tbh I'm pretty annoyed that he hasn't attained big meme/fanart status. his design practically screams for it, it's so uselessly edgy. and yet he was evidently so nothing that I hardly see anyone make art of him like they do with, say, Shadow.
Technically, his look isn't pointlessly edgy. It goes with the fact that he's trying to be as intimidating as possible, and one up Shadow the edgelord after being bested and humiliated by him.
It bothers me immensely that's Infinite's entire introduction and backstory happens in a single cutscene with Shadow, with a smattering of exposition about the rest of his team. Shadow is barely a part of the main story, and Infinite only has a history with him and not with Sonic. It's not just badly written in terms of awkward dialogue, but poorly conveys the story and is full of little holes.
Infinite felt like a TON of wasted potential. They could've done so much with his angle on hating friendship, make him interesting, or something similar. Sure, Sonic does't really NEED that level of depth/edge, but with the angle the game was trying to go for, I was all for it. And then they just said "Shadow calls him weak, that's his backstory". I wasn't expecting some of the stuff people were speculating like that he's a Sonic from the future or whatever, but man, I wanted more out of him. Feel like he could've been really cool. He's grown on me a lot though. As played out as it is, I would've loved if they made him the final boss. Make him realize how strong the Phantom Ruby/whatever really is, he overpowers Eggman, and he goes absolutely bonkers. Is this trope played out? Hell yes it is, but it certainly would've been a better sendoff than he just evaporates after you beat him. He doesn't really do much in the main story, and that's a shame. I almost feel like they wanted to do more with him but just weren't dealt a fair hand, or something similar. He could've been really, REALLY sick if they gave him more time to settle. On that note though, I am still beyond upset we got robbed out of a Chaos boss fight. I remember thinking "Wouldn't it be sick, if you fight Chaos but it's a fight with all of his forms and he's constantly changing, and it plays a Open Your Heart and/or Chaos boss theme remix the entire time????" And all I got was a cutscene where Classic Sonic beats him and THAT'S IT. It felt like they just had Chaos in the game to be like "Look, guys! Sonic Adventure!" and the worst part is I fell for it, hook line and sinker. But Zavok gets a boss fight and it's just him riding on a stupid bee.
Infinite really feels they heard the requests for characters to play a bigger role but they completely forgot that people liked the characters of the adventure era because they were you know actual characters He really is a synecdoche of Sonic Team's modern philosophy of "hey, the fans like Thing, so here's Thing Without Any of the Reasons People Liked Thing!".
I feel like that sentiment can be applied to Sonic Forces in general. The boost gameplay, Classic Sonic, Chemical Plant and Green Hill, Chaos and Metal Sonic, etc. you get the idea. The only thing that looks like it had some semblance of thought put into it was the Avatar, and even then, it could've been so much better. It's not mediocre like the rest of the game, but it still screams untapped potential. I did, after you suggested, and it goes a long way on making Sonic Forces' ideas get closer to their desired effect. Nothing he says is amazing or anything, which makes it even more of a shame that Sonic Team couldn't think of and implement it. Either that, or they did but rushed the game. I don't know which is worse.
They rushed it. Development didn't begin in 2013; one of the developers said in a Famitsu interview that it actually began in 2016. 2013 was when they created Hedgehog Engine 2, 2014-2016 was when they sat on their asses throwing around ideas for what the game would contain, and they didn't begin full work until 2016.
I had heard something along those lines but wasn't sure whether or not it was true. I hope this time they're actually using the nearly 3 years that passed since Sonic Forces' release to actually develop the next game. I can understand the need for a new engine and I understand the tradition behind a Sonic anniversary, it needs a game, but combining these two together was bound to go wrong. Besides, they missed the anniversary by a full year anyway! What was the point of releasing it in 2017, then? With the success of Sonic Mania, they could've ridden that wave for enough time to finish development. I wouldn't mind getting Forces in 2018. Even though this whole situation is frustrating and kind of depressing (I mean, Sonic Team has been rushing games ever since Sonic 3), I'm actually optimistic for the next main title. Sonic Forces puts in the least amount of effort into the plot, unlike Generations, and feels like a Sonic story, unlike Lost World. When it comes to gameplay, they rely too much on automation, linearity and spectacle, but the game isn't broken or anything. What that essentially means (for me, at least) is that even with just one year, they can output something that has potential. All they need is the correct direction and time to pull of that potential.
Honestly now that you mentioned "needing a game for the anniversary", I find it super weird that Sega emphasizes them so hard. Hell, it almost feels like every 3D Sonic title is for an anniversary now, and it's really not necessary. Just...make a damn game?? Without rushing it??? Why do they have to keep giving themselves reasons to rush these out the door?
I wonder if there is some kind of investor side to things, where certain investors are highly expectant of a major game and large profit at each anniversary ending in a 5 or 0? I have no clue how the business side of SEGA functions specifically, so I'm just throwing a guess out there.
Ok, well then the trend seems to be the liked games are on the 0s (SA2 and Generations) and the bad games are the 5s (3D Blast, 06, Forces). No Mania doesnt count 2021 will be a great year for Sonic :specialed:
@Glaber TBH I don't even really hate Forces or 3D Blast (well, I love the Saturn version because of the special stages and music, but we keep getting the Genesis version). To me Forces is in the same tier as Sonic R. It's not a great game, but it's a simple game, and fun to play when I'm drunk or high (I'm not a complete mess don't worry). But compared to Generations... eh.
Speaking of 3D Blast and Forces, is it just me, or is the Zavok boss fight an intentional 3D Blast homage? I find it hard to believe it's just a coincidence.
How would that be a 3D Blast homage? The camera angle? Otherwise I'm not seeing it. I guess the lighting and arena is kinda reminiscent of the final fight from 3D Blast, but I don't think Sonic Team really acknowledges that title.
I'm talking about the camera angle and how Sonic is paced in the fight (he can only jog, he can't run, just like 3D Blast). It may be just a coincidence, but it always gave me real 3D Blast vibes.
I think it's just a coincidence. I get the 3D Blast vibes, but I think that was just them trying to get the most practical camera angle for said fight. I really don't get why they had Zavok ride a giant buzz bomber. That whole thing was stupid.
