As SEGA unveiled Sonic 4 via their super-brief trailer, we witnessed the rabid sonic fans come out from under their rocks to start requesting all manner of things. And, as our inner 1990's Sonic fan came out, we couldn't resist throwing our hats into the ring too!
What follows is a breakdown of the top 4 things we think SEGA must focus on to make Sonic 4 as good as it can be.

The pace of Sonic

OK, so SEGA's trailer already hints at a 16-bit pace but we're still a little concerned by the running animations on show. Thankfully SEGA have gone on record saying “Our cobbled together, viral-marketing-focused trailer only hints at what is to come” (seriously, they may as well have said it like that.) We're hoping that SEGA stick to their mantra of classic Sonic and don't make 2D running so fast that Sonic becomes nothing but a blur. With such vast 2D planes to traverse the last thing we want is for Sonic to start running past everything. Speed is no excuse for linear level design, (something Sonic's 3D outings were famous for) and SEGA used to combat Sonic's speed with great effectiveness in the original 2D games, creating a fine line between exhilaration and exploration. More of the same would be great, thanks.

Without Shadow we're already 90% happy!

Argh! Gimmicks!

As Sonic travelled through zones which slowly became more mechanical, it was nice to see a contrast in level design keep the games feeling fresh whilst building on the core running and jumping mechanics. It wasn't until Sonic and Knuckles that we felt SEGA went a little too far. Here we got swings, excessive loop de loops (practically every other screen?) and parachute mushrooms (seriously?!). Now, we're all for game-enhancing gimmicks used sparingly, and we certainly enjoyed S&K, but the last thing we want is a ramp off every platform, a swing on every corner and a grinding rail littering a loop de loop at every turn. *Cough*, Sonic Rush. The Sonic 4 trailer seemed to indicate little but let's hope SEGA can keep their calm when it comes to using Sonic as a pinball thus taking away a feeling of being in control from the gamer.

Just like Sonic 2=bliss.

Musical History

There are so many classic tunes from Sonic 1 to Sonic CD that it would be a shame to completely dismiss them all. We've already heard the Sonic 4 title music (which sounds poor in comparison to the old games) and, yes, I'm sure we will get tunes accompanying invincibility and that traditional 'kerching!' piece of music at the end of a stage. But perhaps SEGA should leave some music as it was, purely to suck gamers back into the realms of classic Sonic all over again. And if Mario has done it for years then surely that's a template SEGA should aspire to imitate. Furthermore, the actual sound design of the title should imitate the old titles, perhaps Sonic 'could' talk but only at the beginning and end of a stage. And with only a few samples. We don't like to compare but NSMB Wii is a good starting point if you're looking to reboot a retro franchise.

Power Ups!

Remember the old TV screens with items in them? We want them back in force! Do we need to see HDTV equivalents? No. As for the power ups included, a return to the staple format would be good but Sonic 3's fire/lightning/bubble power ups were great and the double jump to activate worked well. Perhaps SEGA should throw in these power ups to add some depth and to keep the title from going too far back to, say, Sonic 1? However, it's a fine line as if anything new makes an appearance (rocket boots from Sonic Chaos anyone?) we'll be erring on the side of caution.

Now we've stated what we would like to see in Sonic 4, leave us your comments below!