Post-modern Sonic: The End of the Modern Era?

when you have so many different ways to interact with one series it's hard to nail down one perfect game to satisfy the wide variety of fans every one of us has our own interpretation of the perfect Sonic game the sonic movie even though that's not a game has to be just that it needs to appeal to the 30 years worth of fandom while bringing in a whole new generation of Sonic warriors and somehow for the most part it succeeds it made me think about something I've wanted to talk about for a while something I think every Sonic fan will think of at some point when does the franchise need to shift when does it need to change to be the very best it can be or more selfishly what do I the Sonic fan want to see from the series that I've been missing when is it time to close the book on this era of Sonic and more specifically is it time to end modern sonic I've sat on this question for a while now I thought I knew what I wanted to say especially after we saw what Sonic was going to be after that first movie trailer but I knew I had to wait and now that the movie is out I'm really glad that I did when I first started writing the script months ago I was writing it from the perspective of a classic Sonic fan first and foremost I saw the love that mania had generated a renewed interest and praise for the classic gameplay style and a lot of charm in those animated shorts to me at the time the obvious step in Sonic's evolution was a step backward looking to the distinct style of Tyson Hess and how it reinvigorated this character across games and comics but then I saw a lot of frustration from the adventure and boost era fans people that were sick and tired of pandering to nostalgic old fans like myself then I took offense because what on earth were they talking about we had not had a game like mania in over two decades but taking a step back and looking at these last few years they had a point Sonic Generations generated so much love because it merged in a lot of elements from the entire history of the Hedgehog a lot of elements that we hadn't seen in a while but after that green hill or green hill themed levels were all over creation even mania as much as we love the old-school gameplay might have served us a little bit better if they'd just given us unique levels instead of relying on mostly what came before this has been something I've wanted from time to time because sonic forces us to think about it because well it feels like they keep trying to reinvent the character and it never seems to stick you want to know why siga always uses Green Hill Zone in every single game as of late when there is such a wide range of environments they could use or better yet just make something brand new it's because well Green Hill worked and because it's proven to work it's now safe and golly movie Sonics sure made a big stink about not wanting to leave green hills in the flick didn't he Green Hill is part of the iconography that made Sonic's so well-defined right out of the gate in the 90s the bold blue design of the hedgehog the rings the music the physics and the world around him all had to mesh together Yuji naka pointed out how much work Green Hill Zone got compared to the rest of the game and thanks to that level there's a large consensus out there that believes the best part of any Sonic game is the opening act and I know I've pointed out before but this set the stage for who Sonic is and when the two sequels of Sonic 2 and CD came out they built off that layout and then went off from there in Sonic 3 that's why the adventure games were willing to go so far in the other direction he had spent years thoroughly defining what Sonic is and now it was time to try something new and evolve the brand in a different way that made sense for a new generation ensure we had seen sprinkles of the days of yore here and there but the point is Sonic is out as best when all elements of a game are confidently defined I have gone on extensively about why classic sonic design works and in another video I will talk about why modern sonic design worked so well and his place in the franchise but the long and short of it is this the exaggerated and stylized elements that would make Sonic work in the world they wanted him and to help tell the story they wanted to tell a lot of us just considered mod saw it to be a different art style of the same design not a separate character and that's why it works you can very easily understand that this is Sonic and your average normal person would not be able to tell the difference but there is still an emphasis on the little changes to his look because well classic pot-bellied boy just does not work with the more serious narrative and shadow who is modern Sonic's rival works because his design is built off of the modern Sonic design sensibility not classics Adventure 2 works so well because it defines what Sonic was for the time but modern Sonic as we like to call it has been around since 1998 yes they have tweaked the look here and there from more discerning eye but I would argue that no game since Sonic Adventure 2 even come close to bringing in so many design elements that clearly define sonic for a new generation without deviating away from the core elements of what makes Sonic well Sonic and look I know that's how they kick things off with the franchise Sega marketed sonic differently in every region of the world I mean here in America we had two different cartoon series with radically different tones but when Sonic Adventure hit the scene and suddenly Sonic and his crew had voices and a narrative front and center Sonic's world got a bit smaller even the comics in Europe and the US which had evolved into their own narratives had a force in elements to fall more in line with what Sonic had become because this was modern Sonic the games came first and foremost they had to build out from there they wanted to clearly define franchise no matter where you found it and it was no more to find than when Sonic Adventure 2 came out I feel like a lot of people start bickering about the downfall of Sonic or the Dark Age of Sonic because after that point well the games begin to deviate into all kinds of directions borrowing elements from what came before without ever hitting the level of brilliance that resonated with so many fans and there is so much more to dive into with those specific games but we only have so much time point is a lot of these games just did not work for the franchise and left a bad taste in the mouths of gamers you see a lot of drastic shifts in Sonic games and they all feel a little more desperate than the last it's on until Sonic Colors that people start to talk a little more positively about mainline Sonic games and I know unleashes now seeing some positive pushback but it definitely got quite a bit of heat when it first launched with these two games we saw a new gameplay style with boost and from ilish to colors we saw a little more refined and then once they were confident in that design they slapped it next to the classic gameplay style in Sonic Generations to me that represented a level of confidence in Sonic design we had not seen for many many years yeah the boost formula is only around for three games but it felt like Sonic Team was telling us that this was the new modern Sonic this is how you defined what these games are and this could run right alongside classic games Sonic Generations worked so well for Sonic fans because it is a celebration of this legacy and at the same time shows us a confident outlook on the future of the franchise but the actual future of the franchise was well sonic lost world a lot of interesting ideas but a very confusing departure considering how well the world took two generations and once again leaning heavily in classic Sonic world design but little else and as a classic Sonic fan I had no problem with that but even I have to admit the more modern look of Sonic didn't quite gel with the old-school design it had not evolved alongside him in fact this world seemed far more cartoonish than Sonic games had ever been before in the new enemies of the game that sinister whatever they're called well there's some of the blandest designs I had ever seen for the series and come to think of it those wisps you know the ones introduced in Sonic Colors well they're back for some reason as well and those two are just stupid generic shapes all of these characters look like they were made for some stupid Nick jr. show and after that came sonic boom just what is going on here why is there a whole offshoot from the main series I mean it produce an okay enough cartoon but these designs what on earth is happening here knuckles is no longer the guardian of the Master Emerald but instead a brainless beefcake and strangely enough he's actually one of the better elements of this show that's not even the worst part of this whole thing and I look at the rest of the cast and I see pointless design elements bound up in athletic tape and scars because well they didn't know what else to do with Sonic I know they were originally gonna go with a more Western look to the thing but you do that you strip away the iconic elements of the hog you might as well be adapting the Hedgehog from Animal Crossing into a cartoon so instead they just added needless accessories this is the kind of crap I was doing in fifth grade when I was trying to redesign Sonic and even back then I stopped because well I realized I wasn't coming up with anything better than the original design not that any of this matters anymore because well sonic boom kind of flickered out after a busted Wii U game a couple of 3s games nobody talks about in a show that was canceled after two seasons well it was clear that this was ultimately a failure but back to the bane series they ended up doubling down on nostalgia 1 obviously in Sonic mania but also strangely in Sonic forces now we all know how well these games were received at least critically forces despite the negative feedback date received sold pretty well from what we can tell but the backlash still remains present there's a lot of excitement for the game leading up to it after all the Boost games had a solid track record up to that point and despite booms failure that seemed to be a return to form in multiple ways but sadly ended up being pretty weak in terms of gameplay and story despite the fun new ideas like the Avatar this really only served to show how weak song team had become in terms of telling a compelling narrative and not truly understanding the origins of the series with that classic sonic gameplay which was pretty thoroughly panned by everybody doesn't help that the game is City right next to Sonic mania a true return to form and want a hell of a call back to the glory days but after those games launched we all were left with is a pretty inoffensive racing game that really didn't try anything new and honestly strips away a lot of unique charm from the previous entries so with all that out of the way we get to the present the sonic movie and what a shock that turned out to be as of this riding the sonic movie has now become the highest-grossing opening box office for any movie based off of video game reaching over 100 million worldwide at least until that CG Mario movie comes out but let's enjoy this while this lasts even after the notorious initial design in the barebone marketing even with critics not being super hot on this thing people are still walking away from this more positive than not it really makes you think outside of this bubble of ours outside of what gaming no Sonic to be when put in front of a general audience well you might not resonate quite as well as he did in the 90s but he's been here the whole time and he still draws a crowd and not just the fans that were already here but a whole new generation as well when you consider how unfocused Sonic games have been and how well the movie has done you have to ask yourself is this the new direction of Sonic the Hedgehog the Sega leaned into the success and incorporated into their games now a large part of that's gonna depend on what Paramount's deal is with Sega and how stubborn Sega of Japan is about relying on the success of the movie so I guess we'll see on that front when I started the script I was assuming the state of the franchise was kind of a mess even if that new movie was a success what do kids really have to look forward to in terms of the games Sega will even allow their best game of the series onto current hardware but unless you have a steam account but taking a step back I see is someone to still list of games on display Sonic forces while being a critical disappointment is still a competent game and a sampler for what's on it can be elements of adventure and classic are mixed in with the Boost gameplay and even has that fun avatar creator could it be done better absolutely but for a first time kid there are certainly worse things to jump into and once you're done with that game you got the comic I mean I miss the Archie series and all those characters in that world but that series ended during its second reboot things were getting pretty messy near the end there the new IDW series grabbed the main writer from the archie book and play sonic in a world right after the events of sonic forces a perfect spot for kids to jump into once that game ended and for those who wanted a little more story a little more drama well this comic series provide that and pushes it even further is this current world as well-defined as Mobius does it have as rich of a history well no not yet anyway but it doesn't need that stuff again at least not yet seriously you guys need to read this book if you have not already and this is just from sonic forces sonic mania offers a wonderful selection of classic gameplay with a lot of fun nostalgic callbacks but at the same time acting as a Greatest Hits and putting its best foot forward to show newcomers why sonic matter to begin with and team sonic racing yeah not as good as the other two games of Quiana before but once again if this is your first Sonic racing game it gives you a nice variety of characters and shows you what makes this particular pillar of games stand out it's a great alternative to Mario Kart or Crash Team Racing and let's not forget movie Sonic has been implemented into what is easily the most successful of the current Sonic games once I tend to keep forgetting exist the mobile games it's a little embarrassing how caught up we can get in our own communities as much as we love consoles or pcs it's sometimes easy to overlook how huge the mobile market is I think a large part of that distaste is for the nickel and diming on every little bit of content and the core gameplay is always going to be pretty lackluster compared to what you can get done with a controller but at the same time Sonic dashing well look who's back sonic forces mobile are doing extremely well and for some kids this might be their only exposure to the blue hedgehog and while it's not my favorite way to play a Sonic game they are addictive as all get-out for mobile games they are very well designed you put Sonic into an endless runner perfect fit all the elements you need to make that work are already here and the same thing works for the movie the sonic movie redesign works because they took this and then added this you hire on a guy who already is in good standing with multiple elements of the company understands what makes this hog work and suddenly all the negativity from the first trailer just vanishes yes I know a redesign is not enough to make a movie good but a huge part of what makes Sonic appealing to begin with is his design and I know that's pretty surface all the stuff but it's a major factor all the same you got to have this dude in front of you for two hours you better look good so as the franchise stands right now at the beginning of 2020 we have these three streamlined video games that define Sonic game play in terms of classic modern and racing as well as some pretty solid mobile games and yeah let's hope sonic teams next game is a little less embarrassing it would be nice another show on the air maybe something along the lines of what Tyson's animating for them in those shorts but again those still exist online and they're easy to find the movie has no toys to speak of for kids to run out and grab and seriously if you think the redesign was a clever ruse to get more attention just look at the bear toy shows guys that alone should tell you how last-minute this whole thing was all in all despite some hefty hiccups Sonic's in a pretty good place right now and as long as Sega plays our cards right they can keep going upward but also let's not forget how quickly this can go badly because it certainly has done that before so should modern Sonic be shut down give way to the tubby classic design or the textured blue armed to I'd movie look yeah yeah all these things can live side by side in harmony kids aren't idiots they understand that there are multiple versions of the same thing good this know superheroes get away with it but I wouldn't do anything more than these three designs and I would definitely step up the game over at Sonic Team but that's a pretty bland way to end things isn't it not really challenging myself for asking more from this franchise if we just leave it at fun the way it is all right fine did not enjoy sonic forces but I did enjoy elements of the game so where would I go from here with this franchise well if modern Sonic remains the default version of the Hedgehog you needed to find what makes him stand out you need to give everyone a reason to pay attention to this version of Sonic what can he do that the other two versions can't if I had to take away anything from forces it showed me that there is still a lot of potential lying dormant both in the older elements eighties and the new ones they introduced I will still say shadows levels were the best out of the entire bunch and it was great to see him as a playable character again and I loved infinite's design his motivation was pathetic and his powers were aggravatingly vague but I like these moody emo boys quite a bit they're cliche but they serve as a great counter balance to the happy-go-lucky Hedgehog I would bring back both of these characters maybe even play up the rivalry between the two of them as for Sonic himself well I know canonically he's supposed to be fifteen regardless of the version you're looking at but I see this as the main line Sonic series I see this as the furthest down the time line in the Sonic games and while it's not stated when I do play modern Sonic especially with Rogers voice I feel like I'm playing a more seasoned Hedgehog he's not as brash not as arrogant but you know this guy's seen some stuff he's still confident and he's still playful but he clearly knows what he's doing this is and some little ways a more mature son that's something I think forces got right I know I complained about it in my review but thinking back on it there's subtle little things like Sonic holding back his friends or remaining cheerful despite the fact that the world's been taking over it again that needs to be a little bit better to find and they certainly could have done better by tails but my point is this sonic has seen everything we had seen thus far he has endured these 30 years regardless of where they actually land in a timeline for him personally and well I feel like the games should not have to rely on all the previous titles I do think fans would appreciate seeing some more familiarity between all these characters and yes a little more story it's in these games where you can really branch out with the Hedgehog as far as the gameplay goes for the boost formula well well I think it's great I don't enjoy the sudden shifts from the high speed action to the block-based 2d sections find it terribly jarring and I believe there's still more fun hiding in those open 3d environments I don't ever need to see the werehog again but if you tweak some gameplay elements I think he got something there what made Tails and Knuckles stand out in the classic Sonic games was their ability to explore in ways that Sonic could not why not reincorporate that into a 3d game why not bringing brawler like elements for knuckles as well as some more collectathon elements for the extended cast you can keep sonic speedy but make a big ol map that's fun to traverse if fan games like Sonic utopia or sonic robo blast 2 can make 3d Sonic games work why can't Sonic team there are so many elements here just take advantage of them and you know what I would seriously consider getting on more of the fanbase into these games sonic mania is a great game but when you look at what Sonic freedom has to offer good colleagues just look at this thing triple jazz was kind enough to reach out to me and send me a playable demo of the latest version of the game and I gotta say I'm incredibly impressed now I know there aren't a whole lot of enemies around the map but you got to keep in mind that this is a work in progress and this is coming from one guy there's still plenty more to come this is incredible just look how pretty this is there's even this new technique called the bullet - what's lets you shoot off in any direction midair and after watching the trailer I thought it would be a little bit jarring or complex but as soon as I got a controller my hand well I took to it immediately I loved all the little details in the animation in gameplay mechanics we're gonna have to do a deeper dive on this at some point I just wanted to show you guys what Sonic games are capable of being even from one or two guys this is crazy in terms of shoots to the main series if you're gonna deviate away from the main design you got to do something special something more than athletic tape in generic island settings if anyone from sega is watching this I implore you all of you to check out Sonic's skyline I need to do a deeper dive here as well but from what I can tell these designs originated from an artist on deviantART that goes by the name of draw love or Lala I can say - to that theme of episodes I can say Lala without giggling like an idiot get it together Nick this is an artist who clearly loves all aspects of Sonic and incorporates every element possible into this new sky themed version of the universe so why does this work for me and not sonic boom well I love klonoa so there's there's that but aesthetically like I said earlier boom looks like a haphazard attempt to force change on a design where a skyline feels inspired it reminds me a lot of Mega Man Battle Network designs I was always excited to see what Robot Master looked like in this version of the universe same goes for skyline and boy howdy they do not disappoint there is one strong theme backed by one artist design and I know some of you out there feel differently than I do about sonic boom but I'm sorry I do not feel like those designs are inspired whatsoever this is and when you look at the rest of the gallery you see a lot of talent and a lot of love for everything Sonic these big group pictures show a lot of care for the individual personalities and how they play off each other and the art I'm good God look at these designs the story from what I can tell is pretty interesting - humans live on the world below and Sonic and his furry buddies live in the sky Eggman has a more fatherly relationship with Sonic until he doesn't which gives a more personal touch to their rivalry and again there's a lot more to get into there we're gonna dedicate a whole video to this at some point I just really wanted to show you guys this incredible set of artwork this offshoot of Sonic gives us a wholly unique interpretation of a hedgehog and makes me eager to explore this world and it's version of these characters and these are just two fan made projects the Sonic series might not need a brand new universe but the possibilities are there if given to the right people and that's what this series needs that's all it ever needed care and quality you get people on these projects that love this franchise and have a talent to back up that passion and you're golden when I look at the modern song team I am seeing the weakest delivery out of everything else in this franchise and that's a shame because these are exceptionally talented people really once they hop off of Sonic games they produce some brilliant stuff and even within the series they've created plenty of solid Sonic games the series does not need a drastic redesign but it does need improvement when it comes to modern Sonic I like his design the only changes I'd make is maybe calm down on the size of his hands and feet of it spruce up that writing get a little more dynamic with those cutscenes and again just to have some quality control with that gameplay we are tired of wisps get rid of the stupid wisps this is you don't need a transform sonic or bring in stupid gimmicks you have a full cast right here utilize them show us why this version of Sonic works in ways classic can't a compelling narrative work that 3d space get creative with the boost formula or hire folks that clearly have some awesome ideas on how to make sonic move around in a 3d space for the classic stuff just just like Christian Whitehead in those crazy kids do whatever they want it's in good hands be it Sonic 5 or sonic mania 2 this is an easy win the bring in triple jazz or draw over LA I mean the 16-bit art style looks great but why not put that classic gameplay in with this sexy hand-drawn style if you're gonna shake it up a bit shake it up like this Sonic freedom shows that there's still a lot of creative ways to play around with the original formula and as for the movie well I hope they continue to listen to the fans I wanted more of Sonic's world but sonic PE Sonic and you'll have a winner of a sequel on your hands the only thing that needs to change about modern Sonic is the level of quality behind the products the fanbase is there the creativity is there and the world is paying attention Sonic's in a good place not a perfect place but a good place balls in your court Sonic Team 2 2 Sega executives

Channel: Game Apologist

Views: 368,079

Rating: 4.9125667 out of 5

Keywords: sonic the hedgehog, sonic movie, sonic, sonic the hedgehog movie, sonic boom, tyson hesse, classic sonic, modern sonic, post modern sonic, tails, knuckles, sonic freedom, sonic fan games, sonic robo blast 2, eggman, shadow, sonic adventure, sonic adventure 2, sega, jim carrey, robotnik, sonic 3D fan game, sonic 2020, game apologist, dreamcast, genesis, sonic movie design, sonic skyline, sonic utopia, classic vs modern sonic, boost vs adventure, sonic forces, sonic dash

Id: oQLoWsUU2mM

Length: 21min 41sec (1301 seconds)

Published: Sat Feb 22 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/BroTibs]

If we had to rename the modern era, what would we call it?