Discussion The first official "Sonic The Hedgehog is a Great Franchise" thread

[chocolate_supra]

First clip of Sonic Prime's now out in the wild.




Of note is that Sonic has a new VA - Deven Christian Mack.

A couple things:

• Sonic's running animation here looks weird to me.. the figure-8-feet doesn't translate well to head-on shots and his arms look like they're lazily dangling..?
• Why is Sonic's voice such a revolving door of talent? I think we're nearing the point where Sonic's list of actors will rival James Bond.

Sounds great too! First Black VA for him since Jaleel White in the 90s!

Paraphrasing what Andre Meadows said about the cast of Sonic the Moviehog 2: It's nice to see some melanin being brought back to Sonic

 

[totofogo]

• Sonic's running animation here looks weird to me.. the figure-8-feet doesn't translate well to head-on shots and his arms look like they're lazily dangling..?

I like the callback but yeah it makes him look like some weird segway robot lol

 

[CyberWolfBia]

Sonic Prime's production crew has some of the DNA of the old DiC cartoons, no? I was surprised to see the main design from the games in action (collecting Rings in Green Hill no less!), seeing how the leaked concept art had him with different shoes and gloves...

Now thinking about.. you'd use the term "prime" to distinguish the >main< version of a character amongst multiverses; so I guess that's why it's just the same Sonic from the games.

 

[chocolate_supra]

I like the callback but yeah it makes him look like some weird segway robot lol

It's one of those weird things about CGI vs hand-drawn animation. The figure 8 looks fantastic in the Sonic CD intro and the Sonic Mania animations, where more impressionistic movement and smear frames and such just work, but then that stuff just doesn't translate to CGI.

Like, just look at them together:

One of them looks very kinetic, the other looks like a solid shaped polygonal model of an ∞ with a jiggle effect.

Not trying to trash animators or anything, lord knows they put in work, I just don't think everything translates well to CGI.

On the other hand you have Arcane, which used CGI but overlayed a ton of hand-drawn 2D effects. I can't find any good example gifs but there are some great examples in this VFX Artists React video:


I get the industry needs to move more to 3D CGI because it's cheaper and less laborious but I'd love to see more hybrid animation like Arcane pulled off. I think the style would lend itself really well to Sonic.

 

[CyberWolfBia]

I honestly thought the teaser was great; has much more energy than a whole season of Sonic Boom (which characters were so stiff and with a very low range of expressions)

 

[chocolate_supra]

Sonic Prime's production crew has some of the DNA of the old DiC cartoons, no?

Yes, actually!

I honestly thought the teaser was great; has much more energy than a whole season of Sonic Boom (which characters were so stiff and with a very low range of expressions)

As much time as I just spent harping on Sonic's feet in the teaser, I do agree with this. The animation looks great overall and I can't wait to see what they do with it.

 

[Aether]

öhm... great?
It has a franchise that definitely did not play it as safe as mario, but the quality is also all over the place because if that.
It has generally a recognizable striking character design, but has some really bad ones as well.
It sometimes tries to much to be edgy and anime/shonen, and then gets back to cartoony. (Closest comparison is kirby, and there it was always just far enough, never cringe, probably because "cool" was nevere part of the formula)

While Transformed is probably the best Cart game after Mario Kart 8 (And 64 =P), the franchise has overall worse spinoffs then Mario or kirby (arguably worse then DK and Zelda).

Continuity is a mess, but ... thats for many franchises, nothing against this one, just not something it does better then others.

The adventure games where great for their time , i stand by that (seing how others where still trying to copy mario 64, they experimented a lot, i feel like it was a solit start for sonics gameplay in 3d, the "cool" modern sonic was born and works for the 3D games better then classic sonic...), but did not age well at all, mostly because not everythin they tried worked (shooting gameplay, buggy/janky as hell,...)

Its a worthwile franchise with some strong entries and some really really fun turds.
The mainline series needs to stop experimenting for a while and find a formula that works, and reduce the gimicks.
A plain SONIC game, without transformations, other gameplay styles, shift between dimensions, etc would be great.

With all that said: i se a lot potential with the next one, and i really really hope, that them taking the time means they have real ambitions for that game and that sega realized that they could have a new golden age for sonic if this works, especially with the movies and Mania/Origins and a new Netflix show.

 

[chocolate_supra]

Ben's a sweetie
and Deven's message is some good stuff, too

 

[Twilight]

My history with the Sonic series is quite a rocky one. I could probably be called a fan with the amount of titles I have finished, but at this point I have gotten a big amount of dislike for most of them. Replaying Sonic games have the opposite intended effect on me, the more I replay one of the Genesis games for example, the more flaws I find with its design, to the point that games that I originally thought were at least just ok or janky with a couple of moments that they do slightly well, turn to bad or terrible. And there are of course games in the series that are just bad from the get go.

I don't like the original trilogy, CD is ok at best and who the fuck designed Wacky Workbench at worst. Adventure is bad in a fun way, and 2 is bad and boring (Adventure 2 is a game I never liked to begin with). Unleashed has a good setting stuck in a mess of a game, be it the HD or SD version. Only the first Advance game in that trilogy is fine, Rush exists but has a banger soundtrack, Lost World is definitely in terms of concept what if we gave 3D World's core creativity to people that don't know what they are doing, Generations is held back by its terrible missions and the last level and boss fight leaving a sour note. Heroes was a thing, make the game increasingly annoying with each playthrough, etc.

At this point the only stuff I still hold on a positive note are Colors and Mania, which both I haven't replayed in a while and I kind of not want to, they'll remain in my memory as solid, 7/10 games. Black Knight is in a weird spot where the gameplay is nothing good really, but is not bad enough for me to despise it, and it has the only Sonic story I can respect.

Why did I stick with the series for so long one might ask, well, they aren't too painful to finish, lot of them are pretty short, music (most of the time) is good, and they do a couple of things here and there slightly well to call charming.

Forces was kind of a breaking point, is the lowest I have played from the franchise, couldn't even finish it, a somehow boring story with 0 personality, awful music, worse controls and level design than usual, and still, since Generations, somehow having the game look worse than Unleashed and Colors. just a soulless game. And then Colors Ultimate, why would you ruin that game, and again the music, they are awful at managing any sort of electronic instrumentation, is excessive and annoying, just the Planet Wisp remix was enough for me to not get the game.

Not excited about Frontiers at all, or new Sonic things in general, didn't even like the first movie, I'm just kind of done with the franchise.

So no, I don't think is a great franchise, it was a sporadically interesting one.

 

[chocolate_supra]

I was today years old when I learned Lava Reef Act 2 uses Act 1's intro as an underlying melody. This while time I thought they were completely different songs and have wondered why they didn't have one be a remix of the other like all the other Zones did.

God I love this music.

 

[KilgoreWolfe]

I was today years old when I learned Lava Reef Act 2 uses Act 1's intro as an underlying melody. This while time I thought they were completely different songs and have wondered why they didn't have one be a remix of the other like all the other Zones did.

God I love this music.

Hell yeah, I love these kinds of videos even if my grasp of music theory is non-existent.

 

[CyberWolfBia]

Last night, out of boredom, I went to check SEGA of America's YouTube channel.. and by curiosity, organized the videos by its views; The Top 3 most viewed videos on their channel (which, mind you, is about all things SEGA and is up for 14 years) are:

• CG commercial for Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric;
• The Progressive ad feat. Sonic the Hedgehog;
• Splash Hill Zone trailer for Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I

In this order.

 

[chocolate_supra]

Last night, out of boredom, I went to check SEGA of America's YouTube channel.. and by curiosity, organized the videos by its views; The Top 3 most viewed videos on their channel (which, mind you, is about all things SEGA and is up for 14 years) are:

• CG commercial for Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric;
• The Progressive ad feat. Sonic the Hedgehog;
• Splash Hill Zone trailer for Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I

In this order.

 

[Hidden04]

I just found this video from Tails Channel from a while back, and before Sonic Frontiers was formally announced. If this leak is real, it could explain why SEGA thinks this game will be a critical and commercial success.

 

[CyberWolfBia]

I don't know exactly what to take from this... but I remember Sonic 4 was a immense big deal, and even past Mania's launch, they still have this video at the top. Though, for sure, Sonic fans are probably following the Sonic's official accounts these days (and that's relatively new), but a more broader audience may just see news through SEGA's.


The Progressive ad though and the Rise of Lyric commercial.. I think most of us thought it was just very well animated lol

 

[chocolate_supra]

I don't know exactly what to take from this... but I remember Sonic 4 was a immense big deal, and even past Mania's launch, they still have this video at the top. Though, for sure, Sonic fans are probably following the Sonic's official accounts these days (and that's relatively new), but a more broader audience may just see news through SEGA's.


The Progressive ad though and the Rise of Lyric commercial.. I think most of us thought it was just very well animated lol

Actually yeah, that all makes sense. And the Progressive commercial might've been a "holy shit lookit this" sharefest since I can't think of any other "normal" commercials that featured Sonic before the movie.

 

[chocolate_supra]

I don't understand sports, so I don't know what's happening here:

but I like it

 

[Nabbit]

Sonic arcade game spotted on a trip last month. I didn't get to play it, but thought some of y'all might enjoy seeing it.

 

[chocolate_supra]

Sonic arcade game spotted on a trip last month. I didn't get to play it, but thought some of y'all might enjoy seeing it.

"Gotta play fast" it says, omg

 

[CyberWolfBia]

Welp..

Spoiler

SEGA and Parmount had no objections to this, huh? They seem to have no care for the brand of the character... and he's a lot in the movie too! Lots of screentime and dialogue.

 

[Thorakai]

Welp..

Spoiler

SEGA and Parmount had no objections to this, huh? They seem to have no care for the brand of the character... and he's a lot in the movie too! Lots of screentime and dialogue.

Gotta sell that unused Sonic merch somehow

 

[chocolate_supra]

Gotta sell that unused Sonic merch somehow

 

[VolcanicDynamo]

Welp..

Spoiler

SEGA and Parmount had no objections to this, huh? They seem to have no care for the brand of the character... and he's a lot in the movie too! Lots of screentime and dialogue.

Spoiler

I was originally gonna say something along the lines of "Trying to be in on the joke is pretty typical for the Sonic brand," but, uh, looks like this is straight up parody and not like a licensed in-joke thing:



The fact that the character's name is specifically "Ugly Sonic" supports that, I assume.

 

[CyberWolfBia]

Spoiler

I was originally gonna say something along the lines of "Trying to be in on the joke is pretty typical for the Sonic brand," but, uh, looks like this is straight up parody and not like a licensed in-joke thing:



The fact that the character's name is specifically "Ugly Sonic" supports that, I assume.

Spoiler

It doesn't appear to be the case; Since the director specifically addressed his presence and how the Disney lawyers were great at acquiring the license from other studios

Chip n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers director sheds some light on the 'Ugly Sonic' appearance

A face only Paramount could love

gonintendo.com

It seems SEGA and Paramount just wanted to go uncredited; There were a lot of other cameos without credits as well.

That also happened in Wreck-It Ralph; for example, they had a TMNT Arcade Machine at one point at the movie, but Viacom wasn't credited (Konami was credited though, but for their IPs that were in the movie)

 

[VolcanicDynamo]

Spoiler

It doesn't appear to be the case; Since the director specifically addressed his presence and how the Disney lawyers were great at acquiring the license from other studios

Chip n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers director sheds some light on the 'Ugly Sonic' appearance

A face only Paramount could love

gonintendo.com

It seems SEGA and Paramount just wanted to go uncredited; There were a lot of other cameos without credits as well.

That also happened in Wreck-It Ralph; for example, they had a TMNT Arcade Machine at one point at the movie, but Viacom wasn't credited (Konami was credited though, but for their IPs that were in the movie)

Spoiler

I see! So I guess I do go back to the original point - SEGA likes being in on the joke, and no press is bad press. I think it might be working as intended. People are having their laugh and it gets some attention for the brand. Having the well received movies probably help. It gets to be less "Look at what we released, sure did suck," and more "We really dodged a bullet there, let's laugh it up!"

 

[chocolate_supra]

whoa whoa whoa
Yall
We have gameplay!!!

 

[Tye]

I really want to be excited for Frontiers, but I have zero faith that SEGA has actually optimized and prioritized the Switch version of the game (which will no doubt be the best-selling version, as usual with Nintendo versions of Sonic games), especially after what happened with Sonic Colors: Ultimate on Switch… =/

 

[Believe Mushrooms]

Paraphrasing what Andre Meadows said about the cast of Sonic the Moviehog 2: It's nice to see some melanin being brought back to Sonic

It's nice when 80s funk, R&B, and new jack swing were so key to Sonic's sound and general vibe back in the day.

 

[Naru]

With Sonic Origins releasing soon, there is probably no way the rest of the Sonic Genesis games will come to the NSO Expansion Genesis app, right?

 

[N75]

With Sonic Origins releasing soon, there is probably no way the rest of the Sonic Genesis games will come to the NSO Expansion Genesis app, right?

Sega doesn't seem to care how many times they port old Sonic games (eg. Sega Ages), so Sonic 1 will likely happen at some point.

Sonic 3&K is still up in the air because of the music issue. We still don't even know how Origins is handling it.

 

[chocolate_supra]

I would like all the Sonic fans in here to know I made chili dogs last night.

That is all.

 

[totofogo]

Sonic Unleashed gives me huge Splatoon 2 vibes with its level select hubs, and Mario Odyssey vibes with its stores in each city hub. Didn’t a lot of sonic team make their way to Nintendo? Hmmm

Ohh I forgot about this thread

Im really really enjoying unleashed! It’s my first time playing the HD version after playing the Wii one back on release. Call me crazy but I find the werehog balances out the daytime stages well and am enjoying them. Mechanics are a little jank, they’re a little too long and the mission systems are a little weird… but it’s all wrapped up in such a lovable bow that I can’t be mad (yet).

 

[chocolate_supra]

Ohh I forgot about this thread

Im really really enjoying unleashed! It’s my first time playing the HD version after playing the Wii one back on release. Call me crazy but I find the werehog balances out the daytime stages well and am enjoying them. Mechanics are a little jank, they’re a little too long and the mission systems are a little weird… but it’s all wrapped up in such a lovable bow that I can’t be mad (yet).

Yes!! The Werehog stages really weren't as bad as their reputation made it seem (aside from the length of some of them, I'll admit). I think the weirdness of the story/character concept of Sonic being transformed might've turned people off, which then gave the gameplay of those sections a bad rap by association.

I've always held the belief that if Sonic Team wanted a brawler half to the game in order to pad the time a bit, they coulda just used Knuckles, kept the gameplay almost the same, and I bet the game would've been much more well-received. Sonic Team admitted they were trying to make a game where you play as Sonic only, but I think fans would've been hyped to see a return to the "Sonic and Knuckles" formula as opposed to.. ya know, the reaction the Werehog got upon reveal.

ANYway, I'm glad you're enjoying it!! It's one of my favorites of the modern Sonics.

 

[GoGoDezmo]

I would like all the Sonic fans in here to know I made chili dogs last night.

That is all.

Legit in my top 10 favorite foods, thanks to the Blue Blur

 

[totofogo]

Sonic Unleashed gives me huge Splatoon 2 vibes with its level select hubs, and Mario Odyssey vibes with its stores in each city hub. Didn’t a lot of sonic team make their way to Nintendo? Hmmm

Im really really enjoying unleashed! It’s my first time playing the HD version after playing the Wii one back on release. Call me crazy but I find the werehog balances out the daytime stages well and am enjoying them. Mechanics are a little jank, they’re a little too long and the mission systems are a little weird… but it’s all wrapped up in such a lovable bow that I can’t be mad (yet).

https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/sonic/images/2/2e/Darkgpv13.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/1000?cb=20120329214939

Edit: embed isn’t working on my ipad lol - the healed phoenix looks like the bird boss from odyssey

and this Brenda woman traveling around like Peach

and the souvenirs to buy at each world

The odyssey comparisons continue….

 

[chocolate_supra]

https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/sonic/images/2/2e/Darkgpv13.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/1000?cb=20120329214939

Edit: embed isn’t working on my ipad lol - the healed phoenix looks like the bird boss from odyssey

and this Brenda woman traveling around like Peach

and the souvenirs to buy at each world

The odyssey comparisons continue….

Fyi, the trick on URLs like that is to delete everything after the ".png"

So:

https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/sonic/images/2/2e/Darkgpv13.png

 

[totofogo]

Pretty weird to be looking up walkthroughs of a game posted 14 years ago and find someone’s potato cam of their CRT… and having it be of help. What a world

Fyi, the trick on URLs like that is to delete everything after the ".png"

So:

https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/sonic/images/2/2e/Darkgpv13.png

Ah thanks - I thought I had when I first embeded it but was having trouble on the iPad haha. Think I accidentally hit media instead of image?

 

[FluffyPower]

You know, I know a lot of us are disappointed in what has been shown of Sonic Frontiers so I'd like to take a moment to highlight some good stuff in the franchise.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2, released April 5th of this year, just crossed $390 million worldwide and will probably cross 400 million in the coming weeks. 69% on RT and 96% audience rating. We've already had a 3rd movie confirmed in production as well as a live action series.





Sonic Prime, the Netflix series, just got a sneak peak last month





Sonic Origins is coming out this month

The Sonic IDW comic line continues past volume 50 and has several side stories as well

Sonic Mania Plus is available right now for $20 including 13 zones, 5 characters, and Encore mode.

Sonic Dash still gets updates




As always, 3D Sonic remains the franchise's Achilles Heel.

 

[chocolate_supra]

Sonic the Hedgehog 2, released April 5th of this year, just crossed $390 million worldwide and will probably cross 400 million in the coming weeks. 69% on RT and 96% audience rating. We've already had a 3rd movie confirmed in production as well as a live action series.

I really, really want a full-size poster of this. My local theaters give away their posters but they all got the one with the Tornado instead and all the sources online look to be knock-off home prints.

I really want it tho

Thanks for everything else in the post, too

 

[totofogo]

I'm continuing to adore Unleashed. I only had the Wii version growing up so this feels like I'm unlocking a memory. The daytime stages are just unreal and the night ones are fun all their own. Between the hubs, collectables, side missions, galleries... it's just such a meaty game.

Next up after this will probably be the unleashed DLC while I'm on it. But, then I want to revisit Adventure 1+2. Are the Xbox versions played on Series a decent way to do so? After getting the "best possible" experience with unleashed at 60fps, I want to keep it up.

 

[totofogo]

I wish Sonic Riders snuck into Xbox BC

What do folks rec as best way to dip back into that series. Dolphin ZG?

 

[Nabbit]

I would like all the Sonic fans in here to know I made chili dogs last night.

That is all.

Pics pls choK thx

 

[chocolate_supra]

Pics pls choK thx

It was a few days ago buuuut luckily I'm a dork and I tend to take pictures of my food for my long-distance friends so I do have a shot of them, here ya go:

Spoiler: föod

The bell peppers might piss some people off but I'm on a pepper kick lately and I don't care, come at me.

 

[Nabbit]

It was a few days ago buuuut luckily I'm a dork and I tend to take pictures of my food for my long-distance friends so I do have a shot of them, here ya go:

Spoiler: föod

The bell peppers might piss some people off but I'm on a pepper kick lately and I don't care, come at me.

Rad! The GBPs are controversial just as a good to me but I can see how their astringent quality would be a nice foil to the other flavors! Those look super delicious though.

Some of the best hot dogs in the country are at White Hut, open for like 100 years, in Western MA, so I hope you get to try them one day! It's been a decade but I literally dream of them on occasion.

 

[chocolate_supra]

Rad! The GBPs are controversial just as a good to me but I can see how their astringent quality would be a nice foil to the other flavors! Those look super delicious though.

Some of the best hot dogs in the country are at White Hut, open for like 100 years, in Western MA, so I hope you get to try them one day! It's been a decade but I literally dream of them on occasion.

Traveling across the continent to try chili dogs is seriously the type of goofball thing I would do, thanks for the recommendation.

 

[Nabbit]

Traveling across the continent to try chili dogs is seriously the type of goofball thing I would do, thanks for the recommendation.

It's in your Sonic fan nature to embrace the goofball! Check out Ted's hot dogs for chargrilled style in WNY too... also home to legit footlong chili cheese dogs. Ever tried a Mexican hot dog out there by you? Bolilo roll... avocado...and bacon-wrapped hot dog! Ok I'll stop

 

[chocolate_supra]

It's in your Sonic fan nature to embrace the goofball! Check out Ted's hot dogs for chargrilled style in WNY too... also home to legit footlong chili cheese dogs. Ever tried a Mexican hot dog out there by you? Bolilo roll... avocado...and bacon-wrapped hot dog! Ok I'll stop

A Mexican hot dog sounds transcendent.

 

[chocolate_supra]

Bowl of cocoa pebbles and a Sonic presentation.

It's like I m a kid again.

 

[totofogo]

I know I’m preaching to the choir here but god damn unleashed day stages are so damn good. I just completed Adabat and these stages are really something special. I don’t mind that they reuse components / segments (eg. Lasers, robot chases) in them because they are placed in entirely new contexts and by these final levels of the game I feel a small sense of that “mastery” on a first run that usually only comes from subsequent ones. The length, cinematic nature and challenge of the levels is just bliss!

I’m completing this game with a little chip away each weekday night and it’s a joy. Love having a hackyslashybeatemupy in my rotation too.

 

[chocolate_supra]

I know I’m preaching to the choir here but god damn unleashed day stages are so damn good. I just completed Adabat and these stages are really something special. I don’t mind that they reuse components / segments (eg. Lasers, robot chases) in them because they are placed in entirely new contexts and by these final levels of the game I feel a small sense of that “mastery” on a first run that usually only comes from subsequent ones. The length, cinematic nature and challenge of the levels is just bliss!

I’m completing this game with a little chip away each weekday night and it’s a joy. Love having a hackyslashybeatemupy in my rotation too.

So glad you're enjoying it. Unleashed is so neat.