Unpopular Sonic opinions!

[KrazyBean]

I've got another one. I don't find the Chao Garden appealing...AT ALL.

Edited May 30, 2012 by KrazyBean14

[Rexeljet]

<p>

The game most deserving of the title "Sonic Adventure 3" is not Sonic 2006, but in fact Sonic Unleashed. 06 lost this due to being a poor copy of SA1 and not making a single advancement, and Unleashed earned this by making the same amount of changes that SA2 did.

Edited May 30, 2012 by OldFreddy

[Dr. Crusher]

Another unpopular opinion: the thing about Sonic, second only to his speed, is his "cool" factor. By today's standards, he is NOT cool anymore. In fact, I get made fun of a lot for liking Sonic, if not for the bad rep that SEGA provided through the poor performance in today's titles (by today's standards - I am relatively easy to please, otherwise I would not be here), then because his character is just... I hate to say it, but cheesy.

I think Sonic Team tries too hard to make Sonic cool that they forgot that "cool" is constantly changing. Sonic CAN be cool again, but he needs to mature a little. I expect a lot of heat from this last statement, but it's in this thread so...

[Alice Twilight]

I couldn't agree more.

Sonic 06 is not the worst Sonic game. Shadow the hedgehog runs putrid, foul-smelling rings around it in terms of crapness, and even Sonic Heroes is worse. In fact, Sonic 3D and Sonic R are miles worse. At least in Sonic 06, the level design doesn't seem to be constantly trying to kill you. Oh no, it's the glitches. As glitches are glitches, I feel this to be slightly more justified. Sonic controls better in 06 than heroes, and better than Shadow does in Shadow the Hedgehog. Sonic 06 would have still been a bad game had it been finished, but most people would have considered it to be better than Heroes or ShTH.

[Sega DogTagz]

Uhh, Lets see what I can dig up for this topic......

I think Blue Sphere is the worst of the Sonic series special stages. I always preferred the halfpipe variants. I don't know what it is about blue sphere that turns me off, but its just not as much fun. I even thought Heroes special stages were better, which leads me to my next unpopular opinion....

I still think Sonic Heroes special stages were awesome. I loved how they incorporated a risk reward boost mechanic and they were an absolute blast to play in multiplayer.

I also thought Sonic 06's realistic designs for the characters were rather charming. Giving Sonic a sprinters proportions is a natural evolution of his concept, and I am and forever shall be a fan of 06 Eggy. That dude is stylin.

I'll also throw my positive opinion of Sonic 4 out there while I'm at it. I can see why so many of you guys around here scoff at it, between the diffrent physics and what not, but honestly, I think both episodes have been solid little platformers, with episode II reaching little bit higher. When taken at face value, they are just fun.

Edited May 30, 2012 by Sega DogTagz

[Milo]

- I think that Sonic characters looks extremely ugly when they are designed in fanwork with aspects such as overt musculature, toes, excessively realistic textures etc.

- Sonic fandom is unfairly targeted as an object of loathing. Yes it's bad, but it's nowhere near as bad as many make it out to be. I've seen fandoms worse than the Sonic fandom and shipping wars much much worse.

Agreed.

A Save system was needed for Sonic 3 & Knuckles, but in Sonic 3 alone it took away all challenge.

To be fair, there was a No Save option for both Sonic 3 and Sonic and Knuckles.

Rouge is the hottest videogame character ever.

But I thought you hated her design :V

Hurr Hurr Pothead the Porcupine.

No, but seriously, I don't hate Silver, but I don't know where they thought they were going with his design.

And Rouge. What the fuck.

Maybe I should stop using evidence of people's previous posts...

Actually looking at the Sonic Unleashed intro and the way Eggman has run away from Sonic on foot on several occasions, I'm willing to bet at least Eggman is afraid of getting beaten up by him.

well now you guys are just asking for it

i'm so sorry

Well, I know what will be visiting me in my nightmares tonight...

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

*Blaze the Cat is the single most overrated character in the series. She's ok, but she's not the greatest character since Knuckles that she's made out to be.

Where the hell do you hear that from? Because I've never heard it here on these message boards since I've been here.

Sega Forums?

[Salamander]

I think Blue Sphere is the worst of the Sonic series special stages. I always preferred the halfpipe variants. I don't know what it is about blue sphere that turns me off, but its just not as much fun.

Too slow and too puzzle-based to really feel like part of Sonic, perhaps? It's easy to see that running down a halfpipe collecting rings bears a stronger resemblance to the normal gameplay. I really like Blue Sphere, personally, but I respect your opinion.

[DistantJ]

My favourite sidekick is Chip!

I think he's fantastic, and I find him way more entertaining and less annoying than Tails. He adds a handful of nice little optional sidequest mechanics and serves to help tell the story without altering up the gameplay. He's funny and cute but never obnoxiously so, and he even helps to keep Unleashed's feet on the ground when the story starts to get too epic by bringing the camp value, the lack of which sent a few Sonic stories to laughable territory. What's more, he was invented for the game, his character developed throughout, his arc concluded nicely and he didn't reappear in every game since. I absolutely love Chip and it's a shame that Sonic Heroes made people decide Sonic should never have new characters again, because Chip was a great example about how they can work so well.

It's not about the supporting characters, it's about the fact that they kept every character, even ones who had DIED, for every subsequent game, and continued to add more. Let's see one new character per canon game, only bring them back for cameos and multiplayer spinoffs (In Generations, why wasn't Chip the character for Spagonia, and Yacker for Planet Wisp, huh?!); nobody complained about Mario Galaxy having Rosalina, because she didn't outstay her welcome into every damn sequel, just popped up in Mario Kart.

[Kuzu]

To be honest, '06 had the perfect tone for a Sonic game that could have shown his mature side. It was horrendously executed however.

Silver's story and atmosphere is the kind that Sonic should have gone through, I mean... Sonic has everything working out for him in the end; in fact, the retcon ending made it so any kind of maturity that he could have acquired goes away, and he goes back to his carefree, as-long-as-I-don't-see-it-it-doesn't-hurt-me personality.

I want to see a game where Sonic loses early on, kind of like Unleashed... And he has to rediscover his life's purpose, that there's more to just beating Eggman. I want to see a game where Eggman puts Sonic in a position where he has to choose between his friends and losing his speed forever. And Sonic chooses his friends, which brings out a redemption in him that allows him to save them and keep his power.

What I mean is Sonic takes his speed for granted, and he needs to learn to respect others that don't have it, INCLUDING AMY. And Unleashed's curse on him doesn't count because he had the daytime still. No, I want to see a cutscene where he watches kids play tag and he cannot keep up with them, and it really hurts him. And then after the game is done, he plays with the kids at THEIR pace, not like in the Archie Comics where he's like "Sonic dribbles, passes to Sonic, who passes to Sonic, and Sonic scores!"

[tenchibr]

*The game most deserving of the title "Sonic Adventure 3" is not Sonic 2006, but in fact Sonic Unleashed.

[jon93]

I consider myself a Sonic fan, but I am ashamed to be a fan nowadays, not because of the vocal minority, but because of the fact that so many of us cannot agree on the same ideas, because of our different tastes and preferences in Sonic gameplay. This Is why Sega need to ignore us for the next few years, so that they can surprise us with something new, and regain the sparking individuality that made Unleashed so beautiful and unique.

[Eternal EX]

Id say 4chan, but if i did i would probably get hanged. A specific board seem to favorite Blaze quite a bit over the rest of the cast. =P

To be honest, I didn't even know people put Blaze in their top 3. I assumed Eggy and sonic were in. But after that, I would assume Knux, Tails or Shadow would be their 3rd.

[Doubled32]

I consider myself a Sonic fan, but I am ashamed to be a fan nowadays, not because of the vocal minority, but because of the fact that so many of us cannot agree on the same ideas, because of our different tastes and preferences in Sonic gameplay. This Is why Sega need to ignore us for the next few years, so that they can surprise us with something new, and regain the sparking individuality that made Unleashed so beautiful and unique.

I somewhat agree. I think that SEGA needs to stop trying to cater to one particular fan set so much and try catering to multiples at once. In other words, 2d games for classic/2d lovers, 3d for adventure lovers, and then the basic Unleashed formula for both But yes, it wouldn't hurt to surprise us with something different if they weren't so afraid of the "fans" who are afraid of the slightest change.

Anyway~

- I think that Chronicles had a really cool story to it, but it was executed wrong. If they had basically just made it with the basic four (Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy) along with Shade, added other characters as optional replacements, and made it play like the regular games, then it would have been accepted a whole lot better than the random puke making sounds of a game that it is now (no seriously, attack a few robots and it sounds like someone's hurling ._.)

- I think that Silver should just come out and say something like "So, thanks for rescuing time and all, but now I'm trapped in the past and I can't get back home. So I'm stuck here for a while. Also, Shadow, you're my dad." Maybe not in that exact order XD But still, I'd like to think that Black Knight's character placement of Shadow as Lancelot and Silver as Galahad to be no coincidence (If you don't know, in Arthurian legends, Galahad is Lancelot's son), and using Generation's ending and sudden appearance of Silver at the end to keep him in the past for a bit could totally work

- I think the old Sonic OVA with Metal Sonic in it is better than SatAM and other Sonic cartoons. One, it has Knuckles, and Two, the characters introduced in it that aren't part of the game series aren't the main characters. Also, the world they were in seemed to more closely resemble the world that the Classics took place in (it even had the Badniks in them ). Strange, isn't it? *shot*

- I think that Knuckles should find some excuse to chunk that big green rock to someone else or find a way to take it with him. That seems to be the only reason he hasn't been appearing as often in games today, and with it gone, he could finally come back as a main character again. So, either he finds some other chump to look after it, just abandons it (Like Shadow did to his own past), shatter it and hope that nobody ever finds it again, or (as seen in a cutscene in SA2) shrink it down and take it with him. Seems simple enough. Also, this isn't really anyone's opinion, but I think Steve Blum would make an excellent Knuckles XD

- The 06 engine shouldn't be forgotten. The models and graphics were excellent in that, and I prefer slightly taller Sonic to shorter Sonic that we have now.

- I also think that Eggman Nega should be brought back (if not in a Rush 3, a Rivals 3). He has an odd predicament. He comes from another dimension, but also from the future as one of Eggman's descendants. Well, if they choose not to bring him back, I have a theory. Look at Eggman, now back at a regular guy. Now tell me, who in their right mind would help Eggman in that department? Well, either Eggman made a clone, or he made a robot. Either way, I believe Eggman Nega originally came from the future, and through some sort of conflict with Silver, he escaped into Blaze's dimension. Or flip flop that Your choice.

[Rally the Cheetah]

I hate the day stages in Unleashed. I think they are the worst part of the game because Sonic controls like he's running on ice. Also who thought it'd be a good idea to make the homing attack at different button from the jump? TOTALLY throws off the rhythm. Oh, and running on water SUCKS! One wrong move you're dead! Also those little buoy things in Adabat to help keep you on course: not helping! What's the point of staying on course when a water spout or crumbling ruins will kill you? Yes, I know Sonic's trademark is speed but moving so fast you can't bloody see what's coming up ahead is ridiculous!

Moving on, yes, the werehog is a stupid idea, yes stretchy arms seem even more ridiculous, but at least I could actually PLAY the game. Also, most of it was pretty dang fun. The only thing I disliked was that some of the levels took the platforming aspect to the EXTREME where it wasn't even funny how difficult the level was. Empire Ctiy.... Who in their right mind thought it'd be "fun" it put collapsing metal beams with spikes on the sides? WHO! Heck, there's even a one-up placed near the bloody checkpoint because they KNOW you're going to die at least 10 times. Also the Chun-nan night act with all the keystones and booby traps... WTH?!

This all said I feel they fixed much of what was wrong with the day stages in Generations. Sonic controls much better and the platforming is much more enjoyable. My only gripe is how sucky the final boss is. Half the time I can't tell if I'm making any progress at all and what's with moving like I'm floating in water? I said Sonic Generations had fixed the movement issue, why break it at the end of all places?

[Your Vest Friend]

A couple related to Adventure;

-The best thing about the game is Big. Sure, he's slow, but it's not like his levels are sprawling all over the place like Sonic's or Tails' levels. The fishing, honestly, I don't see how anyone could have a problem with that on a technical level (on a "How the heck is this gameplay anyway related to Sonic" level sure, but the actual mechanics are so easy). Plus his storyline, while short, is charming, and Hot Shelter is a riot when you think about the fact a lumbering cat from the jungle is wrecking Eggman's Egg Carrier for a frog.

-The worst level in the game has to be Sonic's version of Final Egg. For what's supposed to be the final level before the last slew of bossfights (well, from Sonic's perspective, not including all the other storylines you might need to do), it's absolute shit. It's way too easy (aside from one tiny jump which is only hard because it's pretty cheap), the level design is the least memorable of any final level I've played, and the music is tripe. Pathetic.

-Speaking of which, Sonic Adventure's Soundtrack in general is tripe. The vocal tracks? Catchy. Red Mountain, parts of Lost World, Twinkle Park and Speed Highway*? Great. The rest? So bloody generic. Adventure 2, for all that I find wrong with it in hindsight, still at least has a good soundtrack, and thus has a leg up over this in one regard.

[Wentos]

Shadow should have stayed dead in Sonic Adventure 2. He was clearly meant to, it was really kind of sad to see him die, and yet it tied up the loose ends.

And then of course he came back, and it all went downhill from there.

Shadow is overrated as all hell anyway.

-The best thing about the game is Big.

I know this is 'Unpopular Sonic Opinions,' but

WHAT?

[Pawn]

Yeah no. The games aren't that deep on story, and there's no real reason to try and make them so. Sonic doesn't need to be this thought provoking, deep, intricate experience to appeal to people, especially since that's something that the series was never really built on. I'm more than satisfied with how light the story is nowadays because really, it just captures the true essence of the series; just a fun adventure about a guy and his friends kicking robot butt, I mean what's exactly wrong with that?

And I already know people are going to argue this point down my throat how Sonic can do what I just mentioned, but I also don't see a reason why people can't enjoy a lighter series as well. I like deep narratives too, but I'm also mature enough to not believe that's the only way to enjoy a narrative.

Which brings me to another unpopular opinion: Sonic stories do not need to be that complicated to be interesting, and engaging.

This depends on your point of view. I would argue that the modern games aren't just light on story, but that they are empty. I've never expected or even desired a deep or complex narrative out of Sonic; just an engaging story to justify the action, along with some character interaction/conflict, which in my opinion does require it to show more than simply smashing robots. Even the original series itself was built on a little more than that. The Death Egg saga had a great build up through a huge variety of locations that told the story themselves.

You can't deny the environmental undertones, with the enslavement of animals and the general landscape itself. It helped to tell the story by having Sonic start out in a lush green paradise and gradually descend into science fiction territory. This influence is particularly evident in CD, which went further with the concept by suggesting that science and nature can coexist when creating a Good Future. The Adventures had some great moments themselves and their stories go a long way to explaining their fans attachment to them despite the obvious problems with execution. I'd say the narrative has proven to be pretty important.

I'm not advocating the return of poorly-executed stories that do have substance, but I don't understand why Sonic Team find it so difficult to create a relatively simple narrative (and without falling back on another Chaos clone) that is well-crafted and satisfying at the same time. It's a little frustrating. Perhaps they ought to try telling more of the story in the levels again (and push it further than the classics did, since this is 2012), gradually building up Eggman's influence on the environments (and elements of whatever else is going on a particular story) over the course of the game. I think Scar also talked about this in another thread.

That said, I agree that the story doesn't have to be a deep, complex experience to be engaging. However I don't think it's actually an unpopular opinion. I don't imagine that people really want the story to be complicated, but for there to be more to it than what have been given recently.

Shadow should have stayed dead in Sonic Adventure 2. He was clearly meant to, it was really kind of sad to see him die, and yet it tied up the loose ends.

And then of course he came back, and it all went downhill from there.

It had nothing to do with the cliche amnesia, the awful retcon of his origin, the aliens, the guns or the terrible writing and voice acting that plagued all of the characters in that era, but just that he came back at all?

Edited May 30, 2012 by Lungo

[Wentos]

It had nothing to do with the cliche amnesia, the awful retcon of his origin, the aliens, the guns or the terrible writing and voice acting that plagued all of the characters in that era, but just that he came back at all?

Everything else certainly helped, but yes, him coming back at all was a mistake. Remember that touching scene at the end of SA2 when everyone reflected on what happened and mourned over Shadow's death? Remember how he died? Finally having fulfilled the promise he made to Maria, he died peacefully...

And then he came back.

[Pawn]

Everything else certainly helped, but yes, him coming back at all was a mistake. Remember that touching scene at the end of SA2 when everyone reflected on what happened and mourned over Shadow's death? Remember how he died? Finally having fulfilled the promise he made to Maria, he died peacefully...

And then he came back.

To be fair it did feel a bit quick. They ought to have left him until a (better) 15th anniversary game or something, but I do think it was worth bringing him back at some point.

[Nepenthe]

Why is the fulfillment of the promise in and of itself not enough? Why in the world did he have to burn to a crisp for his actions to have been meaningful? Had it been written that he actually managed to get back up on ARK along with Sonic, would it have cheapened his character change as well? This goes back to my rant before that I think most people just completely ignore Shadow's moral turnaround.

[Dummy Bear]

Why is the fulfillment of the promise in and of itself not enough? Why in the world did he have to burn to a crisp for his actions to have been meaningful? Had it been written that he actually managed to get back up on ARK along with Sonic, would it have cheapened his character change as well? This goes back to my rant before that I think most people just completely ignore Shadow's moral turnaround.

Probably because in spite of his moral turnaround, Shadow continues to act like a holier-than-thou douche.

Speaking of which, I hate Shadow's guts. He's one of the few Sonic characters I hate with a passion(along with Omega who has the personality of a brick and Amy who si so one-dimensional it isn't funny.). I hate those kinds of characters who crosses their arms, closes their eyes, and goes "Hmph, I didn't need your help" all the time and try to act all badass. And this POS is probably why Knuckles doesn't get any attention any more. I can tolerate "annoying" characters like Cream, Charmy, Marine, and Big, but I can't stand this "cool" character. It really pissed me off when people would call Sonic "faker" when Shadow isn't even a real hedgehog in the first place! What's worse was that I was one of the fans who wanted to see Shadow come back after he died. WHAT WAS I THINKING?!?!?

[Nepenthe]

Probably because in spite of his moral turnaround, Shadow continues to act like a holier-than-thou douche.

That...doesn't...actually...answer the question....

[Dummy Bear]

That...doesn't...actually...answer the question....

Yeah, at this point I have no idea what I'm talking about thanks to sleep depravation...

Edited May 30, 2012 by Slash

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

- I think that Knuckles should find some excuse to chunk that big green rock to someone else or find a way to take it with him. That seems to be the only reason he hasn't been appearing as often in games today, and with it gone, he could finally come back as a main character again. So, either he finds some other chump to look after it, just abandons it (Like Shadow did to his own past),

I've beaten these arguments on Knuckles and the ME to death, but the one that gets me is how he should abandon it like Shadow did with his past.

Let me just say that a character abandoning his traumatizing past is much MUCH different than a character abandoning an all-powerful gemstone that keeps 7 other god-like gemstones in control.