Sonic Unleashed?

[Radrappy]

You are just jealous because I have a flock of yesmen.

And how you managed that, I'll never figure out.

[Baba O'Riley]

Black Jack is probably the coolest doctor ever.

Also, I think Sonic's headed more in the Akira Toriyama direction.

Well, no, he's already ass deep in it.

I say we go Gus Van Sant. Understated homoeroticism and inspired voice acting.

[Senbei]

Considering that Eggman's design is probably ripped from the pirate engineer in Laputa, it follows that a Miyazaki-inspired take on humans would be natural. I guess that wouldn't be x-treme enough for today's Sonic, though. Or cartoony enough. Whatever direction the franchise is taking now.

[Zeta]

I think the direction is that they base a new game on the first thing that pops up in the Sonic the Hedgehog category on Deviantart.

[Shadow Hog]

Also, I think Sonic's headed more in the Akira Toriyama direction.

Well, no, he's already ass deep in it.

I guess all we need is some kind of Magus, then?

[Wombatwarlord777]

Zeta wrote:
I think the direction is that they base a new game on the first thing that pops up in the Sonic the Hedgehog category on Deviantart.

I most sincerely hope that you're wrong. :(

[Zeta]

Hey, it's the cover art of Unleashed 2!

[P.P.A.]

Also, I think Sonic's headed more in the Akira Toriyama direction.

Well, no, he's already ass deep in it.

Sonic the Hedgehog and Arale Norimaki vs. Dr. Mashirito and Dr. Robotnik? With Senbei and Tails staying behind building gadgets and Omochao/Chip/whoever else is there following you around babbling shit while Gatchan eats all those Eggman robots? This is a terribly awesome idea.
...even though SEGA would probably mess it up. By making King Nikochan a playable character or something like that. Or Suppaman. Oh you know they would.

[P.P.A.]

And in between the stages, Obotchaman and Cream tell you about the importance of decency and friendship in unskippable 10-minute cutscenes.

(The other Gatchan and Turbo play together with Cheese in the meantime or something like that.)

[Kogen]

I remember when Sonic used to be about rolling down hills.

[Dasher]

And saving animals trapped inside awesome robots.

[Kogen]

I only said that because PPA was rambling about something. Not really sure what.

[Ngangbius]

Also, I think Sonic's headed more in the Akira Toriyama direction.

I would agree with this if there were more generic anthropamorphic animals running around and anthropamorphic feces.

[Crowbar]

I actually kind of agree with Kogen here, even if he's clearly just being a dick for the sake of it. Pixar may make good films (up to The Inredibles anyway; Cars, Ratatouille, and Wall-E all disappointed me) but their character designs really aren't that great, people, same as Disney's.

You agree with hating a studio while not having actually seen a single one of their films? That's the kind of attitude you're supporting here. Also, dont talk about character design as if you know something about it. The way you disregard all the work Pixar has put into their characters makes me sick.

No. That isn't what I said at all. That is not the "kind of attitude" I'm supporting, because I specifically criticised his attitude (or did you missed the "he's clearly being a dick" part?) I agreed somewhat with his opinion but not the way he formed it; that is, I share some of his skepticism about Pixar (or at least, what seemed to be that), but I think he's being unreasonable by thinking that without having seen their films.

Also, you criticise me for "[talking] about character design as if you know something about it", while assuming I DON'T. How presumptuous of you! Pixar DO put lots of work into their character designs, as do all the big studios. They generally come up with some interesting stuff, too. However...they never USE the stuff that's actually interesting. They always go with the most bland, generic, flavourless thing they thought of, something that you can't possibly hate because...there's nothing there to hate. No risk involved. All the things that actually COMMIT to a real design get relegated to "The Art of.." books.

I'm not the one disregarding the work Pixar put into their characters...Pixar is.

I mean, I LIKED the Incredibles, but the designs are merely "functional". They're better than what was in Toy Story, but that's it. They're bland. Not to mention they've used pretty much the same human designs in Ratatouille and Wall-E, and will be doing in Up (which is part of where the comparison with Disney, who used the same character designs over and over again for decades, came from).

Ratatouille, and Wall-E all disappointed me

You're not human.

Well I'm sorry I actually have an opinion. For your information, I liked the first 30-40 minutes of Wall-E, but as soon as the humans came on it turned to shit. You'd have to be categorically stupid or in abject denial to not think the humans in that film were terrible. Hell, the cloyingly cutesy robots became grating with time, too. I was disappointed because, from the trailers, I thought it was going to be a real departure for Pixar; no more of those crappy humans with identical Cal Arts eyes! And it was, for the first third of the film. Then it was all crushed.

As for Ratatouille, it was just the most bland film I've seen in a long time, possibly ever. Anton Ego was the only character who had anything going for him at all. Other than him the whole film was like eating overcooked tofu. Or unsalted popcorn. I didn't feel anything for any of the characters, didn't believe any of their motivations, the setup felt weak...it just did nothing for me.

[Wombatwarlord777]

Crowbar wrote
Pixar DO put lots of work into their character designs, as do all the big studios. They generally come up with some interesting stuff, too. However...they never USE the stuff that's actually interesting. They always go with the most bland, generic, flavourless thing they thought of, something that you can't possibly hate because...there's nothing there to hate. No risk involved.

I think that's been a problem with Sonic Team, as far as character designs go. The humans in Unleashed were crafted much better than the ones in SA2, Shadow, and Sonic 06', but they still don't seem to hit me as exciting. It's been implied when everyone compared the art direction in this game to a Pixar film, but everyone in the game is family friendly. And that pretty much renders them forgetable.

And the same goes for newer main cast. Shadow was memorable in SA2 because of his sudden change of heart at the end, not because he fit the predictable "evil twin" role. But nowadays, he's only that, plus a lot of unwarrented angst that makes him all the more tedious. Omega is simply boring in design, compared with Gamma and indeed many of Eggman's older badniks. Silver kinda has an interesting appearence, but his personality is too bland and self-serving. I personally like Big and Blaze, because they are so different both in design and personality (Big's easy-going demeanor stands in stark constrast to the rest of the busy cast, and Blaze is the only female character with any depth at all).

But what really concerns me is that Sonic Team has the exact opposite problem with gameplay. In their efforts to prevent the Sonic games from becoming stale, they invent new modes of play which radically depart from the standard platforming action we all love Sonic for. You know: Shadow's gunplay, Silver's telekinetic powers, the Werehog's "slash-em-and-bash-em" beatdowns, and more. And while there's nothing wrong in innovation for its own sake, Sonic Team's efforts are misguided. Instead of wasting time, effort and money creating these superficial distractions, they ought to make Sonic's game as engaging and fun as possible. But I'm afraid I've stated the obvious.

Alright, end of tl;dr rant.

[Kogen]

One of the older men in Empire City is extremely attracted to Sonic. He comments about Sonic's hairy werehog arms and how much he lusts for it. Family friendly?

And I will just restate the people do not fit into it. In Chronciles they used a Scooby-Doo style for the people, yet it was still stupid that only Sonic and 'friends', as they like to call it, are animal-things. I am not really sure why they do it. Does Sonic Team think only 5 year olds have any interest in the games, therefore they need parent figures in the games? Or do they think people only like realistic stuff? The whole point of Sonic is to not be realistic or kiddy; that is supposed to be the appeal.

Also I am not sure what is with some of you and Pixar. They are ugly, 3D cartoons for kids. They may be good for what their purpose is, but you cannot expect people to really give a shite about them.

[Ritz]

Well I'm sorry I actually have an opinion.

You better be.

Though, I completely agree with you on the subject of the humans, though I guess it's just too much to expect any form of entertainment to go without spoken character interaction for long in this day and age. And for good reason: Look were it got Sonic! Am I right?

But, man, Ratatouille? Come on.[/quote]

[hedgepig]

Humans appearing in Sonic Adventure was the biggest change from the 16-bit games for me. In the past Sonic seemed to live outside of the human world with the cities far in the distance. I don't thnk they're really necessary and furries outside of the immediate cast are not desirable either.

[Kogen]

furries outside of the immediate cast

[gr4yJ4Y]

Humans appearing in Sonic Adventure was the biggest change from the 16-bit games for me. In the past Sonic seemed to live outside of the human world with the cities far in the distance. I don't thnk they're really necessary and furries outside of the immediate cast are not desirable either.

There were cities in Sonic 1...

[Zeta]

That's pretty much why human characters are better in the background than furries. Because putting more furries in is going to attract more furry fans who are going to see some random animal of some species they want to fuck and write to Sega to give them a bigger role and BAM - it's the Archie universe in video game form.

[Wombatwarlord777]

Kogen wrote:
Does Sonic Team think only 5 year olds have any interest in the games

Well, that's the supreme irony of this board. Sonic is a videogame series that is intended for children*. Maybe Sonic isn't intended for people as young as five, but the series doesn't have the maturity that, oh say, the Metal Gear Solid and Halo series have. And that's not a bad thing. It's just the way it is. It would be a shame if Sonic lost his mostly-carefree attitude.

As far as the "furries-VS-humans" debate, I largely agree with Zeta. Because Sonic and the rest of the main cast the only anthromorphic animals in a sea of humanity, it makes them and their abilities seem much more distinct. I doubt the same could be said if Sonic ran about a world crowded with other blue hedgehogs.

*Shadow nonwithstanding...

[Kogen]

I still think both ideas are retarded. There does not need to be cities full of people or furries. The only NPCs before were small animals that never did much. In Unleashed, the only things I actually wanted to talk to were the actual characters and Eggman's robots; the rest were entirely pointless.

And I thought Sonic was meant to make Mario look gay and to instead attract teenagers from the arcades?

[FlashTHD]

I love how this went from confusing criticism of Pixar character designs, to being pedantic about which species made up the supporting cast, to finally heading full steam in the direction of the classic xenophobic "no new characters ever" conclusion.

Way to go Kogen! Making mountain ranges out of molehills, one argument at a time!

[Kogen]

Oh, sorry for discussing the game.

You even figured out some stuff I never said yet, good for you.