Recently, rumors began to fly that Sonic the Hedgehog’s first multiplatform adventure, 2003’s Sonic Heroes, would be receiving some kind of remake. This comes in the wake of Sonic Team re-releasing other past Sonic titles, including Sonic Colors Ultimate and the upcoming Sonic X Shadow Generations. It appeared the team would start pulling from the older catalog of titles, and thus, Heroes would be next in line.
Later reports clarified that this doesn’t appear to be the case and that, while a remake is being considered, it may be a while before we see it (if it exists, that is). This might be disappointing to hear, but it’s not gonna stop me from holding out hope. While Sonic Heroes is, on a personal level, far from my favorite Sonic the Hedgehog game, I still feel the game deserves a remake, whether Sega and Sonic Team are planning one or not.
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Games That Aren’t Masterpieces Deserve Remakes Too
These days, when it comes to video game remakes, fans often find themselves clamoring for remakes of critically acclaimed titles that are already good in their current form. And not to say that isn’t understandable; the passage of time is unstoppable, and even if a game is already good, a remake can remind everyone of what made it great in the first place. To that end, it’s not an inherently bad thing when a “masterpiece” gets a remake.
The Sonic the Hedgehog franchise itself is no stranger to this treatment, either. Just doing a quick online perusal, you’ll find a plethora of fans constantly asking for a remake of the Sonic Adventure games. And not to say these games are timeless masterpieces undeserving of a remake – we could be here for a while if we discuss all the aged elements that could be improved in a remake – but these are among the most popular and well-liked Sonic games out there. Even with their warts, the original Sonic Adventure games remain enjoyable and are among Sonic’s best 3D adventures to date.
Sometimes, though, it’s more worthwhile to remake something that’s not an absolute masterpiece. In a lot of ways, it helps you fix things that didn’t go right with the original and helps it unlock more of its potential. Sonic fans surely know this super well, as while this was more of a fan project, the release of Project P-06 took the much-maligned 2006 Sonic the Hedgehog title and turned it into something great. Remaking a game that wasn’t great before offers more room for improvement than remaking a beloved game, which makes Sonic Heroes the kind of game that could greatly benefit from a fresh coat of paint.
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Let Sonic Heroes Live Up To Its Potential
While a lot can be made about Sonic Heroes and its many warts, one thing that can be said is that it certainly brought some unique gameplay ideas to the franchise. Where the first two Sonic Adventure games were almost like roulette wheels of gameplay styles, including some truly out-of-the-blue concepts and gameplay styles – Big’s fishing minigame, anyone? – Sonic Heroes focused things down a bit more. In fact, Sonic Heroes largely compartmentalizes gameplay styles to where you experience them all at once.
In the game, you technically control three characters in one, each with their own unique style. One character focuses on speed, one focuses on flying, and the other focuses on strength. Players can swap between them on the fly with the push of a button, saving different characters for necessary situations. The game also builds certain sections around each type, essentially mandating that the player utilize a certain style to get past certain sections. It’s an interesting means of bringing some gameplay variation to the table, while also bringing some level of cohesion and focus.
This is all well and good, but while Sonic Heroes brings some unique styles and ideas to the Sonic franchise, it’s a game bogged down by several factors. From a gameplay perspective, perhaps the biggest problem is just how sloppy the controls are. Sonic’s awkward transition into the 3D era largely came from the early games having occasionally awkward controls and cumbersome cameras, but Sonic Heroes turns the dial way too far in the wrong direction. The controls are so slippery and they feel especially bad when you’re grinding on rails, something that happens often in the second half of the game. The camera system has also not improved much from the first few Sonic Adventure games, which combines with the controls to make Sonic Heroes difficult to get a handle on.
It should also be said that perhaps the most unique element of Sonic Heroes is also its biggest drawback. While it is cool that you can play as three characters at once, Sonic Team decided to add four specific “teams” to the game as a means of padding out its length. In the game, you play as Team Sonic, Team Dark, Team Rose, and Team Chaotix, and you must complete each team’s individual story – plus collect all seven Chaos Emeralds – to unlock the final boss fight. On the surface, this isn’t so bad, but each team goes through the same stages in the same order, with mostly minor differences in gameplay objectives and difficulty. Combine this with the aforementioned control issues, and Sonic Heroes unfortunately becomes a slog to play.
While this also isn’t the game’s biggest problem, sitting through Sonic Heroes will also require fans to deal with the bizarre voice acting. Sonic’s early 3D adventures made for consistently great riffing material thanks to the voice acting, and while Heroes is no different, the awkwardness can be a lot to handle. Sure, this isn’t necessarily a franchise with the deepest, most cinematic storytelling in the world, but recent Sonic games have at least made a concerted effort to tone down the Playskool hamminess of the older games. Heroes is that hamminess to its logical extreme, to the point where it can be a bit too much to handle.
Sonic Heroes most certainly has its issues, to the point where it’s a tough game to recommend today. It’s because of these issues, though, that I feel a remake could move things in a much different direction. Fixing the slippery controls, creating some greater gameplay variation, and improving on the goofy voice acting could make Sonic Heroes a much easier game to recommend than it currently is. Given where the Sonic series has gone since this, a remake of Heroes with more modern sensibilities can definitely help turn it into the entry it was supposed to be over 20 years ago.
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