What can Sega do to improve the franchise?

[Rabbitearsblog]

So, since it seems like SEGA is trying to start a new chapter for the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, what do you think that SEGA needs to do to improve the franchise?

For me personally, they definitely need to improve on the writing.  The writing for the series has been pretty much a hit or miss and I think that they need to start developing the characters again and not focus too much on the jokes.  Another thing they should do is to allow the other characters besides Sonic to be playable characters.  It's been awhile since we last played Tails, Knuckles, Amy Rose and many others and I hope that the next Sonic game will have them as playable characters besides Sonic.  And the last thing that SEGA should do is having no more gimmicks.  That means that if one Sonic game is successful, don't try to repeat the storylines or the line delivering in the following games afterwards. Like for example, when Sonic Colors was a success, SEGA tried to make the other Sonic games that came afterwards have the same tone and dialogue as Sonic Colors.  But it didn't quite work out because there were some Sonic games that just didn't have the same type of tone that Sonic Colors had, like Sonic Forces for example.  Also, many fans will just be burn out by having the same type of games being shown over and over again throughout the decade.

[batson]

Good gameplay is more important than anything else.

[Rabbitearsblog]

10 hours ago, batson said:

Good gameplay is more important than anything else.

I do agree that they need to work on their gameplay, but good writing can also improve the franchise.

[LegoFedora]

I believe Sega needs to focus on a gameplay formula. They are always trying new things, which is not inherently a bad thing, but most of those new ideas tend to not be fully realized and dropped before they can be improved (Lost World for example). If they can find a consistently good gameplay style, then I believe there can be room for side-games that explore different genres or gimmicks. I personally think boost should be the main gameplay style, and different styles should be reserved for lower budgeted side games (like riders was, or 3d blast).

Another thing I believe Sega needs to do, is stop dwindling in the past. You have heard the GHZ argument time and time again I'm sure, but this stretches far beyond that. Classic Sonic as a whole should either be used minimally, or used as a completely separate entity, since right now he has changed to just another companion for Modern Sonic. Maybe even save the experimental playstyles for classic, he's already seen his fair share of wildly different gameplay styles (3D Blast, Labyrinth, Sonic XTreme if it wasn't cancelled).

Essentially, Sega needs to find consistency within the Sonic franchise and stick with it.

[Cosmos Rogue]

One of the recurring issues 3D Sonic has had is that Sonic is so fast that he blasts through levels so quickly that his games would be unacceptably short if he was the only playable character. Sonic Team just does not have the resources to make a full length game that is nothing but Sonic stuff. This is why the Adventure games have so many different gameplay styles, why Heroes makes you run through the same twelve stages with all four teams, and why the Werehog, Classic Sonic, and the Avatar exist in more recent games. Even Colors, the one 3D game where you actually have the same core gameplay for the entire game, frequently reuses levels, often with slow platforming sequences.

One of the downsides to having so much variety in gameplay styles is that nothing ever receives the level of polish it should get. Even Sonic Generations, the closest thing to a consensus "best" 3D Sonic game, couldn't get Classic Sonic's physics quite right. If Sega and Sonic Team are going to improve this series, they're going to have to slow Sonic down a bit, and figure out a gameplay formula that they can A: make full length Sonic games out of instead of games that are just half Sonic as has been the case in nearly every 3D game so far, and B: is conducive to the abilities of Sonic's friends. Having a wide variety of playable characters, each with their own strengths and abilities would do a lot to help keep the gameplay fresh in a way that the current compartmentalized approach does not.

Whether this means going back and building off of the Adventure games, making Classic Sonic the "main" Sonic again, or coming up with something entirely new*, I do think the boost games have run their course. The boost games are all about quick twitch gameplay, which while fun, is limited in what can be done with it. Sonic needs a game formula that is flexible enough to make speed, platforming, and exploration a cohesive experience, as the Genesis games and the best parts of the Adventure games did.

*Preferably one of the first two. Sonic doesn't need yet another schism in the fanbase.