I like to think they understand now that Shadow works best as a special attraction who shows up occasionally to make his appearances feel more special.
Sonic fans want Sega to let some major external game studio make a Sonic game. But such a game would almost certainly feature no characters other than Sonic, Tails and Knuckles, take all of its visual inspiration only from the Mega Drive games and the storyline would be simple and light-hearted, acknowledging narrative elements from 3D Sonic games only to make fun of them. And everyone would love it to bits except for the fans who asked for it in the first place.
It would be crazy if Bioware did that. Also, Sega would probably have oversight over and involvement in any game made by an external studio. Also, Sega is perfectly capable of making Sonic Colors themselves.
I bet Game Freak would be up for it. xD But to be honest, more than anything, I want Sonic Team to FINALLY get their act together.
I'll say that mute Classic Sonic in Generations makes a little sense to contrast with Modern Sonic at his Pontac/Graffiest. Still really dumb for Sega/ST to go as far as pretend he didn't already have a voice in CD, which they're still doing. According to Overlord to appease some fandom split from 20 years ago, I guess. I still don't see the need to protect Classic fans from this evil forbidden voice acting (evil cause it was in SA2) since they're putting overt Shadow references in those same games anyway.
I think folks are reading a little too much into a decision that was probably just made to preserve the charm of the original titles and distinguish the two eras.
I don't think its really a big deal, outside of Generations and Forces the Classic cast only shows up in Classic games, and even then Forces was just classic Sonic. Honestly if they ever do voice them all, they need to have some hyper-exaggerated 90s sounding voices and lines. Anything less is a sin.
Agreed. Also, the best thing which I love about classic sonic being mute is the charm of every classic in-game animation since Mania.
I agree classic tails should have been mute in generations but they've mostly honored that since then. I wouldn't peg them as inconsistent about it. They talk in the comics but I think it's just because it's much harder to pull off pantomiming there.
And voice acting wouldn't actually interfere with either of these unless you're still running with this 2008 fanboy attitude that Classic Sonic isn't supposed to have a voice, even though he already did in CD and the OVA which nobody had a problem with. Was always a solution in search of a problem for me and is all the worse in 2024 now that very few fans even have a problem with the characters talking. The classic characters not being allowed to grunt or yell like even Mario is allowed to just feels forced.
I can't get with Shadow's "vibe" post SA2/Heroes. SA2 is so many Sonic fans's favorite game because it goes into Shadow's character and backstory. But the Shadow in SA2 is so much more charming than the one from any future appearances. His personality is so smug, cocky and hammy; the way he does villain monologues and smirks at the camera. (David Humphrey's performance really enhances this too.) He's definitely also moody and angry and damaged and all that, but the game presents it as a damage that he holds within and only expresses in moments of candidness, while his outer shell is one of extremely disrespectful confidence. He's so fun! What a good character! But when you get into ShTH and onward, he starts to be portrayed with such a self seriousness that I'm sure it's why he became an icon for "cringe". Shadow largely just grovels in his misery or is coated with his rage, and it just kinda feels like they took a lot of the fun out of him. There are still some occasional hammy villain moments in the dark routes, but those are fully gone by Sonic 06. That, plus him now working with the people that killed Maria, and Jason Griffith's bad Solid Snake impression just kinda took me out of it. Didn't even feel like the same character anymore. I feel like those games were a no-turning-back moment for the character's portrayal, because almost every take on him since (barring maybe the TSR short and Murder of Sonic) since has felt like a spin on that vibe. Forces, SGxSHG and the third Sonic film all kinda show an angry/cold guy full of moody rage and explosions. It just doesn't feel like the character that made SA2's story so fun to watch. And maybe that should be expected, since both Iizuka and Shun Nakamura are still in leadership roles at Sonic Team (how, I don't know) I imagine they still like the direction they were veering him in. I dunno. Maybe I'd get with it more if they just stopped with the grimy drop-C metal music as his 'genre'. It's grody and hard to listen to. Besides, Shadow in SA2 was electronic rave music! His vibe was with the cybergoths under the bridge in the trip pants doing the orange justice! Why did they pivot to metal? Did Jun just get bored one day because he didn't get to noodle on his guitar enough? Blegh.
"Supposed to" doesn't enter into the equation. Sonic dialog and voice acting is often annoying, cringe, and forced as fuck (especially in English). Yes even in the 90's, when Sonic was the cool dude with the 'tude! In execution it does not result in anything I'd describe as "cool", in part because it's trying way too fucking hard and is just corny as hell. Which is part of the campy charm! Many Sonic fans love their camp (myself included), and I'd never dream of taking that away. But, that camp isn't for everyone (at times, myself included). The pantomime interactions in the classic games have their own charm as well, and it genuinely does not matter if they were the result of creative choice or a matter of technical limitations. Having Jaleel White's Sonic saying a bunch of quips in Generations would absolutely interfere with that charm, even if it would be offering a different sort of charm in its stead. CD, a much less widely played classic game, having a few scattered soundbites of speech in-game, doesn't really reach the level of annoying that the 3D games or the cartoons do. I know it's a very cold take at this point, but Sonic not saying a word and just tearing shit up in the CD animations is probably the genuinely coolest he's ever been, and not simply ironically "cool". This is not some blind fanboyism or grasping for a problem. Wanting Sonic's annoying ass to shut the fuck up is a valid position to hold. It is fairly common for people who don't like the guy, and in my experience is one of the reasons many don't like the guy. I know fans who started with the 00's games are all grown up and can "fight back" now, but please, y'all gotta stop acting like people who hated the shit that you loved had no good reasons to do it.
You're bringing fandom baggage into it where there isn't any. The reality is that people found Sonic's pantomiming charming in the 90s and they still find it charming now. There's nothing more to it than that.
Two reasons: 1. Fans (that's me included) were demanding another theme song by Crush 40 for Shadow's game. 2. Crush 40 being the face of Sonic rock/metal music. The musical evolution: Open Your Heart -> Live & Learn -> Sonic Heroes / What I'm Made Of -> I Am... All of Me / Never Turn Back Though I know what you mean, to me, this still makes sense. Also, let's not forget Shadow had some real bangers:
