I simultaneously agree and disagree with this statement. I think Chao Gardens should come back because they give an extra reason to replay (and thereby master) levels, and a lot of people really like them. I also never cared about raising Chao one bit, even as a kid. I thought the fact that a lot of my friends who played SA2 spent so much time in the Chao Garden was weird.
I am intensely opposed to the chao garden returning exactly for that reason, Ngl. Providing reason to master stages is good. Making grinding and uninteresting gameplay necessary to 100% completion is not my favorite thing in the world… Or at least, that’s what I would say if I had ever actually used the chao garden. I have not raised a single chao, and I have no intentions ever to. The idea does not appeal to me in the slightest.
I liked Chao as a kid, as an adult they're kind of an interesting curiosity but massively held back by the fact that so much is out of the player's hands. You have to wait actual real time for significant changes to occur, and that's not going to happen naturally unless you're spending a few minutes there between every stage you play (or else grinding for them, as mentioned). All of this with no actual change to the core gameplay outside of Chao, and they're just an extra completion mark to get over, but really slowly. I think that if they added a time advancement mechanic, made the resources used on Chao something you have to actually work for (as in, make them more effective but less-common so you really gotta scour the stages for them, or complete difficult challenges or something), and then had Chao, in some form, influence the core gameplay, it would work. My idea is that Chao would be sort of like a combination between Mario RPG badges (and I guess Mario Wonder badges now) and Lost World's inventory system. So maybe getting a speed-type chao gives you different levels or numbers of speed shoes powerups that you can use at will, or maybe even passively upgrade Sonic in some way (obviously this would need a robust system well thought-through in order to not break the game or the design in some way). Maybe different configurations can add multiple things, but it's limited to each chao and you find ways to minmax to make more perfect runs, either in survivability, ring count or speed, which means they can help for different mission objectives, or more likely, versus multiplayer stuff. This is all just spitballing and ideally any Sonic game worth its salt would have speedrunners blowing all that stuff out of the water just by abusing engine quirks, but I think if we brought chao back, integrating them into the rest of the game and establishing a proper direction for raising them is the way to go. There's a novelty to the "not knowing exactly what you're doing" that came with the old games, but I think the time for that is over.
Me. In my opinion the Chao Garden should be completely optional like it was (Tiny Chao Garden) in the Advance games. It's a little minigame that's meant to be relaxing and low effort, that you can play for just a minute and then close it at any time. I wouldn't mind some sort of passive enhancement in the main game based on your chao, but I think it shouldn't be required, and shouldn't be the focus (unless you are making a full game specifically about chao). The Chao Garden is a bit like those open world games where you can do a lot of stuff, but it's not required. I see it as a sort of Animal Crossing type of game where you just mess around without a real objective. It has emblems, but in my opinion it shouldn't. And this is why I don't think it should have a time skip option (if anything, maybe let the time flow when playing the levels, so things can happen even if you are not in the garden). The main thing about Chao Gardens is the simulation of a pet, if you put a time skip in it, it would lose the pet simulation aspect, it becomes just a matter of numbers and technical stuff. Who cares if my chao will never grow or evolve, who cares if it will remain weak and unable to win a race or a fight: this shouldn't be the point of the Chao Garden, the point should be to have fun and relax for a couple of minutes at most, when you are tired from doing those A ranks. Besides, I remember that the last time I've replayed SA2, I've got the chao emblems with little to no grinding, just by completing the game normally and visiting the garden between levels in order to deposit the collected resoruces. Chao Garden is exactly the type of content that I expect in an "open zone" game.
I don't know how many more times the phrase "Chao Garden should be made as a mobile phone app that whales can drop a ton of money into" needs to be said to Sega at this point. Mobile phones did not exist with the technology to do this when SA2 came out, never mind SA1. They do now, there's zero reason for Chao Gardens to be included in a mainline game with nothing at all in common in terms of gameplay elements.
Even back then with Sonic Colours they could've just made the Chao Garden a Wii Channel and I guarantee most Wii fans would download that if they could The fact the Rabbids did this approach first is... well, I can't say disappointing but like lol
I can see them going synergetic with an app that links up with whatever main game is out Spoiler 3D Green Hill Zone Act 2 hidden behind completion of all Chao Activities both in game and phone app
You just know if they did a new game with a Chao garden they'd make it so the digital deluxe / pre order bonus would include unique Chao types. Chao garden might have been a lot for Wiiware I think, but while we're here, I've had a similar idea I've toyed with in my head a bit where if they released a Chao Garden game for DS they could have actually had some compatibility with the Tiny Chao Garden to where you could import your actual Chao from there and then they could have added more involved minigames, like a Kart Racer mode based on the SA2 one, the Chao races, karate, all that. Would have been tons of room for DS Download Play opportunities too, and maybe just maybe integration into other Sonic DS games? But then we never really got any Sonic games that could easily integrate Chao, EXCEPT maybe Sonic Chronicles but that was by a team who definitely wouldn't have had the time to figure out something like that and never made a sequel. The only other thing I think could have used it would be maybe Classic Collection, but then, again, what would they be able to do for the classic games that they couldn't also do for the Rush series?
Just going to list them: -There is not a single thing that SA1 has over SA2, whether it be level design, soundtrack, story, playstyle, whatever trump card you can pull out for aesthetic is just because of the vibe lol. -One playthrough of Shadow Generations will make you realize how much inferior Base is in comparison. -A sort of Sonic R sequel would not only make more sense than a Riders sequel, considering how hoverboards have aged as of recent lol, but also would solidify him as a standout from any other popular IPs' racing attempts. -Any remake of a Sonic game is a very bad idea. There's been way too many times regretting the past, mainly from the PR in Aaron Webber's era(no shade to him personally). I'd prefer just rereleasing the game how it was initially presented, with a few QoL changes to make it less miserable for those that aren't as skilled at the game OR just to make the game better(sorta like how they did with Shadow) -While I'm not a fan of their attempts at milking Classic Sonic in the past, making a 3D Classic Sonic game would have been a better idea instead of chasing the magic of Sonic Mania and even 30 year old games. -I theorize that MJ worked on Sonic 3's prototype compositions(this could include the zones besides Carnival Night, Ice Cap, and Launch Base) instead of the final and that his team did the formerly mentioned zones' final compositions and also subsequent reworks. Maybe this could be disproven if the tape that has the acapellas of the songs by MJ in a blue moon lol.
there's a reason to check stages for special animals in SA2, and they're nice as a breather in between stages. it's the way they involve the stages that make them appealing to me; I've tried and bounced off of Chao Island Resort multiple times because it is nothing but chao races to feed fruit to chao to win more chao races - there's nothing to it other than seeing numbers go up. It needs a proper gameplay element to contrast against, so then you come back after running Pyramid Ruin and can take like a thirty second breather to watch your cute thing change form and get better. The only real way I can imagine a mobile Chao game really working is if it became an idle game like Neko Atsume, where you set props up and then later check to see which Chao have decided to grace you with their presence. SA2's OST is so hilariously samey compared to SA1's that it's not even funny. Sonic and Knuckles' stage themes all blend together except for The Designated Meme One (Escape From The City and A Ghost's Pumpkin Soup respectively), Rouge has exactly two memorable songs (I'm a Spy and 34N, 12E), and Tails and Eggman have exactly zero interesting stage themes. Only Shadow comes out good in this and his level themes are the ones that are different from one another. What is the point of having unique themes for each stage when they all sound the same depending on the character playing them? (and also, I've done all A ranks in Battle so I've heard these themes a lot) SA1 has a farther range of genres and, yes, vibes (because that is indeed one of the components of music) than SA2 does by a country mile - the same game has Azure Blue World, Mt. Red: A Symbol of Thrill, the Mystic Ruins theme, Tornade Scramble, and Leading Lights all throughout the same OST, let alone how Join Us 4 Happy Time clears any of SA2's overly cutesy Chao Race themes easily.
Sonic Adventure 2 OST is good, but I think their best songs are more in the vocals than the instrumentals tbh. SA1 had a more diverse soundtrack, and it's easier to stick on your mind. And it was also very creative, like Jun Senoue made a Hip-Hop-styled song for a lava / fire stage! And I was ignoring the fact it also had Jazz in the first section of stage. SA1 soundtrack was very charming and aged like wine.
No disrespect, but I do not see a way how you can blend Knuckles' or even Sonic's themes. For Knuckles' genre, yeah it's all pretty much low-fidelity East Coast sounding hip-hop and not necessarily straying away from that. But each of the themes carry their own vibe to make you feel spaced out, active, or even mysterious and weary; all of the themes just absorbs you into the unique vibe and atmosphere each level can give you. For Sonic, again it's only a genre of upbeat pop-rock , but there are elements to each song in his levels that make him stand out(ex. Crazy Gadget's heavy guitar arrangement meshed with ethereal synths versus Metal Harbor's fierce electric guitars with horns accompanying it in harmony).
