Sonic Generations

[Esrever]

Looks fun! And really pretty, although that's something they pulled off for the last couple of main Sonic console outings, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Unleashed and Colours were both nice looking games in their own right, but it is nice to see them working with something closer to the classic Sonic style again.

I'm not really worried about the 3D Sonic stages, since I assume they'll be like Sonic Colours. (Which I liked a lot.) But the classic Sonic stages... there's a lot of pressure on those, especially since they'll need to be the real "meat" of the gameplay when compared to modern Sonic's relatively straight-forward linear roller-coasters. It's hard not to be nervous about them when nearly every 2D Sonic since 1994 has gotten it wrong. But I'll cross my fingers! At least classic Sonic's midair momentum looks pretty good... well, as far as you can tell from the trailer anyway!

I think classic Sonic looks cute. Based on this, do you guys think they're going to play him as a mime character? That seems appropriate. His animations at the beginning there really remind me of Felix the cat... which they always say was one of the major inspirations for Sonic's original design, right?

No Wii version makes me suspicious about when Nintendo is planning to announce/launch their new console.

[Blount]

I'm just gonna say right off the bat that is my favorite-looking version of Green Hill Zone.

Classic Sonic looks to have everything right, assuming the physics aren't wonky. His animations are very charming and the level design - what little was shown - had no traces of what I despise from any recent 2D Sonic game (though I can only really blame Dimps for that). Modern Sonic plays exactly as expected - just your average Unleashed/Colors hoohah. Which isn't a bad thing in my eyes, as I quite liked Colors. I admit the 3D sections look as restrictive as always, but if sprinkled correctly, they could be a nice and short diversion. I just hope the modern Sonic isn't restricted to them. Incidentally, I found it funny how the trailer basically went "PLAY AS CLASSIC SONIC oh and also the other guy".

And hey, I'm happy they're filling it with classic nods, such as classic Sonic running in mid-air instead of doing a more proper animation. Funny how that used to bug me when I was little and now I'm happy to see it back.

Now I just wonder which levels we're gonna see. I'm all up for the classic and Dreamcast ones, but not terribly excited about the current era ones. All the interesting ones were in Colors and that came out just last year.

[Isuka]

Stock music ······ Check
Recycled Unleashed mechanics ······ Check
"Classic" Sonic that doesn't play as classic Sonic, just Sonic Rush sans the boost and homing attack mechanics ······ Check
Cheap looking Green Hill knock-off paint job ······ Check
Iizuka/soulless corporativism ······ Check

Am I missing anything? Man, Sega does deliver, doesn't it.

I think it looks much better than Sonic Fan Remix, honestly.

Optometrist. Everything will be better once you pay him/her a visit.

[Radrappy]

Stock music ······ Check
Recycled Unleashed mechanics ······ Check
"Classic" Sonic that doesn't play as classic Sonic, just Sonic Rush sans the boost and homing attack mechanics ······ Check
Cheap looking Green Hill knock-off paint job ······ Check
Iizuka/soulless corporativism ······ Check

Am I missing anything? Man, Sega does deliver, doesn't it.

I think it looks much better than Sonic Fan Remix, honestly.

Optometrist. Everything will be better once you pay him/her a visit.

wow a low resolution image. Really classy Isuka.



It looks much better than that Fan Remix junk thanks very much.
Classic sonic looks like he plays like sonic rush? Really now? Shove it up your ass dude. This ultra negative stuff is getting old.

[Senbei]

Classic Sonic looks much more appropriate for the 2D portions because he's so compact. I really like it!

[G.Silver]

It does have a more Rush-like look to the pace and structure to the level as we're seeing it here. It doesn't look to me like classic Sonic in motion. It does look cool, though.

What really gets me is that such a lovely looking 3D rendition of the GHZ means that if I were thinking of drawing it again, it would feel even more pointless than fan art usually does. What a shame!

[Esrever]

It looks unequivocally better than Fan Remix. For one thing, you can actually tell what the heck is going on! Nothing but respect for the remix dudes, who did a hell of a job for a fan effort, but this has the visual hierarchy of colour, structure and detail that Fan Remix (and Sonic 4, for that matter) desperately needed.

Classic Sonic does seem to have a more Rush-esque top speed. I suppose they might just be picking the most "exciting" looking segments to show, since it's a trailer... but hey, after like 9 other attempts, why would they suddenly get it right now?

[Crowbar]

Stuff

Fan remix is cluttered, plastic, overcontrasted, and overdone in general, and that's pretty much what I said when the demo was released. I found it difficult to identify things while playing it, and it's difficult to identify what's going on in that screenshot you posted to supposedly prove me wrong too.

You even ragged on the music used for the trailer. Really?

[Segaholic2]

This looks like the game Sonic 4 should have been. That's about as positive as I'll get until I've played it

The whole premise is retarded, though, and keeping "Modern" Sonic and his playstyle makes it seem like Sega is still not ready to go all in on this attempt.

[Yami CJMErl]

...sorry, I just kind of miss Dasher's involvment in these discussions.

All joking aside, I'm kind of excited for this! I know there's the (pretty high) chance it might reek like the signature game from Sonic's 15th Anniversary, but I genuinely liked Colors, and if it's at least as good as Colors, then it should be okay...right?

[Esrever]

And hey... at least it'll be nice to sidestep with some freakin' shoulder buttons again.

[Isuka]

Sweet Jesus, people... you really can't tell what's going on in that screenshot? I mean, seriously!?

Dudes, how do you manage to even get near stuff like Bayonetta and Vanquish, let alone play it?

In any case, I've played it and it's a lot easier on the eyes in motion than it is in static shots.

wow a low resolution image. Really classy Isuka.

Actually I took it off of the YouTube link Edgerock left in HD, but the video compression makes it look all blurry. It still looks far less atractive than SFR, which itself looks far less atractive than, say, Wario Land Shake.

You even ragged on the music used for the trailer. Really?

Really. I also ragged on the music used for the Virtua Tennis 2009 trailer being ganked from Shadow the Hedgehog over at another forum. And game trailers are supposed to feature stuff from the actual game, don't they?

[Crisis]

My first impression of classic Sonic was that he was still moving too fast. This is obviously a continuation of the Unleashed engine, but it looks better than Sonic Colours, which was already pretty decent.

Whoa, that would mean two consecutive decent entries to the main series! It feels like it's been a while.

[Team Mecha]

Iilzuka interview

[Dr. BUGMAN]

I think classic Sonic looks cute. Based on this, do you guys think they're going to play him as a mime character?

He talked in the trailer(it seems to have been taken down); he seems to share the same voice as Modern. Though, they may go the Mario route and have him say nothing beyond grunts and exclamations.

[Alexrd]

It looks unequivocally better than Fan Remix. For one thing, you can actually tell what the heck is going on! Nothing but respect for the remix dudes, who did a hell of a job for a fan effort, but this has the visual hierarchy of colour, structure and detail that Fan Remix (and Sonic 4, for that matter) desperately needed.

This.

[Ritz]

Shitload of gameplay footage here.

[Blount]

I love this board's feature to let me review my post when someone beats me to the punch. I was just about to post that video.

So the music is remixed from the old games. Classic Sonic's sounds closer to the original, modern Sonic's is more upbeat. It's a good idea.

Tails, Knuckles and Shadow are confirmed to be part of the story.

[Radrappy]

That gameplay was great. Modern sonic actually looks great to play and the remix was top stuff.

Oh and from that video, apart from his top speed, the level design shared nothing in common with sonic rush. It was mostly platforming.

[Isuka]

I'll try and translate that interview for you, guys.

Also:

Classic sonic looks like he plays like sonic rush? Really now? Shove it up your ass dude. This ultra negative stuff is getting old.

Wow man, calm down, it's not like I'm vivisecting your first-born or anything. I'm just speaking my mind here. If it makes you feel any better, you could say it's actually a lot closer to Sonic 2, with apparently even simpler, crappier stage design.

[Crowbar]

I did see Classic Sonic going into a spindash while running at full-speed, which I'm not crazy about. Level design seemed decent, though.

And while I know they already referenced the Sonic Adventure orca chase with Sonic 06, I will admit seeing it recreated with an outsize Chopper definitely amused me.

What I like most is the way they made use of different areas within the zone. The contrast between the subterranean caves and the open areas, and the contrast between the classic Sonic and the modern Sonic versions of each, was very pleasing.

[G.Silver]

I have to say it looks a lot better when seen in long-play, the chopped up bits don't give the best impression of it.

But there's some distressing stuff in there too, like at the start of the 2D Green Hill run, you can see him come to a stop without skidding, and go straight into a spin dash. When he goes off the big ramp (made enormous in this version) towards the end, after going down the chute, you see a real "fake" boost tacked on to launch him into the air. Not very impressive. :( It still looks pretty fun, but that's disappointing to see.

When Izuka says in the interview that he is sad that they didn't continue making Sonic games rapidly after S&K, it makes me wonder how much easier the evolution of Sonic into the present state would have been to take if there hadn't been such a long break to easily differentiate the particular design eras.

[Alexrd]

Shitload of gameplay footage here.

Sonic friends will have an important role in the game?!

[Crazy Penguin]

This looks gorgeous. The Classic Sonic segments look exactly what Sonic 4 should have been. Hopefully Sonic will control like his old self this time, from what's been shown it certainly looks like he handles much better than in Sonic 4 at the very least. I'm glad that they've had the sense to go back to the Sonic 2 move set (though I wouldn't say no to the Sonic 3 shield power-ups).

I'm a little disappointed (though unsurprised) that Modern Sonic's gameplay is more Sonic Unleashed/Colours and less Sonic Adventure 1/2. I loved Sonic Colours, but much of that came from how fun and well implemented the Wisp power-up system was, and how vast and explorable that made the levels. The 3D segments were the weakest part of the game, far too on rails and race track-ish than is ideal for a platformer. Interestingly, Modern Sonic still seems to have 2D playing areas as well.

Also pleased to see the inclusion of Classic Eggman and the return of the red ring system from Sonic Colours.

(Odd about Shadow being in the story. Wonder if they'll give him a "Classic" counterpart as a joke.)

[Isuka]

On this year 2011, Sonic turns 20 years old. Sonic Generations' concept was, essentially, to compact 20 years of Sonic history into a single game. To achieve that, what we did was coupling the traditional Sonic, with his traditional 2D platforms and its distinctive gameplay, with the modern Sonic and all of his own features.

If you ask me, there are fans that enjoy the classic Sonic in 2D, the action and platforming game with horizontal scrolling, and others that prefer the Sonic in 3D, like the recent ones. In 2010, we released Sonic 4 Episode 1, which was directed towards the classic Sonic's biggest fans; but we also released Sonic Colours, which was directed towards the fans that have a good time with the 3D Sonic. What we have done with Sonic Generations is to create a game that's directed towards both groups of fans. We hope that everyone has a good time with this unique game and celebrate Sonic's 20th anniversary together.

The design of Sonic Generations is a real summary of 20 years of Sonic. Therefore, it doesn't tend a little bit more towards the character's classic elements, neither does it latch on to Sonic's novelties that we may have seen in recent years, but it tries to cover everything that's been seen in Sonic's 20 years of history. Today we had a demonstration of Green Hill Zone, which is the first stage seen in the franchise; but throughout the year we will announce other stages from the game, and you'll see that these come from everywhere. It's not just about new things and old things, it's about, as I say, trying to encompass it all.

Today we've announced that we'd have these two playable characters in Sonic Generations, but there'll also appear many other characters from the Sonic universe. I'm talking about Sonic's friends: Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, et cetera, who will be a part of the story or an important element of the game. We still have many surprises in store.

The main focus is that of creating an action game, which may be fun to play, and that has to be achieved the classic way with the classic Sonic, and also with the modern Sonic. Therefore, there won't be cooperative nor competitive [modes], but it'll be a pure action and platforming game for one player.

Hope the Japanese-to-Spanish translator did a good job too.