It's not the best of habits to start talking about a game by comparing it to other games, but I get the feeling we wouldn't necessarily be playing Sonic Superstars as it is if Sonic Mania hadn't happened, to which this is a roundabout spiritual successor to. And the thing is... I never really got into Mania, which to me felt like a tribute band's first album of their own material. It looked and sounded great but I found it hollow as a play experience, like a decent fangame you give a quick intrigued go but which'll never replace the games it pays homage to. And so I was... uncertain, to some extent, about Superstars. But I gave it a punt - and I'm glad I did.
In summary, Superstars is good fun. It's a "classic" Sonic game through and through but it has its original ideas and it leans onto them - the fact that it's not a straightforward 2D sprite entry in the footsteps of the Mega Drive games is in hindsight a clear signal that it wants to establish its own identity even if it wears its inspirations on its sleeves. The new powers tied to the Chaos Emeralds isn't a groundbreaking new gameplay mechanic but it feels like a fresh take on the skill upgrades the series occasionally brings out; it also makes hunting down the Emeralds more engaging because you never know what kind of new trick you can learn next. The basic gameplay also flows well and the level design manages to achieve the balance between easy to navigate and open for countless side paths, and the levels do not feel overly convoluted or labyrinthine (see also: Mania), even though it sometimes feels like you've barely scratched the surface of a zone while zooming through it.
And... you know what this game really reminds me of, more than the Mega Drive games? The Sonic Advance series. The more I play Superstars the more I get the same feel that I did out of the SAdv games: between the multiple character choices and the expanded navigation options they all bring as well as the overall level design principles, it's almost deliberate. The Advance games weren't my favourites but they were fun, neat little games with their decidedly own vibe in contrast to the mainline Sonic series - and I like how Superstars echoes back to that idea of creating something with its own vision after all the other recent attempts at 2D Sonic games have been so trapped in the shadow of franchise nostalgia. It's clear that this is a 2D Sonic game, with everything that comes in the packages of both 2D and Sonic, but it wants to be Sonic Superstars above all.
(I do however give credit where it's due and appreciate how Mania effectively turned the Sonic CD-style anime cinematics into a fixed part of the series' 2D entries. I still love them)
The downsides can be summarised by saying that while the gameplay and overall design ethos are extremely solid, the overall experience - the je ne sais quoi oomph - falls a bit flat. A big part of it is that the music is really lacklustre and the game's biggest flaw. The Sonic the Hedgehog series is synonymous with great soundtracks, even as it's gone through so many stylistic direction shifts, and in that department Sonic Superstars is completely unmemorable. There isn't a single memorable zone theme, the boss themes are barely there and the game's main theme is pathetically flimsy. I've completed the Story Mode once, gone back to certain levels to sightsee and I'm currently in the middle of the post-game "hard mode" playthrough, so I've been going through these levels a lot - and nothing sticks. At first I was a little annoyed that there doesn't seem to be a physical soundtrack release for this game to go into my collection, but in all honesty I'm not too fussed anymore.
The other main downside is the recycling of level concepts. It's nothing new to the Sonic series and especially its 2D entries - each game has to have its own "green hill" as a tradition by now - but Superstars feels particularly bereft of coming up with original ideas on where Sonic and the gang adventure in. Every single level is a trope and usually with nothing of their own to add. A few levels do finally figure out their own style (Golden Capital's final parts, Egg Fortress' twist reversal) and they're, to no one's surprise, the most memorable segments of the entire game.
Despite the downsides and the fact that I haven't 100%'d this yet and I'm sure to tear off some hairs in the next few weeks judging by how the post-game mode seems to be advancing in difficulty, I'm having a good time with Superstars. It's not a milestone entry for the series (and by no means is it worth the absurdly high asking price), but... well, I go back to my point about this having the general feel of a GBA Sonic game title. Those games weren't great either but they were fun and breezy to play, like little palate cleansers in-between the bigger titles, and they were memorable in their own quirky ways. I think Sonic Superstars will eventually fall in that category too.
P.S. I've no thoughts on the multiplayer aspect. I have no desire to play 2D Sonic platforming on multiplayer and I feel like as time goes by, people at large are going to forget it was even a selling point (ish) for this game.
In summary, Superstars is good fun. It's a "classic" Sonic game through and through but it has its original ideas and it leans onto them - the fact that it's not a straightforward 2D sprite entry in the footsteps of the Mega Drive games is in hindsight a clear signal that it wants to establish its own identity even if it wears its inspirations on its sleeves. The new powers tied to the Chaos Emeralds isn't a groundbreaking new gameplay mechanic but it feels like a fresh take on the skill upgrades the series occasionally brings out; it also makes hunting down the Emeralds more engaging because you never know what kind of new trick you can learn next. The basic gameplay also flows well and the level design manages to achieve the balance between easy to navigate and open for countless side paths, and the levels do not feel overly convoluted or labyrinthine (see also: Mania), even though it sometimes feels like you've barely scratched the surface of a zone while zooming through it.
And... you know what this game really reminds me of, more than the Mega Drive games? The Sonic Advance series. The more I play Superstars the more I get the same feel that I did out of the SAdv games: between the multiple character choices and the expanded navigation options they all bring as well as the overall level design principles, it's almost deliberate. The Advance games weren't my favourites but they were fun, neat little games with their decidedly own vibe in contrast to the mainline Sonic series - and I like how Superstars echoes back to that idea of creating something with its own vision after all the other recent attempts at 2D Sonic games have been so trapped in the shadow of franchise nostalgia. It's clear that this is a 2D Sonic game, with everything that comes in the packages of both 2D and Sonic, but it wants to be Sonic Superstars above all.
(I do however give credit where it's due and appreciate how Mania effectively turned the Sonic CD-style anime cinematics into a fixed part of the series' 2D entries. I still love them)
The downsides can be summarised by saying that while the gameplay and overall design ethos are extremely solid, the overall experience - the je ne sais quoi oomph - falls a bit flat. A big part of it is that the music is really lacklustre and the game's biggest flaw. The Sonic the Hedgehog series is synonymous with great soundtracks, even as it's gone through so many stylistic direction shifts, and in that department Sonic Superstars is completely unmemorable. There isn't a single memorable zone theme, the boss themes are barely there and the game's main theme is pathetically flimsy. I've completed the Story Mode once, gone back to certain levels to sightsee and I'm currently in the middle of the post-game "hard mode" playthrough, so I've been going through these levels a lot - and nothing sticks. At first I was a little annoyed that there doesn't seem to be a physical soundtrack release for this game to go into my collection, but in all honesty I'm not too fussed anymore.
The other main downside is the recycling of level concepts. It's nothing new to the Sonic series and especially its 2D entries - each game has to have its own "green hill" as a tradition by now - but Superstars feels particularly bereft of coming up with original ideas on where Sonic and the gang adventure in. Every single level is a trope and usually with nothing of their own to add. A few levels do finally figure out their own style (Golden Capital's final parts, Egg Fortress' twist reversal) and they're, to no one's surprise, the most memorable segments of the entire game.
Despite the downsides and the fact that I haven't 100%'d this yet and I'm sure to tear off some hairs in the next few weeks judging by how the post-game mode seems to be advancing in difficulty, I'm having a good time with Superstars. It's not a milestone entry for the series (and by no means is it worth the absurdly high asking price), but... well, I go back to my point about this having the general feel of a GBA Sonic game title. Those games weren't great either but they were fun and breezy to play, like little palate cleansers in-between the bigger titles, and they were memorable in their own quirky ways. I think Sonic Superstars will eventually fall in that category too.
P.S. I've no thoughts on the multiplayer aspect. I have no desire to play 2D Sonic platforming on multiplayer and I feel like as time goes by, people at large are going to forget it was even a selling point (ish) for this game.