TGS 08: New 2-D Sonic game might be coming to XBLA & PSN
Posted by George. Filed under George, Japan, Microsoft Xbox 360, Sonic, Sony PlayStation 3. Tagged with TGS 08.
Might, as in possibly not. But who knows, I’m sure Sega isn’t blind to the success of Mega Man 9 and Bionic Commando Rearm to ignore the possibilities of a new old school Sonic game or even a remake of the first three. This is what Akinori Nishiyama (producer of Sonic Unleashed) had to say to Kotaku:
“There’s always the possibility. Whether it would be viable remains to be seen, but having a new game - or even a remake of the GBA games, which we now can’t use [thanks to the DSi] - would certainly be possible.”
Remake of GBA games? That is not what I want at all. Try again….
“One of our ideas has been that on older consoles, you may have had only 16 colours. One thing we could do is make a game like Mega Man 9; do a new Sonic, but in an old style.”
Much better, I still don’t know why this has not been done. I mean there is so much fans out there asking for it, that they decided to do their own HD remake of Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
If we made one, would you buy it?
I would, would you?
[Source and Image Kotaku]
Comments on this article
There have been 17 responses to this article.
Sega needs to take a look at the older games remake them in high res HD spirtes…
But even more importantly they need to make Sonic the Hedgehog 4, in 2D with sprites and with the gameplay of old.. the fantastic level designs, platforming and momentum based gameplay…
I’m tired of the run forward to win gameplay of new sonic games that almost feels like it does it on its own.
Ryan
Posted October 13th, 2008 at 2:56 am.
Why does everyone think that going backwards in development is the only way to make good games?
Yes sonic doesn’t work well in 3D, why, cause his gameplay was designed around 2D, and with the constant stupidity of fans screaming “we want the old Sonic’s in 3D” is only going to make the games worse.
The same can be said for remakes of 2D games, Megaman 9 was great for all those nostalgic fans, but that’s it, as I believe it was quoted in Zero Punctuation, most of the features that died with previous generations died for a reason.
I would much rather see SEGA or Sonic Team put more resources into making a good 2D sonic which pushes the limitations of systems, and redesigns the gameplay up from the ground using the older titles as influence not a base. Warioland on the Wii did this very well, hampered by it’s short length and non HD graphics maybe.
Remakes of the old ones not only seem pointless, but unnecessary, unfortunately the fans seem to think they know better and my personal belief is that as long as Sonic Team keep listening to their fans, whom know bugger all about how games are made, the games will keep getting worse.
Want an example? How about all of the harping on about a Sonic only game, guess what that brought you… yep the Were-hog is your own doing.
Urtheart
Posted October 13th, 2008 at 6:21 am.
I’d buy it
SOUP
Posted October 13th, 2008 at 8:10 am.
do you wanna see something cool in 2dhd?..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcMrADQxk-4
is a fan sonic anyway.
max
Posted October 13th, 2008 at 8:18 am.
“Remake of GBA games? That is not what I want at all.”
I wouldn’t mind it, in fact I absolutely love the idea. One of the big things that hindered the Sonic Advances was the excessively limited visibility range. Even another 100px to the right would’ve made a world of a difference.
This is something I’m surprised a lot of studios aren’t trying. To make a game and force themselves to lower-quality restrictions (such as with Megaman 9) drops the budget immensely. The success of such games on what I can only imagine was a sub-50-grand budget has the highest profit-to-cost ratio of modern games. Hell, there are some XBOX Live Arcade and PSN network games that sell more copies than retail games given 50 times the budget per unit sold!
This is SEGA’s easiest and simplest way to please their flogging Sonic fanbase. Give us Sonic 2 with new levels, the 16-bit design and graphics, the YM2162 and wave/PCM sound effects, the tunnel bonus stage, and the classic story of Dr. Robotnik mechanizing animals and gunning for the chaos emeralds. But dear god…
…do NOT try and make Sonic X-Treme.
TRAViS
Posted October 13th, 2008 at 9:45 am.
Id buy it.
Bought MM9 afterall.
though, building a new oldschool game is not the cure for all ails, but it may keep the yipping dogs at bay >_> I personally am with Sonic all the way in 3D, waiting patiently for the day they figure out the perfect formula for Sonic in the new age. Hoping Unleashed is a MASSIVE step in the right direction.
Kyle
Posted October 13th, 2008 at 10:16 am.
*looks at the title*
Why not WiiWare?
udx
Posted October 13th, 2008 at 5:29 pm.
I want a sonic 4, with genesis era sprites and genesis era sonic look. Not this Hip Funky fun house green eyed sonic.
Or atleast that bioware sonic on both xbla and pstore, hell id even settle for sonic cd on there
farmer pancho
Posted October 13th, 2008 at 7:21 pm.
These comments speak for themselves.
Ask Sonic fans how to do it right and you are fucked.
Kogen
Posted October 13th, 2008 at 10:35 pm.
There fucked any way you swing it.
But I think going back replaying Sonic 1 2,3 and S&K then trying to replicated the level design, platforming, momentum look and feel but in HD or if they must, 2.5D that would be their best option.
Ryan
Posted October 14th, 2008 at 12:38 am.
Well yes, it is entirely obvious that is what they should do. I would rather they put someone who was heavily involved in those games to lead the project (not Iizuka, of course).
This new guy is clueless if he thinks we want GBA remakes over Genesis ones. So are these fans if they think we want Silver’s Grande Tour for a good Sonic game.
Personally, however, I think 2.5 is ugly as hell. I would enjoy high resolution sprites as well. No need in limiting themselves too much, they just need to keep it in the same style with graphics/music on a technical level.
Kogen
Posted October 14th, 2008 at 6:18 am.
Nail on head, Kogen. Remember what Sonic fans wanted? They wanted;
-Tails to be playable in SA2, no matter what ST would do with the rest of the game (Playable Rouge and Shadow, which meant twice as much non-Sonic bits and Tails being in a mech to even the gameplay out)
-Shadow to come back (his abrupt re-entry in Sonic Heroes)
-Shadow to have his own game (Shadow the Hedgehog)
-More serious story than Heroes (Sonic ‘06)
-Sonic 1 with spindash (Sonic Genesis)
Notice how none of the “great” games have had fan input? Notice how the games considered the “worst” did have fan input?
I’m sorry people, but I think now is a good time to say STFU. The developers seem to have a fair bit of an idea on these games than you do.
Pur
Posted October 14th, 2008 at 11:03 am.
I’d buy remade Genesis Sonic games (in HD or 2.5D), and a new 3D title done in the limited capacity of the Genesis. At least they are paying attention to what Capcom did with Mega Man 9. I bought the game to support the idea of going retro even though I never played a Mega Man game before. As long as the developers don’t listen to the fans as far as gameplay mechanics, but do realize the there are people who want a Genesis-style Sonic 4 and/or updated Genesis Sonic games, I think they would turn out very well. If Sega doesn’t make any kind of attempt at something like that, then they are pretty stupid.
eday_2010
Posted October 14th, 2008 at 12:41 pm.
i think sonic is geared to todays generation
of kids. i feel sega doesn”t have the creativity
anymore to do remakes because of too many
design team changes and loss of great talent
STI rip!!!!! I can say one thing im with all you guys who want sonic to be simple again but
i can tell you that it will backfire because people will say why hasn’t sonic evolved very much.
dredragoon
Posted October 14th, 2008 at 2:02 pm.
@Pur: I don’t recall asking for any of those things.
I think you’re talking about a separate subset of fans who really don’t understand game design and what makes a good game.
Also note that the last item of your list already existed in Sonic Jam - and it was awesome.
The very simple problem is that Sonic is - and has for a long time - been in the wrong hands.
And to those who keep insisting that Sonic can’t work in 3D, you understimate how inept these developers are. Every single issue the modern Sonic games have is also possible in 2D, and indeed, plagues the newer 2D games too. Including (but not limited to):
Glitchy physics.
Lack of physics (when was the last time you played a decent pinball level in a Sonic game?)
Poor level design.
Awful/unnecessary custcenes.
Bad/unsuitable music.
Generic artwork.
Unnecessary/uninteresting secondary characters.
Unbalanced speed over platforming.
Play Sonic Rivals after playing Sonic Adventure and tell me 2D = better. And even Sonic Rush, while fun, is desperately shallow and lacking in every department that made the originals so good.
The simple fact is that if you can’t make it work in 3D, that doesn’t mean it’ll work in 2D. I don’t trust the Sega of today to do justice to the originals in any capacity.
Resident nEvil
Posted October 14th, 2008 at 3:50 pm.
RE: You may not, but I was referring to the fandom, in general. If it was only a ‘few’ people demanding these things, they wouldn’t have been listened to, would they?
And, ironically, I also think Jam is overrated (Ooh, 3D world in between four ports omg amazing!111call911inanemergencykids111!)
However, and it’s a big however, I do agree with everything below that point. And people ask why I’m against such remakes and ideas such as Sonic 4. I can’t really trust them to keep the “magic” of the classics without putting in modern faults. It’s just too much of a gamble to take, for me.
Pur
Posted October 14th, 2008 at 3:58 pm.
@Pur: “If it was only a ‘few’ people demanding these things, they wouldn’t have been listened to, would they?”
Frankly, I don’t think Sega are listening to anyone. They seemed honestly suprised that someone would consider buying a 2D Sonic game, despite the vast majority claiming that it was all they wanted.
If Sega has one failing, it’s that they’re NOT listening to their fans. Yes, we all wanted a new NiGHTS game. We did NOT want a kid’s game on the Wii. We wanted a graphically stunning, high score/time attack focused title on XBLA or PSN. We were ignored. And the sales figures tell the rest of the story.
On a side note, I don’t see how you could consider Sonic Jam overrated, considering I’ve never heard anyone mention the game. Not once. Most people don’t even know it exists. Even when it came out, it was never presented as anything more than a well put-together collection of classic Sonic titles. Which it is.
It’s certainly not a great stand-alone game, if that’s what you’re getting at, but it was never meant to be. The 3D Museum is just that - a museum. And it’s certainly far more worthy a collection of Sonic games than Sonic Mega Collection or the Genesis Classic Collection, which, aside from lacking even the faintest hint of presentation, failed to include the spin-dash option for Sonic 1, the (much-needed) time attack mode for every level, music or movies.
Resident nEvil
Posted October 15th, 2008 at 6:26 am.