RaccoonJefferson
Newbie
How do you guys feel about the meta era of Sonic?
I think it's pretty cool, and funny.
I think it's pretty cool, and funny.
Meta era?
- Thread starter RaccoonJefferson
- Start date
Chezi
Co-Lead Sonic Robo Smash Dev
The what
RaccoonJefferson
Newbie
the games between sonic colors-sonic forces.
Chezi
Co-Lead Sonic Robo Smash Dev
I’ve never heard anyone call it the “Meta Era.” It’s always been referred to as either the Boost Era or the Modern Era
RaccoonJefferson
Newbie
That's just another nickname for it lol.
Darknik
Sonic Maniac
The meta era was the reason why I stopped being a Sonic fan for a long time I didn't play a Sonic game again until I started playing Sonic Robo Blast 2 in 2019 although among the things that I hate the most of the era were the lazy narrative in the ganes the lacking of ambition that only sonic was playable And more than anything, I don't like the Boost, it's a mechanic that I don't like, it seems to me to be very repetitive and very limited.
I'm not going to say that it's a bad era either, only that I don't like it
I'm not going to say that it's a bad era either, only that I don't like it
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time gear
Eternity in an hour
Why specifically Colors-Forces? What is it about those games specifically that define them as their own era? Is it the English voice cast? The writers? The decade they were released in?
Either way, I quite like Colors, it's probably got the best story out of all the Sonic games within that timeframe, and it handles the Boost formula quite well. I'm not a huge fan of how many 2D sections are in it, and I would have loved to have seen more done with the wisps such as 3D drill and spikes sections. Overall though, the game is pretty fun.
Generations is also a blast, though it shares the same problem as Colors in that it has too many 2D sections and it doesn't feature any 3D sections for the wisps in Planet Wisp. Sonic teaming up with his past self was an absolute joy to see given it's the first time it had happened, though Classic Sonic's physics felt a bit off and I was disappointed he didn't have any 3D sections at all. There's too many city themed levels, and the story feels unfinished. Overall, I like it probably about the same as Colors, maybe a little more, but that's in spite of it's issues.
Lost World gets more hate than it deserves in my opinion (Except the 3DS version, that belongs in the trash). It's artstyle feels like a return to form for the franchise. The Zeti are each rather one dimensional, but I kinda felt like that was the point. The Sonic fanbase was begging and pleading for Sonic stories to stop having complex villains and deep stories for ages before Colors came out, and the Zeti fall into the trend of the more simple "Bad guy does bad things, Sonic stops them" trend from the classics on Genesis/Mega Drive that had returned with Colors. Yet for some reason, the same people that complained about the stories being too complex before Colors have their biggest complaint about the Zeti not being complex enough. Personally, I think they are fine, and there's a lot of potential for them to be great if they ever did decide to do something more complex with them. Eggman is also a joy in Lost World, but that's par for the course in every game so I suppose it doesn't count.
My main gripe with Lost World is Sonic and Tails themselves. Sonic especially is unusually selfish and it's entirely out of character for him to trust Eggman over Tails, or to do things without listening to Tails to begin with. The tensions between the two end up feeling really out of character, fake, and forced. In regards to gameplay, the game actually controls better than most people give it credit for, though the parkour does take some getting used to and the run button should have been a walk button, even if it meant mapping parkour to something else. The Spindash is basically just the boost, but without a meter. Multi-homing is kinda pointless, though I do like how some enemies can only be attacked by kicking them first to make them vulnerable and some enemies hurt you if they try to kick them first. The bounce returns from SA2, though in a nerfed state. It's occasionally helpful but not as much as I would like. Also for some reason, it's easier to do platforming if you let go of the run button as holding run and trying to jump from platform to platform or off a spring sometimes makes you move slower and cover less distance. The return of the wisps is actually quite cool, especially with the new inclusions and how much better they're made use of than in Generations, though I feel Colors still handled it better. Overall, I like Lost World less than Colors and Generations, but still consider it fun and generally quite appreciate it.
Forces I also feel gets more hate than it deserves, but I don't feel it deserves much love either. It's just mediocre, but in a bad way. It's a giant pile of disappointments. It had a ton of potential but blew it every step of the way. The characters all act out of character, Sonic's friends are the most useless and "just there" they've ever been somehow even moreso than in Generations, there's a ton of missed opportunities in the story, Infinite is in particular hilariously badly written, Chaos is in the game for no reason and never actually does anything or even appear in gameplay, the physics are jank, Double Boost is boring and overly automated, wispons are a cool but underutilized concept, character creation is hilariously lacking and doesn't even let you make characters that look like they could be official Sonic characters, outfits don't let you recolor them and instead you have to separately unlock a few different limited recolors of the same outfits, and I could go on and on.
Overall Forces isn't actually a bad game, it's very mediocre but it's incredibly painful in being as mediocre as it is. It presents itself as if it's going to be something big and grand and engaging and then it just doesn't live up to that at all. It doesn't commit, and still tries to pat itself on the back. The writing is just plain awful, the gameplay is just jank enough to be "so bad it's good", and it overall feels like it got a little too ambitious to handle within the development time it was given after the creation of the Hedgehog Engine 2 lighting engine that it runs on.
I'd rank them as follows:
Sonic Generations - 8.5/10
Sonic Colors - 8/10
Lost World - 6/10
Forces - 5/10
Lost World 3DS - Belongs in the trash/10
Either way, I quite like Colors, it's probably got the best story out of all the Sonic games within that timeframe, and it handles the Boost formula quite well. I'm not a huge fan of how many 2D sections are in it, and I would have loved to have seen more done with the wisps such as 3D drill and spikes sections. Overall though, the game is pretty fun.
Generations is also a blast, though it shares the same problem as Colors in that it has too many 2D sections and it doesn't feature any 3D sections for the wisps in Planet Wisp. Sonic teaming up with his past self was an absolute joy to see given it's the first time it had happened, though Classic Sonic's physics felt a bit off and I was disappointed he didn't have any 3D sections at all. There's too many city themed levels, and the story feels unfinished. Overall, I like it probably about the same as Colors, maybe a little more, but that's in spite of it's issues.
Lost World gets more hate than it deserves in my opinion (Except the 3DS version, that belongs in the trash). It's artstyle feels like a return to form for the franchise. The Zeti are each rather one dimensional, but I kinda felt like that was the point. The Sonic fanbase was begging and pleading for Sonic stories to stop having complex villains and deep stories for ages before Colors came out, and the Zeti fall into the trend of the more simple "Bad guy does bad things, Sonic stops them" trend from the classics on Genesis/Mega Drive that had returned with Colors. Yet for some reason, the same people that complained about the stories being too complex before Colors have their biggest complaint about the Zeti not being complex enough. Personally, I think they are fine, and there's a lot of potential for them to be great if they ever did decide to do something more complex with them. Eggman is also a joy in Lost World, but that's par for the course in every game so I suppose it doesn't count.
My main gripe with Lost World is Sonic and Tails themselves. Sonic especially is unusually selfish and it's entirely out of character for him to trust Eggman over Tails, or to do things without listening to Tails to begin with. The tensions between the two end up feeling really out of character, fake, and forced. In regards to gameplay, the game actually controls better than most people give it credit for, though the parkour does take some getting used to and the run button should have been a walk button, even if it meant mapping parkour to something else. The Spindash is basically just the boost, but without a meter. Multi-homing is kinda pointless, though I do like how some enemies can only be attacked by kicking them first to make them vulnerable and some enemies hurt you if they try to kick them first. The bounce returns from SA2, though in a nerfed state. It's occasionally helpful but not as much as I would like. Also for some reason, it's easier to do platforming if you let go of the run button as holding run and trying to jump from platform to platform or off a spring sometimes makes you move slower and cover less distance. The return of the wisps is actually quite cool, especially with the new inclusions and how much better they're made use of than in Generations, though I feel Colors still handled it better. Overall, I like Lost World less than Colors and Generations, but still consider it fun and generally quite appreciate it.
Forces I also feel gets more hate than it deserves, but I don't feel it deserves much love either. It's just mediocre, but in a bad way. It's a giant pile of disappointments. It had a ton of potential but blew it every step of the way. The characters all act out of character, Sonic's friends are the most useless and "just there" they've ever been somehow even moreso than in Generations, there's a ton of missed opportunities in the story, Infinite is in particular hilariously badly written, Chaos is in the game for no reason and never actually does anything or even appear in gameplay, the physics are jank, Double Boost is boring and overly automated, wispons are a cool but underutilized concept, character creation is hilariously lacking and doesn't even let you make characters that look like they could be official Sonic characters, outfits don't let you recolor them and instead you have to separately unlock a few different limited recolors of the same outfits, and I could go on and on.
Overall Forces isn't actually a bad game, it's very mediocre but it's incredibly painful in being as mediocre as it is. It presents itself as if it's going to be something big and grand and engaging and then it just doesn't live up to that at all. It doesn't commit, and still tries to pat itself on the back. The writing is just plain awful, the gameplay is just jank enough to be "so bad it's good", and it overall feels like it got a little too ambitious to handle within the development time it was given after the creation of the Hedgehog Engine 2 lighting engine that it runs on.
I'd rank them as follows:
Sonic Generations - 8.5/10
Sonic Colors - 8/10
Lost World - 6/10
Forces - 5/10
Lost World 3DS - Belongs in the trash/10
A'Dilla
For The Win!
So, just to note that I didn’t play Colors or forces nor will I want to. But I have played the secret rings and Unleashed. Both very bad, people may disagree because I’m only a classic fan and find modern’s platforming very lacking.
In general… they should just make their games better or focus on the classic games.
In general… they should just make their games better or focus on the classic games.
Icarus
Phantasy Savior
The "Meta Era" is just the Modern era (which started in 2006 with Sonic 2006).
It's like how some are including Heroes and Shadow into the Dreamcast/Adventure era or the Saturn games in the Genesis/Classic era...
PS: I'm pretty sure I heard that from Adventure fans (or rather fanboys) who considers that Colors started an era (despite the fact Unleashed is basically the first 3D boost game) because of the light-hearted writing and the departure from the whole "get the chaos emeralds and defeat the monster of the week" thing.
Ironically they're the same who thinks that Adventure Sonic is a completely separate entity from Modern Sonic.
I'd even argue that "eras" are sometimes fan interpretation as Sega only sees two Sonic designs (Classic and Modern) and not eras (aside from Generations but it was mostly for convenience).
It's like how some are adding the "Saturn era" (which didn't get a properly new Sonic game) or the "Dark age" (which started with Shadow or even Heroes to some as it was the first game after Sega stopped supporting the Dreamcast).
PS: Sonic Mania isn't a meta era game at all, it's a Classic era game made in the modern day.
But I do agree that they should focus on the Classic series.
It neither have an "artstyle feels like a return to form for the franchise" because even Sonic 1 and 2 had more variety and uniqueness while Lost World is basically New Super Mario Bros Wii-level of Zone theme and creativity and the Hard Boiled Heavies, despite being 1-dimensional, are fitting the series more than those off-brand Koopalings.
I'd even argue that the Classic-styled gameplay (with the spin dashing) and classic badnick were just to keep on the Generations trend without any real reason (because we also see Egg Pawns and Wisps in it).
It's like how some are including Heroes and Shadow into the Dreamcast/Adventure era or the Saturn games in the Genesis/Classic era...
PS: I'm pretty sure I heard that from Adventure fans (or rather fanboys) who considers that Colors started an era (despite the fact Unleashed is basically the first 3D boost game) because of the light-hearted writing and the departure from the whole "get the chaos emeralds and defeat the monster of the week" thing.
Ironically they're the same who thinks that Adventure Sonic is a completely separate entity from Modern Sonic.
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I'd even argue that "eras" are sometimes fan interpretation as Sega only sees two Sonic designs (Classic and Modern) and not eras (aside from Generations but it was mostly for convenience).
It's like how some are adding the "Saturn era" (which didn't get a properly new Sonic game) or the "Dark age" (which started with Shadow or even Heroes to some as it was the first game after Sega stopped supporting the Dreamcast).
PS: Sonic Mania isn't a meta era game at all, it's a Classic era game made in the modern day.
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Well, Colors is really better than those two.
But I do agree that they should focus on the Classic series.
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Hard disagree, Lost World is just a poor man's Mario Galaxy ripoff, the Zetis are literally Koopaling ripoffs (and Zavock shouldn't get shoehorned into the franchise in Forces and M&S atOG).
It neither have an "artstyle feels like a return to form for the franchise" because even Sonic 1 and 2 had more variety and uniqueness while Lost World is basically New Super Mario Bros Wii-level of Zone theme and creativity and the Hard Boiled Heavies, despite being 1-dimensional, are fitting the series more than those off-brand Koopalings.
I'd even argue that the Classic-styled gameplay (with the spin dashing) and classic badnick were just to keep on the Generations trend without any real reason (because we also see Egg Pawns and Wisps in it).
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Darknik
Sonic Maniac
I hate that tendency to say that Classic Sonic is the only good thing about Sonic and that Sonic should only focus on classic games
there are many good games in the Dreamcast and Modern eras like Sonic Adventure or Sonic Unleashed among others It is more personally I enjoy the games of the Dreamcast era more than the games of the Classic era
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A'Dilla
For The Win!
Like I said I'm much more of a classic fan, I do like one modern game so you are not wrong. Like I honestly do like Sonic Adventure as much as Sonic Mania. But I feel like that's really just... it.
Ryso Bleem
Member
Lol same. On topic never experiment the boost until Modern Sonic Mod in 2.1 and 2.2 also i like both the 2D Section like the 3D Section
Chezi
Co-Lead Sonic Robo Smash Dev
Meta Era describes Colors-Forces
Icarus
Phantasy Savior
So which era is Unleashed in?
Also discounting Boom as it was a totally different subseries Colors to Forces was basically the Modern era with Boost games aside from Lost World.
Chezi
Co-Lead Sonic Robo Smash Dev
Yes, Boom isn’t counted in with the Meta Era, that’s a given. Unleashed is part of the same Era that includes Adventure - 2006. These eras are defined by the years they came out, not the gameplay associated with them
Icarus
Phantasy Savior
But it's not an Adventure game, it's a boost game.
2006 even actually started an entirely new era that rebooted the series.
Chezi
Co-Lead Sonic Robo Smash Dev
I literally just said that they’re defined by the years that the games came out
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They were also defined by who was writing the games. Colors received a new set of writers and from then to now it’s the “Baldy McNosehair” type of writing rather than the “The darkness has consumed his heart” type of writing
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