All-new 2D Sonic rolling out in 2010

[Protodude]

I assume this is a retail 59.99 game.

Really? The only 2D Sonic games after S&K have been for handhelds, so I'd assume they're jumping on the XBLA/PSN bandwagon of classic game remakes and reboots, which hopefully means they could actually spend more time polishing the gameplay instead of the graphics or whatever (har har yeah right).

But then again, this is Sega we're talking about so a $60 retail release might not be far off.

[MiraiTails]

Found this link on Sega Nerds:

http://www.needlemouse.com/

Dear Sega:

Please release for XBLA/PSN/Wiiware.
Please have fully playable Tails a la S2 and S3&K.
Please release a Saturn controller for all 3 systems to go with the game.

I swear to God, if you do all 3 I will buy 10 copies and give away 9.

Bonus: If you include a level editor I will buy 20 copies.

Sincerely,
MT

[K2J]

I wouldn't mind having there be different character "classes", with Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles representing the default characters for those classes. You could satisfy the newer generation by having their characters as DLC, but in the end they'd just be sprite-swaps of the other characters.

Honestly, given that I never owned the original Sonic games when they came out, I'm going into this kind of open-ended. I'd certainly like momentum-based gameplay (not SR/SRA's dash, or at least not as easily used) and alternate paths, that's for sure. Aside from that, I really have no idea. But I'm keeping my expectations fairly low.

[Frieza2000]

They're finally doing it, huh? They sure gave it their best, though. They stood by their ideals and refused to give in to the temptation to give the fans what they were barking for by putting out a quick and easy retro cash-in for quite a few years, choosing instead to pursue a well-meaning-but-misguided desire to innovate with every title. And even now, rather than pulling a Megaman 9, they're going all out on the graphics at least. Gotta admire that kind of integrity. At least I assume it's integrity. With all the criticism we render against them we should try to complement them when reasonably possible.

-One character would seem like a ripoff since, with graphics like that, this isn't looking like a cheap download game. I want Tails and Knuckles (ME or not; continuity's toast anyway) and would be willing to tolerate Amy, Blaze, and Shadow. Introduction of new playable characters is instant disqualification.
-Fang and Metal Sonic mini-bosses would be a nice fan-service.
-Level design that caters to both exploitative and speed centric gameplay. Rewarding secret areas would be icing.
-I expect some new powerups, or at least the old shields.
-Must have memorable music and gorgeous graphics.
-Do not grade me. Save the ranking for Xbox Live.
-I'm down with any form of Special Stage. Something like those bonus games from 3&k would be cool too.
-Super forms outside of the final boss.
-Eggman is the final boss.
-For the love of Maria, NO DIALOGUE!

[Wooduck51]

Sadly, I am so jaded that I feel almost nothing, any hope I might have worked up for this game died at the same moment it tried to live. I could hope for something cool, like Shadow or Metal sonic being a megaman 9 Proto-man equivalent, (assuming that the game itself is actually good) for special stages and the superforms of old, etc. But really,I have hoped for something amazing, some miracle, since ShTH. Sonic 06 was the Shrike disguised as Moneta, SaTSR looked nice but the controls were darkness incarnate and I never bothered playing the black knight or unleashed.


I want Shadow to be introduced by him riding in on the bow of a gigantic G.U.N. battleship, it would be awesome. I wait trepidatiously for this game to come out; hope springs eternal; IT MIGHT BE GOOD!

[Kogen]

What is wrong with a retail 2D game? There are already others out.

Also anyone born after the 80s is not allowed to suggest anything.

[MiraiTails]

Since "Speed is back" or what ever the hell it said, I wouldn't be too optimistic for exploration.

[Wombatwarlord777]

Shame, isn't it?

You know, since it's in 2D and all, I wonder what will become of the Hedgehog Engine. I know its possible to use in 2.5D, but all its cool bells and whistles were fully evident in three dimensions. And I might be wrong, but didn't somebody here say it could be further refined than it was in Unleashed?

Is it possible that Dimps could be the primary develo- *shot repetitively in head*

[Protodude]

What is wrong with a retail 2D game? There are already others out.

Also anyone born after the 80s is not allowed to suggest anything.

I didn't say there was anything inherently wrong with a 2D retail game, just that I think something like this they'd release online.

Tokyo Game Show's coming up soon right? Maybe we'll get some info then, though Japan really doesn't have a thing for Sonic so......

[Ngangbius]

^Japan doesn't have a thing for Halo either(although it's more popular than Sonic atm) and that didn't stop MS from launching brand new trailers of the franchise there.

The only way they could get away with Genesis-era greatness would be to outsource, which would be fine by me, but I get the impression that SEGA has too much pride.

They have been outsourcing Sonic games since the mid-90's and still continue to do it today. Out of the post-SA1 games that was close to the Genesis-era of games were Sonic Pocket Adventure and Sonic Advance 1--both developed by Dimps. Most likely, it wasn't until some schmucks at Sonic Team/Sega meddled with the creation of Sonic Advance 2, suggesting to Dimps to "make Sonic go faster" that the last bit of classic momentum-based gameplay was replaced with the hyper speed we seen with that entry and the Rush series.

Who else thinks the story will involve modern-day Sonic traveling back in time and *gasp* meeting his younger 16-bit self? And who thinks they'll team up to stop the combined forces of Eggman, old-school Eggman, Sonic '06 Eggman, Eggman Nega, Captain Whisker, and the AoStH and SatAM Robotniks?

That reminds me of this:

[Cuckooguy]

Since "Speed is back" or what ever the hell it said, I wouldn't be too optimistic for exploration.

I think people are overanalyzing the whole "Speed is back" phrase. I mean, was speed ever gone? I think they're just using that buzzword to indicate it's a Sonic game without implicitly saying that it's a Sonic game. Like they're substituting the word speed for Sonic. "Sonic is back", or something like that.

[K2J]

I think it's mostly to dispel the murmurs of alternate not-Sonic play styles. Not that anyone believes them, of course.

[Isuka]

Am I the only one who's getting Donkey Kong Country/ LittleBIGPlanet-esque vibes from that teaser "site"?

Since nothing specific is going to be announced about this game for a while, now is a good time to discuss what we would like to see from this game. What criteria do you have for this game in order for it to not suck? What would constitute as a good game for you if this game were to not disappoint?

Classic 2D Sonic game wishlist? OK, I'll play ball. Let's pretend everything is fine in our happy, idealized make believe SEGA Enterprises Ltd. and Naka, Ohshima and Yasuhara are still with us. It's gonna be a lot of fun!

I'm kinda worn out of S3&K. Arguably it may still be the very top of the original 2D Sonic formula, but as far as 2D action games in general and particularly 2D platformers, it has aged. Like, notoriously so. If they were to design larger stages, a good maximum speed setting would be Advance 2's, which, although regularly working against the player on a 240×160 2.9" display, it shouldn't be so on a 1280×720 one. Not that the speed element should override elaborate platforming, just make it more awesome.

This takes me to a second point: difficulty. If this game is to target old-school gamers, they should include a healthy dose of challenge. I'd think about more enemies and a way to disable the possibility of picking up lost rings. Additional stages exclusively built around this tinkered set of mechanics would be nice, too.

Third point: graphical presentation. No polys, I want true 2D sprite art. Don't care if they have to contract VanillaWare or those Nazca guys, I don't want any more 2.5D shit.

I don't have any qualms with additional characters, as long as they work and elaborate on Sonic's main ruleset instead of drifting away from it. Take Advance 2's additional moves or something like that and make them into something useful. Oh, and absolutely nothing after Knux, much less so any undesired, uncalled for new crap.

Everything else would be pretty much copypasting Hog's post. Yeah.

So, back to our time and reality, it seems like this could be a rather quick cash-in. Besides, what does a new 2D Sonic game have in common with Dreamcast's 10th American anniversary, anyways?

[Shadow Hog]

The site's likely fake, so whatever.

[Wombatwarlord777]

Good riddence. I didn't like that style anyway, and it doesn't seem technically amazing or anything.

[Shadow Hog]

Which now begs the question - what IS the art style going to be like? I mean, there sure have been some pretty stunning examples of 2D art lately, so the precedent's certainly been set... here's hoping it's something about as good?

[cjmcray]

I'm hopeful, but skeptical. I don't want to fall into the Sonic Cycle again.

And that teaser site.. ugh.

[Wombatwarlord777]

Well, what if we throw some ideas against the wall and see what sticks?

Although the graphics of Sonic's Mega Drive games were beautiful for their time and are still intricately detailed, they strike me today as very rigid in contrast to Sonic's fluidity. A looser artistic style is definitely in order. What I have in mind is something more along the lines of Viewtiful Joe, or better yet Okami. Whether or not to make these graphics employ cel-shading is completely arbituary, although it would be an interesting angle that hasn't been explored outside of Shuffle. And although I personally perfer the more realistic settings in Sonic games, I think that angle has been entirely overdone. It's time to try something new.

Or how about this... Let's say that this hypothetical Sonic game is a continuation of the Storybook series, in which Sonic visits multiple stories in the same game. For the sake of convinence, let's say he visits the worlds of Alice in Wonderland and The Arabian Nights. While Sonic is in Wonderland, his appearance (as well as that of Wonderland and its inhabitants) mimics the illustrative style of the original book, something like this...



...Except in 2D, of course. Heavy use of cross-hatching, realistic-looking sentient animals (except maybe for Sonic!), ect. ect. define the visual style of the Wonderland levels. When Sonic warps to the Arabian Nights world, his appearance and his new surroundings suddenly change to match what might be considered a distinct visual style for that work...



For each additional story Sonic travels to, the game gains a unique visual style for that story. Truth be told, I got this idea from a fan-proposed Tomb Raider game (mentioned in Crowbar's dissertation, in fact). But if applied to Sonic, the results could be gorgous.

[CM August]

If you believe the supposed insider who went under the name Wentos, "The next Sonic will be just Sonic with optional characters in the sense that they were optional back in Sonic 2 and 3; the levels will be in the style of Unleashed daytime levels, though there will be an increased focus on careful platforming to replace what the Werehog strived for."

Just a matter of waiting 'till it's all disproven I guess, but still!

[Kogen]

If you believe the supposed insider who went under the name Wentos, "The next Sonic will be just Sonic with optional characters in the sense that they were optional back in Sonic 2 and 3; the levels will be in the style of Unleashed daytime levels, though there will be an increased focus on careful platforming to replace what the Werehog strived for."

Just a matter of waiting 'till it's all disproven I guess, but still!

I bet the game will have rings too, but it is up to you to believe this or not.

Is it also optional to collect these rings, as it was in Sonic 2 and 3. Aditionally, it is optional to even play the game. Everything is optional, you have the option to press start at the title screen. This is the sort of anti-Werehog freedom we are giving you.

[Opa-Opa]

I feel like the sad wife that just let her drunk violent and abusive husband into the house once again after he promised to change his ways and that everything will be like it was in the beginning.

[Kogen]

I feel like the sad wife that just let her drunk violent and abusive husband into the house once again after he promised to change his ways and that everything will be like it was in the beginning.

You shut your mouth.

I think our best option is to wait for the developer to be announced. I would hope it is a different set of people doing it, even if still under 'Sonic Team'. At least we know the Unleashed director quit.

[Dr. Watson]

Now that one im looking forward to. Why isn't there a thread on this forum about it? It sure seems like the kind of thing someone around here would start a thread about. Well anyway, i cant wait to see the this crossover between the Turtles show i like and the Turtles show that's actually good.

[Brazillian Cara]

You know, I'm pretty sure that's a fake. Just look at the credits.

So, new 2-D Sonic. Let's see if they manage to botch this up (or not).

[Crowbar]

You know, I'm pretty sure that's a fake. Just look at the credits.

Even if the poster is the movie isn't.