I don't see how this looks any different from any of the other recent Sonics.

SEGA should be emulating Sonic 1 and 2. Compare the Green Hill Zone in that video to the old Green Hill Zones.

Branching paths!

Hidden items!

Powerups!

Exploration!

Dangerous enemies!

It's not about the sense of speed. It's about exploring a big open world and traversing from point A to point B however you see fit. Until you know the levels really well, if you try to go full speed all the time, you're just going to run into stuff.

A true, classic, 2D Sonic would be very successful. Donkey Kong Country Returns threw out the Kremlings, ruined the animal buddies, has clunky controls for rolling, has obnoxious load times, and is even more linear than the already linear classic DKCs, and it still is a decent hit based just on the strength of the brand and much of the platforming. The Sonic brand was almost as big back in the day, and the platforming was more open-ended.

There would be a huge market for 2D platformers if companies remembered how to make them.

I'm not conviced, it looks good and fast for sure, but the level design looks so plain, where are the enemies and the hurdles? Old Sonic levels weren't plain. I think what Sega gets wrong is speed, Sonic was't good because of speed, it had a thight controls and great level design just like any other grat platform game. Also were are flippers gone?

btw. I think Sonic1;Sonic2;Sonic3 Knucles were the best. Sonic3 alone was the weakest one, it had only 3 good levels imo.

Agree with Erik Aston on everything about Sonic. Still I actually think DKCR is the only recent example of 2D platforming made the right way. Yes it is less focused on exploration than old DKC games, but that a choice, they decided to give it a more arcade feel.

wow thanks for upping this, I had missed it ^^

though one thing.... it doesn't look all that different from the current sonics (played a bit of colors recently)... with one detail... the level design seems much better set for speed and fun.

I really liked DKCR. A lot of the platforming is just brilliant. But the developers got in their own way. It's bloated and overdesigned, with puzzle segments and the foreground/background movement. It threw out too many old characters and elements like the DK/Diddy swapping system. And the controller shaking to roll is just terrible.

There's a great game inside the overdesigned, overproduced shell of DKCR, which is kind of frustrating to me as a big fan of the original DKCs.

NSMBW is the best example of recent 2D platformers done the right way. It certainly played things way too safe, but it didn't alter or obscure the fundamentals of the series, and it is a ridiculously massive hit.

Anyways, the point as it regards Sonic is that DKCR went back to the roots of the series, and had many large flaws, and is still a fairly big hit. If Sonic went back to the roots of the series, it could have a big hit too.

I understand, DKCR is indeed very different form old ones. But it's not a bad thing imo, I like both DKCR new gameplay style, and old DKC as well. On the other hand, when I play NSMBW after some time, it just makes me want to switch off, and start playing SMB3 or SMW instead. However, it's just a matter of different tastes.

Spot on. This is what everyone thinks yet in 10 years they still haven't cottoned on.

Wake the fuck up Sega.

Lol, that guy... I could almost feel his regret at not getting all of the rings! xD

I don't know, they seemed to have held off on the adding of "friends" as of late. Also, they seem to have left out all of the boring/slow bits of Unleashed. Also, they seem to accept that there's a huge difference between fans of 3D Sonic and fans of 2D Sonic. Now, they just need to ditch the 3D Sonic levels and Sonic will be cool again.

looks too good to be true, Wii cant handle those visuals. im kidding, but if things plays as good as it looks then oh yeah

Finally a Sonic worth checking out! I hated the 3D Sonics, but the 3D in this game actually looks good.

I'd rather have full 2D Sonic again, though. Next to this game maybe.