Netflix’s Sonic Prime Is So Good It Should Be A Game

Releasing every new part of Sonic the Hedgehog is like tossing a coin. You can get a game like a breath of fresh air and acclaim from critics and fans alike, or you get a game that doesn’t live up to the full potential of one of its characters. the game’s most iconic character. Of course, it’s not like the franchise has always had the reputation it has today; classic Sonic games are favorites to this day, bringing together gameplay and design that evoke a sense of speed and fun with stories fueled by subtle yet important messages about action. positive action and rebellion, or character-driven dramas that bring anthropomorphized creatures to life.

But Sonic’s ventures into other vehicles have had a much higher success rate. Sonic Comics – with their wild and crazy stories, and Amazing depth of legenda cast of characters that will make Game of Thrones feels small, and the plots have weird twists like the two characters in the joke becoming powerful demigods — always well done. After they pulled their teeth, the movie franchise skyrocketed with audiences and critics alike. Sonic’s appearance in the animation was also enjoyed by many fans; successfully manages to capture the essence of the character—and in a medium that can make the most of his looks and animation speed. So when Netflix announced they were producing Prime Minister Sonic, I was a little more excited. This is your chance to once again dive into the world of Blue Blur and see what new fast-paced action can be drawn from the franchise.

And it was good. Actually, it’s really good. And the biggest reason is because prime minister could have been a Actually Good Sonic game.

Image: NETFLIX

prime minister Not a complicated story. The series, co-produced by studios Sega, Man of Action Entertainment, and WildBrain and produced by Netflix Animation, runs under the assumption that anyone who watches knows the franchise’s key takeaways. Season 1 opens with Sonic and his gang battling Eggman for the latest McGuffin he’ll use to conquer the world: the Paradox Prism, a stone with mysterious powers. Pretty standard setup, right? Sonic thinks so too, so in classic Hedgehog style, he rushes in and joins the fray, ignoring warnings from his friends. Why shouldn’t he? He’s Sonic the Hedgehog! But that presumption led to the breakdown of the Paradox Prism, and a major event unfolding in many respects.

Bringing Sonic into the multiverse allowed the creative team to use Sonic’s all-time symbols, images, and sounds, bending and twisting it in different ways to create a sense of familiar but unknown. Every world in Excellent is a variant of the Green Hill area, either urbanized, overgrown or flooded, however some important parts remain, such as the iconic Green Hills loop or The palm trees serve as the backdrop for the first level of the franchise. The premise also gives Sonic the chance to face the consequences of his actions directly, in worlds where either Eggman wins or his friends are divided and fight each other without the influence of him to lead them. Instead of letting him simply speed up to victory, each new multiverse region forces him to really slow down to change and see the world around him and his role in it. That’s exactly the kind of message-driven storytelling that’s been present in all the great Sonic games — maybe Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on Sega Genesis, Sonic Adventures games on the Sega Dreamcast or even some well-received Modern Stories — such as Sound color and the classic return Sonic Mania.

Every time Sonic travels to one of these new worlds in the Shatterverse, his shoes and gauntlets are changed to give each world an advantage — in a selection that repeats the upgrades we’ve already seen. seen in games like Sonic Adventures 2. In the overgrown Green Hill these are claws for climbing and chopping trees, in the flooded world they are Shadow’s flying boots, to overcome and deal with Sonic’s hydrophobia. The twists give each new world a self-contained story, and the variety in design makes you really appreciate the difference in each version of Green Hill.

In contrast, modern Sonic games have fallen into the trap of feeling rather familiar, unlike shows that offer unique and alternative views of Sonic’s iconic visuals — these games tends to take you through areas that longtime fans are extremely familiar with. Green Hill has appeared in no less than 26 games since the series began — and many of them blend into the same blurred backdrop. In 2D games, levels have a multi-level design — allowing you to speed up the upper parts or focus on the slower, more puzzle-based parts below. These design elements stay in Sonic Adventures and Adventure 2offers multiple routes or gameplay options, so that every level feels new and offers something different to appeal to multiplayer — however, over time, the franchise has dropped these more varied options, leaving you mostly running through the same few areas every few years.

Image: Netflix

But the problem isn’t just level design. Sonic has been escaping his past since 2011 Sonic Generation, where the game is a lovely tribute to the franchise’s history — combining both modern and classic Sonic in a story that takes them through some of the most famous periods in the franchise’s long history. commercial rights. Every game since then has had some sort of throwback to the classic era. 2013 Sonic’s Lost World brought back Wisps from Sound color (best modern sound game for many people), Sonic Mania basically a sequel to Sonic and Knuckles. The following game, sound force, bring back Classic Era Sonic, his gameplay from Generationsthe Wisps, and bound by Sonic Mania. this year sound border features puzzle pieces from the past that feature modern Sonics motion, similar to Generations, but they go by so quickly that they struggle to be interesting as you spend more time in the open world Frontiers. Don’t get me wrong, Sonic has always been a great franchise — but you can only make so many callbacks before it simply becomes a scrapbook of better works. prime minister is a good opportunity for the developer Sonic Team to continue to honor the past and look to the future.

prime minister not give up what worked in the game; From an aesthetic perspective, the franchise’s iconic use of visuals, sounds, and designs relies heavily on classic games with a modern finish. The voice acting and script result in characters being nearly without a note as they often become in Sonic’s later installments, and the reduced cast means Sonic will keep his cast, but not so much that it makes anyone feel excluded. Shadow, in particular, has been transformed from one of the sharpest characters in the Western media to a more mature and focused individual who frequently exasperates at his blue partner’s pranks. mine. And along with the team exploring the multiverse, we get to see different versions of these characters, notably the slightly more nihilistic and raw version of Tails, who acts as a word of mouth. constant reminder of not only Sonic’s influence, but also his failures.

With the Shatterverse, anything in the Sonic universe seems possible. There’s a lot of potential to be a multi-season epic. I will watch with enjoyment, but also a little sadness. It feels like it’s calling to be the video game that finally brought Sonic back among the greats of gamers. Being the ultimate game that allows Sega and Sonic Team to try something new while keeping everything familiar, all wrapped up in the first story in over a decade, it really made me feel good. interested in these characters again. It’s everything I ever wanted from a Sonic game. I just wish it was one.