This is by far one of the most engaging games in the series. I really think they were onto something great with this one. From the increased depth in combat that adds a lot to the moment to moment gameplay, to having 4 different ways to play the game. The game's a lot closer to the originals as far as level design style and structure. In that it's a lot more video gamey obstacle course driven rather than SA1's relatively "grounded" locations or SA2's brand of hallways. And it absolutely demands you engage with its mechanics. Thing with Heroes is that it's totally ok with you having an absolutely miserable time. This used to be one of my most hated Sonic games, levels were just so long and frustrating and enemies could be such a pain. For one, I was playing the ps2 version so the controls weren't as responsive as they are on other versions due to the framerate issues. But even on the ps2, I ended up loving the game once it all clicked.
I feel like a lot of the "hate it" crowd in this love it or hate it game are big SA2 fans. Being a direct sequel to SA2, it's a DRAMATICALLY different game. For me, this is strictly a good thing. The combat system is very uniquely Sonic, it's very rewarding to be able to shred big enemies without breaking your flow once you get good at the game. This extends to bosses like the Egg Emperor. He can be an intimidating wall that is constantly slapping your rings out of you on top of having impenetrable defenses, but you absolutely can beat him incredibly fast once you know how to fully utilize your moveset. Since no other game does its combat quite like Heroes obviously it's a bit of a learning curve.
A lot of people also complain about having to beat it 4 times to have the final boss open up. I feel like this is missing the point. If you like the game, having 4 different ways of playing it is HUGE. If you don't like the game...Well what do you care? Stop playing. It's not like this is a story driven entry. The freedom to choose how you want to play the game adds so much more than it can possibly detract. Perhaps it would have been better to just unlock the final boss if you get all the chaos emeralds and have beaten one of the stories. I don't know, but worrying about unlocking another mediocre final boss in this series is far from what I'm thinking about when I talk about a Sonic game. What's important is the levels themselves.
If I want to play a more bite sized version of the game, with tension turned way down, there's Team Rose. Significantly shorter levels with an overpowered moveset. Team Sonic has meatier levels and a more balanced moveset. Team Dark is for people like me that think Eggmanland in HD Unleashed is the best level in the series. I love being able to choose between a more relaxed experience with short levels. Or one that's actively trying to kick me to the curb with absolutely massive stages. Like, forget the final boss, even if there wasn't one I'd be playing every team. Then there's team Chaotix, which admittedly I rarely play. I feel like their mission oriented gameplay doesn't fit quite as well into the more classic feel of the level design. Their style is improved on in the next game. Chaotix isn't a bad time but their stages don't really vibe with the appeal of the game for me. Though if I took the effort to really learn more of their levels they'd probably be cool too.
It's also nice they were able to include so many characters while keeping the game focused on a single gameplay style. While I do love the tech demo feel SA1 had where they were just showing off all the different things the Dreamcast could do, it is nice to have the most important parts of the game be as good as it can be with one focused gameplay style.
The game's got a bit of a reputation for being hard to control and really janky. To me this is only true when it comes to the pinball level and the special stages. The special stages are easy enough to beat anyway, but yeah that first pinball stage is pretty rough, the physics just did NOT show up for work on that one. Otherwise I really don't understand the complaints with controls or the acceleration being too high. You only really go as fast as you make yourself go. I never found it hard to navigate anything with the speed characters, they have a pretty comfortable speed when you're not actively trying to go as fast as possible. And I love that you CAN go extremely fast, it's entirely dictated by you. The rocket-accel move replaces the spindash in this game, and it's just one of the many things that fans of previous games may be thrown off by. But it's incredibly versatile and useful and a lot of fun. Rail switching is somewhat problematic just like in SA2, but I find it works where it absolutely needs to. Definitely tends to not work well when going super fast on turns but you'll never have to be switching during those moments anyway.
Soundtracks great. This is personally my favorite voice performances in the series. It's very goofy but with loads of charm. Even tails, who's voice in this game gets flack. I'm just saying he's always been a young child, it's cool he's actually voiced by one this time. For once he actually sounds his age and it's adorable. Deem Bristow as Eggman is great to hear one last time, even if the game's cheerful vibe doesn't let him hit that intimidating tone he did in SA1 at times. The cutscenes are borderline nonsense, and from what little I've looked into it, I gather there's layers upon layers of mistranslation going on. In a more story driven game this could be a problem, but the game's tone is so whimsical and carefree, and cutscenes go by so fast, the insanity is just a plus for me. Also nice to see the characters not animate like lifeless puppets in cutscenes anymore.
This one's more fun the more I play it, based game~
I feel like a lot of the "hate it" crowd in this love it or hate it game are big SA2 fans. Being a direct sequel to SA2, it's a DRAMATICALLY different game. For me, this is strictly a good thing. The combat system is very uniquely Sonic, it's very rewarding to be able to shred big enemies without breaking your flow once you get good at the game. This extends to bosses like the Egg Emperor. He can be an intimidating wall that is constantly slapping your rings out of you on top of having impenetrable defenses, but you absolutely can beat him incredibly fast once you know how to fully utilize your moveset. Since no other game does its combat quite like Heroes obviously it's a bit of a learning curve.
A lot of people also complain about having to beat it 4 times to have the final boss open up. I feel like this is missing the point. If you like the game, having 4 different ways of playing it is HUGE. If you don't like the game...Well what do you care? Stop playing. It's not like this is a story driven entry. The freedom to choose how you want to play the game adds so much more than it can possibly detract. Perhaps it would have been better to just unlock the final boss if you get all the chaos emeralds and have beaten one of the stories. I don't know, but worrying about unlocking another mediocre final boss in this series is far from what I'm thinking about when I talk about a Sonic game. What's important is the levels themselves.
If I want to play a more bite sized version of the game, with tension turned way down, there's Team Rose. Significantly shorter levels with an overpowered moveset. Team Sonic has meatier levels and a more balanced moveset. Team Dark is for people like me that think Eggmanland in HD Unleashed is the best level in the series. I love being able to choose between a more relaxed experience with short levels. Or one that's actively trying to kick me to the curb with absolutely massive stages. Like, forget the final boss, even if there wasn't one I'd be playing every team. Then there's team Chaotix, which admittedly I rarely play. I feel like their mission oriented gameplay doesn't fit quite as well into the more classic feel of the level design. Their style is improved on in the next game. Chaotix isn't a bad time but their stages don't really vibe with the appeal of the game for me. Though if I took the effort to really learn more of their levels they'd probably be cool too.
It's also nice they were able to include so many characters while keeping the game focused on a single gameplay style. While I do love the tech demo feel SA1 had where they were just showing off all the different things the Dreamcast could do, it is nice to have the most important parts of the game be as good as it can be with one focused gameplay style.
The game's got a bit of a reputation for being hard to control and really janky. To me this is only true when it comes to the pinball level and the special stages. The special stages are easy enough to beat anyway, but yeah that first pinball stage is pretty rough, the physics just did NOT show up for work on that one. Otherwise I really don't understand the complaints with controls or the acceleration being too high. You only really go as fast as you make yourself go. I never found it hard to navigate anything with the speed characters, they have a pretty comfortable speed when you're not actively trying to go as fast as possible. And I love that you CAN go extremely fast, it's entirely dictated by you. The rocket-accel move replaces the spindash in this game, and it's just one of the many things that fans of previous games may be thrown off by. But it's incredibly versatile and useful and a lot of fun. Rail switching is somewhat problematic just like in SA2, but I find it works where it absolutely needs to. Definitely tends to not work well when going super fast on turns but you'll never have to be switching during those moments anyway.
Soundtracks great. This is personally my favorite voice performances in the series. It's very goofy but with loads of charm. Even tails, who's voice in this game gets flack. I'm just saying he's always been a young child, it's cool he's actually voiced by one this time. For once he actually sounds his age and it's adorable. Deem Bristow as Eggman is great to hear one last time, even if the game's cheerful vibe doesn't let him hit that intimidating tone he did in SA1 at times. The cutscenes are borderline nonsense, and from what little I've looked into it, I gather there's layers upon layers of mistranslation going on. In a more story driven game this could be a problem, but the game's tone is so whimsical and carefree, and cutscenes go by so fast, the insanity is just a plus for me. Also nice to see the characters not animate like lifeless puppets in cutscenes anymore.
This one's more fun the more I play it, based game~
Snigglegros
3 months ago