I dont know what you see in Sonic 06 personally, i'd actually like to know why you like it, i dont think i've heard someone's postive opinion of it yet (well i have but not as in depth as i imagine you'd be 8p)
To understand why I like Sonic 2006, I have to explain a little backstory. Again, this is only my point of view, for other people, err... other points of view might apply.
If this was any forum other than CoolApe, I'm sure I'd get a lot of flagging for this, but hey, on coolApe, we're all cool.
I got a bit carried away while writing this, so you're in for a big read. ^^;
I got into Sonic games only from playing Sonic Adventure 2 for the Game Cube, in 2003. As I said previously, before the Game Cube,
I didn't have a Playstation (which was crawling with RPGs) or a Dreamcast, but an N64, so this game and it's plot (and it's cutscenes) literally blew my mind.
(yes, N64 has Zelda Ocarina of time, I know. Problem was, I screwed myself up big time by cheating my way through the game, and ruined the thing for myself forever.
I didn't know what I was doing back then. )Basically, after Sonic Adventure 2, I was hyped, and wanted more of the same.
Sonic Mega Collection - Not exactly what I was looking for, but very interesting still.
Though the most memorable thing of the entire collection has to remain that "nostalgia-ish" menu music.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UgFSUmuPAASonic Adventure 1 - Still not the same as Sonic Adventure 2.
It just didn't work out for me - In retrospect, SA1 had a possibly interesting story to tell, it simply didn't work out for me since the game's clumsily outdated presentation ruined my experience, and lowered my expectation / anticipation for what was to come.
Don't get me wrong, I am not judging games purely by plot.
But there are games that fascinate by gameplay, where any addition beyond that can only make it better -
... and then there are plot-driven games, that are like "good books", in that regard that they make you really wanna know what's gonna happen next, and leave you anticipating the next story development while you're also being entertained by the current stage.
If you're not expecting anything interesting to happen in the later game, you don't have the same gaming experience.
Sonic for me is the latter ... well, kinda;
Story... music ... gameplay... everything sort of comes together to form an interesting experience. "The sum is greater than it's parts", and stuff.
For Sonic-games, it however is the plot that makes or breaks the experience for me.
Sonic Advance 2 (GBA) - Nothing interesting happens in the game (barely has any plot at all), and it's the reason why I haven't been following the 2D Sonic GBA or DS games quite as much.
Sonic Heroes (GCN) -
Totally not taking it's plot serious at all. There's barey more than only one "unexpected plot development" (Shadow is a robot) that's not even at the end of the game, and the ending is basically spoiled in the game's opening.
All those good reviews of the game praising "Sonic: All new & improved!" made me expect something else.
For me, a big disappointment.
Sonic Battle (GBA) - Well, on the one hand, it had sort-of lazy presentation with still images which at some points left room for lots of speculation
(At the end of the game, it seems Shadow
dies of an illness? ...or not? It's not very clear.
), but on the other it had a good chunk of character dialogue. It was nice.
Shadow the Hedgehog (GCN) - Meh... it was ...
Okay. It certainly wasn't what I had been anticipating (a follow-up to Sonic Adventure 2, sort of), but it also definitelly wasn't "The worst game of the year 2005" either, as one magazine wrote.
Lot's of plotholes and unanswered questions, annoying repetition - they really should have gone for a liniar game with a few more revelations along the line instead, but hey, at least it dealt with (at the time) my favourite Sonic character. In fact, it was only when I was already somewhere in the middle of the game, when the bad reviews started flowing in, which basically lowered my expectation/anticipation for the rest of the game, thus dampening my experience.
That, however, in combination with my disappointment about Sonic Heroes, led me to this conclusion:
As a Sonic-fan(boy), no objective videogame magazine can possibly tell me if a Sonic-game is good or bad.
They can deliver the facts about the game's contents, but they're ratings can't be what I base my opinion on.
Forth comes
Sonic 2006.
When I first saw the trailer, I thought I got the trailer for the next Final Fantasy by accident. (A comparison with Final Fantasy is supposed to be compliment.
I never had a chance to play those, since I never had a Playstation. But it was one of those games I always wanted to buy if I ever were to get one.)
I even went back to the previous page, and tried again. I only realized it really
was Sonic when I saw the word "Eggman" pop up. oOo
The trailer had me hyped to the possibly maximum in an instant. I knew already back then I
had to get either a PS3 or an Xbox360 so I could play this game.
Heck, even the official game site advertised the story-focus of the game. It seemed like after 3 long years, I'd
finally be getting teh kind of Sonic game I had been waiting for;
a second Sonic Adventure 2, a Sonic game that actually was going for a more "serious" approach.
I was going to get a PS3, because I wanted to play all those PS2 and PS1 titles I had missed out in the past.
Then Sony delayed the europe release by 6 months. Remember, how the PS3 costed 400 to 600$ on it's release? They were offering two different versions.
Well, not so in Europe. I had patiently been waiting, the game being available for Xbox for 5 months or so, having read all the complaints about the horrible glitches the game had and how it was "Sonic at it's worst", bla bla bla bla, several times.
But I knew from past experience that their objective judgement was not based on the same factors as my own.
But then, only weeks before the Europe launch, Sony decided to scrap the 400$ version for the Europe release, and only sell the 600$ one.
And not just that, they decided that for Europe, they'd cut back on the backwards compability, which had been the only reason I had been waiting for the PS3.
I instantly bought an Xbox360 then.
And I was
not disappointed with the game.
Sure, it had horrible, horrible glitches, unfair deaths, and horrible, horrible town-missions.
Sure, the plot has some holes, mostly derived from the deus-ex machina of time travel.
And there's people who dislike the plot for the romance-aspect, to the point of comparing Sonic/Elise to a badly written fanfiction.
(*cough*eyz*cough*) (I'm not really much into Sonic couples anyway other than for humorous purposes, so that aspect didn't bother me at all.)
Sure, I can make fun of plotholes after playing a game. I don't need to dislike a game to make fun of it.
But while still playing it, I can only say, it never came across to me like that. *shrug*
Sure, the game of course didn't have the best plot of all time, that's for certain. In fact, I've played games with plots by
far superior to this ... Beyond Good & Evil, Metal Gear Solid 1, Tales of Symphonia, to name a few...
but hey, what can I say - being a Sonic-fan, Sonic-games get an extra bonus for ... being
Sonic-games, I guess. ^^;
So after what was probably over a year after the game's announcement;
And after three long years in total -
I FINALLY had a Sonic game that
focussed on plot, and
took itself serious, in the sense it was going for a more "realistic" approach. A gripping experience that made me wanna see what would be coming next. Something that I can look back on and go all "glee" inside. :3
So basically what I had always wanted from the day I finished Sonic Adventure 2. Just with some flaws.
And for the sake of completion, as for games after that -
Well,
Sonic Unleashed was pretty lighthearted (well, the Werehog certainly wasn't as "dark and gritty" as people expected before the release),
but actually, the plot
did take itself 'serious' in a sense - and I liked it a lot! So it doesn't always have to be dark/gritty or "realistic" for me either.
And
Sonic Chronicles by my own logic of plot being super-important
should be my most favourite Sonic-game ever, but it isn't.
It surely deserves an honorable mention, but the gameplay just made it feel ... well, like doing chores
And I didn't have Roger's experience of never getting enough health items, though I can't remember that many details about the battle system anyway.
Though I can't remember having any problems with the items ...other than always getting powerups that would give me 50 magic points, while I had, like, a 20 magic points capacity, and stuff like that. Always felt like a waste. -_-
But I'd
definitelly love to hear news of Bioware writing the story for another Sonic game again. I'd very likely buy another Sonic Chronicles, even with similar flaws.
The storybook games were not my thing; Didn't buy 'the secret rings', and I bought the Black Knight when it was available for 20€, which I really find ... well ... not very motivating to complete.
Sonic 4: Episode 1 - As I already said elsewhere, I wasn't expecting the game to match what I personally want in a Sonic game.
All in all, for me, it was a fun, small game. No less, but not much more either. The final boss was frustrating to no end, though.
Haven't played
Sonic Colors yet, and I am actually pretty undecided in my opinion. However, the fact that the game can be completed in like 5 hours definitelly means I'm gonna wait till I can get it cheap.
And that concludes my statement.
Well, if it wasn't for one more thing ...
I really wish they'd remake it [Sonic Adventure 2], its graphics are so outdated (and get rid of that damn jump glitch).
Jump-glitch?