My all time favorite video game character since I can remember has been Sonic the Hedgehog. It's something that has always had a big effect on how I behave and what I like. Like always being obsessed with being the fastest for example, or the types of music I'm into. Skating even became one of my hobbies because I saw Shadow the Hedgehog skating in Sonic Adventure 2 Battle when I was in kindergarten xD. Something has changed in the franchise however, so I'll give my opinion on the new and the old, and why I think Sonic isn't doing to well these days.

How was Sonic before?

Before the modern era of Sonic, he was the definition of cool in my opinion. There wasn't any piece of media I didn't totally enjoy, but of course what I loved the most was who he was in the games and how he behaved. When i look back on the Sonic games that came out before Sonic Unleashed in 2008 I see games that were more serious... games where the story had actual plot and real character development. Two big examples of this in my opinion would Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic 2006.
In Sonic Adventure 2 we are introduced to Sonic's new rival, Shadow the Hedgehog, and shown his tragic backstory where his only friend, Maria, was killed by the military. Because of this the creator of Shadow, Gerald Robotnik(also Dr. Eggman and Maria's grandfather) created a plan to take revenge on the earth by destroying it.
In Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) we meet Silver the Hedgehog who lives in a future totally destroyed by the flames of disaster. In this game past, present, and future meet for an epic story where Shadow, Sonic , and Silver work together to save the world.

I agree that Sonic 2006 is a very bad game when it comes to the gameplay and overall look of the game, but it could have been my favorite Sonic game because of the music and story... what a shame.

How is Sonic now?

Sonic currently feels like a cartoon... a not very well thought out cartoon. The stories of the games that come out now are not very well explained and it seems like things happen for no reason. Like in Sonic Lost World where we find the Lost Hex, which is like a mini planet based on hexagons, and it seems like Tails knows about it... But it's never explained what it actually is. Sonic Forces is probably the worst Sonic game I've played... Things just happen in that game for what seems like no reason, like classic Sonic being there... why? He doesn't contribute to the game at all story wise, and only gives us a third gameplay style which isn't even wanted or done well(which is shocking since Sonic Mania just came out before that and was amazing). Chaos appears in the game again but also... does nothing. There is no reason for him to be there at all and we don't even get to fight him, and the same goes for Silver(I do like Silver as you can see by my name). Silver is... just there, and I don't know why. He lives in the future so why is he in the resistance in the present?
I really enjoyed the gameplay of Sonic Unleashed, Colors, and Generations. I think they executed the boost formula styled gameplay pretty well in those games and I don't think they should get rid of it, but I would like to see slightly more open levels like in Sonic heroes or SA2. A Generations mod that does this pretty well is call Sonic Adventure Generations made by CorvidDude, and here's some gameplay by RemixedCereal.
Forces and Lost World did not execute their play styles well at all. In Lost World we were introduced to a new parkour system which more or less clunky and not very fun to use. Sonic also walks at a constant speed when you move and only runs when you hold down the run button... but this is also at a constant speed. This was meant to help the player control Sonic easier, but it takes away what playing as Sonic is supposed to be like. In all of the Sonic games(well.. most) there was a sense of momentum and you are supposed to use that momentum and skill to keep up that speed. There is a spin dash in this game but that's sadly not usable very often. The boost also allows you to reach top speed in an instant but that was done right in the recently mentioned games that have it. That's different in Sonic Forces because the game is like a straight line and it's really just boost to win, and that's not fun.
What bothers me the most about current day Sonic is how the characters have changed. Sonic is now no longer as cool as he used to be, and was reduced to a silly cartoon character that makes fun of Eggman's nose hair and makes stupid puns and jokes. His sidekick, Tails, was also changed. He used to a big help to Sonic and not just rely on him all the time. In Sonic Adventure, he had his one story and was able to fight. He even fought Chaos who we see return in Sonic Forces like I mentioned before, but this time Tails cowers in fear and is saved by classic Sonic when he appears out of a portal. This... is not cool. I can't believe the reduced Tails to such a useless character.

What do I hope for?

I'm a huge fan of the Sonic Adventure style gameplay, but I'm totally fine with the boost style gameplay as long as it's done right. What I really hope for is that the characters revert back to their old selves and for everything to stop being so cartoony. I was very much pleased by Sonic Mania and thought that Sonic was back, but was then very disappointed when Sonic Forces came out. Honestly I think Sega should let fans develop the next Sonic game like they did with Mania. Sega announced that they would be revealing what's next for Sonic the Hedgehog at SXSW this March. I just really hope that they will be announcing the next game, and that it looks like something that I can look forward to. I'd really like something new from Sonic that can inspire me like it once did.
I'd like to hear what some of you think of Sonic the Hedgehog in the comments, and thanks for reading! This is my first time writing something like this and I hope to get better!