Friday, November 18, 2005

Sonic Team annoys me.

After seeing a few reviews of Shadow the Hedgehog, I think it's time for a little rant. ~_^ Although I love many Sega franchises, I'd have to say that Sonic has always been my favourite. Sonic was the primary reason why I bought a Dreamcast as soon as it launched in Australia. But since the Mega Drive (Genesis) days, Sonic Team has been consistently screwing the series up - so much so that I don't think even they really understand what makes Sonic games fun. I thought I'd do a little run-down of several of my biggest annoyances about Sonic, since the Mega Drive days. 1: Sonic 3D Blast This was the first "real" Sonic game on Saturn. And it wasn't even developed by Sonic Team, but by Traveller's Tales, of all people. Don't get me wrong; Traveller's Tales, a UK developer, have improved greatly over recent years. But pretty much all of their early games were incredibly shoddy. Not only was Sonic 3D Blast a terrible game in every single sense, but it wasn't Sonic. Instead of being a side-scroller (or a fast-paced 3D action game), it was a psuedo-3D game that you played from an overhead isometric perspective. There was absolutely no sense of speed and only a few token loops thrown into the environments - even they weren't particularly fast and due to the viewing angle, gameplay was ridiculously awkward. As far as I'm concerned, Sonic 3D Blast marks the first really major mistake by Sonic Team, in terms of handling the series. 2: Sonic Jam Sonic Jam was a kind of Mario All-Stars type game for Saturn. I never owned it, but the core menu system involved a 3D virtual world where you could move Sonic around. Isn't it funny that this is pretty much what Sonic fans had hoped to see on the Saturn, but they only ever recieved it in the form of an elaborate menu system on a compilation disc? Not to say that Sonic Jam itself was necessarily bad, but the fact that the most significant evolution of Sonic was seen in a mere menu system rather than a full game seems to have annoyed plenty of Sonic fans. 3: Lack of Sonic on Saturn Okay so we had Sonic 3D Blast and we had Sonic Jam. Oh, and Sonic R, which wasn't really a Sonic game anyway (and was designed by Traveller's Tales). But we had no real Sonic games on the system. When you consider that Saturn was brilliant for handling 2D software, it would surely seem logical that Sega could make a gorgeous 2D Sonic game on the system without much problem. But no, apparently not. Of course, we did get the fantastic NiGHTS and the well-received Burning Rangers (the latter I never played, but would definitely like to). So they did do something good with the platform. But throughout Saturn's lifespan, Sonic Team only took value away from the Sonic franchise...they really added nothing to it whatsoever. 4: I want to be like Mario, only not nearly as good! People always compare Sonic and Mario, which is understandable. Both games are in the same genre and both characters are mascots for their respective companies. Fair enough. But anyone who is a big fan of both franchises understands that they are fundamentally different in terms of gameplay. Mario has its fast-paced moments, but Mario is generally about precision jumping and environmental interaction. Sonic is more about blistering speed and fast obstacle avoidance. Sonic feels different to play, because it has a different emphasis. So when Sonic Adventure came along on Dreamcast, I thought I was in luck. A 3D Sonic game, designed by Sonic Team, with giant loops and lots of fast-paced action? Can't go wrong, surely! Unfortunately, the only way to experience true 3D Sonic gameplay was as Sonic or Tails - and their portion of the game combined was still relatively small. In order to play the game through, you had to play as other characters as well, including Amy, Big the Cat and Knuckles. Sonic Adventure made two fundamental mistakes, I think. Firstly, it tried - and failed - to be like a Mario game. By adding slower-paced moments and treasure-hunting aspects, Sonic Team were presumably trying to inject depth into the game. But it didn't work. The treasure hunting areas were a complete nightmare. Not only were they not fun, but it hurt to play them. They were the epitome of terrible game design. No real challenge, few enemies, an awful camera that you are constantly fighting with...and a ridiculously boring and uninspired objective. Big's levels were just as awful and Amy's were slightly better, but still nothing compared to Sonic and Tails. Even the Sonic and Tails levels only had occasional "wow" moments. They were not as multi-tiered as the levels in the 2D Sonic games and they featured far too many "automated" moments. In those moments, you could put down the controller and let Sonic run on his own - there was no real player involvement. Again, that is completely contrary to what made past Sonic games fun. 5: That brick really hurt! Can you hit me again, please? You'd think that after the complaints about Sonic Adventure - particularly from longtime Sonic fans - Sonic Team would actually try to correct the problems. They didn't. Sonic Adventure 2 was identical to the first game in one key sense; it still had the occasionally cool high-speed moments, but once again, Sonic Team had tried to inject terribly redundant exploratory gameplay. And it was just as bad - if not worse - than in the original game. Does anyone remember that level with Rouge, where you're in the room full of lockers, looking for gems or whatever it was? If you don't, I can only assume that you have blocked it out because it was a traumatic experience. The only reason I even attempted that level was to try to end the game - it is, hands down, the worst experience I've ever had with a video game. Even Mortal Kombat 4 wasn't that mind-numbingly, horrifically bad. As I was playing it, one thought kept racing through my mind: This is not Sonic! 6: Taking Sonic for granted In my view, Sonic Team (or at least, Naka-san), has lost any concept of what makes Sonic fun. It's certainly not impossible to translate Sonic's great gameplay into 3D - why not just have the guts to design a 3D action game without all the arbitrary "depth"? If the company had focused more on making brilliant rollercoaster-like experiences, rather than adding a ton of dead weight, I think we'd end up with a far better game. And we'd definitely end up with something that resembles Sonic. Now you've got Shadow the Hedgehog, which is possibly the biggest abomination I can imagine for any Sonic fan. First of all, they've gone all "extreme" with it. Why? Shadow looks ridiculous when he holds a gun. That's like making a game called "Bowser: Vice City", where the object is to hijack cars from innocent Goombas at gunpoint. It's just ridiculous and couldn't be more uncharacteristic of the series. Worse still, Shadow the Hedgehog seems to repeat all of the mistakes that previous 3D games have made. Sonic Team has not learned a single lesson. They just keep driving the franchise into the ground with each new game. This reminds me of two other quick points, as well. The first is Naka himself. I think his role is massively overrated. On the original game, he acted as programmer - but he was not the character designer and he wasn't originally involved in level development. It was actually a team of three who created the original game and it was Oshima who designed the characters and primarily worked on environments. Moreover, the consensus among fans seems to be that the best Sonic game of all time was Sonic CD. I'd agree with that. And guess who designed it? Oshima. Naka had nothing to do with it. So, surprise - as soon as Oshima takes the reigns, we get the best Sonic experience we've ever had. The second point relates to Sonic Adventure and its successors. It's another thing I really took issue with: the fusion of Sonic and the real world. What on earth was that all about? I had always thought that Sonic most-suited his home planet. He is a character who does not exist in the real world - he lives on a fantastic planet with strange and beautiful environments. He doesn't belong in a city with people. And he certainly doesn't belong in a situation where he's fighting military or para-military groups, lol. It's not that I dislike Yuji Naka, but I really wonder if he understands the franchise that he played a role in creating. It saddens me that we may never really see a Sonic game that does for Sonic what Super Mario 64 did for Mario - a game that really feels like a major evolution of Sonic in 3D. At least, we certainly won't see it while Sonic Team continue in their current direction. The only game I have really not mentioned here is Sonic Heroes. I haven't played it. But from what I understand, it's more "Sonic-like" than the Sonic Adventure series. That's good news, although given that Shadow the Hedgehog is newer...I kind of wonder whether it's a case of one step forward, two steps backward. Anyway, I know that's a long and dorky post...but I really had to comment on it. I feel like slapping Naka around a little and reminding him why I used to adore Sonic games...and why I now view them as recycled garbage. The only ray of hope is in the GBA and DS Sonic games, which funnily enough are not even made by Sonic Team. Figures. Liam: Yeah, I don't want to go up there during Schoolies. However, where I'd be staying...it's in a great spot, because it's much further down the beach. So while I expect it to be busy, it won't be anything like Surfer's Paradise. Thanks for the offer, too! Luckily I have a local tour guide, but I may still take you up on the offer sometime. ^_^ RaR: I hope that your report comes out well. The game industry is certainly very interesting, but it does take a little digging to find certain information. I'd definitely like a tour if I ever went out that way - I'm sure I will someday. I don't think I'd want to go through life without having been to America at least once! Alan-chan: I just found it weird that a news site made such a fundamental mistake. But then again, there are people who are ignorant enough to think that we ride around on kangaroos here...so I guess it happens. lol John: Your comment almost brought a tear to my eye. ~_^ But seriously, I appreciate it, hehe. Somehow it was very appropriate. CosmicSailor: Wow, that sounds like a cool experience. It's very surreal to have photos of yourself in places like that. And thanks for the advice. Don't worry if it seems cliche or anything - it's genuine and that's what really counts. I think you are right though...sometimes risks need to be taken, sometimes you have to throw yourself in the deep end and see where you land. I think that's really what I should do. Annie-kun: My dear Annie...you always know what to say to brighten my spirits. Without fail, you always make me feel better. I really appreciate your comment and I'm very flattered that you think of me that way. I really hope that you are okay - I was admittedly a little worried when I first read your PM, but as long as things are working out for you, I will be happy. You deserve the very best. indifference: Yeah, you know, I think this path is right for me. If I'd moved back then, I'd have known nobody in Sydney and I'd have been alone. But now I've been there, I am more familiar with it...and I will actually know someone there too. So it's generally a better time for me to seriously consider it. Thank you for sharing your experience - that type of thing really gives me the confidence to try it myself. And thank you for your e-card as well! I only just saw some older emails in my inbox today (as I hadn't checked for a while) and I noticed your card. Thank you very much! SunfallE: Virtual tour, huh? That's an awesome idea. Although glossy photos in magazines are nice, it's especially good to see photos that people have taken themselves. Somehow it makes things a lot more realistic. And thank you for your e-card as well! I feel bad for thanking you so much later than you'd originally sent it, but I really appreciated it. Oh and before I go, I want to send a special thanks to Aaryanna for her card as well. The message on there was very touching. If you have AIM and want to chat, I'm always happy to do that. That goes for any of you, as well.

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