Honestly, why is it so hard for anyone to do anything interesting with Sonic anymore?
In my humble opinion, it is because 23 years ago Sega decided to abandon ABC's Sonic the Hedgehog TV series continuity. I know there are comics. I mean, it should've become the official story of the games. I adored Sonic Adventure 1 in 1999, but that's where my patience ended. I've never been interested in anything but the story of the Knothole Freedom Fighters, the fate of the planet Mobius, and the resolution of that epic Season 2 cliffhanger. When I think 'Sonic', I think Uncle Chuck, Princess Sally, and Dr. Robotnik (not "Eggman"). When I was a kid playing Sonics 1-3 throughout the '90s on my Genesis, I was pretending to be in that cartoon. I still do.
Because Sega let its fanboys like me down hard, we never got a Sonic the Freedom Fighter RPG, never got subtle moralistic commentaries about the cost of ambition, the over-mechanization of society, and the value of nature and freedom. Do new Sonic games even try to show Sonic liberating flowers and animals from robots anymore? Sonic used to have a strong visual point that taught kids a little about life and made the player feel optimistic. It was 1991's optimistic green cyberpunk, a hitherto unique genre, and I can't think of any similar example since.
And bring back Jaleel White!