Sonic 1 and 2 getting the Sonic CD treatment by Taxman and Stealth

This is the same SOJ that wouldn't give the source code to Sonic 1 to Taxman but gave it to M2 to make the 3DS version.

 

You know it could be a case that they simply don't like Hidden Palace, or it conflicts with the official Hidden Palace from S&K (which from my perspective I can relate as I really don't like S2 Hidden Palace and take the S&K version any day).

 

You would think that SoJ would have abandoned this mentality after it, you know, pretty much caused the company to basically rip itself apart internally.

It really sucks. I love Sega's IPs, but their business has always been prejudiced and the big-wigs in Japan will destroy because company for it. And they'll have no one to blame but themselves. Ironic they have such a problem with American developers working on their IPs considering the fact it was originally an American company (or at least started by one).

Back on topic, does this mean that Taxman is no longer in a contract with Sega? What will this mean for future updates and patches if that's the case?

 

Ah, ethnic nepotism. Isn't it fun? :v:

Like others have said this is a grudge match that will do no good for the company and ultimately cause it to destroy itself if SOJ doesn't get a clue and ITSELF reach out to the fan audience instead of relying on SoA press to tell them what's right or wrong, simply due to the fact that

1: If Boom is any indication, they don't actually have a clear grasp on what the fans want (or DID but somehow somewhere down the line shit hit the fan... Compare what we saw in the first trailer to what we see now. The differences are honestly disturbingly stark)

2: SoJ just doesn't listen to them, and when they do they get shit out of luck and have someone give them a real stinker of an idea that half the time they actually go through with. Hell, wasn't Penders' Sonic movie pitch given to SoJ? I'd imagine it was given to SoA but if somehow Japanese eyes saw that piece of shit it's no wonder they have a bad perception on what we think this series should be.

 

TIL Penders ruined not only Archie Sonic, but all of Sonic as well.

 

SOJ is necessarily going to have a much better relationship with M2 because they've been working with them for fucking years though. Stealth and Taxman are only working on Sonic stuff right now, and only for a short time. Of course, if they were to port Fantasy Zone II DX to mobile I'd probably pick up a copy or two...

 

I wonder where this disconnect between SoA and SoJ keeps coming from. Even from Sonic's conception they couldn't agree on which direction to go in. How different can American youth culture be if a lot of it comprises of Japanese goods, especially in this post-Pokemon world. What does SoJ fear, that SoA will turn Sonic into a gritty shooting game? I don't think fans wanted the tone Shadow the Hedgehog was going for in any part of the world.

 

jak and daxter would suggest otherwise, but on the other hand were any of those games after the first one any good either

EDIT: And bah, Sonic 1 was emulated on 3DS anyway. The only source code it sounds like they touched was Sonic Jam's and even then mostly only for trying to figure out the spin dash.

 

The Jak sequels were competent enough, but even to this day we make fun of their shift in tone from the first game.

I wonder what it would take to get it through to SoJ that not all Americans like the same things. I know our entertainment industry likes to push gritty reboots of childhood IPs on us, but we actively make fun of them. They keep getting made, but we keep making fun of them. We do appreciate colorful "feel good" things as long as they're well made. I know Sonic Lost World tried to bring back the surreal art style the Japanese had for the classic era of Sonic, but the aesthetics weren't the problem. The game just needed more focus and direction in its overall design.

I don't see why SoJ would give Taxman and Stealth the cold shoulder. How would Desert Dazzle, Final Fever and Sonic 2's Hidden Palace go against whatever direction SoJ wants Sonic to go in? The only reason I can think of is that SoJ wants to preserve the games as they originally were... which is fair enough, but then where's the lure in buying another copy of the same game?

 

If SoJ has so much "respect" for the classics that they feel the need to hold them up as paragons, untouchably perfect and how DARE you white boy piggies try and improve upon them, you would think that they would bother making games that lived up to them.

 

Sure, the tonal shift was a bit jarring (and arguably unnecessary), but I don't think it necessarily made the game any worse. Hell, I rather liked them and the original trilogy are still some of my top favorite games to this day. I just wish that PS2 emulation was better than it is, as I sold my PS2 off and only really like to play games on my PC these days.

 

Distrust of outsiders is an major part of Japanese culture. Speaking of Japanese culture (gaming in particular)...

This isn't as true as it used to be, but for the most part Japanese game companies view a game as a single item that is immutable once finished. Patches are rare, since they try to get everything right the first time. Unlike here in the west where we tend to produce 'living' games that are born, grow with the community and then eventually die off.

Now you see why SEGA has so much internal cultural stress. They're both co-dependent on eachother.

 

Can't they just tack a word or two on and call it something different then? It worked for Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, Kirby Super Star Ultra, Super Mario 64 DS, Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, Animal Forest+ (Animal Crossing GC), Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix, Link's Awakening DX, and probably several others that I didn't think of, and that's just Japanese games. Admittedly, the list is a little Nintendo-heavy, which suggests maybe they have less problems with changed rereleases than most Japanese companies, but they are by no means the only company to do this. Hell, SEGA themselves even made the list with SA2:B.

 

Nowadays you have

Resident Evil Director's Cut
Kingdom Hearts Final Mix
Final Fantasy ___ International Zodiac Job System

just to name a few

 

I think another big issue is that SEGA tries to market to an audience they don't listen to. Correct me if I'm wrong but SoJ makes their games, sonic games especially, with FULL INTENT of them being released in the west. That being said, their whole perspective on how their games should function is a very Japanese mindset of doing things. Now this would be all well and good if their market was their home country. For the most part that seems to be the case with some of the better known Japanese games, especially exclusives like Mother 3 and the like, and even games released outside Japan like The World Ends with You, which was a game SPECIFICALLY about the culture of Tokyo's Shibuya district. Most of the time games made in the US are intended for people living in the US, so they cater to their primary audience.

Thing about SoJ is I just don't see where their direction is, and neither do they. Where do they think their market is? Japan? I don't think so, from what I heard. Europe and the States? More likely, and if I'm right sales boom in Latin america as well. But wait, don't they usually ignore those branches' input? Well, evidently. So who are they making these games for? A country that doesn't want their product? A demographic that never has their voice heard? The subset of the aformentioned with an unbearably loud, overshadowing voice that paints a picture for the consumerbase a s a whole? Are they making the game for THEMSELVES? I'm all for making something you yourself enjoy but by a COMPANY'S standpoint, if you're making a product that nobody but yourself wants, and yet you funnel millions into the production of a copy and hundreds into its replication, and you barely make ends meet in the long run, that's probably a clear sign you're doing something wrong.

With Boom coming out it seems SEGA sort of has a realization that they need their shit in order, but what they've now got stuck with are people who presumably have their own agenda on how to mass market an IP while having surface level similarities to its original incarnation and nothing more. Sega THEMSELVES are not listening to their consumers, they're getting someone to listen for them, and thus are getting information through a filter, information that's probably being misconstrued. Alternatively, they could be asking the wrong questions, like "how will we get Sonic to make money," to which BRB and others involved in this project respond with Namco's Ghostly Adventures direction and average successful game qualities in the Western market. Either way, something's not right.




To make this post have something to do with Sonic 1 and 2 remastered, I'm curious as to if anyone managed to find out how to mod the tiles in this game just for shits and giggles. I dream of sonic hacks in widescreen :specialed:

 

In regards of a Sonic 3 (&K) remastered, I don't think it'll be happening anytime soon, unless the issue with the music was sorted. The only solution I can think of that would appease all sides would be similar to the Sonic 3 and Knuckles PC release which would have MJ's tracks replaced with newly composed ones. If Sonic 3 remastered were to be considered, they wouldn't even have to compose new tracks, just convert the ones used for the PC version into a 16-bit Genesis-like sound. I believe they are all MIDI based anyway which makes the task even easier.

I've even found some Genesis remakes on YouTube

 

Yeah. We've got this already. Its that Sonic 3 Complete thing we keep bringing up in the topic. :P

But in all honesty, I agree, if it is a matter of music I'm ok with this as a solution for a Retro Engine-based Sonic 3. But again, stuck up SoJ fat cats be crampin' our style yo.

 

This is why Sonic Boom needs to succeeded, right?

 

I so hope it's not.