Sonic Forces Impressions

[Milo]

3 hours ago, ChikaBoing said:

3D Blast, R, and Journey of Dreams (all Iizuka games) might be more apt comparisions for Lost World.

True, but Iizuka's involvement in them are of varying degrees.

3D Blast had Iizuka as one of four Game Concept Designers.

R had Iizuka as the Game Design Director (above two game designers).

Journey of Dreams had Iizuka as the Director, the Producer, and the Lead Game Designer (above of three game designers).

[ChikaBoing]

44 minutes ago, Yeow said:

True, but Iizuka's involvement in them are of varying degrees.

3D Blast had Iizuka as one of four Game Concept Designers.

R had Iizuka as the Game Design Director (above two game designers).

Journey of Dreams had Iizuka as the Director, the Producer, and the Lead Game Designer (above of three game designers).

Yeah. My point overall is mediocirity can be traced back to Iizuka's work on 3D Blast and R back in the days (tough the programming was done by Travellers Tales). These games were such clunkers in the same way newer Sonic games were. Tough back then involvement of Sonic Team's coders ensured quality in some fashion, - the Special Stages in Saturn 3D Blast. Like Naka's pride was justified in cancelling Sonic X-Treme.

And then we fall through floors lol. Thank you Sonic Team.

[Milo]

48 minutes ago, ChikaBoing said:

Yeah. My point overall is mediocirity can be traced back to Iizuka's work on 3D Blast and R back in the days (tough the programming was done by Travellers Tales). These games were such clunkers in the same way newer Sonic games were. Tough back then involvement of Sonic Team's coders ensured quality in some fashion, - the Special Stages in Saturn 3D Blast. Like Naka's pride was justified in cancelling Sonic X-Treme.

And then we fall through floors lol. Thank you Sonic Team.

Mostly agreed, though I do think that R and 3D Blast are a large cut above newer games in the level design department; largely due to Yasuhara (did the playfield design for 3D Blast with Takao Miyoshi and was the map design director for R). Really wish the actual 3D games made later (namely Adventure 2 and onwards) adhered to their design structures.

[ChikaBoing]

They definitly did things better than newer games. And really nostalgia cuts them above alot of the newer games for me anyway.

But the Special Stages in Saturn 3D Blast were hot

[Chris Knopps]

I miss Naka...

[Speedi]

Just now, Chris Knopps said:

I miss Naka...

You know everyone gives Iizuka shit for his track record but remember that Yuji Naka actually agreed with the inclusion of Princess Elise in 06. That should tell you everything you need to know about him.

Yes, this is a joke

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

6 hours ago, Chris Knopps said:

See? Told you @Jovahexeon Ace Joranvexeon.

What? That you aren't the only who dislikes that game? No duh. I don't see why you need to try ego boost over it just because you aren't alone in a certain line of thinking.

9 minutes ago, Chris Knopps said:

I miss Naka...

Dude was a heavy piece of the puzzle that is 06's development, and how it turned out the way it did though, sadly. Which also kinda doomed the Adventure gameplay of style.

Like, it's not 100% his fault, but leaving the very project he was heading mid-development was no short of a heavy impact that cut the head guiding the body of the project.

Also, the dude did not always have the best of interests in mind for the hedgehog himself either. Not in the long run either.

[memoryman3]

Game Informer couldn't even put this game on it's top FIFTY games of E3, which probably means that it was one of the worst games on the showfloor to them.

Personally, I blame the level designers designing the levels to patch up Sonic's, and the game engine's weaknesses

[Milo]

Another mixed preview from the previous week: Movies Games and Tech - Preview: Sonic Forces

Whilst the control issues plaguing the Modern Sonic portion of the demonstration are not serious enough to make it unplayable, the same cannot be said of the ones found whilst playing as the Avatar character. It’s difficult to move and make use of the abilities each custom character possesses in an efficient manner. In a way, playing as one of these characters is a similar experience to playing the dreaded Sonic Boom Nintendo Wii U title. Being associated with Sonic Boom is definitely not a positive trait to boast about.

Given the state of the title, it’s difficult to not have concerns when wondering what the retail version of Sonic Forces will be like. Hopefully Sonic Team will be able to address all of the issues plaguing this demonstration. As it stands, Sonic Forces may seem to make use of ideas found in the enjoyable Sonic Generations, but it has a long journey ahead of it before it can be as appealing and charismatic, if this demonstration is anything to go by.

[Graystripe2000]

A site compares the Avatar gameplay to Sonic Boom and just from watching footage, I did not get that sense. 

[MudHunter]

http://gamingbolt.com/sonic-forces-ps4-hands-on-preview-beautiful-colorful-and-bright

A PS4 preview. Tldr: They think that the game is enjoyable even 'tho the levels were easy and hope that ST can deliver.

This is just a personal observation, but I feel like the negative previews are just coming from the Switch version (I might be wrong 'tho)

[MegasonicZX]

3 minutes ago, MudHunter said:

http://gamingbolt.com/sonic-forces-ps4-hands-on-preview-beautiful-colorful-and-bright

A PS4 preview. Tldr: They think that the game is enjoyable even 'tho the levels were easy and hope that ST can deliver.

This is just a personal observation, but I feel like the negative previews are just coming from the Switch version (I might be wrong 'tho)

If its gameplay issues within the core game I doubt it'd specifically be because it was on the switch (more like just a coincidence that the negative ones were using that console) and more on the general game.

[Bobnik]

15 minutes ago, MudHunter said:

This is just a personal observation, but I feel like the negative previews are just coming from the Switch version (I might be wrong 'tho)

I noticed that as well, but the complaints were mostly about the gameplay of Forces as a whole, not just about the Switch version.

That said, iirc some more negative previews of Switch version complained about control, which might be an issue specifically for that version as it runs at 30 FPS rather than 60. Unless the game was built for 30 frames, that might be an issue. I'm not saying it is and I probably wrong on this, but it's just a thought that crossed my mind.

[Shiny Gems]

5 hours ago, MudHunter said:

http://gamingbolt.com/sonic-forces-ps4-hands-on-preview-beautiful-colorful-and-bright

A PS4 preview. Tldr: They think that the game is enjoyable even 'tho the levels were easy and hope that ST can deliver.

This is just a personal observation, but I feel like the negative previews are just coming from the Switch version (I might be wrong 'tho)

Was this at SDCC, by any chance? Anyway, it's good to see a positive preview of Sonic Forces, even though the levels were, as said in the preview, easy. I wonder if we will get more previews this week? Also, MudHunter, your thoughts on negative thoughts coming from the Switch, I'd say it's possible, though I am not sure what the reasons are for as to why the Switch version is getting not so good previews exactly, other than framerate issues.

[Multikaris]

On 7/19/2017 at 0:23 AM, memoryman3 said:

Game Informer couldn't even put this game on it's top FIFTY games of E3, which probably means that it was one of the worst games on the showfloor to them.

Personally, I blame the level designers designing the levels to patch up Sonic's, and the game engine's weaknesses

Or, that they have already been proven to hate Sonic.

[GamerGirl54321]

2 hours ago, Miru the Living Planet said:

Or, that they have already been proven to hate Sonic.

Didn't they enjoy Sonic Mania, though?

[BubbleButt TV]

On 7/25/2017 at 3:45 PM, MegasonicZX said:

If its gameplay issues within the core game I doubt it'd specifically be because it was on the switch (more like just a coincidence that the negative ones were using that console) and more on the general game.

Maybe the lower framerate and resolution make the game's fundamental flaws more noticeable? ???

EDIT: Actually that's pretty stupid now that I think about it

[Cornelius Fudge]

People are just being more critical of the Switch version due to the downgraded visuals and framerate, but majority of the issues found in Sonic Forces including the simplicity in the level design, the clunky controls of the Avatar, and an abundance of automation which contributes nothing to the gameplay stems far beyond the Switch's capabilities and more towards how the game is designed at its core and the choices that the development team has made.

[FunkDoc1112]

I'm not the only one who noticed how much City Heights modern sounds similar to Storm Station Act 1 from After the Sequel, right?

[Cakito]

On 25/07/2017 at 8:43 PM, GamerGirl54321 said:

Didn't they enjoy Sonic Mania, though?

 

On 25/07/2017 at 5:55 PM, Miru the Living Planet said:

Or, that they have already been proven to hate Sonic.

3D Sonic*

[Clewis]

1 hour ago, Cakito said:

3D Sonic*

Why the hate for Forces then???

[ChikaBoing]

17 hours ago, Cornelius Fudge said:

People are just being more critical of the Switch version due to the downgraded visuals and framerate, but majority of the issues found in Sonic Forces including the simplicity in the level design, the clunky controls of the Avatar, and an abundance of automation which contributes nothing to the gameplay stems far beyond the Switch's capabilities and more towards how the game is designed at its core and the choices that the development team has made.

Strangely, Game Informer said this

Quote

When I look at Modern Sonic games, some of the biggest consistent problems with gameplay have been how slippery it can feel when you're moving, and then the way the action goes into autopilot at times, where lots of cool things are happening on screen, but you're not responsible for much of it. With what I've played of Sonic Forces, both of those issues seem to have been improved. How has the team learned from these gameplay pitfalls of the past?

, maybe they have seen level we haven't yet...

[Graystripe2000]

Maybe.

[Cornelius Fudge]

4 hours ago, ChikaBoing said:

Strangely, Game Informer said this

, maybe they have seen level we haven't yet...

That's interesting. I'm hoping they're basing it off of future levels because they lose credibility if they're simply basing this off of what we've already seen which is generally agreed upon to be simplistic with too much automation used poorly.

I can agree with Sonic controlling better because I believe I did hear some reviewers mentioning that Sonic's controls are "tighter" and his movements do seem slightly more fluid in 2D platforming based on what I've seen.

[Speedi]

1 hour ago, Cornelius Fudge said:

That's interesting. I'm hoping they're basing it off of future levels because they lose credibility if they're simply basing this off of what we've already seen which is generally agreed upon to be simplistic with too much automation used poorly.

I can agree with Sonic controlling better because I believe I did hear some reviewers mentioning that Sasuke's controls are "tighter" and his movements do seem slightly more fluid in 2D platforming based on what I've seen.

That's good that they tightened the controls, because platforming with Modern Sonic is really hard with his super high acceleration and floaty jump. 

Also Sasuke is my favorite Sonic The Hedgehog character.