Cognition Dissemination: For Sonic the Hedgehog’s Polished Future

A number of Sonic the Hedgehog installments released in the last decade have given the franchise a poor reputation, perhaps worse than it deserves. For every good title released, chances are another one of questionable (or execrable, in Sonic the Hedgehog 2006’s case) quality will be right around the corner. Sadly, the reputation of those titles of lesser quality will go beyond those that turned out well.

For instance, just when it seemed as if that reputation was rebounding to the place where it should be recently, mainly thanks to Sonic Colors, the Wii U version of Sonic Boom came along and prevented that from happening. This makes discussing Sonic titles difficult, particularly among anyone with fondness for the 2D titles in the 90s — especially if they’ve also seen the creepier sides of the internet fandom.

Fortunately, Sega realizes the quality issue with Sonic, and has pledged to address it. Sega Networks Chief Operating Officer Chris Olson discussed the poor reception of recent games with Polygon, and promised that veteran fans can look forward to more quality titles in the future. He essentially echoed sentiments previously expressed by Sega Japan’s gaming CEO Haruki Satomi in a July issue of Famitsu magazine. There, he discussed how Sonic, and Sega as a whole, used to be associated with quality in the 90s. But that’s since fallen far, and some recent Sonic installments are pointed to as reasons why. Both individuals know that to fix the company’s overall reputation, they have to start with their mascot.

(Note that Satomi’s claim was mentioned on this blog before; it’s the same issue where he mentioned how they obtained tips for future gaming projects from Atlus. Don’t expect them to start handling Sonic games, though.)

Sega Networks is mainly responsible for the company’s mobile output, and Olson realizes new Sonic games have to be primarily aimed towards kids, not the dedicated gaming audience. It’s the audience they want to lure in through the apparently-good Sonic Boom show on Cartoon Network and merchandise available through toy aisles. While many of them play mobile titles these days, some still gravitate towards dedicated gaming systems. This explains why they’re releasing potentially addictive mobile titles like Sonic Dash and good ports of their classic titles, but also why sequel Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice (as in, a sequel to the good Sonic Boom game) from Sanzaru Games is coming to 3DS early next year.

As Nintendo’s titles have proven multiple times: Just because a title is aimed towards the younger audience doesn’t mean it can’t be enjoyable for everyone, and that’s hopefully their plan. I can’t imagine them not noticing how their 3D efforts have fared worse than the 2D installments, even though one (the aforementioned Sonic 2006) was developed internally. They also have to realize they can make games for lower budgets if they rely on 2D titles. This will also be a good idea if they want to attract the core gaming audience, those who enjoyed the 90s titles and want new experiences on par with those.

But even if they go through with that plan, there’s no guarantee their games will turn out well.

Chances are, when you think of a 2D title aimed towards both younger and older audiences, the Dimps-developed Sonic the Hedgehog 4 episodes are the first games to come to mind. To say they weren’t worthy follow-ups to the first three numbered games (& Knuckles) would be underselling their lack of quality. Dimps’ first mistake was making a 2D throwback title that utilized homing physics previously utilized in the newer 3D titles. While that worked for the Sonic Rush titles on DS, it’s not what anyone wanted from a game called “Sonic 4.” Combining new school mechanics with old school level design doesn’t work as well for 2D Sonic games as it does for new titles in other franchises. And that’s not getting into the plethora of physics-based glitches it released with.

But there’s hope, and that lies with the other internally-developed 2D titles. The non-Werehog sections of Sonic Unleashed and the classic levels in Sonic Generations both proved that Sega is perfectly capable of developing a good 2D Sonic game in this day and age, and the aforementioned Colors showed how they’re also capable of doing a good hybrid title. Anyone paying attention to the better Sonic games can believe Sega when they promise to boost the franchise’s reputation, but they’ll have to work to keep the good releases consistent, which is far easier said than done.

These days, Sonic Boom for Wii U is still on the minds of the gaming audience, but for the sake of anyone hoping for a good title, they should put their best foot forward with the next game. There’s likely another console game in development at the moment from Sonic Team, so don’t be surprised if something new is announced soon.