Nexus Analysis

  Introduction: Most people agree that Sonic the Hedgehog , as a franchise, hit its stride almost immediately during the 2D era in the 90s. The franchise was a smash success in the Sega Genesis era, and the first several mainline titles (obviously being Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic 2, Sonic 3, Sonic & Knuckles, Sonic Chaos / Sonic & Tails and Sonic Triple Trouble / Sonic & Tails 2 ) quickly established a lovable cast, a compelling protagonist, and a unique, fun and appealing world despite their hardware’s limited storytelling capabilities.  After a rocky foray into “3D” with Sonic 3D Blast , which was more so just 3D visuals translated into isometric 2D; the series pushed itself and evolved further with Sonic Adventure in 1998, which was quickly followed up by Sonic Adventure 2 in 2001. These games elevated the franchise to new heights, featuring what was essentially a proto-open world style of gameplay for the franchise that heavily emphasized exploration, unique character m

  Intro and Strengths: I recently finished the first two seasons of Cobra Kai , a show that literally everyone except for me has not only heard of but, well, actually seen. Full disclosure, I had no idea what the hype was and I only saw the first Karate Kid movie a single time—even then, it was the Jaiden Smith remake, and I was probably about 10. I had no interest in the franchise because I had never seen the original works that formed the bulk of said franchise, and I simply couldn’t conceive of it being anything more than a couple of movies.  I was genuinely pleased to find that I really, really liked Cobra Kai . Even so, I believe that Cobra Kai has several major criticisms that I would like to highlight in this essay. Before I do so, I want to make it clear I honestly did enjoy what I was watching on a moment-to-moment basis, and so even though this essay primarily focuses on what I consider to be missed opportunities and unused potential, in the interest of fairness, I want to fi