages. Feels really "cool" aesthetically.

 

2: Contextual levels.

 

Running through the air on lollypops or ending up in a casino inside a tundra wasteland isn't that offensive for a video game, but I prefer levels that make sense given the story and world you're running through for... well, any video game, really. Going after Eggman through several zones and ending up in his base/factory/fortress is basically in every game, as it's how the series started out as, but the zone revelancy I think hit it's peak with Sonic Adventure 2, where every environment was directly dictated by where the characters were in the story at that point, even if it meant retreading the same level theme as a result. Those are the kind of stages I enjoy running through in a story-based game, and I wish more games would use them more often.

 

1: Levels that take you on a journey.

 

Or, more specifically, levels interconnected with multiple enviroments, zones, and the like. Stuff like Adabat, Speed Highway, Crater Lake (And to a lesser degree, Planet Wisp) are all levels that I reeeaaally like due to this single factor. It hardly comes up in Sonic games, but what little we get makes me wish every level behaved the exact same way. Or, perhaps, the entire game would, and there'd be a lack of "levels" completely...? But then that'd be straying off topic from the original question.

 

Retro Question #3: Who is/are your favourite villain(s)... APART from Robotnik?

 

H-doy...

 

 

Team Hooligan

 

These guys are an absolute riot. From Nack's bossy and uptight Aussie demeanor, Bark's mute character that no one can read yet everyone bounces off of, and Bean's daffy antics, these guys are the Team Chaotix of the villain world, and are every bit as lovable.

 

Retro Question #4: In what way(s) have you made friends within the Sonic fanbase?

 

Mmm, pretty much only through online forums like this one. I have several cousins that have played multiple Sonic games, but I'd hardly call them fans. Still's something more than the usual, though.

 

 

Day 24: Most Intense Sonic moment

 

Any button-mashing event

 

 

 

 

Yeah, it may be pretty generic in design, but button mashing events most of the time are the most intense parts Sonic games get to be. Pressing the buttons rapidly from A to B, pushing and fighting back against whatever strong threat you've come up against... eh, it's simple in design, but I think it's pretty effective in small doses.

 

 

Day 21, 22, 23, and 24: Complete!

[-blank-]

Most Nerve-wracking moment? Easy. Completing THIS stage;

 

 

This level. Oh this level, what can I say about it? It is considered to be one of the most difficult levels in the series, and for damn good reason. I cannot tell you how many times it took me to beat this thing. But boy, was it satisfying when I finally hit that goal ring.

[Dr. Crusher]

~SSMB Has Cleared Nerve-Wracking Nebulaphobia Act 24!~

 

"Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, the hands can't hit what the eyes can't see." - Sheep Man, Unknown From Wahwee (Mille neuf cent quatre-vingt-dix-huit)

 

Question #25: Which of the franchise's art styles do you like the most?

 

Why is the guy on the left missing half his body?

 

Like a lot of franchises, video games or no, the Sonic series has experimented with a lot of art styles throughout the years, and that's without taking all the non-game bits of media into account. Compared to the artistic liberties utilised with other franchises, there usually aren't that many big changes with Sonic art styles when compared side by side, but even so, you can easily spot that some are more grounded than others, and some are more wacky than others, and the characters have grown, shrunk, or now have hyper realistic reflection in their eyes. We're twenty-five queries in, so you know the deal by now: everyone has their preferences, so let's hear what they are.

 

Crusher's Thoughts: I'll be boring and go with the art style used in Sonic Unleashed, Colours and Generations. I really like the idea of adding realistic details into otherwise unrealistic and sometimes surreal-looking landscapes - games like Mario Kart 8 pull this off nicely in my opinion - and the boost games are another superb display of such a concept. I especially like the detail in zones like Aquarium Park, Sweet Mountain, and Generations' version of Speed Highway, but those are merely a few examples.

 

Having said that, I really like the art style of the Genesis trilogy and Sonic CD as well. Sonic 3 & Knuckles has slightly more overall detail in it's designs compared to Sonic 1 and 2, but all three of them look great regardless, to the point in which the original Green Hill Zone looks really pretty to this day if you ask me. As for Sonic CD? The sheer craziness of the areas you visit makes it memorable in it's own right, but much like the Genesis trilogy, it looks really beautiful as well, especially for what system it was on. In the words of Big the Cat, the Good Futures in particular look amaaaaziiiing.

 

And finally, a more minor example, but I'll always have a soft spot for the art style used in the Sonic Advance games, mostly due to the detail of the scenery (I'm a very "scenery" sort of person, if you haven't already guessed). The Game Boy Advance may have had a lot more limitations compared to the handhelds that came after it, but the Advance games still managed to look delightful. Music Plant is, like, really nice, you guys.

 

So with that out of the way, you may now post awaaaaaayyyy!~

[FriendBot]

I'm gonna be oddball here and say Lost World's artsyle is a personal favorite of mine.

 

While some levels have some really basic colors to them like Desert Ruins 1 & 4 but I find it pretty cute. It's kind of like what would the classic game's artsyle would look like in an HD game.

 

I like it's more simple color scheme with Silent Forest being a bit more colorful, I guess well with the exceptions of Desert Ruins 2 and Dessert Ruins.

 

I'm a simple guy that has simple tastes so it's kind of obvious.

[Spin Attaxx]

I'm torn between the Unleashed look, the Classic look and the Lost World look. I like the Unleashed style because it made cities and robots look and feel real and alive, and I also like the Classic and Lost World looks because, done right, it can create vibrant, interesting and memorable level appearances. Plus, I'm not really a big fan of the Badniks looking like they did in Colours/Generations. They didn't feel as lively as they did in the MD games/Lost World.

 

Hold a gun to my head though and I'll probably go for Lost World. That game looks like a classic game in 3D, so it earns points for that I suppose.

[Inkling Cooper]

30 Days of Sonic Act 2 Day 25: Which of the franchise's Art Styles do you like the most?

 

For this question, I think I'll say the art style found in Sonic Heroes. Why? Well, for a start, even though the actual game is subjective quality as we all know, the Art style is actually one of the times where Sega got the closest to essentially replicating the Classic games art style in 3D and I think it looks good. It's bright and colorful, again, just like the Genesis games, and the game even has a similar level progression but that's off topic.

 

Don't shoot me for this, but another art style I like is *Gasp* Sonic Lost World. Now, before you shoot me, let me explain. Well, this is mainly the same reason as Sonic Heroes. It's essentially the game of what would the Classics look like in 3D and HD to boot. Even the enemies are taken from the Classic games. And, another bonus is that the game also runs at 60 FPS the entire game.

 

Day 25 complete!

[Ryannumber1gamer]

Question #25: Which of the franchise's art styles do you like the most?

 

I'm going to go with the Unleashed/Colours/Generations style. Mainly because everything just really mashed up well together. It wasn't overly realistic like 06 or Adventure, but it wasn't overly cartoony either, like something like Adventures of Sonic. It hit a very very nice balance in their between realism and cartoony that I thought really suited the series. For example Pickle has a cartoony face and some features, but his model and and such also has some realism to it. He isn't too cartoony and crazy. Plus it gave us some really amazing graphics, between the intro of Unleashed and moments in all three games such as:

 

[SenEDDtor Missile]

Question #25: Which of the franchise's art styles do you like the most?

 

Unleashed of course. Good balance between the realistic aspects of the environments, and cartoony designs for various characters results in coupled together with good use of color (not overly bright and cartoony to the point it looks like someone threw buckets of paint at the wall, but not so little as to make it bland and boring) results in something pleasing to the eye as a whole and helps to make everything in the world of Sonic fit together better.

[Osmium]

Question 25: Which of the franchises' art styles do you like the most. 
 
I will have to go with the classics. 

 

The colours, very carefully designed backgrounds, the shapes, they all come together to create a beautiful harmony, and some incredibly surreal locations that can look like somewhere that you would want to spend the rest of your life. 

 

Probably the best in this respect is Sonic CD which as some of the best visuals in the whole series. 

 

 

 

 

i don't know if a tonne of people will agree with me, but I think Sonic CD is one of the best looking games ever. The colour choices, the patterns of the background and foreground objects, the shapes of major objects seen such as mountains and how their colour compliments the rest of the zones are all masterfully chosen. 

 

Every area looks very surreal, and a lot of areas could represent more outlandish places on Earth, but more abstract. 

 

And it's reinforced more in how the zones look in different time periods. Colurs change, shapes and objects change wildly representing the mood swifts that you will encounter throughout the game. Probably some of the best use of colours in any game ever. Present areas use pretty standard colours like azure, brown, and green, with variations of purples and oranges. The past uses a more "faded" colour scheme I guess. Everything is brighter here, and oranges, browns, yellows, and greens are commonly seen, more natural colours. Good futures use relaxing colours like soft blues and greens. Bad Futures are the opposite with sharp blacks, greys, reds, and dark browns taking over, representing darkness and hopelessness. 

 

Of course I had to go off on some tangent about colour, but the point is that I think CD has the best art style. Every zone catches your eye and everything coming together is great. Just strange enough to make it look other worldly but not too much that it would be too crazy to exist. 

 

The CD badniks are some of the coolest designs too. 

 

They are reminiscent of the badniks seen in Sonic 1, but these are much more striking with their eyes which looks more focused and less "googily". Their simple colours and sharper design make these a lot more threatening IMO. 

 

So, basically CD has some of the most striking styles in the series, and it's great. 

[Zaysho]

Question 23:

Retro Question #1: Do you have any plushies/figures of any Sonic characters, and/or are there any Sonic characters that you'd LIKE to have a plushie/figure of?

I do! I posted about these last year but I have a pair of plushes of Sonic and Tails I got when I was a kid. The Tails I got when I was really young, and I felt it was notable mostly because as a kid, I don't remember seeing Sonic merchandise all that much in stores. At least not in places I lived, which I always thought was strange because of the popularity of the brand. The Sonic I got, oddly enough, from a promotion at Circuit City around the time SA2 was released. I believe the Sonic was a reproduction of a plush that was made back in the early 90s around the same time as the Tails, and it even had a tag with classic Greg Martin artwork on it.

I also have some figures; two from the Sonic Adventure era, a Sonic and a Knuckles. Knuckles sorta... broke though, so he's not on display currently. I also have two Jazwares figures, a Sonic and a Shadow with his motorcycle, which were gifted to me by a friend.

As far as something I'd really want, but likely won't ever get my hands on, is F4F's Shadow statue. I actually saw it at a local comic shop a couple months ago, but, sadly, it's well out of my price range, and I don't have a place for it besides, so that's on indefinitely hold for now...

Retro Question #2: What are your top three zone types/tropes/etc in general?

3) Lava



Zones like these are interesting for me, both visually and gameplay-wise. Visually, I really like the use of warm colors with some complementary blues and violets in the background, which makes these sorts of levels pop off of the screen, at least for me. I'm also fond of the music that plays in stages like these, and none is more memorable than Lava Reef Zone. I especially like that these sorts of levels usually have a mechanical aspect to them, which makes sense given how often Eggman (for whatever reason...) decides to make his bases here, and they contain interesting methods of exploration and unique badniks.

My favorite examples are easily Lava Reef Zone (both acts) and Lava Shelter (Shadow the Hedgehog).

2) City



"Livin' in the city..."

Something I think this franchise should get credit for is how it combines nature with the man-made, and Sonic never exclusively explores or prefers one or the other. It adds a lot of variety, and I like that most cities are quite colorful and big, and have lots of paths to separate and connect at different points, and they usually have a very fast pace to them.

Favorite examples are Radical City (Sonic R), Speed Highway (Sonic Adventure), City Escape (Sonic Adventure 2/Generations) and Grand Metropolis (Sonic Heroes).

1) Ice






I like these visually, for the most part. While lava levels are dominated by warm colors, ice levels are naturally dominated by cool colors, and they're just very easy on the eyes, visually. Some of them contain interesting patterns and tricks to them, and combine aspects of underground and water levels in a way that I find interesting for exploration. There's no better example than the original Ice Cap Zone, which puts you on top of the mountain, then inside of it, only to work your way back to the outside and get the chance to explore it either above or below ground. I also love the little touches like the ice bridges that dazzle in the light as you run across them.

I'm also fond of Ice Mountain (Sonic Advance) and Blizzard Peaks (Sonic Rush Adventure).

Retro Question #3: Who is/are your favorite villain(s)... APART from Robotnik?

Oh, can I shill Archie now?

I think as far as that particular series goes, I'd have to say Finitevus, Scourge, and Mammoth Mogul.


"Lookit the smug motherfucker."

I enjoy all three because I think when they were written well, they brought some cool, high-stakes conflicts to the scene. I liked how Finitevus served as a constant specter around Knuckles, dangling his people's history in front of him and manipulating his way through everything. I especially enjoyed both his role in "Enerjak Reborn" where he tricks what's left of the Dark Legion into helping him, all to get Knuckles to the altar so he can make use of his unique powers, and "The Return" where he throws down with Knuckles right in front of the Master Emerald.



Scourge was kind of a big deal for me because I absolutely did not expect to like him. I grew up with this book, and was well aware of Evil Sonic, the biggest joke character in the entirety of the series. Every time he showed up, it was to get his ass kicked, even getting slapped around by Antoine (though to be fair, Ant thought it was Sonic in disguise trying to help him build his confidence, but still). Then Ian Flynn comes along, and his first order of business is to retool him into Scourge and put him on even ground with that of Sonic and even Shadow. But that's not even when Scourge gets interesting. That'd be during the "Bold New Moebius" storyline, when he's revealed to have conquered his home world in short order, and even forced his new philosophy onto its inhabitants in an effort to separate them from their prime world counterparts. While he lacks Sonic's compassion and leadership qualities, he does manage to match our hero blow for blow in combat. It's a shame his ego is his undoing, but even depowered, he can still keep going to knock some heads. Guess tenacity is a constant for all Sonics in the multiverse, huh?



Mogul was a villain I actually grew up enjoying in the comic, and I liked his interactions with the cast and how he uses his powers, typically behind the scenes, toward some greater end goal. While it's an invention of Ian Flynn, I thought the way he tied into the pasts of Mighty, Tails and Mina was really interesting, and he is always a step ahead because of that. I also liked his involvement in creating the Destructix (or rather the team that would become the Destructix--Sgt. Simian, Predator Hawk, Lightning Lynx, and Flying Frog), giving them exactly what they wanted and not even lying to their faces as to why he's hiring them. Considering he's often had some of the most dangerous criminals under his thumb at one point or another, it's pretty amazing he can keep several thugs, mercenaries, and general backstabbers in line. Of these three, what would have happened to him in Ian Flynn's original plans interests me the most. I also like his nonstandard design, and even then, I don't think it was the gigantic far cry compared to others introduced in this comic book.

There are others, of course, this post is getting pretty long already. I really liked the Battle Bird Armada, and how damned threatening and imposing the Battle Lord himself is, and I look forward to the Armada's return, whenever that may be. also did a great job giving better prominence to long-standing villains like Lien-Da, who finally catches a break when she teams up with Eggman, and the Iron Queen and her crew, who were very unique for their use of magic and technology. Archie's creative team been very good about increasing the roles of existing/usable villains post reboot (the Hooligans--Nack, Bean, and Bark, for example) and seeding plot threads for new characters on Eggman's side (such as the various Egg Bosses, including Axel, Cassia and Clove, and Thunderbolt), Captain Metal, Phage, and Eclipse. The comic series alone will not want for new and interesting villains, that's for sure.

Of course, I can also list off a couple villains from the games, just to be fair. I liked Gerald more when he was portrayed as a villain--a tragic one, but but his ends were decidedly not for the betterment of mankind after the GUN raid. His portrayal in Shadow the Hedgehog always bugged me, and while I can give it that most of his scenes are featured prior to the raid, I was always disappointed the game never touched on his descent and the truth behind Shadow's creation. Could it just be because it focused on Doom manipulating Shadow's fuzzy memories? What about Gerald's diary or touching on what he might have done to Shadow after the raid, using his own creation as a tool of revenge? I also have a fondness for most incarnations of Metal Sonic, my favorite being the Mecha Sonic from Sonic & Knuckles, which seems to have more of a spark than other versions, and ultimately comes across as the mastermind behind all of Knuckles's troubles with Eggrobo in his story.

Retro Question #4: In what way(s) have you made friends within the Sonic fanbase?

If anything, just hanging out in forums and occasionally talking to people. I've been on at least three Sonic forums (I was temporarily part of the SEGA forums, but mostly lurked and disappeared really quickly), so I've interacted with a lot of different people in the fanbase over the years, some I've had tight friendships with, others I've just had a chance to chat and swap ideas around. I admit, it's almost all exclusively online, but I also attribute the fact that I was around people that were typically older than me (I was about 13?) that contributed to my growing up and learning how to debate and discuss things. Sure, I've had bad scrapes (Sonic Cult kid, here), but the fanbase as a whole has also been an inspiration for my own artwork (there are some awesome artists in the fandom) and my continued interest in the world of Sonic.

Question #24: What was your most intense or nerve-wracking IN-GAME moment(s)?

This is a partially self-imposed challenge, and now that I think about it would have fit for a previous question, but I'll put it here. I have to say Finalhazard from SA2.



It's a battle in which I enjoy the general tension and stakes of it, and you actually ARE on a timer to complete it. I would sometimes beat the thing close to its final hit and then wait things out, let the screen get a little redder (closer to Earth) and seeing everything start to get engulfed in fire, and listen to the panicked pleas of everyone to finish the damn thing off or get out of there. That, in addition to the Finalhazard's typically cheap combination of lasers and eggs, did make it a little difficult, and it adds to the intensity of the scene, because you have one shot to kill the thing and set things right.
 
(Due to length, I'm going to work on Q25 in a separate post later, sorry for any confusion!)

[TCB]

Question #24: What was your most intense or nerve-wracking IN-GAME moment(s)?

 

I have a few:

 

1) Lost Jungle's final part from Sonic Heroes. You know, the part where you gotta swing on the vines to escaped a large alligator that wants you for lunch? Oh my goodness this part always gets me nervous; it's not so much trying to speed up and away from the beast nonono...because sometimes the game wants to play with you and do SOMETHING to thrown off your rhythm and send you to your deaths. That's one of the few things I don't really like about the game; the movement swinging from vine to vine at such a pace is finicky in of itself.

 

2) Metal Overlord: Most Super Sonic fights have a level of nerve-wracking to it, you know with the ring count and all. My first time playing I was tying to do damage to Metal while keeping mindful of my ring count, panicking when it got real low...and then he uses Chaos Control after spending too much time and that completely kills off my remaining Rings. That, and I always had trouble reaching those balloon Ring containers so that makes things even more tense for me.

 

3) Sonic Rush - Blaze/Sonic Head-On Mash-a-thon: I seen a few people already mention this, and I will join them. This was not something I was expecting to last as long as it did. You REALLY had to work mashing those buttons because the A.I. certainly wasn't playin around man. 

 

4) Time Eater 3DS: Hooooooooooooooooooly craaaaaaaaaap this boss. Compared to its HD counterpart this was much more challenging but good lord...just when it seemed I had it won one wrong movement and I'm hit, lose time and Rings then ultimately die. And it's nearly always on that one attack when it switches to Modern Super Sonic I think...I 9/10 get trapped in that attack and it costs me greatly.

 

5) Sonic Advance - X Zone Boss LAZER: One of the doctor's attacks in the final boss of X-Zone was this laser that fires pretty much with no time for you to really get your bearings. Like literally it comes from outta nowhere and I get lose rings from that one too many times. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Question #25: Which of the franchise's art styles do you like the most?

 

Well...this is something I can't put a definite finger on, but I would probably say something with a mix of what Sonic CD had, Heroes and Unleashed. With CD I loved its color palette, its art direction, and environmental design. That's the charm of early-mid 90s Sonic that I like; the surreal and exotic landscapes with a dash of flair to it, but still keeping more grounded roots so to speak (like in Palmtree Panic and Tidal Tempest). I already went on and on about how much I completely adore Heroes art srtyle enough. Really I would happily play through a game that had that feeling Heroes put in with its art direction and environments. As for Unleashed, the world that was interpreted through that game is something I hope is more of a standard going forward past Colors and Generations. 

 

[...]

Question 25: Which of the franchises' art styles do you like the most?

 

Without a doubt, Sonic CD. CD is what I consider to be one of the best games in the series, and one of the reasons is its sheer, balls-off-the-wall visual creativity that oozes throughout nearly every inch of the game. From the animesque hand-drawn intros and ending along with the absolutely fantastic sprite work throughout all the zones (seriously, the panning backgrounds in some of the levels such as Collision Chaos and Stardust Speedway are fucking sublime).

 

Somebody a while ago described what Sonic 1 did with its visuals, but on acid. If you've ever played the game, you'd know that's a hell of an accurate statement. No matter what time period you're in, Present, Good Future, Bad Future, Past, the spot-on use of the colors, scenery and even the music give a perfect atmosphere for each time period.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just look at that. Easily the best looking of all the classic games, if not one of the best looking games out out there as said by Osmium a page ago.

 

And even with the in-game graphics, I'm not done yet. I absolutely adore the art style used in official artwork, and it even owes to my favorite Sonic design bar none. Considering Naoto Oshima directed this game (he was the very person who designed Sonic), there's bound to be some artistic greatness here, and he capitalizes on his already gorgeous artwork done for Sonic 1.

 

 

 

 

Oshima didn't draw these actually, the first was done by the studio who did the opening and ending sequences for CD, Toei Animation. The other two were by the character designer for CD, Kazuyuki Hoshino. Just a heads up. I still love Sonic's appearance in this game nonetheless.

 

So yeah, if it weren't obvious already, CD has my favorite art style of any Sonic game. Even though I still love the current Unleashed/Colors/Generations art style and like Lost World's, nothing will ever come close to topping CD's fervent imagination and appeal when it came to its visuals for me.

[Celestia]

Day 25: Which of the franchise's art styles do you like the most?

 

 

I'd actually have to say Advance. That may be a strange choice compared to the likes of the boost trilogy, but I've always loved how the Advance games look, and to this day it holds up really well in my opinion. I'd love to see them take another shot at 2D sprites...maybe someday.

 

Runners up

 

 

Sonic Shuffle

 

.......Okay so it's just Adventure but cel-shaded but I love cel-shading and we really need another Sonic game to do it _{Iizuka pls}

 

 

 

Classic

 

I also really love the art in the classic games. Sonic CD in particular stands out to me, if me using a screenshot from that game doesn't make that obvious enough. It's all so colourful, and the pixel art was always neat.

In fact if I had to pinpoint just one game that I love the most in terms of art style, I'd definitely consider CD, but in the end I went with Advance. It was hard to choose!

 

Aaand shoutouts to the boost trilogy and Sonic Lost World. Needless to say, I'm really interested in seeing how the next game looks.

Edited June 25, 2015 by Celestia

[Drawloverlala]

Question #25: Which of the franchise's art styles do you like the most?

 

Sonic Unleashed all the time!

the real places of the world.. the cities' architectures etc... adapted to Sonic world .. with Loops.. huuuuuge skyscrappers and beautiful eviroments of the world its so interesting.. and beautiful.. this is why i really wish to have this game! and not in my PS2.. i want to see it in all its glory!

i think they used these designs to exploit all those big consoles potential.. .. (i'd wish they can do that more often)... so that's why i love it so much!

 

 

 

 

also.. the character design that was based on Pixar studios.. still was something very fitting on Eggman's design.. as a cartoonish human.. and also the fact that the characters are based on certain cultures.. hgggnn!!such refinement are so interesting funny and educative!  so nice!

 

 

gotta add as honorable mention

Sonic and the Black knight and Sonic and the Secret Rings.. art

i love the character design and the armors and the dresses.. its something really appealing to me..*o*

that oldie epic storybook style.. its so beautiful

 

i hope to see more of it someday...

[TailsTellsTales]

Question #25: Which of the franchise's art styles do you like the most?

The Sonic X has great art style. Not sure how else I can describe the reason why than. If not cartoon then I pick the classic Sonic art style since they were made well for time back than. I like how bright it all looks on there.

[Kiah]

Day 25: Which of the franchise's art styles do you like the most?

In reference to art styles, the Sonic franchise seems to know no limits in regards to its beauty and amazement in regards to art. So many choices among all the beautiful Sonic games out there but I'm going an art style that I am very fond and in awe of:
 
Sonic Colors
 

Even the boxart looks amazing! I already gushed about this in full detail on DAY 1 of this event
 
Sonic Colors has an art style is full of vibrant color, imagination and creativity with its levels ranging from surreal to realistic with a ton of details in between. To this day when I play Sonic Colors, the visuals never cease to amaze me with its bright, colorful, and unique art design. That's not to say any other Sonic games even don't possess these qualities in it's art style as well as they definitely do. Sonic Colors just seems to strike me more, especially being more fun and playful looking as I'll give a mention and praise to each of the game's levels:
 

Tropical Resort starts the game off with beautiful scenery with a breath-taking view of Earth and space in the background. The balloons provided a nice, playful and colorful touch.
 

I continue to be most impressed with Sweet Mountain, and how, well, delicious it looks. I thought this level in Sonic Colors was the most creative and appealing with all of the different foods as part of the design and it is my absolute favorite. I had no idea that a level design based on food would be so fun to both look at and play through!
 

Starlight Carnival: bright, colorful neon lights are everywhere amid a dark, star-lit sky...simply stunning!
 

Aquarium Park has so much life, colors and detail...such a beautiful underwater playground with so many things to discover!
 

Asteroid Coaster, while it isn't as pretty and colorful as the other levels, it still has some awesome things going on detail-wise with the incredible space background with the asteroid rings.
 

Planet Wisp: Full of vegetation and greenery with the different trees, shrubbery, the beautiful blue skies, the various flowers you run across, the streams...even though Planet Wisp is being reconstructed by Dr. Eggman, the place still looks beautiful amid the construction.
 

Terminal Velocity: You can't help but to admire the beautiful, realistic view of planet Earth in the background, even though you have Sonic running for his life at this point...
 
And I am only skimming the surface here about the art style of Sonic Colors at this point as I could go on all day in admiration for it with a ton of images to back it up. The bright beautiful colors throughout the levels in the surreal and realistic, fun and playful settings with tons of details and designs end up really standing out for me and definitely making its mark as my absolute favorite art style in the series

[Strickerx5]

Day 25: Which of this franchise's titles *this shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone here that knows me XD* had the best art style?

 

 

 

It has to be Unleashed for me. I swear, they were pushing the boundaries of cartoons in gaming at the time here. The lighting, color, level of detail... everything was just so spot on and clean. Hell, they even got humans to look great! Some people even compare it to some of the work Pixar has done and I fully agree with them. It pains me to see them not even trying to continue off the technical feats they made here nowadays. Could you imagine what a game in this style could look like on today's hardware? It'd be glorious! Add in the multitude of sequences in game that are just simply breath taking (even to this day) and Unleashed definitely has my vote; hands down. And that's not even mentioning the concept art...

 

 

 

I swear if they don't even try to top this in the next game...

[Tani Coyote]

Day 25

 

Art styles... hmm.

 

In terms of the actual drawn art, I'm gonna go with Uekawa's Adventure-era art style, hands down. That he continues to do regular art for Sonic Channel is really nice.

 

As for the game design artwork... Unleashed wins me over simply for its beauty and scale. I genuinely feel like I'm exploring the world.

[Rusty Spy]

Day 23: RETRO ROUND

Retro Question #1: Do you have any plushies/figures of any Sonic characters, and/or are there any Sonic characters that you'd LIKE to have a plushie/figure of?

I feel like there aren't enough Big The Cat plushies. I totally wouldn't mind keeping one around, he's practically a living plushie anyway. Also, I don't think there are any official Omega figures either. Those would make great figures; Omega has a great design.

 

Retro Question #2: What are your top three zone types/tropes/etc in general?

Sky zones, City zones, and Beach/Tropical levels all make from great scenery and set pieces.

 

Retro Question #3: Who is/are your favourite villain(s)... APART from Robotnik?

Merlina - Most 3 dimensional character the series has had as a villain. Strong characterization and a great twist to both her character archtype and her role in the story.

 

Retro Question #4: In what way(s) have you made friends within the Sonic fanbase?

I may not have known that many people personally but I've not felt able to be as open as I do here.

 

Day 24: What was your most intense or nerve-wracking IN-GAME moment(s)?

Fighting the Biolizard

 

Simply because it was the hardest boss fight in the Sonic series at this point, and at the climax of the most intense Sonic game in the series. It's so long and there are so many chances to screw up, including an instant death field. It's a drawn out endurance test start to finish that never lets up, also coming off of the hardest level in the game which is also long and intense. The Biolizard itself cost many lives and so many close calls when I first fought it.

 

Day 25: Which of the franchise's art styles do you like the most?

 

I'd probably have to choose Sonic 3 & Knuckles shock! horror!.

 

It's something I hadn't noticed before, but Roger van der Weide pointed out how it's artstyle works in one of his dissected videos.

He points out how S3&K's levels always have one dominating color with small splashes of other colors to add detail to the background and make the characters and the enemies pop out. To me it's a great blend of realistic design and fantastical style with vibrant, but also contrasting colors that make Sonic 3's artstyle stand out in a way that no other game has been able to.

It draws your focus to specific parts of the scenery, i.e the level design, enemies, hazards etc. making it simple and easy to recognize but still rich with detail and flair. And it uses it's bright colors amazingly well, never feeling too overly bright with little contrast, or dull with washed out colors clashing with vibrant colors.