Why is Sonic considered a bad Franchise?

[novelty]

lol, no i didn't.

Sonic originally got to where he is with perhapes the most boastfull commercial campaign ever seen in the video game medium. (That's certainly not saying the same would work today though...)

Actually, batson, this commercial was a purposeful way to defame their own character. "Why not be like Mario?", he asks.

[Derg]

Actually, batson, this commercial was a purposeful way to defame their own character. "Why not be like Mario?", he asks.

The purpose of the commerical was to make Mario seem like a dorky mamas boy kind of character, while Sonic was the kind of cool where he'd Sparta kick a bar door open, flash open his thumbs Fonzie style with fire coming out of them, and then all of the jukeboxes would then play "Smells Like Teen Spirit."

Essentially, in the 90s, having "attitude" was great for your marketing campaign, as those characters "rebelled against authority" and other kind of stupid crap in that era, or in North America at least; that video was a product of that kind of marketing, along with many others that boosted Sonic's popularity in the states for making Sonic seem like a "cool" alternative to "old and dorky" Mario.

[ハリネズミ]

I find it strange how many people say "Sonic is a game for babies" and then they go play Mario Parties xD

EDIT: Well no matter what game, Sonic still has the more mature design.

Edited July 20, 2011 by ハリネズミ

[Dr. Crusher]

I find it strange how many people say "Sonic is a game for babies" and then they go play Mario Parties xD

Hey man, Mario Party is when shit gets real.

[Balding Spider]

Hey man, Mario Party is when shit gets real.

Pffft. Mario Party is the party game for the baby gamer. Sonic Shuffle on the other hand is all about the badassness of the party game genre. Don't believe me? Go ask Blue Blood!

[Dr. Crusher]

Pffft. Mario Party is the party game for the baby gamer. Sonic Shuffle on the other hand is all about the badassness of the party game genre. Don't believe me? Go ask Blue Blood!

[King Frosty]

 

So almost 2 years later since this thread was made. Why/is Sonic still considered a Bad Franchise? 

[Soniman]

Sonic needs to stop having good/decent games and have a "Mario Galaxy" type of game. A 85% or more critically acclaimed game that will put Sonic on the map again. Otherwise he's still be considered a low tier series.

[Chaos Warp]

I think it's unjust honestly that 2 bad games have spoiled the entire reputation of the franchise, when most of the games in the franchise are pretty good (some being actually really, really great). People call it a bad franchise because of how bad STH and Sonic 06 were, not to mention a lot of problems in the actual good games, such as genre roulette in the Adventure games. I honestly think that people should put aside their stupid ideas about it and actually play the new games before they go around calling it a "bad franchise".

[Ferno]

Needs a big game in modern times. Not just another Colors. Not just another Generations. But a "Mario Galaxy / Rayman Origins /S3&K / PONG"-equivalent, big game-changing, jaw-dropping, fist-pumping, revolution-starting, bread-slicing, turn-the-tides-of-battle- sized game. A game that both the critics and the fans have no major problems with. A game that can be considered AAA.

 

You got a Sonic game that good? Great. Make 10 more. 

 

Consecutively. In a row. One after the other.

 

Not a single screw up over the course of those games.

 

You do that, and boom, you've got your "more-popular-than-mickey-mouse" "Sonic of the 90's" Sonic back and everyone leaves him alone again.

[Splash the Otter]

That sounds a bit tricky, to say the least. Are you sure it can be done?

Edited April 21, 2013 by ElectroKyurem

[Burnt Ash]

The consistency of quality in Sonic games has either been inconsistent for the first half of the 2000s (and 1999), or it's just been gradually decreasing. I mean, you've got SA1 and SA2, which admittedly, are rather mediocre-poor games in retrospect, but then it seems you go down from there, to Heroes, to ShTH, to 06, and apparently Unleashed if reviews are anything to go by. And then we get Colors, which by popular opinion, is okay. And now we have Generations, which by popular opinion, is okay. When you have a string of good games, and a long string of mediocre-poor games, and a short string of okay games, well, you're not really going to get a good franchise out of that. Sonic kinda just needs to get that public image up again, after it's been tainted by game after game, and I think you pretty much have to have what Inferno's suggested in order for that to happen.

[Ferno]

That sounds a bit tricky, to say the least. Are you sure it can be done?

 

 

I'll get back with you on that in just a sec.

 

*runs away*

[Kuzu]

Sonic needs to stop having good/decent games and have a "Mario Galaxy" type of game. A 85% or more critically acclaimed game that will put Sonic on the map again. Otherwise he's still be considered a low tier series.

 

Mario is considered the the greatest video game franchise of all time, and has a legacy of 20 years under his belt.

 

Sonic is remembered for making a quite a few mediocre games, and only recently started being decent again.

 

I think its going to take more than one game.

[Chaos Warp]

Needs a big game in modern times. Not just another Colors. Not just another Generations. But a "Mario Galaxy / Rayman Origins /S3&K / PONG"-equivalent, big game-changing, jaw-dropping, fist-pumping, revolution-starting, bread-slicing, turn-the-tides-of-battle- sized game. A game that both the critics and the fans have no major problems with. A game that can be considered AAA.

 

You got a Sonic game that good? Great. Make 10 more. 

 

Consecutively. In a row. One after the other.

 

Not a single screw up over the course of those games.

 

You do that, and boom, you've got your "more-popular-than-mickey-mouse" "Sonic of the 90's" Sonic back and everyone leaves him alone again.

Sad thing is, I don't think this will ever happen. Why? Because what Sonic needs to do to keep the fans happy, will make the critics unhappy on a few key issues. Include a good story in a Sonic game? Fans will like it, but critics will blow the "Sonic should not have a story, 2/10" horn. Add extra playable characters in a good and non genre-roulette-y way? Again, fans like it, critics will cry foul and badly rate the game. 

 

Kind of a lose-lose sadly. 

Edited April 22, 2013 by Generations (Chaos Warp)

[Wraith]

I distinctly remember the critics praising Blaze in Sonic Rush specifically because she didn't play like a whole new fucking game. Critics only hate the other characters in the first place because their implementation was shit.

Edited April 22, 2013 by Wraith

[Chaos Warp]

I distinctly remember the critics praising Blaze in Sonic Rush specifically because she didn't play like a whole new fucking game.

That was before the whole 06 fiasco though. From what I've seen critics say and do in relation to Sonic, I think if Sonic Rush was made now, points would be taken away merely for the sake of Blaze being there. 

[Ferno]

Sad thing is, I don't think this will ever happen. Why? Because what Sonic needs to do to keep the fans happy, will make the critics unhappy on a few key issues. Include a good story in a Sonic game? Fans will like it, but critics will blow the "Sonic should not have a story, 2/10" horn. Add extra playable characters in a good and non genre-roulette-y way? Again, fans like it, critics will cry foul and badly rate the game. 

 

Kind of a lose-lose sadly. 

 

I did exaggerate like, alot, but yeah, my main point was just to make a string of games that both critics and fans like, plus being a big title the likes of S3&K again, and the series is in good standing in the eyes of the public again.

 

Easier said than done though.

Edited April 22, 2013 by Inferno

[Wraith]

Well, they haven't actually implemented the other characters properly since Rush Adventure(Critics didn't mind her there either), so what reason was there to like them?

We just need to make the characters fun to play as like in Sonic Rush and people wont care if they're there.

[Chaos Warp]

Replies in bold. 

I did exaggerate like, alot, but yeah, my main point was just to make a string of games that both critics and fans like, and the series is in good standing in the eyes of the public again.

 

Well if that's what you mean, then Colours and Generations fit that bill. Most fans like them (As much as we'd like to, we don't count as most fans, just a few) and most critics like them. That's what I've always said regarding this: keep up the recent string of quality and the reputation will slowly start to fix itself. 

 

Easier said than done though

This so much. IMO, they will never EVER be able to make a Sonic game that everyone likes, everyone's just too divided on what they want out of Sonic. 

[Kuzu]

Sonic's got a bad reputation, it's that simple. He may have had a few good games in the past few years, but the gaming community is never going to let the franchise live down its follies. Every time there's a review of a new Sonic game, they always start with or variation of "Sonic's been through tough times" and will go on a rant on how much the franchise has sucked in some way shape or form. The entire gaming community look down on us because of our more vocal fans and treat us like shit.

 

Unless the next game in the series is fucking revolutionary, I really don't think the public's perception of us will change much.

[Splash the Otter]

Sad thing is, I don't think this will ever happen. Why? Because what Sonic needs to do to keep the fans happy, will make the critics unhappy on a few key issues. Include a good story in a Sonic game? Fans will like it, but critics will blow the "Sonic should not have a story, 2/10" horn. Add extra playable characters in a good and non genre-roulette-y way? Again, fans like it, critics will cry foul and badly rate the game. 

 

Kind of a lose-lose sadly. 

In that case, fuck the critics! Who cares what they think anyway? They clearly hate Sonic on principle, so why even bother trying to please them?

[Sami]

Sonic is considered a bad franchise nowadays because most people that look back see a series that consists mostly of games that range from bad to mediocre.

 

The classics? Brilliant.

 

The Adventure games? Their popularity is very, very, very quickly declining.

 

Heroes? Hardly anyone who isn't a Sonic fan cares for it.

 

Shadow? Nobody above the age of twelve likes it.

 

06? Same thing.

 

Colors? Good, but it's a Wii exclusive.

 

Generations? To most people, the first really good game in over a decade, and even then it has problems.

 

It'll take more than two games to turn the one of the biggest jokes of the industry into something respectable again.

[Chaos Warp]

In that case, fuck the critics! Who cares what they think anyway? They clearly hate Sonic on principle, so why even bother trying to please them?

Because reviews, sadly, affect many's perception of a game?

Sonic is considered a bad franchise nowadays because most people that look back see a series that consists mostly of games that range from bad to mediocre.

 

The classics? Brilliant.

 

The Adventure games? Their popularity is very, very, very quickly declining.

 

Heroes? Hardly anyone who isn't a Sonic fan cares for it.

 

Shadow? Nobody above the age of twelve likes it.

 

06? Same thing.

 

Colors? Good, but it's a Wii exclusive.

 

Generations? To most people, the first really good game in over a decade, and even then it has problems.

 

It'll take more than two games to turn the one of the biggest jokes of the industry into something respectable again.

And why is this a problem? Heck, what does this have to do with the game's effect on Sonic's reputation? 

[Burnt Ash]

Because reviews, sadly, affect many's perception of a game?

And why is this a problem? Heck, what does this have to do with the game's effect on Sonic's reputation? 

Depends on the demographic you're trying to reach, honestly. If you're going to provide one game for one userbase...then, well, that's not going to be a huge contribution to change general opinion over a franchise's quality.