Dr. Crusher Presents: The 30 Days of Sonic the Hedgehog Mk.II (Daft and Tolerating It)-PAGE 72, FIN

[Gabz Girl]

Question 7! Which character(s) do you think would have the easiest time adjusting to the real world?

 

Probably Amy, Cream and Cheese. I mean despite Amy wielding a giant hammer, I think she only pulls it out if she gets REALLY angry. Otherwise she seems like a nice enough girl who'd make lots of friends, go shopping (a lot!) and hang around cafés. Cream and Cheese are even more grounded and friendly, so they'd only get odd looks for being a giant rabbit and a floating alien thing.

[Oscillo]

Question 5

 

I suspect that the music from the games, aside from maybe the orchestra songs, was in-universe composed by either Sonic (for the main series & Racing games) or Vector (Everything else). Also, the late represents some kind of transition into rock music where, because of his increasing success in that world, he's allowed larger production budgets o spend money on session musicians etc which allowed him for a wider range of styles, Also, i suspect his earlier songs in universe have lyrics & are more like full songs than the short instrumental pieces that play in the game.

 

Also, I thunk that the Robotnik's are actually Russians, & the ARK was actually a Soviet thing that was planned to be an international hub of sorts, but ended up being part of the Cold War. After The fall of The ARK, I suspect that Dr Eggman eventually immigrated to the US & tried to distance himself from what he lost via adopting very capitalistic attitudes. Shadow, meanwhile, is very stuck in the past upon arriving in the modern day & has great difficulty accepting much of what changed during his hibernation, particularly the fall of communism worldwide, as he sticks very much towards the attitudes of his old era.

[Guest]

Question #7: Which character(s) do you think would have the easiest time adjusting to the real world?

I think the two who would have the easiest time are Tails and Eggman. Because they are both particularly smart and know just about everything. They seem to me like they would have the easiest time adjusting to our reality. I believe that Tails and Eggman would have to work together to find out where they are and how this world works in terms of the new world's matter and properties. I am pretty sure that the rest of Sonic's friends would explore are world and most likely see it as there own. Because Mobius and Earth have almost the same properties as one another. Well that's all I can think of.

[-blank-]

I think Sonic would probably have the easiest time, given his penchant for living life in the moment. I imagine he'd spend a lot of time exploring our world.

[Kiah]

Day 7:  Which character(s) do you think would have the easiest time adjusting to the real world?

 

 

Seeing that the entire main cast with the exception of Dr. Eggman is anthropomorphic, I can see all of these guys fairing well on Earth after the initial stares from the human population. Whether it is a bustling city that never sleeps or a peaceful isolated island, there are plenty of places on Earth that could adapt to the habitation needs of everyone here I'm going to go into detail about two of those characters:

 

Cream: I thought of her first and foremost. She's so sweet and amicable that everyone couldn't help but to adore her as all would take well to her kindness. She would have plenty of people to befriend and would enjoy all of the cute things we have here on Earth like teddy bears I can see Cream spending a lot time learning about and baking new desserts as well as making crafts-and sharing them of course Besides...

 

As long as she has flowers to pick...

 

And she can have her tea parties as well as other cute things, Cream would do just fine here on Earth. Especially if Cheese and Vanilla are here with her

 

Sonic: He's the type where hardly anything seems to phase him including the environments he is in. Sonic runs around and wrecks havoc in Outer Space of all places without giving it a second thought as it is all an adventure to him. Knowing him, Sonic would see being on Earth as a brand new adventure where he would run around the vast and varied terrains on the planet-avoiding the waters, of course! I can see Sonic soaking in the scenery and cultures and enjoying the people as well taking plenty of pictures along the way à la Sonic Unleashed:

 

 

And we have chili dogs here too so...

 

 

Seems like Sonic would be good to go if he was here on Earth!

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

Question No.4:

 

Oh, boy, I'd say that my most unbearable childhood time with Sonic times would be getting INTO the special stages of Sonic Advance 2. Honestly, screw having to find all of those Super Rings in one go on a level!

 

I spent hour after, after hour, day after day, and etc searching through each level, and it didn't certainly help that making it so hard to get into these special stages also hindered my ability to practice said special stages.

 

For goodness sake, who on earth thought it a good idea to make it that in Sonic Advance 2, y'know the Advance game of the trilogy that's the most speed-through of the bunch, that's the one where you have to slow down to try and find those rings, unless of course you can pull something off.

[Dr. Crusher]

~SSMB Has Cleared Real Life Ridibund Act 7!~

 

"To live a life of power, you must have faith that what you believe is right, even if others tell you you're wrong. The first thing you must do to live a life of power is to find courage. You must be ready to reach beyond the boundaries of time itself. And to do that, all you need is the will to take that first step..." - Clark Kent, Sonic CD (1938)

 

Question #8: Which generally disliked games do you like regardless?

 

"I heard he likes Wrath of Cortex as well. What a 90's derogatory term-o."

 

Opinions are like spoons, in that everyone has a few different spoons, and that's fine (and also the end of this metaphor). With the Sonic franchise, there are plenty of different opinions, and you don't need to look harder than through the opinions on the games themselves. You'll have the ones that are widely respected, you'll have the ones that are widely despised, and you'll have the ones that are right in the center of the "It's alright innit" circle. But there's always an exception to the otherwise uncontested rule, and so every now and then someone will come along and not be that keen on a game that is loved by everybody else.

 

But we're not talking about that scenario. We're talking about the opposite scenario. For every game that's lucky enough to be considered bargain bin fodder, there will be those few individuals who appreciate the game just a little more. So which examples would those be for you then?

 

NOTE #1: For clarification's sake, I'm talking about examples that you genuinely like, as opposed to examples that you like in the "ironic" sense. (Eg: I'll hold my hands in the air and admit that I do have a little bit of fun with both Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic '06, but I still wouldn't personally think of them as games that I like-like, and so those two wouldn't fit as my answers for what I'm actually asking.)

 

NOTE #2: Now this isn't a real rule or anything, since this would naturally be a hard thing to truly decipher, so don't worry about it too much, but if you can, try to think of examples that you believe are indeed disliked by the great majority, as opposed to examples that merely have an overall controversial/half and half/love it or hate it reception.

 

Crusher's Thoughts: Sonic Lost World, of course.

 

You know, I keep hearing about how "divisive" this game is, but aside from the odd video review on YouTube, the reception surrounding Lost World that I usually see ranges from mild dislike to full blown hatred, some folk considering it even worse than Sonic '06. Fair enough, I won't argue with opinions, but personally, I can't bring myself to agree with all the bile that this game gets.

 

Now that's not to say that I don't get why this game isn't all that popular in itself, because that part I can get. Some folk having trouble getting used to the new gameplay style on their lonesome, there even being another new gameplay style in the first place, Sonic being the only main playable character once more, the strange use and placement of the Wisps in the levels, the rather basic personalities of the game's main antagonists, said antagonists having mostly laughable boss fights, Tails acting a little different than usual, the final boss working like a copy and paste of Sonic Colours' Nega-Wisp Armor... I can understand all of that, and I'll agree that there could have been a bit of improvement.

 

But in spite of all that... I still like the game.  For starters, I enjoy the gameplay well enough, enough for me to hope that the parkour will be able to return albeit with modifications in a future game (although I won't be too upset if it doesn't, you win some and you lose some after all), and even though I was a little puzzled when I started out, it only took two or three minutes for me to get the hang of it. I agree that the Wisps were somewhat pointless in regards to how the overall game worked, but I thought they were inoffensive nonetheless, and much like the main gameplay, with the sole exception of the Indigo Asteroid, I got used to each of them fairly quickly (I didn't even find the infamous Magenta Rhythm to be all that bad). And while I can understand why Lost World appears to be one of the harder Sonic games for plenty of folk, I honestly didn't have that much trouble with it... well, apart from collecting the occasional Red Ring that is, but I think that's to be expected, so I can't be too hard on that. Frozen Factory Zone 2? Took my time, no worries. Lava Mountain Zone 2 and 3? Only died a few times at most in both. Silent Forest Zone 2? Didn't seem that much harder than any other typical stealth section in a platformer.

 

As for non-gameplay matters? Well it's no secret that I really enjoy the Deadly Six in spite of their most prominent shortcoming, and the overall plot was a Sonic/Robotnik team-up story that - cue the flying pigs - I liked, even if it's almost entirely because it was more of a Crash 2 "I'm biding my time so that I can turn the tides and continue from where I left off" situation. And Tails? I'm sorry, but I don't think he was that bad, and I'll probably continue to stick by that opinion 'til the end of time. Could the sub-plot involving him have been executed in a better fashion? Yes, of course it could have. But is it enough for Tails as a whole to receive such an overwhelming amount of reactionary vitriol (and I have seen a fair amount)? No, I don't think it is. But anyway, the point is, I can understand why Lost World isn't loved by most, but I don't think it deserves to be as hated either. But hey, that's just an opinion. A Crusher Opinnah fuck it, that doesn't work.

 

One more thing: I do like a lot of the game's soundtrack. Some people say that Lost World's soundtrack is one of the more generic and un-Sonicy (what does un-Sonicy mean nowadays anyway?) soundtracks out of them all, and I can see why it might not be the right cup of tea for some, but I like it a good deal, particularly tracks like Dragon Dance, Honeycomb Highway, Dr. Eggman Showdown, and of course, the Sea Bottom Segue. I'm really pleased with how recognised that last one has become, as it's very similar to the tunes for Aquatic Base, tracks that I also really liked and thus was always a little downtrodden with how often they were overlooked.

 

What's that? You want another example? Alright, here's one: Sonic 3D Blast.

 

You don't need to ask for the main reason behind why this Sonic game isn't considered by many to be the greatest of Sonic games (it's mostly the lack of woah vroom vroom woosh), and I won't argue with that either, but I still have a soft spot for the game. I don't think it's nostalgia bias talking, since I reckon I would have still enjoyed this game even if I had played it for the first time at a later date in my Sonic fan years. It's not that fast, and attempting to recollect the Flickies after they ditch you upon experiencing the ouch factor can be nothing short of tedious, but it's bouncy enough, the zones have their own gimmicks, the music's great (both versions, although I prefer the Genesis/Mega Drive soundtrack a little more overall), and Robotnik looks smaller than usual, which is kind of funny. I have a lot of fond memories with this one as I do with the more popular Genesis/Mega Drive Sonic trilogy, and there's not a damnity-flammity thing you can do about it. Okily dokily? Okily dokily.

 

So with that out of the way, you may now post awaaaaaayyyy!~

[Spin Attaxx]

Mulling it over, Lost World is the only one that comes to mind. It's not a perfect game, I'll admit, and it's not something I come back to often, but I do feel it's at least a partial step in the right direction for a good 3D experience. Maybe if they combined it and SA1 or something, we'd get somewhere. The art style, while divisive, I quite enjoy - it really does feel like a 3D version of the Mega Drive world (to the point where I actually kinda want classic skins for Sonic and co. just to complete the look - Modern Sonic actually kinda sticks out).

 

The music, I love it. And then there's the Deadly Six. Again, I like their designs, their contrasting personalities (yeah yeah, joke all you want about how they've got none) and how they're the best MOTW(?) we've had in a long time. Again, I'm jealous that I didn't come up with them before Sonic Team did :U

[FriendBot]

Before Rise of Lyric was a thing, 06 and Shadow the Hedgehog were considered the absolute worst Sonic games ever. And while I agree that 06 was pretty bad but after replaying through Shadow recently, I actually liked the game.

 

The story is pretty dumb with a couple of unintentionally hilarious moments so yeah.

 

But the gameplay is pretty good, the guns work rather well especially since enemies still have health bars and I love the Shadow Rifle, so gud. Granted the missions are pretty mixed for me, some can be fine like destroy the Dark Arms ship (piss easy with the Shadow Rifle) to eh (the destroy # enemies missions) to pretty bad like Lost Impact's Hero Mission and Mad Matrix's Dark Mission being the absolute worst mission in the game. 

 

The music does a much better job of presenting a more gritty game than the actual game itself and has its share of some really good tunes. Just love Sky Troops, Mad Matrix, Lava Shelter, Death Ruins and etc.

 

The levels themselves is pretty serviceable. Nothing too great really but nothing really terrible either.

 

So yeah, story-wise Shadow does suck but gameplay-wise it's pretty alright.

[Klinsy]

Question #8: Which generally disliked games do you like regardless?

 

Sonic Heroes gets a lot of hate and I can see why, but I love it still.

 

It's music is awesome, there's a lot of playable characters with a cool teamwork based gameplay, the locations are very memorable and once what you see what it's going for, the style of the game is pretty dang cool.

 

It does have flaws such as the controls being not as tight as they should and levels going a bit longer than the should be, I still like it in the end.

 

In fact, it's one of my favorites, it's up there in my top 10.

[Inkling Cooper]

30 days of Sonic Act 2 Day 8: Which generally disliked games do you like regardless?

 

For this question, I'll have to say Sonic Heroes. Why? Well, even though I haven't completed the game, and I don't know when, I still think I like it. Even though I played the PS2 version of the game which is considered to be the worst and I haven't played it in a while. I didn't think it was the best Sonic game ever but for the time I played it then, I liked it. I think the best part of the game is the art style. As I said in a later post, I said I think at the time the game came out, it was the closest to the Genesis games in 3D and I still agree with that. So, to sum up, again, I haven't played it in a while and I'm not even sure if I even remember a whole lot from when I played. If I play it again, my opinions may change but for now, yeah, I like it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 8 complete!

[Badnik Mechanic]

Question #5: Headcannon/fan fiction Time

 

 

Something which has pondered many fans, what was it that made Gamma go good? Was it Amy? A memory of his family? The Flicky overpowering the programming? 

 

Regardless as to what it was, one thing I always wanted to happen or at least thought would be really cool.

 

When Gamma starts to think about the other E-Series robots, he merges with Eggman's systems and his rouge programming which sparks rebellion is shared on Eggman's computer network, as either a rouge line of code or a file which could corrupt Eggman's rule.

 

In the same game we see a Metal Sonic in a test tube like device, under construction... I liked the idea that Gamma's rouge programming or sense of individuality/freedom was kept onto Eggman's computer network... over time other robots attempted to access that file and either rejected it or it wasn't compatible... and then Metal Sonic got hold of that file. 

 

When Metal Sonic was activated, Gamma's sense of rebellion was transferred into Metal Sonic... and that is why he goes rouge and disobeys Eggman in Sonic Heroes.

 

Question #6: Sonic 06 is the bestist game

 

Oh we could name a ton of things... yes we could. However... these two stand out...

 

 

Maybe it's the blank emotionless expression on Sonic's face.

Maybe it's how Sonic looks like a tailors dummy that's being propped up by a stick.

Maybe it's how Sonic's tail looks like it could chop through a jungle.

Maybe it's how it looks like Elise is photoshopped in (she's not, thats how it appears in the cut scene).

Or maybe how it looks like Elise is about to perform rule 34 right before our eyes...

But something about this image looks really really off yet really really funny, I just can't put my finger on it.

 

I shall defeat you Silver! With the power of my invisible chair! Just give that pose a go, try and stand like Sonic is in that cut scene. I advise you don't do this if you have thigh/knee problems.

 

And look at his tail, it looks like he's about to turn into a fucking bumble bee!

 

Question #7: IT IS REAL!!?

 

 

Basically... all he has to do is invent anything... and he'll instantly become a millionare over night. Think about it, giant war machines, small devices for pleasure/commercial markets, weapons, giant airships for transport. 

 

The guy puts Bill Gates and Steve Jobs to shame! 

 

If he were real/in our word, he just has to make one thing and he's won.

 

Question #8: Well I thought it was great.

 

 

I like... Sonic Spinball.

 

I don't know why but I never found this game as hard as other people did. In fact I really really enjoyed it, I loved the soundtrack, especially the boss themes. 

 

I loved the minigames in which you have to free the trapped animals. I really like some of the scenery in the zones, and I also really like the challenge. 

 

I know it's one of those games that people hate because it's hard, but I really like it.

[Osmium]

Question 8: Which generally disliked game do you like regardless? 

 

Hmmm... This is a bit of a toughie. 

 

I guess I will go with 

 

Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (8-bit). 

 

 

I don't think this game is really disliked, as much as being a somewhat obscure game that everyone complains about being hard as hell. And yes, it is hard as hell, and the controls are pretty slippery and need some work. But I still like it. A lot. 

 

I find this game pretty cool, for it's differences to the Mega Drive version of Sonic 2 and I love how generally out there it is. Instead of a Green Hill themed zone, you get Underground Zone, which is a lot more intimidating and a very odd zone to be starting out with. 

I think it's a really awesome way to start out such a different game.

 

This game is filled with a lot of strange gimmicks that wouldn't be seen elsewhere such as the Hang glider and those bubbles you travel in in Aqua Lake Zone, and it's got some pretty odd level design.  

 

Then you randomly have green hill zone in the Middle of the game and it's really unremarkable except for the third act with those fucking jumps. It comes out of the blue and it is in the completely wrong place and I love it. 

 

The atmosphere of this game is a lot different than other Sonic games. IMO, this game has a lot more of a desolate and desperate feeling to me. I don't know why, I think it's the somewhat more panicky music than normal and most of the zones feel pretty barren. For some reason,I love it. 

 

I really like how this game looks. Most of the zones are only one or two colours and are very simplistic in aesthetics, but it jumps out to me. The colours seem to be a bit darker than other Sonic games, too. Instead of the bright greens and blues and reds, this game is filled with moodier browns and turquoises and dark reds and purples. I think that adds to the generally darker atmosphere. 

 

 

Scrambled Egg Zone is pretty awesome with it's fast paced soundtrack, dark colours, and maze like levels which make you nervous and be more on your guard. 

 

 

If you get all the Chaos Emeralds, you go to Crystal Egg Zone which is surprisingly relaxing for a final zone. It's really out there with it's odd monochromatic colouring and being generally easy compared to Scrambled Egg Zone. 

 

 

The storyline for this game is different too. Tails gets kidnapped and Sonic has to save him. I don't think this plot has really been used anywhere else, so I guess this is unique for the series. Also, if you get the bad ending, Tails fucking dies. Yeah. That's pretty heavy, especially for the time when most bad endings were just Eggman laughing. 

 

 

The soundtrack for this game kicks ass. It's generally more moody than other games with its faster tempos. I know I'm just repeating myself, but that just adds to the different atmosphere of this game that you feel. This game can really make you feel uneasy at some key points, especially when you start out in Underground Zone. This game has a awesome atmosphere IMO, and some pretty awesome levels which are different than other Sonic games and have some pretty different themes, especially for the time. 

 

The game is really hard, but it makes you really feel like you accomplished something when you beat it. 

[Ryannumber1gamer]

Don't worry Crusher, I liked Wrath of Cortex as well.

 

Question #8: Which generally disliked games do you like regardless?

 

Not sure if it would count, but considering Lost World is more diverse, rather than generally disliked, I guess I'll throw it in here.

 

 

This is one Sonic game that seems to be either love it or hate it for most fans. Me personally, I wouldn't say I love it, but I most certainly really like the game. Why? Well, first, it's personal story time. Yayyyyyyy.

 

To put it quickly, this is my very first Sonic game that I ever played, back on the PS2. This was the first time I was introduced to Sonic's smartass attitude, Tails' wits, and Knuckles' fight happy mood. This was the first time I experienced high speed gameplay and I loved it at the time. If I remember right, my two favourite teams at the time were Team Sonic, and Team Dark. 

 

Now, even with or without the nostalgia, I can still really appreciate this game, and really enjoy it. True, I can't stand Tails' voice in this game, but I still think the gameplay is really good, along with having a lot of the same style as the classic games. That's not to mention the fun story that managed to squeeze in the majority of Sonic characters, and be a bit light hearted after the darker Adventure 2. That's not to mention how good the soundtrack is. These songs are still some of my favourites:

 

 

 

 

I understand that there is some issues, and yes, they are there, but this game in my opinion needs more praise, because it's a really fun game in my opinion.

 

Now for the game that's going to make everyone angry.

 

 

''Come on Ryan, I'm sure it can't be that ba-EDGE EDGE EDGE EDGE, MY EYES'' - Some random SSMBers...maybe?

 

Yes, that's right. I like Shadow the Edgehog Hedgehog. Fair enough I don't think it's great, and I don't think it's even good per say, probably average at best, but I still do enjoy Shadow the Hedgehog to a certain level. While I do get bored if going for the Last Story section, I do still have fun doing one or two stories in the game.

 

I think the controls are fine, just being a little more expanded than Sonic Heroes' gameplay, I think the gunplay is a bit over exaggerated (While it's fucking stupid that guns are in a Sonic game, it's at least used decently). I think the cutscenes are so over the top, and so try hard, that they are actually funny, especially the over the top swearing. For reference:

 

 

^The majority of the above video is from Shadow alone.

 

That's not to mention that I do still have a bit of nostalgic memories towards this as I did play this as well as Heroes (Don't worry, it was Unleashed's day time stages that made me a full on Sonic fan). But the final thing is Shadow the Edgehog is a bad, over the top, cheesy fan fiction of a game, one that I can't help but enjoy and really like throughout the entire thing. The gameplay is alright, the cutscenes are just so damn enjoyable, and the soundtrack has some good songs, such as:

 

[The Tenth Doctor]

Day 8: Game people don't like but I do

 

You realise that's a few for me right? 06 is ok to me, not the worst but not the best. The current thing of people ragging and loathing Sonic Adventure 2 has me sad because that's my favourite game, even with it's flaws I just love it all. Instead I'll choose the main guy for this year.

 

 

Shadow the Hedgehog, the game. It'll be 10 years old on November 12. I was hyped for this game. I liked Shadow's character and was intigued at the possibilities the game had for Shadow's past and hero/villain status. When I played it, I thought it was quite good, better than Heroes anyway. Through the years I realised it was pretty daft, the gameplay was a bit slippy and the aliens were meh but I never got the out right hate. Sure, it had guns but I didn't see what people moaned about the controls for. I could always shoot who I wanted, no problems. Besides, it gave me a chance to see a Sonic advert on the big screen!

 

 

This played for my cinema before Goblet of Fire and man, I enjoyed every second of it. For it's 10th Anniversary I have decided to play through as many stories before the end of the year is out. Know how many I have already done? 112. I enjoyed most of them too (Mad Matrix Dark mission can buzz of though). All Hail Shadow!

[Ratcicle King]

Question #8 - Which generally desliked game do I like regardless?

 

Ok, so here's the thing. I'm a saddist. I love playing bad games for kicks, especially if I'm with a friend, which makes it double the time enjoyable.

 

But let's begin with the obvious picks shall we?

 

Sonic 06 - I honestly hate what this game is, but I don't hate having to play it, I LIKE playing it because of how fucked up it is, every playthrough ends up differently, sometimes it's way too hard, sometimes it's way too easy, and sometimes it's pretty enjoyable all the way, it all depends on the glitches and my mood when playing it, but that's the thing, witnessing the game fuck up so fucking hard is a wonderful sight for me, even better if I have a friend to laugh with too, the game SHOULD be the thing I hate the most, but it's so bad it's good, so you really can't hate it, it's like that friend who plays a prank on you that you actually find funny, you WANT so hard to hate it, but you can't because, as much as you don't want to admit it, it was a pretty good laugh, it made your day. This is 06 to me, it's a game that's great for all the wrong reasons. And I could say the same for Shadow, but this isn't exactly what they asked, sooo...

 

Sonic Lost World - This here is a game I still defend to this day, yes it has it's flaws, yes it sometimes makes no sense on what it wants to accoplish, but honestly? I REALLY liked how it turned out, the game feels like a classic Sonic game brought into the 3D Realm in HD consoles, yes, Generations did that, but that game wanted to give realism to those places, Green Hill looked a bit odd having reallistic mountains with that checkerboard pattern, here, it embraces that yes, classic Sonic's world should make no sense at all, it owns it to the very end. The enemies, they're creative again, we have new pretty cool badniks, which a lot of people seem to ignore, even tho' they used to complain about this, about having no new Badniks, only rehashes. The art style, it's simplistic but again, it works, they make it work, they take it all the way. And the story, not only some great characterization, but finally a Monster of the Week that I can get behind taking Eggman's place. Zavok is a great villain, he's like what they wanted Mephiles to be, this cunning bad guy who has this aura of a manipulative bastard, you can feel by the way he emotes and talks that it seems like he's always planning, always working around any problems, always taking any opportunity he can, yes, he's not a goofy villain, but he has the rest of the team covering him for that, his job is to be the threat, he's not a random monster who's betrayal of Eggman seems like an asspull and undermines the good doctor, no, both played their parts very well, Eggman did his darnest to avoid being betrayed, and when it happened, it was something beyond his control, and Zavok grabbed the opportunity and did his best with what he got, making Sonic's character go places he never did before, and mocking him for it. And Eggman even then managed to outsmart Zavok, as he knew even with Zavok doing everything he did, Sonic would still manage to beat him, and Eggman was counting on that. the whole game when looked from the big picture, was a chess game between Eggman and Zavok, Zavok stole all of Eggman's pieces and turned them against him, but Eggman had one last piece he knew would change the game, because it's what it always did, and once he was done, he was ready to finish Sonic off himself, but of course, he failed, but the fact he managed to get this far is pretty fucking amazing for the doctor.

Also we get some emotional moments we've never seen for a good while in the franchise, Sonic being brought to despair for something he did, EVERYONE around him almost died because of him, we see him having to deal with all that, we see his rage when he finally meets the Deadly Si- Ehr... Three... At Lava Mountain, and when everything is done, when Tails is safe and the villain goes back to being Eggman, it's like Sonic is finally relaxing a bit, because he's finally in his comfort zone again, that's what this entire game was, they took Sonic out of his comfort zone, and at the end, while it feels a bit rushed, you can understand why he just lays down and rest a bit, he fucking needed resting around his friends after all that shit.

So yeah, that's why I love Lost World, it's bad? Yeah, I can see why some people dislike it so much, but I can't dislike this game, because it did more than any game since Unleashed in terms of characterization, and brought back the style Sonic had in his classic games.

[Multikaris]

Day VIII: Disliked Games I Like

 

I'd pick Sonic 3D Blast as one of my favorites. I have some pretty fond memories of freeing the Flickies. Also Spinball and Shadow won me over for their chillingly grim atmosphere. Colors, despite the lame jokes, still played, looked, and sounded quite well. Sonic 4 was alright.

[Nepenthe]

Question #8: Which generally disliked games do you like regardless?

I'm gonna throw this out there and say Sonic Unleashed. I regard the following it has- even on here- to be in cult status, due to the middling to negative reviews it received at release, the ire towards its non-Daytime elements from the gaming populous, and how its accomplishments and status as a modern game have been been forgotten in lieu of the later games and their design elements.

With that said, my fondness for this game hasn't much wavered. I appreciate it for even introducing boost gameplay in the first place. Beyond it having the feel and stage design I like best out of the modern games, it is wholly responsible for initiating the climb out of the hole that Sonic 06 put us in, helping established a needed bit of consistency and predictability, and is largely proof against the concept that Sonic games need years to improve versus improvement happening immediately. I also like the Werehog too, mainly for the way he controls and feels as a platforming character even without his later powers, managing to control better than an overwhelming majority of 3D iterations of Sonic characters until that point. That, and he's actually adorable. That kindhearted, toothy poofball is the best way Sega could have possibly handled the idea of a werewolf Sonic.

I love the way each area is excessively defined by the details endemic to each region they chose which makes the world easy to invest in, and the ability to bask in the aesthetics through the hubs. The NPCs that popuate them are literally the most well-characterized and memorable of the entire series (my favorites are undoubtedly Zonshen the doctor and Louie Montaine), adding more charm and empathy on top of the proceedings. I fundamentally like the idea of having an omnipresent enemy affect the mechanics and design of the entire game. What story was there I felt was sincerely told, featuring a range of emotional shifts from action-driven to nice slapstick to very heartful and bittersweet, like an animated film.

And finally, the marketing blitz was insane. We not only got trailers for every stage, but extensive blogs featuring concept work, exclusive merchandise, and a rare look into a modern Sonic Team that seemed excited for what they were developing. Let's not forget the shorts, particularly Night of the Werehog which stands as one of the best pieces of animated Sonic media ever made. I watch it every Halloween. <3

I'm not deluded into thinking the game is perfect, mind you. There are pacing and technical problems out the ass in the game. I just wish these things hadn't essentially damned the good and admirable parts of Unleashed to the trash bin, because they're responsible for being the things that made me remember why I loved Sonic so much in the first place. Ah wellz; at least it exists at all, so I can play it as much as I please. ^^

EDIT: How could I forget? The soundtrack is amazing, although continuing the train of unpopular opinions I'm more partial to the jazzy night themes than the more rock-oriented day ones. Fumie Kumatani earned her ticket to Valhalla with Cool Edge Night alone.

Edited June 8, 2015 by Nepenthe

[Radiant Hero Ike]

Wrath of Cortex is so fun omg

 

Question 8: Which generally disliked game do you like regardless? 

Oooooooooh, let's see... We'll go in chronological order since I like a lot of disliked games!

Shadow the Hedgehog

Alright so, this game definitely isn't the ideal Sonic game, but I think it's pretty great. I've never disliked edginess in media, so the overall tone of the game didn't bother me in the slightest. The guns are an awesome addition, making it easy and fun to kill enemies. Choosing your own path is also a favorite of mine. I liked InFAMOUS because of that too. The swearing used to bug me but it's very mild and now that I'm older, it isn't too bad, if not a bit overused. Oh, and it stars my favorite character in the series. It's like an improved Sonic Heroes, even if Shadow's still rather slippery.

Sonic and the Secret Rings

Wee! This was a very hyped game for me since it was the first Sonic game on the Wii. I was super excited for it ever since it was announced as Sonic Wildfire, and it didn't disappoint. Most people dislike it because of the controls, but I got used to them fairly quickly. I loved the various skills you could give Sonic, and I especially loved that you could use various elemental powers, like fire, wind and darkness (the latter being my favorite). Another reason I liked it was because of the fact that it was set in the Aladdin story (1001 Nights? I don't remember). I always loved the Aladdin movie by Disney, and this game reminded me of it. Oh, Time Break and Speed Break were hella fun to use too. The music was pretty great as well. Darkspine Sonic was an awesome transformation, and THERE WAS A DINOSAUR LEVEL. My God I love dinosaur levels.

Sonic 06

Mmhm, yeah. I unironically like this game quite a bit. Like Secret Rings I was very hyped for this one too, and again, it didn't disappoint. I loved the opening, first of all. I really liked that they brought back the hub worlds too. Crisis City and Kingdom Valley are some of my favorite stages in the series, and the game has amazing music. Another plus is letting me play as Shadow again. Shadow's freaking awesome. And I LOVE Silver. I thought he was just so cool, especially the telekinesis. I was so excited when he was announced, I love new characters. Mephiles was pretty cool to me. I know many people disagree but I honestly thought the part where he killed Sonic was cool. Mainly because then you had to play as nearly every other character to try and save him. I guess I would've preferred for there to be a battle with Mephiles beforehand but EH. Anyway yeah End of the World was an awesome concept and actually really super fun, glitches aside. The final boss was awesome too, especially since SUPER SILVER WHOAAAAA. That was cool. Also Sonic and Shadow each had an awesome line. I don't remember exactly what Shadow's was but Sonic's I remember clearly:

"The present day... The here and now that you've stolen? Time to take it back!"

Oh man, 9 year old me thought that was the coolest thing ever. And I still think it's really freaking cool!

Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric

Yes. I do like this game. It's unfinished, yeah, but I still got a ton of fun out of this game. The combat can get a bit repetitive after time but it was still a pretty fun thing to mess around with. I liked Lyric, especially his voice, and thought he was a cool villain. Metal Sonic was a great boss, I missed him too. It'd been a while since we fought him, not counting Sonic 4: Episode II (which, BTW, I also really liked). My memory sucks though so I'm probably forgetting another game he was in... Anyway, Shadow was in it! He had some awesomely edgy lines too ("And you know why you're so weak? Because of your loyalty to your pathetic friends!"), and he was a fun boss battle. I quite enjoyed the last stage too. The whole atmosphere and setting was really nice. Being able to play as someone other than Sonic was great too. And hub worlds! Hub worlds are great. I loved the water running power up too. I mentioned wanting a permanent upgrade of that in a future Sonic game in this thread, too. XP

So yeah, those are my liked games that other people dislike.

EDIT: Honorable mention goes to Sonic and the Black Knight!

[Wraith]

Day 8

 

Most of the Sonic games with negative receptions are ones I pretty much dislike as well. Shadow the Hedgehog and 06 are indeed trash games. Games like SA2, Heroes, Lost World are games I don't consider outright trash but aren't worth my time or money either. 

There are a few that I think have positives that outweigh their negatives though. 

 

 

Sonic Unleashed is one. There's a very interesting game hidden underneath all the pacing and technically problems, and it took me a while to really appreciate it. That being said, I pretty much fully understand why someone wouldn't actually like it either. There's some clear lack of polish in a lot of places. Like a lot of Sonic games, this one really needed a bit more time in developmen to polish things out, and nobody pays for a Sonic game to spend hours on a slow paced beat em up. 

 

And even if you don't like it, it lead to the two most polished games in the series going forward, so that was nice.

 

 

 

Sonic Riders is another one. I like how it tries to break the mold when it comes to racing spinoffs and not be a Mario Kart clone. It's pretty heavily skill based with very few random elements. Unlike Mario Kart, the best player actually has a pretty good chance of winning. It's really fast paced and fun and, while that there are some less polished parts of it(turbulences pretty much never work how you want them to), on the whole I consider it pretty awesome and I have a lot of fond memories with it. 

 

It helps that it comes packed with a campaign mode, dozens of vehicles to unlock and missions. There's lots to do here.

[Kaze no Klonoa]

Question 8: Hopefully somebody doesn't beat Klonoa up for liking a game not many like

 

So I'm going to go with this game.

 

Sonic Lost World:

 

I don't think Sonic Lost World is a bad game, but I can understand why Sonic fans are upset with it. It's level design can be very anti-Sonic, it's controls are baffling, and a lot of it's mechanics are poorly developed, but I like to think that if SEGA gave this kind of concept another chance, they could had made something truly special. I didn't like it as much as I wanted to, but to my eyes, it's got serious potential, which is why I enjoyed the game the whole way through despite my problems with the game.

 

Level Design wise, the tubular levels and flat, dull worlds is probably something I genuinely dislike about the game. Parkour, the multi-lock on homing attack, and etc. could had still work in a more traditional Sonic-like environment. Those complaining it's levels are like Mario Galaxy aren't wrong, that's what it is, and unfortunately Mario Galaxy's mechanics worked well with this kind of level design. Lost World, didn't.

 

But I'm supposed to talk about why I like this game. So, why? Well, a few reasons.

 

1) Parkour. Although it's kinda clumsy in this game, just being able to climb up walls and such is something I've wanted to see in a Sonic game in a long time. Granted, they could speed up the climb so it wouldn't take away precious seconds, but in something like the Boost games, having Sonic wall-run up an additional path or have Sonic scale up a speedy climbing puzzle is something that would totally be welcome.

 

2) Music. It's forgettable, but I liked it. I'm a sucker for orchestral soundtracks,

 

3) Graphics/Performance: 60fps, 1080p. The game runs really smooth and it's graphics aren't a slouch either. Although the color palette for the levels is more simplistic, the character models and the smoothness of the maps make this game look really nice on the Wii U. It's not as impressive as Sonic Unleashed, but it's still nice.

 

I'm not a big fan of the story, but the voice performance was pretty good. All in all, I'm not going to really recommend people Lost World, but it's something that I like because it has flawed but interesting mechanics and it's simplistic art design benefits it for the better.

 

Other runner ups:

 

-Sonic Unleashed

-Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity

-Sonic Heroes

[Lisbon]

Question #8: Which generally disliked games do you like regardless?

 

The two that immediately come to mind are Sonic Heroes and Sonic Unleashed.

 

 

It's been a long time since I've played Heroes, but when I was a little kid it was one of my favorite games on the GameCube. I'd like to revisit it someday to see if it aged well for me and so I can see if I think the criticisms leveraged against it hold up, but I'll say it's one of my favorite Sonic games as a whole based off of childhood nostalgia alone. Make what you will of that, but I fuckin' loved this game as a kid and, seeing how little my taste in videogames has changed, I'd be willing to bet I'd love it all these years later as well.

 

Unleashed, on the other hand, struck me as a game that wasn't given a fair shot because the concept was so off putting. That being said, I'm not too big a fan of the night stages, but I don't hate them either. Just kinda "meh."

The day stages, on the other hand, are my favorite stages in any 3D Sonic game. Fun, fast, and high octane - all I really can ask for. I loved those day stages enough to where I'll rank it as a good game, albeit one that has flaws.

[Celestia]

Day 8: Which generally disliked games do you like regardless?

 

The big one that comes to mind is Lost World. I do see some support for it, but I'm still partly surprised by the general reception it got. I also wasn't surprised, for reasons Crusher already outlined; before the reviews rolled in, I had thought to myself that yeah, the game was probably going to be divisive, so when the time came and that turned out to be exactly the case, I took it all in stride...mostly. I won't deny some of the shit the game receives gets on my nerves, especially early on, but eh. That's the way the cookie crumbles. Or something.

 

So yeah, I unashamedly love Lost World. I wish I could find a post I made ages back...did we have a "one year later" topic for LW, 'cause I think it might've been in something lie that, meaning it's most likely lost due to the mini wipe we had recently. :c It's a shame since I remember being pretty happy with that post since I summed up my feelings on it--positive and negative--pretty well.

 

Runners up:

• Heroes gets a lot of hate from what I've seen. It's not unjustified dislike, but most of the criticisms are stuff that doesn't really bother me. Except some of the Chaotix missions...gah.
• Uhhh technically the Adventure games since they have gotten a ton of hype backlash as time goes by, especially SA2. They definitely have some issues that you would expect from 3D games of that era, but I can forgive 'em.
• Shadow the Hedgehog: Storywise it's my least favourite in the series and probably always will be. No exaggeration. But I...actually...don't hate it otherwise?...Yeah. Would've been a lot better with more levels like that one Eggman carnival one--y'know, stages that feel more like "Sonic, but darker" which is actually a neat idea for a game starring Shadow. Also I've sometimes entertained the idea of the weapons being more whimsical--like the unlockable weapons I guess, but not just those. I wouldn't have been adverse to balancing it out with the more realistic guns as well.
• I could say Unleashed since I do appreciate the game in some ways, but well...I only played the Wii version, which painted a pretty bad picture of Unleashed honestly. 
• Labyrinth: I will swear up and down for the rest of my life that my love for this game is no joke. Trust me, I didn't like it back when I unlocked it in SADX, but I went back to it sometime in 2013-2014 and discovered it was actually the best game in the series a harmless little game that's actually kind of interesting in concept, though in execution it was very very simple.

[SenEDDtor Missile]

Question #8: Which generally disliked games do you like regardless?

 

Sonic Unleashed, what else? It was the game that GOT me into Sonic to begin with. It might have been a game with a lot of weird design choices, but it was still a great time (although I REALLY need to finish it someday). It also had one of the best balances in regards to it's narrative's seriousness and lightheartedness (even if the story itself needed some work, like not stopping for most of the middle and starting up only at the end), something which no Sonic game after it (Black Knight not included) has even remotely succeeded in. In all honesty, flaws aside, it was probably the most complete Sonic experience after SA1/SA2 in some form.

[Johnny Boy]

Day 8

Definitely going with Sonic Heroes on this one. Now from what I've seen, this game really isn't particularly hated among the fanbase, but it is pretty polarizing. And I'm talking Man of Steel levels of polarizing. And I'll admit it, the older I get, the more I see the flaws of Sonic Heroes, but in spite of that, I still find it a fun game to play. Mainly because it was the first 3d Sonic game I ever owned, and it was pretty cool to have full control of 12 members of Sonic's cast.

That and I still get a kick out of speeding through grand metropolis or just blasting through a barrage of robots with a level three power character. I think my favorite team in the game was team chaotix, since their missions were radically different from the other teams and it added some variety to the game. And their team blast made the endurance round bosses a hell of a lot more bearable.

So yeah, sonic heroes. It may not be the greatest Sonic game, but I still enjoy using the real superpower of teamwork every now and then.