Blaze the fucking cat

[Zeta]

I guess when I take the time to sit down and analyse it, Blaze has a pretty decent design, and isn't completely devoid of inspiration. But I still really can't bring myself to care... there's just no reason for her to exist. I've always been open to new characters in the past (moreso than a lot of people), but I really think we've finally hit overhaul here, and the fact that she's getting a less receptive welcome than Cream, a much less interesting character visually, did only supports that.

The weird thing is that the Mario series has hundreds upon hundreds of characters and manages to handle them all well. True, out of them only about 10 are important and reappear in more than one game, but still. That could be the problem here. Sonic Team has trouble letting go of old characters, even if they're superfluous. While Nintendo has no such qualms about forgetting duds like Toad and regulating them to NPCs. Not to mention that the Mario world is less oriented on action and has the ability to diversify it's setting more with RPGs and the like . . .

[Cuckooguy]

WHAT?! MALLOW'S NOT A FROG?!!?

[Zeta]

My point exactly. If the creative heads were switched, all of the Mario RPG and Paper Mario characters would have to continue appearing in every game because they couldn't BEAR to lose a single cast member. >_>

[Frieza2000]

The weird thing is that the Mario series has hundreds upon hundreds of characters and manages to handle them all well.

That's because the Mario series has no storyline. It has no continuity - even the Mushroom Kingdom setting isn't always used. Nobody cares about Waluigi or the Seven Star Spirits or Beanville or anything else that happens because it'll probably be gone and forgotten by the next game. Sonic, however, somehow managed to establish a continuity that people care about. It's got its inconsistencies, but it's there. And it looked like Sonic Team was starting to take that seriously with SA1&2, but now they go and drive it into the ground with bad sci-fi.

[Zeta]

Sonic, however, somehow managed to establish a continuity that people care about.

I'm curious as to how it managed to do that. Until SA1&2, it really didn't do more of a jobat it than Mario did . . .

[Frieza2000]

I think the caring really started with SA1. It did for me anyway. Before that, I was happy as long as they didn't desecrate the Chaos Emeralds.

[CM August]

Sonic had a distinct and firmly established "flavour" more than it had elaborately detailed continuity, which is not a bad thing. The appearance of the world, the design of the characters, the gameplay, the music - it felt like there were strong guidelines which ensured each game felt like Sonic. But starting from SA and continuing with Shadow The Hedgehog that flavour has almost completely vanished. In any case, it's been replaced by something completely different and more mainstream.

I really, REALLY miss the old Sonic.

[Cuckooguy]

My point exactly.

Your point was Mallow's not a frog?

In any case, I believe the continuity in the Sonic series started with the Death Egg. The first game had the primal Sonic vs. Eggman thing, and then poof, we have the three parter (or two parter, if you count Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles as one game), featuring the Death Egg. I always thought that at the end of Sonic 2 when you get the Super Sonic ending and Sonic still happens to be on the plane, then <i>right</i> after that, they flew right to Angel Island, 'cuz they saw the landing place of the Death Egg. It flows quite well, if you've played Sonic 1 to Sonic and Knuckles in order in one day.

[Double-S-]

Maybe with these dimensions they're setting up for a Crisis on Infinite Mobiuses. That's right, Mobiuses. Let's all sit back and wait for Final Cosmo's lecture now.

[big_smile]

The level art in Rush is nice, but there isn’t anything very ‘Sonic’ about it. Much like the Advance games, the art could easily belong to any generic platformer. The Mega Drive games had a distinctive style that had a unique sense of imagination that is virtually absent in Dimps’ attempts.

--

Indeed. Fourth time's the charm, is it? To say nothing of every mediocre series they have under their belt, because they've never made a good game. Dimps amount to grunt labor and not much else.

It’s actually their fifth attempt as Dimps were supposedly responsible for Sonic Pocket Adventure.

Oddly enough, despite being their first Sonic title, Pocket Adventure was fairly excellent. Although it missed out some of the best aspects of the Mega Drive games, it perfectly adapted Sonic 2 for a handheld environment and even improved it slightly by increasing the scope for exploration through the puzzle system and making better use of Sonic’s wall drilling abilities.

Although its not clear if Sonic Team will still be employing Dimps following Sega’s restructuring. The credits of Sonic Mega Collection Plus, for example, seemed to suggest that VR-1 House weren’t re-employed to produce the emulation software for the game.

^_^

[Baba O'Reily]

That's why Scrappy Doo sucks.

You've narrowed it down to one reason?

[Ngangbius]

It speaks for itself.

[Omni Hunter]

All in all I think the level art is Rush's stong point. I don't actually care about new characters but those fucking Eggman Robots have shown that Dimps imagination has faded away.
I suppose I'll wait until the storyline is made clearer, I am starting to get interested in the part Blaze actually plays.

[Crazy Penguin]

The plot sounds decent enough. Another set of emeralds is lame, but if they really are weird parrallel dimensions versions of the Chaos Emeralds than that works. It's an interesting set up for the game, it'd be neat if the parrallel dimensions worked in a Sonic CD/Zelda: A Link to the Past kind of fashion.

Recent games have been bogged down with too many superfluous characters, that's true enough. However this game seems be getting away from that. Yes, it's another new character, but she's the ONLY playable character other than Sonic from the looks of things, and from the sounds of things the character you play as may actually significantly affect the gameplay experience (like Sonic 3 & Knuckles and unlike the Advance series). Furthermore with a new character the developers have more freedom with what gameplay abilities they can offer and NOT offer. Maybe they have all kinds of wild ideas that would suit Blaze but not any of the existing characters, or maybe they think that flying and gliding would diminish the gameplay and realised how awkward it would be to play as Tails, Knuckles, Rouge or Cream and not be able to use their trademark flying/gliding abilities.

Blaze doesn't bother me at all.

What does put me off is the ass ugly poly characters, the generic looking levels, the redundancy of the double screens and the fact that we haven't had a truely good Sonic game since Sonic Adventure.

My expectations are low.

[Omni Hunter]

I wonder if Blaze is closely linked to the Sol Emeralds.
Sol=Sun
Blaze=Sun
...to me anyway.

[Baba O'Reily]

Eh, I'm still excited.

[Locit]

I kind of enjoyed the little details provided by S3&K by way of that background mosaic in hidden palace and... well, that was really about it, but it was a nice touch.

[typhoon]

I like Blaze. Her design is not blatantly bad Vector's or Shadow's, nor as insultingly silly as Cream's or, okay, Shadow's again. Amy's design in Sonic CD sucked too. It could be worse. They could've given her a gun.

What's with all the bitching about her name? If it were any less dumb, it wouldn't fit in. The primary characters in this series are named Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Eggman, for Christ's sake. Nack the Weasel? Who's next, Choke the Chicken? And Shadow, again, provides our lower boundary.

I don't see the problem with introducing new characters either; the portable games are always treated as sidestories anyway. Secondary characters are only annoying when you have too fucking many of them (e.g., Chaotix, Heroes) or when they just suck. I don't see anything wrong with one new, well designed one; it gives the game some freshness and variety. I'm sick of Tails anyway.

The story does sound dumb, though.

As far as gameplay goes, I don't see how this takes advantage of the DS at all. And of course, it comes off a string of disappointing 2D Sonics. The game mechanics are so simple, it's kind of amazing that we haven't had a decent one since Sonic & Knuckles (or Triple Trouble; whichever came last). Any variations on the fundamental mechanics either add greatly to the game (e.g., the spin dash, the insta-shield/elemental shields, that thing in Triple Trouble where you hit a button in midair and flipped over) or are easily ignored (e.g., the super peel-out/strike dash/what-the-fuck-ever that they put into a baffling number of games because apparently some asshole thought it was useful, a bunch of shit in the GBA games).

So, since the basics are so hard to fuck up, I think it comes down to level design mainly. It's a trick making a mostly linear stage with enough variety to keep it interesting. It's also nice if they don't totally rape and plunder the original 16-bitters for settings. I mean, the original series itself partook in a fair bit of that (Emerald Hill the most obvious example), but each game also had a bunch of new ideas. At one point, Ice Cap and Sandopolis were neat new locations. Now, if I see one more Ice Cap or Sandopolis clone zone, I'll kill a man. There's an entire universe out there for inspiration. I mean, c'mon.

Note that, in case some eager developer is reading this, I don't mean to imply I want another space level. Maybe I should say there's an entire world out there.

Memorable music doesn't hurt either.

The water level looks good. The jungle level reminds me sadly of Sonic Blast (same with Sonic's sprite). Although I guess a jungle is a slightly less worn idea than another Green Hill Zone.

It'll still probably be crap, but not because of Blaze.

[Cypher]

Sol Emeralds make me think Solar Sonic

[Baba O'Reily]

Sol Emeralds make me think Solar Sonic

If no one ever mentions it again, it's like it never happened.

[Delphine]

Solar Sonic?

[tornadot]

Let's not elaborate further unless you want to know of Archie's biggest blunders...though I should find a link...

[Omni Hunter]

Cyph, I have to beat you up for that action!
The problem in Rush lies in the retarded Eggman Robots!

[CE]

Solar Sonic or Sizzling Swatbots...
Which is Archie's biggest blunder?

VOTE NOW!

[CM August]

Neither. They've done far, far worse.