So, Red Rings.

[thatguyfrom03]

Exploration? In my Sonic game? It's more likely than you think.

As long as it isn't forced like the Sun Medals, im fine with whatever the reward is.

[ArtFenix]

I always liked collecting things to unlock something in games, so I liked collecting Red Rings in Colors (Wii and DS), I liked collecting emblems in older games. I just hate it when you HAVE to collect something like Sun/Moon medals to proceed in Unleashed or when the collectibles are hard as hell to collect like Yellow rings in Sonic advance 2 (well, it was hard to obtain all the emeralds in all advance games).

And I'd like to get something really awesome for collecting such things like Metal Sonic as a playable skin (Sadx/Sa2B multiplayer characters) or Super Sonic on levels (Colors Wii). I hate it when all I get is some shit like in Unleashed or SNG, Shadow and Heroes to some extent.

[KrazyBean]

Red Rings are AWESOME...well, better than those GODFORSAKEN Sun and Moon Medals!! AAAAARRRGGHH, I HATE THOSE MEDALS!!

The challenge should be the level, not meeting some arbitrary number of collectibles. This ain't Mario 64.

Well, this actually sums up ALL Mario games...

[Tobbii]

Red Rings are AWESOME...well, better than those GODFORSAKEN Sun and Moon Medals!! AAAAARRRGGHH, I HATE THOSE MEDALS!!

Well, this actually sums up ALL Mario games...

At least all 3D Mario games.

[Blue Blood]

Red Rings are AWESOME...well, better than those GODFORSAKEN Sun and Moon Medals!! AAAAARRRGGHH, I HATE THOSE MEDALS!!

They're the same thing really. The only difference is how each game dealt with them.

[KrazyBean]

At least all 3D Mario games.

...Yeah, my mistake

[the blu blur]

Yeah, the Medal system in Unleashed wasn't that great of a system as a whole. I had no problem with it when I played it initially, but it really became more obvious of the lack of medals once I got to Adabat. There's also the whole "medal collecting conscience" thing that makes it not as liberating, as you are constantly making sure you have enough which makes playing through the levels for pure enjoyment a little hard to do. At least when Mario games do it it acts as a Goal Ring as to not paranoid you with the search of it all. The red Rings are a better way to do it though. Similar to the special rings in Advance 2, but much better in that you don't have to get them all at once, or even in order as long as you stay alive with the one you just collected.

[TwoTailedFox]

These red rings on the 360 version won't be so good, will they? /bad, overused joke

Anyway, I hope that the rings in Generations will be easier to find than in Colors. I found those to be very hard to find. As for things to unlock, I hope they're not required to move onto the next level, and they're more like something that will unlock extras like concept art, videos, music, etc.

[LoseR]

I would mind collecting the rings that much if they gave some really good stuff, like maybe developmental content like in S&TSR, because I really enjoy that stuff, and maybe some secret cutscenes, like in Unleashed.

I'd hate it though if they forced you to get them to progress, because that pretty much goes against the definition of linearity... It be kind of annoying for Super Sonic, especially since they just did that, but it wouldn't be as bad as, let's say, Sonic Heroes...

What I think they should do for the chaos emeralds is have actual special stages, considering this game is a compilation, and should use a different kind of stage for each chaos emerald.

As for the music and stuff, I think they should just have that unlocked as you play through the game like SA2...

[Aquaslash]

I prefer what Colors did, where they ultimately led to a fully playable Super Sonic. In fact, that's really the ONLY thing I'd like them to be used for. Art can be unlocked through high scores or something.

[EXshad]

I think they're an excellent form of replay value. They give the player incentive to explore levels thoroughly, and once enough are collected, they unlock special stages. And the incentive to beat said stages are, of course, to get the chaos emeralds, which either unlock a hidden chapter of the game, allow you to turn into Super Sonic, or both.

It's excellent, I'd like to see it stay.

[Tobbii]

Personally I think it's asking a bit too much when it comes to Super Sonic unlocking through them, I want Sonic 3 style hidden Special Stages instead.

[JaidynReiman]

Well, if you go by Colors, the Red Rings unlocked the Game World levels... beating the Game world levels unlocked the Chaos Emeralds... and ultimately Super Sonic... The "Game World" basically IS the special stage, in a sense. It just plays like an ordinary level, instead.

[Solid SOAP]

Colors style medal-collecting where they unlock optional side stages would be great, but it'd be kind of a damper if they were necessary to beat the game, not too much of a bummer though. If they unlock like, concept art and shit like that then that'd be great, maybe even alt. characters and skins.

[Nepenthe]

With the collection of Chaos Emeralds and the use of Super Sonic in the final battle still ingrained into the normal narrative routine, I'm unsure as to why beating the final boss can't be the requirement needed to unlock Super Sonic instead of continuing to treat him as completionist material whilst the extraneous material is unlocked by the extraneous effort required to scour back through the levels for whatever collectable doo-dad Sega felt necessary to throw in. I think that'd be a satisfactory compromise.

[Aquaslash]

With the collection of Chaos Emeralds and the use of Super Sonic in the final battle still ingrained into the normal narrative routine, I'm unsure as to why beating the final boss can't be the requirement needed to unlock Super Sonic instead of continuing to treat him as completionist material whilst the extraneous material is unlocked by the extraneous effort required to scour back through the levels for whatever collectable doo-dad Sega felt necessary to throw in. I think that'd be a satisfactory compromise.

[Nepenthe]

Didn't Colors DS feature a Super Sonic final battle?

Anyways, the final transformation has pretty much been a mainstay of the 3D series despite Colors' Wii being the exception, which is just what it is: the exception, not the rule, and it'll probably be so until we go another seven or so consecutive games without it. Even if you disagree with that or generally abhor the idea, there's still the relevance of the Chaos Emeralds to take into consideration.

[Aquaslash]

At this point, we don't know if the Chaos Emeralds will have any plot relevance. They didn't in 4, they didn't in Colors. They were just side quests to unlock Super Sonic.

It's probably a safe bet, but there doesn't HAVE to be a final transformation.

Watch the last level be the god damn Doomsday Zone

[Nepenthe]

Oh, I'm not saying there has to be a final transformation either. My general point on both of those devices as that they're heavily ingrained into the series in general, so it'd be a common-sense reason to relegate Super Sonic being unlocked by simply beating the main campaign which is probably how it should've been as such all along anyways.

But in this game's case, even if neither are to show up, I think switching it around by having Super Sonic as the default campaign award while production assets and new levels are the reward for scouring for collectables make more inherent sense, both economically and as a compromise; so instead of playing for hours towards a single reward, have the collectables unlock extra material as you go along.

Yeah right. It's either going to be a conglomeration of many final levels or some limbo-esque place as time proceeds to do some ker-razy shit.

[Aquaslash]

I guess. I can see the complaint that it would make certain things too easy, but they can just make it separate from the main ranks again. To be honest, I don't really care how I get it so long as I get it. Just playing devil's advocate a bit.

[jeremycarrier]

Oh, I love the red rings. In fact, I prefer them over all the special stages in all the other Sonic titles. Instead of being whisked away to doing repetitive minigames(and don't fail, because you only get one shot!), the game rewards exploration and clever playing through the main game with the Red Rings, which unlocks the cool simulator levels and eventually Super Sonic.

I wouldn't mind seeing them more often. In fact, I'd be disappointed if they weren't.