So is it fair to say that the franchise is out of its rut?

[batson]

I know it's not my place to play moderator but come on guys, please dont turn this thread ugly with bickering.

EDIT: This comment is not aimed at the post directly above mine. It's the two posts above that one that gives me negative vibes.

Edited June 25, 2011 by batson

[aaaaaa]

It would be hard to deny that for the longtime fans of the series that the disappointments have seemed to outweigh the hits as far as games go in the past few years, but I wouldn't go as far as to say that this is the first stretch of years wherein the releases consisted mostly of mediocre spin-offs alongside occasionally entertaining handhelds and maybe some other fun goodies in other media. 1995-1998 had its own set of hit-or-miss titles, and between Sonic and Knuckles and Sonic Adventure there weren't a whole lot of spectacular or definitive console games either. And despite the critical flopping of many of the games over the last few years, it doesn't look like Sonic has become financially unviable as a franchise, leading me to doubt that it will go anywhere anytime soon.

Some spin-off titles like Sonic R or Spinball have been widely enjoyed and praised, while others have been disappointments, like many of the recent ones, but I think Sega recognizes that the action/adventure/platforming style is what made the series popular in the first place. It's the genre that they deliberately set out to design the character for back in the early 90s, as a response to Mario with Nintendo, and I think they'll always end up back at the original formula, even if they do experiment here and there along the way. And I do think it appears that Generations will end up being that return.

[Autosaver]

Did everyone forget about Sonic Free Riders? Its sitting on gamerankings as one of the worst Sonic game released. (Not saying much but its barely above Sonic 06) If that wasn't released, we would probably have a bit more positive attitude toward Sonic. (and his spin-offs..)

[Aleekun107]

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.damnlag.com/wp-content/uploads/truth-hurts-sometimes-haters.png&imgrefurl=http://www.damnlag.com/sonic-colors-review/&usg=__-gZAlzOQwsjZW5nUpQv_XASNDOA=&h=450&w=600&sz=441&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=fFuvmiDEh551mM:&tbnh=132&tbnw=176&ei=hYEHTvfLNMeq8APOu-zRDQ&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dsonic%2Bcycle%2Bbroken%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1440%26bih%3D723%26tbm%3Disch&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=699&vpy=92&dur=295&hovh=132&hovw=176&tx=149&ty=82&page=1&ndsp=28&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:0&biw=1440&bih=723

My thoughts on it when Colours came out and reviews were quite positive to it.

Although I haven't played it, Free Riders wasn't really well received.

[Mollfie]

I think that the potential is definitely there but they need to keep making consistantly good games or else they'll slip back again. I think that generally Sonic fans will always be there, or atleast I know I will be, but they have to really push to get back where they should be.

[JezMM]

Did everyone forget about Sonic Free Riders? Its sitting on gamerankings as one of the worst Sonic game released. (Not saying much but its barely above Sonic 06) If that wasn't released, we would probably have a bit more positive attitude toward Sonic. (and his spin-offs..)

Edited June 26, 2011 by JezMM

[ChikaBoing]

Did everyone forget about Sonic Free Riders? Its sitting on gamerankings as one of the worst Sonic game released. (Not saying much but its barely above Sonic 06) If that wasn't released, we would probably have a bit more positive attitude toward Sonic. (and his spin-offs..)

Edited June 26, 2011 by ChikaBoing

[Captain Fargle]

Did everyone forget about Sonic Free Riders? Its sitting on gamerankings as one of the worst Sonic game released. (Not saying much but its barely above Sonic 06) If that wasn't released, we would probably have a bit more positive attitude toward Sonic. (and his spin-offs..)