Sega admits Sonic is falling

[Yoder]

For reference, Sonic used a hoverboard (even though he could keep up with Jet), because he needed manueverability at high speeds. Though Sonic has always been able to run at blinding speeds, he isn't sogreat at evading obstacles at his maximum speed. The hoverboard eliminated this problem.

That's what bugs me about Mario's spin-off titles (and Sega's Superstar Tennis). The lack of story or anything giving them a reason to participate is odd. Most of Mario's spin-offs are just happy-go-lucky look-at-us bright-and-shiny characters playing for the sport of it.

I only liked the original Mario Party (with the assistant mode that gave you a front-defender and a back-defender in a rock-paper-scissors style of gameplay). Sonic Shuffle, despite being reviewed so horribly, is actually a very fun (and challenging) game.