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Introduction
One topic that I keep seeing emerge during Sonic-related discussion is the recent love affair for Sonic Unleashed. No matter the conversation, whether Lost World or the future of Sonic, fans seem to keep coming back to Unleashed. In particular, many fans use Unleashed as a pointer for where Sonic can take his identity back (this is probably due to the recent Mario influence and decline of Sonic's story).
Now, I'm aware not all fans like Unleashed, but this seems to constantly crop up and I really feel the need to speak up about it.
Sonic Unleashed is terrible, and not the kind of game Sonic Team should look back at going forward with the franchise. I can understand the love affair with games like Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2. Sure, both games are very flawed (particularly Sonic Adventure 2), but they have their own quirky charm, along with expansive (SA1) and high-speed levels (SA2) that the Sonic series hadn't emulated well until Sonic Generations. But Unleashed? What are people thinking?
Everyone is aware that Unleashed is a critical disaster, so I won't address that. But let me show you my honest feelings on this game, and why I feel it should be distanced, far away, from the franchise.
The Werehog
It's become a bit predictable for threads that critique the Werehog. Indeed, it's become predictable, much in the same way that Big the Cat is always leveled against Sonic Adventure. The difference, however, is that whilst Big has appalling gameplay, he is only a side character that takes up a very small amount of the Sonic Adventure experience. The Werehog, on the other hand, is the complete opposite. The Werehog has just as many levels as Sonic and they are often far longer than Sonic's levels. An average Sonic level can take around 4 minutes to complete, whilst a Werehog level is, on average, 20-30 minutes. It's a complete joke, especially when one considers that the Werehog's gameplay has nothing in common with what one would expect from Sonic's gameplay history, spanning almost two decades upon Unleashed's release.
The significance of the Werehog on the game makes this issue so paramount, and far more so than Big's sideshow. With this knowledge, the Werehog better offer some damn good gamplay. After all, whilst the Werehog may be the opposite one expects from Sonic, if the gameplay stands up on it's own right there may be some justification for the creative decision. However, the Werehog's gameplay is utter tripe.
To put it very simply, the Werehog is a watered down and badly done copy of God of War. The game even has the audacity to copy some of God of War's animations and design ideas almost exactly (the door opening is a good example of this). It's not a good copy though, far from it, with boring and plodding levels that break down to endless brawls that are all exactly the same. The variety, spectacle and interesting fighting situations are absent, and in their place are mindless button bashing and slow platforming with very poor level design.
This should all be very apparent and well-known to all but, incredibly, there are some who defend the Werehog and say it is not as bad as people make out. They often compare the Werehog to the Emerald Hunting, Big's Fishing and Mechs and argue that the Werehog is better. This is, obviously, very debatable, yet even if the Werehog was better (which I am rather skeptical of), it's still awful in it's own right.
I hope Sonic Team take no inspiration from the Werehog at all. I don't, and don't believe most Sonic fans, want slow and poorly designed platforming with a heavy focus on repetitive and mundane fighting that is badly copied and pasted from a far superior game (God Of War).
The Medals
The Medals are another crushing blow to Sonic Unleashed's overall quality. Arbitrary unlocks are, sadly, no stranger to Sonic games and one could point at Sonic Generations (with the Boss Keys) and Sonic Lost World (with the Flickies) as other offenders. This is a fair point, but, the boss keys and flickies are much simpler, and crucially, less time consuming to unlock. The Boss Keys only take a few minutes, and the Flickies can be unlocked with Circus Farming. Granted, the Flickies in Lost World are pointless and terrible, but at least they can be farmed in an efficient way.
As for the Medals, they are incredibly tedious and obnoxious. There is no way to efficiently get them, and the player needs to replay the levels, checking every nook and cranny, to find the stupid medals. This isn't such a problem with the Daytime Stages, but with the Werehog, it's unforgivable. One is glad to be pat the Werehog stages and to be forced to replay them is soul-destroying.
Yet, despite being so offensive, fans often try to defend the medals. They say that it encourages exploration, or that it is not such a big deal. Exploration should be a personal choice, and one that is for more than being forced to get what are effectively level-keys. In addition, It's not even what the game's focus is based around. In games like Mario 64, the levels are vast and expansive worlds to wander and discover the Stars in. In Unleashed, the levels are far more linear A - B affairs that task the player with getting to the goal ring. Shoe-horning medals into the game is completely against the game's most fundamental philosophy.
The soul of the medals lives on in Generations and Lost World, and it needs to go away. Note that I am not against items like the medals that serve as unlocks (for example, for concept art or music). However, in a game like Sonic that is more linear by design, arbitrary level-keys should be completely eradicated from the franchise. The medals in Unleashed serve only to bring the game further down and should never be drawn upon as inspiration in bringing the franchise forward.
Hub World
The Hub Worlds have always been an offender in Sonic History. Unbelievably, some fans love these Hub Worlds and want them to return. These fans even compares the Unleashed Hub World to the Hub Worlds from recent Sonic Games, such as Generations and Lost World, and say how much better it is. The bad Hub Worlds, Unleashed included, are more than simply a conventional Hub World, like Mario 64 or Crash Bandicoot 2 and 3 (or even the most recent Sonic Games). They are more like Hub Environments, puzzle sections that have to be traversed to get to the levels. They serve as little more than pointless fluff that obstructs the way to the actual game and attempts to stretch the game's lifespan out. Meandering around these environments, guessing where to go with the Keys (Wind Stone and Ice Stone E.T.C.) and talking to random people to find how to progress the story is the absolute antithesis of what Sonic is about: pure fast-paced platforming action. These Hub Worlds are boring beyond belief and offer nothing to the player but frustration and sometimes confusion.
Sure, once you have beaten the game, and know where to go, the Hub Worlds are less confusing and more familiar, but that is not an excuse. The game's merits should be taken as first-playthrough as well as when the game is mastered, and upon first playthrough, the player has no idea where to go. The Hub Worlds are nothing more than a desperate attempt to stretch the game's lifespan.
The Hub World in Unleashed is one of the worst in franchise, beaten only by the even worse one in Sonic 2006. The Hub Worlds have been far better refined in recent Sonic games, and they should stay that way. We should give absolutely no reason for Sonic Team to consider revisiting these abominations.
The Story
Now, for what perhaps most fans laud Sonic Unleashed for: the story. I have no idea why Sonic Unleashed's terrible story gets such praise. Is it because Lost World had such a bad plot, is it because Generations barely had a plot or is it because the series' atmosphere has significantly changed with Colours? Whatever the reason, many overlook the glaring problems with Unleashed's story, and presentation of it. The game focuses on yet another tiresome 'monster of the week', and runs through a very Sonic Adventure formula. However, it also has cringe-worthy 'humour' in the form of Chip. Chip is, by far, the worst Sonic character ever created, and, hilariously, started the current trend of Sonic's Saturday Morning humour. That's right folks, it was Unleashed that started the current story direction that everybody hates in the form of Chip. Nearly all of his scenes involve embarrassingly terrible humour, far worse than anything in Colours.
Of course, one has to deal with more than just awful story direction, one also has to endure some truly terrible voice acting. True, Sonic has always had poor voice acting, but Chip takes the bad voice acting to new levels of horrendous.
The current state of Sonic's story is controversial, and I myself think they need to reconsider their story directions, but they should not draw upon Sonic Unleashed for inspiration. Sonic Unleashed is but a poor attempt to capture the feeling of Sonic Adventure, whilst also attempting to imitate Disney, very badly, with characters like Pickle and Chip, who is a complete disaster. Sonic Team either need to return to the Adventure formula, or stick with the current formula and rediscover Sonic's identity. They should not go back to Unleashed, a messy mismatch of both worlds.
The Daytime Stages
The Daytime Stages are a funny business. They are far better than every other aspect of the game, but they are by no means exempt from problems. The levels are often shallow and automated affairs, ones that involve very little input from the player. In addition, they are very focused on reflexes, ultimately boiling down to trial and error. Unleashed also suffers from twitchy controls and poor button mapping. Whoever thought that boost should be the same button as the homing attack is a complete idiot. Not only does this often cause one to accidentally air-boost to death, it also removes Sonic's air dash. The air dash gives the player more control in their jumping precision, and without it, platforming is far more difficult.
Compared to Generations the Daytime Stages are blown out the water. The controls are far smoother, the button mapping is sensible and the air dash is given back to the player. As for the levels themselves, they are far more complex and well designed, even the more speed-focused levels (with perhaps the exception of Modern Green Hill).
If Sonic Team wants to take inspiration from the Boost Trilogy it should stay far away from Sonic Unleashed. Sonic Generations is the clear candidate to draw inspiration from.
Conclusion
To conclude, the love affair with Sonic Unleashed is bizarre. Sonic Unleashed is incredibly flawed, critically so, and these flaws should not be brushed aside. Of course, it's perfectly fine to enjoy the game. We all enjoy games we know are deeply flawed. I like Lost World, despite being well aware that it is incredibly flawed and not really a good game, objectively speaking. What irritates me about the Unleashed love affair is that fans, seemingly blind to these glaring problems, try to brush the flaws away or poorly attempt to argue that they are good decisions.
Of all the games to draw inspiration from, Sonic Unleashed, should not be one of them.
Let's end the Sonic Unleashed Love Affair.
One topic that I keep seeing emerge during Sonic-related discussion is the recent love affair for Sonic Unleashed. No matter the conversation, whether Lost World or the future of Sonic, fans seem to keep coming back to Unleashed. In particular, many fans use Unleashed as a pointer for where Sonic can take his identity back (this is probably due to the recent Mario influence and decline of Sonic's story).
Now, I'm aware not all fans like Unleashed, but this seems to constantly crop up and I really feel the need to speak up about it.
Sonic Unleashed is terrible, and not the kind of game Sonic Team should look back at going forward with the franchise. I can understand the love affair with games like Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2. Sure, both games are very flawed (particularly Sonic Adventure 2), but they have their own quirky charm, along with expansive (SA1) and high-speed levels (SA2) that the Sonic series hadn't emulated well until Sonic Generations. But Unleashed? What are people thinking?
Everyone is aware that Unleashed is a critical disaster, so I won't address that. But let me show you my honest feelings on this game, and why I feel it should be distanced, far away, from the franchise.
The Werehog
It's become a bit predictable for threads that critique the Werehog. Indeed, it's become predictable, much in the same way that Big the Cat is always leveled against Sonic Adventure. The difference, however, is that whilst Big has appalling gameplay, he is only a side character that takes up a very small amount of the Sonic Adventure experience. The Werehog, on the other hand, is the complete opposite. The Werehog has just as many levels as Sonic and they are often far longer than Sonic's levels. An average Sonic level can take around 4 minutes to complete, whilst a Werehog level is, on average, 20-30 minutes. It's a complete joke, especially when one considers that the Werehog's gameplay has nothing in common with what one would expect from Sonic's gameplay history, spanning almost two decades upon Unleashed's release.
The significance of the Werehog on the game makes this issue so paramount, and far more so than Big's sideshow. With this knowledge, the Werehog better offer some damn good gamplay. After all, whilst the Werehog may be the opposite one expects from Sonic, if the gameplay stands up on it's own right there may be some justification for the creative decision. However, the Werehog's gameplay is utter tripe.
To put it very simply, the Werehog is a watered down and badly done copy of God of War. The game even has the audacity to copy some of God of War's animations and design ideas almost exactly (the door opening is a good example of this). It's not a good copy though, far from it, with boring and plodding levels that break down to endless brawls that are all exactly the same. The variety, spectacle and interesting fighting situations are absent, and in their place are mindless button bashing and slow platforming with very poor level design.
This should all be very apparent and well-known to all but, incredibly, there are some who defend the Werehog and say it is not as bad as people make out. They often compare the Werehog to the Emerald Hunting, Big's Fishing and Mechs and argue that the Werehog is better. This is, obviously, very debatable, yet even if the Werehog was better (which I am rather skeptical of), it's still awful in it's own right.
I hope Sonic Team take no inspiration from the Werehog at all. I don't, and don't believe most Sonic fans, want slow and poorly designed platforming with a heavy focus on repetitive and mundane fighting that is badly copied and pasted from a far superior game (God Of War).
The Medals
The Medals are another crushing blow to Sonic Unleashed's overall quality. Arbitrary unlocks are, sadly, no stranger to Sonic games and one could point at Sonic Generations (with the Boss Keys) and Sonic Lost World (with the Flickies) as other offenders. This is a fair point, but, the boss keys and flickies are much simpler, and crucially, less time consuming to unlock. The Boss Keys only take a few minutes, and the Flickies can be unlocked with Circus Farming. Granted, the Flickies in Lost World are pointless and terrible, but at least they can be farmed in an efficient way.
As for the Medals, they are incredibly tedious and obnoxious. There is no way to efficiently get them, and the player needs to replay the levels, checking every nook and cranny, to find the stupid medals. This isn't such a problem with the Daytime Stages, but with the Werehog, it's unforgivable. One is glad to be pat the Werehog stages and to be forced to replay them is soul-destroying.
Yet, despite being so offensive, fans often try to defend the medals. They say that it encourages exploration, or that it is not such a big deal. Exploration should be a personal choice, and one that is for more than being forced to get what are effectively level-keys. In addition, It's not even what the game's focus is based around. In games like Mario 64, the levels are vast and expansive worlds to wander and discover the Stars in. In Unleashed, the levels are far more linear A - B affairs that task the player with getting to the goal ring. Shoe-horning medals into the game is completely against the game's most fundamental philosophy.
The soul of the medals lives on in Generations and Lost World, and it needs to go away. Note that I am not against items like the medals that serve as unlocks (for example, for concept art or music). However, in a game like Sonic that is more linear by design, arbitrary level-keys should be completely eradicated from the franchise. The medals in Unleashed serve only to bring the game further down and should never be drawn upon as inspiration in bringing the franchise forward.
Hub World
The Hub Worlds have always been an offender in Sonic History. Unbelievably, some fans love these Hub Worlds and want them to return. These fans even compares the Unleashed Hub World to the Hub Worlds from recent Sonic Games, such as Generations and Lost World, and say how much better it is. The bad Hub Worlds, Unleashed included, are more than simply a conventional Hub World, like Mario 64 or Crash Bandicoot 2 and 3 (or even the most recent Sonic Games). They are more like Hub Environments, puzzle sections that have to be traversed to get to the levels. They serve as little more than pointless fluff that obstructs the way to the actual game and attempts to stretch the game's lifespan out. Meandering around these environments, guessing where to go with the Keys (Wind Stone and Ice Stone E.T.C.) and talking to random people to find how to progress the story is the absolute antithesis of what Sonic is about: pure fast-paced platforming action. These Hub Worlds are boring beyond belief and offer nothing to the player but frustration and sometimes confusion.
Sure, once you have beaten the game, and know where to go, the Hub Worlds are less confusing and more familiar, but that is not an excuse. The game's merits should be taken as first-playthrough as well as when the game is mastered, and upon first playthrough, the player has no idea where to go. The Hub Worlds are nothing more than a desperate attempt to stretch the game's lifespan.
The Hub World in Unleashed is one of the worst in franchise, beaten only by the even worse one in Sonic 2006. The Hub Worlds have been far better refined in recent Sonic games, and they should stay that way. We should give absolutely no reason for Sonic Team to consider revisiting these abominations.
The Story
Now, for what perhaps most fans laud Sonic Unleashed for: the story. I have no idea why Sonic Unleashed's terrible story gets such praise. Is it because Lost World had such a bad plot, is it because Generations barely had a plot or is it because the series' atmosphere has significantly changed with Colours? Whatever the reason, many overlook the glaring problems with Unleashed's story, and presentation of it. The game focuses on yet another tiresome 'monster of the week', and runs through a very Sonic Adventure formula. However, it also has cringe-worthy 'humour' in the form of Chip. Chip is, by far, the worst Sonic character ever created, and, hilariously, started the current trend of Sonic's Saturday Morning humour. That's right folks, it was Unleashed that started the current story direction that everybody hates in the form of Chip. Nearly all of his scenes involve embarrassingly terrible humour, far worse than anything in Colours.
Of course, one has to deal with more than just awful story direction, one also has to endure some truly terrible voice acting. True, Sonic has always had poor voice acting, but Chip takes the bad voice acting to new levels of horrendous.
The current state of Sonic's story is controversial, and I myself think they need to reconsider their story directions, but they should not draw upon Sonic Unleashed for inspiration. Sonic Unleashed is but a poor attempt to capture the feeling of Sonic Adventure, whilst also attempting to imitate Disney, very badly, with characters like Pickle and Chip, who is a complete disaster. Sonic Team either need to return to the Adventure formula, or stick with the current formula and rediscover Sonic's identity. They should not go back to Unleashed, a messy mismatch of both worlds.
The Daytime Stages
The Daytime Stages are a funny business. They are far better than every other aspect of the game, but they are by no means exempt from problems. The levels are often shallow and automated affairs, ones that involve very little input from the player. In addition, they are very focused on reflexes, ultimately boiling down to trial and error. Unleashed also suffers from twitchy controls and poor button mapping. Whoever thought that boost should be the same button as the homing attack is a complete idiot. Not only does this often cause one to accidentally air-boost to death, it also removes Sonic's air dash. The air dash gives the player more control in their jumping precision, and without it, platforming is far more difficult.
Compared to Generations the Daytime Stages are blown out the water. The controls are far smoother, the button mapping is sensible and the air dash is given back to the player. As for the levels themselves, they are far more complex and well designed, even the more speed-focused levels (with perhaps the exception of Modern Green Hill).
If Sonic Team wants to take inspiration from the Boost Trilogy it should stay far away from Sonic Unleashed. Sonic Generations is the clear candidate to draw inspiration from.
Conclusion
To conclude, the love affair with Sonic Unleashed is bizarre. Sonic Unleashed is incredibly flawed, critically so, and these flaws should not be brushed aside. Of course, it's perfectly fine to enjoy the game. We all enjoy games we know are deeply flawed. I like Lost World, despite being well aware that it is incredibly flawed and not really a good game, objectively speaking. What irritates me about the Unleashed love affair is that fans, seemingly blind to these glaring problems, try to brush the flaws away or poorly attempt to argue that they are good decisions.
Of all the games to draw inspiration from, Sonic Unleashed, should not be one of them.
Let's end the Sonic Unleashed Love Affair.
