Guess the Sonic Generations Stages

[Esrever]

Should I cut this off as soon as they start mentioning specific games that they will draw from, or wait until they confirm actual stages? It's starting to look like the former could be happening really soon.

[Crazy Penguin]

All three badniks shown in the Green Hill preview were taken straight from Sonic Colours (thus the ladybird Moto Bug, although they did recolour the Stinger). Since Spiny and Jawz were also in Colours I'm tempted to take a second stab at this with Chemical Plant Zone and Hydrocity Zone, but I'll stick to my guns. Jazwares' upcoming Egg Robo toy might be another consideration.

[Tsuyoshi-kun]

Spring Yard Zone (Sonic 1)
Aquatic Ruin Zone (Sonic 2)
Quartz Quadrant (Sonic CD)
Ice Cap Zone (Sonic 3)
Lava Reef Zone (Sonic&Knuckles)
Lost World (Sonic Adventure)
Radical Highway (Sonic Adventure 2)

And yes, I know you don't play as Sonic in Radical Highway. Doesn't mean it can't still be there.

[Zeta]

Should I cut this off as soon as they start mentioning specific games that they will draw from, or wait until they confirm actual stages? It's starting to look like the former could be happening really soon.

Wait for actual stages. It's fairly obvious the main games they would draw from (Sonic 1, 2, 3, SK, Sonic Adventure 1-2 and they've discussed Colors). The only iffy source is CD, really.

[j-man]

Maybe not so much, as the storyline's all about time travel! I still got my fingers crossed for Collision Chaos.

[Yami CJMErl]

> City Escape (SA2)
> Tropical Resort (Colors)
> Casino Park (Heroes)
> Speed Highway (SA1)
> Angel Island Zone (Sonic 3)
> Death Egg Zone (Sonic & Knuckles)
> Lost Labyrinth (Sonic 4)

[gr4yJ4Y]

Water Palace

They have to include something from the Rush games (they were quite successful critically and commercially, weren't they?), but there's nothing particularly iconic about the level themes. Unless I'm really overlooking something.

I'd like to see something from Secret Rings (Night Palace perhaps?), but I wouldn't guess it in my top 7.

You think they'll really narrow it down to the traditional number of 7 zones? 20 years is a lot of ground to cover!

[Crisis]

I think if you're going to count the Rush games, then you also have to count the Advance games, which seems unlikely.

[Blount]

You think they'll really narrow it down to the traditional number of 7 zones? 20 years is a lot of ground to cover!

I'm kind of worried about that myself. Colors did have a ton of levels, but there wasn't a lot of visual variety and most levels were really short. I mean, yeah, they could just have two acts for each zone (classic and modern), but modern Sonic alone is probably very time-consuming because of the length of his levels and all the cinematic stuff going on.

[(No Imagination)]

... not what I'd like to see, but what I think we will most likely see? Okay.

Chemical Plant (Mega Muck giving designers a convenient excuse for a gigantic bottomless sea, brushing off the obligatory city highway level at the same time)
Casino Night (because money sells)
Hill Top (I don't know, both lava and bottomless pits? Sounds great!)
Metropolis (...narrow corridors aplenty!)
Ice Cap (... because fans would seriously go omg what the furr if it didn't happen.)
Mushroom Hill ("Nono, WE'll show you this stage in 3D!")
Death Egg ("...and this time, you grind rails high above Earth! Space colony what?")

But seriously, seven stages? That's way too few. Also, I smell the game having a theme of New Sonic getting warped (storybook series-style) into Classic Sonic's world and not vice versa, so my bet is on remade 16 bit levels dominating the landscape.

Edit: um, by the way, I'm not breaking any rules by slightly elaborating/ranting on my picks, am I?

[Esrever]

7 is just the completely arbitrary number of guesses I decided everyone would get. There may well be more than 8 stages in the game... but that's OK! We're just picking what we each think are the top 7 most likely to be included among final line-up.

If there are more stages, that just gives everyone a few more chances to be right. (Although even then, my gut suspicion is that not a single one of us will have seven correct guesses in the end.)

(And no... feel free to elaborate on your picks as much as you like!)

[Wombatwarlord777]

More people seem to be selecting post-Sonic and Knuckles stages than I would suspect. I mean, everybody and their brother knows or at least has a rough concept of Sonic from Sonics 1, 2, 3, and Knuckles. If I were the director of this nostalgic title, levels from those games are the ones I would probably select. Personally, I'll be (pleasantly) surprised if we get a stage or two from CD, Heroes, Shadow (not so much) or 2006, though the last one is due more to the stigma that game has, and not so much its obscurity.

What about a Spinball level? It'll never happen, but I think a recreated Toxic Caves, Lava Powerhouse, or Showdown could be awesome.

[Zeta]

I'm not sure how you could even include a Heroes level, given the completely different mechanics between that game and every other Sonic title - ditto Shadow the Hedgehog.

[Wombatwarlord777]

*shrugs* Well, a couple of stages had some pretty interesting gimmicks that were mostly unrelated to the whole teamwork thing, Power Plant, Frog Forest, and Hang Castle being ones that I can think of now. And Egg Fleet had incredibly memorable level design. Those might translate fairly well into classic Sonic's gameplay.

As for Shadow, yeah, I don't think it'd work, solely because its levels tended to focus on one or a few distingushed gimmicks, which, barring some innovation on the developers' part, would probably be really boring to play through.

[P.P.A.]

*shrugs* Well, a couple of stages had some pretty interesting gimmicks that were mostly unrelated to the whole teamwork thing, Power Plant, Frog Forest, and Hang Castle being ones that I can think of now. And Egg Fleet had incredibly memorable level design. Those might translate fairly well into classic Sonic's gameplay.

As for Shadow, yeah, I don't think it'd work, solely because its levels tended to focus on one or a few distingushed gimmicks, which, barring some innovation on the developers' part, would probably be really boring to play through.

Shadow’s stages were all incredibly bland; the only reason they weren’t completely forgettable is just because of the gruesome memories pertaining their gameplay.
However, a single stage I would not mind returning from it is Sky Troops. This might in part be due to [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qZLTYb7mvA]it’s awesome music[/i], but in terms of design it too was one of the less wholly generic ones. It took Robotnik’s skyships from Egg Fleet and pitted them in a battle with floating ancient alien ruins. I can’t help but think that actually was a pretty cool concept, if yet not nearly as well executed as would be worthy of its potential.

(Egg Fleet vs Battle Kurukku Army stage plz)

[Esrever]

Just from the press and interviews, I think at least 50% of the stages will be post Sonic & Knuckles. I mean, they're even calling the Dreamcast and Modern games two separate "eras", with classic Sonic as a third. I think that's a pretty big (warning?) sign that there will be substantial representation from the 3D titles.

I don't think the differing gameplay mechanics would keep them from including a Heroes stage, since Generations looks to be crafting new levels that just borrow the aesthetics of the originals. Also, Heroes is one of the best-selling (if not the best) of the 3D titles, with some of the most "Sonic-esque" visuals. Heck, we got nine stages of it in All Star Racing!

I'd be really surprised if they included a Shadow stage, though.

[Radrappy]

I mean, they're even calling the Dreamcast and Modern games two separate "eras",

This really bugs me. Why the hell are they separate? What possible justification is there for making two eras out of what is obviously one terrible era.

we got nine stages of it in All Star Racing!

This made very little sense to me and reeked of direct intervention on Sega's part. Perhaps we're finally about to find out why.

I'd be really surprised if they included a Shadow stage, though.

My only real request is that no stages from Shadow or 06 show up in this game. I want to believe Sega is willing to forget those games ever happened.

[gr4yJ4Y]

The Dreamcast era is only going to cover Adventure 1 & 2 (Shuffle and Pocket Adventure if you're stretching it). Why is there an era for only 2 games?

Modern era covers Advance 1-3, Heroes, Shadow, Rush, 06, Secret Rings, Rush Adventure, Chronicles, Black Knight, Unleashed, Colors, and Sonic 4 (not that I expect to see representation from most of them).

[Blount]

The thought of having Sonic 4 levels in this game makes my head hurt.

I'm willing to bet the Dreamcast era is going to be named something else and will encompass more than just the Adventure games. The modern era probably doesn't start until the 2006 game, but it's hard to tell because that particular game is the only one of its kind and doesn't fit in anywhere!

My only real request is that no stages from Shadow or 06 show up in this game. I want to believe Sega is willing to forget those games ever happened.

I second this, but I'm not that worried about Shadow levels since it was technically a spin-off.

[Zeta]

Since Sonic Boost is characterized as being one of the Modern Sonic's core abilities, I suspect the Modern Era doesn't begin until Sonic Rush, where it was introduced.

[chriscaffee]

The modern era probably doesn't start until the 2006 game, but it's hard to tell because that particular game is the only one of its kind and doesn't fit in anywhere!

Sort of like every Sonic game after Sonic Adventure 2.

[Blount]

Not quite. Heroes is connected to Shadow through story, graphics and gameplay (except one has team gimmicks and the other one has weapons). The same happens with the Advance series (plus Battle), then the Rush games, then every console game since Unleashed, including half of Generations. The 2006 game, however, is a unique pile of feces!

[gr4yJ4Y]

Doesn't 06 play like a still-in-development Sonic Adventure 3? I haven't played it.

Since Sonic Boost is characterized as being one of the Modern Sonic's core abilities, I suspect the Modern Era doesn't begin until Sonic Rush, where it was introduced.

Then where would you place the games between Dreamcast and Sonic Rush?

Even though the character design has had a ton of little tweaks over the years, I'd say that "Modern Sonic" began when Sonic's eyes turned green and his limbs lengthened (1998).

[Crowbar]

Sonic 06 is also officially non-canon, remember.

[Farmer]

Sonic 06 is also officially non-canon, remember.

I can't honestly claim to have played it, but when did that happen?