Over in the "Abandoning characters from Modern Sonic games" thread, I commented on how Big could possibly return to the games and a possible playstyle for his character. While playing Sonic Generations, specifically against the Silver boss fight, I began to ponder how they could retranslate him into the Sonic games if he came back in a playable style. So, I thought it would be interesting to see how you all would handle characters returning to a playable form. For instance: for Shadow, I would have him play similarly to Sonic, down to the boost, but with the addition of things like Chaos Spear that draws off the meter. I would also make him a bit more slippery to control, akin to Luigi from Super Mario Bros., to give him a 'con' to counter his 'pro' of Chaos Spear. You can do this for any cast member, even ones not playable in platformers like Jet the Hawk, if so inclined.
Ok, here we go: Tails should be an easier Sonic, so (A) less-experienced gamers can learn to play and (B) older gamers can have fun abusing his flight. Knuckles should be as he was in SA1. Amy should have a hammer that must be timed for jumps and attacks. Big should be the Werehog but better. Shadow should be Sonic but slower and more powerful with bullet-time Chaos Control. Sorta like how Sonic and the Black Knight does it. Silver should be Donkey Kong Jungle Beat in 3D. Gamma/Omega should be the Avatar but better (e.g. no overpowered weapons). Blaze should be Sonic but with a double jump, immune to fire/lava, and hurt by water.
Sonic Adventure had the right idea with Sonic/Tails/Knuckles, and I think a modern update of that dynamic could work. Namely: At most, a game should only have three distinct "types" of playable characters. (So for instance, Shadow could also be playable, but as with SA2 and Forces, he'd play just like Sonic.) All three character types need to share the same basic controls and similar physics. This is a speed-based platformer, not a brawler or a shooter or a fishing game. A big part of Sonic's appeal, and something that sets it apart from other platformers, is the variety and distinction of its individual zones. To maintain that focus, all characters should play through the same zones, but it's okay if some stages are altered depending on who's in them or what the objective is. (But ideally, I'd say let's just make S&K-style alternate pathways instead!)
I will disagree with the common idea that Knuckles should be handled as he was in Adventure. Because, while his physics are okay, his gameplay is restricted. I prefer Knuckles being as playable as Sonic, i.e., not limited to hunting or searching for things. Like this mod that puts Knuckles in Generations. In fact, every single character should be a Sonic with a twist. Just like the classic games (and Mania). Every character plays the same but different.
Regarding your third point: I think a very cool idea, though it would take a LOT of budget, would be giving each character a unique order throughout the stages (with story justifications) and each character's version of the stage having some unique thing about it, though obviously still sharing level design with it. For instance: Take a stage like Aquatic Base, except it's not filled with water at start, it's just underground. Tails encounter this first on some kind of mission as his second stage, and it proceeds pretty easily. However, at the end, a fight with one of Eggman's as a boss damages the base and causes it to flood. Sonic encounters this Zone as his fifth stage. By this time, the base is flooded heavily, making it much harder and at some points forcing Sonic into entirely different paths as a result. The base is at severe risk of causing a massive short-circuit if the water damages the electronics, and at the end, Sonic hits a switch that shuts down the power. Knuckles has this stage as his tenth. Not only is nearly completely flooded, but the lack of power has plunged it into immense darkness and forced many bridges to retract, meaning that not only must Knux deal with the flooding and darkness, but also gliding over bridges and pits that Sonic and Tails easily walked over. Of course, not every Zone has to be differentiated this much, some might simply be at different times of day or have minor differences, but I think this idea would work well with an AAA Sonic game as it incentivizes players to play through multiple character storylines/campaigns in a far better way than Sonic Heroes did--and you have remarked in your videos that this is the exact problem Sonic Team has.
If they make Gamma/Omega playable, I want to see him have the gameplay from SA1 if I'm honest. At least that encouraged getting high chain combos and you could aim at many enemies in different places while running forward. It also has that whole SEGA arcade shooty feel. The Avatar is just hold a button to immediately kill anything in front of you. Way less fun.
I imagine the boost meter could be repurposed for these cases. Like, that's the amount of ammo you have as Gamma/Omega, with rings replenishing it but if you use a weapon it takes a lot from it.
The only character I don't ever want to return is the boost, thanks. It's so prominent and ruins the game so much for me they could put a rolling emoji instead and the game would feel no different. If we're gonna design new 3D character gameplays, I'd leave the boost as Metal Sonic's power, and Metal as some bonus character that doesn't define the main game at all.
Because of the way Sonic works, it's hard to have more than three or four characters without other characters either being completely alien gameplay-wise, or way too similar. I'd make it either S3K/Adventure style (each character has a full story to play through) or just a general "all characters have the same story, choose whichever one you like" style. For an Adventure-style Sonic game: - For all characters: Jumping is soft homing, and damages enemies on contact - Sonic: Jump dash, homing attack, roll, bounce, light dash, cyclone, grind - Tails: Limited time fly (can cancel into roll), tail swipe - Knuckles: Glide, drill, dig, Werehog-style fighting, no emerald hunting - Amy: Jump dash, homing attack, hammer jump, hammer stomp, slide, Werehog-style fighting (with hammer) For an Unleashed-style Sonic game: - For all characters: Boost is refilled with rings and enemies; no Wisp containers; characters retain all moves above, but have additional boost-related moves - Sonic: Boost (damages enemies), horizontal burst air boost, quickstep, drift - Tails: Weaker boost (doesn't damage enemies), air boost limited only by boost meter (also gives height) - Knuckles: Weaker boost (damages enemies), horizontal air boost limited only by boost meter - Amy: Weaker boost (doesn't damage enemies) Even though I argued in the other thread that Big should be in the game, I don't really see a working playstyle for him. He sticks around for comic relief only.
