Sonic the Hedgehog

[Bzzit]

The new game looks like Ratchet and Clank All 4 One in my opinion.

[OCG]

You are right. I would never imagine Sonic to copy R&C though.

[sonicbrawler182]

Do note that the game trailer had a very clear "work in progress" slide at the beginning. I'm pretty sure the models will be upgraded. I remember that the very first trailer for Sonic Unleashed also had Sonic's model looking iffy. And the boost effect was completely different.

The environments already look beautiful, though, and the game looks like it could be very fun. It's apparently got "wide linear levels interconnected between various hub world areas". So it's kinda like Sonic Adventure.

[OCG]

I still think that there was NO real reason for redesigning models. What was wrong with Sonic Team models?

[Master]

Hmm, interesting. I actually do want this to work out, not so much for Sonic's sake, but for the studio themselves. With a pedigree like theirs, I'd hope this sort of thing gets them good attention, and perhaps, the ability to work on some other franchises.

[sonicbrawler182]

I still think that there was NO real reason for redesigning models. What was wrong with Sonic Team models?

Too Japanese, apparently. Sonic Boom won't be touching Japan either.

I feel this idea is working though. A lot of people who normally were not into Sonic like the look of it. Plus, Sonic was trending on Facebook and Twitter.

[Rayfist]

Personally I'm taking a liking to Sonic's look here, he looks very 'adventurous', sorta like Nathan Drake, heh. But seriously, Knuckles, how out of place can you be XD

[Master]

BSC have their thoughts up:

[OCG]

My opinions:

[SegaNintendoUbisoft]

This actually looks a bit better, especially Knuckles.

[OCG]

Is this photoshopped or official change done by popular requests of changing character designs a bit?

[Rayman fan2000]

The wonders of photoshop.

[sonicbrawler182]

While it's fine that people may want to tweak the redesigns, most of the Sonic ones I see are completely misguided. They basically are just "let's make him look like Japanese Sonic again even though he looks similar enough already". Which completely defies the point of these redesigns. They are supposed to look different, yet familiar. And that's exactly how they look. Knuckles is the only redesign that actually NEEDS work, as the proportions really don't make sense (looks like he skipped leg day). All I feel really needs to be done is make him look like how he does in the 2D concept art. His proportions are much more well rounded there, and he looks cool.

I do like the red scarf idea, though. That's one change that actually would make sense and doesn't bring him closer to Japanese Sonic, even though I'm perfectly fine with the brown scarf (especially since I found out it's likely is actually intentional nod to Nathan Drake, rather than a coincidence).

In general though, I think people are overreacting, except in the case of Knuckles. Especially after I saw the cartoon preview. That is where they are rendered at their best, if Sonic and Tails are any indication. They look much better in the cartoon than in the promotional renders or the game, especially when we see how well animated they are.

Seriously, that sass:

[OCG]

Sonic does look much better on trailer than on promotional art. Knuckles should look like on that photoshopped version in my opinion for real.

[sonicbrawler182]

From the GIF I posted, one thing I actually really like about "Boom" Sonic is how he has proper elbow and knee joints now. I like the noodle limbs of Japanese Sonic, but at the same time, these joints make certain poses look a lot less odd, such as crossing his arms.

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Taking a break from talking about Sonic Boom, you know those silly fandom Valentine's Day cards people make on tumblr, with a cheesy quote relating to that fandom, that are really rushed Photoshop jobs?
Yeah, I made one. Thought of the quote and I couldn't resist.

For all you speeding knights in shining armour, send this to the lovely fair maiden of your life!

[Dart]

nice valentine, it suits the game pretty well!

But about Sonic Boom, it seems my opinion is pretty much what people have already posted like knuckles design being a bit awkward as well as being interested in the show and the new directions Sonic's going. I do hope that Mighty and Antoine show up as an NPCs also.

[SegaNintendoUbisoft]

I have the feeling that if Boom is successful, it will be the main canon. Something tells me that Sonic Team have always had a reboot in the back of their mind, they're just making two separate canons to see if people like it.

[Master]

I guess time will tell, but I do hope Sonic Boom proves to be a success, if not amongst the elder fans of the series, then perhaps in bringing in new ones.

[OCG]

Sonic Boom will definitely do a good job at making more people interested in Sonic.
As for main canon, I am not sure. I think Sonic Team prefers their own designs. Perhaps it will be in future like with Zelda series.
But I did talk with Arehate about Sonic Boom and he wishes it is in Japan as well. He even said game looks interesting to him as well. Shame he wont be able to import it because of region lock.

[sonicbrawler182]

Regarding the "Will Sonic Boom actually replace Japanese Sonic?" question:

I don't think this will happen. This is not the first time Sega of Japan and Sega of America are essentially competing with each other within the Sonic franchise. Sonic CD was developed in Japan and was made as their vision of "Sonic 2". The Sonic 2 we all know today was developed in America (it had the likes of Yuji Naka leading the project, but it was developed in an American studio). Sonic CD ended up taking longer to make, and was released a year after the West already finished and named their Sonic 2, so Sonic CD was released a year later, with a changed title.

Then there was of course, the cancelled Sonic Xtreme, which was being developed by the Western studio. Chris Senn, one of the key guys involved with the project, is actually the Level Implementer at Big Red Button and is of course, working on the Sonic Boom game now.

Sonic Adventure 2 was also developed in America, specifically in San Francisco, which is actually why City Escape is based off of San Francisco. Yuji Naka and some other Japanese guys worked with the Western team who actually formed the development team. IIRC, the idea of Shadow was even from one of the American members.

There could be more examples that escape me, but you see what I mean. Sonic has had Japanese and Western developers do their own thing before. Even with both using the Japanese designs of the characters. To me, Sonic Boom just seems like it will help distinguish who made what in the future, as each has their own version of the universe to work with.

And of course, it should be noted that the Sonic Boom game is called "Sonic Boom: The Video Game". Which implies that only one game is planned. It is also a prequel to the TV show, so it has an actual purpose within the Boom canon. We also know only one 52 episode season is planned right now. I have no doubts that the Sonic Boom series will have more seasons and games if it's successful (and I'm pretty sure I know what those movie rumours were now...), but this is no reason to replace Japanese Sonic. If anything, having two dedicated Sonic developers is wonderful, as it means we will get more AAA games in the franchise without pressuring one team. When we were getting the likes of the Storybook games to tide us over between main releases, they were developed on a smaller budget. However, the Sonic Boom franchise has a huge budget, and has AAA developers on the team, and runs on a AAA engine. So if Sonic Boom is a huge success, I think it will just run alongside Japanese Sonic for years to come, especially since Sonic Boom doesn't emphasise speedy platforming, but will emphasise exploration, story, and combat.