Tone in the Sonic series

[Kellan]

1 hour ago, Mayor D said:

(Click for full size).

I would say somewhere around ICO/Most crash games/PS1 era platforms seems about right.

“Postal 2 is a black comedy first-person shooter video game by Running With Scissors, and it is the sequel to the 1997 game Postal. Both are intentionally highly controversial due to high levels of violence and stereotyping.”

Should that game really be directly to the right of Crash Bandicoot? Unless it’s there because it’s jokey, and not because it’s dark, in which case I’d argue that Mortal Kombat should probably be further to the left since their games like to be pretty silly at times.

[Badnik Mechanic]

6 minutes ago, Kellan said:

“Postal 2 is a black comedy first-person shooter video game by Running With Scissors, and it is the sequel to the 1997 game Postal. Both are intentionally highly controversial due to high levels of violence and stereotyping.”

Should that game really be directly to the right of Crash Bandicoot? Unless it’s there because it’s jokey, and not because it’s dark, in which case I’d argue that Mortal Kombat should probably be further to the left since their games like to be pretty silly at times.

I didn't even put Postal 2 at the halfway point.  

Mortal Kombat whilst having dark humour certainly doesn't do that with it's depictions of hell, torture, the afterlife and the shear fact it's a always brutal and shocking in it's depiction but neither in an ironic sense or as a commentary on it's own genre or anything in particular. 

[Wraith]

1 hour ago, Mayor D said:

(Click for full size).

I would say somewhere around ICO/Most crash games/PS1 era platforms seems about right.

please dont tell me you take mortal kombat seriously
 

[Badnik Mechanic]

17 minutes ago, Kellan said:

“Postal 2 [...] Should that game really be directly to the right of Crash Bandicoot? 

 

9 minutes ago, Josh said:

please dont tell me you take mortal kombat seriously

I could spend my Sunday justifying this and every other game and it's position on that my crappy ms paint chart which was made just to quickly make a point.

But nah.

 

Edit: Replace it with Demons Souls or whatever.

[Multikaris]

On 1/28/2018 at 11:37 AM, Mayor D said:

(Click for full size).

I would say somewhere around ICO/Most crash games/PS1 era platforms seems about right.

Yes, but Sonic comes fairly right of those and even most Nintendo games. Approx the halfway point of CB and Postal 2.

 

[Natie]

I'd like to put out the thought that maybe sonic doesn't have to be serious to be taken seriously. I feel like enough earnest faith in itself is all sonic stories need to be investible. It's what makes people love the cheesy ass kids anime stories from the Adventure games, they aren't really that deep or dark, but they're just so invested in themselves that the player can't help but feel the same. Compare it to the pontac stories that try to hard to be self aware and snarky that it doesn't feel confident in the slightest, which is really hard to get into.

Same reason I feel like classic sonic is so cool, he just silently pushes forward with a determined face even if the world is wacky and wild. The characters don't turn to the camera and make a joke about how silly stuff like casino night zone or the cute badniks are, they all take the situation seriously because that's just how their world is. It makes it both charming and cute, and also easy to care about.

[A sonic fan]

I always maintained the stance that sonic should have the tone of a shonen anime.

[SilverTheGamer]

i kind of have my own idea. it's definitely darker. but not trying as hard as shadow the hedgehog.

[AzureLakeSanic]

On 1/26/2018 at 2:59 PM, A crocodile said:

Fair enough for most of what you said. 

But with modern Sonic, ehh...I get a lot more of the "totally radical" Crash Bandicoot sorta thing going on with it, especially during the Adventure days. I think of crazy gaudy early Nickelodeon type stuff with modern Sonic before anime. The Adventure style added a lot of folds and curves and honestly with a few tweaks it wouldn't look too out of place with something like Rocko. 

Then again, that just may be my impression of the style and how I prefer things to be. 

That does not look ANYTHING like the art style from Rocko, as someone who watches and loves the series. Honestly, the Classic artwork looks like Rocko AND a bit like season 1 SpongeBob.

[A person, that exists]

12 minutes ago, AzureLakeSanic said:

That does not look ANYTHING like the art style from Rocko, as someone who watches and loves the series. Honestly, the Classic artwork looks like Rocko AND a bit like season 1 SpongeBob.

Nah. Classic Sonic is more "Felix the Cat mixed with old as hell children's anime" than anything Nickelodeon-related. 

That's like saying that Kirby looks like Garfield.

[blueblur98]

unleashed had the perfect tone for sonic. it took itself semi-seriously, while at the same time it had some lighthearted humor.  not too serious, like shadow/'06, and not too silly, like colors.

it also helps that the english VAs gave their best performance before they got replaced.

[Nuggets]

 

all comedy plots work when it’s something consistent like Colors (for the most part) and isn’t written like shit, this series has a silly premise and works when it embraces that 

Unleashed and Black Knight prove that even though the concept is silly, seriousness when written competently and within this series’ boundaries can work and create some amazing or poignant moments in the game, but only when it takes itself seriously and treats its characters like real nuanced things while still understanding it’s still a game about a talking blue hedgehog 

Shadow/06/whatever else prove that when you take yourself too seriously, forget what the series is about, and don’t take time to breathe for comedy you get unintended comedy. 

Cringeworthy, meme-birthing, mindfuckingly absurd comedy. 

that’s all there is to it 

It’s not even a matter of tone, really. It’s a matter of good writing, of which this series has had maybe 5 times in the past 20 years. the tone arguments at this point don’t even matter this series just needs a good fucking writer

please god

thats all I’ve ever wanted 

[Sgt Nate V]

tone timeline

light and soft with the first few games

got a little darker with adventure

got more dark with adventure 2

got really dark with 06

got a little less dark with unleashed

got really lighthearted with colors

and attempted to be dark with forces but failed

[Meta77]

If I were still in elementary them if say more light hearted wackiness   but now that I'm 28 I still enjoy slight jokes but like more serious stories. If only Sega could tell a damn one properly.  I mean lord kill a character every now and again.  Dbz

[Splash the Otter]

I prefer a tone that's flexible enough to be serious or lighter as the situation demands. If the jokes or dark elements are piled on too thick, it hurts the story.

This may be an unpopular opinion, but I think Forces did a good job with its tone. It was darker than most Sonic games, but I've also seen it described as a game where the power of friendship makes anime rock happen.