Why I'm worried about the future of Sonic after Mania

[Mutated Plush]

I don't want Sega to make more classic Sonic games in fear they'll be just as nostalgia pandering as they have been in this recent anniversay, especially considering that 60% of the game is just old stages.
However, I fear that Sega would do something like that if Forces and Mania don't do just as well as each other.
If Forces has a ton of original stages and does better than Sonic Mania in terms of reviews and sales, I bet Sega would be less pandery in terms of nostalgia next anniversay, but this anniversay was just a mess of nostalgia bait to get our nostalgia boners goin'.

I hope that this trend doesn't continue.

Overall though, I hope Mania is a great game and I hope that Forces is just as good, if not, better!

[lPaladinl]

Plush님이 먼저 게시:

lPaladinl님이 먼저 게시:

Sonic Forces is what looks like "Generations 2", having both generations of sonic to play stages in both new and old styles with 3d and 2d perspectives for controls...

The only aspect of Sonic Forces being Generations 2 is the fact Classic Sonic is returning and that we saw Green Hill Zone. To me, Mania is more of Generations 2 because the point of Generations wasn't to see Classic and Modern run around together, it was to explore Sonic's history, something Mania is doing very well.
Forces seems (as of right now on the 14th of Aug. 2017) to contain more original stages than Mania.
That, and Classic, Modern, and Avatar seem to have their own stories like Sonic Adventure instead of having both Classic and Modern exploring the story at the same time like Generations.
Which makes me wonder... will Forces be the first game since Sonic 06 to have a "true ending" mode...?

It's more original levels, but the premise of the game is basically identical, with the create-a-character being the largest change to gameplay.

[Andre]

I think they should just go back to Mobius or soft kind of reboot thing. And do a simple barebones, fun enjoyable innocent kind of story. Or just "Eggman did something bad, lets stop him!" That's all you really need, you don't really need plot in a Sonic game, and if you are going to add a story make it nice and simple. I say Mobius so they can be more creative with the level design. I think the whole intergration into the Modern World, and adding weak convuluted plot lines like in the Adventure games is where it started to go downhill. As for 2D or 3D. Why not just 2D.5? Or 3D with some 2D elements?

I don't think you need think too deeply to what makes a good Sonic game. Just think back what worked before and improve on it. I think most people would agree a simple story that focuses more on gameplay and level design is the right for the Sonic games to take.

[The_Texorcist]

Honestly i am not too worried, in fact after some of the initial reviews of Sonic Mania i am encouraged. I think part of the reason for the inclusion of so many classic iconic sonic levels was for a few reasons. First was a wink and nod that this game is a love letter to what made the classic sonic games so memorable. Second it was maybe Sega asking Christian Whitehead and the group to play it safe a bit, giving people a nostalgia blast and what Sega thought they wanted but not straying too far away from what people have been begging for.

From here Sega will hopefully pay attention to the reviews, the sales numbers and particularly reaction to the all new levels. If the concensus is that the new levels are as well recieved as the old ones then I have a feeling Sega will have Whitehead and the gang come back for another game but this time around give them free reign to make a game with prodominantly new levels with less remixed ones intermixed.

[Andre]

E.TxCountryBoy님이 먼저 게시:

Honestly i am not too worried, in fact after some of the initial reviews of Sonic Mania i am encouraged. I think part of the reason for the inclusion of so many classic iconic sonic levels was for a few reasons. First was a wink and nod that this game is a love letter to what made the classic sonic games so memorable. Second it was maybe Sega asking Christian Whitehead and the group to play it safe a bit, giving people a nostalgia blast and what Sega thought they wanted but not straying too far away from what people have been begging for.

From here Sega will hopefully pay attention to the reviews, the sales numbers and particularly reaction to the all new levels. If the concensus is that the new levels are as well recieved as the old ones then I have a feeling Sega will have Whitehead and the gang come back for another game but this time around give them free reign to make a game with prodominantly new levels with less remixed ones intermixed.

Yeah its getting a lot of postive reviews. Maybe Sega will let the same guys who made this game to make more and also listen to all the feedback.

[azureflame64]

Zaya님이 먼저 게시:

I think they should just go back to Mobius or soft kind of reboot thing. And do a simple barebones, fun enjoyable innocent kind of story. Or just "Eggman did something bad, lets stop him!" That's all you really need, you don't really need plot in a Sonic game, and if you are going to add a story make it nice and simple. I say Mobius so they can be more creative with the level design. I think the whole intergration into the Modern World, and adding weak convuluted plot lines like in the Adventure games is where it started to go downhill. As for 2D or 3D. Why not just 2D.5? Or 3D with some 2D elements?

I don't think you need think too deeply to what makes a good Sonic game. Just think back what worked before and improve on it. I think most people would agree a simple story that focuses more on gameplay and level design is the right for the Sonic games to take.

Mobius doesn't even exist. All the actual games take place on Earth. The idea that we need to change the setting to the western cartoons and make the storylines even more light hearted as if Colors, Generations, Lost World, and even Unleashed did that already. Sonic's tone is finally back to what it should be. That part is fine. The only thing that might need a "reboot" is the modern style gameplay, but I'd rather have the option between classic 2D Sonic and 3D Sonic games that Sonic Team are actually good at developing than insist upon changes which, in the franchise's current state, really aren't necessary. If anything, Sega needs to get a team together that can build a game around Sonic Boom and actually give it some justice. Sanzaru did pretty well with the handheld titles so they could maybe give them a bigger budget and really do something new with that series. Modern Sonic can stay as it is for now.

[Elohemian]

Chocolate Coating님이 먼저 게시:

And if one game ends up dominating the other, we could be stuck with mostly that era's game style for the foreseeable future.

Highly unlikely to happen. Sonic Mania is a very cheap game to make, Forces is also relatively cheap, at least when compared to the inflated budgets that the industry have today. Regardless of the ♥♥♥♥ up they did with the steam version and the potential lackluster sales on PC, Mania most likely will make a good profit. Sonic Forces is basically the proof on how aware sega is of it's fanbase. It will be very bizarre if it doesn't make a profit. Then again, your worried hold water, every SEGA branch except for the european one is filled with hacks and imbeciles.

[The_Texorcist]

Zaya님이 먼저 게시:

Yeah its getting a lot of postive reviews. Maybe Sega will let the same guys who made this game to make more and also listen to all the feedback.

I dont see any reason why they wouldn't. I mean maybe I am wrong but I would guess that Sonic Mania is fairly cheap to create compared to say Sonic Forces. So its just a matter of production cost, sales price and units sold. If they can keep production costs low and units sold/overall sales figures high then just from a business standpoint they should keep it going.

Though if they do they need to pace themselves. Give people a old school sonic game say every 2-3 years. That would give Whitehead and the gang a year to brainstorm level themes and designs, level layouts etc and then 1-2 years to grind out the programming and tweaking before releasing the game to the market.

[Elohemian]

E.TxCountryBoy님이 먼저 게시:

Zaya님이 먼저 게시:

Yeah its getting a lot of postive reviews. Maybe Sega will let the same guys who made this game to make more and also listen to all the feedback.

I dont see any reason why they wouldn't. I mean maybe I am wrong but I would guess that Sonic Mania is fairly cheap to create compared to say Sonic Forces. So its just a matter of production cost, sales price and units sold. If they can keep production costs low and units sold/overall sales figures high then just from a business standpoint they should keep it going.

Though if they do they need to pace themselves. Give people a old school sonic game say every 2-3 years. That would give Whitehead and the gang a year to brainstorm level themes and designs, level layouts etc and then 1-2 years to grind out the programming and tweaking before releasing the game to the market.

No you're right. Game was cheap to produce and you're also right, we should get a new 2D Sonic every 2-3 years maybe a bit more. Same with a new 3D Sonic game. The worse thing sega could do is to start releasing a new main sonic game every year like they used to.

[Andre]

Elohemian님이 먼저 게시:

E.TxCountryBoy님이 먼저 게시:

I dont see any reason why they wouldn't. I mean maybe I am wrong but I would guess that Sonic Mania is fairly cheap to create compared to say Sonic Forces. So its just a matter of production cost, sales price and units sold. If they can keep production costs low and units sold/overall sales figures high then just from a business standpoint they should keep it going.

Though if they do they need to pace themselves. Give people a old school sonic game say every 2-3 years. That would give Whitehead and the gang a year to brainstorm level themes and designs, level layouts etc and then 1-2 years to grind out the programming and tweaking before releasing the game to the market.

No you're right. Game was cheap to produce and you're also right, we should get a new 2D Sonic every 2-3 years maybe a bit more. Same with a new 3D Sonic game. The worse thing sega could do is to start releasing a new main sonic game every year like they used to.

I'm a bit worried about Forces cause it does seem a bit more like pandering and going like "well this worked in other AAA games, lets try it here!". I don't mind character customization but its just like...why? I'd rather them focus on the level desigin and the actual mechanics of the game.

[Andre]

Elohemian님이 먼저 게시:

E.TxCountryBoy님이 먼저 게시:

I dont see any reason why they wouldn't. I mean maybe I am wrong but I would guess that Sonic Mania is fairly cheap to create compared to say Sonic Forces. So its just a matter of production cost, sales price and units sold. If they can keep production costs low and units sold/overall sales figures high then just from a business standpoint they should keep it going.

Though if they do they need to pace themselves. Give people a old school sonic game say every 2-3 years. That would give Whitehead and the gang a year to brainstorm level themes and designs, level layouts etc and then 1-2 years to grind out the programming and tweaking before releasing the game to the market.

No you're right. Game was cheap to produce and you're also right, we should get a new 2D Sonic every 2-3 years maybe a bit more. Same with a new 3D Sonic game. The worse thing sega could do is to start releasing a new main sonic game every year like they used to.

Nah not every year. A good platformer needs time, dedication and the most important is passion. They should take all the time they need in polishing it out.

[MrFluffyWolf]

Zaya님이 먼저 게시:

Elohemian님이 먼저 게시:

No you're right. Game was cheap to produce and you're also right, we should get a new 2D Sonic every 2-3 years maybe a bit more. Same with a new 3D Sonic game. The worse thing sega could do is to start releasing a new main sonic game every year like they used to.

I'm a bit worried about Forces cause it does seem a bit more like pandering and going like "well this worked in other AAA games, lets try it here!". I don't mind character customization but its just like...why? I'd rather them focus on the level desigin and the actual mechanics of the game.

Not to be too big of a cynical ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ about it, but I think what Elohemian said about Sonic Forces being proof that Sega is aware of what their fanbase wants is right on the money.
Character customization, as soon as I saw it, seemed like the biggest piece of pandering to the hardcore, young, stereotypical Sonic fan who likes to make Sonic OC's on DeviantArt. I started laughing as soon as I saw the trailer showing off customization.
This isn't just "Other AAA games do this, so we should too," this is knowing EXACTLY what kind of person is a hardcore Sonic fan. At least, when it comes to the kid side of the fanbase.

[Elohemian]

MrFluffyWolf님이 먼저 게시:

Zaya님이 먼저 게시:

I'm a bit worried about Forces cause it does seem a bit more like pandering and going like "well this worked in other AAA games, lets try it here!". I don't mind character customization but its just like...why? I'd rather them focus on the level desigin and the actual mechanics of the game.

Not to be too big of a cynical ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ about it, but I think what Elohemian said about Sonic Forces being proof that Sega is aware of what their fanbase wants is right on the money.
Character customization, as soon as I saw it, seemed like the biggest piece of pandering to the hardcore, young, stereotypical Sonic fan who likes to make Sonic OC's on DeviantArt. I started laughing as soon as I saw the trailer showing off customization.
This isn't just "Other AAA games do this, so we should too," this is knowing EXACTLY what kind of person is a hardcore Sonic fan. At least, when it comes to the kid side of the fanbase.

It's not only the OC creator tool. Music is Linkin Park-ish, tone is way darker than recent 3D games, villain is a complete edgelord. This is SEGA fully knowing their younger fanbase and making a game for them.

[MrFluffyWolf]

Elohemian님이 먼저 게시:

MrFluffyWolf님이 먼저 게시:

Not to be too big of a cynical ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ about it, but I think what Elohemian said about Sonic Forces being proof that Sega is aware of what their fanbase wants is right on the money.
Character customization, as soon as I saw it, seemed like the biggest piece of pandering to the hardcore, young, stereotypical Sonic fan who likes to make Sonic OC's on DeviantArt. I started laughing as soon as I saw the trailer showing off customization.
This isn't just "Other AAA games do this, so we should too," this is knowing EXACTLY what kind of person is a hardcore Sonic fan. At least, when it comes to the kid side of the fanbase.

It's not only the OC creator tool. Music is Linkin Park-ish, tone is way darker than recent 3D games, villain is a complete edgelord. This is SEGA fully knowing their younger fanbase and making a game for them.

Oh really?
I have to watch any new trailers that I've missed.
As overly edgy and cringey as a game that panders to this fanbase is gonna be, I'm still really looking forward to it.
In a way, I really miss the level of high quality safe-for-the-kids edginess and cheese of Sonic Adventure 2, and almost wanna see it again.
Though, I doubt they'll make a game that plays like that again, if Forces has that kind of tone and dialouge, I'm going to thouroughly enjoy it on a 50/50 ironic/unironic level.