In the first part of the article sonic story, we left the hedgehog in the early 2000s. After a big bang in 1991, after a few years when the Sega mascot appeared to be in the fast lane even with the mustachioed Nintendo plumber, the fate of us and the Japanese company was in sight. to go worse. Despite success beyond the video game setting, as well as Sonic Adventure’s debut, tangible proof that it’s entirely possible to imagine 3D platformer gameplay, Sega and Sonic’s descent seemed to have begun, and there was no end in sight.
Sonic is coming to Nintendo
In the wake of the Dreamcast’s sad failure, Sega is announcing its intention to leave the home console space (with the exception of the mini versions, apparently quite definitively). That’s why the Japanese company assumes a simple developer and game publisher identity for third-party consoles. It is clear that the time will soon come when the mascot bites the bullet and begins to delight the players. other platforms, from Microsoft to Sony to – disrespect – Nintendo. And ironically, the first game developed by Dimps will be a console from the Kyoto company, which will host Sonic Advance. As the name suggests, it is a game developed specifically for the Game Boy Advance laptop and successfully combines the classic games of the 90s with more modern ideas.
The same software house is also responsible for the next two sequels, a platform trilogy that will also arrive on the next Nintendo console with good critical and general success: DS. Developed this time by Dimps and Sonic Team, Sonic Rush is the latest game in the Sonic series produced by original creator Yuji Naka before he left Sega. Again, the series shows that it’s okay to imagine the blue hedgehog in its natural environment: a two-dimensional scrolling platform game. But when it comes to carrying it into the third dimension, that’s when the stomachaches start.
Sonic returns in 3D… oh no
Meanwhile, in the 3D world, the next title in the series will be announced in 2003 as Sonic Heroes. Developed to be cross-platform from the start, it is the first game to reintroduce several classic elements of the series, including Chaotix and bonus levels. While the backlash to Heroes’ multiplayer wasn’t exactly bad back then, it’s hard to call it a game that is fondly remembered today. Sega continues to struggle Overcoming the atavistic problems of imagining a character born in two dimensions in a 3D platform game, especially on the three-dimensional play and movement side of the blue hedgehog and his friends. A short parenthesis, among other things: Born as a character fighting against an evil anti-animal scientist, Sonic seems to have almost crossed the fence in time. “Green” is, or seems to be, an aspect of the character that we have overlooked a bit.
As the character’s fifteenth anniversary approaches in 2006, Sega is gearing up for the mascot’s comeback in style. The celebrations will be entrusted to a completely new name, the hedgehog’s first game on the next-generation PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms. Sonic the Hedgehog, which from the title already means the return of the character to the origins. Originally developed by Naka, they later left the project and the title was hastily finished to take advantage of Christmas 2006.
Sonic 06, as it is known, is still referred to as: One of the worst games of the 3D era your hedgehog, or indeed your entire knee. Not only because of its questionable narrative options, but also because of the confusing gameplay that ranges from tedious ease to extreme difficulty in minutes, often for the completely wrong reasons. It’s no coincidence that Sonic 06 has become a classic choice for many Youtubers and Twitch streamers as a title to keep the public entertained between one curse and another. A tragic example of “too bad, good”? As long as we don’t play, maybe yes.
It remained at the heart of all the series where Sonic successfully courted a human princess, or even stole a kiss from her.
Another crisis on the horizon
The poor reboot experience seems to open the door to the tenth crisis for the blue character, estimating that a number of 3D titles are valid at best and absolutely mediocre at others. Among the eligible we can definitely rank Sonic and Secret Rings, which were released exclusively for the Nintendo Wii in 2007; this is fully playable, beyond some control options that could be rethought. Instead, we can dedicate a little forgotten place to Sonic and the Black Knight, the sequel released in 2009. But it’s a slightly different story for Sonic Chronicles, the role-playing game developed by BioWare exclusively for the Nintendo DS in 2008. : The Dark Brotherhood . Our hedgehog’s transition into the role-playing world takes place without major jolts, albeit with a not-so-interesting story and a combat system that needs at least a partial review.
Sonic Rush Adventure (by Dimps), which was also released on the Nintendo DS at the same time, is one of the most fondly remembered games, at least after 2001. Again in 2D. The Sega mascot – a bit like graphic adventures – doesn’t look very comfortable in the third dimension. The problem can be identified in the fact that, unlike Mario, Sonic is always connected with the need to imagine a game as fast as possible. A kind of deadly embrace that will lead to 3D games becoming less and less sensitive and experienced. confusing level design. Then, if we add the tendency to go overboard more and more with plot inferences that don’t interest anyone in the balance, the omelet is done. With Naka’s departure in 2008, at the turn of the new decade, Sega had to rethink the character, especially after the cold backlash to Sonic Unleashed, where ours suffered from lycanthropy.
Let’s start from scratch again
Sonic Team’s new leader, Takashi Iizuka (formerly Sega Technical Institute, who worked with Naka on Nights into Dreams) will join forces with Dimps to return the character to its origins in two dimensions. a real follow up He continued the series from where he left off in 1994. Sonic the Hedgehog 4, which was released in 2010 and split into two parts, doesn’t seem to have changed much, despite the goodwill and some perfectly correct portrayals of ideas. As you play, you get the impression that you are faced with a game that was born for mobile and only later adapted for gamepad gameplay. From then on, episodes that are definitely worth seeing will change like Sonic Generations (which, on the other hand, uses classic 2D gameplay in a sneaky way, albeit with some tweaks) compared to other really bad ones like Sonic. Boom series.
That said, the Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed racing title is a merit rating, but in short, should we really consider it a part of the series? In 2015, Iizuka herself had to accept this. the last titles in the series were unsatisfactory He explains his intention to continue for fans and Sega himself. The new course (how many courses do we have?) will be represented by two parallel titles. The first elegant 2D and old school developed by Headcannon, Sonic Mania. The other is headed to bring back the blue hedgehog in 3D, Sonic Forces. As we know, what sparked interest in the character in the audience was – how wrong are you? – only Mania, while Forces now received the usual lukewarm reception typical of the 3D series. Despite public interest in the Sonic Mania sequel, Headcannon’s leader Christian Whitehead’s next project is also the nostalgic compilation Sonic Origins, which isn’t exactly critically acclaimed, but for different reasons than usual this time around. The Sonic Team is busy trying to change direction again, and as we know, the latest gimmick was announcing an open world title that was sneakily influenced by Breath of the Wild: Sonic Frontiers, whose review we recently published.
Sonic booms on the big screen
What about other media? A few years after the small screen, another animated series produced in Japan in 2003 will be released, sonic xhowever, it only lasted a few years and was quickly canceled due to limited public approval. The diverse fate of the Sonic comics published by Archie Comics is, yes, greatly enriched by stories loosely connected to video games and parallel to those of the series. It will be such a success that Archie will also produce a series of spin-offs, including Sonic X and Sonic Boom, after which two title series were received with little success. Considering that Archie will run until 2016, our comics will likely survive well beyond the nineties. Next will be IDW publishing, with a comic book series that still continues today.
Meanwhile, increasing interest in the character is Sonic’s cinema. Yes, after Jerry Calà holding a hedgehog for the Mega Drive ad produced by Giochi Preziosi, in 2020 James Marsden will be his natural heir. Honestly, it’s impossible to talk about “ugly Sonic,” our first CG appearance, which will generate an endless array of critiques and ugly memes without talking about the movie. The character will be reimagined and, surprisingly, the film will positively surprise both critics and audiences, almost instantly earning a sequel in which Knuckles also appears. Will we see the third? Probably yes, at that point we’re hoping Big the Cat will probably be voiced by Chris Pratt as well. In 2022, more than three decades after the Mega Drive debut, it’s hard to predict what path Sonic will take in the future. Of course, it would be very easy to get this right by talking about other “courses and attractions”, redesigns and various second thoughts between 2D and 3D. Our fate will depend on the critical and public acceptance of Frontiers’ new open world idea, but poor hedgehog has seen more crises, reboots, and remakes than Italy in the past four decades! Left for dead many times, Sonic has somehow managed to survive thanks to the support of the parent company, and amongst his many ups and downs, he occupies a small place in the hearts of many. We can hope that he will continue to make us smile and amuse (but also… annoy) and pierce our hearts between nostalgia and the present, with his red shoes, his slightly sarcastic look, and his “ocio”. can be heard vaguely from afar.
Source: Multiplayer
