Doesn't need zooming out, just needs to pan ahead a little (like Sonic CD, but smoother). That's what I did in S1RL, where memorisation is impossible, and it seemed to work fine.
No way, if the camera is too far away from the action, then I can't get a feel for the rolling physics. That's one of the problems I have with Forces' Classic Sonic stages. I've been thinking about this for a while now. Sonic Team must find a way to let the players free roam in levels while at the same time maintaining momentum / the option to go fast. Even if it takes hundreds of different camera angles per section. If you can't handle the speed, then don't go fast. Oh, and try to avoid boost pads.
I like my on-screen character (and everything else) to feel big like it does in the games we have, even 8-bit games in Master System felt like Sonic was a bit small despite the overall check proving it being bigger than his 16-bit counterpart compared to their levels. That issue in Generations about classic Sonic, I've felt it in 2D games too, I don't think it's entirely coming from its particular conditions, they're just adding up to the problem. But, I think a slight bit more in sight could be good, but just a little bit, since it's enough to avoid most cheap hits and nothing won't save you from the real threats if you don't take care. If the original resolution was 320x224, maybe a size of 384x256 could be valid (throwing random numbers, can't guess without actually implementing them). That said, zoom changes could sometimes be useful for certain cinematic effects. I've always thought switching layers like in a loop-de-loop from green hill could benefit from an effect that made the layout feel like it had some 3D depth beyond the pseudo-3D graphics from that level. That, of course, is a totally different question since it would not change the character/screen ratio.
I get it, but on the other hand a lot of Sonic's design decisions, camera included, make far more sense to me after someone here mentioned that Sonic isn't a platformer really, it's a racing game. Sega being largely well-known for their arcade racing games when the original Sonic came out (IIRC Sonic even had a cameo in OutRun before he was even officially revealed). This explains the emphasis on speed but also the game's timer. In that case, it matches a lot more the design philosophy of arcade racers, how you generally can't see very far ahead, and need to learn the track/act via repeated practice.
