There Is No Sonic Adventure Remake
You ever get that feeling? Where it’s like you are watching a puppy run towards oncoming traffic? And there’s little you can do?
That’s the feeling I’m getting every time I see people insisting that a Sonic Adventure remake is an inevitable certainty and that it will be undoubtedly announced at Sonic’s assumed “not-SXSW” digital briefing. For starters, who knows how or if a SXSW-alternative will pan out for Sonic’s community/marketing team. After Nintendo promised no annual Nintendo Direct this June due to work-from-home complications, we can’t be so entitled to expect any sort of new briefing any time soon in the midst of a global pandemic. It’s either not happening, or happening much later than you’d want, so set your expectations accordingly.
In psychology, there’s a concept called confirmation bias. It is defined by Oxford Dictionary as the following:
Confirmation basis is the tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one’s existing beliefs or theories.
When people want an idea to be real bad enough, they end up believing it’s real and can no longer view circumstances objectively. I don’t care how bad you or I want a Sonic Adventure remake. There is simply no evidence to support its existence unless you are viewing reality through the flattering lens of a wishful confirmation bias.
“Evidence” 1: “They made the Chao In Space animation! SA Remake Confirmed!”
The US marketing teams and contractors hired by them (like Heese) are allowed to acknowledge and celebrate the history of the series they are promoting, without it necessarily being a direct signpost of what game dev studios are doing in Japan or elsewhere.
“Evidence” 2: “They released a Station Square remix! SA Remake Confirmed!”
They also released a Sonic R remix and a Sonic 2 (8-bit version) remix.
“Evidence” 3: “Team Sonic Racing pays homage to Sonic Heroes. SA Remake Confirmed!”
What the heck does Heroes have to do with an Adventure remake? Sure, the game was released during the so-called “Adventure era,” but how desperate do we have to be to make that stretch? Also, dividing characters into three classes is not strictly a staple of Sonic Heroes. See: the Sonic Riders series and Sonic Runners.
“Evidence” 4: “Iizuka said he’d want a remake. SA Remake Confirmed!”
Yes, Sonic series producer Taskashi Iizuka did say he’d like to do an Adventure remake. This is the only bit of “evidence” that’s not entirely blind, but it is weak at best. As if an offhand comment of a single individual interview should automatically translate into the will of Sega? There’s a big difference between the man saying “this makes me want to do this” and “we’ve pitched the project and it’s been approved for production.” If you look through past interviews, you’ll find examples of Iizuka (and other people of Sonic Team) expressing a personal desire for a particular outcome, but said desire not actualizing itself into reality. Desire does not equal a promise. And that’s good. Individuals are allowed to have their own thoughts.
What I AM saying:
-There is no strong evidence supporting the existence of an SA1 remake.
-There is no need to expect an SA1 remake announcement.
-It is unhealthy to expect such an announcement with any certainty. You’ll be disappointed.
What I am NOT saying:
-Wanting a SA1 remake is bad (I’d love this more than anything).
-Being a fan of Adventure era fan is bad (You know, I’m something of an Adventure fan myself).
And yes, on the 2% chance that a remake of SA does show up sometime later, I have to preemptively address the knuckleheads that will retweet this article with such unoriginal comments as, “lol this article sure aged well huh.” I’m not saying an Adventure remake is impossible; I’m saying that you as far you know, there is no Sonic Adventure remake. You can’t just have tunnel-vision and then expect the world to morph itself to fit your narrow field of view. If anything, by not presuming, you are allowing yourself to be pleasantly surprised on the off-chance that it happens.
I get it, you really want something like a new Adventure game or remake. That’s fine. Me too. You can keep desiring that a SA remake comes soon, but you should absolutely not expect one. If you have read this article, but still go into the next few months expecting a Sonic Adventure remake, despite no evidence that it exists, you are willfully choosing to be disappointed. And why in the world would you do that?
Reasonable Assessment is commentary series written by Noah Copeland, a somewhat interesting human. Noah makes music, games, and films, and stands at exactly average height. You can follow him on Twitter @NoahCopeland. This post was originally written by the author for TSSZ News.
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You’d think they’d learn after saying that SA3 going happen for over well a decade now, that never happened so they shifted to this with all the gullible fans eating it up. Glad someone went in depth on this, I roll my eyes every single time someone acts like Sega is “courting” Adventure fans, just about every Sonic Team game has contained fanservice to Adventure yet people act like it’s a sign now because of the narrative they’ve built in their heads. If Team Sonic Racing is courting then I guess that makes Sonic and the Black Knight a marriage proposal…
It’s impossible to imagine a studio whose last game was Forces being able to remake SA1 other than it having nothing to do with SA1 gameplay wise, when I think of playing SA1 I think of pulling off fun spindash ramp jumps which is utterly incompatible with how automated and limited playing as Sonic is in Forces, there is just too much hubris and ego evolved with Iizuka and Sonic Team to make a game with lots of freedom in 3D platforming.
An SA1 remake or a game that was that sorta Sonic gameplay only happens with them out of the picture, Iizuka is happy just to cram out more Forces while ignoring what people want, he’s the reason why Evening Star working on a Mania followup isn’t a surefire thing.
Yes! Sadly, there are more and more fans out there who are taking it literally when well-meaning fans (like myself) say tongue-in-cheek “Sonic Adventure 3 confirmed!” on the Sonic social media posts. And in hearing this, they engage in unhealthy, imbalanced, repetitive behaviors fantasizing that their “hallowed” event drawth nigh. It is all meant in good, clean fun to say “Sonic Adventure 3 confirmed!” to joke around but nothing more. Though many of us say it with optimism and hope that we would be delighted to see it someday if it does pan out, the most likely reality is that they are probably never going to release it just because how many years it has been since the first game’s release. To the fans out there reading this who recognize you fall under this category, please: take a moment to visualize the Michael Jordan meme “Stop it. Get some help.” in your mind–and I mean this seriously and kindly. Carefully consider how building a pent-up, false, unhealthy expectation day after day and year after year is likely taking an unhealthy toll on your life, your loved ones’ lives, and your future. Don’t get me wrong: video games are an amazing pastime and make an excellent career path for many good people, but don’t allow your entire life’s joy, peace, and happiness to be drowned out by an unhealthy obsession. “You pile up enough tomorrows, and you’ll find you are left with nothing but a lot of empty yesterdays.”
“unhealthy, imbalanced, repetitive behaviors”
About this point, let me add my personal note that I have personally watched people online in various fandoms (Sonic and Star Wars) sink into isolation and depression requiring psychological intervention–or worse–because something did not go their way. It could been easily prevented had they done the basic, everyday things to take care of their mental and physical wellbeing instead of letting their obsession eat away their lives to the breaking point. Again, having fun and kicking back and relaxing is incredibly important and also essential for your mental and physical health, but remember life is a careful balancing act of priorities, too much of anything in excess can be harmful, and any virtue can become a vice. As a preventive measure, being grateful for what you have now by keeping a gratitude diary or journal can be helpful in helping you recognize the simple things that we often take for granted that make you smile, laugh, and put a twinkle in your eye. Joining a video game group online can also help you to find the excitement and enthusiasm in the cool hidden gems you already have in games you own and never really noticed or appreciated. I am not a medical professional but if you feel your emotional and physical health has been on the decline and the quality of your personal relationships have been lacking lately (e.g. you have not had a meaningful conversation with someone for several months where you opened up to them), strongly consider reaching out to someone who can help you and/or consider making balanced, practical lifestyle adjustments. I have seen lives literally saved who have taken this advice to heart and it is extremely pertinent now to be wise about it when we are forcibly isolated due to the current worldwide pandemic.
Honestly, the biggest thing that has made me suspect it is the soundtrack on Team Sonic Racing reuniting the Sonic Adventure Orchestra. I heard those sax lines and had to look it up, and sure enough they actually used the Sonic Adventure Music Experience crew on the soundtrack. Like, it just seems like they’re nudging the trajectory of the franchise back towards maybe a reboot similar to adventure. It just seems like they’re showing a willingness to be the weird Sega we had before they left the console market.
I mean, TSR was the first Sonic game composed by Jun in a while. People like to work with people they have previous established relationships with. The presence of the Adventure Music crew has less to do with some sort push to make the Sonic series more Adventure-esque, and more to do with Jun.
I’m only expecting it because in the current market of remakes of games from around that time, it would be foolish of them to at least not look into it.
Whether it pans out, of course, is another matter.
HEY HEY HEY! I can always dream damn it! 🙂
I find it likely that in 5 years we’ll see an SA1 remake, given the current trends, but there’s a big difference between finding it possible and perhaps inevitable and actually expecting it. So if it actually does happen, I wouldn’t be too surprised, but if it doesn’t, it wouldn’t be surprising either. I mean, nothing that says “no” doesn’t mean a “yes” either.
The evidence shows Sega isn’t completely ignorant of the Adventure games and is aware there are fans of them, but that’s all it shows. Being aware of those fans and the games doesn’t go straight towards “remake” as I see it. It can lead to that, but it probably isn’t a priority, especially not right now.
I hope that’s a reasonable viewpoint too.
Pretty worthless article
For me, it’s not just that Iizuka said he was interested in a remake. I had someone who I would consider to be very reputable in these matters tell me that towards the end of the Xbox 360 generation (2013-ish) Sega was investigating if it would be possible to do a Sonic Adventure remake. Like, they were looking for an outside studio to do it.
Now that WAS seven years ago, but I think that if Sega wanted it then and Iizuka wants it now, that right there is a lot of necessary planets aligning. Not enough to outright confirm it, even with as much Sega has been leaning on Sonic Adventure references as of late, but enough to be seriously considering the possibility.
As I’ve said on twitter and I’ll say it here too. I’ll just leave this here and you can decide! https://youtu.be/dmOXNgDN6Is
Tssz writes an article about how sonic adventure remake is not confirmed.
Fans: sonic adventure remake confirmed!
Well even if we don’t get it anytime in the near future I still think we’ll get one eventually, considering remakes have been pretty profitable lately with games like Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy, Spyro The Reignited Trilogy, Resident Evil 2 & 3 Remakes, & Final Fantasy VII Remake. I mean even if there aren’t any plans to currently work on one, I still think it would be a smart idea for SEGA to do a remake. Especially considering there’s so much they could improve upon. But yeah personally I think a remake could be amazing if done right.
The article is mostly fine, but the writer coming off as a condescending, smug, smart aleck really doesn’t help matters at all. You can your raise points without coming off as an prick. Note, not a believer in this Remake at all, but I wanted to point out the tone of this op ed.
Also, That Nintendo Direct rumor is a rumor until Nintendo officially confirms it. Treating it as fact would be exactly what this article warns against.
I know right? Whoever wrote this is clearly a d-bag.
Why are you mad ? I just want a new Sonic game, I don’t care in what capacity …