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My little rant about fast paced action and flow


Shiny Gems

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Hopefully, no one minds if I post this rant. Since it seems that this forum is for the most part, the core of the Sonic Community, I thought, why not post this rant here? I am not expecting everyone to agree with me, but I just want to share this opinion with you all.

NOTE: The two reasons I will elaborate , which are why some of the veteran Sonic fans do not like the classic games, are not the only reasons why those fans think the games, aside from Sonic Unleashed, maybe, suck. So please read before you post that the two reasons are not the sol reasons why Sonic games suck (in the person's eyes).

Anyway, this may seem like a "Sonic is all about speed" rant, but there is more depth to this than you my think.

So let us get started on this long rant.

So far, especially from the reviews, it would seem that many people, even those who are not Sonic fans, think that Sonic games are all about speed.

However, what is the "speed" they are referring to? What do people mean by speed when it comes to Sonic games?

Well, to me, the speed means the "flowing of speed." As I remember, in the classic Sonic games, there were not too many times you had to stop or anything, unless there were obstacles and challenges to overcome. The flow od the speed, especially when the roller coaster like elements of the game were combined with that flow speed, gave a real sense of speed. Even jumping onto platform or platform did not bother the players. Some things, like being able to drown and needed air in the Sonic games, would require to slow down and wait for something before moving on (in this case, air bubbles). However, the flow of the speed in those games, along with the twists and turns from the roller coaster like elements, where part of the reason, in my perspective, what made those games great. You only needed one hit to defeat the badniks, and overall, the flow of speed added so much to the sensation of speed that was delivered to the player.

Now, to bring this up:

http://www.smashbros.com/en_us/characters/sonic.html

Now you may be wondering why I am bringing up Sonic's profile from the official Smash Bros Brawl site? Well, under Sonic's special moves, Masahiro Sakurai, the developer of Smash Bros Brawl himself, said this.

"The original Sonic the Hedgehog game used only one button. I think its simple yet exhilarating play was its virtue."

I wanted to bring this up because the controls, having been simple, are another factor in how the classic games were good in the eyes of veterans Sonic fans. The conrols were so easy, that the exhilarating gameplay allowed for a good flow of speed and thus, part of the reason why the classic games rocked.

As for the 3D Sonic games, Sonic's running based gameplay as in Sonic Adventures 1 and 2, was the only thing that the veteran Sonic games seem to like. As for everything else the fans hated the treasure hunting, fishing, running from a big robot and even shooting gameplay! The reason may be (though not the complete reason by itself) that those gameplay styles slowed down some and thus, took away the flow of speed (and the speed itself!). I am not saying that these were hated by all, for some other fans who liked these alternate styes of gameplay.

Games like Sonic Heroes, Shadow and Sonic 06 had their own share of problems that made them not so good in the eyes of some fans. In these games, you had to stop to fight some enemies with a homing attack several times, or with power formation (since speed formation did not work as a one hit kill) and guns. These were not the complete reasons these games were perceived as bad, for there are other factors as well. However, the flow of speed was lacking and thus, not a favorite of all Sonic fans (especially the Veteran ones). Also, the controls were less than stellar, which took away the flow of speed even more.

Even Sonic the Werehog's gamepay in Sonic Unleashed was enough to slow down the game, but I personally know some who loved the Werehog. Personally, I liked the Werehog myself.

Now on a different issue, fast paced action in Sonic games, and I will start this off by talking more about the Werehog.

I don't remember the exact source, but in an interview from earlier last year; a Sega employee said that the Werehog's gameplay, though based heavily on combat, was going to be made to be fast paced. To me, it actually turned out to be fast paced in terms of performing some of the combos the Werehog had.

However; on the down side, the fast paced action may have added to the repetitiveness of the Werehog's gameplay as some people have complained about.

In a similar fashion, I want to bring in Sonic Chronicles another game I liked. Bioware, the makers of that game also said that the turned based combat would be fast paced. However, aside from different faults that were noticed by fans and maybe reviewers alike; the combat system of the game also turned out as repetitive. I noticed that half of the people who complained about how repetitive this system was came from old school Sonic fans, even though this game actually was meant to try and please a more limited audience: the veteran Sonic fans.

And more recently, there is Sonic and the Black Knight. The game was said by the developers (I don't know when, but it WAS suggested). Sonic's fast paced gameplay included high speed attacks by use of somethind added into the works: a sword. While some people were not fond of the idea to begin with, some other people who brought the game thought the sword play was fast paced, but was slammed by reviewes due to the lack of speed in terms of running. You had to stop, attack, go and do those things again, as some would say (even those who have not played the game), but overall, the sword added more to the fast paced action of the gameplay, even if the running speed was not "flowing" enough.

But considering both the Werehog gameplay, Black Knight gameolay and the Sonic Chronicles gameplay, that goes to show that other forms of fast paced gameplay; cannot always please Sonic fans (not limited to the old school fans) compared to the exception of Sonic's traditional, more classic fast paced platforming and speeding through the stage gameplay; no matter how well executed it turns out to be. Unless the player can keep running with little or no stopping for any reason, those same fans would not like anything else that was made with fast paced gameplay.

In the long run, the fast paced action and flow of speed are not the only reasons that people think Sonic games are bad. There are glitches, camera angles and such, but for the most part, I believe that the flow and fast paced action (especially Sonic's running and the fast paced platforming) are what the veteran Sonic fans want to return the most, as well, as not having to be forced to play different gameplay styles that "slow the game down" but still can be fun). However, for the most part, enjoying the game is what matters, no matter how "slow" and "unflowing" it is to the player.

Any comments on this?

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You had to stop from time to time in the old games. You couldn't rush the underwater bits in Chemical Plant, or else you'd end up sinking deeper, but many of the newer games have you doing it every few seconds.

The "flow" you speak of sounds like the momentum manipulation.

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Marble Hill was pretty slow, too...

The reason I miss the old games, despite missing the new ones, is that the new ones focus too much on speed, to the point where at times the games feel more like racing games than platforming games. It's as if they took the two-player racing games from Sonic 2 and Sonic 3 and transformed them into the focus of the franchise. I miss speed just being a bonus, the icing on the cake, while solid platforming and level design were the core of things.

I guess that's part of why I'm looking forward to playing Black Knight so much. Sure that's more of a beat em up than a platformer, but I at least appreciated the attempt to focus on something other than "Radical Good Speed" without shunting the speed off into a completely different set of levels the way Unleashed did.

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The "flow" you speak of sounds like the momentum manipulation.

Momentum manipulation? Where did you get that from? :lol:

That is far from what I was talking about, for your information.

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Then it's crazy talk colbert.png

Keeping Sonic moving the same way Unleashed and Adventure 2 do so makes the game play itself half the time, and by that I mean that changes in speed and direction are handled by the stage far too often.

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Well, to me, the speed means the "flowing of speed." As I remember, in the classic Sonic games, there were not too many times you had to stop or anything, unless there were obstacles and challenges to overcome. The flow od the speed, especially when the roller coaster like elements of the game were combined with that flow speed, gave a real sense of speed. Even jumping onto platform or platform did not bother the players. Some things, like being able to drown and needed air in the Sonic games, would require to slow down and wait for something before moving on (in this case, air bubbles). However, the flow of the speed in those games, along with the twists and turns from the roller coaster like elements, where part of the reason, in my perspective, what made those games great. You only needed one hit to defeat the badniks, and overall, the flow of speed added so much to the sensation of speed that was delivered to the player.

... save for Labyrinth Zone and the entirety of Sonic CD...

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The reason I miss the old games, despite missing the new ones, is that the new ones focus too much on speed, to the point where at times the games feel more like racing games than platforming games. It's as if they took the two-player racing games from Sonic 2 and Sonic 3 and transformed them into the focus of the franchise. I miss speed just being a bonus, the icing on the cake, while solid platforming and level design were the core of things.

I agree with Blazey... Don't get me wrong, I love the new games, but I don't think Sonic should just be about speed - he's of the platforming genre - not a racer.

I liked Sonic Unleashed, but the daytime were just too fast for me - most of the time I got paranoid that I was going so fast that I'd die at any second... and I did, quite a lot of the time. :lol: If not that, I'd die because I was so busy trying not to go fast that I wasn't going fast enough/wasn't using the boost when I should have.

I'm probably going to get killed for this, but in terms of gameplay style in a 3D Sonic game, I liked Next-Gen's the best. Not speaking of the glitches and such, but the large, free-roaming, platforming and not-overly-fast gameplay style... But, this is coming from soneone who sucks at games and only really plays Sonic, so my views are probably radically different from an expert or even decent gamer. :lol:

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Flow is an element that is very important to a Sonic title. In games like Sonic Adventure 2, Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic Unleashed, flow is like a light switch, toggling on and off every now and again. It didn't really ruin those games for me specifically for me, as they had many other qualities I enjoyed, but Sonic Unleashed in particular still could have been a lot better if the game was more of a compromise between the day and night stages rather than placing them in two entirely separate worlds. But I will say it was a rather retarded move to make cutscenes unskippable, as a story can either add to the game or intrude upon it depending on what your looking for.

However, flow alone does not a Sonic game make. If that were the case, then Sonic Advance 2 would be the best Sonic game of this generation. But since it plays itself (especially with Cream) it was incredibly weak. That said, while flow is important, it's not Sonic in itself. What I feel makes a great Sonic game is an inherent connection with the environments. That's what separates the wheat from the chaff in Sonic games.

Edited by SuperStingray
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I agree with Blazey... Don't get me wrong, I love the new games, but I don't think Sonic should just be about speed - he's of the platforming genre - not a racer.

Yeah, and when I think about it, it was the Mario-esque hop and bop gameplay more than the speed that drew me to Sonic when I first discovered him.

I'm probably going to get killed for this, but in terms of gameplay style in a 3D Sonic game, I liked Next-Gen's the best. Not speaking of the glitches and such, but the large, free-roaming, platforming and not-overly-fast gameplay style... But, this is coming from soneone who sucks at games and only really plays Sonic, so my views are probably radically different from an expert or even decent gamer. :lol:

I've been planning to play Next-Gen sooner or later, so I'm happy to hear that the gameplay is more suited to my tastes than I thought. :lol:

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You had to stop from time to time in the old games. You couldn't rush the underwater bits in Chemical Plant, or else you'd end up sinking deeper, but many of the newer games have you doing it every few seconds.

The "flow" you speak of sounds like the momentum manipulation.

What he means is that the level design allowed the player to move through the level without too many interruptions that halted progression. That, and that the design made the transition into fast paced racing and slow precise platforming smooth and almost unnoticeable, like the transition between 2D and 3D in Unleashed.

As for the topic, the OP speaks the truth and nothing but the truth. Nuff said.

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What he means is that the level design allowed the player to move through the level without too many interruptions that halted progression. That, and that the design made the transition into fast paced racing and slow precise platforming smooth and almost unnoticeable, like the transition between 2D and 3D in Unleashed.

Actually, that is what I meant. Thanks for backing me up!

As for the topic, the OP speaks the truth and nothing but the truth. Nuff said.

And thanks for giving me some credit, too.

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