Bosses, Badniks, Enemies... Return to Form or Lazy Rehash?

[Agent York]

Now one of the first things we knew about this game is that Shell Cracker from Sonic 2's Metropolis Zone was going to be in the game. We now also know that Motobug and those Bat-Badniks from Sonic 3's Carnival Night Zone are returning, and hell, we drew up hundreds of Badniks for SEGA's contest. Badniks are cool, with their googly eyes, animal and misc-object forms, and many different kinds and abilities. However, is revamping and returning lots of old Badniks the way to go?

The story of the game is that the Death Egg crashes, and Eggman has RAGE for our hero Sonic, so he is out to recreate the best of his inventions to kill that Hedgehog. All fine and dandy, except does this mean we will just be seeing old Badniks revamped? Will there be new Badniks? Will some of the redesigns be radically different? Maybe there will even be Badnik-themed bosses?

Speaking of bosses, we know Dr. Eggman will be returning as our main villain and boss character, but what kind of bosses would you like to see. I give applause to Sonic 3 & Knuckles bosses, they were all unqiue and fun with many different mechanics thrown on how to beat them. Or are we looking more at a Sonic 1/2 style boss spree where Eggman has a machine, we have to take it out which is themed after the area and reaction time is needed and timing is needed more than making a strategy?

What type of bosses would you like to see, what type of Badniks would you like to see return, is returning Badniks a good or bad idea, and what enemies we spot in the game? Also will other baddies of the like of Metal Sonic, Mecha Sonic, Eggrobo, Fang the Sniper, or hell, even Heavy and Bomb be returning? Do you think Eggman revamping up his robot designs to kill Sonic is even a good idea for a plot (at least the basic premise of a plot, honestly I don't think that story alone would span multiple episodes) or do you think SEGA's being lazy and rehashing old ideas?

Edited February 5, 2010 by Dusk The Hedgehog Keeper

[Diogenes]

Bringing back a few badniks is alright, but I really want to see mostly new ones. With all 3 we've seen so far being remakes, I'm getting a bit worried.

[Indigo Rush]

More original bosses are always welcome, and I wouldn't mind a throwback to the first boss from Sonic 1, you know, for nostalgic purposes. Hey, they did it in Sonic and Knuckles, but I'd like to see a twist on it, similar to that flash game (Ultimate Sonic) which had the giant ball rotating around Eggman. But if it's not in, it's not like I'm going to mope about it.

Again, the more original the better. I want there to be bosses that I would never think about, with attack patterns that'll keep me amused for years to come (Chemical Plant Zone boss was utter tripe when you figured it out)

[Guest]

I don't see a problem with SOME reused enemies. The Buzzer from Sonic 2 was practically the Buzzbomber with a new look, and that caterpiller thing from Sandopolis in Sonic 3 used the Caterkiller's sprites.

Though so far, it seems that most badniks are just reused from Sonic 1/2, I hope there's at least a few new ones.

[Dreadknux]

As Dio said, I'd really like to see some new ones. But remakes are fine with me too.

My main problem was in the teaser trailer, where they were moving as if they were part of a Flash animation. That, and Sonic didn't bounce off of them, just sort of limply fell through them. I'd put that down to the video production company working with what little assets they had though.

I'm starting to honestly think that Sega are only choosing to show re-made/"re-hashed" (lol) stuff because that will draw the 'lost' audience that jumped off when Sonic was hitting his 'shit stride' in 06 et al. And that they'll show some more original enemies and environments and stuff later down the line. Gotta use the big, BIG bait hook to reel those suckers back in.

[EXshad]

Personally, I loved seeing a mix of old baddies, though I hope later on, we see some new ones, done in the classic style of course. I also hope that SEGA has some unique baddies for each level, just like in the classics.

Also, I had a cool idea for the boss fight...considering Eggman said he would be "bringing back his best creations to defeat Sonic once and for all", perhaps he might bring back Mecha Sonic from Sonic 3.... but it ALSO said a "certain metal hedgehog wanted revenge"...perhaps Metal Sonic's still peeved from getting his ass beat in Sonic CD. I think it'd be cool to have a metal hedgehog tag-team battle, and hell, since this game is a prequel (of sorts) to the current series of games, beginning with Sonic Adventure, it could explain why a revamped version of Mecha Sonic and Metal Sonic both appear, albeit in stasis, in Eggman's base in Adventure.

Edited February 5, 2010 by EXshad

[DMNBT]

I'd like to see a boss with low health (like 1 or 2 hits to go down) but with no obvious way to actually land those hits, so that the point is to figure out a way to land those hits...Did that make any sense to you guys?

[Octarine]

I find it hilarious that Eggman's supposed to be ressurrecting his most deadly creations, so he chooses... Motobug? Really? I'm not complaining, since I don't want an entire game filled with Metropolis Zone's badniks, but jeez.

Now that the "wow, nostalgia" bit has us hooked, I want the next big reveal to be totally unique. A trailer displaying a creative level with brand-new badniks would allay most of my fears. I don't mind a few old favourites returning, but at least half of the game's badniks should be new.

As for bosses, CD and Rush Adventure had some of my absolute favourites, mainly because of how quirky they were. They generally weren't all that difficult, but they were a lot of fun. Boss battles are a place where you can really experiment with the gameplay and get away with it, and while I hope the levels stick to the classic formula, I'd love to see some bosses that are really off the wall.

[Thirsty Pocket]

One of my biggest gripes with classic Sonic was that almost none of the Badniks got re-used. All the iconic series I love usually have several recurring enemies that became pretty iconic themselves. Only a handful of badniks were ever re-used, or re-designed into a new badnik.

I would love new badniks, but no oldies is bad. ( *looks at Mario Sunshines enemy list )

[Dreadknux]

I'd like to see a boss with low health (like 1 or 2 hits to go down) but with no obvious way to actually land those hits, so that the point is to figure out a way to land those hits...Did that make any sense to you guys?

Bit like Sonic CD's bosses, where you had to figure out a key weak point rather than smacking Eggman wherever it won't hurt you?

I like.

[SuperStingray]

One of the things I love about the bosses in Sonic games is that you never know what Eggman's got up his sleeve for the next zone. I'd be very disappointed if they just reused old bosses. Old badniks, I wouldn't have a problem with, if only for nostalgia, but new ones would still be more than welcome.

[slam422]

I like the idea that they are reusing some of the Badniks from past games. Still, I'd like to see some NEW Badniks in the mix, as well as some new Egg Boss Mecha (as I tend to call them).

I won't be terribly dissapointed if they don't, though. Still, it would be nice.

[Mort]

The Barrel of Doom boss fake concept art would be awesome.

[Ekaje]

Bit like Sonic CD's bosses, where you had to figure out a key weak point rather than smacking Eggman wherever it won't hurt you?

I like.

Well, except for the first two, the first being pathetically easy and the second being pinball, but agreed, it be cool to

have bosses that aren't "dodge attacks, hit boss three about seven times."

Edited February 6, 2010 by insertnamehere

[DarkOverord]

I could've sworn somewhere it was stated that there's new enemies in amongst the old...

Anyways. I wouldn't mind the old Sonic 3 style of boss back. Timing and a bit of knowing what the boss does (Get out of reach,a pattern etc.) I wouldn't mind hacing a few spikes around to stop you hitting willy-nilly. Eh.