Sequel Showdown #5 - Sonic the Hedgehog

[TDIRunner | 2,740]

I was super excited when I downloaded Sonic 4 for my OUYA, but about 30 minutes into it, all I could think was meh.  

[RH | 4,904]

The real answer will probably have a split vote. S3/S&K are actually as single game.

S2 is a solid game and Sonic Mania is an amazing, official fan project, but S3/S&K is prime Sonic.

[Strange | 1,700]

I had a hard time choosing between Sonic 3 and Sonic Mania but ultimately I have to go with Mania. It’s just so good. Even when you separate it from its historical sources it still stands on its own. Before Mania I had played the 2D games but I didn’t really mesh with them so I never finished them. Mania is what made me “get” 2D Sonic and inspired me to finish the classics.

I’m probably gonna get absolutely shit on for this but here’s my hot take: Sonic Mania is better than any of the first-party 2D platformers by Nintendo from this most recent generation.

Edited January 21, 2021 by The Strangest

[RegularGuyGamer | 2,013]

5 hours ago, AstralSoul said:

I completely left off Sonic 4. For some reason it's extremely forgettable to me. Not at all bad but I forget it exists.

Yeah it's a shame it never got a port, or any real coverage bc of the time it was released. 2008-2010 was angry birds madness so mobile gaming was still seen as pretty gimmicky. 

[Sumez | 2,952]

Sonic Mania looks like a proper revival of the S3&K style and everything, it's really got the charm that I've been missing from the Sonic games.

But playing the game just wasn't entertaining. It had its moments, but then it'd do something annoying out of the blue that would just frustrate me, but the main offender is definitely the boss fights, nearly all of which are straight up awful. It does get a lot of things right, but it's crazy to me that people tend to like it as much as they do. Let alone more than S3&K which is exactly the same kind of game, but much better.

Either way, one can hope that it at least finally managed to show Sega the way, so I'm glad it was succesful.

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,105]

I went with Sonic 2, but Sonic and Knuckles is a close second.

[RH | 4,904]

8 hours ago, The Strangest said:

I had a hard time choosing between Sonic 3 and Sonic Mania but ultimately I have to go with Mania. It’s just so good. Even when you separate it from its historical sources it still stands on its own. Before Mania I had played the 2D games but I didn’t really mesh with them so I never finished them. Mania is what made me “get” 2D Sonic and inspired me to finish the classics.

I’m probably gonna get absolutely shit on for this but here’s my hot take: Sonic Mania is better than any of the first-party 2D platformers by Nintendo from this most recent generation.

This is why I always said that though I was always a Nintendo fan, and loved Mario games, Sonic was always my preferred franchise.

2D Sonic > 2D Mario in my book. But once the two made the jump to 3D, Mario kept past Sonic and he's never come close to recovering.

[Strange | 1,700]

1 hour ago, RH said:

2D Sonic > 2D Mario in my book. But once the two made the jump to 3D, Mario kept past Sonic and he's never come close to recovering.

Yeah despite my opinion that Mania is better than any of Nintendo’s recent 2D platformers, Nintendo’s first 3D platformer in Super Mario 64 is better than every 3D Sonic game lol

[Sumez | 2,952]

Did Nintendo even make any first-party 2D platformers since NSMBU?

[Strange | 1,700]

21 minutes ago, Sumez said:

Did Nintendo even make any first-party 2D platformers since NSMBU?

Tropical Freeze and whatever they did on 3DS. Nothing outstanding imo

[Sumez | 2,952]

Tropical Freeze is massively better than Sonic Mania, but it's definitely not a first party title  

[Reed Rothchild | 9,533]

 

17 hours ago, The Strangest said:

Yeah despite my opinion that Mania is better than any of Nintendo’s recent 2D platformers, Nintendo’s first 3D platformer in Super Mario 64 is better than every 3D Sonic game lol

I'll do you one better and say that Marios first (full) 2D adventure is better than every Sonic game.

Of course I haven't played Mania or half of the other ones so I'm making some assumptions.  But I'm pretty confident in them.

[Strange | 1,700]

7 hours ago, Sumez said:

Tropical Freeze is massively better than Sonic Mania, but it's definitely not a first party title  

To each their own, I couldn’t get into it. I can’t remember a single level or musical theme from TF. I remember one of the annoying boss fights.

1 hour ago, Reed Rothchild said:

I'll do you one better and say that Marios first (full) 2D adventure is better than every Sonic game.

Of course I haven't played Mania or half of the other ones so I'm making some assumptions.  But I'm pretty confident in them.

Not saying you’re wrong because it’s all subjective anyway but there’s a reason Sega was the first legitimate challenger to Nintendo and was able to take the majority of the market share at one point. People like to try to rewrite history and say Sonic was never good or whatever (not saying you’re saying this) but Sega and the Genesis did a phenomenal job in the 16 bit era and the Sonic games were a huge reason for this. It was a legitimate contender to Mario as unfathomable as that may be to people today.

I’m not trashing Mario at all. I love and grew up with the first four 2D Mario games (everything in the “New” series is really bland imo). But I’m just playing devil’s advocate here. It would be hard for me to rank the classics from both series against each other.

[Tanooki | 4,934]

6 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

 

I'll do you one better and say that Marios first (full) 2D adventure is better than every Sonic game.

Of course I haven't played Mania or half of the other ones so I'm making some assumptions.  But I'm pretty confident in them.

Agreed, and I had Sonic Mania, sold it.  It had some strange physics quirks when it came to certain parts of the game, and as usual kind of average stage design really pushing the flash and flair of speed over substance so I got tired of it.  Mario is far more easily returned to and enjoyed as you can approach it in more ways.  If sonic is really guilty of anything aside from attitude, lack of variety.

[JeremiahJT | 75]

The original on the Genesis for me. 2 and CD are close, but every level in the first is superb. Yes I like Marble and Labyrinth zones. Sonic & Knuckles would be fourth and Sonic 3 fifth.

[GPX | 1,369]

On 1/22/2021 at 11:48 AM, RH said:

This is why I always said that though I was always a Nintendo fan, and loved Mario games, Sonic was always my preferred franchise.

2D Sonic > 2D Mario in my book. But once the two made the jump to 3D, Mario kept past Sonic and he's never come close to recovering.

I think this is because Sonic and Mario 2D games really are apples and oranges, despite both being “platformers”.

Sonic is really about modifying your pace and going at full speed whenever possible, with an in-your-face approach to its core aspects (visuals, sounds, character designs etc). Whereas Mario is more about the exploration and creativity.

With 2D versions both Sonic and Mario work well and can cater for different types of platforming fans. However, when it comes to fast paced 2D platforming (eg. Sonic, Bubsy etc), it really breaks down to a mess when translated into 3D. Mario’s core elements can be applied in 2D or 3D without much issues.

[SpoonMan Abrams X | 697]

Sonic 2 all the way

I actually played & owned Sonic 2 before I ever got around to Sonic 1.

[Kguillemette | 1,544]

I'm not sure if I want to hold off on voting. My easy winner is Sonic 3&K, which imo is its own separate game.

[croagunk | 798]

I love a lot of the Sonic games. I have to say Sonic Adventure 2 Battle on the GameCube is my favorite.

[mbd39 | 2,023]

This looks like a lot of games, but apparently there are 200 Mario games.

 

[DarkTone | 985]

Sonic 2. My top 3 sonic songs all come from this game. Tails was a welcome addition. Mainly because it was JUST Tails. Now there's a new friend every new game.