You might not know it from looking at the games I've played since I've started by Backloggd account, but I actually really like beat 'em ups, and that's where Sonic Unleashed, or at least this version of it, shines. The night stages are mostly pretty fun and have a decent progression system and difficulty curve. The combat is a bit on the simple side and I wish there was more enemy variety, but the night stages are a fun time that let you explore just enough to make you feel like you're not totally railroaded.

The day stages, on the other hand, are kind of a mess. And that's funny, because I actually really like this iteration of the boost system, it's probably my favorite modern sonic mechanic (please tell me 2008 is still "modern") - but holy the levels are scant. There's literally less than ten of them, and the rest of the day stages are "missions" - snippets of the stage you've already done with (usually) a different objective like collecting rings or dodging obstacles. Near the end of the game you're given time attack missions which are "do the stage from start to finish again, with a timer and checkpoints that boost your time". It's such a miniscule amount of content to make up what is allegedly half the game! There are also some issues with collision in the late game especially on curved platforms, most notable in Shamar and Eggmanland's day stages.

You also have to do basically what amounts to a point-and-click adventure to unlock stages through a primitive menu interface. The graphics are nice but it's nothing special. At times you're literally told information or objectives you already know or is a bit removed from the game's plot ("go to Shamar", Professor Pickle says while we're already in Shamar) to where the plot feels a bit contrived. And that's okay because the plot is already pretty goofy, but it seems like at points the attention to detail is just missing.

I think this game is worth a play, I had fun, but the night content really is the standout in this entry in the Sonic series (which is weird for a Sonic game), and there are better beat 'em ups out there.

2 niveaux auraient été cut de cette version comparé à celles x-box et PS3.
Cependant j'ai passé un bon moment, coincé sur un niveau random sur lequel, après un éclair de lucidité survenu 2 ans après, j'ai enfin réussi à avoir un déclic qui m'a permis d'enchaîner et de terminer le jeu.

Les phases de fin m'ont clairement dégoutées, Gaia est clairement une entité qui m'aura marqué de par sa transformation physique en fin de partie lors des cinématiques.
Cependant, de très bonnes OST qui me suivront encore à ce jour, notamment celles de Spagonia et les day-musics.

It's Sonic Unleashed! But a little better! But also a little worse! It's weird and I feel conflicted as I type this up at 3AM!

At the core of the SD version of Sonic Unleashed remain the incredibly solid art direction, heartfelt story and majestic soundtrack of the HD release, so all's good on those respective fronts. The game naturally looks worse, with compressed FMVs for cutscenes and less continuity with entire stages missing, but those are the prices we pay when dealing with what was clearly a lower budget version of the game for the lower end consoles that needed Sonic Unleashed on them for selling a bazillion units.

It's the gameplay of Sonic UnWiished that really leaves me conflicted. Between the point-n-click hub worlds, wide abundance of Werehog levels without enough combat options, and sparse day stages, I never finished this version of the game until the day I'm typing this review, despite owning the PS2 version since the year it released. Then I downloaded the ISO on a whim and beat the game not quite in one shot (I took a bath and at one point my emulator crashed), but it was a marathon of a run, so hey. Let's take it from the top!

The day stages are still the highlight, this is Sonic Unleashed we're talking about. They're shorter and less setpiece heavy than the HD release, but damn, I really enjoyed pretty much all of them aside from Eggman Land. There's some really fun level design throughout, with multiple routes, fun speedrun potential, and I really liked the idea of the boost gauge being split into segments that you can increase by hitting ring thresholds. I'll always have preference for how it worked in the HD version and the games that followed, but it's a fun changeup that essentially acts as an on-the-fly boost panel. It's neat! Could've done without Sonic splatting against walls like a pancake, and there's definitely some padding with a single stage being used for a small handful of bitesized missions after the fact, but it is what it is. Overall, day stages are great stuff! Wouldn't put them up there in the upper echelon of 3D Sonic level design, but they're fun!

And then the Werehog shows up, with its lengthy 15+ minute levels being cut into a few smaller stages. It honestly sounds better when I describe them like that, allowing the player to pace themselves if they just wanna call it a night, but the real draw to the Werehog, warts and all, is combat. In the HD version, it's not gonna give Devil May Cry, Bayonetta or Ninja Gaiden a run for their money, but there's a surprisingly high amount of moves for the Werehog to pull off. It's not perfect, especially with the EXP system making the earning of new moves a bit of a slog, but you can tell Sonic Team had a decent idea of what made God Of War and Devil May Cry satisfying to play, and tried to create something akin to those games.

UnWiished, hindered both by lower end hardware and motion controls, ends up having a way smaller moveset, and a more cumbersome way of pulling them off, with either Wii Remote waggles, or in my case, alternating L and R presses on the Gamecube controller. It feels cumbersome, makes hitting the exact combos you want a bit of a nightmare where mashing is usually the better option, and isn't giving you enough options within the combat system to stay engaging. The game's handling of EXP is also way more railroaded, with a set upgrade unlock path at the end of stages, as opposed to the free choice EXP system in the HD version. Combined with the abundance of stages, and the fact I swear his grapple, an integral part of platforming, has more of a delay in this version, it's easy to see why the Werehog was the catalyst for me to drop this version for nearly 2 decades. Jesus fuck what do you MEAN IT'S ALMOST BEEN 20 YEARS SINCE SONIC UNLEASHED RELEASED WHAT THE FUCK-

But it's not all bad! Honestly, UnWiished genuinely has some legs up on the HD release, in fact! The absolute biggest being the game's medal collecting system being lightyears ahead of the HD version, turning a constant scavenger hunt that requires you to hit the breaks in the blisteringly fast Sonic stages in particular, to just access new levels, into the simple act of S Ranking the stages in question. Maybe I'm just good at the game, or S ranking is cheesecake, but I was tripping over them, to the point I didn't even get blocked by any of the requirements. It's like they didn't even exist, an absolutely welcome change to the hellspawn of trying to unlock the final mandatory day stage in the HD release. While the final phase of the last boss is a lackluster reuse of the Sonic and the Secret Rings final boss thats method of hitting its weak points left me scratching my head by the end, the first two phases are significantly improved from the ballbusting QTE mess of the HD version. In fact, I'd argue the more comfortable difficulty balancing makes this version a better sell for less experienced Sonic players, given Unleashed HD is certainly one of the harder games in the franchise.

That's the thing with Sonic UnWiished. It's a game of give and take. Great day stages and some significantly improved pacing once you get past a needlessly long tutorial, but you get the vastly inferior Werehog, the visual novel hub worlds, and god help you, the compressed cutscenes. Its high points are really high, but its low points are pretty low, moreso than the HD version in my opinion. Its highest merits come from inherently being Sonic Unleashed at its core, and it's got some all its own, but it's not without issues unique to itself too. Still, it's worth a shot if you really want more Sonic Unleashed, or just have a free weekend. It's fun to compare and contrast, and maybe you'll find something to love in there!

At the end of the day, I'm at least glad to finally have this one off the docket, like closing a book on my childhood. If anything, I'm surprised I enjoyed it as much as I did; even if I don't end up revisiting it like I do for several other, better Sonic titles, I'm glad I came out of this with a new perspective and apprecation for Sonic UnWiished.

Sonic Unleashed on Wii is not a good way to play this great game. Compared to the HD version of Sonic Unleashed, Unwiished fails greatly in everything that the HD version succeeded in. Due to the game being built around the motion controls of the Wii, certain things such as the boost or sprinting feel clunky. In addition, the levels are just not designed nearly as well as the HD version, and just aren't very fun. The Werehog levels, which were fine in the HD version of Sonic Unleashed, now take up 70% of this game. That wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, however the werehog is much worse in the Wii version, as they've stripped down any amount of complexity or fun in the original.