[ad_1]
Over the past three decades, many types of Sonic fans have emerged and evolved. The type of fan you are often depends on where you jumped aboard the platform franchise. You have your 2D purists, your portable lawyers, your 3D advocates, your worried Werehog, your people who say 8-bit games were better than 16-bit games … and that’s just the tip of the green hill.
Today, Stuart Gipp, who describes himself as the “long-suffering Sonic veteran”, takes a chronological look at the entire series so far …
Sega’s big blue hope seems to go through incarnations as he has to wear pairs of socks. You have to wonder what made him be in such a rush, but given the spotty quality of the series as a whole, we suspect he might try to outrun himself.
After examining the many faces of Donkey Kong in honor of the gorilla’s 40th birthday, the recent – and typically catalyze – the release of Sonic Colors Ultimate on the occasion of the Hedgehog’s 30th anniversary seems like the most opportune time to take a look at a selection (although not quite the full line) of Sonics. A pair of Sonics. A Sonics sniffer. A Sonic aperitif.
We start with a draft of the authentic article; the only Sonic that appeals to ‘purists’ …
Proper Sonic: The Mega Drive Years (1991-1996)
From now on, some will dispute the attribution of the label “proper Sonic” to this small batch, but they are all wrong – it is Sonic at the height of his powers. 2D platform using momentum that has never been matched, or even convincingly imitated.
The original Sonic the Hedgehog and its two and a half sequels (Sonic & Knuckles only kind of counts as a complete game) still look great and still play today, hence the enthusiasm for the next Sound origins – which also includes a misunderstood masterpiece CD Sonic the Hedgehog.
It is telling, in our opinion, that it took a direct cover of these classics in Sonic Mania for the series to once again gain unanimous critical acclaim after its early ’90s heyday.
8-Bit Sonic: The Master System / Game Gear Years (1991-1996)
It would be remiss of us not to recognize the rather underrated 8-bit Sonic games, especially their Master System incarnations which we believe are, at the very least, thoroughly playable and sound (or should it be sonically) formidable.
While still fast, the emphasis in 8-bit Sonic and Sonic 2 has shifted to a more linear and precision-based platform; an approach highlighted by MacGuffin of the series, the Chaos Emeralds; here, hidden in an obtuse place in each area rather than locked behind special stages …
Until Sonic Chaos and Sonic Triple Trouble, that is, at that point, they locked them behind the special stages again.
Extremely Confused Sonic: The Saturn Years (1996-1997)
The promise of a future Sonic probably sold Saturns, which is a bit of a shame considering he never had one.
Yes you scream he got a version of Sonic 3D as well as the racing spin-off Sonic r, but the best Sonic title at that time was the Sonic jam compilation of classics. Which isn’t exactly a great advertisement for your overpriced, easy-to-break new console. Aficionados know the planned and bizarre fisheye lens title Sonic X-Treme had a very troubled development at that point, but it looked like a hot mess and it never saw the light of day.
Outside of the Saturn there was a strange arcade hunter Sonic the fighters, but this one didn’t really scream “Hello, I’m the Sonic franchise. I know what I’m doing”. It ran on the Fighting Vipers engine (which was also the Virtua Fighter engine) and was surprisingly good, however.
Confident Failure Sonic: The Dreamcast Years (1999-2001)
Remember that scene from The Simpsons where Mr. Burns’ doctor demonstrates the delicate balance of his patient’s health with plush disease toys that get stuck in a mini door? Sonic Adventure is basically a game version of that, in that it’s a game that completely crumbles and basically broken, but somehow it stands in a way that sees its instability register as a charming freewheel, rather than disgusting unplayable.
Sonic Adventure remains extremely fun to play, arguably more so than any of its more rigid follow-ups. Sonic Adventure 2, for example, which is a much more polished and engaging title, but also a little boring and crappy, if you ask us. Many disagree, of course, but we find it fairly consistent.
The most interesting thing about adventure games is their utter (and somewhat admirable, in a way) refusal to trade on past glories – not only are they not classic Sonic games, they are absolutely Nothing like their ancestors in almost any way besides buckles, rings, etc. obvious. There is something to be said for going from the most accessible platform games ever created to the complexity and constant commentary of the Sonic Adventure series.
Throw-in-the-Wall-and-See-What-Sticks Sonic: Years of the Wilderness Cross-Platform (2003-2009)
Then, the unthinkable: Sega abandoned the console market and began to integrate its most famous brands into the systems of its former rivals.
And hell followed: Sonic Heroes is a toilet, but it’s just a mark of skidding compared to some of the absolute flushes that came into being in this very, very hectic period; Shade the hedgehog, for God’s sake; the ports of the Dreamcast games which were, in the case of Adventure, even more broken; the wretched Sonic Riders and their sequels; the horrific Sonic Storybook series with Secret Rings and Black Knight; and the interesting Sonic Unleashed created the portrait of a show that really had no idea what she wanted to be or what she was doing.
Thankfully, throughout that time there was a solid core of 2D titles for Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS keeping things a bit more on track – all three Sonic Advance games were a good time, not to mention Sonic. Rush and Rush Adventure, both of which offered high-quality racing action. That said, even handhelds weren’t entirely safe, with Bioware’s ghastly Sonic Chronicles hovering over the format like the gaseous consequences of a plate of chili dogs.
Oh; and a little something commonly called Sonic ’06 would damage the reputation of the series forever.
Boost Sonic: The Wild Years Cross-Platform Part II: A Sake of Coherence (2010-2021)
Thank goodness that deluge of shit ended with Sonic Colors, then, a title with a shocking level of purity and focus in a series that seemed to have long forgotten what these things even were. Far be it from us to call Sonic Colors perfect, it was (and is) still a far above average version of 3D Sonic; one that finally recognizes the strengths of the games – that is, the traditional 3D Sonic platforming stages that you’d think were at the center of previous titles, without any alternate playstyles or unnecessary diversion mini-games for wasting time. It’s just straight-up Sonic action, something that was pulled from the “Day” stages in the otherwise mediocre Sonic Unleashed and developed here as well as the celebratory follow-up Sonic Generations, a title that unmistakably trades on nostalgia all over. by always offering a lot of meat on its bones so that players get stuck.
There are a few missteps around this time – Sonic the Hedgehog 4 amounted to war crime for the gall of its name alone, the Sonic Boom games are not mentioned, and the Wii U console exclusive Sonic Lost World was a dud. in most ways – but for the most part, that consistency has been passed on to Sonic Forces, a largely derided game that this writer says is pretty much fine, especially considering the vast waves of slag fans must have navigated before.
And then came Sonic Mania, of course.
Future Sonic (2022 – ????)
Of course, many will disagree with the conclusions drawn here about what, statistically speaking, are probably some of their favorite games. And that’s absolutely fine. We’re watching the series here in a more detached way than enthusiasts would. And we missed a lot too – Sonic isn’t just about games, with several beloved comic book universes (Archie, Fleetway, IDW), TV cartoons (Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic SatAM, Underground and later Boom), as well as many other deviations within the franchise (not to mention the massive blockbuster movie), each of which is narrated more comprehensively by the fanbase than we have room for. realistic.
We like to think that Sonic’s success comes in waves and the next one Sonic rangers has a chance to deliver a cohesive experience again for fans, although it’s highly likely that this is a whole new direction in a series that sometimes really struggles to identify with. Nonetheless, we still love silly blue turf a lot and just want the best for it. Which means we really have to insist that he choose a path.
What is your favorite Sonic era? Let us know in the poll below and feel free to let us know the exact type of Sonic fan you are at the usual location.
[ad_2]
Source link