Retro|Spective 061R: Sonic the Hedgehog

[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?

[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]

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.

[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]

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

[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.

[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.

[Neon Ignition]

Game 21 - Sonic 3D Blast: Flickies' Island
Using pre-rendered visuals and playing from an isometric perspective, this entry for Mega Drive and Saturn came from the original project for Sonic 3 being outsourced to Traveller's Tales. The game largely aimed to recreate the gameplay of the normal entries but with a greater sense of freedom. The attempt was broadly well received but the game has never been considered as strongly as the side action titles.









Was this entry a... Blast?

[Asura]

I feel really bad saying this, because I know a lot about Sonic 3D, and I know it's something of a technical marvel...

But I've just never liked it. I've tried to play it several times and it never clicked.

Doesn't help that Sega did that ridiculous Saturn port to try and make up for the non-entity that was Sonic Xtreme.

[Neon Ignition]

Yep, I've played it several times but at best it's just kind of 'there'. It works better than it should but not as well as it probably needs to and if Sega had held the course and this been the approach to Sonic 3 I can imagine it could have really damaged the series. It's too much of a compromise.

[Dogg Thang]

I don't think it's a terrible game but it's not a good Sonic game. It's very playable but didn't hold my interest for long.

[Neon Ignition]

Game 22 - Sonic Adventure
The series main transition to 3D came in the form of this Dreamcast showcase title, arriving after the Saturn era essentially skipped out on its mascot. The game mixed open hub environments with linear stages that switched from focusing on speed to platforming to mixed results. The game presented six character stories to follow leading to a culminating final battle ending.









Where you eager to Get A Load of This?!

[Asura]

Game 22 - Sonic Adventure

I unironically, unapologetically love Sonic Adventure.

Firstly, as a Saturn owner who had been a big Sonic fan as a kid, I ate up any news of Sonic coming to the Saturn, which in real terms never happened (i.e. there's no true mainline Sonic title for the machine). I was really disappointed when the Saturn started to wane and it was clear there would never be one (though I loved Nights). So when Sonic Adventure was announced I was extremely excited; finally, a proper 3D Sonic title, with what-seemed-like cinematic production values.

I finally managed to download a grainy version of this from a CompuServe board:

... and my anticipation only increased. Some people point to this as chief example of what they hated about 3D Sonic; the J-rock, the lean into 'tude (which was already a throwback by 1999), the weird juxtaposition of real-world-looking locations and Sonic characters, the faux-edginess; but I strongly disagree with all that. Sonic's ultimately for kids and I think Sega pitched this absolutely perfectly, either by accident or by design.

When I finally got to play the game, it was the Japanese version (the original, where the first boss is actually quite challenging due to the camera being terrible), but I would later get the UK version with a Dreamcast in early 2000 and I loved it. It was the only Dreamcast game I had for about 2 months and I rinsed it numerous times.

I'm aware that it's buggy. Being clear though, it's not as buggy as most YouTubers would have you believe. The ports were bad, but compared to the Xbox 360 version (which I think was the basis for the ports that followed) the original had better collision, better camera handling, longer draw distance, often better lighting and textures... For some reason the ports were based on an incomplete version of the game.

I still regularly boot up the game to run through Emerald Coast, or Speed Highway. And the game's music, even outside the J-rock stuff, is one of the best examples of that era of Sega.

If you want to play it now, the best way is to get the PC version on Steam, then install the community mod which fixes the bulk of the issues with the port.

[Baseley09]

Agree with that, Sonic Adventure was and is brill, no one will ever convince me otherwise. Getting a thrill just thinking about the station square music.

[Dogg Thang]

I really enjoyed Sonic Adventure. I thought it looked stunning on the Dreamcast, really showing it off well and demonstrating what it could pull off well beyond the N64. I really liked the whole vibe of it. It felt fresh and different and, for the most part, it was fun. The Sonic levels were always the best for me but even the rest kept things moving nicely.

Years later, my kids enjoyed it too, although I don't think either of them actually finished it. But aside from a bit of jankiness that comes from the time it was made, it holds up okay. It's a good game.