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Did Sega wait too long to release Sonic The Hedgehog 4?

Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode I was the highly anticipated 2010 sequel to Sonic The Hedgehog 3 which came out for the Sega Genesis console back 1993. The Sonic trilogy which began in ‘91 and technically ended with Sonic & Knuckles during’94 were arguably the most popular set of games within the entire series. Despite, each 16-bit Sonic title not selling nearly as much as its competitor Super Mario World for the SNES the series itself had a ton of momentum during the early 90’s. While we did get to see games such as Sonic 3D Blast for Sega Saturn along with Sonic Adventure for Dreamcast they were not nearly as popular as the 16-bit installments that the world saw between’91-‘94. Many people believe that Sega should have created a Sonic the Hedgehog 4 game for the Sega Saturn back in the 90’s. Even though, older fans of the Sonic series were thrilled to see Sonic 4 in 2010 it did not live up to the expectations of some people despite being a solid 2D platformer. By the time we got to the early 10’s decade 2D side-scrolling platformers had greatly declined in popularity as 3D gaming had evolved significantly.

If Sega had released a Sonic the Hedgehog 4 game between ‘95-‘97 it could have been a huge attraction on the Saturn console; especially seeing how the Sega Saturn had more RAM & VRAM than the PS1. Towards the mid 90’s 2D gaming in general was starting to evolve while 3D visuals & gameplay were at abysmal levels compared to what we see today. A 2D Sonic the Hedgehog 4 game for the 32-bit Sega Saturn could have possibly of saved the console itself from being a complete failure. Also, if Sonic the Hedgehog 4 was released for the Saturn console the mid 90’s Sega could have of kept the same plot with Eggman as the main antagonist while allowing characters to control Sonic, Tails, Knuckles or Amy Rose to stop him. If Sonic the Hedgehog 4 had the same type of visuals, gameplay and soundtrack as Sonic CD from ‘93 while appearing on the Saturn console it could have been a huge deal. That is not to say that the Sonic 4 game from 2010 was terrible. However, Sonic The Hedgehog 4 could have been released a lot sooner than it was while being much better than what we saw; if Sega made a modified version Sonic CD and passed off as Sonic 4 it could of have possibly worked back in the 90’s.

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Should Sega focus more on 16-bit gaming in the future?

The Sega Genesis was one of the best game systems of the late 80’s-early 90’s. Since its release back in ‘89 the Sega Genesis had reached over 30 million units worldwide in terms of sales. Despite, not selling quite as much as its competitor the 16-bit SNES the console itself is iconic. The Sega Genesis is the console that introduced Sonic the Hedgehog to the world and gave us games such as GunStar Heroes, Streets Of Rage 2 along with the Shining and Phantasy Star series. In fact, Sega is known more their 16-bit video games than anything the company had produced on the Sega Saturn or Dreamcast between the mid early 00’s. While Dreamcast did have a few games such as Shenmue, Crazy Taxi, Power Stone & Sonic Adventure 2 that stood out the console itself did poorly in comparison to the Sega Genesis from a sales standpoint. Its not that Sega generally make terrible 3D games the issue is more rooted in the fact that console wars have become more competitive. The products that entities such as Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo produce seems to evolve with each passing generation.

While Sony & Microsoft have systems that feature some of the best 3D video games ever made Sega is not known for producing high definition three dimensional titles that reached astronomical numbers in sales. Some would argue that Sega would be better off producing more 16-bit games in the future similar to Sonic Mania became it appeals to retro gamers more their 3D titles. The idea of seeing more games on the Retro Engine sound very cool especially considering how polished Sonic Mania looked following its release in 2017. Sonic Mania had also been one of Sega’s more high profile games that attracted mainstream attention within the past few years. If Sega decided to return their roots and focus more on creating 16-bit video games it would be a breath of fresh air within the gaming world. There have been pixal art titles such as Stardew Valley & Shovel Knight from the 10’s decade that appeared on various game systems and were big attractions because of their retro-like appeal. If Sega decided to focus more on producing pixel art titles similar to how they did with Sonic Mania it would be to the delight of many people within the gaming world.

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Should Nintendo have made a Super Mario Land 4 during the 90’s?

When we think about popular Mario games that should happened back in the 90’s one of the few titles that comes to mind is Super Mario Land 4. As many people know the Super Mario Land series started on Game Boy back in ‘89 with the final game coming out in ‘94; which also happened to be the very first Wario game ever released. Wario was the main antagonist in Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins from ‘92 and was pretty solid villain until Nintendo made him into a anti-hero in the following game. It would have been interesting if Nintendo had decided to give Wario his first game outside of the Super Mario Land series. Nintendo turning Wario into a anti-hero arguably killed the Super Mario Land series which is sad since it could have possibly continued until the late 90’s-early 00’s on Game Boy Color/Advance. If the Super Mario Land series lasted up until early 00’s then Nintendo could have possibly of introduced Waluigi within the series as top villain; opposed to giving him forgettable debut in the Mario Tennis game for the N64 during 2000.

The very first Super Mario Land game from ‘92 was a huge success and it reached at least 18 million worldwide in terms of copies sold. Super Mario Land 2 was also very popular on Game Boy as well mainly because it was something slightly different from what people saw on the SNES in terms of Bowser constantly being the main antagonist. Wario definitely could have remained a villain little bit longer and Nintendo could have dragged the Super Mario Land series out more since Game Boy Color became a huge attraction during the late 90’s. Even though, there is an unlicensed Super Mario Land 4 game that’s playable online many people wish that Nintendo gave us a official release of the game itself back in the 90’s.

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Should Sega have released a Phantasy Star V game for the Sega Saturn?

As far as big 16-bit sequels from the 90’s that the world never got to see are concerned Phantasy Star V is one that may be on the top of the list of many people who are retro gamers. As many people know the first two Phantasy Star games that appeared on the Mega Drive between ‘87-‘89 were concerned to be very popular. The Genesis/Mega Drive console was not was not well known for its RPG’s but the visual presentation of titles such as the Phantasy Star or the Shining series were pretty unique. Even though, the Phantasy Star games from the late 80’s-early 90’s were not as much of an attraction as the Sonic the Hedgehog trilogy on Sega’s 16-bit console; they were seen as worthy competitors to the Final Fantasy titles which appeared on Nintendo consoles during 8/16-bit era of gaming. While Phantasy Star IV from ‘93 was the final 16-bit installment within the series that appeared on the Genesis console many believe that Sega could have released a sequel on that system between ‘95-96. However, its common knowledge that 16-bit gaming was starting to decline in popularity around the mid 90’s due to the rise in popularity of 3D gameplay on consoles such as PS1 along with the N64.

Even though, Phantasy Star IV was critically acclaimed for the most part the game was on the receiving end of criticism for its flawed storyline despite the game being just as good as Phantasy Star II from ‘89. In fact, there had been criticism of Phantasy Star IV being too much like PSII in the sense where the graphics for the game felt outdated. While the visuals for Phantasy Star IV may have looked better than its ‘90 prequel; a carbon copy of Phantasy Star II with a different story & characters felt like somewhat of a step backwards in the eyes of some critics to what was overall a very solid JRPG. As far as a sequel to Phantasy Star IV is concerned it would have been interesting if Sega had released one for the Saturn console between ‘95-‘97. Despite, the Sega Saturn not achieving the same level of success as the Genesis console a Phantasy Star V game could have been a bigger attraction than the likes of Sonic 3D Blast or Shining Force III. If Sega had decided to utilize the offline action RPG gameplay from Phantasy Star Online for a Phantasy Star V game on the Saturn console during the mid 90’s it definitely could have been a huge attraction. After Phantasy Star IV from ‘94 the series needed something completely new and refreshing to fans of the series and the Phantasy Star Online game from 00’s was simply that. While Phantasy IV may have deserved a 2D sequel back in the 90’s a 3D Phantasy Star V game for the Sega Saturn or even Dreamcast would have been epic.

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Did SM64 have the best soundtrack in the entire Mario series?

SM64 is considered to be one of the most legendary 3D Super Mario games of all-time especially since it was the very first that we got to see within the series in general. Super Mario 64 from the mid 90’s was remembered for its critically acclaimed gameplay, graphics and soundtrack making it the second best selling video game for the Nintendo 64. Since its release back in ‘96 Super Mario 64 had reached over 9.8 million copies in terms of worldwide sales before the N64 was ultimately discontinued in 2001. As far as soundtracks are concerned Nintendo arguably produced some of its best work with Super Mario 64 with legendary soundtracks for different levels such as: Koopa’s Road, Bomb-Omb Battlefield and Dire Dire Docks. The soundtracks in SM64 seemed far better than anything from the 2D Mario installments from the NES/SNES era of gaming. Also, there are hardly any 3D Mario games that came after SM64 that had a memorable soundtrack that was on the same level in terms of quality with Super Mario Galaxy from ‘07 possibly being an exception.

The soundtracks in SM64 blended naturally with each level and the amount of creativity that went into the game itself added to its overall replay value. While the soundtrack for SM64 was awesome it should be noted that Nintendo had produced many memorable music scores especially during the 90’s in general. In fact, some would put Mario Kart 64 above SM64 in terms of having more memorable soundtracks with likes of Rainbow Road, Toad’s Turnpike and Raceways. There was definitely a magical aura that some of the N64 Mario games had back then that we rarely see nowadays and its something that long time fans of the series still cherish to this day. While everyone has their own respective opinion on which Mario game has the best soundtracks there is no doubt that SN64 would have to be in the top five on many people’s list.

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Most underrated pro wrestling game of the 00’s?

When people think about some of the most popular pro wrestling games from the 00’s titles such as WWF No Mercy, WWE Smackdown: Here Comes The Pain, WWE Day Of Reckoning 2 and SvR 2006 are all titles that come to mind. In fact, the games just mentioned are among the greatest pro wrestling games ever made depending on who you ask. There are many people who would definitely agree that THQ had produced more memorable pro-wrestling titles in the 00’s than 2K Sports has during a majority of the 10’s decade. While games such as Smackdown: Here Comes The Pain & No Mercy are considered to be legendary Smackdown vs Raw 2007 does not get mentioned in the same light as those two games despite being better terms of overall quality. The graphics for SvR 2007 were incredible and we saw more advanced gameplay than what was included in WWE Here Comes The Pain & SvR 2006. The roster for SvR was deep and included a large list of main event superstars & legends that could be utilized in various game modes including Exhibition & GM Mode. Also, the season mode in SvR 2007. Players were allowed to create their on wrestler and use them in various game modes; including Season Mode which was one of the many strong positives of SvR 2007.

The storylines included in the season mode of SvR 2007 were highly creative and original and added to the overall replay value of the game itself. Players were placed in certain storylines based on what show they were on; and whether or not they world champions within certain parts of the season. The voice acting within the Season Mode of SvR 2007 seemed better than its ‘06 predecessor despite there being minor issues in relation to commentary. The soundtracks in SvR 2007 were also pretty fun to listen to and players had seemingly endless match options to choose from in Exhibition mode including: Royal Rumble, Hell In A Cell, Elimination Chamber, Buried Alive, Parking Lot Brawl and the Money In The Bank ladder match. There were also many unlockable items within SvR 2007 that could be obtained by winning various trophies throughout the game; giving players plenty of things to do after they have gone through season mode multiple times to see various storylines. SvR: 2007 was such a great game because it found a nice balance between arcade-like gameplay and realistic pro-wrestling which is something that is not seen too often nowadays.

SvR 2007 is a game that does not seem to get the type of credit that it deserves and is one that generally flies under the radar as far as best pro wrestling games ever are concerned. The amount of content included in SvR 2007 along with its high replay value, awesome soundtracks and optimal quality in terms of graphics & gameplay makes it an underrated gem in the eyes of many people who are fans of pro wrestling. There are many people would probably agree that the THQ era of pro wrestling games from the 00’s was epic and SvR 2007 along with many others titles from that decade were the reason why. While some feel that SvR 2007 is highly underrated other believe it was one of the best pro wrestling games to come out of that decade overall. While 2K Sports had produced some decent pro wrestling games such as WWE 12, 13, 2K14, 2K16 along with 2K19 there are retro gamers who are still fans of the older THQ titles from the 00’s decade.

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Would a new F-Zero game be a huge attraction in the 20’s decade?

As many people know the F-Zero series was very popular back in the 90’s and the 00’s with games appearing on consoles such as: Super Nintendo, N64 and Nintendo GameCube. The very first F-Zero games from ‘91 for Super Nintendo was arguably the most popular installment within the series due to its unique visuals & gameplay with the use of Mode 7. The soundtrack for the original F-Zero game was also pretty unique and was followed by a critically acclaimed 3D sequel in ‘98 entitled F-Zero X for the N64. The last major installment within the F-Zero series that we got to see was GX from ‘03; a game that rivaled the likes of Mario Kart: Double Dash for GameCube in terms of high replay value. Since the early 00’s we never got to see a high profile F-Zero game for consoles such as: Nintendo Wii, Wii-U or the Switch console. While Nintendo may have given up on the F-Zero series over fifteen years ago there are some retro gamer would love to see another entry within the series.

The question is whether or not a new F-Zero game be a huge attraction in the 2020’s decade? One of the closest things that we got to a new F-Zero game was racing title from 2017 entitled Fast RMX for the Nintendo Switch. Fast RMX was a game that was critically acclaimed for the most part since it was reminiscent of older 3D F-Zero games. However, Fast RMX was a racing title that was completely new while also lacking a storyline which detracted from the quality of game in terms of being on the same level as the likes of F-Zero GX. If Nintendo made a brand new F-Zero game similar to GX with emphasis on improved gameplay, high definition cinematic cutscenes and a compelling storyline than it would definitely be a huge attraction. But since Nintendo has shown no interest whatsoever on developing a new F-Zero game it seems very unlikely to happen. The F-Zero has been dead since the 00’s and the racing genre of gaming is not as popular now as it was during that decade.

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Did the most memorable Donkey Kong games come from the 90’s?

As many people know Donkey Kong is one of the most iconic names within the gaming world. Ever since the very first Donkey Kong arcade game from ‘81 Nintendo has produced numerous titles within the series that were considered to be classics as it pertained to the platform genre of gaming. However, many people would argue that some of the most successful and high profile games within the entire series came due the 90’s within the SNES/N64 era of gaming. As far as 16-bit platformers are concerned games such as the Donkey Kong: Country trilogy from ‘94-‘96 were considered some of the best titles that Nintendo had produced for SNES. In fact, the Donkey Kong trilogy had reached roughly under million copies worldwide in terms of sales; while each game could give the likes of Super Mario World or any of the three Sonic the Hedgehog games for the Sega Genesis a run for their money. Also, we got to see Donkey Kong 64 for the Nintendo 64 a game that was also successful since it reached over 5.2 million copies in sales since its release in 1999. The success of Donkey Kong 64 was followed after the release of Diddy Kong Racing from ‘97; not only was it the first racing game within the DK set but it too also ended up becoming one of the best selling games for the N64 overall.

Diddy Kong racing reached roughly under five million in sales before the N64 was ultimately discontinued in retail back in 2001. It should also be noted that the Donkey Kong title from ‘94 for Game Boy reaches over three million in sales and is a memorable classic that retro gamers enjoyed as well. If anything the DK series may have reached its peat in popularity during 90’s mainly because the platform genre of gaming declined following that decade. While games like Donkey Kong Country Returns & Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze were attractions on the Wii/Wii-U console during the 10’s decade the series itself was not nearly as popular as it was during the 80’s & 90’s. While everyone has their own respective opinion on which DK games were among the very best many would definitely argue that the most memorable titles within the series came out during 90’s.

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Will G4-TV be a huge attraction in 2021?

One of the biggest news in related to gaming that people have been talking about as of late is the return of G4 TV. As many people know the gaming channel was originally launched back in April 2002 and was ultimately closed down five years ago in late December of 2014. G4 TV was a popular gaming channel which mainly appealed to young adults primarily males between the ages of 18-35; the channel focused on news, reviews and commentary in relation to popular trends within the gaming world. As it currently stands G4 TV has been teased for a return sometime next year on a date that has yet to be revealed. However, its mainly unknown what shows are going to be featured on G4-TV following its upcoming launch in 2021. In fact, we have no idea whether or not G4-TV will reappear as a Twitch stream or a VOD service as of yet. Either way, the return of G4-TV has trending a few dats ago on Twitter and had many people in various gaming communities around the world buzzing.

Back in the early 00’s G4-TV started off as a paid television channel and was very popular when it presented to viewers within that format. While Twitch & YouTube are far more popular nowadays due social media some would argue that making G4-TV as a paid television channel would not be a big of an attraction. However, the COVID-19 pandemic can indirectly contribute to the success of G4-TV next year especially since its not going to die down anytime soon. Many gamers are more likely to check out G4-TV especially since social activity in countries like America are limited due to the ongoing pandemic that the country currently faces. Hopefully, we will learn more details on what to expect from G4-TV within the next few months before its upcoming launch in 2021.

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Upcoming Games- Hotshot Racing: (2020)

One of the few upcoming games that people are talking about right is a title scheduled to appear on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch sometime this year entitled Hotshot Racing. For those who do not know Hotshot Racing is a upcoming arcade styled racing title developed by Lucky Mountain Games & Sumo Digital Ltd with Curve Digital as the publisher. While the official release date for Hotshot Racing has yet to be revealed a full version of the game is expected to appear on Steam before the ended of Summer 2020. Based on what we know Hotshot Racing has a look that somewhat resembles old 3D racing games from the arcade era of gaming such as Virtua Racing and Sega Rally. There are several screenshots of Hotshot Racing online giving retro gamers a sense of nostalgia as base 3D polygons are utilized in the level designs along with the vehicles themselves.

Based on what we know Hotshot Racing is a single player game that will feature Online PvP, and Online Co-op gameplay. It should also be noted that additional gameplay features such as: Shared/Split Screen PvP & Co-op gameplay will be featured in Hotshot Racing as well. Despite, not being on the same level as Forza Motorsport or any of the games from the Gran Turismo series Hotshot Racing can still be a big attraction in retail within 2020-2021. This upcoming racing game is one that looks very exciting especially since the genre in general could use more arcade styled racers. Hotshot Racing is one of the few retro-like titles within it genre that the world is looking forward to seeing this year; aside from Inertial Drift which is set to be released on August 7th for multiple game systems. Hopefully, we will learn more information about the official release date for Hotshot Racing as it pertains to the PS4, Xbox One and the Nintendo Switch.