Let's get this out of the way right now.
Sonic Mania is not the best game in 23 years. It is not the second coming of christ. It is not perfect, it has issues. It does not mean 2D is better than 3D and vice versa.
I wanted to make this rant in response to the reception both games are recieving and some of the bullshit I've seen when it comes to some of the"praise" Mania gets and some of the "criticisms" Forces gets. Let's not forget the arrogance many fans from each side carry into the conversation.
I'll put this out there now. After playing Mania, I know I will enjoy Forces as much as I did Mania. I'm not praising Mania to be the second coming of Jesus or "what the fans wanted in 20+ years" and so on. I just wanted a good game. I got a good game. I'd recommend this good game despite the nostalgia pandering which will alienate newcomers and modern fans which by the way, that is a fact you have to accept. Mania is a game based on nostalgia pandering. Only Sonic veterans especially of the classic era will get the most out of this game. Modern fans and newcomers will lose out on it. Mania is a good game but it's only a great game to those well versed in the community. But I digress. Regardless I have little doubt Forces will be an enjoyable time personally.
I've seen comments saying that, before Mania released mind you, after what we saw of Mania and what we saw of Forces, Mania would be a good game and Forces would be crap because of the gameplay styles; you know, the '2d genesis was better and Sega should stick to it' argument'. But therein lies the problem. That's an opinion, not a fact. You know what is a fact? People like the boost. People like half of Unleashed, Colours and Generations. People like the Adventure games. Those were well recieved games, especially Colours and Generations. There are those who prefer the 3d games over the 2d games. Are we going to just gloss over that?
Another issue is how do you know that Mania would be perfect? After its release, it's got issues, some minor and some pretty major, mainly the technical issues. Yes I know that every game has issues at launch, that's a given but I shouldn't have encountered that many issues in 2 days. They're obvious issues too like music glitches and bad collission detection. How did they miss that?
A lot of people, fans and the media, especially the media alike seem to gloss over these issues and praise the game because it's classic sonic. You can tell that bias is there. Instead of commenting on the game's strengths and faults as its own thing, many of the reviewers and classic fans will not stop going on about how ALL the 3D era games are bad like it's fact.
That is bullshit.
Yes some of the best 3d era games had issues but so do the 2d games. What makes this all the more glaring is again, games like Unleashed, Colours, Generations, SA1 with half the game were recieved very well and still hold up to this day, control wise especially. Recieved very well by themselves in fact. So to say that Sonic was never good after 1994 is a lie! A flawed, bandwagonning opinion with little to back up other than personal preference or an outdated view on the fanbase's tastes. It's because of that, many of the criticisms of Forces is going to be and have been based on the fact that it's not like the classics. They have also been touted as fact and that's bullshit.
In fact, lets get to the crux of the issue, the criticisms of Forces and you'll spot an ongoing theme throughout this rant.
"This game has 2d in it, therefore it is shit."
"Classic Sonic is in it. That's awful, this game will be shit"
"Its the boost gameplay. Why can't it be more like adventure?"
"This game will be shit because I think these 2 levels are shit. They're too linear and automatic."
"The genesis games look better than this shit"
These are the common comments I have seen from Forces videos and they come from mainly the classic and adventure crowd. Many of these complaints are flawed because they don't explain why. They don't explain what's good or bad in regards to being it's own thing. It's always compared to what they prefer and is touted as fact. Here's the thing.
I've seen these levels in action. There are multiple pathways.
There's little automation.
These are clearly FIRST LEVELS!
The rest is based on what they want instead of viewing the game as is.
They suddenly can see the future and know that the game is bad....
You know what their follow-up is?
"It should be more like adventure. EVERYONE wants adventure"
"Mania will save the franchise an EVERYONE will be happy"
THIS PISSES ME OFF TO NO GODDAMN END!
And to be fair, the same goes for the modern fans who shit on mania just because it's classic sonic. They're no better. I've seen many childish rants as to why Mania sucks from modern fans who prefer the 3d games.
This is the biggest problem. When you judge a game, you judge it based on how it presents itself; as it is. It's own good and bad elements. This is not what's happening.
These fans criticise the game based upon what THEY want instead of what the game is intended to be.
How can one say that Adventure will unite the fanbase or the Classics will? I had to guess, I can say there's 2 problems with those statements. How about...
...the fucking fact that the fanbase is divided. Look, there are adventure fans saying that the series will unite the fanbase and you have the classic fans saying the same thing. No matter WHAT, if either came true, either side and the modern side will fucking HATE IT!
And even if it came true. How do you know it will be good. How? Just to point out, I had faith that what I purchased when purchasing Mania would be good. That's because of the people behind it. They've shown their talents. Not because it's classic sonic.
To go back to the classic side, the claim that Sonic hasn't been good in 23 years, are we going to forget the Advance games? The Rush series? Fire and Ice? That's decent IMO. Sonic 4 episode 2? The 3d titles I listed up above. Hell maybe even Heroes and the Black Knight and Lost world. And if the classics were nothing but gems, I guess games like:
Sonic Labyrinth
Sonic R
Sonic Drift 1 and 2
Sonic Chaos
Sonic Blast
Sonic 3d Blast
Sonic the Fighters
Sonic Triple Trouble
Tails' Sky Patrol
Knuckles' Chaotix
That schoolhouse game
don't exist huh? Gotta keep that narrative flowing right? I'm sure I'm missing more.
In fact I'll go as far to say that the Modern era has had a more consistent track record than the Classic era. I know, it's a ballsy claim but the modern era has more good games than bad in comparison to the Classic era. It's just that the bad ones are really bad.
Whenever these fans say that Sega lost their way, that Sonic has hit rough patches...
No.
It's always been like this. I'm sorry but that's the reality. Sonic has always hit rough patches. My overall point is that these fans are arrogant assholes who have no desire for reflection upon themselves. Their criticisms boil down to what they want than what is there and what can be improved or what is good already. These are the people who hate the fact that the CAC exists because of Deviantart. These are the people who hate the game and say it sucks because you can't play as Knuckles or Tails. These are the people who hate the game because it uses the boost formula and completely lie about the level design to boot. Do not be like those fans. Know the difference between criticisms and preference.
I mean for example, Classic Sonic in generations and sonic in 4 ep:2 isn't 1:1 but that doesnt mean its bad. It's still fun. It still controls well and the level design fits in a fun way, moreso in generations admittedly.
Same goes with Adventure and Lost world. With Lost World, the control scheme isnt bad. Sonic controls fairly well but the level design isn't designed as well in mind with the controls in certain areas. With Adventure, it is with a smooth control scheme to boot.
I know everyone has their opinions. I'm not saying you can't have one. I'm not saying you have to like Forces or the 3d games in general but you've got to back up why you don't think what you saw so far works. Key words being 'So Far'. There are legit criticisms and worries for the game but they're pushed in a respectable manner. Same with those who just prefer other games; they have said it in a respectable manner. Why can't the people I've ranted about do that? Where's the logic in their heads?
Regardless. if it's nothing more than, "It should be like my preference, that'll save the franchise" then why should I listen to you?
