KarrotoZetsubou
2023
An experience that takes a 'different' direction without taking away from the franchise
The combat for this title is incredible, I finished the game with 66 hours of playtime and was still discovering new things you could do with the action. The way the different Eikons work makes the experience fresh, with its unique feats. Boss fights will pull you in with the insane action, with some exciting sequence breaks between them to invoke excitement, and find no boss except 1 to be underwhelming.
The Eikon battles were a big part of the marketing of this game and I found they did not disappoint the sheer scale of them draws you in as you experience pure spectacle.
Now the story and characters in this title drew me in, I love the cast and this carried over when I completed all the side quests within the game, the characters are fascinating. An example of this is a specific side character's placement within the world of Valisthea and how side quests allowed you to learn more about them naturally without needing the power of a story DLC to do so. Speaking more specifically about the side quests is that they only truly start to kick off during the second half of the game, where their impact starts to break out of a compressed circle and can influence even the whole world. The main story can be bad in pacing sometimes, making you have to do the most monotonous of activities when you are at an exciting point, but overall is a strong narrative.
However, I didn't like how the ending was left to interpretation, I completed all the side quests that provided more groundwork in doing that but still left me yearning for a more clear conclusion
Overall I love this title so much and struggle to see another game take its place as my GOTY, I have taken half a rating away because the destination of the story did not really do it for me but in terms of a game, it will measure up to many hours of fun. I will definitely be doing New Game + to conquer that platinum trophy
July 30th Update:
Never mind I think this game is a masterpiece and the ending has grown on me.
The combat for this title is incredible, I finished the game with 66 hours of playtime and was still discovering new things you could do with the action. The way the different Eikons work makes the experience fresh, with its unique feats. Boss fights will pull you in with the insane action, with some exciting sequence breaks between them to invoke excitement, and find no boss except 1 to be underwhelming.
The Eikon battles were a big part of the marketing of this game and I found they did not disappoint the sheer scale of them draws you in as you experience pure spectacle.
Now the story and characters in this title drew me in, I love the cast and this carried over when I completed all the side quests within the game, the characters are fascinating. An example of this is a specific side character's placement within the world of Valisthea and how side quests allowed you to learn more about them naturally without needing the power of a story DLC to do so. Speaking more specifically about the side quests is that they only truly start to kick off during the second half of the game, where their impact starts to break out of a compressed circle and can influence even the whole world. The main story can be bad in pacing sometimes, making you have to do the most monotonous of activities when you are at an exciting point, but overall is a strong narrative.
However, I didn't like how the ending was left to interpretation, I completed all the side quests that provided more groundwork in doing that but still left me yearning for a more clear conclusion
Overall I love this title so much and struggle to see another game take its place as my GOTY, I have taken half a rating away because the destination of the story did not really do it for me but in terms of a game, it will measure up to many hours of fun. I will definitely be doing New Game + to conquer that platinum trophy
July 30th Update:
Never mind I think this game is a masterpiece and the ending has grown on me.
2019
Very average game with a team play focus
This title is something that on paper sounds like it could be a load of fun, with stages being based on popular stages of varied titles of the franchise. (Albiet so many of them are just taken from all-star racing, which i find to be a superior game mechanically anyway)
Roster: It's incredibly small. Each racer has their own stats that you can modify by getting parts from a gacha machine when you have earned enough tokens as well as these chars being put into different classes. What makes the roster so small, annoying as a bit of a nitpick, is that when you play with bots, you will just see many of the same characters racing around.
Team play: The game's focus is on the idea that you will have a team of 3 and will work together to retain a high position in the race, to add up each member's individual points to decide their final overall position. The way the team can work together is in a varied of ways, such as using a slingshot by following a teammate's trail to give yourself a boost or even passing over items that you feel someone further back can utilize. This however is not fully engaging when playing with AI because you can't communicate and they won't communicate back and will just know when you may need an item etc. The idea of team play too is not going to really be utilized compared to just a single race when playing with friends too.
I don't really have anything else to say about the game because it's nothing extraordinary either in terms of what stands out but overall I don't see myself going back to this game to race a friend anytime soon.
This title is something that on paper sounds like it could be a load of fun, with stages being based on popular stages of varied titles of the franchise. (Albiet so many of them are just taken from all-star racing, which i find to be a superior game mechanically anyway)
Roster: It's incredibly small. Each racer has their own stats that you can modify by getting parts from a gacha machine when you have earned enough tokens as well as these chars being put into different classes. What makes the roster so small, annoying as a bit of a nitpick, is that when you play with bots, you will just see many of the same characters racing around.
Team play: The game's focus is on the idea that you will have a team of 3 and will work together to retain a high position in the race, to add up each member's individual points to decide their final overall position. The way the team can work together is in a varied of ways, such as using a slingshot by following a teammate's trail to give yourself a boost or even passing over items that you feel someone further back can utilize. This however is not fully engaging when playing with AI because you can't communicate and they won't communicate back and will just know when you may need an item etc. The idea of team play too is not going to really be utilized compared to just a single race when playing with friends too.
I don't really have anything else to say about the game because it's nothing extraordinary either in terms of what stands out but overall I don't see myself going back to this game to race a friend anytime soon.
A fantastic Sonic title that I feel has honestly gone above and beyond but may be suffering from the port.
THE GOOD
This game introduces multiple stories that grant different perspectives of the overall plot (albeit with some goofy plot points). I think it's really interesting to note that despite the dialogue aging in a manner where you can't help but laugh at delivery, it still manages to maintain itself as lore rich, and captures multiple different themes for each individual characters development. This also makes the stories stay unique to the character from a gameplay element, by creating a more "laid back" formula for Big The Cat with his fishing minigame. Furthermore, when creating the title they wanted to ensure it could showcase what the hardware of the Dreamcast can accomplish so it starts to make sense why minigames like this exist in alignment with the goal. But the flaw I do find with the stories is how Big The Cat is introduced, he really doesn't have any relevance to the story and is kind of forced into it with a very half-baked plot device.
The spindash in this title feels very satisfying to use and when you've mastered the mechanic with spindash jumping you can really push the level design of the game and do things you had not done on previous playthroughs which leads to another positive point:
The level design is crafted in clever ways and has left it open for players to think outside of the box and find smart shortcuts to clear the levels at record times. The level design also shines with the other character stories because of how they branch out with different routes to explore and not making it just explore the same level multiple times with no changes (sonic heroes)
Eggman is so amazing in this game. I actually love him a lot, he's witty and not overbearing in terms of his position in the plot, he has such a simple motivation for using a god and this just plays well on his character.
THE NEUTRAL
I find the models for the DX version I am very mixed about, because while in gameplay the models really look great and can praise the change from a gameplay perspective. When it comes to the cutscenes I find some of the scenes are very unnatural and the eyes of the models will kind of overlay over the head in a weird way. There's also a bit of an awkwardness because in multiple instances in the game the character models will become the Dreamcast version an example is Amy getting grabbed by the robot and feels like it wasn't converted as perfectly.
THE BAD
The collision is a huge negative, you will gain some momentum and it will all be lost because it would be as though you went through 100 walls in an instant, except those walls are actually slight bumps.
Amy's gameplay is mind-numbingly annoying. Her hammer allows her to high jump which creates great momentum and allows you to speed through levels however it's kind of hard to consistently do this as you have to reach a certain speed to use this ability in the first place and her movement is so slow and easily interrupted.
Overall I absolutely loved this game and would have rated it higher if I didn't come across some really annoying stuff that really lowered the mood while playing because its concept has aged incredibly well more than 2 decades later and set off its generation of sonic games with an incredible start.
THE GOOD
This game introduces multiple stories that grant different perspectives of the overall plot (albeit with some goofy plot points). I think it's really interesting to note that despite the dialogue aging in a manner where you can't help but laugh at delivery, it still manages to maintain itself as lore rich, and captures multiple different themes for each individual characters development. This also makes the stories stay unique to the character from a gameplay element, by creating a more "laid back" formula for Big The Cat with his fishing minigame. Furthermore, when creating the title they wanted to ensure it could showcase what the hardware of the Dreamcast can accomplish so it starts to make sense why minigames like this exist in alignment with the goal. But the flaw I do find with the stories is how Big The Cat is introduced, he really doesn't have any relevance to the story and is kind of forced into it with a very half-baked plot device.
The spindash in this title feels very satisfying to use and when you've mastered the mechanic with spindash jumping you can really push the level design of the game and do things you had not done on previous playthroughs which leads to another positive point:
The level design is crafted in clever ways and has left it open for players to think outside of the box and find smart shortcuts to clear the levels at record times. The level design also shines with the other character stories because of how they branch out with different routes to explore and not making it just explore the same level multiple times with no changes (sonic heroes)
Eggman is so amazing in this game. I actually love him a lot, he's witty and not overbearing in terms of his position in the plot, he has such a simple motivation for using a god and this just plays well on his character.
THE NEUTRAL
I find the models for the DX version I am very mixed about, because while in gameplay the models really look great and can praise the change from a gameplay perspective. When it comes to the cutscenes I find some of the scenes are very unnatural and the eyes of the models will kind of overlay over the head in a weird way. There's also a bit of an awkwardness because in multiple instances in the game the character models will become the Dreamcast version an example is Amy getting grabbed by the robot and feels like it wasn't converted as perfectly.
THE BAD
The collision is a huge negative, you will gain some momentum and it will all be lost because it would be as though you went through 100 walls in an instant, except those walls are actually slight bumps.
Amy's gameplay is mind-numbingly annoying. Her hammer allows her to high jump which creates great momentum and allows you to speed through levels however it's kind of hard to consistently do this as you have to reach a certain speed to use this ability in the first place and her movement is so slow and easily interrupted.
Overall I absolutely loved this game and would have rated it higher if I didn't come across some really annoying stuff that really lowered the mood while playing because its concept has aged incredibly well more than 2 decades later and set off its generation of sonic games with an incredible start.
2022
I love guessing games, but minus a star for the times i got one wrong :(
1987
An absolutely abysmal game that makes it so specials are really hard to input because of the clunky controls, the ai will just go crazy and give you no time to break out of combos and will wipe your health bar. But there is one thing I learned about this game
That even though I may be strong, there is guys like me out there all over the world
That even though I may be strong, there is guys like me out there all over the world
1996
Truly the super Sonic process of all time
I think the game is kind of boring, to be honest, but still certainly interesting, the idea of it works really well but it feels definitely unbalanced with some characters being better and some just being not optimal. I wish I could play as Metal Sonic and Robotnik outside of offline play but I am aware the balancing issue would lie with that as well.
Overall: It's okay in ways, I felt in the arcade mode some certain match ups were entertaining but the drag to get super sonic was enough to make the experience gruelingly boring.
I think the game is kind of boring, to be honest, but still certainly interesting, the idea of it works really well but it feels definitely unbalanced with some characters being better and some just being not optimal. I wish I could play as Metal Sonic and Robotnik outside of offline play but I am aware the balancing issue would lie with that as well.
Overall: It's okay in ways, I felt in the arcade mode some certain match ups were entertaining but the drag to get super sonic was enough to make the experience gruelingly boring.
1998
(Played on the Sonic Gems Collection)
I genuinely like this game a lot honestly. It's a great concept of a racing game within the franchise of sonic, pitting the characters in a sprint against each other to become first. It is also very charming in that aspect to see characters such as Robotnik using a machine to traverse the stages.
Stages: I think the stage designs are enjoyable with great set pieces that stand out, I feel a stage I did have an issue with is regal ruin, where I was very unsure if I collected the chaos emerald or not and ended up missing it because of no visual cue so I had to go back.
Characters: as mentioned above the characters in this title are extra charming and have their own special abilities, examples of this are Sonic having a double jump, knuckles a glide ability and tails being able to fly. It really adds new approaches to the level.
Movement: At least on the version I played, I think the movement was quick to get adjusted towards. The times I had issues with it is when I had to do really sharp turns to try to access a short-cut such as the reactive factories elevator
Soundtrack: THIS IS MY FAVORITE THING ABOUT THIS TITLE. The soundtrack absolutely bops with iconic tracks that we still see being featured in titles including the blue hedgehog, such as Team Sonic racing to Smash Bros as well as the Olympic Games series.
Overall: I think this is a fun title, not large in content size by any means, there are some hiccups in regards to layout when collecting the items to 100% the game but if you want to just race on a track with a good tune this game provides.
I genuinely like this game a lot honestly. It's a great concept of a racing game within the franchise of sonic, pitting the characters in a sprint against each other to become first. It is also very charming in that aspect to see characters such as Robotnik using a machine to traverse the stages.
Stages: I think the stage designs are enjoyable with great set pieces that stand out, I feel a stage I did have an issue with is regal ruin, where I was very unsure if I collected the chaos emerald or not and ended up missing it because of no visual cue so I had to go back.
Characters: as mentioned above the characters in this title are extra charming and have their own special abilities, examples of this are Sonic having a double jump, knuckles a glide ability and tails being able to fly. It really adds new approaches to the level.
Movement: At least on the version I played, I think the movement was quick to get adjusted towards. The times I had issues with it is when I had to do really sharp turns to try to access a short-cut such as the reactive factories elevator
Soundtrack: THIS IS MY FAVORITE THING ABOUT THIS TITLE. The soundtrack absolutely bops with iconic tracks that we still see being featured in titles including the blue hedgehog, such as Team Sonic racing to Smash Bros as well as the Olympic Games series.
Overall: I think this is a fun title, not large in content size by any means, there are some hiccups in regards to layout when collecting the items to 100% the game but if you want to just race on a track with a good tune this game provides.
Is what it says, I can put it in my pocket and it can certainly take me on an adventure
Sonic Pocket Adventure takes Sonic 2 and 3, blends their level themes together, yet creates unique 8-bit level layouts. But this game isn't perfect at all.
The screen crunch makes this title unsatisfactory in many ways, an example of this is in the aerobase zone where you can't really see where to go for most of the jumps that leads to death, nor can you figure out shortcuts without taking the risk and just diving off the stage.
Special stages are in the deep end as it only gives you one shot to beat the stage if you fail you lose the chaos emerald making you unable to get to the true final boss, so be prepared to tear your hair out.
Overall though, I think this title captures the classic titles perfectly by providing its pocket-sized adventure that takes elements of its predecessors before Sonic Mania, keeping the speed of the hedgehog but be prepared to tackle this game more than once for some of the unfair challenges ahead
Sonic Pocket Adventure takes Sonic 2 and 3, blends their level themes together, yet creates unique 8-bit level layouts. But this game isn't perfect at all.
The screen crunch makes this title unsatisfactory in many ways, an example of this is in the aerobase zone where you can't really see where to go for most of the jumps that leads to death, nor can you figure out shortcuts without taking the risk and just diving off the stage.
Special stages are in the deep end as it only gives you one shot to beat the stage if you fail you lose the chaos emerald making you unable to get to the true final boss, so be prepared to tear your hair out.
Overall though, I think this title captures the classic titles perfectly by providing its pocket-sized adventure that takes elements of its predecessors before Sonic Mania, keeping the speed of the hedgehog but be prepared to tackle this game more than once for some of the unfair challenges ahead
1993
This provides a unique Classic sonic experience
This title coming after the first Sonic the hedgehog in terms of development (As Sonic Origins proves) comes with a new method of mobility the Super-Peelout, it allows sonic to instantly reach max speed but has vulnerability compared to the spin-dash, this ability feels pretty important and becomes natural to use with the gimmick of time travel that CD introduces.
The time travel gimmick is impressive and adds lots of depth to the stage designs. This is done by passing future/past signs and maintaining max speed for a few seconds. This will warp Sonic into the past or future with different aesthetic and musical themes.
Level design: The level design of Sonic CD has the most visual flare out of all the classic games, bringing unique soundtracks with each time period also. But this sadly does not mean the layout of the levels is the strongest because some of the stages become easy to navigate without thinking within 20 seconds to beat the stage and doesn't provide too much challenge to navigate in new ways and on the other side of the coin some stages become confusing to find your way around (such as the final stage) which the difference in pace becomes very noticeable.
Bosses: The boss fights within Sonic CD are very unique, providing different ways to tackle them, these can range from jumping on stone blocks and navigating to the roof to having a race against Metal Sonic. These fights also can go back to basics in the starter stages to provide a brand new experience.
Soundtrack: The soundtrack of this game is fantastic. I played on the Steam release (that is no longer available, because of Origins) which gave me the opportunity to switch between the US and JP versions. I love the JP version of the soundtrack it feels so funky and stardust speedway is a banger. I find the US version to be really weird because despite absolutely loving the main theme Sonic Boom, there are weird cases where you question if they made the game for a younger audience with the game over screen sounding very creepy.
Overall: A gem of a sonic title that is very unique in a great way to provide a long-lasting memorable experience
This title coming after the first Sonic the hedgehog in terms of development (As Sonic Origins proves) comes with a new method of mobility the Super-Peelout, it allows sonic to instantly reach max speed but has vulnerability compared to the spin-dash, this ability feels pretty important and becomes natural to use with the gimmick of time travel that CD introduces.
The time travel gimmick is impressive and adds lots of depth to the stage designs. This is done by passing future/past signs and maintaining max speed for a few seconds. This will warp Sonic into the past or future with different aesthetic and musical themes.
Level design: The level design of Sonic CD has the most visual flare out of all the classic games, bringing unique soundtracks with each time period also. But this sadly does not mean the layout of the levels is the strongest because some of the stages become easy to navigate without thinking within 20 seconds to beat the stage and doesn't provide too much challenge to navigate in new ways and on the other side of the coin some stages become confusing to find your way around (such as the final stage) which the difference in pace becomes very noticeable.
Bosses: The boss fights within Sonic CD are very unique, providing different ways to tackle them, these can range from jumping on stone blocks and navigating to the roof to having a race against Metal Sonic. These fights also can go back to basics in the starter stages to provide a brand new experience.
Soundtrack: The soundtrack of this game is fantastic. I played on the Steam release (that is no longer available, because of Origins) which gave me the opportunity to switch between the US and JP versions. I love the JP version of the soundtrack it feels so funky and stardust speedway is a banger. I find the US version to be really weird because despite absolutely loving the main theme Sonic Boom, there are weird cases where you question if they made the game for a younger audience with the game over screen sounding very creepy.
Overall: A gem of a sonic title that is very unique in a great way to provide a long-lasting memorable experience
1996
Sonic 3D Blast Isn't Very Much Of A Blast To Play
This game is pretty much the first entry of 3D for sonic and it is honestly not a good one...
It's genuine frustration with its motion, it took me a long time to adjust to the motion as well as overall the depth within this game acts as your foe more than anything when making jumps across the stages... oh and fighting enemies.. But there is one positive i have of this game
It's the actual concept behind this game, it could have been executed perfectly but clearly went for a more repetitive approach, I appreciate the little sonic features such as the dash panels but the game doesn't really do anything to solidify itself as an exciting sonic title as you tackle trying to save flickies once again against the evil robotnik.
At first, I found the boss battles to be exciting and really cool, them visually becoming more damaged to represent a more easy-to-calculate health count. Still, these bosses were so basic in gimmick to cheese as you most of the time just walked in a circle or stood still until he dropped to get free damage...especially the final fight being a colossal disappointment.
TLDR: not a blast to play and its 3D makes it irritating with sonics fast acceleration in a boring 3d dimensional layout
This game is pretty much the first entry of 3D for sonic and it is honestly not a good one...
It's genuine frustration with its motion, it took me a long time to adjust to the motion as well as overall the depth within this game acts as your foe more than anything when making jumps across the stages... oh and fighting enemies.. But there is one positive i have of this game
It's the actual concept behind this game, it could have been executed perfectly but clearly went for a more repetitive approach, I appreciate the little sonic features such as the dash panels but the game doesn't really do anything to solidify itself as an exciting sonic title as you tackle trying to save flickies once again against the evil robotnik.
At first, I found the boss battles to be exciting and really cool, them visually becoming more damaged to represent a more easy-to-calculate health count. Still, these bosses were so basic in gimmick to cheese as you most of the time just walked in a circle or stood still until he dropped to get free damage...especially the final fight being a colossal disappointment.
TLDR: not a blast to play and its 3D makes it irritating with sonics fast acceleration in a boring 3d dimensional layout
This was certainly a journey. It had many ups and downs...first, i want to start with the pros:
Soundtrack: I absolutely loved the soundtrack, they really added onto the experience and fit the theme of the stages really well, it is definitely the strongest soundtrack out of the classic sonic games.
Characters: The idea of having different storylines between sonic/tails and knuckles is really enjoyable and adds extra levels of replayability
Special Stages: I think the special stage minigame is exciting and captures a trial-and-error system well. Minus the fact I struggled against 1 stage for the super emeralds in particular it felt rewarding to get the emeralds. However, the way to get special stages becomes a con for me.
Shields: I love this system! The idea of having different elemental shields was so enriching for the experience. not only does it add an extra hit, but it also adds extra bits of situational advantages to the gameplay, such as the bubble shield adding water breathing and a BOUNCY effect to a lightning shield magnetizing rings to sonic and granting a double jump and resistance to electric attacks and lastly the fire shield granting invulnerability to fire-based attacks and granting a dash. The shields feel at home in this title, especially because of how HUGE the stages are in comparison to previous entries.
Boss battles: DEFINITELY the best bosses out of the previous entries, adding a variety of different gimmicks the bosses utilize the theme of the stages to grant a positive challenging experience. There is also mini-bosses in act 1 that are just as enjoyable.
CONS
Getting special stages: I didn't really like the idea of having to search all over an already huge act within 10 minutes to find giant rings to access these special stages. Sonic 2 had a system that rewarded players for collecting 50 rings and avoiding obstacles with precision once they reached a checkpoint to grant them the opportunity to get a chaos emerald that felt more natural and within the flow of a speedy game, this game. However, it forces you at multiple times to take it slow to check a wall that may break and reveal a big ring just so you may get a chaos emerald which just rubbed me the wrong way
Obstacle placement: I think some of the obstacles in this game were out to get me just outrageously, however not as bad as sonic 1 level design and sonic 2's Metropolis zone.
Soundtrack: I absolutely loved the soundtrack, they really added onto the experience and fit the theme of the stages really well, it is definitely the strongest soundtrack out of the classic sonic games.
Characters: The idea of having different storylines between sonic/tails and knuckles is really enjoyable and adds extra levels of replayability
Special Stages: I think the special stage minigame is exciting and captures a trial-and-error system well. Minus the fact I struggled against 1 stage for the super emeralds in particular it felt rewarding to get the emeralds. However, the way to get special stages becomes a con for me.
Shields: I love this system! The idea of having different elemental shields was so enriching for the experience. not only does it add an extra hit, but it also adds extra bits of situational advantages to the gameplay, such as the bubble shield adding water breathing and a BOUNCY effect to a lightning shield magnetizing rings to sonic and granting a double jump and resistance to electric attacks and lastly the fire shield granting invulnerability to fire-based attacks and granting a dash. The shields feel at home in this title, especially because of how HUGE the stages are in comparison to previous entries.
Boss battles: DEFINITELY the best bosses out of the previous entries, adding a variety of different gimmicks the bosses utilize the theme of the stages to grant a positive challenging experience. There is also mini-bosses in act 1 that are just as enjoyable.
CONS
Getting special stages: I didn't really like the idea of having to search all over an already huge act within 10 minutes to find giant rings to access these special stages. Sonic 2 had a system that rewarded players for collecting 50 rings and avoiding obstacles with precision once they reached a checkpoint to grant them the opportunity to get a chaos emerald that felt more natural and within the flow of a speedy game, this game. However, it forces you at multiple times to take it slow to check a wall that may break and reveal a big ring just so you may get a chaos emerald which just rubbed me the wrong way
Obstacle placement: I think some of the obstacles in this game were out to get me just outrageously, however not as bad as sonic 1 level design and sonic 2's Metropolis zone.
Had more fun paying attention to the frame rate dropping and rising
This review contains spoilers
TO THE MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON
Also Estinien
Also Estinien
Well, this was an interesting one. I found the limsa world-building quite enjoyable, the tempered 'cure' could have slightly been developed more though and I am still unsure what to think of the villain build-up for Endwalker. When it comes to this patch I specifically enjoyed the content outside of MSQ, Eden's conclusion was good and I really dig how Sorrow of Werlyt continues to develop.
Wow what a patch. A fantastic conclusion to the Shadowbringers storyline where its story beats are perfectly utilized to just destroy your emotions :(.