Modern Tails Spin-off?

Tails definitely deserves some love. I do think a more exploration or adventure-y style game would be great, especially given that he can fly. People have kind of hit on it, but I think we're forgetting that Tails is an inventor. I think a game with a crafting system would be unique to the series, and also fit the character. Plus it could fit into puzzles, if they do it well enough. That's the key here though -- it'd be really easy for it to become boring and fetch questy.

 

Oh god. I detest modern game crafting systems. I don't mind a game where you play as Tails and invent stuff, but it has to be something more creative and less annoying than "have you picked up the required number of sticks and rocks, okay here's your nuclear reactor"

 

What would be your thoughts on a Tears of the Kingdom-type system where Tails can build vehicles with the bits and pieces? Just curious.

 

I think trusting Sonic Team with a physics engine like that is playing with fire.

Nah but for real, it's not even in the same ballpark. My problem with crafting systems is the boring exchange of material type for object, effectively making it Currency But Worse, and the way it bloats inventory and rewards. Just give me the cool thing or don't, getting one material that might be able to make a cool thing with the right recipe 40 hours down the line isn't exciting, Elden Ring.

By contrast, a creative application of tools and objects to make jury-rigged puzzle solutions...well, Tears of the Kingdom wasn't my kind of game (it layered this thing I'm not especially interested in on top of a game that didn't fix anything I wanted from a Breath of the Wild sequel), but it's not at all a problem as a mechanic on its own.

 

I've been playing a shit load of Blue Prince lately which might be influencing my thoughts but I think a Tails game where you craft stuff out of other usable items instead of collecting materials would be much more interesting.

 

I mean, like, y'know... We do have rings, item boxes, breakable terrain, and a quadrillion robots we're constantly smashing ourselves into. This might sound crazy, but there might be a practical use-case scenario if we were able to use the materials a-la Death Stranding, for assistance to others and ourselves rather than tedious filler.
Let's observe some dumbed down Sonic game philosophy:

1. That fancy shit you gotta hunt for, or collect enough items within a level to achieve the ability to hit the minigame to do so anyways.
2. You have to collect things to live, and losing whatever you've collected puts you at a disadvantage.

We literally just have to play along! If crafting was considered a key mechanic in a future title, having it be as natural as simple thumb-movements and having them tied into whatever you're doing already is like the easiest thing ever imo. We just take what we're already smashing into, and give them reaaaal easy numbers.

The best crafting materials should be instantly applicable, sorta like Far Cry 5: Make what's needed super simple so you can observe and judge for utility and consequence at a moments notice. And with the natural pacing of Sonic titles being aggravatingly forward focused, I don't think it'd be too big of a problem.

Like, just imagine it: Need to get out of a tricky spot? Open up the selection wheel, and quickly whip up some warp rings to tele away at risk of depleted health. Getting too crowded but still need to fight? Make your own badniks on the fly. Massive lake you need to cross? Make an auto-bridge that crafts itself along one plane as you run, and with multiplayer functionality, leaves a road that can be used by others! Crossing an aerial space? Create those big SA2 rings that propel you forward!
Just remember to tie materials into your ability to live and you'll be as good as gold. Maybe rings are still your collectible life force you can lose, maybe badnik parts lessen how many rings you can lose / slow you down, but entices you to build a mini-army of badniks that you could recycle Kirby-style... It's not a totally fleshed out idea, but like, I don't think it could be that much of a hindrance? All one needs is red string, push pins and an open mind pfft.

And, as an extra bonus to Sonic Team, this manifests their need to place random props, platforms and rails literally anywhere as replacement for good level design into our hands LMAO /lh