Anyone else tired of Sega playing the nostalgia card?

It's more of redefining Sonics surreal world than it is nostalgia.

I'm perfectly fine with more 2D games as well, since I generally prefer them over 3D platformers.

 

They've played that card since the Saturn days.

 

I'd argue that really, the only thing that's making SEGA guilty of using the "nostalgia card", is Sonic 4. They've always done ports because people love playing those old games and they don't cost any money to produce. It's a licence to print money that pretty much every games company does. The only reason CD wasn't just emulated was that Taxman approached SEGA with a superior product to what they had already in the pipe line, with half the work already done. And that was an excellent move because it showed them that people want to have some effort put in if they're going to play the same old games again, as we've seen with Jet Set Radio, and hopefully the port of SA2. Sure Generations sold itself purely on nostalgia, but it came out to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the franchise, and it would be stupid to do anything else.

I'd love a game that ACTUALLY pushes my nostalgia buttons. If they can show me a game that wows me, and engrosses me in the same way that the classics did, that's no bad thing. I don't want something that looks [a bit] like something I played as a kid, I want something that makes me feel the same way.

I could easily rant for years about what the perfect Sonic game, that I'd love SEGA to surprise us all with, but that's neither here nor there. I'd like something new, but only if it was better than what they have at the moment. What I'd really like is for SEGA to retire Sonic for a while, perhaps just letting Dimps do the odd naff handheld title, and getting some guys to do some forgettable spin-offs, while a largely new team sits down and crafts a fully new and brilliant experience over a period of a few years, ironing out to make it perfect. I know this will never happen, but it would be nice.

Anyway, welcome to Retro!

Spoiler

POOOOOOOOOOOST

 

I was misled by this title.

I thought it was about how SEGA keeps saying that they're gonna "MAKE SONIC BETTAR" like he was before. It seems like every time they have a new Sonic game, they say something like, "BACK TO SONIC'S ROOTS!" I swear they've said that for the last 4 games....

Admittedly, I gave up after the sucker punch that was "Shadow the Hedgehog + Sonic The Hedgehog 2006", so I don't have much experience with newer Sonic games. I think I'm in one of those time-loops, and I can't get my head around anything new.

Though, speaking of which... I heard there was a new Sonic "Reboot" or something, where they're starting over or something ? Might have been an April Fools day thing, though, now that I think about it... Hmm...

 

Yeah I know, and when they do make something nice new and awsome, like say, Valkyria Chronicles, they sweep it under the rug, slam it down to PSP and try to avoid giving it an international release =/

And as far as nostalgia goes, why don't they pimp some more of the awsome nostalgia like Streets of Rage, Fighting Vipers, or Skies of Arcadia? (persona favs, I'm sure people have others that are forever un-milked)

And on a sidenote, making a topic on the first post as a trial member, jeez, I didn't get up the gumps to make a topic here untill I had gotten a year on me and past 500 posts lol

 

I love nostalgia. I could live off nostalgia. I've never been one to complain about rehashed zones or badniks or anything like that, cause I enjoy it. That's not to say I wouldn't appreciate original content, but the only thing I'm getting really tired of is "LOL SONIC ONLY."

 

quite frankly, I don't care. As long as the main series keeps getting the level of treatment that Generations got, (and continues to be on PC), I can't complain in the slightest. Sega is doing just great IMO.

 

No

 

They pull the nostalgia card because they have nothing else. What they accomplished from the very beginning is the best they could think of. So they ram the same shit down our throats for a couple of years till we get tired of it and then they decide to cough up a decent original game.

Sonic needs a reboot. No doubt. Generations seems like a nice cherry-on-top finish to what has been 20 years of ups and downs. Unleashed, Colors, and Generations were great games that put Sonic in the right direction. At the moment however, it doesn't look like they can maintain it.

They have trouble making a game that isn't too reminiscent of past games. They have to get back to the drawing board.. cause Sonic 4 ain't gonna cut it. Not by a long shot.

 

Nostalgia is great it's just that the supposedly nostalgia golden nugget that Sega are pushing is really just a shit nugget. Sonic needs a new team to replace DIMPS that respects what the classics were all about but also be bold enough to take new directions because it's just as much as artistic product as it is a fan service. Sonic 4 tried to be a fan service but failed because it had no substance, it's broken, boring and nothing new. Sonic Colours with 2D gameplay, Taxman's physics and amazing level design with little automation abuse would have been the perfect follow up for me nostalgia wise. Something like this may happen in the future and a glorious day it will be.

 

It wouldn't be a 'nostalgia card' if they didn't re-invent the series - such as why seeing a Motobug is considered a nostalgia card as opposed to seeing a Goomba.

I don't mind ports or remakes as long as they don't get in the way of new developments which I don't feel they ever do.

 

No. Sonic does not need a reboot. In the span of five years (2003-2008), Sonic has had THREE reboots. If anything, it's time for more of the same.

I like Modern Sonic's gameplay. It's definitely got potential for perfect 3D Sonic gameplay if Sonic Team continues to refine it.

 

This, Sonic Team has repeatedly shown that practice is the best thing for them, it's no coincidence that some of the best 2D and 3D sonic games have been sequels that improved on what they tried to do on the previous game. (S1 to S2 to S3&K, arguably SA1 to SA2, Unleashed to Colors to Generations)

 

I've really only been slightly annoyed at their attempts to port 10+ year old games to everything under the sun. And to be honest, other than those ports, the only things that are left (that I can think of) are Sonic 4 and Generations. Generations playing the nostalgia card is completely justifiable because the game was, in and of itself, a celebration of the past 20 years of Sonic.

Sonic 4 however has no such luxury with me. It breaks the natural flow the numbered sequels had going on by doing blatant callbacks. Sure some of the levels between games shared themes sometimes, but it never never felt like it was largely ripping off a previous level (Scrapbrain Act 3 excluded). For example, I can see some similarities between Flying Battery and Metropolis but I never feel like I'm playing the same level between the two. But Casino Street feels like an extension of Casino Night with shitty physics.

But like I said, other than re-releases, Sonic 4, and Sonic Generations, I can't seem to recall the nostalgia card being played that much over the past ten years. Heroes, Shadow, 0shit, Unleashed, Secret Rings, Black Night, or Colors don't have anything that screams to me that the nostalgia card was being played very much. It seems that it is just between two recent games and one of them does have no business playing the nostalgia card.

And on the discussion about a reboot; no. Instead of a reboot I'd rather see them take advantage of the space in-between Sonic 1 and 2 and create a side-series from that. Have the team that made Colors be behind it and then have the team that worked on Generations continue on with Modern Sonic. I figure since they already brought Classic Sonic back that they might as well do this. A man can dream, amirite?

 

I really don't see SEGA doing this. Sonic is really their last popular series, without it, SEGA doesn't have much to be honest. Not to mention SEGA isn't doing the best right now financially. Also, its SEGA, they will port the classics as many times as possible in order to get a couple extra bucks no matter how good the port itself is.

 

Of course, and I don't blame them. They are a business after all, and Sonic makes money.

I actually don't mind all the re-releases. While I own a Mega Drive and therefore don't have any need to buy the ports, if I didn't I'd probably them, because they're still amazing games and fun to play, and people that own all platforms should be given access to them. It's a sort of preservation, and if you can already play the games, then it doesn't really matter either way. I'm really happy about the Dreamcast ports and the HD re-releases of PS2 games for the PS3, because unfortunately while I own those consoles, they arnt running at all like they used to, so I find it great that I can play all my old games again, particularly with little extras like widescreen resolution.

 

All I care about is that the game quality improves... And that they don't rush themselves. Nostalgia or not, I'll play it...

 

My thoughts exactly.

Really, I feel as if Sonic 4 is, to Sega, more of a 2D modern-styled game, but marketed as a sequel and derivitive of Sonic 3. They're probably not doing a fully classic 2D game because they don't feel as if they can make another one on par with the originals.

That, and, truely, the re-releases at the worst only broaden the possible audience for the earlier games. Seems like a better bet than keeping and maintaining and old console for an eternity; that, and, hey, they're still fun, right?