The Ultimate Hybrid Game

What elements would WE . Choose.





Sonic CD and Chaotix with playable Sonic, Tails and Knuckles as seen in 1, 2 and 3&K.

And possibly the other Chaotix characters as optional standalone choices in al the games.

 

- Sonic adventure engine, upgraded renderer
- one set of physics/gameplay (sonic)
- unlockable characters (gameplay clones)
- stages from sa1, sa2, & heroes (all modified to work best with sa1 gameplay)
- strictly time attack (with achievements)
- ghosts/staff ghosts
- lots of unlockables
- normal, hard, very hard

and that's it.

 

I like Sonic Adventure's intersecting-stories aspect, so I'd actually retain that. The only things about it that need changing are:

1. The gameplay styles attached to them should all be core gameplay with different characters and movesets, not alternative minigame bullshit.

2. Sonic's story should be the longest, and most important. As opposed to the only one in which none of the major plot twists happen. (*glares at '06*)

I would actually like to retain hub worlds, too, although I would borrow some of the elements from the Unleashed hub worlds to enrich the bland-as-hell hub style seen in Adventure. I would also enjoy having more open-world sections in the hubs to act as transitions between different areas, which would function as wide-open running/platforming areas complete with their own hazards, enemies, sidequests, and exploration depth—basically faux stages in and of themselves, except rather than get-from-A-to-B action stages they're more open-ended, sometimes with multiple destinations.

To balance out that sprawling nature, a submenu in the pause menu could be use to teleport to previously-visited locations at any time when you're in the hub world, so as to avert any backtracking tedium.

Additional characters I would advise for inclusion are mainly characters whose style can mesh with Sonic's high-speed platforming style, such as Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, Blaze, and the like. No deliberately slow gameplay styles like Big's or Silver's; that just craps on the pacing.

While we're on the subject of pacing, non of the characters interrupt the flow of any others' stories or stages; you pick Sonic, you play as Sonic from Zone 1 to staff roll.

Gameplay style... hm... well, I like Unleashed's Day Stages, but balancing it out with a greater emphasis on platforming and exploration a la the Genesis games (and removing those blasted QTEs) would make things oh-so-much more awesome. Not to mention making more levels in the daytime style that don't focus on BOOSTBOOSTBOOST :specialed: would make game length more manageable—there'd be less need for padding. If each zone were designed to have alternative routes, tricks, and secrets for different characters' movesets as in S3&K, it would also mean there would be more innate game-length built into each stage, making game length even less of a problem. But alternative missions in the same levels should be kept to a reasonably low level and design elements that serve only to impede the game's forward pacing should be avoided like the plague. (See: medal collecting, obligatory town missions, etc.)

I would also attempt to work the Zone/Act/Boss level structure into the Sonic Adventure style of stage progression so as to further emphasize the "Action Stages" and the bosses. I disagree with having the zones blend seamlessly with the hubs, frankly—I'd rather they act as independent levels, for simplicity's sake.

 

Sonic can roll up, but no spindash, like in Sonic 1. However, he does have the homing attack. It is fully voice acted, and you can tell what attack Robeggnikman is going to use based on what he says (uses the same voice clips from SA). The game as a whole is in 3D.

You can travel back and forth through time by winning Chao races, and in the past you fight Super Mecha Sonic to achieve a good future. Every boss battle is a separate act, after which you land on a capsule, that takes you to a special stage where you get a chaos emerald and a time stone. With all of them, you can become Hyper Time Sonic, who has all the powers of Hyper Sonic, but with Time in his name.

The special stages are about collecting blue spheres, but in a 2-dimensional rotating arena like in Sonic 1.

Only Sonic and Knuckles are playable, unless you lock on to Sonic 3. Then you get all the levels from Sonic 3 (in 3D) and this Sonic game, and all three playable characters, and Big.

 

Rivals came pretty close to what I've visioned when it comes to appearance. Engine and gameplay, not so much.


Basically, imagine a smooth Sonic 3K style engine in 3D, and with "Zone"-ish looking levels rather than realistic levels. The main cast would be akin to Sonic 2; Sonic, Tails and Eggman. Any others would be download-able content. The new 2D.5 (?) zones would have plenty of paralleling paths and ways to go, and turning would never be a problem (this bugs me a lot in SA) in levels. Loops would be common, and you'd be able to walk on top of them, get goodies, etc.


Short but to the point. :v:

 

Personally, I'd like to see fewer loops per zone, to be honest. Makes them more fun when you actually do encounter one.

 

Despite hating the modern series, I love the first Adventure dearly.

Even so, I'm not combining it with the classics.

My hybrid would be...



Engine: Sonic 3k
Art Style: Sonic CD
Sonic Sprite: My 1-3k combine-and-refine sprite, Sonic 2s or Hez's Sonic Classic sprite.
Title Screen style: Sonic CD
Menus and shit: Sonic CD
Monitors: Sonic 1
Monitor pictures: Sonic 3
Shields: Sonic 3
Lamp posts: Sonic CD
Spinners: Sonic CD
Title Card: Sonic CD
Special Stages: Sonic CD
Emerald Shape: Sonic 2
Music: Masato Nakamura and Jun Senoue
Title Screen Music: Sonic 2
Invincibility Theme: Sonic 2
Extra Life music: Sonic 1
End of act music: Sonic 1
Continue music: Sonic 3
Act 1 Boss music: Sonic 2
Act 2 Boss music: Sonic 3
Final Boss: S1 Final Zone
Egg Capsule: Sonic 1
HUD: Sonic 3
Life Icon: Sonic CD
Continue Icon: Sonic 2
Springs: Sonic CD
Robotniks Eggpod: Sonic 2
Evil Metallic Sonic: Metal Sonic


I know right? Fucking hell!

I would also make the game a big surprise as well. Fuck starting in a green zone and working your way up to space, fuck that right in the ass! I'd start the game in space, and end it in a temple in the middle of the jungle.

 

Hmm...

 

I was going to make that same post, but then I remembered Shark Week. =/

EDIT: ...And then I remembered Eggmanland.

 

*raises hands* I didn't know, I swear to God! I've ignored new Sonic games since Adventure 2.

Well, until this Sonic 4 stuff anyway.

 

I would have the game rendered Unleashed-style, with Sonic CD-styled music and the surrealistic style of the Sonic CD environments. The game would be in 2D ('cause that's where Sonic shines) and would have a level design akin to the classic Genesis games (meaning lots of branching/hidden paths). Special stages would be in third-person 3D. Sonic wouldn't have the homing attack, but he would have both the Insta-Shield and Super Peel-Out, along with the elemental shield dashes. Tails and Knuckles would function like they do in Advance 1. The protagonists would be fighting Badniks, and each of the Robotnik fights would be in a similar vein to the CD and Chaotix fights (huge machines with unique ways to defeat them), with maybe a few traditional S1-3K-style fights (by which I mean just hit the machine 8 times). There would also be minibosses, but they would be in the vein of the Game Gear games, in which the minibosses would be like super-powered Badniks. Starposts would produce bonus stages when players get 50 rings, but those stages would also be in 3D (kinda like Chaotix; also imagine Heroes' BINGO Highway but with just the pinball table).

Also, no complex storyline like Adventure and all the games after it; a simple story done S3K-style will help keep the action going.

 

All the great cartoony graphics, badniks, some of the best stages in the series, items representing those from the good days of Sonic in the Genesis, a 3D platformer in a 2D sidescrolling world. Well, we already have much of these things checked off in the Sonic the Hedgehog 4 list.

I do not want this strange mouth, though. :v:

 

2 words: Sonic Mars.

I mean the 32X bit from Chaotix would come in handy for the ammount of colors needed for the characters, the Sonic CD bit would be animated cutscenes and voice-acting, done in part by Sonic Paradox, and the Trilogy bit containing Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles behaving like in those games.

 

Perfect hybrid Sonic game?

They could improve the graphics to make it look like Sonic 2, but that'd be nitpicking.

 

I think a game play combination of sonic CD, and sonic 3 and knuckles would work nicely together, and possibly 3D area's?
Having multiple playable characters, like metal sonic and robotnick is an interesting idea, and it could work well if implemented correctly, If metal sonic was a playable character, I would want him to be more than just a sonic clone , F.Y.I. give a unique abilities, like a wall jump?
I think that the music should be a combination of sonic CD's music and sonic adventure 1 and 2's music.

Oh and have a stage were sonic and metal sonic go head to head! (That's always fun)

 

For a 3D game, I came up with an idea I think would satisfy a lot. Take Sonic Unleashed and replace the Werehog stages with Sonic Adventure 1/2-styled speed stages, only instead of playing through them as Sonic, you play through them as Tails, who now shares Sonic's abilities from the Adventure games (since homing attack is now X/Square, flying can be achieved by pressing the jump button in midair like normal). I always felt that Tails' gameplay in 3D never quite fit - in Sonic Adventure he only gets chase stages and they replaced his spindash with that stupid useless tail whip, and he couldn't homing attack or air dash which makes him feel slow and defenseless. This way you get two completely different gameplay styles that are both fun in one game, and they can appeal to two (slightly) different audiences at once. And you get to make Tails a more enjoyable character instead of just "along for the ride". I think I mentioned this in another thread, but I still think it would be really fun.

For a 2D game, I think Sonic 4/Megamix pretty much hit the nail on the head for the perfect "hybrid" game. I'd say a fusion of 3D and classic 2D would be even better, but now that we're getting Sonic 4 we don't really need classic gameplay in the main series because it's getting its own.

 

I think the ultimate hybrid game would basically take ALL of the games take all the good stuff, and throw out all the shit we don't want to see (This includes Sonci 06 and Shadow, they too had some positives....maybe)

Engine/Soundtrack etc.
This would mean, Sonic Unleashed/Sonic 06 hybrid soundtrack - perfect.
Sonic Unleashed quality graphics.
Shadow style rail-grinding that actually worked
S1-3&K Level art/style.
SA1/2/Heroes level design
Refined hybrid of Heroes, SA1/2 and Unleashed engine (Minus the boost)
S1-3&K style Bosses.

Story would be:
-Eggbotnik SUCCEEDS in stealling all the emeralds and the Master emerald

-Eggbotnik tries using the emeralds to warp the Super Emeralds in from their dimension.

-Super Emeralds warped in, all of the emeraldsa are scattered across the planet-

-Sonic's levels revolve around collecting Super Emeralds

-Knux's levels revolve around getting the Master Emerald back (Werehog style beat-em-up, I mean its an Echidna with spikes on his fists, speed up gameplay though)

-Shadow (Why not, characters don't make a game bad, especially in platformers) gameplay revolved around trying to get the normal Emeralds

-Each story has its own unique zones and final destination with their own final boss'

-True final boss after collecting All Super Emeralds, Chaos Emeralds and Master Emerald

-True final boss is when Robotnik uses the emeralds to power some gigantic mech of his to try and conqure the galaxy

-True Final bos fight takes place in orbit around SATURN, thats right, motherfucking Saturn (A nice tribute to the SEGA Saturn)


This is all in 3D to maximise Production Values and budget, so that the game isn't rushed and is polished to perfection.

In my dreams:
-This game would be made
-This game would be a Mario Galaxy Killer

 

I either want a game like a refined Sonic Adventure, with tons of exploring and moderate speed, or a solely daytime stage Sonic Unleashed, with tons of speed and moderate exploring.