What is a "traditional Sonic game" at this point? The series has had so many damn gameplay styles I don't see how Frontiers is any more of a huge departure than anything that came before it. I mean for Adventure fans like me, Frontiers is as close as a traditional game as we got since Unleashed: serious story with an edgy villain of the week, emphasis on 3d gameplay, combat... it's why I'm so damn hyped for the game in fact. It feels like the first time Sonic Team is making a game catered towards me in 14 years. You guys got Mania, Sega said it's our turn to have fun now
This game managing to have a form of rolling (drop dash) AND a mild top speed makes it the most "traditional Sonic" 3D title in 16 years. Think about it. EDIT: oh yeah Lost World existed. So easy to forget! Well that game's rolling was just a boost in disguise, and your speed was gear-shifted instead of acceleration based. We'll half count it.
Iizuka can't be blind to the fact that had Sonic Team continued in the direction Generations had gone, and Mania had gone, the series would be very strong and would be making megabucks. I mean, ANYONE at Sega must have had that idea. It can't be simple ignorance. Clearly, he has something to prove, but what?
Yet for me it's the utter opposite, given what I most enjoyed about that game was just the daytime levels and pretty much nothing else (which was also the main reason I never finished it). Traditional in my eyes is blue hedgehog running fast and killing everything bar bosses in a single hit when in a form deliberately meant to cause damage. I agree with those who've said the series is probably irreparably fractured at this point. It's a shame, really.
I wouldn't even say he has something to prove as much as Kishimoto may. Maybe he wants to prove he can make more complex games than Hallway Simulator? I mean if the cyberspace stages are anything to go by, he's not doing a great job at that, but I digress.
When series have different types of games (and by extension, fans) it's always a delicate balance to please everyone. Fire Emblem and Resident Evil are two other series I'm a die-hard fan of, and the fanbases and debates are surprisingly similar to what's been happening with Sonic since the Adventure days. People either want highly customisable dating sims/tough as nail classic rpgs for Fire Emblem, and tension-filled survival horrors or blockbusters action titles with Resident Evil. Nobody's ever truly happy, and we just kinda yell at each other all the time. But I think that's just the way things are really. Series need to change and evolve with time. And the fanbases will always get fractured as a result.
Cutscene footage, WITH sound. We can finally hear Roger's Sonic voice. And he sounds...weird. He's acted noticeably better (which makes me wonder if they got a new voice director) but the voice itself sounds deeper. Older. He sounds WEIRDLY deep...someone else described it as it sounds like he's got a frog in his throat. Specifically on lines like "Are you saying I can help my friends?" I wonder if that's because Roger's getting older, or if he's just using something closer to his real life voice.
kinda sounds similar to the voice he did for wonder-blue in The Wonderful 101. I wonder if Jun'ichi Kanemaru will also be given a new voice direction?
Big Chris Redfield energy from this performance Not that it's a bad thing mind you, I just wouldn't be surprised if he started ranting about Wesker and BOWs in the middle of gameplay lol
He was clearly given different direction than he usually would be given when playing sonic for this game. Seems pretty intentional to me, I doubt it's the case that he just can't do the voice the same way due to being older.
It's definitely different, but I'm not sure if that's just because of the tone of the scene and Sonic having the wind knocked out of him. I'll have to hear more to be really sure.
I hear Sonic Boom Sonic to a degree rather than mainline Sonic, and that's honestly probably for the better. Having everyone be high-pitched and chirpy for so long is grating. It's funny how quite a few people out there complained about Roger Craig Smith for all of his comedy roles with Sonic besides Boom, and now the moment he talks in a lower pitch people are losing their minds like the mere concept is alien to them.
I already think Roger is a piss-poor voice for Sonic compared to how Jun'ichi has made him sound for almost 25 years, so hearing him go even deeper is disappointing. It's clear to me now, more than ever, that he is a miscast. Ben Schwartz would've been better. I don't understand why western studios keep dubbing these young teen or even tween characters in anime to sound like they're in their 30s. I don't understand how making Sonic sound so much older benefits his character or dialogue in any way. I just can't associate that kind of voice with his scrimblo bimblo character design, and it only further divides Sonic fans between his eastern and western portrayals in the same game. But I realize as the years go on that newer, younger Sonic fans will associate him having that kind of voice as "normal". Ryan and Jason now seem like a distant memory, doomed forever to be memed on and cringed at by hack Twitch streamers.
They seem like a distant memory because they are at this point. It’s been almost 15 years since the last Griffith game and almost 20 since the last Drummond game. And let’s face it, while it was likely due to voice direction rather than any lack of talent neither of their performances held a candle to RCS in terms of quality. I personally think the current voice is too deep but the actual performance is consistently pretty great.
On one hand, this is the most natural I've ever heard RCS as Sonic. On the other, it's so deep and gruff that it's hardly even Sonic anymore. lol I've never been a fan of RCS's Sonic. He's not a bad actor, but the voice itself just.. doesn't work for me. I've tried to get used to him for over a decade, but I can never connect with him. A voice with that kind of tone and cadence just doesn't feel right coming out of a noodly, breezy, sly scrimblo guy. He just sounds like a jock, which despite Sonic's athleticisms I've never got that vibe from him. I expect something nasalier and higher in range; probably because all the other Sonics (bar Schwartz) are in that direction, for better (Junichi, Drummond, Burke) or worse (White, Griffith). Maybe RCS's gruff take is what people expect from Sonic now (especially kids who grew up with him), but naaaah that ain't the hog. It's never been the hog for me, and never will be. I was kinda looking forward to seeing who'd replace him after the whole worry that he might be leaving, since I would prefer a fresh take, but I guess people got too pissy so Sega said he's here to stay. Oh well. There's always subs with Junichi! Again!..
