The Legend of Sonic Sunshine

It’s no secret that Sonic the Hedgehog has been taking quite a lot of heat from diehard fans lately who have been upset over the blue blur’s 3D treatment. The Sonic Team eventually listened to such fan pleas with a couple of 2D revivals and the 2D/3D Sonic Generations, but disappointment still lingers. Although Wii seems to have had the best current 3D Sonic outings in Sonic and the Secret Rings and Sonic Colors, Sonic’s history with Nintendo goes back a little further than that, with the underrated Sonic Adventure DX: Director’s Cut hitting GameCube back in 2003, and going back even further than that is Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, which made history in 2002 with Sonic’s first debut on a Nintendo console. More than a decade has passed since then, however, and I have the solution for both Sonic Team and Sonic diehards: Sonic Adventure 3 on Wii U.

It’s clear that Sonic needs a bit of a reboot in the 3D realm, but for Sonic to remain Sonic, just like with Mario has always remained Mario, I think certain things need to remain the same. With Adventure 2 and Adventure DX having already laid down the groundwork, speed should be balanced with exploration. Unlike Unleashed and Generations, I think the gameplay should revolve around Sonic and take a step back from the branching gameplay structure adopted in the previous adventures. Tails shouldn’t have to be in a mech; he should play a supporting role. Knuckles should be used sparingly and Shadow should maybe be saved for co-op. All other characters from Sonic’s past, and I mean all, should be NPCs, running shops and inhabiting the world. Any gimmicks should be abandoned too, but above all else, the biggest change would be leaving Eggman out completely.

Sonic leaves the cycle behind in HD City Escape.

If we’re going to care about the story this time round, there needs to be a more mature tone in terms of voice acting and music, and the current line-up of squeaky, over the top characters just isn’t working. Instead, I think Sonic Team should look toward Star Fox’s success in grabbing the player’s attention– for instance, in Star Fox 64, we all know how good it felt to hear James McCloud speaking to his son as they escaped Andross’ exploding fortress on Venom. It doesn’t need much, but considering the current state of Sonic’s voice-acting, a little would go a very long way indeed.

Sonic Adventure 3 would also take advantage of Wii U’s unique controls, with the GamePad acting as your Chao Garden and tool box, keeping track of your Chaos Emeralds and perhaps even giving you the ability to combine these in order to give Sonic new powers.

In short, Sonic the Hedgehog deserves a game along the lines of Super Mario Galaxy, an adventure derived from the culmination of past experiences. With the Big N’s help, both Sega and Sonic Team could finally have a blockbuster on their hands once again. Sonic needs to be on his own just like Mario often is in his 3D platformers, and I believe Sonic Adventure 3 on Wii U could both breathe new life into the franchise and revive the Sonic Adventure games. Until we see this sequel, I will be hanging on the edge of tomorrow.

Pages: 1 2 3 4