Sega is teasing a new Sonic something reveal for SXSW 2018

[Eurisko]

Well its a ' world exclusive first look" so I reckon its gonna be something pretty big. I'm betting on either the movie , a new game in the main series or the rumoured Sonic racer.

[SuperAj3]

Given the last 2 reveals for Sonic Team games (if you count Runners) giving us something very limited, I'm only expecting a logo, some early concepts or a small trailer being revealed.

If it's the racing game though, then I'm sure they'd have enough footage to show off some gameplay and at least have a name finalised.

[Dr. Detective]

If I wasn't still so down in the dumps when it came to "anticipating" the "future" of the games I'd have probably still not bothered waging my bets on anything too significant happening. I'd have guessed a mobile game had Sonic Forces: Speed Battle not come out just recently.

It's hard because right now I'm in a massive defensive state. If I don't expect anything I can't get disappointed so... I'm not expecting much.

[Whatever the WhoCares]

Even if they showed a CGI teaser in the vein of the Project 2017 one, I really wouldn’t be that excited. I would need gameplay to give the slightest shit at this point.

The fact that they’re still going with a live-action/CGI movie is mind-bogglingly idiotic, too. 

[Quacksonja]

I've seen that a lot of people want SA 3.

But still think about it. If it fails SEGA will have a lot of problems in future. (btw i really hope for Sonic Heroes 2)

[Badnik Mechanic]

1 hour ago, Quacksonja said:

If it fails SEGA will have a lot of problems in future.

Why will they?

[expansivelovestories]

1 hour ago, Quacksonja said:

I've seen that a lot of people want SA 3.

But still think about it. If it fails SEGA will have a lot of problems in future. (btw i really hope for Sonic Heroes 2)

There are two small items that may interest you  

In an interview last year, Iizuka-san described that they would probably not ever use the "Sonic Adventure 3" name but it seemed to be a more positive statement than that a game similar to the Adventures would never be attempted.

More interesting to you and good for anyone to remember is a moment at the 25th anniversary party in which Aaron asked the audience to express via cheers whteher they liked the Chao or not, and of course it was a very strong response!  It is quite plausible that they were interested in Chao popularity to determine whether to place them in the eventual 30th anniversary game(s)!

 

[Shadowlax]

31 minutes ago, Mayor D said:

Why will they?

Sonic adventure is kind of the last tent pole of " hey this 3d sonic thing is fine " in the entire franchise, and its several decades removed. It introduced their most popular characer that isn't sonic, ad it introduced another generation to sonic. 

If they fuck that up , it could give out the statement that this 3d sonic thing was never actually ever good, and everyone was wrong. 

And that's a terrible thing for their brand, even if they were to attempt to fight that back. 

[UpCDownCLeftCRightC]

25 minutes ago, Shadowlax said:

Sonic adventure is kind of the last tent pole of " hey this 3d sonic thing is fine " in the entire franchise, and its several decades removed. It introduced their most popular characer that isn't sonic, ad it introduced another generation to sonic. 

If they fuck that up , it could give out the statement that this 3d sonic thing was never actually ever good, and everyone was wrong. 

And that's a terrible thing for their brand, even if they were to attempt to fight that back. 

Don't think this is true at all. Why should Sonic adventure have a monopoly on the 3D Sonic concept just because it was the first to try it? Especially when Adventure itself does not have a defined gameplay identity outside of the genre roulette style (which we know for sure SEGA won't be going back to).

There still exists much unexplored territory for Sonic in 3D and it need not have any philosophical connection with the adventure games, which themselves are all over the place. 3D Sonic always has a chance to emerge as something great as long as there are interested consumers and interested developers with resources.

[Shadowlax]

1 minute ago, UpCDownCLeftCRightC said:

Don't think this is true at all. Why should Sonic adventure have a monopoly on the 3D Sonic concept just because it was the first to try it?

Because outside of maybe generations those are the two most popular and at the time well received 3d sonic games in the franchise, and games people constantly reference as a thing they want

[Quacksonja]

Thanks dude did not know that!

[UpCDownCLeftCRightC]

1 hour ago, Shadowlax said:

Because outside of maybe generations those are the two most popular and at the time well received 3d sonic games in the franchise, and games some people constantly reference as a thing they want

Fixed that for you.

Clearly not too many people want SA3 or there would have already been a game titled SA3 (although there has been ta least one spiritual successor to SA2 already). Iizuka has even said himself on numerous occasions that if demand were high enough, they would make the game...and he's the father of these games to begin with. Generally speaking, the company is not going to just ignore easy money laying on the floor. They're almost completely profit driven, and will not. If he's said it numerous times and yet the game hasn't been made, why do you think it hasn't been made? Because although there are a lot of Adventure fans (to be sure, there are absolutely tons of Adventure fans) the games are not too popular outside of the hardcore section of the fanbase. SEGA invests many millions of dollars into marketing and knows the pulse of fans, even if they don't know how to execute their games too well. Adventure fans are valued but they're also at odds with the mainstream reputation of those games among the general community. This is why SEGA has, for a long time now, not returned to that style. This is not even arguable because they've continually said it out of their own mouths in so many ways on so many different occasions....and also not done it.

 

Also, my point in general is that even though the Adventure games are known for being the first true attempts at Sonic gameplay in 3D, that does not mean that there can't be other attempts at a 3D concept that are philosophically different. For example: The Sonic Utopia concept, even though just a rough draft, is one example that does not share much in common with the adventure games outside of being gameplay within a fully 3D space. 

There is no need for a 3D Sonic game to be titled 'Sonic Adventure' or to have much to do with Sonic Adventure at all.

[Shadowlax]

Just now, UpCDownCLeftCRightC said:

Fixed that for you.

 

You didn't fix anything, I know you are trying to be " Well actually pushes up glasses not everyone wants this " I get it, sometimes i'm that guy , i'm that guy everytime people say all they want is classic sonic. 

This is one of those situation, well actually no. That shit trended on twitter before forces was annouced, the shit is talked about so much multiple sonic forms banned talking about it. Its being talked about to this day and its last installment came out over a decade ago, there are people who want sonic adventure 3 and they didn't grow up with sonic adventure. There people still complaining about people wanting sonic adventure 3 in 2018

The adventure series, and you don't have to like it by any means, but is what people think of fondest when they think of 3d sonic besides generations and colors depending on who you ask because a lot of people are coming out of the " I don't actually really like colors " wood work

Flat out, strait up. That's it

[UpCDownCLeftCRightC]

16 minutes ago, Shadowlax said:

You didn't fix anything, I know you are trying to be " Well actually pushes up glasses not everyone wants this " I get it, sometimes i'm that guy , i'm that guy everytime people say all they want is classic sonic. 

This is one of those situation, well actually no. That shit trended on twitter before forces was annouced, the shit is talked about so much multiple sonic forms banned talking about it. Its being talked about to this day and its last installment came out over a decade ago, there are people who want sonic adventure 3 and they didn't grow up with sonic adventure. There people still complaining about people wanting sonic adventure 3 in 2018

The adventure series, and you don't have to like it by any means, but is what people think of fondest when they think of 3d sonic besides generations and colors depending on who you ask because a lot of people are coming out of the " I don't actually really like colors " wood work

Flat out, strait up. That's it

Remove emotion from the conversation, and you'll realize that if that were true, the company would have already acted upon it. It has nothing to do with whether I like it or not (spoiler: I'm a huge Sonic Adventure fan. SA1 is one of my 3 favorite Sonic games ever and I have huge nostalgia for it since I was a fan who waited the long wait for the Dreamcast...and was blown away by the graphics and presentation at the time) Making products that are popular is something every company does unless they want to go out of business. If the game hasn't been made yet and there seem to be tons of fans screaming about it constantly (there are), its because there is at least an equal amount of distaste for the game among the buying public. 

Again, realize that I'm not saying that there aren't gobs of hardcore fans who want it. Obviously there are. SEGA knows there are. Iizuka has said himself he hears all SA fans out there. 

But they also know that those games have been problematic for the series as well, and not been as popular with the mainstream audience as they have been with hardcore fans. Iizuka surprisingly even said this after SA2's release (I can find the link if you want), when discussing the philosophy of games going forward and how they wanted to appeal to more than hardcore fans. This is what SEGA has always wanted to do with Sonic but has most often failed. They're not going to do attempt another game in that same fashion, ever again. There might even be a game titled SA3 one day (I think its probable), but its very likely that it won't resemble the first two because of heavy criticism surrounding common elements of those games. But the point is, is that it won't happen until SEGA is confident they can create a game that will also appeal to the mainstream gaming audience, not just hardcore fans.

 

[Shadowlax]

31 minutes ago, UpCDownCLeftCRightC said:

Remove emotion from the conversation, and you'll realize that if that were true, the company would have already acted upon it.

People also wanted classic sonic for years and it took them a long time to act upon that. Just because something seems obvious to you doesn't mean that it seems obvious to the business or even they are interested in perusing that. 

You think they  they aren't doing sonic adventure 3 because there aren't enough fans? No, heck they directly reference the reason shadow is playable in forces is to also appease some of those people. 

The reason sonic adventure 3 isn't a thing, is one they messed up really bad with sonic 06 and they removed a lot of the adventure-ey elements from the franchise to save face. But that doesn't excuse them not doing it now, the reason they aren't doing it now is because sonic adventure 3 would cost a lot fucking money. There is a lot of expectations that go with a sonic adventure game that are above and beyond the money they want to spend and the effort they want to put it. Chao world itself nowadays would basically be its own video game, and it was basically that then. But one expanded upon? Along with that, multiple playable chaarcters, unique levels, a ton of unique music cutscenes the whole 9 yards. Not to mention th fucking marketing budget of " hey guys we are making sonic adventure 3 " would probably need to be large, they would probably need to adventertise sonic adventure 3, which is a whole other truck load of money. 

Now that isn't to say it couldn't make money. It would, but it would have to be good. And that brings me to issue 3. They have to develop sonic adventure 3, not only is there not a lot of people who worked there during the adventure era still there. They would have to evolve the adventure formula, i like those games, but they got issues and I can forgive those issues because one came out in 98' and the other  in 2000, that isn't to say there weren't really good games back then. 98 is actually a legendary video game year, that said game design has evovled, and just putting out a modern adventure wouldn't cut it, you would have to modernize it and it would require them to go back to a product look at its flaws and make reasonable changes to try and make it better. And sonic team hasn't done that since....sonic adventure 2. Arguably maybe generations from unleashed but that's more " hey that werehog thing is gone " . But generally sonic team and " measured response to criticism " go together like water and a blue hedgehog, they drown in it. And in panicing they reach for the first thing they think will appease people ignoring everything else. And while I don't think they know this is a problem they have, I do think sonic team knows they got problems. And you now pushing out a sequel to one of the most successful parts of your franchise after you already kinda failed doing that with sonic 4,and this having so many expectations and desires along with being kind of the last bastion of the value of the part of the franchise you have been working on a decade +, might not be the most confidence inspiring . And if they don't have enough confidence to finish and put out good products of the games they are making now, why work on something with that much of a predigree

" Well if everyone wants it and it would make all money they could just make it now " 

No you have to actually make the video game. And that requires time, money and ambition. And they don't want to spend or use any of those things nowadays it seems

[Jango]

Fans waited for so long for a true Sonic 4, which Sonic Mania actually is(?), the same way other fans are waiting for Sonic Adventure 3? Because that game happened in 2006, people only have a hard time saying it's the actual SA3 because the game is a piece of shit. Everything that "makes a Sonic Adventure" is there, except the Chao Garden, and quite frankly, if this factor alone (and the game's name) is enough to invalidate the game as the third installment to the series, for any of you, you're all just being mindless blind to the reality. "Boo-hoo, but that game also has glitches, and humans and bad story". Yeah, because SA1 and SA2 doesn't.

Again, it's the same case with Sonic 4. There's a game actually called Sonic 4, but that's all the relation with the classic trilogy we can make. Fair and square, we can say Sonic Mania is the true Sonic 4 because the other sucks ass. Whatever. Might as well call it Sonic 5 then.

It's always clear to me everytime this tiresome discussion comes back, that people only want a name rather than face the fact that Sonic Team already did SA3, maybe more than once actually. 

Quote

The reason sonic adventure 3 isn't a thing, is one they messed up really bad with sonic 06 and they removed a lot of the adventure-ey elements from the franchise to save face. But that doesn't excuse them not doing it now, the reason they aren't doing it now is because sonic adventure 3 would cost a lot fucking money. There is a lot of expectations that go with a sonic adventure game that are above and beyond the money they want to spend and the effort they want to put it.

Wrong. It's clear that they don't give a damn about it. See Sonic 4. You say Sonic Adventure 3 has/had more expectation than Sonic 4? Nah bro, SEGA and Sonic Team shit to our expectations, no money stopped them for naming that garbage Sonic 4. They're not making SA3 because they already did.

[UpCDownCLeftCRightC]

18 minutes ago, Shadowlax said:

People also wanted classic sonic for years and it took them a long time to act upon that. Just because something seems obvious to you doesn't mean that it seems obvious to the business or even they are interested in perusing that. 

You think they  they aren't doing sonic adventure 3 because there aren't enough fans? No, heck they directly reference the reason shadow is playable in forces is to also appease some of those people. 

You don't even realize how you're undermining your own point by using that as an example.

Again, SEGA knows there are a crapload of Sonic Adventure fans. That point is well understood by everyone. But the Adventure games also have a lot of detractors and common complaints against many of their core elements, which culminated with Sonic '06. Shadow being in Forces is recognition that there are a lot of fans from that era but the fact that you still can't get another spiritual successor in terms of gameplay, is evidence that SEGA does not want to go back to that style. And I'll say it one more time, they have said it themselves so many times now publicly, there is no point in even discussing it anymore. How many times has Iizuka said (paraphrasing, but I know the direct quotes as well) "We've really struggled with making Sonic in 3D" or "We know people don't want to play multiple styles, so we make the gameplay all similar to Sonic"? Or how about a recent, direct quote:

“I hear people saying that they want Adventure 3, but the path that we’re on and ... Adventure 3, what fans want that to be, might not be an advancement of the series. So I don’t want to do an Adventure 3 and step the franchise back just to give the fans what they want.”

https://www.polygon.com/2017/9/19/16333174/sonic-adventure-3-will-never-happen

I don't know how else it is supposed to be spelled out for you. Sonic Adventure, in the ways that SA fans want it, is not popular enough among the general audience to be considered for a big budget title. Fans want it, but big budget Sonic games aim to sell at a lot more people than just hardcore fans, and SEGA heard A LOT of complaints about that era of games from people who were not hardcore fans (and some who were). It may happen someday when SEGA sees enough interest among general audiences. If we were already at that point, it would have already happened. But we aren't.

That is also precisely the reason Classic Sonic went out of production for a long time!  Among the mainstream, the mid 90s gaming industry was overrun by 3D games overnight and excellent 2D platformers quickly went out of style. I have said it multiple times already, but SEGA has always wanted Sonic to be globally popular and not just a niche, so they will always cater toward general audiences with their big budget titles and gather as many consumers as possible....not just the hardcore fanbase. 

 

[Splash the Otter]

30 minutes ago, Jango said:

Fans waited for so long for a true Sonic 4, which Sonic Mania actually is(?), the same way other fans are waiting for Sonic Adventure 3? Because that game happened in 2006, people only have a hard time saying it's the actual SA3 because the game is a piece of shit. Everything that "makes a Sonic Adventure" is there, except the Chao Garden, and quite frankly, if this factor alone (and the game's name) is enough to invalidate the game as the third installment to the series, for any of you, you're all just being mindless blind to the reality. "Boo-hoo, but that game also has glitches, and humans and bad story". Yeah, because SA1 and SA2 doesn't.

Again, it's the same case with Sonic 4. There's a game actually called Sonic 4, but that's all the relation with the classic trilogy we can make. Fair and square, we can say Sonic Mania is the true Sonic 4 because the other sucks ass. Whatever. Might as well call it Sonic 5 then.

It's always clear to me everytime this tiresome discussion comes back, that people only want a name rather than face the fact that Sonic Team already did SA3, maybe more than once actually. 

Wrong. It's clear that they don't give a damn about it. See Sonic 4. You say Sonic Adventure 3 has/had more expectation than Sonic 4? Nah bro, SEGA and Sonic Team shit to our expectations, no money stopped them for naming that garbage Sonic 4. They're not making SA3 because they already did.

Okay, let me get this straight:

• Sonic 4 doesn't count as Sonic 4 because it isn't any good.
• Sonic Mania does count as Sonic 4 because it is good.
• Sonic Next Gen counts as SA3 despite also not being any good.

Am I the only one who sees an inconsistency here?

[UpCDownCLeftCRightC]

16 minutes ago, Splash the Otter said:

Okay, let me get this straight:

• Sonic 4 doesn't count as Sonic 4 because it isn't any good.
• Sonic Mania does count as Sonic 4 because it is good.
• Sonic Next Gen counts as SA3 despite also not being any good.

Am I the only one who sees an inconsistency here?

No, his point is that the title is irrelevant, yet fans keep screaming about having a game titled "Sonic Adventure 3" when it has already happened in spirit, and probably more than once. SEGA doesn't want to make a SA3 because they essentially already did and it had the same (but worse) problems that SA1&2 had. What would another trek down that road fix? Just make another 3D game built upon good concepts that won't create a polarizing experience for players. That's what they've been trying to do, instead of retreading the Sonic Adventure path which got them in trouble in the first place.

Edit: I'm not trying to crap on those games either. I'm just stating the obvious which is that SEGA had enormous problems with that formula and has clearly not wanted to go back, for multiple reasons. And they probably won't ever again. A game titled Sonic Adventure 3 may happen one day (like Sonic 4 did) but it won't be too similar to the adventures 1&2 if it does, because they already know those games have elements common to them that are not too popular outside of hardcore Sonic fans. The quotes in my above posts highlight that. Can't really be said anymore clearly than it already has. Mainstream gamers don't want a game in that style, regardless if its called Sonic Adventure 3 or Sonic Mania and Knuckles, or whatever grand title you want to throw at it.

[Splash the Otter]

2 minutes ago, UpCDownCLeftCRightC said:

No, his point is that the title is irrelevant, yet fans keep screaming about having a game titled "Sonic Adventure 3" when it has already happened in spirit, and probably more than once.

And I'm saying we want a better spiritual SA3 than Next Gen. Why is that so hard to understand?

[Roger_van_der_weide]

What's the point in this discussion, with Sonic Forces and Sonic 4, it goes to show every direction Sonic Team follows can end up in horrible flames.
Adventure, Boost, Classic, whatever.
Problem isn't what Sonic Team does, it's that it's Sonic Team doing it.

That's the frustrating part about this stupid discussion, emphasis should be on Sonic Team needing more self reflection, focus and grip on what they're doing, Whatever they're doing.
Not "oh they should only be endlessly making Classic and Boost games, because if they're doing Adventure again it'll immediatly explode into a Sonic 06 disaster because only that direction can fail' as if there's a damn Voodoo curse on it or something.

As for Iizuka saying he won't do another Sonic adventure because he doesn't want to de-evolve into the past but wants to continue forward (Because Forces is such a step up from Classic/ Adventure/ Unleashed's gameplay qualities), he kinda said the same about the physics in Sonic 4.
http://www.sonicretro.org/2010/11/foot-in-mouth-or-tongue-in-cheek-iizuka-speaks-on-sonic-4-physics/
Calling Sonic 4 an improvement on classic Sonic's physics.
So there ya go.

Point being, we should stop asking Sonic Team to make a Sonic 5/ Unleashed 2/ Adventure 3, but get themselves sorted out first, Whatever they do.
And as for a Sonic adventure 3, it's probably a better idea to just identity what specific things Adventure fans want returned (Friends being useful, a story that gives a damn about itself, 3d platforming that actually involves 3d and platforming) and implanting those things into whatever actual highly evolved supergame they want to make. Cherrypick the best parts of it's series of games, instead of slavishly copying it wholesale without understanding (See every incarnation of Classic Sonic this decade outside of Mania).

But then of course Sonic Team will claim Sonic Forces did have Sonic's friends being useful, a good story, 3d and platforming. Hah.
Bringing me once again by my central point, Sonic Team is the problem, not their direction.

[UpCDownCLeftCRightC]

1 minute ago, Splash the Otter said:

And I'm saying we want a better spiritual SA3 than Next Gen. Why is that so hard to understand?

Because of this (my post):

"I'm just stating the obvious which is that SEGA had enormous problems with that formula and has clearly not wanted to go back, for multiple reasons. And they probably won't ever again. A game titled Sonic Adventure 3 may happen one day (like Sonic 4 did) but it won't be too similar to the adventures 1&2 if it does, because they already know those games have elements common to them that are not too popular outside of hardcore Sonic fans. The quotes in my above posts highlight that. Can't really be said anymore clearly than it already has. Mainstream gamers don't want a game in that style, regardless if its called Sonic Adventure 3 or Sonic Mania and Knuckles, or whatever grand title you want to throw at it."

[Diogenes]

16 minutes ago, Splash the Otter said:

Okay, let me get this straight:

• Sonic 4 doesn't count as Sonic 4 because it isn't any good.
• Sonic Mania does count as Sonic 4 because it is good.
• Sonic Next Gen counts as SA3 despite also not being any good.

Am I the only one who sees an inconsistency here?

Sonic 4 is a failure at being "Sonic 4" because it completely misunderstands the design philosophies of the games it is claiming to be a sequel to. That it's an awful game is secondary; I consider Super Mario Odyssey to be a spectacular game, but it'd be a failure at being "Sonic 4" if anyone ever claimed it as such (though it does have better rolling physics...).

Mania is a success at being "Sonic 4" (or at least a sequel to the classics if you want to be pedantic) because it fully understands and implements the design philosophies of the classics. Again, that it's good is secondary; Sonic Advance was widely considered "Sonic 4, or as close as we can expect to get" even though it's a pretty mediocre game, and the bevy of sloppy, unfinished classic-style fangames out there are closer to deserving the title of "Sonic 4" than any game using the boost gameplay.

'06 is...well, calling it a success feels wrong given how it's buggy and broken to an absurd extent, but it is clearly following the philosophies of the Adventure games almost to a T. You can draw a direct line from the Adventures to basically every decision they made with it, from the heavy story focus to the relatively realistic/serious setting to the multiple interweaving stories to the radically different gameplay styles. In nearly every way besides the name on the box, '06 is SA3. It just turned out that SA3 was bad.

[Splash the Otter]

22 minutes ago, UpCDownCLeftCRightC said:

Because of this (my post):

"I'm just stating the obvious which is that SEGA had enormous problems with that formula and has clearly not wanted to go back, for multiple reasons. And they probably won't ever again

Then they're cowards.

22 minutes ago, UpCDownCLeftCRightC said:

A game titled Sonic Adventure 3 may happen one day (like Sonic 4 did) but it won't be too similar to the adventures 1&2 if it does, because they already know those games have elements common to them that are not too popular outside of hardcore Sonic fans. The quotes in my above posts highlight that. Can't really be said anymore clearly than it already has. Mainstream gamers don't want a game in that style, regardless if its called Sonic Adventure 3 or Sonic Mania and Knuckles, or whatever grand title you want to throw at it."

But SA1 is my favorite Sonic game, and I want more games like it.

7 minutes ago, Diogenes said:

Sonic 4 is a failure at being "Sonic 4" because it completely misunderstands the design philosophies of the games it is claiming to be a sequel to. That it's an awful game is secondary; I consider Super Mario Odyssey to be a spectacular game, but it'd be a failure at being "Sonic 4" if anyone ever claimed it as such (though it does have better rolling physics...).

Mania is a success at being "Sonic 4" (or at least a sequel to the classics if you want to be pedantic) because it fully understands and implements the design philosophies of the classics. Again, that it's good is secondary; Sonic Advance was widely considered "Sonic 4, or as close as we can expect to get" even though it's a pretty mediocre game, and the bevy of sloppy, unfinished classic-style fangames out there are closer to deserving the title of "Sonic 4" than any game using the boost gameplay.

'06 is...well, calling it a success feels wrong given how it's buggy and broken to an absurd extent, but it is clearly following the philosophies of the Adventure games almost to a T. You can draw a direct line from the Adventures to basically every decision they made with it, from the heavy story focus to the relatively realistic/serious setting to the multiple interweaving stories to the radically different gameplay styles. In nearly every way besides the name on the box, '06 is SA3. It just turned out that SA3 was bad.

Then I want SA4, and I want it to be good.

[superman43]

5 minutes ago, Diogenes said:

Sonic 4 is a failure at being "Sonic 4" because it completely misunderstands the design philosophies of the games it is claiming to be a sequel to. That it's an awful game is secondary; I consider Super Mario Odyssey to be a spectacular game, but it'd be a failure at being "Sonic 4" if anyone ever claimed it as such (though it does have better rolling physics...).

Mania is a success at being "Sonic 4" (or at least a sequel to the classics if you want to be pedantic) because it fully understands and implements the design philosophies of the classics. Again, that it's good is secondary; Sonic Advance was widely considered "Sonic 4, or as close as we can expect to get" even though it's a pretty mediocre game, and the bevy of sloppy, unfinished classic-style fangames out there are closer to deserving the title of "Sonic 4" than any game using the boost gameplay.

'06 is...well, calling it a success feels wrong given how it's buggy and broken to an absurd extent, but it is clearly following the philosophies of the Adventure games almost to a T. You can draw a direct line from the Adventures to basically every decision they made with it, from the heavy story focus to the relatively realistic/serious setting to the multiple interweaving stories to the radically different gameplay styles. In nearly every way besides the name on the box, '06 is SA3. It just turned out that SA3 was bad.

You are right with all. I would add something though. Sonic 06 isn´t 100% SA3 everywhere besides the box. Add the Unleashed Tornado section(s) to Sonic 06 and you have SA3. Another thing. Sonic 06 basically copied (or ok, let´s say it was heavily inspired of) SA1 (and a bit of SA2 and Heroes) stages. Wave Ocean is obvious, Dusty Desert lol. Flame Core ditto. White Acropolis an Ice Cap ripoff and so on.

Next...
Sonic Adventure - primarily Sonic´s story, 1 villain besides Eggman (Chaos), also serving as final boss = 1 hedgehog, 1 additional villain

Sonic Adventure 2 - Shadow added as a rival and kind of villain beside Eggman up to the end, then Biolizard comes up in the last story = 2 hedgehogs, 2 additional villains

Sonic 06 - Silver added as one to exterminate "Iblis Trigger" = Sonic, but besides one battle there is nothing else. Fooled like Knuckles in Sonic 3. Additional villains are Iblis, Mephiles and they conjoin into Solaris in the Last Story... So, 3 hedgehogs, 3 additional villains.

06 being 3rd mainline game having humans.

Do you see all the 3s ? Right, that´s because it is Sonic Adventure 3, albeit never written on the box.

By the way, that´s the reason we won´t see any game with "3" after Sonic 3 "& Knuckles" (meme, 1st reason) and Sonic Advance 3 after what's supposed as Sonic Adventure 3 utterly failed. (For example, they could title Sonic Forces: Speed Battle as Sonic Dash 3: Sonic Forces. Why do you think they did not ?)