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The Sonic the Hedgehog series is easily one of the most historic gaming franchises. The rivalry between this Sega mascot and Mario was the stuff of legends, with Sonic edging out the competition at one point before Sega's multiple failures in the console market led to Mario and Nintendo taking over as the kings of the video game industry.
Nowadays, Sonic fans have a love-hate relationship with the franchise. Some of the games in this series are genuinely impressive, while other titles don't really reach the heights they should. As a result, the Sonic series has gone through a massive transformation that has resulted in the loss of certain tropes that used to be commonplace in the Sonic franchise.
7 The Chaos Emeralds Aren't As Important
There was a time when the majority of Sonic games used to focus on the Chaos Emeralds in some capacity or the other. Usually, the plot involved Dr. Robotnik stealing the Chaos Emeralds for his own nefarious purposes, prompting Sonic & Co. to drop everything they were doing and hunt down Eggman in a bid to secure these Chaos Emeralds.
However, as Sonic has developed over time, so have these simple stories. Now, modern Sonic games feature everything from multiple antagonists to new dimensions, which can get rather complex and convoluted at times.
6 An Edgy But Lighthearted Persona
After having a light-hearted and cute persona for awhile, Sega decided to change Sonic for a new generation of gamers. This led to Sonic adopting a more cool and rebellious attitude, which was beloved by many fans for the longest time.
However, over time, this edgy aura around the Sonic franchise ended up reaching unnecessary heights. One need only see the disastrous release of Shadow the Hedgehog to realize just how far Sega had taken Sonic in a direction that most fans weren't really fond of after a point.
5 Knuckles As Sonic's Rival
There was a time when Knuckles' main role in the stories was as Sonic's rival. The adventures that ensued as a result were quite memorable, with some people considering this time to be Sonic's greatest time in the spotlight before its eventual decline.
Over time, Knuckles transitioned into being one of Sonic's closest friends... albeit with a smart mouth of his own. Characters like Shadow ended up taking over the role of being Sonic's rival instead, which was fine with people as long as Eggman remained consistent as Sonic's main enemy.
4 Simple, Straightforward Gameplay
There was a time when Sonic games were all about doing one thing — running as fast as possible to get to the end of the level in record time. However, with each and every entry in the series, this simple yet effective gameplay loop ended up getting slightly more complicated until the games were completely different.
This led to the advent of numerous gimmicks in the Sonic franchise that were met with universal signs of despair from Sonic fans. Trying to cram in too many gameplay nuances led to some Sonic games featuring downright excruciating gameplay. Some fans have found this newer gameplay hard to get through, and would like to see the simplicity of the classic games again.
3 The "Way Past Cool!" Catchphrase
Most people associate the phrase "Gotta go fast!" to be Sonic's catchphrase. It's a fact that most people are aware of... but what these fans might not know is that Sonic actually had a different catchphrase at one point that was quietly phased away in favor of this new one.
At one point, Sonic used to say "Way past cool!" as a catchphrase instead. Imagining this line in Sonic's voice is quite fitting, and it's slightly puzzling as to why this line didn't become a mainstay of the series.
2 Light, Fun, Simple Storylines
For the most part, the stories present in Sonic games used to be light-hearted tales with simple premises. Sonic and his friends needed to stop Eggman's plans by either hunting down the Chaos Emeralds, saving a kidnapped friend, or anything else along the same lines.
However, as the Sonic franchise tried to mature itself, it did so often with overly convoluted plots that were difficult to stay up-to-date with. Whether it was overflow of new characters or complex, unnecessary plot contrivances, the stories of Sonic became much more serious and less playful.
1 The Character Designs
The characters in the Sonic series usually followed a train of logic. With the sole exception of Eggman, everyone from Sonic to Amy are anthropomorphized animals of some kind. This consistent design is one of the major reasons why the characters of Sonic are beloved by many.
However, the release of Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) completely changed this perception. All of a sudden, realistically-proportioned characters existed in the world of Sonic, which completely threw the lore of the world in for a loop. Sonic's romantic attachment to one of these human characters made the game even weirder, and is one of the many reasons why so many gamers bear a dislike for Sonic '06.