Colin's Room :)
  • Home
  • Raucous Endeavors
  • Gaming Blog
  • Stuff I've Made
  • Colin Show!
    • Episode 1
    • Episode 2
    • Episode 3
    • Episode 4
  • Bull-of-Tin Bulletin
  • Comics
  • Forums
  • Games

A Sonic Rant

5/16/2014

4 Comments

 
Okay.
Today, please, let me rant.
Until a little while ago, I had remained blissfully unaware of the changes that SEGA had made to Sonic the Hedgehog. 
Picture
I drew this picture of Sonic myself. Just look at it. I'm so proud I could weep.
Allow me to clarify.
I grew up with Sonic Unleashed. It was the first Sonic game I ever played. Well; first official Sonic game. I also played a bit of Ultimate Flash Sonic. I loved Unleashed from the first level. I was impressed by the storyline, and they really gave the game some depth. the cutscenes were CGI-grade awesome, and they somehow created an entire world. It was a truly epic game. Not only that, but the gameplay was phenomenal. With a flick of the wrist, you could boost, attack enemies, and the like.
Picture
And I don't see why everyone was hating on Sonic the Werehog's battle-based levels. I actually thought it was kinda fun.
I still remember the sheer excitement I felt when I finally battled the final boss!
Picture
Then, last year, I got Sonic Colors. And boy, what a shock. there was a 4-year gap between the games, and apparently, somewhere in those four years, they decided to change the voice actor for Sonic. This is more than a minor tweak. The voice actor for Unleashed, Jason Griffith, perfectly depicted Sonic's free-spiritedness and sense of adventure, making him sound older, yet still like a teenager. While I didn't realize it before then, Jason Griffith perfectly portrayed Sonic the Hedgehog. But the new guy... butchered it. He sounds like a 30-year-old trying to sound like a teenager. I just can't match that voice to the mouth emitting it. They have to bring back Griffith!
Picture
And now even the dialogue is worse. Sonic doesn't sound like himself anymore, and for whatever reason, the creators seem more intent on comedy than actual plot. They have so many cheap gags I'm starting to wonder if they even take themselves seriously anymore. They've trivialized and undignified Eggman so much that it's not even fun to beat him anymore. he's gone from evil genius to bumbling fool. For more on that, check this out: Tvtropes Sonic Colors fails. In Unleashed he was intent on summoning an ancient creature in order to establish a global empire. In Colors he steals one planet for its aliens, four others for no apparent reason, and makes a freaking amusement park out of it, calling it an evil plot. Not only is that silly, it's really kiddy, too, along with the rest of the game. 
Now, I don't deny that Sonic Colors definitely has some merit, and it did introduce the Color Powers, which are like powerups for Sonic. But while this might've been a fun game mechanic for just one game, it's become a dumb gimmick, and one of the things that's always seperated the Mario and Sonic series in Sonic's lack of powerups, making the gameplay more dependent on the player than on the level. And what's worse, in Colors, they totally eliminated the Spindash, a classic move that's been a vital part of the series since Sonic 2!
In effect, what SEGA, the video game company responsible for Sonic, did was redo Sonic the Hedgehog, making the plots less interesting and making Sonic much more silly. In my view, they kind of ruined him.
I apologize if I lapsed into gamer-speak at any point in this rant. Thank you for sitting through all of my seemingly endless yapping. If you disagree, whatever, It's my opinion. If you agree or support my view, then please, post the "Sonic Unleashed fan" picture on your major social networking site, with a subtitle about your thoughts about the old Sonic, the tag #BringBackSonic, and this link: http://www.colinsroom.net/raucous-endeavors/a-sonic-rant. You can also help by Tweeting, Facebook liking, or +1'ing this post, using their respective buttons on the blog. Or not. You know, if you want to... this is a rant, after all. The +1 button can be found at the top of this page. And if you share my Sonic drawing, just mention who made it. Colin out! ß:^)
4 Comments
Daniel
5/29/2014 12:47:49 pm

Hey Colin,

The changes mentioned here are just the tip of the iceberg, my friend. Have you heard about or looked into the Sonic Boom animated series and Wii U game? I recommend sitting down for this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2N8g9zz8yU

As for Sonic Colors, I found it to be as close to a return to form for Sonic as anything released in the last decade. The omission of the spindash was probably because it doesn't translate terribly well to 3D gameplay and never has. The color powers were a refreshing callback to some of the more powerup-centric gameplay of Sonic 3 & Knuckles, which I quite enjoyed as well. They were also used to great effect in the 3DS version of Sonic: Lost World, though the game itself was fairly hit-or-miss.

Sincerely,
Daniel

Reply
Colin O'Donnell
5/29/2014 02:47:14 pm

Hi Daniel,

Yes, I have heard about Sonic Boom, but I'm counting on it not being such a hit with players enough to overshadow the original series, especially as it is an alternate universe, not a rewrite. After all, its "purpose" was to make a more Western-targeted Sonic, but we westerners seem to like Sonic as he is!

Having played Sonic 3, I can see your point about its powerup gameplay. however, we can't forget the original powerup-- Super Sonic! And if they can't have the spindash, the acceleration of the Pink Spikes is a pretty workable alternative.

I have never played either version of Sonic Lost World, however, so I would not be in a good position to say much about that particular game.

Sincerely,
Colin

Reply
Colin O'Donnell
12/16/2014 02:29:31 pm

It looks like that entire "changes" things hasn't worked out too well for SEGA with Sonic Boom.

Reply
tony
3/25/2015 01:06:00 pm

I totally agree with you man. The only difference is that I've been a sonic fan my whole life so imagine how I feel about the terrible voice actor and all the stupid changes after Unleashed :(

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    Author

    Colin O'Donnell, an awesome, inventing, gaming Aspergers kid on his various exploits.

    Archives

    May 2017
    February 2017
    November 2016
    June 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.