I'm not saying it's good, I'm saying it's the way Sonic Team approaches things. When they decide upon a new direction/status quo for an aspect of the Sonic series, they just move forward with it and don't really attempt to explain how it fits with conflicting depictions in the past. (The Mario RPGs have had their own version of "Classic Sonic is from another dimension". Previously, characters and concepts that originated in Paper Mario would sometimes show up in other Mario titles. Years later, Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam revealed that Paper Mario is a separate version of the character, who lives inside a story book world.) As discussed, casual lore changes were happening in that era too - Knuckles being the guardian of the Floating Island's 7 Chaos Emeralds, the pillar, the number of Chaos Emeralds (and their shapes and colours), Amy's age, the entirety of Chaotix. And Sonic 3 and Sonic Triple Trouble's stories being irreconcilable. The series had a relatively consistent continuity from Sonic Adventure through to Sonic Riders, but everything before and since has been a bit messy.
Thing is those are oddities you would expect from the early days, especially given the time and context. Emerald inconsistencies exist likely because branding and style guides wasn’t as big a deal in the industry back then, Sonic Triple Trouble was developed outside of Sonic Team and Amy was aged up in what was only her second mainline appearance that already coincided with a redesign that spanned the entire established cast.
I view Eggman Nega in the same vein as Alucard: it's a name he's taken to oppose his ancestor, but where Adrian Fahrenheit Tepes took the name Alucard to oppose Dracula's crusade, Eggman Nega took the name his ancestor was well known for to indicate he is nothing like the failure that was Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik. A negative Eggman.
Eggman Nega feels like such a lazy design, that such an explanation feels too good. Still upset that that they didn’t make him Eggwoman!
Or Dr. Hugh Robotnik, coming from (H)Ugh, Scottish Gaelic for Egg. I have too many ideas for a franchise I'll never be able to affect...
Yeah, I said that in my full post where the quote was taken from. I must say sorry for my rude post too, I get a bit too angry when I feel like someone has only half-read things. I thought it was clear that I got what the scene was intended for and what more in fact did, so I wouldn't expect an answer like that, but I could have explained this the first time instead of acting like an asshole. And, of course, is not like there couldn't be a valid answer, but it wouldn't be an easy one in such a situation and that should have been exploited as a game cliffhanger. Thanks, that's why I actually don't like Mario games as a series: a lot of creativity, but originated from what looks like an incoherent trip when on drugs that never was refined into actual background. I will always find dumb to have a series with recurring characters where each story has no link with the rest. I prefer to have alternate versions like SatAM or Sonic Boom for different approaches on the same concept than throwing random things each time with no clear distinction on why it makes sense now but not on the following minute. Think, for example, about how many depictions of Sherlock Holmes we've had recently. Each one was different, sometimes too different to really consider it has something in common with the original stories besides the names, yet all of them had a more or less coherent continuity on their own. If some elements of those more strayed versions were part of a new story added to the original writings of Arthur Conan Doyle, I think some heads would have rolled, but they were ok in alternate takes of the Sherlock Holmes concept. With Sonic games, there's rarely a distinction between the main line and the alternate takes, yet Iizuka team treats Modern Sonic as if it was a collection of fanfics instead of the real deal.
And yet, its sister series, The Legend of Zelda, manages to keep a somewhat consistent continuity. Somewhat. I know a few things got muddled up, though if you ignore what the Hyrule Historia claims you can find and even more consistent continuity that makes pretty much perfect sense. Weird how Nintendo, the company that doesn't care about story, made a more consistent story.
"If you ignore the official continuity and make up whatever the fuck you want you can find an even more consistent continuity that makes pretty much perfect sense."
At what point did I say make it up? I said if you ignored Hyrule Historia, a book by a third-party company that, while licensed by Nintendo, doesn't really have much bearing on the games and (tell me if you've heard this one before) alters a few details that change plots of some of the games. Meanwhile, the games themselves have a consistent continuity.
Speaking of Zelda, this ancient video explaining the "split timeline" theory is one of my favorite pieces on the subject. It dates back to a few weeks before Twilight Princess was released, and I still think it makes a lot more sense that what was presented in Hyrule Historia.
I think it's important to remember when comparing Mario's story to Sonic's that officially, Mario has no story. It's just about a group of friends who put on theatrical performances for the player. Sonic is not the same; it's far more heavy on story (though I personally don't see it as a story-based series).
Indeed. The story isn't the primary focus, but at the same time we've been give better stories that build up on prior events. I mean, how many of us here would be pleased if they declared Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles was no longer officially connected to Sonic the Hedgehog 2? It makes as much sense as some of their recent decisions, but a good chunk of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles is built off of what happened in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, even if the game can otherwise quietly stand on its own.
Wow, you're right. I didn't read any of that post except for what was quoted and missed that you said that. I was being facetious, though, and it doesn't seem from the tone of any of your posts that you're with me there.
Well, not sure how my writing sounds for other people, so I'll explain my point of view a bit: continuity in Sonic games has become a joke for me, so I sometimes use seriousness and get nitpicky to show how absurd is doing exactly that. We shouldn't fix what not even the team that makes the games tries to, and I don't mean just fixing faults, there's a lot that's not even there that a lot of people need to put in (8-bit games on the main continuity, for example). Continuity was there first, but now there isn't, and I don't like its absence, but I won't give a sweat for restoring it. I do give that sweat to point how absent or messy it is now, because we're again expecting things we won't get and there are evident proofs even in Mania. That said, I talk that much about the "post-credits scene" in Generations because I was genuinely shocked when I watched it, and even more when the next things we got where Sonic Lost World and Rise of Lyric, a Nintendoed throwback of sorts and an alternate universe that had nothing to do with the anniversary game (like the end of Generations was indeed en end). Oh, and Mania's plot, well, my interpretation fits better with some fanon setting I have, where I already had thought about mcguffins playing with illusions and emotions. No need to put Mania on the real canon either way, it's another commemoration game.
I'm a tad unsure what you mean here. It reads like you're switching between we should have continuity, 8-bit games and all, and you're not particularly bothered if we have continuity in the games at all.
I just say it's not our duty, whether we like it or not. They get money for doing that shit, we don't get money for fixing it; and, since it's not even meant to be fixed, it's even harder for us to repair it, so not worth the try. 8-bit games are their continuity, btw. Continuity in main games died at some point, but I'm no longer sure on when it did, probably after 2006, but maybe sooner. I'm not bothered because present Sonic and past Sonic are different, so I used to bother when they did, but I don't now for stuff made after they quit bothering or for previous stuff they ruined later.
Eh, I may not get paid, but I enjoy it. Again, I'd have no problem if it weren't for the attempt to completely alter perfectly fine, already existing continuity for literally no reason beyond "lol". I get they don't want to bother with continuity now, but leave the damn continuity before you alone, because it just comes across as spitting on the work of those before you.
Honestly, I would like to think the issues with continuity are a larger problem in the movie and game industry as a whole (games if only because if some arbitrary need to copy cinema, but that's a whole other discussion). When was the last time you saw a film or TV series that revives a popular franchise without it throwing out the continuity from the previous iteration? Directors or producers always say it's because they're "updating for a modern audience" or "doing our own take on it" and a lot of times they tend to miss the mark more than they elevate the original franchise because they took out an element that made it special and liked. And they keep reviving these concepts because they believe it's safer to tap into an existing fanbase rather than come up with something new and there's this inherent conflict built into it. I digressed a bit, but my point is that in the film and TV industry, continuity is seen as the enemy standing in the way of a cash grab that will reach that wider audience, and in many ways (too a significantly lesser extent, thankfully) video games suffer from the same problem. In Sonic's case, perhaps the line of thinking is that continuity will gate off the series to newer fans and thus the fanbase, and consequently the money they make, will never grow. Ironically enough, a lot of people would probably be more enticed by a franchise with layers of lore to uncover beneath the surface than one that throws it out with every iteration and starts from scratch every time. This is something the film industry, the game industry, and Sega Sammy desperately need to realize. In addendum to that point, don't think Izuka or Sonic Team are to blame as much as we might think. The comments from Izuka that Classic Sonic will never reappear only to have him show up in Generations shortly later seem to indicate that higher-ups in Sammy Holdings told them to listen to fans and overruled Izuka's decision. Colors and Lost World were stated to be more like Mario games under similar circumstances, so I would not be surprised if that's what's going on. Sega Sammy is making really dumb decisions in the pursuit if a greater profit margin and target audience.
No one's saying it is their duty. We do stuff like this because a portion of us think the current state of the setting and its continuity is dick and we hate it. We're doing this so we can view the series' world in a way that's more appealing and logical to us. That's what fanon is. In that sense, I think it's absolutely worth a try because at the end of the day it's what gives us enjoyment.
