Jon Rooke, the Marketing Director for SEGA Europe, is definitely aware of this struggle and promises to return Sonic the Hedgehog back to the way it used to be.
Sonic the Hedgehog is one of those perfect examples of a video game franchise having an incredibly difficult time breaking out from two dimensions into three. It’s complicated to take a game so perfectly crafted to the character’s momentum, like in the original Sonic games, and adapt it to the modern era. Sonic has gone from behaving like a vehicle boosting down a pathway, to bashing enemies as a werewolf, to slicing up his enemies with his sword, Caliburn. None of these concepts really stuck all too well, with the latter two serving as mere spin-offs of the Sonic formula.
But you have to wonder Jon Rooke means exactly. Sure, there’s mention of Sonic’s heyday being in 2D, but I can remember a time when the Sonic Adventure series on the Dreamcast was absolutely on fire. It was everyone’s favorite back in elementary school. But maybe someday soon we’ll have a shiny new Sonic game that we all can agree is a comeback for the beloved series.
Would you rather see more “Classic Sonic” inspired games? Or are you a little more nostalgic for the era of Sonic on the Dreamcast? Let us know!