Lost World is the epitome of “eh, it’s fine” to me. Every time you think it’s finally found something that works, it completely shifts it up. It’s a game with some decent ideas that never knows what it wants to be. It is kinda funny how the bonus content (Hidden Zone, the Nintendo DLC stages) is way more polished/quality than the main game
Lost World has almost nothing in common with Xtreme, and it's likely that the relatively young Sonic Team that worked on it knew next to nothing about the existence of Xtreme in the first place. Not to mention the fact internally some files reference Mario Galaxy. The big springs that launch Sonic between "planets" are actually referenced as "launch stars". Lost World is a Galaxy knock-off, and lifts a lot from Mario in General. Just because Sonic toyed around with the idea of micoplanets as a small gimmick once doesn't change that.
Those Sonic Team employees would still have access to all those internal documents we don't get to see. I don't think it's sound to just assume they'd have no idea what X-Treme even is. Unused concepts from earlier games are repurposed all the time, not just in Sonic but in game development in general. And sorry but yeah that one example of Sonic doing microplanets before Mario indicates that the concept isn't just a Mario Galaxy ripoff.
I personally think it's fine Sonic Lost World being a Mario Galaxy inspiration. If another game'd try that, I don't think it would be blamed so much being a "rip-off". Just to be clear, I'm aware that's wasn't just the problem, it was the execution on some stuff in this game. But the artystle in this game honestly is pretty Sonic-ish enough for me. The problem is probably that they used Modern Sonic for this, not the Classic. That one time they should have used Classic Sonic in the 3D games (besides Generations) they didn't. Anyway, I think Sonic Lost Worls is a alright game and it has many flaws (just like many Sonic games). The only thing I think genuily sucks in this game is the story, oh my God, it's so bad. The soundtrack tho', is one of my favorites, genuily in my top 10.
Lost World's real Mario ripoff problem seem to be its propinquity for boring flat 2D stages, even to the point of having fucking autoscrollers like that ever had to be a thing beyond Bridge Zone. Really the planetoids are the least of its issues in that regard.
I think it'd be wrong to say Lost World doesn't do some of what it does because Mario did it. But I think the language of "rip-off" or even saying "it's trying to be Mario" is problematic, not just because it isn't literal plagiarism, but because the way it uses almost every concept it has feels totally unlike any Mario game, and even most Sonic games. It is the ultimate weird Sonic game, on every level of design and aesthetic. With the exception of maybe some old Game Gear games, every other Sonic game feels mostly straightforward in how you figure the devs decided on mechanics or design, but Lost World is just kind of baffling. I think this is a flaw, but I think unlike something like Shadow's mission structure (one of the only other things in the series to bewilder me with its design), these aren't so intrusive that it makes me hate the game.
Welp there goes me trying to find the silver lining to a game I really don't like. I can still see how the planetoid gimmick could've been conceptualized before Galaxy but it's just semantics at this point. That's actually kind of upsetting lol. Sega was the one that pushed X-Treme's small dev team so hard it almost killed a guy and now apparently nu-Sonic Team doesn't even know what it is.
If that doesn't serve as a perfect summation of Sega and their disjointed structure then I don't know what will.
Don't take what I'll say as me defending SEGA, because it's quite the other way around, but Sonic Team never really knew anything about Sonic X-Treme, which is mostly a SoA enterprise. Can't really fault Sonic Team for not keeping tabs on a strange, failed project, maybe older than your kids, thought up by some guys half the world away who just happen to have the rights to work on the same IP as you.
Yeah I've always seen Lost World as a Galaxy- clone, especially after I finally played Galaxy 1 back in 2020. Nothing really wrong with that, all that matters is the execution, and well... Its probably the most average game in the series, nothing truly offensive or spectacular going on there. Probably didn't help its perception since it followed after the first two 3D games to get good reception after the 3 hit blow of Shadow, 06, and Unleashed. Like someone else said it's a lot like Frontiers in that it's just a mess of random ideas Frankenstein-ed into a single game, but unlike Frontiers there aren't any "wow" moments or segments where the conflicting ideas actually have some kind of cohesion. Fuck the 3DS version though, one of the most miserable experiences I've ever had playing a 3D Sonic game.
Now this I agree with! How are people expected to feel nostalgic over something that won't go the fuck away? I think I speak for all Sonic fans when I tell Green Hill and Chemical Plant to piss the hell off. I'll never forget the immense joy I felt firing up Mania, and seeing a chance to play a full stage of the beautiful, unburnt Angel Island zone, only for the rug to be pulled away in seconds as they tell us "Haha, nope! Green Hill it is, yer dicks". Going forward, they need to treat Classic Sonic like it's 1995 - reusing Green Hill and Chemical Plant wouldn't have been acceptable then, and it sure as shit shouldn't be now - and yes, that includes NOT Green Hill zones too (like Splash Hill).
I wouldn't say to simply stop bringing them up again and again... Just for ST to not reuse them in games unrelated to the Classics. They want them back? Revamp the Classics once and for all!!! xD
You don't. Would be nice, but I really don't care at all, as there are much bigger problems with these games that need to be addressed.
I think the only circumstances I'd want them back are HD remasters or Maniafied remakes of Sonic 1 and 2. I love those stages as much as anyone, but they've outstayed their welcome in both classic and modern games.
I do not like Utopia for a variety of reasons, ranging from “I don’t think it’s very impressive” to “its creator”
Yay! We did it! We gave Sonic completely broken abilities in an environment that has no objectives and does not present any actual, meaningful gameplay using those abilities! We have accomplished nothing! Spark 3 stomps. Also, recently learned SRB2 is probably going to lose the thok. I won't comment on that speciically, but i will say that as far using slopes to gain height and distance, thok-jumping > spindash jumping.
