Underrated gameplay genres in Sonic games

[Jay H]

The lock-on and shoot gameplay of Gamma in SA1 and Tails/Eggman in SA2 is very underrated. I found it to be just as fun as the normal Sonic speed stages, and even a nice alternative style. I also highly enjoyed the platforming and beat 'em up gameplay of the werehog in Unleashed as well. Once again, it was a nice alternative style to the speed-based normal Sonic gameplay. Those are definitely the most memorable to me. However; I will give an honorable mention to the team system in Heroes, it was a great idea just not executed to its full potential.

[azoo]

Gamma's was fun because he felt like you were playing as Sonic yet a little bit slower and with a lock-on and shoot gimmick (and hover skillz). SA2's shooting stuff was loathsome because you controlled nothing like Sonic and instead felt just like how you'd expect from a mech; slow and clunky. In other words, Gamma's was far funner to use anyways, also because Gamma was able to shoot stuff most of the time instead of only working sometimes.

The team system was good in Chaotix because your partner was actually useful although unnecessary, compared to how you were forced to use (and CONTROL) all 3 characters because the level design told you to.

[Semi-colon e]

You mean like Sonic Advance 3 minus combo specific moves? I never played Chaotix, but that was one of my favourite things about Advance 3 (which apart from some dodgy level design here and there, I find it horribly underrated).

Sonic plus anyone was awesome pretty much, they all had advantages there, but with other characters, some were just so good but others sucked and were more of a challenge. Added much replay value for me for sure.

That and Heroes would have been awesome with better team mechanics, but my main gripe was that there weren't loads of alternate routes to take advantage of this, it got very linear =/

Also Tails in SA1 was win, especially in Speed Highway, as Eggman was actually a challenge and Speed Highway is just fucking epic.

[Serperior]

I would say that the mechs from SA2 were very under rated. The thing is that it isn't the best gameplay in the world however it does get a bit too much hate from the fans. It is essentially a slower paced version of Gammas gameplay but its still alright as a standalone gametype. I feel that some of the hate for it comes from the fact that its slower than Gammas gameplay.

[Arioch]

I didn't even know SA2 hunting was underrated by people. That's something new to me, but I enjoyed hunting in the SA games. It was nice, it was fun, and it was easy. A suiting style of play for Knuckles and Rouge.

Team play wasn't that bad in my opinion, it just needed a bit more polish and they should have ironed the glitches out and the game would have been fantastic, as opposed to simply "Good, but with some issues". I liked Sonic Heroes and the team gameplay, it just wasn't as refined as it should have been.

This is something that messed with me too. The gameplay for Sonic heroes would have been solid, if they had cleaned a few things up. It was new style of gameplay for sonic, and with a nice twist at that. I was hoping they would make a second one and fix the errors with it, but that's a far off memory now.

[Aquaslash]

Gamma and Werehog definitely. I loved both of them, especially the latter on the 360. Doing criticals on those giant dudes makes me feel like a freakin beast. Then there's the boss finishers. Good LORD the boss finishers.

[Remynaka]

The combat system in Unleashed and gunplay in SDTH. The combat, if more time was put into it, putting more combos that worked, and a system better for that kindof play... it would've been solid. And same with shadow's game really. It's not that these modes of play are BAD, they are just BROKEN. And with the right care, future tries can see the better light. but this is just me. =(

[Kiljoy]

Running, I mean it must be overrated for Sonic Team to keep throwing in all this other crap to help bolster it.

[azoo]

Running, I mean it must be overrated for Sonic Team to keep throwing in all this other crap to help bolster it.

Thank you. This actually is the most underrated part of the Sonic franchise, it seems. Running and rolling has been thrown away in favor of guns, swords, telekinesis, mechs, treasure hunting, and lycanthropy. ;_;

I mean, we still have it, but it seems that they always base the next game off the "BRAND NEW GIMMIKKK LOL", and never purely focus on Sonic's gameplay. I mean come on, it's a Sonic game.

[Bobinator]

I'm probably going to be the only one who's going to mention the Tornado parts from SA1. The parts from Unleashed don't count, they're all horrible QTE fests. (much like the rest of the game amirite guys)

Imagine that kind of thing in next-gen, though, if they improved it, it'd be sort of like one of the old Star Fox games, only way faster and with a lot more neat traps and such. Maybe have Sonic be able to jump off the plane every once in a while and do cool stuff before landing back on it, without any QTEs.

[Solid SOAP]

I want to see another Tornado section like the one in SA1, but with Unleashed's visuals. The flying parts in Unleashed looked great in in my opinion, they were pretty enjoyable, but if they were actual on-rails flying sections they would have been a lot more fun.

[Marcello]

I'd love to get a new Tornado level like in Sonic Adventure, but I hated the Tornado design in Unleashed :-/.

[azoo]

Although I'm usually against alternate gameplay styles in a Sonic game, I will agree on the SA1 Tornado bits. Those were made of awesome and a half, and actually fit Tails' gameplay completely. It was like playing a dumbed-down Starfox, except twice as fast and the fact that there was enemies everywhere.