The Sonic Trifecta problem

[Icarus]

As for today in 2020 we currently have 3 different videogame version of Sonic:


Classic Sonic (Sonic 1 - Sonic Mania)

Modern Sonic (Sonic Adventure - Sonic Forces)

Boom Sonic (Rise of Lyrics - Sonic Boom Fire and Ice)


No mascot in the world got that much of an identity crisis and a split in his design (Even if Crash, Spyro and Pac-Man got similar problems).


I would personally suggest one thing to solve the current problem about it and I hope Sega would do that in the future (ie: after his 30th anniversary).

1. Remove the whole Modern/Classic/Boom name before Sonic and just call him Sonic no matter which design he have
2. Have his Modern design used for promo materials and anything mascot-related (like most plushies and figures)
3. Use his classic design for his games instead of his Modern one (let the boost game rest for more years so Sega would come up with a better way to handle Sonic in 3D)
4. Finally, bring back his Boom design for everything Cartoon related (aka his TV show) because he had a better personality for this kind of stuff.

You may or may not agree with me but please explain it to me. The whole franchise deserves better and Sega just doesn't know how to do it anymore (they could take Nintendo's advice sometimes it wouldn't hurt them).

PS: please let's not talk about Archie/IDW because it's not the medium I use the most and it's another subject.

 

[rocklight124]

I Totally agree with everything you just said. The Boost gameplay needs to be put away for a long time if not forever, and they need to go back to the Adventure styled gameplay for Modern Sonic. Also no 2D sections for him, because we have Classic Sonic for that. I think that's why Sonic Colors is not my go to Sonic game because so much of it is in 2D. I like Sonic Unleashed and Generations, but it fails in comparison to the Adventure era.

 

[Icarus]

I Totally agree with everything you just said. The Boost gameplay needs to be put away for a long time if not forever, and they need to go back to the Adventure styled gameplay for Modern Sonic. Also no 2D sections for him, because we have Classic Sonic for that. I think that's why Sonic Colors is not my go to Sonic game because so much of it is in 2D. I like Sonic Unleashed and Generations, but it fails in comparison to the Adventure era.

I kinda disagree about bringing back the Adventure formula, I mean the last game that used it was Sonic 2006 so the public would be worried if Sega announces another game using it.


Modern Sonic deserves a rest and it needs to have a better public image overall.


As for Sonic Colors the game was decent but it was indeed a game aimed at Nintendo fans (it felt a bit like Mario Galaxy because of the space theme).

 

[Joki]

SEGA has tooken some ideas from Nintendo with Sonic Colors and Lost World.

---------- Post added at 04:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:58 PM ----------

I kinda disagree about bringing back the Adventure formula, I mean the last game that used it was Sonic 2006 so the public would be worried if Sega announces another game using it.


Modern Sonic deserves a rest and it needs to have a better public image overall.


As for Sonic Colors the game was decent but it was indeed a game aimed at Nintendo fans (it felt a bit like Mario Galaxy because of the space theme).

Alot of other games have done the space theme before Galaxy...

 

[Icarus]

Alot of other games have done the space theme before Galaxy...

I know but MG was the biggest game with this theme back when Colors was made.

 

[rocklight124]

I kinda disagree about bringing back the Adventure formula, I mean the last game that used it was Sonic 2006 so the public would be worried if Sega announces another game using it.


Modern Sonic deserves a rest and it needs to have a better public image overall.


As for Sonic Colors the game was decent but it was indeed a game aimed at Nintendo fans (it felt a bit like Mario Galaxy because of the space theme).

Yeah I get that. I think if they want to bring back Adventure era gameplay they need to change a lo of things, because as much as I like Sonic Adventure it has way too many problems. Too many to name. If Sega released Sonic Adventure today it would flop. Let's be real for a moment Sonic Adventure has just as many problems as 06, only difference being Sonic Adventure is way more unpredictable.


And Sonic Adventure 2 is much worse, because the spin dash is broken and if you are brave enough to do so you will fall off the stage, because it's too FAST. I mean come on that's so messed up it's a Sonic game. A game where you are supposed to go fast. I mean look at 06 most of it's glaring problems are the same with the Adventure era.


And Sonic Heroes no just no. That game almost ruined Sonic for me. As a kid I waited so long to play that game, because the game looking so awesome in the videos on tv and in FRY's. Sonic Heroes is bad.

 

[Joki]

I know but MG was the biggest game with this theme back when Colors was made.

If anything, Lost World reminds me more of Galaxy

 

[SeproDep]

I feel like Sega has been pandering to the nigh-insatiable """fans""" who believe that Sonic hasn't been good in over 25 years. Don't get me wrong, I loved Mania, but I played it one year after it was released and even then I felt like it didn't live up to the hype. In comparison, however, I didn't play Sonic Adventure 2 until this year, 19 years after its original release, and I'd say it's the best Sonic game ever released.
So what did SA2 do that Mania didn't? Well, for one thing, SA2 was a fully 3D game with multiple characters that have entirely unique levels. Mania, on the other hand, is entirely two-dimensional (barring special stages) and whereas SA2 had its levels built around the characters, Mania had its characters built around the levels.

Now, I will admit that the Knuckles/Rouge segments of SA2 aren't very fun, but that's only a small part of the game that gets more than balanced out by the Sonic/Shadow stages and, slightly less so, the Tails/Eggman stages. In comparison, classic Sonic games have never had strong midway points, and while Sonic Mania doesn't have the same problem as, say, Labyrinth or Sandopolis, I'd say that's because it goes in the opposite direction: everything past Flying Battery is too easy until Titanic Monarch.

So what are my thoughts? Well, like everyone else, I'd love a Sonic Mania 2. Afterwards? Remove classic Sonic from the games.
Yes, I know that it sounds drastic, but hear me out: Modern Sonic works in 2D. Everyone who's played a handheld Sonic game released in between 2001 and 2011 knows it, everyone who's played a boost formula game knows it, everyone who's played Sonic Runners knows it, and everyone who's played a Newgrounds flash game knows it. Yes, classic Sonic also works in 3D -- that's a given, seeing as how we're on the forum for exactly that -- but seeing as how the Speed Thok is basically the Homing Attack without the homing, this game plays less like a classic Sonic game in 3D and more like a Sonic Adventure speed stage with more emphasis on platforming. Using a modern Sonic mod, it would be easy for an outsider to assume that it was supposed to be that way all along.

Basically, I'm tired of the more visually appealing design being pushed aside in favor of the small and fat one.