“Remember when Sonic was awesome? Neither do we”
It appears that Sonic Unleashed may not have only left a bad taste for the whole franchise in just the mouths of the gaming press, but more mainstream outlets as well.
In Yahoo! Games‘s recent Five Game Franchises to Put to Rest, Sonic the Hedgehog sits atop the list. The blue blur joins Crash Bandicoot, DDR, the Need for Speed franchise, and adult favorite Leisure Suit Larry.
Here’s what Ben Silverman, who wrote the feature, said:
Remember when Sonic was awesome? Neither do we. We’re not sure what’s more puzzling — the fact that they keep making terrible Sonic games, or the fact that Sega keeps using the tired blue blur as its official mascot. Other than the recent role-playing game Sonic Chronicles, there hasn’t been a truly fun Sonic game in about a decade. That’s about nine years too long. Speed kills.
Do you agree or disagree? Do you at least think that Sonic deserves a bit of a break? Sound off in the comments below. Hats off to Piyoko14 for letting us know. If you have a news tip, let us know by clicking “News Tips” above.
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I can name five Sonic games from the past decade right off the bat that were “fun”;
Sonic Battle
Sonic Rush
Sonic Rush Adventure
Sonic Rivals
Sonic Advance 3
And Chronicles isn’t one of them.
the must make the games longer white a better story just like sonic adventure 1 and 2 and the bosses stronger and they can ad scourge mabey than it would be better too so SEGA needs some time to think of a better longer sonic adventure game thats wat i think BRING IT ON SEGA
why does everyone hate unleashed like its AIDS i have the ps3 version which even with the slow down is an awesome game. i find it hard to believe people hat god of war and sonic even when combined.
10 games in my head..
Sonic Adventure 1 and 2
sonic rush and rush adventure
sonic rival 1 and 2
sonic advance 1, 2, and 3
and sonic unleashed..
now i know the reason why i don’t go on yahoo, i always like google more.
i found that sonic chronicles wan fun & interesting
Geez, I just don’t get it. Apparently, Sonic Adventure was liek teh best game EVAH11!!1 from the 21st century, yet the same people that like it don’t have a problem complaining about recent Sonic games “not being able to play as Sonic ALL the time”. I mean, in SA, you played as Sonic like, what, 20 percent of the time? Yet in Unleashed, that number is brought up to around 98 percent (which was like the classic games, you played as Sonic except when playing as Tails) and people still hate it.
As for Yahoo!, I use it as my email account. I was going to do GMail, but I felt that Yahoo! had a better spam filter. Maybe I should switch over to gmail…
Dude how do these people want to hold onto the old Sonic its getting annoying
I disadree, the only reason why many thinks he sucks is beacuse they can’t take new stuff.
I think SEGA make the right decisions, not like Nintendo. The idiots on nintendo are afraid to try something new, beacuse they know that people might begin to hate Mario or something. And the only reason why they give one big game per console and then many sucky boring sport game is cus they have no new ideas so they save some ideas to the next console. But what happens when all the ideas is used? The only who says that the new games is bad is the fans who want the same thing whole the time! We need new stuff, without new everything would be booooring! Think again idiots and try to like the werehog! In fact! It’s nothing wrong with him, only that everyone wants the same old! They can’t give it a chans.(The last word, I don’t even know if it was a english word^^;)
But the most important thing is that the real Sonic fans like the games.
Sorry forgot this:
http://bigal2k6.deviantart.com/art/Unleashed-and-The-Black-Knight-103251312
And if they make something new everyone hates is! WHY!? Beacuse it’s SONIC! If ite were Mario who transformed into a werewolf everyone would probably love it!
Crash? Why is he on there? He’s getting gradually better and they know it. That’s why they linked to Crash Purple, a game from 5 years ago. And that wasn’t even all that bad. TRY AGAIN, YAHOO.
…Oh, Sonic. He also shouldn’t be on that list. Wait 2 more years, and then maybe he’ll need to be on there.
I mean Mario has the same story all the time save friggin Peach. Its getting old
i LOVE sonic and the black klight how it is nouw i wonder what it would be in te end
The only time the word “need” should ever be used is if it is followed by “water” or such like.
Honestly I am sick and tired of hearing people talk this type of shit about ANYTHING let alone sonic.
With the amount of venom and bile being spewed around you’d be forgiven for thinking sonic was responible for 9/11. But no, it seems sega’s only crime was releasing an actualy half decent 3D sonic game, which is in itself amazing.
I was actualy expecting unleashed to be dissapointing, but just playing the demo showed me otherwise. sure there’s some stupid things in the mix, but so many games that gain masses of praise have the same crap.
trail and error deathtraps? megaman 1,2,3,ect. needing stuff to get to the next level? mario 64, banjo-kazooie. and so on and so forth. why is it that some games are accepted and others aren’t?
What’s funny is that three of the franchises they named had good games in the last two years. Sonic had Chronicles and Unleashed(to many), Mind over Mutant was decent for Crash, and Need for Speed is consistently quality(just played out).
And dissing Leisure Suit Larry is pointless, how often does that series GET games? It pretty much is dead already. I agree with DDR, though. 1 out of 5 ain’t bad.
Oh, and
“We’re not sure what’s more puzzling — the fact that they keep making terrible Sonic games, or the fact that Sega keeps using the tired blue blur as its official mascot. ”
1.Sonic sells
2. Sonic sells
3.Oh yeah, and people love him. Look at the applause at his appearances in Brawl, or the fan fervor everytime a new Sonic comes out? Look how big the fangame market is. Sonic fans have the best fangame/hack community , hands DOWN.
The mainstream press needs to stop articles like these. We’ve all heard it before and we all know that Sonic still sells, despite reviews.
At the same time, I could do without 5 Sonic games a year. 1 is enough for me.
I have to wonder why people keep saying that Sonic games are terrible.
The only pretty much terrible games were Sonic 06 and, according to critics, Shadow the Hedgehog (which was commercially succesful).
I find it funny how they can say this, but then continuously use a picture of him on the “Best Games of ’08″ logo/title.
WHAT IS WRONG WITH UNLEASHED!??? The 360 version destroys SA1 and 2! The graphics are SO AMAZING!!! And the speed is INCREDIBLE! Sonic will never die! The blue legend will never die!
…I don’t know what’s worse. Yahoo’s compaints, or the annoying fanboys everywhere going crazy. Just ignore it, and shake it off.
Sonic Rules!! He will never die!! sorry to much sugar.
Sonic…DIE???
ahahaha Please!
this is a fucking joke
Sonic is the best “icon” character of any game
;D
Osnic has a point. If it were another game, they’d love the idea.
Look at Zelda: Twilight Princess. When Link turned into a werewolf, did people freak out and hate it? NO! B/c it was Zelda! And if it’s a Zelda game, it has to be “perfect”. Nobody complained that playing werewolf Link was different from the other Zelda games and they gave it just about a perfect score in every review. Let Sonic turn into a werehog, and then they want to complain about it “not being the same. It’s not Sonic!” Please. And what really gets me is how some of the reviewers were like, “Let’s not mention, the fact that you have to walk around the boring hub worlds and talk to people who have nothing interesting to say”. Uhh…Yeah. Like other games don’t do the same thing. Most games where you walk aroung have other characters that you talk to that sometimes have nothing to say, too. What hypocrites.
Remind me why we’re caring what Yahoo thinks about all this? >__>;;
Yeah, and I’d rather have one good Sonic game a year than five of varying quality as well.
I think the main reason they say this, is, sega overuses him a little! And his games now are more focused on Speed than good platforming, the Platforming that Unleashed provided was nearly a joke, and most parts were automatic aswell!
The Speed is awesome, but the platforming wasn´t statisfying! Secret Rings for example had way more interaction with Sonic than Unleashed did, in Secret rings you had to jump here and there and jump over this and that, jump on that platform to get over the river … and all Unleashed had, was press XYA to get over or jump one time and then just boost through enemys (wich are no challenge most of the time)!
And like I said most platforming parts are automatic, boostpads and bumpers that need (most of the time) just reaction but no skill! What Sega needs to do is make less gimicks like Werehog and that crap, they should focus on balancing Platforming and Speed, Sonic had its best Platforming in 2D, why not make 3D view for fast and awesome and 2D for great platforming, but what I saw in Unleashed was just not enough! More Platforming Sega, thats the major part of a Sonic Game, challenging Platforming and a little speed, that was the concept of 2D Sonic and some of Sonic Adventures stages aswell (Red Mountain for example)!
If Sega can pull that of and create a mix between both, then I can die in peace!
So technically you’re agreeing with what reviewers are saying. 3 words: THATS FREAKING BORING
BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
*akhem* Yeah, I agree with Slingerland, this is pretty old territory. “BOY THAT SAWNIK SHUR DOES SUCK HUR HUR” :/ Saying Sonic sucks is like making George Bush jokes and thinking they’re still funny… Sorry Mr. Stewart, but you’re in deep shit when Obama steps in office..
Anyway, it doesn’t make you one of the cool kids anymore, it’s tired, and worn out.
Let it go.
(Also I’m surprised Madden wasn’t on that list. o_O)
I just think…pick topics that aren’t played out. Oddly, Sonic being on there isn’t the worst pick. That would be Leisure Suit Larry. It’s a boring pick. Have some balls, guys. Pick something that everyone loves…like Wii(insert name).
@Keydown:
Technically, yes, but I gave this game a 7 in my YouTube Video review, in fact, I like it, but for someone like me who loves the Platforming aspect in the 2D games, this game just wasn´t the best! But Secret Rings PROVED that it CAN be done, Sonic CAN have awesome platforming and Speed at the same time in a Stage!
Secret Rings was on rails and you constantly moved forward, yes, but it had the classic Sonic feel because it had this great Platforming sections, and thats what unleashed lacks, plus it had the werehog, and I like the werehog aswell, but not in a Sonic game, I think we had enough of those gimmicks in the last games, it just gets lame after a while!
Sega´s teams have proven that they CAN do a great PLATFORMER, but in unleashed they somehow just didn´t get that right, it was to much focus on Speed, but now that they have some experience with the Speed thingy, they can incorporate more platforming to even statisfy the fans that love the platforming the most in a Sonic title!
I really hope Sega gets that in their heads that Sonic is not just Speed!
(But what they also should do is make REAL Pathways next time, Unleashed had just shortcuts)
Good God, I came here late. Following Okami-san’s footsteps, I too can name several Sonic games that were fun in the past 10 years.
1. Sonic Heroes
2. Sonic Rush Adventure
3. Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity
4. Sonic Advance
5. Sonic Unleashed
Take that Yahoo.
Well you already know that Sonic Team is not doing a game without a gimmick
Remember when Yahoo! was awesome or at least relevant or useful? Neither do I. Never used it, never needed it.
Poor saps, not even Microsoft wants them anymore.
@Keydown:
Yep, I do … I guess some things never change! ^^´
But if they really wanna add a gimmick, that one shouldn´t take the entire half of the game! -.-´ Maybe they could do it like in the Storybook Series, make some (not too hard) missions you need to do in order to get to the next level or something similar.
But all in all Unleashed was a good game, not perfect but still a good try!
Yeah its actually the closest Sonic game ever
More like “Remember when Sonic was all the rage?”
They’re basically saying SA1 was the last good Sonic game, when really, it’s the game that lead Sonic into being a mixed platformer type of game instead of a Sonic type of platformer. And that’s the kind of stuff Sonic is today. (unfortunately). Heck, we’ve had Sonic games that surpassed SA1. And the Sonic Advance/Rush games were far more awesome than Sonic Chronicles could ever hope to be. Heck, SCDB wasn’t even impressive by handheld standards. I’m willing to bet the person who wrote this is probably a rabid RPG fan who hasn’t touched a Sonic game since SA1.
omg if sonic dies im going to die the following games are the most fun sonic games:
sonic adventure dx and sonic adventure battle 2
sonic rush and sonic rush adventure
sonic heroes(you need to get used to it thats all)
sonic riders 1 and 2
sonic rivals 1 and 2
sonic r
sonic the fighters
and so on…
so dont kill sonic!
Crash Bandicoot 1 and 2 for PS1 were like my FAVORITE GAMEz when i wuz a kid but they KILLED HIM with clash of the titans & all those stupid games lol
DDR is fun if yur not a LAZY CRAP wont give it a try or practice lol
Need 4 Speed < Mario Kart XD
Leisure Suit Larry = (Makes Raspberry noise)
Sonic…………..is…………………….the……………BEST.
WHAT ARE THEY TALKING ABOUT?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SONIC IS THE BEST THING THATS EVER HAPPEND IN MY LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@ Jacob
This is a classic example of a stereotypical fanboy right here above me.
Yawn, another one of those “top X that needs to die” articles that no one here should bother waste their time on.
Ugh… more Sonic hatred… I don’t know why people hold a friggin’ grudge against the blue hedgehog…
wth? But unleashed was fantastic! I think it’s a…. fashion…. for critics to hate our little blue mate.
Most reviewers didn’t find Unleashed to be fantastic. I found it was fun though, but I’m not a reviewer.
Anyways, I think what needs to die is Yahoo! Games. Not just because they said Sonic needs to die, but because it’s such a shitty game information outlet. it’s just useless.
Although, like Slingerland said, I could sure go without seeing 3 Sonic games a year. Fuck I could go without seeing 1 Sonic game for 3 years. As long as it’s good
You know, Sonic Unleahsed would have been amazing if Sega hadn’t thrown new characters and a plot twist into it. Everytime they start on the right path, they ruin it with a new character or plot to screw up the game. I think if unleashed would have stayed the way it was meant to be, All Sonic, no Werehog, and definatly no Chip, then it would have been a great game to pull the series out of the grave it’s digging deeper each year. I have very much lost all faith in Sega, and I think it’s time for Sega to move on, let Sonic finally die.
On a further note, Nobody wants to see a sequel to Sonic and Mario. The game wasn’t amazing, it didn’t woo me the first time, there’s no need for a sequel. I’d rather play a 4th Raving Rabbids before I play this game. Sega should make one last decent, playable Sonic game,(if that’s even possible) and move on. The last good Sonic game that I played was Sonic Adventure 2, maybe they need to go back and look at thier old games again, instead of trying to make the game for children. Why is Mario successful? Nintendo can reach all audiences to let people have a good time. Why can’t Sega do that to Sonic? I bet if Nintendo made a Sonic game, it would be the best we’ve seen in years. To me, Sonic died long ago, back after the days of Genesis.