What I'm starting to realize about games that came out around the time of Sonic Adventure 1, and from periods before that, is that these were amazing games for their time, a time where it was more common to read video game manuals that explained how to play the game before you actually played it. Unfortunately things like manuals and add-ons such as the Dreamcast VMUs can't be experienced exactly as they were when these games are ported to modern hardware, and thus we might miss out on the original intentions of the developers. I didn't grow up playing much SA1, and when I did play it it was the digital version from the Xbox 360 store, so I didn't have a physical manual to check out.
Big's story, for example, I had a hard time getting into at first because I didn't understand the controls that are admittedly simple once you realize you just need to set the hook.
Games from this era didn't really have tutorials because people used to read the cool manuals that came with the games, or at least I know I did. Nowadays a lot of games teach you the basics from the get-go. I think this is why SA1 feels "jank" to people, because they're trying to figure it out as they go instead of easing into each character's controls by reading along with the manual. (I know there are in-game control instructions when you select the characters, but it seems people don't take the time to read those. I know I didn't.)
Modern gaming habits have conditioned us to play story games in a linear way, and we expect to be taught how to play the game when we boot up the main mode, or we're prompted to play a tutorial before we start. In my recent playthrough of SA1, I played each story in order, but apparently you're not really meant to do that the first time around. I don't know if back in the day this was emphasized more by the devs in the manual or in game or in promotional material, but I was told by The_Sinflower that they intended for you to begin a character's story as you unlock each one. So you'd be going back and forth until you eventually beat them all. Instead of "okay beat all of Sonic's story, then to Tails, then to Knuckles, etc." Apparently this makes the game's repeated cutscenes feel less repetitive?
I'm not saying the game was executed perfectly, or that playing the game this way would make it better for everyone, but it's just interesting to hear the perspective from someone who played the game back when it came out, and how the game "clicked" for you more back then because of everything surrounding it and how experiencing it the way the devs intended makes you see the vision more clearly and just have a better time playing overall. At least that's the impression I get, and I do remember having this experience with games such as the original Ratchet & Clank games, Super Mario 64, and more I grew up with. And all that is without getting into the VMU Chao Garden stuff, which unfortunately I never got to experience.
Moving forward, I'm going to try to start playing games more like how I did when I was a kid. Taking my time with them, playing them even after I beat it once and just getting to know the controls, stages, worlds, music, unlockables, etc. more deeply. I plan to continue doing this with SA1, Project 06, and Donkey Kong Bananza in the near future, and of course whatever I plan on playing after that.
I'll let you guys know how that goes as I do it! Funny enough, it seems like SA1 is the PERFECT game to start trying this with, because there's so many interesting little secrets in each stage and hub area as each character, and Sonic's tech in particular is a ton of fun to abuse.
Check out my streams on YouTube and Twitch to catch me playing these games live at 6pm CST tuesday-saturday! I also might evolve this little blog post into a scripted video in the future so don't forget to subscribe!