The Missing Piece of the Sonic Formula

I want to let's go together I huh Sonic the Hedgehog has always been a series focused on spectacle the little blue guy is always running away from some ridiculous threat like an orca a big truck actual nothing an orca or a big truck we call these set pieces and playable or not good or bad they are a Hallmark of the Sonic franchise and often helped to solidify Sonic as an edgy Action Hero unlike something more gameplay driven like Super Mario but I ask you dear gamer what was the first Sonic set piece yep we're going back to Green Hill for the 7 millionth time what was the ogsp of the Sonic series the falling ledge the spinny tunnels well I I would argue it happens right here look at him go this moment was even recreated in the ESS 2 remake of this stage the first of so so so so many remakes this set piece is Iconic for a lot of reasons the imagery of Sonic flying into the sky is something we would see a lot in the media of the 9s Sonic CD's iconic intro later on in the cartoons specifically this amazing shot in the pilot of Sonic X and so so many times in my beloved Oba so often we fling this little boy into the skies for our Amusement this makes a lot of sense right Sonic run fast he runs so fast he leave ground this even ties back to the original lore of the character Yep this one where the mascot of a real life company is a fake mascot in a fake World plased on the side of a fighter jet that becomes real in the fake world when the dude flying theet jet dies or something yeah um Sonic's always been associated with planes really his plane not Tails plane it is not Tails plane why not just use my plane the tornado tell them you you [ __ ] tell him Sonic uh the tornado is yet another reminder of the blue sky that means so much to our Blue Blur and so I'd like to discuss something I recently discovered I hadn't touched Sonic Heroes in probably a decade it's a game I remember the release of fondly I liked it quite a bit but I never really felt the need to return to it the same way like the adventure or L Classic Game Heroes has a lot of annoying Bottomless Pits ones you will very often fall into however I found myself really enjoying the game in these moments you know the sense of scale the freedom it gave me to well uh [ __ ] up uh yeah I really enjoyed that and I discovered that for me the thing that takes a Sonic game from a b to an s rank is not how our little spiky man controls with boots on the ground but how he enters exists in and exits the air how does Sonic convert his speed on the ground into meaningful gameplay on the Y AIS let us begin as always at the beginning it's super common discourse on Sonic games to discuss the tiered Paths of the Sonic level design High equals fast but hard to maintain low equals slow and less skill this level design directly plays with the y- axis and it's a really commonly known thing at this point now launching into the sky and controlling Sonic is 99% of the fun it's not really about tight jumps in a game like Mario but building and releasing your speed into what is essentially a level up literally and figuratively now getting hit is even worse than just losing Rings you're losing that speed that you can use to get higher up into the level people often say that speed is the reward in Sonic games but what do you really do with that reward the way Sonic converts his speed into airtime is the main thing that ties the level design gameplay design and character design of Sonic into one complete blue package and go figure when they added new characters to the games did they give them ground combat did they give them new ways to gain speed on the ground nope not a zil they gave them air actions ways to interact with the existing systems in the SKU but that's just the Classic Game the one with momentum and physics we want momentum like this but uh do we actually need that it's fun it's cool it's chill I dig I like I love even but is that really what the games are missing I think I know what's going on here so if you will allow me a moment to speak of my beloved Sonic Adventure is a game with the godamn sky right on the box art I don't think it's too much of a stretch to say that Sonic controls very well in the air in this game in fact many will say he controls too well perhaps a bit Floy for the season gamer he has a move that literally drops him like a rock kind of weird on paper but in practice quite essential this is a game that allows you to fling yourself into the sky from a complete standstill a complete stop almost anywhere in any of the levels if you're playing a Sonic they're even designed around this they they clearly got it and the best part is that many times it feels just like the classics you are making this happen you are the reason this guy has to apply for ATC clearance you got lots of control over Sonic Emerald Coast look at this look at that he flings flings all over the place this level provides you a blank check that you may cash however you see fit to launch yourself into the skies you can skip complete sections you can use it in completely [ __ ] up unintended ways some intended some unintended this is this is just this is where it's at this is the fun and at the end of the day it's this control over the reward that you've earned that makes it fun yes it's a bit more participation trophy esque now than it was in the classic games but alas it's still just as fun to feel the breeze going through those blue spines and controlling yourself in the air look at this control controlling wait what why can't why why can't I move what what why can't I oi oi oi these dash panels they are everywhere I'm pretty sure almost every Sonic game since Adventure has at least some form of control locking on the springs and dash panels like this no matter how many air boosts trick Rings whatever we add to these Sonic games we are never ever ever getting back together with the freedom that we used to have in the skies now I can finally move into my true intentions with this video over the years since Adventure 1 every Sonic game has slowly and surely added more little baby [ __ ] bumpers onto the way you move around in the skies no longer do we control our destiny now we are stuck in what is basically an immovable cut scene every time we leave the ground okay that's a little dramatic but yeah a lot of the time we leave the ground and yes we have options we can boost off cliffs side and forces ooh how riveting look at the way the level design utilizes all this height I I say that but unironically I think this is probably the best part of forces not a good sign yuck yuck Sonic Frontiers is currently the latest Sonic game and I can't imagine a better place to remove those handcuffs and let my boy fly but alas spring spring spring Dash Dash Dash look at the gross look at that look at the gross gross gross predetermined path he takes here looks in unnatural looks like a bunch of [ __ ] doesn't even look fun this isn't even about momentum an entire piece of the Sonic formula is taken away when the platforming element of a platformer is removed as a matter of fact people were so hungry for these mechanics that the Sonic meme Squad made an official video discussing a borked strange mechanic of launching yourself off of grind rails it's actually a really fun mechanic in practice but it's clearly not something that the level design or game as a whole was designed around why can't Sonic react like what the you're you're telling me that he can and they still put these Auto boost launch [ __ ] all over the place the unique animation the air actions it's so beautiful it's it's Jank as [ __ ] it's broken it's a mess but it's but it's beautiful it's so beautiful this instantly launched Sonic Frontiers as one of my favorite Sonic games of all time the depth of movement is here especially with the patch to the Air drag which oh my God was so essential this is so so much fun it brings me right back to those games I was talking about before all the things I liked about them and then they they look at this and they go you know what this game needs and they drop the [ __ ] spin dash back in perfect the game is literally completely different with this move not a single challenge in the game once you've unlocked the spin dash is handled in the same way it's so creative and so fun but alas I hear you this is just a way to break and mangle the automated level design Sonic Team could never design levels around oh oh my this is the direction the Sonic franchise needs to go this [ __ ] is gorgeous final Horizon adds the verticality the tech the risk and reward how how beautiful yes it's paper clip together like a complete joke of a $60 AAA game but it demonstrates for the first time in almost 24 years the importance of air movement and the transition of speed on the ground into speed in the air that makes sonic so goddamn special and so I see bright blue skies ahead for this little blue boy to launch himself into I just hope Sonic Team learns the right lessons as they always always always do

Channel: Sr101

Views: 12,244

Keywords: sonic, sonic the hedgehog, sonic exe, sonic 3, sonic songs, sonic speed simulator, sonic and friends, sonic.exe phonk, sonic superstars, sonic frontiers, sonic the hedgehog 3, sonic exe song, sonic 3 trailer, sonic and amy, sonic and baldi, sonic and shadow, sonic and amy squad sonic speed simulator, sonic and tails, sonic and amy kiss, sonic and the black knight, sonic and the secret rings, sonic and the black knight ost, sonic and sega all stars racing

Id: Yv2yVClYkjU

Length: 10min 50sec (650 seconds)

Published: Sun Feb 25 2024