Old school Sonic/ New school Sonic

[Segamaster]

HEY GUYSSS!!! hehehe... Just stopping threw to kick it and discuss your opinions and views of Sonic and how him and his world turned into what it is today, I do alot of thinking about it cause I've been with Sonic since the begining of the franchise, and have seen the awesome series it have turned into today, like I remember when Sonic only had the Spin Attack, lol. Me just going back and thinking which version of Sonic do I adore more, hmm... it was an hard decision... but I adore the old Sonic more because I can nerver forget the wonderfulness ( yea...thats right...WONDERFULNESS) the series had to offer back then, I personally think the series now a days is TONS better than it was back then but I feel Sonic Team needs to get back to what makes Sonic well... SONIC, the fantasy feel that made the series such an enjoy to me back then, this realistic shit is NOT Sonic. That's my only grip with the series as of date. But what about you guys? What's your take on the Sonic series of the old and new? Which do you favor more and why?

Let's get to it people, oh and no trollin' and being a dumbass cause I know this site is famous for that. Just drop threw and kick it, and chill KAY!? Lol.... But seriously...BE CHILL.

[Phos]

Visually, the surreal environments really served to set Sonic apart in those days, when most platformers were first staring to go for a realistic appearance. He's also a meter tall blue hedgehog that runs at the speed of sound, who seriously thought he'd make visual sense in an urban environment?

I also have a little problem with Sonic's new design, basically, it looks better standing still or at low speeds.

[SuperLink]

Well personally I don't see why everyone bums anything where Sonic has black eyes and slates anything where he has green eyes. It just seems a little... I dunno... single minded.

Visually there are less "Sonic looking" worlds. We havn't had one in a 3D title since Shadow, and though Unleashed is very colourful and vibrant, it doesn't look Sonic-y. I'm not really complaining though. Generally the only noticably "Sonic-y" worlds are ones with chequered lands, or spacestations. Other than that, Holoska and Shamar could easily pass as Sonic worlds.

[SuperStingray]

I never really liked the original Sonic design, truthfully. If they were striving to give him an attitude, then making him short and pudgy just seems out of character. I prefer the newer one because it appears sleeker and speedier and it really captures the essence of an athletic rebel.

[Thirsty Pocket]

I like the newly designed Sonic much better than the old one. I used to not like the new Sonic when he was brand new, but I wasn't even playing the games then. I stopped after Sonic and Knuckles came out. But when Sonic Advanced was released, I picked the series up again, and I actually thought his new appearance was much more stylish.

So yeah. I like the new Sonic more than the old. That's not to say I don't like the old at all though.

But as for his surroundings... yeah. I miss the strangeness that his world use to have. Sonic Heroes was a step in the right direction as far as environments go... but they just went right back to Sonic Adventure style cities right after that. Sonic's world needs to be just as strange and familiar as Mario's. I mean, at least in Sonic Battle, there was a Tails shaped house to mix it up a little.

The games themselves. Well. Honestly they both have the same Awesome to Crap ratio if you ask me. The first three games ( Sonic & Knuckles included as part of Sonic 3 ) were all awesome. I liked CD and Fighters too. The Sonic Adventure and Advanced games were awesome too. But Classic Sonic has Sonic 3D blast, and almost everything on the game gear being awful too, while new Sonic's other games range from "okay" to "terrible"

... I guess in the end I say I like classic better, but not by much.

[SuperLink]

The new design distances him from the Mickey Mouse clone he once was.

I guess Sonic Team were still jealous that Mickey got to wield a blade though, hence SatBK O:

[MetallicWrath]

I like the original design alot, but i also like the newer one too.

Its really hard to choose between them, but i'd go for the older one.

Simply because they had a habit of making the newer ones feet ridiculously big for some reason...i played one game (i think it was SA2) and i remember thinking "how can run and not trip over those?"

Thankfully their smaller now...

[Flyboy Fox]

I think one thing that draws me to old-school Sonic over newer Sonic is that there was more room for personal interpretation. The newer games, being so much more advanced, don't give me room to play. The old games were sort of like a sandbox for me. Surreal worlds, characters with mannerisms but without voices, and of course for me, SatAM and AoStH shaped Sonic's world long before Station Square etc came along.

That's no diss to Station Square and a human-dominated world... it's just never how I personally saw it back then. The games as they are now clash with the vibe I always had from the older games.

Therefore, I prefer old-school Sonic, simply because that's what feels more 'right' to me when I think of Sonic.

[Blazey Firekitty]

While I don't neccesarily need for the next Sonic game to be exactly like the old ones, I'd honestly like the next major Sonic game to bring back the "I feel like I'm tripping acid even though I'm not" feel the Mega Drive games had.

I guess that's why I'm so drawn to the storybook series. While they're too realistic/full of cliche elements to feel truly like the old games, they do at least have a nice sense of "We don't care if it's weird and nonsenical, we'll do it anyway 'cause it seems fun."

[Ryan Brown]

Who the hell cares which is best? Sonic is Sonic, damn it.

[Badnik Zero]

I define old school Sonic as the MS/GG-Genesis generation, and the new school as Adventures and on, and maybe a partial generation in the middle with the canceled Sonic X-treme and Sonic R. Sonic could probably have used a middle generation to define himself, but he really wasn't present on the Saturn.

The good of the old school according to me are the environments and level design, the physics, music, and a story simple enough to be conveyed in game. Robotnik bosses in his awesome Eggmobile designs were something to look forward to at the end of each level. Chaos emeralds as an option were also nice. The story didn't force them on you this way and Super Sonic was always a bonus not a requirement. Achieving Super Sonic isn't the same today, because it's not something you unlock with awesome skills, it's something you do during the often uninspiring final story. I accept the Rushes as being in hybrid old school spirit, because even though the game is as the name implies, about speed, I felt level design was influenced by the classics, especially the classic handhelds. The two Rush games were also heavy on level gimmicks, which were a fixture of the old games. Gravity wheels, bouncy mushrooms, tumbler things, spin dash elevators, and on and on. Level gimmicks were awesome. Along with the level specific gimmicks were the level specific badniks, which were so varied and original that they could've been robotic Pokemon. I really miss those little guys and the generic tin can designs now are really starting to wear after six or so games with them.

Now to the 3D, which I feel is worth something despite it's troubles. I believe decline in quality and reputation really has a lot to do with Sega abandoning the Dreamcast. Sonic Heroes took a new angle that wasn't exactly bad, but it removed many elements that made the Dreamcast games work, and the flow and quality of the game was noticeably weak. The premise of Shadow was so cheap it almost seemed like selling out, first with regurgitating the character's history for us, and adding the terribly executed edginess. Even though the games used the same mechanics as the Dreamcast titles, they changed significantly and felt lacking. I maintain what was lacking was Sega's own console to maintain consistency.

On the gameplay front I enjoy a few things about the new school. Tricking was a great distraction in levels, even on par for me with the gimmicks of the old games. Unfortunately we only really see tricking in SA2. Continuing to use the trick system today would help mix Sonic into his environment, because if he can trick all over the level, they no longer seem so linear. Grinding SA2 style is also a highlight of the era, related to tricking. When rails are used as shortcuts or fast switching games over pits, they provide thrills. The spindash and sense of speed were both great in those games. The graphics have always been impressive to me in these games, and that seems like Sega's major consistent point. Now after Heroes-Shadow-StH06, I feel like we're coming out of the dark ages of Sonic, because there are lots of new ideas going into the games. The full forward 3D stuff we see today in the Storybook Series and Unleashed remind me of jacked up versions of half-pipe stages from the classics. Hopefully this evolves into full 360 environments, and they can drop the extreme speed where it's not appropriate. I'm in favor of hub worlds where they're large and interactive, like a semi-action level. Just because it's a level lobby doesn't mean it has to be boring. Ramps and physics would also make me a happy Sonic fan.

If I keep going, I'm gonna get into the realm of the theoretical and start talking about my own ideas for the series, so I'll stop here. Admittedly this post reeks of old school bias, but hey they're my favorite. Still, nothing in 2D is like Final Rush. Best stage ever.

Edited March 18, 2009 by Badnikz

[lounge]

Well since I got into sonic thru sa2battle, I prefer new school. Old school design was cool for the early 90's era generation, but I don't think his old design would fit in with todays game generation. It was good for that early 90's vibe though I'll admit.

Yuji Uekawa did an amazing job on how to make sonic look cooler. My favorite being his sa2 design and illustrations. Sonic actually looked like a stylish teen hedgehog in that game. Something about the way Uekawa drew sonic back then is just the definition of cool for me my friend who introduced me to the game.

Nowadays I'm dissapointed to see how Uekawa draws sonic. Sonic's design nowadays is missing that cool factor for me. He doesn't even look like a teen anymore. That and his personality has become dull and cliche'. It doesn't stand out for me anymore.

His design and personality from sa2 - shadow the hedgehog was the sonic I like the most.

(I did like his sonic 06 design, but his personality was missing that hip factor in the ingame cutscenes. In the high quality CG cutscenes, however, his personality and animation I absolutely loved.)

[SuperStingray]

The only time I actually felt the old design was more fitting was in AoStH. It was more slapstick than action and adventure, which is what I feel fits the older design better. If you ask me, I think the new design would have fit MUCH better in SatAM.

Edited March 18, 2009 by SuperStingray

[Segamaster]

The new Sonic is cool, but the green eyes SUCK! Sonic's eyes are NOT green, there brown. Instead of them turning his eyes green they should've brought out his natural brown eye color more. And NO, they shouldn't have turned his eye's green! Some things you just don't mess with. there's alot of things they could've did correct with Sonic, like the reason his worlds look as trippy as they do is cause he's in another dimension, and then when he exit's the zone he's back in the normal world which is why it look's like the real world, see that would have been awesome if they'd do something like that, but hey... what can ya do.

[Ryan Brown]

The new Sonic is cool, but the green eyes SUCK! Sonic's eyes are NOT green, there brown. Instead of them turning his eyes green they should've brought out his natural brown eye color more. And NO, they shouldn't have turned his eye's green! Some things you just don't mess with. there's alot of things they could've did correct with Sonic, like the reason his worlds look as trippy as they do is cause he's in another dimension, and then when he exit's the zone he's back in the normal world which is why it look's like the real world, see that would have been awesome if they'd do something like that, but hey... what can ya do.

Chill out! It's just eyes, for corn's sake. What's the big deal?

[Toby]

I feel the green eyes compliments Sonic's blue much more than the black or brown eyes did. I also prefer Sonic now to when he was a squat, fat stomached Mickey Mouse wannabe.

[Flyboy Fox]

As old-school as I am, I still love his current eye-color. That vivid green just suits his personality far better, I think.

[R@fÆL]

I think sonic's old design looked better cause it made sonic look more like a hedgehog, small, round, and cute. The current taller sonic design makes people wonder what sonic really is.

[SuperLink]

His green are as cool as a cucumber, which is totally something Sonic would say.

Also, since when were Sonic's eyes ever brown?

[Ryan Brown]

His green are as cool as a cucumber, which is totally something Sonic would say.

Also, since when were Sonic's eyes ever brown?

They had brown tint in a few pieces of random Sonic art made back in Japan. You can see them in the Sonic Screensaver that came with the S&K Collection (PC).

[Indigo Rush]

Also, since when were Sonic's eyes ever brown?

The old Sonic Screensaver had plenty of artwork of Sonic with brownish-mostly red eyes.

Contrarily, Super Sonic's eyes were green. Now Super Sonic's eyes are red. They sort of inverted, like Mario's shirt and overalls.

[Ryan Brown]

Come to think of it...I miss that screensaver. Anyone know where to get one's hands on it without having to buy the S&K Collection?

[Gatestormer]

I'm a simple person I love both.

I can accept both world styles and character styles as versions of Sonic and I love them all.

For me Sonic can fit in a realistic world and surreal world. The realistic worlds have never been truly realistic though, since when has there been loops and corkscrews in cities? And since when were their floating grind rails in jungles, deserts and etc? I wouldn't take away Station Square, Apotos, Chun-Nan or anything in Sonic's current world, but I also wouldn't take away Green Hill, Chemical Plant and everything from the 90's. They both have their great and awful points and they should both be respected as a part of Sonic, cause that's what they are.

Edited March 18, 2009 by ENVY16

[Mega]

Blah. :B I never liked Sonic's 'new' design and still don't.

I never considered the old look pudgy at all; if he were fat, his body would be a lot thicker and, well, bigger. He's just round, which makes sense, since he's a hedgehog. Furthermore, the round look was very reminiscent of classic cartoons, which I like.

The new design bothers me because... his quills. They're so long, and I'd much rather have short quills any day. The eyes are alright, but it's the quills that are a major factor of why I dislike the current design.

Dark environments... I'm a SatAM fan, and I do like it's environments, but for the games? No, no. Enough with the apocalyptic environments and ridiculous giant monsters. I find a game with colorful environments and wacky machines far more creative myself for a video game. Unleashed was a step closer, but it still had Dark Gaia.

So my thoughts? Creative, fantastic environments, more badniks and less ridiculous villains (how many Godzilla ripoffs can there even be?).

If I want darker undertones, I can just watch my favorite cartoon ever. c: And SatAM isn't even as dark as people make it out to be, sheesh.

[Erazor]

Same character.