Retro|Spective 061R: Sonic the Hedgehog

[Hirst]

Sonic Mania is aesthetically really good, but I think too many of the levels lean heavily on "sit back and watch Sonic whizz about bouncing off springs and going down pipes while you don't even need to press a button". I also think a few of the boss battles weren't great. And some levels were over-long.

But... I think it's one of those things where it's more about preference. Some people really like Sonic 3 era level design and I think it's closest to that, I'm not as keen but it was a really good effort and if they pulled out a sequel I'd absolutely give it a go. It was a good game. Maybe a bit overhyped, but understandable as people had been asking for years for it to go back to this style and it was nice for them to get what they wanted.

[Cassius_Smoke]

As someone who's played a load of Sonic fan made games on emulators, Mania feels very much like one, but not one of the best ones.

[Neon Ignition]

We're definitely going to be hitting those titles but the 2D traditional core entries have gone first, next up will be the shift to 3D before delving into the spin-offs

[Asura]

Wait why did we skip Adventure etc.? Shennanigans!

I get that you might go Sonic 1 > 2 > 3 > 4 > Mania, but not if you include the likes of Rush/Chaotix.

[Neon Ignition]

For me Mania was... fine. It felt like it sat halfway between the MD entries and Sonic CD meaning I can see why it's liked but it never really hooked me. It's very well made and polished but I'm less likely to play it than the OG trilogy.

[Dogg Thang]

I love Mania. It leans a little too heavily on the classic levels to me but, overall, I think it’s a fantastic package with enough new stuff and surprises to make it a very worthy Sonic game. True to the originals and yet, in parts, feeling fresh. A really enjoyable game for me.

I would have gladly taken a sequel.

[Neon Ignition]

Game 20 - Sonic Mania
Released five years ago for the series 25th Anniversary, Sonic Mania was a celebration of the series featuring reworked levels and new ones with an approach aiming to give a cross of Mega Drive and Saturn era 2D. The result was an entry that was very well received with a Plus edition launched a year later with some extra content.







Mania or Insania?

[Cassius_Smoke]

Sonic 4 is one of the painful ones. The other **** sonics are just straight up ****, like after a couple of minutes you know it's **** and you know why.
But sonic 4 looks the part and kind of works but the gameplay is just off. Its like one team did the design and then they just slapped some other games play style on it.

[Neon Ignition]

With Ep1 it does feel off much of the time and feel bland. I recall Episode 2 feeling better to play and the levels being more appealing too. It's a shame of sorts the third ep didn't come out as with a similar level of improvement it might have been pretty decent.

[Dogg Thang]

I vaguely remember this being a bit better than Episode 1 but that's really all I remember. Couldn't tell you anything else about it.

[Asura]

Did Episode 2 improve things?

I sometimes fail to get how certain people get to work on things, or how some things happen.

In my own experience working with big companies on stuff, I know that they can be very protective of things. Marques, emblems, key visual features... You don't screw around with those. The fun stuff is what happens with that limitation in-mind.

Sonic's run cycle in Sonic 4 looks bad. That weird squashed-donut-slo-mo-feet thing. It looks bad. I don't think anyone would look at that and think that looks good.

And this thing is going to be onscreen nearly all the time in-game. It's going to be in every trailer, almost every screenshot, and it's an iconic part of the character.

Disney wouldn't let you make Mickey Mouse green.

[Neon Ignition]

Game 19 - Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II
Though an episodic follow up to the prior release, this installment even had a Metal Sonic focused DLC episode of its own players could access of they owned both episodes on the same system. Reviews and players found that the physics had been improved for this entry but the player base was dampened from the previous effort enough so that a planned final third episode entry to Sonic 4 was cancelled.







Did Episode 2 improve things?

[Asura]

For a game that got a proper entry number, I never really remember that this game exists. I think it was okay. The second episode was probably a little better. But both nothing special and very forgettable.

Was going to say exactly this. It was bad, though the second one did suggest a trend towards better things which were never explored... But who knows? It might've just gone the other way.

[wakka]

I hate this game. It suuuuucks, so so badly. I remember looking forward to it. New numbered Sonic entry? Can’t go tits up!

And everything was wrong. The physics were wrong, so wrong. Terribly floaty and not at all how Sonic should be. The 2.5D graphics were totally uninspiring. And the left design boring, with less depth than prior games.

I would play a thousand Advance and Rush entries over this. Bad bad bad.

[Dogg Thang]

For a game that got a proper entry number, I never really remember that this game exists. I think it was okay. The second episode was probably a little better. But both nothing special and very forgettable.