Coincidentally, the games stopped being fast, and they stopped being cool. A quick look at the current state of the Sonic franchise reveals that the games have totally lost sight of their original purpose. This is why Nintendo's Mario games remain so fun and why Sega's Sonic games are only kind of fun. The secret to the success of the Mario universe lies in the strength and appeal of its characters. Sonic games are no longer as fast.
Sonic games are no longer as cool.
Sonic himself has lost that trademark attitude that catapulted him to super stardom in favor of an ill-suited actor's voice that makes him come off as a cheap superhero caricature. Of course it wouldn't. That's why in order for the Sonic The Hedgehog series to return to its former glory, it needs to forget about Knuckles, Amy and all the other horrible characters, and get back to the basics. Unfortunately, the latest Sonic game, Sonic Shuffle , is not a step in the right direction. Sonic Shuffle is Sega's inevitable entry into the party game genre, which got its start with Nintendo's Mario Party on the Nintendo 64.