- Joined
- Nov 21, 2019
Haha, I think I'll try another playthrough of SA2 one of these days to see how it aged after all these years. On one hand, I agree with @Truck_1_0_1_ in that it's the best 3D Sonic game that I can remember playing (not saying much, and I've only played Generations and Heroes that followed SA2). I definitely liked it a lot at the time and did think it was much better than SA1 when it first came out. Even simple things like having a solid 60fps over 30fps gives it a much better presentation and made it more fun to play.
On the other hand, I agree with @Mittens2317 in that it still doesn't feel that great to play overall, and my main complaint with 3D Sonic games is that they almost play themselves, and when they don't, it's poor controls and poor cameras that do you in. There's not great momentum with the controls, and your main attack is to continuously press the jump button, which auto targets the nearest enemy. Or you continuously grind on a rail and just have to time when to jump or when to change rails, or you're auto-running straight as fast as possible and press the bumpers to shift left and right.
I always thought that the main misconception about Sonic that made the transition to 3D not work super well is that in the 2D games you're not just pressing right to run through the stage as quickly as possible on a single plane. There are a bunch of different paths to take, times where things slow down and you explore (and even go to the left! *gasp*!). Yeah, there are a few sequences where you hit a spring or one of those speed boosters to propel you forward super fast through a loop, but those last for about 5 seconds and are flavor bits to say "look how fast this fucking hedgehog can run". Those moments are kind of similar to the killer whale in SA1 or the truck in SA2. Other than that, the art style has so much more personality in the 2D games, from the colorfulness of the levels, to the designs of all the enemies.
I came across this video when watching some videos on Digital Foundry. There's a fan made project called "Sonic Utopia" that explores a 3D concept in a level that is wide open in all directions instead of linear. I think it looks cool and I think if 3D Sonic had some more parkour elements it could be really fun to move around in 3D space. Think of things like being able to slide, then backflip, wall jump, wall run and chaining all of those movements together without the game going on autopilot. Maybe these folks can become the 3D equivalent of the Sonic Mania team.
(Clip starts at 10:48 if the timestamp doesn't work)
On the other hand, I agree with @Mittens2317 in that it still doesn't feel that great to play overall, and my main complaint with 3D Sonic games is that they almost play themselves, and when they don't, it's poor controls and poor cameras that do you in. There's not great momentum with the controls, and your main attack is to continuously press the jump button, which auto targets the nearest enemy. Or you continuously grind on a rail and just have to time when to jump or when to change rails, or you're auto-running straight as fast as possible and press the bumpers to shift left and right.
I always thought that the main misconception about Sonic that made the transition to 3D not work super well is that in the 2D games you're not just pressing right to run through the stage as quickly as possible on a single plane. There are a bunch of different paths to take, times where things slow down and you explore (and even go to the left! *gasp*!). Yeah, there are a few sequences where you hit a spring or one of those speed boosters to propel you forward super fast through a loop, but those last for about 5 seconds and are flavor bits to say "look how fast this fucking hedgehog can run". Those moments are kind of similar to the killer whale in SA1 or the truck in SA2. Other than that, the art style has so much more personality in the 2D games, from the colorfulness of the levels, to the designs of all the enemies.
I came across this video when watching some videos on Digital Foundry. There's a fan made project called "Sonic Utopia" that explores a 3D concept in a level that is wide open in all directions instead of linear. I think it looks cool and I think if 3D Sonic had some more parkour elements it could be really fun to move around in 3D space. Think of things like being able to slide, then backflip, wall jump, wall run and chaining all of those movements together without the game going on autopilot. Maybe these folks can become the 3D equivalent of the Sonic Mania team.
(Clip starts at 10:48 if the timestamp doesn't work)