Sonic 30th predictions

[Red Hot Jack]

Tbh I feel like a lot of the criticism, not all but some, is only a result of disappointment and anger by fans (from Forces mostly).

SEGA does listen to criticism, fans and takes feedback, A LOT. In fact they are always so desperate to please their fans, they brought Classic Sonic back for the fans, fans said Sonic was going too fast with the boost and Sega gave us Lost World, they brought the other characters into the fold for the fans, they dropped unpopular things like the Werehog, guns and vehicles, people asked for playable Shadow, they got it. Now fans are asking for a decent game and SEGA is taking their time to develop it (them?). If anything they are too desperate and under pressure to meet the fans demands that they forget to put genuine passion which is needed to develop a good game.

Now my actual issues with recent games (mostly Forces) in my opinion:

- Linear and very basic level design, really for casuals.

- Short stages, as if they were cut in half

- Overall laziness in content, maybe due to lower budget

- The art style is perhaps too isometric and cartoony in a weird way

[Kuzu]

I mean when the series constantly squanders its own potential and underperforms its kind of hard to not be a little cynical.

Forces was the last game released, which doesn't exactly instill confidence in the direction of the series.

The uncertainty is what's driving the cynicism unfortunately 

[Jango]

3 hours ago, Jack-ted said:

Tbh I feel like a lot of the criticism, not all but some, is only a result of disappointment and anger by fans (from Forces mostly).

SEGA does listen to criticism, fans and takes feedback, A LOT. In fact they are always so desperate to please their fans, they brought Classic Sonic back for the fans, fans said Sonic was going too fast with the boost and Sega gave us Lost World, they brought the other characters into the fold for the fans, they dropped unpopular things like the Werehog, guns and vehicles, people asked for playable Shadow, they got it. Now fans are asking for a decent game and SEGA is taking their time to develop it (them?). If anything they are too desperate and under pressure to meet the fans demands that they forget to put genuine passion which is needed to develop a good game.

Now my actual issues with recent games (mostly Forces) in my opinion:

- Linear and very basic level design, really for casuals.

- Short stages, as if they were cut in half

- Overall laziness in content, maybe due to lower budget

- The art style is perhaps too isometric and cartoony in a weird way

They tried to fix some of the stuff fans have complained about in the most superficial ways ever, ultimately creating even MORE stuff for people to complain next, it's like a vicious cycle. A Sonic cycle, if you will.

[FReaK]

1 hour ago, Jango said:

 A Sonic cycle, if you will.

Oh god...I thought we've been through this.. D=

Jokes aside. I agree with what you said, and honestly if I were in charge of the franchise then I would probably try something new as well. 2D is easy..but I can't think of a 3D playstyle that would suit the Character well without having too short levels for example, since they need to be big to get the feeling of speed as you run through them. The SA style is kinda slow paced, and lost world was...eh.

What I'm trying to say is..every thing they try has one or more downsides somewhere. I cant really think of anything else then approaching it 2.5D style. Sure, there are a few good looking 3D fangames out there (hello utopia!) But at this point I don't think that sega is willing to try something like that.

[Piko]

Looks like we have some plans for the 30th anniversary according to this licensing magazine.

Quote

Throughout 2021, SEGA will be celebrating Sonic’s 30th anniversary with new games, a music concert with special guests and a wide array of new licensing and merchandising partnerships.

 

[Stasis]

Nice 30th Anniversary logo they decided to use.

[Razule]

5 hours ago, Piko said:

Looks like we have some plans for the 30th anniversary according to this licensing magazine.

 

Doesn't sound too different from what was in a licensing magazine last year. 

[Piko]

15 hours ago, Razule said:

Doesn't sound too different from what was in a licensing magazine last year. 

This one mentions a concert, which I don't recall being mentioned before. Now I'm not sure how it will be handled (for obvious reasons), but it sounds pretty exciting nonetheless.

[expansivelovestories]

 It is the 3rd month of the year now and it seems plausible that, although there isn't going to be a SxSW gaming expo this year, it might be a time they have considered to announce some or all of what they have been creating! 

maybe even as early as March 14th?? which is the day for pi, basically also a day about circles! 

[Piko]

15 hours ago, expansivelovestories said:

 It is the 3rd month of the year now and it seems plausible that, although there isn't going to be a SxSW gaming expo this year, it might be a time they have considered to announce some or all of what they have been creating! 

maybe even as early as March 14th?? which is the day for pi, basically also a day about circles! 

We usually get announcements in spring so it's definitely plausible.

[sassytassie]

Curious as to what everyone means by "Adventure remake." I'm all for a new Adventure game btw, just unsure if you're all referring to a literal remake/remaster similar to SADX (but better) orrr are we just talking a new instalment in the Adventure series entirely? Since we're already almost mid way through March I'm hoping for news soon. My expectations are low for obvious reasons, unfortunately. If I remember correctly Forces was the last anniversary game? Still can't believe they put out 06 and Boom as anniversary titles lmao...

[Johnster4]

7 hours ago, sassytassie said:

Curious as to what everyone means by "Adventure remake." I'm all for a new Adventure game btw, just unsure if you're all referring to a literal remake/remaster similar to SADX (but better) orrr are we just talking a new instalment in the Adventure series entirely? Since we're already almost mid way through March I'm hoping for news soon. My expectations are low for obvious reasons, unfortunately. If I remember correctly Forces was the last anniversary game? Still can't believe they put out 06 and Boom as anniversary titles lmao...

I would like the remake to be more in line with what Vicarious Visions did with the Crash Bandicoot N sane trilogy.

[Scritch the Cat]

On 3/10/2021 at 9:15 AM, sassytassie said:

Curious as to what everyone means by "Adventure remake." I'm all for a new Adventure game btw, just unsure if you're all referring to a literal remake/remaster similar to SADX (but better) orrr are we just talking a new instalment in the Adventure series entirely? Since we're already almost mid way through March I'm hoping for news soon. My expectations are low for obvious reasons, unfortunately. If I remember correctly Forces was the last anniversary game? Still can't believe they put out 06 and Boom as anniversary titles lmao...

I'm not 100% against a Sonic Adventure remake, but I don't think it's the right thing to do right now.  Some would say it's easier for SEGA to make than entirely new Sonic Adventure game, and maybe, but the big issue I see is in how to make it something acceptable to the masses.  Let's be real; the original Sonic Adventure was a highly experimental game; it tried a whole lot of things and some hit but others didn't.  That's not just the opinion of professional Sonic haters; it's the opinion of many fans.  It's similar to how one would view an old classic movie; there's stuff to like in it but chances are high viewers will run into some really racist and sexist stuff, or extremely outdated science, and plenty of people who watch the movies will say those things shouldn't be taken out of them but a lot of those people will also say they shouldn't come back in new movies.  Sonic Adventure has entirely too many controversial elements for many choices it makes on what to keep or scrap not to be controversial.  Such a big risk is not the game SEGA should be making for Sonic's 30th Anniversary.  That should be a time to celebrate the good times throughout the brand's history; not just one game with all of its highs and lows.  Especially with all the detractors willing to come in and mock the game all over again.

A sequel is a safer bet in many regards.  Sure; certain things about the game will take effort, for example if they re-add Tails and Knuckles as playable characters they'll have to figure out how to keep their abilities from being game-breaking, or maybe just circumvent that problem by giving them their own stages.  But choosing not to do something again that you did before is a much less controversial thing for a sequel than a remake.  Lots of people hate playing as Big the Cat in SA; some will extend that even to Amy and Gamma, but arguably playing as them is necessary to get the effect they sought; to let people view a story from multiple different perspectives.  You lose a big part of the original if you take that out, but if you choose not to have that feature from the start in a sequel, you're sacrificing a lot less.

As I put it before, there are certainly people who enjoy SA1 enough that they'll overlook its faults, but those people hardly even need a remake to keep enjoying it, and as for everyone else, a remake either won't go far enough to please them or it'll go so far that it alienates the original's fans.

[sassytassie]

9 hours ago, Scritch the Cat said:

I'm not 100% against a Sonic Adventure remake, but I don't think it's the right thing to do right now.  Some would say it's easier for SEGA to make than entirely new Sonic Adventure game, and maybe, but the big issue I see is in how to make it something acceptable to the masses.  Let's be real; the original Sonic Adventure was a highly experimental game; it tried a whole lot of things and some hit but others didn't.  That's not just the opinion of professional Sonic haters; it's the opinion of many fans.  It's similar to how one would view an old classic movie; there's stuff to like in it but chances are high viewers will run into some really racist and sexist stuff, or extremely outdated science, and plenty of people who watch the movies will say those things shouldn't be taken out of them but a lot of those people will also say they shouldn't come back in new movies.  Sonic Adventure has entirely too many controversial elements for many choices it makes on what to keep or scrap not to be controversial.  Such a big risk is not the game SEGA should be making for Sonic's 30th Anniversary.  That should be a time to celebrate the good times throughout the brand's history; not just one game with all of its highs and lows.  Especially with all the detractors willing to come in and mock the game all over again.

A sequel is a safer bet in many regards.  Sure; certain things about the game will take effort, for example if they re-add Tails and Knuckles as playable characters they'll have to figure out how to keep their abilities from being game-breaking, or maybe just circumvent that problem by giving them their own stages.  But choosing not to do something again that you did before is a much less controversial thing for a sequel than a remake.  Lots of people hate playing as Big the Cat in SA; some will extend that even to Amy and Gamma, but arguably playing as them is necessary to get the effect they sought; to let people view a story from multiple different perspectives.  You lose a big part of the original if you take that out, but if you choose not to have that feature from the start in a sequel, you're sacrificing a lot less.

As I put it before, there are certainly people who enjoy SA1 enough that they'll overlook its faults, but those people hardly even need a remake to keep enjoying it, and as for everyone else, a remake either won't go far enough to please them or it'll go so far that it alienates the original's fans.

 Exactly. I see it as a "don't fix what isn't broken" situation almost. Not that SA is perfect lol, far from it. But it's pure nostalgia and childhood to someone like me who got it upon original release. I'm one of those people who get really bothered when something I love is messed with (and done 'wrong' imo). Movie remakes especially bug me most of the time. Honestly I just started hearing about this demand for a SA remake this week (I've been kinda out of the loop for a while) and I'm a bit surprised there's such a demand for it. I'm not fully against it, but like you said as you start messing with certain things you run the risk of pissing people off lol. 

We've been asking for a sequel for God knows how long and now that's it's been 2 years since SA2 (I think?) I'm starting to think it won't happen lol. Because when does SEGA ever listen to us smh..

[Scritch the Cat]

9 hours ago, sassytassie said:

 Exactly. I see it as a "don't fix what isn't broken" situation almost. Not that SA is perfect lol, far from it. But it's pure nostalgia and childhood to someone like me who got it upon original release. I'm one of those people who get really bothered when something I love is messed with (and done 'wrong' imo). Movie remakes especially bug me most of the time. Honestly I just started hearing about this demand for a SA remake this week (I've been kinda out of the loop for a while) and I'm a bit surprised there's such a demand for it. I'm not fully against it, but like you said as you start messing with certain things you run the risk of pissing people off lol. 

We've been asking for a sequel for God knows how long and now that's it's been 2 years since SA2 (I think?) I'm starting to think it won't happen lol. Because when does SEGA ever listen to us smh..

I think you forgot a zero somewhere in there.

[sassytassie]

17 minutes ago, Scritch the Cat said:

I think you forgot a zero somewhere in there.

lmao yep definitely meant 20 years, my bad.

[GOAT]

Not predicting it, because I'm a realist. But, I am hoping/praying for Sonic Adventure 3 like I always do. You know you want it. 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, GOAT said:

Not predicting it, because I'm a realist. But, I am hoping/praying for Sonic Adventure 3 like I always do. You know you want it. 

At this point, I'd bet money that we'll never get it, nor even Adventure remakes. I know many of us love those games almost more than anything else in this world, me included! But too many mechanics are so dated and it would be a lot to update in the vein of the Crash or Spyro remakes.

At best, we'll get a new Adventure-style game (really hoping...), but it will not be Adventure 3.

[celsowm]

I gave up my hopes about any kind of game announcement before "sonic birthday"

[User18091994]

On 3/12/2021 at 12:50 AM, Scritch the Cat said:

I'm not 100% against a Sonic Adventure remake, but I don't think it's the right thing to do right now.  Some would say it's easier for SEGA to make than entirely new Sonic Adventure game, and maybe, but the big issue I see is in how to make it something acceptable to the masses.  Let's be real; the original Sonic Adventure was a highly experimental game; it tried a whole lot of things and some hit but others didn't.  That's not just the opinion of professional Sonic haters; it's the opinion of many fans.  It's similar to how one would view an old classic movie; there's stuff to like in it but chances are high viewers will run into some really racist and sexist stuff, or extremely outdated science, and plenty of people who watch the movies will say those things shouldn't be taken out of them but a lot of those people will also say they shouldn't come back in new movies.  Sonic Adventure has entirely too many controversial elements for many choices it makes on what to keep or scrap not to be controversial.  Such a big risk is not the game SEGA should be making for Sonic's 30th Anniversary.  That should be a time to celebrate the good times throughout the brand's history; not just one game with all of its highs and lows.  Especially with all the detractors willing to come in and mock the game all over again.

A sequel is a safer bet in many regards.  Sure; certain things about the game will take effort, for example if they re-add Tails and Knuckles as playable characters they'll have to figure out how to keep their abilities from being game-breaking, or maybe just circumvent that problem by giving them their own stages.  But choosing not to do something again that you did before is a much less controversial thing for a sequel than a remake.  Lots of people hate playing as Big the Cat in SA; some will extend that even to Amy and Gamma, but arguably playing as them is necessary to get the effect they sought; to let people view a story from multiple different perspectives.  You lose a big part of the original if you take that out, but if you choose not to have that feature from the start in a sequel, you're sacrificing a lot less.

As I put it before, there are certainly people who enjoy SA1 enough that they'll overlook its faults, but those people hardly even need a remake to keep enjoying it, and as for everyone else, a remake either won't go far enough to please them or it'll go so far that it alienates the original's fans.

Well, in my opinion, Sonic Adventure formula could easily be modernized, polished and come out in a fantastic game. Mario 64 is as outdated as Sonic Adventure 1 and almost all 3D Mario games are based on the 64's formula, and they work pretty well. The answer how a modern Adventure game could work lies in... Sonic 2006. I know it doesn't make much sense considering how bad Sonic 2006 was, but let me explain my point.

Sonic 06 was meant to be Sonic Adventure 3, it's pretty obvious. The game is terrible, but conceptually it was exactly what a modern Adventure formula game should be. The original Sonic Adventure was too ambitious and too experimental, with six playable characters and stuff, Sonic Adventure 2 was more streamlined taking the highs of the original and building upon them. When it comes to 2006, it was even more streamlined, we still had multiple playable characters, but there aren't multiple gameplay styles. All characters play similarly to Sonic's gameplay. Also, we didn't have a single playthrough for all of them, instead we only had 3 stories: Sonic's, Shadow's story and Silver's. The other characters only acted as helpers in some stages. Conceptually, Sonic 2006 also would improve the Adventure Fields, now having side-quests and stuff to do. The gameplay is based on both the Adventures and also on some Heroes and Shadow TH pieces of level design.

I think Sonic 2006 could've been great with Sonic Team had more time to work on their ideas and polish the game. We know the final result is still bad. The Town Stages are poorly design, the story is full of plot holes and inconsistencies, the gameplay is bad with strange physics, glitches and terrible camera. But, I really think a game like 2006, but good, would work well nowadays.

Unfortunately, Sega is not going back to this formula anytime soon. The series is going through a lot of different approaches, it seems Sega is going for a more light-hearted and less serious tone. Even with the change of writers, they said Sonic Prime (Netflix TV show) will target children. Sonic '06's kind of story is too complex to this kind of audience. Probably the next mainline game will have a similar tone to the IDW comics. The only chance of Sega trying a new Adventure style game would be if they release an Adventure remake, and it succeeds.

A Sonic Adventure Remake could take some ideas from Sonic 2006 and work on them. Also, Big the Cat could be a mini-game. The stages could be bigger, the Adventure Field could have side quests and side content, even karaoke, mini-games and stuff (like Yakuza games have). The cutscenes would be re-worked with better animations and voice acting. It would be amazing.

[celsowm]

So, According to @Zippo
there were Sonic Adventure 1&2 Remakes, but not anymore: https://www.megavisionsmag.com/sonic-adventure-remakes-were-in-the-works-in-the-early-2010s-says-prominent-insider/

[King Conne]

I'd like the new game to be full of echidnas!!...
Ken Penders, let the Nocturnus Clan live its life!!...

[OwlEyes]

hi all, lurker for 20 years - first post ever.

i read the first page, then the last.

I do not have a prediction, but I really am hoping they do a continuation of Mania and that we can somehow get around the music issues so we can revisit Ice Cap and Carnival Zone again.

Oh and as an intro - I grew up playing sonic. dad brought the game home to me when i was 3 in 1991 and I never stopped loving sonic..... comics, cartoons, games.... so i guess it's no surprise being an old hag that I am that mania and the classic sonic is my everything.

hoping for more classic mania type releases.

[Jango]

On 4/3/2021 at 6:34 PM, celsowm said:

So, According to @Zippo
there were Sonic Adventure 1&2 Remakes, but not anymore: https://www.megavisionsmag.com/sonic-adventure-remakes-were-in-the-works-in-the-early-2010s-says-prominent-insider/

Talk about bad timing

[OwlEyes]

Can someone please explain to me what the magic of the adventure era was because I don’t get it.... is it a nostalgia thing kinda like all us ppl that love mania?