Sonic Generations 2: Maniacal Edition

So. The Comic Con stream.

I'm going to be blunt. Sonic Mania's reveal pissed me off. I thought Sonic was done nostalgia pandering with after Lost World came and went. But no, SEGA has to go backwards again to appeal to the 30+ crowd and hipsters. Never mind actually moving the franchise forward, they have to push it back. AGAIN.

And regarding the game that is going to be Generations 2 (and you know it is), I wish I could be hyped about it, but I can't. I'm to oangry and depressed about Mania, and Classic Sonic's presence means that the rest of the cast will be treated like useless extras again.

I could care less about Lego Dimensions or Classic Sonic being in Dash (which was a given, anyway). Sonic Boom: Fire and Ice looks a lot better than Shattered Crystal did, but that's not saying much. In short, this has been a disappointing anniversary for Sonic.

Of course, I'm alone in this opinion. Pretty much EVERY media outlet and EVERY Sonic fan who has followed the series since Adventure will be wetting themselves over Mania and doing the Carlton over Sonic "finally going back to his roots". _{I hate that sentence SO MUCH...}

"But Ryan, Sonic will be good again!"

Here's the thing. Sonic Mania is going to be successful. That's another given. Gamers my age and older are going to jump all over it and treat it like the Second Coming just because it's Classic. It'll be a no brainer; the team behind it know what they're doing and they will do a stellar job. It will be better than Sonic 4 in every way and be hailed as "what Sonic SHOULD BE". Sonic Mania is going to be yet another 90s throwback, and people are going to eat it up without a second thought, whilst using it to crap all over any game before and after it that does not follow its example.

Speaking of which, Generations 2 will not do nearly as well by comparison. Classic Sonic or no, whatever Sonic Team does with it will be compared to Mania. If Sonic Mania is the main course your guests have been craving, then Generations 2 will be treated as the afterdinner mint only 1/3 of the party will partake in, mostly out of obligation. And besides all that crap, it'll also be compared to Generations 1, Colors and even Unleashed, which will either work for or against it when all is said and done.

Nostalgia will always sell. That's how Mighty no. 9 made goal, despite falling on its face. That's how retro retreads get made by the bucketload. That's how franchises get rebooted in the first place. And that's why Sonic Mania will be the franchise's most successful game of the current era.

Me? I would rather have games that push the Sonic franchise forward, to places it has never been, rather than games that keep pushing it back. If you keep looking over your shoulder, you're going to run into something and hurt yourself.

But, I'm just a guy with a (formerly) popular fansite who doesn't put his childhood on a pedestal, so what the heck do I know?