Fastest Feeling Sonic Game?

[-Big The Cat-]

Ironically, it's the fastest games that don't really perceive speed to the player properly.

Sonic Rush, Advance 2, Unleashed...no.

Sonic isn't about never ending sensations of speed.

It's about making the player notice when he's going fast and actually feel something about it, be it relief or thrill.

How do they do this? By creating a contrast, so that there will be a comparison between slower and faster paced sections of a stage.

This will make the player feel and appreciate the speed better.

If you have Dimps/Unleashed style uninspired level design that consists of nothing but streamlining pathways and such, you really won't feel anything special even though you're going fast.

Edited November 18, 2012 by -Big the Cat-

[Phos]

Funny thing, you can actually go faster in Sonic 1 than you can in Unleashed.

[Scar]

Funny thing, you can actually go faster in Sonic 1 than you can in Unleashed.

[Toa Axis]

Unleashed, hands down in terms of sheer speed. When it comes to level design?

Yea...

Edited August 15, 2012 by DarkSamus117

[Phos]

Can you?

I suppose with a slope of sufficient length could accelerate you to ludicrous speeds....

Unleashed is fastest game on average than any other in the series. Sonic 1 retains the potential to go fast, but it tends to be one of the slowest due to the way the levels are constructed.

Yeah, just go fast into a quarter pipe and time how long it takes Sonic to get back to the ground. The easiest places to test this is in GHZ and SLZ vs. Windmill Island. Technically Sonic has a maximum fall speed in Unleashed (In Sonic 1,2 and 3, Sonic will keep falling faster until the sign on his y speed flips and he suddenly flies upwards) so it's actually a pretty major discrepancy.

[SilJeff]

The copy of Knuckles Chaotix I ordered from eBay came in today, and this was my first time playing it. My Goodness, there were section of that game (especially in sections of Speed Slider zone) where I could almost say the Tails quote "WOOAAHH, my head's spinning!"

Honestly, I never felt such a rush from going fast in a sonic game before.

So I'm changing my answer to Knuckles Chaotix

Edited August 16, 2012 by Mr.Snarf

[SilentDoom]

Sonic and the Secret Rings when you were all decked out with upgrades. It almost felt like Speed Break was slowing you down once you got to that point.

[Amomynous]

Sonic and the secret rings was most definitely the fastest 'feeling' Sonic game due to somewhat 'cinematic' camera placements - very often the camera is right behind Sonic at about his eye-level, a part of the idea of the game was to experience the speed as he did, and it did it quite well.

Sometimes I feel kind of bad about selling SatSR, it looks​ so fun, when I see someone who actually managed to get a hang of the controls play it it looks great, and I like the writing, I really like Sonic in it, but after I played through the story and a few missions, the main reason I would have played it was to improve, and progress there was just too slow for replay to be satisfying.

Edited October 4, 2012 by Mysterics

[...]

Sonic Unleashed HD, Bar none.

[TheOcelot]

Unleashed felt insanely fast at times. Not quite an adrenaline rush, but it was impressive.

[EmeraldNero]

I'd say Sonic Unleashed. Sure Sonic CD and Sonic 2 were pretty darn fast, but I personally think Sonic Unleashed was the fastest of them all. In Generations, there are many hacks making Classic Sonic playable in Modern Stages. You can achieve Classic Sonic's top speed by a dash panel. If you compare them both, Unleashed by far is a lot faster.

[SilentDoom]

Unleashed is the obvious choice, though shout outs to Secret Rings when you're fully upgraded and stuff. You can go lightning fast even without Speed Break.

EDIT: Lol I didn't realise I posted essentially the same thing here a few months back. Can a mod or forum staff remove this post if that wouldn't be too much of a hassle?

Edited November 18, 2012 by SiLeNtDo0m

[Anti Alias]

Sonic Generations

Classic Sonic + Power Sneakers + Fire Shield.

it's like.

HOLY COW FAST.

Edited November 19, 2012 by Anti Alias

[Burtzman]

I'll have to go with the majority and say Sonic Unleashed (HD). Even just watching the daytime stages being played makes you wanna yell f*ck yeah! Of course, it seems from the get go that the game was designed to give the fastest sense of speed in the series.

Before Unleashed existed, my vote would've gone to Sonic Riders, but the effect from blurring the sides of the screen can only stay cool for so long...

[Tornado]

2009? I'm surprised I never posted in this thread.

I'd honestly say Sonic Advance 2, because of how the speed is built and how the game's camera and controls adjust to it on the fly when it does take off. I don't want to play the "easy speed" card for the various boost games, but it is hard to get a feeling of speed in those when you just need to push a button to max out the velocity. Unleashed and Gens were alright about it most of the time, but the Sonic Rush titles in particular are really bad about how rigid the camera and controls are for the character at any speed. Even when you are flying right along full out it's hard to actually tell how fast you are going because even the level design rushing by doesn't give you a good indicator for it. Everything controls basically the same and looks more or less identical regardless of how fast you are going (and the levels are absolutely massive to compensate, so you can't use progression as an indicator), so it does a very poor job building that sensation of speed even if it is technically very fast.

Edited November 19, 2012 by Tornado

[EmeraldNero]

Yeah, just go fast into a quarter pipe and time how long it takes Sonic to get back to the ground. The easiest places to test this is in GHZ and SLZ vs. Windmill Island. Technically Sonic has a maximum fall speed in Unleashed (In Sonic 1,2 and 3, Sonic will keep falling faster until the sign on his y speed flips and he suddenly flies upwards) so it's actually a pretty major discrepancy.

I think he was referring to how fast Sonic ran, not fall.

[Dizcrybe]

Unleashed, no question.

[Wraith]

Unleashed.

You get that feel that you've been shooting past entire cities in minutes...

[Tani Coyote]

Unleashed over all!

Not only was it fast, but there was no real end to it in a lot of cases. Contrast to Colors, where you can run out of energy quick and return to normal running.

[thechaostrigger]

Sonic 4. Ken approves~

[Platinumb]

Sonic Unleashed, to me, is just showing high speeds visually. Doesn't feel fast because I am barely doing anything to achieve that.

I guess it is any game letting you achieve high speeds through player input.

[Daisy-Fan]

Sonic Advance 3 and the sonic rush serie for me. they were pretty fast still these too.

[Phos]

I think he was referring to how fast Sonic ran, not fall.

No I'm launching Sonic into the air using a quarter pipe and since his y velocity after the pipe will be the same as his x velocity going in I can use a kinematic equation to compare their relative speeds. gravity is an unknown in Sonic 1 and doesn't quite behave in Unleashed so real speed values can't be calculated.

[Alice Twilight]

Sonic Unleashed

[JD!]

I dont know about entire games, the the single Sonic-game level that gives me the best genuine feeling of speed is Chemical Plant Zone from Sonic 2. The way the camera seemingly have trouble keeping up with Sonic while in the pipes is what makes it.

I'm with you all the way o nthat one!