I want a true Solo Sonic game.

[Kuzu]

1 hour ago, Plasme said:

I think some people misinterpreted my intentions. I don't want to see Sonic's friends completely disappear, I just think it would be interesting to have one game which really focused on Sonic and Eggman's rivalry, without other auxiliary characters to get in the way.

A really cool minimalist take.

Most of us never thought they were "in the way" to begin with.

[Dr. Detective]

2 hours ago, Plasme said:

I think some people misinterpreted my intentions. I don't want to see Sonic's friends completely disappear, I just think it would be interesting to have one game which really focused on Sonic and Eggman's rivalry, without other auxiliary characters to get in the way.

A really cool minimalist take.

I'm not sure what's minimalist about that, really. It still doesn't really make much sense. With how sidelined the cast has been over the past 10 years it should stand as an obvious showcase that the other characters aren't what's getting in the way of this desire of yours. They just don't have any real drive to tell stories anymore. Not entirely.

Of course, I'm also not sure what one would be able to get out of an entire game where just the two of them got their focus. The rivalry between Sonic and Eggman being explored is something that's definitely happened while other characters have been present within the narrative. If you'd like a game where that was the main focus in a way that hasn't been explored before, that's also possible without removing everyone else too. It's not as though the mere presence of Tails is going to distract the brain so much as to render whatever they do with Sonic and Eggman useless. 

Subplots and side characters exist to add variety to the main plot. Often I do tend to worry that people forget just how important subplots and characters that view the world and situations through different lenses are. You might be able to squeeze something good out of a Sonic and Eggman focused plot for a mini comic or a short story but if you shave literally everyone else off then you lose a lot of opportunity to explore how Sonic and Eggman's actions affect the world and WHY they have that rivalry in the first place. 

It's actually not a good idea to completely ignore the rest of the world when it comes to a conflict between two characters that fight for the sake of that world's future. 

[DabigRG]

To give a little of both worlds, you could pull an Unleashed or AoStH by having local populace and officials be people Sonic/Eggman saves/terrorizes and interacts with in different places.

[Tornado]

On 4/16/2020 at 2:35 PM, Kuzu said:

Most of us never thought they were "in the way" to begin with.

Especially when until Forces most of the cast's appearances in the games since Unleashed were about as relevant to anything as Big's in Adventure 2.

[UpCDownCLeftCRightC]

On 4/16/2020 at 12:10 PM, Plasme said:

I think some people misinterpreted my intentions. I don't want to see Sonic's friends completely disappear, I just think it would be interesting to have one game which really focused on Sonic and Eggman's rivalry, without other auxiliary characters to get in the way.

A really cool minimalist take.

I still agree, even now.

It's easier for me to be detached from Sonic's friends than many posters here because my greatest concern in the franchise since the 2000s has always been with the quality of the gameplay.... because it remains the franchise biggest problem. And the single thing that irritates me about being a Sonic fan is when neither us fans (who are not responsible) nor the developers (who are responsible) nor executives (also responsible) can focus long enough to sit down and pay the proper amount of attention, so that a globally recognized franchise can thrive as it easily should. If there's anything we all should have learned from the success of the Sonic movie and Sonic Mania, it's that if you treat a globally recognized brand with love, care, patience, and smarts.... You will receive success in proportion. Rocket science, it is not. 

To the topic: For example, say what you will about Sonic Adventure 2's story and presentation. Love it, hate it, whatever, but I guarantee you that that game's overall reputation would have aged wayyyyy better, if most of the game consisted of Sonic/Shadow style gameplay as opposed to the clunky mechs and treasure hunting. It may have even become the starting point for a truly great era of 3D sonic games, each better than the last and without the usual commentary of "Sonic struggled to transition to 3D" which so many adventure fans loathe to hear. But of course, there are well known developmental reasons why that didn't happen, why the 3D games in general became padded with extra characters and undercooked playstyles that deviate too heavily from the core. If not for this, 3D Sonic is almost certainly in a MUCH better place today regardless of extra characters or story preferences.... which to me were "issues" only exacerbated by the janky gameplay. 

 

I think it is important for Sonic to have friends and allies but in the videogame medium, they must add to the content in an overall consistent and positive way. I like many or most of Sonic's friends in their own right. They're fine characters and I definitely wouldn't want to see them go away. But 3D Sonic has struggled too much and for too long with an identity crisis. A single game which established the very basics of the series in all facets, is what an actual platforming game doctor would order for this series right now. Just one game. No alternative gameplay, few gimmicks, just the basics of what it means to be a Sonic game in 3D. And then from there, add things including characters and expand on the rock solid gameplay, whatever artistic direction you'd like to grow the series, as long as it remains consistent. There don't have to be rules preventing anyone from being in the game, because the foundation has already been laid firm. As long as the core stays consistent, you can take it in any number of directions with whatever characters you want, bring Sonic to new and different worlds, psuedo-realistic settings, fantasy settings. You know, the other things fans fight about when the real fundamental problems are either misunderstood or ignored by the people responsible, no shade on them. 

It's common sense and for that reason I'd bet almost anything it doesn't happen. The next game is almost certainly going to have more expansive elements in response to "we want adventure". Trust me, I'm not a hater, I understand the desire for many of those elements to return. But unless Sonic Team has taken a real hard look at where it is and understood the necessity of really establishing what a 3D Sonic game is, we will probably get some mish mash of ideas in some inconsistent packaging, most of which are cast aside a game or two later. 

I don't feel that asking for this is a complicated or grand endeavor. A lot of work to be sure. But all I'm saying is that the series badly needs to do what it did between Sonic 3K and Sonic Adventure, but with this time the benefit of 25 years of hindsight and the technology to actually pull all of their ideas off, and without the burden of trying to sell a console. I'm not say literally remake SA1 or the classics in 3D, I don't really care to be honest (obviously wouldnt mind either one of those things). I just care that the foundation is laid right, once and for good, for 3D Sonic. After that, make Sonic Adventure 3 for all I care. With a rock solid gameplay foundation I'm sure it'd be smashing. Without one, I'm positive it would be a disaster.