Concept: A Sonic Game With Alternate Costumes?

[SpongicX]

Considering how Super Mario Odyssey is looking to be a success, is it likely that Sega will try taking some elements in the next Sonic game? Will we be seeing Sonic running around in crazy costumes that fit the theme of a level?

I’m not gonna lie, that would be kind of fun. I always loved it when games let you do that. Mario Party 2 was well known for being the only costume party in the series, and the cancelled Twelve Tales: Conker 64 was going to have Conker wear a different hat in each level.

Mario Odyssey gives players the option to unlock costume parts, and even mix them up. I would love to see a Sonic Adventure style game do something similar. It would also be nice to have other characters playable to do the same as well. A western level could have Sonic dressed like a cowboy, A haunted level could have Sonic dressed as Van Helsing, A jungle level could have Sonic dressed like an explorer, a desert level could have Sonic dressed as an ancient Egyptian, A Greek Mythology level could have Sonic dressed in ancient Greek attire, etc.

Sonic Forces is allowing us to unlock costume parts for our avatars, so who’s to say it’s not possible for a future game to allow us to unlock alternate costumes for Sonic and his friends?

[DoubleXXCross]

Sonic works best in mixing shoe and glove types and adding a hat. It's not really full costume-work though. The main thing getting in the way of that is he ain't sheering his spines any time soon…

[SpongicX]

2 hours ago, DoubleXXCross said:

Sonic works best in mixing shoe and glove types and adding a hat. It's not really full costume-work though. The main thing getting in the way of that is he ain't sheering his spines any time soon…

They managed to make it work before. He dressed as a cowboy in Sonic Shuffle, and dressed as Link in Sonic Lost World. He even comically dressed as a sunflower in a recent episode of Sonic Boom. It’s not impossible to make costumes fit for Sonic. The avatars from Forces clearly have costumes, so can Sonic, if done right.

[Salamander]

I would agree that the main obstacle to this idea is the fact that Sonic does not work well with costumes, and the same could be said of quite a few other characters in the franchise.  On the other hand, a large part of the Avatar's appeal is that he has a myriad costume pieces, so there's arguably already some preparation for the concept.

[Darth InVaders]

The 2P mode in SA2, Rivals, and Runners had costumes if my memory is correct 

[Diogenes]

It's certainly possible they could make a game where Sonic wears a bunch of costumes, but I'm not entirely sure what the point would be.

For Mario it builds off his history of powerup costumes and it fits the game's vacation/tourism aspect. I don't really see a connection for why Sonic would be doing it.

And tbh having the snarky animal platforming hero dress up in level-themed costumes makes me think of Gex and that is not a comparison that Sonic would benefit from.

[Ryannumber1gamer]

8 minutes ago, Diogenes said:

And tbh having the snarky animal platforming hero dress up in level-themed costumes makes me think of Gex and that is not a comparison that Sonic would benefit from.

Does that mean the next Sonic game is going to have bad forth-wall/pop-culture references and two voices for both the UK and US? :U

[SpongicX]

24 minutes ago, Diogenes said:

It's certainly possible they could make a game where Sonic wears a bunch of costumes, but I'm not entirely sure what the point would be.

For Mario it builds of his history of powerup costumes and it fits the game's vacation/tourism aspect. I don't really see a connection for why Sonic would be doing it.

And tbh having the snarky animal platforming hero dress up in level-themed costumes makes me think of Gex and that is not a comparison that Sonic would benefit from.

Like I suggested, Sega might be tempted to want to take a little inspiration from Nintendo. I know there are people who are excited for Mario Odyssey for more than just the capture ability alone. Some are excited about the idea of running around in silly costumes for fun. As long as the costumes are optional, what’s the harm?

I wonder how a capture mechanic would work in a Sonic game? Maybe Silver could be given the ability to have his powers take control of Badniks, and move them around and attack. Or maybe Tails could have a new invention that allows him to take control of badniks.

Imagine cruising around as a Motobug, flying and zapping as a buzzbomber, falling apart as a caterkiller, or waddling around as a penguinator. I think it could be fun to see a game that allows us to use Eggman’s robots against him.

[SpongicX]

57 minutes ago, Darth InVaders said:

The 2P mode in SA2, Rivals, and Runners had costumes if my memory is correct 

True, but they were pretty random, and didn’t really match any of the levels in the game. SA2’s alts were only for 2 player mode, not very fun for those who prefer single player. Also, I don’t think people liked the real life gambling methods for Runner’s alternate costumes. Not to mention how they were treated like new characters, instead of skins for the characters they were based on. Also, that game is dead, thanks to Sega making it online only, while cancelling it and screwing over all the players who spent time and possibly money on it.

Some of the costumes in the Rivals games were too questionable. Sonic Rivals 2 had Sonic dressed like a cheetah for some strange reason? Not to mention how most of those costumes weren’t very easy to unlock. It would be nice to get a Sonic game that can allow you to unlock costumes in a variety of better ways, that don’t require perfecting each level, or force you to win a bunch of multiplayer modes in a row.

[Danj86]

Yeah, they had costumes in SA2B and Sonic Rivals but...they felt lacking...

It could be a fun idea to implement. Maybe they could even have benefits, like snow boots prevent slipping on ice or something like that. Or maybe have customizable parts like the Avatar character but instead adding stuff to Sonic or another playable character, like a scarf or sports tape. XD I don't know why, but I'd like to see Sonic in a variety of hats for some reason. He wore a ten gallon hat in one of the Sonic Shuffle mini games.

Speaking of Sonic Shuffle. Dr. Eggman had wonderful range with his outfits in those special events. I'd be super happy to see more of that too. For no reason, here's a collection of some I found:

Spoiler

 

[SpongicX]

50 minutes ago, FFWF said:

I would agree that the main obstacle to this idea is the fact that Sonic does not work well with costumes, and the same could be said of quite a few other characters in the franchise.  On the other hand, a large part of the Avatar's appeal is that he has a myriad costume pieces, so there's arguably already some preparation for the concept.

Hard to say Sonic doesn’t work well with costumes, when we never really saw the series try enough with the idea. I for one always loved seeing Sonic characters dressed up, like they were in the Christmas promotional art for Sonic Adventure. It always bummed me out how Sega never tried hard enough with alternate costumes in Sonic games.

I personally wasn’t a fan of most of the costumes in the Rivals games, and they weren’t easy to obtain, it doesn’t help that the games had pretty ugly looking graphics either. But I did enjoy seeing Knuckles randomly dressed as Eggman. 

[Your Vest Friend]

Eh, alternate costumes are something I could take or leave. I don't have the greatest in seeing the characters in other clothes. I didn't use it that much in Rivals or Rival 2 for example. 

[HywelAtTheMoon]

I can see the female characters and Eggman being the main characters to do this. I wouldn't rule out the Chaotix either (fits Charmy's character well). 

[KHCast]

They could always go the Lightning Returns route and have costumes be stat based and have abilities to them. Idk, that could probably bring more problems 

[SpongicX]

2 hours ago, HywelAtTheMoon said:

I can see the female characters and Eggman being the main characters to do this. I wouldn't rule out the Chaotix either (fits Charmy's character well). 

It would be funny to see the Chaotix going undercover. It would be really hard to try disguising Vector though, due to the fact he's a pretty large character. Considering how Vector is the only known crocodile in the series, it would take a lot of effort to try disguising him.  Good luck trying to disguise his long mouth and tail. For Espio, he doesn't need disguises, he has camouflage. I could definitely see Charmy being passed off in a baby disguise or something, lol. 

[PandaChao]

As long as there's a Sonichu costume i'm all for this.

[Austroid]

I love the unlockable costumes in SA2B! It was a nice bonus that should've been kept in later games.

I would of loved if they could've been used in story mode too, so you could see characters wearing them in cutscenes and such.

(Eggman's in particular is quite nice. It's like a more serious, militaristic take on his traditional garb.)

[Nicky Nicardo]

I think that'd be a pretty darn cool idea~