Sonic + Megaman 9 = Happy Gamers
It seems like with each passing sonic game, we get our hopes up, just to be disappointed again. I recently was able to play a demo of sonic unleashed, and while the daytime levels seem pretty fun, I know the nighttime ones suck. I have pretty much given up all hope on Sonic and the Black Knight. Sega keeps trying to make Sonic better, but he only gets worse.
This is why I think Sonic should go the route of Megaman 9.
Granted, I have never played any of the Megaman games, but I do know the storybehind Megaman 9. Basically they went back to to the old school platforming of the original Megaman games, even going as far as using 8-bit graphics. This is a great route for Sonic to go.
The 16bit sonic games for the genesis were among the best games in the world, and that glory could be relieved if only the sonic team would keep sonic in 2d. He just can't thrive in that third dimension. Go back to the basics and create a game reminiscent of Sonic 2, or Sonic and Knuckles.
I don't want to see an overwhelmingly large cast of people I do not care about. Stick to Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles as the protagonists, and Dr. Robotnicas the bad guy. That is it. No alternate stories, no teams, no Big the Cat!
The story needs to be something simple. Dr. Robotnic is turning forest creatures into robots, and needs the chaos emeralds to power his latest death egg…or something like that. No weird backstories about girls named Maria, no team chaotix coming to investigate, no useless junk. Cutscenes can be kept to a minimum, and the ones that are there could be like those of Sonic CD.
It could be a downloadable game over the virtual console, or it could be a standalone game. If it is a standalone, it would need to be big. I am talking, like 100 stages. (with a saving feature of course) But keep it every bit as hard as the old games. I know it will be more difficult for little kids, but I was 6 when I started playing Sonic 2, and I never complained that it was too hard! Games are supposed to be a challenge.
They could also throw in some unlockalbes. Wii does not have achievements, but they could implement and in game system that would give you rewards for completing certain challenges. For example, perhaps you could unlock levels from older sonic games, or entire games. Knuckles and Tails could be unlockable for beating the game as sonic. Perhaps even some documentaries (or mocumentaries) about Sonic.
*sigh* The point is, if Sega wants to revive Sonic, they need to be looking to the past, not towards lame gimmicks.(*cough* swords *cough* werehog *cough*) Just go back to the original formula and let us relive the glory days…