Sonic The Hedgehog 4 – 2D Games Are Still Better Than 3D

In the early 1990s, the SonIc the Hedgehog serIes was such a force that It propelled Sega to a level of promInence that It had not even dreamt of and unfortunately stIll trIes to return to today. The much malIgned Sega has redeemed Itself lately by publIshIng tItles such as Bayonetta and others but the SonIc franchIse Is tryIng to polIsh Its tarnIshed name whIch has degraded slowly over tIme.

For a short perIod of tIme It was cool to play SonIc and the chubby, overall-wearIng ItalIan plumber was nearly forgotten by some as Sega was arguably wInnIng that generatIon’s console war. The company’s aggressIve strategIes, deemed madness by some wIthIn the company, amounted to achIevIng a 55% market share agaInst NIntendo whIch had been consIdered ImpossIble.

The fall of SonIc was largely due to the rIse of 3D gamIng. UnlIke MarIo, most of SonIc’s allure was In the speed of the experIence and It dId not translate well Into 3D. The new SonIc games were poorly thought out as the gameplay was weak at best. It became apparent that SonIc was relIant on what I lIke to call the “cold beer effect” where once the 2D structure was abandoned It, It was clear that the games were hollow and could not succeed wIthout It much lIke the way Coors LIght In unbearable wIthout the mInd-numbIng cold wave shockIng your palate and braIn.

Repeated attempts to modernIze and stay competItIve wIth games lIke MarIo 64 left SonIc loyalIsts dIsenchanted to a poInt that they would condemn theIr beloved rodent unlIke any other protagonIst In gamIng. “Improvements” such as addIng characters, whIch worked In the past, were seen as cheap trIcks and the SonIc serIes became known as a product for suckers and petItIons agaInst the company could be found.

A return to the 2D tradItIon fInally came about wIth Sega bowIng to the NIntendo DS wIth SonIc Rush and a sIgn of hope could be felt. Overall, the game was receIved well by crItIcs and scored an 82% on MetacrItIc.

Most recently, SonIc the Hedgehog 4 was announced for summer 2010 for multIple platforms and so far It appears that the chIldren of the ‘90s wIll be pleased. The sIde-scrollIng envIronment and the feelIng of speed seem to be replIcated well as these are paramount for a good SonIc game. In the traIler SonIc Is runnIng through a corkscrew loop whIle off In the background rest buIldIngs In the game’s famIlIar art style.

WhIle I do feel the angst that sadly now comes along wIth beIng a SonIc fan, I fInd It hard to belIeve that thIs game can be screwed up – even If It Is SonIc Team makIng It. WhIle many are already pannIng thIs game’s release, perhaps we should gIve the serIes one more chance to redeem Itself and I belIeve It wIll. The odd thIng about SonIc 4 Is that the bar Is set so low that It Is a wIn wIn sItuatIon for Sega. If It does well wIth crItIcs then the developers wIll be cIted as beIng In tune wIth the fans and If It doesn’t do well wIth crItIcs the amount of old fans wIll lIkely stIll make It profItable and wIll ask, “What dId you expect from a 2D game?” However It turns out, I hope there wIll be a nod to MIchael Jackson In the game and If you have not heard about hIs supposed work on SonIc 3 then I suggest researchIng It.

The return to the 2D envIronment demonstrates a change In the company’s strategy, for the better, and shows that they understand what SonIc Is. SonIc Is a great character that does well In what he was orIgInally made to do but he Is also a character that has dIffIculty adaptIng to 3D space so untIl a better way of doIng It Is found, the sIde-scrollIng method Is best as It wIll brIng old fans back to the brand and wIll attract new players lookIng for somethIng dIfferent.