Just watched the four videos and I think I got the idea you're trying to share in these, that sonic without an emphasis on momentum and flow becomes another generic platformer, and while I'd love to be able to agree with you my personal preferences won't allow me.
I'm that odd "Sonic fan" that likes the series because of my love for the platforming genre in its multiple forms and can appreciate a Sonic game without the speed as long as it provides an interesting platforming concept, as such my favourite 3D Sonic game is Lost World. While I can agree is one of the least sonic-y games in the franchise I find those tubular levels to be a really clever way of having multiple routes offering different chalenges or gimmicks within the same line of movement, so you can chose a path but still continue moving in the same direction, I went into the game looking forward to those levels and I walked away satisfied. What I wasn't expecting and I was pleasently surprised to find was that the game had some depth on the controls that for the first time fit the game in question: generations has a variety of moves but most of them turn the game into a QTE (a pretty one tho), the adventure series' never feels completely right when it comes to controls except for Amy and Gamma of all characters and Heroes comes really close to being a great game when it gives you multiple paths and multitude of properly working moves but then it starts spamming poorly implemented mechanics like grinding or level desing that forces you to stop and use the first person camera to find something and it starts to grind on my patience. Even if Generations is a superior game in some aspects like replayabily, I still wish that Lost World have had a better reception and there was some hope of getting a sequel some day.
That was quite the unrelated rant, what was I talking about? Oh, yeah, I'm not convinced that hing speed 3D platforming is a good idea outside of quick-step sections or other QTE-esque gameplay style, is better to leave the hard platforming at blistering speeds to the 2D sections and make make the complex 3D ones more focused on climbing and killing badnicks. Actually, Sonic on 3D without homming attack is near impossible and you need some extra move like double jump, stomping or bouncing in order to not fail like crazy, specially for the casual crowd. So I'm happy with Sonic not getting any more pure 3D games but I think that classic Sonic shoud be a separate series from modern Sonic (although I wouldn't mind a game with all incarnations of the blue blur crammed into one story somehow for the heck of it, classic + modern + werehog + boom + super + all other gameplay iterations... and all other characters appearing in cutscenes but not being playable just to piss the fans).
At least classic Sonic is receiving the treatment it deserves with Mania, in the hands of someone else other than Sonic Team.
Also, where's Sonic & All-Stars Racing 3? Where is it SEGA?!
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I see what you mean but I disagree.
Lost World is a good game by itself, I had a great time with it. I agree on the tubular level design being clever allowing for quickly accessible multiple routes, and some of the 2D levels were very good, for a platformer.
The point is that Sonic has always been a platformer, but it has always been based on momentum and physics (I'm not talking about the "fast" sections in Chemical Plant, for example, I'm talking about the sections where you had to platform either slow, or blast through them when you learnt how to play). Taking that out is not ok with me, especially in the 2D sections. Now the games might be solid, Colours was a solid game, Generations is a solid game, and so is Lost World, but they are gradually straying away from what makes Sonic, well, Sonic.
Generations has very good 3D sections, but not the ones you mentioned. The quickstep sections are the less interesting and engaging setions in the boost trilogy. The game is actually fun when you're in full control of the character like at the beginning of Seaside Hill and Sky Sanctuary.
And about controls, Adventure 1 wasn't that bad, Sonic and Tails controlled pretty well. Amy always felt wrong to me, she was too slow and clunky, and Gamma wasn't something that could fit in a Sonic game, imho.
I guess we're just two different types of fans, you just happen to like "generic" platforming and that's ok. I just think that it's not what the Sonic series should be about, since it goes too far from the concept behind the original games.
As I said I don't think the modern games should be a 1:1 reproduction of the classic ones, but they should be delevoped with the same mindset, like Generations was. That's the only way Sonic can shine!
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Bump for new video:
Lost World Level Design and Gameplay Analysis!
It's a bit longer than the other ones because I felt I had so much to say.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIR1VwaRVao
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Hey guys! I recently started a new Youtube Channel about games analysis. I'm currently working on the Sonic series, but I'll do other games in the near future. NieR Automata comes to mind! Check it out if you're into that kind of stuff, let me know what you think.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyo8_uDpJqdYYDbIO0oQExQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUCpfigCaOE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_mUA18vXCo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCNS2BPE4W4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTg6zHOGrGc
Since Sonic Forces has been announced, I've been thinking a lot about the direction this franchise is going in. I feel like with every iteration Sonic Team has done something different, sometimes radically different, but Sonic Forces is the first game in a long time that is not doing anything "new".
Yeah we have the Customizable Character, but his/her gameplay isn't that different from what we've seen in Sonic Colours.
So I'd like to start a discussion specifically on level design, and how you guys think it should be, both in the 2D and 3D portions of the games.
I myself enjoyed Sonic Generations a lot, it felt really good to play. Some classic levels played really well, even if the physics were not 1:1, and some modern levels were almost perfect, Sky Sanctuary and Seaside Hill for example.
I like that they managed to combine high speed with platforming, in a way that doesn't feel forced. It was not Stop&Go like in Colours or Unleashed's level of fast, and it really shined because of that. I wish Sonic Team really took notes from Generations in the Modern Sonic gameplay, but since the Wisps are back, I wouldn't be too sure about that.
One thing that really makes me sad is that some people sees my critiques as some kind of "hate" against the franchise, when I am a really big fan. I spend most of my time playing Sonic games, and I've been a fan for more than 15 years now. I don't want to let go because I think the franchise has BIG potential, but many of Sonic Team's effort have been lackluster.
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