The Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Megathread

I wasn't even saying that this game isn't similar to Rush, because frankly it is closer to Rush than the classics in at least a few ways, just that "world map" isn't really one of them, nor is it worth complaining about.

The thing is, there are some reasonable things to complain about with this game, but people have gotten in the habit of complaining about EVERYTHING no matter how significant. The world map (and pressing a button to continue to the next act/zone) may not be exactly true to the classic, but it's a hell of a lot better than getting dumped to a boring level select menu. The SECOND DUMBEST thing you can possibly complain about is when they improve on something (the worst being complaining about things they got right).

 

I get the complaints about physics, but I really don't get why having a world map should be a big deal just because Sonic 3 didn't have one. I actually kinda like the idea of something that shows the path of Sonic's progress like that: it seems like a genuinely progressive addition to the games.

 

It's not really the World Map that bothers me, it's the fact that the game DEFAULTS to it, if I clear an Act, if I happen to miss pressing a button when it's checking the score, it'll now kick me back to the World Menu. As someone else said here, it should be an option, WHEN ACT CLEARED: (Continue to Next Act/Return To World Menu), something that we can set ONCE and just play through the whole game Classic Style, but of course, like anything else in Sonic 4, basic Options seem to be a down right struggle! I mean, surely that way we get the best of both worlds? Play through the acts and zones in order, and you can quit when you want to go back to the World Menu, ala Sonic 1 and 2 Cheat Menu style, but obviously lock outs the acts the player has not yet reached.

 

Though it's not going to happen the map would be the most awesome thing ever if this tune played whenever you selected a stage.



I like small details and sure I'll enjoy the game though I know though fixated on physics and rehashes will find complaints, because they do exist. However as a guy who focuses on games based on how much fun he enjoys them, this looks good. I am more excited for Colors, yes. But this looks fun, and if I will say what wins me over is even with speedpads and springs and homing attack chains, the level design in my opinion looks fun. That to me is what's been missing form Sonic the most for a long time and I am glad to see good level structure returning.

 

Not that I really care at all, but isn't it better that we get the option at every chance possible? Say you only want to play up to a set zone, then stop there, being given the option of getting taken back to the map screen after every level allows you to easily navigate back to it whenever you want. It's not a struggle at all, a button prompt will show up after you complete a level, you press one or the other if you want to progress naturally or not. It's not that difficult. At all. No, it isn't exactly like the classics, but it's a small little neat feature that, in my opinion, adds to the experience. I'm betting that when all the episodes are released the map will consist of all the stages in every episode, allowing you to progress naturally from Splash Hill Zone to whatever the final zone in the last episode is.

Although I could be wrong, and either way I'm not buying this until some sort of deal is announced or maybe even not until all episodes are eventually released on one disk, so again, I really don't care. I just feel that pressing a single button when told to after you beat a level is a really stupid thing to complain about.

 

Pressing a button should lead to going back to the map while pressing nothing should default to the next level, not the other way around.

Kinda like it was in the past.

 

YES! This is so insignificant, but it bothered me EVERY time I saw a video. I like that they noticed this!

Edit: Wait, I'm confused. The update seems to CLEARLY state the world map is an option. Look:

TL;DR: If you press (blank) button at the end of the level you'll go to the next one without the world map. So WHY is the world map a big deal? It's optional!

 

Eh, honestly, that's not really something they should've had to mention, it should have just been there from the beginning. I'm glad they fixed it, but still, they shouldn't have put an invisible wall there in the first place.

 

wait so do we even know when development is supposed to stop? I mean we established that most games need a month or so of testing before they can actually make the RTM version, but it sounds like active development is still going on right now, so wtf.

 

You know what? I can't wait for this game to be released. Not because I want to play it, hell no, but because I can't stand hearing about it anymore. I can't stand the game itself or the reactions us fans are having to it (this very message is an example of a crappy reaction). If this game wasn't this episodic piece of shit I'm sure people would only keep talking about it for a couple of months after release at most, and it would soon find its way into the abyss of forgetfulness where all these stupid new Sonic games belong.

Fuck, I didn't come to this forum because I'm a Sonic fanboy who gets excited about anything that has a blue hedgehog on it, I came here because the pre-Adventure Sonic games are the best games I have ever played, and Sonic Retro seemed like a good place to have conversations, technical and otherwise, about them. I just got dragged into this Sonic 4 bullshit because of SEGA's stupid PR claims that this would be THE return to 2D, and I'm really sorry I ever bought that crap. I was perfectly fine ignoring the new games until they decided to mess with nostalgia.

I'd simply love if this thread was trashed for good, but I'm sure some of you want to keep discussing the game, so I'll do my best to pretend it was trashed and stay away from it, ignoring it just like I did with threads of previous new games. This shouldn't be difficult, right?

 

Yeah my post kinda got lost because of editing, basically the world map is optional so there's no reason to freak out over it.

 

Welcome to the jungle. Sega's PR department are masters of doublespeak.

 

Hey SEGA, can I play through this "classic progression mode" with an overall accumulating score that doesn't tell me I suck at video games if I take too many detours before finishing an Act?

 

@ tokumaru

More power to you, but I'm not sure why you felt the need to announce it. :v:

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I like the World Map idea, and it's a pretty okay cosmetic upgrade to an otherwise boring level select idea. Frankly, I always like my games to have a sense of context, regardless of actual story content. Having transitional scenes would be the idea solution, but an overworld screen is an okay alternative.

Nice that they fixed the odd invisible-wall thing at the ends of acts, too. It irked me when I noticed it, but it seemed so insignificant that complaining seemed frivolous. Since a lot of us did say we wanted to hear the little things when Ruby posted that thread on the SEGA forums asking us which updates we wanted to hear about—all shapes and sizes, or just the minor ones—this is actually the sort of small update I was hoping to hear about. Just little touches that keep things true to form.

 

I just realized something. With a level select screen, we would only see the levels in that part of the game.

But with a World Map, couldn't we see other parts of the map for future episodes? We could then guess the remainder of the levels based on the map.

 

You're going to re-play levels from a game-clear save for your Leaderboard runs, anyway, may as well do it in style.

EDIT @ RGamer: That assumes all episodes take place in the same location, which they very well may not.

 

I feel your pain brother.

The PR guys seriously want hitting with hammers though. What's with Ruby putting a picture of a piece of fucking cheesecake at the end of that post? It's like he's saying "I'm not some big, evil, corporate shill... I'm a human being and enjoy simple things such as cheesecake just like the rest of you.". And people fall for it too. I guess it's acceptable to lie through your teeth when you appear to be a nice, docile boy.

 

Reference to something from one of the older blog posts, I think. Some trip that he went on during the course of which he had cheesecake. Forget the specifics, but it seems to be a kind of running joke.

 

Or when it's your job, and you get paid money to do it.

When in the history of gaming media were PR people gleaming, wholesome images of pure honesty? PR is PR, if you invest all of your faith in what they say you're going to be terribly disappointed 100% of the time. It's been this way for quite a while.

 

There's PR and there's Iizuka trying to convince the fans of several contradictory things at once. :v: