So someone asked Mr. Ohtani whether Kenichi Tokoi is composing music for Sonic Forces, and the reply is... cryptic. EDIT: Forgot this: The game's structure, according to Shun Nakamura, will be like SA2's Hero/Dark story, switching between the three playable characters from stage to stage.
It's worth noting that Modern Sonic's moveset has actually simplified over time. Unleashed gave him the ability to do an in place spin kick and allowed him to crawl. Sonic also was able to light dash anywhere. Generations restricted the light dash and got rid of those other moves (Colors got rid of those moves too, but then complicated the control scheme due to wisps). The only thing this game adds back is Colors/Lost World's double jump.
Didn't Generations let you choose in which order you wanted to play the stages in each era, like finishing Planet Wisp before playing Crisis City? At least I'm sure you could play the Act 2s before the Act 1s.
The order in Generations is as follows (any zones presented without a line break between can be done in any order, e.g. Chemical Plant Zone Modern can be done before Chemical Plant Zone Classic) Green Hill Classic Green Hill Modern Chemical Plant Classic Chemical Plant Modern Sky Sanctuary Classic Sky Sanctuary Modern Classic Era Challenges (at least one from each of the six acts) Death Egg Robot Speed Highway Classic Speed Highway Modern City Escape Classic City Escape Modern Seaside Hill Classic Seaside Hill Modern Dreamcast Era Challenges (at least one from each of the six acts) Perfect Chaos Crisis City Classic Crisis City Modern Rooftop Run Classic Rooftop Run Modern Planet Wisp Classic Planet Wisp Modern Modern Era Challenges (at least one from each of the six acts) Egg Dragoon Metal Sonic (can be done anytime from the start of the Classic Era Challenges) Shadow (can be done anytime from the start of the Dreamcast Era Challenges) Silver (can be done anytime from the start of the Modern Era Challenges) Time Eater So it was fairly open in terms of which level to play next, yes. Most other games in the series have been strictly linear as far as level progression goes, which was a continuation of Shadow's multiple route structure, Unleashed's relatively minimal choices, and Colours' choice of zone order (Starlight Carnival and Planet Wisp can be done in either order, likewise with Aquarium Park and Asteroid Coaster). It'll be disappointing if they don't continue this trend, and revert back to the completely linear story of the classics and the Adventure/Heroes games (although they did allow you to go through each character/team's story individually and separately).
Double jump in Colours wasn't so double, so there's no need to bring it back unless they really improved it (and they could bring back the magnet shield and its right working double jump, by the way). I even forgot it had, since that game was horrible to me. On the other hand, I haven't tried Lost World, so I can't talk about that one.
That stage to stage structure seems to imply a more story-driven focus for progression. The way Lost World and Generations were structured, it felt like the story was built around the levels. But as described here, and in line with SA2, it seems like the levels are built around the story. A welcomed change if you ask me.
I don't know how to feel about following SA2's structure. That's one of the things I didn't like about that game. It would've been more cool having just sticking to one character and seeing their journey instead of having to switch level to level. At least, it seems this story looks like it would've benefit from taking the SA1 route.
The characters are probably unlikely to go their separate ways unless they have missions that require them to be in different places at the same time. The way that Sonic Adventure's story mode works makes sense within the game because the characters tend to perform tasks that don't involve each other.
I think it's a mix of a linear narrative combined with the format of Colors, in that you get the different zones to go through but the three characters variant-ize and cycle between them as things go along. The Missions set up seems prime for multiple acts for zones even for the characters on their own, but it could also go the route of one act for a zone per character.
I personally dislike SA2's structure because of the radical changes in gameplay between characters, having to go through Mech and Emerald Hunting stages just to get back to the Speed stages was annoying to say the least, that said, I don't feel like it's gonna be that big of a problem for Forces because all 3 gameplay styles are similar enough that it won't feel as jarring to go from one to the other.
The Mech stages were meh, but the emerald hunting stages can rot in hell. I'm not put off by Sonic Forces gameplay styles. It's interesting that the Avatar gets to participate in it's own version of the Classic and Modern stages.
I've always been a fan of that type of story telling, as you have the extra pleasure of working out how all the stories fit together (I know Sonic Team never got them to fit seamlessly, but then even their linear stories have that problem too!)
I liked the three playstyles of SA2, so I didn't have a problem with that. It still felt like an awkward gameplay change, though.
SA2 still had the most solid engine of any Pre Colors title, IMHO. Not nearly as buggy as the first game, legitimately playable challenges (collecting those As was tough but rewarding, with most of them being a fair and balanced challenge that was doable with practice). As a classic fan, it was still an amazing game when it came out and a wonderful dreamcast sendoff, and critically acclaimed for the time it was released. It wasn't until SA2B (which was ironically an improvement in all respects) that the game started to get critically panned to such a large degree. Heroes was received with mixed reviews but it wasn't that much worse. Too much "Sonic's shitty friends" syndrome, and the dialogue/acting got notably worse for some reason, and the story was a let down compared to what SA1/2 offered. Shadow/06 are what truly made the franchise the laughingstock they are to so many now, and Unleashed, while a marked improvement, only could do so much to recover it thanks to the werehog. I feel like there are times when a lot of fans don't actually remember what it was like to be a SEGA fan in the late 90s/early 2000s. Sonic was viewed VERY differently, with mostly praise, back before 2002. There were detractors from the adventure titles (and Adventure 1 has aged sadly rather poorly), but they were still well liked by most who played them.
Err. SA2 and SLW are the only two Sonic games I never bothered to 100% finish. I mean, you may like SA2 but it doesn't feel like Sonic with all that 'grinding down staircases/emerald hunting/etc'. Really disgusting game. I'd prefer to play Sonic 4 for 100 years than to touch that mess again.
Ohhhhh yes it was! :P It somehow took SA2's rail mechanics and not only made them far more buggy and awful but also way more ubiquitous. The controls managed to get super slippery and the level design was far more cheap. And of course...the dialogue and voice acting are just awful. "LOOK AT ALL THOSE EGGMAN'S ROBOTS"
Mechanically speaking, SA2 is definitely more polished than SA1. As a game, SA1 is the clear winner in my book, though. Emerald Hunting wasn't a total drag to play, shooting was limited to one character with good enough level design that it didn't overstay its welcome, and the rest was actually fun. SA2's Sonic/Shadow level design was largely half-pipes over bottomless pits. Windy Valley 3 and Speed Highway notwithstanding, the levels felt like they actually had designs rather than following some stupid archetype like Sonic & Shadow's SA2 levels. we all know big is the best part though let's be honest with ourselves On the topic of Forces though, I can say that I'm less excited for this than I was for Sonic Lost World, and I wasn't excited for that either. The difference is that Lost World was still interesting enough that I played it, and enjoyed it even in its mediocrity. I don't expect that to be the case with Forces to any degree. Honestly the only interesting thing about it to me thus far is its new rendering technology.
More on that -- the shooting segments in SA1 always reminded me of Burning Rangers in terms of mechanics and level design (lots of actual platforming), which was a good thing. The Mechs in SA2, by contrast, just felt like ho-hum third person shooter segments. It's weird because, mechanically, they are pretty similar between SA1 and SA2. Yet SA1 managed to evoke a lot of good feelings from me, where I groaned every time I had to play one in SA2. RE: Forces - I loved Sonic Unleashed, I loved Sonic Colors, I loved Sonic Generations, I genuinely love the boost style of gameplay. It feels like F-Zero GX were made into a platformer. I'm pretty stoked for Forces, even if I think the tone looks meh and the classic sonic GHZ level looks a step back from generations. So long as the gameplay remains like it did before, however, I'm willing to bet I will like Forces.
