"The colors feel so right
I've never felt like this
I'll keep on running
Sonic Colors has a uniquely fascinating place in the Sonic franchise. what was once praised as finally being a good Sonic game after a rocky decade is now lambasted as the point of no return for the "Meta era" (whatever that means). in this uniquely divisive franchise, Colors occupies an even more controversial place than other games. but what remains of Colors, over a decade later? well, I think it's pretty good!
the most jarring thing about Sonic Colors is its simplicity. if Mario attempted to be more grand when going to space, Sonic did the opposite, and honestly I think it was needed. only one playable characters, only one play style, just pure Sonic platforming. and it's done quite well imo. not every stage is an absolute banger, but the levels are fun enough without being too or too short. they're imo the perfect length for this game. and the level design in of itself is pretty good, nothing wild but very solid across the board. there aren't any bad levels I would say, and it's strange to say but with 6 acts per zone, they really get their mileage out of every idea without feeling like it's stretching or padding things out. the wisps are all pretty fun to use and they get used in creative and interesting ways. the game is pretty easy but I still felt somewhat challenged, especially when I tried to go for S ranks (which I got a whopping total of 5 across the entire game) or to get the red rings scattered all over the stages. I know not everyone is a fan of Colors' levels but I had a lot of fun with them.
the biggest thing this game gets flagged for, besides the level design is the story, and well... it's a Saturday morning cartoon. it's not great but it's inoffensive. there's nothing outwardly bad, it just feels very childish which I can understand why it'll turn off people, especially after Secret Rings, Unleashed and Black Knight which felt more mature in comparaison (well they're still Sonic games lol it's not like Taxi Driver or something). it's very low stakes and lighthearted, even at the climax, which while it doesn't really work for me, feels also like I'm not the target audience and it's instead going for small children, which I don't mind. you need something for everyone after all. the copyright law line is very out of pocket but I like it. I honestly don't get why everyone is so heated about the story, acting like it ruined Sonic when it's just going for something different. I like the focus on just Sonic and Tails, it's something we haven't had for a long time at that point.
the best thing about the game without a doubt is the presentation. obviously, the music is incredible, which like duh it's Sonic, but it's especially fantastic here. top 5 OSTs in the series without a doubt. but I want to bring particular attention to the graphics and art direction, which is absolutely wonderful. it looks amazing to this day, and it's wild they were able to make this on the Wii while running great, only dipping at certain intensive momentf like when using Frenzy. all of the planets are beautiful, colorful and full of life. honestly one of the best looking Sonic games right after Unleashed for me. it's all absolutely magical and gorgeous, even with the blurry Wii resolution and the fact it's running on basically slightly modified GameCube hardware.
overall, I'd say Sonic Colors is a pretty good game. not much more than that. it came at the perfect time when Sonic needed something more simple and down to Earth (get it? cause they're in space), and while I understand how it's not for everyone, I think people are still unfairly harsh to it. calling Sonic Colors "not ambitious" is both reductive and just not true, because it's obviously trying something new for the series. just because you don't like it doesn't mean it's unambitious. Sonic Colors is good, and I like it.
"I'm gonna reach for the stars
Although they look pretty far
I'm gonna find my own way
And take a chance on today"
I've never felt like this
I'll keep on running
Sonic Colors has a uniquely fascinating place in the Sonic franchise. what was once praised as finally being a good Sonic game after a rocky decade is now lambasted as the point of no return for the "Meta era" (whatever that means). in this uniquely divisive franchise, Colors occupies an even more controversial place than other games. but what remains of Colors, over a decade later? well, I think it's pretty good!
the most jarring thing about Sonic Colors is its simplicity. if Mario attempted to be more grand when going to space, Sonic did the opposite, and honestly I think it was needed. only one playable characters, only one play style, just pure Sonic platforming. and it's done quite well imo. not every stage is an absolute banger, but the levels are fun enough without being too or too short. they're imo the perfect length for this game. and the level design in of itself is pretty good, nothing wild but very solid across the board. there aren't any bad levels I would say, and it's strange to say but with 6 acts per zone, they really get their mileage out of every idea without feeling like it's stretching or padding things out. the wisps are all pretty fun to use and they get used in creative and interesting ways. the game is pretty easy but I still felt somewhat challenged, especially when I tried to go for S ranks (which I got a whopping total of 5 across the entire game) or to get the red rings scattered all over the stages. I know not everyone is a fan of Colors' levels but I had a lot of fun with them.
the biggest thing this game gets flagged for, besides the level design is the story, and well... it's a Saturday morning cartoon. it's not great but it's inoffensive. there's nothing outwardly bad, it just feels very childish which I can understand why it'll turn off people, especially after Secret Rings, Unleashed and Black Knight which felt more mature in comparaison (well they're still Sonic games lol it's not like Taxi Driver or something). it's very low stakes and lighthearted, even at the climax, which while it doesn't really work for me, feels also like I'm not the target audience and it's instead going for small children, which I don't mind. you need something for everyone after all. the copyright law line is very out of pocket but I like it. I honestly don't get why everyone is so heated about the story, acting like it ruined Sonic when it's just going for something different. I like the focus on just Sonic and Tails, it's something we haven't had for a long time at that point.
the best thing about the game without a doubt is the presentation. obviously, the music is incredible, which like duh it's Sonic, but it's especially fantastic here. top 5 OSTs in the series without a doubt. but I want to bring particular attention to the graphics and art direction, which is absolutely wonderful. it looks amazing to this day, and it's wild they were able to make this on the Wii while running great, only dipping at certain intensive momentf like when using Frenzy. all of the planets are beautiful, colorful and full of life. honestly one of the best looking Sonic games right after Unleashed for me. it's all absolutely magical and gorgeous, even with the blurry Wii resolution and the fact it's running on basically slightly modified GameCube hardware.
overall, I'd say Sonic Colors is a pretty good game. not much more than that. it came at the perfect time when Sonic needed something more simple and down to Earth (get it? cause they're in space), and while I understand how it's not for everyone, I think people are still unfairly harsh to it. calling Sonic Colors "not ambitious" is both reductive and just not true, because it's obviously trying something new for the series. just because you don't like it doesn't mean it's unambitious. Sonic Colors is good, and I like it.
"I'm gonna reach for the stars
Although they look pretty far
I'm gonna find my own way
And take a chance on today"