One of the greatest 3D Sonic games I've ever played.
Spark the Electric Jester 3 is something I've always wanted Sonic Adventure 2/Sonic Herores to actually play like.
No gimmicks, no weird physics and controls, no strange decisions. Just faced paced running through amazing well designed levels.
This is an overall improvement from the 2nd game, which this game includes all the levels to as a bonus. So if you just wanna play for the gameplay, skip the 2nd one and go straight to this (unless you care for the story).
My only gripe, like the first 2 is the fan-fiction writing story this has. But honestly, that's not what this game is for.
Spark the Electric Jester 3 is something I've always wanted Sonic Adventure 2/Sonic Herores to actually play like.
No gimmicks, no weird physics and controls, no strange decisions. Just faced paced running through amazing well designed levels.
This is an overall improvement from the 2nd game, which this game includes all the levels to as a bonus. So if you just wanna play for the gameplay, skip the 2nd one and go straight to this (unless you care for the story).
My only gripe, like the first 2 is the fan-fiction writing story this has. But honestly, that's not what this game is for.
Mf really needed that paycheck
I grew up as a Sonic fan and for a while I have felt black pilled on 3D Sonic games ever fulfilling the itches scratched by the classic 2D games. There are elements of them that had potential to be expanded on like the spin dash in Sonic Adventure and the open zone of Frontiers tho both games have a big asterisk next to them. Spark 3 comes along as a cool fan project that sees the potential of what 3D Sonic can be.
What I love the most about Sonic is momentum physics which is one of my favorite things about platformers. Having depth to movement allows for skillful play to navigate and route areas better than you could starting out and makes replay value much greater. Spark 3 nails this entirely with enough movement option depth to showcase a very noticeably skill gap in play. You have a double jump, dash, homing attack that can be cancelled with the dash for massive amounts of momentum, wall run, light speed dash, metered boost, charged boost that can be used in more ways than the spin dash in 3D for brief speed boost and jumps, stomp, and a wall jump. The fun thing is that you can maintain and build great amounts of momentum thanks to the options you have available for breaking the speed cap that you can use even allowing for classic style slope jumps to be used thanks to how long and wide level spaces are for platforming while still having room for error. It's some of the deepest movement I have seen in the 3D platformer space that isn't from Mario with at most the jankiest part of it being the light speed dash which should be used with caution tho it can still build massive momentum in the right scenarios.
While the platforming is fantastic, the game does try to break this up in rather mixed ways. The first would be vehicle sections which are serviceable tho not great. The worst that can happen is the car flipping over when trying to use the drift, but you can jump out of the car and run the track yourself perfectly fine. The other small way that platforming is broken up is beat em up combat which again is just serviceable. You do have a few distinct strings and properties you can use, tho I don't like how it breaks up some platforming levels so I have the difficulty set to easy to speed them up.
Overall I highly recommend giving Spark 3 a shot. It's a fantastic platformer with enough depth and content to make it very replayable and fun to improve at and one of the best in the genre.
What I love the most about Sonic is momentum physics which is one of my favorite things about platformers. Having depth to movement allows for skillful play to navigate and route areas better than you could starting out and makes replay value much greater. Spark 3 nails this entirely with enough movement option depth to showcase a very noticeably skill gap in play. You have a double jump, dash, homing attack that can be cancelled with the dash for massive amounts of momentum, wall run, light speed dash, metered boost, charged boost that can be used in more ways than the spin dash in 3D for brief speed boost and jumps, stomp, and a wall jump. The fun thing is that you can maintain and build great amounts of momentum thanks to the options you have available for breaking the speed cap that you can use even allowing for classic style slope jumps to be used thanks to how long and wide level spaces are for platforming while still having room for error. It's some of the deepest movement I have seen in the 3D platformer space that isn't from Mario with at most the jankiest part of it being the light speed dash which should be used with caution tho it can still build massive momentum in the right scenarios.
While the platforming is fantastic, the game does try to break this up in rather mixed ways. The first would be vehicle sections which are serviceable tho not great. The worst that can happen is the car flipping over when trying to use the drift, but you can jump out of the car and run the track yourself perfectly fine. The other small way that platforming is broken up is beat em up combat which again is just serviceable. You do have a few distinct strings and properties you can use, tho I don't like how it breaks up some platforming levels so I have the difficulty set to easy to speed them up.
Overall I highly recommend giving Spark 3 a shot. It's a fantastic platformer with enough depth and content to make it very replayable and fun to improve at and one of the best in the genre.
I'm no Sonic stickler. I appreciate the hedgehog and his endeavors... but MAN, if it was a competition, this game would kick Sonic's butt. As far as fast-paced 3D platformers go, Spark the Electric Jester 3 is, while not perfect, certainly awesome. It has both speed and spectacle without sacrificing engaging gameplay.
Gameplay:
As mentioned, Spark the Electric Jester 3 is a fast-paced 3D platformer. I haven't played the previous games in the series, but it does play a lot like Sonic Adventure 2's Sonic and Shadow levels with some modern Sonic game design philosophy sprinkled in. This game borrows a lot from Sonic. You got homing attacks, speed boosters, a spindash knock-off, bounce pads, grind rails, and probably something else I'm forgetting. Sure, it's derivative, but the game adds onto these things to make them its own. Platforming is very smooth thanks to a momentum system that feels natural and a moveset that is useful. I always felt in control of my movement, even in the fastest sections of the game. It's good stuff, and combined with the level design, I had tons of fun.
Most levels have you running from point A to point B with some really fun and creative obstacles to overcome. Some levels have cool gimmicks while others have you on a time limit, or both. The level design is also pretty open, so there's tons of different paths to travel on. Reaching a goal isn't the only type of objective in the levels though. There's a few that have you running around, finding enough medals before time runs out. They sound like they'd be boring in concept, but in reality, I found them to be pretty neat levels that focused on platforming and exploration. There's vehicles levels too which are ehhh. The car was nearly unusable at times. The ship was more consistant but still not great. There's also combat focused levels that have you defeating waves of enemies or fighting bosses. Combat is scattered throughout normal levels too. The combat system is alright. It's kind of arbitrary, but it at least does enough to not feel like a slog. Throughout the levels, there's a currency to collect which you can spend to upgrade your abilities. There's not a whole lot that's done with this, but it's still significant enough to mention.
Story:
I honestly do not know how to reasonably sum up this game's story. It is actually wild. I don't know why a game with a fast yellow guy in a Marx hat had to fly off the rails and into outer space, but it did. It got so cheesy at times that I actually skipped a couple of the cutscenes. There's some crazy moments that feel like they come out of nowhere. It's uhh... an experience. I assume the story's tone might make more sense if you've played the previous games.
Sound and Visuals:
I really liked the sound design. There was some fun sound effects. The soundtrack was also pretty sweet. I'd probably listen to some of the songs on their own.
The visuals were pretty great overall! The aesthetic is colorful with some great stylization. The environments looked totally awe-inspiring at times. There's quite a few fully animated cutscenes, and even some that switch up the art style. I also thought the character designs were pretty cool, though there were some that were weird enough to make me laugh. As a whole, this game's visual style is very distinct and well done. I liked it.
Conclusion:
If you want more Sonic Adventure-esqe gameplay in your life, then Spark the Electric Jester 3 is a must-play. With its well-crafted levels, great sense of momentum, and polished presentation, you'll probably have a good time. I know I certainly did. It's an easy recommendation from me.
Gameplay:
As mentioned, Spark the Electric Jester 3 is a fast-paced 3D platformer. I haven't played the previous games in the series, but it does play a lot like Sonic Adventure 2's Sonic and Shadow levels with some modern Sonic game design philosophy sprinkled in. This game borrows a lot from Sonic. You got homing attacks, speed boosters, a spindash knock-off, bounce pads, grind rails, and probably something else I'm forgetting. Sure, it's derivative, but the game adds onto these things to make them its own. Platforming is very smooth thanks to a momentum system that feels natural and a moveset that is useful. I always felt in control of my movement, even in the fastest sections of the game. It's good stuff, and combined with the level design, I had tons of fun.
Most levels have you running from point A to point B with some really fun and creative obstacles to overcome. Some levels have cool gimmicks while others have you on a time limit, or both. The level design is also pretty open, so there's tons of different paths to travel on. Reaching a goal isn't the only type of objective in the levels though. There's a few that have you running around, finding enough medals before time runs out. They sound like they'd be boring in concept, but in reality, I found them to be pretty neat levels that focused on platforming and exploration. There's vehicles levels too which are ehhh. The car was nearly unusable at times. The ship was more consistant but still not great. There's also combat focused levels that have you defeating waves of enemies or fighting bosses. Combat is scattered throughout normal levels too. The combat system is alright. It's kind of arbitrary, but it at least does enough to not feel like a slog. Throughout the levels, there's a currency to collect which you can spend to upgrade your abilities. There's not a whole lot that's done with this, but it's still significant enough to mention.
Story:
I honestly do not know how to reasonably sum up this game's story. It is actually wild. I don't know why a game with a fast yellow guy in a Marx hat had to fly off the rails and into outer space, but it did. It got so cheesy at times that I actually skipped a couple of the cutscenes. There's some crazy moments that feel like they come out of nowhere. It's uhh... an experience. I assume the story's tone might make more sense if you've played the previous games.
Sound and Visuals:
I really liked the sound design. There was some fun sound effects. The soundtrack was also pretty sweet. I'd probably listen to some of the songs on their own.
The visuals were pretty great overall! The aesthetic is colorful with some great stylization. The environments looked totally awe-inspiring at times. There's quite a few fully animated cutscenes, and even some that switch up the art style. I also thought the character designs were pretty cool, though there were some that were weird enough to make me laugh. As a whole, this game's visual style is very distinct and well done. I liked it.
Conclusion:
If you want more Sonic Adventure-esqe gameplay in your life, then Spark the Electric Jester 3 is a must-play. With its well-crafted levels, great sense of momentum, and polished presentation, you'll probably have a good time. I know I certainly did. It's an easy recommendation from me.
sometimes you come across one of those special games where its so obvious that the writer ran the story by absolutely nobody before releasing the final product. peak
actual fun platformer with a really great soundtrack too
If you like 3D Sonic at all, or just 3D platformers in general, I can't recommend this game enough. It's got great movement, fantastic level design, a phenomenal soundtrack, and a pretty good story to boot.
Also, the ending is something that has to be seen to be believed.
Also, the ending is something that has to be seen to be believed.
peak the electric peak 3
É injusto com Spark 3 que eu tenha o zerado em abril e só esteja escrevendo sobre agora. É injusto que em abril eu o tenha jogado direto na primeira semana e tenha deixado o final pra dois dias no final do mês. Nada que eu diga será à altura de Spark 3, pois esse jogo maravilhoso é muito do que eu sempre quis.
Eu sei que as comparações são milhares, mas não tem jeito. Aqui tem quase tudo do que eu quero num jogo do Sonic. Pra mim essa deveria ser a base dos próximos jogos, e isso vir de um jogo independente brasileiro me deixa ainda mais feliz. Até o diretor do Sonic Frontiers zerou e disse que estudou o design dele e aprendeu muito. Isso daqui é uma obra absurda.
Mesmo assim, sinto que faltou alguma coisa. Eu voltei nele pra coletar as medalhas, descobrir mais caminhos, fazer mais combos e rejogar o 2 inteiro dentro dele, mas não consegui descobrir o que é. Talvez seja relacionado a história, que eu gostei bem pouco, ou a maneira que eu joguei, não podendo o saborear da maneira que merecia.
Esse é um dos meus jogos favoritos, pois o jogando, sentia que ele tinha sido feito especificamente pra mim, como se o Feperd estivesse lendo minha mente, e ainda superou as minhas expectativas.
Mas essa não foi, nem de longe, uma das minhas experiências favoritas. E pra mim isso vale muito mais.
PS: Obrigado pelo jogo sogrinha!
Eu sei que as comparações são milhares, mas não tem jeito. Aqui tem quase tudo do que eu quero num jogo do Sonic. Pra mim essa deveria ser a base dos próximos jogos, e isso vir de um jogo independente brasileiro me deixa ainda mais feliz. Até o diretor do Sonic Frontiers zerou e disse que estudou o design dele e aprendeu muito. Isso daqui é uma obra absurda.
Mesmo assim, sinto que faltou alguma coisa. Eu voltei nele pra coletar as medalhas, descobrir mais caminhos, fazer mais combos e rejogar o 2 inteiro dentro dele, mas não consegui descobrir o que é. Talvez seja relacionado a história, que eu gostei bem pouco, ou a maneira que eu joguei, não podendo o saborear da maneira que merecia.
Esse é um dos meus jogos favoritos, pois o jogando, sentia que ele tinha sido feito especificamente pra mim, como se o Feperd estivesse lendo minha mente, e ainda superou as minhas expectativas.
Mas essa não foi, nem de longe, uma das minhas experiências favoritas. E pra mim isso vale muito mais.
PS: Obrigado pelo jogo sogrinha!
Pretty darn gooder than the other two
Gameplay and sense of speed are wonderful, insanely fun to just replay levels trying to explore every path on offer to try and cut down on your best time. Writing could use some work but there are some cool ideas at the very least and the story isn't enough of a focus that it detracts from the gameplay.
Great movement and good levels, but the story sorta lost me...
Main game cleared on December 8th, 2023
Post game cleared on December 11th, 2023
Well, they weren't lying. Spark the Electric Jester 3 is the pinnacle of great high speed platforming that easily surpasses all Sonic games. The second game was great and all, but it felt more like a beta test since you can get the full game cleared in under 3 hours, but if that can somehow feel better to play than any 3D Sonic game out there, then imagine what a more refined and rebalanced game of this style can do.
The general gameplay remains the same as you move fast at high speeds, you can jump and homing attack, you can use the Jester Dash, and really, despite playing as Spark now, not much has changed beyond controller refinements... at first, anyway.
As you progress in the game, you'll be met with new tools in your arsenal. The kirby-esque power-ups no longer really apply and is now replaced with equipables and alternate playstyles which are pretty much just what you'd expect the power-ups can do. So in a way it's still there, but it's different in its approach. That said, I think the approach works so much better. You have skills like Wind which allows you to float in the air which is made even better when you are going fast to really close the gap, Snap Portal which lets you teleport to your foes, and a means of healing among others. And with alternate playstyles, there are 4 in addition to your standard form each of which having their own tricks and aspects they can offer.
Spark himself has the advantage of having the most combos to work with which unlocks as you progress throughout the game, and he can shoot laser bullets which doesn't do much damage, but when the foes are clumped up, it can rack up energy points from a safe distance, allowing you to use your power-ups.
Float is the 2nd character you unlock, and she has the advantage of allowing you to mark your foes and upon dealing enough damage, it will unleash a burst of damage on them. She doesn't need to be active to trigger this bonus which part of me isn't sure if it was intentional, but she still has value as she can float in the air which acts as a built-in Wind.
Fark you unlock after clearing the game. He has high attack speed, he can dash twice in the air, his dash gives him invulnerability, and upon reaching full energy, he can heal and give himself increased damage output, and since the energy drains, you can choose to sacrifice the damage output to combo into the Temporary Shield for a two-for one. Heck, under the right conditions, you may still keep the damage output and the shield at the same time. As you can tell, he's probably the best character in the game.
Reaper is technically the last remnant of the Spark 1 power-ups and it's really good. It has an invulnerable dash although it's frames aren't as good as Fark's, the combos are probably just as strong as Spark's, and if you channel RB long enough, you can heal for one point which makes it absolutely crucial for tough fights that bank on your survival. You'll especially need it for post game content.
There is one more you unlock post-game, but it's best that I don't say what it is since it feels really spoilery, but it increases damage output of your physical attacks at full energy as well as fire a slower but harder hitting laser bullet.
The level design has seen a significant improvement and play off the mechanics of the game very well. One of my complaints in the previous game was that there was little reason to engage in combat beyond getting good scores which to be fair is needed if you want to nab those score medals, but here, there are not only opportunities through barriers that obstruct you, there are dedicated levels designed for combat and it's really fun.
That said, it does reveal a problem that didn't seem like a big deal due to the lack of combat incentive in Spark 2, but I do not like how there's no means of locking on the targets you want to lock on. It's there, but you don't control what gets locked in and it may work against you otherwise. It also has to make compromises for the sake of balance as being able to block while move allows you to ignore the level mechanics. This isn't exactly a problem on its own merits, but because the post game consists of levels from Spark 2 which is required to get through to the post game bosses, it gets really rough around the final two levels as they seem more built with being able to move and block. Sure, you do have Fark and the Reaper with their invulnerability dash, but it never really crossed my mind, and I didn't have them on hand.
Oh yeah, the levels from Spark 2 all carry over to this game which is more or less there for content filler and you can knock them all out in roughly an hour if you know what you're doing, but it does highlight the mechanical refinements which include the stability of steering and now it's not as easy to overshoot yourself when making a large jump which does make shortcuts that once worked in the 2nd game harder to pull off. The bosses don't carry over, though. We don't want to obsolete Spark 2 that badly now, don't we?
On the note of bosses, they are rather enjoyable and some of them now have multi-phases although there is one boss that you have to fight multiple times which for the record is designed to be so hard that if you lose to it once, you have to play through the entire stage all over again just for another chance. You can still progress without defeating it, but beating it is the only way to get that Reaper power. They aren't too difficult, but I did think the final boss was... not that great. Like when you compare the legendary hype that both Spark 1 and 2 are capable of, having a boss with such an underwhelming final boss theme just made me wish it could've been so much more... well, there is, actually. In the post game.
Other than the Spark 2 levels, there is a gauntlet that requires you to clear at least 100 floors to get to the harder version of the final boss which is... actually kinda fucked up with how fast and aggressive it's attacks are to the point that some attacks can cancel out each other. Like seriously, even if you can somehow win with Spark alone, it takes a lot of patience. You are going to need Fark and the Reaper for this one. But guess what? It's not even the true final boss which isn't as hard on its own merits, but I will say that the Reaper is absolutely necessary on higher difficulties. At least it felt like a final boss, though.
The music is really good with some new songs once again in the style of Sonic Adventure, but I don't know why there wasn't any new vocal themes. It's not like they're that embarrassed with the three songs they had since they are in the game... well, two of them, anyway.
But now what I want to address is the story which... ok, so when I was playing both Spark 1 and 2, I didn't really think much of the story. It's there with Spark 1 being humorous enough to keep me entertained as I go along with the game and Spark 2 trying to take itself seriously but felt rather melodramatic. There was some potential as the villain's goals and philosophy seem interesting enough, so you'd think that Spark 3's story would be good in that case, right? Well, it's not bad. It does actually have backstories to offer which go on for a good bit and are there to explain the mercenaries of Freom as well as Freom himself, but other than that, I didn't really think of it as anything more or less than what Spark 1 and 2 are capable of... until the final act. I cannot even talk about it, it is some serious mind-fuckery you need to see to believe. Though, I guess that's just something extra to make an already amazing game that much more memorable.
Post game cleared on December 11th, 2023
Well, they weren't lying. Spark the Electric Jester 3 is the pinnacle of great high speed platforming that easily surpasses all Sonic games. The second game was great and all, but it felt more like a beta test since you can get the full game cleared in under 3 hours, but if that can somehow feel better to play than any 3D Sonic game out there, then imagine what a more refined and rebalanced game of this style can do.
The general gameplay remains the same as you move fast at high speeds, you can jump and homing attack, you can use the Jester Dash, and really, despite playing as Spark now, not much has changed beyond controller refinements... at first, anyway.
As you progress in the game, you'll be met with new tools in your arsenal. The kirby-esque power-ups no longer really apply and is now replaced with equipables and alternate playstyles which are pretty much just what you'd expect the power-ups can do. So in a way it's still there, but it's different in its approach. That said, I think the approach works so much better. You have skills like Wind which allows you to float in the air which is made even better when you are going fast to really close the gap, Snap Portal which lets you teleport to your foes, and a means of healing among others. And with alternate playstyles, there are 4 in addition to your standard form each of which having their own tricks and aspects they can offer.
Spark himself has the advantage of having the most combos to work with which unlocks as you progress throughout the game, and he can shoot laser bullets which doesn't do much damage, but when the foes are clumped up, it can rack up energy points from a safe distance, allowing you to use your power-ups.
Float is the 2nd character you unlock, and she has the advantage of allowing you to mark your foes and upon dealing enough damage, it will unleash a burst of damage on them. She doesn't need to be active to trigger this bonus which part of me isn't sure if it was intentional, but she still has value as she can float in the air which acts as a built-in Wind.
Fark you unlock after clearing the game. He has high attack speed, he can dash twice in the air, his dash gives him invulnerability, and upon reaching full energy, he can heal and give himself increased damage output, and since the energy drains, you can choose to sacrifice the damage output to combo into the Temporary Shield for a two-for one. Heck, under the right conditions, you may still keep the damage output and the shield at the same time. As you can tell, he's probably the best character in the game.
Reaper is technically the last remnant of the Spark 1 power-ups and it's really good. It has an invulnerable dash although it's frames aren't as good as Fark's, the combos are probably just as strong as Spark's, and if you channel RB long enough, you can heal for one point which makes it absolutely crucial for tough fights that bank on your survival. You'll especially need it for post game content.
There is one more you unlock post-game, but it's best that I don't say what it is since it feels really spoilery, but it increases damage output of your physical attacks at full energy as well as fire a slower but harder hitting laser bullet.
The level design has seen a significant improvement and play off the mechanics of the game very well. One of my complaints in the previous game was that there was little reason to engage in combat beyond getting good scores which to be fair is needed if you want to nab those score medals, but here, there are not only opportunities through barriers that obstruct you, there are dedicated levels designed for combat and it's really fun.
That said, it does reveal a problem that didn't seem like a big deal due to the lack of combat incentive in Spark 2, but I do not like how there's no means of locking on the targets you want to lock on. It's there, but you don't control what gets locked in and it may work against you otherwise. It also has to make compromises for the sake of balance as being able to block while move allows you to ignore the level mechanics. This isn't exactly a problem on its own merits, but because the post game consists of levels from Spark 2 which is required to get through to the post game bosses, it gets really rough around the final two levels as they seem more built with being able to move and block. Sure, you do have Fark and the Reaper with their invulnerability dash, but it never really crossed my mind, and I didn't have them on hand.
Oh yeah, the levels from Spark 2 all carry over to this game which is more or less there for content filler and you can knock them all out in roughly an hour if you know what you're doing, but it does highlight the mechanical refinements which include the stability of steering and now it's not as easy to overshoot yourself when making a large jump which does make shortcuts that once worked in the 2nd game harder to pull off. The bosses don't carry over, though. We don't want to obsolete Spark 2 that badly now, don't we?
On the note of bosses, they are rather enjoyable and some of them now have multi-phases although there is one boss that you have to fight multiple times which for the record is designed to be so hard that if you lose to it once, you have to play through the entire stage all over again just for another chance. You can still progress without defeating it, but beating it is the only way to get that Reaper power. They aren't too difficult, but I did think the final boss was... not that great. Like when you compare the legendary hype that both Spark 1 and 2 are capable of, having a boss with such an underwhelming final boss theme just made me wish it could've been so much more... well, there is, actually. In the post game.
Other than the Spark 2 levels, there is a gauntlet that requires you to clear at least 100 floors to get to the harder version of the final boss which is... actually kinda fucked up with how fast and aggressive it's attacks are to the point that some attacks can cancel out each other. Like seriously, even if you can somehow win with Spark alone, it takes a lot of patience. You are going to need Fark and the Reaper for this one. But guess what? It's not even the true final boss which isn't as hard on its own merits, but I will say that the Reaper is absolutely necessary on higher difficulties. At least it felt like a final boss, though.
The music is really good with some new songs once again in the style of Sonic Adventure, but I don't know why there wasn't any new vocal themes. It's not like they're that embarrassed with the three songs they had since they are in the game... well, two of them, anyway.
But now what I want to address is the story which... ok, so when I was playing both Spark 1 and 2, I didn't really think much of the story. It's there with Spark 1 being humorous enough to keep me entertained as I go along with the game and Spark 2 trying to take itself seriously but felt rather melodramatic. There was some potential as the villain's goals and philosophy seem interesting enough, so you'd think that Spark 3's story would be good in that case, right? Well, it's not bad. It does actually have backstories to offer which go on for a good bit and are there to explain the mercenaries of Freom as well as Freom himself, but other than that, I didn't really think of it as anything more or less than what Spark 1 and 2 are capable of... until the final act. I cannot even talk about it, it is some serious mind-fuckery you need to see to believe. Though, I guess that's just something extra to make an already amazing game that much more memorable.
Holy shit, i was not expecting this much of an improvement. I was never able to get into the Sonic games, but i did enjoy the Spark series. Spark 1 was fun but not my thing, Spark 2 was super janky but i had a lot more fun with it than with 1.
Spark 3 is amazing and i consider myself a fan now instead of a curious tourist trying something outside of my confort zone.
The controls feel SOOO much better, the levels are long and fun, the combat is way better and the parry actually requires timing now, it polished every problem Spark 2 had.
I need to mention the story, i never cared about it in the previous games (and i still kinda don't care) but it becomes really crazy and entretaining near the end and it was so fun to watch, i need to see what happens next.
I'm definetly playing Spark 4 when it comes out, in the meantime maybe i'll see if i can find a Sonic game that "clicks" with me like this one did.
Spark 3 is amazing and i consider myself a fan now instead of a curious tourist trying something outside of my confort zone.
The controls feel SOOO much better, the levels are long and fun, the combat is way better and the parry actually requires timing now, it polished every problem Spark 2 had.
I need to mention the story, i never cared about it in the previous games (and i still kinda don't care) but it becomes really crazy and entretaining near the end and it was so fun to watch, i need to see what happens next.
I'm definetly playing Spark 4 when it comes out, in the meantime maybe i'll see if i can find a Sonic game that "clicks" with me like this one did.
what an amazing experience with extreme amounts of soul.
This review contains spoilers
If you've read a few of my reviews, you've probably learned that the 3D Platformer is my favorite genre. The genre was stagnant for a while aside from Mario and Sonic games, but it's gotten a bit of a resurgence over the last few years. There's been some really good and even great games released, a lot of which are from the indie scene. However, for my money, THIS game is the best indie 3D Platformer, and one of the best in the genre period.
The Sonic Adventure influence is clear, but this is far from a copy of the series, and addresses a lot of the issues of that series, such as the variety. I was a bit worried when I saw that the first level is Spark driving in a car for some reason, but aside from that and a few other inoffensive vehicle sections, this game has a great sense of variety. There are normal stages, time trial stages, collectathon stages, and a few more, but they all work because they're all about speed. Collectathon gameplay might sound bad for a speed platformer, but the requirements are lenient and you have a time limit, so it works well. In fact, I kinda wish these alternate stage types showed up more.
There was one thing I thought would hold this game back though, it was the combat. So many 3D Platformers have this inexplicable need to add combat systems to their games. Even this game's predecessor had combat that, while fine, felt unnecessary. The combat in this game is better. It can still be somewhat button mashy, but moves do feel a little more specialized. However, why I think the combat works is because fighting gets you a lot of energy which can be used to go faster. As such, encounters often become games of "How can I max out my energy as quick as possible and move on?" It's a small change, but it makes a massive difference.
Honestly though, it wouldn't be so effective if the platforming wasn't so fun. The sense of speed is incredible, especially if you combine your abilities and know how to abuse the physics. The game's very easy, but I didn't mind because of how fun it is to just blaze through them.
Really, the only general issues I have with the gameplay is the aforementioned vehicle sections and the boss arenas. The bosses are fun enough (especially with the cheesy rock songs), but every time you fight one it's just a flat plane. More effort could've been made to make blend the combat and platforming together.
What about the story? Uh... it's dumb, but mostly in a good way. Fark took down the internet and Spark can't get a paycheck now, so he goes to beat up Fark. I bunch of other stuff happens after, but it's mostly just Spark beating up Fark's goons until the end where the story becomes Evangelion for some reason. And then, Spark and Fark fuse into Sfarx, which might just be the greatest name for anything ever. Honestly though, I think the presentation felt a bit all over the place. I honestly would liked voice acting. If it sucked, it would've been funny to be honest. Many backstories are just presented plainly with these very sketchy animatic things, and while I liked Fark's, the others mostly felt unnecessary. Even the normal cutscenes often had an odd sense of pacing. I know this game was made mostly by one guy, but I still felt it was worth mentioning. At the end of the day though, the story did have a robot jester in a suit at a press conference, so I can't be too upset.
If you like 3D Platformers, you need to play this game. Although, probably play Spark 2 at least first, since the plot of that is kinda important for this. Either way, 9/10.
The Sonic Adventure influence is clear, but this is far from a copy of the series, and addresses a lot of the issues of that series, such as the variety. I was a bit worried when I saw that the first level is Spark driving in a car for some reason, but aside from that and a few other inoffensive vehicle sections, this game has a great sense of variety. There are normal stages, time trial stages, collectathon stages, and a few more, but they all work because they're all about speed. Collectathon gameplay might sound bad for a speed platformer, but the requirements are lenient and you have a time limit, so it works well. In fact, I kinda wish these alternate stage types showed up more.
There was one thing I thought would hold this game back though, it was the combat. So many 3D Platformers have this inexplicable need to add combat systems to their games. Even this game's predecessor had combat that, while fine, felt unnecessary. The combat in this game is better. It can still be somewhat button mashy, but moves do feel a little more specialized. However, why I think the combat works is because fighting gets you a lot of energy which can be used to go faster. As such, encounters often become games of "How can I max out my energy as quick as possible and move on?" It's a small change, but it makes a massive difference.
Honestly though, it wouldn't be so effective if the platforming wasn't so fun. The sense of speed is incredible, especially if you combine your abilities and know how to abuse the physics. The game's very easy, but I didn't mind because of how fun it is to just blaze through them.
Really, the only general issues I have with the gameplay is the aforementioned vehicle sections and the boss arenas. The bosses are fun enough (especially with the cheesy rock songs), but every time you fight one it's just a flat plane. More effort could've been made to make blend the combat and platforming together.
What about the story? Uh... it's dumb, but mostly in a good way. Fark took down the internet and Spark can't get a paycheck now, so he goes to beat up Fark. I bunch of other stuff happens after, but it's mostly just Spark beating up Fark's goons until the end where the story becomes Evangelion for some reason. And then, Spark and Fark fuse into Sfarx, which might just be the greatest name for anything ever. Honestly though, I think the presentation felt a bit all over the place. I honestly would liked voice acting. If it sucked, it would've been funny to be honest. Many backstories are just presented plainly with these very sketchy animatic things, and while I liked Fark's, the others mostly felt unnecessary. Even the normal cutscenes often had an odd sense of pacing. I know this game was made mostly by one guy, but I still felt it was worth mentioning. At the end of the day though, the story did have a robot jester in a suit at a press conference, so I can't be too upset.
If you like 3D Platformers, you need to play this game. Although, probably play Spark 2 at least first, since the plot of that is kinda important for this. Either way, 9/10.
I played through this crafting my opinion I was going to write here about how like the level design is where I want it to be this time and it controls great but I think the scoring system is messed up because they decoupled the score and time elements but it's still fun.
Anyway then I beat the game and got legitimately emotionally invested in a character named Fark the Electric Jester and all the other stuff feels less important. Worthy successor to Sonic Adventure 2
Anyway then I beat the game and got legitimately emotionally invested in a character named Fark the Electric Jester and all the other stuff feels less important. Worthy successor to Sonic Adventure 2
I came away from Spark 3 feeling like I had just played a standout release from the mid-2000s that I somehow missed. Which might be some of the highest praise I can give out.
It's also a FAST game. Provided you're not grinding Highscore Medals that is. You're able to pick up some serious speed after chain dashing through rin- I mean lines of "bit"s.
Unless you're trying to clear the par-times the levels are quite easy to complete, but the movement is satisfying regardless. The levels also tend to be quite physically large, with multiple paths to run through. They also look pretty nice imo. Sadly the combat is rather mindless. I found it to be easy to rip through encounters with slightly varied button mashing.
The soundtrack's also excellent, being well suited to the high speed platforming at hand. Protest City is a standout imo.
Spark shines brightest while pursuing the aforementioned par-time medals. Learning the routes, gradually pulling off cleaner and cleaner series of optimized boosts, dashes, and jumps, to soar through the levels feels great.
- - -
I'm happy to report that the Secret Boss makes excellent use of the combat system. I think the campaign's encounters could be improved with increased aggression and mildly reduced HP.
It's also a FAST game. Provided you're not grinding Highscore Medals that is. You're able to pick up some serious speed after chain dashing through rin- I mean lines of "bit"s.
Unless you're trying to clear the par-times the levels are quite easy to complete, but the movement is satisfying regardless. The levels also tend to be quite physically large, with multiple paths to run through. They also look pretty nice imo. Sadly the combat is rather mindless. I found it to be easy to rip through encounters with slightly varied button mashing.
The soundtrack's also excellent, being well suited to the high speed platforming at hand. Protest City is a standout imo.
Spark shines brightest while pursuing the aforementioned par-time medals. Learning the routes, gradually pulling off cleaner and cleaner series of optimized boosts, dashes, and jumps, to soar through the levels feels great.
- - -
I'm happy to report that the Secret Boss makes excellent use of the combat system. I think the campaign's encounters could be improved with increased aggression and mildly reduced HP.
this series is all about asking simple questions
for the first one the dev asked : what if sonic 2D was cool, and then went on to answer that question.
then for the second game he dared ask : what if sonic 3D was not only cool but functional too, and then went on to make an amazing game that its so responsive and balls to the wall fun that i still cannot fathon it actually exists.
then the crazy dickhead went on and asked : what if spark 2 was epic ? and went on to make one of the best games i've played.
somehow its even more responsive than the second game, its a perfect sonic game, it doesn't restrain you, it doesn't scare itself and lock you into a straightfoward momentum or a pseudo game cutscene, or jank you into clunky deaths that were never your fault.
no, this is a concise, straightfoward and confident game that will deliver mechanics you can rely on, and challenges to put those mechanics to the test, and not once did they fail me, even at the absolute gauntlet that is the last level (that you gotta beat with limited lives, for once i like limited lives).
story wise it tries to hold itself but you can clearly see the bonkers going on in a larger scale, but this time its a bit more well developed, even if it still goes dragon sonic and the sevel jutsu balls revengeance, i love this game, if this game was a man, id let it go to bed with me.
as a bonus the dev even ported all levels from spark 2 into this one with all the perks of having a upgraded mechanic and movements, the delight of replaying these is unmatched
are there problems ? sure, not being able to remake the keyboard controls is silly, forcing some levels in order to prgress, lack of last power ups, a not so great last boss.
but i'm willing to look these as just rough parts of a diamond, this is it, the perfect sonic game. no, spark made its own identity, now sonic has to keep up if he wanna prove he has quality over spark
for the first one the dev asked : what if sonic 2D was cool, and then went on to answer that question.
then for the second game he dared ask : what if sonic 3D was not only cool but functional too, and then went on to make an amazing game that its so responsive and balls to the wall fun that i still cannot fathon it actually exists.
then the crazy dickhead went on and asked : what if spark 2 was epic ? and went on to make one of the best games i've played.
somehow its even more responsive than the second game, its a perfect sonic game, it doesn't restrain you, it doesn't scare itself and lock you into a straightfoward momentum or a pseudo game cutscene, or jank you into clunky deaths that were never your fault.
no, this is a concise, straightfoward and confident game that will deliver mechanics you can rely on, and challenges to put those mechanics to the test, and not once did they fail me, even at the absolute gauntlet that is the last level (that you gotta beat with limited lives, for once i like limited lives).
story wise it tries to hold itself but you can clearly see the bonkers going on in a larger scale, but this time its a bit more well developed, even if it still goes dragon sonic and the sevel jutsu balls revengeance, i love this game, if this game was a man, id let it go to bed with me.
as a bonus the dev even ported all levels from spark 2 into this one with all the perks of having a upgraded mechanic and movements, the delight of replaying these is unmatched
are there problems ? sure, not being able to remake the keyboard controls is silly, forcing some levels in order to prgress, lack of last power ups, a not so great last boss.
but i'm willing to look these as just rough parts of a diamond, this is it, the perfect sonic game. no, spark made its own identity, now sonic has to keep up if he wanna prove he has quality over spark
This game is absolutely one, if not the best 3D Platformer I'm ever going to play, EVER. From momentum, to combat, to story, everything leads to one of the most enjoyable experiences in my life.
I think the story could be better paced in terms of cutscene lengths, but it all gets so good near the end, I absolutely loved this game, play it.
I think the story could be better paced in terms of cutscene lengths, but it all gets so good near the end, I absolutely loved this game, play it.
I can't say I had 'exploring the implications of sentient AI' on the menu when playing this game but I'm not complaining
From all Speed games that I already played, sonic or not, This is THE ONE.
Spark 3 is a game that Everything works, Everything!
my only problem with this game is how painfully large some of those loading times are and how poorly optimized the game is, but nothing that breaks the game
Spark 3 is a game that Everything works, Everything!
my only problem with this game is how painfully large some of those loading times are and how poorly optimized the game is, but nothing that breaks the game
Разработчик взял концепт Соников и реализовал его без технических проблем. Комбинация ощущения скорости и настолько точного комфортного управления в платформинге уму непостижима. Сеге такое даже не снилось. Тут убогая боёвка и игра зачем-то делает на ней серьёзный акцент, но она мега казуальная и негатива вызвала не много.
the end credits is a god damn friday night funkin mod
that aside, if you are a fan of 3d platformers, especially adventure era sonic, you owe it to yourself to play this game. great stuff here
that aside, if you are a fan of 3d platformers, especially adventure era sonic, you owe it to yourself to play this game. great stuff here
The rawest videogame to ever raw
Holy shit
a full improvement on the 2nd game. the controls feel way better, the game is less janky, the levels are expansive and there is a decent bit of side content so that the game doesn't end in like an hour. just speeding through some of these levels is a joy and this game really gets what made the speed levels in the sonic adventure games click with so many players. if they do a spark 4 i will be there day 1
Самое лучшее управление в истории скоростных платформеров и кал боссы.
I no longer have a demand for Sonic Adventure 3, since I got it right here.