Sonic fans, I'm curious. Why do you continue to support the Sonic franchise when SEGA struggles to keep the quality consistent? What's keeping you around?

[King Scoopa Koopa]

The comics, the cartoons, and if a good game comes along, so much the better.

[Tara]

I guess not being a hardcore gamer by most people's definition of the term is an advantage to me.  Games to me are like alcohol.  Something to do with friends occassionally but not a huge part of my life.  So when I purchase a Sonic game, I don't do it with the active mindset of "I'm supporting a franchise."  I do it with the thought of "Here's something to kill a few hours of my time or create a point of discussion with friends."  It's not to say that don't appreciate the artistry of games as a medium or that I don't recognize the faults of the series.  But a bad game is just a bad game to me, not some life investment.  Rarely do bad games make me legit angry and the ones that do are usually the obvious offenders.  Your Sonic 06's and your Shadows and your Booms.  Something that is mediocre but otherwise fairly inoffensive like Sonic Lost World doesn't really bother me.

So I guess my answer to the question here is that I continue to support the series because I just plain don't care.  Not a complex thing, really.

[UpCDownCLeftCRightC]

1 hour ago, Natie said:

Sonic as both a character and a video game is practically a goldmine of potential that has unfortunately yet to be fully explored (I still think by all means Sonic would be perfect for 3D so it's a wonder they haven't made it work yet). 

This is also one of my top reasons.

In general though, Sonic 1-3K is by far my favorite game series ever. Sonic 3K in particular, even playing each half game in the 90s, influenced me so greatly, it actually introduced me to both real and abstract concepts that inspired my professional career. There are many other things I can comment on but really its safe to say that I will always be a fan of Sonic, especially how he was represented in the 90s. That version of Sonic in my opinion is the coolest, most fun character created in gaming.

And with that said, the single biggest reason I stick around and keep tabs on the series is that since 1995, I have been dreaming about a 3D Sonic concept that is heavily inspired by Sonic 3. A game like that would make me cry tears of joy. The build up to Sonic Adventure in 1998 felt like Sonic Team was trying to accomplish it (and in some ways they came close) but they've never seriously attempted it again since. 

 

I do not care who makes it, I just want a game like that to exist because I'm sure it would easily stand toe to toe with any other platformer on the market , just like Sonic 3 did in its day. I'm also convinced that, although Sonic Team themselves are unlikely to pull it off, there are current developers who with the right structure and motivation can accomplish it.

 

 

 

[Your Vest Friend]

I'd just say it appeals to me and has stuff I'm interested in. Nothing more specific than that because for me the idea is truly abstract and not something I could give a gauge to. 

Like, you could give me any Legend of Zelda or Kirby or Animal Crossing game and I'll just be like "This is boring, I don't like it" (mainly because this already happened). I'm simultaneously not fickle and super fickle at the same time. 

I guess 3D platformers (especially collectathons) might come a bit closer to the idea in terms of gameplay, but I also hated SM64, DK64 and Super Mario Galaxy, while I loved Super Mario Sunshine. There's just not one factor alone. 

[Maxtiis]

This franchise just has so much style, I can't help but stick around. Sonic and friends all have great designs, especially for anthropomorphic characters there's really not anything else like it. The music.....need I say anything? Even at the game's worst, nearly agrees that this franchise has some really kickass tunes. The gameplay is capable of making for incredible platforming with it's almost unorthodox ways of allowing the player to traverse the levels (I'm talking 2-D here), and even if they're aged I still love how good Sonic controlled on foot back in Adventure 1 & 2.

Really though, I think I stick around most for Sonic himself. He's just such a great character. Even if he lives a bit of a hedonistic lifestyle he's still just an all around cool guy, even if he's said some cheesy lines over the years. But I think his carefree, always move forward attitude is genuinely inspiring and is the approach I try to take with life, it just seems the best way to live a happy one in my eyes at least.

[Stasis]

I've re wrote my thoughts over and over for this topic but all it comes down to is that Sonic has been such a big part of my life since 1991. I've invested 26 years playing, drawing, reading, listening to, watching, animating and collecting Sonic related things, so much so that I don't think I will ever part with the series until the day I die.

 

[NegaMix]

Well, I did have a ridiculously long post trying to express why I stick around, but I've edited it so many times now that it's not worth listing.

I guess, the more I think about it, I have no idea why I stick around. I only ever played the worst (ports of) Sonic games as a kid, so maybe playing the better ones later on got me interested? I dunno. All I really know is that I've been losing interest in the current franchise more and more lately, with some very rare exceptions.

[Dr. Detective]

Oh it's simple actually.

The Sonic Series isn't something I tailor to the people in charge of making the games. The series itself is something I've always viewed as something anyone can try their hand at and come up with something of immeasurably different quality depending on who's in charge of whatever aspect of the series is coming out. That's true whether it be the games, the latest television show, the comics, or even whatever fan-art and fan-fiction I happen to find online that I like.

If a bunch of bad decisions by people who handle things badly are in charge of a game and a bad game comes out, it's a bad game. Conversely, if Sumo Digital puts out another Kart Racer and worked just as hard on it as they did with their last two efforts, then that'd end up being a really good game. 

If good people come together and make a good product than they've made a good product.

If bad people come together and make a bad product than they've made a bad product.

It's hard to see that as something to blame the series itself for though. 

I was introduced to the series though Adventure 2, Heroes, and Sonic X practically around the a similar time frame and the Sonic overload combined with the memories associated with the world, the characters, the aesthetic, and the adventures they all went on were some of the happiest memories of my life.

We just so happen to be in a position where the people in charge of Sonic's most famous and highly distributed content, that being the Sonic games, have a really bad habit of being inconsistent with their quality. That's not something I can blame the Sonic series itself for. Not after seeing so many people work on it and producing so many different things of varying quality. 

I'll never stop being a fan of Sonic.  

Sonic Team however? Yeah, I can't say I'm a fan of them. I love the series that they're in charge of handling though. 

Best of luck to them so that they can finally figure shit out.

[Dizcrybe]

I still find the non-Boom games fun. That's it, really.

[SSF1991]

Because I still enjoy his games. I still enjoy watching Sonic Boom. I still enjoy working as a Sonic news reporter for fan sites.

Long story short, I stick around because I still love Sonic.

[A super No.1 washedupgamer]

What keeps me around, what keeps me coming back here almost everyday, is to see what's gonna happen next.

I've found something fun in every sonic game I've played all these years. I've seen reactions and disappointment, things I've found fun while others didn't, basically I'm just here to see if sonic team is gonna get it right this time. If forces doesn't do well, well, there's always next time.

I'm fond of the classics, sonic heroes, riders, colors and all star games, I have so many memories with these games and I don't plan on letting go of this franchise soon. Plus, the comics and tv shows give me plenty of entertainment as well.

[SatAMhog]

I know this is an unpopular opinion and I'll be hated for saying it^^;;...

But I don't think the quality of the series is in a mess...game quality is arguable yes, but the quality of the franchise has overall been excellent.  Sure, fan reaction to Forces may be varied but look at the other areas of the franchise.  The comics have been a constant source of excellent storytelling, the games (even the Olympic games) have been great over the past decade...we've gotten Unleashed, the Rush games, Generations, Colors, and Mania.  The cartoons over the years (save Underground and Sonic X in ENGLISH...avoid at all costs, watch in Japanese with subtitles if you can ONLY) have been vehicles to keep brand awareness and a spotlight on the characters and the merch has been wonderful especially with Jazwares and not Tomy stepping up to the plate.

Why would you quit the franchise just because of the occasional bad game when you have the comics or the cartoons to fall back on?  We're getting FOUR issues of Sonic in April for cryin' out loud.  Oh, but you say to yourself  "I only enjoy Sonic for his games..." and I say that's fine.  To you, it would be a mess and you would be justified when all you want is a great 3D game.  But looking at the overall picture, it's far from a mess.  Sonic's in a GREAT place right now.  Sonic Mania brought some much needed positive light to the blue blur and reminded people why we all love the blue bugger.  Sonic Forces being mediocre isn't going to change that....it's NOT Sonic 2006....neither was Rise of Lyric for that matter(it was an average game at best).  I stick with the Blue Blur because I grew up with em'.  I'm not going to abandon him just because of a game that may or may not be bad.  Heck, if you don't like Forces, you have Mania...it's the reason we have both I think...there's something for everyone and I think Sega saw that so they tried to please everyone(though I'll be honest...Classic Sonic REALLY didn't need to be in Forces but I do appreciate the cliffhanger for Mania).

[Nintendoga]

Sonic Team is a mess, the track record since Generations has been awful, and not a damn thing in Forces looks appealing to me. But I adore aspects of Sonic, various media like the comics, as well as the community. So I stay. 

Supporting the franchise is odd for me cause I don't want to support 3D Sonic. Tired of how Sonic Team treats them. Mania tho, hell yeah more of that. I'll buy every installment of Mania-like games if they keep pumping them out with great quality. I want to support and encourage the future of 2D Sonic games, but definitely not 3D Sonic. 19 years and there's still no 3D Sonic game I can call "great!". Why bother anymore, you know?

[SpongicX]

I love the characters, and Sonic’s gameplay from Sonic Adventure. I’ve been dying to see a new game that takes Sonic’s gameplay from Sonic Adventure, but gives us the option to play as many different characters.

I’m even having fun watching Sonic Boom, since Sega hasn’t done the best job at allowing other Sonic characters to shine in the video games, it’s still nice to see some carnations of Tails, Amy, and Knuckles having more to do in a tv show. It makes me want to see more of them as playable characters in the 3d games. Instead, they got upstaged again, and by forced upon custom characters with underwhelming gameplay.

[TCB]

I like the characters, asthetics and the overall exotic world of the franchise.

I am close with a few people whom I met from liking this series.

As far as the games are concerned at this point, I've stopped being bothered with exerting energy to make this series one to really get into. If I see a game that I think it'll enjoy, I'll play it. If at the end of the day I don't, I'll move on to another series I'm invested in more for the time being. 

So...I guess I'm...what's the word...indifferent? Apathetic? Yeah, let's go with that. 

[molul]

While Sonic games have been mostly bad-mediocre-average-not interesting to me since Sonic & Knuckles, except for Sonic 3D (I like that game even though I know it's not great) or Generations, Sonic really hit me in my childhood and it's like first love: no matter what I do, it will always have a place in my heart.

The fact that so many people feel mostly the same has been the force behind Sonic Mania. This unconditional love has rung through decades until a new "true classic" Sonic game has been made. Totally worth the wait.

Also, Sonic is an icon. If a Sonic game is bad, it's not Sonic's fault. The fandom will never get angry with Sonic. It's not like an artist making bad albums after making great albums. I mean, it's Sega's fault that there are bad Sonic games, so I guess that's what makes Sonic work: people love the "idea" of Sonic, but are pissed of with Sega whenever they make another average Sonic game. Sonic is untouchable, Sega is to blame for the mistakes.

I think that's why fans never give up on Sonic. 

[Swing]

For me it's the little extras like some of the characters, the music and the internet fame Sonic now has. I really love the let's plays of the Gamegrumps and I enjoy the cartoons and comics of Sonic. I actually got into Sonic not because of the games, but more of the TV shows and comics. I do not really care much about his games, because Sonic for me at least was always more an animated character or a comic book character rather than a video game character. 

Their for I can actually live on with out the games. I think that most Sonic fans actually can do. Sonic became so popular because of his character, design and story telling. This style of him can still live on in an other medium. You do not have to use it in a video game. It works for films, shows, comics, mangas, internet videos etc. This is how I see Sonic's future.

[knuckles20]

While the games haven't been worth my money in years the one thing that keeps me around is the comics.

[Sean]

I stuck around because Taxman came out with Sonic CD 2011. Then we got Sonic 1 and 2 on mobile. Now we have a brand new Genesis-styled game that ended up being the best Sonic game in decades, so I feel that my attachment to Sonic ultimately paid off.

Plus, a lot of the older games are still fun to play every now and then.

[SBR2]

15 hours ago, Tara said:

I guess not being a hardcore gamer by most people's definition of the term is an advantage to me.  Games to me are like alcohol.  Something to do with friends occassionally but not a huge part of my life.  So when I purchase a Sonic game, I don't do it with the active mindset of "I'm supporting a franchise."  I do it with the thought of "Here's something to kill a few hours of my time or create a point of discussion with friends."  It's not to say that don't appreciate the artistry of games as a medium or that I don't recognize the faults of the series.  But a bad game is just a bad game to me, not some life investment.  Rarely do bad games make me legit angry and the ones that do are usually the obvious offenders.  Your Sonic 06's and your Shadows and your Booms.  Something that is mediocre but otherwise fairly inoffensive like Sonic Lost World doesn't really bother me.

So I guess my answer to the question here is that I continue to support the series because I just plain don't care.  Not a complex thing, really.

Yeah I'm with Tara. I'm not exactly a Gamer TM but I am a guy who just y'know plays games because hey I got some time. Maybe that's why I'm less angry about Sega's "Mistakes" because I think it's a little silly to get angry about how a Toy was put together.

[ThePrinceOfSaiyans]

Masochism, I guess.

In all seriousness, there isn't anything else like it, and when a game in this franchise is actually done well, it's some seriously good shit. 

[Jango]

Because what @Tracker_TD and @Diogenes said, pretty much.

It's a dear franchise to a lot of folks, at one point we all loved it.

Mania has proved that Sonic as a franchise still has a LOT of potential, especially when it lays on its base concept: fast pacing platforming with rewarding explorating, momentum based physics, colorful levels that are a mix between real and fantasy world and catchy music. 

Keep it like this, even if you have to split the brand in two (which they SHOULD do), and I'll be around longer.

I want to see the franchise I like getting those 9's and 10's grades and universal praise, not mediocre grades and jokes...

 

 

[DoubleXXCross]

I don't know.

I'm not here for the memories that Mania was supposed to revive; none of that works on me. You can throw in my face how purely objectively good the Classic games are and I will openly accept it but it doesn't make my brain say that I'm here for those. Because I'm not.

But that's what Sonic is. None of the rest of it is legit. It shouldn't even exist. It's all dead weight that the franchise needs to get rid of to not just be good again but to be Sonic again.

And yet the dead weight is what I'm earnestly here for. So everything that's killing the franchise is the stuff that I like, and everything that embodies it and can save it is the stuff I'm indifferent to… which I guess means… I don't support the Sonic franchise?

I'm not a Sonic fan?

I don't know.

[Kuzu]

I haven't bought a game in years and have mostly moved on to other franchises, but the community and Aesthetic I guess.

 

It's kind of hard to completely denounce Sonic from my life, but the quality of the series really doesn't make me wanna invest money in it any more, especially since as an adult, money tends to be very scarce and I have very little time to game as it is. So I'd rather put that time and money towards games that I know for a fact that I'll enjoy.

That said, the series was still a large part of my childhood and I've met a lot of great people, so I can't exactly completely shut it out from my life.

[Ryusuke]

I love the series in general and what was good about it is special and is still enjoyable. But, I do think a lot of Sonic Team's games are pretty eh. And, it was kind of a bummer in the 2000s since there was a lot of bad. But, now we have Ian Flynn's comics, Generations, Colors, some of the handheld games, Mania and the Sonic Boom cartoon that's pretty rad (at least to me).