Poll: 55% Say 2013 Not a Good Year for Sonic

57 Comments

1. Disappointing, though not surprising. Here’s hoping SEGA learns from this and has a better run in 2014!

2. I like how if Sonic Lost wasn’t a great game, it’s dubbed bad. *sigh* maybe its time to avoid the Sonic fanbase

   1. Maybe some of us, (me included) didn’t find anything in this game worthy of being called just okay, and don’t like this game at all.
      So it’s okay to hate on something like 06 because everyone thought it was bad, but when it comes to Lost World which pulls just as many bad moves as 06, just because it gives us Green Hill number 34 as our first stage, people can’t express their dislike to the game?

      1. But, 06 had a very legitimate reason for the hate, that was because, it was rushed, and full of glitches and/or bugs, I see no reason why lost world should deserve as much hate as 06, it may not be the the perfect sonic game, but there’s always room for improvement. and seeing as how no one will agree with me in which i don’t care, if you want hate on game just because it’s different or on a certain platform be my guest.

      2. Bold faced ass lie right here. Nowhere near as many bad moves as Sonic ’06. You people love to make shit up, if you didn’t like the game (I honestly doubt you’ve played it) just say that.

         1. So just because I said I prefer 06 to Lost World means I’m pulling BS out of my ass?
            I could name tons of problems with this game from it’s story which goes against most characterization of past games with annoyingly dumb villains to the gamplay with the constant forced use of gimmicks like stealth sections in Silent Forest to having to ride a gaint snowball for long and monotonous level in Frozen Factory and bosses that are the definition of easy.

            06 was bad because it was rushed, Lost World had more than enough time to be developed so what’s it’s excuse?

         2. It’s a bold faced lie because Lost World being bad is SUBJECTIVE while ’06 being bad is FACT. Could Lost World have been better? Hell yes, but it is not a functionally broken piece of shit with plot holes the size of the GUN Mad Convoy. I don’t LIKE a lot of games, but that doesn’t mean they suck, it just means I don’t like them. Lost World doesn’t suck, nor is it broken to hell, even if it could be better.

            Also, that snowball level is really short and easy as shit. I will continue to believe people who complain about it either play mobile games for a living, are 6 yeas old, and/or have not actually played Lost World.

      3. “Lost World which pulls just as many bad moves as 06”

         Ok, now this is a bit exaggerated

         1. Not necessarily. If people want to keep blaming glitches and rushed development for 06, then those issues don’t count as “bad moves”. Bad moves are intentional design choices that turned out to be awful, such as the time travel/non-canon storyline, or the awkward relationship between Sonic and Elise, or the inclusion of Silver at all, or Blaze’s convoluted retcon… the list goes on.

            Similarly, Lost World’s problems are not technical, but the result of poor decision making. Lost World made SO many wrong turns. It’s certainly more polished than 06, and in that regard, it’s not as much of a train wreck, but as far as conceptual “bad moves”, I’d say it’s fair to say Lost World is on par with 06.

      4. Sonic Lost World was designed correctly. Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) was not designed correctly at all. Even if Sonic Lost World is a bad game, it was created properly unlike the abomination of Sonic ’06 which failed in all categories you can deem important.

         1. Yeah, designed correctly for a half-asses platformer. I guess instant-death bomb-carts, annoying stealth sections, and monotonous snowball riding levels count as great design choices for a Sonic the Hedgehog game that doesn’t even want to be Sonic the Hedgehog.
            At least 06 tried to stay true to what the previous games did, even if it was rushed for the 15th anniversary.
            Lost World apparently has had 3 or so years of development and it not only goes against everything Sonic is about and feels like it just took them less than that to make it.
            Also, what’s the excuse for the shitty Sonic recolors in the multiplayer mode or the lack of anyone else playable at all when practically everyone in the fanbase has been SCREAMING for others playable than just Sonic and no more wisps? I know I wanted to play as Knux, Amy and Tails this time, but no, we got more stupid wisps.

         2. I hope to God the next time they add additional characters they’re just temporary wisp-like power ups. Grab an item, press a button, then Tails comes in and lifts you somewhere before flying off again, or Knuckles digs you up a handful of rings.

            That’ll serve you guys right for saying dumb shit like “wisps are replacing playable characters”

         3. I never said “Wisps are replacing characters” in the comment.
            I just said that I am tried of the wisps as a whole and would rather like to see them try something else instead of making wisps the main gimmicks.

         4. @RobotHobo64
            I didn’t say it was designed greatly, I said it was designed correctly. If you believe Lost World is a half-assed platformer than Lost World was designed correctly to be that. As for ’06, it wasn’t designed correctly to be anything on any level. It wasn’t designed well to be good, and it wasn’t designed well to be bad. It wasn’t designed well at all. Also, the past is the past. It is time to make way for the new! If you really want something to remind you of past sonic, than how about you LOOK AT EVERY SINGLE BADNIK IN THE ENTIRE GAME or the flickies or the capsules that items are in or the capsules that you free the animals from?! Many, many things refer to the legacy of Sonic so there is your “staying true to what previous games did”. I agree entirely with you on that last paragraph of yours. I’ll be honest, I was disappointed to see the wisps return, and I really am sick and tired of just Sonic. Those 2-player recolor robos? What the hell is that?! If it is supposed to be a nod over to Sonic colors than I am still angry because that game isn’t too old at all! I want to play as Knuckles or Tails and laugh at the level design as I fly over it like I always did in the Advance series! I want to play as Amy and completely obliterate enemies with her hammer like I did in Sonic Battle! Even with all this insanity, I still understand their trying to stay safe by keeping it only Sonic, but if the next game turns out being only Sonic, than I will certainly begin complaining full out. Sonic Lost World was an experiment. SEGA certainly got results and hopefully they know what to do with them in order to take Sonic into a good direction again.
            P.S. If you personally enjoy Sonic ’06 it is okay, I’m not one of those people who believes the game is all bad. The game has little bits of respect that makes me feel that I can play it and actually enjoy it.

   2. How dare someone have an opinion! For shame!

      1. Seriously, some people can’t accept that others may NOT like a game! While Sonic 2006 was rushed out the door, the game showed a lot of promise. On the other hand, Sonic Lost World was dead from conception, which is in my opinion a far worst foul up then rushing out a title that COULD have been good.

3. That resault makes utter sense. I personally think its been a worrying year myself but its totally on the cusp of tipping ether way so yeah. Agree with the “close” result.

4. yeah I was kinda dissapointed this year of the games, so I didn’t bother play or follow the game because it was just my gut feeling that tells me it will be bad, unfortunately Sonic games this year have gone the opposite of Highway…
   Let’s just hope things looks brighter next year…

5. Well, they said 2014 will be an “interesting” year for Sonic. Frankly, I’m scared.

6. Bad year because Nintendo. :V

7. This is what happens when SEGA clones Mario….

   http://metro.co.uk/2013/12/30/the-most-disappointing-video-games-of-2013-from-simcity-to-aliens-colonial-marines-4241625/

   Featuring your favourite blue hedgehog!

8. Well, you know. Most of the polls people vote NO. Even the newest poll with Ryo and several of the polls before. I mean, I respect their opinions and all because i’d be hypocritical to say I hate them for voting no all the time, because I vote yes all the time.

9. I didn’t vote, I couldn’t decide whether 2013 was good or bad, since I liked Sonic Lost World and I thought it was cool that Sonic was re-announced for SSB4, but then all that Penders stuff was there… it’s 50/50 IMO.

   1. Yeah same here I didn’t vote.

10. Both Sonic Lost World and M&S2014 were sub par. Choosing no was a no-brainer for me. As for the cartoon, we’ll see, could be decent, could be a disaster. Way too early to tell, though the unnecessary character redesigns don’t exactly instill confidence. I don’t give a rat’s ass about the Archie comics.

11. Sonic Dash was a good game, and it got a lot of downloads.

12. I think 2013 was a great year for Sonic. We had the remakes of Sonic 1 and 2, Sonic Dash was made free to play and has been a huge success, Lost World IS a good game. What the polls reflect is the fact that 2013 has been a bad year for stupid twisty “fans” who aren’t getting what they want

    1. I ultimately decided to vote no, even though I think Lost World, 1 and 2 Remastered, and Dash were fine. Well, Lost World was okay, leaning towards good for me. But I voted based not on my opinion, but on the facts.

       I was hoping 2013 would be a year that would make Sonic a little more popular, continuing a gradual climb that I would consider started in 2011. 2012 didn’t do much at all, and, the way I see it, Lost World was the only Sonic game that was advertised much at all. Since this game is so polarizing, this isn’t helping Sonic’s image at all. If anything, it could be thought of as another stereotypical Sonic game in that, while it’s not complete garbage, it has plenty of flaws that prevent it from being great overall. Like Adventure. And Adventure 2. And Heroes. And Unleashed. And the Sonic 4 saga. Do you see where I’m going with this.

       I’m not sure if 2014 holds another main series title for Sonic (probably not, we’ll likely have to wait ’til ’15 for that), but I’m hoping for the best.

       1. Good point with the “stereotypical Sonic game statement”. I agree with it except what makes Sonic Lost World different is the fact that it was a console exclusive.

          1. True. However, I would normally agree, except for one thing. The general public most likely doesn’t want to recognize the fact that LW is just that because:

             A) “OH MY GOD SEGA IS A SELLOUT.” (Which isn’t true.)
             B) “The Wii U’s a dying console.” (Which it isn’t)
             C) “I don’t have a Wii U, but don’t see the point because no other games interest me.” (Actually legit point.)

             Also, other portions of the public WILL recognize it. And go to Hell and back just to be as obnoxious as possible by spamming/shouting:

             A) “Sonic should be Nintendo ONLY.” (How about not?)
             B) “YOU ALL SUCK, LOST WORLD IS AMAZING!” (This statement is SO exaggerated.)

             I don’t think any of these statements are true. Too bad anyone and everyone outside of the fanbase does. And that the fanbase is so torn apart because of Lost World that no one will act maturely, lest ye words be fallin’ on deaf ears.

13. I would’ve voted yes if Penders hadn’t fucked up my favorite comic. Or if Lost World 3DS (the only version I’ve played so far) didn’t suck so terribly.

    1. This was it for me as well, the mediocre/meh Sonic Lost World and the Ken Penders stuff. Just really didn’t seem right to me to say 2013 was at all a good year for me with this franchise.

14. It was a horrible year for Sonic in terms of sales. What makes it even worse is that Sonic Dash, a F2P “game”, generated the most profit for Sega. Sonic Dash can be far more damaging than ’06 ever was. In the modern gaming industry, more kids are spending their parents money on red ring microtransactions than on actual games like Lost World. Fortunately, the popularity of these games come and go.

    The game review scores only really effected the idiot Nintendo fanboy demographic (reddit, forums, yt, etc). Game reviewers by default give mediocre Nintendo/Indie games that are worse than Lost World high scores.

    Also, Lost World was poorly advertised, and I personally blame The Deadly Six. They were trying to target the American CG kid movie market and failed.

15. To be honest I’m tired of seeing sega release old sonic game over and over and saying “welp that’s a rap. No new game on the 3ds just sonic one again not for free in all of its enhanced glory.

16. Eh, is all I can say.

17. Let’s see: Sonic Dash, Sonic Lost World, Mario and Sonic at the 2014 Sochi Olympic Winter Games, 3D Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic 1 & 2 remastered. No disrespect to Taxman and Stealth at all, but when my only excitement this year for Sonic is to replay over 20 year old games…as a whole, that’s not a good year. Remasters should be icing on the cake, yet they’re highlights of the year and to me that’s sad.
    Dash is another throw away endless runner clone that lacks depth, personality, style, and true rewards which makes it’s replayability worthless, and what’s sad is that Sonic is a character with all the necessary components to DOMINATE that genre of game. Mario & Sonic is always mediocre, and don’t let me get started on the Mario wannabe that is Lost World.
    Good year for Sonic? Not close.

18. I voted Yes due to the Sonic 1 and 2 remakes. Also, I’m playing the 3DS version of Lost World (currently on Tropical Coast) and for all its little flaws, I actually really enjoy it and I think it’s a fun, if forgettable game. What else could you expect from a Sonic game? Overall, they’re great but there are always questionable design choices. I don’t see how this game is any different.

    1. I thought it was a pretty good game up until Frozen Factory. Then it all went downhill rapidly.

       Didn’t hate the Special Stages as much as most people, though. They’re easy once you get the hang of it.

       1. We’ll see how I do at Frozen Factory…even the screenshots of Act 3 made me feel queasy. How are the zones after that (Silent Forest/Sky Road)? I got sidetracked recently with ALBW.

          Also, I like the special stages, the controls are actually very well done. It’s just that the 3DS gyroscope is too accurate- when Sonic needs to do a 180º, you have to physically do a 180º as well XD A circle pad option would have made these stages much more playable in cramped situations.

19. Most people who said no are most likely trashing Sonic because they don’t have, or want a Wii U. Well it’s their loss, because the Wii U is a great console. Not even the Wii lasted as fun lasting as the year and month I’ve had my Wii U for. Sonic Lost World isn’t the best Sonic game, but it was fun and unique. The cutscenes were a lot better than the ones seen in Sonic Colors and Generations. The dialogue was fun and engaging, the humor wasn’t too corny, or filled with one liners, and there was action and suspense. It was the best character interaction in a Sonic game since Sonic Riders Zero Gravity. The Wii U version was a lot better than the lazy 3ds version. Sonic Lost World isn’t the Sonic game we are all used to, but it was interesting for me. I sure hope Sega makes a 3rd Sonic Adventure entry, with multiple required or optional characters, but all have the same missions as Sonic, just race to the finish.

    1. No, we are simply looking at all the facts and factors. Sonic Lost World did not sell great and it alienated fans as it tried to hard to build off the success with Mario. My friend who is a huge Nintendo fan even gave a wtf when she saw that Sonic Lost World had a Yoshi Island dlc zone. Mario and Sonic at the Sochi Winter 2014 Olympic Games was mediocre and not very better than its predecessor. I could care less that it was on the Wii U along with a lot others who accepted the partnership with Ninety just for it to backfire. The Penders case made it worse for it alienated the fans of the comics making it difficult for long time fans to get back into the comics after a long hiatus. There were more negatives than positives for Sonic this year.

20. Not a bad year, not a great year.. Sonic Lost World wasn’t as awful as some people seem to say, but for sure should have been much more than what it is, it was so promising…. But at least sega tried something new (for sonic). there wa the olympic games with mario i heard was as bad as the previous ones. In the other hand we ve had 3D Sonic the hedgehog on 3DS , Sonic 2 remastered and Sonic dash on mobiles that were good surprises. But nothing very exciting this year to be honnest. I don’t know what one can expect for 2014, i wonder were the sonic franchise will be going… i hope not in the wall!

21. First of, I will judge if it was good year by looking at sales, reception and business decisions, NOT my personal opinion on SLW(which I have not played so stfu)

    The Good
    Sonic Dash became free to play and sold a lot
    Sonic Jump sold well
    Sonic in Smash
    Remastered classic games preformed well and were critical successes…. That’s it

    The Bad
    Mario and Sonic bombed commercially and critically ( might be a good thing)
    SLW as a whole did not help with Sonic’s bad reception outside the core base, which did not even get the game due to it being an exculsive on a currently dead console. It was aimed towards Nintendo fans instead of Sonic fans. It had mixed to negative reviews, few were positive. It divided and broke the fanbase even more than imaginable. It took too much cues from Mario (even Dark Lord Izuka admited this) which does not look good for a series that was basically Anti Mario. People, not the fanbase, probably would not like this because while the 90’s are over, Sonic will ALWAYS be remebered as the gaming giant that took down Nintendo(why else would he be in SSBB ?)Him copying Mario makes Sonic, Sonic Team, and SEGA look like sellouts. It does not help that Nintendo is now advertising their future games with free DLC/Sonic becoming more Nintendo-like. This screams sellout.
    SLW also flopped. Hard
    Sonic Dash being F2P does not really help with sales
    Ken Penders, nuff said
    DLC for All Stars Transformed exclusively to PC
    Ken Pontac and Warren Graff admiting to knowing nothing about the framchise they are writing about, firther reflecting SEGA of Japan’s horrible treatment of the Sonic franchise since they did not even bother to tell them anything
    Fan sites shuting down
    Sonic boom having very low attendance
    Takashi Izuka still has no idea about Sonic.

    Long Story short, Not the worst year of Sonic, but definitely not a “good” year either

22. This year wasn’t great for Sonic but nothing can top 2006.

23. I consider this Sonic’s worst year since Unleashed, but it’s still not quite that bad. Sure, Lost World flopped one way or another, but I remained interested in what Sonic Team’s next move will be.

24. The wii u isn’t failing.It is doing great,and awesome games like super mario 3D world,wind waker hd are out,and other titles like ssb4,mario kart 8 and donkey kong tropical freeze will sell awesome.
    But back on subject:this has been a very “meh” year for sonic.if you look game wise it’s been a great year.you’ve got sonic jump,and sonic dash doing amazing.and the excellent Sonic 1 and 2 remakes are excellent.Sonic Lost World wasn’t the worst sonic game in a while,and sonic the hedgehog 3D came out.Over all i say this was a great year for gaming in general.with the ps4,and x-bone out,plus the wii u getting some steam,and awesome games like a link between worlds and super mario 3D world were released,This was a good year for me as a gamer and a sonic fan.

25. When you really think about it, was 2013 really a good year for anything? I mean anything?

    1. Certainly not for me.. I don’t think this was a bad year for Sonic (I personally like SLW) but it wasn’t their best. Nothing can top 2006.. XD

    2. it was a stale year haha

26. I’m “meh” about this since I tend to stay away from people’s opinions swaying me and that I don’t even have a WiiU to play Sonic Lost World on.
    Heh, overall, the gameplay looks like something fun. I like trying new gameplay styles, especially when it’s Sonic-related. Nothing ever really gave me a sour taste in my mouth…yet.

27. I didn’t want to say anything about Sonic Lost World until I got the game, but now that I have it I feel free to share my thoughts.

    One thing to note is that the story is getting better. There were actual story arcs and depths within the cut-scenes, and they actually encouraged me to keep playing. The levels weren’t that different from one another and I’m not the biggest fan of the “tube” idea, but the story was so fun to watch I had to keep playing to see what will happen next.

    I was actually surprised with the story because I did not expect it to be interesting. Looking at recent games like Sonic Generations & Sonic Colors, I expected a cheesy/ light story that just seem like fillers so the level choice can somewhat make sense. The jokes in Sonic Colors were the most irratating thing about the game because NONE of them were funny. But I actually enjoyed the jokes in this game because they were ACTUALLY FUNNY. Plus the game had it’s serious moments to (sort of).

    My biggest complaint is that this game is played way too much like a mario game. Each mario game is the same fricken thing when it comes to world order. It’s not always in this order but it’s usually like: first is a grassy classic iconic first level world, then a dessert, then tropical, then snowy, then a cloud world, and they ALWAYS have the last world based around a volcano theme. This idea gets really boring and repetitive and it’s the reason why I don’t really buy mario games any more, because once you’ve played one, you’ve played them all. This is what I’m afraid of because I really hope Sonic doesn’t become like this. Sonic goes from setting to setting all the time. One game his first stage is in san fransisco (SA2), one game it’s a beach (SA), one game it’s greece (Sonic Unleashed), and one game it’s at an amusement park (Sonic Colors). I’ve always like the sonic franchise because you never know what to expect. I gaurante the next mario game will start with a grassy level and end with a volcano level, and I don’t want that BS of having the same level settings in every game to happen to Sonic.

    I would say this is a good Sonic game, but just a one time thing. Advise I would give to SEGA is to stop trying to be like Mario & nintendo. People buy Sonic games because they give them joy that Mario games can never do. Remember, SEGA does what nintendon’t.

    I really hope for the best for Sonic, and hope he stays true to himself in the next game.

    1. Your thoughts mirror what the majority of people are saying, though I’m going to defend Mario by saying that its consistency is a good thing. They are getting stale from a technical standpoint (I swear, if another NSMB comes out, I’m going to vomit), but when you buy a Mario game, you know it’s going to be a solid game with little to no learning curve, and people don’t want to spend time learning new controls- they want to dive right into the game. The most divisive Mario games, SMB2 and Sunshine, are also the most different.

       All this is to say that I think Lost World’s biggest flaw is that it tries to set itself apart, but not always in the right way- unnecessary changes to homing attack, running, wisps, etc. At the same time, it copies Mario for what people don’t like about that series- the tired level tropes. There’s a solid game there, but people take one look at SLW, and think “this is something new that I don’t want to learn how to play”.

28. Yay because we have Hidden Palace. =P

29. I got SLW for Christmas, and I’m genuinely having a blast on it so far. Looks like it’s just me…

30. its ad that bc o slow the every new sonic game suck argument comes up. when just last year critics were saying the newest sonic games are going a step in the right direction they completely discount the franchises achievements of last year and the year before like they are flip flopping or something.
    im not too surprised this year bc sonic kinda has a history of transitioning badly to new consoles. but im sure that could be fixed if sega took more time on their games =\. idk

31. EDIT****
    its sad that bc of slw the every new sonic game sucks argument comes up. when just last year critics were saying the newest sonic games are going a step in the right direction they completely discount the franchises achievements of last year and the year before like they are flip flopping or something.
    im not too surprised this year bc sonic kinda has a history of transitioning badly to new consoles. but im sure that could be fixed if sega took more time on their games =\. idk

32. 2013 was the year I finally understood that Sonic as I knew him is no more. He’s been reduced to a shallow americanized sell out, his games can never seem to move beyond the average status anymore.

    The comics are a joke that does nothing but portray him as a idiot man child in need of a woman to bail him out and his current Japanese creators don’t even care about him beyond using his image to sell their latest product.

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