What would you want to see in a 3D Sonic Game?

If you think that's lighthearted, the Epic Mickey original concept drawings must have been a big bowl of sugar to you.

So lets not do this and say we didn't.

 

They were, actually. I loved those concept art drawings.

But yeah, I'd say the disintegration of the persistence of memory is far more light hearted than The garden of earthly delights. DoPoM is about the rejection of real world physics, mixed with Freudian imagery (Dali was huge into Freud). The Garden of Earthly Delights ends with one of the most disturbing and terrifying paintings ever - when hell over runs earth. The last panels depiction of hell is frankly terrifying, especially the eggman:



Creepy.

 

More variety in terms of playable characters, again. Just Sonic simply doesn't cut it for me.

 

Klonoa is slow and boring though.

 

STOP THAT.

 

Oh wow! I'd love to see some Sonic level art from SEGA that is heavily influenced by this picture, especially the middle and the right part of the painting, and add some geometric touches to that stuff. That is just superb. I will also be saving that picture to my computer, and I'm making it my desktop, too.

 

It's a gigantic tri-fold painting on 3 panels. When you close it up, it makes another picture. it's supposed to tell the biblical story of the apocalypse and ultimately the noah's ark flood, read from left to right to ultimately closing the painting. The left side is supposed to be Eden, and untainted. The middle frame is supposed to be a current decadent life style, where sexuality, science, and hedonism has run rampant (as evident by the giant alchemy pots and the bestiality that is occurring all over the painting). The third frame is supposed to be when the gates of hell open up and everyone suffers. Finally, when you close the painting you see the planet earth as a glass sphere, filled with water as everyone and everything floats dead.

It's a badass painting, and easily one of my favorite paintings of all time.

 

Let's see...

I would want Sonic to be capable of the following moves, and for the player to be able to execute all of these at will:

Standard Jump
Low Jump (Move forward, backward, to the sides)
W-Kaiten (Sonic 3 Insta-Shield)
Soft Homing (Sonic moves towards target at normal mid-air control speed).
Roll
Spin Dash
Quick Launch (From standing position, break into a sprint)
Spin Drop (Stop in midair and fall straight down, in ball form)
Running on Walls
Jumping to the opposite wall, and continuing run
Drifting (Braking while rotating body to the left or right)
Sharp U-Turn

NO SPEED BOOST OR HOMING ATTACKS

Other mechanics

Sonic should accelerate slowly when moving with the left stick.

If Sonic is moving fast enough when he hits an enemy or fragile obstacle,
he can break right through it, regardless of whether he is rolling. (E = mV)

 

World of Warcraft Sonic. There's already a shit load of useless characters that could be recycled into such a game. Abilities such as speed, jump, flight etc. could be leveled up in various different competitions such as racing and boss battles and what not with other players.

Unfortunately, Sonic is far from popular enough to support such a game. It would never sell. Still, it would be cool.

 

Sonic adventure physics, basically all of sonic adventure's gameplay mechanics, minus being mostly a movie that you can sometimes interact with. Give it sonic 06 level rendering capabilities, but still stick to the sa/sa2 art sensibilities.

Large, open action stages that are still only 3 minutes long, linear but with paths. (think sa proto windy valley)
An overworld the size of DC metro area in fallout 3, and a quick travel function in it

Playable as sonic, tails, & sonic & tails. Also shadow and metal sonic as unlockables. (because they would use the same physics model)
Speaking of unlockables. LOTS of those. Like extra action stages (all of the sa and sa2 action stages, with tweaked heroes levels)

 

That shot seems unnecessary, since I'm pretty sure he's implying he wants a game that looks like Klonoa, not plays like it.

 

200 Big the Cat levels

 

I think I'd enjoy the open-world idea, but I'd prefer some more "level" type areas, as well. Not linear, of course, but more on track with the way Dude was describing it. The Adventure Fields would be for exploring and using your abilities to reach new areas, and the stages themselves would be more methodical and speed-based, though not quite as linear as Unleashed Wii. I'd like each level to have 2 Acts, each of around 1.5 to 5 minutes (obviously getting longer as the difficulty increases), and a (simple) boss fight in a separate area. There would be an explicit ending of each act, with a score tally, but Sonic would keep running or otherwise move forward when he passed the marker and the next stage loads.

An important thing for me would be the ability to play as both the protagonists and the antagonists. I know that might not work for Eggman himself, but Metal Sonic would certainly be very interesting, even if he doesn't speak and acts mostly as the doctor's underling. As a Nintendofag, my first experience with a Sonic game was the Hero/Dark dichotomy that I feel hasn't been as well-done as it was in SA2 - the primary enemy of each side should be the other side, not a common enemy (Heroes). Sonic would defeat robot enemies, while Metal Sonic would capture non-anthropomorphic animals (many of whom would fight back, of course). All non-boss enemies would be defeated in one hit. Tails acts as Sonic's NPC advisor, and Eggman acts as Metal Sonic's NPC advisor.

I don't think there needs to be more than just those two characters; you could open up a lot of different abilities by having each use friends (Sonic) or tools (Metal Sonic). Tails could offer flying abilities, or Metal could use a grappling hook to reach high places. You get these friends/tools through meeting them on the overworld (some would require another condition, such as completing a mission, but the ones essential to completing the game to the normal ending wouldn't require you to replay levels). To use the abilities in a level, you'd have to gain a certain amount of Special Power by collecting rings and defeating enemies, and you can only choose one ability to take into each level. On the field or during a boss fight, though, you can do any ability, and on the field, you don't need to use the Special Power meter. Some basic abilities include the Homing Attack, and either the Spin Dash (Sonic) or Rocket Boost (Metal). There would be elemental shields, which would be necessary for some Special Powers, but wouldn't grant them automatically. The passive abilities (surviving water, fire, electricity, etc.) would be there no matter what; there'd also be a separate "magnet" item for attracting rings, which would also allow you to walk on magnetic surfaces without falling, no matter what their incline.

The game progression would be semi-open; there'd be several islands, each with several Zones. You would need to complete most of the Zones to continue, but not all. Obstinately, you can complete the Zones of an island in any way you choose, but some might be impossible to reach without certain abilities. After you complete the required number of Zones, Eggman's airship would show up and you would have race the other PC (that is, Sonic vs. Metal Sonic) it in a single-Act stage depicting the island itself (I.e., a medley). Unlike the regular Zones, this one would be a bit more speed-based; fall too far behind your opponent and you'd lose. Reach the goal to fight the boss of the island, who is a bit more resilient than the bosses of the other stages and requires careful use of certain abilities that you've learned from the island. Depending on how much faster than your opponent you were, the boss will be weaker until they catch up. Sonic fights Eggman, with Metal as the co-pilot, and Metal fights Tails (also in a mech) with Sonic as the co-pilot (there are no co-pilots in the regular Zone bosses, just the island bosses).

Thus, the controls (assuming ABXY face buttons):

• Control Stick - Move (Turning becomes narrower as speed increases)
• A - Spin Jump
• A in jump - Homing Attack (reticule appears while jumping)
• B - Press for spin, hold for Spin Dash / Rocket Boost
• X - Use Special Power
• Y - Switch Special Power (Boss and Overworld only)
• L and R - Bank into turns

Chaos Emeralds are found in Special Stages. Special Stages are earned with Giant Rings, found in levels. Collecting one would give you the ability to go to the Special Stage after the Act ends. The stage itself would be a rhythm game, featuring songs from previous Sonic titles, classic and not. Your character would run forward, like the ubiquitous Sonic 2-style Special Stage, but on a flat plane that looks like a piano, not a half-pipe. The plane would be divided into the seven natural keys (though the song's current pitch wouldn't necessarily correlate to where a note would be on the plane), and the player would move between them (but not wrap around) and jump. You collect Notes to fill a meter at the bottom of the screen; you must have a certain amount by each break in the song in order to continue. Next to this meter is a combo number; collect Notes or rings in quick succession to keep the combo meter up, increasing the amount of meter filled with each note (rings themselves only keep the combo going and go toward continues, not fill the meter). There would also be bombs (break the combo and lose some of your meter) and other gimmicks, like ziplines, to use. The Notes and rings would have course correspond to beats in the music.

Reach the end of a Special Stage with a sufficiently-full meter to get the Chaos Emerald - which also increases your Special Power bar by one unit, enabling more expensive moves or the use of a move more often (an immediate reward for collecting the Emerald). Fail and you'll play the same stage next time you get to the Special Stage. Collecting 100 rings gets you an extra continue (which is important, as the Chaos Emerald isn't saved until you beat the Zone). Collect all seven to enable a Super form (the classic method of 50 rings, Homing Attack also defeats all enemies in area). This also unlocks the extra Zone and boss (not essential to the story, of course). However, you can go into the stages again and play through the same songs, but with a different set of obstacles, for a challenge. Complete all seven again and unlock a bonus island full of nostalgic Zones.

There would be seven islands (not their real names, of course), with Zone ideas in parentheses:

• Uninhabited Island (Tropical, Forest, Ice...)
• Island of Ruins (Jungle, Egyptian-style Desert...)
• Island of Cities (Casino, Highway...)
• Island of Human-taken Wilderness (Mines, Dams, American-style Desert...)
• Island of Industry (Eggman's base: factories, other polluting operations...)
• Cosmic Hideout (Space Station - only two Zones: inside and outside)
• Angel Island (Bonus. Access nostalgic Zones through the Emerald altar. The finale stage mimics Stardust Speedway 3.)

As well as some extra Zones not attached to any one island:

• Rocket Rush Zone (one Act, transition from Island of Industry to Cosmic Hideout, like Egg Rocket from Advance 1)
• Egg Storm Zone (Eggman's airship - final regular Zone following Cosmic Hideout)
• Last Lava Zone (extra Zone and boss, set in the core of the planet)
• Other, smaller islands that can be unlocked with a certain amount of Chips (one Act each)
• Tails' House (Sonic only, as a headquarters)
• Metal Sonic's Recharging Station (Metal Sonic only, as a headquarters)

These "Chips" I'm referring to are computer chips - you find three in each Act, and each one describes a part of the Sonic universe. Collect a lot, and bonus stages open up. You can view the Chip data from your headquarters, as well as any decorations you may have bought and arranged.

Rings are also tallied, but they're used mostly to buy extra lives - like Unleashed Wii, you get the maximum every time you begin a Zone. Buying an extra life would increase that maximum. You can also buy more room on your Special Power gauge, or even (non-essential) Special Powers themselves. You can also buy non-essential decorations for your headquarters.

There'd also be an extensive multiplayer mode, including alternate playable characters (Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Metal Sonic, Shadow, Rouge, Eggman), though they would all have similar abilities (but different stats). Each act could also be accessed from the main menu to do one of three missions: get to the goal (story mission), get to the goal within a certain amount of time, and get to the goal after collecting X amount of Chips in a certain amount of time. Finally, there would be the option to import your own music to use in stages, or create your own Special Stage setups and share them online or via file (your profile online reflects the decor in your headquarters).

The game saves after every Zone completed, not every Act or Special Stage (as mentioned above). You can turn on saving after Acts and Special Stages, but you won't receive Chips or Rings. Finally, for all of those nostalgic guys out there (as this forum's title might imply), there'd be a language option: Normal (modern English), Retro ('Eggman" becomes "Robotnik", etc.), Silent (no dialogue), and Japanese (with subtitles for other languages, as usual).

Huh. I did not intend for this post to be . Oh well.

 

Since I know nobody will read my site (=P) I will post my thoughts of gameplay all up in here (WARNING: ):

L Stick - Run
A Button - Jump / Air Slash / Elemental Powers (Shield Ability)
B and X Button - Roll / Spindash
B Button - Lock-on Homing / Action
R Stick - Camera

Sonic controls much like off Sonic Adventure, but with many new additions. The "air slash" and the Elemental Shields return (remember S3K?), and are mapped to the same button as jumping. Spindashing and rolling are both implemented. Rolling can also be broken out of into running ala SA1. Sonic will also have acrobatic moves for every situation, like the modern Mario games (ex: Sonic can maneuver multiple consecutive jumps right as he lands). Sonic also has Mirror's Edge-like parkour abilities, such as wall-jumping, wall-running, ledge-jumping (jumping off a ledge at speed), and ledge-flinging (grabbing a ledge and instantaneously using it to fling oneself upwards at a consistent speed). Physics and pinball mechanics are at full force, and are needed in order to properly advance through certain obstacles. The Homing Attack makes a comeback, but it's been built to be the same thing as jumping, except it just pulls you into an enemy, without gaining or losing any momentum, all natural physics in the works, like just a simple "lock on" ability. Gimmicks and level design in the game are built fully around Sonic (unlike most 3D Sonic games, where it is reverse), and take advantage of Sonic's speed. The game has a camera amazingly similar to the quality of the auto-controlled one from Super Mario Galaxy and Sonic Unleashed (but can be set to manual control in the Options menu).

The island is laid out like one super-SUPER-gigantic S1-3K level, but in 3D with no bottomless pits whatsoever. You start off on South Island (Sonic's homeland), a tropical island that is Green Hill-esque in appearance (since it is South Island after all), and it later moves on to more tropical settings, then into several open mountainous valleys with small forests, lakes, cottages and rural countrysides. Later you move onward to Westside Island. Although this is where Sonic 2 originally had taken place, it has aged into an island filled with volcanic caverns, ancient civilizations, castles and kingdoms, and underground labyrinths. Next up is the all-new Eastside Island, and incredibly industrialized land filled with large cities, interstates, small towns, highways (and the occasional sky-roads as well), casinos, carnivals, theme parks, factories, oil rigs, and yes, even water parks. After that comes Christmas Island, a world of icecaps and snowy mountains, and misty villages and meadows that fill the countryside of taigas and tundras (along with one of Robotnik's headquarters). Then there is the mysterious Angel Island, Knuckles' beloved homeland. At this floating island, we find deep dark jungles filled with incredible flora, barren canyons & deserts, ancient sky temples, and an underground altar to the Master Emerald: The Hidden Palace. Last but not least is Dr. Robotnik's Wing Fortress II : a treacherous floating deathtrap filled with mechanical warfare, robot armies and tons of booby traps for the fleetfooted hedgehog; a perfect base for the doctor.

Transportation between islands mostly depends on water-running to and from each island; but don't worry, there are several mini-islands inbetween each main island that will allow you to catch a quick breather before heading onwards. Many aquatic settings (like underwater realms, coral reefs and ancient ruins) will be found all across the way as well, but most importantly, the bottom of the ocean is not a bottomless pit; in fact, it can be explored endlessly (that is, if you can keep getting enough of the oxygen bubbles). Reaching places like Angel Island and the Wing Fortress II will be done by using the Tornado, and will contain rails shooting mini-games inbetween each travel there (ala SA1's Sky Chase). However, these places can't be accessed until you reach a certain part of the storyline (when you get the Tornado), and after doing the rails-shooter-minigame once for each place, you don't have to do it again, as it can be completely skipped via choosing in-game if you want to do the mini-game or skip right ahead to your destination.

Since the game is in a "free-roam" style, things have been altered some. There are save points placed all over the islands, that look just like the checkpoints from Unleashed. You can only save at a save point, but the game also auto-saves after a mission has been completed. Every time you turn the game on, you return at your last save point, but with zero Rings and 5 lives. Rings are collected and lost as normal, but you can add your amount of Rings to your Ring Bank through the Pause menu (more will be explained later). If you do lose all your in-hand Rings and die, you simply fall to the floor, fade away, and then re-spawn nearby with a life lost, but to lose all your lives causes cancellation of any current mission and you must reload (causing you to respawn at the nearest save point). Eventually you have the power to teleport between save points, allowing you to start from any of the points (but however, you must get to the save points first, before you are allowed to teleport there). There is also in the bottom right-hand corner a small map / compass system that allows you to navigate your way through the islands.

Gameplay-wise you would sort of go about doing "story missions", which progress the story further, normally being point A to point B type deals. So for example, when Sonic sees Tails first crash in Sonic Adventure - you'd see him crash, a little prompt ring would appear (on the small map / compass system), and running into it would activate the mission of saving Tails. Sonic-esque action would resume as normal, only there's no clear distinction between hub world and action stage, with the beach being accessible forevermore, with various other missions being present within it, and no loading screen. There would still be lots of running, lots of platforming and lots of A-to-B type missions, only in one giant, fast-paced world with no load screens and no bottomless pits. The start point for the next mission is normally quite clear, being indicated by something like a cutscene. There are also random mini-bosses set up by Robotnik's forces all over the islands, so be prepared to kick some Badnik butt when the time comes that you run into any. And although you do have an entire world to explore doesn't mean it's all there for you at the beginning. Continuing the storyline is key for certain events to occur, so that Sonic can continue onward towards the Wing Fortress II to get to Robotnik. Once you complete the game's storyline (alternate ending or not), you could officially explore every nook and cranny of every single island (and the Wing Fortress II, of course).

There are also many optional missions that can be done all across the islands, and can consist of (but are not limited to): collect-em-ups, point A to point B stuff, races, or destructive challenges. Optional missions also have time counters, which mark your record time when a mission has been completed. This allows replayability, so that players can challenge themselves and others to get better timescores. Missions can be given to Sonic by either NPCs, or Mission Markers, which look like their Sonic Jam counterparts. Completing optional missions can gain you extra Rings to put in your Ring Bank. The Ring Bank can be used for buying useless items (like food for Sonic) or unlocking certain special items related to the game (such as cutscenes, BGM, or even unlockable characters).

Chaos Emeralds. What would a Sonic game be without them? Chaos Emeralds can be gained through the Special Stages, which are hidden in Super Rings, all across the islands (not unlike Sonic 3 & Knuckles). The Special Stages will considerably play like much more detailed versions of the Sonic 2 tube stages (in other words, think 3D Blast for the Saturn). If you fail at a Special Stage, you will be thrown outside the Super Ring to try again. Gaining all seven of the Chaos Emeralds can lead to an alternate ending in the storyline of the game, and also include a "golden" suprise!

General NPCs act like they do in Sonic Adventure or Mario 64 - pretty much just flat text dispensers giving you info. Outside of the main cities, there are very few of these type on NPCs, because speaking to NPCs only slows things down. Other NPCs, like Knuckles, are far more interactive. Recurring characters from other Sonic games (ie: Shadow, Amy Rose, the Chaotix) will appear in-game, but will be no more than very interactive NPCs that also give you special missions.

Design-wise, think of a world with realistic details, but a surrealistic atmosphere like the Genesis games (in other words, think the "SST / SaSASR" series depiction of the Sonic franchise). Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Robotnik, etc. are based around their modern designs (Unleashed-styled). Flickies and the other woodland creatures return, looking just as they did from the "Mario & Sonic" games. Badniks return in full form, and they look just like their "SST / SaSASR" versions (however, there are still minimum amounts of the Nextgen "killbots", but are found mostly only around Robotnik's bases). Humans are based around their "Unleashed" designs.

Focus would be on gameplay, with story only being there to give context to the missions, although there would be an epic story built up by the missions that is on par with the Adventure series. As far as voice acting goes, it would be minimal, but it would still exist. Most of the talking would be left to Robotnik, being... well, a HUMAN. He will also be the ONLY antagonist in the game, period (besides Metal Sonic, which will end up just being Robotnik's henchman by the end of the storyline anyways).

And finally, of course, music. Sonic will be able to carry around with him at all times an item called the Sega Runman (a parody of the SONY Walkman). To setup the Runman, press the Select Button (on the 360 controller). This music player allows Sonic to either listen to the radio station of the given area or allows you to listen to Sonic's (or your own) music. There is a radio station for each area, and they all play original versions and remixes of classic Sonic music (music depending on the area, ex: tropical music plays in GHZ). Playing Sonic's musiclist is also optional, allowing players to listen to bands and performers that have been associated (loosely or otherwise) with Sonic over the years, such as Michael Jackson, Dreams Come True, Right Said Fred, Bowling For Soup, Lee Brotherton / Bentley Jones, Crush 40, Howard Drossin, Julien-K and Zebrahead. You can also listen to any music you've got on your 360 hard-drive or PC.

 

Funny, most people here want "simplicity back", yet, an equal amount of people have these walloftext-long ideas that are, at least in parts, kinda more awesome. : D

 

Well, this is an explicitly 3D Sonic thread, so that's to be expected.

Actually, Azukara, I did read your site, and you can probably tell that my wall of text is slightly inspired by your wall of text.

 

I want to see more Sonic and Speed in a 3d game. If I want a shooting game or a beat'em up. Id buy a proper shooting or beat'em up game. Sonic seems to be filling out their games with such nonsence, and I cant stand being forced to play as a fat cat going fishing to fully finish the game. Its a chore.

Sonic games aren't supposed to be a chore, theyre supposed to be fun and speedy.

With that being said, I kinda enjoyed Sonic Heroes since it was the only 3d sonic game that wasnt a pain to play from stop to finish. SA1 was better, only if I didnt play as the "other" characters =(

Heroes was the last sonic game I bought. That was back in 04 =(

 

I want to see my hack idea in 3D =P

You play as Sonic or Metal Sonic. They play pretty similar but they have differences. Metal Sonic is starting from Robotnik's base, so he goes through the levels backwards, where as Sonic goes through the levels normally. Sonic would fight Robotnik, Metal Sonic would fight Tails. There would be a ton of paths to take, no boost button, spin dash, and unique and surreal level environments. However due to my plot Metal Sonic is the main enemy, not Robotnik. However Robotnik would not be betrayed by Metal like in Heroes, rather if you collect all 7 Chaos Emeralds as Sonic Metal Sonic would steal them from you, turn into Super Metal Sonic, and a battle similar to SSZ Act 2 would take place (Same happens if you play as Metal Sonic, only you fight Sonic). Robotnik would have been defeated by Sonic in his story, as their games take place at the same time.

Mainly I want to see playable Metal Sonic. He's my favorite character, for he's badass and unlike Shadow he has no emotion. He takes orders from the boss and goes out to destroy Sonic, while being able to do everything Sonic does.

 

Actually, yes I did notice that, and that's partially the reason I posted right after you. =P

Actually, come to think of it, I think that over my original idea, pulling a "Mario 64" sounds more feasible. What I mean is:

It'd be like a psuedo-open world. There are several interactive hubworlds, all having different themes, but they're all heavily blocked off and somewhat seperated by all being on different islands. Each hubworld is like a giant interactive world in itself, but sort of empty compared to the real levels. Then (using the GHZ theme as an example) there are three different "exits". Each of these "exits" lead to either Act 1, Act 2, or Act 3. These stages will all be gigantic explorable levels with tons of speed and platforming. The amount of exploration is nothing to worry about though, since (like SCD) there's a whole lot of exploration to be done, but you can still beat the level in a short amount of time (time for these levels would be about 1 1/2 - 3 minutes each, the length increasing as the difficulty does in each level).

After completing all three Acts, you return to the giant hubworld, and there's Eggman with the animal capsule. In the big open field, you fight the boss. After you defeat the boss, you get to free the animals out of the capsule.