If Sonic is a rip-off of Mario, then so is virtually EVERY OTHER COMPUTER GAME CHARACTER.
Seriously dude, Sonic is VERY different.
Ahem.
- Sonic spins. He doesn't jump, he does a spinning jump. He also spins over the ground.
- Sonic is a blue hedgehog - Does that bear ANY resemblence to an Italien plumber, in any way?
- Sonic is, as you said, a HECK of a lot faster than Mario. I mean, Sonic Adventure 1 + 2 - Speed is the core element of Sonic's levels, and puts Mario kart to shame. That speed has nothing to do with Mario, lemme tell you.
- Sonic's main enemy is an overweight scientist, as opposed to a giant fire-breathing turtle. It's... Probably a little more realistic in that sense.
Okay! Now then.
Look at the title. SONIC HEROES.
with a title like that, it was bound to fail. Especially when you entered the game, and heard that AWFUL theme song for the first time. Honestly, I could pull better lyrics from my-
Also, the entire thing was a team, packed together like sardines.
No free movement or lone-travelling.
Also, EVERY STORYLINE WAS IDENTICLE.
Same location each time. Same enemy - Robotnik.
Same result - Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...
Also... Metal Sonic wasn't exactly a brilliant final enemy.
Dude, Chaos could beat him in his SLEEP.
Overall, Sonic Heroes COULD have worked, if they changed everything about it.
(Except MAYBE some of the musics... And Team Chaotix were cool)
(Oh, and by the way Pyro - Don't count your eggs until they've hatched. The next gen Sonic game LOOKS good, but admit it, you thought Sonic Heroes looked brilliant. So... Don't guess. It could prove another disaster...)