US Beats UK at Its Own Game
The organizers of the Summer of Sonic convention in London know what they’re doing, and many will agree both it and Sonic Boom, a new endeavor on the other side of the Atlantic, fared very well with fans. But we asked the question anyway in our latest @Issue poll, and out of 652 votes, a majority opinion awarded Sonic Boom as the best.
The margin was fairly decisive–59 percent to SOS’s 41 percent. But as many of our readers pointed out at the poll’s onset, there is a little bit of bias built in. For one, Sonic Boom accommodated close to 2,000 attendees, while SOS counted 1250 attendees. Sega helps out both shows, but Boom was a direct Sega product; SOS remains run independently, making it a proper convention by fans, for fans. And while SOS had Jun Senoue playing a set, Boom-goers were treated to that and the other half of Crush 40, Johnny Gioeli, as well as Alex from Cash Cash. The decider, however, could have been air conditioning. Boom had it, while SOS again had difficulty keeping attendees cool–a problem meant to be rectified this year after complaints about it last year.
A new poll is available to vote on now.
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New Poll: No.
@Dan
Saw that coming…
New Poll: Yes.
Meh, I’m not upset by the list at all, but I’m not really excited about it. As long as it plays good, I’m all for it.
New Poll: If it’s referring to the zones (which don’t represent the zones that will appear in the final product; but then again, November as of now is only 4 months away) revealed in the demo, no.
What the hell is the point of posting your answers to the new poll if you aren’t going to bother explaining your position?
I’m kinda mixed on the new poll, but all I can answer is a yes or no. I like the levels individually, but together they could have made it more varied.
Water level or stardust speedway would be great ^^ But there’s PLENTY other levels out there too. . .
Plus Sonic Boom was in the U.S.
Not saying which country was better… only saying that there are also Sonic fans here in the U.S. that can’t make it to S.O.S.
Plus, Sonic Boom threw a bunch of surprises at us that we didn’t expect to happen. Seriously, I thought of just going, hang out to play Generations and leave.
Nope, that wasn’t the case. I came in, hung out, played Generations, actually saw Aaron Webber live, Cash Cash, Crush 40, remixes of City Escape, Sonic Boom, and Super Sonic Racing. Met Yuji Naka, and the rest, got Senoue and Naka to sign my Sonic Boom shirt, read all the tweets people made (and the sad one from n00neimportant,… I dunno if I did his name right lol), got to be friends with the graffiti artist, and the list goes on and on….
It was amazing.
As for the new poll…. my answer is sadly no.
Not all the memorable stages were in it.
The stages chosen are nice and all, but I wanted a whole lot more. I don’t care if not one of my favorite stages was chosen, the list as it is is just way too small. How is 9 worlds (that’s what the ‘levels’ in recent sonic games feel like anyways) supposed to equal 20 years of history.
Also, I’m noticing a distinct lack of water levels.
My answer is yes. Those zones are most memorable stages of the series. People wanted more retro zones and CD stage but guys this game is meant to celebrate series as whole another classic zone would destroy the balance. Personally I only miss 2 zones from Dreamcast era *SPOILER* I miss compilation of ARK levels and EGG Fleet *END* but I think DLC can help there (I put spoiler if someone would hope those zones are in and hasnt spoiled the game).
Now bosses they are just AMAZING! I never thought all my favourites will make it in! I am Fully satisfited with every single boss of this game!
Thats my opinion but you cant satisfy everyone probably lots of fans wont like the list because there isnt Doomsday, only 3 retro zones etc.
Well, I personally love the stages themselves, so i’m fine with them. I’m more excited about -how- they’re going to be reimagined, since they could have… say, Modern’s Seaside Hill have the huge rolling stones completely destroy the level, and Classic’s level could have him exploring the underwater ruins from the remains of Modern’s exploits. And I can easily imagine Classic’s Crisis City having Marble or Lava Reef elements slid in, what with the fire theme and all.
Just my thoughts, anyway.
@Anonymouse:
Well said. . . . Grasshoppa. . . . .
New poll: I’m satisfied
So I answered Yes!
Maybe not most memorable stages but they're fine by me X3
I like Speed Highway and Seaside Hill <333 Those are great levels
And believe it or not, I haven't even played other levels confirmed in the level list ^^' But City Escape looks AWESOME! And Green Hill!
For the poll, no because I am a bit greedy. I was hoping there would be more than one zone per game. The list is good but I was expecting more levels.
^ I agree
i was hoping for 2 zones per game, and for sonic 3 and sonic and knuckles to be separate, i was looking forward to 8 classic zones, 6 dreamcast and 6 modern…
With all the surprises Sega has been throwing our way though, i still kind of live in hope that there are some more levels in there somewhere, or some good DLC coming our way
irony
Oh no! The balance must be preserved because all eras of Sonic were created equal!
Nevermind the fact that we just played two of these levels less than 3 years ago, and that those levels ALREADY contained 2D “classic” gameplay (sans spin dash),. Nevermind the fact that despite the 3 “eras” having equal zone coverage, there are only two types of gameplay, or the fact that one of the levels is from a game that gave most of us nightmares, Nevermind the fact that the classic levels are pretty much universally considered more creative and interesting (not to mention are MUCH more deserving of the re-imaginings which make up the entire POINT of this game’s core concept), regardless of how much of a modern fan you are.
Seems kind of silly to me to skip over CD, considering it’s a game about time travel. Seems like the story would have benefited a lot more (and been a lot more faithful to a celebration of history) from the return of the little planet than a brand new (and quite cheesy sounding) character like “time eater”.
Also, if Sky Sanctuary doesn’t include the extra bosses (whose names I notice are missing from the list), I will be sorely disappointed and even MORE baffled as to why they chose THAT to represent S3K… and Death Egg should be an entire zone, not just a boss. Shame.
At least we got a trailer out of Sonic Boom.
And for the new poll, I said no. Stardust Speedway please?
New Poll: Yes
Though the level aesthetics do matter to me, I’m more worried about level design. Besides, it’s not like they’re bad choices, just not my dream list.
New Poll: Yes
I mean come on people, you can’t expect EVERY SINGLE LEVEL, to be in the game. i do agree with ChaoticFox though. Seriously, why have rooftop run, and planet wisp in there? isnt it a tad redundant? couldnt that extra space had been used for something like, oh i dont know, Starlight Carnival?? And whats up with speed highway being in there, when IGN actually declared the whale chasing scene from emerald coast, to be one of the most epic moments in video gaming history?? We have enough city stages anyway, and emerald coast would have been a lot better to put in. Plus, in my opinion, speed highway was pretty forgettable.
Answer to poll: Yes.
Why?
I was disappointed at first, but I suddenly discovered something. I don’t care if there are too many city tropes, too many tropical tropes. I only care about its level design, and the gimmicks that each level possesses. And it’s pretty damned clear that each of these levels have the potential to be nothing short of amazing. City Escape was pretty damned awesome. And if that’s just the middle of the game, I can’t help but contain my joy of how AMAZING Crisis City will be. The design there will just be god-like.
I’m glad with this list. VERY glad.
@Penguin
Starlight Carnival? That’s just as redundant as Planet Wisp/Rooftop Run. I think you’re missing the point, lol.
Speed Highway was a pretty lame choice, but it’s obvious why they picked it. I just hope they have the “at dawn” section at the end with the MUCH better music.
New Poll: No
Why?
Make fun of me all you want, but I feel Sonic CD should have a level in there. Well, besides that, I do like the level list. ‘Nuff said.
New Poll: Yes, because at first I was a little dissappointed, but then I wrote up my dream list and it was extremely similar to the Generations list.
I think they chose some of those particular levels because that’s where Sonic met/ battled/ defeated a certain character. Ex:
Green Hill Zone- Eggman
Sky Sanctuary- Mecha Sonic (I know it’s not metal Sonic, but. . It’s a prototype)
Speed Highway- Shadow
City Escape- Chaos
Crisis City- Silver… etc. . . .
Well. . you also encounter the Death Egg in Sky Sanctuary. . So maybe that’s not where you fight Metal Sonic. . .
@ChaoticFox
oops, lol. i meant stardust speedway from CD.
New Poll:
No.
Let’s see, we HAVE
Green Hill Zone
Poison City Escape
Sky Sanctuary
City Escape at Night
City Escape
Shiny Bingo City Escape
Flaming City Escape
Euro City Escape
Planet Wisp.
So no, I’m not happy. Besides, no Sonic CD level? Is SEGA out of their MINDS? If they knew half a damn thing, they’d know that that game, above all, is a fan favorite.
Oh well. As long as fucking Metal Sonic is in it, I’ll tolerate it.
Wait, is it Seaside Hill or Bingo Highway? Because Seaside Hill is total bullshit.
Did you just refer to Chemical Plant as “poison city escape”? wtfh -__-”
Also, it’s Seaside Hill (ie. GHZ part 2). Weak.
@HyperMetal
Do you people just LOVE to come up with negative things just to hate the game?
@Stephan
It’s a legitimate gripe. I practically loathe the level list, but that doesn’t mean I hate the game. I’m sure it’ll be fun, despite the hugely disappointing level selection – a lot of us were just hoping for something more/better. And who can blame us? Sonic’s history is RICH with potential and greatness, and the level list as it stands now has hardly even scratched the surface of it.
@ChaotixFox
I can TOTALLY understand why fans are hating the level list, it’s just that it feels like they’re overexaggerating the negative about this and try to FIND things to add to the negative, like HyperMetal calling Chemical Plant “poison City Escape” or Andre exaggerating Modern Sonic’s design and calling him a “porcupine from Hell”. There was someone on here that thought the game was gonna suck after hearing that Crisis City being included in the game. You know what I mean?
New poll:yes, but it was too short. I would also like:
Marble zone
)
Metropolis zone
Lava reef zone
Angel island
Any CD level
Another CD level(lol
Sandopolis
Ice Cap (SA1)
Lost world
Emerald Coast
Metal Harbor
Riot Train
Egg Fleet
4th Dimension space
Kingdom Valley
Holoska
E.C.
Mazuri
Tropical Resort
Sweet Mountain
Astroid Coaster
I put down enough levels to eqaul 30 total. I would like to see AT LEAST 20 levels in the final game.
@Stephan
Hybrid may have taken it a bit too far with the Chemical Plant thing, but I can see why he did it – it fit with the rest of his comparisons, which, to be fair, are pretty damn accurate when you think about it… kind of a sad thought.
I’m sure there are people who are blowing things out of proportion, but like Andre and I have said many times in the past: focusing on the negative is much more constructive than ignoring it in favor of praising the positive. Not nearly as much can be gained from a bunch of Sonic nerds circle-jerking on the internet XD
@Sonick
More levels would be great, but seriously? You just asked for 2/3 of Sonic Colors, a game that just came out LAST YEAR :/
I don’t even want to point out how many practically identical levels are in your list.
Sonic Boom had all three of Sonic’s daddies appearing.
I think some levels could have been chosen over others.
) but still OK
Green-Hill=OK
Chemical Plant = OK
-Lack of SONIC-CD ( Stardust or wacky Work Bench)
-Lack of SONIC3- (Ice-Cap or Hydrocity)
Sky Sanctuary= OK, I would have chose Flying Battery (I <3 that level
Speed Highway = I actually have no problem with it, I could connect this stag/draw comparisons with Stardust Speedway
Seaside Hill= Decent, the level is a tribute to green hill- BUT- I could easily see this being the water Stage. Don't forget you're on a channel of Islands. I think Bingo highway could have been better.
Crisis City…………It's Sonic 06………Make it Buggy on purpose and make fun of the stage as much as possible Sega…. But I would have chose a level from shadow the Hedgehog before 06, hell even Riders before 06. So no Comment
Roof-Top Run, If there will be no Ice level in the game then I would have chose the Ice level from Unleashed, but you do explore allot of Spagonia, The Streets,the Sewers, the roof, it might be okay.
Planet Wisp= Okay, There's plenty to do in that stage, no complaints
-Now I heard that there are like 3. or 4 more Stages that are new.
One of witch being called "Genesis" I could see this as being a mix of a bunch of Classic Stages. Oh God I think made a Text wall XC
Wow. Seaside Hill. Generations’s reindition of Green Hill is Seaside Hill.
So…what’re we looking at for Seaside Hill? Just Green Hill Acts 3 and 4?
@BrandonTH
You fight Shadow first in Green Forest. You ENCOUNTER him first at the end of Radical Highway (SA2), not Speed Highway (SA1).
You fight Chaos in Station Square (SA1), not City Escape (SA2).
@HyperMetal
Hilarious.
I’m not satisfied with the list so far, but if they add a wider variety of zones, and if it plays well, then that’ll be the ultimate Sonic experience for me.
Oh, and GREEN EYES.
@Amuro
OH MAH GAAWD!!!! GREEEN EYES RUINED HIM FOREVAAAAAAAAAAAR!!!!!!!!!! XD
@Stephan: MUST… COMPLAIN… ABOUT SHIT NO ONE CARES ABOUT… ON DEVIANTART!!!!11!!!11!1
@Amuro
Shadow fangirls: MUST…HATE COLORS…BECAUSE…IT’S JUST SONIC!!!!!
But on the whole the Game seems too Short 9 Returning Stages with 5 acts each, and 3 or 4 Original stages
9×5= 45 that’s allot people………. even if Two of the Five acts will only a minute or two. plus add those 3 or 4 original acts you get over 50 Levels.
@ Skai Chan:
Right. Sorry. Reeeeallly tired. . -_-
@Stephan: They hate Colors because there’s no Shadow? That’s the best shit I’ve heard all day! XD
@Amuro
Yeah! My girlfriend hates Colors because she says it’s “too unrealistic” compared to Adventure 2, but since she’s a Shadow fan, I can’t help but think Shadow not being in it is the only reason why she doesn’t like it. AND SHE HASN’T PLAYED IT. XD