Sonic is a beloved video game icon. Which is all the more reason why Sega needs to either put Sonic to rest, or actually make a decent game for once. Before you start flaming me for my “controversial” opinion of the blue mascot, here are just a couple of things to remember:

1. Sonic was created as a marketing ploy to beat Nintendo. Designed to look cool and be hip and trendy, he’s about as shallow as a saucer plate. He’s basically “oochy.”

2. Sonic is suppose to be about speed. But speed is no longer impressive because video game number crunching has outgrown the fake marketing concept of “blast-processing.”

3. Sonic’s storyline is completely messed up thanks to the original split between American and Japanese countries, liberated only recently by the advent of the Internet. At one point there were at least 6 different versions of “who” sonic was.

4. 3-D game play demands a more exploratory style of gaming, whereas a fixed 2-D perspective is much more suitable to the realm of fast running/jumping platforming.

5. Sonic’s cast of characters is insane and none of them are interesting in the slightest. Adding more characters does not necessarily equal depth of gaming.

It’s my opinion (note: opinion) that Sonic has only ever really been good on the original Genesis. Whenever he tries to go 3-D he ultimately fails (with of course one possible exception on the dreamcast). But when he stays 2-D (like on the GameBoy and DS) he works almost flawlessly. Sonic doesn’t need gimmicks or insane plot development to be a good story. He’s a blue hedgehog who runs fast. That’s all we need to know and that’s all that he needs to do.

There’s an acronym that I like: K. I. S. S. It means “Keep It Simple Stupid.” While it’s preferable to throw in as many bells and whistles as you possibly can, sometimes restraining yourself and working within limitations yields better results. Never have I thought this acronym was more relevant than in the gaming world. I believe wholeheartedly that there are some franchises which work ONLY in a 2-D style world. Some are able to overcome it (like Mario), but others are lost without it (like Sonic and Mega Man, but Mega Man is a whole different story).

The only reason Sonic even sells games anymore is because he looks “cool” to kids, and because his aging nostalgic fan-base wants to see him in a decent game for once. I’m a mixed bag. I hate Sonic now, but I loved him on the Genesis. I play the new 3-D games in vain, hoping that someday somehow Team Sonic will get it RIGHT again. In the meantime, Mario has been able to break the transition from 2-D to 3-D, AND perfect upon it, winning tons of awards (including game of the year for Super Mario Galaxy).

Even if you love Sonic to death, when was the last time Sonic won any sort of award because of his awesome gameplay? Most of the time he doesn’t even rate more than an 7.5 from gaming magazines, which is still good... but not good enough.

For a fan of the old-school Sonic games, to see this once on-top-of-the-world character (who once dethroned Mario as king of video gaming) being degraded to living on life support, is incredibly painful. Either make good games again or let him be a fond memory, Sega!

And now that I’ve exhausted my opinion on Sonic. Here’s some YouTube videos to elaborate on what I said:

GameOverthinker v21 - Sonic in Peril
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GameTap Sonic Retrospective 1 of 4
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And although I stated a “controversial” opinion, I would like to ask people to not flame if they can help it. I’m just stating the opinion of a one time Sonic fan.