HylianSwordsman said:
1. Do you mean Sonic the character or Sonic the franchise? Because yeah, Sonic the character should stay the same. However, I really like the homing attacks in Sonic Adventure 2. How the hell else are you supposed to hit with Sonic's attacks in 3D? It's easy in 2D, but in 3D the homing attacks are necessary because jumping on enemies at that speed with accuracy is just too hard. Besides, the homing attacks can increase the speed and momentum of the level if the level is designed correctly. My issue comes in when they decide Sonic needs to turn into a werewolf, and the werewolf, rather than adding a mechanic or two, instead makes for a completely different gaming experience. Mario gets a cat suit, he becomes even more unstoppable and plows through levels faster. Sonic becomes a werewolf and the game is no longer about speed at all. That's what you want to avoid doing in experimenting with game mechanics. 2. Yeah, this is a completely valid point. No more of this bullshit. 3. So Mario 3D World can practically be a 2D game half the time, but Sonic can't experiment with different perspectives? I get where you're coming from here, but using 2D sections in innovative ways should still be possible. Writing them off completely as unnecessary seems hasty and underestimates the potential they may have. Don't speak in absolutes like that. 4. I dunno, what games are you talking about? Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 were both fine, and Sonic Heroes was okay, as was Shadow the Hedgehog. There have been a few that were too short, but honestly, for the games that were too short, length was the least of their problems. Still, you're right, games should have a decent length. But Mario Galaxy did NOT have 100+ levels. Mario Galaxy 1 had 42, and Mario Galaxy 2 had 49, for a total of 91. Mario 64 and Sunshine each had significantly less, but they were much more fleshed out. I'd say about 2 dozen levels is plenty for a Sonic game. 5. I almost agree with you here, but this goes back to point 1 and blends into point 6. Sonic the character should not be an action adventure character, and since power isn't his deal, sparring with enemies shouldn't be a big part of it either, as you say. Knuckles, on the other hand, has developed his character into more of a fighter. I think having him plow through enemies is a good idea. However, even he shouldn't be about stopping and fighting. It should still be an action game, but also about momentum. So for Knuckles, gameplay should be at a slower pace, but still unstoppable. In a Sonic game, it's not necessarily even about the sense of speed so much as it is about the not stopping. What's the worst part about the 2D Sonic games? when you run into a wall and the momentum grinds to a hault, and the games are filled with sections that do just that, and you have to find your way back to the main path before you can build momentum again. I always hated that. Sonic games should provide a variety of obstacles while giving you the tools to overcome them in a way that maintains the feeling of flow. Nothing stops you up, because you're unstoppable. 6. Which brings me to this. I'm not saying there should be a completely different level exclusive to Knuckles where the entire point of the level is to not go fast but to instead explore carefully and meticulously. That clashes with the rest of the game too much, as much as I liked those levels. Certainly the bullshit with the Big the Cat levels should never happen again. However, in order to include variety in the levels without changing how Sonic plays, having different areas play to different character's strengths is a good idea. This is something Sonic Heroes did right, and what I'm excited about Sonic Boom for. You need to run and jump and platform at max speed? Use Sonic. Maybe a few weak one-hit enemies here and there to bounce off of but that's it. But if there's a horde of enemies coming your way that a simple homing attack won't take down? Switch to Knuckles, and let the raw power carry you through wave after wave like The Juggernaught would, slower than Sonic but still not losing any momentum due to your sheer strength. And why stop there? Tails gives some unique gameplay opportunities, through his technological abilities. This would be trickier to pull off, but rather than give Sonic a sword or gun or what have you, give Tails all the technology. He can also have the aerial sections due to his flying ability. Then you have Amy, who is supposed to be the agility character in Sonic Boom. Sonic is about rushing forward and leaping over obstacles to give a blinding sense of speed, but that can't get you through everything. Sometimes you need flexibility, agility, acrobatics, things of that nature, to navigate trickier obstacles. This could be Amy's niche, and give her a purpose beyond just making googly eyes at Sonic. I recognize you did more or less hint at this, and didn't say that there can't be multiple characters, but the idea that EVERY character MUST be able to complete EVERY stage will just lead to very generic levels. It's better to have levels that need multiple characters to play their part for the roles they specialize in, as Sonic Boom is doing. 7. Yeah, spot on. You have all you need character wise and gameplay wise with those four. So basically, Sonic Adventure 2, 20-40 well designed levels that give every character a purpose, without anything gimmicky. |
1. No it isn't difficult to jump in 3D. I played and beat all of Sonic Lost World with out using the homing attack at all unless you couldn't progress without it. All it does is restrict the flow of the game. There's never been a time where it was implemented well, so just get rid of it. Mario can jump in 3D. So can Sonic without extra help. If your game is broken without the homing attack, that's due to shitty level design, not a need for the thing.
2. Glad we agree.
3. Mario 3D World isn't a real 3D Mario. It's an isometric game. Galaxy and Sunshine are real 3D Mario games, and they are both 99% full 3D. 3D Sonic needs to be the same. Get rid of the 2D. You want innovative 2D Sonic Levels? Play a 2D Sonic game.
4. No they weren't. I've never finished ANY Sonic game in over 6 hours.
5. Eh. I don't think it should be action at all. Enemies are just obstacles. When you see them, you're supposed to either thinking of jumping to avoid them or jumping to bounce off of them to continue your momentum. And I don't think that Knucles should be slower paced. Slower than Sonic? Absolutely, but was he slow in any of the 2D games? No. you still felt wicked fast, just not as fast as Sonic. Every one of his moves carries on momentum. His glide cuntinues momentum. His climbing should work like Sonic's "parcore" to carry momentum, only more controlable. His digging does too. That's how "action" should be handles in the 3D games.
6. I don't think that it leads to generic levels at all. Were Sonic 3 and Knuckles' levels generic? No. Any of the Advance levels? No. You can have alternet paths for specific characters, but there should be no character specific level that is required to beat the game.
7. Yeah.
No, Sonic Adventure 2 was terrible in my opinion. I'd say the closest thing to my vision is the level design of the 3D stages of lost world (only not sectioned off all of the time) with the momentum based platforming of the Sonic Advance trilogy. No homing. No fighting. No nessecary stopping. Just running and jumping. And bring back the breaking the sound barrier. THAT was awesome. In Sonic Advance 2 and 3, if you gain enough speed, you "break the sound barrier," making you get a natural boost in speed, and a trail of images follows you. (It looks exactly like the Lost World effect you get when parkouring.) It's basically a speed reward for maintaining momentum, it happens naturally, and it never gets old.
