If Sonic Team took a break from "big" Sonic, what would you like to see?

[Jambone]

Let's say that, by some miracle, Sonic Team realizes that they've sailed off a cliff and decide to try climbing back up.  SEGA releases the death grip it has on Sonic Team's now-completely-decayed skeleton and we see a little self awareness.

They release a statement saying that they're going to be doing a lot of restructuring and looking back on what made Sonic great and how he can move forward, but to do that they're going to take a break from relatively large Sonic games and stick to smaller titles to get on their feet.  This allows for some experimentation, the disastrously uninitiated to get some experience, and for not every decision to be a huge commitment.   For a little clarification, let's say that these titles are:

• $10-20
• Released digitally
• Focusing on testing new gameplay concepts and revisiting old and/or forgotten ones (say, CD's time travel as an example, although it doesn't necessarily have to be a Classic Sonic concept)

These also do not necessarily have to be Sonic games, although they likely would be.  Iizuka has stated that he'd like to do another NiGHTS game if given the chance, so a smaller game akin to the first could be made using a small team with a focus on recapturing the fluid movement and momentum of the same game.  While not directly Sonic, NiGHTS and his blue cousin share a lot of philosophies (momentum, speedy gameplay, fantastical, engrossing environments) that could end up being good experience for greenhorn level, graphical, and music designers.  Not only would this allow for the team to work with someone other than Sonic for a while, but it also reintroduces a beloved brand with cult recognition without too much risk.  Odds are, a good NiGHTS game wouldn't sell nearly as well as Mania did, but with low development costs it could still be profitable and expand the potential base for future endeavors.

Another simple idea would be to create a Sonic racing game that features the characters on foot, allowing them to test gameplay ideas for future non-racing games.  A racing game would allow more leeway with level design and workshopping gimmicks than a single-player experience while still serving the fans of Sonic who want to see their favorite characters in action.

I'd like to know what some of you people think, as Sonic's fanbase.  What sorts of smaller ideas would you like to see fleshed out in a case where Sonic Team enters an experimental "recovery period" of sorts?

[Tarnish]

Remember when Sonic Team made other original games besides Sonic so they didn't have to force every idea they had into Sonic games? The good old days..

[Mr Loopone]

Even though the chances of that happening are slim because of current Sega policies where the teams are focused mainly on just one series (e.g. Yakuza team doing yearly/6 monthy Yakuza games and even the new Fist of the North Star game uses the same engine/style), give Sonic Team something else to do. If Iizuka wants to do NiGHTS, let him do NiGHTS and if Shun Nakamura wants a new Samba de Amigo, let him work on a new game in that series. Current Sega doesn't allow much experimentation and believe sticking to what they know is the best even though in the case of Sonic Team it is burning them out pretty fast.

If the remaining members of the team want to do a Sonic game, then at least something small scale as in not a retail 3D platformer. Sonic 4 was a good idea making it episodic however the execution of that could have been better and they weren't directly involved with it. They used to also work on a few spinoff games that these days they are handled by completely different developers. Maybe make the Casino Night DLC from Sonic Generations into its own game, Hidden World/Special Stages from Sonic Lost World into their own game. After all wasn't Sonic itself started off as a development idea? Even an Avatar spinoff game taking what was in Sonic Forces and expanding it. Some people wanted a Chao Garden game for years and that is small scale enough, they could do it on mobile and potentially find a way to make that profitable.

[Teoskaven]

First and foremost, port everything that hasn't been ported yet to modern systems and PC: Samba de Amigo, Chu-Chu Rocket, Phantasy Star Universe, Billy Hatcher, NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams and especially Burning Rangers. This would be a great move to show to modern generations that the team has made great and varied products outside from Sonic.
Second, have a new title to one of the above mentioned IPs, so the team can still have some familiarity while experimenting with something new and at the same time getting some grease to gears that have rusted too much.
And after that, create a new IP altogether. Doesn't need to be bombastic, just efficient and fun to play.

Side note for Shun Nakamura only: port Rhythm Thief to the Switch and get  to do the damn sequel everyone is waiting for. Seriously.

[Diogenes]

Make a small-scale 3D Sonic with Saturn-ish aesthetics and Genesis style physics.

And then make Sonic R 2 using the same engine.

[DabigRG]

So, games that aren't Mainline Sonic games?

[Multikaris]

Some new IP. I wonder what ideas they have, and what sort of passion they’d put into them.

[Promethean0416]

To me, Classic Sonic was what the original Genesis games and Mania were: fast-paced action and creative level design. I would love to see more of that with a greater variety of characters (yes, I know Mania + is on the way, and it's a start.) and level designs.

[DabigRG]

1 minute ago, Promethean0416 said:

To me, Classic Sonic was what the original Genesis games and Mania were: fast-paced action and creative level design. I would love to see more of that with a greater variety of characters (yes, I know Mania + is on the way, and it's a start.) and level designs.

So what you're saying is...more Advance?

[Promethean0416]

1 minute ago, DabigRG said:

So what you're saying is...more Advance?

Kind of forgot about Advance there for a moment. It would be a similar premise, but without overdoing it too much on the speed factor, which I thought the Advance series did.

[DabigRG]

Just now, Promethean0416 said:

Kind of forgot about Advance there for a moment. It would be a similar premise, but without overdoing it too much on the speed factor, which I thought the Advance series did.

Yeah, I hear that was definitely the case in Advance 2.

[Tarnish]

I personally wouldn't be surprised if they were actually discouraged/not allowed to create new IPs or experiment anymore, even if the team does have ideas for such. Back when SEGA was still in the console business, they needed an appealing library of games to attract the biggest audience possible to sell their hardware, so I would assume SEGA was a lot more compliant to give a green light if the team had an idea, or actually ordered/commissioned them to work on other titles besides Sonic, like it was the case with the original Phantasy Star Online if I remember well.

Now with no hardware to sell, the logical thing is to only focus on the franchises making the most money, forget about all other franchises that were not financially successful (save for the occasional, barebone ports) and not allow expensive/risky experimentation anymore.

[Marco9966]

Sonic Advance Mania. I don't see why we can't play as modern Sonic and his modern friends in 2D.

[DabigRG]

25 minutes ago, Marco9966 said:

Sonic Advance Mania. I don't see why we can't play as modern Sonic and his modern friends in 2D.

I'd be down for that.

[Skull Leader]

1 hour ago, Marco9966 said:

Sonic Advance Mania. I don't see why we can't play as modern Sonic and his modern friends in 2D.

Not necessarily with that name... but yeah, I'd be shaking a fist full of dollar bills and ask for my money to be taken at the very moment they announced a new 2-D game that featured the modern cast much like the Advance series did, as I also feel the have much more character variety to choose from.

[Ryannumber1gamer]

Honestly? A remaster of the boost trilogy to modern consoles.

Unleashed for it's time had a few technical issues that were on PS3 especially, framerate dips, and more, especially with Eggmanland and Jungle Joyride. I'd love to see them remaster it to modern consoles so it can have it's graphics touched up, rough spots patched, DLC added, and ensure it all runs at a solid and smooth framerate. 

Colours would be even better, since it was released on a lower-end console spec wise. Touch up things, maybe add in the Unleashed models as opposed to the downgraded Wii models, and overhaul the lighting and textures, and it's unique worlds could get a real nice shot to shine. 

Generations would be absolutely great to have ported. Maybe add a few new bonus levels, add in the Casino Night DLC that's been locked as a Steam exclusive for years, and again, touch everything up. The beauty about Unleashed and Gens is that both still look really nice, especially Unleashed as it's nearly a decade old. With a few new add-ons and touch-ups, the games really could shine again.

[MightyRay]

*points to Ristar* Doing something with him would be a good start, maybe port some more puyo puyo games, The rub rabbits series, let Ilzuka make his Nights sequel and Nakamura his Samba de Amigo sequel... maybe dig around for some really old IP and give it a tweak or better yet try and make some new stuff?

[RedFox99]

I think a remastered package of the Advance trilogy games could be nice. Or maybe a remake of Battle because I want Amy to actually be written well in one of the handheld games. 

[DabigRG]

16 minutes ago, RedFox99 said:

I think a remastered package of the Advance trilogy games could be nice. Or maybe a remake of Battle. 

That'd be nice.

.

16 minutes ago, RedFox99 said:

 I want Amy to actually be written well in one of the handheld games. 

.

There was much writing to begin with?

[RedFox99]

Just now, DabigRG said:

There was much writing to begin with?

What I meant was a remake that would deflanderize Amy.

[DabigRG]

Just now, RedFox99 said:

What I meant was a remake that would deflanderize Amy.

Again, there was much writing to begin with?

[RedFox99]

20 minutes ago, DabigRG said:

Again, there was much writing to begin with?

Judging by some screenshots there seemed to be plenty.

[DabigRG]

1 minute ago, RedFox99 said:

Judging by some screenshots there seemed to be plenty.

Oh, I know. I was mainly referring to how handhelds are relatively light/simple on content compared to consoles.

Well that and how little involvement/characterization Amy in particular generally had in them.  

[Skull Leader]

1 hour ago, DabigRG said:

Again, there was much writing to begin with?

I think RedFox99 refers to how Amy was flanderized in Battle. Then again, a well written Amy in that title would leave Cream with nothing to contribute, which I'm perfectly OK with as I was never a fan of how the redeeming aspects of Amy were taken away and given to another character. (For example, the talk Cream has with one of the robots that look like E-102 is something that sounds an awful lot like what the better written Amy from the Adventure games would had said)

 

[SaturnWolf]

How about a new Ristar game? It's been too long since we've had his one and only game.