Following comments on Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 a few days ago, VG247 has posted up their full interview with SEGA West CEO Mike Hayes, and it features a couple more pieces of discussion about Sonic. When asked what his standout moment for the company is, Hayes expresses his pride for SEGA and Nintendo’s bringing together of both of their mascots for the Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games series.
“In my time at Sega, I’d come back to Chronicles, but I have to say Mario and Sonic simply because of many things,” said Hayes when asked for a standout moment.
“For me personally, doing that deal with Nintendo when we were such adversaries and bringing the two greatest icons together, for me, is a real sense of pride. Then the fact that its sold 20 million units so far on the two that we’ve released mean people like it, which is great.
That’s not the only standout moment for Hayes, though. The SEGA West boss also talks about his fondness for Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, which he admires because it does something different with the Sonic the Hedgehog brand.
“But in terms of imagination, I actually thought what we did with Chronicles was pretty good, which was actually trying to do something with Sonic that wasn’t just about speed and getting from A to B as effectively as possible. And that, I thought, was a pretty good game. Sold reasonably well, didn’t break any record, but I enjoyed that because it was different.
With Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood in mind, Hayes thinks there are more chances ahead to arc Sonic out to do other things.
“And that gives us kind of a clue about mainly the future of Sonic. There are chances for him to sort of arc out to do different things, maybe.”
Hayes ends the interview by noting the success of Sonic Colours in sales, ratings and popularity.
I like [2010 Wii and DS title] Colours a lot because I think that’s the best main platform standalone Sonic that we’ve done in many years. And it was hugely popular and it did extremely well based in America and Europe. I just think that was an excellent game, I think [Team Sonic producer Takashi] Iizuka did a good job on that and it rated pretty well. But for me, from my time at Sega, I’d probably say M&S and Chronicles.”
Source: VG247
Would you like to see the Sonic the Hedgehog series explore other genres? If so, which ones? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Whilst I don’t mind Sonic Chronicles… Could they please license it out to a studio that actually knows what it’s doing?
I completely disagree, I feel they knew exactly what they were doing. The amount of accurate trivia in that game fills so many gaps where past games have failed to keep its Sonic history correct. I’d say they knew their Sonic knowledge better than the team making Sonic Unleashed did.
Look at the final boss. Instantly I can see they had plenty of time left before the deadline, and decided to add Super Sonic in just for the fans. They have the nerve to complain about it being too short, they were lucky to have it in there at all 😐
I second that. I loved Chronicles.
I always wondered why SA2/B had half a moon and Unleashed(/Colors) had a full moon. Then again, SR: Zero Gravity did have 2 moons in one level…
They rebuilt it? It’s a good idea that at least SonicX touched upon ^^’
Lol what game have you guys been playing. Bioware completely messed this up in terms of accuracy and effort from them.
They couldn’t even get the names of the characters right for one thing. Tails is called “Tails the Fox” in this game, Amy is called “Amy the Hedgehog” Urm… since when are they called that? Whatever happened to Amy just being Amy and Tails being Miles “Tails” Prower?
The cuts scenes and visuals are completely dreadful. Quite often the characters lack any details on their person and in one cut scene Eggman is wearing a red jumper instead of his jacket!?
Don’t believe me?
http://board.sonicstadium.org/topic/9568-sonic-chronicles-a-retrospect/page__view__findpost__p__309010
Or read some of the many complaints/problems about Biowares Chronicles here too.
http://board.sonicstadium.org/topic/10216-sega-west-ceo-sees-chances-ahead-for-sonic-to-arc-out-to-do-different-things/
Chronicles was made by a studio that had utterly no clue as to what they were doing with the license. No question.
And the music is dreadful too.
“Because Bioware don’t care about 17 years of careful character development”.
HA HA AH AHHA HA HA HA…ahhhhhh. Yes because Sega really developed the characters very carefully.
Why should we really care for such unimportant and trivial details such as exact character names. “Amy the Hedgehog”; what is wrong with that? She’s called Amy and she’s a hedgehog just like Sonic can be called Sonic the Hedgehog.
Regardless there are things I can agree on such as the music, scene art (promo art is lush which is a shame), and the battles. Considering what Bioware is capable of it was a bit of a waste but that’s what makes it interesting for them to develop a sequel. Give Bioware a bit more control (I could kinda feel Sega breathing down their necks) make a brand new battle system (paper mario style maybe) and get some good music in and it could be a classic.
Let me see if I understand this…
You are playing an RPG… and you don’t think accurate characterisation is important?
You are aware that accurate characterisation is one of the most important things in an RPG since it’s mainly story driven right?
why doesn’t sega just make their own super smash bros.
@ unknown
1. Most SEGA characters are all too fighty brawl style as Sonic and his little click his
2. It would just end the same way as All Stars Racing, hurr durr SEGA copy Nintendo, they no origional.
IGN would eat into like Big Bird at an all you can eat seed buffet. I would must prefer if they just had Sonic keep acting as a special guest sort of deal xD But add two more characters in for the WiiU/3DS version.
There’s paying respect to the source materials characters and then there’s realising when the characters need more character. Do you really think Sega took careful consideration of Amy Rose’s character?
Yes? GET OUT!
But seriously, yes, story is important to RPG’s but the Sonic game characters aren’t renowned for it so why not tinker? You’ve kinda missed my previous point entirely.
i think its hilarious how much you complain about Sonic games for your age hogfather
@ ProjectZuel
According to Sonic Chronicles… Pachacamac is Knuckles’ dad… Do you still stand by the claim that there was care and attention.
@Death
I think it’s hilarious that for someone of your mental age you’ve almost figured out how to use a keyboard.
With all due respect, these are just minor snippets. The only people who do care about this stuff are the ones responsible for the rushed 2006. If not for people like you, we would have had one gem of a Sonic game.
Suffice it to say, I couldn’t see any other company taking a Sonic-based RPG and actually referencing Gizoids, SATAM and all previous adaptations.
I think they did an excellent job and would be very pleased with another episode.
An Eggman game, where you can build and customise your mech…though i’m not too sure how you’d get that into a standalone game.
I think that would be fun….I’d purchase it if they sold it cheap as just a timekiller sort of game, pc download. I think those can be some of the most fun games actually. They really don’t have to make huge titles for expensive consoles every time they make a game. PC games are fun too.
Agreed, at one point I did think like a C&C style game, like the Eggman Empire vs GUN, There would be “hero” units like Sonic tails etc and for Eggman’s side maybe Metal Sonic, Silver Sonic etc.
Yeah, that would be cool, although I’d like it if Tails were playable, too.
I think SEGA should take note of this interview. I remember when they were making Sonic 3, and both the Adventure series, they would set off for their own adventures around the world so as to gain inspiration for level designs.
Sonic has been exploring different places all his life, why not make a Sonic game that lets you explore many different places without too much worry about a time limit, or what rank you get at the end of the stage?
But here is where the problems start to arise with the franchise; there are more old time Sonic fans out there than they believe exist, how else would Sonic 4 have sold over 1 million copies? I realize everyone is exited for Generations and Sonic 4 Episode 2, but I fear that after those two games have passed, the ones following them will not compare.
From what we know, Sonic NEEDS adventure and thrives for a place to run around as much as he likes. In Sonic Rush Adventure, he was able to overcome his fear of water and travel to different islands via water vehicles. Another example of how Sonic games and exploration go extremely well together.
Yes, do something new with Sonic, but remember what character you’re experimenting with.
Free roaming stages would be a lovely idea, like hub worlds but more interactive.
-Like hubs worlds
-Look at Sonic Unleashed
Seriously, fans need to stop asking for hub worlds. I’m bananas for hubs worlds but the thing that makes them so frustrating is quest and solve this and that. Last I checked, I was playing Sonic the Hedgehog, not the Legend of Zelda.
Not so much quests, just big free roaming stages.
I like the idea of branching out into different genres. But maybe Sonic isn’t the best character to do that with. There’s a nice selection of other characters to work with though.
II’d love to see a spin-off series that focuses on the other characters. Like a platformer/adventure game for Tails. Or maybe a fighting/action game with Knuckles. (Like the Werehog, only more refiend.)
Yeah… I would prefer if the other characters got to have their own games, even if they were just small things.
In fact, I might even prefer small things, because I’m not too fond of the crazy storylines. XD But any which way, it’d be cool. Knuckles is overdue for having his own game. Tails has technically already has a few of his, but it wouldn’t hurt if he had a modern game as well.
Oh god no. I don’t want Werehog gameplay to return ever again.
Werehog gameplay isnt bad itself. It just dont belong to Sonic Game.
Werehog is just God of war so that doesnt Belong in a sonic game, if you enjoyed his gameplay go purchase God of war which is pretty much the werehog gameplay but not tamed down.
I second (third?) the idea of other characters having their own games. The Sonic franchise has A LOT of potential in that area.
Actually, speaking of spin-offs with Knuckles, personally I would love to see him in a Zelda-esque action/adventure type of game with some beat-em-up elements, possibly with the Chaotix (since Sega decided to reboot them and all). Each character would have unique specialties that would allow for exploration of different areas (i.e., Knuckles glides, climbs, and punches, Vector breathes fire and swims without needing to breathe, Espio turns invisible and attacks from a distance, Charmy flies and and can squeeze through tight places, etc., etc.). I’m pretty sure there must be a game like this somewhere out there, but I think it’d work great with Knuckles.
Wow, I had that idea years ago. Same goes for the Eggman game Kaoz mentioned earlier. Maybe if enough fans request them, they’ll get made.
I don’t think it’s the fact that Sonic Team has experimented in the past is the bad thing, so much as them having Sonic do things that were outside of his character (melee-combat, sword-fighting, etc.), but spin-offs using other Sonic characters who are better suited to alternate styles of gameplay might not turn out as badly. Then again, Shadow the Hedgehog did that, and didn’t go ever so well (although it’s one of my personal favorite “Sonic” games for Gamecube, due to the large number of stages and replay value, among other things).
I just want good game with lots of playables and great story. I would like to have brand new Sonic RPG (Maybe real time RPG this time) with all modern chars.
geez…those 2 games huh? They could’ve done alot more with Sonic Chronicles than they did, but it was actually a really good concept, I mean Sonic as an rpg that is. It’s the one change of pace with Sonic that wasn’t a complete disaster. I’d def like to see something like it on the 3ds if possible.
But for right now, I’m very excited for Generations. There is no longer any doubt in my mind, that it will be the first sonic game I truly enjoy since I played SA2.
Well I still wouldn’t mind a Sonic Chronicles 2. I really think it could be something amazing if it was on a home platform and actually DID something for the sonic cannon as it is now.
Agreed. Please give us a sequel, Sega!!
Branch sonic out to new things, Hmm? what has sonic not done yet though lol
hes Done Platforming 2D and 3D
Done Racing : riders, All stars racing and Sonic R
Done Fighting : Sonic the fighters and Sonic battle
Done Party : Sonic shuffle
Done RPG: Sonic chronicels
Done Sports : Mario & Sonic series
Done Pinball : Sonic spinball and Sonic pinball party
only things left for sonic to try is Shooter, Beat um up, Puzzle and Realtime stratedgy
But i dont think fans would want a sonic Shooter or Realtime Statedgy or would they? lol
I would like to see a Sonic Arcade style Beat um up like Streets of rage. and a Puzzle type game like Kula world.
Dude, you kinda left out a LOT. Firstly, all the Platformer sub-genres, such as puzzle-platformer, turn-taking strategy, real-time rpg, traditional rpg (just selecting moves, no tapping/tracing/etc), a sim game (really broad genre), the make-your-own-game style (not really a genre, but it should be considered one), survival games, sandbox games, music (…how do you forget that?), and the list goes on and on…
Also, three of the genres “not done” have been- Shadow, SA1 and SA2, and even ps360 unleashed all have either 3rd person shooters or on-rails shooters. Dr. Robotnik’s Lean Bean Machine (or something like that) was a puzzle game in the traditional sense, and the Adventure series had elements of puzzle games thrown in. And as for the beat-em-up, Werehog, anyone?
Now, as for the RTS, personally, I’d like to see a Sonic RTS. It doesn’t have to be your stereotypical Build-Battle-Repeat style, it could be similar to Patapon or Pikmin. And for the shooter, you can have a shooter without guns (Pokemon Snap, anyone?). SRB2’s multiplayer is a shooter, and it (frighteningly enough) blends beautifully with Sonic’s speedy platforming gameplay.
It’s not about what genres Sonic doesn’t fit in, it’s about how TO fit him in those genres.
Sonic Shooter= Shadow the Hedgehog
How the heck could you forget that?!!!!! lol
I’m gonna add ‘simulator’, ‘sandbox’, and ‘mmorpg’ to the list of things to yet do!
What’s Sandbox mean?
A sandbox game is the sort of game that doesn’t have any kind of goal in it. It’s just a blank slate which you can use to make your own world. Examples of this include Garry’s Mod and Minecraft.
brawl you forgot brawl for fighting
You forgot Sega Superstars Tennis for sports.
I enjoyed Chronicles too.. only complaint was that it was too short.
Interviewer could’ve asked about the sequel >.<
Like every Sonic fan, I have some ideas for games.
1) Chao Garden for Smartphones with Augmented Reality. You could pet your chao and take it outside your phone, interacting with the real world – and take him to online competitions with other players.
2) 2D Sonic completely hand drawn in retro style (in Sonic CD animation style) for Classic fans, but with a spin.
3) Some sort of Sonic MMO where all those guys out there that made their own Sonic Character already can play with them. Like they were doing with Megaman Universe, with a scenario builder and stuff. You could play a single player with Sonic or online with you on character.
4) Sonic Sports! Its like the olympics, but with more radical sports that fit Sonic, like skydiving, skating, surfing, le parkour and all those stuff we actually imagine Sonic doing.
5) And actually, a new series of Sonic games that will make Adventure look like a thing of the past. A big trilogy that has an epic arc and redesign/redefine Sonic once again. Keep him lean, get rid of the green eyes(because its actually unnecessary in therms of design and the fan base is divided in people who hates them and people who dont mind them. There might be 1% that really likes them), make Eggman a real threat that enslaves animals and is a real (not a comic relief) villain and genious. I would also like the environmentalist tone that the oldschool series intended to be brought back – it would be so meaningfull these days. Take the modern gameplay even further and apply new gameplay to the main support characters (staring at Tails and Knuckles). Use canon creatively – redefining it in a interesting way. I want to see a huge magestic Angel Island floating in the sky and a whole army of updated huge Eggman Robots (like the one in the end of Sonic 2). Stop thinking Sonic games are made for childs, they are not. Think Pixar: Something that can be attractive to a child, but also enchant a grown-ups heart.
Well, thats my 2 grains.
Sonic MMO? No thanks. A character builder means that there would be too many crappy recolours running around.
But they wouldnt be drawn crapilly by the fanbase and all those guys that have theyr sonic based characters would be able to play with them. I had one when I was a kid – Top the Samurai Rabbit… lol =)
Dont think about yourself, think about those guys! There are many of them!
Yay, Chao Garden game! 😀
Hmm this sounds a bit familiar and dangerous. May I remind everyone of what happened when Sonic went realistic in 2006?
I’d only want another Chronicles if it was on a home console. The story and overall potential was wasted on a hand-held with mediocre graphical capabilities. Also, it’s quite difficult for me to regard hand-held games as canon to the Sonic universe…despite that I really enjoy characters like Blaze the Cat, Shade, and others with limited or no home-console appearances. (of course, this is my opinion…feel free to disagree)
Blaze is in 2006…
That’s why Stan said “limited or no home-console appearances.”
oh, thanks!
I dont mind another Chronicles! I enjoyed that game so another would be awesome!
I really dont like the idea of Hayes saying that Sonic should do different things. If they do, we will all end up with 9 years of horrible Sonic games again. You dont see Mario really doing any different things. The only things Mario does is Party, Adventure, Sports, and Racing, nothing else. We dont want Sonic doing 20 different kinds of things, because then SEGA will forget who Sonic is, and then Sonic wont be about speed all the time. Just stick with Adventure and speed, SEGA, because thats how Sonic became a hit. Doing other stuff will just….ugh.
This post made me realize I wont like Sonic for life…..maybe i should just give him up when im in my 20’s… 🙁 Thanks alot, Hayes.
I find your response depressing.
1. When you say “we don’t want him doing different things”, speak for yourself. It’s fans like you who won’t let Sonic evolve as a gaming icon. If it was up to you, we’d be trapped in the 90’s.
2. We didn’t have 9 years of bad games. We just had 9 years of people bitching about tiny issues in otherwise decent games, with only one or two exceptions.
3. Sonic isn’t all about speed. The first games were about speed and momentum-based platforming.
Don’t blame Hayes for wanting to try new things with Sonic. Blame yourself for having a one-track mindset.
i agree it woud be good for sonic to try different things, but dont take away speed, adventure, and platforming,
Actually Stan, I WANT Sonic to do different things, I just don’t want SEGA to make bad choices I.e: Black Knight, Werehog, Guns. As long as SEGA takes Sonic into a NEW, FUN, etc. Place/direction, then I’ll look into it, because I’m NOT one of those fans that eat up any title with Sonic in it, and that’s the reason I didn’t buy BK or SR on Wii. The only only reason I had Shadow, Heroes, Riders, etc. Was because my dad bought me them.
And I don’t have a one-track mindset. If I did, I wouldn’t like Heroes, Shadow, Unleashed, or Colors. Like I said, I don’t care what direction they take Sonic in, as long as its fun and worth your money, then I’m all for it. Maybe you should get your mind straight first, before assuming things.
I know Sonic isn’t all about speed. Its just that Speed, Adventuring, and platforming IS what Sonic is about, and is what made Sonic a hit. Correct me if I’m wrong, please.
9 years of the fans bitching was true, but who were the ones that listened to them? Ill give you a hint: S-E-G-A.
“If it was up to you, we’d be trapped in the 90’s” OMG why do you assume that I’m a Classic fan??? I like them both, but I like Modern Sonic 1,000x times more. I’m a Sonic fan. Not a Classic, or a Modern, but a SONIC fan. I don’t like thinking of Sonic as 2, but 1. You don’t see people saying Classic Mario, do you? No, because ITS JUST Mario.
And sorry for the”we don’t want different stuff” sometimes I forget I’m speaking for myself. I meant “I”, happy now?
Stan, you got some thinking to do when responding to a comment. 😛 and actually, thank you for responding to me. You gave me higher hopes for Sonic’s future. All I’m wondering now, is that, is SEGA going to try new stuff for Sonic in Spin-Offs, or in Mainstream titles? Again, thanks Stan 🙂
Why do they never ask anybody in these interviews if SG is coming to PC. plus in the interview he didn’t say anything if they were gonna make a second one, he was just sharing his opinion on it. Plus I hope if they do make the second I hope it comes for ds not 3ds. or at least both. ds so you can continue the story and not have to get a new system if you didn’t have it already. 3ds so they can use the slide pad or touch screen and in 3d
oh and it would be cool if they made one for wii
SEGA needs to keep working on the platformers before branching out. Chronicles’s battle system was okay (not an RPG fan) but the story and music were pretty awful.
The only spinoff I think is really good is All-Stars Racing.
If there is another Chornicles game, for the love of all that is living, DO NOT USE CHIPTUNE MUSIC. THAT WAS THE WORST DESIGN CHOICE IN THE HISTORY OF ALL THAT IS GAMING.
I’d like to see a game with the almost sandbox style open worlds hinted at in the 2005 tokyo games show tech demo that was shown before the 2006 game was revealed;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xcdmn2_Df-A
It looked so much better than sonic 2006 turned out 🙁
Also there has been two beat em ups: the pretty bad Sonic Battle (GBA) and the very basic Sonic The Fighters (Arcade/Gems Collection)
I disagree with Sonic Battle being bad. I loved that game.
But I respect your opinion.
To be honest, I’d like a second Shadow game.
Namely, how in the world was he convinced to become a secret agent for GUN. They’re only the people who killed Maria and imprisoned him >.>’ Lol. He put his past behind him, but it would still take a lot of convincing to get him to join.
That, and I really want to use the Shadow Rifle/Omochao Cannon again >:3 Now if only the little mecha buggers you were shooting actually yelled dialogue…He he. All the more beautiful. “Press A to ju-AGH” I’d never stop laughing. EVER.
I did like Chronicles, but there were some problems…A bad music track (battle music was good, but it got so repetitive), two of Shadow’s moves weren’t right (Purple Chaos Spear? What happened to orange? And a purple laser for Chaos Blast? BLASPHEMY), the game starts to glitch after you beat it once, and I didn’t like the cut-scenes. They seemed…Lazy.
And I did like the Werehog XP I hope to see that form again (but maybe uncontrollable this time >:3 ). Apparently that form is the only form besides Super Sonic that made it onto Sonic Channel as a profile…And since Super shows up in every game…That probably means we’ll see it again. Muhahahaha…
you are right. i think shadow should branch out into his own franchise with his games being either adventure or shooter. he would fit nicely in a metroid prime style game
id like to see a point and click adventure game with sega teaming up with Tell Tale Games, perhaps a Chaotix detective game thats just as humerous as Sam & Max.
Personally, While I didn’t mind the battle system in Chronicles, I would have liked it better if it was in the style of the Mario RPG games. Not selecting all moves before you do them. You know, timed hits and such.
I would have prefered the Mother 2 battle system if you ask me.
I’ve seen it in action and I think it would be brilliant in a Sonic RPG.
Just my two cents.
“And actually, a new series of Sonic games that will make Adventure look like a thing of the past. A big trilogy that has an epic arc and redesign/redefine Sonic once again. Keep him lean, get rid of the green eyes(because its actually unnecessary in therms of design and the fan base is divided in people who hates them and people who dont mind them. There might be 1% that really likes them), make Eggman a real threat that enslaves animals and is a real (not a comic relief) villain and genious. I would also like the environmentalist tone that the oldschool series intended to be brought back – it would be so meaningfull these days. Take the modern gameplay even further and apply new gameplay to the main support characters (staring at Tails and Knuckles). Use canon creatively – redefining it in a interesting way. I want to see a huge magestic Angel Island floating in the sky and a whole army of updated huge Eggman Robots (like the one in the end of Sonic 2). Stop thinking Sonic games are made for childs, they are not. Think Pixar: Something that can be attractive to a child, but also enchant a grown-ups heart.”
I agree with ALL of what Davi Viana said EXCEPT for the green eyes part. I dont really care, but thats who Sonic IS now, so we’ll have to deal with it. But yeah, if SEGA does decide to do this, then they should focus on not just everything above, but maybe even create a bridge tying into a few of the comics?
just a thought to ponder about..
I’m in for Chronicles 2, but only if they take it further this time. In Chronicles, the equipment was basically a joke; so it really didn’t need to be there. The Chao were more well thought out and kind of nice. Though I thought the barriers shouldn’t have be provided by Chao, they would have been a more interesting thing for equips. The game was also sadly short and the game tricked you into thinking there were going to be more side quests when there were only about 3 non-story connected side quests.
I would love a Chao Garden game. I sent 40 hours goofing off playing the SA2’s garden and bought SA2B specifically so I could play it more. Though I would defiantly expect some more things to do with Chao. A Mystery Dungeon style mini-game would be neat in addition to the races and battles. New Chao behaviors and forms would be cool, like elemental alignments in addition to the stat and moral alignments. I would definitely buy a Chao Garden game if it came out and it seems like it would be an excellent downloadable game for phones, handhelds, or consoles.
I would also like a new fighter. Sonic Battle and Sonic the Fighters were both pretty cool. Though once again I’d like to see them get ambitious with the roster. In my opinion, both Sonic fighting games could have used a couple more characters to make it a bit more interesting. And it’s not like the Sonic franchise is starving for characters, even reviving Mighty, Bark, and Bean would be nice. If that isn’t enough throw-in a handful of SEGA characters like NiGHTS or Ristar. (Double for Ristar, I can already see him fighting in my head.) There is room for ambition!
Finally, I also second the idea of the Knuckles/Chaotix exploration adventure game. Using the different character to get to new areas sounds really fun.
Altogether though, I’d still like to see Sonic take one last stab at the Sonic Adventure style game. I know a lot of people say after ’06 the style is dead, but honestly SEGA give it one last shot. I would like to see an adventure game where Eggman is the main focus of villiany at the end. In Sonic Colors, it was fun to trash a final boss that was just Eggman in a mech. I’d like to see Eggman instigate an adventure game plot that doesn’t involve insane Eldritch Abominations being unsealed from a can.
“I’d like to see Eggman instigate an adventure game plot that doesn’t involve insane Eldritch Abominations being unsealed from a can”.
Best. Quote. EVER.
I agree though – We need a Sonic Adventure 3 (even though, technically, Sonic Unleashed was the third one). It isn’t dead – they just haven’t tried XP
I could go for a Sonic rpg on a home console, or a game like Sonic Battle, also on a home console..this is only of course if they can do it well. Sonic Generations is pretty awesome, maybe future quality will be as good
Hayes’ words indicated 2 things, either they’re going to announce a RPG style Sonic game similiar to Unleashed and Sonic 06, or they’re announcing that there’s a new Sonic Chronicles type game developed by an outside development studio (from Europe?), or both.
Sonic Adventure was originially developed as an RPG, and its final form still has RPG elements. It pretty much started the entry of a big Sonic game with RPG elements, continued by: Sonic Adventure 2, Heroes, Sonic 06, Secret Rings, Unleashed, Black Knight, and so on.
Sonic Chronicles was developed without any big creative input from the Japanese side, so Bioware was forced to use with what ever Sonic materials that was given as standard package by SEGA West (Sonic X, Archie Comics, Sonic games minus Knuckles Chaotix, etc). Plus Bioware was using SEGA West’s guidelines, unlike Unleashed and the others (Japanese version) that were developed using SEGA of Japan’s guidelines. A lot of people certainly freaked out though when it was teased that Amy ‘cheated’ on Sonic.
While the overall gameplay is pretty much nice, it kind of suffered from the lack of any further polishing on the game. It’s unique as in that it’s one of the more slower pace Sonic games, like the M & S games. Its Japanese pseudo counterpart is Sonic Rush Adventure.
As for Sonic games in other type genres. A Strategy Game / Simulation RPG with customizeable mechs sounded pretty nice (“Sonic Wars”? “Roozu Taisen”? “Chaos & Control”? “SonicCraft”?). With factions like: Sonic, Eggman, GUN (Shadow), Silver, Amy (Sonic’s sub faction), and so on. Tails Adventure and Sonic Rush Adventure after all are platformers with a mech building minigame.
As for puzzle. Sonic can always ask Arle Nadja for a collaboration project, both are after all around the same age. Kawatta Ekoro (Unusual Ekoro) certainly looked like something that Iizuka would have created. But will Sonic run away from Amitie and the human form of Ocean Prince?
As for Sonic 06. It had too many revisions and too many outside creative inputs. Shadow certainly can carry a girl over water and quicksand without any additional powerup, and then there’s red headed Molly… Yes, too many revisions indeed.
As for guns. Sonic characters have been using guns since 1994, and the Egg Robo carried a real actual working gun.
why archie comics? -_-
UGGGGGGGGGGGH Before making crappy RPG Spinoffs first do the paltformers right make a Sonic Game with Proper 3D Gameplay Nuff Said.
Exactly! I don’t want a Sonic Chronicles 2, and then another Sonic game with 3D, 2D and 2.5D gameplay(excluding Sonic 4) SEGA, make sure you get Sonic into a proper 3D world, before you make Sonic do other crazy stuff.
Agreed. While Colors was nice game (but with horrible writing) it was still 2D game for me. There was small ammount of 3D sections. And even if they were there they were really linear.
Just give us SA1/SA2 gameplay with more playables, Lots of alternate paths using abilities of LOTS playables, and 3D bosses that arent chase bosses.
I dont think SEGA will give us a lot of playables…..because SEGA keeps listening to the fans :/ Even if SEGA did do playables, the highest we’d probably get is 6 anyway…..if SEGA made a Sonic Generations 2, THAT would be the PERFECT time to have lots of playables.
I dont think SEGA should use alternative paths for specific characters only. That would just make characters like Sonic, have less ways to get through a stage.
I agree, it should be 3D gameplay like SA1 and SA2, but i would like Sonic to go a bit slower,(like how Mario goes slow in Galaxy 1 and 2) so he could explore more things. 😛
I like this guy, he seems to have a good head on his shoulders.
Inb4 Sonic Shuffle 2
Hmmm, West CEO thinks the Sonic side projects are more promising than the mainline games? I suppose that’s interesting. I just hope it doesn’t mean that they’re going to take off focus from the core series, it’s been getting so good with Iizuka. I’m so happy with the direction he’s taken the series.
They should consider a sequel to Sonic Shuffle…. and definitely consider using other characters as the main focus in cannon titles for some time. The Knuckles Chaotix HD idea sounds pretty solid. Maybe something involving Tails primarily. Etcetera. That way they keep the franchise alive for much longer instead of simply twisting Sonic until he’s out of all derivatives of moisture…
People will be far more excited when they hear about a Sonic title again as well… A Knuckles game seems almost necessary to me at this point. His last bit of screen time was in 1995.
PS: Sonic Generations looks pretty amazing. My only problem is the lack of attention to SONIC CD…. The abandoned child of SEGA. I really wanted to play Collision Chaos and Stardust Speedway…
“Branching out” just means s-e-l-l-i-n-g o-u-t for a quick buck. Whole “Sonic” (Black Knight, Sonic Shuffle, etc….) games outside action adventure always bomb. He ain’t cut out for that.
M&S was just to gain as much fanbase as possible. Although its a good game to play when your with friends etc but can get repetitive. Ive never played Chronicles, so I cant comment.
Overall, I’d like to see a Sonic game developed in the usual genre, PERFECTED.
Unleashed (360/PS3) hit the mark, but the werehog.. Enough said.
Colors was alright. But the Wii only? With its lowered graphics and processing power, over 75% of 2D and extremely child-targeted story? Cringe-worthy.
Focus on fixing what Sonic actually is, rather than testing out new projects.
Hopefully Generations is the one… Looks promising so far…