Popular and unpopular Sonic opinions you agree and disagree with!

[Vertekins]

I sort of question some of those theories. For one thing (aimed at #4), after 4 years, wouldn't there be a source for the midis if they were taken off the internet? Or at least someone somewhere would have claimed to have made them? For another (aimed at #1 and partially #2), as far as I know Green Hill in the game is a completely original composition. A terrible one, but original nonetheless. Why would that of all stages be the only one which was meant to have original music when it is the prime target for musical homages? The rushing part sounds most likely to me, given that the graphics look sloppy and rushed as well and the fact that we know that a lot of content had to be cut from the final product.

I have read some Youtube comments (Non-credible source, I know ) on Chronicles' music uploads that quite a few of the music tracks are some of John Weeks' (AKA "EspioKaos") Midi's with certain sounds removed.

[Your Vest Friend]

Oh. Well now I feel dumb for not keeping in the music loop. Just Googled the name and the first link is a SegaSonic Radio interview, with music that could legit be conceived for a midi base. :S

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

Regarding Sonic Chronicles, I generally agree with Verte in all but two things: Shade the Echidna, and the Nocturnus clan.

Shade is a bit of an interesting one here: I criticize her character (and in these cases I agree with Verte on her characterization), yet defend her existence in the series. But I suppose it isn't anythng new with me since I do the same for Big the Cat. In Chronicles, Shade is nothing more than Miss Exposition, briefing characters about the things that go on in the Twilight Cage and about Imperator Ix. She's really bland, and to top it off, she comes off as if she'd be a love interest for Knuckles (take that how you will, I vary from neutral to slightly-against it). However, while I can admit all that, I see something worth salvaging as an interesting addition to the cast. We can do away with her character as presented in Chronicles and replace it with one who has a biting and cold demeanor. Where as Shadow is more of a deadpan snarker who can be either competitive, pissed off, or indifferent, Shade could be the character who's strict attitude comes off as blunt, unfeeling, and much more abrasive. It's a comparison of two different assholes: one would be snarky and moody at times, the other is snarky yet cold.

-Shadow: "Your the world's most renowned hero, protecting it when trouble rears its head. Yet you're so full of yourself, you could end up causing the problem you were trying to stop. Remind me who it was that allowed Eggman to crack the world into pieces? Oh right: You! Some hero, huh?" *rolls eyes*

-Shade: "I may have overestimated you. I expected better from the hero of this world, but it seems like all you do is play around like it's a game. Sorry, I don't have time to play with children who can't get a clue."

Not exactly the best way to show the difference, but you see what I'm getting at.

Next is the Nocturnus. We've been talking about an expanded rogue cast, and I think Bioware gave us a good one to work with when it comes to Ix and the Nocturnus. Okay, yes they're inspired by Archie's Dark Legion, but I don't see how we can't make them their own separate entity in the games. I found Ix to be a rather interesting villain, crazy in the head but still capable of trying to keep a hold of his plans unless said plan is turned against him: where he sought to keep the other races in the Twilight Cage separate by fighting against each other, the heroes came in and united them together to take on the Nocturnus. And in addition to that, being a clan of echidna's gives an even greater incentive to use other characters like Knuckles should they get involved as a threat. They were one of the "other countries" that Knuckle's ancient clan warred against in SA1 throwaway comment from Tikal, one that Bioware took upon themselves to add to by developing them as the opposing faction. But I think the difficult part would be putting them on an competitive footing with Eggman as an antagonist while still keeping Eggman the central antagonist and without making the Nocturnus look like the better villains by comparison. But perhaps some deeper look into how other villain factions differ from each other would solve that problem by giving them something unique.

Edited November 7, 2012 by ChaosSupremeSonic

[Alice Twilight]

I'm probably the odd one out that thinks the characterization is great in Chronicles and my all time favorite game Black Knight.

The music in chronicles is soooo horrible.

Next time someone complains about the music in Ep1 I'm pointing them to Chronicles.

[Vertekins]

Regarding Sonic Chronicles, I generally agree with Verte in all but two things: Shade the Echidna, and the Nocturnus clan.

Shade is a bit of an interesting one here: I criticize her character, yet defend her existence in the series. But I suppose it isn't anythng new with me since I do the same for Big the Cat. In Chronicles, Shade is nothing more than Miss Exposition, briefing characters about the things that go on in the Twilight Cage and about Imperator Ix. She's really bland, and to top it off, she comes off as if she'd be a love interest for Knuckles (take that how you will, I vary from neutral to slightly-against it). However, while I can admit all that, I see something worth salvaging as an interesting addition to the cast. We can do away with her character as presented in Chronicles and replace it with one who has a biting and cold demeanor. Where as Shadow is more of a deadpan snarker who can be either competitive, pissed off, or indifferent, Shade could be the character who's strict attitude comes off as blunt, unfeeling, and much more abrasive. It's a comparison of two different assholes: one would be snarky and moody at times, the other is snarky yet cold.

-Shadow: "Your the world's most renowned hero, protecting it when trouble rears its head. Yet you're so full of yourself, you could end up causing the problem you were trying to stop. Remind me who it was that allowed Eggman to crack the world into pieces? Oh right: You! Some hero, huh?" *rolls eyes*

-Shade: "I may have overestimated you. I expected better from the hero of this world, but it seems like all you do is play around like it's a game. Sorry, I don't have time to play with children who can't get a clue."

Not exactly the best way to show the difference, but you see what I'm getting at.

Actually, coincidentally on the Concept:"Mobius" front yet again, I actually co-write Shade's REAL character profile and I entirely write the "Personal character analysis/Character commentary" section as well. My sentiments are practically identical to yours;

Personal character analysis/commentary (By Verte): I'll be frank. In my honest opinion, Shade is one of the blandest female Sonic characters there is. Whilst her backstory and brand of stoic attitude and discipline are certainly unique for a female Sonic character and is distinct from Blaze, the way her lines in the game were dedicated mostly to exposition prevented her from showing a lot of her character and this for me shot a hole in her appeal.

Shade is one of those characters who's portrayal throughout Sonic Chronicles struck me as a character who takes a prominent and important role without doing much of noteworthiness with it. This is poor character usage and truly is a shame, for Shade is a character with potential and the possibility of a Chronicles sequel that would facilitate meaningful character development and role is becoming more and more unlikely.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

Actually, coincidentally on the Concept:"Mobius" front yet again, I actually co-write Shade's REAL character profile and I entirely write the "Personal character analysis/Character commentary" section as well. My sentiments are practically identical to yours;

Wow, nevermind then. Amazing how sometimes great minds can think alike. I wonder what made me think you were kinda against the character when you made your critique?

[Dr. Crusher]

Then this will be a good time to reveal another likely unpopular opinion; that I wish Shade and Marine would come back.

[Anti Alias]

I think techinically Shade doesn't even makes part of the continuity...

like, she literally does not exist in the game universe...

[Kuzu]

Unpopular Opinion: I know people tend to give her the benefit of the doubt, but I really don't care for Shade. It has nothing to do with the game she originated from nor the fact that she is a blatant expy of Julie-su, but more rather I find her character pretty stale and flat, particularly after she joins the heroes where she's more or less just another party member. She doesn't do or say a whole lot afterwards. I'm not saying she can't return, but I wouldn't really care if she did.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

I think techinically Shade doesn't even makes part of the continuity...

like, she literally does not exist in the game universe...

Edited November 7, 2012 by ChaosSupremeSonic

[Anti Alias]

Um, we're all aware that Chronicle's - and by extension Shade - isn't canon. So, I don't see what your point is...

people saying that they would like to see her back

even though she never made part of the continuity...

[Rexeljet]

I know I was just teasing.

It annoys me too, when like reviewers give Sonic games a bad score just because of 06.

You know, how they'll show a fahnny clip of Sonic walking around a loop most the time.

It's annoying, just get over it.

One thing that bothers me is that a Sonic game will get a low score by critics for a certain aspect, that a non-Sonic game could use and get away with. If Sonic tries anything 'new' or 'different', critics hate it for that very reason, but if Mario tries something new or different it tends to get high scores. I bet that if a Mario game had a werewolf gimmick for half the game, had fishing for an eighth of the game, treasure hunting for an eighth of the game, mech shooting for an eighth of the game, and the last eighth was traditional platforming, it'd still get high praise... or maybe I'm just talking daft.

I've posted other opinions of mine on the old thread. You know the drill, I love Sonic 3's sprites, hate Sonic advance sprites, don't think much of Sonic CD, think Knuckles' Chaotix is fun, etc. etc.

I dislike Sonic Labyrinth, not because it's different, but because it was exactly the sort of game I don't like. You're going slow and you have to collect things! Arrgh!

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

people saying that they would like to see her back

even though she never made part of the continuity...

Because she's a part of this very franchise who made her appearance in a game. It's the same as people demanding Nack back even tho he never made part of the continuity.

[Toby]

I bet that if a Mario game had a werewolf gimmick for half the game, had fishing for an eighth of the game, treasure hunting for an eighth of the game, mech shooting for an eighth of the game, and the last eighth was traditional platforming, it'd still get high praise...

That's just because Mario would do it better with class and polish.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

That's just because Mario would do it better with class and polish.

Or bias and fanboyism. Take your pick.

[Mr. Taxi]

Unpopular opinion:

I hate it when people use the "but Japan has always used Eggman and Earth" talk to justify why I should call Robotnik "Eggman" and Mobius "Fantasy Earth". I mean, canon means nothing to me. My own experience with the games and the animations mean all. People seem to find the retconning blindly just as a means to put classic fans in a bad light, like "you guys were always wrong".

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

Meh, I just rolled with the changes than fight them like some hardline classic fans have been known to do. I used to call him Robotnik before I went with Eggman since he kept giving egg themes to his machines, and I settled on Earth because...well, really it was just because.

My problem was actually more of those hardline classic fans just out right raging about how those two small changes are such a big deal.

Edited November 8, 2012 by ChaosSupremeSonic

[Mr. Taxi]

Oh, it's not that I don't call it like that today. In fact, I tend to treat them as two distinct characters. See, it's not a matter of "giving up" or "fighting", it's just a matter of... hey, leave my early Sonic experience alone already. It's not a mark in Sonic 2's Wing Fortress reading "EGGMAN" that will change my whole childhood or something.

Other than that, it's not a big deal. It would be caring about canon if I treated it as such, and I definitely couldn't care less about it.

[Alice Twilight]

That's just because Mario would do it better with class and polish.

Maybe but lets not kid ourselves here

Reviewers aren't gamers, they're journalists they just give scores based on what people like and don't

"Next gen sucked, people hate sonic now, let's apply that to the Unleashed review"

[Rexeljet]

That's just because Mario would do it better with class and polish.

In some ways I agree (case in point- Super Mario Galaxy vs. Mad Space in SA2) but in some cases it seems like the critics aren't bothered with the Mario game because it's Mario. For example, Dr. Mario still had positive reception despite it being far removed from the classic platforming style. Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine? Not so much.

[Anti Alias]

Because she's a part of this very franchise who made her appearance in a game. It's the same as people demanding Nack back even tho he never made part of the continuity.

You are just forgetting one little thing.

unlike Shade, Nack was made by Sonic Team, there are fery few chances that Shade a character by Bioware could be used again in a game written by Sonic Team.

[Diogenes]

Unpopular opinion:

I hate it when people use the "but Japan has always used Eggman and Earth" talk to justify why I should call Robotnik "Eggman" and Mobius "Fantasy Earth". I mean, canon means nothing to me. My own experience with the games and the animations mean all. People seem to find the retconning blindly just as a means to put classic fans in a bad light, like "you guys were always wrong".

I don't see it as as much of a bludgeon as that. To me the point is that "Eggman" wasn't just some crazy new idea forced on the series, it's something that's been around since the start. And once they started telling bigger stories, with fully animated and voice acted cutscenes, rather than leaving it at just hints in the gameplay and whatever they wrote in the manuals, it made sense to unify the series rather than having SoA mash the increasingly explicit SoJ continuity into something that could fit into their continuity. Basically, that Sega had good reasons for what they did, and it's not going to change back any time soon, so you kinda gotta deal.

[Rexeljet]

Here's an opinion that I'm not sure is either popular or unpopular, but I don't think Sonic Heroes is a very good game. Sonic 06 is technically worse, and despite what I said on the old thread, I think I probably dislike it more than Heroes, but Sonic Heroes is still not my fave. While Sonic 06 was rushed and incomplete because Sega pressured the developers, Sonic Heroes just seems like it was rushed because the developers didn't really care all that much (Though I do understand they likely had a deadline as well, considering they were pressured to release it in 2003 because of the 'year of sonic' campaign that was tied into it). I don't play the game very much (and I've only really played the PC version, so if that one is notorious for its poor controls and lack of polish like the PS2 version, feel free to tell me what advantages the GC and possibly Xbox version has) but I feel that its physics are far too slippery and the game's level design (coupled with the poor physics) is constantly trying to lure you into a pit of death as if Sonic and co. are made of iron and there's an extra strong magnet in the earth's core. I don't think I've ever been killed directly by an enemy, boss or other hazard apart from the pits of death. Other hazards have only helped me to die in collaboration with the pits of death. Plus, whenever I fall off a platform, it's almost always a guaranteed death because there never seeems to be anything below for you to land on. Not only does this flaw make it difficult for me to like the game, but I find it baffling whenever anyone says its one of their favourite Sonic games. I'm not saying this as an act of ignorance, bigotry, elitism or a "stop liking what I don't like!" moment, I just find Sonic heroes too unfair to be all that enjoyable.

Edited November 8, 2012 by OldFreddy

[Vertekins]

Unpopular Opinion; Junichi Kanemaru is the best Sonic voice actor, has a highly appropriate voice for Sonic in tone and is superior to any English language VA.

Being unable to understand the language hinders the ability to appreciate the voice acting?....Nope. Emotion and tone in voice are things that are universal and easy to pick up on regardless of the language the words that convey them are in.

For example, when Sonic's voice turned into an incredibly dead-sounding creepy monotone when he turned into that dark form in episode 67 of Sonic X, I knew how intensely angry and distraught he was at the sight of his friends in mortal danger, one of them unconscious and possibly dead for all he knew. The voice acting was incredibly effective because not only was it believable and well-acted but because it portrayed a contrary side to Sonic and was indicative of just how varied Junichi can be with his Sonic voice. The sheer level of dark anger and hatred in Sonic's exclamations as he takes it out on one of them is scary in how it shows how unrestrained his anger is.

When I play Unleashed HD, I get a real sense of Sonic's speed-adoring nature in his exclamations during the stages. Seriously, not only is it much better than hearing "Hiyah!" and "WOOO!" every time I press the boost button which gets very irritating very quickly and drives me to distraction, it makes me feel happy just playing as the guy from his cute and vibrant and not over-the-top voice effects as he tricks and boosts through the gorgeous day stages because I get the strong impression that he's enjoying it as much as I am :>

When Sonic is exasperated in certain cutscenes in Unleashed (Eggmanland arrival cutscene) and Colours (The first cutscene with the space elevator), I'm convinced that he's exasperated. When he's full of mirth, such as when he comes home to see Bokkun muching on desserts in episode 44 of X or when Chip lands head first in a vase after eating the last Meat Bun, it's amazingly endearing. Junichi just has this amazing ability to convey what Sonic is feeling in such a potent manner through voice and coupled with the tone of the voice that suits Sonic to a tee as well as a consistent performances, makes it so good and therefore superior to Sonic's english VA's.

Granted, I loved Jason's portrayal of Sonic in SatSR and SatBK so much in both cutscenes and levels that I play that in English the overwhelming majority of the time so I can fall head over heels for the flawless characterization and loveable dialogue during stages time and time again but JP language mode is still intensely interesting.

Edited November 8, 2012 by Vertekins

[Mr. Taxi]

I don't see it as as much of a bludgeon as that. To me the point is that "Eggman" wasn't just some crazy new idea forced on the series, it's something that's been around since the start. And once they started telling bigger stories, with fully animated and voice acted cutscenes, rather than leaving it at just hints in the gameplay and whatever they wrote in the manuals, it made sense to unify the series rather than having SoA mash the increasingly explicit SoJ continuity into something that could fit into their continuity. Basically, that Sega had good reasons for what they did, and it's not going to change back any time soon, so you kinda gotta deal.

"Dealing" is not even close to being the problem. I couldn't care less about how he started to be called from Sonic Adventure on and couldn't care less if he got yet another rename now. It's not that I "prefer" one name over the other rationally or want the name back. It's just how I see things for what I've experienced.

The main problem is that, when I go "hey I liked Robotnik's manic grin in Sonic 1", I've had people answer with "it's Eggman and has always been you classictard! FACE THE FACTS!" and then I was like "look, that's how I knew him when I played the game and there's no way in the world I'll change my own thing just because of some official bullshit".

It's the same with how I pronounce Knuckles, by the way. I refer to him as something like "Keenoolkleez" because when I saw his name for the first time, it was a Sonic Heroes review for a magazine. And I didn't know English, so I just read it how it came to me. And it stayed.

EDIT: Yet another example: I have this one friend who has, like me, played Sonic 1 for Master System in his childhood. But that's all. He never watched any animations or played any other games. And when he said he found "the bearded old guy bosses" hard, I said "his name is Robotnik or Eggman, as they call him today". And then he said "...yeah, right, what of it" and it made me realize I was being really stupid. He met him as "Bearded Old Guy" and so it will stay for him, no matter what's official.

Edited November 8, 2012 by Palas