after all the discussion recently abt eggman's design in '06 and sonic heroes I was curious abt another topic that's very important w/ 3D sonic games... the models! since sonic 3D blast on saturn (1996) and sonic jam (1997) we have been treated to multiple different iterations of sonic & friends in 3D, all with different aspects and levels of charm

what is everyone's favourite 3D sonic model? did you enjoy stubbier, shorter proportions of sonic adventure on dreamcast? the extra stylistic look and exaggeration of sonic riders on gamecube? maybe the extra textures added to the riders models in zero gravity on wii made them the definitive look to you? or perhaps you liked the more realistic approach of sonic '06?

any models can be discussed! whether it be in game, pre-rendered, or for advertising and merchandise, I would love to hear everyone's thoughts on sonic & friends' 3D models and what to you, is your favourite(s) and perhaps "the best" in your opinion!

My brain's a bit fried right now so I can't be as wordy, but I'll try.

To start, I don't have a problem with any game models actually, I'm a pretty big fan of the plastic-y look of Heroes, for example. But my absolute favorite Sonic models have to come from Sonic '06 and Riders. 



It's more of a personal preference thing. I'm a big fan of taller and slimmer character designs and the '06 models really leaned into that with heightening everyone up. It's that I see the Modern Sonic look as being very sharp and flexible which leads to a lot of the iconic poses I feel these models could easily pull off, though sadly they are hardly posed in the more "radical" and extreme manners like how Adventure 2 does it.



Riders is the second one entirely due to their expressiveness. I love how the Riders models are super over the top with their movements and facial expressions, giant eyes, hands and feet and whatnot, I think these have to be the most emotive these characters have been, probably ever. Plus, the weird cone limb shapes kind of grew on me as being very charming.

Basically, my perfect mix for Sonic models is '06's tall proportions and Riders's overly emotive expressions.



And when talking about these models, I refer to them for all the characters featured in those games, not just Sonic. But I'd like to give an honorable mention to specifically Rouge's model in Sonic Adventure 2. Hard to explain why I like it especially compared to other Rouge models, though it likely has something to do with the textures.

(02-12-2024, 02:59 PM)Tominique Wrote: [Image: https://i.imgur.com/YQ6dATX.png]

And when talking about these models, I refer to them for all the characters featured in those games, not just Sonic. But I'd like to give an honorable mention to specifically Rouge's model in Sonic Adventure 2. Hard to explain why I like it especially compared to other Rouge models, though it likely has something to do with the textures.

rouge is a great example of the sonic style and designing characters, I enjoy the longer limbs in riders and '06 bcuz of how stylistic it is, like you said

but with rouge I think her SA2 model is the most stand-out for the opposite reasons, her limbs are still lengthy sure, but compared to the later models which also make her skinnier I think SA2's model for rouge really fit in w/ the cast more bcuz she's bulkier in body type. I think this problem sort of happened with a lot of the female sonic characters though, making them skinnier in body w/ almost human proportions compared to the male characters

I don't mean it in a bad way though, these models on their own for these characters are still great and in zero gravity are very expressive in terms of animation and body posing (part in thanks to the limbs)! but in shth you can see these longer models almost become a problem for characters like rouge, with her arms touching the floor when she's idle

For sprites I always loved the Sonic Xtreme sprites.


For polygonal 3D Sonic I did like the shiny look to Heroes but 06 was great too. I liked the Adventure models too but I don't consider those stubby compared to modern classic sonic interpretations. I don't like stubby Sonic really and never pictured him that way even when he only had 2D sprites on the Genesis.

(02-12-2024, 03:56 PM)hooligan Wrote: rouge is a great example of the sonic style and designing characters, I enjoy the longer limbs in riders and '06 bcuz of how stylistic it is, like you said

but with rouge I think her SA2 model is the most stand-out for the opposite reasons, her limbs are still lengthy sure, but compared to the later models which also make her skinnier I think SA2's model for rouge really fit in w/ the cast more bcuz she's bulkier in body type. I think this problem sort of happened with a lot of the female sonic characters though, making them skinnier in body w/ almost human proportions compared to the male characters

I don't mean it in a bad way though, these models on their own for these characters are still great and in zero gravity are very expressive in terms of animation and body posing (part in thanks to the limbs)! but in shth you can see these longer models almost become a problem for characters like rouge, with her arms touching the floor when she's idle  

Phew! Took the words right out of my mouth, guess that is why I like SA2 Rouge so much. 

Man, I just can't get enough of these Riders models. refreshing my memory with these screenshots, they're like a perfect balance of cartoony with that staple Sonic edge. MAN NOW I REALLY WANNA PLAY RIDERS AGAIN!



And on the topic of ShtH Rouge, I find it really funny how these are the brightest colors Rouge has ever worn and it's for the darkest game in the franchise, that was already using models off of the most lighthearted game in the franchise.

Granted, I don't mind the Heroes models in this game, I already said how much I like them, they're super fun with all the squash and stretch, even if it may not fit much of the tone ShtH was going for.

My favorite 3D Sonic model is from Sonic Unleashed. The graphics and Sonic's model are top-notch, in my opinion. It also helps that Sonic Team developed the Hedgehog Engine, which brought the in-game graphical fidelity on par with a Pixar movie.
   
   

My only gripe, however, is the Werehog's appearance. To me, his model looks kinda goofy and unfinished when he transforms at night.
   
   

But other than that, I still believe this game has one of the best 3D Sonic models.

I like the simplicity and cell shaded models of sonic shuffle. It has the dreamcast sa1 model but is cell shaded for a nice cartoony look.

(02-12-2024, 03:17 PM)sunkist Wrote: i think for me personally one of my favorite models has to be the secret rings models, at least for sonic's model... the model gives off the more modern look of the current sonic model while still having that adventure/heroes era kind of feel! because to me it looks like a mix of the dreamcast model and the heroes model

for a more better perspective on it, putting the secret rings sonic model into sa1 really makes it feel like he belongs there! (source)

i could just be all sorts of wrong but i really do like how the secret rings model looks and wish we kept with this style for sonic's models, though i wouldn't mind models similar to 06

seeing the secret rings model put into adventure environments really does make it seem like an adventure HD model, doesn't it? I think sonic looks really good in lower quality and the wii models are like a natural sequel to the GC adventure models

(02-12-2024, 04:08 PM)NeoMetallix Wrote: For sprites I always loved the Sonic Xtreme sprites.

For polygonal 3D Sonic I did like the shiny look to Heroes but 06 was great too. I liked the Adventure models too but I don't consider those stubby compared to modern classic sonic interpretations. I don't like stubby Sonic really and never pictured him that way even when he only had 2D sprites on the Genesis.

I agree, compared to the gens classic sonic, adventure sonic really isn't that "stubby" but definitely feels smaller in size compared to how he was depicted in 2D art. but 3D blast and xtreme were really good 3D translations of the genesis sprite, you're right

(02-12-2024, 06:40 PM)Maxwell Wrote: My favorite 3D Sonic model is from Sonic Unleashed. The graphics and Sonic's model are top-notch, in my opinion. It also helps that Sonic Team developed the Hedgehog Engine, which brought the in-game graphical fidelity on par with a Pixar movie.

My only gripe, however, is the Werehog's appearance. To me, his model looks kinda goofy and unfinished when he transforms at night.

But other than that, I still believe this game has one of the best 3D Sonic models.

unleashed had a great model for sonic! I love how he looked in pre-rendered cutscenes done by marza too, they did a fantastic job bringing life to sonic for this game both in game and in cutscenes



I think when it comes to the werehog model I can appreciate it for what it is, and how it still looks like sonic despite the difference in body shape and size. there's a charm to this big fluffy guy that I just love so much  it was a shame that unleashed pushed the graphics too far and that it couldn't run very well until the newer xbox series models

the only thing that's unfortunate is that after unleashed there hasn't been much done to sonic's model other than the tweaks in lost world and then forces, which was shortening the limbs and quills, it would be nice to see a "newer" sonic and what they would do to improve on this one since we've seen it for so long now

(02-12-2024, 08:19 PM)Alpha_Blue_Squirrel Wrote: I like the simplicity and cell shaded models of sonic shuffle. It has the dreamcast sa1 model but is cell shaded for a nice cartoony look.

I'm glad someone mentioned the sonic shuffle models! I love how unique they are compared to the other models we've gotten in the sonic series, and it's a shame we haven't really gotten cell shaded models again for a game, even for a spin off

My favorite isn't different from what was already said here. I really like the Sonic 06 models but that may be also due to the animations being so smooth.

SRB2 Honestly. Look at Kaldrum's Hesse models! And Kromos's Definitive Classic Pack! Oh, the polygons!