How can something be overly safe when it was never safe to begin with? The modern era sucked from day1, people pretty much only liked colors because it was not what came before and gens was good inspite of the era it came out in rather than because of it. I really think lost world is a good game, but it would have benefitted from some of the chaotic tendencys of the dark age instead of just a weird thing that takes place in a super mario galaxy-galaxy that cannot decide on one thematic. And we all know forces sucks, so heh.
I wish I could favorite this comment. You just expertly surmised the difference between the “dark age” and now. At least they tried back then. Now they’re just playing it safe and being “self aware”🤮
Rodrigo Morales then you try again. You change course if you need to, but you never give up. The problem isn’t that Sega changed course. That’s what they did with the movie and it actually turned out very well. The problem is with the games, they just stopped trying. And it’s honestly heartbreaking
Christian Verstappen They DID change course, though. The tone shifted massively into comedy and Wonderlandishness similar to Mario, yet in a cringey tryhard "rad" way that doesn't give a fuck about any sort of ongoing story. That was never what Sonic was supposed to be like.
Completely agree. Even in the “bad” games there were so many pros (story, interesting character interaction, fun settings, cool themes) that it really wasn’t worth rebranding the series as they have this past decade 😞
@@tiruliru1189 yeah, they flanderized so many characters. Sonic is now cringey jokester (well he ain't that bad in some games) Amy is bland as hell, Tails is a spineless coward, Knuckles is a butt monkey who is nothing to Sonic, Shadow is a stupid egomaniac who thinks he's better than everyone else (at least he got good intentions) and Blaze is......Blaze is actually still well written and in character but goddamn where has she been?
the name "dark age" was fitting in early 2010s when the newest release was generations and before the dark age we had amazing games like sonic 1,2,3 and adventure 1+2 considering what he just went though in the past 7 years since then, I think it makes no sense to call it the dark age anymore lol
Hey there, I love your Sonic content too! I also enjoyed that legendary 4 part debate with Twip and Sam lol. Keep doing your thing man, hope to see more.
Honestly "Dark Age" is better than now., and my favorite Sonic era. We got Sonic Rush series, and Story book series (I have a soft spot for those games). I honestly have starting to love 06 (Gameplay) and Unleashed I always thought that was good. And It had the best voice actors and best music ever!
I think some people might have called this the dark age because of Sonic 06. But in actuality this era was not too bad. Sega did a lot of experimenting and I applaud them for it. Sure most of them didn't stick, but games like Rush, Black Knight, and Riders I adore quite a bit. In my opinion I would call the 2014 to Now the "Identity Crisis Era" because I'm not sure what Sega, heck anyone, wanted Sonic to be. I hope this decade Sonic will get back up and run towards a bright future, both in games and TV shows.
Eguy Igbin I’m just calling it that because of the writers. Especially since I think they’re a big part of the problem at least from a story/characterization standpoint. But I guess we could also call it the “self aware era” or the “meme era” or even maybe the “pandering era” 🤷🏻
2014-2019 was the appeal to Mario fans era and throwing their own customer base under the bus pretty much (throwing your old customers under the bus seems to be popular 2010s decade).. if you read interviews over the past decade.
I mean, the most significant games left the series in a bad light that it's still trying to escape to this day. I'm pretty sure THAT'S why it's called the dark age.
Rodrigo Morales I think part of the reason it still hangs over their heads though is cause they let it. Sega and Sonic Team could stop making fun of themselves and actually prove their competence. But it seems like throughout the last decade they’re just constantly trying to make fun of themselves before others do so as to lessen the blow.
Say what ever you say about the "Dark age" most of the stories were good. Shadow wasn't a bully. We had games every year. Imo we had the best voice cast for the characters. Like Ricardo said that era was packed to where you wouldn't worry about a drought.
All of the stories were good except for Shadow The Hedgehog the game, Sonic’s story in 06, and Rush Adventure. But the good stories were Rush, Sonic 06 Shadow and Silver’s story, Unleashed, Black Knight, Riders, Rivals, and Rivals 2 And the meh Stories were Riders Zero Gravity, and Secret Rings
@@theminecraft2516 Sonic zero gravity's is honestly really good in my opinion. Sure it takes itself seriously but the comedy is still there and it's really good
Sonic Adventure 1's story was ambitious for the time, but the main portion of it has not aged well. Though I still like Gamma's story. SA2's story is one of the few good stories in the entire series. As or 2004 to 2009; Sega tried WAYYYY tooo hard; especially with Sonic 06. Where as now they have the opposite problem. Aside from Forces; that repeats some off the same mistakes as Shadow the Hedgehog (EDDDGGGEEEEE!!) and Sonic 06.
Tidepool Clipper The only dark and edgy games during that 2004-2009 period was Shadow and 06. Otherwise, you had games like the rush series, storybook series, rider series that were no where near dark and edgy. The storybook series especially since they’re balanced in tone by mixing lighthearted comedy with seriousness. And then there’s Sonic Unleashed that had a tone akin to a dreamworks or pixar movie. In regards to Sonic Forces, those “edgy” lines like Sonic getting tortured or Tails it losing even though they both turned out fine, was added in by the English writer’s, Ken Pontac and Warren Graff, so it wasn’t in the Japanese version. If anything, Forces didn’t take itself seriously enough since Sonic still acts like his post 2009 characterization where he’s constantly spouting out jokes and it’s worse in Forces because it clashes with the games tone and this time around Sonic spouting both jokes and friendship speeches.
Purple dragon 19 Dude... 06’s Story is a pile of shit. You can totally fault them for that. I think there’s a clear cut difference between defending the Adventure Age and the Dark Age. (Sonic Team Games, Specifically) The Adventure Age at least tried to have a balance between Light and Dark, and tried to improve the gameplay as the games continued on by streamlining them down. Whatever faults they’ve had, especially SA1, It was acceptable for the time. The Dark Age on the other hand is where Sonic Team tried so hard to be edgy in Story Telling. Shadow, I’ll at least give it the benefit of the doubt and say it was trying to be different from Sonic. 06’s Story though... completely inexcusable and everyone (except for the ones on Shadow’s Story) should still be ashamed for writing this abomination. Plus only one of these games ended up being any good, and that was Sonic Unleashed. A big problem with Sonic Games at that time was the devs throwing random shit at the wall in hopes that SOMETHING would stick.
You’re one of the only channels that makes me feel nostalgic like I’m going back in time and playing sonic with my cousin every Saturday. Please never stop.
im very late to this but i care i wheezed when he mentioned that...also i just love sonadow its my fav sonic ship (p.s i don't care if u hate it thats your opinion) nya~
@@labronthesuperninjayasin2203 Doesnt outweigh the negatives, games were never perfect or ran smoothly especially for 90s PC games, those games are still very weak in terms of everything because Dark Queen was the last Sonic final boss which felt amazing to fight and the fight itself being iconic, it was bland and simplistic in a bad way after that.
To be fair the reason why we don’t have sonic news lately is due to how SEGA’s current projects are being delayed for some reasons according to tails channel. Or (personal and common theory) it’s because they want to have a polished high quality sonic game so they’re taking their time with it
The storybook games, the rush games, the advance games, the riders games Freaking unleashed. Yeah the dark age was not as bad as people made it out to be
Secret Rings was legit bad; especially since the way you preform the homing attack is just horrendous there. Black Knight is decent in my eyes, but the planned third game was thrown into the dumpster since Black Knight still wasn't all that well liked. Zero Gravity i pretty good; but the first game was mediocre at best. Nor did the Riders series live up to the same success as the Sega All Stars Racing games. Free Riders basically just convince Sega there was no reason to bother with the Rider spinoff series anymore (though they should have still applied traditional controls to that game; Kinnect was awful). Unleashed was ironically hated at the time. While the day time stage are decent enough; the night time stages are still the weakest part of both versions of Unleashed. Especially since they felt way too slow for the Sonic series, had too many mandatory enemy fight, and in the HD version sometimes lasted too long in terms of gameplay length. While even I can agree the newer Sonic games feel too short, Sonic levels should also not overstay their welcome like in Heroes or the night time stages Sonic has two dark ages; through and through.
"I Love Sonic 06 with a burning passion. It's my favorite Sonic Game" You, are a brave Person. I respect you man. We need more people like you that are not afraid to voice their opinions.
Sonic unleashed is one of my favorite games of all time and I think it's the one of the best out of the series and I also like sonic and the black knight my second favorite
I grew up with this age, and because I did, I can respect the series a lot more. It also introduced Silver, Blaze, Chip, Cosmo, and Mephiles, some of my favorite characters from the series.
The reason for people hating sonic in the "dark age" is probably Arin Hanson's fault, "because of the youtube funnyman said "sonic bad" it must be cool and popular to be hating on sonic right?" was probably the general mindset back then
To me, 2010 - Present is the "True" dark age. It just feels like all they cared about was sales, and they just divided the fanbase even more by separating Classic from Modern. The stories were terrible because the writers had no clue who sonic was, and on top of that SEGA came up with stupid, and unnecessary mandates for how characters should be written. The voice cast, while great actors, some of them just don't fit the characters they're playing. Prime examples are Roger Craig Smith as Sonic, Kirk Thornton as Shadow, Cindy Robinson as Amy, and Bryce Papenbook as Silver. It's also the era where they started treating their franchise like a joke. Everywhere you looked on social media, TV, the games, EVERYWHERE, it was nothing but memes and jokes about past mistakes. They did this so much to the point where it annoys me, and makes me not want to see what's coming next
It's more like a Flickering Age. The newer games are all over the place in terms of reception, and fans are fighting over whether the older games truly deserved whatever reception that they initially got, especially with social media growing.
"they just divided the fanbase even more by separating Classic from Modern" Yes, this is one of the worst things to happen to the series. First of all, Sonic is Sonic, how he looked like in the Classic era compared to the Modern era is irrelevant because it's just a difference in artstyle and nothing else, he's still the same person he's always been, plus most of the other characters that come from the Classic era don't look that different compared to their Modern counterparts (Amy being the biggest exception) so separating them by era or artstyle is pretty awkward. Second, there's this superstition going on that Classic Sonic can only be 2D, or that 2D Sonic can only be Classic, which would be grossly overlooking the multiple attempts to bring Sonic into 3D during the Classic era (like the multiple stages in Sonic Xtreme's development and some games from the Saturn era), as well as some, I'd say, successful 2D games with Modern Sonic (the Advance games and of course the Rush games). Really, this whole separation between Classic Sonic and Modern Sonic doesn't make any sense the more you think about it.
@@goldninjagaming9505 My problem with Roger is that he makes Sonic sound like a 40-year old(Which Roger claims that's what Sega wanted). And it even seems as if Sega knows this, when they had him in a bookculb like a boomer would.
Honestly I feel like the beginning part of the 2010’s was great for Sonic it’s just 2013 was when things went downhill especially since Lost World and the Olympic Games were on the Wii U which didn’t do well.
Honestly, the dark age was the time of passion. When many different developers of sonic tried to come up with their own ideas. It was honestly awesome and I grew up with it. Though around 2014-onward is the age of mediocrity imo. (ALSO FINALLY SOMEONE ACKNOWLEDGED SONIC X ON THE LEAPSTER HELL YEAH!)
@@eguyigbin6987 First of all. Yeah, it was passion. Some of the best sonic music to come out comes from that dark age, even within 06, which is known for being a buggy game. The black knight may have had inconsistent gameplay but the writing, animation, artstyle, and music were all top quality, showing the passion. I never said the Newer era was bad, but the games were definitely mediocre besides mania. Forces was simple, but mediocre and short. Stages only lasted for about a minute, and the story didn't even have any consistency to it. It just existed. Lost world was boring. While it was a decent attempt, it was essentially a worse version of super mario galaxy but with sonic. The music was really good, but the gameplay, writing, and villains were all boring, mediocre, and didn't make me want to play it again after beating it. Boom.. we don't even need to talk about boom. Sure, they've "listened" to fans, and I appreciate that they're transparent with their business, but the "dark ages" actually have passion put in some where. Either it's music, gameplay, style/artstyle, animation, etc. Sonic Rush is a perfect example of passion. The gameplay, the music, everything about it was really good, but for some reason, it's considered a dark age game. Essentially, the dark age was a time where they actually tried different things instead of pretending like none of that happened.
@@eguyigbin6987 Games like Sonic Mania show passion. The little extra details that show that they cared. The artstyle, music, and story direction for the black knight and unleashed showed this passion. They could've just followed the bottom line, but they decided to exceed beyond it. Unleashed's textures are not only extremely well made, but have little details that never needed to be there, but just make the game overall look so much better. Making a decent/good game is pretty easy for big companies, but making a game that stands the test of time shows passion, like unleashed. The soundtrack, visuals, and most of the gameplay are extremely well thought out. That requires passion.
@@eguyigbin6987 Ricardo just explained it, same did I. The art style, the music especially, the voice acting and the writing all hit hard. While the gameplay for secret rings was rough, they managed to improve it to something more unique in the black knight. Unleashed is also a game that shows passion. The music, visuals, gameplay, etc. All show it's passion. Like the little animations they added to sonic in unleashed, or even the different gimmicks in each level to make every stage feel refreshing. Forces and lost world are more stable, but less unique. Lost world is super mario galaxy and Forces is not only mediocre but the writing and story is cliche and has little to no consistency. At least during the dark ages, there was some form of consistent timeline that existed.
Imo Colors and Generations were the last really good ones. People can say what they will about Mania (and maybe eventually I’ll play it) but it still seems more like just re-hashing old stuff with a few new zones which doesn’t make it worth it to me. Generations was fine for this because it was a celebration of the franchise. But everything after just fell further downhill. My personal favorite game to come out since Generations is a game called “Sonic World”. It’s a great fan game and I highly recommend it.
@@eguyigbin6987 well think about it like this. A wii game like black knight doesn't have to be that good of a game, but they put so much effort into the music. Essentially, they didn't have to try and could've just hit the bottom line but they tried to go above and beyond. They didn't have to go so hard, but they did. That can show passion. Essentially sonic team trying, instead of giving up and just making generations 2 but worse
I don’t care what you say Shadow was a very underrated game. A lot of good elements to it. In my humble opinion of course. I’d much rather play that game over anything like colors or generations any day.
@@icee1683 it really isn’t as bad as everyone makes it out to be. I’d rather have an edgy action packed sonic game over a sarcastic comedy or when they make the games for like three year olds
Project Sonic '06 truly deserves that statement, yes it exists, it's awesome and ChaosX added some better textures and the biggest improvement to the Wave Ocean cutscene, give Sonic an actual angry look with teeth gritting.
@@n4fizz Not exactly badly, there's some great things that have came out of the glitches including Sonic having unlimited use of his abilities with Gems when his gauge is supposed to be drained which gives him the ability with one to skip over everything including Crisis City, Omega able to fly across the entire stage without dropping but I'm unsure if that's meant to be there or not, lots of things are out there that redeems it with the exception of the OST. However the best glitch is when you defeat Eggman, he falls back in his seat in a weird but hilarious way.
Sonic Unleashed is my favorite Sonic game, and was one of the most ambitious installments in the series. Seeing people come back to it today and actually give it a proper chance and consider it good really makes me happy.
Not if a bad game causes a significant chunk of a fanbase to leave the series (like what Sonic 06 did) and turn a series into a joke in the eyes of many in the gaming industry.
For me, the Meta Era is the real dark age. I hate the Meta Era (2010s). I can see like this: 1. "Dark" age and Adventure Era (1998-2010) - Amazing, just not perfect 2. Genesis Era (1991-1996) - Good 3. Pre-Meta Era (2010-2013) - Alright 4. Saturn Era (1996-1998) - Bad 5. Meta Era (2013-now) - Awful Just my opinion.
Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic 4, and Sonic and the Secret Rings are good in my opinion, but hey if ya didn't like them I don't care. Let's not start a riot ;)
Eguy Igbin You’re right. Instead of rushed games that are somewhat consistent, experimental, have passion behind them, and the production time gives an amount of justification for the quality, let’s be happy we get to wait FOUR YEARS for a game with true polish and quality. Ya know. Like Sonic Forces.
Eguy Igbin they couldn’t patch games back then. But regardless the problem is how there was such a long wait between lost world and forces that it had much more to live up to. Especially since it was touted as an “anniversary game”. If forces came out a year after another mainline game I could’ve been much more forgiving. Like from Heroes to Shadow. But as it stands, the extra long wait makes the mediocrity unacceptable. If you’re gonna make people wait, it better be worth waiting for. Forces was not that at all
I hope they make a sonic generations 2, and of course sonic forces doesn't count, classic was there for no reason at all. I just want to see on how they will improve from the sonic generations' physics and gameplay, we still have to wait. or Sega might never do it like sonic adventure 2.
Sonic is an old 90s relic that is literally on its own last legs. Sega has done good job of destroying the series beyond repair; especially with their destructive mandates slapped over everything Sonic related. Also, the fanbase had a helping hand with coming up with bad ideas that made it to the series. Such as giving a hedgehog guns (the fanbase actually asked Sega to give Sonic a gun a far back as Adventure).
@@tidepoolclipper8657 um Sonic just released a movie that made bank and one of the best video game movies. A low bar sure but last legs...yeah no I don't think so...
There are two dark games; from 2004 to 2009 and from 2013 to today. Besides, the first dark age got its name from Sega pumping out rushed games without a care.
We'll have to see. I'd consider it sonic unleashed being the start (Just because it was the first game around that time, NOT because it's a bad game) to that racing game. Yeah, there were like 5 good games from it, but most of the games we got were HORRIBLE
Honestly, the dark age is really great. Its just like in the 90's. Tones of good games with only a few bad games. I agree with you Ricardo. I wish that the 2010's were like that.
Something you've been overlooking: Most of the "good" games are portable games, things that most corporate critics didn't consider valid, although they did have a point there because the mainline games are the core of any video game franchise-which Sonic still fundamentally is no matter what anyone says-and damned well should be good. Also, they hated, and still hate, Sonic experimenting because Sega of America's marketing in the early '90s hoodwinked the masses about what Sonic is. The corporate critics think that Sonic is only about going fast and shredding robots as a badass spiky dude in contrast to all of what Mario does, and they like that idea. They see everything else-other characters, story, other playstyles-as obstructive at best and corruptive at worst and will always rip into them without even trying to examine them. They despise such trust being betrayed. And Sega of America takes them seriously because they STILL want Sonic to be about nothing but being rad even as they throw bones to the fans that care about the franchise's other traits. It's disgusting. We can't win.
"They didn't do anything with them" That was the point though, the guns were temporary until you get Chaos Spear back in Devil Doom, they were never going to flesh them out. It's the same case with Chaos Spear because it wasn't anything fancy, well until Devil Doom with the charge trait which applies in 06.
The real dark age of sonic is after generations when they make games that can be finished in 2 hours or less. The speedrun record for COMPLETION is 55 MINUTES
I absolutely LOVE Sonic Unleashed. This game was my whole childhood, and it was one of the main reasons why I was obsessed with Sonic for a long time. The opening cutscene is still ingrained into my mind, and I honest to god always cry from nostalgia when I hear Endless Possibilities. My family was really poor and didn't have enough money to buy many games, so I always ended up playing Unleashed again and again, so yeah, I'm really In love with this game. The Werehog parts were not that bad people, get over it. I actually really liked it, sometimes even more than the day parts.
I agree the Werehog stages aren't even that bad. They just drag on too long ppl complain about the Werehog for no reason. They were my favorite part of the game
how dare you have a different opinion than me you deserve to be off this platform becaUse of ur harmless opinion (but in all seriousness this was a interesting video i like to see more opinions like this throughout the community)
A million times yes! One of the things that cemented my love for this franchise was how much content there was. I remember throughout the latter half of my childhood I could look forward to at least one Sonic game I liked every year. That was amazing even if they weren’t all hits, I knew I’d like something. Now? I’d gladly take 20 more “dark ages” before one more day of the Pontiac-Graff memey childish sonic franchise we have now. My favorite Sonic game of the past since 2011 is a fan game called “Sonic World”. It’s a great game but what does that say about the current official games? Say what you will but the dark age has consistency, heart, and so much variety. There was always something for everyone whatever you were into. I’m sure Sonic X played a part in it all too but the mid to late 2000’s was just such a different time for entertainment as a whole. That included video games and animated shows. I hate Chris Thorndyke but most of Sonic X was pretty good. Didn’t get into the comics myself though I did try years ago. I’m glad they’re their for those that like them regardless. In my opinion, the backlash of ‘06 and even unleashed along with Black Knight scared Sega and Sonic Team. They felt they had to go BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD (points if you get the reference) and decided to just be “self aware”. Well it’s been over 10 years of that and ya know what? The brand isn’t respected anymore for it. If anything people just look at it like “see even Sega knows Sonic sucks”. I feel like they’re constantly hurting their own brand and it saddens me. In 2009, when I played Sonic and the Black Knight I thought it was going to be the last game. The way all the characters were seeming to have one last hurrah (even though they were stand ins for Arthurian legends), all the musical references and themes for the characters, Sonic’s speech and the games message about things needing to come to an end and enjoying what we have while it’s there, and all the bonus fan content like the fan artwork put in the game (regardless of that one thief) all made it feel like a farewell to the character. And I guess in a way it was... I grew up loving this franchise and this character because of Sonics love for his friends, his refusal to give up, and his desire to constantly protect the world and people he cares about. My favorite moment is when he’s getting beaten by Merlina in Black Knight. When he delivers the line “It was never about chivalry for me. I just gotta do what I gotta do, THAT’S ALL!” That right there encapsulated the character and spirit of Sonic perfectly. Now it feels like he’s a wannabe show off who’s trying to relive his glory days. Instead of a passionate, confident hero, he comes off as a jack ass jock. I hope we’re out of the true dark age. I hope we can get back to stories and characters that actually matter, gameplay that’s fun, diverse, and has something for everyone. Just please no more Big or Shadow The Hedgehog style missions lol. No more shitty controls like Secret Rings, Free Riders, and no more of... whatever the mess Chronicles was. But no more playing it safe either. It’s gotten so boring and disheartening to see Sonic basically try to emulate Mario and still fail at it. Sonic is unique. So let him be, and if you can’t do that... then maybe it’s time, to quote the end of the Hero Side trailer in SA2 “Farewell Sonic... Forever.”
Eguy Igbin mediocre at best. Lost world and forces were four years apart and we’re both painfully boring, uninspired, falsely advertised, and unsurprisingly pandering to nostalgia once again. At least they let you play as shadow as DLC for a bit. And the character creation was a nice idea. But other than that, pretty bland over all
@@eguyigbin6987 So your just blind to the fact that the 2010 games made this franchise a joke with shitty writing making character 1 dimensional. Sure we had games like Colors, Generations, and mania but the rest is mediocre at best. Are you blind to the fact that Sega has been doing Non-stop nistolgia pandering since GENERATIONS?! Seriously the last fully original Sonic games is Colors. That game is 10 YEARS OLD BRUH! You say your just questioning people's point but im just getting the vibe that you just trying to defend this decade of Sonic.
Mau Pr Sorry. Lost World wasn’t boring. It was just aesthetically and tonally bland and lacking substance in my opinion. It was the real start of the extremely cheesy jokes and other childish writing. It played out like a bad Saturday morning cartoon and the actual gameplay wasn’t anything to write home about either. But hey, that’s my opinion. And you’re entitled to yours as well.
I don’t mind 06, I mean, yeah the game mechanics aren’t very user friendly and some of the story line is bizarre, it did seem they really tried. I prefer the more high stakes story lines than more recent titles that are aimed at very young children, very Mario like these days imo. I love the day stages in unleashed, they’re beautiful, I don’t mind the werehog thing, the levels just get repetitive and take far too long. Forces could have been great but it feels like they wanted that darker tone then decided to play it way too safe, shame really. Not that I know any better lol, we all just want the best for our little blue guy x
@@eguyigbin6987 Sonic had both 3D and 2D games for both fan preferences. He was pushed across various media. Classic vs Modern wasn't a thing. The character cast had depth and weren't subjugated to one-note personality cheer leaders. Sonic was worthy of being a role model.
I was a kid during the "dark age of Sonic". I grew up with my first Sonic game being Heroes, then 06, then Shadow and so on. Now I'm of course going to be a LITTLE biased towards these games purely for the good memories, but I've been slowly getting my hands on them again over the last few years, and I'm noticing the flaws whilst still recognising that Sonic as a whole was SO much better back then. The stories were far more detailed, they put WAY more effort into the franchise compared to what they do today. Sonic was a cocky asshole yet still caring. Now? He cracks jokes that only a 8 year old would find even remotely funny. I love Sonic, always will. But god I miss the old days
1998-2010 (Since SA1 before Colors) was a good time be a fan of Sonic, with all these games, cartoons, comics, merchandise, and new elements that added to the mythos with introducing new fan favorites like Shadow, Silver, Blaze, etc. And I see this "Dark Age" as truly the peak of the franchise when it comes to voice acting, say what you want about 4kids as a whole, but their Sonic cast are to me the definitive voices for the characters whenever I picture them. Jason Griffith and Mike Pullock are and forever will be Sonic and Eggman. It's such ashamed that some of the titles were so infamous they changed a seemingly normal video franchise that appeals to kids and gamers into another souless brand that panders to nostalgia and memelords. Even changing Sonic's character from a cocky and wisecracker that evolved into a headstrong and kindhearted hero only to devoled him into a 4th wall breaking egotistical bland jerk. I hate how Boom and Twitter turned the already split community into the most notorious fanbases ever, I hate how because of that Sega relies too much on them for everything they do the series, I hate how people like GG Arin and any big video game critic and journalist slander this franchise as a whole everytime they mentioned it, I hate how the offical Twitter, RUclips Channel, and basically the entire internet even including the casual fans treats the blue blur as nothing more than a meme and as a punching bag that's seen as a joke now to laugh at now. And I esspically hate the lack of games to look foward to for an entire decade! Don't get me wrong love Sonic Mania but it really sucks how just because that and Generations were praised and worshiped they made people think that the 2010-present era being a good era when really everything went downhill when it comes to Sonic's general respect wih a drought of content only receiving underwhelming games. I deeply missed that time when I play a Sonic game like it's any other game and not think about how much of a controversial franchise Sonic has become.
I have to easily concur with this. I love the Adventure era (my favorite) as well as the Classic era too, however it’s easily tickles my nostalgia bones at the sounds of Sonic X and the early modern era of games even the Jazwares toys too. Not to mention that Sonic was just Sonic (no Classic-Modern dichotomy and no spin off series like Boom or the movie).
Honestly I agree. I take Sonic X (one of my favourite cartoons next to Kirby: Right Back At Ya!/Spongebob/TMNT/Animal Crossing Movie/Kid Icarus The Anime/Starfox Anime) over Boom TV Show (even though I like Sonic Boom TV.).
Dude. I subscribed the moment you said that 06 is your favorite Sonic game, it's mine too. I absolutely ADORE Sonic 06 with burning passion stronger than Iblis himself
@@eguyigbin6987 except that the 2000s games wasn't filled with broken and glitchy games the only game to have that is sonic the hedgehog 2006. And do you even know what "edgy" means? Because sonic has always had that edge when it came to storytelling since the beginning, they kicked it up a notch in 1998.
@@BRONXBX if he was the goat in the 2000s, then why wasnt he objectively better than mario, why was the level design, gameplay etc so low, the only thing that made sonic the "goat" is that he had good and ambitious stories and lots of content and originality, that's it. Sonic wasnt meant to be just a manga character, he's is also a video game character(if you know what I mean).
Thing is, when you play any game from SADX-Black Knight, you can feel the ambition, you can feel how much heart and soul went into these games. Even Colors you can feel that to an extent (although Colors has a more Saturday Morning cartoon vibe, which is nice actually). But Generations and Forces (Havent played lost worlds yet, so cant say nothing about it) feel kinda hollow, especially Generations.
Essentially, what you're saying is...the "Dark Age" of Sonic was the 3D games' Golden Age? I appreciate this video. "Bad" things are subjective. But, since you've focused on the objective to the best of your ability, I can wholesomely agree. My personal favorites are also '06, Unleashed, and SatBK.
The so called "Dark Age" was the most creative and experimental period for the Sonic series. From Rush, Shadow The Hedgehog, 06 and Riders to Secret Rings, Rush Adventure, Unleashed, Black Knight, I love all of those games and replay them to this day.
Don't forget Sonic Advance trilogy. It's also the best, along with Adventure 1, 2, Rivals 1, 2 and Heroes. And don't forget Sonic X. The best TV show ever. And don't forget many good characters.
I agree the 'Dark Age" did a lot more new creative experimental things with the Sonic franchise. Ppl only call this era the dark age cuz of 06 and even 06 had more effort and creativity out into it
The likes outweigh the dislikes by miles, I think your in the clear dude. I knew we’d get to the point where the “so called dark age” is the best, but believe me it does warm my heart when people say it really wasn’t that bad.
The late 2010s used classic sonic as a nostalgia magnet. I can agree with this, the dark age of Sega wasn’t afraid to take risks, make new stories, etc.
I think Shadow and Heroes are the best we've gotten. I love the ice skating physics, the momentum, while every other game has weight, these have a traction and a graceful flow to them.
The "dark age" was a great time to be a Sonic fan. He was everywhere like most of my GameCube games were Sonic games because he had so many. Not mentioning the Sonic Gem Collection that came out too. It was honestly great having so much Sonic to play. But now the well is so freaking dry. Like Sega is trying to use Sonic like Mario or Zelda by only making mainline stories every couple years. Sonic can't do that. He's not marketed that way. Honestly this feels more like the dark age then the actual dark age. Who hires writers to write a character who they don't care about or don't care to learn about?!
10:36 "So I wouldn't even call this a dark age, in fact we might have just gotten out of the real dark age, and we didn't even know it." Why did this made me kinda tear up...
![[DOKKAN BATTLE] Worldwide Campaign Announcement Video Part 2!](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/JpT5Voak6WA/mqdefault.jpg)
Dark Age: Overly Ambitious
Current Age: Overly Safe.
exactly. Colors age sucks
Do Nathan The dark age also sucks.
Quangamer ShyGuyyz nah it ain’t even that bad and don’t say “iTS cUz oF sOnIc 06!”
How can something be overly safe when it was never safe to begin with? The modern era sucked from day1, people pretty much only liked colors because it was not what came before and gens was good inspite of the era it came out in rather than because of it. I really think lost world is a good game, but it would have benefitted from some of the chaotic tendencys of the dark age instead of just a weird thing that takes place in a super mario galaxy-galaxy that cannot decide on one thematic. And we all know forces sucks, so heh.
@@lpfan4491 i love unleashed,laugh at me all you want.
Better to try and fail then to not even bother trying
The trying and failing led to the lack of trying.
I wish I could favorite this comment. You just expertly surmised the difference between the “dark age” and now. At least they tried back then. Now they’re just playing it safe and being “self aware”🤮
But what if you keep trying and failing?
Rodrigo Morales then you try again. You change course if you need to, but you never give up. The problem isn’t that Sega changed course. That’s what they did with the movie and it actually turned out very well. The problem is with the games, they just stopped trying. And it’s honestly heartbreaking
Christian Verstappen They DID change course, though. The tone shifted massively into comedy and Wonderlandishness similar to Mario, yet in a cringey tryhard "rad" way that doesn't give a fuck about any sort of ongoing story. That was never what Sonic was supposed to be like.
Blaze was one of the best things that happened in this so called “Dark Age”.
you've got a point there :P
I Agree!!!
Well, yes but acually yes.
@@Scionmaster5213 true... true... and it's one of my favorite characters, and tails being the number 1 spot
I'd say Blaze and Silver
Completely agree. Even in the “bad” games there were so many pros (story, interesting character interaction, fun settings, cool themes) that it really wasn’t worth rebranding the series as they have this past decade 😞
Writer Manat exactly the “Dark era” of Sonic had the best characters and stories
I agree. Meta Era (2010s) sucks so badly.
@@tiruliru1189 yeah, they flanderized so many characters. Sonic is now cringey jokester (well he ain't that bad in some games) Amy is bland as hell, Tails is a spineless coward, Knuckles is a butt monkey who is nothing to Sonic, Shadow is a stupid egomaniac who thinks he's better than everyone else (at least he got good intentions) and Blaze is......Blaze is actually still well written and in character but goddamn where has she been?
@@donathan2933 Hard to mess up her character when she's hardly around, huh?
@@Ultradragon16 yes
the name "dark age" was fitting in early 2010s when the newest release was generations and before the dark age we had amazing games like sonic 1,2,3 and adventure 1+2
considering what he just went though in the past 7 years since then, I think it makes no sense to call it the dark age anymore lol
This comment needs more likes.
Roof Top Run is a bop
Well no. It's call dark age because the game were either bad or mediore
Or that, during this time the Sonic games were kinda edgy
@@captainmega6310 so what about the 2010s???
The dark age wasn’t even dark, I grew up with it and I loved it
Same bro
Same!!!
Same dude.
TRUE
Me too!
Thank you for making this video, this is what I've been saying for years but they weren't ready to listen lol
Hey there, I love your Sonic content too! I also enjoyed that legendary 4 part debate with Twip and Sam lol. Keep doing your thing man, hope to see more.
@@SweaterSwagg Wtf? The 4 part debate came out? When? Where?
@@YoMamaBih ruclips.net/video/IjUIYWFxYSc/видео.html
Super entertaining shit from passionate fans, here you go bro!
Same
I couldn't agree more.😁
I actually agree with you. I wish it would go back to this. That’s why I play more modern Sonic games from the past.
Honestly "Dark Age" is better than now., and my favorite Sonic era. We got Sonic Rush series, and Story book series (I have a soft spot for those games). I honestly have starting to love 06 (Gameplay) and Unleashed I always thought that was good. And It had the best voice actors and best music ever!
Same bro!!!
Exactly
Totally agree. Unleashed really was like a Pixar movie too. And Night of the Werehog?! That was an awesome promotional tie-in!
This era was the peak of sonic music imo
While I don't think it was the best Sonic era (I'm an Adventure fan), it's definitely better than what we get now.
I think some people might have called this the dark age because of Sonic 06. But in actuality this era was not too bad. Sega did a lot of experimenting and I applaud them for it. Sure most of them didn't stick, but games like Rush, Black Knight, and Riders I adore quite a bit.
In my opinion I would call the 2014 to Now the "Identity Crisis Era" because I'm not sure what Sega, heck anyone, wanted Sonic to be. I hope this decade Sonic will get back up and run towards a bright future, both in games and TV shows.
Identity Crisis. I like that. That’s a fitting thing to call the Pontac-Graff era
Eguy Igbin I’m just calling it that because of the writers. Especially since I think they’re a big part of the problem at least from a story/characterization standpoint.
But I guess we could also call it the “self aware era” or the “meme era” or even maybe the “pandering era” 🤷🏻
2014-2019 was the appeal to Mario fans era and throwing their own customer base under the bus pretty much (throwing your old customers under the bus seems to be popular 2010s decade).. if you read interviews over the past decade.
I mean, the most significant games left the series in a bad light that it's still trying to escape to this day. I'm pretty sure THAT'S why it's called the dark age.
Rodrigo Morales I think part of the reason it still hangs over their heads though is cause they let it. Sega and Sonic Team could stop making fun of themselves and actually prove their competence. But it seems like throughout the last decade they’re just constantly trying to make fun of themselves before others do so as to lessen the blow.
Sonic: "I wish for a mountain of hankerchiefs"
Me: *WHEEEEEEEEEEZE*
Say what ever you say about the "Dark age" most of the stories were good. Shadow wasn't a bully. We had games every year. Imo we had the best voice cast for the characters. Like Ricardo said that era was packed to where you wouldn't worry about a drought.
I think shadow never really was an "edgelord" as most people see him nowadays. Shadow the hedgehog really was the worst thing that happened to him.
All of the stories were good except for Shadow The Hedgehog the game, Sonic’s story in 06, and Rush Adventure.
But the good stories were Rush, Sonic 06 Shadow and Silver’s story, Unleashed, Black Knight, Riders, Rivals, and Rivals 2
And the meh Stories were Riders Zero Gravity, and Secret Rings
@@theminecraft2516 Sonic zero gravity's is honestly really good in my opinion. Sure it takes itself seriously but the comedy is still there and it's really good
@@theminecraft2516 Rush Adventure with a bad story? What?
@@theminecraft2516 The "meh" stories were actually good
I prefer the Adventure era and dark age for their stories, tone, atmosphere, and most importantly, gameplay.
Sonic Adventure 1's story was ambitious for the time, but the main portion of it has not aged well. Though I still like Gamma's story. SA2's story is one of the few good stories in the entire series. As or 2004 to 2009; Sega tried WAYYYY tooo hard; especially with Sonic 06. Where as now they have the opposite problem. Aside from Forces; that repeats some off the same mistakes as Shadow the Hedgehog (EDDDGGGEEEEE!!) and Sonic 06.
Tidepool Clipper The only dark and edgy games during that 2004-2009 period was Shadow and 06. Otherwise, you had games like the rush series, storybook series, rider series that were no where near dark and edgy. The storybook series especially since they’re balanced in tone by mixing lighthearted comedy with seriousness. And then there’s Sonic Unleashed that had a tone akin to a dreamworks or pixar movie. In regards to Sonic Forces, those “edgy” lines like Sonic getting tortured or Tails it losing even though they both turned out fine, was added in by the English writer’s, Ken Pontac and Warren Graff, so it wasn’t in the Japanese version. If anything, Forces didn’t take itself seriously enough since Sonic still acts like his post 2009 characterization where he’s constantly spouting out jokes and it’s worse in Forces because it clashes with the games tone and this time around Sonic spouting both jokes and friendship speeches.
Same, one thing you can’t fault the dark ages for, they have good stories
@@tidepoolclipper8657 Games don't age. People do
Purple dragon 19
Dude... 06’s Story is a pile of shit. You can totally fault them for that.
I think there’s a clear cut difference between defending the Adventure Age and the Dark Age. (Sonic Team Games, Specifically)
The Adventure Age at least tried to have a balance between Light and Dark, and tried to improve the gameplay as the games continued on by streamlining them down. Whatever faults they’ve had, especially SA1, It was acceptable for the time.
The Dark Age on the other hand is where Sonic Team tried so hard to be edgy in Story Telling. Shadow, I’ll at least give it the benefit of the doubt and say it was trying to be different from Sonic. 06’s Story though... completely inexcusable and everyone (except for the ones on Shadow’s Story) should still be ashamed for writing this abomination. Plus only one of these games ended up being any good, and that was Sonic Unleashed. A big problem with Sonic Games at that time was the devs throwing random shit at the wall in hopes that SOMETHING would stick.
You’re one of the only channels that makes me feel nostalgic like I’m going back in time and playing sonic with my cousin every Saturday. Please never stop.
If I’m being honest the quote on quote dark age was my favorite sonic era it’s the one I grew up with and most games still hold up in my eyes
Same for me!!!
I absolutely agree
Don't mean to sound like a jerk but it is actually "quote unquote"
Brick Jonas oh my bad
@@isidora1299 no it's fine lol I just thought I should let you know since a lot of people spell it wrong
wait so nobody’s gonna comment about where he said “sexual tension between sonic and shadow”
No, who cares besides you?
Because it's a *meh* joke, & nothing more.
im very late to this but i care i wheezed when he mentioned that...also i just love sonadow its my fav sonic ship (p.s i don't care if u hate it thats your opinion) nya~
@@UnimpressedMTT What the fuck is ~nya
The REAL Darkage is 2014-2020
Honestly you’re right. We had it good in the dark age. It SUCKS right now.
I know the current era we're in post 2010 is most deserving of being the called the dark age
At least the games aren't broken mess
@@labronthesuperninjayasin2203 Doesnt outweigh the negatives, games were never perfect or ran smoothly especially for 90s PC games, those games are still very weak in terms of everything because Dark Queen was the last Sonic final boss which felt amazing to fight and the fight itself being iconic, it was bland and simplistic in a bad way after that.
The “dark age”where all the interesting thing happened. It was nuts, passionate, overly ambitious and imaginative. I miss that.
Then: “The Iblis trigger mist die”
Now: “Sonic...He’s alive!”
Will the Pro
Then: “If the world chooses to become my enemy, I will fight like I always have.”
Now: “bAlDy NoSeHaIr!”
@Infinite Octopaw Yeah lol
@@infiniteoctopaw Out of curiosity where is the first quote from?
@@Ultradragon16 the first quote was from sonic o6
Sonic Team treating Shadow be like: 💂🏿♀️💂🏿♀️⚰️💂🏿♀️💂🏿♀️
Honestly I agree, the dark age had a lot of good games.
i still wish my ps2 sonic riders ZG still worked...
It didn’t and I disagree
Null Dork Really wasn’t
I agree too
@@firestriker3580 nobody cares what you think
I miss the dark age for it’s stories. Now we don’t get good stories anymore.
yes i agree
Just to let you know the current writers left after TSR according to TSSZ before the news source shut down
Lol we get everything bland so as not to try and appease the critics. It doesn’t work and just hurts the brand and fanbase Everytime
Evan Plays this is the best new I’ve heard all week. I really hope this is teue
Christian Verstappen i wouldn’t say bland since mania, TSR and M&S 2020 were great
Would much rather be in the dark age than be in the nostalgia-pandering drought-era we are in now.
I Agree!!!
To be fair the reason why we don’t have sonic news lately is due to how SEGA’s current projects are being delayed for some reasons according to tails channel. Or (personal and common theory) it’s because they want to have a polished high quality sonic game so they’re taking their time with it
Evan Plays yeah. High polished quality game that takes 4 years to develop. Like forces right?
@@CAVFIFTEEN First, bad comparaison. They made a new engine in 3 years and second, Sonic Forces was develloped in 1 year.
@@eguyigbin6987 At least 06 had more love, passion and (dare I say) care put into it than Forces ever had in its rather long time in development.
Couldnt agree more what was considered the dark age was alot more fun and experimental than what we’ve currently got
@Silver Kidd 😂🤣😂🤣😂
The storybook games, the rush games, the advance games, the riders games Freaking unleashed. Yeah the dark age was not as bad as people made it out to be
Secret Rings was legit bad; especially since the way you preform the homing attack is just horrendous there. Black Knight is decent in my eyes, but the planned third game was thrown into the dumpster since Black Knight still wasn't all that well liked. Zero Gravity i pretty good; but the first game was mediocre at best. Nor did the Riders series live up to the same success as the Sega All Stars Racing games. Free Riders basically just convince Sega there was no reason to bother with the Rider spinoff series anymore (though they should have still applied traditional controls to that game; Kinnect was awful). Unleashed was ironically hated at the time. While the day time stage are decent enough; the night time stages are still the weakest part of both versions of Unleashed. Especially since they felt way too slow for the Sonic series, had too many mandatory enemy fight, and in the HD version sometimes lasted too long in terms of gameplay length. While even I can agree the newer Sonic games feel too short, Sonic levels should also not overstay their welcome like in Heroes or the night time stages
Sonic has two dark ages; through and through.
@@tidepoolclipper8657 Agreed and disagreed. Though it's just his opinion.
Critics who hate sonic: I'm *Triggered*
Lol thanks for reminding me of the IGN critic who reviewed Sonic Unleashed and claimed it was a “terrible game”
Zinidine Rahman I think that guy also gave Sponge Bob Rehydrated a 5/10
Zinidine Rahman Don’t forget Irate Gamer either🙄
@@zinidinerahman4168 i cant believe they unleashed a 4.5
As a wise man once said never listen to critics of big company's
"I Love Sonic 06 with a burning passion. It's my favorite Sonic Game"
You, are a brave Person. I respect you man. We need more people like you that are not afraid to voice their opinions.
Sonic unleashed is one of my favorite games of all time and I think it's the one of the best out of the series and I also like sonic and the black knight my second favorite
I grew up with this age, and because I did, I can respect the series a lot more. It also introduced Silver, Blaze, Chip, Cosmo, and Mephiles, some of my favorite characters from the series.
The reason for people hating sonic in the "dark age" is probably Arin Hanson's fault,
"because of the youtube funnyman said "sonic bad" it must be cool and popular to be hating on sonic right?" was probably the general mindset back then
Yeah, Arin Hanson was a dumbass, along with IGN.
To me, 2010 - Present is the "True" dark age. It just feels like all they cared about was sales, and they just divided the fanbase even more by separating Classic from Modern. The stories were terrible because the writers had no clue who sonic was, and on top of that SEGA came up with stupid, and unnecessary mandates for how characters should be written. The voice cast, while great actors, some of them just don't fit the characters they're playing. Prime examples are Roger Craig Smith as Sonic, Kirk Thornton as Shadow, Cindy Robinson as Amy, and Bryce Papenbook as Silver. It's also the era where they started treating their franchise like a joke. Everywhere you looked on social media, TV, the games, EVERYWHERE, it was nothing but memes and jokes about past mistakes. They did this so much to the point where it annoys me, and makes me not want to see what's coming next
It's more like a Flickering Age. The newer games are all over the place in terms of reception, and fans are fighting over whether the older games truly deserved whatever reception that they initially got, especially with social media growing.
"they just divided the fanbase even more by separating Classic from Modern"
Yes, this is one of the worst things to happen to the series. First of all, Sonic is Sonic, how he looked like in the Classic era compared to the Modern era is irrelevant because it's just a difference in artstyle and nothing else, he's still the same person he's always been, plus most of the other characters that come from the Classic era don't look that different compared to their Modern counterparts (Amy being the biggest exception) so separating them by era or artstyle is pretty awkward.
Second, there's this superstition going on that Classic Sonic can only be 2D, or that 2D Sonic can only be Classic, which would be grossly overlooking the multiple attempts to bring Sonic into 3D during the Classic era (like the multiple stages in Sonic Xtreme's development and some games from the Saturn era), as well as some, I'd say, successful 2D games with Modern Sonic (the Advance games and of course the Rush games).
Really, this whole separation between Classic Sonic and Modern Sonic doesn't make any sense the more you think about it.
I personally Like Roger, but I know enough not to say anymore or else I'll end up accidentally triggering people.
@@goldninjagaming9505 My problem with Roger is that he makes Sonic sound like a 40-year old(Which Roger claims that's what Sega wanted). And it even seems as if Sega knows this, when they had him in a bookculb like a boomer would.
I would call the 2010 era as "TRUE Dark Age Era"
i love unleashed and black knight, soo dark years were my years UwU
I really don't get why there's soo many Furies nowadays. And it seemed okay, until they had to make everything sexual now.
@@the_scientist7772 What the fuck are you on about
I keep saying that 2010-2020 was the true dark age. Great video!
Honestly I feel like the beginning part of the 2010’s was great for Sonic it’s just 2013 was when things went downhill especially since Lost World and the Olympic Games were on the Wii U which didn’t do well.
@@andreasmeelie1889 Almost everyone disagrees with you. 2010 was the beginning of the real dark age.
@@andreasmeelie1889 I disagree. Have you ever looked at the disappointment that is Forces?
@@andreasmeelie1889 I agree 2014 was the *REAL* dark age
Mau Pr we all have our own opinions. Lol
Awesome vid and I hope you have a great day and keep up the great work
Saw this on Twitter thought I'd give it a shot, glad I did
Your profile pic looks very similar to "The Act Man." Do you 2 happen to know each other by any chance?
Sonic and the black knight is one of my favorite games it’s my childhood
Man this good I liked how you took your take on these 👏😌
Honestly, the dark age was the time of passion. When many different developers of sonic tried to come up with their own ideas. It was honestly awesome and I grew up with it.
Though around 2014-onward is the age of mediocrity imo.
(ALSO FINALLY SOMEONE ACKNOWLEDGED SONIC X ON THE LEAPSTER HELL YEAH!)
@@eguyigbin6987 First of all. Yeah, it was passion. Some of the best sonic music to come out comes from that dark age, even within 06, which is known for being a buggy game. The black knight may have had inconsistent gameplay but the writing, animation, artstyle, and music were all top quality, showing the passion.
I never said the Newer era was bad, but the games were definitely mediocre besides mania. Forces was simple, but mediocre and short. Stages only lasted for about a minute, and the story didn't even have any consistency to it. It just existed.
Lost world was boring. While it was a decent attempt, it was essentially a worse version of super mario galaxy but with sonic. The music was really good, but the gameplay, writing, and villains were all boring, mediocre, and didn't make me want to play it again after beating it.
Boom.. we don't even need to talk about boom.
Sure, they've "listened" to fans, and I appreciate that they're transparent with their business, but the "dark ages" actually have passion put in some where. Either it's music, gameplay, style/artstyle, animation, etc. Sonic Rush is a perfect example of passion. The gameplay, the music, everything about it was really good, but for some reason, it's considered a dark age game.
Essentially, the dark age was a time where they actually tried different things instead of pretending like none of that happened.
@@eguyigbin6987 Games like Sonic Mania show passion. The little extra details that show that they cared. The artstyle, music, and story direction for the black knight and unleashed showed this passion. They could've just followed the bottom line, but they decided to exceed beyond it. Unleashed's textures are not only extremely well made, but have little details that never needed to be there, but just make the game overall look so much better. Making a decent/good game is pretty easy for big companies, but making a game that stands the test of time shows passion, like unleashed. The soundtrack, visuals, and most of the gameplay are extremely well thought out. That requires passion.
@@eguyigbin6987 Ricardo just explained it, same did I. The art style, the music especially, the voice acting and the writing all hit hard. While the gameplay for secret rings was rough, they managed to improve it to something more unique in the black knight. Unleashed is also a game that shows passion. The music, visuals, gameplay, etc. All show it's passion. Like the little animations they added to sonic in unleashed, or even the different gimmicks in each level to make every stage feel refreshing.
Forces and lost world are more stable, but less unique. Lost world is super mario galaxy and Forces is not only mediocre but the writing and story is cliche and has little to no consistency. At least during the dark ages, there was some form of consistent timeline that existed.
Imo Colors and Generations were the last really good ones. People can say what they will about Mania (and maybe eventually I’ll play it) but it still seems more like just re-hashing old stuff with a few new zones which doesn’t make it worth it to me. Generations was fine for this because it was a celebration of the franchise. But everything after just fell further downhill. My personal favorite game to come out since Generations is a game called “Sonic World”. It’s a great fan game and I highly recommend it.
@@eguyigbin6987 well think about it like this. A wii game like black knight doesn't have to be that good of a game, but they put so much effort into the music. Essentially, they didn't have to try and could've just hit the bottom line but they tried to go above and beyond. They didn't have to go so hard, but they did. That can show passion. Essentially sonic team trying, instead of giving up and just making generations 2 but worse
This guy’s got balls. He said Sonic 06 was his favorite sonic game to 26K people.
@Eaxl As much as I hate '06, you have to know, everyone is entitled to their own opinions.
I don’t care what you say Shadow was a very underrated game. A lot of good elements to it. In my humble opinion of course. I’d much rather play that game over anything like colors or generations any day.
It's honestly pretty bad
@@icee1683 it really isn’t as bad as everyone makes it out to be. I’d rather have an edgy action packed sonic game over a sarcastic comedy or when they make the games for like three year olds
Sonic 06’ was actually good. THAT WAS A HALF-JOKE
Project Sonic '06 truly deserves that statement, yes it exists, it's awesome and ChaosX added some better textures and the biggest improvement to the Wave Ocean cutscene, give Sonic an actual angry look with teeth gritting.
It is good but just got hit really badly mainly because of the glitches
@@n4fizz Not exactly badly, there's some great things that have came out of the glitches including Sonic having unlimited use of his abilities with Gems when his gauge is supposed to be drained which gives him the ability with one to skip over everything including Crisis City, Omega able to fly across the entire stage without dropping but I'm unsure if that's meant to be there or not, lots of things are out there that redeems it with the exception of the OST. However the best glitch is when you defeat Eggman, he falls back in his seat in a weird but hilarious way.
Sonic Unleashed is my favorite Sonic game, and was one of the most ambitious installments in the series. Seeing people come back to it today and actually give it a proper chance and consider it good really makes me happy.
same
For me the dark age was the saturn era.Getting “bad” games are better no games
Not if a bad game causes a significant chunk of a fanbase to leave the series (like what Sonic 06 did) and turn a series into a joke in the eyes of many in the gaming industry.
That is not very true.
@DarkSonic180 it's also those outside the fan base that constantly brag about sonic 2006
For me, the Meta Era is the real dark age. I hate the Meta Era (2010s). I can see like this:
1. "Dark" age and Adventure Era (1998-2010) - Amazing, just not perfect
2. Genesis Era (1991-1996) - Good
3. Pre-Meta Era (2010-2013) - Alright
4. Saturn Era (1996-1998) - Bad
5. Meta Era (2013-now) - Awful
Just my opinion.
@@tidepoolclipper8657 That game is damn near 15 years old now, it's past time to let it go.
Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic 4, and Sonic and the Secret Rings are good in my opinion, but hey if ya didn't like them I don't care. Let's not start a riot ;)
I hate Sonic 4, but I do understand it's your opinion.
I mostly agree, I don’t like SOTR cause of the tilt controls, black night though
I liked Sonic and the Secret Rings. I'd definitely play it again
Sonic 4 is not dark age
We need to call 1998-2010 the Golden age and 2014-2019 the Dark age
Edit: Lol what was that outro??!!!😂😂🤣
Eguy Igbin No because of sales and low budget games
Eguy Igbin I’m not saying the “Golden age” didn’t have low budget games I’m saying that the ONLY games from 2015-2019 have been low budget
Eguy Igbin Some were low budget but others like 06, Unleashed, Riders, and Zero Gravity weren’t
We should start calling the current era the dark age.
@@eguyigbin6987 Thats why people shit on the actual dark age lol
Eguy Igbin You’re right. Instead of rushed games that are somewhat consistent, experimental, have passion behind them, and the production time gives an amount of justification for the quality, let’s be happy we get to wait FOUR YEARS for a game with true polish and quality. Ya know. Like Sonic Forces.
Eguy Igbin they couldn’t patch games back then. But regardless the problem is how there was such a long wait between lost world and forces that it had much more to live up to. Especially since it was touted as an “anniversary game”. If forces came out a year after another mainline game I could’ve been much more forgiving. Like from Heroes to Shadow. But as it stands, the extra long wait makes the mediocrity unacceptable. If you’re gonna make people wait, it better be worth waiting for. Forces was not that at all
@@CAVFIFTEEN Again, the game was developed in 1 year. ONLY 1
Mau Pr which one was developed in only one year? Forces? That game had 3 years of development time
You want to know what I miss from the dark age? Jason Griffith as Shadow. He was the best Shadow. Fight me.
I won’t fight. I respect you dude.
YES! Jason is hands down the best Shadow!
I prefer sa2-Heroes Shadow. I love the tone of his voice.
“I promise you..... REVENGE!”
Why would I fight? I agree with you. I fucking love Jason Griffith.
I agree Jason is the best Sonic and Shadow voice actor
"the dark age" aka when Sonic was mature, had character and passion.
yeah that's why that era should be called the "dark age" not cuz of 06
@@donathan2933 the jason griffith era
🤷🏼we all learn from our mistakes. Soon enough, Sega will finally make some games to top those of generations and mania. I still have hope for sonic.
I hope they make a sonic generations 2, and of course sonic forces doesn't count, classic was there for no reason at all. I just want to see on how they will improve from the sonic generations' physics and gameplay, we still have to wait.
or Sega might never do it like sonic adventure 2.
@@kaexewires7531 We don't need another nostalgia game. We need a brand new game with only Modern Sonic and his friends (some of them playable)
Sonic is an old 90s relic that is literally on its own last legs. Sega has done good job of destroying the series beyond repair; especially with their destructive mandates slapped over everything Sonic related.
Also, the fanbase had a helping hand with coming up with bad ideas that made it to the series. Such as giving a hedgehog guns (the fanbase actually asked Sega to give Sonic a gun a far back as Adventure).
@@tidepoolclipper8657 um Sonic just released a movie that made bank and one of the best video game movies. A low bar sure but last legs...yeah no I don't think so...
For me, the dark age of Sonic is 2010's to this day (if we don't count the movie)
And we can't count Sonic Mania and Team Sonic Racing. I also liked Sonic Lost World
Just skip Lost World
There are two dark games; from 2004 to 2009 and from 2013 to today.
Besides, the first dark age got its name from Sega pumping out rushed games without a care.
We'll have to see. I'd consider it sonic unleashed being the start (Just because it was the first game around that time, NOT because it's a bad game) to that racing game. Yeah, there were like 5 good games from it, but most of the games we got were HORRIBLE
Well Colors, Generations, and Lost world on the other hand...
At least the Dark Age didn't constantly shove nostalgia in your face.
that's exactly what the Dark Age did right trying new things, changing things up, adding new gimmicks and creations. That's why I like the Dark Age
Yeah 2010 to 2020 was just pandering.
With the way Sonic is viewed as a laughing stock now, I feel like this is the real dark age
I basically grew up during the dark age of Sonic and I loved and miss those times.😞
Honestly, the dark age is really great. Its just like in the 90's. Tones of good games with only a few bad games. I agree with you Ricardo.
I wish that the 2010's were like that.
Hopefully the new era will come close to the quality of the adventure and genesis eras and dark age as I may add.
Something you've been overlooking: Most of the "good" games are portable games, things that most corporate critics didn't consider valid, although they did have a point there because the mainline games are the core of any video game franchise-which Sonic still fundamentally is no matter what anyone says-and damned well should be good. Also, they hated, and still hate, Sonic experimenting because Sega of America's marketing in the early '90s hoodwinked the masses about what Sonic is. The corporate critics think that Sonic is only about going fast and shredding robots as a badass spiky dude in contrast to all of what Mario does, and they like that idea. They see everything else-other characters, story, other playstyles-as obstructive at best and corruptive at worst and will always rip into them without even trying to examine them. They despise such trust being betrayed. And Sega of America takes them seriously because they STILL want Sonic to be about nothing but being rad even as they throw bones to the fans that care about the franchise's other traits. It's disgusting. We can't win.
Personally, I think we're currently in the dark age. The dark age being talked about in the video isn't as bad as most say.
The dark era was the era I grew up with. I liked this era because the atmosphere got a lot more dark and gory and mature
@bandegom agreed. The "Dark Age" was underrated. The 2010s were the REAL Dark Age
"They didn't do anything with them"
That was the point though, the guns were temporary until you get Chaos Spear back in Devil Doom, they were never going to flesh them out. It's the same case with Chaos Spear because it wasn't anything fancy, well until Devil Doom with the charge trait which applies in 06.
The real dark age of sonic is after generations when they make games that can be finished in 2 hours or less. The speedrun record for COMPLETION is 55 MINUTES
"After" or Before? (*cough* Sonic Colors *cough*)
@@mep6302 does your stupid ass always have to rag on colors?
@@icee1683 He's kinda right tho. I love Colors, it's my favorite Sonic game, but the game can be finished in like, 3 hours.
I absolutely LOVE Sonic Unleashed. This game was my whole childhood, and it was one of the main reasons why I was obsessed with Sonic for a long time.
The opening cutscene is still ingrained into my mind, and I honest to god always cry from nostalgia when I hear Endless Possibilities. My family was really poor and didn't have enough money to buy many games, so I always ended up playing Unleashed again and again, so yeah, I'm really In love with this game.
The Werehog parts were not that bad people, get over it. I actually really liked it, sometimes even more than the day parts.
I agree the Werehog stages aren't even that bad. They just drag on too long ppl complain about the Werehog for no reason. They were my favorite part of the game
how dare you have a different opinion than me you deserve to be off this platform becaUse of ur harmless opinion (but in all seriousness this was a interesting video i like to see more opinions like this throughout the community)
HOw DaRe YoU LIkE sOnIC YoU StUpID cHIld
Btw this is a joke
Am i the only one who found the "Mountain of hankerchiefs" scene from Secret rings to be very heart warming and emotional?
Ah yes, the Jason Griffith age was my favorite too
?
@@mason2978 the 4kids era was the peak of Sonic
A million times yes! One of the things that cemented my love for this franchise was how much content there was. I remember throughout the latter half of my childhood I could look forward to at least one Sonic game I liked every year. That was amazing even if they weren’t all hits, I knew I’d like something.
Now? I’d gladly take 20 more “dark ages” before one more day of the Pontiac-Graff memey childish sonic franchise we have now. My favorite Sonic game of the past since 2011 is a fan game called “Sonic World”. It’s a great game but what does that say about the current official games? Say what you will but the dark age has consistency, heart, and so much variety. There was always something for everyone whatever you were into.
I’m sure Sonic X played a part in it all too but the mid to late 2000’s was just such a different time for entertainment as a whole. That included video games and animated shows. I hate Chris Thorndyke but most of Sonic X was pretty good. Didn’t get into the comics myself though I did try years ago. I’m glad they’re their for those that like them regardless.
In my opinion, the backlash of ‘06 and even unleashed along with Black Knight scared Sega and Sonic Team. They felt they had to go BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD (points if you get the reference) and decided to just be “self aware”. Well it’s been over 10 years of that and ya know what? The brand isn’t respected anymore for it. If anything people just look at it like “see even Sega knows Sonic sucks”. I feel like they’re constantly hurting their own brand and it saddens me.
In 2009, when I played Sonic and the Black Knight I thought it was going to be the last game. The way all the characters were seeming to have one last hurrah (even though they were stand ins for Arthurian legends), all the musical references and themes for the characters, Sonic’s speech and the games message about things needing to come to an end and enjoying what we have while it’s there, and all the bonus fan content like the fan artwork put in the game (regardless of that one thief) all made it feel like a farewell to the character. And I guess in a way it was...
I grew up loving this franchise and this character because of Sonics love for his friends, his refusal to give up, and his desire to constantly protect the world and people he cares about. My favorite moment is when he’s getting beaten by Merlina in Black Knight. When he delivers the line “It was never about chivalry for me. I just gotta do what I gotta do, THAT’S ALL!” That right there encapsulated the character and spirit of Sonic perfectly. Now it feels like he’s a wannabe show off who’s trying to relive his glory days. Instead of a passionate, confident hero, he comes off as a jack ass jock.
I hope we’re out of the true dark age. I hope we can get back to stories and characters that actually matter, gameplay that’s fun, diverse, and has something for everyone. Just please no more Big or Shadow The Hedgehog style missions lol. No more shitty controls like Secret Rings, Free Riders, and no more of... whatever the mess Chronicles was. But no more playing it safe either. It’s gotten so boring and disheartening to see Sonic basically try to emulate Mario and still fail at it. Sonic is unique. So let him be, and if you can’t do that... then maybe it’s time, to quote the end of the Hero Side trailer in SA2 “Farewell Sonic... Forever.”
Eguy Igbin mediocre at best. Lost world and forces were four years apart and we’re both painfully boring, uninspired, falsely advertised, and unsurprisingly pandering to nostalgia once again. At least they let you play as shadow as DLC for a bit. And the character creation was a nice idea. But other than that, pretty bland over all
@@eguyigbin6987 So your just blind to the fact that the 2010 games made this franchise a joke with shitty writing making character 1 dimensional.
Sure we had games like Colors, Generations, and mania but the rest is mediocre at best.
Are you blind to the fact that Sega has been doing Non-stop nistolgia pandering since GENERATIONS?!
Seriously the last fully original Sonic games is Colors.
That game is 10 YEARS OLD BRUH!
You say your just questioning people's point but im just getting the vibe that you just trying to defend this decade of Sonic.
@@CAVFIFTEEN Sonic Lost World wasn't boring to me and many people
Mau Pr Sorry. Lost World wasn’t boring. It was just aesthetically and tonally bland and lacking substance in my opinion. It was the real start of the extremely cheesy jokes and other childish writing. It played out like a bad Saturday morning cartoon and the actual gameplay wasn’t anything to write home about either. But hey, that’s my opinion. And you’re entitled to yours as well.
@@CAVFIFTEEN no it wasn't, it was colors that started that type of storytelling.
The 2010s is the real dark age of sonic we literally only got three good games
I don’t mind 06, I mean, yeah the game mechanics aren’t very user friendly and some of the story line is bizarre, it did seem they really tried. I prefer the more high stakes story lines than more recent titles that are aimed at very young children, very Mario like these days imo. I love the day stages in unleashed, they’re beautiful, I don’t mind the werehog thing, the levels just get repetitive and take far too long. Forces could have been great but it feels like they wanted that darker tone then decided to play it way too safe, shame really. Not that I know any better lol, we all just want the best for our little blue guy x
Its all the reviewers fault. They were always making these "lol Edgy the Hedgy" jokes and that's why the games have "safe" plots now.
I didn't know that this was considered the "dark age", oh my gosh NOW is the real Dark Age! This was the best age along with the adventure series
@@eguyigbin6987 Sonic had both 3D and 2D games for both fan preferences. He was pushed across various media. Classic vs Modern wasn't a thing. The character cast had depth and weren't subjugated to one-note personality cheer leaders. Sonic was worthy of being a role model.
I was a kid during the "dark age of Sonic". I grew up with my first Sonic game being Heroes, then 06, then Shadow and so on. Now I'm of course going to be a LITTLE biased towards these games purely for the good memories, but I've been slowly getting my hands on them again over the last few years, and I'm noticing the flaws whilst still recognising that Sonic as a whole was SO much better back then. The stories were far more detailed, they put WAY more effort into the franchise compared to what they do today. Sonic was a cocky asshole yet still caring. Now? He cracks jokes that only a 8 year old would find even remotely funny. I love Sonic, always will. But god I miss the old days
1998-2010 (Since SA1 before Colors) was a good time be a fan of Sonic, with all these games, cartoons, comics, merchandise, and new elements that added to the mythos with introducing new fan favorites like Shadow, Silver, Blaze, etc. And I see this "Dark Age" as truly the peak of the franchise when it comes to voice acting, say what you want about 4kids as a whole, but their Sonic cast are to me the definitive voices for the characters whenever I picture them. Jason Griffith and Mike Pullock are and forever will be Sonic and Eggman. It's such ashamed that some of the titles were so infamous they changed a seemingly normal video franchise that appeals to kids and gamers into another souless brand that panders to nostalgia and memelords. Even changing Sonic's character from a cocky and wisecracker that evolved into a headstrong and kindhearted hero only to devoled him into a 4th wall breaking egotistical bland jerk. I hate how Boom and Twitter turned the already split community into the most notorious fanbases ever, I hate how because of that Sega relies too much on them for everything they do the series, I hate how people like GG Arin and any big video game critic and journalist slander this franchise as a whole everytime they mentioned it, I hate how the offical Twitter, RUclips Channel, and basically the entire internet even including the casual fans treats the blue blur as nothing more than a meme and as a punching bag that's seen as a joke now to laugh at now. And I esspically hate the lack of games to look foward to for an entire decade! Don't get me wrong love Sonic Mania but it really sucks how just because that and Generations were praised and worshiped they made people think that the 2010-present era being a good era when really everything went downhill when it comes to Sonic's general respect wih a drought of content only receiving underwhelming games. I deeply missed that time when I play a Sonic game like it's any other game and not think about how much of a controversial franchise Sonic has become.
I agree 1998-2010 was a great time to be a Sonic fan. 2010 onwards sucks
Sonic '06 is my guilty pleasure. Actually, I like '06 without feeling guilty. Go ahead and try to fight me, *it's no use!*
I fell in love with sonic during the dark age and it was awesome. Definitely not as bad as people think.
I have to easily concur with this. I love the Adventure era (my favorite) as well as the Classic era too, however it’s easily tickles my nostalgia bones at the sounds of Sonic X and the early modern era of games even the Jazwares toys too. Not to mention that Sonic was just Sonic (no Classic-Modern dichotomy and no spin off series like Boom or the movie).
Honestly I agree. I take Sonic X (one of my favourite cartoons next to Kirby: Right Back At Ya!/Spongebob/TMNT/Animal Crossing Movie/Kid Icarus The Anime/Starfox Anime) over Boom TV Show (even though I like Sonic Boom TV.).
early modern?
Dude. I subscribed the moment you said that 06 is your favorite Sonic game, it's mine too. I absolutely ADORE Sonic 06 with burning passion stronger than Iblis himself
Hey speed your amazing
The dark age may not be perfect, but it was great. Unlike the Meta Era (2010s).
I agree and they had way more original ideas
aw man, why did i have to grow up while in the 2010s and not the 2000s?
I cry for you, 2000's Sonic was the GOAT
@@eguyigbin6987 except that the 2000s games wasn't filled with broken and glitchy games the only game to have that is sonic the hedgehog 2006. And do you even know what "edgy" means? Because sonic has always had that edge when it came to storytelling since the beginning, they kicked it up a notch in 1998.
@@BRONXBX if he was the goat in the 2000s, then why wasnt he objectively better than mario, why was the level design, gameplay etc so low, the only thing that made sonic the "goat" is that he had good and ambitious stories and lots of content and originality, that's it. Sonic wasnt meant to be just a manga character, he's is also a video game character(if you know what I mean).
Unleashed was amazing
Thing is, when you play any game from SADX-Black Knight, you can feel the ambition, you can feel how much heart and soul went into these games. Even Colors you can feel that to an extent (although Colors has a more Saturday Morning cartoon vibe, which is nice actually). But Generations and Forces (Havent played lost worlds yet, so cant say nothing about it) feel kinda hollow, especially Generations.
Essentially, what you're saying is...the "Dark Age" of Sonic was the 3D games' Golden Age?
I appreciate this video. "Bad" things are subjective. But, since you've focused on the objective to the best of your ability, I can wholesomely agree. My personal favorites are also '06, Unleashed, and SatBK.
The so called "Dark Age" was the most creative and experimental period for the Sonic series. From Rush, Shadow The Hedgehog, 06 and Riders to Secret Rings, Rush Adventure, Unleashed, Black Knight, I love all of those games and replay them to this day.
Don't forget Sonic Advance trilogy. It's also the best, along with Adventure 1, 2, Rivals 1, 2 and Heroes. And don't forget Sonic X. The best TV show ever. And don't forget many good characters.
I agree the 'Dark Age" did a lot more new creative experimental things with the Sonic franchise. Ppl only call this era the dark age cuz of 06 and even 06 had more effort and creativity out into it
The likes outweigh the dislikes by miles, I think your in the clear dude. I knew we’d get to the point where the “so called dark age” is the best, but believe me it does warm my heart when people say it really wasn’t that bad.
true
The late 2010s used classic sonic as a nostalgia magnet. I can agree with this, the dark age of Sega wasn’t afraid to take risks, make new stories, etc.
exactly
In terms of being iconic, the dark age had A LOT of iconic moments in Sonic than current years, even if the games sucked.
I think Shadow and Heroes are the best we've gotten. I love the ice skating physics, the momentum, while every other game has weight, these have a traction and a graceful flow to them.
I must say, the dark age was my favorite era for sonic
same
It wasn’t the Dark Age because it was bad, it was the Dark Age because it was DARK.
The "dark age" was a great time to be a Sonic fan. He was everywhere like most of my GameCube games were Sonic games because he had so many. Not mentioning the Sonic Gem Collection that came out too. It was honestly great having so much Sonic to play.
But now the well is so freaking dry. Like Sega is trying to use Sonic like Mario or Zelda by only making mainline stories every couple years.
Sonic can't do that. He's not marketed that way. Honestly this feels more like the dark age then the actual dark age. Who hires writers to write a character who they don't care about or don't care to learn about?!
Why can't Sonic do that? I like many Sonic games but releasing one mainline game every year won't help the series.
2010 to Now is the real dark age.
Sonic being a little dark is what made Sonic special now it just feels childish trash
I can’t believe it took us this long to realize that this era was so great
Tbh it was mostly a dark age for the gaming reviewers that played sonic 2 for a lil bit
I agree with the list but I would move sonic 06 to the good category just in my opinion
I'd put it in the best category
Me too
I mean... if sonic 06 wasn't rushed, it could be a very good game
Sonic Unleashed is one of my favorite childhood games. I wish most People Can Stop Bashing the Game honestly😞
I feel your pain. Sonic 06 is my favorite game, Unleashed is amazing as well
Cool video
100% agree with this video. The 2010s killed sonic for me.
Bro you so amazing broo
06 was one of my favorite games
But it’s sad when he got shot
I think someone's coming to report your comment. I can hear the glitches
Same
Same
I won’t judge
10:36 "So I wouldn't even call this a dark age, in fact we might have just gotten out of the real dark age, and we didn't even know it." Why did this made me kinda tear up...
exactly
I'm willing to bet we are STILL in the dark age
i honestly couldnt agree more
and even with the bad games id rather have something new then "ugh boost again"