How Sega ruined Sonic

Posted Dec 4, 2006 at 5:52AM by QJ Staff Listed in: Wii, PS3, Xbox 360 Tags: Dr. Eggman, Sega, Sonic, YouTube

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Why was Sonic such a big hit back in the early 90's? Well, he was cool, and he was blue, and the early 90's after all was the era of Grunge, being blue back then was sort of hip. Tragically hip. Oh never-mind. Ignore that corny wordplay.

Sonic was a big hit because the Hedgehog's games featured jaw dropping loops, psychedelic bonus rounds, and impressive boss-battles against insane mechanical creations. The game was hot, action-packed, and was definitely exciting (some are daring enough to say that they felt that it was more exciting than all those Mario Clones)

So how did Sega manage to degrade a great blue hyper-speed franchise? Some of us here at QJ believe that it was when somebody decided to make Sonic open his mouth. Allow us to make this comparison. Play the two YouTube vids below. (Not at the same time of course.)

The one on the left is how Sonic sounds in most English voice-overs. The one on the right is how Sonic sounds in Japanese. See the difference? Despite the sheer insanity of HELLOOOOOO EBURIBODAAAYYYY, Sonic sounds less annoying. Some might think that the slightly deeper voice even makes him sound cool and slightly kooky.

Of course, there are other more legitimate reasons for the Sonic's decline in quality over the years. For example, racketboy of Retro Gaming has a long and detailed article up regarding the why and how of the degradation. We'll give you a quick enumeration of his points:

The intense sense of speed and the awe-inspiring loops became less important as the franchise aged. With every successive iteration, you were most of the time treated to a temperamental 3D camera instead of adrenaline and fast-paced fun.
Sonic Adventure ushered in re-branded Â“Dr. EggmanÂ” and replaced his cool mechanical boss battles with strange creatures and dim-witted schemes to collect Chaos Emeralds.
SegaÂ’s first original multi-platform Sonic game was Sonic Heroes. Heroes took some of the best aspects of the Sonic Adventure series and put a new spin on them. However, that spin consisted of forcing players to use teams of three characters at a time, it also seemed to focus less on speed and reaction time and brought it more into the league of typical platform games as opposed to the high standards that Sonic was once known for.
Sega somehow thought that the best way to solve the fact that the Sonic franchise was getting tired was to have a game centered around Shadow the Hedgehog. Shadow was supposed to be the Sonic for the hardcore gamers that needed a rough edge. As soon as everybody laid their eyes on the promotional artwork and screenshots filled with the pistol-packing hedgehog, the gaming community knew Sega was losing it.
There is no doubt that the new Sonic the Hedgehog for the Xbox 360 looks nice, but as the abysmal reviews indicate, graphics are not everything.
In order to push its cutting-edge graphics to the limit, Sega, in their infinite wisdom, felt the need to bring Sonic and his friends into a more realistic world, filled with life-like humans. There is something creepy about some giant hedgehogs interacting with humans.
Sega doesn't seem to know what it wants to do with Sonic. It seems like Sega assigns various quick-and-dirty development projects in order to see what ideas sticks with consumers.

For more details on racketboy's points feel free to click on our VIA link below.

Via Retro Gaming

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Comments

# Lack of Sega console killed Sonic's cool. — Guest 2006-12-04 01:49

Whoa....that cartoon clip was terrible. But, I gotta say, I thought of Sonic as "cool" only after I played Sonic Adventure on DC. Also, it's unfair to compare the voices from a cartoon and a game. The VO for the US Sonic Adventure wasn't terrible and Adventure 2 was even better. I think Sonic's hay day was when he had a whole console release backing his arrival. That is also what went wrong with all the next-gen console releases. No mascots. No Master Chief, no Mario, and no Crash, (although Crash is a weak ass mascot, he's still what I associate with Playstation). Nintendo did atleast have Zelda, which I believe was a damn smart move after what they did with Luigi's Mansion for the GC release.

# oh sega! — mse369 2006-12-04 01:56

its segas thinkin that destroyed its game consoles and got it to become a software company like this... i always thought sega had amazing ideas theyre just getting ruined by not having theyre own console to develop for because as soon as they started developing multi-platform games...when they had theyre own console they would develop soo much better for it because they knew everything about it....ive been thinking lately about how they should get back in the game!

# They still have a chance.. — Guest 2006-12-04 02:00

...Ever played Sonic Rush?

Sega still has it in them to make a good Sonic game. They just need to kill of all the cruddy support characters, 'cept maybe Tails and knuckles and stop making useless new ones who shold never show up again.

Shadow the hedgehog and The 360 game were turds ti say the least.

Sonic Wildfire looks more based around speed than a storyline, maybe they just like to make the good games just for Nintendo consoles.

Then Again I can't really comment on wildfire without playing it.

# This is rubbish... — Guest 2006-12-04 02:37

It was when they changed it from a 2-D to a 3-D game. In 3-D you needed to be more aware as there was not just 2 directions to be careful of, so they had to slow him down. Slowing sonic down is what's killed him.

Games like Sonic Rush are great, the 3-D's still there for people who care about graphics that much, but it was a 2-D game so the speed was back in as you didn't need as much time to react.

# fds — Guest 2006-12-04 03:06

Sonic rush is about 100x better than any 3d sonic game.

But still... it's no sonic 1-3 or sonic and knuckles. It's still the right direction to be looking in if they want to return to greatness though. The level design doesn't quite match up to the old games. There's also the fact that while racing through at top speed was a major part of the game, there were entire levels which were played at quite slow speeds, focusing on platforming.

But the 3d games are just depressing. Sonic Adventure 1 at least seemed like it was their first shot, sure to improve in the future. Nope. And, I agree about Sonic's voice. He'd have been better off never speaking like link or... seldom like mario. It's a bit too late to take that back, we all associate that annoying voice with him now.

I suppose there's always a chance, but I just see sega continuing to take it in this horrible, disturbing direction rather than listen to any reviewers, gamers, sales charts, etc. Their answer each time has been to give *more* crappy characters, cinematics, and less gameplay. "OH, I KNOW. Let's make him grind rails!" wtf?

# BS — Shrink 2006-12-04 03:07

Man, this is really stupid sh't!

What are you talking about actually?

The video on the rigth side shows a commercial. The guy who speeks announces Sonic he is not his syncro-voice!

Think. Than post.

# .. — Guest 2006-12-04 03:31

yes he is ?

# yup — Guest 2006-12-04 04:11

thats what i thought

have they even played the jpn release of it?

# ya — Guest 2006-12-04 04:20

They should have just kept the game 2D like it was before and just improved on graphics/gameplay.

# think THEN post — Guest 2006-12-04 04:35

How about think, write, spellcheck/grammar, then post. If you're going to be a jerk, at least sound educated!

# Actually — Guest 2006-12-04 05:02

"Sarah: That's Daddy's rocket!

Sonic: What you say?"

Ahahahahha! WTF with the "all your base" quotes? Hilarious!

Man. Reminds me of the days of yore, when I was young and had the time to enjoy cartoons in their entirety.

The english voiceovers are slightly off kilter, but I really don't think the Japanese voiceovers are that much better or less annoying. Ian C., you posted the Naruto manga reference in an earlier post? Then I assume you watch anime. I'm willing to bet you're of the camp that believes that ANYTHING in Japanese sounds better than their English counterparts.

Other than preference, there's a partial reason for that. When you can't really understand what the other person is saying, you kind of fill in the gaps by listening to their tone of voice. You fill in gaps that aren't necessarily there. It's kind of like an implied line, everybody puts it where it's supposed to be in their own head. Or kind of like a book. Every character's voice is right in your head because you make it that way.

# no, he is — Guest 2006-12-04 05:08

Actually, that IS Sonic's voice in the Japanese commercial.

Near the end, he says "ore wa Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog." (forgive the mix of English and Romaji, you get the idea) which translates to "I am Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog".

# Sega Failed — Guest 2006-12-04 05:53

Sega never knew how to do good 3d games,that killed them.

Games like Mario,Megaman and Sonic are better on 2D.5 Megaman Maveric Hunter x Proved that.

# what? — Mattroid 2006-12-04 05:56

I've never heard Sonic's voice like that...To be fair, since the Japanese clip is from Sonic Adventure, they should have used a clip from the US version of SA. While his voice was still annoying, it wasn't as bad as that first clip. Is that an english dub of one of the animes? I never saw any of those which is why I don't recognize that voice, I guess. I don't even remember his voice being like that in the old cartoons, but I could be wrong.

# ... — Guest 2006-12-04 06:11

_______________ _______________ ____________

*************** *************** ************

-------------------------------------------------------------------

HOW SEGA *****ED WITH SONIC

Sonic really did hit his prime not on the dreamcast,

the gamecube, xbox, ps2, or even the gba. Sonic

was a god with 1 game ( or 2 )

Sonic The Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles. These two games

together ( which were ment to be one, but due to time

constraints became 2) Were THE best sonic game to date.

With hits big, NUMEROUS levels ( none of this 6 acts per

game crap), characters that add to story, and are not just added to the story for more crappy characters such as amy, cream, etc, and special abilitys such as the fire, lightning and bubble.

I tried sonic advanced and was surprised how CRAPPY IT WAS. It was slow, and nothing good remained since then. Where were the days when you needed to get 14 chaos gems ( yes 14 in sonic3 and knuckles), and where had the ability to go super sonic in any level after you got all the gems? Sega got rid of that ability. Sonic is now dead to me, and im glad sega had to stop making systems.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

*************** *************** ***************

_______________ _______________ _______________

# Wanna know what killed sonic? — Guest 2006-12-04 07:06

Heres a thought, perhaps Sega felt the need to keep up with what the consumer wants, Pretty lookin games with as much realistic engines the system can handle. Lots of explosions and massive humanoid robots. A story about how sonic needs to change/save the world from people looking to find the secrets of the chaos jewels.

strange no? Would anyone here play a sonic game with this story "Dr. Robotnick has stolen the animals and turned them into mindless robots! Using the robots to create chaos in his search for magic jewels that could power a doomsday device!! Help Sonic run through 8 zones freeing his animal pals and stopping Dr. Robotnicks plans every step of the way!"

Prolly not. I have seen how games marketed like this goes. Nintendo does this all the time and they are branded a childs toy and done away with. So in conclusion, People who scream "We want big guns, big fire and big tits" where heard and we all have to play the outcome.

Or just wait for Sonic and the secret rings cause that looks to be the first TRUE 3D sonic game. One of the main things that always bugged me about sonic games latter on in the series was the fact that it went from running on solid ground to running for a sec then having to jump cause for some reason EVERY STAGE are floating islands that we have to play through. Ive died more times from falling into water of off a cliff than from the botnicks. Sonic games they rnt.

Thats my rant. Peace.

# 2D Sonic Mindset — CHUCKINGROCKSATSPACESHIPS 2006-12-04 07:49

I think that the newer Sonics strayed from the idea of what Sonic is supposed to be like. Take for instance Sonic and Sonic 2 for the Genesis. Those two versions of Sonic gave a truer feel of accomplishment when you went though the game, at least to me it did. Also Sonic himself seems dumb now. I remember the feeling when I first thought of the theme of Sonic, a hedgehog that was trying to save the other animals from becoming robots and to stop Dr. Robotnick. I thought at the time "wow, thats a cool idea. Lets see what happens at the end." Now its not like that because you already know whats at the end of just about every game. Also Sonic 1 and 2 feel different then the rest. It seems that Sonic needs to stay at these roots and stop being the stupid huge hedgehog that meets people and stuff. I think it was a bad idea to make him look huge compared to the human characters but the original games it was cool because you really did not see them. They should have kept him small compared to humans. There are many things I believe that Sega needs to do to make a better next gen Sonic and I hope they look at the old ones closer and fix the idea before going any further with it.

# sega did a gr8 job!!! sega4evR — Guest 2006-12-04 08:02

I LOVE SONIC AND I LOVE THE DREAMCAST!!! the psp version sux but i think the dreamcast version was the best EVR..! sega 4 life, (dreamcast HAD a microsoft chip and IS stronger than the ps2!!) cant believe sega rally and doa2 were all FLASHY sega titles but why did it fail!??

# Wanna know what killed sonic? — Guest 2006-12-04 08:10

# Meh.. — Gamer 2006-12-04 08:54

Sonic is okay, sega is just using some wrong moves. I'll keep supporting Sonic by buying the games. What'd i like to see is a new Skie of Arcadia. Sega needs to bring back that game, i would definitely buy that game. Sega could try making these Sonic more entertaining by making it less easy in general, less save points. Graphics may be appealing to some but its not to all, gameplay appeals most. Chao Garden would be nice to have. The special stages to get chaos emeralds in Sonic Heroes very good idea. If they don't have that in the Sonic The Hedgehog for PS3 then it was a bad move. Any guns in a Sonic game is a definite no no. They need to put Sonic, Shadow in a different perspective or AT LEAST make a Sonic Adventure 3. I liked Sonic Adventure and 2 they were the best 3D Sonic games ever. I was hyped for shadow the hedgehog in the beginning but when they showed pictures of him having a gun? I'm like WTF we do not need guns. But, i bought it anyway. Shadow the Hedgehog was a failure in my hands, i was thinking it'd be like Sonic Adventure somewhat but it was a whole different atmosphere. I just stopped playing it, it didn't feel like any Sonic game. Personally, i think they need to go towards the Sonic Adventure type games again and see how it goes, it would definitely break the sales they've been having for these past few sonic games. Objectives was a trash thing, it could have been another type of mode. The main game should be based on a storyline only basis and try getting better storywriters really. Sega just needs to be reactionary. Go back into the past and see what made these games Sonic.

# Unfair comparison — Guest 2006-12-04 09:10

You shouldn't compare voices, with one from 2000 and one from 90's or 80's. Compare it to the English voice used now in cartoons and games. English beats the Japanese one.

# vvv — CHUCKINGROCKSATSPACESHIPS 2006-12-04 10:53

Good Point

# Do you notice — badam 2006-12-04 11:49

Have you noticed that Tails voice is getting gayer and gayer in games and tv shows

# heh, ok — Optimusjd 2006-12-04 12:03

Other than the obvious language difference the voices are very similiar. But whatever floats your boat...

# Required subjects suck — Guest 2006-12-04 13:10

There was also the whole lack of a Sonic game AT ALL on the Saturn... that was a major *****up.

# the reason — Guest 2006-12-04 18:19

Sega killed Sonic the same way Nentindo killed Mario (at least to me) making it fully 3D.

Neither game lends it self to 3D, other games do it better.

# ehm... — Guest 2006-12-04 20:20

I dont understand you guys. Sonic adventure was one of the best games EVER. Good story, nice speeds and good music. Awesome bosses. And levels where u have the feeling like your on vacation. Most games are getting dark and stuff. Also the thing u walk in a city to go to your level is very good. And the casino and chau's... Brilliant! That was also why Mario 64 became so famous. It gives a special feeling in the game. After Sonic adventure 1 they removed the level part but was still a good game thanks to its story line. After that it all sucked. Like Sonic heroes sucked aswell. U had to stop to much and there was something with the graphics i didnt like. Now with the new sonic the city part is back. And the levels with vacation feelin to. Never actually played it but looks prety cool. So i dont think that they ruined sonic after all.

# Voices in my head... — Guest 2006-12-04 21:22

Actually, I found the "Herooo eburiboday" bit very annoying. And sorry to disappoint, but I prefer certain English voice-acting performances over the original Japanese seiyuu.

FFXII's in particular is quite nice. Also the Canadian voice-over of Shishio Makoto from Ruroni Kenshin is superior (IMHO) than the original Japanese.

I like the tone of the sound of the Japanese voice over for Sonic better than the western performance. It's less high-pitched and less annoying. And the acting part of voice acting is definitely there. The expression of emotion and intonation is apt. Imagine both voices speaking absolute rubbish. Which voice would you go with?

I've spent an ample amount of time with voice-actors. I know when something 'sounds' off.

Anyway it's all a matter of preference, and I did sort of avoid declaring that the Japanese voice-over is "absolutely" better. Using the phrase "some might think" is far from saying something that should be taken as an absolute.

# sonic adventure shouldnt have had 7 characters tho — Guest 2006-12-05 08:41

i think sonic team should talk to criterion about making games go fast and then wed have agood sonic game,

"there is only one sonic"

# alright — Guest 2006-12-05 10:28

Ok then, thanks Ian for sounding offended about something that I gave a rational response to.

Don't worry, you don't disappoint.

# Well if you dumb-*****s ask-me! — Guest 2006-12-13 04:01

Its the *****ing-Fans. Who can`t learn to be satfiled. That are ruining the series,That and theres still satsrs to look forward

# Well if you dumb-*****s ask-me! — Guest 2006-12-13 04:05

The *****ing-fans are ruining the series. due the to they can`t learn to be satafiled,

# Best Selling Sonic.. — CheWu 2006-12-13 09:00

The Best Selling Sonic Game EVER Was Sonic The Hedgegog 2 For The Mega Drive/Genesis... That Says It All.. sorta.. But SA and SA2 were the best 3D Sonic's its just a shame about the eggman crap... just started as a nickname which was alright and then he called himself eggman who would call themselves Dr. Eggman???

i still like the new one but it never compares

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