#FGC Editiorials

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GuileWinQuote released a video that is basically just that above but with a lot more info and detail. You should check it out.

Reverse Inputs: Hajime no Hedgehog-A Look Back At Sonic the Fighters.

Fighting games were big in the 90’s with developers finding every way possible to ride that cash wave. However, when original IPs didn’t work for many companies, they attached any and every licensed property in hopes of making the next big thing, regardless if it made any sense or not. Thus we get weird things like Sonic the Fighters. Sure, Sonic rolled around and destroyed stuff, but that didn’t directly make him a fighter per se, let alone worth having a fighting game. However, through the powers that be, Sonic the Fighters did come out and actually brought with it some stuff that made it stand out. Even if the original conception of the game was a joke.

No really, the game really got its start as a joke.

Back around 1995, internal Sega developers Sega AM2 (makers of Virtua Fighters, Outrun, Shenmue) were working on their next fighting game, Fighting Vipers. During that time, as a joke, the AM2 team put Sonic and Tails 3D models into the game during development. Originally it was a joke, but that joke took on a new meaning once more members of the team saw it and finally then showed Yuji Naka, Sonic’s creator and head of the Sonic Team back then. After some convincing, Naka gave the team a blessing to turn the joke into a fully fleshed out fighter. So May 1996, Sonic the Fighters, also known as Sonic Championship, went from being a joke to a game. There’s no denying how it’s a bit jarring to see Sonic in a fighting game, beating up all his animal compatriots. Yet, Sonic the Fighters isn’t just a quick cash in, there is some real depth and fun to be had here.

Sonic the Fighters, being developed by the team that did Viruta Fighter, shares a lot of its aesthetical quirks with that series: It’s a 3 button fighting game (Punch, Kick, and Guard) and focuses a lot on chain combos, with alternations with button presses/directional inputs to get different moves and stances. Though don’t think this is a re-skin of Virtua Fighter (no pun intended).  For starters, the game is much faster than Virtua Fighter, sharing speed with Fighting Vipers. It also shares Fighting Vipers’ “floaty” combo system, where heavier damaging combos come more down to air juggles and combo-ing off of wall splats. One of the biggest deviations from the then standard AM2 fighting game formula though was also the barrier gauge, based around the Sonic power up of the same name. Like most fighting games, Sonic the Fighters had a block button that would block most attacks. Unlike most fighting games though, it would not last forever. Each player had about 5 barriers which would take about a few hits before breaking. Once all of the barriers were broken, not only could you not block for the rest of the round, but the rest of the match. It encouraged players to be more offensive as you could only be defensive for so long before your barrier broke or you were thrown. Some attacks could break one barrier instantly and barriers did not regenerate between rounds. The barrier gauge also factored in another unique aspect of Sonic the Fighters, Hyper Mode. Hyper Mode can be activated at the cost at one barrier. Once activated, it speed up attacks and allow for certain attacks that are only available in that mode. It come at a cost though: Once activated, it would turn all of your barriers an orange color, making them far easier to break. Even after the mode had run its course, your barriers will remain orange and easier to break for a while before returning back to their original blue color and properties.

Roster wise, the game is filled with the regular Sonic crew, along with some rather obscure Sonic characters from Knuckles Chaotix, and one with a little Sega history to them, Bean. Bean is not from any Sonic game but based around the protagonists from an old Sega arcade game Dynamite Dux, a game worked on by Sega AM2. Much of the cast remained true to their 2D heritage: Sonic does spin dashes, Tails flies, Knuckle glides, Bean throws bombs….which they did do in Dynamite Dux but it still works given the cartoon-y nature of Sonic.  Speaking of which….

The graphics in Sonic the Fighters deserve a second to talk about. Sonic the Fighters ran on Sega’s Model 2 arcade hardware which was equivalent to a slightly more powerful Sega Saturn system. The board could do some really great 3D graphics for the time. So it was weird when you see Sonic the Fighters’ pseudo-blocky 3D graphics that invoke a bit of the weird polygons from the first Virtua Fighter.  But take a closer look at the models and you can see this was more style choice than anything else. Despite being a bit blocky, Sonic and crew are extremely expressive. Characters squash and stretch when getting hit or smashed against wall. Not only is this done really well in the game but it also serves as a call back to Sonic’s origins, where Yuji Naka found inspiration for Sonic from American cartoons like Tom and Jerry. In a way, Sonic the Fighters’ graphics “future proofed” with its distinct style that no other fighting game had, and still doesn’t to this day.

Sonic the Fighters is far from a perfect fighter though. Probably the one thing going against the game is lack of depth. In comparison to other fighting games, and certainly ones from Sega AM2, Sonic the Fighters lacked that depth others had.  It does make sense that AM2 wouldn’t try to appeal to the hardcore fighting game crowd and try to open more people to fighting games. Still battles can be kind of tiring after a while with a very limited cast and limited move set. Also the game is kind of imbalanced which doesn’t work in its favor. There aren’t impossible match ups in the game but certainly ones that certainly favor certain characters, especially if that certain character has a projectile attack. But the thing that really worked not in Sonic the Fighters favor was its relative scarcity. Despite having a release in North America, Japan and Europe, the game was hard to find in Western Markets and never had any home ports until 2006. The game finally made its way to the home consoles apart of the Sonic Gems Collection. Previously, the closest thing to home release for the game was a few characters from the game showing up in the 1996 Sega 3D fighter Saturn-exclusive crossover game, Fighters Megamix. I played the GC version of Sonic the Fighters when it came out for the Sega Gems Collection. I was really excited to play it too considering I’d seen magazine articles detailing its development but never a cabinet in the wild. My first experience with it though, left me feeling a bit miffed. I mean I got the game and it was certainly fun in some parts. However, much of the game felt too repetitious and didn’t reward exploration with combos. It wasn’t until about a year ago when a friend on tumblr convinced me to try the 2012 PS3/360 port of the game that not only gave it another try, I also started to see the interesting stuff that existed. Even still, I can’t deny the game can still get repetitive and draining after a while, even with another human player.

Sonic the Fighters is one of the better cases of odd IPs getting a fighting game. The game stands out more when you consider it is a pretty decent fighter. It was handled by a team of fighting game experts, featured details that were still true to the source, and even feature an unique graphical style that still turns head to this day. If you do want to get this game, I strongly recommend the PSN/XBL version. The one on Sonic Gems Collection is serviceable but Sega went the extra mile on the digital release. Not only does it give you decent netplay, but more characters to play as including Metal Sonic, Robotnik, and even Honey the Cat. Honey the Cat is the fursona a Sonic-ized version of Honey/Candy from Fighting Vipers who was meant to be in the original release of Sonic the Fighters, but never was finished. Her 3D model was left in the game’s files, . However, for the PSN/XBL versions, Sega actually finished her and made her playable, a rather amazing feat given Sega’s track record on well anything nowadays. Outside of Sonic the Fighters, Sonic would punch his way into another fighting game for GBA, Sonic Battle, then join the roster of Super Smash Bros Brawl and its sequel.  Sonic the Fighters highlights one of the more notable characteristics for Sonic and the series: His malleable nature. For better or worse, Sonic has been molded into various games, looks, and even characters thought out the years by Sega and his fan base. We live in a world where Sonic can beat up his eternal rival Mario in one game, then be on his team for rugby at the Olympics in another game without really loosing anything in the process. Sonic may not be my favorite thing to come out of Sega but I’d admire that blue Needlemouse’s infectious tenaciously through the 25 years he has been around. And also that he was in a pretty decent fighting game too.

Happy 25th Birthday Sonic.