If they really wanted to do some fan service they could base the special stages off Sonic Xtreme using the actual assets and fisheye lens.
Each emerald corresponds to a different classic game, so Sonic 1, Sonic 2, Sonic 3, Sonic & Knuckles (yay cheating), Sonic CD... and then Sonic 3D Blast and Knuckles Chaotix. Hope you liked that bridge special stage garbage from Sonic 3D Blast.
Haha I actually didn't mind that bridge special stage, although it has been many years since I've played it
Is it controversial opinion time? :v: Because I liked Sonic 4 Episode 1's special stages more than Sonic 1's. (For what its worth, S1 is still a far superior game, but you know, just special stages)
Is it controversial to say I don't like Special Stages as a whole? At least in the form they've taken in the past. I'm just minding my own business, zipping through a lovely Sonic game, when suddenly HOLD UP A SEC, BOYS, it's time to break up the game's flow with a fucking pinball puzzle/half-pipe/sphere-grabbing MINIGAME BONANZA! And get this! You're required to go through 7 (or even 14!) of these to get the real ending, as well as a neato super-powered pseudo-godmode! I don't even approve of having an ending locked behind random, optional tasks in the first place, but you'd at least think these tasks would be related to the game you're playing, right? If it's something I have to earn, make me earn it by testing my skill at the game I'm actually playing, rather than my ability to complete tacked on, sometimes unenjoyable, frustrating minigames! Give me a special stage where you're transported to a psychedelic void, as per usual, but instead of some random gimmick you have to complete an extra-difficult platforming challenge. I just wanna play Sonic, guys.
I thought we were talking about Sonic, not Banjo-Tooie. :v: (I'm probably going to get murdered for that one) I've played more than enough games that do that exact same thing that I guess I'm kind of desensitized to it? And I mean, the Saturn version of 3D Blast's special stages were the best thing ever just because of the music.
That's if they picked the Genesis version and not the way superior Saturn version with the half-pipe. And hey, Mania is said to be a Sonic game if it was made from the Saturn as it is, so who knows. :v (Real talk, 3D Blast Genesis's bridge special stage are awful. It's like they took the the half pipe setup but gave Sonic ice controls with less room to maneuver.)
It's probably controversial but I'm in agreement. I know they're a tradition but locking the true ending behind some minigame that doesn't at all play like the main game was always kinda silly to me. Though if they're just for bonus lives or whatever I don't mind them. I liked how the Game Gear games did it. The Chaos Emeralds are hidden in the stages themselves.
Mentioned this some few pages back when MaskedMage criticized the Sonic 3&K method of Special Stages, but I'd say Special Stages are not intended to be part and parcel to the core platforming experience. Whether a player wants to go for the emeralds/Super forms/good endings or play the game without them is their own choice, it's not like the game is structured to have them as part of the standard campaign. Moreover, while the Super modes and good endings are tied to them, those also aren't necessary to actually complete the game either. Going for 100% completion, sure; but they aren't needed to actually complete all of the standard levels. That's not to say you can't criticize them for being minigames rather than platforming levels (speaking of which, I'd suggest taking a look at the Egg Sonic Simulator / Game Land levels from Sonic Colors for the Wii, that seems to be closer to what you're asking for); but I'd argue the notion that Special Stages are a essential element to Sonic gameplay is an incorrect one.
I made a point some time ago that bonus stages like the ones from S3&K should be the only special stages. The proper special stages simply get in the way of the pacing of the game and I would love to see them gone, they are still great to play though. Honestly if you need some reason for scenario to have an emerald then all you need is for the bosses to have them in their possession. Makes more sense from a plot point that Eggman gets his robots to hunt for emeralds and by the time they do, Sonic is there ready to fight them for it.
Kinda reminds me of Sonic Unleashed. Granted, Sonic had all of the emeralds with him from the start, but either the daytime or nighttime boss level for each country blocked access to the temples that restored their power (correct me if I'm wrong though). Also gonna add it also allows for some story variation for how each boss --or even miniboss-- is set up prior to the fight. There's a fair amount of decent range of scenarios you could gauge for how the emerald factors into the context of the boss fight. That sounds like a decent approach, and it admittedly does make more sense from a narrative standpoint than having them in Special Stages. That said, I don't think you have to get rid of standard Special Stages entirely to make that work. Like, Chaos Emeralds can be regulated to be earned via bosses, but Special Stages could a different reward in place--presumably something that is there just for fun and has no effect on the story. A different type of transformation or powerup, portals to other zones not accessible through the main levels, or some other thing.
I don't think that the "true ending" being locked behind minigames is unreasonable, at least in 1, 2, and CD. In 3K, they lock the "true" final boss behind the minigames, and that's something I wouldn't mind not coming back.
They are not bad, actually. Would be better if they weren't one of the easiest SS in Sonic series. I just love the execution of GFX, not to mention that Genesis is capable of doing this stuff (like all this dithering and the way how background shifts forward). Sometimes I imagine about some sort of "consolidation" if not all Emeralds are collected. Instead of locking the access to unusual stages like Doomsday Zone from 3K or Moon Zone from Advance, there would be more usual, classic levels in the end that Sonic may still make up for some decent ending.
I always thought a compromise on keeping the special stages but keeping the core gameplay is to do something like Sonic Runners. AKA an endless runner, but I'm not sure that's a popular opinion.
