SEGA: "Sonic game quality will be fixed over time"

[batson]

A personal observation of mine regarding the "old fans vs new fans" feud is that people almost always talk about it as if it was almost exclusively about old fans acting like cranky old bastards towards new fans. And while those kinds of old fans certainly exists (and a couple of fan sites are absolutely infested by them), it is in fact a lot more common these days to find bashing towards old fans, not to mention that bashing towards old fans from new fans is a lot more accepted among the general fanbase than vice versa. I mean, think about it; if an old fan here were to start a topic about how he hated all the younger fans who weren't around for the Mega Drive days and who "doesn't know what Sonic is really all about", he would be completely ripped to shreds and called a "retro-fag" to no end. But if a new fan started a topic where he expressed his hatred of old fans who still live in the past and are "blinded by nostalgia" , the retribution from average fans wouln't be nearly as strong. It almost seems like the general agreement is that you're SUPPOSED to hate those fans who honestly believe that Sonic haven't ever worked in 3D and probably never will.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

Let advocate for some devils: I would hazard a guess that it isn't too far from the truth that the majority don't think it works.

I haven't seen much of any majority, so I'd say otherwise myself.

As to what actually needs to be done, you'll never get a straight answer; but its a fallacy to say that the two contrasting ideologies are equally incorrect from the start when one of them gets popular support from the outside, and the other gets ridiculed from the outside. One of them must be more "right" when that is what is happening.

But I never said either ideology was equally incorrect, just that one side sees something the other doesn't and vice versa, hence why we have debates on this. On top of that, there are various other ideologies that also have a stronghold as much as others.

As for popular support from the outside, even then I wouldn't say one side gets the advantage either. The outside is just as similar as the inside, except a lot of the folks are more vocal on what they want than the fanbase is, at least from what I've seen so far. And a lot seem to be in favor of the newer formula, or at least half of it.

Then again, I think most folks outside the fanbase are more clueless than those inside the fanbase. You hear folks say that they'll only play a game where Sonic goes back to 2D, where it's only Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles, and to them that's an instant perfect Sonic game, except they miss the part where there's far much more to a game than just that. They could get exactly what they asked for, but not often do they seem to realize that even that can be made into a mess.

Edited July 31, 2009 by ChaosSupremeSonic

[SuperStingray]

Also, "Eggman" has an awkward vowel structure for an English speaker.

I won't acefay-almpay since it's regarded as spam now, but this is probably the most farfetched argument in the whole "Eggman vs. Robotnik" debacle. "Egg" and "man" are two of the most simple words in the damn language and I seriously doubt putting them together is much more trouble. You'd have to have a serious speaking disability for "Eggman" to be even remotely awkward. And even if one did, "Robotnik" wouldn't be any easier because it has *shock and horror* an extra syllable AND vowel! But if it's still any trouble, here's a little http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnWQiz8920M. Edited July 31, 2009 by SuperStingray

[Tornado]

I haven't seen much of any majority, so I'd say otherwise myself.

As for popular support from the outside, even then I wouldn't say one side gets the advantage either. The outside is just as similar as the inside, except a lot of the folks are more vocal on what they want than the fanbase is, at least from what I've seen so far.

From outside the fanbase, I'd be amazed if you could find ten people who didn't think the recent games suck. Of course, popular opinion may have formed those ideals without those people actually playing the games (and STH '06 obviously didn't help); but its pretty obvious that the fight between the two groups exists pretty much only within the fanbase, and that the "classix rulz" group (fairly or not) gets nearly all of the support from those outside who care.

Edited July 31, 2009 by Tornado

[Ferno]

@ Super Stingray: I thought we dropped the Eggman vs Robotnik argument ages ago...

Edited July 31, 2009 by 'Ferno

[Phos]

Depends on what you mean by the new stuff. If it's for the gameplay, even that's arguable depending on the game. However, if it's the style, things such as the settings, story, cast, and music, that's really personal taste and nothing more.

Some could argue that the older stuff would've gone stale had it made it to this point and resulted in a whole different mess, but we really wouldn't know that now would we?

No, Sonic is ridiculed for the new versions of all of those things. The opinions on music is a bit more varied, but ShtH's soundtrack is usually referred to as "Butt Rock". I get the impression that you don't go to very many other video game sites, but I do, and I'm just calling it like I see it.

And you have to understand that you're not the only person here, nor do you, I, Dreadknux, Diogenes, nor anyone else call all of the shots for what a Sonic game should be, and the formula that would work.

There's tons of ways to design a game, and some can be bad ways just as there are good ones. But it takes a lot of time and effort to make a good formula, even for one such as Sonic. Simply saying that the newer formula doesn't work may be what you think, but someone else may see something else to it.

This argument falls apart in the presence of pattern recognition. Regardless, I don't understand your position on this, considering that you dislike Sonic Unleashed, which is basically the most new school of the new in terms of it's formula.

Oh cut the crap, will ya? NO ONE cares, it's still the same character.

That's a lot of capital letters from someone who doesn't care. And lots of people care. And it's not "crap", it's fact. Every word in the English language has emphasis on one vowel. Eggman is comprised of two one vowel words, and in order to say it correctly, both must be emphasized. "Robotnik" is also representative of his character, it translates (from Polish) into "He who works with robots" or "mechanic" (Which makes it sound a bit like an Ellis Island name, which I find interesting), whereas Eggman is only representative of his appearance.

edit:

From outside the fanbase, I'd be amazed if you could find ten people who didn't think the recent games suck. Of course, popular opinion may have formed those ideals without those people actually playing the games (and STH '06 obviously didn't help); but its pretty obvious that the fight between the two groups exists pretty much only within the fanbase, and that the "classix rulz" group (fairly or not) gets nearly all of the support from those outside who care.

I've seen the same from several moderately sized websites, especially Destructoid.

Edited July 31, 2009 by Phos

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

From outside the fanbase, I'd be amazed if you could find ten people who didn't think the recent games suck.

Depending on which game, I've encountered FAR more than 30 people both face-to-face and online who actually liked some of the recent games or at least think that the recent games could've done much better than what they did. That doesn't really say much for the rest of the world, but it does say something nonetheless.

Of course, popular opinion may have formed those ideals without those people actually playing the game (and STH '06 obviously didn't help); but its pretty obvious that the fight between the two groups exists pretty much only within the fanbase.

The fight may be more concentrated within the fanbase, but there's still a good lot of people out there who don't follow the same "Nu-Sonic SUCKS" ideology that you find a lot outside the fanbase. Granted, there's a lot of people out their with that general consensus, but even then there are folks who do say otherwise outside.

No, Sonic is ridiculed for the new versions of all of those things.

Sonic is generally ridiculed for anything past 1994 or 1999, we know that, but to me a lot of what they ridicule the serie on is still personal taste.

I get the impression that you don't go to very many other video game sites, but I do, and I'm just calling it like I see it.

I don't join very many video game sites where I'm active, but I do visit a lot of the forums on those said sites, and I see the same thing you see. It's still just personal likes the way I see it, because it doesn't hold any more water than folks in the fanbase.

This argument falls apart in the presence of pattern recognition.

Huh?

Regardless, I don't understand your position on this, considering that you dislike Sonic Unleashed, which is basically the most new school of the new in terms of it's formula.

I don't necessarily dislike it on the same level as you do, but I just think there's more that could've been done for the game.

That's a lot of capital letters from someone who doesn't care.

I'll put them in lower case letters if that'll make you happy.

Either way, I really don't care. It's just ridiculous how people are going so far over a simple name change, when it's still the same character since 1991. Their fighting a battle that isn't even a battle, it's even worse than the whole "Ryan vs. Jason" thing.

And lots of people care.

Well they need to get over it, because it's not that big a deal. Eggman is the same as Robotnik, and it's really not that big a deal which name people prefer to call him.

And it's not "crap", it's fact.

How about "ridiculous" then?

Every word in the English language has emphasis on one vowel. Eggman is comprised of two one vowel words, and in order to say it correctly, both must be emphasized. "Robotnik" is also representative of his character, it translates (from Polish) into "He who works with robots" or "mechanic" (Which makes it sound a bit like an Ellis Island name, which I find interesting), whereas Eggman is only representative of his appearance.

Again I say, cut the crap, no one cares. You're just going out of your way proving something for absolutely nothing.

How hard is it to just call the guy "Robotnik" and leave it at that, while the folks calling him "Eggman" are refering the same guy as the one you call "Robotnik"? I never knew it was like rocket science.

Edited July 31, 2009 by ChaosSupremeSonic

[BlazingTales]

I won't acefay-almpay since it's regarded as spam now, but this is probably the most farfetched argument in the whole "Eggman vs. Robotnik" debacle. "Egg" and "man" are two of the most simple words in the damn language and I seriously doubt putting them together is much more trouble. You'd have to have a serious speaking disability for "Eggman" to be even remotely awkward. And even if one did, "Robotnik" wouldn't be any easier because it has *shock and horror* an extra syllable AND vowel! But if it's still any trouble, here's a little http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnWQiz8920M.

I laughed at that video. Amazing! XD

That's a lot of capital letters from someone who doesn't care. And lots of people care. And it's not "crap", it's fact. Every word in the English language has emphasis on one vowel. Eggman is comprised of two one vowel words, and in order to say it correctly, both must be emphasized. "Robotnik" is also representative of his character, it translates (from Polish) into "He who works with robots" or "mechanic" (Which makes it sound a bit like an Ellis Island name, which I find interesting), whereas Eggman is only representative of his appearance.

It's 'egg' and 'man', I don't get what's hard: and I can speek with most American, Britich and Austrailian accents! (Long story.)

TAILS is representative of his appearence. KNUCKLES is representative of his. SHADOW of his. CREAM of hers.

I like both names, but I don't get the big deal about calling his by Eggman.

[Phos]

Hehe, "Nu-Sonic" puts an image in my head of Sonic with a bunch of funnels on his back.

I don't join very many video game sites where I'm active, but I do visit a lot of the forums on those said sites, and I see the same thing you see. It's still just personal likes the way I see it, because it doesn't hold any more water than folks in the fanbase.

They're more representative.

Sonic is generally ridiculed for anything past 1994 or 1999, we know that, but to me a lot of what they ridicule the serie on is still personal taste.

Go re-read what that was responding to and think about it for a moment.

Huh?

This is very simple: There have been many bad games not based on the classic formula but none that are.

The fight may be more concentrated within the fanbase, but there's still a good lot of people out there who don't follow the same "Nu-Sonic SUCKS" ideology that you find a lot outside the fanbase. Granted, there's a lot of people out their with that general consensus, but even then there are folks who do say otherwise outside.

Are you basing this of Gamefaqs? No one who posts on Gamefaqs about a given franchise can be described not part of the fanbase because of how that forum is set up. The same goes for IGN and Gametrailers. Sites like Destructiod and Screw Attack that do very few reviews tend to attract less fanboys because they focus more on their own community, Destructiod especially for making fun of Fanboys on a daily basis.

Edited July 31, 2009 by Phos

[Diogenes]

If dedicated old fans didn't have a point, that most of the new stuff sucks, would Sonic be in this situation?

But it doesn't take a strict genesis literalist to understand that the series is in deep shit right now. I like the Adventures, the Rushes, and Unleashed, I like the boost and the quick step, I like the series trying to tell stories more complex than Sonic vs Eggman. But I also believe that games like ShtH, SatBK, and especially '06 are garbage, that games like Unleashed and SatSR have some pretty big flaws in concept and execution, and that the series has lost sight of some of the things that made it great in the first place. There's no reason that this needs to be Old vs New. It should be All Of Us vs Crap, but in that case it's a hell of a lot harder to get people to agree where the lines should be drawn.

You have to understand, I used to think that the newer formula could be used to make a good game, but after really studying the differences, I decided that it really can't.

But see, there is more out there than the current formula and the old formula. What pisses me off is when people see that the current thing doesn't work and jump to the conclusion that only the old thing does, completely ignoring that there might be something new out there that works, and maybe even works better than the old.

Also, "Eggman" has an awkward vowel structure for an English speaker.

I've never found it the least bit awkward. It's no more difficult than "Batman", anyway, and I can't imagine anyone complaining that Batman is hard to say.

[Sean]

I'm Batman

If anything, the way I see it is that if anybody is to really be bothered by the name change, it's that they grew up with the one they're familiar with for whatever knows how long. What if Capcom just decided to call Mega Man "Rockman" and Phoenix Wright "Ryuuichi Naruhodou" (god the Ace Attorney Japanese names suck)? Stick with one name you like but I don't see anything wrong with people not liking the change.

As for what I think of Eggman... I am the Eggman.

Edited July 31, 2009 by Jake

[DC111]

As far as classic vs. modern goes, I really do think it's a matter of opinion. I prefer the 3D games. I'm not a kid, but they appeal to me. Why? 'Cause I played them first. I wasn't in to Sonic during the 2D era because I wasn't into video games in general at the time. Sonic Heroes was my first Sonic game and I enjoyed the hell out of it, and save for certain parts of Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic 2006, I'm very content with the 3D series as a whole.

When I played the 2D games, I put them in a different category in my mind. Much like the Blaze in Sonic Rush is (arguably) different than the Blaze in Sonic 2006... the 2D era is different from the 3D era in the same way. It's not quite the same Sonic, guys. Could a formula based off the classics work today? Maybe it could. But that's not what we have on our plates right now, and unless Sonic Team gives it a try, it's nothing more than wishful thinking.

I don't know; chances are I'm biased because I'm a 'modern' fan, but I think the reason 3D games are treated so critically is because so many people - when they think 'Sonic' - still think of the Genesis games and the 'glory days.' I AM NOT BASHING ANYONE FOR THAT; it's only natural, because that's what Sonic began as for you. For me, Sonic began as Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Heroes, so I'm used to things the way they are. I'm NOT telling older fans to 'let go of the past,' but I am suggesting that they put Sonic under TWO different categories (classic and modern) and don't compare one category to the other. They're not the same, as I said before, and probably never will be.

Edit: Allow me to add that I don't think the 3D games are perfect, either. There are a lot of things I think the series could use (more character development, more consistent gameplay, etc.)... or ditch (useless characters, certain gimmicks, etc.).

xxx

Now, for something that actually relates to the topic: Save for a few, I don't think the newer Sonic games have poor quality. Sonic 2006 had its problems, we know that. But forget that; I'm going to focus on Unleashed, since that's what the article in the first post was focusing on.

Sonic Unleashed IS a good-quality game in my opinion. Gorgeous graphics, clever levels, storyline that makes SENSE, decent gameplay... it's not a bad game at all. Which is why I don't quite get anything that Sean Ratcliffe said. He starts off talking about gradually improving the quality, and then changes the subject to gameplay and reception, and then changes it back to quality again. It looks to me like he either a) just went off on a tangent or instead of saying 'quality will be fixed over time,' actually meant to say 'over time, we will continue to try and appeal to our audience and see what works.' I don't know; I guess I just found it strange because Unleashed is by all rights a decent game, and he's acting like it had the quality of Sonic 2006 or something.

Some old fans don't except a lot of the change in the franchise. While others create opinions about how the games 'should be', and when it's not exactly how they want it, they rant about it. A great example of this is this guy. (no offence to the chap, his art is amazing, and for all I know he's great guy, but his rants annoy me to no end).

Hah, I knew exactly who you were talking about before even clicking that. I will never read that rant or any other rant of his again; they get me too pissed off.

I'm not going to be one of those tools who thinks he can fix the franchise by making everything verbatim to what it was in the early 90s, but I will say that I think a great franchise is like a tree- firmly grounded in its roots, but still able to branch higher and further. Branch too far out, and it will lose its form and balance and ultimately collapse. Branch too little, and it will become overshadowed and wither. Sonic is clearly suffering from the former, so all I think he needs is a "trim" so to speak.

Clever analogy. That's actually a really good way to look at it.

Edited July 31, 2009 by DC111

[Diogenes]

What if Capcom just decided to call Mega Man "Rockman" and Phoenix Wright "Ryuuichi Naruhodou" (god the Ace Attorney Japanese names suck)?

Well, it wouldn't be their best idea (and Phoenix's name is so out there that it looks like someone just pounded their fists on the keyboard), but I wouldn't still be complaining about it ten fucking years later. At this point he's been Eggman longer than he's been Robotnik.

Eventually you've just gotta move on, y'know?

[speedfreak]

I really don't think too many people would mind if the games weren't classic style as long as they were excellent games. Mario Galaxy may not have been classic Mario (but IMO it was a pretty damn close 3D conversion) but it was still excellent. 3D Sonic games have had their ups and their downs, but I personally (and I'm willing to bet most would agree) don't think there had been a 3D Sonic that has reached the quality of the classics. With the exception of maybe the Sonic Rush series, but that's not really 3D Sonic.

[Rusty Spy]

I've never found it the least bit awkward. It's no more difficult than "Batman", anyway, and I can't imagine anyone complaining that Batman is hard to say.

Or worse, Aqua Man, which has MORE syllables.

[Blazey Firekitty]

Well, it wouldn't be their best idea (and Phoenix's name is so out there that it looks like someone just pounded their fists on the keyboard), but I wouldn't still be complaining about it ten fucking years later. At this point he's been Eggman longer than he's been Robotnik.

Eventually you've just gotta move on, y'know?

Well, technically, he's been canonically both Eggman and Robotnik since Sonic Adventure 2, so there's been a sort of compromise.

[speedfreak]

Eggman is to Robotnik as Tails is to Miles (Prower).

It's his nickname. People who act like something that stupid is one of the major problems with new Sonic really need to get their priorities straight.

Edited July 31, 2009 by speedfreak

[Phos]

But it doesn't take a strict genesis literalist to understand that the series is in deep shit right now. I like the Adventures, the Rushes, and Unleashed, I like the boost and the quick step, I like the series trying to tell stories more complex than Sonic vs Eggman. But I also believe that games like ShtH, SatBK, and especially '06 are garbage, that games like Unleashed and SatSR have some pretty big flaws in concept and execution, and that the series has lost sight of some of the things that made it great in the first place. There's no reason that this needs to be Old vs New. It should be All Of Us vs Crap, but in that case it's a hell of a lot harder to get people to agree where the lines should be drawn.

But see, there is more out there than the current formula and the old formula. What pisses me off is when people see that the current thing doesn't work and jump to the conclusion that only the old thing does, completely ignoring that there might be something new out there that works, and maybe even works better than the old.

I actually have a reason: The classic formula is fundamentally minimalistic, a benefit of one of Naka's first Sonic related Ego trips. It used only one button, and to allow Sonic to do something other than Jump, he would also roll (Oshima's idea), and you know how it goes from there. In order to really allow them to take advantage of his ability to roll into a ball, and make the speed manageable, they created the physics system you see in the games. This set up created a very enjoyable experience, one that I believe can be carried into 3D unusually well, something that I feel would be a waste to not take advantage of.

But that's not the point. The minimalistic nature of the classic formula means that it is difficult to add anything notable to the formula without essentially replacing some other important aspect of it.

I've never found it the least bit awkward. It's no more difficult than "Batman", anyway, and I can't imagine anyone complaining that Batman is hard to say.

It's more a question of what's more natural to say than difficulty, but now this naming thing is kind of derailing the thread.

[Pelly <3's U]

Eggman is to Robotnik as Tails is to Miles (Prower).

It's his nickname. People who act like something that stupid is one of the major problems with new Sonic really need to get their priorities straight,

People who sit and debate about Eggman/Robotnik's name in a topic that has nothing to do with it should fix some priorities as well (not necessarily aimed at you)

The modern/retro sonic fan debate at least had some relevance to the discussion, this is just silly.

[Rusty Spy]

I have a reason: The classic formula is fundamentally minimalistic, a benefit of one of Naka's first Sonic related Ego trips. It used only one button, and to allow Sonic to do something other than Jump, he would also roll (Oshima's idea), and you know how it goes from there. In order to really allow them to take advantage of his ability to roll into a ball, and make the speed manageable, they created the physics system you see in the games. This set up created a very enjoyable experience, one that I believe can be carried into 3D unusually well, something that I feel would be a waste to not take advantage of.

But that's not the point. The minimalistic nature of the classic formula means that it is difficult to add anything notable to the formula without essentially replacing some other important aspect of it.

Mario went from just jumping, to crouching, long jumping, triple jumping, wall jumping, butt stomping, back flipping, and in his most recent game, spinning.

Simply staying being minimalistic isn't alone what made Sonic fun and great, it was it's simplicity. Being minimalistic isn't always the same as being simplistic, which I think can be achieved without having to strip the game down to it's most fundementally basic.

[Badnik Zero]

For the classic versus modern mess, I definitely like the classic games more. They were simpler and just a tighter package gameplay wise. And while I think Sonic Team needs to figure out what made those big 15 years ago and apply it, that doesn't mean I think he shouldn't be 3D or that I'll forsake all manner of 3D Sonic game out of spite. And that's where I break with what I think is the common perspective on Sonic. People often get bitter and say things like the series can't be good anymore, and for Sonic Team to give up. I even disagree with what many people think made those classics so good in the first place. The opening line of so many articles goes, "Sonic is all about speed". Even Ratcliffe here is saying older fans are concerned mostly with speed. Shit, he's a lot faster today than he ever was in 16-bit. If next-gen gaming teaches us something it's that the best graphics don't make a game more fun. Well your maximum speed doesn't make a hedgehog fun either.

It looks like I went off on a bit of a tangent there. Unleashed was okay. The reason I can't put myself in the classic camp is because that's where the most game reviewers are, and the haters, complaining about speed, and giving ass-backwards ratings like an 8.0 to Heroes and a 4.5 to Unleashed. One of them was clearly the more able game, and reviewers like this let hype influence their writing.

I just had to rant for a minute. As for the Ratcliffe statement, does anyone feel like his basic message is something like, "I heard your complaints about quality, but wait until you see the next game"? Why is he talking about development of a Sonic game when he just said that quality doesn't come quickly and easily? I guess I hope they did something good this time.

Edited July 31, 2009 by Badnikz

[SuperStingray]

No, Sonic is ridiculed for the new versions of all of those things. The opinions on music is a bit more varied, but ShtH's soundtrack is usually referred to as "Butt Rock". I get the impression that you don't go to very many other video game sites, but I do, and I'm just calling it like I see it.

I really only think it's because the games themselves are bad. If Amy was replaced with Princess Elise in Sonic CD and had her kiss Sonic like in 06, I doubt anyone would care since the game itself is enjoyable. But I've seldom seen complaints about the new music outside of Kotaku. Hell, even Yahtzee said that the music has always been the strongest point in Sonic games in that pilot for Game Damage. And that's honest Yahtzee, not his comedic avatar from ZP. And Games Radar said Rush's soundtrack is ahead of its time. And Sonic and the Black Knight was actually well received in terms of story, music and setting. Edited July 31, 2009 by SuperStingray

[Phos]

Mario went from just jumping, to crouching, long jumping, triple jumping, wall jumping, butt stomping, back flipping, and in his most recent game, spinning.

Simply staying being minimalistic isn't alone what made Sonic fun and great, it was it's simplicity. Being minimalistic isn't always the same as being simplistic, which I think can be achieved without having to strip the game down to it's most fundementally basic.

Mario could crouch as early as Super Mario Brothers, and most of those are just different kinds of jumping. Sonic could already run up walls, jump on differently angled floors to affect his trajectory, and he could already spin as well (hehe). As for the long jump, that's little different than just jumping at high speed for Sonic. Outside of hammering stuff down, I've never really gotten much use out of butt stomping. It seems to me that Sonic already has everything or at least almost everything he needs for 3D.

[SuperStingray]

It seems to me that Sonic already has everything or at least almost everything he needs for 3D.

I'm not sure how that system can be applied to 3D though. I mean, he'd need different buttons for jumping and spin dashing/rolling since down on the d-pad/joy stick would replace crouching with walking backward. Edited July 31, 2009 by SuperStingray

[Frozen Nitrogen]

Hey guise, remember No Drama '09?

...

No, neither do I.

Sonic Unleashed IS a good-quality game in my opinion. Gorgeous graphics, clever levels, storyline that makes SENSE, decent gameplay... it's not a bad game at all.

I'll not claim that "Unleashed < Its Recent Predecessors", because I at least liked the day stages... but the plot is a bit of a joke, imo. There's multiple ancient civilizations sat there on the shelf in canonical history already (echidnas, babylonians, Black Arms), but no, lets invoke a completly new and redundant one for Gaia Temples as though we've got amnesia! Tails tore through hordes of electric death-bots armed only with his teeth during the Death Egg saga, but no, let's have him run like a sissy from five Gaia monsters! Eggman's a polymath who deciphers ancient languages for breakfast circa Chaos' tablets in Adventure 1, but no, let's introduce a redundant cucumber-fetishist to pad out the character rosta! The Chaos Emeralds fixed themselves quite happily from grey-out between Adventure 1 and Adventure 2, but no, lets wrap an entire plot around the quest to recharge them!

I personally prefer '06's ontological paradoxes to this kind of spitting William of Occam's face. At least the former gave me an incentive to learn about cyclical worldlines.