#17-B: Sonic Mania/Sonic Game Retrospective Pt. 2

You thought our in-depth talk about hedgehog character arcs was done? You were so, so wrong. The second half of John and Colin's gargantuan retrospective of the Sonic the Hedgehog games kicks off at the worst (or maybe best?) starting point with the infamous Sonic 06, chronicles the odd road to redemption with Colors and Generations, discusses the stumbles afterward, and finally cap things off with what's on everyone's minds with our thoughts on Sonic Mania. Thoughts include Sega's struggle to give gameplay a consistent identity and not rush games out, the idea of fidelity vs. aesthetics in the early HD era, and some overall thoughts on Mania that hopefully won't lead to any hardcore fans out for our heads on a pike, and will also explain this episode's thumbnail.
Next time - Sonic cartoons, comics, and misc. stuff (Featuring the return of Chris!)
P.S. Colin's internet connection crapped out on us continuously here, so forgive the audio stumbles.
P.P.S. Listen past the outro music of this one (And some of our past episodes. Hint, hint).
01:18 - Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)
15:38 - Sonic and the Secret Rings/Sonic and the Black Knight
27:07 - Sonic Unleashed
39:22 - Sonic 4
43:15 - Sonic Colors
49:45 - Sonic Generations
59:37 - Sonic Lost World
01:05:56 - Sonic Boom games
01:17:56 - Sonic Mania
Show Twitter (Send feedback, questions, and requests!): https://twitter.com/sketchwatchplay
Show Facebook (Send feedback, questions, and requests!): https://www.facebook.com/sketchwatchplay
Show homepage: http://sketchwatchplay.blogspot.com/
John's Twitter: https://twitter.com/Behonkiss
Colin's Twitter: https://twitter.com/skipperwing
Chris's Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChristopTheWade
Watch John's video on Sonic Generations mods: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZVmIkkDBaw&ab_channel=Behonkiss
Check out Colin's animated superhero comic, The Crimson Fly: http://www.thecrimsonfly.com/
Watch Chris's animated film, The Will of Monsters: https://vimeo.com/217121639/9a918876e6

Check out this episode!

#17-A: Sonic the Hedgehog Game Retrospective Pt. 1

It's been a long time coming, but we're finally taking our first dive into the dangerous behemoth that is the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise! Chris ended up unable to record, but former guest and friend of the show Colin "SkipperWing" Byrd fills his shoes as he and John tackle Sonic's long and wild history of major console titles.
Did I say tackle? Because this is full-on immersion. Despite also intending to discuss spinoff material like cartoons and comics, our discussion on the games along totaled over three hours of audio, resulting in the decision to not only do our first split of an episode into two halves, but to save the spinoff stuff for its own dedicated follow-up episode once Chris returns. Both John and Colin have plenty of memories, opinions, and insight into a series that's become infamous for its hit and miss quality, from what worked and didn't work about the classic Genesis trilogy, the initial leap to 3D in the Dreamcast days, and where things started to get truly wonky once Sega went third-party. Expect more character analysis on Sonic alone than you could ever imagine, too.
Timestamps:
09:47 - Intro to Sonic
16:52 - Genesis games
22:37 - Sonic Adventure 1 & 2
40:30 - Sonic Heroes, Sonic Advance, & Sonic Battle
54:03 - Shadow the Hedgehog
Show Twitter (Send feedback, questions, and requests!): https://twitter.com/sketchwatchplay
Show Facebook (Send feedback, questions, and requests!): https://www.facebook.com/sketchwatchplay
Show homepage: http://sketchwatchplay.blogspot.com/
John's Twitter: https://twitter.com/Behonkiss
Colin's Twitter: https://twitter.com/skipperwing
Chris's Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChristopTheWade
Watch John's video on Sonic Generations mods: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZVmIkkDBaw&ab_channel=Behonkiss
Check out Colin's animated superhero comic, The Crimson Fly: http://www.thecrimsonfly.com/
Watch Chris's animated film, The Will of Monsters: https://vimeo.com/217121639/9a918876e6

Check out this episode!