Many fans complained about them when sonic adventure was first released yet now alot of fans want them back. How do any of you feel about them were they good additions or do you think the series is better off without them? I have an opnion but i'll post it after I get a few responses.
They were a good idea, but if they come back they need more freedom. Invisible walls = bad. Also you should be able to run anywhere, including up walls if you have enough speed, like in the olden days. Seriously, the vast non-linearity they could provide would be MILLIONS of times better than more linear "floating paths over bottomless pits" that seem to be the norm nowadays.
Exploration could be a great addition to Sonic (in fact it's arguably been in the series the whole durn time); it just needs to be done in a way that works.
I liked the concept of the adventure fields a lot, especially seeing where the Action Stages and Chao Gardens fit into Sonic's world. They provided a good change of pace when you got tired of the main game, added to the longevity and replay value and rewarded exploration not only through power-ups but also by giving bits of information about Sonic's world and characters.
The problem though, was that they were just too small and there wasn't enough to do in them, and the camera didn't really accomodate them as well as it could do, often staying "fixed" in one place when inside rooms etc.
One annoying aspect was the buildings that only acted as scenery. I hate it when there's buildings in games that you can't enter. So many extras could've been incorporated into the adventure fields, there could've been a music shop where you could buy CDs to play wherever you find a player, effectively enabling an in-game sound test mode, there could've been places to find Chao Garden related items, there could've been an arcade to play classic Sega games (like in Shenmue), there could've been a library or magazine shop to get extra story information and history of the Sonic series, some way to view profiles on enemies and characters. Sometimes the little details could be cool on their own, like the cameos of Metal Sonic and Mecha Sonic in Sonic Adventure, little easter eggs relating to previous games.
There should also be some optional missions. The missions in Sonic Adventure DX were a great addition, although it was unfortunate that you could only play them after completing a character's story. It would be better if the missions had more of an RPG feelilng that it actually related to the story and game world. Instead of having floating mission cards it would be better if non-playable characters would ask you to run errands for them, or alert you when something important is happening somewhere in the game world.
Each character could have their own house or hotel room that could be customised and serve as a hub for the game's options. I was disappointed by the fact that you couldn't do anything in Tails' Workshop or Big the Cat's house in Sonic Adventure.
Having an artificial day/night clock system that works like Shenmue or the N64 Zelda games would add a lot of replay value too, if the time of day activated certain events. This could work in Action Stages too, like it did Chaotix on the 32X.
The key of course would be to leave most of the Adventure Fields' secrets and missions as purely optional, that way the player has something to go back to once they've finished the main game or just want a break and change of pace. Also, if a player doesn't want to explore the Adventure Fields they should just be able to hop from Action Stage to Action Stage with little trouble.
If I have to collect an obscene amount of poorly-placed flags while snowboarding ever again in a Sonic game I will hurl myself in front of a bus. Missions are a good idea, but they should feature more variety than collecting things in various frustrating situations.
I think VCP said pretty much everything on my mind regarding the missions. They are a great idea in the adventure field if they aren't tedious.
My opinion of the adventure fields in general was that they seemed somewhat boring at times. Yes it was a break from the usual zones, but I found it annoying to have to run back and forth rather than being thrown right into the action. Maybe if they gave you the option between having adventure fields or having a map like in SA2? I think, however, if the adventure fields were more interactive that I would enjoy them more.
I really don't know why sonic team scraped the adventure fields. They could have built upon them to make sonic's world more 3 dimentional. What I mean is ever since sonic adventure 2 sonic's world seems more 2 dimentional to me because I haven't really gotten the sense your in a real fantasy world. The adventure fields made the world of sonic alot deeper even if they weren't really interactive they made me feel more like I was in sonic's world. What I would like to see someday is sega bring back adventure fields but of course they are much larger but at the same time you'd be able to do what you need to do to complete the game without getting lost. I liked how boss fights happened in the fields in the first adventure so i'd like that to return as well.I have more to share but i'll do it later, please continue to give your feedback.later
Imagine, if SA2 had adventure fields.
The ARK would be VERY interesting...
My only problem with SA's adventure fields were that the Floating island was VERY small.
Or was that the floating island?
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Quote:
My only problem with SA's adventure fields were that the Floating island was VERY small.
Or was that the floating island?
THAT was the part of the floating Island with the Master Emerald on. Angel island in SA was actually, if you remember that big wall with a hole in it.
THAT was Angel island, andif yo utalk to engineers one of them comments that it wasnt there earlier, that it must of fallen out of the sky *hint hint hint*
Red Mountain AND Ice Cap are all set on Angel Island, it's quite big but you only get to go around a small part of it as an Adventure Field...
HOWEVER YOU CAN see much much more, mountains and forests in the distance...
It was just an idea to have the part with the emeralds seperate from the rest of the island, connected by a bridge.
They should include the ability to just freeroam in a huge world where you can do a bunch of optional stuff between levels like in GTA.
Or like in Spiderman 2, perfom acts of heroism(or whatever would fit the sonic series) between story plotlines while in a huge free-roaming enviorment.
