The 3D Sonic games appreciation thread

[Kyosuke Kagami]

Yup, I decided to talk about the (probably) most controversial 3D games.


When the Dreamcast appeared, I'm pretty sure a lot of people were expecting one of the main launch titles: a 3D game of Sega's most popular franchise, Sonic Adventure. And even though the game was well-received between the general public and the fans, it also had the following flawls:

-A camera that seems to have its own conscience.
-Shitloads of bugs.
-Stupid characters with stupid gameplay (Big the Cat).

Curious fact, it's still generally considered the best 3D Sonic And the Gamecube version (released like 4 years after the original DC ver) actually has a WORSE camera and more bugs, spite of having a lot of new features.


Then, some years later, before the Dreamcast officially died, Sonic Team made the sequel, Sonic Adventure 2. Though the errors from SA1 couldn't be totally corrected, at least they were toned down, and Sega offered a good game to celebrate Sonic's 10th Anniversary.

Some months later, it'd be ported to Nintendo's Gamecube, becoming a success in that platform. A much better multiplayer mode, a way better Chaos breeding mode, and a lot of details from the original DC game were corrected.


In 2003, Sonic became a multiplatform franchise, with the release of Sonic Heroes for PS2, GCN and XBox. The idea was good in theory, but it seems a lot of gamers didn't fully like the idea. Some of the biggest complains:

-The PS2 version has an unstable framerate.
-The tag-team gameplay wasn't newbie friendly, it was hard to get used to it.
-Chaotix Team's levels.
-The controls in the bonus levels were... ugh...


And... well, 2005, probably the lowest point in the story of 3D Sonic games, with the release of Shadow the Hedgehog (also multiplatform), title that was criticized and bashed by almost everyone. Most common complains:

-Use of weapons and vehicles.
-No "target lock" function.
-Excessively hard sometimes.
-Crappy(ier) voice acting from 4Kids.

Funny irony: Shadow's camera is more friendly than in other Sonic games, and the bugs aren't that evident or annoying.


And now... the new Sonic the Hedgehog for X360 and PS3. Can't write anything about it for now, since I haven't read a lot of things about it. Apparently, it was well received between the Sonic fans.


So, what do you think? I'll put my very personal opinion later

[I AM THE PROPHECY.]

Originally Posted by Kyosuke Kagami

And now... the new Sonic the Hedgehog for X360 and PS3. Can't write anything about it for now, since I haven't read a lot of things about it. Apparently, it was well received between the Sonic fans.

It's godawful if the demo is any indication.

[Kyosuke Kagami]

Originally Posted by MadRoll

It's godawful if the demo is any indication.

Demos aren't a good indicator, IMO. I remember the SA1, SA2... heck, even demos from other games like FFVIII being absolute crap with horrid controls / gameplay / etc, and the final product was WAAAAAY superior.

Yes, I know, mentioning the FFVIII demo is pointless and sort of stupid.

[animesuperj]

What about Sonic 3D Blast for Sega CD? That was 3D, and in my opinion, a horrible game. Just throwing it out there since this is the "3D Sonic appreciation thread". I only played the first couple boards on it before getting sick of the controlls and general crappiness of the game.

I don't think I've ever really played threw any of the 3D sonic games, cause I was never a fan of them. I always like the old 2D games WAY better. The 3D ones always seemed never to play well, from what little I actually played of them. If SA2 is actually good, as you say, I may pick it up for cube and try it out.

[Kyosuke Kagami]

Sonic Adventure 2 is very good... but the game rythm is weird, because the game mixes 3 game styles (run through the levels, search the pieces of the emerald, use a mecha and destroy shit).

I personally never minded about that detail, but a lot of my friends always complained about it... specially the mecha missions (Tails / Eggman).


Oh, and Mad Space is a mindf**k.

[Beer Can]

I actually really liked SA2 on the cube. The Shadow/Sonic stages are quite reminiscent of ye olde 2D days of Sonic. The Mecha stages I rather enjoyed for the run-n-gun action. But those Emerald-finding stages I could do without. Seriously, the last ones for the hero/dark stories were obscene, hiding three pieces on a HUGE stage.

Sonic Heroes I didn't like... it felt too gimmicky. I just wanted good ol' Sonic action, and instead they divide up the team's powers between three different characters that use different formations and in general turned it into a generic platformer.

Believe it or not, I preferred Shadow the Hedgehog to Heroes. It felt more platform-y than it probably should have, but it managed to keep the speed of Sonic in it. Though at this point, Shadow has been sufficiently whored out. Seriously, he was cool in SA2. Having a spinoff game helped to develop his character. But he really did NOT need to be in Heroes. His plot development could have been stuck into his own game, for instance.

[Amp Divorax]

Originally Posted by animesuperj

What about Sonic 3D Blast for Sega CD? That was 3D, and in my opinion, a horrible game. Just throwing it out there since this is the "3D Sonic appreciation thread". I only played the first couple boards on it before getting sick of the controlls and general crappiness of the game.

I don't think I've ever really played threw any of the 3D sonic games, cause I was never a fan of them. I always like the old 2D games WAY better. The 3D ones always seemed never to play well, from what little I actually played of them. If SA2 is actually good, as you say, I may pick it up for cube and try it out.

Sonic 3D Blast was just for the genesis, not for Sega CD. (Sonic CD was the only Sega CD entry for the Sonic series of games.) Something that really did stick out to me is that the music for the 3d sonic entries are TOTAL GARBAGE!!! I can't stand any of the music and on the PC version of Sonic Heroes I turn off the audio and usually play IIDX soundtracks in the background as it's oddly enough better suited for the games.

[Kyosuke Kagami]

I do remember Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 having really good soundtracks :s Or maybe it's just me, but I've enjoyed their music.

Sonic Heroes' soundtrack isn't that bad, either, but it isn't near as good as SA2's or SA1's. Shadow's is better, but they exaggerated with the "badass" feeling sometimes.

[HioMrSan]

I loved Sonic Adventures 1. Even Big The Cat was somewhat fun once you got good at it.

[rmz]

I tried pretty much all of the 3D Sonic games. Never really managed to like any of them very much.

Wait, that applies to the 2D Sonic games, too. I never really liked the level design where you can't see where the hell you're going and you just kind of run around randomly hoping to get on the right path to the exit.

[Xavious]

I forgave the camera in SA1 since it was Sonic's first true 3D outing.

Personally this crappy camera everyone keeps talking about was pretty much ironed out for me in SA2. I loved the increased speed and even the hunting and shooting stages grew on me although they would have been much better if they had been slightly more thrilling. I mean if they had had more linking between character missions and more variety maybe, like having Knuckles have to find emerald pieces on a speedier stage like Sonic's, only being able to access different areas (like S3&K).

I mean it would have been cooler in my opinion to have had say a mission for Tails where he's blasting away guard robots in the huge rooms on the Arc and seeing Sonic through windows following along and helping out by opening doors and such for you whilst giving words of encouragement over the radio.. Then in Sonic's mission you see Tails blasting away while you speed through a stage opening the occasional door for him. Like characters have the same stages but tackle them differently like in SA1.

Also I think adventure stages might have been possible in SA2 if they had had time and sufficient space. A modified version of Station Square could have been for City Escape and other city based levels, Mystic Ruins could have returned and shown great evolution since SA1 by having new areas and a link to Prison Island for the stages there. Finally Colony Arc would have obviously replaced the Egg Carrier and would have been nice for exploring the science decks like in the cut scenes. The powerups you gained would obviously allow you to access new areas and find hidden Emblems and such. Something I loved doing in the first game that wasn't really built on enough for my liking.

As you can see I do quite a bit of thinking. Shame all my ideas will never get off the ground and it would have been nice if Sonic Team had thought of a couple of them.

Sonic Heroes was awful if I'm frank. The worst 3D Sonic game. Too short with a crappy storyline. Most of it's difficulty seemed to be it's ridiculous missions and levels which were more taxing than fun.

Shadow The Hedgehog was OK. Lacked a decent two player mode and the story was slightly shoddy in it's linking but at least it had some good ideas and tried something new. The whole alternate route thing was nice and something that would work well if implemented properly in a normal Sonic game.

Just my two pence.

[Action Man]

I’m tired of these new Sonic the Hedgehog 3D games being engulfed by nothing but empty gaps. It pretty much started with Sonic Adventure 2. They’ve been using the same level design ever since and it is starting to annoy the hell out of me. (Then again I prefer Sonic Riders over all of the new generation Sonic games so I guess my opinion is at fault somewhere.)

[Kyosuke Kagami]

Nothing wrong with Sonic Riders.

Maybe the difficult grade is excessively high sometimes, but with some practice the game is fun.

[LAMBORGHINI FCUKER]

The shittyness of the 360/PS3 Sonic demos carried over to the final game. Sonic fans should be divided into two groups:

-Those who buy into those stupid new-game-new-mandatory-character motif which mirrior stupid animé-like fanboy base
-Those who don't buy into the above bullshit and believe the old 2D platformers are the superior games overall (which is where I go)

[deepbluevibes]

Originally Posted by Kyosuke Kagami

Yup, I decided to talk about the (probably) most controversial 3D games.

I came in here expecting the OP to be along the lines of "OMG SONIC ADVENTURE 2 IS THE BEST GAME EVER!!! IT IS MUCH BETTER THAN ANY OF THE STUPID 2D GAMES OMG"

but this was probably the most correct post ever in terms of 3d sonic games, congrats

www.sonic-cult.org ftw