The Sonic series has always been a bumpy ride. It is surprising to see so many fans of this damn hedgehog after games like Sonic 06 and Shadow the Hedgehog. So I gotta ask, why do you still play or at least follow the Sonic series after so many years of mediocre titles? What keeps constantly bringing you back to this series? Personally, I've always liked this series because it is kinda like a roller coaster. sometimes you can get some of the worst games of all time while other times you can get some of the greatest. It is always interesting to see what Sonic Team is thinking of next.
That's a good question. Honestly? I don't know! I mean, I'm more forgiving of bad Sonic games than I am of bad anything-else games, and I don't know why. I think that Sonic just struck me as cool as a kid, and it stuck. Even when he's being decidedly uncool.
Frankly, it's almost become kind of ritualistic to me. Lately I've been lucky, and they've only been pumping out games that I genuinely really like, such as Sonic Colors and Generations, but ever since Shadow the Hedgehog the franchise has bee a bizarre emotional roller coaster. Hopefully the quality of the franchise remains consistent, as I can't really see myself buying anymore poor games if they decide to chuck out some shitters.
For me, it's probably due to nostalgia. I mean while the likes of Sonic 06 sucked badly, that doesn't mean I'll just stop being a fan of the classic Sonic games. I sorta toned down my Sonic fandom by a lot around 2006-2008, but after playing the more recent titles I'm slowly gaining optimism for the series again, seeing as the newest games coming out do give me atleast a bit of excitement for them.
Probably just habit. I've been playing Sonic for going on 16 years now and the classic games have always been good, with the newer ones starting to get better (except when they're mediocre).
Nostalgia, and I like platformers. Sonic has spoiled me into liking platforms where the character at least has an option to run fast and the game can be speed runned easily. Some Sonic techniques I've applied to Mario speed running. So, I guess I just find Sonic addicting!
Hmm...not sure. I SHOULD be disappointed over the sonic games I've played and hate this fanbase by now but I'm not...god help me I'm not somehow I always find some enjoyment out of each title in some way even 2006 just for its lulz factor and this fanbase amuses the hell out of me in my 10 years on the internet I've been through some fanbases but nothing like you guys. you people keep me coming back just to see what will happen the next day none of my other fixations never did that. thanks for that I guess?... I have a feeling I'll always be a fan of this blue cocky smartass no matter if it gets worse again or not. Lets just hope the worst is behind us and we can have a respectible series again.
Same here. I don't know either. I guess I've been hoping for his return glorious return deep down inside. And you know what? IT HAPPENED. It feels good knowing that I've kept up with Sonic (HUEHUEHUEHUE) and that I got paid off for it.
I've always loved and revered the classic era, and I'm always going to be a fan of that, and I've been a fan of the hacking/fangame community for a very long time who kept the spirit of those games alive. But the main series? I stopped being a fan around adventure time and never bought a single game until Generations. I never complained once when I knew the awful new lows the franchise was sinking to, because it just wasn't my franchise any more. However when they made Sonic 4, that made me very cunting well angry indeed! Yes, Modern Sonic was very good in Generations and Colours, but am I a fan of him? No, not yet anyway. We all have our favourite and least favourite James Bond or Batman, and while I might get the next Modern game if it's up to Colors/Generations standards I wouldn't call myself a fan, I don't like him enough to get invested in his world like I was with Classic.
I just love it. I love everything about the setup of the original games, from the characters to the lighthearted plot to the world they live in. I still play the Genesis titles all the freakin' time, and ROM hacks help keep that up. No other game has made such a lasting impression. I never get tired of playing them, no matter how many times I fly through Emerald Hill Zone. I grew up with Sonic, like a lot of us did. He was completely unrivaled awesome in my childhood, had some rockier times through my awkward teenage years, and now is finally establishing himself. It's not just nostalgia, either. Despite my Oldbie status, I'm not jaded or cynical in the slightest. Sonic 4 wasn't completely what I wanted, but it wasn't half as bad as some here made it out to be and I have high hopes for Episode 2. I really liked Sonic Unleashed, I loved Colors, and Generations? Honestly probably my favorite Sonic game EVER right now, though we'll have to see if it stands the test of time or dilapidates like the Adventures did.
I probably wouldn't be if this forum wasn't here. But I do play the classics still and enjoy them. I collect older video game carts and have them to play at my disposal. I really liked SEGA's hardware and collect them when I see them about. I have 6 Megadrives/Genesis consoles now, 4 SMS, 3 Dreamcast, 2 Saturn... etc etc.
My feeling are similar to jasonchrist's. I'm still a fan of the Sonic I played a child; I'm not a fan of what Sonic has become after Sonic Adventure. I don't even consider it the same franchise, though I still enjoy the occasional release (Sonic Rush Adventure, Sonic Colours). The reason I'm still active in the Sonic fan community is because I love the hacks and fangames, and I want to make my own.
Sonic 3D Blast broke it for me, to be honest. I never felt the same about the games. I actually never really liked SA1. SA2 was neat, but it wasn't 'Sonic' to me. Then everything to Shadow the Hedgehog was mostly 'Meh', with my only interest being any game that continued story from SA2. Shadow the Hedgehog was the death knell for SA2's story, but mildly amusing. I play the games to critique them and I am a fan of the old days, unwilling to give in to watered down offerings or be swayed by massive movements. I did not hate Sonic 4 to begin with, I gave it a fair chance and it showed me its true problems that way. Physics were nothing compared to its sparse, Sonic Advance/Rush/garbage levels. Currently I have hope for more good Sonic Team games, and the remote hope that Dimps is permanently fired and Sonic Team makes a proper 2D "Sonic 5" or something to right the disturbance in the force.
He just kinda stuck with me, and I have a lot of good memories, too. I grew up playing on Sega consoles, playing Sonic games. That, and I really don't particularly like the Mario games, so he's not one I would turn to (TLoZ is pretty awesome, though <3). I don't hate them or anything, but it's not something I'd choose over a Sonic game, given that a Sonic game is a choice. Either way, the fact that I grew up playing Sonic games gives me more of an incentive to stay with him on the roller coaster of good and bad games (which have been getting better gradually, IMO), I guess. I also don't really hate one half of the franchise or the other. I like the classic gameplay, but I also like the pre-Unleashed 3D gameplay, as well as I like the post-Unleashed 3D gameplay (ignoring the fact that some of the levels essentially play for you, but that's just bad level design. I'm talking moreso about gameplay mechanics).
Why am I still a Sonic fan? Good question. Well, I love the Genesis trilogy, Sonic CD, Sonic 3D Blast, the Advance games, Tails Adventure, and Sonic Generations. I also really enjoy a lot of the Game Gear/Master System games, Sonic R, the Adventure games, and really like Sonic Colors a lot but not enough to consider it a game I love. Some enhancements to the controls might've been able to swing me that far though. As you might have noticed, I didn't mention anything from the mid 2000's and for good reasons. Sonic Heroes caused my interest in the series to decline. I felt it was such a step down from the Adventure games that I wondered what the hell happened. Then we later got Shadow the Hedgehog which I thought was going to be terrible but I surprisingly ended up liking the game. It later occurred to me that one of the reasons why I enjoyed Shadow the Hedgehog as much as I did at the time is because my gaming tastes standards were declining because the second half of 2005 ended up being really shitty. I've never played Sonic '06 since I didn't own a PS3 around the time it came out, but the fact that game is supposed to be god awful did not help my view of the series. Sonic Unleashed was noticeable improvement but I got stuck with the Wii version at the time. I liked the game, but it could have been so much better if they scrapped the werehog and made some other changes. Fortunately, Sonic Colors corrected a fuckload of those issues and ended up being a really great game. I did try Sonic Rush on an emulator at some point in 2010 and thought the controls were so bad that it just ruined the whole game for me. Sonic 4: Episode 1 was fun but was just nowhere near as good as the Advance games or the Genesis games. Even if the physics were good for that game, I don't think it would have been that great. Certainly would've helped it a ton though. One thing that should be kept in mind about the series is that it offers certain types of games I just can't find anywhere else. While Sonic was going down hill in the mid 2000's, the 6th generation of gaming was a pretty good time for fans of 3D platformers. I was absolutely obsessed with the Ratchet & Clank series, the Jak & Daxter series was strong, the Sly Cooper series had three very unique platformers, Super Mario Sunshine was awesome, I loved Rayman 3, and there were other enjoyable games from that era too. Once the seven generation of gaming hit, the selection of 3D platformers wasn't that great. Sure, the R&C series continued, but most of the games released from that series this generation have been nowhere near as good as the original trilogy. Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2 kicked ass, but those were SD games and the lack of HD platformers taking advantage of impressive hardware was very disappointing. Game series like R&C, J&K, and Sly took great advantage of what could be done in a 6th generation console. Much of what was done in the Galaxy games seemed mostly possible on the GCN. Only 3D platformers this gaming generation that felt very 7th generation to me were the new R&C games and some of the Sonic games. Even then, I felt most of the level design from R&CF: ToD were very possible on a PS2. Another thing worth bringing up is the Sonic fandom. While I didn't post on any Sonic sites in the early 2000's, I used to go to a ton of Sonic fan sites and lurked on quite a bit of Sonic forums. Unfortunately, the forums I used to lurk a lot disappeared overtime so by the time I was posting on forums in late 2004, those sites were no more. It took me forever to find a Sonic forum I liked but I eventually discovered this site's forum community and just had to join it. I was also part of Nushift's forum for quite a while had a lot of Sonic fans but the site owner deleted the forum last year. His original intentions for the forum were never successful and I think he wanted to completely separate himself from the Sonic fandom. I also used to read sprite comics a ton in 2002 and '03, and play Sonic fangames a ton in 2003 and '04. So anyways, this why I've stuck with the franchise. Certainly helps when my favorite game is part of it.
First game in over a decade was Unleashed, so I guess I skipped most of the crud (though I went back and played quite a bit of it, good God hahaha) Most of the games have catchy music. I wouldn't call some of it objectively good, but it's memorable and most of it fit levels/characters/leitmotivically really well. Except S4EP1. Let's not even consider that part of the discussion.
I don't know. I could tell you how I left console gaming after the Saturn, leaving Sonic behind, only gaining an interest again around 2007 but I won't. Every Sonic game that I play, every Sonic game that is released, there is always that hope inside of me that it will capture that special feeling of the classics, it never does. So why am I still here? I enjoy being in the community and there's always that little bit of hope.
Hard to explain to be honest. I just love the francise and that there is Tails in Sonic games, even if you cannot play with him. I enjoy having new games of Sonic just to play something, as I love such style games (Colourful games with animals and fun) There is so little games what are similar to Sonic and Mario... I grew up with Sonic and then I just have stayed to love it .
