Sonic Team's Other Games

[@mariobroultimate1808]

Ristar and Billy Hatcher deserve another chance.

[@phorchybug3286]

At least Ristar keeps reappearing on classic Genesis collections. So that's a plus.

[@WaffleYabbler]

@@phorchybug3286 Ristar was spectacular, but I’ve never played Billy Hatcher 😔

[@kindasomeviews]

I've been wanting them to give another crack at Billy Hatcher. Such a fun concept and was a great way to start my mornings before school. I miss their references too

[@machadragonii145]

Yeah they need Morden remakes or squeals

[@_dot_tea2774]

Give me the real first Sonic Team Boost Game. ST: *gives Sonic Unleashed* I said the *real* first Sonic Team Boost Game. ST: *gives Sonic Rush* The *REAL* first Sonic Team Boost Game!!! ST: *gives NiGHTS* Perfection.

[@SaddieMoon]

For whatever reason, from Sonic and NiGHTS’ constant crossovers/cameos with each other, I always felt more obligated to play NiGHTS as if it was a missing link to the Sonic franchise. I literally bought JoD for that very reason.

[@thetbhresistance7042]

The depth from NiGHTS comes from execution, how fast you can go through the rounds while collecting as many points as possible, so min-maxing, because you have full flight control on a 2d plane with moves like the drill dash you have a basically infinite amount of optimization possible. It’s still pretty basic but if you go look at score runs of the game you can see what I mean

[@thetbhresistance7042]

The game also is sorta like a marathon run in that sense where it’s testing your ability to perform well over a long period of time, if you make one mistake in a run, it can be crucial.

[@captainpoopindoofus3853]

@@thetbhresistance7042 think he’s aware of its skill ceiling but probably felt underwhelmed in a way that makes him not wanna care. I agree though that nights real fun just comes from getting as much score as you can as fast as you can that even applies to the bosses. Thought it would be his kind of game considering how much he likes “speed running” sonic games but apparently it’s got as much going on as sa2 so bleh.

[@MagillanicaLouM]

Yup. Just pure arcadey "git gud" goodness. Not sure what's hard to see here, but a lot of gamers have the mindset games need "MORE" (whatever that entails) to be good

[@TheGerkuman]

The game doesn't make it clear that once you destroy the capsule thing, you're supposed to purposefully miss the gate and do extra laps to bump up the score.

[@captainpoopindoofus3853]

@@TheGerkuman fair although I guess it comes down to discovery. Like if you didn’t have any access to guides or whatever surely an idea will pop in your head that makes you think “hmm could I maybe go over the gate?”. It’s very likely that you may stumble upon that and realize that’s what you’re suppose to do if you want an A grade. Sure it could’ve made it more clear but given the amount of options you have I don’t think it’s a huge problem.

[@gameguider321GO]

For anyone wondering: Ristar is officially pronounced "Wrist-tar" (Rist to emphasize Ristar's stretchy arms and the Star part is... quite self-explanatory)

[@lemon5000-tj6nv]

ive been saying it right the whole time

[@The1andonlysharpshooter]

I don’t think the star is explained enough

[@megaredcats]

@@The1andonlysharpshooter hes… literally a star

[@The1andonlysharpshooter]

@@megaredcats I don’t think you’re being clear enough.

[@cliffturbo2146]

​@@megaredcats But what's it's true meaning? I HAVE to know!

[@Zejgar]

I'm eternally thankful to Sonic Adventure for including the NiGHTS pinball and to Sonic Riders for including entire stages based on Sega games. Their habit of inserting other properties into Sonic for little to no reason made and kept me aware of their legacy and made me feel warm inside, even though I knew next to nothing about any of them. Even the littlest things like the Billy Hatcher gun in Shadow and the shape of a Neutral Fly Chao in the Adventure games added so much for me.

[@johnnycakemusic4069]

They even had the NiGHTS DLC in Sonic Lost World

[@spongebobfan78]

@@johnnycakemusic4069 Which is already packed in the PC port, unlike the Wii U version, which is a limited-edition (or something) exclusive.

[@Laekith]

Shows they're proud of them, it's nice

[@artey6671]

I'm more grateful for the NiGHTS table in Sonic Pinball party because the pinball physics aren't busted in that game. There's even a secret table that I only learned about recently.

[@darkspinechronic-1825]

​@@artey6671what's the secret table? And isnt Pinball Party on GBA or nah?

[@johnnycakemusic4069]

It's honestly very criminal how Ristar hasn't had another game in a looooong time! His game is SOO good

[@inendlesspain4724]

I wish they made a whole series out of Ristar; it's aesthetic and tone really resonates with me.

[@tivvy2vs21]

Is the game gear version a completly different game like sonic?

[@probablydes]

​@@tivvy2vs21 the game gear game feels sorta like an extension to the genesis version like a few new levels and bosses

[@PlaystationFreak719]

I never understood why so many people have a problem with puyo puyo having a story and characters

[@TheStarBot]

He never had an problem, he just thought it was uncommon Which is understandable, there isn't any puzzles games like that

[@denistshiaba7000]

Fun fact: Ristars game used to be called "Feel", and Ristar looked different in that version. Another fun fact: the Sonic Robo Blast 2 special stages are based off of nights.

[@macuser7048]

All these games are great and deserve a comeback. Almost all of them are only a single game franchise sometimes with a Game Gear demake. NiGHTS got lucky with a sequel on the Wii.

[@alphonsejohnson5601]

Too bad NiGHTS: Journey Of Dreams didn't sell too well, and had average reviews at best. But the final nail in the coffin was Balan wonderworld's failure, Because of that, The creators of NiGHTS left sega, dooming the franchise forever, unless the fans do something about it.

[@henriquezioto8760]

I'm a big nights fan, and completing a level in nights doesn't require much, even getting A rank it's not that hard, what you would wanna get is the highest score possible. The gameplay of nights is simple, but it's also very fast and requires extreme precision on execution, the game is full of very sharp turns and since the camera is very close and moves very unexpectedly, every thing comes at you at the last minute, so you are constantly readjusting and reacting to stuff. It's all about the desire for perfection in executing a run of nights as fast and precise as possible. All of this works cause flying is nights feels and looks very good, the game levels are very imaginative and constantly introduce unique and fun gimmicks that are all designed in accordance with the flow of the gameplay. The game is also appropriately short for the substance it provides.

[@macuser7048]

NiGHTS has a ton of depth to it but it's stuff you gotta go out of your way to find and do.

[@Laekith]

You're talking about the pet raising stuff, he said he doesn't like the Chao garden so I doubt that would change his mind on the game

[@macuser7048]

@@Laekith Yeah well I do like it.

[@GamingintheAM0801]

It's also a score attack game; it revolves around racking up as many points as possible. Which Pariah has said he's not a fan of, he's basically a speedrunner.

[@macuser7048]

@@GamingintheAM0801 Isn't speedrunning a form of competition?

[@Laekith]

@@GamingintheAM0801 no the problem is that the game is easy and repetitive which is an awful combination

[@naturalace5375]

Puyo Puyo is the one Sonic team series that's more popular than Sonic in Japan, but it's the other way around abroad. Funny how Puyo Puyo is still relevant to this day, yet is overshadowed by NiGHTS and Billy Hatcher which have been irrelevant for years.

[@DollarinoJones]

Oh baby you KNOW I’m here for Ristar. Sonic Flash RPGs Represent.

[@gameguider321GO]

W Ristar and Sonic Flash RPGs as a whole

[@Random_User666]

Fun Fact, Samba De Amigo for Dreamcast is the highest rated Sonic Team game on Metacritic.

[@ChaosAngelZero]

Oh yeah, the reason why the Puyo Puyo games have characters in them is because they are actually a spinoff of the Madou Monogatari series of dungeon-crawling JRPGs, which featured characters and a plot.

[@Farkonso]

Sonic actually has a few lines about "mean beans" in PPT2, at least in the dubbed versions. Also the reasons for Puyo Puyos massive cast stems from Compile's Madō Monogatari

[@EggFighterXB-]

​@@JaxCoolKartunes Ringo, all of her friends and all the Tetris crew are Puyo original, right?

[@EggFighterXB-]

whoops I meant to respond you

[@A_Mouse]

chuchu rocket is actually one of my favorite games and although it's rare to see the game get any attention it still brings a smile to my face anytime anyone talks about it. it's a shame that not much really happens with the franchise anymore but if any game deserves another chance, it's this one.

[@qstmrk8004]

there is a free indie game inspired by it called duck marines available for pc

[@avlynkatabiya2849]

Puyo Puyo is simple addicting fun for me. It's simple with the gameplay but the complexity comes in the form of how do you want to set up your chains? There's a couple of well-known common setups, that is compiled online and some games also teach, like the stairs or sandwich. I guess I'd say I also like the games for the surprisingly large amount of lore it has. This also stems from part of the cast being originally a part of a JRPG series, but even the reboot, Puyo Pop Fever has lore, though from what I remember, most of said Puyo Pop Fever lore is in Puyo Pop Fever 2.

[@DonutSwordsman]

Billy hatcher was a great unique short game to me as a kid. I really wish they would have tried a sequel, the art style was so cool

[@sanicsanic6890]

Ristar was actually developed by Sonic Team, as for it's level data, it uses Sonic 1's table format with Sonic 2-style compression, which I find very interesting.

[@HeroChaofromSonic]

Ristar's Japanese name is リスター, Risutā. So I think it's pretty clear that his name is pronounced like "ree-star". Also as a fun fact, the game has a ridiculous amount of localization changes, such as making the enemies look angrier, making Ristar's standing sprite look angrier, changing story details, removing the names of the hidden treasures, and more.

[@baraksha1]

The way I look at it is that Ristar is literaly just ...well... "Whrist Star"

[@HeroChaofromSonic]

@@baraksha1 Honestly that pronunciation could be correct too, even going by the Japanese name. Rice-star is definitely incorrect though.

[@MagillanicaLouM]

@@HeroChaofromSonic the リ is short so yeah I think "wristar" is the way to go.

[@AmethystLeslie]

18:37 Honestly, the characters and stories keep us Puyo fans coming back. Most Puyo fans aren't super good at the gameplay and would rather just watch the cutscenes or absorb some other Puyo media cuz they want content of their favorite characters. Not saying that they're all complex characters in super deep JRPG-like stories, but they are cute and charming and we love them.

[@qstmrk8004]

i agree although the story presentation from puyo puyon onward kinda suck

[@AmethystLeslie]

@@qstmrk8004 You know what, fair. Presentation peaked with Sun.

[@yutavergil]

tbh thats so true, i fell in love with the game because of how cute the character designs are and their story (even if almost nonexistent) but the gameplay sometimes is so tiring!

[@TheDiego908]

I'm happy knowing that I "played" and had fun with NiGTHS through SRB2's special stages, I never felt like playing them before

[@americaonline3835]

i enjoyed stages 1 trough 5, i really hate stage 6, but i'm not prepared for stage 7 at all

[@shupasopni]

Yeah for some reason I also couldn't get into Nights, but liked the special stages in SRB2. I think they are just just the right amount of stiff. Better physics overall.

[@Josuh]

Honestly surprised the nights styled special stages haven't been done by sonic team themselves yet

[@mushroomdude123]

Ristar is one of my favorite platformers ever. Whoever decided to make it a secret unlockable in Sonic Mega Collection is a saint. This game needs a sequel badly.

[@alexandermckay9521]

Feel the Magic and Rub Rabbits were actually very popular when they came out. A lot of my friends had those games.

[@the.bloodless.one1312]

Burning Rangers main theme fucking SLAPS!!! God damn, that soundtrack, peak Sega coolness!!

[@okamiprincess]

Puyo Puyo tetris 2 is one of my fav games of all time. You would enjoy it. My family loves the multiplayer mode

[@rafresendenrafresenden.1644]

That NiGHTS game looks so cool, I hope we get a new sequel, same for Billy Hatcher.

[@Fatih_M177]

We need more Ristar games tbh even if it isn't really a sonic team game

[@Hologramburrito]

i wish sonic team puyo games were more like the compile games. puyo puyo 2 is one of my favorite puzzle games of all time.

[@chronoblue418]

I hope people start using tracks from Billy Hatcher in their hacks. That OST is so slept on for how perfect they would be in a sonic setting. Some that I think would be good for sonic being Bossa Nova of Briney Air, Boney Dino Dance, Passionate and Silent Sea, Pinball like Echo, Odd March(Think Carnival Night) and Sandstorm Sitar. Bonus being "Afternoon Desert" sounding like something from Spyro.

[@tretendo]

Sonic Team also assisted with the development of the 2019 Sakura Wars game.

[@inendlesspain4724]

Yeah, and I think that game uses the Hedgehog Engine 2.

[@MagillanicaLouM]

And apparently Valkyria Chronicles, at least 4

[@innocentzbat]

as someone who grew up in an EyeToy heavy childhood, I can confirm SEGA Superstars was the best game for the device. It's not an amazing game obviously, but it's absolutely fun and sharing with friends makes it even better. I wish they'd give the EyeToy another shot for the PS5, but the EyeToy was only ever truly successful in Europe, in the US it had less than half the amount of games Europe got. We had EyeToy Play 1 and 2, but 3 was never released in the states :/

[@NerotheGame]

It's pronounced Ristar. Hope I was able to clear that up.

[@gameshirostudios]

NiGHTS is one of my favorite games, so I feel compelled to explain why I love it. You’re clearly not one of the people who plays the stages in 1 loop, gets a D and complains, which may indicate it’s just not for you. Still, I’ll try to frame why I find it fun in a way that may resonate with you. NiGHTS’ gameplay loop is akin to a Sonic level where you are asked to time-attack the stage as many times as possible within the time limit, while also ensuring you go after the collectibles. The challenge comes in routing the stage to maximize points while minimizing time, and pursuing consistent execution. There is a also sense of excitement that comes with the decision to either bank your points at the palace or attempting one last loop of the stage. It’s supremely euphoric to make it back to the palace with 1 second left on the timer.

[@gameshirostudios]

Got to the part about Journey of Dreams. Fans of the first generally dislike it, or at the very least, think it’s a step down. I strongly prefer the first game, but I still like the second. As for the character design: Most fans I see prefer the original design, as do I.

[@Slenderquil]

Puyo, Ristar, and Chuchu rocket are my favorite games quite. They're all lots of fun

[@justsomesimplenuclearbirbs4313]

The Puyo Puyo franchise originally was just a spinoff series to a series known as Madou Monogatari. But Compile, the original creator of the Maduo Monogatari series, banked a bit to much on the Puyo Puyo spinoff series after it became a huge success in Japan resulting in Compile eventually going bankrupt after getting a bit *too* ambitious with the series. As a result, the Puyo Puyo license was given to SEGA with the original plan Compile had being to reclaim the license after earning enough money to pay off an ever growing debt. This plan failed, Compile went defunct and SEGA's held the Puyo Puyo license since 2001, making games for Puyo Puyo series every couple of years or so on multiple systems with very rare official English localizations as the series is mostly Japan exclusive.

[@justinr1094]

NiGHTs Journey of Dreams is my favorite non-Sonic Sonic Team game by a landslide. I can't believe how overlooked it is!

[@alphonsejohnson5601]

Because Balan wonderworld failed so badly, The creators of NiGHTS left sega, Killing off any chance of our wonderful nightmaren returning with sequels or spin-offs.

[@justinr1094]

I've pretty much given up on any of my favorite Sega games getting sequels at this point. I just appreciate each game for what it is, and replay them again once there's enough time passed since the last play through. I guess I'd rather Sega series become dormant than become horrible messes like the Sonic series has in the last 10+ years. You know, thinking about it, it's kind of a miracle that they were able to get Journey of Dreams finished before Sonic Team USA had to close their doors. Too much later and it easily could've been lost to time, and we wouldn't have known what we were missing out on. I kind of take that for granted sometimes. I guess my point is that even though Sega's best days are behind us and it'll never be quite the same again, I'm super grateful for the run they had. I'll continue to enjoy what they were able to accomplish, even if it's retrospectively and they're library of titles aren't new and shiny anymore. Anyways, those are my thoughts. Now that I've randomly written a really long comment you never asked for in response to your one sentence long comment, I'll go play some more Journey of Dreams haha!

[@Enthusiasm441]

Even if you didn't like it, thank you so much for putting some spotlight on NiGHTS. It's literally my favorite game.

[@macuser7048]

How can you hate the gameplay for Burning Rangers??????? O.O It's so much fun!

[@onthedre]

Playing NiGHTS is easy. Gather enough orbs and hit the circular water ball thing (0:19). Once you gather enough orbs for it, bonus time begins and you get extra points. Avoid going straight to the next section by flying above the palace (0:24). Do as many laps as you possibly can while building up your score before the timer runs out (or you will get a F rank) That’s it really. The more you play and memorize the levels, the better it gets. It’s counter intuitive but once you get it the gameplay is outstandingly made. The game really needed a tutorial. I didn’t like NiGHTS but once I found out how to actually play it I fell in love for a while and it definitely feels like a Sonic time-attack with wings so it’s really cool.

[@magolor-3100]

Fun fact about puyo puyo: It's actually more popular than sonic in japan

[@naturalace5375]

Another fun fact about Puyo Puyo: Despite that it's still relevant today, it's over shadowed by NiGHTS and Billy Hatcher which are irrelevant today. At least in America.

[@sanglish18]

Journey of Dreams removes the exaggerated amount of laps and I would say it's better designed as a normal game as you have to chase a bird with a key that unlocks the next section. Although the game has that thing you have about games in generald that in certain moments you have to play minigames and some missions as only the human characters which are the most simple of the simple gameplay ever. It's nice to play through the story though since it tells the same plot as the Saturn game but it's actually decently told and you can actually understand what's going on as you progress. I'm not gonna say as if I'm THAT good at the Saturn game, but looking at the footage I just couldn't ignore how you were constantly breaking links and not chaining properly, it seems you were kind of just moving like "whatever" and collecting stuff when I think the main appeal is to chain as much as possible while maintaining the best angle possible in you analog stick, when you focus on chaining (which is what gives the most points) instead of just pure collecting then the game becomes extremely challenging, but I won't blame you for that since the PC version did that horrible thing of adding cross-shaped deadzone to the analog input so you are constantly forced to move in straight lines like a D-Pad which is HORRIBLE for this game, play the Saturn version and you'll be able to adjust every tiny angle of your movement with no deadzone getting in the way, measuring precise angles with your analog stick to maneuver as perfectly as possible through the map as you chain as much as possible is pretty difficult. I recommend taking a look at high score runs to see the kind of level one can get.

[@JamesChessman]

Good vid but bro ya don’t really get NiGHTS, it really is deep and amazing, I promise. I need to make a vid about the correct way to play. You don’t get it till u can get an A on each stage, also the kids are meant to walk around first and gather tons of chips, BEFORE first touching the pavilion, then shoot to the capture device, THEN spend maximum time collecting the GOLD chips (bonus time is all double points), each round ur meant to collect stuff till the clock almost runs out. The AI Life system is very deep and it’s basically a system of making each one happier, by showing them love, and it evolves the music. It’s basically sending love… to our deceased pets and making their spirits happy. This also is similar to the couple stages in Ristar with the little background characters singing along and adding more voices to evolve the music. And ristar bird characters are basically the same bird Nightopians in NiGHTS

[@kilometersperminute4113]

Please make a 1 hour video on how MMOs are disgusting.

[@inendlesspain4724]

I second this. Personally, it's the grinding; from time to time I see a few MMOs that really call my attention but then I remember they're MMOs which means I'll have to spend a lot of time grinding to get anywhere and it just puts me off entirely.

[@mino000]

@@inendlesspain4724 ^

[@Josuh]

MMO's are only good if you don't play almost anything else, they take so much time, sometimes the line between gacha and MMO is pretty blurry too

[@Laekith]

MMOs were the gacha games of the 2000s, enough said. Mindless grinding, huge messy UIs, time gated stuff, a billion different currencies and resources, scummy monetization. Trash

[@musicfromtheinternet]

your style of thumbnails is really cool and always draws me in, and your videos are great and keep my attention !!! keep doin what ur doin

[@Laekith]

You're underestimating the Project Rub games, also Puyo Puyo's cast is so good especially in the GBA game

[@milesseawind]

It's worth noting that Phantasy Star 1 was the first game that oshima and naka worked on together. It was considered the best 8 bit console rpg and in the top 5 master system games. It could debatably could be considered the first "sonic team" game as the internal divisions at Sega were not really distinct separate entities until after sonic 1 was released.

[@tivvy2vs21]

Nights might be the best game sonic teams ever made, its one of the only games ive got all achievements on so far, was so disappointed when i played the demo for balan wonderworld If you dont like nights gameplay, have you played klonoa? Its very similar in everything else, but its a normal platformer I got journey of dreams as a kid, never understood it, but i still have it and will pop it into my wii u one of these days

[@LongSinceDead1]

Hard disagree with you about NiGHTs. I respect the fact that you don’t find the gameplay enjoyable but people do legitimately find the act of controlling NiGHTs and mastering the controls and levels rewarding. It’s a game that takes a while for it’s mechanics to click, but when it does, everything comes together to create a gorgeous audio visual spectacle that’s extremely addictive, especially as you improve and start going for higher rankings. There are all sorts of nuances to the mechanics that you realize the more you play. Also if you ever get the chance, I recommend trying to play the Saturn version with the 3D Saturn controller. For whatever reason, the 2012 remaster’s movement isn’t anywhere near as smooth as the original’s which is a shame. I don’t think playing the Saturn version with the analog controller will radically change your mind but it does make the game more fun. EDIT: In regards to the second game, “Journey of Dreams”, it’s a bit more divisive amongst NiGHTs fans. While it superficially resembles the original, it made a lot of changes to the controls, structure, storytelling and level objectives that serve to distinguish it from the first game’s more focused and movement based approach. Some people like it, some hate it, I think it’s solid but nowhere near as good as the first game. It has its own unique charm and it feels like it was made with a lot of passion.

[@papersonic9941]

For what it's worth, there's a mod for the Steam version that improves the controls

[@victoriabell9546]

The fact that bro said that Burning Rangers was so bad that he cussed it out was wild, but then used "fricken" to describe the music is also wild! Also the fact that bro proceeded to cuss out the controls of ChuChu Rocket, the controls and controllers of Samba De Amigo Wii and Astro Boy, Sega Superstars, Puyo Puyo, and Phatasy Star Online is also wild.

[@spacecat275]

Feel like people like Nights for the same reason you like 3d zelda. Its a jack of all trades. They don't play it for the gameplay. The sense of this creator's childlike wonder, glee, beauty, etc that the rollercoaster like gameplay system delivers. I'd find it difficult to name one that has the same kind of resonance this emanates from start to finish. Greater than the sum of its parts type of game.

[@shilze1]

NiGHTs Journey of Dreams is actually not very similar in terms of what you're doing, it's way more linear and there's variety in what you're doing, outside of just flying around in stages that mimic the original design (but really they seem to rely more on time for high ranks than the original) Also maybe I'm biased because it's what I know better but I like the redesign they did and I think it's basically the idealized modern version of NiGHTs and just overall looks more appealing.

[@harrisoncora4259]

Really? Because I love the gameplay for Nights. It’s so simple that it becomes addicting. Edit: I can give you tips on Puyo Puyo because I’ve gotten really good at the game.

[@MagillanicaLouM]

Ristar: Top 5 genesis game, not much more to say. Just a damn good time, even i suck and can't get past the fire world currently lol. Nights: Mega disagree with you here, the appeal is just its score attack arcadey goodness. There doesn't need to be "more to it". Getting better at a given stage, learning each lap, then getting to the point where you can just flow through with a lot of the grace you'll see in record breaking runs and get the best score that you can till the last few seconds. That's the appeal of Nights' gameplay, as you're already aware of the appeal of everything else about it. As for Journey, it seems aight enough,but I'm not fiending to play it from the changes I've seen. Some are cool ones, it has its gems in certain sections but ultimately it's whatever. And Nights redesign is cool, my only gripe is she looks weird without her original wide collar thing. Burning Rangers: haven't gotten to play much cause saturn emulation is a bitch atm for me, but I'm eager to get to it properly. They really need to just remake the thing, idk why they're so adamant about leaving it on the Saturn. Absolutely deserves more. Samba: Maracas may be the point, but ain't stopping me, button controls it is. It's a great time. I can only think the reason so much time passes between games is primarily music licensing. But yeah they are amazing games, Amigo and crew have been burned in my mind as long as Sonic and his, even though I'm confident last year was the first time i played the original. The newest one was one of my main motivators to get a switch now finally this year. I keep joking that Nintendo made the thing specifically for Sega to put a Samba de Amigo on it lol. Can agree on the aesthetic thing, though newer trailers have shown that original vibe is still present as well as character designs. Just excited overall. PSO: Honestly had no clue this was even sonic team. Also not into MMOs, so not interested, but have enjoyed what I've played of og phantasy star games. ChuChu Rocket: the most experience i have with this is Tails one special move in Sonic battle. But i have a lot respect for it, it was super ahead of its time in many aspects that the industry would later adopt (Sega in general were back then). Billy Hatcher: haven't played, but do really wanna. Pretty much take what I said about burning rangers except no remake, a port is good for this one. PuyoPuyo: finally played a couple recently. Fun, exciting to improve in. Also interesting history. Characters are cool, given the franchise started as an actual RPG it makes sense there's some story focus. Though even back then it was relatively simple, lighthearted stuff. I only wish they would change up the artstyle occasionally for spin offs or something. New look is unique and nice, just would be fun seeing characters depicted in the compile style now and then. Also idk how the hell competitive players function, kudos to them cause holy shit that is some insane skill. Top 3 types of gamers im scared of lol. All in all, I actually think most of sonic teams non sonic lineups are awesome. Not all of them need to be 20+ game franchises with yearly releases, but they all definitely deserve better. I think they are masters at making simple, short, sweet, super fun but substantial games that are just meant to be a good time, something big name devs and publishers are lacking these days imo. Sega in general had that in spades, and I think the current gaming climate desperately needs more of that outside of indies. The collective mindset of everything needing to be this majorly huge sprawling "ambitious", large in scale game to be worthwhile has gotten very exhausting.

[@xiaostrr]

puyo puyo acknowledged

[@fernandoportal5422]

I watched this video because of puyo puyo and I found everything pretty entertaining. You should play puyo puyo tetris you'll like it.

[@aortaplatinum]

Ooooh fuck yeah, I love when SonicTeam gets to make stuff that isn't Sonic, because from like Sonic Adventure-Sonic 06, I get the feeling very few people at SonicTeam actually wanted to make Sonic games. That's why we got NiGHTS and Burning Rangers after Sonic 3K, and when those didn't keep Bernie Stolar from shooting the Saturn in the dick at E3 1997, SEGA was like "okay we know you're sick of Sonic but we NEED this series because it's really popular outside Japan. So make a Sonic every year or so and we'll let you keep making your other weird experimental games" Prepare for a massive wall of text I'm sorry I love NiGHTS and I want to talk a lot about it. It's extremely bizarre to me that you don't enjoy NiGHTS' gameplay, it seems like it would be right up your alley since it's so fast-paced and score attacky and arcadey. Maybe it's just because fans found it at the right time in their life, or because they had a Saturn and so few Saturn games released outside Japan they got REALLY good at it, that so many people like it. I'm watching your gameplay and I think you could really benefit from checking out high score runs or looking into the old fan forums and sites, because the goal of each lap, or Mare, is actually multi-tiered. When you first spawn as Elliot or Claris, you want to grab a couple Blue Chips from nearby you so you already have some in your stock before you Dualize with NiGHTS. Once you Dualize, that starts phase 2, when you want to get up to the 20 Blue Chips needed to break the Ideya Capture and that starts phase 3, where your score is doubled, but if you run out of time you lose it all. So it becomes a risk and reward system, you want to figure out the best route through each Mare to maximize your score, completing as many laps around the Mare as possible and then swooping back into the NiGHTS Capture with just a couple seconds left on the clock. So it's spawn>get mugged by Nightmarens>grab Blue Chips>dualize>floor it towards 20 chips and then the capture>maximize score without running out of time. And do note that your bonus score, how much extra score you get for how fast you break the Ideya Capture, starts when you spawn as the Dreamer, NOT once you dualize. So you can't just walk around, get 20 chips, dualize, and still get the same bonus. I will say though that the currently available PS2/HD remake of the game is not very good as far as remakes go. Because Saturn architecture is so unique, the code for NiGHTS had to essentially be eyeballed and entirely rewritten by SEGA Shanghai, the development studio. They got to use the art assets, animations, music, and sound effects, and that's it, everything else had to be "felt out" and rebuilt from scratch. So if you get the opportunity to play the Saturn version, emulated or on real hardware, do it. It's gonna feel weird at first since you're used to the PS2 version, but the momentum, control, and acceleration feel TOTALLY different, it's a lot more free form feeling and less rigid. Plus the PS2 version screws up a lot of gimmicks, like the water bubbles in Elliot's first Dream, Splash Garden at 6:29- they're supposed to send you straight through to the end but they fling you out in the PS2 version. Now your assumptions about NiGHTS Journey of Dreams are actually... kinda completely wrong. You'd probably actually really enjoy it because while the core 2.5D flying gameplay is still there, each Dream now has 5 different goals, and the first one is actually a speedrunning challenge- you're not hunting down chips and trying to boost your score, but you're instead chasing down a bird with a key to unlock your cage and go to the next lap. The first goal is always a speedrunning challenge and the last goal is always a harder version of that Dream's boss, but the three in-between can be literally anything, from saving Nightopians from being sucked up into a black hole, to totally different gameplay as a horrifying shape-shifted boat or roller coaster car NiGHTS. In addition, the game is also very divisive, if you liked NiGHTS 1 you probably won't like it's Wii prequel [yes it's a prequel, it's hinted at but never stated or heavily implied or anything but I'm a big NiGHTS nerd so boom it's a prequel], and vice versa. Same with the character redesign, I love both but some people only want one and they cling to it for dear life. So anyways check out Journey of Dreams through Dolphin or something, you'd probably like it. And ermm ackshually Puyo Pop Fever was also released on Dreamcast in Japan 🤓 And now for something much simpler- I agree with everything you said about Burning Rangers and pretty much every other game here lol. Except Phantasy Star Online. I fuckin HATE PSO. They're soulless pieces of overly complex shit that steal and tarnish the name of Phantasy Star, to the point it's difficult to find anything pertaining to the original, REAL Phantasy Star games online unless you type in the full title of one of those games. At least we got Skies of Arcadia, another single-player RPG directed by Phantasy Star II and IV director Rieko Kodama God rest her soul.

[@ChaosAngelZero]

Just looked it up, and it's true: Burning Rangers was released before both Ocarina of Time on Nintendo 64 and Metal Gear Solid on PlayStation. Technically it's a *VERY* impressive game when put in that context and considering the amount of people who worked on it.

[@galten7361]

Huh then.

[@sehtuk3953]

NiGHT's redesign is well received, but the only big gripe I see people have with it is the lack of the purple cuff around their neck. Nothing major, but just a "man I wish NiGHTS still had that".

[@macuser7048]

You can find the maracas for Samba de Amigo in most flea markets in California because a bunch of families over there bought it back when it came out and they sell them there complete in the box for good prices. At least before Covid. No idea if it's still like that but check it out.

[@FourCl0vers]

A 3D Ristar and NiGHTS 3 would be so fucking cool. Both of those characters are long overdue for a new game they star the main role in, especially Ristar.

[@justinc.5591]

Most of these characters I first learned about from Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing.

[@TheRealSuperKirby]

I was just on a ristar high, perfect timing.

[@gamefreakDX]

Except for Astro Boy and Feel the Magic, I know of every game on this list. The Puyo games are interesting. Like you said, they weren't originally by Sonic Team, but rather, by Compile, which no longer exists - they went bankrupt (they let the popularity of Puyo get to their heads). Back then, the Puyo series was actually a spin-off to an RPG series called Madou Monogatari. Like the modern day, the Puyo series is very comedy-focused, though I think it was funnier back then. I'm kinda okay with modern Puyo, but I just prefer the sincerity of classic Puyo (in conjunction with the more serious Madou Monogatari games).

[@NIMPAK1]

Long Post Warning: Honestly, I REALLY wanted to like Ristar. It's not bad or anything, it's just that the movement is a bit too slow and clunky in my opinion and it doesn't really mesh well with some of the obstacles which feel like were designed for a faster paced game. Personally I think Dynamite Headdy did what I wished Ristar could be and did it before Ristar. NiGHTS on the other hand is a game I adore. It is severely lacking in terms of content, but what content is there is personally really addicting in my opinion. It's not enough just collecting stuff and flying to the end, but also getting as big of a link as possible and doing it super fast with the boost and maintaining the boost bar by going through the orange rings. The only thing I dislike is being forced to fight the boss at the end and having your whole score determined by how quickly you beat the boss. I haven't played the sequel myself, but from what I've seen from a longplay, there's a much bigger emphasis on adding minigames, which honestly don't look great. I also HIGHLY recommend the NiGHTS sections in Sonic Robo Blast 2 if you haven't played those already. It takes the gameplay from NiGHTS but some of the later levels actually become pretty hard, especially while trying to get a good score, and the level design seems more up your alley, especially because there IS level design now. The other games I haven't played so I don't have an opinion on them. I think I rented Billy Hatcher once when I was a lot younger and I don't think I understood the mechanics.

[@Lukkak09]

Kinda funny that almost every dead Sega IP was made by Sonic Team (but if Atlus or Rovio are working on reviving any of these IP's I would be down for that).

[@DaxisChaos]

Dude Ristar was such a good game. Sega Genesis collection on Xbox memories kicking in 🥹

[@junkyardcrow1748]

We have less in common then I thought, taste-wise. Ristar is one my top platformers, which I'd rate above Sonic 1 and perhaps even 2 for being so tightly designed and consistently being the perhaps most charming game ever all the way through. Hearing you basically unrecommend Billy Hatcher to people was heartbreaking, lol. I know I don't have much of a ground to criticize from since I'm a picky bastard myself, but I'd really like to where this supposed treasure trove of platformers more worth playing than Billy Hatcher from '03 are that can match it's top-notch creativity, presentation, variety, and art design. It's a contender for the real SA3 in my book. Oh well, I already knew you fell in love with Sonic Heroes, a game I can barely stomach looking at anymore, let alone playing again. Different strokes I guess.

[@yousefslimani99]

Well at least I can do 4 chains on any puyo puyo games and I actually proud of myself 19:30

[@runningoncylinders3829]

Look at all those Eggman's Puyos!

[@macuser7048]

I've played Feel the Magic and Rub Rabbits. Weird games but the mini games in them are AWESOME

[@Sparkys_World-0]

Very much appreciate this video as a big Sonic Team fan. Nights is one of my all-time faves and has always been super interesting to me, especially how it relates to your ongoing *score vs time attack* mentality. It’s gameplay loop is really an attempt to reconcile the intended play-style of a game like Sonic 3 with that of Sonic CD, and stems from a frustration the team had with the Sonic series. Yuji Naka would joke once that he designed Sonic 1 to be something you play quite slow and deliberately the first few times, then slowly get faster with practice, but every time he’d watch someone play it, they’d sprint through all the challenges right from the start. This informed the much more streamlined and speedy design of Sonic 2 and 3, whereas CD instead doubled-down on the more deliberate pacing of Sonic 1 with its time-travel. Nights was explicitly designed to be a very artful and deliberate experience, yet when it was first being made, test players would just dart around completing objectives time-attack style. This resulted in them rethinking the game’s structure into what Yuji Naka described as “two games in one”: the beginning of each lap is a race to destroy the Ideya Capsule is quick as possible, then the rest of the timer is spent fully exploring the stage and using Nights’ abilities (essentially Naka and Oshima’s design approaches occurring simultaneously). The depth of Nights is really in its fluid controls and dense level design. You can experience most laps at least 3 or 4 different ways if you’re properly exploring them and maximising points. It’s very much a Sonic CD-type game with super vertical stages full of hidden routes and secrets. As someone who’s been playing this game for years, I still find new stuff constantly. Using tricks and loops to optimise your routes and collect chips really evokes the graceful, artful feeling Sonic Team was going for. You can clearly see them planting the seeds for what would become the ranking system of SA2, one that’s less built around zippy traversal and more around fully interacting with the stage. I think Nights takes a lot of the core appeal of classic Sonic movement and makes it more creative and freeform (the same reason why CD is my favourite), which gives it a ridiculously high skill-ceiling. ShayMay has a great vid about Nights’ gameplay loop that makes pretty similar points. The sequel is similar in ways but feels less arcadey and more modern. Stages have much more scripted elements and don’t emphasise creative or player-driven traversal nearly as much, making them much less replayable. I don’t hate it but it’s nowhere near as enjoyable as the original. I can’t speak on Burning Rangers but all I’ve consistently heard is it controls like total shit without the Saturn 3D pad lol.

[@spongebobfan78]

17:52 Like some people think, I think it's still called PSO2 since PSO2 is really successful in Japan and is Sega's moneymaker MMO. Plus, there's also the fact NGS globally launched REALLY close to PSO2's western release and making NGS be PSO3 would be a turn-off for new Western players as PSO2 Global hasn't really been out for long and there's already a new one that seems to replace it. NGS being attached to PSO2, both in name and features, might help the transition since you're not 100% starting over if you jump from PSO2 to NGS. 18:44 The universe of Puyo was actually from a dungeon crawler series. So they already have a lore when the Puyo games started. 24:54 I played it before. You need a really good lighting and bright background so you can be detected by the camera. The Sonic minigame there takes place in a Heroes-styled special stage (actually the assets seemed to be lifted from Heroes but slightly modified with Speed Highway music playing) and you need to reach the end of the stage before the timer runs out. Getting the Chaos Emeralds will grant you bonus points but getting all 7 will make Sonic turn Super and boost through the stage. Beating Hard mode will unlock Shadow, which has harder stages and Vengeance Is Mine as BGM. Voice clips seemed to be reused from SA2. There's also a barebones Chao Garden in the menu. Nothing really interesting aside from feeding the Chao. I remember playing the Puyo Pop minigame where you use your body to guide the falling puyo to the appropriate colored container. I also remember cheating on the Crazy Taxi one by grabbing the camera and shaking it while shouting which seems to work. Super Monkey Ball and Nights were difficult to play since my room space is pretty small to find a good, well-lit area to play properly.

[@SnaksiXD]

Yeah, not only is Sonic Team making Puyo games, THEY NEVER FUCKING LOCALIZE THEM.

[@mguymario]

15:43 You not missing out on much as the Wii version is just a enhanced port. You can also use 2 Wii remotes to control the game.

[@Mr.Maguro]

For some reason I prefer playing with score for NiGHTS than in Sonic, probably because the game is designed is for that but I jusy find it weirdly addicting. I've heard that the remake/sequel on Wii does stuff in terms of plot and alternative gameplay styles that piss fans off. Now, personally I love NiGHTS redesign in that game, the little yellow puff thing in their chest should have been white instead of yellow and it would've been perfect.

[@novastriker]

Can you make a video talking about Balan Wonderworld? I know that the game doesn't have the best reputation but it would be nice to hear your input about it, since it takes inspiration from Nights.

[@bluebellsforever]

You definitely need to do story videos on the puyo games, especially puyo puyo tetris 2, that game has the best writting from the 2010s sonic team games.

[@ChaosAngelZero]

I don't know if the Sega Saturn could render bigger three-dimensional environments than the ones found in Burning Rangers, but I'm pretty sure that even if it could they would've stuck to the smaller ones simply because it's a game about firefighting and randomized stages once you beat the main campaign.

[@gregtom3272]

also , finally , we have yet an other person who talk about some thing else from sonic team other than sonic , seriously , it's kind of sad how sonic team's reputation was tarnished by the bad reception of some sonic games when they make so much goodness out there , even if it's not perfect

[@Banana807]

Its also kinda sad how sonic is pretty much the only thing sonic team is known for, i mean, it makes sense, their studio name literally has sonic on it, but to see them only be refered as the team who only makes sonic games is also sad

[@fabianugalde3789]

Even if these games weren't perfect, I wish they could get sequels or remakes that improve on what was established. I honestly think Sega is just sleeping on these one-game franchises that could attract attention if they make changes and modernize the gameplay. Samba de Amigo is a clear example of a game that finally got a sequel, and we have yet to see how it plays, but it looks like it might be fun. Just make more games for NiGHTS, Billy Hatcher, and Burning Rangers which are a bit more challenging but have some open-world elements or challenging stages (while at the same time still being playable). Chu Chu Rocket could easily become a fun party game, and they can expand by maybe changing the backgrounds or changing the formula (adding bigger Chu Chus that need to be split into smaller ones or moments where you can attack the Kapu Kapus for points akin to Pacman)

[@BillyFishy]

The only reason that i know burning rangers is for it's awesome ost in SAASRT

[@unnamed12346]

People have forgotten how for a time, Sonic Team then (And even to a degree now sometimes even if people think otherwise) was making games outside the Blue blur What was funny was that during the time of the Saturn's run, Sonic Team in Japane once got a call from a kid, and said kid actually asked "Who is Sonic?" and that was kind of the idea of how much Sonic had been moved on from while they worked on other games And on NiGHTS' redesign.... I've seen it's basically a significantly toned down variant of the Classic vs Modern Sonic Discourse. I personally like the latter, but I've seen some say that it's a bit overdesigned, not unlike the changes made to Sonic (I'd say NiGHTS' rival, Reala, was more slightly overdesigned, but it's neither here nor there)

[@danyo5786]

idk man it just looks like night's other outfit got dirty or something and they changed clothes for the afternoon. not that big of a redesign if you ask me.

[@unnamed12346]

@@danyo5786 It's subtle in a way that long-time fans notice it and have their preferences, but I like it. Really the biggest redesign is Reala from the classic to modern look

[@SaddieMoon]

I prefer the JoD redesign of NiGHTS as it doesn’t look as polygonal or just looks more alive.

[@mollyjayhedgehog6276]

I would love to see them do another burning Rangers the game mechanics for that will very unique at the time

[@andrewdowell6474]

I've also never seen the appeal in Nights. I played it on a friend's Saturn about 20 years ago and was extremely underwhelmed.

[@phzuh]

i’ll do my taxes later, Pariah just dropped

[@davidplummer285]

the only one i played was puyo puyo but only the ones that were released outside of japan which still leaves me confused on why they released puyo pop fever and not other ones until puyo puyo tetris

[@davidplummer285]

also i love it more then tetris like i played doctors robotniks mean bean machine and then after a little bit a good amount of years ago i heard of the other puyo games but dont know a lot about the story to them since i dont speak japanise

[@davidplummer285]

it was because of puyo puyo tetris i could say am actually good at tetris now

[@lemon5000-tj6nv]

ive played joirney of dreams years ago, but i never actually finished it cuz whenever that one cutscene where NiGHTS vanishes there'd always be a problem with reading the disc

[@artey6671]

25:07 How can you say something so heartless? This game has a Chao garden. I played it with a friend as a child, but the camera required good lighting, so it didn't always go too well.

[@jiazji]

Extremely rare Burning Rangers respect lets go

[@macuser7048]

PSO2 New Genesis is PSO2 but with an open world kinda like BOTW. I tried it out back when it was in testing and it was pretty limited, but it should be much better now. You just have to level up to explore more because parts of the overworld map are locked off to you until you reach certain levels. That killed the open world for me since there was a level cap at the time too. It should be fine now though.

[@ToshisGarden]

I don't think it's so mu h that the Saturn was "weak", per se..."lacking" for sure, but it's simply more suited to 2D rather than 3D, and at that the Saturn's 2D capabilities were top-notch for its time thanks to the VDP-2 chip.

[@macuser7048]

PSO is still active if you can believe it.

[@macuser7048]

Oshima's games are bizarre and cool like the stuff Treasure makes. :D

[@rednessgod5729]

I hope sega makes their own console again someday.

[@petwisk2012]

The Phantasy Star séries goes beyond PSO and PSOII, It was basicaly the First "Sonic Tem" real project on the Master System and almost Everyone who work on Phantasy Star 1 was pulled to Make Sonic 1 so Phantasy Star II and IV are also Sonic Team's games on top of PSIV being one of the best RPGs on Sega Genesis with some people comparing It to FFVI

[@macuser7048]

I count Phantasy Star series also because of Yuji Naka's involvement.