I truly believe Sonic Boom will be great. While the game trailer left me more confused than excited, you cannot deny the legacy of the developers working on the game. While Knuckles design has been incredibly controversial, one look at a scene from the show or listening to the recording sessions convinced me that the show is not only going to be very funny, but heading in the right direction. Yes, Sonic Boom has left some fans divided about its quality, but I don’t think there’s no denying that it’s looking better than originally anticipated. That said, if there’s one thing you should ALWAYS have with any Sonic media (except the comics) is caution. If there’s one thing Sonic Lost World taught us, is just because something looks great, doesn’t mean it will be. (I’m not saying SLW was bad, just…disappointing.)

That said, here is my list of reasons why Sonic Boom will be awesome and why you might still need to be cautiously optimistic.

The Game Developer’s Background

Why it’s awesome! – You’ve got former developers and art directors from Naughty Dog, High Impact Games and Chris Sean (the cancelled Sonic X-Treme) all working together to make Sonic Boom happen. There’s some solid talent here including Bob Rafei who was with Naughty dog from its very beginnings such as the Crash series, all of Jak and Daxter and up to the first Uncharted. Not only that, but there are several other Naughty Dog founders here along with staff from High Impact who worked on Ratchet and Clank and J&D games on PSP. It’s like seeing Sonic if he was developed for Playstation! This is their first big break though game under this new company so they know they can’t afford to mess it up. Not only that, but you have the uber-talented guys at Sanzaru games (Sly Cooper 4) working on the 3DS version. I could go on all day, but if you want to know more about these guys, just look at this article.

Why you should be cautious – All that Jak and Daxter talent seems to be leaking into the game itself. Just looking at the trailer, if you removed Sonic and the gang and replaced them with Jak and Daxter, it would seem almost MORE fitting (that “desert-punk” look reminds me a bit of Jak 2). There’s no doubt this team has the talents to make a great game, but do they have the talent to make a great Sonic game? Outside of that, there are some mediocre games in their back catalog including the fairly weak Secret Agent Clank. Still, it’s GOLD compared to some of the stuff Sonic Team’s put out.

The Cartoon Show

Why it’s awesome! – There’s been plenty of Sonic Cartoons over the years, but very little of good quality. Sonic SATAM is almost universally loved for its strong dramatic storytelling, Adventures had it’s good moments and watching Robotnik act goofy was always a treat, Sonic X while not that great, was fairly faithful to the games and brought in a new generation of fans and Sonic Underground was liked by a few because………I have no clue.

So many were worried about how Sonic would be represented in an 11 minute comedy-based CGI cartoon. Thankfully, we not only got one 3–minute scene from the show, but a behind the scenes moment of their voice recordings and I’m very happy with what I’ve seen and heard so far. While the jokes aren’t hilarious, the delivery by such superb voice actors as Mike Pollock and Roger Craig Smith help to deliver a very funny performance. Just a few of those moments were funnier than almost all of Adventures of Sonic. As a fan of the very silly Sonic X comic and of the writing in Sonic Colors, I’m very happy with this direction for the show.

Why you should be cautious – Because you’re all into dark drama and hate fun. XP

Okay, kidding aside, there were a few small concerns. Knuckles looks like he’s going to be the big, goofy dumb brute again and his “funny” dialogue sounded like stuff you’d hear on a bad Disney Channel comedy. Also, just from the small sample shown it’s obvious Amy Rose is still channeling her inner Minnie Mouse. “SIGH!” Speaking of…

Amy’s Character Change

Why it’s awesome! – For the longest time, Amy was just a one note character. Following and pining over Sonic with not enough development and growth. This changed over time and she became a little more strong and independent. This was in part thanks to having Cream the Rabbit as a sidekick (albeit that was really shown more in Sonic X and the comics).

With Sonic Boom, we no longer get a boy chaser in a frilly dress, but an athletic, gymnastic and stronger Amy Rose than before. Someone Sonic may be chasing after, rather than the other way around. Someone with less flaws, who’s smart, gymnastic and…..uh-oh. Uuuuhhhh-oooooh!

Why you should be cautious – This is part of the problem. Amy was already becoming tougher and more independent while still keeping her character flaws that made her a fun personality. What I definitely DON’T wanna see is Amy Rose become Sally “little miss perfect” Acorn. Sally has become the super-ultra, self-sacrificing, Christ-like Mary Sue of Mary Sues whose only flaw is caring too much and I really can’t stand her!! (Gee Jason, tell us how you really feel. Also, you covered this three weeks ago you idiot.)

In short, it’s cool for Amy to be tougher and more independent, as long as it doesn’t go overboard.

“Finally, something interesting!” AKA The New World/Designs

Why it’s awesome! – By now, we’ve all seen the new designs and we all have our opinions on them. Buffles, the sports tape, blue arms, extra quills, you either love it or you hate it but you know what? At least it’s something different. We really haven’t had anything quite this unique and new in the Sonic franchise since “Sonic X” and even that was based mostly off the Sonic Adventure series of games. We’ve got a new design, new lands, new characters, new villains and more!  With all that newness on the horizon, what’s not be excited about? Plus if it doesn’t meet up to your expectations, you don’t have to worry about it replacing your favorite Sonic as it’s just its own thing. “A branch of the Sonic Franchise”.

Why you should be cautious – At best, Sonic Boom could re-ignite the Sonic franchise in a big way. At worst, we could have another Sonic ’06 that ruins the franchise further and we get more stupid “LOL Sonic-Cycle!” posts. Personally, I don’t believe it will go that way at all but you never know.

Also, just look at how ridiculous Knuckles looks. What with those tiny noodle arms attached to giant boxing gloves and don’t get me started on those Lego shoes. Wait, which Knuckles were we talking about?

Jason Berry wraps himself up every night in sports tape for……personal reasons.