Sonic Generations: Special E3 Topic [[UPD: E3 Trailer | 3DS Gameplay] Go watched City Escape Videos]]

[Preston]

I'm sure IGN permits going back.

[thatguyfrom03]

The whale wouldn't be that bad. If the enhancements of the Gun Truck is any indication, the whale in Modern would be revealed to be half cybernetic and shoot lasers out of its mouth.

[Tatsumaki]

You just said you wanted to see it though...? Sky deck or windy valley would be nice for adventure. Twinkle park wouldn't be so bad.

Oh also, I had this idea for a final stage section and I wanted feedback. You would play as classic and modern sonic going through all the eggman bases(Eggmanand,sky final egg,egg ,Space colony ark,etc.)using time portals. What do you think? Edit: I forgot to mention all these levels would look a little more twisted and darker.

[Blue Blood]

I just tried it. It doesn't work.

As for Emerald Coast, what other stage should represent Sonic Adventure? As iconic as Speed Highway is, it would be yet another city level. Maybe Twinkle Park or Final Egg?

[Tatsumaki]

I just tried it. It doesn't work.

As for Emerald Coast, what other stage should represent Sonic Adventure? As iconic as Speed Highway is, it would be yet another city level. Maybe Twinkle Park or Final Egg?

[Scar]

Sky Deck. I wouldn't be surprised by Speed Highway though, regardless of how it would be disappointing.

[Preston]

Twinkle Park and Windy Valley. Take yo choice. xD

[Blue Blood]

Sky Deck or Lost World would be badass though.

[Eternal EX]

Sky Deck or Lost World would be badass though.

I'd love this to show up. Red mountain would be my next choice.

[Detective Shadzter]

I think it's for when you're entering a new stage to provoke a sense of suspense of wanting to know what stage is going to surprise you next. This is for the fans who know many stages and their names, after all. I like that strategy they made. (Unless it was a glitch, and not part of the plan xD)

Someone in the TSS comments pointed the question mark thing out in the GameSpot demonstration. You can see it reflected in the windows of GameSpot's booth as they load the stage up.

It's more than likely because it was a stage they were showing behind closed doors before E3 and these live showcases. That way if press didn't know the name of/didn't recognise the stage, it kept it hidden a little better. That's what I'm guessing anyway.

[thatguyfrom03]

Sky Deck, Lost World, Twinkie Park. All three are unique stage tropes, All three are epic. One of them needs to represent SA1. Anything else would disappoint.

[Tatsumaki]

Sky Deck or Lost World would be badass though.

Daaayumm. I forgot about Lost World. It was amazing, but most of all...

DAT MUSIC. +__+

I'd love to see an HD remake of that, with some orchestra music combined with some heavy guitar from Crush 40. Fuckyea.jpg

Windy Valley! Of course! It's in the new Mario & Sonic Olympics game, so why not Generations. *Smacks himself on the forehead*

... Really? Didn't know. I'm not following that game much, as it doesn't interest me much. But shit, that's bad-ass! And for that reason, it should totally be in Generations!

[Tatsumaki]

Sorry for the double post, but I had to cover up the weird bug that went on in the forums. And I'm also interested in your post, thatguy.

Sky Deck, Lost World, Twinkie Park. All three are unique stage tropes, All three are epic. One of them needs to represent SA1. Anything else would disappoint.

So true. SA1 is amazing. But we're probably going to end up with Emerald Coast. EVERYONE WANTS THE WHALE. I really don't blame them, it's awesome. ._.

Edited June 9, 2011 by Tatsumaki

[Nepenthe]

As for Emerald Coast, what other stage should represent Sonic Adventure? As iconic as Speed Highway is, it would be yet another city level. Maybe Twinkle Park or Final Egg?

Either Twinkle Park or Ice Cap as either would fill an obligatory level trope while leaving some much more interesting classic stages open. I would lean towards Twinkle Park, though. Kick-ass music aside, I like the aesthetics of a more Disney-esque theme park, with pools and castles and carousels, much more than I do simply snow and ice. Also, Ice Cap's biggest gimmick is already fulfilled by City Escape anyways, and I'm not sure if they're going to do that twice in the same game; that's simply overkill. But speaking of vehicle segments, Patrick Riley kind of hinted at more of them during the feed, and after seeing the M.Sonic's City Escape opening, I can only imagine what they would do to a go-kart track in outer space. <333

[Rusty Spy]

Patrick cleared it up that since this is an early release, it will be fixed. I guess that shows SEGA's determination to make the game great. Meaning there's a possibility of the rolling and heavy physics with Classic get fixed.

Yes, unlike not-determined development teams who'd just say "eh, you'll never even notice it's there".

not trying to sound rude but bug testing/fixing is standard protocol when finishing a game. Unless you're dev team is lazy and just doesn't give a damn, everybody fixes whatever bugs they can find.

[KHCast]

Twinkle park, Windy valley or Sky deck for the main game. As for Dlc Emerald coast or Lost world.

Edited June 9, 2011 by dudehedgehogfan1996

[Tatsumaki]

Either Twinkle Park or Ice Cap as either would fill an obligatory level trope while leaving some much more interesting classic stages open.

The freaky thing is, are we going to have two Ice Caps?

Both Ice Cap stages are stunningly amazing, but we just can't have SA1's Ice Cap, for the principal reason that a lot of people (heh, the majority) want Ice Cap Zone from Sonic 3. Not to mention Hydrocity, too. They're the most wanted, alongside Flying Battery Zone and Sky Sanctuary Zone, if I'm not mistaken.

Yes, unlike not-determined development teams who'd just say "eh, you'll never even notice it's there".

not trying to sound rude but bug testing/fixing is standard protocol when finishing a game. Unless you're dev team is lazy and just doesn't give a damn, everybody fixes whatever bugs they can find.

Obviously. ^^

In my opinion, it's perfectly normal for me to be insecure like this, with the heavy physics going on with Classic gameplay. I just want them to look for every single bug possible so this game gets awesome ratings for its great level design, music, and gameplay so we can get even more awesome Sonic games in the future.

Edited June 9, 2011 by Tatsumaki

[frokenok3]

Siliconera Hands-on:

Sonic Generations feels like it’s out to appeal to everyone, but I mean that in a good way. For years, disgruntled Sonic the Hedgehog fans have been calling for a return to the design mentality of the Genesis Sonic titles, where speed is a reward for precise platforming, but rejecting the (in my opinion, not half-bad) downloadable Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 for having different physics than the Genesis originals.

On the other hand, there’s another group of Sonic the Hedgehog fans who adore the more modern, 3D speed-and-spectacle-filled approach to the Sonic series. Sonic Generations attempts to cross gap between fans of 2D and 3D Sonic by taking classic stages from the series’ 20 year history and reimagining them for both 2D and 3D.

Green Hill Zone was the only playable zone on the floor, despite the fact that City Escape (from Sonic Adventure 2) was just announced in an E3-released trailer. When I first sat down with the game, I was too curious about how they recaptured the "Classic" Sonic feel to not try it.

In a nutshell, Generations feels like the first Sonic the Hedgehog with the addition of Sonic’s trademark "spin dash" from Sonic 2, which can either be performed the traditional way by crouching and mashing the jump button to make Sonic spin around, or simply by holding the newly mapped square button, which, admittedly, was a little off putting to me at first. Once I got my bearings, all of my old Sonic-playing instincts kicked in.

The "Classic" part of Generations lived up to its name. Sections involving racing through loops at high speeds were offset by segments in which I had to carefully hop from one platform to another. Even the way that the enemies were laid out felt nostalgic. I mean, Green Hill Zone is based on the level of the same name from Sonic 1, and Sega captured the atmosphere perfectly in 3D, from the robot crabs to the ring boxes falling out of trees that Sonic grazes.

However, there were a couple of things that pulled me out of my nostalgic revelry. Getting hit in classic mode only makes Sonic lose 20 of his rings instead of all of them. While Sega’s Aaron Webber told me that this was to make the game a bit more accessible, he also stressed that this wouldn’t necessarily be in the final build. I also asked about the series’ Barrier Shields realizing that I hadn’t actually found any in the demo, to which he playfully replied: "What shields?"

After getting an S-ranking (primarily for speed and the fact that I didn’t die) in Classic mode, I decided to give Modern Sonic a whirl. This mode was much more focused on speed, granting me a boost gauge that filled up as I collected rings. Considering the rate at which I collected rings, this essentially gave me the ability to hold the dash button (square or X on the 360 controller) and race through the level at constantly high speeds. While Modern Sonic was a distinctly less composed and precise than Classic Sonic, bouncing from one enemy to the next with the homing attack (the jump button again in the air) was the same sort of rush I got from hopping on three enemies without touching the ground in the original games.

Playing as Modern Sonic was a little like playing a roller coaster. I wasn’t always sure what was going on, but I was enjoying myself as I dashed through the level, grinded on metallic rails that just floated in midair, got chased by a giant robotic fish, and did tricks by flailing the analog sticks after going off of a jump. However, despite the fact that my brain was struggling to keep up with everything that was going on, I never actually died any pitfall deaths, nor did I take any cheap hits. I was impressed.

I had a lot of fun with both styles of play. Both the more precise Classic Sonic and the manic Modern Sonic were well-crafted and a lot of fun. It might just be that I’m a lapsed Sonic fan, but I’m legitimately excited to see more.

Sonic Generations will be released for the Xbox 360, PS3, and 3DS this Winter. We should have impressions of the Nintendo 3DS version up in the near future.

[KHCast]

Sorry for the double post, but I had to cover up the weird bug that went on in the forums. And I'm also interested in your post, thatguy.

So true. SA1 is amazing. But we're probably going to end up with Emerald Coast. EVERYONE WANTS THE WHALE. I really don't blame them, it's awesome. ._.

Well for me I really want to see Emerald coast in hd along with seeing some new level design for classic and modern Sonic. But yeah if i had to pick another reason DAT WHALE! Still want as dlc though. If they decide to keep this as the last chase sequence I would be fine with ONE more chase sequence.

Edited June 9, 2011 by dudehedgehogfan1996

[thatguyfrom03]

Sorry for the double post, but I had to cover up the weird bug that went on in the forums. And I'm also interested in your post, thatguy.

So true. SA1 is amazing. But we're probably going to end up with Emerald Coast. EVERYONE WANTS THE WHALE. I really don't blame them, it's awesome. ._.

Yeah. No need for Red mountain when you have Lava Reef. Ice Cap doubles for Genesis as well. Emerald Coast was done in 06'. Final Egg is meh, only compared to the other stages. Windy Valley is decent. Casinopolis is too out there for Modern Sonic. Speed Highway was done as every game since Adventure 2, so there's no point anymore. City Escape already did the building rundown. The above three are the best candidates.

Can you imagine a COMPLETED NON GLITCHY Sky Deck? Like we'll actually see what happens after Sonic destroys the 2 cannons without teleporting to the next segment.

EDIT: Sky Deck even had the 2D cannon dodge segment. Also the rising jet segments with the falling platforms. Can you say quick step section? That stage is begging to be redone!

Edited June 10, 2011 by thatguyfrom03

[jeremycarrier]

Can you imagine a COMPLETED NON GLITCHY Sky Deck? Like we'll actually see what happens after Sonic destroys the 2 cannons without teleporting to the next segment.

This made me laugh harder then it really should have.

Oh, Sonic Adventure 1.

[Tatsumaki]

Yeah. No need for Red mountain when you have Lava Reef. Ice Cap doubles for Genesis as well. Emerald Coast was done in 06'. Final Egg is meh, only compared to the other stages. Windy Valley is decent. Casinopolis is too out there for Modern Sonic. Speed Highway was done as every game since Adventure 2, so there's no point anymore. City Escape already did the building rundown. The above three are the best candidates.

Can you imagine a COMPLETED NON GLITCHY Sky Deck? Like we'll actually see what happens after Sonic destroys the 2 cannons without teleporting to the next segment.

[redhellc]

i would like to see what kind of changes in the snake room would they implement in a remastered version of the sa1 lost world stage, and also a new remix of the music.

Edited June 10, 2011 by redhellc

[Aquaslash]

For a SA1 stage, I'd prefer Windy Valley or Twinkle Park.

[Blue Blood]

A preview with so many mistakes I laughed, but it's a positive one so hey.

The Blue Bomber is back.

After several down years with title after title that failed to match the magic captured in the initial Sonic trilogy, it looks like Sega is finally poised to release a Sonic game that can stand near its original games in the lunch line without feeling ashamed.

Sega showed off the most recent title in its classic Sonic lineup, called Sonic Generations, at the Electronic Entertainment Expo today in Los Angeles, Calif. I got a chance to play through the first two levels on the Xbox 360 and the first two levels and a boss battle for the game on the Nintendo 3DS, and the game looks great.

I was a Sega kid growing up and the first four Sonic games are some of my all-time favorite games. I can say that many of the most recent Sonic titles — short of Sonic Colors and a few others — have been a bust. The first game for the most recent batch of consoles was critically panned, receiving a score of 46 out of 100 across 38 reviews on review aggregator site Metacritic. Sega’s most recent attempt to “sequel” the original trilogy with Sonic 4: Episode 1 was only met with moderate reviews, earning a score of 81 out of 100 across 13 reviews on Metacritic. Both games weren’t even close to what the first four games in the series were able to achieve.

Players in Sonic Generations take control of Sonic the Hedgehog, a speedy blue critter that can jump and curl into a ball that blows up everything in its path when it rockets through the level. The advanced version of the game introduces a “boost” feature, which lets the player immediately jump from standing still to running full speed with the press of the button and makes Sonic destroy every enemy in his path. He can also “lock on” to enemies and other objects in the levels and dash to them with the press of a button.

Inexplicably, Sonic Generations features a bit of both Sonic 4 and the 2006 version of Sonic the Hedgehog. The first level of each zone, called an “act,” plays more like the original sonic games and Sonic 4, running players through a two-dimensional side-scrolling level and only giving them access to a jump and ground dash. The second level plays more like Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), opening up the Boost and lock-on abilities. At face value, it sounds like a recipe that will repeat the previous titles.

In reality, the game plays very elegantly. The original Sonic games had excellent level design with multiple clever pathways and secret areas that lead to the finish line. Sonic Generations has pulled those design elements into the first level of each zone that plays like the original Sonic titles. The level that Sega demonstrated at E3 was the first level in the game, which was supposed to be a remake of the original Green Hills zone from the first Sonic game. It feels more like a re-imagining of the level and really evokes that same feeling of clever level design that the first games had.

The second level on the Nintendo 3DS titles also play like out like side-scrolling Sonic games instead of playing more like the 2006 release of Sonic the Hedgehog. That probably has to do with graphical limitations of the handheld console when compared to home consoles. The 3D graphics are decent but can be very distracting because the game is designed to be played at a very high-speed. So tilting the console a certain way can distort the image distract you until you fly into a spike pit or some other death trap very quickly. The Boost and lock-in skills are still there, but they work in the 2D environment.

Back to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, the games invoke the same philosophy that Sonic Adventure did back when the Sega Dreamcast was first released. The camera sits behind Sonic as he blazes through a level at top speed. The controls are very simple — players tilt the control stick forward to run and hit a button to Boost and destroy enemies in his path. The Boost also works to let Sonic jet across the level at the top of his jump, giving players access to other parts of the level.

The second level of Green Hills features sonic blasting through the loop-de-loops, grinding on rails and running full speed from a giant robot fish. Where previous Sonic titles have tripped up is whether to send the player through the level full speed, keeping players on rails and taking away a lot of the challenge as they really only have to just hold the control stick up and jump a few times. The level I played in Sonic Generations was more challenging than that and it also bounces players back and forth between an over-the-shoulder camera and a two-dimensional platforming section.

The levels are still over very quickly and are designed to send players through them in the course of a few minutes. But they feel like they still have the same clever design and challenge that the first zone had — and really, the levels of Sonic Adventure and also the original Sonic titles had. There weren’t any frustrating spots that felt like the level was artificially slowed down. The platforming sections were fun and challenging and a nice break from the full-speed dashing. I actually couldn’t believe what I was feeling: a 3-dimension Sonic the Hedgehog was finally fun to play again.

Sonic at one point was the unofficial rival to Nintendo’s iconic Mario, who has appeared in more than 100 games. That competition died off when the Sonic franchise petered out and when Sega finally admitted defeat with its last console, the Sega Dreamcast. And the Blue Bomber probably won’t ever give Mario a run for his money again. But Sega might have finally given new gamers a reason to give Sonic a second look after they polish off the latest Mario title.

Sonic Generations will come out sometime later this year and will be available on the Nintendo 3DS, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. 3D versions of the game will also be available for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Edited June 10, 2011 by Blue Blood