Guess the Sonic Generations Stages

[Esrever]

The funny thing is, when I think about it, each of these stages actually are among my favourites from their respective games. Seaside Hill and Spagonia were definitely my favourites from Heroes and Unleashed. And City Escape and Planet Wisp are certainly right up there. And... OK, I never actually MADE it to Crisis City before quitting '06 in frustration, but I always thought it was one of that game's more distinct and interesting-looking environments.

So, I guess it's really only in combination that this level selection bothers me. I mean, I like Seaside Hill more than Casino Park, but I'd still rather have Casino Park for varieties sake. And even though Spagonia is my favourite Unleashed level, I'd still cut it in a heartbeat in exchange for a level from Sonic 3 or Sonic CD.

[Radrappy]

who are we kidding guys. There are so many tropical and city levels so that they can reuse assets.

[Rob-Bert]

What assets are they reusing, exactly? Seaside Hill has Egg Pawns, not Badniks.

[Radrappy]

Man all the cities will have textures, props, background elements they can reuse I'm sure. As for seaside hill who knows, but they'll figure it out. Recolor some shit.

[Rob-Bert]

Speed Highway, City Escape, Crisis City and Rooftop Run all look pretty radically different to me. Crisis City especially, seeing how it's post-apocalyptic and all.

[Radrappy]

doesn't matter. They can still reuse shit. Mark my words.

[Esrever]

I think the main thing is that they'll reuse from previous games. I'm sure they can build the Crisis City and Spagonia stages almost entirely out of the assets from '06 and Unleashed. There's plenty of HD assets for Seaside Hill already, too, from All Stars Racing. And if they had any sense, they'll have made HD assets for Planet Wisp while they were making Colours, if not specifically for use in Generations, then in the case that they wound up porting Colours later.

[Wombatwarlord777]

I'm sure they can build ... Crisis City ... almost entirely out of the assets from '06

Oh god, I hope that what you are implying does not come to pass, because compared to High-Def Sonic Unleashed, Sonic 2006 looks like absolute shit. And I can say this from actually playing both games.

You know, we all know that SEGA does some pretty lazy/awful things in regards to crafting Sonic games. But I never expected them to sink so low as to not update Crisis City's graphics. It would stick out like a sore thumb.

[Esrever]

Oh, I'm sure it'll look better! I just imagine they can reuse a lot of the same textures and other art assets they created for the original stage. (I'm sure things like the textures were originally created at a much higher level of detail than was actually present in the game.)

[(No Imagination)]

who are we kidding guys. There are so many tropical and city levels so that they can reuse assets.

I'm more inclined to believe it's because the designers are these boring, depressed and barely immobile coding-types who spent the majority of their life inside cities and the most they've ever seen of nature are goddamn seaside resorts or school trips to various ruined sites of importance. Hence they simply cannot envision Sonic running anywhere else and looking good at the same time.

[Crazy Penguin]

I guess if you reeeeeeeeeeally wanna stretch it, you could technically say...

To be even kinder, Chemical Plant and Seaside Hill could end up being water levels to some extent.

[Rob-Bert]

Well they did find the Bubble Shield, so....

[Frieza2000]

It's been said already, but they really got the whole concept of this game mixed up. We don't need a 'best of' game that attempts to represent 20 years of Sonic games in 9 levels. The whole selling point of this is to see old 2d levels done over in 3d. Only 3 of these stages were 2d and only one of the bosses (who's already been remade in 3d several times). We all know it's because they're being cheap, but really, it's so cheap it practically defeats the selling point. I don't know about you, but I have no interest in seeing any of the 6 modern stages get a 3d makeover other than maybe Speed Highway, and I'm certainly not interested in seeing Unleashed-style 2d versions of them. If they really needed to do this classic/modern thing then ideally all the levels that were originally in 2d should've been on the console version and the modern levels should go on the Sonic 4-style 3DS version.

But if the Metal Sonic battle is a 3d race through Stardust Speedway then they are forgiven.

[Radrappy]

t's been said already, but they really got the whole concept of this game mixed up. We don't need a 'best of' game that attempts to represent 20 years of Sonic games in 9 levels. The whole selling point of this is to see old 2d levels done over in 3d. Only 3 of these stages were 2d and only one of the bosses (who's already been remade in 3d several times). We all know it's because they're being cheap, but really, it's so cheap it practically defeats the selling point. I don't know about you, but I have no interest in seeing any of the 6 modern stages get a 3d makeover other than maybe Speed Highway, and I'm certainly not interested in seeing Unleashed-style 2d versions of them. If they really needed to do this classic/modern thing then ideally all the levels that were originally in 2d should've been on the console version and the modern levels should go on the Sonic 4-style 3DS version.

exactly my feelings. I mean seriously, seaside hill? Crisis City? Spagonia? Who asked for this shit? That's 1/3 of the game right there.

[Zeta]

The choices, for the most part, are not that bad. It's skipping over games (Sonic 3, CD, Secret Rings, and Black Knight for consoles and all the GameGear games for handhelds) that's bad. Although I could easily argue that the lack of any pinball level is just insane on the part of SEGA.

[Radrappy]

I'd say that putting two levels in this game that were already on HD consoles borders on sheer lunacy. This is a rare opportunity to remind people why the franchise was worth playing in the first place and they have decided to waste two levels out of nine on remaking zones that are already available ON THE SAME DAMN CONSOLE. And planet wisp? Shit hasn't even been out a full year and we're already remaking it. It's bonkers. To think that representation from Sonic 3 and CD was cut completely to make way for crisis city.

To summarize, I leave you guys with this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hbV2HND ... r_embedded

It's pretty hilarious. Im still trying to figure out what hentai sonic is supposed to mean.

[Crisis]

They seem to be choosing games based on what current consumers are most likely to be familiar with. And I'd say Crisis City is actually one of the more visually exciting entries on the level list.

If you want to get technical, all of the classic levels are also available on the same console. What's your point? Planet Wisp and Spagonia are shitty choices because they're uninspired, not because they're recent. Nostalgia is a shallow reason to choose levels to begin with.

[Zeta]

It's pretty hilarious. Im still trying to figure out what hentai sonic is supposed to mean.

I think he's attempting to complain about the huge cast of furry characters and the furry fandom that spawned from it but doesn't have the correct terminology to do so.

[Radrappy]

you just called crisis city visually exciting and claimed wisp and spagonia were uninspired all in the same breath.

Are you telling me that I want more megadrive levels because I'm wearing rose tinted glasses? It's because those levels were actually wonderfully designed and memorable that I want them in, nostalgia has nothing to do with it. I have nostalgia for SA1 and 2 but I want as little from those games to resurface as possible.

[G.Silver]

Hey, 1000 posts, Rappy.

I was really struck by how monochrome Crisis City is. One of the things that makes the classic levels so good isn't really that they're great levels, but visually, they always have some interesting color palates. The GHZ is already super-saturated, with the two-tone checkerboard, the green elements, and the blue sky and water, and then when they do it in 3D it adds even more depth of color, especially with those darkened underground areas. Crisis City is dull red, and if you took out Sonic and replaced him with some bald space marines, no one ever think it was supposed to be about anything else. It is not visually interesting, just to start from. I'm not saying every Sonic level needs to be a bright happy rainbow fest, but why pick a level that is so visually unremarkable? Maybe it's a chance to fix it, but shouldn't they be celebrating what was good the first time? Is it really the best-looking level Sonic 2006 had to offer?!

[Radrappy]

to my memory, crisis city is a photo realistic city. That is on fire. It honestly looks like a michael bay movie.

Maybe it's a chance to fix it, but shouldn't they be celebrating what was good the first time?

yes, this exactly. And thanks for the 1000 posts congrats. woo.

[Cypher]

Assuming anyone else cares for the 3DS version, are there any guesses/preferences for the Advance/Rush era levels?

Egg Rocket is hands down my favourite level from Advance, but maybe Secret Base would be a more solid choice. I don't care much for anything from Advance 2. Techno Base is pretty interesting I suppose, but having 2 levels that end in 'Base' right next to eachother might look silly.

There's a few Advance 3 levels I'd love to play with (hopefully) better physics and without the buddy gimmick. Chaos Angel and Ocean Base are my top choices here, but I have a feeling they'll go with Route 99 which I wouldn't complain too much about honestly. Anything but Toy Factory or Sunset Hill really.

I don't have much to say about the Rush era... Ocean Palace from Rush, Sky Babylon from Rush Adventure... I couldn't care less which level they use from Colours.

[Crisis]

In terms of colour palette Crisis City is a bit bland, yes. But I've watched playthroughs on youtube, and I think the atmosphere and the variation is just right. You have the running along walls, the fly-by grinding sections that add a sense of scale, you have a tiered structure with a street level which is visually different from the building level which is visually different from the skyscraper level, etc.

Compare that to Planet Wisp. You have a Green Hill environment (again) and a vague industrial environment, without much attempt to juxtaposition the two. It just sort of meanders between them. Sure, the Colours level looks more playable, but that isn't the point is it? It's being remade on a new engine, so any feelings you have towards the originals as games are irrelevant.

So yeah, I'm not saying Crisis City was the best choice, but it's not the first level I'd cut either.

[P.P.A.]

As one of the only people who actually liked Sonic 06, even I think Crisis City is a terrible choice. Not only is it one of the most uninspired stages in the entire game (as Radrappy correctly noted, it is a photo realistic city that is on fire; nothing more), it already has been remade in 2.5D—in Sonic Rivals 2, whose final Zone, Chaotic inferno Zone, copied the very same concept of a burning city (even set in the future and with its own raging fire deity!), although it actually made it somewhat more visually interesting and appealing.
Further, it only remains in my head as one of the least remarkable stages from the game. Superior choices are abundant: While Radical Train, as nice a change as its gameplay was, would be a bad choice because it's another green hill-like setting, Flame Core (with its extremely atmospheric music and lighting, as well as the beautiful contrast of dark, blue rocks and the glowing red-hot lava and the many platforming segments), Kingdom Valley (with its relatively unique and well-done castle setting, one very seldom used in Sonic games), White Acropolis (which could have been made to combine both the ice and mechanical base tropes which are painfully absent in the game), or the in my opinion visually most unique Aquatic Base with its sterile metal environment, the large windows showing the seafloor, and the mesmerising floors of liquid metal.

[Radrappy]

In terms of colour palette Crisis City is a bit bland, yes. But I've watched playthroughs on youtube, and I think the atmosphere and the variation is just right. You have the running along walls, the fly-by grinding sections that add a sense of scale, you have a tiered structure with a street level which is visually different from the building level which is visually different from the skyscraper level, etc.

Isn't all this level design stuff too? At least Wisp had a beautiful red industrial machines encroaching on the green landscape thing going on. It was simple to understand visually and was striking. So in your opinion, which stage would you cut first? I would lose Crisis city, Spagonia, Speedhighway(city escape is enough. Why not lost world or something more iconic from SA1? Red Mountain even? Twinkle fucking park.), Seaside Hill, and Planet wisp in that order. Basically, 5 of the 9 choices are rubbish.