TheSonic the Hedgehogseries is most notable for changing things up between titles to varying degrees of success. Pleasing everySonicfan possible is something that Sonic Team has notably struggled with for a rather long time. While titles such asSonic UnleashedandGenerationstried to please a fair number of fans with gameplay that mixed 2D and 3D together, it seems that isn’t the direction the series will take going forward.Sonic Teamhas stated that it will no longer put the 2D and 3D perspectives ofSonictogether anymore.
Sonic Frontiersmarks the series' first foray into open world territory. For this reason, many fans have been curious as to what the nextSonictitle would be like since it wasformally revealed at the Game Awards. As players awaited new information, leaks surfaced, and many of these leaks made a note to mention that in the game’s more linear portions, the gameplay remained 3D throughout.
RELATED:Sega Reveals How Long Sonic Frontiers Takes to Beat
As part of an interview with Video Games Chronicle, it seems that fans now have an answer as to why this is the case. Takashi Iizuka, the current head of Sonic Team, has stated that putting both the 2D and 3D play styles together “to make everyone happy doesn’t really work.” Instead of putting them together as seen in previous releases, Iizuka states that now it’s a matter of “delivering the game formats that people want.”
From what Iizuka claims in the interview with VGC, it seems that Sonic Team decided to follow this approach after how 2017 faired for theSonicfranchise. The leader of the team states that despiteSonic Forces' mixed reception, it was a year that the series released both a 2D and 3D title, and “everyone was happy.” This appears to be Sonic Team’s strategy going forward, as Iizuka also states replicating this strategy iswhySonic OriginsandSonic Frontiersare coming out in the same year.
It’s understandable as to why this was the lesson learned fromForcesandMania’sdouble release that year, as even thoughForcesdidn’t sell too well,Maniawas incredibly well-received. With both games, it served as a rather good year forSonic.Even when some players weren’t satisfied withForces,they hadManiato fall back on.
However, this begs the question as to just what will come next afterSonic Origins. If this truly is the strategy of the franchise going forward, there needs to be something to match the 2D side ofSoniccoming next after the collection releases this June. Thedevelopers ofSonic Maniahave mostly moved on, andSonic Teamhas stated that there’s noMania 2in the works. It seems that fans will just need to wait and see how this strategy plays out forSonicgoing forward.
MORE:Sonic Fans Should Expect Even More News By the End of JuneSource:VGC
