My introduction to video games came from my mother. Our first game system that I can remember was the SEGA GENESIS and the games I loved the most were anything that had SONIC THE HEDGEHOG on it. My earliest memory serve me with feelings of excitement, thrill, and joy. The first few SONIC’s were basic side scrolling games but it was that simplicity that made it fun. And with the addition of bonus stages it made the game that much more compelling to complete.
My next encounter with the great SONIC franchise would be on SEGA’s last console, the DREAMCAST. With the introduction of SONIC ADVENTURE. This franchise is what brought the series to its peak and combined the simplicity of the old series with expanded features that should’ve been kept in future installments.
Now it’s time to get to the nitty gritty, this is why SEGA can’t get SONIC right. SONIC ADVENTURE brought something new to the series actually it brought multiple things which includes; open-world gameplay, character upgrades,large playable cast, and mini games. SONIC ADVENTURE had a key element most people could not appreciate and that is character depth. It showed TAILS forging his own path to get out of SONIC’s shadow, KNUCKLES coming to terms with his life’s purpose, and even AMY learns how to become independent and not a Damsel in distress.
In the most recent installments of SONIC it seems that it had just been diluted to a children’s series and its legacy is only used to sell merchandise. The only redeeming thing about SONIC in the recent years has been his addition to the SUPER SMASH BROS. franchise and arguably “SONIC HEROES”. SONIC turning into a werewolf, KNUCKLES turning into The Terminator, and even having the characters subjected to hover boards showed a disrespect to the legacy which is SONIC.
If SEGA hopes to redeem SONIC and not just thrive off its nostalgia then the main focus shouldn’t be how much money can be made ( hard concept for publicly held corporations ) but how can they get the gamers to care about its characters and what would immense the players deeper into the world of SONIC. My eyes may never see SONIC returned to its former glory so I’ll just apply the JAY Z logic of “Niggas want my old shit buy my old albums”. *Turns on SONIC ADVENTURE*
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