Alright, Sonic Time
Since this general discussion was brought to my attention again today, I thought it was about time I quit slacking off and comment on the matter. And that matter? The current standing of Sonic games in modern times, along with various other bitching related to previous titles.
Now, basically, what I first want to address here, are the Sonic "Elitists." These are the people that basically come out and say, as I'll quote from the instigating commentary, "You should make Sonic go from point A to point B in a somewhat open manner really fast with an interesting level design and polished gameplay." This is what they want to see and NOTHING else. Now, on the most basic level... I agree with this. What has just been described in the previous quote is the very definition of Sonic's CORE GAMEPLAY. So, yes, THAT is how a Sonic game should be.
However, these same people pretty much bash every new Sonic game whether it follows these principles or not. Its incredibly hypocritical if you ask me, but more to the point, it's driving the Sonic fandom into a hole and making it very difficult for the game developers to figure out what it is that we really want. Because as far as I'm concerned, Sonic Team HAS been doing a few things Right over the years, but those positive accomplishments are lost under the sea of whining and bitching from these same people that claim to love Sonic so much. Now, in some instances, I can't blame them for that... "Shadow the Hedgehog" anyone? But in others... I just can't seem to fathom what the problem is other than "It isn't Sonic 3 & Knuckles."
Now, I'll admit, Sonic 3 & Knuckles, or just the complete "SONIC 3" as I'll refer to it henceforth, is without a doubt the best Sonic game ever made. Hands down. It was just perfect in every possible way. (Except maybe for Tails not having a Hyper Form, that was bullshit.) However, as much as I hate to say it, we have long since left the 2D gaming arena. In order for Sonic games to survive in the new 3D world of next gen consoles, he has to evolve into something other than what he was before. I mean, look at Mario. The new Mario games are so far removed from the original NES gameplay that it is barely recognizable as a Mario game. You could literally remove the Mario characters and replace them with something else, or reversely, take another game and throw Mario characters into it. Yet it still works and people still buy and enjoy them. At the very least, Sonic games are still trying to focus on the core old-school gameplay of "run really fast and get to the end of the level, then beat a boss every now and again." So by comparision, a 3D Sonic game still looks and plays way more like a 2D Sonic game, then a 3D Mario game compares to a 2D Mario game. So I'd say we're sticking a lot closer to the original Sonic gameplay then you're giving the developers credit for.
Still, I guess it would be nice to see Sonic 3 rereleased to console with updated graphics and sound. Or hell, just an old-school Sonic game in general released to console. I mean, come on, that'd be perfect Virtual Console Wii-Ware. If Megaman 9 can get away with 8-bit, then a "Sonic 4" in 32-bit doesn't sound too farfetched to me.
But I'm getting off topic here. The people who want to see this time of game are really just disgruntled nostalgics. And I can certainly understand the disgruntled part, but for the nostalgia of playing a 2D Sonic game there are plenty of options available. Since the dawn of Sonic Adventure, there have been 5 separate portable releases of 2D Sonic titles, all of which followed the original core gameplay of the Genesis titles. They look a hell of a lot prettier and have a few cool new additions that make the games even sweeter. There are multiple characters to choose from for added playability, and they each play through the same stages that Sonic does, so no sudden switch into treasure hunting should you decide to play as Knuckles or anything like that. And hell, if you wanted to be really difficult about it, you could just keep your thumb on the jump button and not even bother with any of the "new moves" the game comes with and you'd still be able to complete the game without ever using them once. So really, what's there to complain about? You'd think nothing, but somehow the Elitists always find a way.
I mean, take Sonic Rush Adventure. As far as I'm concerned, from that old-school nostalgia point of view, Sonic Rush was a God Send and Sonic Rush Adventure was even better. Yet still, people complained. So what was wrong with Sonic Rush Adventure? Oh, you had to sail around to the islands first before you could get to the action stages. What a pain in the ass right? Well, maybe if the sailing in SRA was anything like that of the Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, then you might have a point there. But is wasn't. There were four different vessels to choose from over the course of the game, each with their own mini-game type of gameplay mechanic to play around with and they were FUN. It was something different and enjoyable to pass the time between levels. And after you'd reached an island, you could always return to it straight from the level select at your home base without ever having to touch the water again. So really, what was the problem here? The problem was, in the Elitist's eyes, that you were doing something that wasn't "making Sonic run from point A to point B really fast." To which my only real response is, "Hey dickheads, remember in Sonic 3 how you would jump into the Stage Post or the Giant Ring and go into a Bonus Stage in the middle of an Act. Then you played some little mini-game type of thing that didn't involve Sonic running around like normal for a little while before it went back to where ever you were in the game? Yeah. Remember that? Yeah? Ya do? Awesome. NOW SHUT THE FUCK UP."
So now, lets get out of the portable realm for a bit and talk about the real big Sonic titles, the ones everyone is more familiar with. But instead of raving about each game in particular, I'm just gonna yank out the biggest beefs I've heard, most of which are thankfully listed in the article that instigated this little discussion. I'll just go down the list one at a time.
"No, you shouldn't hang around in town in a Sonic game."
Hmm... Well, I find this debatable. The town gameplay gimmick in Sonic Adventure was actually pretty interesting, especially if you think about the exploratory aspects of it and the fact that you got to run around someplace without a time limit and just fuck around in a wide open terrain. There were still plenty of faults to be found, but I would think such things could have been ironed out with a little work. Now, I can't really comment on the town scenes in Sonic '06 for lack of playing them, but all I've heard about them were bad so... I guess that recent disaster would put a bad taste in one's mouth.
However, I point again to Sonic Rush Adventure. You didn't exactly has a town to run around in like SA1, but you still had a "Home Base" or sorts that you hung around at before going to the next level, and you could run around to different areas on the island to talk to people, which sometimes unlocked missions and things(like the sound test and movie viewer) that you could come back and do at your leisure. All of these areas were small and you could run back and forth between them all relatively quickly. So I think if you could implement a streamlined town stage like that into a bigger 3D game, then were wouldn't be as much to complain about. And again, Sonic Adventure 1 didn't have that bad of a deal going for it either.
"No, you shouldn't dig for buried treasure in a Sonic game."
They're no doubt referring to Knuckles and Rouge here. And ya know, as far as that type of gameplay goes... I couldn't agree more. Maybe as a compressed, optional mini-game of some sort, but as a core gameplay element Sonic Team really dropped the ball. This type of gameplay, put simply, just wasn't any fun.
"No, you shouldn't shoot guns inside mechs in a Sonic game."
Okay, that's true enough. Now me personally, having written extensive fanfiction stories in which I teamed up with Miles Prower to construct countless giant robots and spacecraft, I have to say I kind of enjoy the idea of Tails piloting mecha. What can I say, I'm a Gundam fanatic. Still, just randomly throwing Tails into a mech suit in an actual game? That was kinda unusual. I think everyone, myself included, would have much rather been able to play as Tails normally like we did in Sonic Adventure 1... only maybe make his stages a good bit longer than they were in that game.
On the other hand. You got to play as Dr. Eggman in Sonic Adventure 2. And having Eggman piloting a small mecha resembling his trademark hovercraft was the most perfect fucking senario you could have come up with. The Eggman stages of SA2 are some of my favorite moments in Sonic history and I would LOVE to be given the opportunity to do that again. However, that statement, only really applies to Eggman. Sticking anyone else into a mecha, even Tails or Shadow who couldstill sort of pull it off, just doesn't work. And just because they "could" do it, doesn't mean that they "should."
"No, you shouldn't have three characters tied at the hip in a Sonic game."
...........Yeah. Umm... quick question, you guys ever played Sonic 2? Remember how Tails followed you around all the time? Yeah? Okay then. Shut the Fuck Up.
And though I consider that statement enough to put a close on that subject, I just want to mention for the record, that I LIKED Sonic Heros. As far as 3D Sonic games go, it was my absolute favorite. Still is. My only decent complaints I could really make about it, are that the rail-grinding was a bit glitchy and Tails and Rouge throwing "trick" exploding rings when they were alone was the dumbest thing ever. Oh... wait... exploding ring boxes in Sonic '06... okay, make that the 2nd dumbest thing ever then.
"No, you shouldn't shoot guns outside of mechs in a Sonic game."
Well, no, generally speaking, you shouldn't be shooting guns in a Sonic game...
...unless you're doing it correctly...
Now, no, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles... they should not be running around toting firearms. That's just retarded and completely unlike them. But when you're looking at things from the perspective of a villain, then I don't see why not. Shadow, Rouge, Fang(should they ever include him in the series again), and especially Eggman could and would logically use such weapons, given their status and profession. The reason it didn't work in Shadow the Hedgehog is because it was implemented so poorly and really as nothing more than a gimmick with shock value. Had they started off with Eggman playing with guns and then having the "good doctor" hand a few off to Shadow or Rouge somewhere along the way, then maybe it would have worked a little better, provided of course that such a mechanic was programmed well enough. Fang would have also done well as an introductory firearm wielder.
"No, you shouldn't spit out a terrible product with no polish and long loading times."
Well... yeah, can't argue with that logic at all really. But that applies to ALL games, not just Sonic ones. So really, such a statement should be universal and go without saying.
"No, you shouldn't be feeding furry fantasies in a Sonic game."
I'm honestly not sure what that is referring to. Unless it relates to the Princess in Sonic '06 and her loving in love with Sonic bit. I mean, I guess that's pretty Mary-Sue in a Sonic Fanfiction 101. So, yeah... that was certainly stupid. Beyond that however, I really have no idea what you're talking about. Next topic please?
"No, you shouldn't put Sonic on rails."
Now I'm a bit confused by this one. If you're talking about rail grinding, then fuck yourself. Rail grinding is pretty cool and a nifty feature of gameplay, especially when it's programmed correctly like it was in Shadow the Hedgehog(which was probably that game's single redeeming feature as far as gameplay goes).
However, if you're referring to the "rollar coaster" styled gameplay of Sonic and the Secret Rings, then I can't agree more. Now, I still liked that game, but you have to admit, being stuck in auto-pilot is the biggest pain in the ass the game had to offer. It was very broken and extremely ridiculous mode of gameplay, and thankfully I believe Sonic Team has already learned their lesson on that one. Please read, "Sonic and the Black Knight" (spiritual sequel to Secret Rings) returns to movement controlled completely by the joystick, just like it should be. So yeah, that was terrible, but they've already figured that out and removed it, so there is nothing more to complain about.
"No, you shouldn't make Sonic wait his turn while his friends attack."
I can only assume you're referring to the new RPG. A game that isn't even out yet. Please play the game first before rendering STUPID judgment calls based upon nothing. I'm sure we all thought that a Megaman RPG would be stupid too, but the .EXE series is doing pretty damned good isn't it? And Megaman X Command Mission is one of the single best RPGs I've ever played. So shut the fuck up until you've played it, you Elitist fucktard!
Gawd... it's simple turn-based gameplay that you find in ANY RPG. So why don't you just say what you're really thinking? You don't think Sonic should be in an RPG. That's your whole argument. So again, please see Megaman Battle Network and Super Mario RPG. Then stick your head in an oven and end yourself you retarded fuck.
"No, you shouldn't turn Sonic into a werewolf and make it an action game."
Okay, now you're back on an agreeable track. Sonic turning into a werewolf... or rather "Werehog" as it were... is a stupid idea. In the end, it's just another gimmick, just like the "storytelling" gimmick of Secret Rings and Black Knight, or the "he has guns" gimmick of Shadow the Hedgehog.
Now, its one thing to introduce an unique feature or plot twist into a story, provided that it is new or interesting, or at the very least fits appropriately into the world. Most of these things that I have just described, don't quite fall into that category and as such are nothing more than a gimmick. A selling point. And a bad one at that.
However, looking at the Werehog gameplay, one with open mind has to admit, it looks good. And if they had presented this type of action gameplay with, oh say... KNUCKLES, then I think it would have gone over a lot better. I mean, the action gameplay seen in the Werehog footage would fit Knuckles and his abilities PERFECTLY. Unfortunately, Sonic Team is so fucking confused as to what Sonic fans really want that they're just throwing out every retarded gimmick they can think of praying that they'll eventually hit a winner....
They won't. Not like this anyways. And especially not with Elitists throwing their little temper tantrums every time a new feature is announced without ever even giving it a chance. Still, as a fan of the series, I'm going to continue to hold out hope for better days. Eventually, Sonic Team will figure things out and turn things around. Hey, if Archie Comics can do it, Sonic Team sure as hell can.
But anyways, lets get back to the last item on our list.
"No, you shouldn't give Sonic a fucking sword."
Same argument as with the guns really. I'd agree with the statement whole-heartedly, but screw that follow the leader logic. I'm going to wait and see how it works out before making a judgment call. Now, I can still say that I don't think its the smartest idea in the world. But compared to the giving Shadow guns gimmick, this is a lot more tame and moderately acceptable to a degree. I can see a Sonic character wielding a sword or other such weapons a lot more easily than I could see him using a gun. It just fits the world and his personality a lot more. Still, as with the Werehog, its just another stupid gimmick and we'll just have to sit back for now and see how it goes.
Okay, so that's the end of that little list of complaints. I hope I was able to enlighten a few of you or at the very least keep you entertained for the last couple of minutes. I don't know what else to really say without just plain rambling on for hours like I have a tendency to do, so I'm going to close things out here.
So, as a final statement, to the Elitists, Get Over Yourselves. Things are never going to go back to the way they were in Sonic 3. It's just not going to happen. It's sad, but it's true and you need to learn to accept that. You need to learn to accept Sonic for what he IS, not for what he WAS. Everything changes and Sonic will continue to evolve in order to survive in this ever changing world. There is no way a next gen Sonic game is going to be able to please everybody, but if you people would be more willing to give the new games a chance rather then tearing them apart before they even hit the market, then maybe, just maybe, things will start to look up for our true blue hero.
Now, basically, what I first want to address here, are the Sonic "Elitists." These are the people that basically come out and say, as I'll quote from the instigating commentary, "You should make Sonic go from point A to point B in a somewhat open manner really fast with an interesting level design and polished gameplay." This is what they want to see and NOTHING else. Now, on the most basic level... I agree with this. What has just been described in the previous quote is the very definition of Sonic's CORE GAMEPLAY. So, yes, THAT is how a Sonic game should be.
However, these same people pretty much bash every new Sonic game whether it follows these principles or not. Its incredibly hypocritical if you ask me, but more to the point, it's driving the Sonic fandom into a hole and making it very difficult for the game developers to figure out what it is that we really want. Because as far as I'm concerned, Sonic Team HAS been doing a few things Right over the years, but those positive accomplishments are lost under the sea of whining and bitching from these same people that claim to love Sonic so much. Now, in some instances, I can't blame them for that... "Shadow the Hedgehog" anyone? But in others... I just can't seem to fathom what the problem is other than "It isn't Sonic 3 & Knuckles."
Now, I'll admit, Sonic 3 & Knuckles, or just the complete "SONIC 3" as I'll refer to it henceforth, is without a doubt the best Sonic game ever made. Hands down. It was just perfect in every possible way. (Except maybe for Tails not having a Hyper Form, that was bullshit.) However, as much as I hate to say it, we have long since left the 2D gaming arena. In order for Sonic games to survive in the new 3D world of next gen consoles, he has to evolve into something other than what he was before. I mean, look at Mario. The new Mario games are so far removed from the original NES gameplay that it is barely recognizable as a Mario game. You could literally remove the Mario characters and replace them with something else, or reversely, take another game and throw Mario characters into it. Yet it still works and people still buy and enjoy them. At the very least, Sonic games are still trying to focus on the core old-school gameplay of "run really fast and get to the end of the level, then beat a boss every now and again." So by comparision, a 3D Sonic game still looks and plays way more like a 2D Sonic game, then a 3D Mario game compares to a 2D Mario game. So I'd say we're sticking a lot closer to the original Sonic gameplay then you're giving the developers credit for.
Still, I guess it would be nice to see Sonic 3 rereleased to console with updated graphics and sound. Or hell, just an old-school Sonic game in general released to console. I mean, come on, that'd be perfect Virtual Console Wii-Ware. If Megaman 9 can get away with 8-bit, then a "Sonic 4" in 32-bit doesn't sound too farfetched to me.
But I'm getting off topic here. The people who want to see this time of game are really just disgruntled nostalgics. And I can certainly understand the disgruntled part, but for the nostalgia of playing a 2D Sonic game there are plenty of options available. Since the dawn of Sonic Adventure, there have been 5 separate portable releases of 2D Sonic titles, all of which followed the original core gameplay of the Genesis titles. They look a hell of a lot prettier and have a few cool new additions that make the games even sweeter. There are multiple characters to choose from for added playability, and they each play through the same stages that Sonic does, so no sudden switch into treasure hunting should you decide to play as Knuckles or anything like that. And hell, if you wanted to be really difficult about it, you could just keep your thumb on the jump button and not even bother with any of the "new moves" the game comes with and you'd still be able to complete the game without ever using them once. So really, what's there to complain about? You'd think nothing, but somehow the Elitists always find a way.
I mean, take Sonic Rush Adventure. As far as I'm concerned, from that old-school nostalgia point of view, Sonic Rush was a God Send and Sonic Rush Adventure was even better. Yet still, people complained. So what was wrong with Sonic Rush Adventure? Oh, you had to sail around to the islands first before you could get to the action stages. What a pain in the ass right? Well, maybe if the sailing in SRA was anything like that of the Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, then you might have a point there. But is wasn't. There were four different vessels to choose from over the course of the game, each with their own mini-game type of gameplay mechanic to play around with and they were FUN. It was something different and enjoyable to pass the time between levels. And after you'd reached an island, you could always return to it straight from the level select at your home base without ever having to touch the water again. So really, what was the problem here? The problem was, in the Elitist's eyes, that you were doing something that wasn't "making Sonic run from point A to point B really fast." To which my only real response is, "Hey dickheads, remember in Sonic 3 how you would jump into the Stage Post or the Giant Ring and go into a Bonus Stage in the middle of an Act. Then you played some little mini-game type of thing that didn't involve Sonic running around like normal for a little while before it went back to where ever you were in the game? Yeah. Remember that? Yeah? Ya do? Awesome. NOW SHUT THE FUCK UP."
So now, lets get out of the portable realm for a bit and talk about the real big Sonic titles, the ones everyone is more familiar with. But instead of raving about each game in particular, I'm just gonna yank out the biggest beefs I've heard, most of which are thankfully listed in the article that instigated this little discussion. I'll just go down the list one at a time.
"No, you shouldn't hang around in town in a Sonic game."
Hmm... Well, I find this debatable. The town gameplay gimmick in Sonic Adventure was actually pretty interesting, especially if you think about the exploratory aspects of it and the fact that you got to run around someplace without a time limit and just fuck around in a wide open terrain. There were still plenty of faults to be found, but I would think such things could have been ironed out with a little work. Now, I can't really comment on the town scenes in Sonic '06 for lack of playing them, but all I've heard about them were bad so... I guess that recent disaster would put a bad taste in one's mouth.
However, I point again to Sonic Rush Adventure. You didn't exactly has a town to run around in like SA1, but you still had a "Home Base" or sorts that you hung around at before going to the next level, and you could run around to different areas on the island to talk to people, which sometimes unlocked missions and things(like the sound test and movie viewer) that you could come back and do at your leisure. All of these areas were small and you could run back and forth between them all relatively quickly. So I think if you could implement a streamlined town stage like that into a bigger 3D game, then were wouldn't be as much to complain about. And again, Sonic Adventure 1 didn't have that bad of a deal going for it either.
"No, you shouldn't dig for buried treasure in a Sonic game."
They're no doubt referring to Knuckles and Rouge here. And ya know, as far as that type of gameplay goes... I couldn't agree more. Maybe as a compressed, optional mini-game of some sort, but as a core gameplay element Sonic Team really dropped the ball. This type of gameplay, put simply, just wasn't any fun.
"No, you shouldn't shoot guns inside mechs in a Sonic game."
Okay, that's true enough. Now me personally, having written extensive fanfiction stories in which I teamed up with Miles Prower to construct countless giant robots and spacecraft, I have to say I kind of enjoy the idea of Tails piloting mecha. What can I say, I'm a Gundam fanatic. Still, just randomly throwing Tails into a mech suit in an actual game? That was kinda unusual. I think everyone, myself included, would have much rather been able to play as Tails normally like we did in Sonic Adventure 1... only maybe make his stages a good bit longer than they were in that game.
On the other hand. You got to play as Dr. Eggman in Sonic Adventure 2. And having Eggman piloting a small mecha resembling his trademark hovercraft was the most perfect fucking senario you could have come up with. The Eggman stages of SA2 are some of my favorite moments in Sonic history and I would LOVE to be given the opportunity to do that again. However, that statement, only really applies to Eggman. Sticking anyone else into a mecha, even Tails or Shadow who couldstill sort of pull it off, just doesn't work. And just because they "could" do it, doesn't mean that they "should."
"No, you shouldn't have three characters tied at the hip in a Sonic game."
...........Yeah. Umm... quick question, you guys ever played Sonic 2? Remember how Tails followed you around all the time? Yeah? Okay then. Shut the Fuck Up.
And though I consider that statement enough to put a close on that subject, I just want to mention for the record, that I LIKED Sonic Heros. As far as 3D Sonic games go, it was my absolute favorite. Still is. My only decent complaints I could really make about it, are that the rail-grinding was a bit glitchy and Tails and Rouge throwing "trick" exploding rings when they were alone was the dumbest thing ever. Oh... wait... exploding ring boxes in Sonic '06... okay, make that the 2nd dumbest thing ever then.
"No, you shouldn't shoot guns outside of mechs in a Sonic game."
Well, no, generally speaking, you shouldn't be shooting guns in a Sonic game...
...unless you're doing it correctly...
Now, no, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles... they should not be running around toting firearms. That's just retarded and completely unlike them. But when you're looking at things from the perspective of a villain, then I don't see why not. Shadow, Rouge, Fang(should they ever include him in the series again), and especially Eggman could and would logically use such weapons, given their status and profession. The reason it didn't work in Shadow the Hedgehog is because it was implemented so poorly and really as nothing more than a gimmick with shock value. Had they started off with Eggman playing with guns and then having the "good doctor" hand a few off to Shadow or Rouge somewhere along the way, then maybe it would have worked a little better, provided of course that such a mechanic was programmed well enough. Fang would have also done well as an introductory firearm wielder.
"No, you shouldn't spit out a terrible product with no polish and long loading times."
Well... yeah, can't argue with that logic at all really. But that applies to ALL games, not just Sonic ones. So really, such a statement should be universal and go without saying.
"No, you shouldn't be feeding furry fantasies in a Sonic game."
I'm honestly not sure what that is referring to. Unless it relates to the Princess in Sonic '06 and her loving in love with Sonic bit. I mean, I guess that's pretty Mary-Sue in a Sonic Fanfiction 101. So, yeah... that was certainly stupid. Beyond that however, I really have no idea what you're talking about. Next topic please?
"No, you shouldn't put Sonic on rails."
Now I'm a bit confused by this one. If you're talking about rail grinding, then fuck yourself. Rail grinding is pretty cool and a nifty feature of gameplay, especially when it's programmed correctly like it was in Shadow the Hedgehog(which was probably that game's single redeeming feature as far as gameplay goes).
However, if you're referring to the "rollar coaster" styled gameplay of Sonic and the Secret Rings, then I can't agree more. Now, I still liked that game, but you have to admit, being stuck in auto-pilot is the biggest pain in the ass the game had to offer. It was very broken and extremely ridiculous mode of gameplay, and thankfully I believe Sonic Team has already learned their lesson on that one. Please read, "Sonic and the Black Knight" (spiritual sequel to Secret Rings) returns to movement controlled completely by the joystick, just like it should be. So yeah, that was terrible, but they've already figured that out and removed it, so there is nothing more to complain about.
"No, you shouldn't make Sonic wait his turn while his friends attack."
I can only assume you're referring to the new RPG. A game that isn't even out yet. Please play the game first before rendering STUPID judgment calls based upon nothing. I'm sure we all thought that a Megaman RPG would be stupid too, but the .EXE series is doing pretty damned good isn't it? And Megaman X Command Mission is one of the single best RPGs I've ever played. So shut the fuck up until you've played it, you Elitist fucktard!
Gawd... it's simple turn-based gameplay that you find in ANY RPG. So why don't you just say what you're really thinking? You don't think Sonic should be in an RPG. That's your whole argument. So again, please see Megaman Battle Network and Super Mario RPG. Then stick your head in an oven and end yourself you retarded fuck.
"No, you shouldn't turn Sonic into a werewolf and make it an action game."
Okay, now you're back on an agreeable track. Sonic turning into a werewolf... or rather "Werehog" as it were... is a stupid idea. In the end, it's just another gimmick, just like the "storytelling" gimmick of Secret Rings and Black Knight, or the "he has guns" gimmick of Shadow the Hedgehog.
Now, its one thing to introduce an unique feature or plot twist into a story, provided that it is new or interesting, or at the very least fits appropriately into the world. Most of these things that I have just described, don't quite fall into that category and as such are nothing more than a gimmick. A selling point. And a bad one at that.
However, looking at the Werehog gameplay, one with open mind has to admit, it looks good. And if they had presented this type of action gameplay with, oh say... KNUCKLES, then I think it would have gone over a lot better. I mean, the action gameplay seen in the Werehog footage would fit Knuckles and his abilities PERFECTLY. Unfortunately, Sonic Team is so fucking confused as to what Sonic fans really want that they're just throwing out every retarded gimmick they can think of praying that they'll eventually hit a winner....
They won't. Not like this anyways. And especially not with Elitists throwing their little temper tantrums every time a new feature is announced without ever even giving it a chance. Still, as a fan of the series, I'm going to continue to hold out hope for better days. Eventually, Sonic Team will figure things out and turn things around. Hey, if Archie Comics can do it, Sonic Team sure as hell can.
But anyways, lets get back to the last item on our list.
"No, you shouldn't give Sonic a fucking sword."
Same argument as with the guns really. I'd agree with the statement whole-heartedly, but screw that follow the leader logic. I'm going to wait and see how it works out before making a judgment call. Now, I can still say that I don't think its the smartest idea in the world. But compared to the giving Shadow guns gimmick, this is a lot more tame and moderately acceptable to a degree. I can see a Sonic character wielding a sword or other such weapons a lot more easily than I could see him using a gun. It just fits the world and his personality a lot more. Still, as with the Werehog, its just another stupid gimmick and we'll just have to sit back for now and see how it goes.
Okay, so that's the end of that little list of complaints. I hope I was able to enlighten a few of you or at the very least keep you entertained for the last couple of minutes. I don't know what else to really say without just plain rambling on for hours like I have a tendency to do, so I'm going to close things out here.
So, as a final statement, to the Elitists, Get Over Yourselves. Things are never going to go back to the way they were in Sonic 3. It's just not going to happen. It's sad, but it's true and you need to learn to accept that. You need to learn to accept Sonic for what he IS, not for what he WAS. Everything changes and Sonic will continue to evolve in order to survive in this ever changing world. There is no way a next gen Sonic game is going to be able to please everybody, but if you people would be more willing to give the new games a chance rather then tearing them apart before they even hit the market, then maybe, just maybe, things will start to look up for our true blue hero.