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Sky Egg Forest

Underground Egg Dragon

Space Storm Egg

Egg Death Crystal



EDIT: The secret stage is Final Sky Opolis. Or Final Sky Jungle.

This reminds me of when NBC Universal filed a copyright claim on my Metallic Guile-Down video featuring Sonic characters while a Capcom-owned track played in the background. Tell me how that one makes any sense.

Grabbed it already. Haven't tried it out yet. I might if SFxMM doesn't tire me out too much.

I love how Tails just bobs his head in the ecard.

EDIT: Well, the game looks gorgeous in HD and the tune's nice, but I'll have to Joy2Key this game since it won't recognize my joypad. Sonic still feels like he accelerates too fast when jumping, probably because the screen stays centered on his relatively large body all the time. Makes it a bitch to anticipate what's coming up next. The look-ahead function in Sonic CD might actually be helpful in this case.

Speaking of which, I'm a bit more excited to try that one out. Playable Tails, here I come.

Speed shouldn't just be a characteristic of Sonic games, or Sonic himself. It should be a tool. This idea is exemplified briefly in Sonic 2 & 3, where some stage mechanics required Sonic to run or spindash on them, and in Sonic CD, where the boss is defeated using speed friction. This speed-as-a-tool function is also found when running along vertical surfaces after getting a running start. These are decent applications of speed in a 3D space, but I think Sonic can do more with it. What else could he do? That's a good question for the prospective 3D game designer who wants to make Sonic in 3D work better.

I think it's possible to feel speed/fast without wizzing past miles and miles of pixel space for an entire stage. That latter is nice, but the tradeoff is you can't control that ridiculous speed or provide enough space for it. What matters more in a game: the ability to play it, or how often you're being played by it? It's like outrunning a bear: Sonic doesn't need to be faster than the bear, he just needs to be faster than everyone else; I.e. not that fucking fast. How much faster does Sonic need to be than, let's say, Mario or Banjo most of the time? He could be faster than F-Zero some of the time, but he shouldn't be that fast all the time.

Maybe Sonic should have gear shifts. Actually, no, that's stupid. Maybe it should be like in Super Mario, where holding a button raises your speed cap gradually. I think the idea of more gradual speed game should be practiced when developing a 3D Sonic game. The speed's just out of control, and it's not necessary. That being said, I'm not against having a large 3D sandbox to just run freely around. Just give me a general direction, something pretty to look at, rocky terrain and I'm good to go. See the intro to Sonic CD.

EDIT: Plus, I think 3D Sonic should be more about just going from point A to B. Inevitably, it's going to be that, as any game would be, but it should include more into the basic experience—the journey in-between. The simple joy of wandering around a well-crafted island, bizarro-world, or sky city shouldn't be hard to translate into a Sonic game. Exploration was a big part of why I enjoyed the old Sonics, so why shouldn't it be part of what makes 3D Sonics fun? It didn't mean I couldn't go fast if I wanted to.

Arin and Jon take either sides of this debate when playing Donkey Kong Country; Jon emphasizes flow by blowing through stages while Arin emphasizes exploration by getting all the secrets. Can't it be said the game supports both wants?

Oh, my mistake. After Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection and Sonic & Sega All Star Racing, I can't help but just conflate both names with each other.