Sonic Forces | PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC "The Next Generations"

[Bowbowis]

Looking at the new character's silhouette I'm thinking that it may be a lynx, the long ears and muzzle match up pretty well:

 

As for this "something new" with Classic Sonic, perhaps they're giving him parkour?

[Blue Blood]

10 minutes ago, JezMM said:

I REALLY think you guys are being overdramatic about Green Hill Zone meaning this is Generations 2.  We already know it isn't due to the confirmed third gameplay style, the desert stuff in Green Hill and the whole "completely 100% a new level" of Modern Sonic's footage.

At the very most we might be seeing old stages getting merged together or with new locations, but at the moment I'm expecting this to just be Classic Sonic's introduction stage in the past, hey what's this desert stuff doing here, Classic Sonic goes to investigate, etc.  Boring that they relied on Green Hill AGAIN to codify that, but not the end of the world.

At the moment to me this game is of course a follow-up to Generations, but it's no more "Generations 2" than Generations was "Unleashed 3" or "Colours 2".

Nah, it's not just Green Hill that makes it Generations 2. It's that the this game is reusing all of the tricks that Generations had. I think that's really, really naff. Green Hill just kind of exemplifies all the issues that the game already has in any capacity. After Sonic 4, Generations, Mania's revamped stages and Lost World's Green Hill recolours, the last thing I want is any more nostalgia pandering in any form. But this game has a lot of it. And then <insert boost gameplay and automation arguments here>. Bleh. This game is simply too similar to Generations amongst its other faults.

[JezMM]

4 minutes ago, KHCast said:

It doesn't need to be a direct follow up in order to more or less be one tho. Time travel, re-using past levels even in mish mashing fashions, split gameplay separating 3D and 2D, all can be easily tied to some sort of spiritual successor to Gens.

 

3 minutes ago, Blue Blood said:

Nah, it's not just Green Hill that makes it Generations 2. It's that the this game is reusing all of the tricks that Generations had. I think that's really, really naff. Green Hill just kind of exemplifies all the issues that the game already has in any capacity. After Sonic 4, Generations, Mania's revamped stages and Lost World's Green Hill recolours, the last thing I want is any more nostalgia pandering in any form. But this game has a lot of it. And then <insert boost gameplay and automation arguments here>. Bleh. This game is simply too similar to Generations amongst its other faults.

Fair enough, but I feel that was true even before Green Hill appeared, and so if people are saying it again now because of Green Hill, what are they suggesting other than "it's gonna be rehashed levels again!" which it... clearly just isn't?  At least certainly not to the degree that Generations was.

I'm bored of the rehash Green Hill too and it could've been a downer for me if not for the desert stuff, which has my attention.  I understand that isn't enough for everyone but right now, it's enough for me to, not so much remain optimistic, but be able to say "I don't have enough here to make a call on whether I like or dislike this yet".

[Kintor]

1 minute ago, Blue Blood said:

Nah, it's not just Green Hill that makes it Generations 2. It's that the this game is reusing all of the tricks that Generations had. I think that's really, really naff. Green Hill just kind of exemplifies all the issues that the game already has in any capacity. After Sonic 4, Generations, Mania's revamped stages and Lost World's Green Hill recolours, the last thing I want is any more nostalgia pandering in any form. But this game has a lot of it. And then <insert boost gameplay and automation arguments here>. Bleh. This game is simply too similar to Generations amongst its other faults.

You keep trying to turn the similarities to Sonic Generations into a negative but that really doesn't match public sentiment. Lost World was a bad game, so was Sonic Boom. Yet Sonic Generations was quite well received, even six years later many Sonic fans and other games still want a sequel. It's about time that Sega actually has delivered on that promise in the form of Sonic Forces. Besides, if the footage is anything to go by this probably isn't the Green Hill Zone anyway, but rather a mishmash of different levels, reflecting how Eggman has apparently broken reality in order to conquer the world.

[Dr. Detective]

1 hour ago, JezMM said:

I REALLY think you guys are being overdramatic about Green Hill Zone meaning this is Generations 2.  We already know it isn't due to the confirmed third gameplay style, the desert stuff in Green Hill and the whole "completely 100% a new level" of Modern Sonic's footage.

At the very most we might be seeing old stages getting merged together or with new locations, but at the moment I'm expecting this to just be Classic Sonic's introduction stage in the past, hey what's this desert stuff doing here, Classic Sonic goes to investigate, etc.  Boring that they relied on Green Hill AGAIN to codify that, but not the end of the world.

At the moment to me this game is of course a follow-up to Generations, but it's no more "Generations 2" than Generations was "Unleashed 3" or "Colours 2".

I feel what they're showing us is enough to at the very least warrant the current reaction the majority are giving, even if it may not turn out to be as "Generations 2" as it's looking right now. Fact of the matter is, people were making that comparison before this Green Hill gameplay showed up. From the word go, as soon as that debut trailer showed Classic Sonic's face those comparisons were coming. At the moment, we've been presented only with a variation of the same exact gimmick we saw before and not much else. 

So I do kind of think it's more "Generations 2" than Generations was "Unleashed 3" or "Colors 2". Unleashed and Colors shared similar gameplay but the overall look and feel of the games when they were presented to us made it so that those comparisons didn't flood the internet. There's definitely a reason why no one claimed Generations was an "Unleashed 3" or "Colors 2" when it was coming out and why they still don't to this day. 

Forces may end up being something different but these are the initial reactions they're going to get when this is what they choose to show us. 

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

6 minutes ago, KHCast said:

re-using past levels even in mish mashing fashions

Uh, Green Hill aside, we haven't really seen that. And even in Green Hill, there are the hintings that the 2d sections might not be just simple re-usual.

[Marcello]

8 minutes ago, JezMM said:

There could easily be a progression going on.  Chemical Plant starts out pretty innocuous in Generations but is exploding and falling apart by the end of the stage.

True. Hopefully. But this is what they decided to show, so I can only really comment on this.

7 minutes ago, Mayor D said:

Not sure it's as simple as that. As there is also a pyramid in the background of the GHZ too.

 

You mean those things on the left here?

Hm, maybe. I think they might just be hills of sand, though they do look kinda pointy.

[Alienrun]

2 minutes ago, JezMM said:

 

Fair enough, but I feel that was true even before Green Hill appeared, and so if people are saying it again now because of Green Hill, what are they suggesting other than "it's gonna be rehashed levels again!" which it... clearly just isn't?  At least certainly not to the degree that Generations was.

I'm bored of the rehash Green Hill too and it could've been a downer for me too if not for the desert stuff, which has my attention.

You bring up good points...my main issue then is why are they showing all the reused stuff FIRST as opposed to showing off the original stuff? (Plus the tone of Modern sonic's level and Green Hill just don't mesh well...) It just doesn't make sense from a marketing perspective unless they're trying to make a cheap Gens sequel. It's just really REALLY suspicious when it shouldn't have to be...Breath of Zelda did a better job showing off what it wanted to do...heck even Mania did! Why is it so hard for this game to show off what its about?

We're not asking for much, just stop treating us like babies is honestly what I feel like telling whoever is in charge of this project...

[Jango]

@Mayor D I see you like to put words in peoples' mouths :V I said it was one of the WORST alpha? Think you might need some glasses there, mate. Or to grow up.

And also, where's the source saying it was the same build? We know shit about this game (pun?).

 

 

[JezMM]

3 minutes ago, Dr. Chaotix said:

I feel what they're showing us is enough to at the very least warrant the current reaction the majority are giving, even if it may not turn out to be as "Generations 2" as it's looking right now. Fact of the matter is, people were making that comparison before this Green Hill gameplay showed up. From the word go, as soon as that debut trailer showed Classic Sonic's face those comparisons were coming. At the moment, we've been presented only with a variation of the same exact gimmick we saw before and not much else. 

So I do kind of think it's more "Generations 2" than Generations was "Unleashed 3" or "Colors 2". Unleashed and Colors shared similar gameplay but the overall look and feel of the games when they were presented to us made it so that those comparisons didn't flood the internet. There's definitely a reason why no one claimed Generations was an "Unleashed 3" or "Colors 2" when it was coming out and why they still don't to this day. 

Forces may end up being something different but these are the initial reactions they're going to get when this is what they choose to show us. 

I agree the reactions are valid, I guess I'm boring and instead take the choice to "not react" until I have a satisfactory amount of information to do so with.

The game designers aren't making decisions based on "okay people have seen these things from these trailers so we should do this".  They're just making the game.  To be honest I wish I could just experience "the game" as intended in a vacuum from all meta materials, but it would be impossible to do so without removing myself from gaming communities in general for everything I enjoy.  The closest I can get is to just keep all of my reactions very low-key and preliminary with a significant acknowledgement of the unknown in everything I have to say about what I see.

[KHCast]

11 minutes ago, JezMM said:

 

Fair enough, but I feel that was true even before Green Hill appeared, and so if people are saying it again now because of Green Hill, what are they suggesting other than "it's gonna be rehashed levels again!" which it... clearly just isn't?  At least certainly not to the degree that Generations was.

I'm bored of the rehash Green Hill too and it could've been a downer for me too if not for the desert stuff, which has my attention.

If the game used original locations only but still did the other stuff people use to claim it's essentially Gens 2 like separating 2D and 3D, bringing back classic, it'd still more or less feel like a spiritual successor despite the flavor it adds in like a new character/style much like how 06 is essentially Adventure 3 in all but name.

7 minutes ago, Jovahexeon Joranvexeon said:

Uh, Green Hill aside, we haven't really seen that. And even in Green Hill, there are the hintings that the 2d sections might not be just simple re-usual.

I kinda doubt GHZ will be the only throwback stage(though even if it is still...), and why not then show classic in something other than the basic 2D from Gens and highlight that to calm reactions?

[Kintor]

1 minute ago, Alienrun said:

We're not asking for much, just stop treating us like babies is honestly what I feel like telling whoever is in charge of this project...

You're asking for quite a bit and assuming the worst from the outset. So far the information we've received has been from gameplay trailers and magazine articles, pretty standard stuff but hardly condescending. We probably won't get any major info dumps until E3 but there might still be a couple more details along the way before then.

[Blue Blood]

11 minutes ago, JezMM said:

Fair enough, but I feel that was true even before Green Hill appeared, and so if people are saying it again now because of Green Hill, what are they suggesting other than "it's gonna be rehashed levels again!" which it... clearly just isn't?  At least certainly not to the degree that Generations was.

I'm bored of the rehash Green Hill too and it could've been a downer for me too if not for the desert stuff, which has my attention.

People were calling it Generations 2 all the way back in summer of last year. And as we see more and more, it's fitting the bill even more closely. It's hyperbole for sure, and I'm pretty positive that we're not going to be seeing a bunch of rehashed levels again either (unless they're all being changed a little like Green Hill which is still crappy). Just a glimpse of GHZ is a bother though. Whatever the reason for it's appearence, I just want it gone. The game doing so far doing so much wrong and so little right.

9 minutes ago, Kintor said:

You keep trying to turn the similarities to Sonic Generations into a negative but that really doesn't match public sentiment. Lost World was a bad game, so was Sonic Boom. Yet Sonic Generations was quite well received, even six years later many Sonic fans and other games still want a sequel. It's about time that Sega actually has delivered on that promise in the form of Sonic Forces. Besides, if the footage is anything to go by this probably isn't the Green Hill Zone anyway, but rather a mishmash of different levels, reflecting how Eggman has apparently broken reality in order to conquer the world.

Dude, please stop trying to make every single one of your posts sound like you're delivering a speech at a political rally. 

[Marcello]

2 minutes ago, KHCast said:

If the game used original locations only but still did the other stuff people use to claim it's essentially Gens 2 like separating 2D and 3D, bringing back classic, it'd still more or less feel like a spiritual successor despite the flavor it adds in like a new character/style much like how 06 is essentially Adventure 3 in all but name.

I kinda doubt GHZ will be the only throwback stage, and why not then show classic in something other than the basic 2D from Gens and highlight that to calm reactions?

 

I'm guessing Green Hill is just the first level of the game before Classic is teleported to the future like in Generations. I assume all other levels are original.

[Kintor]

Just now, Blue Blood said:

Dude, please stop trying to make every single one of your posts sound like you're delivering a speech at a political rally. 

You're in a public forum. Learn to love the old school rhetoric. Politican's today have got nothing on me.

[KHCast]

Just now, Marcello said:

I'm guessing Green Hill is just the first level of the game before Classic is teleported to the future like in Generations. I assume all other levels are original.

Man Classic can't catch a break can he? He just wants to advance to the next zone already.

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

7 minutes ago, KHCast said:

I kinda doubt GHZ will be the only throwback stage(though even if it is still...), and why not then show classic in something other than the basic 2D from Gens and highlight that to calm reactions?

Simple. SEGA Has a fetish for showing off any callback to that stage that they can,  regardless of the game these days. 

Alas,  Colors may be the last mainline Sonic game to avoid the GHZ-VIRUS!

 

[Celestia]

2 minutes ago, KHCast said:

Man Classic can't catch a break can he? He just wants to advance to the next zone already.

Now I wish the first stage was Christmas Island.

He finally went back home and we actually get to see it, but then he gets ripped out of time. "[Your future's] gonna be great," indeed.

[Alienrun]

3 minutes ago, KHCast said:

Man Classic can't catch a break can he? He just wants to advance to the next zone already.

inb4 the plot of the game is that Classic Sonic is forced to do Green Hill Zone over and over and over again, until Modern sonic breaks him out!

"But that goes against the rules of time tra-"

Screw it! I don't care anymore...I highly doubt Sega does either!! : O

[Kintor]

5 minutes ago, Blue Blood said:

People were calling it Generations 2 all the way back in summer of last year. And as we see more and more, it's fitting the bill even more closely. It's hyperbole for sure, and I'm pretty positive that we're not going to be seeing a bunch of rehashed levels again either (unless they're all being changed a little like Green Hill which is still crappy). Just a glimpse of GHZ is a bother though. Whatever the reason for it's appearence, I just want it gone. The game doing so far doing so much wrong and so little right.

Making Sonic Forces the direct sequel to Sonic Generations is definitely the right call; a few months of Sonic Forces has already done more for the Sonic franchise then years of Lost World and Sonic. As for freaking out over the Green Hill Zone, I think you're reading way too much into things. Thematically, this altered Green Hill might fit in nicely with the whole post-apocalyptic atmosphere. As another visceral reminder of the damage that Eggman has done to the world.

[JezMM]

Just now, Jovahexeon Joranvexeon said:

Simple. SEGA Has a fetish for showing off any callback to that stage that they can,  regardless of the game these days. 

Alas,  Colors may be the last mainline Sonic game to avoid the GHZ-VIRUS!

 

Various bits of Tropical Resort's aesthetic and the layout of Game Land Act 1-1.  The early symptoms were showing, but we had no idea how serious it was. =C

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

1 minute ago, JezMM said:

Various bits of Tropical Resort's aesthetic and the layout of Game Land Act 1-1.  The early symptoms were showing, but we had no idea how serious it was. =C

Well  it may have been a carrier,  but thankfully it was strong  enough to resist the urge to make the full on change! >_<

[Jango]

Maybe when Classic Sonic returned to his timeline at the end of Gens, he found it all messed up? The Time Eater captured him in Gens, therefore Sonic never existed... You know, it created an alternate universe.

[KHCast]

1 minute ago, JezMM said:

Various bits of Tropical Resort's aesthetic and the layout of Game Land Act 1-1.  The early symptoms were showing, but we had no idea how serious it was. =C

This clearly started when Adventure 2 brought GHZ back. It just stayed dormant for a bit within the bowels of sega.

[Marcello]

2 minutes ago, Celestia said:

Now I wish the first stage was Christmas Island.

He finally went back home and we actually get to see it, but then he gets ripped out of time. "[Your future's] gonna be great," indeed.

 

More like, "Your future's gonna be spent looking back at better days."