Sonic 4 interview in latest Nintendo Power

[Blue Blood]

You know what, If Tails and Knuckles are in future episodes, can I hope for them to transform? Well Knuckles at least.

I'd love to see them take the end all be all shot at a modern Super Knuckles. (Cause they totally didn't try in Heroes)

Really? You have a problem with Knuckles-in-a-ball? Super Sonic would be much better if he was Sonic-in-a-ball. Hmph!

Something tells me that either if Knuckles and Tails do show E2 or something else, Super Knuckles and Super Tails won't. And that's just =(.

[Aquaslash]

Really? You have a problem with Knuckles-in-a-ball? Super Sonic would be much better if he was Sonic-in-a-ball. Hmph!

Well actually, I don't. Both Heroes and ASR made it awesome. (Especially ASR, hot DAMN that was sweet) However, I do think they could come up with something a little more visually enticing.

Something like a 3D version of the save screen pic of Super Knuckles would be wicked.

Edited March 8, 2010 by Aquaslash

[Blue Blood]

Well actually, I don't. Both Heroes and ASR made it awesome. (Especially ASR, hot DAMN that was sweet) However, I do think they could come up with something a little more visually enticing.

Something like a 3D version of the save screen pic of Super Knuckles would be wicked.

Bleck, I have a problem with it cause it was just so boring. They could bring back his wavy spikes though, as they actually did look awesome. But where was his colour? That was the main thing. He just stood there in a ball and punched. And S.Tails without Flickies OR colour? Booo! ASR was really sneaky with that pseudo Super Knuckles and the Super Flickies that Tails launched.

EDIT: Yeah, a 3D version of that save screen would be brill'. If anything, I hope Super Knuckles doesn't glow yellow. Pink/purple all the way. (Oh no... what about his eyes?)

Edited March 8, 2010 by Blue Blood

[Indigo Rush]

Hoorah for Tails and Knuckles!

[Aquaslash]

Bleck, I have a problem with it cause it was just so boring. They could bring back his wavy spikes though, as they actually did look awesome. But where was his colour? That was the main thing. He just stood there in a ball and punched. And S.Tails without Flickies OR colour? Booo! ASR was really sneaky with that pseudo Super Knuckles and the Super Flickies that Tails launched.

EDIT: Yeah, a 3D version of that save screen would be brill'. If anything, I hope Super Knuckles doesn't glow yellow. Pink/purple all the way. (Oh no... what about his eyes?)

Just threw together a mockup of an ideal Super Knuckles:

Screw the Chaos Emeralds! Master Emerald all the way!

EDIT: In before BAWWWW GREEN EYES!

Edited March 8, 2010 by Aquaslash

[DaBatGuy]

I don't get why we're getting our panties in a twist over the homing attack routes as it's something Sonic definitely needs if Tails and Knuckles are returning. Egoraptor said is best in Awesome the Hedgehog: "Sonic [in S3&K] blows ass because all he has is that crappy ass spinning-air-strike-move that sucks balls. The End."

Despite being the title character of the game, Sonic had the most limited moveset of the three for platforming, even with the shield attacks. As of now, I can see the enemy trails as Sonic's answer to Tails' narrow vertical corridors and Knuckles' selectively breakable walls. Also with these new improved badniks HA chains might not be as easy as spamming the jump button. I imagine that a trail of off-sync Red Bubbles will require some decent level of skill.

[jutgf]

With Iizuka talking, you know Shadows gonna be in the next one since he did create him, Tails and Knuckles? CHaos Control plz.

[Frozen Nitrogen]

The new move will be Sonic Tornado from Heroes xP

It's called Blue Tornado! (Or Black. Ymmv.)

I would actually prefer this than Light Dash, truth be told. Light Dash is problematic as it's another "Platforming? Who needs that? Just press X and ZOOM to the upper level through ring-walking magic!" move that renders Genesis-style level design irrelevant. In the style of the Homing Attack. "Need speed to get somewhere? Just double-jump your way to victory!"

RE: Homing Attacks

And look at that screen shot a little closer. If the Genesis games have ever taught you and me anything, it's that the background looks like you are somewhere near the middle of the level's Y axis, most likely nowhere near the bottom. If it were near the bottom, we'd most likely see more foliage and definitely wouldn't be able to see the sky and the ocean behind those trees and hills.

It's not so much the bottomlessness of the Homing Attack pits that concerns me as it is the un-backtrackability. Unless badniks respawn to fly back in and sit there stupidly waiting for you to smash them, you ain't going back the way you came, further enforcing the notion that in this game you won't need any direction except hold right to win.

ON TOP OF THIS, there's something that just doesn't sit right about badniks being helpful. They're ENEMIES. They're supposed to be pernicious, annoying things that you evade at best and blow up with extreme prejudice at worst. Remember Hydrocity's cavalcade of fffffffffrustrating bastadry?

Blastoid, the guy who made you hope for a water shield even more than the fear of drowning did. Try to turbo him from the front? BAD IDEA. The annoying buggernauts that just wouldn't stop following you as you ran across the surface of the water. Turbospiker with his ballistic shell that would skewer you right in the face if you tried a spin jump. And Megachopper, oh dear god Megachopper. You kept jumping franticly whenever you found yourself in water infested with these pirhanas, because if they latched on you would be drowning in short order.

These were all dangerous obstacles to smash, not braindead floating platforms to provide a helpful route across an abyss. Opponents should OPPOSE YOU. Homing-attack-stepping-stones do the exact opposite, making a sham of the whole concept of badniks.

Edited March 8, 2010 by Frozen Nitrogen

[Rusty Spy]

It's not so much the bottomlessness of the Homing Attack pits that concerns me as it is the un-backtrackability. Unless badniks respawn to fly back in and sit there stupidly waiting for you to smash them, you ain't going back the way you came, further enforcing the notion that in this game you won't need any direction except hold right to win.

No doubt there'd be ways to go back from where you came. Getting back to the alternate route? Well, that's part of the challenge, no? Risk and reward? Besides, you can't expect every level to be non-linear to the point of being able to go from the end to the start of any level.

ON TOP OF THIS, there's something that just doesn't sit right about badniks being helpful. They're ENEMIES. They're supposed to be pernicious, annoying things that you evade at best and blow up with extreme prejudice at worst. Remember Hydrocity's cavalcade of fffffffffrustrating bastadry?

Blastoid, the guy who made you hope for a water shield even more than the fear of drowning did. Try to turbo him from the front? BAD IDEA. The annoying buggernauts that just wouldn't stop following you as you ran across the surface of the water. Turbospiker with his ballistic shell that would skewer you right in the face if you tried a spin jump. And Megachopper, oh dear god Megachopper. You kept jumping franticly whenever you found yourself in water infested with these pirhanas, because if they latched on you would be drowning in short order.

These were all dangerous obstacles to smash, not braindead floating platforms to provide a helpful route across an abyss. Opponents should OPPOSE YOU. Homing-attack-stepping-stones do the exact opposite, making a sham of the whole concept of badniks.

Who said stepping stone enemies always needed to sit there like dopes?

Edited March 8, 2010 by Black Spy

[jutgf]

This would be the perfect opprotunity to redeem Shadow in a sense he doesn't have sucky gameplay and his character can work in a 2d setting without much controversy. He's also Sonic's equal in speed, I want to see how he handles in a game like this in 2d.

[Diogenes]

It's not so much the bottomlessness of the Homing Attack pits that concerns me as it is the un-backtrackability. Unless badniks respawn to fly back in and sit there stupidly waiting for you to smash them, you ain't going back the way you came, further enforcing the notion that in this game you won't need any direction except hold right to win.

Horseshit, the Genesis games didn't require nor always allow nor even encourage you to backtrack. A homing attack chain is no more proof of "hold right to win" than the automated tubes in everything from Green Hill to Launch Base, or the slides in Labyrinth and Ice Cap, or any door that locks behind you, or any fall too high to climb back up from.

[Rusty Spy]

This would be the perfect opprotunity to redeem Shadow in a sense he doesn't have sucky gameplay and his character can work in a 2d setting without much controversy. He's also Sonic's equal in speed, I want to see how he handles in a game like this in 2d.

How would that work if he's supposed to still be in suspended animation on Prison Island?

[Frozen Nitrogen]

Who said stepping stone enemies always needed to sit there like dopes?

How about every Sonic game that has included them ever?

In Heroes there were occasionally (very occasionally) instances where the stepping stones were flying about left-to-right as you wanted to go forwards via them, so you had to time the start of your crossing at just the right point for a magical alignemnt of the planets correct alignment to get across. And this was "fake difficulty" as all it did was break up the flow of the level by requiring you to stand in one place for ages while you analysed the routes they took, worked out which ones you'd need to hit when, then waited until the alignement was correct to begin.

But these were very much the exception, and in 99% of cases, stepping-stone enemies are static.

Plus, in 2D, as where else do you think the platforms are going to go if they're not static? You have one fewer dimension to work with, so unless you expect them to be bobbing wildly up and down like their levitation drives are broken...?

Edited March 8, 2010 by Frozen Nitrogen

[Rusty Spy]

How about every Sonic game that has included them ever?

In Heroes there were occasionally (very occasionally) instances where the stepping stones were flying about left-to-right as you wanted to go forwards via them, so you had to time the start of your crossing at just the right point for a magical alignemnt of the planets correct alignment to get across. And this was "fake difficulty" as all it did was break up the flow of the level by requiring you to stand in one place for ages while you analysed the routes they took, worked out which ones you'd need to hit when, then waited until the alignement was correct to begin.

But these were very much the exception, and in 99% of cases, stepping-stone enemies are static.

Plus, in 2D, as where else do you think the platforms are going to go if they're not static? You have one fewer dimension to work with, so unless you expect them to be bobbing wildly up and down like their levitation drives are broken...?

Your not thinking outside the box.

[Frozen Nitrogen]

Your not thinking outside the box.

This may or may not be an opportune time to point out that I despised Spagonia Day 2 intensely for precisely the dickmove electro-spinners you seem to be proposing.

Also, we are very much not supposed to be thinking outside the box. We are trying to channel the spirit of S1-K gameplay, yes? Where men were real men, women were real women, and the enemies weren't an integral fixture of level design.

Edited March 8, 2010 by Frozen Nitrogen

[Aquaslash]

How would that work if he's supposed to still be in suspended animation on Prison Island?

Downloadable extras, that's how =P

Edited March 8, 2010 by Aquaslash

[Diogenes]

Also, we are very much not supposed to be thinking outside the box. We are trying to channel the spirit of S1-K gameplay, yes?

Sonics 2, 3&K, and CD didn't simply channel the spirit of their predecessors and call it a day, and the series wouldn't exist at all if they hadn't had the courage to break away from the standard platformer setup that Mario had solidified. We shouldn't be satisfied with a game that does nothing but rehash the same gameplay and gimmicks of the game that came before it, and we damn sure shouldn't be asking for it.

And regardless, the homing attack is in the game; isn't it better to find some way for it to work, rather than leaving it broken simply because some previous game didn't fix it already?

Where men were real men, women were real women, and the enemies weren't an integral fixture of level design.

...what the hell kind of games were you playing?

[SuperStingray]

I love the block breaking animation.

Edited March 8, 2010 by SuperStingray

[Frozen Nitrogen]

And regardless, the homing attack is in the game; isn't it better to find some way for it to work, rather than leaving it broken simply because some previous game didn't fix it already?

Including new ideas (within reason,because remember, this is supposed to be true to the style of the Genesis) is good.

Stuffing an attack expressly developed for 3D into a 2D game, and having your badniks sit there like chumps to accomodate it, and letting you tap double-jump for an instant burst of sideways momentum thereby rendering all other methods fo gaining speed obsolete... is not good.

...what the hell kind of games were you playing?

Your S1-K DID have badnik chains over pits?

Pray tell, where might I find this rare and unusual version?

[Diogenes]

Stuffing an attack expressly developed for 3D into a 2D game, and having your badniks sit there like chumps to accomodate it, and letting you tap double-jump for an instant burst of sideways momentum thereby rendering all other methods fo gaining speed obsolete... is not good.

But of course, we can't actually change any of that, because that'd be outside the box, which is bad, because this is supposed to be Sonic 3&K 4~!

The homing attack is in the game, and no amount of pissing and moaning by the fanbase is going to change that. But what is up in the air is the specific details of how it functions. At the very least we should be supporting the effort to fix the homing attack. To say we shouldn't try something new to do so simply because the Genesis games didn't do it is only shooting yourself in the foot by insisting that something that is (by your own admission) broken is to remain broken.

Your S1-K DID have badnik chains over pits?

No, but it did have badniks as a vital component of level design.

[Thirsty Pocket]

This would be the perfect opprotunity to redeem Shadow in a sense he doesn't have sucky gameplay and his character can work in a 2d setting without much controversy. He's also Sonic's equal in speed, I want to see how he handles in a game like this in 2d.

It's going to take a helluva lot more than putting Shadow into a good game to "redeem" him. It would help, but only a tiny bit. But I am in support of just about any character you can name as DLC, just as long as the play similar, but not identical, to Sonic. Sonic Advance was great because it had a big optional cast with their own stats and abilities, but gameplay was essentially the same as Sonic. Amy was the oddball, but was meant to be the "challenging one".

[NiGHTS]

I love the block breaking animation.

Always seeing anything in a still image doesn't really show how it might look when its moving. I say wait till we see another (not beta) full version trailer or gameplay to really decide how Sonic's running or any animation is. This including the jump people been complaining about. But so far, from the pics look promising but I can't say much without another trailer that actually shows the final product well.

[Indigo Rush]

Yeah, breaking blocks is epic. I can't wait to play this game.

Also, I have no problem with the pulley-sliding thing. There was one of those in Angel Island Zone anyway, so it's not like it's some sort of "modern perversion" some people keep going on about.

Which is ridiculous, by the way. The homing attack is a welcome addition in my book.

[SkyShark]

The statement about the physics makes me wonder if they aren't going to be floaty then what about that early preview by some on sonicretro who said they worked like Sonic Rush especially on jumping, does this mean they are fixing that or the person was over exagerating the state of the jump physics. To hear that this is a prolouge makes me happy seeing as it means this will be the shortest of the episodes and latter ones will hopefully have 7-11 stages.

[Detective Shadzter]

Woah, we've made CVG -

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=238033

EDIT:

And ONM -

http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/article.php?id=15737