Any [ANY] Sonic the Hedgehog Franchise

I have debated this one in my head so many times over the years that it's getting crazy >_<

I haven't been a huge fan of Sega's direction when it comes to Sonic for the last few years. Sometimes I feel like they have no idea where they want to go with him, dipping into too many pools at once. Also I agree with you about the recent games, no matter what there will be many different views on them so it's kind of difficult to determine what ones are really good or bad. Personally I try to embrace change and play out the experience to see if I like it or not before making any judgement but the Sonic community is very divided at this point.

Most companies need to keep updating and innovating their product in order to keep up with the current audience as time rolls on but Sega tries out too many new ideas and concepts when it comes to the Sonic franchise in my opinion. They really need to stick with one concept and go with it for a bit before changing into another, variety is a good thing but too much becomes cluttered and confusing. On the plus side they have stated that this new venture is on it's own and not a replacement for the modern day Sonic.

Now as far as Sonic Boom is concerned: I have seen the trailer for the game and it reminds me of what they did with Spyro. (wasn't a fan of that change at all but to each their own right?) It's different but may not be too bad as a game. Now I can't say the same for the televised version, I'll most likely watch it but will hold off judgement until much later as the series unfolds. I do like that they are kind of going with a "Saturday morning cartoon" feel with Sonic and Eggman's cat and mouse routine, very reminiscent of Sonic Colours. (though I hope they don't overdo it, the writers were trying too hard with Sonic's jokes at some points in that game.)

I know a lot of people are complaining about Sonic's redesign (especially the blue arms) but I don't think it's too bad. It's a different world unrelated to any other Sonic game, so it only makes sense that Sonic and the gang would look different. The only critique I'll make at this point is that I think the Sonic model for the game looks better than the TV one. The TV one looks like plastic but I'm sure they are still working on it. That could have just been rushed for sake of the preview clip.
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Notes: Yes, I know there was a Saturday Morning version of the show years ago on ABC but what I mean is the classic cartoon feel of a Saturday morning cartoon that was just somewhat goofy and fun to watch with some mild comedy.

 

Knuckles: "Nah man...these are vitamins...just vitamins...yep."

 

Mmm, I agree with parts of that statement. The Adventure series is a very good example of what a 3D Sonic should be and the mechanics could be explored again for at least another game in the future. However I don't have too much love for the second game. Now don't get me wrong, it was a great game and had some critical improvements over the first (light-speed dash without having to hold the spin dash for example.) however I would have liked it far more if they only stuck with the original plan for the game. It was going to be a Sonic & Knuckles continuation and Shadow was not going to be a new character but a dark version of Supersonic you could turn into at some point in the game, thus you would be able to explore the light and dark powers of the emeralds. That would have been incredible but obviously something must have happened and they dumped the idea leaving us with the game we know today.

Uh...sorry, I got off-topic there for a moment. Getting back on track, I'm not a huge fan of the boost mechanic too much either but it only serves the purpose for the post-Dreamcast Sonic. Let's be honest here, without the boost the Sonic wouldn't be that fast. The exception being World Adventure. He is actually fast in that game on his own however, somewhat uncontrollable.

I also agree that Generations felt like an actual Sonic game and we have not had that feeling in a long time. Aftering finishing both the Xbox360 version and recently the 3DS version I can still say that I have a lot of fun with the game and sometimes have issues stopping. Both versions of the game have a very different feel to them which makes it somewhat fresh. (I should write a review on both of them at some point.) Lost world isn't too bad on the 3DS, although it isn't as fun for me because my triggers are busted (Anyone else feel that the triggers always are the first thing to go on Nintendo devices or is that just me?) I can't speak for the WiiU version because I do not own the system and nor do I want to.

Now Daverost said it best, Sonic Boom the game is a throwaway exclusive so let's not worry about it too much. Personally I'll watch the new series because I like anything Sonic even if I end up hating it later on. (Makes no sense to me either sometimes...but it goes with being a fan.) I probably will not get the game because I don't have a WiiU. The jury is still out on the 3DS version until I get my hands on the demo, if it's good then I might splurge for it.
I won't say much more about the design aspect because like I said, it's taking place in a different world seperated from the main series so naturally the characters should look largely different. Although oddly enough, Knuckles finally makes to me. He's always been the strong one in the group but where do you get that strength with such a scrawny body? One would imagine that he should look somewhat muscular considering how much he can lift and break.

 

That was one of the earliest plans back when Sega first announced Sonic Adventure 2 prior to that inital E3 trailer. It was to be a new adventure with both Sonic and Knuckles, it would involve Eggman's plan to manipulate the powers of light and darkness through the Chaos Emeralds. Shadow's model is basically Supersonic with some alterations and was originally intended to test out the concept described in SA1 on how the emeralds could be used to harness negative energy. So if Sonic were to use them it would result in that darker forme. I have no idea what kind of abilities he would have had but I would assume that it would operate the same as Supersonic with the exception of some darker elements. Perhaps that is why they scrapped the idea? Not much else was brought up about that particular plan, by the time the E3 video was shown they already had changed the concept that came to be what we know now. However I wonder if they made the video before or after the change because it does sort of sync with that original idea far more than the final product if you think about it. Also I need to apologize for one thing I said in my earlier comment: I always refer to that plan being another Sonic & Knuckles because they were the only mentioned playable characters for the game at the time but there has never been anyone that has said that officially and I doubt that was the intention of that plan. Either way, we still got a good game out of it so you can't complain but, I still think it would have been interesting to see where they would have gone with that one had it been made.

In my experience Lost World on the 3DS is kind of fun but I won't lie, it isn't the best Sonic game in the world and those gimmicks are not winning it any of my love but at the same time it isn't completely terrible. Now I'll admit that I only bought it through the eShop back during the Christmas sale because it was cheap :P The special stages are definitely something to get used to but it gives you a good excuse to move around a little at least. I still haven't finished the game because my triggers are not working so it's very annoying trying to get Sonic to run (Whoever thought it was a great idea to make it so Sonic has no speed until you hold R...ugh...) I've seen a couple of LP's of the WiiU version and the game looks fine but the bosses look boring, I don't imagine that they will be anymore innovative on the 3DS version but, I'll just have to find out eventually.

In general my favourite character is Emerl because of the complexity behind his story. However I always have and will like Sonic. Shadow was alright when he was initially introduced back in SA2 but I haven't been a real fan of him outside of that game. I just feel like his story was far better in SA2 despite it being fully concluded in his own game following the events of Heroes. I'd like to hear your insight on Rouge's character because most of the time people state the obvious reasons as to why they like her, so it would be refreshing good to see another view on her.

 

Before I begin here let me just say that you are not all over the place with your comments, nor are you mindlessly rambling at all. Personally I find your views quite interesting.

I apologize for the long delay in my response, I had to replay the game again to understand your perspective a bit. It's funny, I always thought of Rouge as nothing but a deceitful opportunist. However I see that I was somewhat wrong in my initial evaluation. I contribute that view to my younger self. Back then I was less open-minded about things. Later on in life after certain events I finally saw the many shades of grey in people and began to understand that there are many different layers to a person and their personality beyond what you can see. Playing the game again and watching the story unfold, I understand now where you're coming from. I always felt that Rouge was very much an independent woman and definitely not the typical female character we see in games and media. But now I finally get that a lot of Rouge's attitude was mostly connected to her being guarded and rightfully so considering what she was doing. The complexity of her character is interesting and kind of separates her from the rest in the Sonic world (At least in SA2 anyway. A trait we do not see until the introduction of Blaze years later.)

Amy Rose has a somewhat independent side to her now but for a long time she was your traditional damsel in distress that had to be saved by Sonic. (I only say "somewhat independent" because if Sonic were to tell her to do something, more often than not she would do it without hesitation in hopes to gain some sort of affection from Sonic. Which I feel is wrong. Also she still relies on Sonic instead of figuring things out for herself. Part of that could be to win his affection as well but it makes her appear weaker to me, she really doesn't need Sonic to define who she is.)

I guess I never really noticed how much Rouge changes throughout the game because of my closed-minded view of her back then but you are absolutely right, she does become more kind and somewhat caring later on. However, her flirtatious side annoyed me a lot, even if it was only just for fun or the sake of her job. I mean I get it but I wasn't a fan of it because personally I don't like it when someone uses any form of seduction in order to gain something from another person. I know that goes against me as a male but it's how I feel. I also agree with you, a lot of men are easily blinded by their own desires and can be manipulated. (Something I have seen far too often with people in my own life.) However like you said, that was probably her mindset when it came to achieving something if she needed to as a spy. Since we do not know the history behind some of these characters we have no idea what they experienced before their introduction into the story. So we don't know what it was like when she first started working. Many women are still not taken too seriously within work situations despite how intelligent and capable they may be and are not always regarded equally amongst men in society. On top of that, if a woman happens to have a certain shape to them then that regard becomes little to nothing in most cases. Because of this, the idea of a woman being able to do what a man can do is usually laughed at when the reality is that a woman can perform just as well and in many cases far better than what any guy could ever do. In Rouge's case, she probably figured that out early on. Rouge's character could have been made with that in mind. She may have a certain look but that doesn't define her character (SA2-wise) Rouge can do the job just as well as some guy in a suit or an Echidna with boxing gloves.

Okay, I think at this point we've gone...a bit off-topic but I think it was a good discussion.

 

Hmm...considering how this week went, I'd question my intelligence at certain moments but thanks >_<

I've enjoyed this discussion as well, it's been nice to be able to speak with another fan of the franchise in great detail like this. I feel like we should do this more often in our community. I've been thinking about it for the last couple of days and for the most part while I prefer the Japanese voice actors now a days, there is a certain charm for the English ones as well. Jaleel White who played Steve Urkel on Family Matters also voiced Sonic in the Saturday Morning cartoon. While many feel his voice was a bit on the annoying side I always liked it for that show. (of course Family Matters was very good as well.) Ryan Drummond was an excellent choice for Adventure in my opinion as it just felt right. Thankfully they managed to get him again for SA2, something that doesn't happen too often with sequels. David Humphrey as Shadow was perfect as well. Although I can't say that I have been a huge fan of the voice actors for Dr. Eggman in general considering most sound the same but I think Mike Pollock has been doing a fine job recently.

The issue is mostly trying to match up each character with a voice actor that works, so when you look at the character you can sit back and say "yeah, I can imagine that's what he/she would sound like." I agree with you that the first set was really fitting and at times it's too bad that they cannot always get the same people for every project but in general I feel they do an alright job with most of the voice actors.