Sonic Frontiers is gonna be here any minute now, so I thought I'd get caught up on the latest in Hedgehog gaming, starting with this. I tried playing Generations several years ago, but for one reason or another, I fell off. I think the fast reaction-based platforming threw me off, and I think I was still in my "old Sonic rules, new Sonic drools" phase. Since then, I've only become an even bigger Sonic fan, but one with a much greater appreciation for every era. I mean, right now Sonic Adventure 1 is my favorite of the 3D games, that's not something you just start saying unless you're REALLY poisoned. At the same time, my past experiences with this and Unleashed led me to believe I would still dislike boost-era Sonic, so I was pleasantly surprised to find out I enjoyed it quite a bit in this game.
The modern Sonic stages do a really good job of incorporating the 2D Sonic design of requiring fast and precise platforming to make it to the top of the stage, where more sections facilitate fast movement, while failure sends you to the bottom of the stage where its harder to get going anywhere. The game also includes multiple opportunities to fall or rise to these different sections depending on how you play, so these "failure sections" never feel like they go on for too long, and the "success sections" still challenge good players. It's a philosophy that allows these stages to carry a lot of fun momentum, and it's an effective expression of speed that the non-boost games don't always capture. It also helps that unlike Unleashed, the frame rate is fully consistent (at least on PC).
Classic Sonic is also no slouch here. The 2D stages honestly have the consistent fun of something like Sonic 2. Sure, things are a lot more simplified compared to what Sonic could do in 3, but the strengths of classic-era Sonic design are felt here. The game also does a fun thing where modern and classic Sonic both go through the same stage, but often explore different parts of it, like how classic Sonic spends a lot of time inside the building in Speed Highway that Sonic runs to the bottom of, or how modern Sonic's Crisis City ends when he reaches the fire tornado, whereas classic Sonic spends the whole stage going around it. There's an effort to make sure classic and modern Sonic don't feel like two separate games, but instead subtly interact with each other, which ties into how modern Sonic gameplay takes cues from classic Sonic design. And of course, the incredible remixes for every stage speak for themselves.
Ultimately I still prefer Adventure, because as fun as boost gameplay is, I think it wears out its welcome at a certain point, and this game lasts just to the point before that happens. I never really got a hold of the drift mechanic and felt like the game never really justified mastering it, and the stomp is just a worse version of the SA2 bounce. There's also the fact that, well, I think one of the most vital aspects of Sonic is the ability to play as multiple characters, and it seems Sonic Team is dead-set on never letting that happen. Characters show up for bonus challenges, and it's just sad to see them reduced to hosting minigames. In addition to that, this game features one of the most severe fumbles at the end zone I've seen in a game. Hopefully, we never see the trope of "the actual final boss is a big, lumbering, forgettable thing" again, and that's not even getting into the boring choice of music and the constant reminders from side characters that yes, that does look like a homing shot.
But in this age of superfluous remakes that exist only to remind you that a Brand Exists, I appreciate Sonic Team's approach here. Instead of making a worse version of an existing game, let's instead highlight some of the best and most exciting moments in the series and elevate them even higher. A version of City Escape this good would have never existed if they had to remake the entire game. You hear that Konami, just make Silent Hill Generations and stop wasting our time!
The modern Sonic stages do a really good job of incorporating the 2D Sonic design of requiring fast and precise platforming to make it to the top of the stage, where more sections facilitate fast movement, while failure sends you to the bottom of the stage where its harder to get going anywhere. The game also includes multiple opportunities to fall or rise to these different sections depending on how you play, so these "failure sections" never feel like they go on for too long, and the "success sections" still challenge good players. It's a philosophy that allows these stages to carry a lot of fun momentum, and it's an effective expression of speed that the non-boost games don't always capture. It also helps that unlike Unleashed, the frame rate is fully consistent (at least on PC).
Classic Sonic is also no slouch here. The 2D stages honestly have the consistent fun of something like Sonic 2. Sure, things are a lot more simplified compared to what Sonic could do in 3, but the strengths of classic-era Sonic design are felt here. The game also does a fun thing where modern and classic Sonic both go through the same stage, but often explore different parts of it, like how classic Sonic spends a lot of time inside the building in Speed Highway that Sonic runs to the bottom of, or how modern Sonic's Crisis City ends when he reaches the fire tornado, whereas classic Sonic spends the whole stage going around it. There's an effort to make sure classic and modern Sonic don't feel like two separate games, but instead subtly interact with each other, which ties into how modern Sonic gameplay takes cues from classic Sonic design. And of course, the incredible remixes for every stage speak for themselves.
Ultimately I still prefer Adventure, because as fun as boost gameplay is, I think it wears out its welcome at a certain point, and this game lasts just to the point before that happens. I never really got a hold of the drift mechanic and felt like the game never really justified mastering it, and the stomp is just a worse version of the SA2 bounce. There's also the fact that, well, I think one of the most vital aspects of Sonic is the ability to play as multiple characters, and it seems Sonic Team is dead-set on never letting that happen. Characters show up for bonus challenges, and it's just sad to see them reduced to hosting minigames. In addition to that, this game features one of the most severe fumbles at the end zone I've seen in a game. Hopefully, we never see the trope of "the actual final boss is a big, lumbering, forgettable thing" again, and that's not even getting into the boring choice of music and the constant reminders from side characters that yes, that does look like a homing shot.
But in this age of superfluous remakes that exist only to remind you that a Brand Exists, I appreciate Sonic Team's approach here. Instead of making a worse version of an existing game, let's instead highlight some of the best and most exciting moments in the series and elevate them even higher. A version of City Escape this good would have never existed if they had to remake the entire game. You hear that Konami, just make Silent Hill Generations and stop wasting our time!