Update: According to a post on the Sega forums by Ruby Eclipse, it is Sonic Boom Fire & Ice.
Original Story: According to the website for the AOD convention, Ken Pontac is going to be attending, and there is a rather curious section towards the end of his description.
His many admirers in the world of Sonic fandom will be ecstatic to learn that he’s written for an upcoming video game featuring their favourite blue hedgehog.
As some have pointed out, this could mean Sonic Boom Fire & Ice, however it’s rather odd they didn’t just name that or pick one of his previous works if it wasn’t a new or unknown title.
Thanks to Detective Paradox who brought this to our attention.
Source: AOD
We need a Happy Tree Friends reference. Possibly with some animal released from a robot shell.
a reference to that disturbing cartoon about happy woodland critters brutally murdering eachother in ways that even make me feel pain when I watch? just clarifying though I know a few ways to reference that without the violance
Oh god please no! I can’t stand the Pontaff duo and their abysmal “comedy”. Please sega, I’ll even take the laughable “edge” from 06 and shadow over this!
I’m sorry, ‘ecstatic’? Now THAT’S just taking the…wait, can you swear on this forum? Nevermind.
No offence to the guy, but his writing for Sonic isn’t good. I get he wrote a lot of Happy Tree Friends (which I never enjoyed, to be honest) but Sonic isn’t this hyperviolent parody, and SEGA certainly won’t let it be so any time soon. Not when it can just make it as safe and bland as can be for the whole “let’s sell this franchise to a bunch of the thick-headed sheep we think children are” shtick. I’m sure he’s a good writer, but he’s just out of his element. Sonic needs a new writer, one that doesn’t write “children”‘s TV shows as their primary profession.
Though, you know, not having SEGA dictate everything everyone does for this franchise ever would also be good. They’re a bunch of executives from Packaged Goods, after all. They can’t write a story, they can’t design a game and they can’t grasp what makes Sonic so popular, so perhaps they shouldn’t be telling the people who CAN how do to their jobs!
Actually, regarding your comments in the executives, it actually is the job of a video game executives to check on what the programmers, artists, QA, etc. are doing. They’re akin to book publishers, who not only deal with distribution and funding, but also editing the work. If they do their job properly, they keep bad ideas from being implemented while encouraging and even adding some good ones to be expanded on. They may not be able to write or program– and most editors can’t, believe me– but that doesn’t mean that they can’t identify good ideas and problems when they encounter them and come up with solutions.
I agree that Sega is doing a poor job, but you paint executive meddling with a broad brush. Video game executives do more than just distribution, and if done properly, executive meddling is extremely helpful to developers.
I’m pretty sure it’s suppose to be. It’s written with pure unadulterated irony.
“His many admirers in the world of Sonic fandom will be ecstatic to learn that he’s written for an upcoming video game featuring their favourite blue hedgehog.”
“many”
If that isn’t an over-inflated ego I don’t know what it is.
Also, God help us if he’s writing.
Many admirers? Where?
In all seriousness, it wouldn’t shock me if Pontac wrote for the next Sonic game. He’s written for almost all of them since 2010. But at the same time, I’d be mildly disappointed since I’m not too fond of his style. I’d prefer Alan Denton or Shiro Maekawa to write for the next one. The only thing that would really impress me at this point regarding him is if he somehow managed to get SEGA to stop meddling in Sonic plots.
I’m not sure which one I’m scared of more, a completely Pontac driven plot, or a completely SEGA driven plot.
Well, on one hand, Sega has been holding Pontaff back on a lot of thing. Judging by how Pontaff tends to portray Eggman as a guy who can work well on his own and won’t be usurped by any monster, as well as their success in convincing Sonic Team not to just drop Orbot after Unleashed, I get the impression that they want to make more use of Sonic’s currently existing cast rather than do that “New Guy Every Time” thing that most Sonic games do. But they can’t because Sega and Sonic Team won’t let them. They seem to genuinely want to improve if Lost World is any indication, but are hampered by poor character descriptions, bad concepts on the part of Sonic Team and Sega like the Deadly Six, and poor plotting written by Sonic Team. On their part, they are also absolutely atrocious at dialogue, building up tension, and telling rather than showing, which makes a lot of their stories really terrible.
On the other hand, Sega-based writers like Maekawa tend to do dialogue a lot better than Pontaff. I mean, they’re still capable of some real cringers (“I’M THE KEWLIST,” anybody?), but they tend to give Sonic characters less cringey lines overall. A Sega based writer can also have influence on a Sonic game earlier on due to working directly for Sega, allowing them to have more control over the game’s narrative than Pontaff, who are brought in late in development where they have to work with most of the major decisions having already been made. Unfortunately, this comes at the cost of an apparent obsession with the Monster of Week and New Guy Every Time storytelling philosophies, which has resulted in a bloated cast of characters who tend to be either underutilized or bland. Plus Sega-based writers tend to be overambitious, which results in convoluted plots from time to time.
Choose your poison. Or just be like me and pray for some kind of balance. 😛
I’d always prefer a bit of a balance, but if anything I would be content with the stuff I got in Unleashed. But lately it seems to be a theme that with each new set of actors comes a new set of writers who tries to focus on a different extreme that makes up the personality of the franchise. With Adventure-Heroes a lot more of the excitement factor was focused upon, with Shadow-Black Knight the focus was geared more towards drama and a bit of Sonic’s more passionate “anime-esque” side (I make fun of it a bit, but I honestly loved Griffith’s portrayal), and then we have Colors-Today where the humor is the most emphasized aspect of the series so far. After decades and decades of extremes, could we PLEASE just have a sound balance of all three!?
I feel like balance is the exception rather than the rule at this point. And to Sega’s dubious credit, it is pretty difficult to write properly and often isn’t appreciated or fully understood by the fanbase until years after it can be expected to turn a profit and influence the franchise. But that doesn’t mean that Sonic Team shouldn’t try.
I guess the issues I have with Pontaff now are compounded by Boom TV being a really good show that takes the personalities that Sega is using now makes all of them fun to watch. So now that I know that its possible for these characters’ personalities to shine, I feel like Pontaff have less of an excuse to write these characters badly.
Honestly, I look forward to it.
I’m not joking here. I love Pontac and Graf’s writing for the series. They actually made Sonic cocky and have an ego, as opposed to some anime protagonist who’s only character trait is “I like adventure”. It’s thanks to those two that I actually believe that Sonic and Tails are friends, instead of the endless amount of “Long time no see!” “Let’s do it!” “Piece of cake!”
I know I’m going to get some flack for this, but if liking P&G is wrong, then I don’t want to be right.
It’s fine if you like the Pontaff style sonic currently has. All of this just comes down to personal tastes. Just that I (and a few others) would like a better balance of ‘edginess and seriousness’ and ‘lol2random4umemezXD1!1!”.
Huh. Never heard that perspective before. I actually do remember that when Sonic Colors came out, a lot of people welcomed the more simple and fun writing from Pontac… given what other games came out before it. I feel like there’s definitely a crowd for P&G.
Wait… Is this actually happening? Fans actually remembering their history of responses instead of pretending it didn’t happen? I don’t particularly LIKE their style but I can’t say I hate it that much either. Pros and cons.
But standing up for your opinions and acknowledging that those reactions DID happen… You guys are my heroes for today! XD
Aw, thanks! 😀 I definitely remember a lot of reactions that most of the fanbase chooses to forget.
Well, glad you’ve enjoyed them at least. I will admit that they’ve done a good job depicting Sonic and Tails’s relationship even if the dialogue isn’t always the greatest, and that their Eggman is absolutely amazing. But I still think that the Adventures, Unleashed, BK, and Boom TV were handled better overall.
“It’s thanks to those two that I actually believe that Sonic and Tails are friends…”
Roll clip.
Sonic: “Whoa, whoa, WHOA! Before we start “destroying” each other, let’s remember why we’re working together.”
Tails: “Okay, please remind me!”
Sonic: “Tails, we need Eggman to shut down this machine!”
Tails: “And you don’t trust me to do it!”
Sonic: “What!? No! I trust you, Tails, it’s just that–”
Tails: “No you don’t. You trust Eggman more. Do you know how much that bites?”
I agree that Pontaff aren’t the best writer, but that’s a terrible example of Sonic and Tails supposedly not acting like friends. For one, Tails started this whole thing because he felt betrayed by Sonic’s trust for Eggman and worried that Eggman was going to betray them and hurt Sonic– not something he would be feeling if he didn’t feel any friendship or care for Sonic. Furthermore, even the best of friends have disagreements from time to time. That doesn’t undo the sense of camaraderie between the two that Pontaff has shown in other games.
I agree that that wasn’t one of LW’s best moments, but that has more to do with the fact that Pontaff failed to write a satisfying build-up to that moment, making Tails’s complaints seem to come out of nowhere. Taken on its own, it really isn’t that bad. Even in the context, however poorly it was written, Tails’s intentions were indicative of that of a concerned, betrayed friend, not somebody who doesn’t care or is actively mean to Sonic. And they do make up at the end.
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!…
Please, I want a Japanese writer!!…
It’s Sonic’s birthday, he deserves it and we deserve it!!…
May I remind you of what we got with a Japanese writer?
“Watch out! You’re gonna crash! Aah!”
“Is that what Chaos Control is?!”
“Even without wings, I can still fly!”
Some Cheesy lines maybe but the storylines were freeking sick!
May I remind you that those are localized lines only?
What’s wrong with those lines? To you they might suck but to me and the majority of Sonic fans, they’re awesome and just fine. Get off it
Because they’re awkwardly written and awkwardly acted?
They’re awesome. I see nothing wrong with them.
The absolute lack of Self awareness in this comment is amazing.
Cherry-picking.
Y’know, when you can’t make a clever argument.
Although it is true that there are some cheesy lines, the storylines weren’t half-bad. It’s not a perfect story by any means, but it’s still the best I’ve seen to come out of a Sonic game.
And as for it’s supposed plot holes, a lot of these have already been debunked.
http://bit.ly/20jJ2yl
http://on.fb.me/1PtZSn9
And it’s not like Ken Pontac is any better at dialogue, though.
It wasn’t badly written, it just didnt translate correctly in english. that happens.
Besides most of the favourite quote’s that fans love came from the adventure series, which thousands of people still quote to this very day.
The problem with these 2 guy’s is they clearly aim for only “under 7s” so most of the writing is only great for the younger audience.
The people i’ve met and spoke to in real life don’t like the story’s in the newer games and find Sonic unlikable as a character these days, while the Adventure series Sonic was actually likeable he had a caring personality and was naturally Cool without having to show off.
The writers today try too hard to make Sonic cool and hip when Sonic should just be naturally cool.
Yes, the likeable hero who abandons his friends after every game.
I’m sorry, but Sonic never came off that way to me. He was just a guy who loves adventure… And that’s it. Where’s his character flaws? Why does no one point out when he’s wrong? Everyone just acts like “He’s s cool!”
It doesn’t make him a likeable character. It makes him a Gary Stu. And they’re just boring to me…
Gives example of “bad” Japanese story writing by singling out a COUPLE of LINES in ENGLISH. Lines that are mostly cheesy at worst due to portrayal that is hindered by recording methods and catering to awkward animation geared toward the Japanese dialogue as well as the animators’ timing and portrayal of written scene.
The overall STORY was pretty good and cool. I bet if you took just the writing, even WITH that particular English translation, a good actor, be it Ryan or some fan, would be able to say the lines just fine depending on how you decided to present the scene in your animation. It could even help to say “Oh no.. Watch out! You’re gonna crash!” the same way someone would when shouting at the tv. Then upon the crash itself say “Ah!!” however you see fit. It CAN be done. It’s not the writing’s fault. Lol
Okay the first line, that’s mid-90’s dubbing for ya, should I bring up a lot of the crap in the original english dubs of DBZ’s first US airing?
The second two, what’s wrong with those? “is that what Chaos Control is?” so he’s questioning this new form of Chaos power that he’s seen used for the first time. Sure it could be worded a bit smoother, but it still doesn’t mean the line is totally horrible. And “Even without wings, I can still fly!”, that line is honestly pretty awesome if you ask me.
Besides, with Ken, we got an entire scene of Sonic whining that Tails is in danger instead of actually saving him, Tails being a total know-it-all snob for half the game, and villains that are pretty much the definition of one dimensional.
Okay, the first and third lines were mostly due to bad dubbing. Drummond was new at voicing Sonic at the time, and Griffith… Well he just wasn’t that good overall.
The second line has no excuse though. It makes Shadow seem like he has no idea what Chaos Control is. Even though he’s been using it throughout the whole game. Did he suddenly forget what it was? He really does have issues with amnesia!
Also, are you saying it’s wrong for Sonic to worry about his friends? That screne shows that he isn’t made of stone. It gives him more character.
As fot Tails being a “know it all snob”, again, it shows that he’s not perfect, and has flaws. The scene where he chews Sonic out for trusting Eggman over him makes sense when you consider one simple fact: Despite being a super genius who fights robots for a living, he’s still only 8 years old. Any minor issue like that would get blown out of proportion in the mind of a child.
Though I do have to agree on the one dimensional natures of the viloains, but at least they fit in a Sonic game better than something like Black Doom or Dark Gaia, who look more at home in Dark Souls or Bloodborne.
I don’t have a problem with Sonic showing emotion over his friend being captured, but I’d rather him actually getting angry and now not holding back at all to get his life-long friend back. SHOW don’t tell. Imagine how much more of an impact it would make if we actually got to see Sonic pushing himself to his limits, absolutely DESTORYING the Deadly Six. This normally carefree hero finally showing his anger in full display. I don’t wanna see Sonic sitting around moping, I wanna see him DOING something. Sonic should NEVER be one to sit and mope around, if anything, he should have been telling Eggman to pick up the pace and keep up or just screw off since he refuses to let Tails be hurt.
Also, that’s one thing that bugged me about LW plot in general. Sure Eggman and others have teamed up a few times but mostly at end-game scenarios, but really, Eggman should have been doubted by mostly everyone. We could have then had multiple scene where we question if Eggman is on their side, but in the end pulls a twist on us all and “I saved you all, even if I don’t like it!”
Still better than stuff like
“BALDY NOSEHAIR”
“DID SOMEONE ORDER A CLOBERING!?”
“Most of the Dialouge in Sonic Lost World and Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal”
Yeah! Go wreck him, one true…
…
…n-nail?
https://youtu.be/pa_hIvM7AiY
Blech. I don’t know if it’s him, Graff, or both, but either one or both of ’em need to overhaul their writing style or stay far, far away from Sonic.
Agreed.
Ewww! I hope it’s Sonic Boom Fire & Ice. The anniversary game is to decide the fate of Blue Blur. If it goes childish again, I quit!
This news could very well be referring to Sonic Boom: Fire and Ice, as the game is still an upcoming release. Ken Pontac could also be carrying over from Generations to a sequel of some sorts—maybe a Colors sequel or a Lost World sequel, come to think of it (man, this guy really has been involved for a while). I’ll work on the assumption that he’s just writing for Fire and Ice, though, as that seems to be almost a given.
For a mainline Sonic game, I’d prefer more respect and understanding for the franchise and what makes it good—someone who can take Sonic seriously instead of phoning it in or turning it into a punchline. (Not to say that Ken Pontac can’t rise to the challenge; I just don’t think he has shown that he wants to.) We’ll see what happens. Best wishes to Mr. Pontac.
I hope this is referring to Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice. Pontac’s writing isn’t really bad to me, and I actually did get some jollies from Sonic Colors’ and Sonic Lost World’s comedy… but I think Sonic Boom should be where the comedy hits hard. He’d be perfect for that series. Especially for a 25th Anniversary game, I’d like a more action/adventure-based narrative. Sonic Generations’ story is really disappointing, though it’s not a giant point of complaint.
It’s an insult for the Sonic franchise to have “someone who knows nothing about what makes Sonic special” write for the games!
It’s an insult to call the fans “admirers” when we have said nothing good about his writing only that it’s filled with cringe-worthy lines and stupid jokes!
It’s an insult for Sega to hire someone like Ken Pontac or even Warren Graff and not someone like Ian Flynn who has done a way better job with his story arcs and is an admitted fan!
If I wrote for a Sonic game I would promise everyone the attitude of the series would return and no more “Baldy McNosehair lines”
The games would still have comedy, but even more action and voice direction would be pushed in a positive direction!
Roger Craig Smith, Mike Pollock and everyone else would be given new directions and lines that fit the characters and their personalities while still maintaining what everyone loves about their voices!
This madness has got to end and if the writing in the next game isn’t at least acceptable and respecting of the Sonic Legacy then Ken Pontac better look for other franchises to work on because he’s not good at all!
No, please don’t let Ian Flynn work on a Sonic game, his ego’s already far too big for his own good! Also, he’d probably turn it into Lara Su Chronicles: the game. *shudders*
I think you’re mixing up Ian Flynn and Ken Penders
That’s Ken Penders…
Yes, The Lara-Su stuff is Ken Penders.
As for you, Ian Flynn is the dude that does a lot of Sonic Universe. *Spoiler Alert… I think?* Like the Sonic Unleadhed adaption where the Black Arms get involved again with another commander, Black Death, a new creature meant to destroy Shadow named Eclipse that has the physique more like Sonic and co… And Eclipse used modified wisps called the Dark Arms as his power ups to fight the heroes. A robot like Emerl that helps guard the Master Emerald as Shadow is trying to take it and put it in a vault to keep from the aliens as a mission for GUN. But Knuckles shatters it instead and on his search to find it searches for Sonic to present Chip to him. Sonic is in a Sonic The Fighters tournament including Honey the Cat with Metal Sonic doing things… Not bad really. 🙂
Well to be fair, just because you don’t like it and you surround yourself around many others that agree doesn’t mean his writing doesn’t also have admirers. It does. Like for me, I’m on different. Pros and cons so I notice both. Some like it better and some think it’s horrible.
It would seem like these guys are just standard now so I wouldn’t be surprised. Tho Ian Flynn would be pretty cool as long as he writes it fitting to the game universe. Actually, Sonic Universe is a lot more game vibes than the usual soap opera comic series.
I know this is going to hurt some feelings, but in all honesty, I’m not going to just lie so that someone feels better about themselves. Pontac may have been a good writer for Happy Tree Friends, but he’s sure as heck awful for writing Sonic stories. Sonic is a joke because of this man right here and I would hate it if it were to continue. Sonic isn’t Happy Tree Friends. He isn’t a cliched cartoon character of the era, he’s something different, unique, and much more interesting than the likes of Adventure Time and the Wonderful World of Gumball. He’s outside of the norm, an adventure loving hedgehog, with a free spirit, that runs all over the world in search of ever endearing challenges for him to take on. His friends are not cliched characters with one note traits that have to be obviously defined by their looks and personalities (Sonic Boom I’m looking at you). Sonic himself, isn’t a persona that has to “act”, and I stress this, ACT like he’s cool all the time by making “funny” one liners every minute or so. He just simply IS cool. He’s free spirited, determined, peace loving, and snarky just by his mannerisms and personality alone. There’s a substance to his character and it isn’t so shallow as its been made out to be lately. You don’t need much to make that work and we’ve seen that hapen so naturally decades before Colors came out. I sure hope that the next Sonic game actually takes itself more dignified to both itself and the fans, because its important. It needs to be. If it doesn’t, it just might be my last Sonic game. I’m not even kidding. I love Sonic, but there’s a certain point to where I just can’t accept. I want Sonic to be treated as good as it deserves, and to me, that’s quite a lot.
I agree with you except for the Adventure Time part. Season Six of Adventure Time was one of the SMARTEST things ever put on network television. It was still silly, but explored concepts that are foreign to even most adult shows like existentialism, universal intention, neglectful fraternal influence, the understanding of what it means to be human, the ecstasy of one’s ego death and even MORE esoteric themes that even I have trouble interpreting, and I’m a junior English major. If anything, Adventure Time proves you can be appealing to kids AND adults at the same time. It never relents on the silliness, but it understands life and situations. I’m not asking Sonic to turn into a modernist piece of interpretive media, but it’d be nice to have something that makes the older fans GENUINELY happy. And as mean as it sounds, I’m about ready to give up on Sonic myself. I’m tired of subjecting myself to such childish fare when much smarter franchises like Adventure Time and Legend of Zelda exist. Sonic has ALWAYS been my favorite, but if they are going to continually ignore the portion of the fanbase that made them who they are today, then maybe that portion should just start ignoring them.
Thanks man. Honestly, I wasn’t so confident on Adventure Time in all honesty. I’ve hardly seen it, but I’ve heard good things about it. Absolutely agree man. But its not catering to older fans, its also catering to children as well. Kids deserve better than Boom and Lost World. They shouldn’t be underhanded Sonic as it is as a franchise. The things we loved as kids, still apply today for this generation. Its classic stuff.
I agree, Sonic has become a joke these days. Sonic also try’s too hard to be cool and hip when he should be naturally cool as he was in Sonic adventure series .
He also needs that energetic tone in his voice, he sounds too fed up, egotistic and old these days.
I think Roger is a great voice actor, but there are some roles thats not fit for them and Sonic doesn’t fit him that well all honesty. Everytime Sonic speaks I feel someone is dubbing him, it’s unfitting to the point it doesn’t sound like it’s coming from the character.
Well hopefully this doesn’t hurt your feelings but, despite being the human Sonic encyclopedia
And agreeing with the concept that Sonic is cool and his owners just don’t know how to properly use him anymore, but Sonic is no more a joke now than he already was. In SatAM his shtick was also to tell himself that he was cool but being oblivious to his flaws. He once had a comedy cartoon. He’s been kissed by Wlise and crushed on by what I believe is a female Saiyan on Planet Freedom, he says outdated things like “This is happening” and cheesy things like “We’re Sonic Heroes!”
That and gameplay and such. But these are also traits of an ego. And in Colors and onward, these writers may have done some things out of character but also did a few things good for the series according to the fanbase. I have heard praise such as making Sonic feel kinda like a Saturday morning cartoon again, for displaying an ego and excitement again, for being rash and focusing on how he doesn’t always look before he leaps, Sonic and Tails having a long time bonded friendship, Sonic pushing himself to a limit and beyond. Some of these are new and some are reignited traits of the past, probably coincidentally.
As for adventure time, it’s much more elaborate than it seems. And it’s cousin, Steven Universe, definitely had a plot you can see unfolding that is not too far off from Sonic if not better. I mean what? Should the Oscar go to the writing for Sonic Heroes???? lol Shadow The Hedgehog??
Also, you guys are being so melodramatic. Last chance? Last Sonic game? I think everyone saying this is spreading be cloud of negativity that simply infects others into feeling the same. Sonic was JUST doing good, better than USUAL. And you all think he’s going that far down just like that? Gimme a break. He has way too much going well for him to just get shut down.
I couldn’t give up on Sonic if I tried. Every game that comes out is a new experience. I might not have as much faith But I’d check it out. I wouldn’t take the chance of missing a good game were it to come. If anyone had given up cuz of 06 they would have missed Generations, for example. Even if I lost interest, I’d check it out and be pleasantly surprised. Who cares? It’s a game. If you like it, get it. If not, pass. Simple as that. lol
Okay, maybe we are being a bit melodramatic. I’ll always come back to the ol’ blue furball, for better or worse. But I think our point still stands. Sonic is pretty much a joke of his former self. Some people like it, and that is okay, but others (myself included) will continue to yearn for something that appeals a LITTLE more to us than barebones plots and cheesy jokes. Neither side is “right” per se, but I believe that we can all agree that the claim that fans would be “ecstatic” about the return of Ken Pontac as a writer is QUITE the bold statement.
You answered you’re own comment. I DON’T need to buy every Sonic game and that’s what I’m saying right now. I don’t like what its become. I’m not a fanboy that caters to one specific style of Sonic. Hell, I love nearly every Sonic game that has come out, but Colors began a style of Sonic I never liked. It never worked. You can damage control all you want but realize that its only improvement that we want. This new Sonic is catering to the kids that watch the likes of Cartoon Network as it is today. I’m not a kid and I liked things that are much different than what it is today. In my honest to God opinion, I think Sonic has been tremendously dumbed down as both a franchise and a character. Their is absolutely little substance and meaning behind Sonic as he is now. He’s a very shallow, predictable, jokey, polarizing series. Say what you want about the past mistakes SEGA has made with Sonic, but they’ve always kept his charm, subtle, cool tone intact during all of it, even 06 to an extent. Their was a big meaning behind all of Sonic’s adventures and no matter how stupid it might have seemed, they sold it to us. Yes Colors and Generations are fantastic games, but its only their game play that brought me back and it held up its very lackluster presentation. Cause if the game play wasn’t good, the story and adventure, the journey they were selling me, wouldn’t have been nearly as enticing on its own. Its a big problem and basically translates half of the game into being a disappointment. Lost World and Boom revealed that without a good hold on game play to have fun, the story and presentation of a huge adventure, was not enough to keep you wanting more. Secret Rings is an example of disappointing Sonic game, with awful controls and horrid level design. But what made it enticing regardless to those who played it? The music was on point, the atmosphere was spot on, and the story made things interesting to play through to the very end. That’s something that Lost World and Boom lacked. Boom and Lost World are two games that are severely bad for numerous reasons. Its not quality stuff. Look at Sonic CD. You were on a journey to stop Eggman from stealing the Time Stones, enslaving all of nature on Little Planet, and saving the future as we know it from a technological takeover. The game showed this by giving you a Bad Future, showing you what would happen should you fail. Good Futures were your reward. A simple story done right, because it gave you a real feeling as to the stakes at hand on your adventure. That was how Sonic used to be as a story. It was substantial, not half baked for the sake of being there. Yeah, its a game, but even a game can be bad you know? I’m obviously very passionate about Sonic, but this is how I feel the way I do.
Why do people hate these guys? Sonic Colors was great and Generations and Lost World were fine if not fantastic. Sure it’s not exactly the B-movie charm of SA2, but it’s not Sonic making out with a human or Shadow finding out he has alien blood either.
Maybe becuase, as cringy as that kissing scene was, at least it wasn’t obnoxiously annoying and in your face 24/7 like the current writing.
Well, there’s a couple of reasons. One reason is that some people simply prefer darker stuff, which Pontaff does not write. And that’s fine provided that they don’t shove their opinion in other people’s faces and demand that their tastes are the superior tastes that everybody must follow to not be a moron. Another is that there are plenty of legitimate flaws in their writing– their dialogue, like most Sonic games, is pretty cringey and they tend to tell rather than show, which gives some people the impression that Pontaff is appealing to the lowest common denominator or thinks that kids are stupid and will just eat everything. I am not really into their style myself.
But I agree that some people dramatize them. No, Pontaff did not turn Sonic into a joke. That happened loooong before they showed up– I mean, in terms of Sonic being a joke, Sonic X started it, Shadow the Hedgehog codified it, and Sonic 06 cemented it. If anything, most people outside of the fanbase look fondly on Colors, Gens, and to some extent Lost World. Furthermore, them being bad writers is not an excuse to harrass them or personally insult them. Ken Pontac the Human Being is pretty swell. So is Warren Graff the Human Being. So they deserve to be treated respectfully.
That’s fair I suppose. They certainly aren’t writing anything that captivates or amazes. It’s servicable though, and Colors is still one of my favorite games plotwise for its simplicity and intentional humor.
I guess the real issue I have is the idea that these men are responsible for Sonic having bad plots, when I really can’t think of any good plots. SA1 is probably the best of pre-Colors Sonic, and it is far from flawless. Genesis era games were cool, but Sonic was mostly devoid of personality due to hardware limitations, and Adventure 2 and beyond got too wrapped up in “dark” drama and it’s own convoluted continuity to tell a coherent story. Games now are barebones and the jokes don’t always land, but I’m reluctant to call them worse when I can sum them up in a paragraph instead of the pages it would take me to explain Sonic Heroes or Sonic Rivals 2.
As for Sonic’s personality under these 2… Well I mostly play the games for Eggman anyways.
I feel as though Colors is worse because it slides way too far in the opposite direction. Substituting one extreme for another does not create a solution to the obvious problems here. It just gives you a monster of different proportions. What’s worse is that they had already found a middle grounded method of story-telling with Unleashed and Black Knight. Sliding even further back with Colors was unnecessary. And having absolutely nothing happen in Generations only served to make it more boring, though not offensive in how much it talked down to it’s audience like Colors did.
It’s humor started off well but almost always, every single joke they would tell would carry on for far too long and ruin the set up. They’d explain the joke with their dialogue and often they’d have it stretch on to the point where it either got cringe worthy or embarrassing to listen to. It also did nothing to disguise the fact that they had no story to tell whatsoever so they padded things out by having Sonic talk to the robots (over and over again) as well as make Tails completely useless and try to play it off like he was contributing something. Comparing this as better to the absolute worst examples of going in the other direction we have with Sonic06 and Shadow is a very easy thing to do. It’s the equivalent to saying getting shot in the foot is worse then getting stabbed with a knife.
Lost World’s attempt at rectifying nothing happening was a really sloppy excerise in having a dismantled narrative. It doesn’t matter whether or not you can explain the plot quicker then before. How long the plot is and how many events there are within it was never the issue when it came to why Sonic06 and Shadow were bad. They were bad because their story beats were terrible. It being simplified in Lost World and Colors doesn’t change the fact that their story beats were also terrible. When I have to choose, I’d rather go for the thing that attempted to entertain me by having events take place within the story and have the characters do something other then stand around and drone on and on about this one really long joke they want to run into the ground.
Lost World made Tails an insufferable little jerk who wanted Sonic to praise his every move. Tails got mad at Sonic for something he never did and Sonic apologized to Tails at the end of the game, again, for something he never did. The lesson Sonic should have learned was about how hasty he was as twice within the game his quick actions screwed things up. But the game drops that as being the problem despite it being the one they actually set up. Meanwhile Tails gets to act like an asshole and gets off scott free for it leaving my sympathy with Sonic and Eggman. The only problem Eggman had in the game was the fact that the rushed ending made him just show up in a giant robot to fight them again, while simultainiously wiping the Deadly Six from the plot.
And Shattered Crystal, which was also written by them, is the absolute worst written Sonic game out there in terms of cringe worthy and insulting dialogue.
If Sonic Team were to get to writing stories again without these two we wouldn’t get Shadow and 06 again. Unleashed and Black Knight were the more recent ones before the change so why wouldn’t that be a possibility? Why go to the worst extreme after this extreme? They’re both awful extremes. I’d like to have a middle ground.
I’ve seen the small amount of potential these guys could have if they just sat down and told a story and knew how to just let a joke sit so the audience can laugh at it and move on. But no. They just pad it out and throw in forced drama out of nowhere. It really is a mess. So I totally understand why people don’t like their writing. It’s because it’s awful. Saying there exists worse writing for the series (if you agree with that) isn’t going to change that either.
You’re right, I picked ’06 and Shadow since they were some of the worst examples. But honestly I could point to nearly any Sonic game and still point out a bucket of flaws with its story.
You mentioned Unleashed which relegates Tails to a taxi service too scared of the big bad monsters to even try to fight. Chip, the character created for that story and who will never appear again, gets what little character development the game offers. Meanwhile Eggman rehashed another plan to use an ancient god to solve all his problems that we’ve seen at least 3 times already. And as is typical for those games despite setting the plot in motion, Dark Gaia and it’s minions do much more to directly antagonize Sonic than Eggman. Professor Pickle is practically useless since the Gaia Manuscripts say everything he could teach to Sonic and co. Amy does nothing in the game besides recycle that same joke about thinking every hedgehog is Sonic. And all this is without even having mentioned that the Werehog is barely explained even in universe and isn’t really capitalized on during the plot to expand Sonic’s character. He seems a little mopey about it at first, but seems to get over it quickly enough and without any fanfare. The moral Pickle states the game has is that light and dark must coexist, but that’s not backed up by the story at all which presents the Werehog and Dark Gaia’s influence as aberrations that are destroying the world.
Mind you, Unleashed is a massive improvement over most of the previous Sonic titles. Like Colors and beyond it doesn’t rely on the player knowing, for example, how Cream and Emerl were bffs before being rebuilt, or that Froggy once ate an emerald which is why Metal Sonic wants to capture it. And all the jokes in it were more subdued than Pontac’s work. It’s not bad, but it’s not good either.
You also mentioned Sonic and the Black Knight. That game is actually pretty great, but it’s also not really something that can be compared to other Sonic titles. It’s really fanservice-y and the moral of knowing that all stories must eventually come to an end, while fantastic in general but particularly good considering the state of Sonic games when it came out, isn’t something that could be told in the canon of a franchise that shows no signs of stopping. If they ever make more storybook titles I hope the writers take cues from it, but I don’t know what can be pulled from it for main series games.
…
Having written all that I don’t really have a conclusion to draw though. I rewatched the stories of Unleashed and Colors and still think Colors’s holds up while Unleashed’s has nagging problems. I guess it really is just that I am more willing to overlook these new issues than I was previous ones. *shrug*
(Incidentally I would agree Shattered Crystal is on par with ’06 for worst story, but I’m hesitant to blame that entirely on the writers when there was clearly so much meddling, redesigning, and miscommunication between everyone involved in it. Pontac and Graff didn’t save it, but I like to think they aren’t happy with how it turned out either.)
This is terrible. I am sorry if I’m coming off pessimistic here, but I’m tired of this. Yes, we got cheesy lines before “Long time no see” yada yada. Yes, it was cheesy. But that’s just it, Sonic will ALWAYS be cheesy. To SOME degree. It’s no different than something like Power Rangers or Ninja Turtles. It is cheesy, but we want to take our favorite stories a LITTLE seriously. Now it’s just like “Heh… we know we’re cheesy. And because of that, we have no real reason to implement a story! Here! Have some cheesy jokes!” I hate to play devil’s advocate, but people are always saying “Oh, I can’t take Sonic seriously! The lines and stories in the Adventure Series are so cheesy and bad!” And I can agree, there were some bad lines, but the presentation of adventure made it fun. People can’t HONESTLY tell me that the writing in Colors is any LESS cheesy than something like Sonic Adventure 2. Just because it is AWARE of how cheesy it is doesn’t make it less cheesy than it is. Almost NONE of the jokes in that game hit home, aside from maybe “Baldy McNosehair” and maybe the copyright bit. But aside from that, I was cringing from most of those lines. And realistically, everyone I have ever talked to who tries to tell me that was the proper direction to go can not honestly tell me with a straight face that they didn’t cringe at half of those “jokes”. The way I see it, SOMEONE is going to be cringing at the writing either way, so we might as well have a LITTLE substance in our story. Lost World (a game I’ve come to love no less) was SO lacking in story that it was almost insulting. I just want a LITTLE substance. I miss speculating and wondering what would happen next. I miss there being actual stakes. Even Sonic Boom Rise of Lyric was promising us a “more compelling” story. What we wound up with was one of the most EMPTY stories I think we’ve ever seen for Sonic. I’m tired of either being fooled into thinking I’ll be getting something of substance and/or being told what I like. I don’t think anyone was “ecstatic” about this guy returning. Same thing when Steven Frost was telling us how much of a success Sonic Boom Rise of Lyric was, saying the only flaw was “being too ambitious”. I’m sorry if I’m coming off as negative, it MAY just be Fire and Ice he’ll be writing for, but something in the back of my head is telling me otherwise thanks to experience in being a Sonic fan.
Dude….mad props. Substance and quality are the main problems in Sonic stories nowadays. It was the entire concept of Sonic as a franchise, a character, and narrative that was respected in the past. He’s become something quite shallow nowadays. Stories in Sonic are as exemplified: Sonic CD was about Sonic, running around as per usual, going to visit a mystical landmark at this magical lake where Little Planet, a place that appears once every year, appears over this lake. The premise is that upon visiting, Sonic discovers that the planet has been taken over by Eggman and the mystical Time Stones that are home to Little Planet, are being hunted down by Eggman in order to control Time itself and take over the world, enslaving nature itself to his whim. On the way, we meet Amy, a girl that comes out of nowhere who shows she has an attraction to Sonic, and ends up getting caught in the middle of this unexpected situation. Sonic goes to save her and save the world. That’s a good story right there. You get some light shed on the lore of this planet that appears once every year on Sonic’d home world, a new character that you end up getting invested in saving throughout the entire game, and are introduced to new villains like Metal Sonic. All at the same time, you’re fighting an incredible foe with a lot at stake if you were to fail. The bad future reminds you of all that will be destroyed should you fail and the good futures show how much you have accomplished when you prevail. THAT’s a story! Lost World was nothing. The Lost Hex looked interesting at first glance, but nothing was given on it. It was a random place that was the setting for the game. You went to bland environments, interacted with stupid gimmicks (watermelons?), and fought against the most boring one note villains in the history of Sonic. Also, the world looked like a spherical world where you ran around on flat spaces, but its all cylindrical for no reason whatsoever. Its dumb. That’s not how you make a narrative. Nothing felt like it was at stake. It treated itself like a joke.
Sorta like how a species was getting their life force drained, turned into evil slaves to supply a source of power to enslave everyone on Earth the way Madara wanted to enslave everyone in Naruto. Sorta like how everyone got stuck in a time limbo and Sonic got to travel through his memories and appreciate his own life. How 6 aliens wanted to kill everyone, were tortured into slavery, animals were turned into batteries like in the classics, Sonic had to deal with consequences of his actions especially when putting Tails in danger, thinking Eggman died, the 6 evil aliens possibly also dying and Sonic thinking everyone else was suffering.
It’s just the edgy tone of a problem WE, as an audience, are not sure Sonic should be able to
Best until he does that’s missing i.e. the Death Egg Robo, The boss at the end of S3&K’s Death Egg Zone up through Doomsday Zone (6 bosses on a row), the Death Egg itself, Knuckles’ misled impression, Chaos, the Egg Carrier, Shadow, Space Colony ARK, Black Doo
, Solaris, Dark Gaia. Something to make us feel hopeless and not just say it. And the adventure has to show
U.S. Winning until we realize we’re losing the entire. Freakin. Time. Leading up TO that finale.
Also I feel like Lost World has more of a story than Colors, which just rips off Unleashed’s empty shell of “time to start the plot. There’s a series of THINGS. Let’s change them. Boss time. The end” then generations was kinda the same where you fixed each friend lol Lost World was at least about them going after Eggman, then running and traveling somewhere to stop the Zeti and being about their interactions along the way. And RoL was cool story wise to me. More interesting than lately. Lyric is a cool villain and it kinda ended off on a Heroes theme about team work but in a way they gave spotlight to each of his friends individually making Lyric HAVE to notice each of them… even if it was just their Boom selves.
No empty is Sonic Heroes! “Let’s go save the world from something and look for each other! Oh wait! Not for real! Let’s find out who did this and save Sonic! Yeah!! We’re Sonic’s Heroes!!!”
Here’s why Lost World did it wrong. Roger is a one note Sonic. He’s always joking, never serious, never showing any other emotions to what is happening around him. I never bought him feeling bad for Tails getting captured. The entire tone of that game was an Amazing World of Gumball comedy sketch. It simply changed tunes WAY too quickly to be taken seriously. Cause the rest of the game just didn’t work with it at all. Tails would get angry at Sonic for no reason whatsoever and when he did it was WAY off the rails and out of nowhere. Its a bipolar mess. It made on sense at all. The Deadly Six were sucking the life out of the planet, but it was so underwhelming it made toll my eyes. The music was so bad, the emotion of Sonic and Tails ABOUT what was happening was very lackluster, and the villains themselves were such a joke, I didn’t even feel threatened by them. I didn’t care. All we had to be worried about was a Minnie Mouse Amy and a dumb as rocks Knuckles getting killed and it was underwhelming. Seriousness and edge, was poorly done. Sonic showing hardly any emotion at all. The tone of the entire situation fell flat on its face. I didn’t care what was going on. I was busy wondering WHY it was happening in the first place. It was bipolar. The tone of the game didn’t know what it wanted to be. It sucked. Yeah everyone got stuck in time in Generations, but it was so blatantly done. Their was like no emotional connection to anything that was happening. It just…happened. And it was done in a way that was TOO corny the kind of corny that didn’t care about what was going on. Unleashed was a beginning that did it RIGHT! I don’t even have to explain why. I didn’t care about the Time Eater. He was the most boring looking thing I ever laid eyes on. All you did was walk around this white void…..that’s IT, and went to each stage to repair time and save each of your friends. No specific events were cut in the middle to shake things up, hardly any story elements were thrown in, and the characters you save were given no time to chat with you and Classic Sonic at all (hardly at all). Sonic and Tails reflect back on their previous adventures like once and the final boss itself was so dumb and boring, I just didn’t care by the end of it. Yeah, the rest of the game was awesome, but the story sucked. They didn’t run with what they had and just passed by everything like it wasn’t important. It could have been so much more and yet it was lazily done to just get it out the front door. Those are only serious and edgy to you because you’re talking about it in a way that makes it seem like it is. The game itself doesn’t sell that to you at all and its because the elements that make Sonic are entirely missing for it to work. Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 sells you as to what is going on. Sonic 3 sells you what is right around the corner. Sonic Unleashed did the same. Lost World didn’t know what it wanted and it stuck in this pseudo comedic mess that went nowhere. Boom just felt like nothing mattered and it could have been great. That’s what is wrong.
Well there’s a little information about this unknown title well my guess is that there will be 3 sonic games this year.
Sonic Boom fire & Ice
Mario & Sonic olympics 2016
Sonic 25th anniversary
There might be a 4th title, but I dont know.
it’s like there’s one game for each Generation this year.
Example:
Fire & Ice – Boom Sonic
Mario & Sonic Olympics 2016 – Modern Sonic
Unknown 25th Anniversary – Classic Sonic (??????)
Okay, people need to take their nostalgia glasses off. In the beginning, Sonic was cool because the games tried to make him cool. “Look, he’s really fast! Look, he taps his feet!” Sonic Adventure 2 is probably the only game people genuinely remember the story from, when it comes to other games, you remember the settings and the characters, etc. And what’s with the Lost World hate? Oh, it’s because the story is simple? That’s hypocritical because all the early games everyone’s worshipping had simple plots. In fact, Lost World’s plot is very similar to the plot from Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles. Just admit that you don’t like Sonic anymore and stop threatening to leave the franchise. (Oh, and BTW, RoL was not made by Sega and was a spin-off game based on a TV show. The main reason I hate this fanbase is because it’s full of misinformed hatred towards the franchise it supposedly “loves”.)
I’m 99.9% sure the “Many Admirers” thing is completely ironic. It’s written so self referentially I can’t help but think that.
Anyway I’m okay with this. I never have and never will understand the hatred for his plots. They’re simple and jokey but fun IMHO.
I remember as a kid playing Adventure 1 and 2 for the first time and being invested in the story and the characters. There was world building and an epic adventure with high stakes, still managing to have some funny moments.
Now, many years later, the plots of Adventure 1 and 2 are actually pretty terrible because I’ve matured, and the games have aged poorly. But I want so much to feel invested and immersed in the story of a Sonic game again like I used to be, and for the story to still be good 10 years from now. Will it ever happen?
The plot in Sonic Colors, Generations and Lost World was so bare bones I just can’t get excited about this news.
What’s wrong with those stories? XD too detailed? Too serious? They are both revolved around tragedies.
ecstatic huh? Well, I did enjoy the laid back attitude of Colors and Generations (however little story there was). But I think I’ve had my fill. Lost World’s story was just a disappointment, it wasn’t any fun, wasn’t dramatic, it wasn’t even interesting, it was just there, went by, and left with no impact. and I don’t think the other sonic games they wrote were any different. I’m not asking for Shakespeare, but if we’re gonna have a silly, low impact Sonic plot, can we at least get something funny? Especially for the 25th Anniversary game.
“His MANY ADMIRERS in the world of Sonic fandom will be ecstatic to learn that he’s written for an upcoming video game featuring their favourite blue hedgehog.”
Yeah, all 2 of them. XP
Ugh, I’m sorry to anybody who actually likes the guy’s work, but I’m pretty much tired of his and Gaff’s involvement with the series. I wouldn’t go as far as to call his work on Sonic a laughing stalk, because that would suggest that I actually laughed at anything that was meant to be taken as funny. It literally just feels like they’re throwing darts at a board of jokes they could surgically implant into each Sonic game and then try to write the scenarios of each scene around each joke. And even when they try to make a more serious story it still lags miserably behind previous installments. I really hope this is only crediting his work on Fire and Ice because when it comes to the 25th Anniversary title for Sonic the Hedgehog, I’d much rather put my trust in somebody who’s played more than A FEW of the games about the fast blue guy who’s kinda funny sometimes and actually understands more than half of the references they make to previous games.
It’s funny.
He told a fan in a discussion some time ago he no longer even talks about Sonic anymore, yet he still keeps returning to write?
Oy.
I don’t know him.
Remember when Sonic Colours came out, with the same writing of Ken and Graf, and everyone loved it? I do to.
Sincerely, I believe they have done an more than decent job with the games. SPECIALLY Sonic Lost World, When you stop and see what was they we’re really focusing in the story. They main focus whas to expand in the personality of Sonic Tails and Eggman, which is suprisingly underdeveloved. They expanded how Sonic mindset of act first think later can end up badly. They expanded how Tails is actually very lacking of selfconfidence, no matter how hard he tries to “believe in himself” (Thats why he saw “Sonic trusting Eggman” as “Sonic doesnt trust me”) They expanded on how we have seen Sonic and Eggman teaming up previusly, but never we have seen character interaction in that sitation. They knew what they wanted to focus, and it ended up quite good.
There’s not too much to discuss. They were bad before, they’re going to be bad again.
We’re never seeing a middle-grounded Sonic story in anything but the comics now. Apparently the games seems to think going from one extreme to the other is the only thing they can do.
Rise of Lyric had a middle-grounded plot but that was only really elevated by the fact that the characters actually got to do something. The story was way too bare and formulaic for it to mean anything though.
Even that twist opening was a bit cliche.
meh, i wouldn’t mind him if this time he actually writes a decent storyline with a plot, his sonic games have been too shallow and their entire story could be written in less than 1000 words. It feels almost like he just writes whatever is on his mind at that time for the plot and then focuses entirely on the cringey jokes.
Way I see it, the majority of the golden platformers throughout gaming never really held too big a story. There’s a goal, there’s some characters, there’s their personality and quirks shown through animation-work and small pocket sized cutscene scenarios. While the Sonic the Hedgehog 4 episodes one and two weren’t positively received for a variety of reasons, I feel that one of the things that drew me to them was the silent protagonist approach to our blue blur again. He had his cocky smile and laidback attitude all in the spritework, we didn’t need silly one-liners or immense plot.
Which leads me to the point that; seeing Pontac be writer for another Sonic game? Honestly, I couldn’t care less. They can flunk the story or blow our minds. I’d imply I cared more about story, which I do, in general, but…
– But this is a Sonic game. I’ll invite anyone to put Sonic’s plots from the video games next to impressive stories from other titles, often delivered to us in the form of RPGs, Action Adventures or RTS games. By all means, I’m not saying a platformer with a genuinely good story is bad – however, a platformer that tries too hard to have a complicated plot, will simply come off as mockworthy.
The best story Sonic has had to tell and will always tell to this day, is the story of a snarky brat with a sense of what’s right and wrong, how he saves the day and pretends it all was a breeze – and with all the odd and at times silly writing in any Sonic game, almost every single one of SEGA’s installments delivers that feeling at one point. It doesn’t rely on the plot, it relies on the character.
It’s not an atypical “look at all these things you did to get here,” not a “this was such a challenge, what an epic journey.” T’was always more a case of “Eh, that was easy.” or “Pfft, that was fun. See ya later, stinker.” that was given to us from our main protagonist, regardless of whether we had an easy time -or- a good time. He didn’t care, he was just doing his own thing, smirking, posing for the camera and rocketing off thereafter. It’s his game. Not the writers’, not the producers’ and certainly not the players’. Go to any other popular franchise in the platforming universe and show me THAT character, and well… then there’ll be something to worry about.
Of course, at the end of the day, that’s just my interpretation. But I feel like it’s worth throwing in there, with all the negativity and worry, that hey – it’s a Sonic game. Chill, lay back and take the ride. See if you enjoy it or not when it’s actually out.
Please no. This guy just needs to stop. His writing for Colors was alright, Generations it wasn’t too much of an issue since there weren’t that many cutscenes, and for the few there were they got straight to the point, barely and bullshiting around. Then Lost World came around and it was terrible, and Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal is just constant cringe. I’m not saying Sonic needs to have edgy scripts, I’m just saying Pontac writes really stupid ones that come off as really really tryhard. Not saying he hasn’t written some decent moments, like in Lost World where Sonic confronts Zazz, but that’s just one small scene. Honestly, I’ll take some of the edgier scripts like Shadow and 06. At least I can laugh at those for trying to be super serious and sounding like fanfic. Also it may just be me, but I can’t stand smart ass Tails.
If you’re a young sonic fan then you won’t understand why the style of simple, childish dialogue and comedy is such a bad idea to apply to a series that actually has a mature audience too. One thing sonic games cannot do is cater the dialogue to its audience. Generations-style games shouldn’t be the only time they do.
Funny….because as an OLD Sonic fan from way back, I don’t understand why you YOUNG Sonic fans think that the style of simple, childish dialogue and comedy is a bad idea to apply to a series whose main target is a NEW, even YOUNGER Audience?
Do I think that SEGA should keep their older audiences in mind? ABSOLUTELY, I AGREE 100%.
Do I think the dialogue should be a bit more witty and less juvenile? Indisputably. If Gravity Falls can do it, Sonic can do it.
Does that mean everything has to stop being funny and appealing to a general audience so the series can regress to a bland,ridiculous DBZ animu parody that everyone raised on Sonic Adventure and Sonic X seems to think the series is meant to be?
God I hope not, because then my faith in humanity couldn’t get any lower and I would be trying my best to sneak aboard the Mars colonization. The Earth would have ceased to host intelligent life.
He’s a good writer who no doubt writes in the style SEGA ask for, which at present is for a very young audience but he still manages to fit in some darker moments and good humour when he can. I’m sure if they wanted a darker, more PG 13 script he could pull it off. I’m sure this game will be in the same tone as his previous scripts though. Not his full. He’s just writing in the style the producers ask him to based on what they feel their demographic is.
“His MANY ADMIRERS in the world of Sonic fandom will be ecstatic to learn that he’s written for an upcoming video game featuring their favorite blue hedgehog.”
Dream on Ken, dream on. I honestly want the team that did the stories Sonic Heroes, Shadow the Hedgehog and yes even 2006 back. I’m am sick of Ken Pontac.
I’d literally trust anybody who’d worked on previous works before Colors. The series’ writing was never that terrific, but it was simple enough to enjoy and knew just how seriously it should take itself and just how seriously it could never be taken at the same time. To this day I still stand by my belief that Sonic Unleashed is one of the better installments out there in terms of both story and gameplay. The story was dramatic, but it still had plenty of light-hearted moments that didn’t go too far to distract you from what the point of the story was, and yet the story wasn’t trying to be edgy or melodramatic. They gave it just enough drama, humor, and most importantly EXCITEMENT to make it what I feel should have been a template for how most Sonic stories should be handled. And weirdly enough, it was kind of a template already, having Sonic go on a huge quest with a story-exclusive companion to stop a larger-than-life force of nature while still keeping to its reoccurring theme of friendship. Unleashed just felt like the last game to do that correctly, with Black Knight kind of following that as well. With Colors it seems that the only note Pontac actually took from his “study” of the series before writing was that Sonic needed to have a story-exclusive ally, and that was it. And even in that department he still fell short, Yacker wasn’t even used that much other than to be a conduit for Tails to have more lines and to give Sonic and Tails a bouncing board to toss around random jokes every five seconds. By the time Tails mentioned how he hadn’t seen Yacker in a while in Asteroid Coaster, I had already thought that same thing by the time I reached Planet Wisp.
Literally anybody could do this job better at this point. Heck, if they announced a new writer, whether I have heard of him before or not, I’d be willing to give that person the benefit of the doubt over Pontac at this point. As much as I would love to pray every night that Ian Flynn could be given the job, I’d be content with just about anyone else, as long as they have played a majority of, or at least even care about, the Sonic series.
Get Hirohiko Araki for JJBA to write. It’ll be “Sonic’s Bizarre Adventure” and it’d literally be the best thing to exist.
Hey if they wanted a REAL Sonic comedy, they should do that! Nothing better than making Knuckles go “ORA ORA ORA!!” a million times for a good laugh. X)
“You’re next line is: YOU’RE TOO SLOW!”
I hope he writes his will as well.
Uggghhh I wish they would just hire someone else. I’ve been losing interest solely because of Ken
Oh goodness… it’s just Fire and Ice! NOW I’m ecstatic! 😀 I likely won’t even buy that game since I don’t have a 3DS!
Hopefully this will be good. It better be good.
It’s just Fire & Ice. Phew.
https://youtu.be/nsBByTiKfyY
Hoo… Controversy averted. 🙂 I’m very glad to see him write for Sonic Boom, and I’m even more glad to see Dr. Eclipse himself give us an update. Things are looking good.
Aww, I was hoping the anniversary game would feature characters with personality. Guess I should brace myself for everyone spouting bland lines again.