So I’ve been a part of the Sonic fan community for a long time and one of the most contentious issues that crops up is discussion of a hypothetical “Sonic Adventure 3″. What usually happens is that someone says “I want sonic Adventure 3!” and someone else points to Sonic Heroes or Shadow the Hedgehog or Sonic 06 or Sonic Unleashed. THAT or someone brings it up and gives a list of things they want. “I want there to be a more serious story and multiple characters and 3d platforming etc.” There’s no consensus on what Sonic Adventure 3 would even be.
For those opposed to the idea, this would be the part were I stop or dismiss people’s wish for such a hypothetical game with the above notion of a missing consensus. That’s not what this is. People in general but Sonic fans especially have an exceptionally hard time articulating what they want or what they mean. I’m not interested in being dismissive in general. Personally, I want something like a Sonic Adventure 3 but in talking about it, I run into the same issue the whole fanbase has always had. What makes my input more valuable than any other? The answer is nothing. My input is just another voice screaming into an indifferent void. Still, I have a voice, it costs nothing for me to use it.
SO, let’s define what we mean (what ALL or MOST mean) when we ask for such a game to be made and to start, let’s define what “Sonic Adventure 3″ isn’t. I’m writing this under the (presumably correct) assumption that none of the above games count as Sonic Adventure 3 and I’m doing this because the fans of the Adventure games aren’t satisfied with them (myself included). Fans of the classics don’t treat Sonic 4 as the actual continuation of the legacy of Sonic 3&Knuckles but they mostly do for Sonic Mania. Why? Because an emotional need/want was recognized and filled by the latter and neglected by the former. We didn’t want a game CALLED Sonic 4, we wanted a game that FELT like a Sonic 4 (which Mania gave us).
Now, let’s get more granular in why these games aren’t Sonic Adventure 3 and lets start with Sonic 06. The reason we’re starting with 06 is because, among the existing contenders for Sonic Adventure 3, this one comes the closest in terms of design, mechanics, narrative, and tone and is the game referenced most in this discussion. Sonic 06 in its entirety is a callback to Sonic Adventure 1. You control several characters on an interconnected narrative with a mostly action movie esque story (with some, perhaps too serious melodrama) as you go from level to level through interconnected hub worlds populated with human npc’s. Eggman hopes to unleash some kind of monster to harness its power for world domination. You control Sonic, Shadow, and Silver (plus others) through linear levels that have slight path branching as they converge near the level’s end. Each character has unique abilities they use to navigate levels and challenges in different ways. Each main character has their own character theme song (and the soundtrack sounds very SEGA). By all accounts, it SHOULD be considered an Adventure game, so why isn’t it? Put simply, it’s the mechanics and their effect on the game’s design as a whole. What do I mean? Well, unlike Sonic Adventure 1 and 2, Whose abilities and movement were built to get Sonic and co through the levels quickly, by building momentum (less than the classics but it’s there). There’s a focus on platforming that isn’t present in 06 which focuses more on combat encounters. Sonic is slow and moves more precisely so it’s easier to land hits on enemies who now have health bars. Shadow and Silver are like this too and I think it’s because of Silver and his PK mechanics. Enemies were given health bars so Silver couldn’t just one shot everything with tons of projectiles (built on what was probably an expensive physics engine they wanted to show off). If they wanted to save on resources, they had to re use assets meaning enemies in Sonic and Shadow’s gameplay needed health bars as well. What this means is that all enemy encounters require the player to stand around wailing on them one at a time and in order to pad the game’s length, they gated sections of levels behind groups of enemies you needed to defeat to move on. The pace of the game is entirely dictated by these encounters. Lets say that every other part of the game functioned perfectly. The automation worked so you were never thrown off loops, the hub worlds were smaller and had lots of landmarks and signposting (plus items and secrets hidden throughout to give them a purpose). Lets say that the controls were better, still having the same abilities, just not so stiff to move around. This game would still not be a Sonic Adventure 3 because on a fundamental level, Sonic Adventure games are structured like platformers while Sonic 06 is structured like a beat em up (Final fight, Castle Crashers, Streets of rage, you get it). The goal in Adventure games isn’t to defeat enemies, it’s to race to the end of the level or explore it (your choice).
Sonic Heroes and Shadow the Hedgehog have almost this exact problem but those games control better and in Shadow’s case, it makes sense with the guns being a focus. The characters move faster and enemy health bars are smaller. They’re also better designed in lots of other ways than 06 but this isn’t the post for bashing 06, I’m trying to define what Sonic Adventure 3 would be (for the purposes of future discussion because the Sonic fanbase NEEDS to have this discussion).
Now, on to why Sonic Unleashed isn’t Adventure 3 (besides the continued requests and desire for such a game, see above thoughts about Sonic 4 and Sonic Mania). In a similar way to 06, Heroes and Shadow, the reason for it’s lack of consideration as an Adventure game is it’s separate design focus. Ignoring the werehog (for whom most of this applies in a general sense anyway) The gameplay of Unleashed isn’t focused on platforming in the same way as Adventure 1 and 2. Sure there IS platforming, but the skillful navigation of in game environments isn’t the focus. Making sure Sonic gets moving and STAYS moving is the focus. The platforming isn’t the goal, it’s an obstacle in itself. The way the boost is implemented in Unleashed (and all 3d Sonic games going forward) re-contextualizes the way the player interacts with platforming sections. It’s not about using momentum to adapt to your circumstances and skillfully navigate through and around enemies and obstacles, it’s about not stopping. That platforming stuff is a hindrance to your speed so you want to always take the shortest route. It doesn’t use 3d space in any meaningful way unlike even Sonic 06, which comes closer in terms of design philosophy but falls FAR short in terms of quality.
I don’t think Adventure gameplay is tied to any extraneous elements like narrative or tone (though those certainly add to the “feel” of an Adventure game). I think the core design philosophy of Sonic gameplay and its roots as a platforming series is what makes it An Adventure game. How you control the character and how you interact with the game world through that character is THE most essential element.
That said, Can we please have different writers (Ian Flynn.) I don’t want to drag anyone but Pontac and Graff CANNOT write a compelling Sonic story to save their lives. Maybe they’d be a good fit for something but Sonic the Hedgehog is NOT that something. Also bring back Crush 40 and character themes.
