SKaT3R
Chao Garden......
2022
I thought I understood the standards and means to create games and thought we were reaching the apex of how good games could be inside the medium in terms of technical limitation and creativity.... then I played "Mcdonalds Sonic The Hedgehog 2" on google chrome on my browser and realised I knew... NOTHING about the medium this game is enlightenment and I can't go back to playing any other game after this.....
But Wait Really.... Who Did It...?
The Murder of Sonic The Hedgehog isn't a game I can really say much about without spoiling except from its a super charming game full of neat references for casual and hardcore fans alike filled with charm while clocking in a bit under 2 and a half hours that makes for a short and sweet experience that will leave you with a smile on your face I very much recommend this for any fan of the series or someone looking for 2-3 hours to kill!
The Murder of Sonic The Hedgehog isn't a game I can really say much about without spoiling except from its a super charming game full of neat references for casual and hardcore fans alike filled with charm while clocking in a bit under 2 and a half hours that makes for a short and sweet experience that will leave you with a smile on your face I very much recommend this for any fan of the series or someone looking for 2-3 hours to kill!
2019
A No Longer Flawed Masterpiece.
This review won't be too long as alot of thing's are obviously going to line up with the original sonic 06 however any minor nitpick I may have with the game is fixed here and beyond like the game actually having momentum,spindash spam,no endlag on homing attack,smoother movement,neat unlockables,QoL changes,character moveset improvements,etc in terms of gameplay it fixed the little to no issues I have with 06 and then elevated it beyond its original status and this game is basically the potential of 06's gameplay realized at its full potential with a lush visual overhaul.
This review won't be too long as alot of thing's are obviously going to line up with the original sonic 06 however any minor nitpick I may have with the game is fixed here and beyond like the game actually having momentum,spindash spam,no endlag on homing attack,smoother movement,neat unlockables,QoL changes,character moveset improvements,etc in terms of gameplay it fixed the little to no issues I have with 06 and then elevated it beyond its original status and this game is basically the potential of 06's gameplay realized at its full potential with a lush visual overhaul.
The Tennis Of All Time.
It's certainly a game I have played and experienced and I don't really have much to say except from the references and presentation are very top notch and its tennis I mean there really isn't much to say about this title its a fun game for an hour or two to play with a friend who may also like SEGA ip's but nothing much more or less than that overall an average game.
It's certainly a game I have played and experienced and I don't really have much to say except from the references and presentation are very top notch and its tennis I mean there really isn't much to say about this title its a fun game for an hour or two to play with a friend who may also like SEGA ip's but nothing much more or less than that overall an average game.
2017
Classic Sonic Forces His Way Into This Entry.
Sonic Forces is often coined as one of the worst games in the series but honestly as flawed as it is in areas i still think it makes for a pretty enjoyable experience all in all sure it isn't perfect but nothing is so I will dabble in why I think this entry is rather underlooked and deserves more credit that it gets as of current.
Visuals:
The first game to utilize the hedgehog engine 2 and in someways even generations and unleashed look better mainly because of the character models and textures but overall the game looks pretty good especially its city levels used in the premotional art quite visually appealing its not the best looking entry but it's solid enough
Gameplay (Classic Sonic):
Lets get this out of the way honestly yeah it does really suck to be honest I have no idea why they had to shoehorn him into this game the mania tie in is cool but the gameplay itself really blows its just degraded generations gameplay with a dropdash but outside of the dropdash he controls terribly and to make matters worse he has some of the weakest level design in classic sonic history no amount of good physics would fix this mess but I still had my moments of fun with him here so he is easily the biggest issue with forces but never the less we will move on.
Gameplay (Avatar):
I mean it's basically modern sonic gameplay with no boost on surface level but what makes this appealing is the different races/animals + wispon combinations that can make replaying and clearing stages satisfying as you can try to figure out the most optimal route with each wispon and alot of paths are only takable with certain wispons and each wispon can spawn with bonuses like a landing/stomp dash that when combined with racial abilities becomes fun to experiment with granted you can kind of just use bird + drill and anything + asteroid for bosses to kinda breeze through avatar levels.
Gameplay (Modern Sonic):
Probably the highlight of the game for most people including myself and honestly I barely consider it a downgrade from its previous installments and would still have it in the same tier as unleashed/colors/generations because sure the air boost can be OP but it can act as a triple jump of some sort and can be fun to use especially in 2d sections and the homing attack chains really well here the biggest issue is some level design in certain levels and the stomp being kinda slow and his acceleration without boost that sure are issues but minor ones at that i'd take it over having some kinda demerit gimmic being tacked onto the gameplay + the acceleration isn't a big issue as you're gonna be boosting 3/4's of the time as him anyways.
Soundtrack:
Banger.Honestly the forces soundtrack has so many really strong songs in it and is underlooked in the grandscope of the franchise I think some of its songs can easily fit into my S tier if I were to make a sonic soundtrack tier list and can make some of the levels its paired with super exciting with the spectacle of some of the QTE's and mini cutscenes.
Voice Acting:
I mean it's pretty on par with all the meta era games there really isn't much change in direction here until frontiers so we will just have to get to that when the time comes but everything i've said in my colors and generations reviews will apply here so if you'd like you can go read them for more context but no pressure stick here if forces is all you care for.
Characters:
Honestly there is some pretty bad dialogue but most of that is the translation being overly edgy but outside of a few really bad lines they feel pretty inline with how they should be here I think people blow "how bad" it is out of proportion and honestly the weakest characters here are tails and infinite for sure but everyone else is solid.
Story:
Yeah definitely one of the if not the weakest aspect of the game I appreciate the more "serious" tone it tried to take even if it failed and the mania tie in but outside of that... yeah its bad like really bad the "seriousness" falls flat with some of the dialogue being too cheesy and on the other hand some dialogue goes overly edgy and goes unbelieveable especially paired with it not actually matching up well with the events on screen overall a really weak narrative that doesn't really deliver anything or a message for that matter.The only message is surface level and its to not give up and fight for what you believe in as part of a resistence but yeah nah its unremarkable at best.
Replayability:
One of the best aspects here is replayability from the red star rings to the daily missions and missions in general there is alot here to come back too and the leaderboard was great before it got hacked/modded times but time attacking the game is still really fun outside of classic sonic as going fast with modern and avatar can be pretty unconventional in a good way and while maybe not sonic colors or generations levels of replayability there is still alot of fun to be had with this title.
Overall:
One of the most overhated games in the franchise because people only focus on what it did wrong without putting the perspective on what it exceeded in it's disheartening to see its "1.9" review on backloggd as that is criminally low for this title it should atleast be a 2.5 as at worst its just a mediocre game but I personally like this game alot and see it as the end to a controversial era.
Trivia:
This game was originally revealed as "Sonic Project 2017".
Sonic Forces is often coined as one of the worst games in the series but honestly as flawed as it is in areas i still think it makes for a pretty enjoyable experience all in all sure it isn't perfect but nothing is so I will dabble in why I think this entry is rather underlooked and deserves more credit that it gets as of current.
Visuals:
The first game to utilize the hedgehog engine 2 and in someways even generations and unleashed look better mainly because of the character models and textures but overall the game looks pretty good especially its city levels used in the premotional art quite visually appealing its not the best looking entry but it's solid enough
Gameplay (Classic Sonic):
Lets get this out of the way honestly yeah it does really suck to be honest I have no idea why they had to shoehorn him into this game the mania tie in is cool but the gameplay itself really blows its just degraded generations gameplay with a dropdash but outside of the dropdash he controls terribly and to make matters worse he has some of the weakest level design in classic sonic history no amount of good physics would fix this mess but I still had my moments of fun with him here so he is easily the biggest issue with forces but never the less we will move on.
Gameplay (Avatar):
I mean it's basically modern sonic gameplay with no boost on surface level but what makes this appealing is the different races/animals + wispon combinations that can make replaying and clearing stages satisfying as you can try to figure out the most optimal route with each wispon and alot of paths are only takable with certain wispons and each wispon can spawn with bonuses like a landing/stomp dash that when combined with racial abilities becomes fun to experiment with granted you can kind of just use bird + drill and anything + asteroid for bosses to kinda breeze through avatar levels.
Gameplay (Modern Sonic):
Probably the highlight of the game for most people including myself and honestly I barely consider it a downgrade from its previous installments and would still have it in the same tier as unleashed/colors/generations because sure the air boost can be OP but it can act as a triple jump of some sort and can be fun to use especially in 2d sections and the homing attack chains really well here the biggest issue is some level design in certain levels and the stomp being kinda slow and his acceleration without boost that sure are issues but minor ones at that i'd take it over having some kinda demerit gimmic being tacked onto the gameplay + the acceleration isn't a big issue as you're gonna be boosting 3/4's of the time as him anyways.
Soundtrack:
Banger.Honestly the forces soundtrack has so many really strong songs in it and is underlooked in the grandscope of the franchise I think some of its songs can easily fit into my S tier if I were to make a sonic soundtrack tier list and can make some of the levels its paired with super exciting with the spectacle of some of the QTE's and mini cutscenes.
Voice Acting:
I mean it's pretty on par with all the meta era games there really isn't much change in direction here until frontiers so we will just have to get to that when the time comes but everything i've said in my colors and generations reviews will apply here so if you'd like you can go read them for more context but no pressure stick here if forces is all you care for.
Characters:
Honestly there is some pretty bad dialogue but most of that is the translation being overly edgy but outside of a few really bad lines they feel pretty inline with how they should be here I think people blow "how bad" it is out of proportion and honestly the weakest characters here are tails and infinite for sure but everyone else is solid.
Story:
Yeah definitely one of the if not the weakest aspect of the game I appreciate the more "serious" tone it tried to take even if it failed and the mania tie in but outside of that... yeah its bad like really bad the "seriousness" falls flat with some of the dialogue being too cheesy and on the other hand some dialogue goes overly edgy and goes unbelieveable especially paired with it not actually matching up well with the events on screen overall a really weak narrative that doesn't really deliver anything or a message for that matter.The only message is surface level and its to not give up and fight for what you believe in as part of a resistence but yeah nah its unremarkable at best.
Replayability:
One of the best aspects here is replayability from the red star rings to the daily missions and missions in general there is alot here to come back too and the leaderboard was great before it got hacked/modded times but time attacking the game is still really fun outside of classic sonic as going fast with modern and avatar can be pretty unconventional in a good way and while maybe not sonic colors or generations levels of replayability there is still alot of fun to be had with this title.
Overall:
One of the most overhated games in the franchise because people only focus on what it did wrong without putting the perspective on what it exceeded in it's disheartening to see its "1.9" review on backloggd as that is criminally low for this title it should atleast be a 2.5 as at worst its just a mediocre game but I personally like this game alot and see it as the end to a controversial era.
Trivia:
This game was originally revealed as "Sonic Project 2017".
2017
A Manic Blast To The Past..
Sonic Mania encapsulates the very idea of the classic trilogy and does pretty much everything perfectly that results in a satisfying short or lengthy experience depending on how much of the games content you want to dive into as there is alot of optional side content with the other characters routes and ending cutscene being pretty different and encore mode,multiplayer,special stages,time attacking the list goes on there is truely alot of love and care that went into this overall solid package.
Visuals: They took the classic's artstyle and just dialed it up by a thousand and beyond every sprite in this game is super details and has animations that brim with character and the stages that are reused look great and better than before and the new stages makes you question was reusing older stages the games only drawback as the new levels are so amazing in so many ways and there is so many cool references and nods that fan of the series can pick up from the stage envoirments and backgrounds.
Gameplay:
Again very akin to the classic trilogy the level design and character control feels closest to 3&K with elements of 2 and CD most of the time and speaking of characters each character feels unique and has pros and cons making none of the 5 downright terrible even sonic gets the dropdash to set himself apart from the other 4 if you enjoyed any of the original trilogy you will most definitely find something in this game to enjoy.
Replayability:
There is so much to chew on in this game from the great level design allowing the levels to feel fresh with each run of the levels each character have exclusive routes that even furthers the replayablity exploring parts of the level unknown to other characters while playing ___ for example and ontop of encore mode,multiplayer and the other plethora of things to do it'd be hard to get bored of this game if your a fan of the classics.
Soundtrack:
CatJAM CatJAM CatJAM CatJAM CatJAM CatJAM CatJAM
It just bops what can I say all the remixes of old tracks often sound better than the originals and the new tracks go astronomically hard and there is honestly too much to say in terms of how good this is honestly if you don't plan on playing the game atleast listen to a few tracks and it might convince you to give it a shot even if your a new fan.
Story:
While simple follows a similar structure to 3&K with a short sprite based cutscene playing after each level bringing the continuity together and being simple but sweet nothing too mindblowing but not terrible either its also got a nice forces tie in.
Overall:
A fantastic game that any sonic fan should play as it perserves older levels in a inoffensive way by changing it up while still preserving history and the title deserves all the praise it gets and if you haven't played it already I can't advise you enough go check out this game if you have 3-5 hours of spare time as you will not regret it.
Trivia:
This game is made by Christian Whitehead who also made the mobile ports of 1-2 and the modern ports of CD and origins but before that he made a game engine called "Retro Sonic" that was used as a basis for his future titles.
Sonic Mania encapsulates the very idea of the classic trilogy and does pretty much everything perfectly that results in a satisfying short or lengthy experience depending on how much of the games content you want to dive into as there is alot of optional side content with the other characters routes and ending cutscene being pretty different and encore mode,multiplayer,special stages,time attacking the list goes on there is truely alot of love and care that went into this overall solid package.
Visuals: They took the classic's artstyle and just dialed it up by a thousand and beyond every sprite in this game is super details and has animations that brim with character and the stages that are reused look great and better than before and the new stages makes you question was reusing older stages the games only drawback as the new levels are so amazing in so many ways and there is so many cool references and nods that fan of the series can pick up from the stage envoirments and backgrounds.
Gameplay:
Again very akin to the classic trilogy the level design and character control feels closest to 3&K with elements of 2 and CD most of the time and speaking of characters each character feels unique and has pros and cons making none of the 5 downright terrible even sonic gets the dropdash to set himself apart from the other 4 if you enjoyed any of the original trilogy you will most definitely find something in this game to enjoy.
Replayability:
There is so much to chew on in this game from the great level design allowing the levels to feel fresh with each run of the levels each character have exclusive routes that even furthers the replayablity exploring parts of the level unknown to other characters while playing ___ for example and ontop of encore mode,multiplayer and the other plethora of things to do it'd be hard to get bored of this game if your a fan of the classics.
Soundtrack:
CatJAM CatJAM CatJAM CatJAM CatJAM CatJAM CatJAM
It just bops what can I say all the remixes of old tracks often sound better than the originals and the new tracks go astronomically hard and there is honestly too much to say in terms of how good this is honestly if you don't plan on playing the game atleast listen to a few tracks and it might convince you to give it a shot even if your a new fan.
Story:
While simple follows a similar structure to 3&K with a short sprite based cutscene playing after each level bringing the continuity together and being simple but sweet nothing too mindblowing but not terrible either its also got a nice forces tie in.
Overall:
A fantastic game that any sonic fan should play as it perserves older levels in a inoffensive way by changing it up while still preserving history and the title deserves all the praise it gets and if you haven't played it already I can't advise you enough go check out this game if you have 3-5 hours of spare time as you will not regret it.
Trivia:
This game is made by Christian Whitehead who also made the mobile ports of 1-2 and the modern ports of CD and origins but before that he made a game engine called "Retro Sonic" that was used as a basis for his future titles.
Sonic Made Me Want To Go Boom With This Entry...
Honestly upon booting this game up and playing for the what first 30 minutes to an hour I thought the game was overhated but thats before i spent the extra 6 hours and 30 minutes to finish it then realized what makes this game bad for a quick TL:DR.
Repetitive combat and puzzles,Terrible Dialogue,Mediocre platforming and overall just a miserable experience that overstays its welcome with a nothing narrative/story.
Controls:
Honestly the best aspect of this entry as they dont suck sonic and co. feel pretty good to move but are rather slow and the combat is extremely simple with no depth but outside of combat the platforming feels okay to control but doesn't provide much in the way of challenge.
Gameplay:
The game boils down to Mach Speed Section > Tile Puzzles > Pull Lever With Laser,Combat Section > Character Specific Puzzle > Repeat in any order and towards the end of its runtime becomes mind grating because the puzzles are super easy and the combat is super simple and surface level and the rest isn't much better its fun for the first hour or so but becomes more and more of a chore as you repeat them the 100th time not made better by the games dialogue.
"Level" Design:
It's bad the game either plays itself or is super simple with no real thought needed and the combat is just spongey enemies with only 3 basic combos to choose from per character when combined with the mediocre platforming and mind numbing puzzles it just really sucks and the boss fights last ages and are either extremely annoying or pathetically easy the difficulty curve while nearly non existent is super inconsistent when it does exist and it makes for a super ungratifying game progression.
Replayablity:
Outside of fetch quests? nothing like maybe extreme mode if the game was just that fun for you otherwise... don't even bother its not worth your time.
Soundtrack:
Super generic with nothing too standout if someone held me at gun point and asked me to hum a song from this game or name a track from the OST... am getting shot there is literally nothing memerable about it,it's not terrible but its nothing stand out either basically sums up the experience in this game in general just soulless and boring.
Voice Acting:
If you set aside the dialogue and script for the game? it's okay amy especially had a pretty good performance and its what you'd expect from a meta era sonic entry.But the dialogue... OH MY GOD WHY DOES IT SUCK SO BAD characters have to exclaim even the most simple things to the player that is somewhat corny and charming at first but becomes hell after the 5th time it happens that will be about a minute into the game because characters DON'T SHUT UP and for an example you will be in this very poisoness jungle area and sonic and knuckles will not stop blabbering on about how dangerous the vines are for the full hourish that your in the area and it gets so so so annoying.Easily the reason why I have this game at this rating its just that bad.
Story:
Bad its just bad like I seriously dont remember anything outside of ancients,crystals,lyrik thats it,Basically nothing major ever happens in the narrative and the game ends on a cliffhanger that never gets resolved as its the only boom game that is kinda unfortunate as with better game design there is actually an okay concept here with more varied combat and good puzzles with decent dialogue this could've been great.Honestly there isn't much to say as there is barely a story here to begin with watch the games trailers and you will get the full story from just that.
Characters:
Well honestly there not terrible here I mean heck tails and amy are useful again but sadly the dialogue makes any good traits they have here just meaningless and there designs are actually good in my opinion outside of knuckles not even eggman was really all that charming here its just so empty and soulless.
Overall: Well I kinda did a TL:DR at the beginning but honestly its just a game not worth playing that will have you questioning your sanity and wanting to constantly sidetrack after the first of the 6-9 (hehe) you will be playing this game and honestly should just be forgotten about as it has nothing to offer outside of its world and character designs.The TV show is apparently solid though.
Trivia:
This game was originally going to look and play better but BigRedButton wasn't told it was going to be a Wii U Title until mid-development.
Honestly upon booting this game up and playing for the what first 30 minutes to an hour I thought the game was overhated but thats before i spent the extra 6 hours and 30 minutes to finish it then realized what makes this game bad for a quick TL:DR.
Repetitive combat and puzzles,Terrible Dialogue,Mediocre platforming and overall just a miserable experience that overstays its welcome with a nothing narrative/story.
Controls:
Honestly the best aspect of this entry as they dont suck sonic and co. feel pretty good to move but are rather slow and the combat is extremely simple with no depth but outside of combat the platforming feels okay to control but doesn't provide much in the way of challenge.
Gameplay:
The game boils down to Mach Speed Section > Tile Puzzles > Pull Lever With Laser,Combat Section > Character Specific Puzzle > Repeat in any order and towards the end of its runtime becomes mind grating because the puzzles are super easy and the combat is super simple and surface level and the rest isn't much better its fun for the first hour or so but becomes more and more of a chore as you repeat them the 100th time not made better by the games dialogue.
"Level" Design:
It's bad the game either plays itself or is super simple with no real thought needed and the combat is just spongey enemies with only 3 basic combos to choose from per character when combined with the mediocre platforming and mind numbing puzzles it just really sucks and the boss fights last ages and are either extremely annoying or pathetically easy the difficulty curve while nearly non existent is super inconsistent when it does exist and it makes for a super ungratifying game progression.
Replayablity:
Outside of fetch quests? nothing like maybe extreme mode if the game was just that fun for you otherwise... don't even bother its not worth your time.
Soundtrack:
Super generic with nothing too standout if someone held me at gun point and asked me to hum a song from this game or name a track from the OST... am getting shot there is literally nothing memerable about it,it's not terrible but its nothing stand out either basically sums up the experience in this game in general just soulless and boring.
Voice Acting:
If you set aside the dialogue and script for the game? it's okay amy especially had a pretty good performance and its what you'd expect from a meta era sonic entry.But the dialogue... OH MY GOD WHY DOES IT SUCK SO BAD characters have to exclaim even the most simple things to the player that is somewhat corny and charming at first but becomes hell after the 5th time it happens that will be about a minute into the game because characters DON'T SHUT UP and for an example you will be in this very poisoness jungle area and sonic and knuckles will not stop blabbering on about how dangerous the vines are for the full hourish that your in the area and it gets so so so annoying.Easily the reason why I have this game at this rating its just that bad.
Story:
Bad its just bad like I seriously dont remember anything outside of ancients,crystals,lyrik thats it,Basically nothing major ever happens in the narrative and the game ends on a cliffhanger that never gets resolved as its the only boom game that is kinda unfortunate as with better game design there is actually an okay concept here with more varied combat and good puzzles with decent dialogue this could've been great.Honestly there isn't much to say as there is barely a story here to begin with watch the games trailers and you will get the full story from just that.
Characters:
Well honestly there not terrible here I mean heck tails and amy are useful again but sadly the dialogue makes any good traits they have here just meaningless and there designs are actually good in my opinion outside of knuckles not even eggman was really all that charming here its just so empty and soulless.
Overall: Well I kinda did a TL:DR at the beginning but honestly its just a game not worth playing that will have you questioning your sanity and wanting to constantly sidetrack after the first of the 6-9 (hehe) you will be playing this game and honestly should just be forgotten about as it has nothing to offer outside of its world and character designs.The TV show is apparently solid though.
Trivia:
This game was originally going to look and play better but BigRedButton wasn't told it was going to be a Wii U Title until mid-development.
2013
Sonic Lost World Should Just Stay Lost From Our World....
Sonic Lost World is best described by go play the first 4 levels then boot off the game and pretend like the other 24 levels don't exist because what could've been a groundbreaking entry is muddled by 2D sections and bad level design because the foundations set aren't all that bad.
Controls (3D):
Easily the best aspect of this game it actually controls wonderfully in 3D I have next to no issues with how sonic feels to move around in 3D here the run button is whatever,jump feels fine and double jump allows you to instantly snap to another direction,etc it all feels pretty solid and the parkour mechanic especially shines in 3D.Sadly the controls in 3D is basically where everything good about this game comes to a halt because... well you'll see.
Controls (2D):
I don't know why and can't exactly put my finger on it but the way sonic controls in 2D here might just be the worst in the series the jump needs momentum to clear distance but the issue with that is sonic has really bad acceleration in this game and is slow in general in 2D paired with alot of this game making you jump off tiny floating platforms over bottomless pits especially towards the latter half of the game can make 2D sections feel like constant leaps of faith and results in a hair pulling,mind grating,2D experience.This game would've been miles better if they had not shoehorned these terrible sections in.
Graphics:
While not the best on the system it is pretty passable the visuals are very similar to generations but sadly the level environments feel about as generic and corporate as you could get like this game should've been titled "New Sonic The Hedgehog" for how uninspired the level themes are and it's a letdown to the games otherwise solid presentation.
Level Design:
IT SUCKS... straight up the 2D sections are awful and most 3D sections use this weird cylinder level design I know they wanted to be like mario galaxy but the best 3D sections of the game are when they decide to abandon this gimmic entirely and only then does it feel good and all the gimmics SUCK i mean seriously the snow in particular the snowball level is responsible for most of my deaths during this playthrough and I can't spite it enough.
Replayability:
To be honest pretty akin to generations and colors you can time attack to get better ranks maybe even beat your friends if the leaderboards are working and red rings collecting to unlock super sonic so all in all its pretty solid but I don't know why you'd revisit this title over pretty much any other entry....
Soundtrack:
I have to use the word again but... GENERIC it is probably one of the weakest sonic soundtracks aside a few (the opening acts unironically might be the strongest in this department) I really don't have much to say here but ehhh.
Voice Acting:
It's Roger and co's worst outing it feels the most exaggerated and forced in terms of line delivery out of all of the entries yet and the terrible script doesn't do much to compliment it.
Story:
TERRIBLE it feels so soulless and there is literally no impact to it what so ever nothing really changes from the first act to the end credits it basically loops back around and becomes a pointless journey with no soul in it easily the worst of the series in my opinion.
Characters:
Again TERRIBLE sonic doesn't even feel like the same character we have been watching over for the previous 25ish entries he is an asshat and eggman is so surface level its unreal and why is tails so jealous of them teaming up with eggman every character arc in this game also just gets resolved in the same cutscene and any impactful scene gets retconned all in all its just a load of nothing.And not to mention the antagonists I couldn't even tell you what half of there characters were even if I tried they are literally all 1 dimensional and have 1 trope they embody and dont even stray the slightest from even a stick figure has more personality than the "deadly six" they are terrible characters.
Overall:
If I was you and reading this review i'd say don't even bother with this game its not so bad its funny good and its not good either it is the most nothing game ever and it feels as much as of a soulless cash grab sonic game you could get the only save and grace is the sonic brand itself I really couldn't tell you to stay away from this title at all costs any more.
Trivia:
The Wii U Version of the game has some exclusive free to download DLC levels that premote the Zelda and Yoshi Wooly World series respectfully and as of right now the Nintendo EShop for Wii U is closed from my memory and if so how would you play these levels in 2023 you may ask? go to gamebanana and download a DLC restoration mod there short but sweet levels that are actually better designed than the main game.
Sonic Lost World is best described by go play the first 4 levels then boot off the game and pretend like the other 24 levels don't exist because what could've been a groundbreaking entry is muddled by 2D sections and bad level design because the foundations set aren't all that bad.
Controls (3D):
Easily the best aspect of this game it actually controls wonderfully in 3D I have next to no issues with how sonic feels to move around in 3D here the run button is whatever,jump feels fine and double jump allows you to instantly snap to another direction,etc it all feels pretty solid and the parkour mechanic especially shines in 3D.Sadly the controls in 3D is basically where everything good about this game comes to a halt because... well you'll see.
Controls (2D):
I don't know why and can't exactly put my finger on it but the way sonic controls in 2D here might just be the worst in the series the jump needs momentum to clear distance but the issue with that is sonic has really bad acceleration in this game and is slow in general in 2D paired with alot of this game making you jump off tiny floating platforms over bottomless pits especially towards the latter half of the game can make 2D sections feel like constant leaps of faith and results in a hair pulling,mind grating,2D experience.This game would've been miles better if they had not shoehorned these terrible sections in.
Graphics:
While not the best on the system it is pretty passable the visuals are very similar to generations but sadly the level environments feel about as generic and corporate as you could get like this game should've been titled "New Sonic The Hedgehog" for how uninspired the level themes are and it's a letdown to the games otherwise solid presentation.
Level Design:
IT SUCKS... straight up the 2D sections are awful and most 3D sections use this weird cylinder level design I know they wanted to be like mario galaxy but the best 3D sections of the game are when they decide to abandon this gimmic entirely and only then does it feel good and all the gimmics SUCK i mean seriously the snow in particular the snowball level is responsible for most of my deaths during this playthrough and I can't spite it enough.
Replayability:
To be honest pretty akin to generations and colors you can time attack to get better ranks maybe even beat your friends if the leaderboards are working and red rings collecting to unlock super sonic so all in all its pretty solid but I don't know why you'd revisit this title over pretty much any other entry....
Soundtrack:
I have to use the word again but... GENERIC it is probably one of the weakest sonic soundtracks aside a few (the opening acts unironically might be the strongest in this department) I really don't have much to say here but ehhh.
Voice Acting:
It's Roger and co's worst outing it feels the most exaggerated and forced in terms of line delivery out of all of the entries yet and the terrible script doesn't do much to compliment it.
Story:
TERRIBLE it feels so soulless and there is literally no impact to it what so ever nothing really changes from the first act to the end credits it basically loops back around and becomes a pointless journey with no soul in it easily the worst of the series in my opinion.
Characters:
Again TERRIBLE sonic doesn't even feel like the same character we have been watching over for the previous 25ish entries he is an asshat and eggman is so surface level its unreal and why is tails so jealous of them teaming up with eggman every character arc in this game also just gets resolved in the same cutscene and any impactful scene gets retconned all in all its just a load of nothing.And not to mention the antagonists I couldn't even tell you what half of there characters were even if I tried they are literally all 1 dimensional and have 1 trope they embody and dont even stray the slightest from even a stick figure has more personality than the "deadly six" they are terrible characters.
Overall:
If I was you and reading this review i'd say don't even bother with this game its not so bad its funny good and its not good either it is the most nothing game ever and it feels as much as of a soulless cash grab sonic game you could get the only save and grace is the sonic brand itself I really couldn't tell you to stay away from this title at all costs any more.
Trivia:
The Wii U Version of the game has some exclusive free to download DLC levels that premote the Zelda and Yoshi Wooly World series respectfully and as of right now the Nintendo EShop for Wii U is closed from my memory and if so how would you play these levels in 2023 you may ask? go to gamebanana and download a DLC restoration mod there short but sweet levels that are actually better designed than the main game.
2011
A Game To Be Remembered For Generations.
Sonic Generations should go down in history as one of the greatest installments to the franchise as it nails pretty much everything it set out to do so well in execution that it still shines brightly in a medium that could be refered to as a landfill of options.
Visuals:
Phenomenal thats all I can say sure in terms of lighting and other smaller elements it is a degrade from unleashed but in terms of presentation and other visual elements that aren't just models and lighting it is by far up there as one of the best if not the best sonic game everything about this games presentation is so polished and has such a refined look across all of its menus and levels that serves a certain level of polish that isn't quite present in other entries.
Replayablity:
Again fantastic because sure the main story is short but the game overall.. You'd be mistaken there is so much side content to do in this game and sure you can argue the doppleganger races are just padding due to being same layouts as the main levels the other side missions especially the companion ones are extremely unique and offer gimmics that alter how you approach envoirments and overall make for a great time.And returning from colors is the red star collecting that rewards you with many goodies and abilities and not to mention each side mission has a bell that can be rang after completion that makes you chase a musical note and if you collect it you're rewarded with an OST that can be used in any level/boss in the game... Chefs kiss the replayability of this game trumps the other 2 mainline boost games out of the water.
Gameplay Act 1:
Classic Sonic in this game doesn't feel as tacked on as say I don't know forces and while not completely playing like the classics i'd argue he plays more akin to adventure sonic but in 2D as his spindash works more mechanically akin to his with spindash jumping and inclines causing major height,velocity and distance gained.And yes he still has momentum while not perfect it isn't the main gameplay element here but is welcome regardless.The overall feel to his controls is also the perfect balance of percise,loose,speed,slow,heavy,floaty just all tuned to make platforming in his sections feel blissful this control wise might be my favourite version of the mini hedgehog that might be quite controversial but here we are.And outside of controls pretty much everything you come to expect from a classic entry is here so thats all there is to say really!.
Gameplay Act 2:
Modern Sonic the highlight for most people (myself included) of this game while he doesn't completely outshine classic sonic he is the major selling point for this game and while not controlling as well as say colors i'd say its a nice middle ground between the bad unleashed controls and amazing colors controls and unlike colors he has his full skillset + more with the skill tree/skills you can equip reminiscent of the earlier title "Sonic and The Secret Rings" take on the concept but not quite as expansive but welcome here regardless.And the level design again feels much like a middle ground of colors and unleashed level design philosophy that is basically a reoccuring trend with modern sonic in this game in general so I wont drag it out and lets move on to the next subject.
Soundtrack
Very inoffensive but great remixes of the OST's that we have came to love from previous entries but because I have reviewed those entries i'll keep it shorter here by saying it slaps certain songs here still sneak there way into my playlists to this day.
Voice Acting:
Mostly the same as what I had to say about colors but accept its better because to me it seems like Roger has tuned and tapped into sonic much better in this rodeo compared to colors as he feels less forced and more natural as the role.
Story:
Sonic and friends were having a birthday party and it gets crashed by an time altering entity and sonic has to save the day by restoring time across "his world".And honestly the script here isn't colors bad and really diled back on the cheesy jokes and honestly feels the most geniune and well crafted out of the pontaff era of writing sadly sequels reverted to a more colors like script.
Characters:
Same as I said for story not colors/forces bad but nothing close to Frontiers or Adventure depictions of said characters its servicable and wont hinder this games rating for me as its not offputting it could just be better but the story and characters in this game take a backseat,even harder than other entries that are story light to begin with if complex characters and narrative are your main stay... don't bother.
Overall:
A masterpiece that perfected the linear boost gameplay while featuring a very solid depiction of classic gameplay on the side lines that totals for a very short experience with so much memorable moments unless you go for side content then same applies but its not actually short.This game is perfect for casual players and for the more skilled might not be as high due to the easy rank system and its an overall easier game but do not let it detour you from an unforgettable experience that should last generations after it's launch
Trivia:
This game originates "Classic Sonic" also known as the other sonic that reoccurs in mania and forces that was originally from the main games timeline but diverges after the events of generations and he became his own entity.Not to be confused with sonic 1-3's classic sonic as thats just our current modern sonic.
Sonic Generations should go down in history as one of the greatest installments to the franchise as it nails pretty much everything it set out to do so well in execution that it still shines brightly in a medium that could be refered to as a landfill of options.
Visuals:
Phenomenal thats all I can say sure in terms of lighting and other smaller elements it is a degrade from unleashed but in terms of presentation and other visual elements that aren't just models and lighting it is by far up there as one of the best if not the best sonic game everything about this games presentation is so polished and has such a refined look across all of its menus and levels that serves a certain level of polish that isn't quite present in other entries.
Replayablity:
Again fantastic because sure the main story is short but the game overall.. You'd be mistaken there is so much side content to do in this game and sure you can argue the doppleganger races are just padding due to being same layouts as the main levels the other side missions especially the companion ones are extremely unique and offer gimmics that alter how you approach envoirments and overall make for a great time.And returning from colors is the red star collecting that rewards you with many goodies and abilities and not to mention each side mission has a bell that can be rang after completion that makes you chase a musical note and if you collect it you're rewarded with an OST that can be used in any level/boss in the game... Chefs kiss the replayability of this game trumps the other 2 mainline boost games out of the water.
Gameplay Act 1:
Classic Sonic in this game doesn't feel as tacked on as say I don't know forces and while not completely playing like the classics i'd argue he plays more akin to adventure sonic but in 2D as his spindash works more mechanically akin to his with spindash jumping and inclines causing major height,velocity and distance gained.And yes he still has momentum while not perfect it isn't the main gameplay element here but is welcome regardless.The overall feel to his controls is also the perfect balance of percise,loose,speed,slow,heavy,floaty just all tuned to make platforming in his sections feel blissful this control wise might be my favourite version of the mini hedgehog that might be quite controversial but here we are.And outside of controls pretty much everything you come to expect from a classic entry is here so thats all there is to say really!.
Gameplay Act 2:
Modern Sonic the highlight for most people (myself included) of this game while he doesn't completely outshine classic sonic he is the major selling point for this game and while not controlling as well as say colors i'd say its a nice middle ground between the bad unleashed controls and amazing colors controls and unlike colors he has his full skillset + more with the skill tree/skills you can equip reminiscent of the earlier title "Sonic and The Secret Rings" take on the concept but not quite as expansive but welcome here regardless.And the level design again feels much like a middle ground of colors and unleashed level design philosophy that is basically a reoccuring trend with modern sonic in this game in general so I wont drag it out and lets move on to the next subject.
Soundtrack
Very inoffensive but great remixes of the OST's that we have came to love from previous entries but because I have reviewed those entries i'll keep it shorter here by saying it slaps certain songs here still sneak there way into my playlists to this day.
Voice Acting:
Mostly the same as what I had to say about colors but accept its better because to me it seems like Roger has tuned and tapped into sonic much better in this rodeo compared to colors as he feels less forced and more natural as the role.
Story:
Sonic and friends were having a birthday party and it gets crashed by an time altering entity and sonic has to save the day by restoring time across "his world".And honestly the script here isn't colors bad and really diled back on the cheesy jokes and honestly feels the most geniune and well crafted out of the pontaff era of writing sadly sequels reverted to a more colors like script.
Characters:
Same as I said for story not colors/forces bad but nothing close to Frontiers or Adventure depictions of said characters its servicable and wont hinder this games rating for me as its not offputting it could just be better but the story and characters in this game take a backseat,even harder than other entries that are story light to begin with if complex characters and narrative are your main stay... don't bother.
Overall:
A masterpiece that perfected the linear boost gameplay while featuring a very solid depiction of classic gameplay on the side lines that totals for a very short experience with so much memorable moments unless you go for side content then same applies but its not actually short.This game is perfect for casual players and for the more skilled might not be as high due to the easy rank system and its an overall easier game but do not let it detour you from an unforgettable experience that should last generations after it's launch
Trivia:
This game originates "Classic Sonic" also known as the other sonic that reoccurs in mania and forces that was originally from the main games timeline but diverges after the events of generations and he became his own entity.Not to be confused with sonic 1-3's classic sonic as thats just our current modern sonic.
2010
Sonic's Third Mainline Wii Entry Passed With Flying "Colors".
Sonic Colors released on the Nintendo Wii in 2010 gameplay wise is a successor to Sonic Unleashed's daytime gameplay but how does it build or maybe even degrade on what made the day stages good and bad well this review will be entailing just that and more.
Visuals:
Honestly it's quite insane that this title was a WIi game because visually on much inferior hardware it holds up well against unleashed especially if upscaled through various means it can be arguably prettier than unleashed that was on much superior hardware.And the envoirments and level thematics are visually so detoured from the main stays in the best way possible and are possibly the best in any sonic game ever.Both presentation and levels here are visually stunning and hold up extremely well to this day even if you set aside its hardware limitations.
Soundtrack:
Good,Great,Awesome,Outstanding,TOTALLY AMAZING pretty much every main OST instantly clicks as "oh yeah thats sonic colors" when you hear it from Level Selection,In Level to Menu's this game's soundtrack goes HARD and its two vocal themes are super catchy and I still find myself humming them to this day at times a decade and a half later.
Gameplay:
Really really strong here even though sonic lacks his full arsenal seen in Generations and Unleashed as he is missing his quickstep and drift,He more than makes up for it with way better turning and control in general ESPECIALLY air controls platforming in this game is great I never felt like I was at mercy of the controls it always felt like it was my fault if I died.And an arguement to be made about this games gameplay as such can be it's 2D sections and yes there is way too many (generations still has a similar % ratio granted) and its a main reason its not a 5/5 here but there not as overblownly terrible as the haters of this game make it out to be DUE to its great controls that apply to its 2D sections just aswell.The wisps ironically are at there best here in colors being the first title using them as they don't feel tacked on and normally work with the flow instead of abruptly halting it that future titles would end up encasing (lost world especially).All in all gameplay wise this game rocks and has stood the test of time there was not one dull moment for me while playing truely a fantastic sonic game.
Replayability:
Honestly not bad here you have Gameland and Egg Shuttle that provide slithers of replay value ontop of red star ring collecting that will bag you super sonic as the fruits of your labor that all neatly ties together as not the most replayable sonic game but you can get a few kicks here and there past the games main runtime.
Characters & Story:
Normally i'd seperate this but.... honestly no need too and there is a reason this is last and its because.... its bad and not even funny bad (well at times it is) but there was so much potential in concept here that isn't brought out due to terrible dialouge.And it's unfortunate as the more budget DS versions script works a whole lot better and isn't pontaffed and the "pontaff" here is almost at its all time peak even forces and generations aren't this corny (sonic lost world is the peak for context).And honestly this games character writing and story is the biggest reason I sadly cant give this game the 5/5 it fully deserves because honestly its the anchor it really is but oh well bygones be bygones time to move on.
Voice Acting:
Not going to lie... Roger Craig Smith and this generation of sonic voice actors in general??? extremely overhated and underlooked as I feel he really characterized sonic's vibe super well in this game it almost made me forget about the script at times because the performance of the voice actors were actually really strong and I think people need to cut Roger more slack for his interpretation of sonic as its nowhere near as bad as some make it out to be.....
Overall:
A game that at launch did extremely well but because of the underdog bandwagon the sonic communities opinion of this game has soured and its for no good reason as Sonic Colors is still a fantastic entry and is pretty much far superior to Sonic Unleashed,In terms of controls,levels,stage design and the list goes on i'd argue Sonic Colors is superior and the only major flaws are the script and game length but if a short game doesn't bother you and you're more of a gameplay person this game is a must play entry from the sonic franchise.
Trivia:
Even though its common belief that Roger Craig Smith as sonic originated from this game,His actual first appearence as sonic in a game (not counting other mediums) would be Sonic Free Riders... Youch rough welcome game to debut as sonic in.
Sonic Colors released on the Nintendo Wii in 2010 gameplay wise is a successor to Sonic Unleashed's daytime gameplay but how does it build or maybe even degrade on what made the day stages good and bad well this review will be entailing just that and more.
Visuals:
Honestly it's quite insane that this title was a WIi game because visually on much inferior hardware it holds up well against unleashed especially if upscaled through various means it can be arguably prettier than unleashed that was on much superior hardware.And the envoirments and level thematics are visually so detoured from the main stays in the best way possible and are possibly the best in any sonic game ever.Both presentation and levels here are visually stunning and hold up extremely well to this day even if you set aside its hardware limitations.
Soundtrack:
Good,Great,Awesome,Outstanding,TOTALLY AMAZING pretty much every main OST instantly clicks as "oh yeah thats sonic colors" when you hear it from Level Selection,In Level to Menu's this game's soundtrack goes HARD and its two vocal themes are super catchy and I still find myself humming them to this day at times a decade and a half later.
Gameplay:
Really really strong here even though sonic lacks his full arsenal seen in Generations and Unleashed as he is missing his quickstep and drift,He more than makes up for it with way better turning and control in general ESPECIALLY air controls platforming in this game is great I never felt like I was at mercy of the controls it always felt like it was my fault if I died.And an arguement to be made about this games gameplay as such can be it's 2D sections and yes there is way too many (generations still has a similar % ratio granted) and its a main reason its not a 5/5 here but there not as overblownly terrible as the haters of this game make it out to be DUE to its great controls that apply to its 2D sections just aswell.The wisps ironically are at there best here in colors being the first title using them as they don't feel tacked on and normally work with the flow instead of abruptly halting it that future titles would end up encasing (lost world especially).All in all gameplay wise this game rocks and has stood the test of time there was not one dull moment for me while playing truely a fantastic sonic game.
Replayability:
Honestly not bad here you have Gameland and Egg Shuttle that provide slithers of replay value ontop of red star ring collecting that will bag you super sonic as the fruits of your labor that all neatly ties together as not the most replayable sonic game but you can get a few kicks here and there past the games main runtime.
Characters & Story:
Normally i'd seperate this but.... honestly no need too and there is a reason this is last and its because.... its bad and not even funny bad (well at times it is) but there was so much potential in concept here that isn't brought out due to terrible dialouge.And it's unfortunate as the more budget DS versions script works a whole lot better and isn't pontaffed and the "pontaff" here is almost at its all time peak even forces and generations aren't this corny (sonic lost world is the peak for context).And honestly this games character writing and story is the biggest reason I sadly cant give this game the 5/5 it fully deserves because honestly its the anchor it really is but oh well bygones be bygones time to move on.
Voice Acting:
Not going to lie... Roger Craig Smith and this generation of sonic voice actors in general??? extremely overhated and underlooked as I feel he really characterized sonic's vibe super well in this game it almost made me forget about the script at times because the performance of the voice actors were actually really strong and I think people need to cut Roger more slack for his interpretation of sonic as its nowhere near as bad as some make it out to be.....
Overall:
A game that at launch did extremely well but because of the underdog bandwagon the sonic communities opinion of this game has soured and its for no good reason as Sonic Colors is still a fantastic entry and is pretty much far superior to Sonic Unleashed,In terms of controls,levels,stage design and the list goes on i'd argue Sonic Colors is superior and the only major flaws are the script and game length but if a short game doesn't bother you and you're more of a gameplay person this game is a must play entry from the sonic franchise.
Trivia:
Even though its common belief that Roger Craig Smith as sonic originated from this game,His actual first appearence as sonic in a game (not counting other mediums) would be Sonic Free Riders... Youch rough welcome game to debut as sonic in.
Tails About An Episodic 4th Entry.
Sonic 4 Episode II is an improvement of the first game in significant ways that made it a solid entry if you even somewhat enjoyed the first game but its nothing too special and you'll probably get more leverage out of other games in the 2/2.5D in the platforming genre and it is relatively short but the visuals and stage envoirments are a massive improvement over the first episode as it has minimal asset reuse and doesn't have the ugly cellshading esc look the first went for but at the same time 9/10ths of the game outside of the final special stage and flying fortress act 3 is childs play and the game is way too easy but all in all if your a MASSIVE sonic fan go ahead and play this game you might get a small kick out of it I wouldn't buy the game for any amount of money over 5-10$'s though as its way too short.
Trivia:
Owning both sonic 4's grants you access to episode metal thats a shorter but harder episode 1 with a metal sonic skin and a few cutscenes.
Sonic 4 Episode II is an improvement of the first game in significant ways that made it a solid entry if you even somewhat enjoyed the first game but its nothing too special and you'll probably get more leverage out of other games in the 2/2.5D in the platforming genre and it is relatively short but the visuals and stage envoirments are a massive improvement over the first episode as it has minimal asset reuse and doesn't have the ugly cellshading esc look the first went for but at the same time 9/10ths of the game outside of the final special stage and flying fortress act 3 is childs play and the game is way too easy but all in all if your a MASSIVE sonic fan go ahead and play this game you might get a small kick out of it I wouldn't buy the game for any amount of money over 5-10$'s though as its way too short.
Trivia:
Owning both sonic 4's grants you access to episode metal thats a shorter but harder episode 1 with a metal sonic skin and a few cutscenes.
2010
A Misunderstood Entry Due To Poor Marketing.
Sonic The Hedgehog 4 is a short but sweet platforming game that was mismarketed as mechanically it plays nothing like the games its trying to succeed and can be pretty fun if you look at it as it's own thing more than a direct sequel of sorts.
The game is visually quite unappealing using a weird cell shaded look that doesn't look very good and the menus feel very cheap and overall you can tell this game is lower budget than others around its time,The controls are unironically the best part of the game here because it is still about maintaining speed the only thing that changed is the means to get it i.e homing spam sure it isn't momentum but it can be fun in it's own right, sadly it isn't perfect as homing attacking enemies will break all flow.My purposal for how they could've mitigated this is tapping the homing button perserves speed and holding cancels that could've made for some fun platforming and decision making but I digress the level design isn't great or bad just very mediocre offering little to no challenge and the boss fights are pathetic here.
Overall: An alright game all things considered but not much note worthy about it its basically very average and not really worth your time but if you want to time sink 1-2 hours go ahead and play it as thats all the time you will need for this entry and it isn't unfun just not groundbreaking.
Trivia:
The game's codename was "Project:Needlemouse".
Sonic The Hedgehog 4 is a short but sweet platforming game that was mismarketed as mechanically it plays nothing like the games its trying to succeed and can be pretty fun if you look at it as it's own thing more than a direct sequel of sorts.
The game is visually quite unappealing using a weird cell shaded look that doesn't look very good and the menus feel very cheap and overall you can tell this game is lower budget than others around its time,The controls are unironically the best part of the game here because it is still about maintaining speed the only thing that changed is the means to get it i.e homing spam sure it isn't momentum but it can be fun in it's own right, sadly it isn't perfect as homing attacking enemies will break all flow.My purposal for how they could've mitigated this is tapping the homing button perserves speed and holding cancels that could've made for some fun platforming and decision making but I digress the level design isn't great or bad just very mediocre offering little to no challenge and the boss fights are pathetic here.
Overall: An alright game all things considered but not much note worthy about it its basically very average and not really worth your time but if you want to time sink 1-2 hours go ahead and play it as thats all the time you will need for this entry and it isn't unfun just not groundbreaking.
Trivia:
The game's codename was "Project:Needlemouse".
2008
Boosting Away Into a New Era.
Sonic Unleashed is the first game of the boost era in many ways it really shows but it does still have merit outside of its many flaws a game thats reception has kind of 180'd as years passed,The game went from really spited in the community to becoming one of if not the most beloved game with fans crying for a PC port to this day.All of that aside how well does this experimental 15 year old game hold up? pretty well I guess considering its ambition.
Story:
The story of sonic unleashed revolves around sonic one day charges into eggmans base blasting away at robots all seems well until he falls into one of eggman's schemes that transforms him into a wolf-like monster and he's ejected from the airbase into the atmosphere,When he comes to he is plummeting to the ground and when he lands he meets a little red creature without a name and the two team up for an unforgettable journey.I can't really go into much more story wise without spoling but the story is very good here and quite touching with some of the BEST world building in the series when paired with the lively residents of earth in the hub worlds its stellar stuff.
Visuals:
What can I say except from... wow this game was ahead of its time visually there is definitely perfomance loss because of it but damn does it not just look great the sonic model is relatively detailed for a x360/ps3 model and the overall lighting and visual compositing in this game is just chefs kiss amazing too bad future installments wont have this production level and care put into it visually.
Gameplay (1/2 Daytime):
Ah yes some of the most highly praised 3D sonic game play of the last 2-3 decades but honestly I think its one of the worst. Woah woah there lower your guns let me explain my reasoning,This game is FULL of trial and error gameplay that punishes new players way too harshly for just trying to use its basic mechanics like the boost 1/2 the time.And to make matters worse sonic is way faster in this game that'd you'd think is a good thing on surface but with this level design it makes the game super punishing to play and the drift here is awful easily the worst part of the controls it makes turning harder than normally running and is only good for refilling boost.Aside from that though sonic controls great here... Outside of the homing attack WHY DID THEY MAP IT ON THE BOOST BUTTON!?!?! its nonsense you can't even argue "oh but its the first game to use homing attack" BECAUSE THAT ISN'T EVEN TRUE in every game before this outside of the rush games it was just double tap jump but nooooo here they made it the boost button that can result in so many untimely deaths for the blue hedgehog because you will see the homing reticle, and maybe think "oh this will be fine" but be a fraction of a second too late and boost off into the stratosphere its very hindering to sonic's overall feel in this game.
Gameplay (2/2)
It's kind of ironic but... the werehog is actually very fun to play as? god its like am playing a different game to others because I find the werehogs stage design (minus night arid sands but we will get there dont worry) to be very fun sure maybe a little repetitive but just pace yourself in playing this game in moderation and dont marathon it and this can become a very fun gameplay style because the combo system when maxed out can be very fun to use especially because most of the attacks minus a few can be canceled with shield to make for a very rewarding sometimes a bit too easy combat system.As for the platforming its more traditional with percise jumps and puzzles more than the fast paced action gameplay of the day stages that i'd argue makes for a good contrast when paired together.But onto my only real only negatives with the werehog is some of the "mash b" segments are just carpal tunnel causing.And its time to talk about shamar night... THIS STAIRCASE. THIS STAIRCASE. THIS STAIRCASE. THIS STAIRCASE. THIS STAIRCASE. THIS STAIRCASE. THIS STAIRCASE. THIS STAIRCASE. THIS STAIRCASE. THIS STAIRCASE. THIS STAIRCASE. THIS STAIRCASE.Oh my god why on earth would you put an optional challenge so close to the main path that would make you think that it is the main path that players could attempt for hours,weeks,days and not know that it is fully skippable and the worst part is... THAT IT IS WAY HARDER THAN ALL THE MAIN STAGES COMBAT SECTIONS!?!?! WHY SONIC TEAM..... anyways time to move on I think it'll cause the heaviest migraine of all time if I continue thinking about this terrible level design.
Soundtrack:
What do you want me to say its stellar with an insanely good vocal theme tied with some super upbeat and memorable OST's for the day time stages and some really chill and astmospheric night time OST's... when you get to here them over the battle theme which isn't a bad theme its actually insanely good but it plays for about 3/4's of a night time stage here so by the end of the playthrough you will cause war flashbacks upon yourselve listening to that song.
Sound Design/Voice Acting:
Jason and everybodies performances here aren't at there best I think the story book games had better voice acting but that doesn't discount how good the voice acting here is and it layed the groundwork for sound design in the modern stages with the jump,boost,drift and all the moves still using somewhat similar sounds today and for the night-time stages the hitsounds are impactful and make you really feel like the monster of a being the werehog is when paired with the OST's and voice acting these sound effects rock!.
Replayability:
Pretty high tier here can't lie the skill tree encourages replaying levels with focus on getting as much exp and rings as possible to min/max your sonic(s) skill trees and there are the DLC/Bonus acts that add on a good chunk of content for those who like that sort of stuff this game overall isn't the most replayable but it will give you good bang for your buck especially for a sonic game.
Characters:
Chip is a very fun detouragonist for the game and by the end of the game you will feel a strong bond/connection especially if you did the side stuff like eating with him,etc,etc and the NPC's in the hub world are quite memorable for example the hot dog vendor man,ice-cream vendor man,the dad and son argueing,etc there is quite alot of charm and character in this games NPC's and I like how some of the dialect in the dialogue changes in different areas of the world
and if the character is younger or older overall quite a nice little detail for such a minor aspect of the game that is fully skippable,Sonic and eggman here aren't at there best but there pretty darn good the best they will be until... frontiers I guess as pontaff will be taking over for the next decade or so.
Overall:
A strong entry into the sonic series that has held up decently but certain aspects haven't aged well as they will be more refined in later entries and overall if I had to agree with the haters or supporters of this game i'd probably lean closer to liking it after this 2nd playthrough as I for the most part had fun playing the game and eggman land is possibly the best final level in a sonic game to date it puts everything to the test that you have learnt and heck maybe haven't learnt yet in the games runtime that makes for a satisfying conclusion and the final bosses that follow are neat.And some of the levels cultural appropriation here is seriously amazing.As a side note I really dislike the tornado defense minigame that plays in the start and end of this game its very fustrating and doesn't feel rewarding in the slightest to beat and not to forget about medal collecting that is a partial reason im not raising this games ratings because medal collecting goes against what boost formula is about.Anyways that about wraps up my thoughts on sonic unleashed if you enjoyed this review make sure to check out my others as I have only been doing sonic reviews here come check it out!.
Trivia:
This game actually isn't the first boost entry to the series overall that'd be sonic rush maybe even advance 2/3 but it is a common misconception never the less.
This game is named "Sonic World Adventure" in japan and combined with the HUB worlds many can argue that this game is an adventure 3/4/5 (depending if they think 06 and heroes are adventure games).
Sonic Unleashed is the first game of the boost era in many ways it really shows but it does still have merit outside of its many flaws a game thats reception has kind of 180'd as years passed,The game went from really spited in the community to becoming one of if not the most beloved game with fans crying for a PC port to this day.All of that aside how well does this experimental 15 year old game hold up? pretty well I guess considering its ambition.
Story:
The story of sonic unleashed revolves around sonic one day charges into eggmans base blasting away at robots all seems well until he falls into one of eggman's schemes that transforms him into a wolf-like monster and he's ejected from the airbase into the atmosphere,When he comes to he is plummeting to the ground and when he lands he meets a little red creature without a name and the two team up for an unforgettable journey.I can't really go into much more story wise without spoling but the story is very good here and quite touching with some of the BEST world building in the series when paired with the lively residents of earth in the hub worlds its stellar stuff.
Visuals:
What can I say except from... wow this game was ahead of its time visually there is definitely perfomance loss because of it but damn does it not just look great the sonic model is relatively detailed for a x360/ps3 model and the overall lighting and visual compositing in this game is just chefs kiss amazing too bad future installments wont have this production level and care put into it visually.
Gameplay (1/2 Daytime):
Ah yes some of the most highly praised 3D sonic game play of the last 2-3 decades but honestly I think its one of the worst. Woah woah there lower your guns let me explain my reasoning,This game is FULL of trial and error gameplay that punishes new players way too harshly for just trying to use its basic mechanics like the boost 1/2 the time.And to make matters worse sonic is way faster in this game that'd you'd think is a good thing on surface but with this level design it makes the game super punishing to play and the drift here is awful easily the worst part of the controls it makes turning harder than normally running and is only good for refilling boost.Aside from that though sonic controls great here... Outside of the homing attack WHY DID THEY MAP IT ON THE BOOST BUTTON!?!?! its nonsense you can't even argue "oh but its the first game to use homing attack" BECAUSE THAT ISN'T EVEN TRUE in every game before this outside of the rush games it was just double tap jump but nooooo here they made it the boost button that can result in so many untimely deaths for the blue hedgehog because you will see the homing reticle, and maybe think "oh this will be fine" but be a fraction of a second too late and boost off into the stratosphere its very hindering to sonic's overall feel in this game.
Gameplay (2/2)
It's kind of ironic but... the werehog is actually very fun to play as? god its like am playing a different game to others because I find the werehogs stage design (minus night arid sands but we will get there dont worry) to be very fun sure maybe a little repetitive but just pace yourself in playing this game in moderation and dont marathon it and this can become a very fun gameplay style because the combo system when maxed out can be very fun to use especially because most of the attacks minus a few can be canceled with shield to make for a very rewarding sometimes a bit too easy combat system.As for the platforming its more traditional with percise jumps and puzzles more than the fast paced action gameplay of the day stages that i'd argue makes for a good contrast when paired together.But onto my only real only negatives with the werehog is some of the "mash b" segments are just carpal tunnel causing.And its time to talk about shamar night... THIS STAIRCASE. THIS STAIRCASE. THIS STAIRCASE. THIS STAIRCASE. THIS STAIRCASE. THIS STAIRCASE. THIS STAIRCASE. THIS STAIRCASE. THIS STAIRCASE. THIS STAIRCASE. THIS STAIRCASE. THIS STAIRCASE.Oh my god why on earth would you put an optional challenge so close to the main path that would make you think that it is the main path that players could attempt for hours,weeks,days and not know that it is fully skippable and the worst part is... THAT IT IS WAY HARDER THAN ALL THE MAIN STAGES COMBAT SECTIONS!?!?! WHY SONIC TEAM..... anyways time to move on I think it'll cause the heaviest migraine of all time if I continue thinking about this terrible level design.
Soundtrack:
What do you want me to say its stellar with an insanely good vocal theme tied with some super upbeat and memorable OST's for the day time stages and some really chill and astmospheric night time OST's... when you get to here them over the battle theme which isn't a bad theme its actually insanely good but it plays for about 3/4's of a night time stage here so by the end of the playthrough you will cause war flashbacks upon yourselve listening to that song.
Sound Design/Voice Acting:
Jason and everybodies performances here aren't at there best I think the story book games had better voice acting but that doesn't discount how good the voice acting here is and it layed the groundwork for sound design in the modern stages with the jump,boost,drift and all the moves still using somewhat similar sounds today and for the night-time stages the hitsounds are impactful and make you really feel like the monster of a being the werehog is when paired with the OST's and voice acting these sound effects rock!.
Replayability:
Pretty high tier here can't lie the skill tree encourages replaying levels with focus on getting as much exp and rings as possible to min/max your sonic(s) skill trees and there are the DLC/Bonus acts that add on a good chunk of content for those who like that sort of stuff this game overall isn't the most replayable but it will give you good bang for your buck especially for a sonic game.
Characters:
Chip is a very fun detouragonist for the game and by the end of the game you will feel a strong bond/connection especially if you did the side stuff like eating with him,etc,etc and the NPC's in the hub world are quite memorable for example the hot dog vendor man,ice-cream vendor man,the dad and son argueing,etc there is quite alot of charm and character in this games NPC's and I like how some of the dialect in the dialogue changes in different areas of the world
and if the character is younger or older overall quite a nice little detail for such a minor aspect of the game that is fully skippable,Sonic and eggman here aren't at there best but there pretty darn good the best they will be until... frontiers I guess as pontaff will be taking over for the next decade or so.
Overall:
A strong entry into the sonic series that has held up decently but certain aspects haven't aged well as they will be more refined in later entries and overall if I had to agree with the haters or supporters of this game i'd probably lean closer to liking it after this 2nd playthrough as I for the most part had fun playing the game and eggman land is possibly the best final level in a sonic game to date it puts everything to the test that you have learnt and heck maybe haven't learnt yet in the games runtime that makes for a satisfying conclusion and the final bosses that follow are neat.And some of the levels cultural appropriation here is seriously amazing.As a side note I really dislike the tornado defense minigame that plays in the start and end of this game its very fustrating and doesn't feel rewarding in the slightest to beat and not to forget about medal collecting that is a partial reason im not raising this games ratings because medal collecting goes against what boost formula is about.Anyways that about wraps up my thoughts on sonic unleashed if you enjoyed this review make sure to check out my others as I have only been doing sonic reviews here come check it out!.
Trivia:
This game actually isn't the first boost entry to the series overall that'd be sonic rush maybe even advance 2/3 but it is a common misconception never the less.
This game is named "Sonic World Adventure" in japan and combined with the HUB worlds many can argue that this game is an adventure 3/4/5 (depending if they think 06 and heroes are adventure games).
An Arthurian Sequel.
Sonic and the Black Knight is a direct sequel to Sonic and the Secret Rings that improves the game in almost every aspect that makes for a fun time to be had but note.That I did specify almost because there is certainly somethings that either wasn't fixed or made worse with this installment.
Pros:
The storybook art style in cutscenes looks alot cleaner this time while still maintaining that gritty unique art style that is synonymous with the storybook installments.
The gameplay and controls here are much more fine tuned while still being motion control heavy the are used in a more charming and innovative way this time around and feel welcome more than a shoehorned addition.
The narrative just as strong as secret rings that actually tackles some pretty interesting themes and moral standpoints that places it higher on the sonic narrative spectrum.
The crafting mechanic while simple and not too indepth encourages replayability and adds some worthwhile upgrades to the non-sonic playable characters.
The soundtrack enough said hearing is more than telling here.
the level landscapes while simple just being forests and fields mostly are nice looking due to good use of lighting and cinematic scripted sequences that aren't too overbearing.
The voice acting and performances of the actors here in general might be some of the best in the series so far that really elevate heartfelt moments.
Cons:
While the game controls much better than SatSR it still isn't perfect with a bit of stiff movement.
The skill tree/skill equips return and are still okay here they are heavily dumbed down and less customizable than in secret rings.
The game is a bit too short to make it an amazing title casually able to be beaten in 2-3 hours on first playthrough but overall better than secret rings due to less bloat/padding.
The World building is phenomenal here from all the main story elements to a simple thing like being able to collect rings to trade with villagers and build sonics reputation into orderly or chaotic depending if you attack the said villagers sadly this doesn't really effect gameplay but is a cool addition never the less.
Overall: A sequel that was much warranted as it really showed the potential of the storybook entries too bad it was the last as they really had alot of potential going here and with another installment might've just been able to capitalize on the heights this mini-series offered but could never fully realize overall not a must play game but one that should be remembered for its well thought out plot and simple but fun gameplay.
Trivia:
Crush 40 has done a few covers of this games soundtracks and vocal themes that are worth checking out especially the "With Me" cover.
Sonic and the Black Knight is a direct sequel to Sonic and the Secret Rings that improves the game in almost every aspect that makes for a fun time to be had but note.That I did specify almost because there is certainly somethings that either wasn't fixed or made worse with this installment.
Pros:
The storybook art style in cutscenes looks alot cleaner this time while still maintaining that gritty unique art style that is synonymous with the storybook installments.
The gameplay and controls here are much more fine tuned while still being motion control heavy the are used in a more charming and innovative way this time around and feel welcome more than a shoehorned addition.
The narrative just as strong as secret rings that actually tackles some pretty interesting themes and moral standpoints that places it higher on the sonic narrative spectrum.
The crafting mechanic while simple and not too indepth encourages replayability and adds some worthwhile upgrades to the non-sonic playable characters.
The soundtrack enough said hearing is more than telling here.
the level landscapes while simple just being forests and fields mostly are nice looking due to good use of lighting and cinematic scripted sequences that aren't too overbearing.
The voice acting and performances of the actors here in general might be some of the best in the series so far that really elevate heartfelt moments.
Cons:
While the game controls much better than SatSR it still isn't perfect with a bit of stiff movement.
The skill tree/skill equips return and are still okay here they are heavily dumbed down and less customizable than in secret rings.
The game is a bit too short to make it an amazing title casually able to be beaten in 2-3 hours on first playthrough but overall better than secret rings due to less bloat/padding.
The World building is phenomenal here from all the main story elements to a simple thing like being able to collect rings to trade with villagers and build sonics reputation into orderly or chaotic depending if you attack the said villagers sadly this doesn't really effect gameplay but is a cool addition never the less.
Overall: A sequel that was much warranted as it really showed the potential of the storybook entries too bad it was the last as they really had alot of potential going here and with another installment might've just been able to capitalize on the heights this mini-series offered but could never fully realize overall not a must play game but one that should be remembered for its well thought out plot and simple but fun gameplay.
Trivia:
Crush 40 has done a few covers of this games soundtracks and vocal themes that are worth checking out especially the "With Me" cover.