SONIC 06: The Icon in Ruin | GEEK CRITIQUE

Sonic 06 is one of the most infamously awful video games in the entire history of the medium, and it did irreparable damage to Sonic's legacy and reputation. This video focuses on my own experiences with the game, examining WHY things ended up this way, and WHAT those repercussions were for Sonic as a franchise.
Kingdom Valley background captured using CodeNameGamma's camera mod for Generations: • Sonic Generations - Be...
...and brianuuu's Sonic 06 mod for Generations: • Sonic Generations STH2...
MUSIC CREDITS:
My Time SNES-style by Patricio Herrera: • WWF Raw SNES Style - T...
Through the Fire & Flames by 8-bit Sound: • DragonForce - Through ...
Propane Nightmares Piano Cover by Lucas King: • Pendulum - Propane Nig...
His World Orchestral Remix by Laura Platt: • Sonic The Hedgehog - H...
Dragostea Din Tei MIDI by SynthesiaTracks: • Dragostea Din Tei - O-...
Green Hill Zone Piano Cover by Zack Huggett: • Twinz - Green Hill Zon...
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[@EnergyFocus834]

"The only thing properly executed in this game was Sonic Team's reputation" Absolutely brutal

[@zacharymabb4873]

It would be funny if only it weren't so tragic.

[@falconninjanolan]

Bars

[@KevinCow]

Reading internet posts you made when you were a teenager? _Sharing_ internet posts you made when you were a teenager?? You are a far, far braver man than I ever will be.

[@KuraIthys]

Yeah... That's a terrifying thought. XD Hell, I'm scared of looking back at internet posts I made 2 weeks ago... I mean, I DO remember what I was doing as a teenager. (having inane and absurdly technical discussions about Star Trek vs Star Wars hypothetical situations as it happens) but uhh... Sharing them with anyone now seems like a really bad idea. XD

[@dezmannvondo6585]

We were all in the edgy teen phase once on the internet, let it be forgotten.

[@Dasaltwarrior]

Every once in a while, I remember some stupid shit I posted on deviant art 9 yrs ago when I was 13, and just die a little.

[@Garhunt05]

Luckily the website hosting my posts no longer exists

[@BoneZonelol]

its like the only way to defeat thanos is to pull up his homophobic tweets from 2009

[@DustyMusician]

This wasn't a critique; this was an obituary.

[@deanprowell7947]

One that was by far overdue...

[@UnfamiliarIntimacy]

Dean Prowell Ikr. I don't understand why these critic videos are still being made. Yeah, we get it. 06 failed pretty badly. People can say "he has a right to his opinion" but I honestly don't see what's the point of an opinion if it's really no different from anything else. It's really just spam if you ask me. But I appreciate him actually putting more effort into his review than "lol 06 is shit and anyone who likes it has shit taste".

[@CaveyMoth]

Eulogy for the Lost Hedgehog

[@HattieJosh]

No this comment will have an obituary when I destroy it

[@philithegamer8265]

@@UnfamiliarIntimacy "In the 12 years since that fateful day, generations of gamers who never played a Sega console, who never knew Sonic as any sort of icon or come of age, to them all this character's ever been is a joke; A laughing stock; a relic who got his start in a collection of very old platformers, that were never really that good to begin with. To so many people, this is a series that never managed to make the leap to 3D (how people usually start a Sonic review by stating how much of a rough transition Sonic had to make it to 3D), and is something that should've been put out of its misery a long time ago (some people believe this franchise shouldn't have gone on as long as it did). Sonic 06 is the reason Sega could release a trio of games that might have been considered a return to form for any other series (Unleashed, Colors, and Generations), and yet, nobody remembers them as anything but an aberration. It's the reason that renaissance never took hold, just as much as it's the reason nobody remembers the renaissance that could've been. Heroes didn't make people forget the Year of Sonic; this did (the infamous kiss scene). So it went, so it would go. Every success was overlooked. Every failure was amplified. And the legacy of every single game I grew up playing...that is grew up loving, all the memories that for the core of the reason I do this; in this series that made me a gamer, the series that gave me this dream, the character who was my childhood hero...the legacy of Sonic the Hedgehog was erased from the timeline, and the only thing left... ...was bullshit." -The Geek Critique, 2018

[@el3026]

I remember getting this game and putting it in my xbox for the first time. My parents were standing behind me and after the first cutscene rolled, my mom said "what the hell, I thought this was sonic?"

[@bunsmasterbunny]

She had no idea what Sonic was for her to get that idea.

[@Necro_Cancer]

I don’t think that’s it chief

[@MustacheDLuffy]

I think anybody would be surprised

[@Vivigreeny25]

XD

[@philithegamer8265]

@@bunsmasterbunny Butthurt Sonictard.

[@YUSHASYU]

"This is a game where the only thing properly executed....was Sonic Team's reputation". Funniest joke made about this game since its release. Was not expecting top tier bants.

[@golbez913]

that line is pure gold

[@VioletVile]

I came down to say the exact same thing almost a year later. Glad someone else pointed it out (and got 700+ likes for it) Comedy gold and probably one of the most scathing deep burns I've ever heard.

[@LeafRazorStorm]

I have never seen a more clever use of endcards.

[@merpo2806]

OMG, I just checked, and those aren't the real titles and images to those videos. (I was legit fooled)

[@arsarma1808]

Have you seen the hit series ENDLSLATE from Yuriofwind?

[@r.u.s.e3586]

I know right?

[@sunlitsonata6853]

It has now officially been 15 years since this game released. 15 years, and the black mark is still very much felt

[@videogameguy101]

Weird. At the time of release the FIRST Sonic game had been 15 years old.

[@megamike15]

and we are now getting people that grew up with the game now trying to defend it. and that hurts me emotionally.

[@lightninstriker10]

lining up "That alone is insufficient" with the clip of Shadow saying the exact same line.. you beautiful bastard.

[@adriann9919]

For anyone wondering... 34:08

[@somasora7]

I swear Blaze is immune to being bad. Even in the garbage pile that's 06, she manages to be legitimately decent. Homegirl even managed to jettison herself from the plot in Silver's story so she wouldn't have to deal with End of the World

[@rynobehnke8289]

I suppose the main reason Blaze works so well is because she doesn't have the Test speed limit implemented. And in case you didn't know said Speed limit is something in alpha and Beta versions of games to better test it on potential problems and the released version of 06 simply is an Alpha were there didn't have have time to remove this but Blaze was ether never given this limit or she for some reason was the only one were someone could be bothered to remove it(

[@lenlimbo]

Blaze is awesome!

[@KennethMoreland]

If she was 'immmune' to being bad, she wouldn't of been in this game. She's just as trash as Sonic.

[@rainpooper7088]

somasora7 Well, no. Quite the opposite actually. Just because a character uses a lot of tropes that people like(the poor stoic introvert who struggles at making friends because she was mistreated in the past but is also the chosen one with enormous powers that nobody ever saw the benefits of because potatoes) doesn’t mean the character is well executed. Now while she’s not horrible by any means, Blaze is probably the worst constructed character in the universe of the games: Her debut game Sonic Rush has some of the most self-defeating writing I’ve ever seen(yes, make everyone except Sonic an antisocial idiot and then act like you just taught the greatest friendship lesson of all time, that’s not pretentious and stupid) and completely failed at establishing the new content it was supposed to bring(Chaos Emeralds except with fire, Eggman except with shades, parallel dimension except we never see it), her backstory is completely informed and makes no sense whatsoever, she’s only had a total of three games where her purpose of being there wasn’t „fanservice“(which actually is *one less* than her supposed archenemy Eggman Nega, go figure) and she is way too hard to get into a story without shoehorning her in for her to be a consistent contributor to anything. Even the comics with SEGA’s personal story- and character-janitor Flynn at the job struggled to clean up the mess her character is and just ended up ignoring all the stupid stuff that makes no sense, like her being bullied because of the *awesome superpowers she received from „the greatest treasure of her world“ that she was never shown to have any trouble controlling while also being the freaking throne heir of said world.* But hear me out, because Sonic 06 might actually be indirectly to blame for this as well: Now apparently, there was going to be a Silver the Hedgehog spinoff where she would have appeared(which makes sense, considering that Silver was *literally the only character she interacted with in 06)* and it would have been explained what exactly her story was and what exactly happened to her after 06, but *because of 06‘s critical failure,* that game was never finished and she never got the fixing that she deserved. So there’s another reason to despise Sonic 06‘s aftermath. *HOORAY!*

[@gameman5804]

Her inclusion in this story is terrible though. Why is she here? God, people complain about Classic Sonic in Forces for being forced fanservice. They don't even explain her here. Why is she just as irrelevant as most of the side characters? She had loads of potential to play a huge role in I would argue, the entire friggin package, yet she's reduced down to a cheerleader that's not even there for Silver half of the time. Why doesn't she do anything? For someone that's to be a mentor to Silver, she doesn't do anything that's relevant to the story or even pushes it forward. Even in the few times where you get to play as her, (Especially Wave Ocean and White Acropolis) are just filler. They don't advance the plot, or even characters... except for Silver's Ending. Why? Why does Silver's Ending Cutscene make my blood boil so much? This sets every single problem I have with Blaze in this game to maximum overdrive. A.) This is the only time where she does something, and she disappears. B.) Suddenly CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT! That thing should've been in Silver's Story as early as the second god damn cutscene! C.) It STILL is 100% irrelevant to the rest of the story. It's supposed to change Silver, but when the final story comes around, he just brushes it off like it never happened. Blaze doesn't even get mentioned nor does Silver feel ANY remorse! And don't get me started on the setting because it makes 0 sense all on it's own! Why the already screwed future when it means nothing even with Iblis gone? Silver is the only survivor without Blaze, and even if civilization would return, he wouldn't be around to see it. If Iblis was freed from the Egg Carrier Crash, why doesn't the same scenario happen in the present day where it actually happened?! I'll still be pissed with Blaze, but the setting would've made more sense. As a story, Sonic 06 is THE worst thing I've ever experienced.

[@rynagon_]

“Princess Elise basically is to Sonic what Adam Malkovich is to Metroid.” I never thought of it that way, but damn are you right.

[@rayflyers]

Nah, Sonic Other M and Metroid '06 aren't that similar. No wait...

[@izackmaniac7922]

To be fair to Metroid, at least Adam existed beforehand (Metroid fusion)

[@BanzaiChuck]

I'm not sure if that makes it better. I waited years to learn more about Adam, but then he just served as an excuse for bad game design.

[@Metroid4ever]

Other M is the Sonic '06 of the Metroid series. *the horror*

[@wolfox7776]

@@Metroid4ever at least Other M has more traces of a good game hidden in the mess

[@MarioSonic2010]

41:43 - 43:08 "In the twelve years since that fateful day, generations of gamers who never played a SEGA console, who never knew Sonic as any sort of icon have come of age... To them, all this character has ever been is a joke, a laughing stock, a relic who got his start on a collection of very old platformers that were never really that good to begin with. To so many people, this is a series that never managed to make the leap to 3D, and it's something that should've been put out of its misery a long time ago. Sonic '06 is the reason that SEGA could release a trio of games that might have been considered a return to form for any other series, and yet nobody remembers them as anything but an aberration. It's the reason that renaissance never took hold, just as much as it's the reason that nobody remembers the renaissance that could've been. Heroes didn't make people forget the year of Sonic, this did. So it went, so it would go... Every success was overlooked. Every failure was amplified. And the legacy of every single game that I grew up playing... That I grew up loving... All of the memories that form the core of the reason I do this... And the series that made me a gamer, the series that gave me this dream, the character who WAS my childhood hero... The legacy of Sonic the Hedgehog was erased from the timeline. And the only thing left... was bullshit." ~ Josh, The Geek Critique (Damn, that's a lot to take in...)

[@theblazingyveltal1358]

Do you know the background music that was played during this moment?

[@djangosouthwest6043]

So true

[@ZXBehemothXZ]

It's honestly depressing.

[@ZXBehemothXZ]

@@theblazingyveltal1358 it sounds like a slower, more melancholic mix of the Solaris boss theme, phase 2

[@mr.kevin1209]

The sadness has hit maximum capacity

[@samtheweebo]

Her orange legs always bothered me. I know it's leggings or something, but yeah.

[@ESP3DINA]

Turns out she's meant to look like a chicken

[@removehandlesplease]

100th like

[@jackyoungiii3770]

FR. The inconsistency was eye-catching

[@SmashedByMUNKEEz]

Orange flavored legs

[@crimsondynamo615]

@@ESP3DINA oh my god

[@freakfoxvevo7915]

Marvel: Infinity war has the saddest ending to anything ever Geek Critique: Hold my beer

[@cashbag]

Neither of these hold a candle to the ending of Assassination Classroom

[@hardsolidsnake7453]

Lol infinity war ending isn't that sad compared to other forms of media

[@HattieJosh]

Bruhhhhhhhhh Sonic 06 ISN'T THAT FUCKING BAD

[@Paper_Rag]

why am I getting so emotional over a review of sonic 06

[@LeviAuren]

Because it's not bandwagony (not a word), but actually sincere

[@thegiantegg9672]

Because you're so used to seeing reviews making fun of the game, rather than gettinng emotional over the results of it

[@Shalakor]

@@thegiantegg9672 I don't know about that, I've seen more than a few good reviews of the game get emotional. Honestly, it rightly so is a very emotional topic. Sonic 06's place in history is a microcosm of all the rights and wrongs that video game development and culture contains to this very day, after all. Expound upon that with the fact creators and players are doomed to often take the wrong lessons from these things and repeat many of the mistakes, and then you have the model for the human experience as a whole. We're always innovating, but it's all a mix of good and bad, old and new.

[@lewatoaofair2522]

"Review" You misspelled "elegy."

[@CaveyMoth]

And now I'm confused about the use of the word Elegy vs Eulogy.

[@thapoint09]

I am of the belief that part of the reason 3D Sonic isn't flourishing lately is because Sonic Team continues to let themselves be haunted by this game and its legacy. By the fans that tore this game to pieces and helped give 3D Sonic the rep it has today. All of the problems 3D Sonic games have been saddled with since even Unleashed: all of them can be traced back to a desperate and overwhelming desire to please the fans. All of them. Despite each belonging to their own sections that all want something different out of Sonic. Sonic-only gameplay for several games in a row? There you go, "Sonic's shitty friends" crowd! Multiple throwbacks to the classic games no matter how unnecessary? No need to thank us, classic fans. More light-hearted tone? Glad to be of service, "Sonic shouldn't be serious" crowd. Chaos showing up in Forces for no reason? That one's on us, Adventure fans. We totally keep meaning to call, by the way, but we've just been so busy... I say the games have had this problem since Unleashed, but at least there was a noticeable improvement in quality between each game. Sure, pleasing the fans was _a_ goal, but it wasn't the primary focus. Somewhere along the line, though, it became the only thing on their minds. Until Sonic Team gets over their fear of making the next 06 (which, for all intents and purposes, RoL already is with how much its badness is exaggerated), until they realize that they can't please every single part of this fanbase and focusing on making a good-ass game instead of throwing in meaningless fanservice whenever they can, maybe 3D Sonic can start getting somewhere again. Because what they're doing now isn't working.

[@nanaaddae4790]

Wholeheartedly agree. The second that Sonic Team starts taking the series seriously again is when I'll start taking it seriously again. I'm sick of the jokes and sick of the memes and unfocused fanservice as well! Hopefully one day they'll do something different.

[@aletskun3877]

Meanwhile, the Sonic Mania team is just drinking tea an d laughing in a corner.

[@bluehero4467]

Sonic unleashed was amazing a masterpiece actually... But if they wanted a true recovery from 06. They need to make a new sonic 2

[@tahsin.a1046]

34 u good man and a go owed friend friend friend e

[@EdmacZ]

Even before Sonic 06, Sega and Sonic Team didn’t have any confidence in 3D Sonic, every game was radically different from the last. Sonic ‘06 was the death knell. It crushed Sonic Team’s ambition and confidence for good.

[@LiquidArmProduction]

The fact that the game tries to run at 60 makes is funnier to me, it’s like how The Room is shot on film and has competent enough cinematography, that when something unexpected and bizarre happens, it makes the whole experience more magical. So few console games even today run at 60, so seeing that one of the infamously bad games of all time does just makes me laugh. It does drop a lot, but not to a distracting degree.

[@jdk67]

LiquidArmProduction In order to create something spectacularly bad, you have to be aiming for something remarkably great.

[@harrisonfackrell]

I see you have never played the PS3 version.

[@LiquidArmProduction]

@@harrisonfackrell no… it really play at 30 on ps3?

[@harrisonfackrell]

@@LiquidArmProduction It targets 60, but the performance is just terrible. The 360 version drops frames, but not to the point of distraction; but the PS3 version is constantly slowing down to half-speed or worse. The only "fix" is to manually set the resolution of your entire system down to 480p, and even then, you'll be running at ~80% speed for approximately half of the game's runtime.

[@LiquidArmProduction]

@@harrisonfackrell ah okay, I knew the ps3 version ran worse, and re-reading this comment I wrote 5 years ago, idk why I think it’s not distracting. It’s just consistent I guess, like if you didn’t know any better it might feel like a slow down effect on 360. But the whole thing is still pretty funny.

[@CNightmare072]

Sonic 06 plots Sonic: “I saved a princess!” Silver: “I learned to believe in myself!” Shadow: “I imprisoned the devil. Twice.”

[@agentoosnake5490]

CNightmare you are hilariously right on the money! LmFAO

[@TheAzulmagia]

Yeah, for a game called Shadow the Hedgehog, Shadow is the only one actually accomplishing anything in the plot. Silver tries to beat Iblis in the future, which does nothing for the destroyed future that we never see anyone in and Sonic just plays keepaway with Elise and Eggman.

[@nousername191]

@@Covarr This is now my favorite Sonic '06 joke

[@bunsmasterbunny]

Sonic's storyline is Elise's plot. It's about her and her growth as a person. Sonic's just the one carrying it along.

[@hotel_arcadia]

Silver's was more like "I lost any chance to be playable in another Sonic game!"

[@HollowGolem]

Man, the self-flagellation of exposing 19-year-old Josh to the whole internet is a special kind of self-hate, self-confidence, and devil-may-care attitude all rolled together. Sir, I salute you.

[@hockeater]

I mean... To be fair who isn't stupid at that age?

[@MrGeorgeFlorcus]

@@hockeater The only manner in which I can describe myself as being smarter than that at age 19 is the fact that I did not create video records of myself being stupid at that age.

[@BananaMana69]

I'm just over 19 now and I knew Sonic 06 was a piece of shit the first time I played it...

[@mayayamato7351]

19 was only like 2 years ago for me and i can already tell I was stupider at that age. oof.

[@AmethystLeslie]

That is a quote for the ages. "This was supposed to to be the game to redefine Sonic the Hedgehog for a new era, at it succeeded."

[@ShadowThe771]

Little did Yuji Naka know that he would be right on the money with that quote.

[@SuperSonic-vs2jw]

Alright. After watching this video, I have a LOT to get off of my chest. If anyone's willing to read this, grit your teeth, because there's a lot I have to say, at least from my standards. The topic of this video, it's hard to explain. It's not just the game, but the scope and sheer detail that he puts into the video makes it so that it's about many other things. The series, the company, the people who made that game and, sadly the hard truths I've been avoiding as a Sonic fan. Sonic. It was my childhood. The first game I played was Mario Sunshine, but the first game I completed was Sonic Adventure DX . I formed a bond with that game that, frankly I couldn't really build with anything else. I was young, impressionable, and blue was avidly my favorite color. My racecar bed, my walls, my Gamecube console. All blue. Just like the hedgehog I came to love. The franchise I grew up with was that stupid blue hedgehog and I can't help but be sad knowing that Sonic is truly losing it's charm. Yuji Naka leaving the cast during development of Sonic '06 was the nail in the coffin, at least in my opinion. Sonic was on the right track during the early stages of the game's development, but as soon as the team split in half, chances were slim that the game was gonna be good, but there was still hope. Yuji Naka sadly didn't wish to rely only on hope, and instead took the safe way out by leaving. I don't blame him. Sega made bad decisions beforehand and Yuji Naka was the only person on the dev team that was part of the original Sonic Team. Having your work force cut in half so that some shitty Wii game can come out is fucking crushing to someone who doesn't even have their original team with them anymore. Without him, the game had no true direction. And then this shit-storm came out. A tattered mess, held together by Elmer's Glue and duct tape, not even the good kind. And people tore it apart mercilessly. The franchise crumbled and now I'm stuck with what used to be my childhood mascot, now just a joke. A remnant of the past that is trying to stand, but every time it gets close to standing again, someone intent on helping it ends up making it trip and fall again. They try to help it up once more, but give up halfway through. I've been playing Sonic Adventure 2 and DX for the past few days, trying to cope with a realization of this magnitude, but I really can't stay in the past and I don't know what to do with my love for the franchise. I'm stuck, trying to abandon it but my heartstrings keep getting tugged on by the memories the somewhat ADD-afflicted hedgehog gave me. So in the comments section of this video I tell you all how I feel. I'm no oldfag of the Sonic forums, in fact I'm only 16, barely able to call myself a sonic fan of that generation, yet I feel like I can understand and sympathize with those who liked the classic games of the franchise. Though I was born in 2002, I grew up with consoles that weren't just the Gamecube. I actually had a Sega Genesis that my older brother left behind. I only rediscovered it when I was around 8, looking through my parent's old boxes when we were moving again. My mother never showed it to me because she thought it was outdated and I wouldn't enjoy it, but little me wanted more Sonic, and I got it. I loved the original games, even after playing the newer 3D counterparts to the blue blur's legacy. But after all of this, in the middle of my fantasy with the hedgehog, stuff was just falling apart. From the background, Sonic '06 released and it was only downhill from there. I managed to stay clouded to the slow decline of Sonic games until four years ago, at age 12. It was when I began surfacing on the internet. You all know how this goes. KZbin video after KZbin video, ROM after ROM, I ran through as much Sonic related content and engorged myself on every possible bit of information and gaming content I could find out of Sonic the Hedgehog, but along with it I found and ingested so many toxic things. The horrible side of the fandom, bad reviews, hateful comments and, worst of all, the realization and slow burn that Sonic was on his deathbed, getting life support from Nintendo, Smash Brothers and support from previous fans. My image of Sonic has been slowly crumbling over the years and it's now lead to this point. December 22nd, a couple days before Christmas, I watch this video and empathize with TGC more than I ever thought I could have imagined I originally would have before clicking on this video. And after all of this, if you've read this far. I'm here. Typing this. This isn't a love letter to Sonic, or a last word for him, but a distant call for help in the Sonic community. I wish for Sega to find a way to make Sonic games right again, and Sonic Mania is a good start in my opinion. I'm sorry for making this comment extremely long, but I couldn't find another way to really articulate how exactly I felt about Sonic and it's franchise after watching this video. TGC, thank you for making this and giving my tattered feelings for Sonic's franchise a stable form, in the form of this comment at least. Sonic, I miss you.

[@funnyman8161]

I miss him too.

[@funnyman8161]

@Chara No one gives a hoot, dingus.

[@potatoes__tomatoes__2993]

It's funny, back when I got into sonic when I was 8, (gosh..over 11 years ago now) I tried to soak up any game I could. One of the first games I bought with my money was 06 cause it was the cheapest sonic game my parents could buy. I was so blind to the game... I thought it sucked only cause I was bad at it, haha. I spent all my time after school playing Unleashed, and I would take any chance during school to play Sonic Rush. I was so enthralled! And a lot of my gamer friends made fun of me for liking sonic, and they were shocked that I even owned 06. Especially to this day, I can't proudly say I love sonic, not after growing up in the fandom at the peak of the Dark Era. There's always a meekness to which I admit, and I always say "I love Sonic...sorry, yeah. I know."

[@Rman1228]

Your comment honestly describes my feelings for Sonic The Hedgehog today. I'm only one year older, so I too barely count as a OG Sonic fan, yet the first Sonic game K ever played was Sonic 2 on Sonic Mega Collection (yeah yeah, you gotta understand). I can still vividly recall the happiness (and slight addiction) that came with playing it every time I went to my friend's house. Then I slowly discovered the internet (rip flash games) and ended up indulging in the same Sonic content you seem to have found. I first found out about about 06' and it's mess of a game in...I wanna say about 2015. Watching Clementj465's passionate review of it was probably the most prolific review of a game I've ever seen to this day. I became painfully aware of the game's glaring issues, over and over again. I came to the realization that Sonic was just simply not the icon anymore that I saw him as... Fast forward to now, post-Sonic Mania and Forces. The remaining fanbase has almost entirely split up to pro-classic pro-modern, and we can still see the glaring example of how Sonic Team has lost it's touch while *fans themselves* were capable of creating a better game than they even could... I only hope that the Sonic IP can find it's place among the video game greats once again. Edit: Correction - I meant ClementJ64 lmao my bad

[@KyraHirowrath]

i echo much of the same feelings as everyone else here, but i bring hope.... have you ever heard of...project hero? kzbin.info/www/bejne/rXzHoGicar2Sp8U this could be THE THING to bring back life into the franchise! after all if Sega can't do it right anymore then why don't we give an assist?

[@Doodoovessel]

This is the best saddest christmas present I've gotten.

[@ohnothimagen224]

Best Saddest Birthday Present for me.

[@AniGaAG]

This brief bit at the end, that rough two and a half minutes - that's exactly the reason why I will never tire of celebrating the old classics, half of Unleashed, Generations and Mania, why I will never tire of recommending those games to people when I get the opportunity. Because I don't love Sonic for nostalgic, sentimental reasons; I love Sonic because, no matter how much people mindlessly laugh at him, I _know_ just how stellar he and his games can be, and I'll never tire of convincing this new generation of gamers, or older gamers who just missed out on him, to *_just give him a chance,_* one person at a time.

[@GeekCritique]

Agreed, absolutely. I said something similar on Twitter the other day so apologies if you've seen this before, but I've read several takes from long-time fans in the wake of the movie's reveal, saying things like, "As a Sonic fan, I really hate Sonic sometimes." Or claiming that the only way to be a fan at this point is to just not care about what happens to the franchise. And like, whatever works for them is fine. But I've never even come _close_ to hating this franchise or becoming apathetic toward it. It's never made me feel cynical. Because while it may have ups and downs, when it's GOOD, it results in the most enjoyable games I've ever played. I still think it's had way more ups than downs, and that those highs are absolutely _worth_ dredging through the lows.

[@AniGaAG]

@@GeekCritique Not to mention we can't forget that Sonic is actually in good hands now - at the very least 2D Sonic is in the hands of geniuses right now, and I have little to no doubt in my mind that Mania, however much I may love it, isn't even _close_ to the most staggering heights those crazy fellas can reach.

[@Treyshellz]

@@AniGaAG 2d Sonic has always been good (besides that GBA port of Sonic 1) Sonic 4 had weird physics ep 2 fixed it, but it's not bad. I like Mania, but it's a bit overrated I think 3&K, Advance 1 and 2, Rush and Rush Adventure are much better

[@AniGaAG]

@@Treyshellz The last four games you mentioned aren't even ones I revisit at all, to be honest. My top Sonic games, in that order, are actually: - Mania Plus (amazing) - 3&K (amazing) - Generations / 2 (about equal) (very good) - Colors DS (very good) - Unleashed (very good)

[@Treyshellz]

@@AniGaAG I like Mania a lot as much as Generations I just hate the new stages in Mania besides Studiopolis the new stages are awful with Press Garden act 2 being the worst. I also don't like that Sonic is the only character with extra abilities like the drop dash and super peal out. The dlc gave us Mighty and Ray, Mighty can ground pound which is broken af and Mighty can fly now I can't really say nothing on them because we haven't seen them in years, but I would love to see Tails use his spin attack and Knuckles punch shit like they did in the Advance games

[@SeekerLancer]

This game single-handedly changed the zeitgeist of Sonic the Hedgehog. It almost felt like reality was altered by its awfulness. Before this game sure, Sonic wasn't a series for everyone and the Shadow game was a major hiccup but a bad spin-off here and there is an issue in every long running series. Sonic on the whole was still respected and Sonic 06 generated a lot of hype as a new beginning on next-gen hardware. After this game no one would ever look at Sonic the same way again. Old games would be opened up to new criticism and people would start to question if the series was ever good to begin with. The mediocrity that followed was never enough to erase that stigma and only a throwback like Sonic Mania has managed to reach general audience consumers leaving the franchise in a very awkward place. Sega desperately needed a win after lukewarm reception of Heroes and the laughingstock of Shadow the Hedgehog. Instead they made the failure equivalent of an atom bomb.

[@MustacheDLuffy]

Well the game single handily decided the reputation of SEGA

[@ahogammer6895]

@@MustacheDLuffy True.

[@LILProductions]

That delivery of “… bullshit” was on point. It reminded me of BoJack Horseman. In it, the f word is only used once per season to make the situations it’s used in vastly more dramatic. It catches you off-guard because you only hear that word when something really terrible happened. This video did a very similar thing, but it also foreshadowed it multiple times - making its use even more powerful. Excellent video!

[@regularrandomperson7108]

Geez, Scott speaking directly to you felt like a horror movie.

[@Spindash54]

Regular Random Person HEY ALL!

[@mrbandicootaljfri8648]

@@Spindash54 SCOTT HERE

[@Narutard713]

I didnt even realize that joke was at this Josh until now I feel like an idiot

[@UmbreonMessiah]

That is one somber ending, dude.

[@Yoshi-op6lj]

yeah, what even was that?

[@LockedOnTargetShow]

@@Yoshi-op6lj Just different teams. Sonic Mania was made by fans for fans. Forces was made by the same people who have been dissapointing us for over a decade.

[@summerycast7936]

Yup and all the more with the added endcards.

[@WingItMan217]

I’m more disappointed in the fact that they let fans do better than them

[@LockedOnTargetShow]

@@WingItMan217 I'm not, they were the best of the best out of the fan game makers. They had practise at actually making things emulating the previous entries, whereas sega is more concerned with adding or changing. Sonic Mania is a refinement of what works, and thus it works.

[@quantumfoam539]

It is amazing that you can turn a commentary on a poor video game into a thought provoking, smart and detailed analysis with flow and rythm. I have already seen it three times and i keep on finding new admirable qualities in it. Gongratullations!

[@GeekCritique]

Thank you so much! :D

[@sodaftpm185]

@@GeekCritique Oh dear Lord. This game doesn't mean anything in 2020. How is it still relevant? Just stop being baited by the Sonic haters like I HATE EVERYTHING. By that logic, should we be throwing dirt at Mario and Zelda because of those CD-I games? Sonic 06 came out almost 15 years ago. You guys and Sonic Team need to move on from it already.

[@blockmanvideo5635]

@@philithegamer8265 the difference with Sonic 06 and Hotel Mario is that Hotel Mario was an obscure game that came out on an obscure, overpriced, and terrible console that was revived thanks to the internet with the likes of AVGN and YTPs that is remembered as a weird part of Mario’s legacy. Sonic 06 was a big reboot of one of the biggest names in gaming on the hottest consoles at the time that was revived by hate and damaged the reputation of Sonic the Hedgehog forever.

[@soni-switch5270]

@@sodaftpm185 Us fans have, Sonic Team has not.

[@NSJ90]

I remember having discussions over MSN Messenger with my best friend about which game would be better, Mario Galaxy or Sonic '06. I argued Mario would be, he argued Sonic would be. Then they came out and it was settled. That discussion is what I remember every time someone mentions Sonic '06, and I laugh every time. I never liked Sonic, but I've always enjoyed listening to people talk about their passions and you have loads of passion for this series. Well done.

[@MustacheDLuffy]

I feel bad for sonic now

[@jjc4924]

I swear. Whoever thinks Sonic 06 is better than Mario Galaxy are absolute morons. I can respect peoples opinion. But it's still ridiculous.

[@legrandliseurtri7495]

@@jjc4924 ''would be better'' not ''is better''. This guy and his friend talked about this before either game came out.

[@brotbrotsen1100]

Funnily enough, before sonic forces released people also said it will destroy Mario odeyse. Don't know how the game turned out to be exactly but i know that people didn't liked it much. So yeah, that was a thing.

[@ahogammer6895]

@@jjc4924 No one does. His friend thought Sonic 06 was GOING to be better. The game wasn't released that time. People didn't have enough information, everyone thought it was going the the best Sonic game ever.

[@CashMoneyBeater]

Tbh, whoever ran the marketing campaign of Sonic 06 needs an extreme raise Shortly after their sentenced to 25 years in prison for the game they produced.

[@Bluelyre]

He probably did... and then was shortly laid off due to profit losses.

[@abraveastronaut]

Are... are you suggesting that the marketing department developed the game?

[@Bluelyre]

@@abraveastronaut are you suggesting that only developers are laid off?

[@CashMoneyBeater]

abraveastronaut Based off the end product, I could believe it

[@Finalblue1234]

"Riders is for kiddies, this is for the fans" Oh man, that one had me cracking up.

[@seacliff217]

Riders was the best part of the 15th Anniversary. Not because it's that good (Though I think it is fun), but because everything else from that Anniversary was so god awful.

[@Squishito]

Mega oof. Can we get an f for that guy?

[@kieranstark7213]

And Sonic Free Riders is for very, very young kids who haven't had anything to learn about life but to be a horrible-tempered, abusive priss.

[@CaveyMoth]

I love Sonic Riders...I hum the soundtrack at least once a week.

[@nanaaddae4790]

CLASSIC Sonic game. CLASSIC.

[@EdmacZ]

Unlike successful franchises like Mario, Zelda, and the like, Sonic games are never consistent. When something works, it’s never expanded upon. When something fails, it’s never improved or refined. The entire concept is tossed out the door and they move onto the next thing. Sonic games rarely if ever improve. They always change. This is why the fanbase is split to hell and back, and the franchise will never move beyond the realm of 60-70 Metacritic budget bin mediocrity. Sonic Mania was a success not because it was “Classic”, it was a success because it took the Classic 2D gameplay and not only replicated it perfectly, it took the Formula established from 1-3&K and expanded upon it tenfold. It was an amazing follow-up to the Classic games. Sonic Mania also revealed why 3D/Modern Sonic is such a train wreck. 3D Sonic NEVER improved or evolved, it always changed. If 3D Sonic ever got the Mania treatment, what do you follow? Adventure 1? Adventure 2? Heroes? Boost? Parkour? Because 3D Sonic was never expanded upon or improved, It’s immensely tough sledding. Even after all these years, 3D Sonic has one hell of a mountain to climb. Don’t blame the fans. Blame Sega and Sonic Team’s lack of confidence in 3D Sonic.

[@GeekCritique]

Excellent insight, thank you. I said something similar a few months back: facebook.com/GeekCritique/posts/1938187919553625 I do think the Adventure formula did at least get a few iterations (though there were enough substantial differences between Adventure 1/2/06 that I don't think it ever got polished), and the boost approach was the one time a 3D concept actually got nicely refined and improved upon through three games, before being abandoned, left for dead, and then dug up and reanimated years later into the husk of Sonic Forces. ShayMay's "Sonic Spitball" series here on KZbin also did an excellent job digging into the issue. One of the biggest things 3D Sonic has lacked is consistency.

[@JontyLevine]

You say exactly what I was thinking. Despite how keen they were to learn from their mistakes (or perhaps because of it), Sega kept throwing the baby out with the bath water. If only they could have created a third Adventure game that kept the things that made those games great, and simply fixed the parts that didn't, rather than constantly trying to reinvent everything about them. Who knows, Sega might have had the courage to do this if they were never forced to stop making consoles. And I know I'm making a stretch here by saying this affected the movie, but if there had been an established series of 3D Sonic games in the same vein as Sonic Adventure, I dare say the filmmakers would have had more to work with. And so they might not have made the same mistake of trying to reinvent Sonic yet again, this time by bringing him into the real world. And now that they've announced plans to "fix" the character design by November, history repeats itself yet again, as the effort to erase past mistakes becomes the defining element of their product. Oh well, #GottaFixFast!

[@AniGaAG]

Excellent comment. Couldn't have put it better (and I'm a snobbish douche who always thinks he can put it better, mind you) and agree with every single word.

[@SeekerLancer]

Isn't Generations basically 3D Sonic Mania? Anyway Sega used to build off it's past successes, the classic games certainly built of of each other and Sonic Adventure 2 polished Sonic Adventure (even though I don't personally feel like it's as good a game I can't deny the improvements made). Heroes took things in a different direction, trying to recapture the feel of the 2D games in 3D and didn't quite work but it had promise and still expanded upon the world Adventure created. Sonic 06 tried to bring back the Adventure formula but without the time, talent or budget they fell flat on their face. After that failure they've had no idea what they're doing, desperately experimenting instead of iterating with the only exception being Generations building on what Colors accomplished. Their biggest success has been the Adventure formula but they seem terrified to return to it after what happened with 06. The success of Sonic Mania pleases me as an old fan. It's the polished sequel to Sonic 3 I've wanted since 1994, but it makes life even harder on anyone who cares about 3D Sonic since it's caused Sega to have even more of an identity crisis about what Sonic is and has them scrambling back to the nostalgia farm to pick 'member berries and push out tripe like Sonic Forces instead of just putting effort into making a good game.

[@bm_m4in215]

what about generations ?

[@CappnRob]

I'mma be real with you, TGC, I have never EVER cared for Sonic. As a 90s kid I was solidly #TeamNintendo, and once Sega crashed and burned and Sonic ended on Nintendo consoles, I still never played any of his games. Looking at the direction the games took with Adventure, I just never understood the appeal. This weird, seemingly incohesive game world where cartoony deformed "animal" people mingled in a near futuristic scifi setting with anime humans just looked like a mess to me. When I got into emulation in the mid-2000s, I finally tried my hands at the classic Genesis games, and just could not find them to my liking, and I never tried at them again. I knew Sonic 06 was a bad game. I haven't watched too many reviews on it, just primarily the AVGN's skit and a handful of the classic Game Grumps episodes (back when I actually liked watching Game Grumps), but that was enough for me to know and realize how absolutely broken the game was. It affirmed in my mind a bias I had unfairly formed just from not caring about Sonic, that "Sonic was already bad". But this review of yours? This one gave me some perspective. This is the first review for Sonic 06 I've seen that shows the other side of that story... of how much this game capsized not just an icon's image, but its entire legacy, and what that meant for the true hardcore Sonic fans. Sonic's fanbase has a reputation for being unhappy with everything, always fighting and squabbling and filled with weird furries, so its easy to take shots at them and mock them, and easy not to sympathize with them for their favorite IP to fail so hard... but now I understand. I've had some favorite IPs fall off the earth, I've had some favorite IPs get irreparably changed for the worse, but I've never felt something like watching this review, especially towards the end. Even if you are just hamming up the drama for humor's sake, the feelings still stand true, and because of that, this may be the only truly GOOD Sonic 06 review for me, because no other review has made me realize the impact of this game's failure beyond "lol Sonic is always bad" memes. Like, damn man. Just, damn.

[@GeekCritique]

It means the world to me that what I was trying to convey here resonated with someone who isn't in any way a Sonic fan, and that you were able to relate to and understand my perspective. :) Thank you!

[@CappnRob]

Oh damn I got a pin, shiny! I'm glad my comment meant so much to you, and I meant every word I said. I'mma dig through your backlog of other Sonic reviews when I can and I look forward to when you follow up on this video too!

[@mariofan1ish]

The only other review I can think of that comes close to this level of feeling at the end is Clement's, again near the end (Part 7). I came into the series late - about 2010 - but both TGC and Clement's reviews made me happy I did. Not just because it spared me from a terrible game, but because I wouldn't have to feel the crushing disappointment of seeing the series fall and the transition of the Sonic fanbase from a group of credible people to internet laughing stocks.

[@WolfXGamerful]

Well said.

[@MD-vs9ff]

I know, it's just heart breaking. I've never cared much about Sonic, but I cant even imagine the gut wrenching feeling I'd get if something like this happened to a mainline Pokemon game. This review definitely has that personal touch and left me feeling a little bit of the disgust and sickness our Critiquer must have felt.

[@thatsDILO]

"This is a game where the only thing that was properly executed was Sonic Team's reputation" has to be the most genius line I've ever heard when talking about Sonic 06

[@papermario6856]

19 year old geek critique was a weird being

[@aliveby7140]

Solid Snake Plz smash me

[@newdawnhorizon9879]

@Elijah Chaney and color splash

[@nousername191]

19 year old Geek Critique worries me deeply. I could laugh off a garbage game if I got it for free but he paid MONEY for that.

[@mikenelas7778]

I LOVE COLOR SPLASH!!!1!!111!!!1!!1!1!1!1!!!!!!!1

[@GigaMan91]

@@nousername191 He made the most of what he got. If you don't have much else, all you can do is enjoy what you have.

[@twilighttoast01]

To me, if this happened to one of my favorite series as a kid I would be heartbroken, and with the amount of crap that we give the Sonic fanbase I honestly feel bad for you guys. I've never been a huge fan of the Sonic series but I still respect it for kick-starting the first real competition against Nintendo ever. After hearing this review and you bringing up the points of this ruining Sonic's reputation instead of just making a joke about how "Ha Sonic was never good" I definitely sympathize with you even more. There are a ton of great Sonic games out there, so the internet devaluing all of the Sonic games because of one game is definitely not fair.

[@jjc4924]

Amen, brother. I'm not much of an Sonic fananic either. But even I feel sorry for the blue dude. And I have played it's games from classic to modern.

[@BiolizardBoils]

Oh my god, this is it. THIS is the kind of video I’ve been waiting for. I care about the Sonic series - like, really really care about it. ’06 was undeniably a disaster, but the fact that highly influential people use it to dismiss all that’s come since - and even pretend the older games were _never critically acclaimed_ - is frustrating beyond description. And yet, when I think about ’06 itself, I can’t bring myself to feel anger - just a haunting poignance. (To clarify, I played it in 2012; I had some laughs, but it was still so insufferable that it took me 6 months to beat. I thought experiencing it would quell the feeling, but alas…) I think it’s because, somehow, the game’s plot ended up broadly reflecting its real-world presence. It’s permeated by the concept of disaster and a sense of utter failure; a wildfire that’s near-impossible to put out; a yearning to fix the past and restore what you love, to mend a faux pas with one last chance. By no intention from Sonic Team and SEGA, the game speaks about itself like a twisted modern art piece. It’s no excuse for what they did, but this quality makes it feel almost poetic. But who are we kidding here? It’s taboo to talk about Sonic that way on the Internet, especially on KZbin. God forbid you feel anything but apathy, maybe disgust. “What, you wanna treat Sonic seriously as a subject? Into the cringe compilation with you!” It always warms my heart to see people go against that; who refuse to use the same 12-year-old jokes or subscribe to the demeaning "they're all just autistic furries" attitude. It feels good to know there's people who actually _care_ - people who are just as heartbroken at the scale of '06's impact, of the parroting and exaggeration that's gripped the public consciousness for over a decade. I guess what I'm trying to say here is... thank you. EDIT: Forgot to add - the linked videos at the end? Plaintive, sobering, and honestly unnerving once you get past the vaporwave-iness. I think they'll open some eyes. Also thanks for the like dude!

[@FierySprites]

That last part really emphasizes just how bad the Sonic franchise's reputation is today, and -- alongside the beautiful orchestral remix of His World and the monochromatic footage used -- is really sad to think about, especially in the context of how desperate the Sonic fandom is today to escape from its legacy. You did a really good job on that and the rest of this retrospective, just like you usually do. What a critique.

[@jakfrost574]

That ending... holy shit. As someone who is really starting to watch this channel, I could tell just how much you cared, and still do, about this series. From the way you talked, the way it was edited, even the fact that those links to those videos are real links, actually brilliant. I’ll fully admit, I’ve been slowly driven away from Sonic as a whole, mostly due Forces(what a shock). And after watching this video fully... I honestly feel bad for the people that REALLY care about this Sonic. The way I see it is this: Sonic has had more ups than downs, but THIS down has pulled Sonic so far down into a seemingly inescapable rut, that any ups can’t pull him out. No ups after this can pull him out, and any other downs can and will pull him down farther. That’s just how it is. This game is not only a solid example of how not to make a game, but it has forever scorned Sonic’s reputation into ambivalence, as in people either love him or hate him. Or, in my case, are neutral towards him. The majority will never fully love Sonic again, but they will never fully hate him either. I know this devolved into a mini rant about my views on this franchise, but I really just wanted to say this: This critique has made me realize the true damage this game has to this franchise, and to that I say, well done sir. Well done.

[@EdmacZ]

It's more than that and not really that simple. People really under estimated the real damage Sonic '06 had done. It's specter still looms large over the series a decade later. Sonic '06 was a horrendous game that tarnished the legacy, but what followed was even worse: Utter Mediocrity with bouts of goodness. Unleashed, Colors, and even Generations were solid titles on their own, but at their core they were not groundbreaking in the slightest. They weren't revolutionary or amazing titles, they mostly played it very safe. They were okay/good games. That just doesn't cut it compared to Sonic '06's legendary awfulness. Then it gets worse with games like Lost World, Boom and Forces, main titles considered very mediocre. Sonic games since '06 have played it safe. Just Sonic, no extra playable characters, no interesting stories, just downgrade it into a stale, safe, uninspired direction. Don't push the boundaries. Don't fuck it up. Just keep the bare minimum. For Sonic to ever return to prominence, it needs a GOTY-worthy game. Not just merely good and mediocre efforts. A truly amazing, outstanding game. Sonic '06 not only broke the franchise, it broke the confidence of Sega and Sonic Team. They simply decided to just quit trying to dream big, and just settled for not pissing people off like they did with '06. That is what ultimately soiled the reputation of Sonic. The Sonic Team name is there, but there is no visionary or face in the studio that legitimately cares for the Sonic franchise as much as the fans do. We've seen what dedicated fans have done with Sonic, and they've made universally considered the best Sonic title since the 90's that shames even Sonic Team's best efforts. After the failure of Forces, It's probably for the best that Sonic games are taken out of the hands of Sonic Team, and start giving the series the Mania treatment. 2D Sonic and 3D Sonic. Give it to outside studios consisting of fans, and just go from there. What do they have to lose at this point? They've lost everything else.

[@jakfrost574]

EdmacZ That’s actually what I meant by the ups and downs part of my comment, but you put it into actually understandable terms so you:1, me:0. Also, yeah I did forget that Sonic Team is longer Sonic Team but just a team of people who work on Sonic games, so my bad.

[@idfkwhatyouwantfromme]

I just hope that with Mania’s success, they don’t leave Modern Sonic to gather dust. Take the Mania miniseries for example. People love it and rightly so. People complain that Shadow’s edginess? Have him appear in Mania and play up his grumpy nature. I just want them to MAKE modern Sonic good. Don’t just take him out back and pop one in his skull.

[@manuelalbertoromero9528]

@@idfkwhatyouwantfromme I think we all agree that modern Sonic games need to be done by people who clearly care about his character, and less...whatever Paramount might be doing.

[@iggyminious]

This is the kind of comment I wish I could've made when the video was new. The disdain you have towards Sonic '06 seems to stem not from its actual quality so much as its negative impact on the series' reputation, but the more I watch your videos, the more I wonder, "Was '06 really that much worse for the series' reputation than what came before?" Looking through old reviews, articles, and forum posts from the late 2000's and _very_ early 2010's related to various Sonic topics, I do see Sonic '06 used as evidence of how far the series had fallen since its 2D days (no one could shut up about how good those were), but nearly as often I see people bring up Heroes, or Shadow, or…Adventure for the same reason. I often see people refer to Shadow as the start of the dark age nowadays, but the most common rebuttal to that isn't that '06 was much worse, but that Adventure 2 onwards wasn't much better. Your Shadow video seems to only confirm this with all the negative reviews towards the Adventure rereleases and Heroes you mentioned early on. Heck, I even saw "And much like Ku with Sonic Heroes, I'm wondering if I'm playing a different game than everyone else" in the old forum post you summoned. If you were drawing parallels between '06 and Heroes in terms of how people felt about it, then that could mean Heroes was either just as universally abhorred or it was actually universally beloved. I somehow doubt the latter, since I've seen other people refer to Heroes as "truly abysmal." Yikes. Yes, many of the games after '06's release got trashed, but there were those that didn't such as Secret Rings, Chronicles, Rush Adventure, and pre-release Unleashed. (That last one in particular feels like an echo of '06 in how hot and bothered people were after its release.) It's not like there wasn't any faith in Sonic whatsoever in the so-called dark age. Not to mention that the first Riders game was also harshly received, and it came after Shadow but before '06. Yes, '06 became the butt of many gaming jokes, but I feel like even if it never happened, you could substitute every mention of "Sonic kissing a human princess" with "Shadow saying 'you're going straight to hell'" and it would be the same deal, if you know what I mean. Yes, you'll see more people who like Heroes nowadays compared to back then, but '06 defenders are also more common now. Yes, there was great change seen in Unleashed, but that game also has an undeniable level of ambition (perhaps even more so than '06; did '06 proudly display a tailor-made lighting engine named after the protagonist's species?). Also, every 3D Sonic game from Heroes to Unleashed had a very distinct vision from one another (Shadow the Hedgehog also scrapped the abundance of playable characters), so of course Unleashed seems different from the others. Now, I was too young and probably didn't even know who Sonic was at the time, so I can't say that I was there. Heck, I still haven't even played the game yet myself (although I have a similar morbid desire to play it that you had). But you were there, and you have played it. Josh, if you actually get to read this, I would like to know what really made this game so much more of a sucker punch than anything that came before or after it, besides "it was just that bad" (as I've made clear, people said the same about other games in the series).

[@GeekCritique]

I _love_ getting comments like this, thank you for taking the time to write it. You're right that a lot of my personal animosity for this game comes down to its reception. Most other fans I knew were angry and kind of vengeful that Sega would let it get to this point. And I get that. It's STILL something that kind of unites Genesis-era Sonic fans. We'd all experienced our favorite series go from a mascot revered as one of the greats, to THE laughingstock of the industry. This was supposed to be the game that rebooted the series and finally turned things around, and it ended up doing JUST THE OPPOSITE. But to me personally, as someone who didn't get to play it until well after I knew exactly what it was and what it had done, it's always seemed more melancholy than anything else. It was miserable to see how far things had fallen. You're right that Sonic's reputation was in the toilet even before its release. By the time Heroes came out, the general attitude among mainstream gaming was that the series had lost its way. Heck, the "rocky transition" meme that Sonic fans get so irritated by lately originated all the way back in 2002, with GameSpot's review of SA2: Battle: "Sonic's transition from one dimension to the next has been a rocky one, and Sonic Adventure 2 Battle fails to recapture the franchise's magic." I think it comes down to what you said at the end: Sonic 06 actually was _that_ bad, to a far greater degree than any of the previous 3D games. A few dissenters would criticize ELEMENTS of Adventure 1, but most people at least liked it. SA2 was more divisive, people loved it or hated it. Heroes was the tipping point, as it always had a few defenders, but it had a _lot_ more detractors. (You're right in your guess about that forum post. "Ku" said he felt like he was playing a different game than everyone else, because he enjoyed Heroes where the rest of us didn't.) The Adventure games may have had alternate gameplay styles that weren't everyone's cup of tea, but even some of their worst critics at least liked SONIC'S game. Shadow was certainly considered the worst game in the series upon its release, but Shadow's mere status as a game _not_ starring Sonic the Hedgehog keeps it from impacting the series as a WHOLE as significantly. It may well have ruined SHADOW, and it definitely ruined the idea of "serious stories" in the games. But a lot of what Shadow does wrong is just funny, and its more fundamental issues require a deeper reading. In other words, "damn fourth Chaos Emerald" is hilarious, but it doesn't have the clarity, the memorability, or most importantly the cringe factor of "Sonic dies, and is revived when a human princess kisses his corpse." Heroes' slippery controls and stretched-out level design are issues for some players, and you may occasionally fall out of a loop and die in Sonic Adventure, but they're nothing compared to how obviously, patently, frustratingly and infamously unfinished 06's core gameplay is. I think the difference between previous 3D games and Sonic 06 is STAYING POWER. I don't think the mainstream would've run the failings of Adventure, Heroes, or even Shadow into the ground over the past 15 years. Heck, Sonic Boom was just SIX years ago, and even the FANS hardly bring it up now. All of those failures could've faded into the background and been accepted as an aberration as the series made a few mistakes in its jump to 3D, if Sonic Team had gotten it together in time for next-gen. Instead, Sonic 06 was this perfect amalgamation of all the factors that people said were "killing" Sonic, and instead of correcting for those issues, it was like Sonic Team pushed them EVEN HARDER, and executed them EVEN WORSE than ever before. It calcified the idea that Sonic in 3D could _never_ work, and not even well-received games like Colors and Generations have been able to get out from under its shadow. Other games damaged Sonic's reputation, but 06 damaged his LEGACY, and Sega has endeavored, for better and worse, to never make anything remotely like it again.

[@iggyminious]

@@GeekCritique Thanks for responding; I feel like I just had lunch with a celebrity! Anyways, I understand better where you're coming from now. When I first played Sonic Adventure 2, my brother and I actually talked about how they literally called '06 "Sonic the Hedgehog" like it was supposed to be _the_ Sonic game, and I think that was probably why it was so lethal to the series' legacy. Good point about how nobody talks about Boom anymore despite it presumably being a worse game than '06; that's something that I hadn't considered. Makes you think about how often people will talk about Forces 3 years from now... (Funny that you mention the "rocky transition" meme since not long ago I made a video defending the statement as true, using Sonic Jam footage from one of your videos no less.)

[@mjc0961]

"Was '06 really that much worse for the series' reputation than what came before?" It wasn't for me, at least. That big Comic Sans "SONIC THE HEDGEHOG IS DEAD" review his friend did? Meh. Sonic the Hedgehog was dead to me before '06 came out. I liked Sonic Adventure 2 Battle at first, but on replays I found a lot I didn't really like. So much that I never really wanted to play it again. I'm not interested in playing Tails/Eggman, I'm not interested in playing Knuckles/Rouge (and seriously, what idiot decided that they should both make bigger levels than Adventure 1 while also nerfing the radar?!). And Sonic/Shadow, they can be good when they get to run, but this game had to introduce RAIL GRINDING, AKA just hold down B to go a little faster while you watch the game play itself. I don't really want to play that again either. I can mostly give Sonic Adventure DX a pass as hey, first attempt, so it makes more sense that some stuff doesn't work (you'll never get me to play Big or Amy again though, if I play this I'll play the other 4 and then load a completed save to skip fishing and slow Sonic). Sonic Heroes was abysmal. It gets old before you even finish playing as Team Sonic, and then the game laughably expects you to play it 3 more times before you can get to the ending. Did that once, will never do it again. neutral

[@iggyminious]

@@mjc0961 Just reading that makes me want to review those early 3D Sonic games right now...

[@PigeonLord21]

This whole thing sums up the situation with Adventure era to Unleashed pretty well. Except for the fact that I'm pretty sure everyone did hate Secret Rings and still do. It is often lumped in with '06 and Shadow as part of the darkest age of Sonic and rightfully so.

[@ollyyyyyyyyy1352]

i never realised it, but you summed it up perfectly. Sonic 06 wasn't so bad it was unplayable (which would lead to nobody paying mind of it). it wasn't so good it was mediocre (leading people to just be disappointed at worst). It was the perfect storm of publicity stunts, PR events, lost effort, public mindsets, and glitches. It caught the public's eye, and has always remained there since. If it had released 10 years later, people would've called it a flop amidst the others. if it had released a few years earlier, people would've loved the new, slightly more insane, take on sonic, warts and all. But the pure vitriol that defined internet culture became a Vicious cycle. Sonic fans hated the game, they posted their rants, people saw those rants and bought the game out of curiosity, hated it, ranted, and made it public.

[@RetraCarteR]

WARNING: Actual, literal essay below. Read at your own risk. "But this is a game where the only thing that was properly executed was Sonic Team's reputation." I legitimately burst out laughing when you said that. Yes, it's a situationally appropriate quip at the game's expense, but it's also one of the most brutally honest statements I've heard about this game. As of today, if I had to sum up the game in one sentence, that would be it. It really is a genius line; I speak completely sincerely when I say you should be proud of it. You said at the beginning of the video that you struggled with writing a review of this game that didn't just repeat what everyone else has said about it. And a lot of what you talked about was information I was already _painfully_ aware of, but if your goal was to give an original review of this game, I'd say you succeeded. At the back of my mind, I guess I've always wondered _why_ this game has the infamy that it does. This video finally gave me an answer. I have a confession to make: I've never played Sonic '06 for myself. I've only become a fan of the Sonic the Hedgehog series in the past few years, and even though I have a PS3 and could easily shell out ten bucks on eBay for the game, why would I when I know it's not good and I probably won't like it? And yet, despite having no hands-on experience, this game has captured my fascination ever since I first found out about it. I've seen dozens of reviews and Let's Plays (I particularly recommend FTCR's LP), and by this point, I know this game and its many, _many_ flaws from front to back. Because even though I have no interest in doing it professionally, I'm very much interested in game design and (ahem) critique on a hobbyist level. Is it any wonder why a train wreck like Sonic '06 would speak to me? Anyways, people always call Sonic '06 a contender for "worst game of all time", and I've never agreed with that. Sure, it's blatantly unfinished, the graphics and physics glitch out constantly, and the "story" somehow manages to be both needlessly convoluted and hopelessly boring, but the worst _ever_ ? Not by a long shot. Just look at half of what gets put on Steam nowadays. Heck, just look at the Sonic franchise itself; Sonic '06 wasn't even the worst Sonic game released that DAY (I take it you're already aware of Sonic Genesis for GBA). Like I said earlier, I've never understood why _this_ of all games is hated to the point that it's arguably brought the entire series down with it. Obviously, you explicitly spell it out in the final few minutes of the video, but I didn't even need that long to figure it out. Halfway through your retrospective, I had a revelation: Sonic '06 may not be the worst game ever, but it couldn't be more perfectly awful. What do I mean by that? Well, Sonic '06 has many problems, most of them profound, glaring, and most importantly, immediately obvious. You don't even need to look at footage of the game for more than a few seconds to be able to tell that this is not a finished product; it speaks for itself. And yet, AND YET, it only rarely becomes broken to the point of unplayability. Worst case scenario, you hit a glitchy section of a level, die, and know how to avoid it the next time. It's not ideal, no, but as long as you play the game _exactly_ as the developers intended for you to play it, it _usually_ doesn't screw up too badly. It's possible to complete it if you know what you're doing, and I think that's why you were able to find stuff to enjoy inside what could objectively be referred to as a mess. Add that to the fact that video game reviews on KZbin (and, heck, KZbin itself for that matter) were just starting to rise into popularity, and you've got yourself a winning (losing?) combination. Sonic '06 is a game that perfectly straddles the line between being broken enough that it's easy enough to make fun of it, but not so broken that it's impossible or overly frustrating to play. Quite the contrary, most people who I've watched play this game have been able to get a fair amount of enjoyment out of screwing around with its glitchyness just to see what they can do. Of _course_ everyone was going to take a cheap shot at it. How could they not? It's as if this game was designed to be hated upon in the most public way possible. If you boiled the art of making bad games down to a science, you'd be hard pressed to make a game more easy to lambast than this one. I can't believe it took me this long to realize all of that, but your retrospective opened my eyes to it when no other video I've seen on the game has. So, obviously, you must be doing something right. Anyways, this comment is so long that I had to spend nearly two hours drafting it out in Notepad, so I won't keep you any longer. I wish you a nice day, and eagerly await any upcoming content you have lined up for us. Bye!

[@TheRamblemanWhoSings]

well that was a solid read I must say

[@RetraCarteR]

@@TheRamblemanWhoSings Thanks! I appreciate it.

[@RetraCarteR]

@Sir Embrum49 The Great Moth Thanks for reading! Yeah, when I said "as long as you play the game _exactly_ as the developers intended for you to play it", what I _meant_ was "as long as you just play through the story and ignore all of the optional stuff that they didn't have time to finish or remove". The gems are a great example of that. They're a great idea in _theory,_ and it certainly wouldn't be hard to build a narrative around them, but they're so obviously incomplete in Sonic '06 that it's laughable. I mean, for Christ's sake, the power meter at the bottom right of the HUD doesn't work right for any of them, the sky gem lets you access out of bounds and incomplete areas of the map with ease, and the purple gem is so broken that I'm not even sure what it was supposed to _do_ (whatever it _was_ meant to do, it clearly doesn't do it properly). That's honestly one of the biggest problems with the Sonic games, in my opinion (well, that, and the fact that they can't tell a decent story to save their lives). The developers are constantly trying out new ideas and gimmicks, they always come up short because it's their first time making a game like that, and when it comes time to make a sequel, instead of learning from their mistakes and improving upon their foundations like any _normal_ development team, they start over from square one _again,_ thus perpetuating the cycle.

[@RetraCarteR]

@Sir Embrum49 The Great Moth Exactly! Combining the gems with Sonic 3 & Knuckles's shield system and expanding upon it would have been a _great_ idea! If they had taken the time to come up with unique and creative concepts and then implemented and balanced them properly from a gameplay perspective, we could have ended up with one of the most robust power-up systems in the series. Alas, the dev team failed to realize this potential, and I'm sure you know as well as I do that at this point, it's unlikely they ever will.

[@RetraCarteR]

​@Sir Embrum49 The Great Moth I hear you. If Sonic Team were to release a new game that uses the Adventure formula but fixes all of the problems with the Adventure games, I'd be over the moon, and I know a lot of other fans would be too. It's such a shame that Sonic '06 seems to have scared off Sonic Team from making a new game with a serious, complex narrative and multiple characters with distinct gameplay styles. After thirteen years, you'd think they'd at least _consider_ revisiting the idea, but for the time being, at least, they don't seem to be budging. Ah well. Maybe someday...

[@SuperSeenith]

Those last couple of minutes... :(

[@KennethMoreland]

"Riders is for kiddies, this is for the fans" By that stupid logic, the 'kiddies' got the better game that than 06 garbage.

[@kieranstark7213]

Except Sonic Free Riders enforced the “It’s for kids” excuse/stereotype in our faces in hopes that they would avoid criticism for being broken to the point of even rivalling the worst of the worst (Superman 64)!

[@sodaftpm185]

Riders is actually pretty underrated. The most underrated Sonic game of all time that's gaining some recognition recently.

[@davidpescitelli8004]

I think that ending monologue basically explains why 06 is still my least favorite of not just the series, but of all time. It was a game that permanently damaged the series. No matter how many good games Sonic got it still has never gotten out of this game's massive shadow. Some younger fans tend to blame Colors for the trends of the 2010 that lead to Forces and while I think the negatives of the 2010's are a bit over exaggerated the real reason Sonic team clinged to those trends like having sonic only be playable, getting rid of serious stories, and more reliance on 2d and nostalgia is due to 06's reputation.

[@iampinball3669]

>”this presents a problem” while showing the next era E series I know your game here, geek

[@DAHIESTABUNNE]

God I love the way you write. I don't think there's anyone on KZbin who can keep me captivated for a nearly hour-long video the way you do. Keep critiquing you beautiful man.

[@Ixapter]

4:12 - 4:22 = And I couldn't be happier about that. Realism is too often an excuse to not use imagination. Terrific commentary, by the way!

[@nousername191]

"Realism" also tends to age poorly. Twilight Princess's aesthetics aged poorly while Wind Waker, for all its criticisms at the time, aged like fine wine.

[@bunsmasterbunny]

Twilight Princess still looks amazing. Windwaker looks great but that doesn't mean the realistic style should never be used. @@nousername191

[@nousername191]

@@bunsmasterbunny I said tends not always. A well designed realistic look can last as well.

[@Zek3nator]

@@nousername191 I would cite the DKC series as an example of relative "realism" aging well.

[@nousername191]

@@Zek3nator Indeed, like I said before, "tends" not "always"

[@BTFG_Quake]

This video started with you saying you didn't know what you could say about the series that hasn't already been said, but you certainly said a lot, in many more clever, entertaining, and enlightening ways than I've seen from anyone talking about this before. I'm sticking around for your Advance vid because I don't want this to end on such a sad note, but in the end, I guess that's left up to Sega.

[@Hysterically_Accurate]

Starting the video: "can't wait for you to tear this game a new one" Ending the video: "stop makin me cry dude :

[@andrewkos5560]

The last few minutes are probably the realest I've ever heard the Geek Critique get. It sucks, but all of it is true and it's why being a Sonic fan is so difficult

[@pochidenki9909]

I am happy we have gotten passed the "everything must look realistic" part of gaming, worst period ever. Even Nintendo jumped on that hype train with Zelda Twilight Princess and Smash Bros Brawl. But as hyped as I was for this game, I couldn't get pass the first few levels x'D

[@alexanderkosten7611]

To be fair, at least part of that was because the Wii isn't actually much more powerful than the GameCube, but one of the things it is much, MUCH better at is texture quality. Brawl changed the artstyle so drastically because going for gritty, detailed textures was the only reasonable way to disguise how much of it was still built on Melee's engine and models. I'm less knowledgeable about Twilight Princess, which was technically a dual-generation release even if everyone forgets the GC version exists, but similar reasoning may have applied.

[@pochidenki9909]

@@alexanderkosten7611 even though it's fair to say textures are the only way, it still could've gone the more colorful direction. Also the latin opera epic, which seems like an outlier compared the the more upbeat themes from other entries of the series. Mid 2000s was really the period of time where Japanese dev tried hard to appeal to a more international audience since Japanese game studios had a hard time. It was an era where lots of the classic household names folded or got absorbed by other companies. Capcom had to "westernize". Konami took Hudson but only focused on PES and MGS. Square and Taito got absorbed by Enix. Tecmo and Koei merged. Bandai Namco happened. The list goes on. Nintendo hit the jackpot with Wii and DS is what saved it. Western games were popular because 3D tech got better so they could make more realistic FPS, sports and crime sims. Some American developer even went ahead and trash talked about Japanese games being obsolete during a Q&A of SquareEnix.

[@alexanderkosten7611]

@@pochidenki9909 That was a weird period in gaming. Why anyone ever thought that pretentious moron Jonathan Blow was right about anything is beyond me, I don't think a man who makes hour-long waiting puzzles has any right to condemn another country's design trends. Not that he was the only part of the "Japanese games bad!" movement of the mid-00's-early-10's, just the most prominent... and most obviously wrong. Nowadays anyone indulging similarly pessimistic views is likely to couch it in political terms - "Japanese games problematic!" has become the replacement trend amongst pretentious Western blabbermouths. Thankfully it's easier to ignore them now that their arguments have become so much flimsier, and the sentiment gets much more pushback in all its various forms. Time wasn't really kind to any of the trends of that era, come to think of it...

[@KhaosKontroller]

This game just makes me eternally sad. But at least we have P-06 now. Really showcasing the potential this game really had. It shows that people have kinda gotten over the damage that game did to the series. I hope Sega takes notice, and finds a way to stop being so afraid of anything close to it.

[@jjc4924]

Yeah. I hope people does the P-06 good. I rather they take there time to make an polished & completed game than rushing it.

[@jaretco6423]

P-06 is looking good so far.

[@SolaisY]

Wow. That ending actually made me shed a tear. While I had a large skip in my life regards to Sonic (for a good decade, I thought there weren't any Sonic games after Sonic 3), and I never experienced the Adventure era the same as you, this does hit me in the feels just the same. In 1995, Sonic 2 was the first video game I ever played. Before that time, my parents were worried, that for 5 year old me, when it came to art, all I was drawing were circles and spirals; nothing like normal kids or my brother, who at this same age was already drawing people and cars. But then, I played Sonic 2 and it sparked "something" in my mind. Next time I sat down to draw something, it wasn't circles and spirals anymore. It was a basic layout for a level in Sonic 2 (technically they were still circles and spirals, but they had a meaning now). When I couldn't beat Metropolis Zone for months, someone told me the next level is "in the sky, and the boss is a spiky thing", I sat down, I imagined what it would be, and I drawn my own map. To me, Sonic was the spark of my destiny. Today, 23 years later, I'm a level designer, working for a video game developer. I wouldn't be here without Sonic, especially Sonic 2. Hearing your explanation at the end, while showing that iconic end scene of Sonic 2 really made me emotional, because of all this. And yet, even after all this, I was still hopeful for this series. It wasn't until Forces when the disappointment completely set in, and I'm not sure if I can ever be hyped about a Sonic game again...... unless it's Mania 2. I guess we're all in this mess till the end. (copying this comment over from the other video)

[@GeekCritique]

(Hehe, sorry for you needing to copy it! I couldn't resist adding that Sonic movie poster into the relevant part near the beginning, and I balanced the audio while I was at it.) That's a tremendously heartfelt story. :) It's crazy to think about how many people the series has affected in positive ways. And I know exactly what you mean about imagining what later stages would be like. My cousin somehow made it past the Carnival Night barrel months before I did, and seeing Ice Cap and Launch Base on his cart seemed endlessly fascinating and foreign.

[@Skeletroy]

For someone who wondered what he'd be able to say that hadn't already been said, you managed to make the best review of Sonic 06 I've seen. It's nice to hear someone talk about the things they enjoyed about the game as well its faults.

[@GeekCritique]

Thank you very much.

[@jacobmonks3722]

I'd say it tops SomecallmeJohnny's Sonic 06 review. But that's probably because it's 50 minutes long. Not that this video is much shorter, but Johnny's voice was pretty monotone back in the day. Josh manages to have fairly consistent voice inflections and it makes his videos that much easier, and more entertaining, to watch in a single sitting. I watched his entire Metroid season in one night, that's how good Josh is at articulation.

[@GameknightReloaded]

This is probably one of the most serious, understanding, and somber looks at this game. It truly is a sad tale...and you told it well. As a sonic fan who struggles to keep going...who wants the series to be good again...I understand where all this comes from. It's a sad story...one that nobody will forget.

[@sodaftpm185]

You're crying over nothing because somehow games made over 10 years ago mean anything now. Just stop letting yourself be used by the haters, mate.

[@MATTCROSSVids]

you have a beautiful character arc in this video. reflecting on your naive past, genuinely bringing up things that do hold up with the game currently, only to be consumed by the dread of its long-term aftermath on the franchise's reputation. it was pretty funny when you played around with your refusal to say swear words in the shadow video and in parts of this one. but this concludes with the saddest utterance of "bullshit" i've ever heard. i felt that, man.

[@SpeedMotionSamic]

I've said this before and I'll say it again. Sonic Team learned the wrong lessons from 06. The lesson they should've learned is to not rush their games, but they let the backlash get to them, and now they've become bitches of the fans. After 06 got demolished by fans and critics, Sonic Team tried to make it up by changing the gameplay, the tone, the story, just about everything. In their eyes anything that they try will get smashed and Sonic Team will have to go back to the drawing board. Sonic Team have just completely stopped coming up with new ideas and are just trying to copy off of someone else's that they clearly they don't understand. Because of this, it's made me lose all trust in Sonic Team, and leaves me, and the entire fanbase uncertain how the next game will be like and how it turns out. If Sonic Team continue to play it safe, and not try anything new anytime soon, then it could lead to the franchise's inevitable demise

[@hatslapper6860]

They do try new things, it's just ambition and an understanding of the Sonic series which they lack. They tried to introduce parkour and the spindash in Lost World for instance, but they completely changed the fundamentals of Sonic from the adventure games and didn't properly implement level design that encouraged or allowed creative use of his mechanics.

[@vgboobtube]

Sonic Team doesn't choose to rush their games, that's SEGA problem and going by Sonic Boom, they really refuse to learn. I genuinely wonder what a Sonic Team game would be like without SEGA's strict leash choking them to death.

[@Sluppie]

Sonic Team has lost the confidence to strive in their own way.

[@itachisusanoo3689]

they did learn not to rush their games time wise, at least since boom. Forces and lost world weren't exactly buggy. As for trying new things, the avatar was a thing, and so was the attempt to harken back to the more serious stories of the dreamcast era (forces at least)

[@vgboobtube]

@@itachisusanoo3689 Bruh Forces totally reeks of being rushed everywhere you look. A rushed product doesn't just mean it has bugs, there's entire concepts that go completely unused in the game like Chaos 0 because there was really no time to develop them.

[@KokiriKidLink]

Dude, I can't believe you got Jontron to do a cameo

[@deanprowell7947]

My subreddit started following this guy named ScottTheWoz. Sounds like a terminal illness, just like my subreddit.

[@insupportofjunhado]

Now I understand why Sonic The Hedgehog keeps showing up on my "recommended for you" menu despite me not being a fan. It's because I watched your Metroid and Donkey Kong videos awhile back, and how appropriate, you weren't a Metroid fan until a half baked game splintered the fanbase and shattered the series reputation. You took interest. Under a more critical eye you learned to genuinely like the product. Beyond the fact that Sonic games I've played have been a bit too reliant on treadmills and springs for my liking, even when they weren't full of glitches, Sonic is not a character that appeals to on a more superficial level. He's what I dislike about Mario(the nose), Diddy Kong(single eye ball with two irises) and Olive Oil(noodle limbs, cheek mouth) in one design. In 2D entries especially I never got why Knuckles wasn't the main character. He does everything Sonic does. He punches, he glides, he climbs walls, he swims, but that might just be me and video games. The "main" character often ends up being the least appealing to me. Still, I suppose it would only be fair to get the original Sonic games and give the series another look. I saw Sega as a pioneer of arcades who produced a lot of games I liked that didn't involve Sonic. Space Harrier, Ocean Hunter, House Of The Dead, Nights Into Dreams, Golden Ax, Virtual On...but I am a bit younger than you, I played most of that because it was available, rather than it being cutting edge(Wii more than 3DS, 3DS more than Play Station 4, you get it). I see how Sonic's importance was lost on me. And I can relate to a series losing its way.

[@somethingidk7355]

It's so sad... Notice how Sonic Team was so confident, and wanted this game to be something for fans to adore. It's awful that the series of events that occurred in SEGA completely destroyed this game.

[@quesocoatl21]

Yeah Sega's executives need to be stuffed into a woodchipper.

[@jamesmason3734]

It's been said before but SEGA's biggest enemy, was SEGA itself.

[@YujiUedaFan]

Actually, apparently ST stopped development for 06 at some point (perhaps due to Sonic 1 on GBA or Secret Rings) and it was going to be scrapped, but they released it anyway. This is a part of the reason why Yuuji Naka (Yu2) left. ST were quick to blame features and mechanics that they could have fixed and because of that they only listed to salty critics that had only played Sonic 1, claiming that Sonic games with only Sonic playable are good. This is why Sonic 4 Episode 1 was made, because some salty fans wanted to go back to the Sonic 1 days, without realizing how bad of an idea that could be. Especially since ST couldn't even be bothered to make the game themselves. Out of the Boost games, Unleashed was the only one with a semi-decent story, while the others just have Sonic as some OP god who knows he's always going to win and that his friends are useless without him, making Sonic very unlikable and egocentric. I think of Sonic games from Colours on (Excluding Mania and Boom games) as Fleetway series Sonic, but Sonic acts less like a jerk about it when his friends inevitably screw up, except WAY less likable because none of Sonic's friends are allowed to grow up past being cheerleaders. In an effort to do away with the bad 06 created, they also got rid of all good elements from previous 3D games. The things ST got rid of are: Having a story based narrative that isn't a worse retelling of the Japanese version, Sonic's friends doing stuff that isn't pathetic and character development that isn't automatically reset at the start of a new game. 3D Sonic is no longer Sonic and instead a lame 90s/00s parody of himself. As for Mania and Boom... I'll skip Boom for now, but I do commend the people who worked on Mania, but I still have my issues. Amy not being in Mania is a weird exclusion, it relying on Special Stages from S3&K instead of making up their own seems lazy and the intro animation doesn't tell a story and instead it's just a random elevator that moves through games (though for some reason Sonic Mania Adventure tells the story instead of the game).

[@somethingidk7355]

@@YujiUedaFan There it is. That's what I had initially meant saying that the bad circumstances messed this up initially.

[@YujiUedaFan]

@@somethingidk7355 Like James Mason said, SEGA's biggest enemy is themselves. Though it also sucks that they alienate fans because Adventure isn't "cool" or "hip" enough and it's so "old fashioned" and that re-releasing Sonic 1 for the billionth time and making yet another Boost game is "the fresh fad".

[@rhondahoward8025]

Here's why Mario is succeeding and Sonic is failing: The Sonic franchise never expands on core mechanics EVER. They change their gimmicks like we change our underwear and this "see whatever sticks to the wall" approach is not doing the series any favors. Cappy is an EXTENSION of Mario's aerial gameplay and jumping. It's the perfect evolution. But the Sonic Team never takes a look at one thing and goes "That. How do we capitalize on that and use it to its full potential? How do we refine and hone in on that?" When something doesn't work, they throw the baby out with the bathwater and juggle ideas like clown juggles bowling pins. What Sonic even is isn't even clear anymore, because his "thing" keeps changing.

[@twotonedrebel1891]

Yeah, Sonic jumps ship a lot and it's really daunting how the developers refuse to stay in one place. They're not helping him "grow" in a metaphorical sense. With the advent of higher technology, there's a plethora of doors waiting to be opened. Since they have a bad habit of changing styles and not bettering one core gameplay, the fanbase became really divided and have pestered them for years. As a result, they have lost sight of Sonic's STABLE identity in the 3D perspective.

[@rhondahoward8025]

@@twotonedrebel1891 Yep yep and yep. I mean really, they've tried introducing vehicles and guns to the series, then it was Sonic Riders with him and his friends riding air-boards, then Sonic is wielding a sword and is suddenly a knight, then you have this custom avatar character with Forces, then in Lost World they tried to ape off of Mario Galaxy's concept and it's just a huge mess.

[@gamalsaad1545]

yup i feel they dont have enough faith in sonic core gamplay and obssessed by adding diffrent gameplay style no one want ending by ruining the whole game and getting hate and the funny part that sonic gameplay section always be the best part and more fun people buy sonic games to play sonic for god sake these people are delusional

[@Ruldolphmaker]

That said I do think they need to abandon the boost. it's not fun, it controls like shit, and kills what made the classics good. the more I play boost sonic the more i hate it. And heroes feels like a boost sonic BEFORE he got the boost. Which just makes a clunky mess. Seriously the paralells to Heroes game design and Boost game design are striking. Watch the videos where somebody ported Grand Metropolis into Adventure and see what I mean, its a huge hallway. same repetitive bullshit. Hardly any variation to approaches. I think Sonic Team should consolidate the classics with the adventure formula. Perhaps an open world like Adventure 1 but make it fun to traverse like Utopia.

[@EthanBradburyVlogs]

@@Ruldolphmaker the boost made sonic way better

[@sonicfannumberone1]

I really wish sonic team would remake this game. Take their time, work out all the bugs, make it the best it could be. Sure the story would probably still be pretty bad, unless they completely change it, but I think the gameplay has a lot of untapped potential, and it could be loads of fun.

[@succubastard1019]

Remaking Sonic '06 would either be the absolute worst thing that Sonic Team could ever do or possibly the best. Realistically, only a portion of the fanbase would be pleased by it, and most of the non-fans would consider the very idea so absurd and laughable... That they may even try giving the game a shot just to see what Sonic '06 could have been, or if it even became any better, and thus be surprisingly successful. But regardless, Sonic Team seems to want to stay as far away as possible from Sonic'06.

[@KruelAidMan]

It would be a complete waste of time & resources. There's so little worth salvaging in here that it'd be far better if they just make something new.

[@okagron]

You might as well make a new game because that's the amount of work it would take to remake this game. And honestly, remaking it is a bad thing because this game needs to be forever known as the bottom of the barrel when it comes to Sonic games. If exists out there a version of 06 that is not trash, then the absolute destruction this game caused to the franchise will be forgotten.

[@meyes5671]

Nothing is worth salvaging. Good Sonic 06 wouldn't even resemble Sonic 06 at all.

[@jjc4924]

Actually, there is an fanmade game that's remaking 06. It's called Project-06. And it is an hell of alot better.

[@tgcsteven6368]

I love so many things about this video. The Xanga references, the COMPROMISING section, the biddle-ly version of Through the Fire and Flames, you highlighting how awesome Kingdom Valley is, and all the outstanding analysis of a game that will live in infamy for eternity. This is the best of your 3D Sonic videos in my opinion, which is ironic given that it's about the worst game. I am SO proud of you and how far this channel has come. You are my favorite KZbinr and one of my best friends. You keep Critiquing, and I'll keep Geeking.

[@GeekCritique]

I really appreciate it man, thank you! And the Xanga review in question, by the way, was written by a certain dyoood we both know very well. :D

[@tgcsteven6368]

@@GeekCritique Hah! I had a feeling it might be him based on the wording. Throw a reference to the game box in there and there'd be no question. ;)

[@TheKazeblade]

I can't deny that, despite it's problems Sonic '06 still has something about it that makes me return to it every few years. After playing it I remember why I dislike it , but I think it speaks to a charm that it definitely has. Like you said, there are significantly worse games in the series that have been lost more or less to time in popular culture, but because there is a spark of something special in '06 that utterly backfired, it will never be forgotten.

[@TheCrossSoldier]

Thanks for this video, Geek Critique. It ended on a morbid note but sadly, a very appropriate one for the situation Sonic was and is still in. I remember noticing the flaws this game had when it came out, but the depth of them really escaped me until years afterwards. I think it was the Great Clement's epic take down of the game that really showed me just how bad it really is. After Sonic 06, I took a break from the franchise since I was just not feeling invigorated with the series anymore, and I was getting into other franchises and fandoms. By the way, I want to show you something very interesting I found about the game. The ending has been misinterpreted by the fandom on the English side of fanbase, while the game did retcon itself, Sega still considers the game canon the main series, to still have happened, and to still have happened in the first place for it to erase itself. This isn't a case like the game gear games, Knuckles Chaotix, or Sonic Chronicles The Dark Brotherhood in which Sega likes to pretend they flat out never happened at all. This tumblr post I found gives you a more in-depth explanation which also goes into detail about that as well as Blaze's contradictory backstories. Here is the link: greenyvertekins.tumblr.com/post/175579850109/clearing-up-the-confusion-in-the-fanbase-regarding The original author of this post was jadiil who sadly went dark since she experienced harassment after she made this post. She was simply explaining Sega's stance on Sonic 06, not necessarily agreeing with Sega's choices and just trying to clear up fandom confusion.

[@mikeshoe4779]

wow, that's sad she got harassed for it cause she put a lot of effort explaining it

[@TheCrossSoldier]

@@mikeshoe4779 It is indeed sad. Her post had such insight that I have rarely seen from anyone else in the English side of the Sonic fandom. Her tumblr page is inaccessible to anyone but her apparently, and the only reason I was able to find that post was due to other people reblogging it.

[@alexos9011]

@@TheCrossSoldier I never understand how people where confused about Blaze being in 06, personally. As soon as I saw the end of Silver's story and heard Blaze mention another dimension I knew it was a reference to Sonic Rush. Like, isn't it obvious ?

[@nerdletter3773]

Holy shit, Mephiles in Sonic Forces? That actually would've made the game A LOT better!

[@TheCrossSoldier]

@@alexos9011 I think the reason there was so much confusion was due to fans misinterpreting the ending of Sonic 06 as "the events of this game never happened and have no lasting effects at all" rather than "the events of this game happened but were then erased." Also, Iizuka, when asked on which of the two backstories that Blaze had was correct, said that the one where she was from an alternate dimension was the one to go with. Fans interpreted this as further evidence of Sonic 06 being retconned completely from the timeline. Furthermore, there is another problem with this explanation that jadill very briefly points out in her post. Why would Blaze still be in an alternate dimension if she would have never sent herself there in the first place since Solaris and thus the Flames of Disaster never existed in the first place? If she was originally from the future, then why wouldn't she still be there? The writing of Sonic 06 is an absolute mess. Trying to figure it out and the logic or lack thereof that drives the story can drive a person bonkers. You have to invent your own explanations just to even have an attempt at figuring this stuff out if it is even possible.

[@carlcarlington7317]

"hey the breaks on the new toyotas are poorly designed and only work 10% of the time" Toyota: "lol get good"

[@SonicManEXE]

I remember when this game came out, although my situation was very different. Like you said during the SA2 Critique, I was one of those millions of a new generation that fell in love with Sonic through SA2B. If it's not obvious by my username (Sonic + MegaMan Battle Network), my gaming taste is _so_ a product of the generation of gaming I grew up with. I was also impatiently biding my time until Sonic 06 released, but at that time, I was solidly a Nintendo fan, and also, well, I was eight years old. Sure, I had a PS2, but I was so into Nintendo and the Pokemon TCG that a PS3 or a 360 were so not on my radar. Once the game came out, I was focused on Sonic Rush and kind of forgot about 06. Then, three years later, I got a PS3 during Holiday 2009, and believe it or not, I actually returned the game my dad got for me: Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time, for Sonic 06. I kept 06, but I went back for Ratchet and Clank the next day. I beat A Crack in Time, but I have never gotten close to finishing 06 except for Sonic's story. I let the internet tell me how it ends. Josh, this video is a work of art, and not only did you take a huge leap of confidence in the act of confiding your teenage years with... well... the internet, you are the only person I have ever seen truly illustrate the impact this game had on the series' reputation AND on so many fans of the series. I truly appreciate everything you've done, and I will keep geekin' for the rest of my life, as long as you promise to keep critiquin'. Thank you.

[@sodaftpm185]

Sonic 06 doesn't mean anything nowadays. Are you seriously going to let the trolls and the haters decide the fate of the series?

[@jdawson7877]

@@sodaftpm185 sadly that's what sega is doing these days

[@sodaftpm185]

@@jdawson7877 Whatever opinion the trolls have towards 06, it's still old news. People need to move on from it.

[@dapperfan44]

@@sodaftpm185 I agree. It kinda (read: _really_) pisses me off that people are so ready to keep beating a dead horse about a 15 year old game being bad. Sonic 06 is so old it came out before the first iPhone.

[@s_SoNick]

Wow. Just... wow. That ending spoke to me more than I can put into words, man. As I said in a comment on last week's video, I had pretty much bailed on the series after Heroes. We met online in the era when the fandom was full-on in its "Sure some of the people in this group still hold out hope but most of us have become cynical and jaded" phase so there's not much I can say here that you don't already know haha. And man, you weren't kidding about that Moogle Cavern nostalgia! I never put two and two together that this new "Josh" guy was the "UltimateGCS" dude that I'd seen the name of from time to time before back in the day haha. Back when we met, I had this same kind of cynical, jaded view of professional wrestling as well, watching it more to balk at how bad it was getting (little did I know it could get worse lol) than for regular enjoyment. I still remember my post where I was like "Okay, I've seen you post about pro wrestling a few times, what do you think of the following names?" and posting a list of a bunch of former pro wrestler's real names. From your intelligent in-depth reply to that post I just knew that we *had* to be friends! Your endearing positivity helped me reform and get over the edgy "I only play/watch stuff so I can constantly sarcastically comment how awful it is!" horrible person that I was on the path to becoming. I've never fully embraced the "Find the good in everything" or whatever as much as you, but I just wanted to say thank you for helping me to stray near that path. I'm drifting quite far from the topic of the video so I'll end here, but thank you again for being my friend all of these years.

[@GeekCritique]

This is one of the kindest comments I've ever gotten. Thank you right back. :D I just barely remember that wrestling post on the fringes of my memory. Was it on the MC or SER? If I could find it, it'd be fun to read over it again.

[@TheGreyShaman]

I honestly still have hope, but feel it's going to come at a time where the sonic team thinks the series is truly going to die. I feel they would go out with a bang that would be so powerful it would make waves in the community bringing all the hype for sonic back. It would fall into it's campiness/accept it's place in the meme world. It would just be hello fun and wouldn't focus on being too crazy and just use what worked in the past, even if it has to downgrade graphics.

[@s_SoNick]

@@GeekCritique So I checked and SER is still around! I thought the site stopped working like two years ago so I stopped checking it? Anyway, I found the topic, it's over at www.soniceatsrings.com/index.php/topic,2347.msg38419.html#msg38419

[@walkonvainityruins]

That ending hit me hard. As a fan that saved up his allowance to buy the genesis as his first console and watched the old DIC sonic cartoons as a child before I could even buy my genesis and even subscribed to the sonic comics from the beginning all the way up until 2005. That ending really hits home. I don’t hate ‘06 simply because it’s ambitious to me left me with hope that if they actually tried it could have been great but since then I’ve enjoyed the games just haven’t been able to get into them like I used to

[@TheJadeFist]

It had..... loading..... Potential to be loading.... a better game. loading.... If they ever ported it to PC, I'm sure modders would turn it into something much more playable.

[@TheJadeFist]

Honestly even just being able to put it on a solid state drive, would make the loading far far, faster and not as obstructive.

[@OKeijiDragon]

1:21 "This presents a problem." Cute Gamma reference! I love that you place these in your retrospectives.

[@TrashTawk]

I'm totally in agreement with you on the Sonic/Elise thing. I personally feel like making fun of the romance plot because of the species aspect of it is like arresting a murderer for a parking violation. Maybe that's just because so much weirder stuff has been introduced to the world, though (looking at you, literally 50% of all anime in existence).

[@QwixLF]

Sonic, the team, the franchise, the being, has been synonymous with speed and cockiness. This was inevitable, as his shoelaces were bound to come undone after so long without stopping. As it happens, skidding at 60mph is invariably fatal for hedgehogs.

[@duckknuckles7880]

Sonic doesn't wear shoelaces.

[@QwixLF]

@@duckknuckles7880 So he's got loose Lego velcro, whatever.

[@peterparker1683]

Actually the first game dubbed by the 4Kids cast was Shadow The Hedgehog

[@Kirbychu1]

He doesn't considered that a main series game.

[@s3kstage232]

@@Kirbychu1 Then the first one was technically Sonic Rush which came out the same day as Shadow.

[@MustacheDLuffy]

He said major game

[@christopherstanley4837]

My biggest take away from this was 24:59. WHAAAT?!? The Dreamcast version had actual waves and not just a flat surface rising and falling when the whale came down?!?!?? My second biggest take away was how depressing the note was that this video ended on.

[@Yuli_Ban]

As a former fan of the franchise, I agree with the last part of the video, with an even more somber realization that there really isn't anything anyone can do for the hedgehog. The cold fact is that *nobody cares anymore*. It's chasing after its original three golden years for eleven years now, and yet the press still treats the franchise as if Sonic 06 was the most recent Sonic game- most notably with statements such as "Sonic needs to ditch his useless friends", which would have made sense in 2007 but makes it seem like you haven't played a Sonic game _since_ 2007 if you make the same argument today. Sonic is one of the most horrendously mismanaged IPs in media history. Staying on its nostalgic road trip back to the grunge era is probably the only way that Sonic Team can keep Sonic games competent, because every experiment to evolve Sonic since 06 has failed- sometimes via mediocrity, sometimes explosively. But if Sonic isn't allowed to move forward beyond 1994, then the franchise will stagnate. It will never grow. It will never evolve. It will forever be arrested by itself, too afraid and too incompetent to celebrate January 1st, 1995. Sonic will either die or fade away. All of this and more contributes to a sense that Sonic as an IP is a mistake, that people who defend it are overly nostalgic nerds or furries on the spectrum. It's never going to regain the popularity & respect it once had.

[@kylmon4759]

How has every “experiment” to evolve Sonic since 06 failed? You were on a roll then fucked up there, the whole purpose of this video is to state that 06 warped the perception of Sonic and that’s why he’s in the state he is rn. If by “experiments” you mean the actual games then idk what you’re talking about, there’s been an entire string of great games since 06.

[@kevinfigueroa5444]

Kylmon I know right. I thought he had a solid point at first but then it fell off quick

[@iamtoychica4302]

@Xavior Unleashed and Black Knight are good games.

[@repoyo8685]

I'm ashamed to say it, but that ending made me tear up a bit, I didn't grow up with sonic, I grew up with Mario and zelda, growing up, sonic was a laughing stock, I hadn't played any sonic game, but I knew about this one, a few years ago though, I started to watch your videos and started to have an appreciation for sonic that I didn't have before, I played every sonic game I could get my hands on (the classics and the newer ones) and loved most of them, they were fun, difficult (in a good way) and nothing like the games I grew up playing, but it saddens me greatly that sonic will never be what he was before, none of my friends have ever played a sonic game because they're convinced that they suck, and even my dad (who loves video games as much as I do) won't play a sonic game because of their reputation, it breaks my heart to know how these games I love are treated like jokes, and I can only imagine how painful it must be for people like you who have grown up with sonic

[@michaelgrant6899]

You just kinda live with it. Me though, I just keep to myself what I like and dislike about this series. I see too many people nowadays make articles or videos trying to convince me I'm wrong for enjoying certain Sonic games when really I just don't care, everyone has their opinions.

[@gamalsaad1545]

actually what give that reputation is the fanbase hating on everything and never agree on anything , but yeah sonic games are still selling good most of them getting decent reviews better than other 3rd party plateformer megaman rayman sony plateformer so are these franchise had bad reputation too , the casual and general audience does not know about cancerous opinion some hardcore fans are spreading , sonic has big mobile game big comics sales successful tv shows , but people really are overdramatic here acting like it is the end of the world just look at final fantasy and streetfighter they have the same problems with lesser extent

[@FourSwordsLord]

I think the fact that you can hear TGC's voice BREAKING as he acknowledges that a beloved franchise was dead...is heart breaking. I don't believe I've ever seen a review of Sonic 06 quite like this (save for The Great Clement's review, honestly the best one I've seen on KZbin for how long and in depth it is) and I agree. Man, I was one of those kids who grew up with Mario primarily (90s while growing up with Mario 64, with some relatives owning the NES games. Good times)and thought he was the better series. Adventure came along and I thought it was a cool series, then Advance which was the first Sonic game I owned and I adored both! Imagine if child me would see this series's fall as he thought 'huh, maybe the other guys are right and Sonic IS cool!' Sonic never recovered from 06, I can't disagree there. Colors and Generations are incredible games, and so is Mania...but then we get Forces and Boom. 12 years later and it's inconsistent as hell. Can you imagine this being MANY gamers' first introduction to Sonic? Oh my god. It's horrible to think about! Say what we will about the Adventure games and Heroes being the first introduction, this...oh man. I gotta say though, I think this game also cemented Mario being the superior franchise to many people. A year later, Super Mario Galaxy came out and it's such a revered, beloved game on its own. That's almost a recurring thing, a Mario game comes out and so does a Sonic game. Outside of Colors and Galaxy 2, and Generations with 3D Land, Sonic was never on par with Mario again. They're not rivals but it's sad. Honestly though, I can laugh at 06. But it still infuriates (depresses even) me that this game exists and happened the way it did. There are by far worse games that do both worse with nothing redeemable but none of them had the status Sonic did. I want this series to match the old heights it did....

[@jdk67]

Chaos Hawk It’s all good, I probably came off as harsher than I meant to. I get your point though. For what it’s worth, I grew up a sonic fan but I can say Mario is usually the better game (unless we are talking sonic 1-3, those all blow any Mario game out of the water in my opinion) but it’s probably because my first console was the Genesis. If I had a Nintendo growing up I might have felt differently. It sucks that Sonic has turned into a laughing stock. He used to be so cool.

[@borediideath6526]

So in conclusion: Sega is Sonic's biggest enemy.

[@scarfaceAC2]

Sniper Melon Yep

[@jesfel14]

The same way as Dolan is the NY Knicks biggest enemy, Synder is the WFT biggest enemy and Detriot owners and their sports teams and their are so many examples in real life on how leadership can be their brands biggest enemy

[@jaretco6423]

Yep.

[@celltrark7161]

Pretty much

[@hyruleguy9569]

I implore you to play P-06. That "game" proves that, had the original been, well, finished, it probably would've been recieved much, MUCH better. With many changes to the storyline, better voicework, and maybe a different artstyle, it would've been worthy of being titled "Sonic Adventure 3".

[@jacobmonks3722]

Maybe. P-06 is a no-nonsense improvement in every section of gameplay. Even the tiniest things have been improved or made more convenient or satisfying. But P-06 hasn't done a thing to change the story (and probably won't for a long time). Even if the P-06 gameplay was lifted and placed directly into the official game, Elise still gets kidnapped 26 times, Mephiles still has a completely nonsensical and convoluted plan, and Sonic still dies and gets resurrected with a kiss. Sonic fans might have been able to ignore the story and appreciate the game itself, but something tells me the general games industry still would have hated it for the story alone.

[@AkariNeko3131]

Damn, those fake video links at the end where like something out of Doki Doki Literature Club... Oh wait, they're real links. o_o

[@shock44SquirrelyShock]

I know right?! That's the vibe I got too. I was also surprised they were real links!

[@baez1301]

Really fucking creepy but awesome at the same time, really nice touch, because really, there no good ending for this franchise as it stands, Forces prove it, it would take Sonic a decade of amazing games to return to form, and the more badly designed games pop up, the longer that retribution will take.

[@myfaceisstuckpleasesendhel1255]

This game, while it was made by a group of passionate developers hoping to bring the best of the Sonic series, tragically turned into one of the worst games ever made. Every time I think of what it could have been like, I get a little sadder on the inside. Such a shame. Edit: Holy crap that ending of the video really caught me of guard. Good job Sega, ya done fucked it up. Poor Sonic...;_;

[@Kirbychu1]

Congrats on doing the impossible and actually providing a new and thought-provoking take on this game! I almost didn't bother clicking. It was really nice to see you approach it as a Sonic fan first and foremost.

[@JediCody2]

How ironic, nobody remembers the cautiously optimistic buildup to Sonic '06 in much the same way nobody remembers the cautiously pessimistic buildup to Metroid Prime.

[@JediCody2]

@The Legend 27 Returns to KZbin Josh actually mentioned it in his video about it.

[@WolfDB]

The phrase "It takes one bad apple to spoil the bushel" comes to mind here. The fact that a series that has plenty of good in it has had its good will been completely and quite possibly irrevocably damaged just by this one game is a sign of just how awful Sonic '06 was. What started as a series that at one point kept up with Mario has turned into a series where the fanbase gets labeled as "the worst ever", where the games are just shells of their former selves, where it's seen as outdated trash that should've stayed in the 90's where it belonged. But this series deserves so much more than that, and I say that as a person whose first experience with this game was before I was exposed to the internet, back when I first played Sonic 3 on my brother's old Sega Genesis and thought it was such a cool game (even if I couldn't get past Marble Hill, but I was like 6 or 7 at the time)

[@duckknuckles7880]

*marble garden

[@dertdobber]

Damn that got surprisingly dark at the end. I wasn’t expecting to feel sad watching this.

[@matthewcarter8456]

15:45 wtf this is like the 5th time I've watched this video and I'm JUST NOW realizing you matched Sara's mouth movements to what you were saying. Really love the effort you put into making these subtle jokes in editing.

[@blackheartzerotheundergrou3225]

Call me an unoriginal hack for quoting this, but... _... And on the pedestal these words appear:_ *_'My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:_* *_Look upon my works, ye Mighty, and despair!'_* _Nothing beside remains. Round the decay_ _Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare_ _The lone and level sands stretch far away._

[@ericjp2000]

Say what you will about 06, it's probably got one of the best sonic ost's ever, themes like Kingdom Valley, Aquatic Base, and even Crisis City are honestly pretty magical.

[@reecegaming418]

We can agree on that the soundtrack is a masterpiece in my top 3 sonic soundtracks for sure.

[@Alandus64]

*cough* rush *cough* *cough* rush adventure

[@Anu_Sol]

THIS WORLD something something THIS WORLD life's an open book! THIS WORLD der dee der der! I love that song.

[@ericjp2000]

@@northwindkey Oh don't even remind me of MMX6 in many ways it is the Sonic 06 of Megaman, but that soundtrack is really clean, but yeah, I'm not a big fan of His World either to me, it was just a sign of the times.

[@ericjp2000]

@@phoenixpad2468 I'll definitly have to give it a listen, becuase I'm not touching that game with a ten ft. hover board...

[@davewilsea142]

Scott the Woz is in everything now lol

[@olpentedooiebingmandagi7557]

How about AVGN?

[@byronbrooks6366]

Wow, just...I was unprepared for how painful it was for me hearing you illustrate how I also feel about this franchise as well. Though if this and the company's history has taught me anything, it's that Sega has always been to out of touch with consumers, it's game developers, and their fans to truly make a solid game.

[@bandicootsauce4569]

I don't hate Sonic. If anything, I feel sorry for both the series and its fans. Both have gone through so much shit, received so much mocking, shaming and dismissal over the years. I would love for an unquestionably good Sonic game to be released just so the fans, as well as Sega itself, can throw all the snark and cynicism back in the faces of all the critics and haters, to show them that YES, the Sonic series DOES have worth, it DOES have a place in the world - a positive one, no less!

[@kenanwallace2124]

As you mentioned in the video, there have been more than enough videos thanks to the advent of KZbin and it's growth during the year this game was released that describe what it was. Somehow, your take on it actually managed to make me well up a bit. I was seven years old when I first saw the game advertised and am also 19 now, so in retrospect I'm fully aware of how bad a game it was but like you, when I got the game I already knew how bad it was and had no reason to be angry with it. I still look at the game now as well as the promotional material and think about what it could have been but at the end of the day I'm left with the fact that for all that potential it just didn't deliver and subsequently ruined the franchise's reputation. It still hurts now and is probably why the ending got to me the way it did. Sonic as a series, starting with Unleashed and reading an interview with the Game Director for that game is the reason that I go to Uni, continue to push my learning in 2D/3D art, try to improve my speaking voice and try to earn a job in the game/vfx industry. Playing those games starting with Heroes when I was five, watching him speed past obstacles and over vast worlds, animate in a way I'd never seen up to that point and always find a way to do that side smile with a cool pose for the camera was awesome for me and why I wanted to return the favor through making my own game or working with SEGA/Sonic Team one day. Now I'm grown up and know both how unlikely that is and that the series just doesn't have that much draw for most people anymore. So much for believing in it I guess. I'd like to believe there's still some magic there that makes me smile every time I see him comeback, and to a degree there is but overall I think there's not much left to give... I'm always hopeful though. Thanks for the video nonetheless, it was fair in it's criticisms and you clearly know what you're talking about in the videos you've done on this series. Looking forward to next year and hope you have a great holiday. Take care.

[@hockeater]

Pay close attention to the guys who made Mania. They've an absurdly good track record between that and their various excellent porting jobs. I would be shocked to see Sega not making further good use of them.

[@espinoth9913]

@@hockeater Sonic Team pushed them out because of jealousy after Forces flopped in comparison to Mania. But Sega will probably drag them back in for another game now that more Sonic Mania Adventure cartoons are drawing attention back to it. Would be great if they got fully integrated into the story and design team; and if Sega pulled Ian Flynn aboard as well. That man's comics for Archie and IDW have been nothing short of stellar, and he clearly understands just who fans expect Sonic to be, and the character development we want to see from his friends and enemies.

[@duffman18]

@@espinoth9913 could you post a link to an article or something explaining what you mean by sonic team pushing out Christian whitehead and all them guys because of jealousy? I Googled it but I can't find anything about it, I want to read more about it.

[@GeekCritique]

There's no evidence that that's true. People speculate on it sometimes, but it's baseless.

[@kenanwallace2124]

@@espinoth9913 never heard anything like that in the time since Mania came out. I'm not saying that some businesses don't make such decisions but without official word on it, I find that highly unlikely.

[@kingd3398]

One thing I have always found interesting about 06 in the past couple year is how it has been gaining a small amount of traction within the fanbase for being ambitious(EX: Having Multiple playable Characters, Attempting whatever the heck the story is,etc). This might be just me but I find uncontrolled reckless ambition has been the bane of the Sonic Series. It goes as far back as the Genesis Days with the amount of terrible gimmicky spinoffs that Sega made for the Blue Blur. The problem only got worse in the 3-D Games with Sega seemingly throwing darts at the wall to find some "Gimmick of the Week" for each new Sonic Game. The Series can never seem to focus on one thing at all, and then refine that thing to near perfection. It seems like Sonic is Sega's Guinea Pig The series is a massive mess with it not knowing what to do with itself with ether story or gameplay. Every time some new form of gameplay is found, it is never given the treatment or time that the Classic Sonic games were given allowing it to be refined and perfected into a phenomenal focused game. The Story is even messier with Characterization all over the place, Terrible Worldbuilding, Atrocious Dialogue, and Bad Writing having its hands all over the stories that Sonic Games try to tell. I honestly feel bad for the voice actors for the series as they are trying their best but being given terrible material to work with and get crapped on by the fanbase. What Sonic needs above all else is Smart Ambition combined with Focus. By focusing on the Classic Formula in the early days, Sega was able to refine the movement and level design until it was perfected in Sonic 3&K. Sonic 1 started out rough(especially with level design) but it was given time and Sega didn't throw random gimmick at the wall. The Spindash was added to improve movement in 2, and the level design was vastly improved in the next games. It culminated with Sonic 3&K which I would easily say is the best Sonic Game,and one of the best 2-D Platformers ever made. If they could focus and be smart and ambitious, Sonic Devs could truly make something special. It already happened in 2017 with Sonic Mania.

[@thesamuraispirit7686]

Yeah. Mania had good production values. Good pixel art, good animation by tysson hesse, nice callbacks but thats when i realized sonic was geared towards kids. I didnt feel excited playing Mania, I felt like it was a chore. Thats when I realized that maybe i was outgrowing sonic. What Nintendo has accomplished with Mario is unprecedented. Fun games that appeal to all ages not just kids

[@voltricity1942]

*either

[@kingd3398]

@@thesamuraispirit7686 I find that funny since I always thought Sonic Stories were always acting more mature than they actually were lmao. Anyway, with how inconsistent Sonic is it makes sense that a lot of people fall off with it. I just enjoy speedrunning Sonic 3 and Mania to much to stop really.

[@thesamuraispirit7686]

@@kingd3398 yeah thats also true. Ive played Sonic advance, generations, sonic 1, sonic 2, CD, adventure1 and 2, sonic 4 episode 2, unleashed, mania and forces. Out of all those games ive played ive liked sonic2, sonic advance, sonic generations and sa1. Thats 4 out of 11 for me which is pretty bad

[@kevinm.5951]

KnightlyNobody Sonic Team is slowly starting to get better. They’re actually focused on one gameplay style now (boost formula) But in terms of everything else, they still need to work on. Like getting rid of those pesky Wisps Getting better writers And fine tuning physics and controls.

[@luliby2309]

You know what I've been feeling and thinking lately? I'm really sick and tired of this whole "Sonic = Bad" mentality. I'm just completely over it. It all really started with this game. After this game, it seemed like everyone just collectively decided that everything Sonic _must_ be bad and terrible. Every mistake is nothing more than proof that Sega is crap and Sonic Team is crap. There's nooooo way that other franchises and games that are more universally loved can have _any_ mistakes whatsoever...right? Wrong! While Sonic has truly had missteps and mistakes over the years, like 06 and Boom, there is so much more quality to Sonic than so many people give him credit for. Yet, thanks to the impact of 06, everyone just seems to assume that "Sonic = Bad" and now people are looking to hate Sonic and say that the games are bad. Before all that happened, we all _wanted_ to like Sonic, so when good games like Adventure 1 and 2 came out, we were willing to overlook minor (and even some not so minor) issues and see an overall good game. Now people are looking back and also looking to dislike Sonic, so people re-reviewing those games are taking each problem and making it out to be evidence that Sonic lacks any quality whatsoever. So now that I'm over this whole "Sonic = Bad" thing, I hate that it's led to me missing out on so many games, all because I've kept hearing that 3D Sonic is all trash. I've missed out on games like Colors that I could have played a long time ago. I even just saw Adventure in my local game store not too long ago...and didn't pick it up so I could finally own it. That happened just a bit before I decided to let go of "Sonic = Bad" too. So now I want to play more Sonic games that people have dismissed out of hand and see just how "bad" they all are. I want to try Sonic out and get caught up with it while looking at it more fairly and objectively. Now I want to like it instead of hate it, like you would with a Mario or any other major series. Oh, and I hate Elise's orange/tanned legs. They look so bad! She's pale as any goth girl would dream of being up above, yet her legs are orange and weird. It looks terrible and it's distracting. Is she Pale Girl or is she Tan Girl? Make a decision.

[@luliby2309]

I know what you mean. It's not all parts of those of us who appreciate the gaming arts, but there are those of us who could use a little recalibration and learning.

[@zer0w0lf94]

14:37 “Could be worse, Josh. You could’ve posted a rant about downloading missiles.” - Covarr

[@noahmccay6048]

Haha

[@michaelpisciarino5348]

0:08 Sonic 06’ introduction 1:23 What new critique can we pull that has not already been said? 2:09 Bringing back an unparalleled sense of speed 3:07 Realism 5:26 It was incredible for the time period 6:38 Sonic Next 6:53 “Everything [they] felt had been misplaced” 8:45 Walmart 9:19 It is a Deplorable Game 11:17 A different takeaway experience 13:24 Credits/Blogpost 15:00 Love interest (Elise) 18:45 This Romance is a total miss match 20:36 Voice Acting 21:40 "The Plot is Great" 21:50 Gameplay 24:00 Enjoyable? 26:07 Serious self-awareness/self-understanding 29:58 A fascinating case study in what could have been 30:38 Sonic Man! 30:55 Bosses/ Non-Linear Level Design 33:48 The End of the Adventure Era 35:14 Yuji Naka resigned, Sega did not spend time on quality control. 39:03 Self-Aware moment during the Final Scene of the game 40:58 Conclusion

[@smugalice6206]

Michael Pisciarino So when does he talk about Sonic Man?

[@calebplerry9664]

this comment has been quite useful, thanks

[@nousername191]

This should be pinned

[@Ac30fSt4rM13]

I'm not even ashamed to admit that this review nearly made me cry.

[@GeekCritique]

I appreciate that. I was getting close, myself at the end there.

[@Fooacta]

@@GeekCritique *"Nearly"* That ending was a master class on how to break a 30-ish nerd's heart.

[@manospondylus4896]

The Geek Critique This was the most dramatic and emotional use of the word Bullshit I have seen so far.

[@Ruldolphmaker]

Way too many reviews of this game are angry. This one was so much different. It physically hurt at the end there. Establishing such a personal connection to the franchise just to have a VERY unlucky series of events (and Sega's Greed) destroy the reputstion of the frqnchise forever. I honest to god believe the Sonic Intelligencia need to take on the next 3d game. Shaymay, TGC, etc. I've been drawing up a just for fun document. Get the guys that did Sonic Utopia onboard, they struck gold with their design.

[@StarWarsNerdyGuy]

Same here!

[@theinfantmetroid]

Nobody: 2006 Sonic Fans: *clears throat in 72pt comic sans* SONIC THE HEDGEHOG IS DEAD

[@dittom3426]

7:19 Damn, even in 2006, people were harping on EA.

[@sidequest2230]

That ending basically sums up my feelings too. It's why this, forces, and sonic film both enrage me and sadden me. Sonic was an icon, and my childhood hero. But that doesnt matter anymore. It often feels like no matter how many good games sonic gets anymore. Sega will either screw it up later, or even if they dont no one's gunna care. Even when sonic mania got tons of praise and sales i STILL see people lump that in with the garbadge. And now sonic is going to be laughed at by the whole world. Not just by reviewera who have no reason to like him. I just want people to enjoy this dumb franchise again.