The Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Megathread

One more thing, Ruby: will the updates be on a regular basis like they were before, or will they be at random intervals? Or have you not got that far yet?

 

See for yourself, he takes a hands on of the E3 version of the game. Guess James hasn't been keeping up with Sonic lately, as he doesn't know what the homing attack is, but thinks it's neat anyway.

 

Eh I think it's better off that way. Hell, if I were to introduce anyone to Sonic games, I'd just flat out skip Heroes, Shadow, Secret Rings, 2006, etc. and go from Adventure 2 to Colors. Maybe Unleashed.

 

Thank you for clearing this up for us!

Wow, I was rather underwhelmed by his reaction and complete lack of homing attack knowledge. I mean, it dates back to 1998!

 

1996, in fact - gold shield in Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island.

 

1994, in fact - Hyper Sonic's air dash in Sonic 3 and Knuckles

 

How the hell does that count as a homing attack?

 

James "AVGN" Rolfe has admitted before that he doesn't really keep up with Sonic.

A few months ago, in a general FAQ, he wrote that 3D Sonic games are amongst the most frequent episode requests he gets. He then stated that his experience with Sonic was pretty much limited to the Genesis games. He did admit, though, to playing -and liking- Sonic Rush.

 

There are other reviewrs out there anyway. AllierX87 could do something funny about it.

 

You mean Sonic 3D Blast, right? :specialed:

 

I just find it interesting how someone with complete lack of HA knowledge thinks it's neat anyway and doesn't see it as cheapening the experience. But then, he probably can't see it the way we do, knowing that it could potentially get worn out and over used. He hasn't seen the things we've seen, man, he doesn't know!

In all seriousness, James is a pretty cool guy, outside of his AVGN character. I can't really blame the man for mostly ignoring the series for all this time.

 

Actually, I think it takes a fresh set of eyes to tell us all the truth. There is NOTHING wrong with the homing attack. I mean really, did anyone REALLY complain about it in Megamix?

 

Actually, I don't recall the reason why no one complained about it in Megamix. Wasn't it something along the lines of "But it's not Sonic 4 it's a hack!!" or something like that?

Really, I'd like to hear a well thought out reason behind treating this differently. Not even trolling.

EDIT: Hurm, actually I can remember that one of the reasons was enemy or target placement, but other than that..

 

James's reaction was posted earlier in this thread - he likes the game, and a lot of people, if I remember right, were shocked.

Also, with the guys who thinks that the homing attack is a good thing

Oh, you yanks. :v:

 

I can't speak for anyone else, but my personal issue was, again, intent behind the game—this is supposed to be Sonic the Hedgehog 4, the logical and official successor to the classic Sonic games of yore; as such, gameplay elements such as the homing attack and other elements that promote "hold right to win!" and otherwise strip the learning curve from the game are considered unfamiliar and unfavorable in that particular context.

Megamix, on the other hand, was never aiming to be Sonic 4 and it never wanted to be. By all accounts and purposes, Megamix isn't really a "classic" Sonic game as much as it offers a familiar feel due to the use of the original game engine. It plays very different from the classics in terms of design and intent, though. If Sonic 4 is supposed to be a real sequel to the classics, it should play like one.

Again, though, just an opinion. You know, like every bit of feedback for this game. Always helps to remember that.

 

That's fair enough, Tweaker, so if I'm reading that right, you basically want Sonic 4 to play just like Sonic 3 and Knuckles?

Now, I'm all for that, but, wouldn't it make logical sense to sort of add new things, like the homing attack, into a new installation of the series? As long as it keeps the core gameplay, and it's implemented well, I see no reason to adds things like that to Sonic 4.

But therein lies the problem, right? Sonic Team/Dimps just doesn't know how to properly work new stuff in, without taking away from what made the other games so great. Hm. Am I getting the gist of this right?

 

It is logical to add new things but not so much that they radically alter the design philosophy of the game, like the Homing Attack. Also, I can even still somewhat jive with the homing attack in Megamix because the game physics engine is still good.

 

No one complained about being able to go into a ball after launching off a spring in MegaMix either.

 

They removed two playable characters and stripped the game of elemental shields in favor of an attack that immediately dispatches enemies with the press of a button. Regardless of the poor implementation, how could you consider this an evolution of the classic games? Hell, the homing attack is the only truly new thing in this game when everything else is a deliberate retread of Sonic 1 and 2.

The insta-shield was an ingenious addition in that it made combat marginally easier, yet rewarded skilled players who could master the timing with a split second of invulnerability. It's a concept Sonic seems to habitually avoid these days.

 

It's like stripping Mega Man of his slide and Charge Shot, but giving him access to the store. Kinda.

...Actually, yeah. If they ARE redoing the level design to make the Homing Attack COMPLETELY optional (ie: removing the Bubbles bridges above botomless pite), then that comparison could be accurate.