Hot takes

[Xdqwerty]

Sonic 3D blast on the saturn has one of the best sonic OSTs of all time and no one ever talks about it, take a listen.

I prefer the genesis version of rusty ruins but I agree

 

[Tonberry]

Strength >>>>> Dexterity

 

[Xdqwerty]

People only dislike Sonic CD's US soundtrack due to the boss theme

 

[Jeanfranc]

Strength >>>>> Dexterity
View attachment 21209

THE LEGEND NEVER DIES
(don't anyone you leveled dex though)

 

[Tonberry]

People only dislike Sonic CD's US soundtrack due to the boss theme

I've always preferred the US soundtrack, personally, but they're both good in their own way. :)

 

[Lee__Kanker]

Me neither but it depends on the game really.

Sonic fans are legit annoying to be honest, one day they praise a game the other they hate it.

Even Mania has now reached the "acthyally it's not a good game".

No way ppl have problems with mania, it's like the perfect sonic game ffs

Post automatically merged: Feb 4, 2025

I'm a modern Sonic fan, I grew up with the Adventure Era stuff and Unleashed. I love all of those games, and the original Genesis games as well. This idea of the first three being good and that's it is such crap. It's like the Crash Bandicoot fanbase, they ask and ask for new shit and when the company tries something new to keep the series feeling fresh it's "trash, the first three are untouched." Like come on, just give it a shot, I promise it's good. Unleashed is best Sonic hands down.

Post automatically merged: Feb 2, 2025

Sonic 06 would have been good if the team had the time for better level design and just never made Elise. Elise is like the one Sonic character that just never fit.

Idk about crash, Ive waited 20 years for a follow up to twinsanity lol

 

[Ikagura]

The Sonic 3D in 2D fangame sucks

Honestly I played it thinking it could be good but honestly removing what made Sonic 3D 3D (well, isometric 3D but still 3D nonetheless in gameplay) is pointless.

If someone actually cared to make a fully 3D remake of Flickies' Island (with a better Flicky hunt or even removing that mechanic altogether to focus on speed) would've been better than what is basically a Sonic romhack.

I see, never knew about this one. It seems there a billion different sonic fan games coming out every year.

I'll be honest about that: I'm tired of Sonic fangames trying to mimic either CD or Mania.

Especially with that one overused sprite

I wish more could have their own style (like Storm) or trying to use a style closer to some other underused game.

I think you forgot the multiple uses of the R-word and the use of an old-timey slur for Black people. Working Designs wasn't exactly known for having respect for minorities, especially Black people. And note that this wasn't even the only game where they explicitly or implicitly insulted Black people; they loved to sneak that in where they could.

Honestly I wouldn't stop playing a game because of a character using the R-word.

Sure it's insulting but in the same way that someone asks if someone is crazy after doing something irresponsible.

Sonic Xtreme wasnt gonna save the Saturn

Obviously. I thought it was now accepted.

I'd even add that not having glitches nor long loading times couldn't have saved 2006 either.

People only dislike Sonic CD's US soundtrack due to the boss theme

Personally I love the US Boss theme in a bad future, for the good one the JP fits the best.

On the other hand I find the OST too "ambience" for a Sonic game (only Tidal Tempest kinda works because it's a slower paced level).

The Japanese soundtrack is the author's intent and fits Sonic a lot better in general.

No way ppl have problems with mania, it's like the perfect sonic game ffs.

Perfect? I wouldn't go that far personally, I think that, in their respective Decompilated fangames version, Sonic 2, CD and 3&K are technically much better as 2D side-scrollers.

Sonic 3 Angel Island Revisited enhanced Sonic 3&K (which was already a great game in the franchise by itself) to the point where Mania is pretty much a good fangame that feels more like a nostalgia ride whereas the former is more akin to a real adventure with a progression that doesn't go with "the Phantom Ruby is there to bring you back in another place" (thankfully Plus added more transitions but still).

People's complain about Mania is mostly about either "it's just a remix of older levels, not an original game" or "Nostalgia is the only thing that made it worthwhile" or even "if we didn't get Sonic Lost World nor Boom people wouldn't have cared the slightest about it.".

 

[Tonberry]

’Real Time With Pause’ even at its best SUCKS.
It’s just a contest of which party can dogpile the other one fastest while you fervently pause and unpause to move your mages around to spam spells.

The only times they worked okay were in KoTOR and Dragon Age because it was slower paced and had smaller parties.

 

[dropsmegamega]

’Real Time With Pause’ even at its best SUCKS.
It’s just a contest of which party can dogpile the other one fastest while you fervently pause and unpause to move your mages around to spam spells.

The only times they worked okay were in KoTOR and Dragon Age because it was slower paced and had smaller parties.

While turn-based can do great and memorable battles, I feel turn-based works terribly with large parties and groups of enemies, some of the later battles of baldur's gate 3 took several minutes just for every enemy to make their move, not to mention all that waiting around just looks silly. All these epic scale battles of IWD would be torture in BG3. Also RPGs love so much to throw trash mobs at us, at least in RTwP we can just cut through then quickly.

RTwP is interesting exactly because its chaotic and not focused in single characters, like not every character has a flashy skill to activate every turn and that's actually good, its actually like the party is one big character you have to administrate and position carefully and protect its head in between the fires, but I get that its not for everyone.

 

[Tonberry]

While turn-based can do great and memorable battles, I feel turn-based works terribly with large parties and groups of enemies, some of the later battles of baldur's gate 3 took several minutes just for every enemy to make their move, not to mention all that waiting around just looks silly. All these epic scale battles of IWD would be torture in BG3. Also RPGs love so much to throw trash mobs at us, at least in RTwP we can just cut through then quickly.

RTwP is interesting exactly because its chaotic and not focused in single characters, like not every character has a flashy skill to activate every turn and that's actually good, its actually like the party is one big character you have to administrate and position carefully and protect its head in between the fires, but I get that its not for everyone.

Oh yeah, absolutely. They both have pros and cons, and I'm inclined to agree on your BG3 example too, and even in that game I'm using a mod to control 5 characters instead of just 4.
I prefer turn-based because it makes the moment-to-moment gameplay feel more meaningful in my opinion, making all my actions and reactions feel more deliberate, while RTwP usually just feels like an excercise in reflexes instead of rewarding planning.

I remember not having any trouble with RTwP in Pillars of Eternity, though I never finished the game, but it had a slightly lower pace than the comparatively lightning-bolt fast pace of BG1 and other games of its time.

 

[ZEGA ZONIC]

Sony should bring back subscription free multiplayer, like they did for the PS3.

 

[Pickle surprise]

I actually thought the DS Zeldas were great. I always appreciate the Wind Waker look and I think for the most part, they do utilise the DS pretty effectively. The touch controls never really bothered me and I think many of the dungeons were some really top tier Zelda design. I enjoyed them way more than Skyward Sword which I never got on with the motion controls and you have to redo certain sections over and over. That game is just too bloated honestly, even getting to the dungeons took forever. The only things I did not like about the DS titles were the temple of the ocean king in Phantom Hourglass was a bit of a slog which you had to redo throughout the game and the pan flute in Spirit Tracks was too fiddly to use most of the time. Otherwise, really dug them. Also Spirit Track had a fantastic soundtrack. The final boss in particular is one of my favourite in the entire series, epic with a optimisitc tinge as you vanquish evil.

My other more negative hot take is that either do side quests well or don't do them at all. Nier Replicant broke me with the absolute tedium that were its side quests. Oh, I need a cake so could you gather 20 strawberries, five bags of flour, 50 eggs and milk from a rare goat that only appears every second Tuesday. So you grind for hours gathering these materials and then your reward might be a potion or two. If you are doing tedious fetch quests at least make the reward worth it! That is why I like the way old RPGs did it where side content could lead you to crazy hard bosses which could net you really powerul weapons or an optional party member. Where doing a side quest actually gave you unque content and rewarded you not just busy work so that the game can brag about how many hours of content it can deliver. I even like Nier Replicant as a whole but the side quests were absolute shite and even lampshading by commenting that this is a boring waste of time does not make up for the fact that you are putting the player through this nonsense. Now, unless I really enjoy the game I will skip side quests unless they are actually interesting in terms of content or help in worldbuilding like the substories in the Yakuza games.

 

[Jotaro]

elden ring and baldur's gate 3 are pretentious and overrated, skyrim and morrowind, still solo these games ?‍

 

[Jeanfranc]

Sony should bring back subscription free multiplayer, like they did for the PS3.

Microsoft made the industry realize that people are stupid enough to pay for that stuff with xbox live, as long as gamers show that they are willing to pay Sony will never stop with PSplus, the same goes for Nintendo

 

[Xdqwerty]

If you are making a fan work based on a certain work (lets say, Undertale) you cant cancel it just bc you dont like its fandom

 

[Lee__Kanker]

As much as I hate Working Design's translation work, I actually like Popful Mail's dialogues and find them quite funny. Honestly, the real problem with that release is how those guys fucked with the difficulty but luckily there's a patch to fix that.

it is funny to see cute cartoon characters calling you mentally deficient; but I dislike it when translators make their own script, it's like they wanted to be writers and they're doing this job begrugingly

I'd be down for an edgy cutesy made by westerners

 

[Somnia]

elden ring and baldur's gate 3 are pretentious and overrated, skyrim and morrowind, still solo these games ?‍

This is a hall of famer for how ludicrous it is

 

[Lee__Kanker]

Perfect? I wouldn't go that far personally, I think that, in their respective Decompilated fangames version, Sonic 2, CD and 3&K are technically much better as 2D side-scrollers.

Sonic 3 Angel Island Revisited enhanced Sonic 3&K (which was already a great game in the franchise by itself) to the point where Mania is pretty much a good fangame that feels more like a nostalgia ride whereas the former is more akin to a real adventure with a progression that doesn't go with "the Phantom Ruby is there to bring you back in another place" (thankfully Plus added more transitions but still).

People's complain about Mania is mostly about either "it's just a remix of older levels, not an original game" or "Nostalgia is the only thing that made it worthwhile" or even "if we didn't get Sonic Lost World nor Boom people wouldn't have cared the slightest about it.".

I play fangames too and its not beating SonicCD and AIR, but as far as commercial games go I can't think of one truly bad thing to say about mania

It looks and controls great, plus' new characters are awesome, fantastic music both when it comes to remixes and original pieces

I want more original stages instead of chemical plant zone too but the remixes are still creative in their own way, the transitions between og levels and remixes are neat

Its also got way way better bosses than most of the 2d games, their creativity reminds me lf cd

"Its only good bc of nostalgia" is stupid, I didnt even grow up with sonic, I started liking in in high school (2012 when playing sonic cd on ps3)

"if we didn't get Sonic Lost World nor Boom people wouldn't have cared the slightest about it.".
I wanted an official megadrive style game and I dont think I was alone with how many ppl loved it

 

[Jeanfranc]

it is funny to see cute cartoon characters calling you mentally deficient; but I dislike it when translators make their own script, it's like they wanted to be writers and they're doing this job begrugingly

Yeah it's hilarious and It's probably way funnier than whatever was in the original script;
Of course, throwing away the original script and making stuff up is not great and it's disrespectful of the original writer's vision, which should be adapted and localized in a faithful (but not literal) way when translating.

That being said, if throwing away the script and making stuff up makes the writing better I'm all for it actually: people always say that they want "faithful" translations but then praise the hell out of the script of games like Trails in the Sky, where Xseed made up most of the script and changed the protagonist entire personality (ironically enough, It's a Falcom game like Popful mail).
You see, people tend to be somewhat hypocritical about this, they don't care how faithful the script is if it's better than the original's (Basically every Falcom game localized by Xseed, Final Fantasy IX, Skies of Arcadia ecc.)

I'd be down for an edgy cutesy made by westerners

Unfortunately, edgy western games died 10 years ago at least

 

[Lee__Kanker]

Yeah it's hilarious and It's probably way funnier than whatever was in the original script;
Of course, throwing away the original script and making stuff up is not great and it's disrespectful of the original writer's vision, which should be adapted and localized in a faithful (but not literal) way when translating.

That being said, if throwing away the script and making stuff up makes the writing better I'm all for it actually: people always say that they want "faithful" translations but then praise the hell out of the script of games like Trails in the Sky, where Xseed made up most of the script and changed the protagonist entire personality (ironically enough, It's a Falcom game like Popful mail).
You see, people tend to be somewhat hypocritical about this, they don't care how faithful the script is if it's better than the original's (Basically every Falcom game localized by Xseed, Final Fantasy IX, Skies of Arcadia ecc.)

Unfortunately, edgy western games died 10 years ago at least

I never agreed with "improving" the script, I think it's the stupidest concept
I'm glad that nowdays there's a bunch of "retranslation" patches, I wish they were more common
It's really really Really annoying how half the rpgs I wanna try I gotta look up if they fucked with the script or not

I appreciate the ones for the first two 3ds fire emblem games, they really show just how up their own ass nintendo tree house is where they changed it so much it was practically a different game
Thankfully there's fanmade translations for the vita Trails games too


Yeah, I miss edgy games dearly; for whatever reason millennials and some zoomers are as pro-censorship anti-edgy as boomers when it comes to that, I never saw that coming but c'est la vie

I have a suspicion capcom isnt re-realeasing god hand because the first boss alone is too problematic lol

 

[Ikagura]

I play fangames too and its not beating SonicCD and AIR, but as far as commercial games go I can't think of one truly bad thing to say about mania

It looks and controls great, plus' new characters are awesome, fantastic music both when it comes to remixes and original pieces

I want more original stages instead of chemical plant zone too but the remixes are still creative in their own way, the transitions between og levels and remixes are neat

Its also got way way better bosses than most of the 2d games, their creativity reminds me lf cd

"Its only good bc of nostalgia" is stupid, I didnt even grow up with sonic, I started liking in in high school (2012 when playing sonic cd on ps3)

"if we didn't get Sonic Lost World nor Boom people wouldn't have cared the slightest about it.".
I wanted an official megadrive style game and I dont think I was alone with how many ppl loved it

When it comes to fangames sadly most suffers from the "it will never be finished" syndrome, even Robo Blast 2 (a great one with semi infinite modding capabilities) is still technically unfinished so I understand why some people prefers to play the official MD games + Mania.

I do wish Plus added more than two characters and a new game mode that is basically an Arrange Mode (we got the first half of Angel Island Act 1 and that's it).

Shame that Sega and the Sonic Team, by hubris and jealousy, didn't let Whitehead to make a sequel to Mania (even 50/50 old/new levels would've been sufficient for me, especially if they ended up adding Starlight Zone and probably Ice Cap despite the music copyright issue if they let Tee Lopes making a new composition for it).

Chemical Plant is still great in Generations and Mania's respective second act (yes, I think that CPZ in boost form easily equals most of Unleashed's Day levels in term of level design) but I do agree that Green Hills got overused.

Bosses are hit or miss in Sonic regardless of 2D and 3D. Egg Beetle is a great boost boss, Egg Golem a great Adventure Style one and perhaps the pillar boss from Sonic 2 was interesting. They're more akin to puzzle games than proper bosses in 2D.

I feel that while nostalgia is a huge factor for Sega I think it's a moot point when it's also the case for many other games (like Mario Odyssey using 2D NES style sections).

Also the presence of bad games does not mean it will be automatically good either, if the game is good it's good regardless if the next one is worse.

I'd be down for an edgy cutesy made by westerners

Yeah, I miss edgy games dearly; for whatever reason millennials and some zoomers are as pro-censorship anti-edgy as boomers when it comes to that, I never saw that coming but c'est la vie

I think that while people miss the early to mid 00's edginess we also got overfed but I don't understand why mainstream entertainment made a 180°.

I don't mind seeing a semi-return of edgy stuff (like Strangers in Paradise) but a good equilibrium of dark and light moments is better.

 

[Lee__Kanker]

I think that while people miss the early to mid 00's edginess we also got overfed but I don't understand why mainstream entertainment made a 180°.

I don't mind seeing a semi-return of edgy stuff (like Strangers in Paradise) but a good equilibrium of dark and light moments is better.

I don't miss stuff like Shadow the hedgehog or the gritty bomberman reboot or prince of persia warrior within that's for sure, forcing stuff into being edgy is crap; but I do miss Postal 2 or Manhunt 2 or old GTA. Even the newer games in two of those series just don't have the same carefree magic

Tell me more about this Strangers in Paradise

 

[Tonberry]

Tell me more about this Strangers in Paradise

It’s a reimagining of Final Fantasy 1 as an action game, but it’s got that shitty unironic teenager edge from the 2000s all over it. It’s incredibly corny (in a bad way I think, like a non-self aware DMC).
It’s the brainchild of a 50 year old chuuni with unlimited power, Nomura himself.

Here’s an iconic clip:

 

[Lee__Kanker]

When it comes to fangames sadly most suffers from the "it will never be finished" syndrome, even Robo Blast 2 (a great one with semi infinite modding capabilities) is still technically unfinished so I understand why some people prefers to play the official MD games + Mania.

I do wish Plus added more than two characters and a new game mode that is basically an Arrange Mode (we got the first half of Angel Island Act 1 and that's it).

Shame that Sega and the Sonic Team, by hubris and jealousy, didn't let Whitehead to make a sequel to Mania (even 50/50 old/new levels would've been sufficient for me, especially if they ended up adding Starlight Zone and probably Ice Cap despite the music copyright issue if they let Tee Lopes making a new composition for it).

Chemical Plant is still great in Generations and Mania's respective second act (yes, I think that CPZ in boost form easily equals most of Unleashed's Day levels in term of level design) but I do agree that Green Hills got overused.

Bosses are hit or miss in Sonic regardless of 2D and 3D. Egg Beetle is a great boost boss, Egg Golem a great Adventure Style one and perhaps the pillar boss from Sonic 2 was interesting. They're more akin to puzzle games than proper bosses in 2D.

I feel that while nostalgia is a huge factor for Sega I think it's a moot point when it's also the case for many other games (like Mario Odyssey using 2D NES style sections).

Also the presence of bad games does not mean it will be automatically good either, if the game is good it's good regardless if the next one is worse.

Perfect bad example of reusing old stuff:

Bringing back the tanuki leaf for mario 3d land but it can't friggin fly, and you don't even fly with style

Bringing back an old thing with a twist can be great, I think if its just the old thing but not nearly as good people arent gonna be swayed by it. Not a game comparison but theres reboots that failed because of that


Ive heard the theory that ppl like colors just bc the previous games were bad? Im not into 3d sonic games that arent robo blast 2 so I cant say

I do adore RB2, that game truly feels like the megadrive games in 3d

Post automatically merged: Feb 6, 2025

It’s a reimagining of Final Fantasy 1 as an action game, but it’s got that shitty unironic teenager edge from the 2000s all over it. It’s incredibly corny (in a bad way I think, like a non-self aware DMC).
It’s the brainchild of a 50 year old chuuni with unlimited power, Nomura himself.

Here’s an iconic clip:

Oh shit it's the I'VE COME TO KILL CHAOS! game?

 

[Ikagura]

I don't miss stuff like Shadow the hedgehog or the gritty bomberman reboot that's for sure, forcing stuff into being edgy is crap; but I do miss Postal 2 or Manhunt 2 or old GTA. Even the newer games in two of those series just don't have the same carefree magic.

I kinda liked the concept of branching paths in a Sonic game on paper. It's just not executed well at all.

Same with having a Bomberman game that is more like a RPG/Adventure if it's done correctly.

GTA tonned down too much (even if the series has always been a parody of the USA culure), same with the Saints Row Reboot...

I think that "self-aware humour" will fundamentally age worse than edgy in some aspects because I think that a sincere story will always be more engaging.

Also I'd add that video

since this trend kinda started in the early 90's.

Tell me more about this Strangers in Paradise

Ah darn, someone beat me up to it as I got busy.

Perfect bad example of reusing old stuff:

Bringing back the tanuki leaf for mario 3d land but it can't friggin fly, and you don't even fly with style

Bringing back an old thing with a twist can be great, I think if its just the old thing but not nearly as good people arent gonna be swayed by it. Not a game comparison but there are reboots that failed because of that.

Honestly I think that realistically in a handheld 3D game you couldn't make your character fly or else it would have to render too many things or break the level design.

3D Land is still fine for its more closed level design but I do wish they added a new power up (at least World had the cat and the cherries).

A new twist on an old thing can please both nostalgic people while still having a freshness to it.

I've heard the theory that people like Colors just bc the previous games were bad? I'm not into 3d sonic games that aren't robo blast 2 so I cant say.

While it may have been true in some aspects Colours was Nintendo exclusive compared to Unleashed HD and 2006 (the latest game that was on a Nintendo without a major change like Unwiished was Heroes in '03 which was over half a decade ago). I think that Colours despite its simpler level design and story was decent and worked for what it was.

I do adore RB2, that game truly feels like the Megadrive games in 3D.

Basically like a lost Saturn Sonic game. There's a homebrew 32-X demo made for it.