I really don't believe we'll see a golden age of gaming coming unless the Japanese come into the picture equal to the western devs. Both need to be at the top of their game so we can see ourselves and our collections grow and see value in those games tomorrow as we did in yesteryear. Western games are fun but have a trade off of massive technicality where its nearly robotoic and emotionless. The Japanese are lagging in making the large amount of great games they made last gen, but if they can equate themselves next gen to the glory they had then we will have graphics, story, gameplay and most of all variety and fun. Thanks to western devs like media molecule and other small devs we're seeing something different, but those games are highly underrated. Cultural takes from all around the world are welcome and the games are the filter through which such things happen. You can see it in the way the games are made. Thanks for the compliment. It's just something thats been weighing on my mind heavily.

If you are going to respectfully disagree, then try to be respectful.

Sonic can still pull off huge numbers. If all those bad games really were that bad, then the brand would be worthless by now, but that's not the case. Sega's mistake with Sonic 4 wasn't only that they opted for a downloadable game, but also for iOS as the lead platform.

Then you completely ignore that there is no rule that a proper new Sonic game must be restricted to having only as many levels as the games from almost 20 years ago or the handheld titles. 2D games never really got the chance to evolve, because the advent of polygon graphics put a sudden end to them. Look at NSMB Wii and DKCR; the former has about the same amount of levels as the old games, but they are considerably longer and multiplayer adds a lot of replay value to the game; the latter almost doubles the amount of levels and adds a mirror mode (basically hard mode) and a time attack mode. Two hours of gameplay? What a ridiculous base for your argument against 2D platformers.

What else? Oh yes, the implication that NSMB Wii and DKCR are anything less than two of the best games this generation. Your hate for 2D platformers is still as baseless as always. I remember when you demanded proof that NSMB Wii did cost more than $50 (!) to make, because that's how blind you are when it comes to this subject.

And to top it off, the real test is somehow going to be a franchise that had only one entry that was a 2D platformer so far. Well, of course, better pick something you know of that it has a chance to suit your argument while ignoring the elephants in the room.

If you reply, I hope you have something substantial to offer, in other words something that goes beyond your personal taste.

I don't need evidence for claims that I never made. However, what's well established on these forums by now is that you are against 2D platformers seeing retail releases.

The evidence for Sonic 4 may not be conclusive, but very plausible. You can read the whole story here. Don't worry, it may be located on Malstrom's blog, but it isn't Malstrom's theory.

I already told you that your point of two hours long Sonic games is moot, because modern 2D platformers have offered significantly more playtime than their predecessors that were released in the early '90s.

Regarding evolution of the genre, you conveniently ignored DKCR altogether. Also, even if you disregard NSMB WIi's multiplayer, the game still takes longer to beat and complete than Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World. I don't even need to say anything about LBP, because it is besides the point. Instead I advise you to look up what the word "evolution" means.

As for implying that NSMB Wii and DKCR are bad games, you tried to disqualify them by saying that it wouldn't matter if they sucked, because they would sell regardless. But do you think these games would have sold as well as they did if they weren't as good as they are?

With Kirby you are trying to do a similar thing. Apparently the game doesn't really count, because it is made by Nintendo. Since we both, as well as everybody else who is familiar with your posts, know that you are against 2D platformers being released at retail, it's an obvious attempt to move the goalposts in order to suit your agenda.