I understand that all of us here like Sonic in one shape or form, but what about the franchise do you like? Which specific parts, do you prefer the classic or modern games? Which games? Do you like the games/franchise solely for the aspect of speed, or do you appreciate the level design and music put into the games? As another point, what do you not like about the franchise? (Besides the numerous side characters that is, that one's too easy to pick!)
Nostalgia mostly. Maybe your life wasn't that great back in the 90's, but Sonic was one of the things that always cheered you up. Colorful worlds, catchy music, cool attitude, it all sucked you in. And we're chasing that feeling essentially, yes.
I hate Sonic. Spoiler Okay, serious post: We already have a "What's the best part of the Sonic series?" thread active, which is already quite subjective, so you might see some answers in there (worth a mod merging the topics maybe?) Still, to answer the question, I have two obvious factors: 1) The Music Rarely let down when it comes to this. Whether it's the classic Nakamura, Richard Jaques, Senoue or Ohtani, there's never really been a bad Sonic OST (okay yeah, ignore Chronicles and the obvious exceptions...) 2) Dr Eggman Seriously. Everything Eggman does is fantastic. Even in lesser loved Sonic titles like Shadow and Sonic 06, Eggman still does his thing, and does it well. Seeing his latest plans and machines is always something to look forward to. There's probably a billion other factors but these two are jumping out at me right now.
Fond childhood memories of owning a Sega Master System and Megadrive when Sega was king with the Sonic series also being some of the best games of the era. They're just fucking awesome games, at least the classic series. Sonic 3K has yet to be dethroned as probably the best platformer of all-time.
Because the classic games are fun and are some of the best 2D platformers around, and I like how it requires a large degree of skill to master as opposed to 2D Mario. I have beaten all 2D Sonics and all 2D Marios yet prefer Sonic because the gameplay feels more rewarding. Honestly don't give a shit about the modern 3D games at all despite my first Sonic game being Sonic Adventure DX. The kiddy cutscenes makes it feel like it's for 5 year olds and it's just not for me. And no, I'm not into the "mature" Shadow/06 stuff either, as those feels like it was catered to specifically 12 year olds. What I like about the classic games is that it has none of that bullshit, it's all gameplay with very little story, and no cringy dialogue. Plus, the gameplay feels "mature" in the sense that it can take years to really get good at it but once you do it's like the most rewarding 2D platformer. Sonic 3 & Knuckles is my favorite video game of all time, and that may never change. (Sonic Mania is my second favorite video game of all time)
Good gameplay. The story and graphics can be trash but so long as the gameplay is solid, I tend to be happy.
Because the games that are good are great, if you get what I'm saying. Sonic is a series of extremes, and that's not just 90s coolness terminology. Even though the franchise has been consistently hit-or-miss since the 90s (in general, if you go by main games it's had some long-term changes) it either hits with a slam dunk or misses with an accidental assassination. Also, out of any nostalgic game series with tons of offshoots, Sonic has the best non-game material. The Flynn-era Archie comics, SatAM, AoStH, and Sonic Boom are all great (and I hear the British comic is ok but I haven't read it). Mario Bros. Super Show this ain't, there's actually some talent in there, and it's very noticeable.
Nostalgia really. I had a Sega Genesis as a kid, played the games over and over again, watched the TV shows, read the comic religiously throughout my childhood and slept with a little stuffed Sonic every night. I had an NES and Mario 3 before I had a Sega Genesis, but for whatever reason Sonic just clicked with me as a kid and I became obsessed. I have fond memories of those games and to this date, Sonic 3 & Knuckles is my favorite game of all time. It's just such a fun game.
I love arcade game design, I love pinball, I love the color blue, I love tests of reflexes, I love flow, I love Sega, and I love platformers. Sonic is essentially the perfect game for me.
Same, although Sonic the Hedgehog and being a Sega kid in general may be the reason why I love arcade style games and so on. Which came first, the chicken or the Eggman? I suppose in the end that doesn't matter, I just like what I like.
I liked the style and gameplay of the classics, which is why things went downhill for me when SEGA had the great idea of changing both. All is well now, anyway.
You know, I'd like to add something to my answer after reading an article - I love math. I've loved math since I was very little. I've always said math is my achilles heel, but I've slowly learned to stop saying that. It's not my Achilles heel, it's just something with which my current comprehension will never satisfy, and thus I always thirst for more. From a very, very early age, I could see the math in Sonic. It was visual and intuitive, even if I couldn't understand it. All my programming life has been chasing math, and Sonic the Hedgehog really kicked it off for me. Today, I know the math of Sonic, I have a great understanding of trig and calculus. Sonic seems quaint in some respects. But I still love it for the math. As I dove deeper into arithmetic -- most of which I picked up specifically to understand the microprocessor assembly and boolean algebra necessary to write a program like Sonic the hedgehog -- my love and appreciation for the game grew. To me, Sonic is math and arithmetic as art. The article in question I read that made me realize this: https://www.maa.org/external_archive/devlin/LockhartsLament.pdf
Of all things, I saw a YouTube Poop of the Sonic Colors cutscenes and I just kept watching Sonic YTPs, and then I became a Sonic fan. The power of YTPs, my fellow Sonic fans.
I already answered this question long ago in the "What's the best part of Sonic series?" thread. To me, true Sonic gameplay isn't a matter of speed, but speed is a way to show how well does it work; it's a matter of realist physics that make sense, and what I consider a great, precise control of the character (unless going super, of course). Some consider the first Sonic game to be inferior to other titles because it's often slower and blockier, but I feel it as a different way to experience those physics, especially when there's no spindash to avoid the hard work. For the rest, click the link above, I wrote an extensive post.
I grew up playing the classic gamesgames, starting with Sonic 1. That's one thing I like the most about Sonic. I do think the newer 3D games are more frustrating and they're not really the same. SA1 and 2 we're good in my opinion though.
The gameplay just feels nice. Not sure. For the classic games I could explain very easily why I enjoy them, but something like Adventure 1 I'm kinda lost as to why I enjoy it. Perhaps it's just the tight controls, how the levels kinda feel, the music, etc...I dunno. Classic games are easy to answer though. Having a momentum based platformer is a unique idea in itself, but Sonic did it pretty well most of the time. That's why levels like Labyrinth and Aquatic Ruin feel kinda sloppy - they take away a lot of your momentum, and give you very little speed as a reward. Most classic levels always have a good balance of letting you go fast and doing actual platforming - sort of like the 3D games where you have boost sections and then Sonic starts platforming in 2D. That's probably a very poor comparison, but the idea kind of comes across. Yet the classic games kind of blend you going fast into the platforming, so it doesn't feel like you're just having sections where you pause and hold a button - the game is just letting you move very quickly. Sonic is also fun because once you know the game, you are rewarded by being able to play through the levels without any problems. I blasted through Mania with 30+ lives each of my playthroughs, and that's just because I've been playing the classic games for a long time, so I knew where a lot of stuff was or how to handle it, and not because the game was easy. Didn't really grow up with them, but I do have fond memories of playing Sonic Mega Collection on my Gamecube and messing around in Sonic 3 & Knuckles a lot. Didn't grow up totally obsessed with Sonic but I'd be lying if I said I didn't get interested every time a new game came out.
