Every day is the "End of the Week"

     Welcome to Vs. Mode, a new series of articles where two or more of our writers take a stance about various, usually polarizing, topics in the gaming world. This week, the topic is: classic Sonic the Hedgehog vs. Modern Sonic the Hedgehog, and which is better. The contenders? Nate for the old-school games and Erik for the newer ones.

Classic and modern together at last. Or are they?

First Step to Success by Nate D.

     Don't get me wrong. I'm a huge fan of the long legged, green eyed Sonic, and all of the games he's been in. Still when I hear "Sonic Generations" I think Classic Sonic. To me if there were any reason to pick up Sonic Generations over the myriad of other Sonic titles floating about; it's because it stars Classic Sonic, and the gameplay that he is known for.

     Think back to the early 1990's, when after you are done your homework and chores, it was time for video games. For some it was Nintendo but for me and many others, it was Sega. Once that cartridge was popped in all the stress of being a kid (parents, school, girls [yuck]) melted away. To this day there are hard core groups of Sonic enthusiasts that wish the game play of the more modern Sonic titles, would play like that of the older ones. Sega and Sonic Team have been unable to really grab that feeling until now. Not for a lack of trying mind you.

Oh Sonic 4... You tried. You really did.

     But why is Classic Sonic so much better to some? The Genesis titles had less impressive graphics and could be beaten in just under 2 hours. So then why, when some of the current Sonic games offer higher resolution 3D graphics and sometimes upwards of 20 hours of gameplay, do people love the older stuff so much? The Sonic the Hedgehog series for the Genesis had a feel, unlike that of any game for it's time. You couldn't get that mixture of great platforming and speed together in any other one game at the time. Sure there were knock-offs like Awesome Opossum, but none held a candle to Sonic. There was a true sense of satisfaction from getting Sonic up to dizzying speeds, just as there was for getting him across bottomless pits and traps. Because a good amount of the time Sonic was being propelled by momentum alone, you really had to learn the lay of the land, so that you could get to the goal sign as quickly as possible. I still remember getting to Hilltop zone for the first time as a child, and the fist time I found a way to beat the first act of Green Hill Zone in under 40 seconds as a teenager. No matter how many times I played those old games, I was able to have a new experience each and every time, some of which I can remember vividly even to this day. 

Getting to the goal quickly was deceptively difficult for 8 year old Nate

     I'd like to say I have as many memories of the countless modern Sonic titles as I do the classic ones, but I don't. You can call it pure nostalgia if you want, but I grew up with a lot of Sonic games, including the bad ones. I grew up with lots of other games as well. I still hold The original Sonic trilogy the closest to my heart. I think that is why I'll be looking forward to classic Sonic's gameplay the most. It's not just a recreation of my childhood favorites, but a re-imagining. Hopefully it'll help bring back old memories as well as create some new ones.

Running Forwards, not Backwards by Erik G.

     Sonic Generations hit me like a bag of mixed nuts. On one hand, I definitely want to see modern remakes of my favorite classic stages such as Green Hill Zone and City Escape, but I'm absolutely not as excited as most people over classic Sonic gameplay. It's not that I don't like it, but after becoming so accustomed to the 3D Sonic gameplay, the Genesis type gameplay just seems too...stale. To many of the series' fans, Sonic gameplay is all about speed and platforming. I think that simplifies it too much. To me, playing a Sonic game is not just about holding right to win, but its about the roller coaster experience, something that I think is just hard to pull off in the older Sonic game's style.

     Sure, the older games tried that, but some modern inventions for Sonic is what really kept the flow moving. Sonic's homing attack for example was a way to make stepping stones that the older Sonic games sometimes implemented, without interrupting the flow of the game. This is also why I like the Storybook series, because it really emphasized the roller coaster aspects of the Sonic series by putting him on rails and especially Black Knight, where Sonic could use his sword to buzz saw through chains of enemies and continue running at the same speed (not that any reviewer realized that....or gave that game a fair chance).

This guy was the bane of my existence on the Black Knight leaderboards.

     I think the problem that people have with games like Sonic Heroes, Shadow the Hedgehog, and Sonic Unleashed is not that they broke away from Sonic's roots (although that's what people will say) but it's that some twists in the mechanics really interrupted the roller coaster feeling through some poor implementation (although Heroes and Shadow have shining moments where the main mechanic works really well...but unfortunately Unleashed had the werehog...).

      Still, the Unleashed daytime stages and Sonic Colors seems to have remedied everything that didn't work with the older Sonic games and seems to be the how modern Sonic will play in Generations. I can't wait for the rush of adrenaline, even if that means sitting through the stale and boring parts.

So which Sonic do you think is better? Let us know what you're thoughts are on the subject.

Like this article? Are you a gamer with an opinion? Do you like to write? If you want to know more about writing with us at End of the Week, email us at eotwpodcast@gmail.com!