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Sonic 4 Episode 2 gameplay trailer

B

BrownieVonTurdmeisterIII

Neo Member
Not gonna lie, the screenshots had me slightly giddy for more. But this...well...

disappointed.gif
 
T

TheCongressman1

Member
Kokonoe said:
Sonic 4 Episode 1 has mixed reviews, but that's not the point. If you've seen the Sonic fanbase, you'd know what i'm talking about.
Click to expand...

I have seen them, and that includes a lot of intelligent people that know what it takes to make a good Sonic game. People who have studied the classics inside and out, and know them better than Naka himself. I'd hand the fate of Sonic over to those people in a heart beat.



Dark Schala said:
I don't like any of Sonic's animations in the Sonic 4 games at all. Not even his idle animation.

There's something about his animations that rub me the wrong way.
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I like the rolling animation, and that's about it.
 
R

RagnarokX

Member
claviertekky said:
Really? If the game is just like the first game, then that game design was done intentionally.

In other words, this sequel would be a cruel joke.

If you tell someone not to do something, and he/she goes does it, that's done on purpose equivalent to a big middle finger.

Good companies listen to their customers. Bad ones do not.
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Well, when Nintendo listens to fans it tends to bite them. People hate the look of Wind Waker so they make gritty Twilight Princess, but then fans are upset it doesn't look like Wind Waker, so they make Skyward Sword and fans complain it doesn't look like Twilight Princess. The big difference from Sega though is that Nintendo is actually competent.

One reason fan input is actually warranted in this case is that it's SUPPOSED TO BE SONIC 4. They are deliberately evoking the Genesis games. If they aren't trying to please the Classic fans then what the hell is the point? Call it Sonic Advance 4 and call it a day.
 
P

phantomsnake

Neo Member
Dark Schala said:
Homing attack works in games where the level design facilitates it, like Sonic Generations or Sonic Colours, for example.

Here? springs springs springs springs springs springs springs oh god i am drowning in them. The level design seems a little better than Episode 1's, but not by much.
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Ok, then they should design levels that don't need the homing attack, at least in these games.

I agree about the springs. The philosophy behind modern Sonic games seems to be that Sonic must never stop moving, so let's put springs everywhere there is a wall or obstacle so you can just keep holding on right and/or up. But the early games they are trying to evoke with Sonic 4 weren't like that at all.
 
B

BlazeHedgehog

Member
qq more said:
Seriously, what is with Sega and Dimps on Sonic 4 in general? Sonic 4 is such a huge unnecessary stepback from the Genesis games.
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I sat here and tried to come up with some stuff but I honestly don't know. Dimps has made a lot of Sonic games - with a few exceptions, one Sonic game every 2-3 years since 2000 (Pocket Adventure, Advance 1, 2, 3, Battle, Rush, Rush Adventure, Unleashed Wii, Sonic 4, Colors DS, Generations 3DS).

It could just be that they're worn out. It could be that they're only as good as the direction they're given. It could be a combination of both. Dimps knows how to do "classic Sonic" physics, they nailed them perfectly in Sonic Pocket Adventure and Sonic Advance 1.

But for some reason they've been getting lazier and sloppier. Sonic Colors DS wasn't that great of a game, and from what I hear, Sonic Generations 3DS is pretty lame, too. I'd say maybe Sega's just giving them strict budgets or limited amounts of time, but Sonic 4 Episode 1 says contrary, given it was delayed and had two entire levels chopped out for qualitative reasons. It also took them nearly SIX MONTHS to do so, which, considering what those levels were replaced with, seems a bit excessive. There's development studios that can have a game up and running in alpha in six months; redesigning two levels in a near-final version of a project doesn't seem like it should take quite that long.
 
C

clav

Member
0 HP said:
Why would a good company listen to creative input from the fans?
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TheCongressman1 said:
Obviously. I mean, they were doing so well without us. Ep 1 was a blast.
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RagnarokX said:
Well, when Nintendo listens to fans it tends to bite them. People hate the look of Wind Waker so they make gritty Twilight Princess, but then fans are upset it doesn't look like Wind Waker, so they make Skyward Sword and fans complain it doesn't look like Twilight Princess. The big difference from Sega though is that Nintendo is actually competent.
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Everyone says the physics, level design, and homing attack are whack. These problems are universally agreed from episode one.

Aren't these problems the priorities that the sequel must fix especially with a title that says it's Sonic 4 and claims to take place after Sonic 3&K? A sequel should keep what was best about the previous game and fix what was wrong.

This seems to be a management issue. Clearly the teams don't care if the games play like the originals despite emulating such characteristics with their own previous games like Sonic Advance 1.

Again, if the team cannot fix these problems, then forget about this game. They truly don't care and are giving their fans the bird.

jman2050 said:
You just have to find the right Sonic fans.

AKA anyone who doesn't have a deviantart account and is not younger than the Sega Dreamcast.
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This guy gets it.

If you let a person who knows the innards like Taxman who put out an excellent multiplatform port of Sonic CD, everyone is happy.

While I don't expect Taxman to work on a new Sonic game, I expect developers of the newer series to treat their games with the same love that fans do.

Clearly what we have is a turd for episode one, and the sequel at the moment looks no different.
 
D

Dark Schala

Eloquent Princess
I swore I read a famitsu interview where Iizuka basically implied that Dimps had very little time to develop the 3DS version of Sonic Generations.

Dark Schala said:
So far (still reading it and it's really damn long), it's mostly stuff we already know. For a question about how the Sonic games are usually released two years apart, that it was strange the we got Colours the previous year and Generations this year, Iizuka responds that says that Generations and Colours were developed almost at the same time.

From how he's saying it, it seems like Generations 3DS was almost like an afterthought. But since the 3DS was new, and Sonic was popular on Nintendo systems, they decided to make the 3DS version a reality. Generations 3DS needed more time for development since it was on new hardware.

Around the time of E3, he says that Generations HD's stages were pretty much completed and they went into an "adjustment period" with that version (I guess to polish it up), but the 3DS version was far from finished at that point. Green Hill was pretty much the only thing they could have showed.

...

The 3DS version (Blue Adventure) is made for new and old fans alike, and to be accessible to even children who have no knowledge of Sonic['s past]. It omits the skill customization element, but it's easier to play.
Click to expand...

phantomsnake said:
Ok, then they should design levels that don't need the homing attack, at least in these games.

I agree about the springs. The philosophy behind modern Sonic games seems to be that Sonic must never stop moving, so let's put springs everywhere there is a wall or obstacle so you can just keep holding on right and/or up. But the early games they are trying to evoke with Sonic 4 weren't like that at all.
Click to expand...
The thing about the Homing Attack is that, and I finally noticed this in Sonic Generations, it makes platforming and attacking enemies in 3D much easier and more fluid than it would be if the games didn't have the Homing Attack. Playing the 3D segments without the homing attack is rather awkward to attack enemies with it, so I guess that's why they added it to Sonic Adventure. Hence why I don't mind it in the 3D sections since the level design in the most recent two Sonic console titles facilitates the implementation of the skill rather well--in Modern Sky Sanctuary in particular.

In the 2D games, Homing Attack isn't really needed because you can easily jump on enemies to boost your jump higher or you can use the terrain to boost yourself to the higher path.

I don't really understand Dimps's fascination with springs much.
 
S

ShadiWulf

Member
I think one of the reasons the screens looked so much better is because they weren't horribly compressed like the video seems to be. I say wait for a higher quality video before assuming the game looks bad. I just can't see screens that looked so good looking so bad in motion.

Dark Schala said:
I swore I read a famitsu interview where Iizuka basically implied that Dimps had very little time to develop the 3DS version of Sonic Generations.




The thing about the Homing Attack is that, and I finally noticed this in Sonic Generations, it makes platforming and attacking enemies in 3D much easier and more fluid than it would be if the games didn't have the Homing Attack. Playing the 3D segments without the homing attack is rather awkward to attack enemies with it, so I guess that's why the added it to Sonic Adventure. Hence why I don't mind it in the 3D sections since the level design in the most recent two Sonic console titles facilitates the implementation of the skill rather well--in Modern Sky Sanctuary in particular.

In the 2D games, Homing Attack isn't really needed because you can easily jump on enemies to boost your jump higher or you can use the terrain to boost yourself to the higher path.

I don't really understand Dimps's fascination with springs much.
Click to expand...

Iizuka-san said in a Sonic Adventure video interview that homing attack was a move made so you could bounce on enemies in a 3D space like you could in 2D games.

I wonder what his excuse for Episode 2 would be if someone asked him =P I'm genuinely curious.

Edit: NVM, he's already been asked that question XD for episode 1

Digital Chumps: Speaking of changes, any insight as to why Sonic's homing attack has been incorporated into Sonic 4’s design?

Takashi Iizuka: I thought Homing Attack is effective action also for classic game design to produce good paced speedy gameplay. Also, we are able to create skyline route and try instant judgment and control to expand the variation of level design by adding this action. Please try this game and experience this.
Click to expand...

http://info.sonicretro.org/Takashi_...humps_(September_3,_2010)#On_Sonic_4.E2.80.A6
 
stuminus3

stuminus3

Member
Looks fucking great but I grew up in the 1980s so I already knew Sonic was stupid in 1991. No nostalgia goggles for me!

GOTTA GO FAST! GOTTA BREAK STUFF WITH MY HIGH SPEED NOSE! \m/ \m/
 
R

RagnarokX

Member
claviertekky said:
Everyone says the physics, level design, and homing attack are whack. These problems are universally agreed from episode one.

Aren't these problems the priorities that the sequel must fix especially with a title that says it's Sonic 4 and claims to take place after Sonic 3&K? A sequel should keep what was best about the previous game and fix what was wrong.

This seems to be a management issue. Clearly the teams don't care if the games play like the originals despite emulating such characteristics with their own previous games like Sonic Advance 1.

Again, if the team cannot fix these problems, then forget about this game. They truly don't care and are giving their fans the bird.



This guy gets it.

If you let a person who knows the innards like Taxman who put out an excellent multiplatform port of Sonic CD, everyone is happy.

While I don't expect Taxman to work on a new Sonic game, I expect developers of the newer series to treat their games with the same love that fans do.

Clearly what we have is a turd for episode one, and the sequel at the moment looks no different.
Click to expand...
What part of Sega is incompetent didn't you get? :p

They need us to tell them how to make their games not suck.
 
C

clav

Member
RagnarokX said:
What part of Sega is incompetent didn't you get? :p

They need us to tell them how to make their games not suck.
Click to expand...

Not sure if you have amnesia.

Episode one received a due date extension in development to remove the minecart level in the console versions from fan feedback backlash, and none of the gameplay elements were fixed.
 
B

BassForever

Member
As long as I can do two player with my buddy playing as Tails that's pretty much all I need to make this a day one. Playing though Sonic 2 and Sonic 3&K with my friends was always a good time.
 
S

Sciz

Member
Vidiot said:
I'm no expert but the part that really sticks out to me is when Sonic and Tails are rolling up an incline and they jump and then shoot a thousand feet into the air. That was something that happened in EP 1 a lot. You didn't even have to be going all that fast. Just jump at a incline and Sonic would do a super moon jump. I don't remember anything like that ever happening in the classics. Again I'm no expert though.
Click to expand...

Getting massive air off of slopes is one of the few things Sega's gotten right in recent games, actually. You can jump straight up to the hidden platform at the end of EHZ2 if you get up to speed and time it just right, for example.
 
E

evilromero

Member
It certainly looks better than Episode 1. I hope they start scaling back the number of main Sonic games. The franchise is too inconsistent (just talking about the platforming entries).
 
S

ShadiWulf

Member
So the trailer is up on SEGA-Press, now. The gameplay is a bit smoother and the graphics look more like the screens.

Only problem is I don't know where I could possibly upload it, I'm afraid anywhere I upload it is gonna get taken down due to getting hammered by neogaf bandwidth.

File is about 100MB zipped.
 
P

PeakPointMatrix

Member
There are new screens up. Plus Red Rings yo.
H5ucf.jpg


osFlk.jpg


qsOy5.jpg


I don't get how the screens look so good, but the trailer looks underwhelming. I'm hoping it's the trailer's quality. The visuals are seriously only a notch below Generation's 2D stuff, if that much.
 
S

ShadiWulf

Member
SwiftSketcher said:
There are new screens up. Plus Red Rings yo.

I don't get how the screens look so good, but the trailer looks underwhelming. I'm hoping it's the quality.
Click to expand...

You can't hotlink to TSSZ images, you'll have to upload them to imgur or something

and regarding the trailer, like I said a few posts ago, the graphics look much more similar to the screens with the trailer that is up on SEGA Press.
 
P

PeakPointMatrix

Member
ShadiWulf said:
You can't hotlink to TSSZ images, you'll have to upload them to imgur or something

and regarding the trailer, like I said a few posts ago, the graphics look much more similar to the screens with the trailer that is up on SEGA Press.
Click to expand...
Yep, done.

Uploading that new trailer should yield some better quality no?
 
S

ShadiWulf

Member
SwiftSketcher said:
Yep, done.

Uploading that new trailer should yield some better quality no?
Click to expand...

Well SEGA has the trailer uploaded on their youtube channel, too. I'm pretty sure uploading the one from SEGA Press would give me the same results they have, concerning quality. Their's is a bit better then gamespot, but it's not same quality as the SEGA Press one...

hmm.. i just need a good place to upload it. Got any suggestions? Somewhere that can handle 100MB and lots of bandwidth.
 
F

Foffy

Banned
Here's hoping the game logs the Red Rings based on where they are in the level like in Colors. In Generations, it simply only hollows out how many you don't have, not if they're before or after other Rings you got, making the hunt a little more tedious.
 
T

the madman

Neo Member
this actually doesn't look as bad as the comments in this thread would lead you to believe (and this is coming from a sonic fanboy since sonic 2)
 
goldenpp72

goldenpp72

Member
Foffy said:
Here's hoping the game logs the Red Rings based on where they are in the level like in Colors. In Generations, it simply only hollows out how many you don't have, not if they're before or after other Rings you got, making the hunt a little more tedious.
Click to expand...

Either this is wrong or I got very lucky, all the red rings seemed to be in order for me in generations.
 
R

RagnarokX

Member
Meccanical said:
There are no right Sonic fans.

They should keep making games for kids like they always have.
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There are fans that care and fans that don't. Pleasing both maximizes sales. Calling a game Sonic 4 and making it nothing like the first 3 games is a middle finger to fans that care. It's worse than just making a bad game; it's like a cruel joke. "Here's the game you waited 16 years for... Just kidding!"

We were kids when we first played Sonic, too. And back then Sonic rivaled Mario in popularity. He was the first video game character to get a Macy's thanksgiving parade balloon.
 
D

Dark Schala

Eloquent Princess
Meccanical said:
There are no right Sonic fans.

They should keep making games for kids like they always have.
Click to expand...
The children who I've tutored who have expressed interest in the series LOVE Sonic 2006 and Shadow the Hedgehog. Shadow is generally considered a favourite character.

...

And when I was at the doctor's office the other day, a little boy was playing Sonic 2 on his dad's iPhone, got to Aquatic Ruin Zone (I could tell by the music, lol) and wanted to play Angry Birds instead because Sonic 2 was "dumb".

Generally, kids are going to like games no matter how buggy or consistent the games are. It's Sonic. They'll play it or ask their parents to buy it for them because it has his name on the box regardless of quality. "Being for kids", though, is not an excuse for putting out a half-assed product.
 
A

Azuardo

Member
Achievements/Trophies revealed, plus other info.

- 3-act structure returns
- Tails might be playable in single-player, based on the trophy list
- First zone is called Sylvania Castle Zone
- Winter carnival area is White Park Zone
- Sonic & Tails' combo move is called Rolling Combo
- Sonic 2's Sky Fortress returns with Metal Sonic fight
- Optional world map
- Red Rings
 
U

UnlovedJew

Member
Looks great. Still don't get why people are complaining. The physics really don't matter to me as long as I'm not affected negatively by them. Level design looks fine as well.
 
M

Maedhros

Member
UnlovedJew said:
Looks great. Still don't get why people are complaining. The physics really don't matter to me as long as I'm not affected negatively by them. Level design looks fine as well.
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Because the physics seems the same and the level design is still full of automatic sessions. And this fucking sucks, period.
 
Q

qq more

Member
UnlovedJew said:
Looks great. Still don't get why people are complaining. The physics really don't matter to me as long as I'm not affected negatively by them. Level design looks fine as well.
Click to expand...

Some of the physic flaws killed me a few times in Episode 1. Looking at you cannon room in Casino Street Act 3.

Not to mention everything about Ep 1 felt lazy and underwhelming including the music, visuals, controls, physics, etc etc. Not really fun.
 
A

Anth0ny

Member
Dark Schala said:
And when I was at the doctor's office the other day, a little boy was playing Sonic 2 on his dad's iPhone, got to Aquatic Ruin Zone (I could tell by the music, lol) and wanted to play Angry Birds instead because Sonic 2 was "dumb".
Click to expand...

Stupid kid, if you can finish Chemical Plant, you can finish anything!
 
U

UnlovedJew

Member
qq more said:
Some of the physic flaws killed me a few times in Episode 1. Looking at you cannon room in Casino Street Act 3.

Not to mention everything about Ep 1 felt lazy and underwhelming including the music, visuals, controls, physics, etc etc. Not really fun.
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Agreed on the laziness part, but 2 seems to rectify this. And yes on the Cannon room part; perfect example of what I was mentioning. I'm saying if what is supposedly fixed in episode 2 according to Taxman is correct, I see no issue. Also, I cannot think of any "automated" sections that stuck out in ep 1 off the top of my head. SEGA shows those moments in trailers because the showcase the speed, they aren't going to show the slow platforming moments in a minute long trailer.
 
T

ThoughtsOfSpeaking

Banned
And the bitching continues. Well, looks really good so far and a massive improvement on ep.1 like the pitfall warnings ripped from generations. It won't impress the majority of you though never mind, there is always the next sonic game to pin your hopes on.
 
L

Lijik

Member
RobbieNick said:
No it doesn't. It's a $15 downloadable title. I'm expecting a decent game, not $60 major console experience.

BTW, where's the uncurling and lifebar some have mentioned in the video? I looked over it and could not find it.
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This logic seems very unsound.
Certainly it shouldnt look like Generations at 15 bucks, but it has a lot to live up to in terms of feel and level design. Things price shouldnt dictate if titles such as Super Meat Boy are any indication
 
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