Retro|Spective 061R: Sonic the Hedgehog

[Neon Ignition]

Game 26 - Sonic the Hedgehog
2006 and people were waiting for the next generation incarnation of Sonic. Controlling Sonic and the somewhat bland Silver, players whipped through a new title that roughly followed the Adventure mould of design. Whipped through being a stretch, the game weighed by criticism. 12 years ago the game was delisted by Sega.







The worst Sonic ever made?

[Asura]

Game 26 - Sonic the Hedgehog
The worst Sonic ever made?

Hooo boy.

I first played this at Tokyo Game Show in '06, where I think it was being touted as a PS3 launch title (I believe it fell back to first wave), and honestly, I remember loving it. The queue was really long and just getting to play anything at TGS can be a real battle. I don't even remember what was in the demo; I just remember that it was good.

That was also the last time I played the PS3 version, only playing the 360 version later; as the earlier one, maybe the 360 version is an earlier/buggier build?

But anyway, to talk about the game itself...

Sonic '06 is an unfinished game. You can just tell, when playing it, that you're playing something which was half a game when someone walked into the office and said "okay all, wrap it up" and they spent a frantic, crunch-y month to turn it into two-thirds of an unfinished game they could actually put on a disc.

The most tell-tale sign of this is present in the game, just like it was so prominent in another title that generation which was the same - the Force Unleashed II. You're in a level, and you either do something which visibly skips part of the level, or you enter a cutscene which neither starts where you are, nor ends where you end up, suggesting additional level content which was to convey you through that milestone.

That, in both of these games' cases, can be stacked against the absolute monster cost of its production, just evident in what's there to see. The cutscene at the start of the game, though much-maligned for its "Sonic and the human princess" content, was clearly a huge expense, similar in scope and raw quality to something Squaresoft would've made only a year or two earlier. The production on things like the music, the UI, and some of the in-game assets is highly evident.

The game has these moments of greatness. They're rare, but they're present. I recall, though I might be mixing it up with the version in Generations so apologies... But I remember a bit of Crisis City where Sonic goes faster and faster through a series of boosts, then flies through the air past a building, and his speed rips out all the windows. These are cool set-pieces.

The story is just bizarre. Sonic dies? Then you meet some weird DeviantArt Base recoloured evil edgy Sonic OC called Mephiles, who can travel through time, or something? And Sonic kisses a human woman? It's like someone got really high and trawled through the Sonic fanfic archive on AO3 and only pulled out elements written 10-year-olds during the 00s anime boom.

All this is mired in a game which is just unfinished, and even then, it's debatable if it would've been any more than a 6/10 were it fully completed.

And truly? Sega made the right call here. VGChartz isn't the most reliable metric but that puts the sales of the game at 2.5 million, which probably means it's a fair bit more as there were digital sales too. It went into the "platinum" label for both platforms and I recall it sold for a reasonable approximation of the "new" price at Gamestation and CEX for years, which is usually a good approximation of success.

All in all, though, really quite miserable in places, and so disappointing. If Sonic has a nadir, it might be this.

[Neon Ignition]

I remember having to fight to get through this, not as in having waning interest, more as in literally fight through sections that felt like an unnecessary pain because they weren't done right.

It felt like a warped sense of what Sonic Adventure 3 should be so there was an air of charm to it from that angle but despite that it wasn't good... and yet... its reputation feels a little unfair as whilst it's not a good game I don't feel it was a lightning rod of badness moment either. There have often been bad Sonic's since and arguably worse ones too

[Asura]

There have often been bad Sonic's since and arguably worse ones too

You think? If not '06, which do you think is the worst?

People usually quote Black Knight, but there was something utterly absurd about that which elevated it for me. It crossed some kind of silliness event horizon.

[Neon Ignition]

Game 27 - Sonic and the Secret Rings
Whilst the big consoles reeled from Sonic 06, Sega also worked on a Wii only title aiming to make use of the systems motion controls. Secret Rings was the result and views were mixed on it due to difficulty spikes and the control scheme. Along with Sonic 06, the game was also delisted in 2010.








Another failure or underrated installment?

[Neon Ignition]

You think? If not '06, which do you think is the worst?

People usually quote Black Knight, but there was something utterly absurd about that which elevated it for me. It crossed some kind of silliness event horizon.

Honestly, a lot of it is how the games come together but I genuinely disliked Heroes, Lost World and Forces more than 06

[Asura]

Game 27 - Sonic and the Secret Rings
Another failure or underrated installment?

Failure. Not financially; again, I think it sold well.

But I think it's fair to say that the "storybook" subfranchise was a failure, because no-one has ever willingly crafted a "series" with two instalments.

In gameplay terms it suffers from the greatest sin of motion controls; putting in a motion for something which should've been a button-press. Best example is the jump, how you have to raise the controller and jerk it around to do the homing in-air attack. I lost track of the number of failures and deaths I had just because the Wiimote failed to pick up the input, and your arms felt like you'd spent an evening playing darts or lifting furniture afterward.

I actually think the concept had merit and Sega could revisit it; the idea that the Sonic stages were like in Nights; i.e. they looped around like a racetrack and you did them over and over to try and complete challenges or get high scores.

[Neon Ignition]

Game 28 - Sonic Unleashed
Robotnik shatters the world and Sonic races to fix it whilst dealing with night time transformations into the Werehog. Once again the game was initially aimed to be a sequel to Sonic Adventure 2 before the team started throwing new elements into the mix that took it in a different direction. The game was anticipated and sold well but the Werehog sections dampened reactions to it on release. As with several other installments, Sonic Unleashed was also delisted in 2010, just two years after its original release. However, some digital rereleases on later hardware have happened as its reputation recovers a little with time.







Did Sega Unleash a better direction?

[Asura]

I still haven't actually played this. Maybe I should?

[Neon Ignition]

Unleashed was... I suppose one of the better efforts but the main issue was forever getting in the way of simply delivering what people wanted. No-one really wants anything but a 3D Sonic game but they're compelled to put gimmicks and other playstyles in the mix that take you out of the spectacle of blitzing a level.

[Neon Ignition]

Game 29 - Sonic and the Black Knight
The Wii took a second attempt at a motion controlled Sonic entry. This time the Arthurian tale was the guiding light for the story and setting with the game receiving praise for its content and visuals. The controls again proved an issue though and it joined the weighty list of titles that Sega delisted, this one being taken away just one year after its release.









The Black Knight or a Black Mark on the series?

[Asura]

It's terrible but I can't help but love who absurd the Sonic characters all look in anime-knight armour.

[Neon Ignition]

I always wanted to spend time with it, for a Wii game it looked great, but for some reason it largely slipped me by

[Neon Ignition]

Game 30 - Sonic Colors
Pretty much the only 2008-2010 era Sonic game to avoid the delisting wave by Sega was the well received Wii only entry that saw them abandon the Storybook approach and attempt a more traditional 3D adventure. Colors gave powers via Wisps and finally Sonic was the only playable character again. The games difficulty and multiplayer drew some criticism but beyond these typical complaints it was one of the best received 3D entries in the series scoring a remaster last year.







Color you impressed?

[Neon Ignition]

Colors is as close to a decent 3D Sonic the series has accomplished for me outside of the Adventure games. It has its issues but it's head and shoulders above most entries