Did you ever get out of Sonic?

[Turbo the Punk]

I guess you could say I've been out of the fandom for a while, but that's likely because I wasn't heavily in it to begin with.

 

For now, I'm just waiting to see what happens and I'll take off from there.

[Lady Soniko]

I should probably mention that I stopped drawing during my Sonic down time which set my skills back to nothing, It's getting back to normal now, but it was a serious blow to my artistic flow and wrecked my confidence, and this folks is partially why I can't accept my own work at all until I hit a personal goal, I also find it hard to accept any form of compliment or praise, but I can handle criticism.

 

/is weird.

[Cambot]

I'm honestly quite close to leaving right now. I think the series has taken too much control of my life, plus I don't think Sega knows what it wants to do with it anymore. But why does it have to be so friggin' hard?

[Rexeljet]

I lost a bit of interest during 2007-2008. I got Shadow the Hedgehog for Christmas 2007 and kind of lost interest in the series around that time, and moved onto other interests (most of which I still have) and missed the hype for Sonic Unleashed. When I started seeing Sonic Unleashed in Argos catalogues and what not, I decided I'd give the series another chance, but knowing nothing about the game, I expected it to be like Shadow the Hedgehog and what I'd heard of Sonic 06, with bad controls, a convoluted mess of a story, bland graphics, and a ton of bottomless pits. I was pleasantly surprised with Sonic Unleashed as a whole. The daytime stages were not only super-fast but I actually had control over my character! And, since the last Sonic game I'd played was Shadow the Hedgehog, the Werehog seemed fantastic in comparison to the awful mess that was the gameplay in Shadow the Hedgehog, and Sonic Unleashed regained my interest in the series, though there are times where it takes a backseat to some of my other interests (like when I'm not on here!)

[Cerium]

In 1997, my parents MADE me sell my Megadrive and I was given a Playstation for Christmas.

 

In 2001 (possibly 2002), I was enjoying my Game Boy Advance and bought Sonic Advance on a complete whim.

 

Fell in love with Sonic all over again.

 

Then came Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, then came Sonic Mega Collection, then came Sonic Adventure DX...

 

And here I am now! More in love with the franchise than I've ever been! And I haven't looked back since!

[Cola]

I've never ACTUALLY lost interest, but one time I thought I did.

Sometime in the ancient year of 2008, I borrowed NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams from my friend. Kinda. He had rented the game, but forgot it at my house after a sleepover. He was busy for the next few days, so I kept it safe in my Wii for him. Needless to say, I had fallen in love with the game. It was all I played for those few days, nonstop. The game was beautiful, almost magical. Then, I started freaking out a little. "Oh man, I'm not obessed with Sonic anymore! This is kinda weird."

After giving the game back, I realized how silly I was and went back to patiently waiting for Unleashed to come out.

That said, I've not touched Journey of Dreams since. I should probably pick it up after I finish NiGHTS HD...

Edited January 22, 2013 by Cola

[T-Min]

Off topic, but...

That said, I've not touched Journey of Dreams since. I should probably pick it up after I finish NiGHTS HD...

Be sure to wear your nostalgia goggles...

[Tails spin]

I never really have lost interest in Sonic. When I was 9 I would juggle the Super Nintendo and Genesis between Mario and Sonic games but I collected the comics and watch the show.  Never bought another Sega console so you could take that as a "getting out" of Sonic, so I was basically without sonic games for a few years then when I was 13 I happened to find the Sonic & Knuckles Collection for PC and that point I never had bought Sonic 3 & Knuckles. ( I remember having a pack of Pokemon cards in my hand, when I showed my parents what I wanted they said you can have one or the other, I instantly without thinking throw the Pokemon cards on a table and walked happy with my choice).

 

After that I still hadn't played any new sonic console games then when I saw that sonic was on a nintendo console I flipped my lid. Finally I could enjoy sonic on a consoles I mostly play other games on. I went on to buy Sonic Heroes, Sonic Riders and Shadow the hedgehog. then I didn't buy any other Sonic game until I saw Sonic Colors. Now I'm planing on buying Sonic Generations 3DS and whatever rumored sonic game comes out.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

I'm surprised I haven't posted here before.

 

Did I ever get out of Sonic? Um...no? Anyone who knows me should know that I've been around these forums since 2005. I have several people who have been around for just as long who can vouch for my time here.

 

But "so what", right? What the hell does being around since 2005 have to do with anything? If you seriously have to ask that, then you must have forgotten a very polarizing and shameful game that was released around that period. Said game began the fracture of the fanbase to the state it's become now (although I ironically supported the game before finding it distasteful in hindsight). And even then I stuck to the franchise. I was even around in 2006 when another game practically started faction war within the fandom.

 

I've endured the massive fire that this series reputation has been in, and still stuck around despite the franchise's low point. And after going that low, it's hard to see why I would have let go at any other point.

 

And even before I started using the Internet, I was a fan of the blue blur. Now there were some on and off periods when I never knew of a game he had planned during the Saturn period, as I was still playing my Genesis at the time. And even when new things caught my eyes, such as the Pokemon boom that many of us went through when the franchise first began, the Digimon franchise that came to compete, and even some that weren't much of a fad but was still interesting like the time I saw the commercial for Rayman 2: The Great Escape, I still never got out of Sonic.

 

And at this point, it's kinda hard to see anything really doing that. Heck, my parents and grandparents still love old cartoons back during their time as kids, so I don't see what would make me leave something I enjoyed as a kid.

[The Pit of Mystic Cave]

Unfortunately I did lose hope in Sonic in 2006, but what brought me back was the amazing amount of support in the fanbase. I was uplifted by the way some people didn't give up on Sonic and I was ashamed.

 

Plus, Unleashed wasn't all that bad (half of it at least)

[Johnny Boy]

Well not really. But I will admit, 2006 alienated me a small bit but I still remained a loyal fan.

I have been getting bored because of the lack of info for a new game however. Not even Sonic 4 ep 2 and All Stars Racing Transformed were enough to hold me over.

[Chauvel]

I lost interest in Sonic for a long time and only recently I seem to be getting interested in it again. I used to be a really big fan back in the day. Collected the Archie Sonic comics, drew some fanart, and played most of the games. Then one day I just stopped caring. The games weren't as interesting to me and the comics were getting so bad they came to the point of being cringe worthy.

That was around 2003-2004, I think? It wasn't until Sonic Generations came along that sort of rekindled my interest. I played the game and really, really liked it. It reminded me of all the fun I used to have playing the classic games and to some extent reminded me of the fond memories of reading the comics. I haven't gone back to read the current comics yet, but I will soon.

This forum helped peek my interest in the franchise as well. I've been "lurking" for a few weeks now and I really like what I see here. I don't visit a lot of forums often (I've only been really active on one) and I'm curious to see how things will go here. Hopefully my interest in franchise as a whole will grow again.

 

Besides, I need a new obsession.
 

[Tani Coyote]

Unfortunately I did lose hope in Sonic in 2006, but what brought me back was the amazing amount of support in the fanbase. I was uplifted by the way some people didn't give up on Sonic and I was ashamed.

 

Plus, Unleashed wasn't all that bad (half of it at least)

 

Indeed. It's like how some people have given up on Christmas due to the increasing materialism, but many still continue to try and keep the spirit strong.

 

There are many fans who were casual fans or gamers who just played Sonic as part of their collection. Then you had the hardcore fans who more or less have had their hearts branded by Sonic. They cannot abandon him... and at the end of the day, those fierce devotees are what keeps any fandom alive.

 

I assume the reason I was able to fall out of the fandom at all for a few years was because I hadn't really been captivated. It was the greater emotion and more intricate plotlines, I guess, that were able to wrap me in and make me like the characters rather than just playing the game to pass time.

[C.J]

To be honest, I never actually lost interest in the Sonic franchise. Despite the negative reviews for past Sonic games, I was still interested to see what would happen in the next Sonic game and how it would improve from the previous one. Although there were times where I would question myself and say "Am I getting too old for Sonic now?" after getting constant sighing from some friends as they sometimes got a bit annoyed with my obession. But I got over that later on as time passed and then I eventually joined SSMB. However, right now I think I'm close to losing interest which I think is due to lack of change in recent Sonic games so I'm hoping that the next Sonic games will offer more different ideas soon. Something a bit more original/unique. It probably won't happen now but hopefully in the near future.

Edited February 2, 2013 by C.J

[Speederino]

Well, right now, sort of. I still like the franchise and everything, but I haven't felt like playing it and I don't really have much to say regarding it. Hell, if you don't frequent the Chit-Chat and general gaming threads on this board, I doubt you even know who I am. In fact the only reason I decided to come in this neck of the woods right now is because I'm extremely bored. I'll probably chime in more once a new game is announced.

 

Aside from now, I literally didn't care at all from about 2004-2007 or so. I had completely missed the whole Sonic 2006 fiasco when it was brand new, I didn't even really learn about the game for a while. I guess the surprisingly decent critical reception surrounding Sonic and the Secret Rings brought me back on board, and Unleashed's day stages really got me hooked again.

Edited February 7, 2013 by Speederino

[Tommy.]

I'm ,unfortunately, getting out of it now. Not completely, but my interest will be a bit more...faded. Now, do I want to get out of it? No. I simply can't be speaking about it at this point of my life. What can I say, I'm in High School, and everyone knows how judgmental and stupid people can be here. I still plan on keeping up with the community and doing as I normally would, but I don't plan on speaking much about it and buying much merch.

 

Society - It stinks!

[Frogging101]

I'm ,unfortunately, getting out of it now. Not completely, but my interest will be a bit more...faded. Now, do I want to get out of it? No. I simply can't be speaking about it at this point of my life. What can I say, I'm in High School, and everyone knows how judgmental and stupid people can be here. I still plan on keeping up with the community and doing as I normally would, but I don't plan on speaking much about it and buying much merch.

 

Society - It stinks!

My advice to you is fuck the haters. It's not anyone else's business what you like and don't like; they're in no place to judge you. Somehow, I haven't been bullied more than twice briefly throughout my whole educational career despite having this mindset

[Chauvel]

I'm ,unfortunately, getting out of it now. Not completely, but my interest will be a bit more...faded. Now, do I want to get out of it? No. I simply can't be speaking about it at this point of my life. What can I say, I'm in High School, and everyone knows how judgmental and stupid people can be here. I still plan on keeping up with the community and doing as I normally would, but I don't plan on speaking much about it and buying much merch.

 

Society - It stinks!

 

You can't be afraid of what other people (including your peers) might think you or your interest. I know, this is easier said then done, especially since you're in High School. But you'd be surprised how the "Be yourself" advice goes a long way. I was a geek in HS (still am in a sense) and no matter what other people thought of me, I still stuck to the things I loved and didn't change for no one. Sure there were plenty of times I've tried to drop my interest in order to gain friends but it didn't work out. I wasn't happy, I wanted to read comics and talk about superheros. Not petty school gossip. I had my fair share of bullies too, but what nerd didn't? Always stand up for  yourself, no matter what. They prey on those who are meek and unwilling push back (in a nonviolent way of course).

 

Also, I used to teach after-school comic workshop and mixed media programs to many HS students. There were plenty of anime, comics, and yes, even sonic fans all mingled together. Today It seems easier for kids with similar interests to find a great supportive group of friends to hang out with (and I don't mean the ones over the internet). 

 

Everyone falls out of things they used to like or even love. Hell, it happens all the time. But don't fall out of something because you feel pressured to. Believe me, it would just make you yearn for it even more and it would leave you very, very unhappy.

[Jix Hedgehog]

I got caught up in the Poké-fad in the late 90's when it seemed Sonic wasn't going anywhere (I had Sonic Jam and R which were fine, but I found out at the time that XTreme and the Sega Saturn version of Sonic the Fighters were canned) I collected the comics, went to events, learned how to play the card game, bought the videos n' toys, attended the first 2 movie premieres..

 

Then the Dreamcast and Sonic Adventure were announced and I was back on board. Last Pokémon I played was Gold (second gen?) and I knew I was over it when I finished the game and couldn't be bothered filling the PokéDex.

 

I wasn't the only one to be caught up in the fad, I remember reading the letters section of one of the Archie comics where a reader apologized for leaving which was also due to Pokémon

[Dandp]

After playing Shadow the hedgehog, I didn't play Sonic games anymore. The game was awful, and I had the PS2 version, which at the time I didn't know was the worst version, I just thought the game sucked. The series really died out for me after that, with a bunch of DS games coming out that looked stupid to me (I was being incredibly naive, they actually look pretty good).

 

Years later, I got Sonic and the secret rings, and after that... I still didn't play sonic games. I thought the game was terrible. I couldn't stand it at all. Then I got unleashed, which I thought was terrible because of the Werehog (I didn't really get into the game, I just sort of ignored it after the Werehog stage at the start). I saw games that looked terrible released one after the other, especially seeing sonic and the Black Knight, at which point I thought the series was completely destroyed. I saw ad's for Sonic colours and ignored them just because I hated the series. I didn't get back into the series until Generations. Freaking Generations! I got the game for the nostalgia, I loved the classic game still, I just didn't like the new ones. After playing that, thinking I would have to endure the modern stages, I realised I had more fun playing modern sonic than classic sonic. After watching an LP of Sonic heroes, my favourite sonic game from years ago, I couldn't stop playing them again Now I'm a member of forums and a collector of the games. yay.

Edited February 7, 2013 by Dandp

[Spring]

Well I bought 'Sonic 3D' for the Mega Drive and the next Sonic game after that I bought was Sonic Generations, so that probably tells you I've probably got some kind of record for being out of the Sonic loop for so long and getting back in.

 

I suspect I may be slightly older than most here too.

 

My Sonic journey began with Sonic The Hedgehog on the Mega drive back when it was released and I was a young kid.

 

I loved the series. Played and loved every Mega Drive Sonic game.

 

I was never lucky enough to get a Mega CD, so didn't play Sonic CD, and didn't play Chaotix either as I didn't get a 32x.

 

However I was lucky enough to be given a SNES and got equally into Mario. In 1997 I bought a Nintendo 64. As such I didn't buy a Saturn or Dreamcast or any of its games.

 

Sega was forgotten.

 

Funnily enough I had my young nephew play on Sonic 1 (he was probably about 5 at the time) and from there on he got into modern Sonic games, and I used to watch him play them but didn't like them.

 

I gave Generations a go as I liked the nostalgia. Ended up going to Summer of Sonic in '12 as well. I definitely prefer the classic games but at least now I'm back into the franchise and will probably buy the next game, even if its a modern game, and I have a lot of catching up to do.

[Willsy]

I did at one point. It was just before Unleashed came out, and the reason was that I liked nothing but Lego back then. However, last year I played the Generations Demo, and I was hooked again.

[AcidGamer]

BUMP!

 

I knew there was a topic like this around here somewhere...

 

I did get out of Sonic, and it was for a long while too. I've been putting this off long enough, as I've mentioned time and time again that I would explain what caused me to get out of Sonic for 15 years, as my circumstances that caused me to leave were rather different, as they weren't caused by anything Sega or Sonic Team did or didn't do. Anyway, now that I've found the topic, here's my story:

 

My beginning with Sonic was back in June 1991 when I got a Sega Genesis with Sonic 1 as a reward from my father as I was the only one between me and my sisters that had made the Honor Roll for the whole school year. I remember seeing an ad from Toys R Us advertising Sonic and the Sega Genesis, and I showed it to my dad, telling him that's what I wanted after being undecided for about 2 weeks. I didn't know anything about either Sonic or the Sega Genesis, but I wanted it because Sonic looked so cool.

 

I loved the game and eventually I had Sonic 2, Sonic 3, Sonic & Knuckles and Sonic Spinball in my collection. I really enjoyed the games but it was the cartoons that really got me into Sonic, especially Sonic SatAM. I was so into the cartoon that I would record the episodes and watch them repeatedly every day. I also started drawing, painting, crafting Sonic and the SatAM characters (as well as Knuckles) with whatever materials I could get my hands on. But my main thing that I was doing in regards to Sonic was writing fanfictions. And I wrote a lot of them, be it short or long stories, with or without pictures.

 

I was so into writing my fanfics that I would sneak a pen and paper in my pocket when I had to go outside to the park to play. I would sit behind a huge tree and I would continue my writing instead of playing with my siblings and friends. Then I bought a mini blue flashlight that I used at nighttime to continue writing my stories after my family was asleep, so I could write in peace. Some nights during the weekend I would pull an all-nighter as I would watch Sonic SatAM followed by more writing. I forget how many stories I had written, but I had hundreds of pages of writings and my drawings all based on Sonic. To say I was addicted to Sonic was an understatement.

 

Apparently, my father wasn't too fond of my Sonic addiction, and he took matters into his own hands on how to handle it. I was 11 years old at the time and one day, while I was at school, he went into my room and threw out my Sonic stories, my video cassettes with my Sonic SatAM episodes in them, my Sonic illustrations along with my supplies. I came home and saw everything was gone and knew what happened, as that day was a Monday-trash day. I couldn't believe it, and I was devastated. I cried myself to sleep that night as everything I Ioved and adored about and worked hard for with Sonic was gone.

 

My stories and drawings were in the trash, never to be seen again, along with my video cassettes. Both Sonic cartoons were cancelled at this point so I didn't have those as well. I didn't have my games anymore either because somehow my Sega Genesis picked up a virus from one of the games and it would freeze and got so bad to the point that the game was unplayable. So there I was with absolutely nothing in regards to my Sonic stuff. I had dreams of becoming both an author and an animator, so my dreams were thrown away along with my works. I found my losses to be too much to recover from, as I had nothing left but memories. Not mention I found the whole situation very painful. There was no way I could start all over again considering all that I had written and drawn. Heartbroken, I "walked away" from Sonic, never intending to come back to him ever again.

 

But one night in March of 2010, 15 years later, at 26 years old, I was playing with my new cell phone and somehow ended up on Youtube on its browser. After coming across some Animaniacs clips, my curiosity got the best out of me, as I wondering if Sonic SatAM was on there. I didn't know what it was referred to at the time, so I typed in "Sonic cartoons". The first thing I clicked on was a clip from the first episode of Sonic X and it caught my attention. But I really wanted to find something from Sonic SatAM so I kept searching. I finally found my favorite episodes of "Blast to the Past (parts 1 & 2)".

 

After watching both epsiodes I was overwhelmed with nostalgia and emotion. I realized that after all of this time I still adored Sonic like I had back when I was 11 years old. I was curious about the Sonic X clip and went back and watched the first episode. This was the first time I had seen Amy among others, not to mention the first time I saw Knuckles in a cartoon, so I was very excited and intrigued. I watched more episodes of Sonic X as well as cutscenes from Sonic Adventure, Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic '06 and Sonic Unleashed. I got absolutely no sleep that night as my revitalized interest in Sonic got the best of me.

 

For the nearly 3 years since my return to Sonic, it's been an interesting and fun journey in an effort to make up for lost time. Thankfully there have been many provisions full of information to help make that possible for me, including the Sonic Stadium. I honestly don't know if I will ever catch up with all the Sonic games, cartoons, and media out there that I've missed for the 15 years I was away, but I am sure going to keep trying, and I will continue to enjoy doing so.

I don't care what people say about me after this post but, I literally almost cried from this story! Thank you so much for sharing! 

Now if you excuse me I will go and cry some more. 

[AcidGamer]

I sadly did at some point. It was 2008 and when I heard about Sonic Unleashed I wasn't so big with the idea of changing by day and by night. It was then when I found out about Kingdom Hearts and played every single game released at the time I forgot so much about Sonic through this time. Then by the end of the year I saw Sonic Unleashed going for $20.00. At that moment I was like,"Woah! I forgot all about Sonic! I don't really know if I should really buy this or not. If anything, I don't know if I'm even a fan at heart." So, I bought the game just to try to get back that "pace" I needed to give Sonic another try. I ended up thinking Unleashed wasn't that bad and then decided to give him another shot! But, I sort of needed to catch up with the comics as well. So I guess I had it pretty easy when it comes to things like this. I just hope for one thing now. That is: hopefully I don't give up on Sonic in the future because I wouldn't know who to thank for making my childhood WAY PAST COOL!

Edited March 14, 2013 by AcidGamer64

[Gabz Girl]

Around the beginning of 2004 I was REALLY into Sonic. Sonic Heroes, which was the first Sonic game I ever played, was amazing to me (back then, not anymore XP). I used to draw loads of fanart, I had my own fancharacter called Iris the otter and I read scans of the Archie comic (which I don't do anymore unless it's a rare one). In 2005, I played ShtH. I...knew it was not very good but I tried to ignore it and enjoy the game for what it was, which failed. IMO, that game ruined what used to be my favourite character next to Knuckles! Then came Sonic 06 the next year, and even though I didn't get to play it until 2009 I knew just how bad it was after watching vids of it online and reading all the comments here on SSMB, before I actually joined.

 

I was and still am into Sonic mind you! Sonic Unleashed and especially Sonic Colours made me enjoy playing Sonic games again, and it makes me so happy to see that Sonic the hedgehog has left the Dark Ages behind. But I'm not a big fan of it anymore like I used to be. I'm not a Knuckles fangirl, I still read the comics but not obsessively so and I don't draw Sonic fanart as much as I used to. There's other games I'm interested in besides Sonic, but I still like the hedgehog and can't wait to see what the newest Sonic game will be after Sonic Generations.