Personally, I could take or leave Super Sonic. But I never thought of having additional layers to a theme, that's a great idea.
It could be similar to how Yoshi in SMW adds the extra instrument track to each levels music, but I think I would prefer a Super Sonic mix for each track. Even if each act had its own music, you could likely get away with 1 SS theme for each zone.
That would be awesome, but a hell of allot of work for Tee... unless it was just something simple like a key change
I think if such a thought was considered, the consideration would likely have occured very early on in production, you guys; other games have done such transitions well enough, such as any LucasArts adventure title utilizing Michael Z. Land's amazing iMuse™ system. It's definitely doable and probably not as herculean a task if everyone knows that's what they wanted to achieve in the first place.
I think doing the "Super Mario World" style wouldn't be as much work, at least compared to new mixes, you would just add an additional audio track onto what's already playing. I'm not sure how good that would sound though, Super Sonic music needs to be rather grandiose, so the added layers really need to stand out.
This is my #1 most hated thing about Super Sonic - it replaces the awesome music with a 5 second loop. I go out of my way to avoid super soinc.
I think the track both having additional instruments and being sped up could potentially create a track fitting for Super Sonic. There'd probably have to be greater alterations to the track than what Super Mario World did. The base theme didn't feel too different from the variation that plays while riding Yoshi with less than 100 seconds on the timer. I'd take the short, repetitive loops if it meant actually having elements of the game outside of a single boss fight designed around Super Sonic.
I honestly prefer final boss only Super Sonic over Super Sonic in normal levels. Yes being this overpowered entity is fun for the first 10 minutes but then it's just boring cause there's no challenge any more and levels clearly are built around regular Sonic. I still remember how satisfying it was to fight against Perfect Chaos as opposed to Sonic 2's Super Sonic who I can't even use on the final boss. Not saying we can't have both (Sonic 3K says hi) but if I was to chose between Sonic 2 and Sonic Adventure implementation I'd chose the latter.
I think there should be an option to turn from Super Sonic back to normal Sonic at anytime, like in 3 Complete. No doubt Super Sonic's activation will be mapped to a different button, but I think the option to change back from Super to normal should be implemented. When I play 3&K I hardly ever use Super Sonic because the normal gameplay is just so good that I don't need it.
I hate how Super Sonic is the reward for collecting all seven emeralds, but his only function is to either make stages easier or serve as a single boss level gimmick. I think it'd be cool to have more levels actually designed around Super Sonic. For instance, imagine a stage taking place completely underwater with zero air bubbles and a very limited number of rings, with Super Sonic having the ability to breathe underwater. The stage could also involve elements that force playing as regular Sonic at certain points to really put pressure on the player while having others that specifically take advantage of Super Sonic. The stage being so hard would be justified in that the player would have needed to do something difficult to reach it in the first place. Come to think of it, Lost World 3DS already has something like this in the form of the mostly terrible wisp-centric Extra stages that were unlocked upon collecting every red ring in a world.
I doubt they (or an equivalent) are in the game, but personally I love optional collectibles like that. Generations did it well, where they primarily unlocked concept art. Can't complain about something like that which has virtually no bearing on the rest of the game and can be totally ignored if you so wish.
I liked the way Sonic Colours did it. Red rings unlock bonus levels, bonus levels unlock Chaos Emeralds. It means you can't get Super Sonic on your first playthrough (well, not until Terminal Velocity anyway) but also gives you extra content.
Lots of mixed opinions about super sonic's implementation, I honestly have no issue with how super sonic was handled in sonic3, though i'll admit that replacing the chars double jump abilities wasnt the best idea. I'd be down for a simple extra button to enable it after jumping, give people the power of choice rather than stripping the player of their dropdash/flying/gliding ability in favor of transforming. But what if Sega/the devs are sticking to the d-pad/1 button setup? Maybe what if you collected all the emeralds and completed the game that then it unlocks super sonic on that save file(if their are save files)? And when you click play it ask if you want super sonic enabled?
I'm still hoping that the one up jingle gets replaced. :v: The invincibility theme repeating itself for super sonic never really bothered me... The Sonic 3 one was a bit annoying, but most of the time I don't transform into super sonic in the middle of a level. I usually wait until I make it to the end to defeat Robotnik, and even then I don't use Super Sonic sometimes. However it'd be cool if we did get an option to turn the SS jingle off if you just want to hear the stage music. As for special stages, from what I've seen in the footage that's been out there are probably going to be a few giant rings spread out throughout the levels, so it might not be so easy to get Super Sonic early on. I'm wondering how the special stages are going to be, is it going to be a completely new concept or will it be based off a old concept like how Sonic 4's SS was based off of Sonic 1's. If so, I hope it'll be similar to Triple Trouble's Tornado special stages if they're going to base it off a concept that's already been done.
As much fun as it was, I'm kinda hoping for a new special stage, something that reinvents the whole concept. Let's look at what we have from the classics: Sonic 1: Rotating, side-view falling Sonic 2: Half-pipe Sonic CD: Flat, breaking UFOs Sonic 3: Blue Sphere Sonic & Knuckles: Blue Sphere The only one ever to appear twice was blue sphere, and even then only because Sonic & Knuckles was a direct continuation of Sonic 3. Even the Advance games had new ideas. For Sonic Mania to repeat an old special stage instead of coming up with something original would, IMO, be a mighty the armadillo shame.
I like the idea of having collectibles, but I wouldn't want them to be Red Rings at all. IMO, they not only clash with the Genesis aesthetic; but they also look more like a metagame--something you'd see in a menu, rather than something that reasonably fits within Sonic's (Genesis-era) world. I'd prefer them to be based on existing objects; preferably with suspiciously conspicuous changes and/or more subtle differences. Some ideas I came up for examples a while back: - Rings that are of a silver or bronze color as opposed to the standard gold color, rotate vertically instead of horizontally; and/or have an echo sound effect when they are collected. - Monitors that appear to be "offline" (i.e. the display is a solid black, rather than the contained object / TV static), have explosions emitted from the side rather than the top when destroyed, and/or have to be hit twice before they are destroyed, accompanied with visual changes (after the first hit, the screen is cracked and the monitors emit smoke). - Animal capsules that have a shiny chrome look rather than the standard gray, have decorations that match the zone (i.e. covered with vines and flowers if the zone is in a jungle), and/or release animals in various ways (chutes open from the side that birds fly out of). As for what purpose they could serve, I guess unlockables like concept art, animated shorts (I would really like this), or another character is OK. But I'd prefer they would (also) continue to something related to the gameplay, story, or the levels. Like the collectable rings could give the player a special visual change (let's say, a silver / bronze tint to the character's fur) and give the player a double score bonus for when they finish the act. Or the animal capsule example with the birds, who when freed direct the player to an otherwise inaccessible alternate goalpost, and from there the player can access a different zone. Or the black monitors contain floppy discs that when collected, can be pieced together to reveal "Bad Future" depictions of their corresponding zones, which show how they would look like if Eggman was able to conquer them and Sonic was unable to stop him. Stuff like that.
