One Of The Worst Sonic Games Ever Made Can Finally Be Redeemed Thanks To Sonic The Hedgehog 3

There are few media franchises that have had as tumultuous a career as the Sonic the Hedgehog series. Starting as one of the kings of the video game landscape, before failing to find its footing in later years, and now finally seeing a resurgence thanks to the new films, Sonic has had a fascinating career. But now, with the hotly anticipated Sonic the Hedgehog 3 on the horizon, there is an opportunity to look towards what might be next for the franchise.

With Sonic the Hedgehog 3's excellent cast and the goodwill from the previous two movies, the upcoming third film seems like it will be a slam dunk, but questions arise about what will come after. While the fourth film and beyond could certainly tell wholly original stories, like the first movie and its sequel, considering the hype surrounding the story of Sonic the Hedgehog 3, which is an adaptation of a past Sonic game, pulling future stories from the series' canon seems like the obvious route, even if they adapt some of the less beloved Sonic titles.

Sonic '06 Could Find Redemption As Sonic The Hedgehog 3's Sequel

Hopefully With Less Interspecies Romance This Time

While few could say that the story of the 2006 game, simply titled Sonic the Hedgehog, was a masterpiece, there is certainly enough there to craft a narrative that is actually coherent and entertaining. The Sonic movies have been slowly introducing more specific Sonic lore and characters, with Sonic the Hedgehog 3 especially looking to showcase many lesser known aspects of the Sonic canon. Diving headfirst into the wild world that Sonic depicts would certainly blow the lid wide open on the series, pushing it further into feeling like a full-blown Sonic the Hedgehog universe, as opposed to the real world with some Sonic characters thrown in.

While the filmmakers will likely not want to deviate too far from what has been established in the films already, being able to push the bounds of what the universe can be would keep the franchise feeling fresh

Adapting the story of Sonic '06 as a film could take many forms, from as simple as introducing some of the same characters to as complex as a similar time travel and dimension hopping narrative. While the filmmakers will likely not want to deviate too far from what has been established in the films already, being able to push the bounds of what the universe can be would keep the franchise feeling fresh, and at least loosely adapting something like 2006's Sonic the Hedgehog would be a great way to accomplish that.

Why Sonic '06 Wasn't Great The First Time Around

The Game Just Didn't Hit The Way It Needed

The 2006 Sonic game was meant to be something of a soft reboot for the franchise, telling an entirely new story, albeit with the same characters, in a new location. The story is vast, expanding the universe, introducing plenty of brand-new characters, telling the tale of a race to stop a dark god from consuming time itself; unfortunately, that doesn't save it from being an underwhelming installment in the franchise. After all, half of the plot is about saving a princess from Dr. Eggman over and over again, and the other half is a poorly paced mess of confusing timelines and underwritten characters.

Related Sonic The Hedgehog 3 Is Setting Up A Dark Sonic Twist With 1 Character's Fate Sonic the Hedgehog 3's trailer undoubtedly has a dark tone, but the implied fate of one character could end up making the film even darker.

While Sonic '06 has had some resurgence in recent years with the positivity surrounding the franchise due to the success of the movies, it still isn't counted among Sonic's best. However, that just means that there is that much more room to improve, while still being able to bank off of the recognizable characters and moments. A Sonic '06 film would get the best of both worlds: the general population's pre-established enjoyment of the Sonic movies, and the ability to show that even the most convoluted of Sonic projects can still be made into something enjoyable.

The Sonic Movies Aren't Afraid To Adapt Stories From The Games

Hopefully The Trend Continues After Sonic The Hedgehog 3

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While the first Sonic the Hedgehog movie was very much an original story that featured the character of Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 made it clear that the movies were going to introduce more elements from the games, such as characters like Knuckles and Tails, and the debut of the master emerald. The newest movie in the series, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, is a more direct adaptation, with trailers pointing towards a more direct adaptation of the game that introduced Shadow: Sonic Adventure 2.

With the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 trailer directly referencing moments such as the death of Maria, it is clear that the filmmakers are looking to emulate aspects of Sonic Adventure 2. After the release of this third installment, there aren't too many mainline games to base a full movie on. The original Sonic games tended towards simpler stories about stopping Eggman, which has been covered pretty extensively by the movies. If Sonic the Hedgehog 3 really is the huge success that it seems to have to be potential to be, then adapting Sonic '06 could be a great way forward for the franchise.