Tension Gauge Release: Recreating Sonic the Hedgehog

So, here's another tension gauge article... designed to bring my blood pressure levels down to below 5000


This week marks the release of Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 (downloadable for iPhone/iPod Touch, Wii, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3), a brand new 2D sonic game developed by Sonicteam and Dimps.


You may think, "What's so special about a new Sonic game?" That's because this is probably the 1st Sonic game I can think of that was designed specifically to please the so-called fans.


You know, those fans.

Why does it take so long for game sequels to reach 4?

Let's put this into perspective then, shall we?

That looks familiar...

In 1991, Sonic the Hedgehog was released for the Sega Mega Drive / Genesis. During those times, it was a common thing for game companies to have a 'mascot' character, usually a platform game star (platformers were the dominant console genre back then), and none were more famous than Nintendo's Mario. Sonic was designed almost directly as a direct competitor, with Mario being a fat, slow plumber and Sonic being a spritely, agile mammal. In truth, I think this was a byproduct of serendipity more than anything, which I'll go into later on.


Almost overnight, this brand new game and character from Sega became a gaming icon, especially in the west. Sonic almost singlehandedly shaped the image of an entire company, imprinting the idea that Sega was an indie developer masquerading as a big-budget corporation.


Over the lifetime of the Mega Drive, we've had 3 sequels (for argument's sake, I'll consider Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles as two separate games), and when the Sega Saturn was released, fans began to salivate at the idea of a 3D Sonic, especially after the success of archrival Nintendo's magnificent Super Mario 64


Which they never got within the Saturn's lifetime (Sonic 3D Blast and Sonic R notwithstanding). It wasn't until the Dreamcast showed in 1998 when a 'proper' 3D Sonic game, Sonic Adventure, was released.

'Sup yo?

This marked the beginning of the end.


With every 3D iteration from Sonic Adventure 2 to Sonic Unleashed, fans suddenly began to lash out, saying that each game was not a 'true' Sonic game, whether it be because of the additional playable characters who were not Sonic (never mind that nobody complained about Tails or Knuckles before), to the fact that each game included 'unnecessary gimmicks' which took away from the main essence of the series. With each release, it seems Sonic fans seemed ever more dissatisfied with how Sega and Sonicteam were handling the series. The worst offender appears to be 2006's Sonic the Hedgehog for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, which was described as 'a buggy mess' at best by most gaming publications. Each time, though, when word got out of a new Sonic game, fans wished for the game that would be the next real Sonic game, only to be let down when the game released (the phenomenon is now known rather affectionately as the Sonic cycle).

Just for the record, I liked Sonic the Hedgehog 2006. I've played far worse games and far worse Sonic games in particular (the Game Gear is home to more bad Sonic games than I'm willing to admit). The game is a decent enough platform game, a genre that now seems to be in the same boat as turn-based strategy and flight simulators. A couple more months in QA would have done wonders for the game's image, but I digress. There's no question though, the soundtrack is EPIC.


Leading back to the present, we now have Sonic 4: Episode 1, a game that was designed supposedly to appeal to the most diehard of Sonic fans, the ones who've been slamming every game after Sonic and Knuckles.


If you ask me though, there is no pleasing those guys. Regaining Sonic's former glory is an impossible task, even more so when it's done to cater to a very narrow audience. Heck, I don't even believe the newer Mario games are as good as the old ones, and those games are pretty well-received.


The problem is that society does not exist in a vacuum. Times change, people change, circumstances change. Trying to recreate a specific moment in history is foolish, because it is the result of many factors suddenly converging in that one defining second where the bar is raised, and can never be lowered again.


Let's take Woodstock, for example. The Woodstock Festival was more than a concert in 1969, it was a celebration of music and arts for 3 days, featuring classic performances by many of the legends in music. Any attempts to revive it would be meaningless, because it had it roots as much in hippie counterculture as it did in music appreciation, and that was existent (or rather influential enough) only at that point in time. Not to mention that nobody really wants to do another one in today's time because licensing laws are stricter, and it would be a disservice to the original event (look what happened to Woodstock 1999).


Sonic the Hedgehog is the Woodstock of video games. It is one game that was more than its source code and microchips. It is the essence of lighting in a bottle, and to try to recreate that impact would be a disservice to all fans. If you need proof, you need look no further than Sonic's own visual design, perhaps one of the greatest artistic icons of our generation.

Why is Sonic fast? Because the Mega Drive was a fast machine (at 7 MHz, one of the fastest mass produced machines for the time) and the team wanted a game that could showcase that.


Why is Sonic a hedgehog? Because the designers thought that a hedgehog could roll into a ball to defeat enemies and get past obstacles, thus minimising impact on player momentum.


Why is Sonic blue? Because the Sega logo is blue, and they wanted something to represent the company.




Clearly, Sonic was the result of so many factors suddenly converging and percolating into a brew of excellence. Technology, design, circumstance and talent all coming together to create a legend.


More than this, the reason I don't think any sequel will ever live up to the originals is because Sonic's formula was already perfected from the first Mega Drive game. Sonic runs fast. Sonic encounters obstacle/enemy. Sonic chooses Fight or Flight. Repeat until end of stage. Improvements can be made, but really, this is the essence of Sonic.


Contrast this with Mario games, where levels are "worlds" to explore, and Mario can adapt to survive whatever world he's in, thus allowing for far more flexibility (granting Mario flight is still within the realm of his character as long as the world he's in calls for it). You can't add much more to Sonic, because he's a complete character. All the skills he requires to survive are his to use at the beginning of the game. The only way to make Sonic do something else, is to create a new character. This would probably have been the logic behind adding Tails in Sonic 2, and for subsequent playable characters.


Sonic 4 is thus Sega's attempt to do a New Super Mario Bros., a way to regenerate the series by going back to its roots. It's both an homage and a rehash of the old 2D games. After playing it, it seems that the Sonic formula is still as strong as it's ever been, but it makes me shudder. If this is Sega's way of making a game for Sonic fans, then apparently fans have waited 15 years to play Sonic 2 all over again. I've accepted that no Sonic game will ever capture that same magic for me. And yet, there are already complaints that 'Sonic 4 is not as good as the older games', or that 'Sonic 4 retreads much of the same material'. It's the Sonic Cycle all over again.


There's just no pleasing some people. As for myself, I'm just happy to be spending time with an old friend, making a pilgrimage to the eternally green hills of his world.

SEEEE-GAAAAAAA!