Potential Returning Sonic Boom Characters

Sega has confirmed characters from the established Sonic mythos to make a comeback in Sonic Boom's  universe. Leaked screenshots of concept art from Big Red Button surfaced the web two weeks ago, and it have left anxious fans speculating. One of the conceptual pieces revealed Marine the Raccoon from Nintendo DS's Sonic Rush Adventure sparked ideas of possible returning characters. If Marine, a very unpopular character amongst fans, can appear in the project, any character is possible. Already enough, artists of the Sonic community have crafted some ideas of characters they want to see. I have a few words of some characters I think would be cool in Boom's lore. 

1. Blaze the Cat

I love Blaze. She's a badass counterpart to Sonic in the Rush games, and she strongly emphasize independence of a female character in the series. Plus she's a princess from another dimension! However, will these characteristics of her back story will carry over in the alternate canon? Her fire powers are a must for her character, so taking that away would be injustice. Though I doubt her dimension will be part of Boom's world. Perhaps Blaze's royalty can play a part in the story. She can be a princess in the game's world, and help Sonic and company face the new threat. I don't know but I think that would be sick. Speaking of which, let's talk about Blaze's.....less popular friend. 

2. Silver the Hedgehog

Not only his debut game was a total disaster, but the poor guy is ridiculed by the Sonic fandom. Parodies have other characters neglecting Silver, or treating him like absolute trash. I don't blame the backlash for him either; his character was obnoxious, and his gameplay in Sonic Next Gen is boring and clunky. I heard in the comics Silver's character is actually pretty decent, maybe the team can borrow those ideas. Revamp Silver. Make him awesome like how he was planned in 2006. Silver has potential. This is the time to execute that potential Sega. 

3. Chaotix

Yes. The dynamic trio.....I doubt Mighty is ever going to come back guys....anyway. Chaotix's humor would fit excellently with the TV show's comedic edge. Their interactions among themselves and the other characters would be priceless. As detectives, I can imagine the team trying to solve the mystery surrounding the story's big bad but fail constantly, or bumbling foiling one of Eggman's plans. Sega aims this to have comedy, let one of the funniest characters in the series in. 

4. Emerl

In one of the leaked concept art, some pointed out that one of the enemy robot designs shared resemblance to a certain robot from Sonic Battle. Emerl is such a great character; he slowly grows in the Game Boy Advance's fighter, and he is prominent to mythos of the series: the Gizoids. If Gizoids are represent in the universe, that will be a perfect homage and clever usage of the established Sonic lore.

5. Cream the Rabbit

She's a close friend to Amy, so it would make sense for her to appear. And if Blaze is in the game, I think Cream's presence is a must. In Rush, Blaze and Cream share a close friendship with each other. Besides, Boom could also give the cute bunny a badass makeover. She can be useful to the main four. My biggest hope for the project is for the writers to utilize returning characters in a effective way after all, and Cream is a good choice for moral support. 

6. Shadow the Hedgehog

Why wouldn't he be in the universe? Shadow, right behind the blue blur himself, is the most beloved character in the entire franchise; it would be strange for Sega to not put him in the cast. But like Blaze, Shadow's backstory will have to be reckoned, if not altered a bit. Maria and Gerald Robotnik, the Space Colony ARK, Black Doom, all that will have to change in order to fit Boom's new universe. So would Shadow be a normal hedgehog opposed to being artificial? So many questions, but I guess we will have to wait and see. 

Sonic's roster of characters are immense. The ideas are endless. Any characters you would like to see? Any other themes from the games you think would be a neat addition? Let the discussion begin.

The Simplicity of Klonoa

A lot of people, especially in today's gaming industry, usually rag on a game for being too simple, or too easy. Lots of gamers and critics consider a game's simple mechanics as a major flaw, and more complex gameplay ideas is what makes a game more engaging.

But does a game's complexity really make a game "good"?

I disagree with the mindset of games having complex mechanics and storytelling in order for the game to be at least worthwhile. I don't need this thought provoking story to keep my interest. I don't need deep gameplay in order to be immerse. If a game is fun and entertaining, that's all I need. The rest is just icing on the cake for me.

The underappreciated Klonoa games from Namco are some of my favorites. I consider these games to be the pinnacle of simple gaming

1. Platforming/Puzzling

Klonoa games are rightfully compared to Nintendo's Kirby. Both have cute art styles, revolve around the theme of dreams, etc. Though one thing that both series strongly have in common is how platforming is handled. However, the major difference between Klonoa and Kibry and other platformers is how Klonoa does his tricks

Introducing the wind bullets! Klonoa's ring shoots bullets of wind to snatch his enemies. Now the player can use his/her foes to conquer the games' trials. After the player captures an enemy, one can use the enemy as a double jump to reach areas that are from Klonoa's reach.

Combat is not a major component of the games, but you can use your hostage to attack fiends just by simply tossing the foe in your grasp. Heck, enemies can be used to solve certain puzzles in the games. For example, a bomb enemy is required to clear pathways; Klonoa has to get a hold of the living time bomb and hurry to the targeted obstacle before the bomb explodes. Another enemy absorb into another enemy to form a ball of light as a key. The doorway is color coded, so whatever enemy absorb into that color is required to unlock the requested color.

Your enemies are essential to success. Most platformers ask you to take out the pests that stand in your way, but Klonoa wants you to use your opponents as a way to tackle the game's many challenges. Complex? No. Fun? Absolutely.

 

2. Storytelling

Most platform games lack a meaningful story, just a plot to explain why the player has to conquer the challenges the developers put them up against. Klonoa's storylines do this, but Namco tries to put effort in a pretty straightforward story. Klonoa is an adventurer, and the games want the player to feel like he/she is on an adventure.

Games such as The Last of Us or any of the Bioshock games want to player to take away something from the narrative. These games feature deep themes to coincide with the characters and the universe they live in. The Last of Us uses the concept of survival to teach the players trust and sacrifice. Bioshock and its sequels use dystopian ideals to drive the actions of the player and others around him/her by making moral choices to impact the game's world. Heavy emphasis of characterization are handled here.

 

Klonoa, as simple as the games' plots are, can have strong characterization but contain a fun and light hearted approach. Characters such as Huepow from Door to Phantomile and Lolo from Lunatea's Veil are simple characters but carry strong emotion within their personalities and growth. Writers don't need to shove in George Orwell type writings to resonate between the characters and the players. What's wrong with just having carefree enjoyment with a character's story? I don't mind the attempt of telling  something insightful in a virtual world, but is it really essential for a game's story to be entertaining? It's a video game; in the end of the day I just want to play experience something fun. Again, themes and meanings are just extras for an already good game.

 

3. Visual/Sound

I love video games that have style with its art direction. Preferably I fathom games with unique art styles instead of trying to be super realistic. Games are virtual, meant to embrace a world that is not ours. Nothing wrong with realism, but I like to admire creativity with a game's uniqueness. Many complain about modern games obsessing over the nit and grit worlds of Gears of War, and want more substance with the game's visual aesthetics.

However, some complain about games being too cartoony or cute, reasons why games like Wind Waker was mocked during its pre release. Even though Klonoa's world is inhabited by cute anthropomorphic characters, the lush colors breathe life into the world. The cute characters  others have edge to them. Klonoa's colorful world oozes with variety. 

And the music.....good lord the music. Soundtracks of TV shows, movies, and video games are meant to match the tone of the material. Recent video games shoot for epic musical pieces to keep the player entranced in the game world. I love me some blood pumping tunes don't get me wrong, but what I absolutely love about Klonoa is that the music the composers gift this light hearted world is calm and collecting music. Tracks such as "Path of Goddess Clarie" and "Red Heat Corona" are so soothing, they put a smile on my face.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BML49q607U8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0-_U7OoxSM

4. Conclusion

Complexity can improve a game's quality, no doubt about it. I just want to address that complex game ideas isn't needed to qualify a game's worthiness. People play video games for enjoyment, entertainment, fun! No matter how complex a game is, if the game itself is not fun to play, then the game fails to captivate players. The Klonoa franchise, in my opinion, is a good example on how to show games can still be fun without "deep" concepts.

My Stance on Sonic Boom

                                                   

            Despite this being a different branch of the brand, the overall concept of the Sonic Boom project leaves me a tad worry. It's been a month since the project's announcement, and I don't expect to hear any more of it till E3 2014, but this hasn't stopped the fandom to heavily discuss the matter. Over the course of weeks, I have watched many interviews with Stephen Frost, producer of the video game, and small tidbits of info has been given from various sources such as the Behind the Scenes video released by Sega of America. 

1. Video Game

            I am going to be honest, I am more intrigued about the game than the television show that will air on Cartoon Network, but that's just my bias towards the mediums. Besides, the game in general just seem to be far more interesting. Big Red Button, the game's developer, are focusing to create a vast new universe, and to expand on established personalities of the characters. Frost explained the main focuses of the game will be exploration, epic storytelling, and the usage of a co-op feature.
            Now some of these elements I have longed for in a 3D Sonic title: a new setting that is not just a rehash of older tropes of past levels for the sake of nostalgia pandering, a bigger storyline (let's face it, Colors' and Lost World's narratives, as fun as they are, are not compelling at the slightest), and multiple playable characters. Also, BRB expresses that speed will be a part of the game, but not the main focus.
            Yes all these elements sound convincing, but just because a team says they know what they doing, doesn't mean they actually know what they are doing. I fear that the core Sonic formula, fast paced platforming, will be lost in development in trying to make some totally different. Due to the history of some of the devs, the game doesn't even look like a Sonic game: it looks like Jak and Daxter or Crash Twinsanity if you will. I am open for new ideas, but I don't want the team to stray away from what makes the series what it is in the first place. I am specifically worried about the co-op feature especially.
            It's just me, but to me it feels like the co-op feature being implement is rather forced. Depending on how the game's mechanics are implemented, the cooperation can feel more like a chore than anything. What if the A.I is absolute trash? What if the flow of the game is completely tarnished just for the sake of a cheap gimmick? The development mindset of this game reminds me of another reimaging of a popular platforming star: The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon. And that scares the hell out of me.

 

Dawn of the Dragon is an awful game. The controls are sloppy, the co-op is ass, the combat is boring, the story is asinine, and platforming is few and far between. I remember following this game's pre-release in 2008 when I was still a big Spyro fan. The other two games didn't insult me that much so I decided to give this one a go and see how the trilogy came to a close, and I was displeased by the result.
            Developers of this game aimed for similar aspect that BRB currently want to pursue in Sonic Boom. Seriously, the behind the scenes of Boom is EXACTLY like Dawn of the Dragon. If Boom goes that route, I fear for what's to come.....
            Do I think Boom looks bad? No, far from it. The game has a lot of potential to be an interesting alternate universe from the main canon, but there is a lot of room for massive mess ups. Big Red Button.....don't let me down.

 

2. TV Show

            The show seems to take a more relaxed approached. According to Sega and other sources, Sonic Boom will have more of an 11 minute episodic storylines akin to Regular Show and Adventure Time, and will have an emphasis on comedy. This doesn't bother me much if the humor is good.....which from the Behind the Scenes video......seems to be hit or miss.

            In the pilot trailer, the banter between Sonic and Eggman about Eggman's decision of the naming of his robot is chuckle worthy. Both Roger Craig Smith and Mike Pollock deliver their dialogue with superb voice acting. More of this please. However,....we hear one of the stupidest jokes in the Behind the Scenes from Knuckles:

"I may look like a fortune cookie, but I don't taste like one."

            .....what the hell does that even mean? The joke is lame, and it implies that Knuckles will still be a idiot in the universe......."sigh" I hope that is not the case at least.

            The animation is pretty decent at least. I love the expressions of the characters, and it suits the art style of the universe.  Other than that....I don't really have much to say about the show. I just have to watch it when it airs during the fall.

            And I don't really want to dwell on this but since this is such a major factor of the controversy, I would be remiss to not at least briefly mention it: the character designs....they don't bother me. Sure I think the sports tape is a bit overboard but it's not that big of a deal. The characters new looks fit well with the new art direction they are approaching, heck I personally think Amy and Eggman look pretty cool. Knuckles doesn't look THAT bad either. Come on guys...it could have been a lot worse.

 

3. Conclusion

            I am neither dreading nor excited about Sonic Boom as a whole. Just skeptical. Of course I am definitely looking forward to seeing where the project leads, but I am still weary whether this will be a success for the franchise, or another stain in the Sonic archives. Plus, we still have much more news to go so maybe my feelings will change during the coming months, whether for better or worse is up in the air.