I didn't think the 2019 movie Sonic design was that bad. I do think it could've been a lot better (and thanks to Hesse, it did!), but I also think that it could've been a lot worse.
Well technically yes, but realistically... The original design with its small head, beady eyes, gross mouth and realistic hands really had no appeal. It's creepy and not fun. I doubt they could've done much worse while still getting the design approved honestly.
I wish I still had the drawing from /r/sonicthehedgehog in like 2017 where someone accurately predicted the gross human limb proportions, overly-realistic fur and inhuman face. It was remarkable.
I feel like Tyson's original drawing pre-redesign and then the version after-redesign proves a lot of what it had going for it. It's just a matter of posing and presentation. The revision honestly goes a little overboard trying to "correct" the design to where it looks weird seeing all the exaggerated parts in a lot of live action scenes in a way that the original wouldn't have. The eyes in particular are something I'm always a little distracted by.
Shallow and pedantic indeed! Jokes aside, I think that disagreeing with someone else's 'unpopular opinion' across multiple posts is probably where the bone of contention lies. If that happened every time someone posted something objectionable, we'd be circling the fences constantly on stuff that really shouldn't matter to anybody. In terms of Amy, I would just like to see her play like Sonic but with a point-blank attack for enemies (it would have some use) and maybe yeah, the way she works in Advance. I think it makes sense as she's the only one clothed and the spin attack is likely to shred her dress? Who fuckin' knows. My unpopular opinion is that Sonic CD's level design is among the best in the classic series. Apparently that's an unpopular one, now.
wasn't Amy changed completely in Advance 2? I wouldn't know since I never unlocked her, but I could've sworn she was made largely identical to the other characters in that title. I think that speaks to DIMPS even knowing that Advance 1 Amy, which was cumbersome in some levels and trivialized others, was too unbalanced to get working with Advance 2's levels.
Yes, she was nerfed pretty hard, but that was less the fault of Amy's design and more the fault of Advance 2 completely changing its gameplay.
In Advance 2, Amy is almost a 1:1 clone of Sonic. Thing is, Advance 2 has such a tight and specific gameplay style that any abilities other than Sonic's (and Cheese spam) are basically worthless. You'll never use flight, gliding or climbing in the game. Amy's Advance 1 moveset would be especially disastrous. They did bring back her Advance 1 moveset for Advance 3 though, and because of how that game built its levels more like Advance 2 in a lot of ways, she's 100% the runt of the litter.
I actually like it when an otherworldly character gets trapped in a real-world setting and ends up looking like [confusingly hyper-detailed Homer Simpson.jpg]
Wasn't going to say anything as I am so done with Sonic. I was so close to just finishing catching up with the thread and then disappearing off the face of the earth again so as to enjoy my peace of mind. But then y'all had to bring up CD. Y'all just HAD to bring up CD. Why in the world did you bring up CD and wrap me right back up into this? Why are you so bent on torturing me? WHAT HAVE I EVER DONE TO YOU TO DESERVE THIS!? Jokes aside, I think CD's level design has tons of problems. But I also think it has the only level design among the classics that truly lives up to what I think of when I hear the expression "giant traversal playground." Like yeah, there are some shortcuts every now and then that are neat like in Spring Yard. And there is of course the things like the monitor on the top of the loop in Green Hill you "need" the speed shoes for. But overall, I really just don't get that vibe very much from the other Classics. Can't really describe it all that well, tbh. I just know that playing through the other Classics feels significantly more like following linear routes that at times feed into each other/intersect than they do traversing through open areas. Yes, I include 3K in that. Actually, I think I might especially include 3k in that. I think because of just how vertical the levels are and how you really have to go out of your way to reach the in-level objectives... ...makes it to where you need to be significantly more conscious about using the physics and level gimmicks/pieces to traverse and get where you want to go in the level. CD will not allow you to maintain momentum through just any section that you want if you just try to hold right and react. So having to actively search for and traverse to such sections, plan out how to maintain momentum through them if you haven't already memorized the stage, and then do it also makes things feel less "mindless." Wish I had a better word for that. I think how frequently and easily you can switch between different routes also plays a part. As does the backtracking. (I almost never never feel the need to backtrack in the other Classics. In fact, the only time I can even think of I do it is when I decide I want to try for all the emeralds in Emerald Hill. Gotta collect them R I N G S.)
Sonic CD has similar level design to Sonic Frontiers in that it's just made up of semi-sloppily thrown together playgrounds for Sonic's movement where you're encouraged to explore and do whatever you want. I know I used the term sloppily earlier, but honestly I don't mind the approach. Sonic's movement is just really fun in both games so it's not really that bad to just have a space to dick around in with objectives to find, even if the level design can feel a bit disjointed at times.
I feel a little gross resharing it, since it must have been deleted for a reason, but: Edit: for clarity, the first one seems to be almost completely referenced from the cardboard cutout Sonic seen in an early leak and one of the special features from the first movie, which does have a few differences but ultimately not enough that it matters for this specific take on that design.
tbh he's adorable in both of these. but trying to render the design on the left especially in a realistic setting is just not going to work. They took it too literally, so he looked like the ugliest motherfucker on the planet.
The design controversy proves where the community's priorities lie and it saddens me. Had the movie come out with that design, it would've been panned into the ground, but not just for the design. People would've shat on the writing, saying that Carrey's talents were wasted, that the morals are all fucked up, that Tom is a shitty and unnecessary character, that Sonic was written entirely out of character and lost his appeal, etc. That would've happened. But because the design was changed, now suddenly it's a "good movie for kids" and it has "unique and interesting ideas" and the directors, producers, and writers "clearly did their homework". These are all comments and praises that would not have existed if not for the redesign. No, shut up. They wouldn't. It's honestly fascinating, and I'm not sure in a good way. I have to wonder if the Cats movie completely changed its character designs from the abominations they were, then suddenly everyone would be giving it 7/10 ratings and wouldn't be saying it lacked in every other area as well. I don't understand.
Yeah the constipated expression, monkey hands and chicken legs aren't doing a thing for me. And no, I still didn't enjoy the first Sonic movie despite somewhat appreciating his final movie design. Still think his texturing is overly realistic and kinda ugly but I can't complain considering he's still the closest we've gotten to SA1 Sonic's proportions in a long while.
People already say all of these things. Movie Sonic is widely considered "not Sonic" because he acts so differently from any other iteration of the character. The writing and plot is often critiqued for being standard-issue kids buddy cop movie. The human characters are often cited as the weakest parts of the movie, especially the second. I'm sure the criticism would be amplified had Ugly Sonic been part of the movie, but people already think these things regardless. Another part of the switch-up was because of just how utterly fucking horrible the first trailer was, outside of the redesign. The second trailer painted the movie in a much better light with better jokes, better pacing, more fitting music, and actually giving us an idea of how the plot will go. I'm really not sure where you're getting this idea that people only praised the movie because Sonic was redesigned, or don't critique the movie because of it, because both cases are just demonstrably not true.
If Ugly Sonic had been what they went with, almost all of those criticisms could just as easily have been met with "you just hate it because of Ugly Sonic". And you know what? They're right. It actually makes perfect sense that people were more satisfied with the movie when its protagonist isn't utterly fucking hideous, and it's weird to act like that distinction doesn't matter. A lot of bad jokes are easier to overlook if you're not already repulsed by the core of what you're watching. To make the argument that the movie only got the 6-7s it did because of the design thing is to essentially insist people who liked it don't actually have valid compliments or critiques, and that's a little disrespectful. The Sonic movie rests comfortably in the "slightly above mediocre range", and if people were delusional because of the design change, they would have rated it higher. But they didn't, because it already got the score it deserved. The fact that it would certainly have been received much worse with the original design is not proof that the current reception is invalid.
