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If the game series were to be completely rebooted, what game should it start with?


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I wouldn't mind a retelling of old games in a way similar to Metroid Zero Mission and Samus Returns (they are completely different and new games compared to the originals they are based on, but they tell the same story and have the same placement in the timeline; they differ so much that it's hard to call them just remakes, they are totally different games with only the story and overall general world structure in common). Want to add FFVII in the example?

You are not forced to "remake" all the games, you are not forced to follow a precise order. The remade games should be rewritten in a way to be consistent to the new revisited canon, with retcons when necessary; what's not remade is still canon, even though they may contain some inconsistency with the new "lore" (they will eventually be fixed in the future too).

Want to experiment with the Werehog again? Make a new version of Unleashed. Want to bring back the wisps? Make a new version of Colors instead of shoehorning them in a new game for no reason. Want to revisit the history of the franchise? Make a third version of Generations (I count the 3DS version too). Want to tell the story of the Death Egg once again? Retell the story of the classic trilogy as one new single game if you want. Etc... they wouldn't be sequels, just the same story in a new game.

As for a total reboot, I don't like the idea, I hope they will never do it... I hated Boom and I hated the idea of the classic universe being separated from modern, we don't need more of that stuff.

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Well, the main reason Zero Mission and Samus Returns got remade is because how dated they were compared to the rest of the series mechanically. I don't think the same justification exists for Classic Sonic. They're still some of the best Sonic games. The other reason they exist is because of how central they are to the series lore wise, and Sonic keeps the ongoing storytelling light by design so I don't think they need to worry about that.

Plus if they're going to make a new game anyway I'd rather they have a new story attached. The only way I'd be interested in a reboot was if they used the opportunity to write different stories and create different experiences, not just retool old ones with minor tweaks.

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3 hours ago, KnuxDLX said:

If Boom had been at all successful it could have essentially replaced the main franchise at least here in the West. Of course I’m glad it didn’t, but there were no ST games released during that timeframe, so it certainly was given that chance.

How can you replace something in the West if the West was already being targeted to begin with? 

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4 hours ago, Zoomzeta said:

How can you replace something in the West if the West was already being targeted to begin with? 

I think Boom was Sega of America and ST USA’s doing, right? They prioritized it over other games, it was clearly intended to be a success. I mean the Boom sub-franchise is very different from the main franchise, isn’t it? If those differences had been well-received I could imagine them becoming permanent. 

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14 hours ago, Wraith said:

Well, the main reason Zero Mission and Samus Returns got remade is because how dated they were compared to the rest of the series mechanically. I don't think the same justification exists for Classic Sonic. They're still some of the best Sonic games. The other reason they exist is because of how central they are to the series lore wise, and Sonic keeps the ongoing storytelling light by design so I don't think they need to worry about that.

Plus if they're going to make a new game anyway I'd rather they have a new story attached. The only way I'd be interested in a reboot was if they used the opportunity to write different stories and create different experiences, not just retool old ones with minor tweaks.

I don't think it's just because they were dated. A lot of classic games aged badly but companies make new games instead of revisiting the old ones. They didn't remake the NES Zelda games even though they are unacceptable by today's gaming standards, they just make new entries instead... they remade Link's Awakening for some reason when the original was still good and didn't need much of a revamp (they said because it was unavailable on modern consoles, but it's a poor excuse, many other classic games are, and it was on 3DS through Virtual Console BTW).

With Metroid they just decided to remake those games into something new... they could have made a collection of ports and call it a day. There are other examples... the less successful Star Fox Zero is a retelling of the story of Star Fox 64 (I think?), but the game is different, and Star Fox 64 plays still nice today.

I also prefer when most stories are new, but I don't dislike the idea of occasionally revisiting important moments of the past, or simply revisiting an old gimmick like the Werehog but with new improved gameplay (maybe even as a full spin-off). I think that depending on the execution, revisiting the story/setting of an old game can be good; you don't even need to recreate the same gameplay.

Imagine a new Sonic game, a "Sonic Adventure 3" -esque game that tells the story of the classic trilogy, with cutscenes, dialogues, 3D gameplay, exploration and such. It can show us important moments such as when Sonic met Tails for the first time and they became friends, give us additional backstory details, let us pilot the Tornado across the ocean between South Island, Westside Island and Angel Island, and have different all new zones in a similar way as how the 8bit version of Sonic 1 has Jungle, Bridge and Sky Base that weren't in the main version.

I mean, the movies are revisiting the story of Sonic 2 and Sonic 3 & K, I don't see many people complaining... I know it's not a game and the movies are their own separated thing, but that's what I mean with revisiting old stories, not a 1:1 recreation of an old game.

Aside of this, I agree that overall new stories are usually better, the point was that instead of a reboot I'd rather have a bunch of old games remade with retcons and continuity fixes.

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We should also stop thinking of reboots as a complete removal of things—or wanting to use reboots as an excuse to remove things.

A reboot doesn’t have to mean the worst possible outcome. You can tell the same story that fixes problems made in the original story. (And let’s be mature if we’re going to bring up Sonic 06–I know people like to start fights using that one)

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On 2/6/2022 at 12:12 AM, Wraith said:

Starting after SA2 is basically the same as making a modern Sonic game now.  The status quo of Sonic's world, the characters, and their relationships to one another is solidified in Sonic 3-SA2 so it'd be functionally the same as it is now.

Make that Shadow the Hedgehog, and I fully agree. Sonic Heroes introduced Team Chaotix and Omega and, more importantly, brought Shadow back from the dead, albeit with a "but maybe it's not the rel Shadow" twist, and then Shadow the Hedgehog settled that twist with "nah it's the real Shadow". And to me, that's where the series pretty much stopped evolving in terms of core cast and core concepts.

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14 hours ago, batson said:

Make that Shadow the Hedgehog, and I fully agree. Sonic Heroes introduced Team Chaotix and Omega and, more importantly, brought Shadow back from the dead, albeit with a "but maybe it's not the rel Shadow" twist, and then Shadow the Hedgehog settled that twist with "nah it's the real Shadow". And to me, that's where the series pretty much stopped evolving in terms of core cast and core concepts.

I only didn't bump the timeline up that far because Chaotix/Omega ended up being incredibly minor characters in the long term and Shadow's resurrection seems like it was inevitable. Even in a more stable series I think they would have dug him up just because he sells toys.

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On 2/10/2022 at 1:02 PM, batson said:

Make that Shadow the Hedgehog, and I fully agree. Sonic Heroes introduced Team Chaotix and Omega and, more importantly, brought Shadow back from the dead, albeit with a "but maybe it's not the rel Shadow" twist, and then Shadow the Hedgehog settled that twist with "nah it's the real Shadow". And to me, that's where the series pretty much stopped evolving in terms of core cast and core concepts.

Maybe Rush at the latest, though games like Riders, 06, and Unleashed at least tried. Meanwhile the attempts at establishing characters from Colors onward go nowhere.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hmmm... if they were to completely reboot the series, then honestly, I'd like them to start from the very beginning, and move forward from there. Actually show us the origins of our blue hero. (I don't mean we need his whole life story. Don't really need to know that XD.)

For instance, first I'd start with a retelling/remake of Sonic 1. It'd show a younger Sonic having just arrived and running around Green Hill Zone. He'd suddenly come across some panicked critters running away from some robots. He'd come to the rescue, meet Eggman along the way, etc. Ending with Sonic saving the Island and becoming a hero, and Eggman wanting revenge! This would show

A. How Sonic become known as a hero.

B. How Sonic and Eggman met.

From here on, carry on doing a modern fresh retelling on the stories we've played but not truly seen. For Sonic 2, we'd actually get to see and experience how Sonic met Tails, and how they become like brothers. We only were told that in the old game, with tiny snipits here and there through other media being shown, but not getting the full story. With the reboot, we'd actually watch their relationship grow into what its known as today.

Anyway, I digress. If they were to reboot the series, that's where I'd start from personally.

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If you're going to reboot, reboot. None of the games would be canon anymore.

That said, I would leave the Sonic and Tails relationship intact. Other characters could do with being reintroduced, including Eggman. It would be neat to see the origin of Sonic and Eggman's feud realized in a modern game.

From there, future games could introduce Knuckles as an antagonist before allying with Sonic. Same with characters like Shadow and Rouge.

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