Sonickick
27 reviews liked by Sonickick
My funniest surpise going through Star Ocean games is that there's seemingly a series trend of introducing the true main villain in the last 5% of the game who exists to deliver some suprisingly based critique of globalism for one cutscene then immediately die
Real gamers don't skip the 5th case.
Got the milk.
I'm kind of a stickler when it comes to rail shooters. Regarding the entire subgenre, I think House of the Dead and Time Crisis cracked the code on what makes it such a gratifying way to play, and nearly every studio trying to make their own of that ilk do not understand what made those games so great from a game design standpoint.
With all that said, the Silent Hill arcade game is surprisingly good. Not amazing, it still feels lacking in a lot of aspects, but the pace is just right, and the multiple paths and unique bosses make it fun to play through a few times. The challenge feels just below engaging, but it could've been a difficulty switch turned low or something, I'm not sure.
It's very funny seeing Konami delegate some Western yahoos to continue the mainline entries of the series, while gathering a bunch of their in-house devs to make a goofy rail-shooter.
With all that said, the Silent Hill arcade game is surprisingly good. Not amazing, it still feels lacking in a lot of aspects, but the pace is just right, and the multiple paths and unique bosses make it fun to play through a few times. The challenge feels just below engaging, but it could've been a difficulty switch turned low or something, I'm not sure.
It's very funny seeing Konami delegate some Western yahoos to continue the mainline entries of the series, while gathering a bunch of their in-house devs to make a goofy rail-shooter.
Sonic Blast
1996
There's SOME neat ideas here and there (and by that, I mean the Sun Wukong Eggman boss was actually a cool robot design), but ultimately this is a blemish of a game. No redeeming qualities for a lot of it. Blue Marine Zone is the worst thing to ever come out of the Sonic series period. Master System port seems to run at a slower framerate too? No clue if that's quite literally just the game or if it was tweaked for 50hz displays or something.
This review contains spoilers
Despite having a myriad of combat issues and some of the weakest villians in the franchise, LAD:Infinite Wealth still manages to stick the landing thanks to its phenomenal cast and rock solid story.
While Like A Dragon focused on Ichibans adjustment to the modern world and discovering what happened to his Yakuza family, Infinite Wealth pivots to a search for his allegedly alive mother, with plenty of twist and turns that complicate this simple task. As someone who admittedly didn't care much for LADs story, I'm pleasantly surprised that Infinite Wealths hooked me from the very start. A main reason for this being in part to just how good Infinite Wealths main cast is in comparison to LAD, with a much better sense of comradery between the party (both new and old) and much better side characters. Eric Tomizawa and Chitose Fujinomiya make for outstanding additions to the Heroes Of Tommorow that contrast Ichiban in a way that makes them so much more interesting when compared to LADs party (Nanba still da goat though). Of course Kiryu also comes to Hawaii (with his dumb haircut) and the dynamic between both dragons make for some pretty memorable moments throughout. Besides those IWs supporting cast is also pretty damn good, with my favorite belonging to the creepy but cool Yabai, who channels Kuze in his determination to bring Ichiban down. Combat has also had some improvements, with the main one being the ability to actually move around. While it isn't as important as RGG thought it would, I still appreciate the addition and other things like the combo attacks and changing tag team moves to a bar instead of just another MP move also make things better overall. The job system is also much better in regards to switching, as most of the stats come from levels instead of jobs, which was something so simple I can't believe it wasn't in LAD originally. On the subject of the hub I do think Hawaii is one of the better large maps in the series, with so much to do it can be overwhelming. From crazy delivery to Suijimon league the game has plenty to do on top of the usual content like substories (which remain pretty solid but a bit weaker compared to LAD cuz most of them are callbacks to it). Although I will say all of Kiryus exclusive side stories fucking rule and that's purely because of the amazing fan service they all offer.
Before I get into the story I'd say the biggest issue with Infinite Wealth is just how much of it feels like RGG didn't learn what made the combat in Like A Dragon so rough. While the job system changes and movement are welcome additions the endgame still devolves into spamming whatever does the most damage while barely chipping away at the massive health pools bosses have. I'd also say that the incentive to switch jobs isn't really a thing for Ichiban/Kiryu as Hero and Dragon Of Dojima reign supreme for the entirety of the game (DOD in particular gets fucking RIDICULOUS in the second half). I'd also say that Infinite Wealths grind can be a bit worse compared to LAD, with frequent visits to the dungeon being necessary for some of the later bits (thankfully the dungeons are much improved from LAD and offer multiple versions). On a more subjective note the side content in this game really didn't appeal to me, with the Sujimon league being incredibly basic and boring alongside farming sim (which I don't care about).
STORY SPOILERS START HERE
Infinite Wealths story is pretty great but MAN are these villains pretty weak overall. Starting with Tatara Hisuka the vtuber that cancels Ichiban early in the story and jumpstarts his adventure to Hawaii. I actually didn't mind the idea of a vtuber being the catalyst for so much of the games drama but what hurts her is just how predictable the reveal feels. Not only because of how skeevy Chitose is for a majority of the story but also because RGG decided to show her directly messaging the villians at the end of one of the chapters (which feels so fucking weird since other twist villians like Baba did the concept so much better). Dwight Mendez (voiced and mocapped by Danny Trejo) isn't too bad but I wish he had more screen time because he appears near the start of the game and just goes away until the very end, though his final scene might just be one of the goriest in an RGG game. On the Hawaii side of the story is Bryce Fairchild, a cult leader who channels the Jingweon Mafia from 2 (and some parts of Bleach Japan). He has some pretty unsettling moments and an awesome boss fight but is also revealed really fucking early and just dissapears until the endgame (noticing a pattern?). Probably the best villian is Eiji Mitamura (or Ei-chan as Ichiban calls him). A former Bleach Japan member who has a bone to pick with the Yakuza, he serves as the most consistently appearing character and has some pretty great moments (especially in the ending). Going from him to the main dude is Masataka Ebina, the half brother of Ichiban and man also stiffed by the Yakuza (mainly cuz his Dad basically ruined his life). While it is a bit of treading old ground for the villians to be connected with Ichibans past I don't actually mind it in IW and his motivation is pretty solid. What I have issue with is HE'S FUCKING KIRYUS MAIN VILLIAN. Bringing back Kiryu from 6 isn't a bad idea on paper and I do think IW gives him a pretty solid sendoff (though I still like how 6 did it more) but his reasoning to fight Ebina feet incredibly forced, with the excuse of wanting to be forgiven feeling nonsensical since all the stuff that happened to Ebina being far before Kiryu's tenure as fourth chairman. All these combine to make villians that almost rival 4 in how meh they are (though Munakata is still the absolute worst).
STORY SPOILERS END
At the end of the day Infinite Wealth is just another Yakuza RPG. A great locale and story hamstrung by a system that just makes the entire experience drag. I'm hoping that the Judgment side series continues because this RPG future for the once brawler series is starting to grind my gears.
8/10
While Like A Dragon focused on Ichibans adjustment to the modern world and discovering what happened to his Yakuza family, Infinite Wealth pivots to a search for his allegedly alive mother, with plenty of twist and turns that complicate this simple task. As someone who admittedly didn't care much for LADs story, I'm pleasantly surprised that Infinite Wealths hooked me from the very start. A main reason for this being in part to just how good Infinite Wealths main cast is in comparison to LAD, with a much better sense of comradery between the party (both new and old) and much better side characters. Eric Tomizawa and Chitose Fujinomiya make for outstanding additions to the Heroes Of Tommorow that contrast Ichiban in a way that makes them so much more interesting when compared to LADs party (Nanba still da goat though). Of course Kiryu also comes to Hawaii (with his dumb haircut) and the dynamic between both dragons make for some pretty memorable moments throughout. Besides those IWs supporting cast is also pretty damn good, with my favorite belonging to the creepy but cool Yabai, who channels Kuze in his determination to bring Ichiban down. Combat has also had some improvements, with the main one being the ability to actually move around. While it isn't as important as RGG thought it would, I still appreciate the addition and other things like the combo attacks and changing tag team moves to a bar instead of just another MP move also make things better overall. The job system is also much better in regards to switching, as most of the stats come from levels instead of jobs, which was something so simple I can't believe it wasn't in LAD originally. On the subject of the hub I do think Hawaii is one of the better large maps in the series, with so much to do it can be overwhelming. From crazy delivery to Suijimon league the game has plenty to do on top of the usual content like substories (which remain pretty solid but a bit weaker compared to LAD cuz most of them are callbacks to it). Although I will say all of Kiryus exclusive side stories fucking rule and that's purely because of the amazing fan service they all offer.
Before I get into the story I'd say the biggest issue with Infinite Wealth is just how much of it feels like RGG didn't learn what made the combat in Like A Dragon so rough. While the job system changes and movement are welcome additions the endgame still devolves into spamming whatever does the most damage while barely chipping away at the massive health pools bosses have. I'd also say that the incentive to switch jobs isn't really a thing for Ichiban/Kiryu as Hero and Dragon Of Dojima reign supreme for the entirety of the game (DOD in particular gets fucking RIDICULOUS in the second half). I'd also say that Infinite Wealths grind can be a bit worse compared to LAD, with frequent visits to the dungeon being necessary for some of the later bits (thankfully the dungeons are much improved from LAD and offer multiple versions). On a more subjective note the side content in this game really didn't appeal to me, with the Sujimon league being incredibly basic and boring alongside farming sim (which I don't care about).
STORY SPOILERS START HERE
Infinite Wealths story is pretty great but MAN are these villains pretty weak overall. Starting with Tatara Hisuka the vtuber that cancels Ichiban early in the story and jumpstarts his adventure to Hawaii. I actually didn't mind the idea of a vtuber being the catalyst for so much of the games drama but what hurts her is just how predictable the reveal feels. Not only because of how skeevy Chitose is for a majority of the story but also because RGG decided to show her directly messaging the villians at the end of one of the chapters (which feels so fucking weird since other twist villians like Baba did the concept so much better). Dwight Mendez (voiced and mocapped by Danny Trejo) isn't too bad but I wish he had more screen time because he appears near the start of the game and just goes away until the very end, though his final scene might just be one of the goriest in an RGG game. On the Hawaii side of the story is Bryce Fairchild, a cult leader who channels the Jingweon Mafia from 2 (and some parts of Bleach Japan). He has some pretty unsettling moments and an awesome boss fight but is also revealed really fucking early and just dissapears until the endgame (noticing a pattern?). Probably the best villian is Eiji Mitamura (or Ei-chan as Ichiban calls him). A former Bleach Japan member who has a bone to pick with the Yakuza, he serves as the most consistently appearing character and has some pretty great moments (especially in the ending). Going from him to the main dude is Masataka Ebina, the half brother of Ichiban and man also stiffed by the Yakuza (mainly cuz his Dad basically ruined his life). While it is a bit of treading old ground for the villians to be connected with Ichibans past I don't actually mind it in IW and his motivation is pretty solid. What I have issue with is HE'S FUCKING KIRYUS MAIN VILLIAN. Bringing back Kiryu from 6 isn't a bad idea on paper and I do think IW gives him a pretty solid sendoff (though I still like how 6 did it more) but his reasoning to fight Ebina feet incredibly forced, with the excuse of wanting to be forgiven feeling nonsensical since all the stuff that happened to Ebina being far before Kiryu's tenure as fourth chairman. All these combine to make villians that almost rival 4 in how meh they are (though Munakata is still the absolute worst).
STORY SPOILERS END
At the end of the day Infinite Wealth is just another Yakuza RPG. A great locale and story hamstrung by a system that just makes the entire experience drag. I'm hoping that the Judgment side series continues because this RPG future for the once brawler series is starting to grind my gears.
8/10
Asura's Wrath
2012
Crazy how people score this game so low.
The epicness of the story and action alone lands this at a solid 4/5.
But personal favor for the lore it's based on + my amount of enjoyment gets it another point.
The epicness of the story and action alone lands this at a solid 4/5.
But personal favor for the lore it's based on + my amount of enjoyment gets it another point.
This review contains spoilers
As a prequel to Infinite Wealth, Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is solid and sets the groundwork for what could very well be an amazing send off for one of gaming's most iconic protagonists. But as the continuation to what I thought was already an amazing send off for the character, this doesn't really justify bringing him back and brings its own issues that muddle the entire experience.
First things first and WOW is this game a looker. For something made in just six months time RGG really didn't pull any punches with the engine, showcasing what just might be the prettiest game on the aging Dragon Engine. This impressiveness also bleeds into the gameplay, with some of the most crowded fights in franchise history that manage to not kill the frame rate and delivers a pretty solid experience throughout. Both styles are fine but I had a lot of issues getting used to how Agent worked because of how slow so much of it felt, with only the Whip and Rocket Boots being effective (the drone felt like ass and the Cigar was too slow). Yakuza though was an amazing style and just might be my new favorite style for Kiryu, being a great mix of the various slower styles that really packs a punch. Story was pretty solid besides the elephant in the room, with it being a pretty entertaining story within 7s plotline that still manages to be engaging and more importantly its own thing. Was actually shocked how much I loved its main villians too, with the final boss in particular being one of the best Kiryu has faced in both gameplay terms and narrative.
SPOILERS FOR Y6/7/GAIDEN
This might be one of my more controversial takes but here it is: I absolutely adore 6s ending and consider it one of the best ways they could've sent Kiryu off while staying true to his character. I say all this because this game does not justify AT ALL why they decided to bring him back for Infinite Wealth. The decision to expand the Daidoji Faction to being yet another secret society that has ties to the criminal underworld feels so odd and the decision to essentially force Kiryu into it worse. I don't necessarily hate the idea that he's doing it for the Orphanage but the fact that they're put in danger MULTIPLE TIMES in the story just feels like it spits in the face of the entire point of 6s bittersweet finale. It also decides to ruin LADs cameo of Kiryu with it being revealed that the entire climax of this game happened in the same timeframe as his first scene in 7, which makes his abrupt appearance less special. Also funny detail but legitimately everyone knows its Kiryu but still call him his alias, mainly because his only disguise is some shitty sunglasses (should've went with his dumb IW design at least it'd make sense).
END SPOILERS
Besides the spoilers my biggest issue with Gaiden is how fucking awful the progression is. Because of how short the experience is they decided to go back to the money system from 0 which isn't bad in theory (0 is one of my favorite leveling systems in the franchise). Where it all goes wrong is how they decided to distribute money in this game, as for SOME REASON you don't get anything from story/boss encounters and have to rely on side content to get the cheddar (side content THAT YOU'RE REQUIRED TO DO FOR PROGRESSION WHY DO THAT IN AN ALREADY SHORT GAME RGG). This leads into the second issue where some of these upgrades are really expensive and make choosing a wrong upgrade feel incredibly punishing, with some of the endgame stuff costing upwards to 3 million yen (the most a substory will give is 1 million). As I mentioned before Agent felt incredibly finnicky to use and its because of just how much you need to upgrade for it to feel effective, with each gadget requiring insane amounts of money to make viable which made me gravitate towards Yakuza because of how much cheaper it costs to upgrade. As I've said before I don't mind the idea but the execution is complete dogshit and makes this the second worst leveling in series history (only behind Y6/K2s atrocious system).
Infinite Wealth is shaping up to be one of the best games in the Yakuza franchise, so it's sad to see Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name be a somewhat middling bridge. Maybe when IW finally does come out I can look back on this one more fondly but as of now Kiryu should've went away like Song Of Life obviously intended.
7/10
First things first and WOW is this game a looker. For something made in just six months time RGG really didn't pull any punches with the engine, showcasing what just might be the prettiest game on the aging Dragon Engine. This impressiveness also bleeds into the gameplay, with some of the most crowded fights in franchise history that manage to not kill the frame rate and delivers a pretty solid experience throughout. Both styles are fine but I had a lot of issues getting used to how Agent worked because of how slow so much of it felt, with only the Whip and Rocket Boots being effective (the drone felt like ass and the Cigar was too slow). Yakuza though was an amazing style and just might be my new favorite style for Kiryu, being a great mix of the various slower styles that really packs a punch. Story was pretty solid besides the elephant in the room, with it being a pretty entertaining story within 7s plotline that still manages to be engaging and more importantly its own thing. Was actually shocked how much I loved its main villians too, with the final boss in particular being one of the best Kiryu has faced in both gameplay terms and narrative.
SPOILERS FOR Y6/7/GAIDEN
This might be one of my more controversial takes but here it is: I absolutely adore 6s ending and consider it one of the best ways they could've sent Kiryu off while staying true to his character. I say all this because this game does not justify AT ALL why they decided to bring him back for Infinite Wealth. The decision to expand the Daidoji Faction to being yet another secret society that has ties to the criminal underworld feels so odd and the decision to essentially force Kiryu into it worse. I don't necessarily hate the idea that he's doing it for the Orphanage but the fact that they're put in danger MULTIPLE TIMES in the story just feels like it spits in the face of the entire point of 6s bittersweet finale. It also decides to ruin LADs cameo of Kiryu with it being revealed that the entire climax of this game happened in the same timeframe as his first scene in 7, which makes his abrupt appearance less special. Also funny detail but legitimately everyone knows its Kiryu but still call him his alias, mainly because his only disguise is some shitty sunglasses (should've went with his dumb IW design at least it'd make sense).
END SPOILERS
Besides the spoilers my biggest issue with Gaiden is how fucking awful the progression is. Because of how short the experience is they decided to go back to the money system from 0 which isn't bad in theory (0 is one of my favorite leveling systems in the franchise). Where it all goes wrong is how they decided to distribute money in this game, as for SOME REASON you don't get anything from story/boss encounters and have to rely on side content to get the cheddar (side content THAT YOU'RE REQUIRED TO DO FOR PROGRESSION WHY DO THAT IN AN ALREADY SHORT GAME RGG). This leads into the second issue where some of these upgrades are really expensive and make choosing a wrong upgrade feel incredibly punishing, with some of the endgame stuff costing upwards to 3 million yen (the most a substory will give is 1 million). As I mentioned before Agent felt incredibly finnicky to use and its because of just how much you need to upgrade for it to feel effective, with each gadget requiring insane amounts of money to make viable which made me gravitate towards Yakuza because of how much cheaper it costs to upgrade. As I've said before I don't mind the idea but the execution is complete dogshit and makes this the second worst leveling in series history (only behind Y6/K2s atrocious system).
Infinite Wealth is shaping up to be one of the best games in the Yakuza franchise, so it's sad to see Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name be a somewhat middling bridge. Maybe when IW finally does come out I can look back on this one more fondly but as of now Kiryu should've went away like Song Of Life obviously intended.
7/10
Sonic Superstars
2023
I've been a fan of the Sonic The Hedgehog series for years, arguably since I could first hold a controller. Been there since the 2D entries, the transition to 3D, watching Sonic X Saturday mornings on Fox, you name it I was probably there. Hell, even with it's faults and obvious warts, I still had a good time with Frontiers.
But I can't sugarcoat it, Sonic Superstars is a disappointment. I didn't expect something on the same exact quality as those Classic Genesis games, or Mania even. I went into it wanting to at least like it and have a decent game to play and come back to every now and then. What I got is a game that's serviceable for it's first half, and takes a nosedive in quality so bad in it's second half that it makes the level design in some of Dimps' Sonic titles seem fair and reasonable by comparison.
The gameplay is just what you'd expect from a 2D Sonic, you have 4 playable characters from the start each with their own unique abilities (Tails can fly, Knuckles can glide/climb walls, Amy can use her hammer and has a double jump etc.). That's mostly fine and dandy, if you've played a 2D Sonic, you know what you're in for. The momentum is something though. Sometimes it's fairly close to the original Classic games and you're hitting speeds very similar. Other times, you're going really fast (say, through a tube for example) and the game forces you back down to a base speed instead of letting you keep said momentum. The easiest way to explain it is to imagine Classic Sonic's gameplay in Sonic Forces, but tweaked to not be as egregiously bad as that game handled. I don't mean that in a good way.
Level Design goes from being pretty standard and occasionally interesting, to some of the worst levels I've ever experienced in a Classic Sonic title. When you get a level that's not bad you're usually having a fairly good time, maybe there was a gimmick or two that didn't land but you leave it feeling satisfied to an extent. When a bad level hits, the only thing on your mind is "I hope this ends soon" the farther you get into it. The final Zone of the game is genuinely the absolute worst about this. Without going into spoilers, it feels like Arzest just called in the developers for the Advance games to come in and design a Zone, and then they tweaked it after the fact to add even more unfun gimmicks to it.
Speaking of "unfun", the boss fights. Classic Sonic bosses, with some exceptions, all work the same in some fashion. The boss is always vulnerable, but there is usually an attack pattern to follow despite that. Superstars decided that it would be a perfect idea to make it to where you have to wait for the boss to expose their weak point before you can even get one hit in. Early on it's not that much of a problem, you can still mostly hit the bosses without waiting for their weak points to come out. It's when you get further into the game and each boss gets progressively longer and more obvious about this that it gets very frustrating.
Chaos Emeralds are naturally back. The Special Stages for them are the easiest in Sonic history, only one of them (Emerald 5) gave me any level of a challenge. They're fine for what they are honestly. Each Emerald gives you an Emerald Power that you can use, one per Zone. I'll be honest though, I only really used two of them in my entire playthrough. Avatar as it's basically a screen nuke that speeds up certain boss fights, and Bullet due to it being useful for getting to higher ground. The rest are either very useless or situational. The Bonus Stages, which you access by jumping into a portal over a checkpoint if you pass it with a certain number of rings, are just three Sonic 1 Special Stages taped to each other. I avoided these whenever I could, as I didn't really have much fun with them.
I don't think this game is outright awful, there's still some good to come of it. As stated prior, the first half of the game is mostly a decent time. The graphics and character animations are very good. One thing I hope Sega keeps for future games is that you can now fast fall when Tails is in a flying state which is so genuinely useful. While the music is mostly not worth writing home about, there's still some tracks that are good (Pinball Carnival Act 1 was exceptionally great). There's some things to like about this game, the last half genuinely being the way it is ultimately keeps me from recommending this however, especially at it's price point of $60. If you're wanting to give it a go, wait on a very big sale.
But I can't sugarcoat it, Sonic Superstars is a disappointment. I didn't expect something on the same exact quality as those Classic Genesis games, or Mania even. I went into it wanting to at least like it and have a decent game to play and come back to every now and then. What I got is a game that's serviceable for it's first half, and takes a nosedive in quality so bad in it's second half that it makes the level design in some of Dimps' Sonic titles seem fair and reasonable by comparison.
The gameplay is just what you'd expect from a 2D Sonic, you have 4 playable characters from the start each with their own unique abilities (Tails can fly, Knuckles can glide/climb walls, Amy can use her hammer and has a double jump etc.). That's mostly fine and dandy, if you've played a 2D Sonic, you know what you're in for. The momentum is something though. Sometimes it's fairly close to the original Classic games and you're hitting speeds very similar. Other times, you're going really fast (say, through a tube for example) and the game forces you back down to a base speed instead of letting you keep said momentum. The easiest way to explain it is to imagine Classic Sonic's gameplay in Sonic Forces, but tweaked to not be as egregiously bad as that game handled. I don't mean that in a good way.
Level Design goes from being pretty standard and occasionally interesting, to some of the worst levels I've ever experienced in a Classic Sonic title. When you get a level that's not bad you're usually having a fairly good time, maybe there was a gimmick or two that didn't land but you leave it feeling satisfied to an extent. When a bad level hits, the only thing on your mind is "I hope this ends soon" the farther you get into it. The final Zone of the game is genuinely the absolute worst about this. Without going into spoilers, it feels like Arzest just called in the developers for the Advance games to come in and design a Zone, and then they tweaked it after the fact to add even more unfun gimmicks to it.
Speaking of "unfun", the boss fights. Classic Sonic bosses, with some exceptions, all work the same in some fashion. The boss is always vulnerable, but there is usually an attack pattern to follow despite that. Superstars decided that it would be a perfect idea to make it to where you have to wait for the boss to expose their weak point before you can even get one hit in. Early on it's not that much of a problem, you can still mostly hit the bosses without waiting for their weak points to come out. It's when you get further into the game and each boss gets progressively longer and more obvious about this that it gets very frustrating.
Chaos Emeralds are naturally back. The Special Stages for them are the easiest in Sonic history, only one of them (Emerald 5) gave me any level of a challenge. They're fine for what they are honestly. Each Emerald gives you an Emerald Power that you can use, one per Zone. I'll be honest though, I only really used two of them in my entire playthrough. Avatar as it's basically a screen nuke that speeds up certain boss fights, and Bullet due to it being useful for getting to higher ground. The rest are either very useless or situational. The Bonus Stages, which you access by jumping into a portal over a checkpoint if you pass it with a certain number of rings, are just three Sonic 1 Special Stages taped to each other. I avoided these whenever I could, as I didn't really have much fun with them.
I don't think this game is outright awful, there's still some good to come of it. As stated prior, the first half of the game is mostly a decent time. The graphics and character animations are very good. One thing I hope Sega keeps for future games is that you can now fast fall when Tails is in a flying state which is so genuinely useful. While the music is mostly not worth writing home about, there's still some tracks that are good (Pinball Carnival Act 1 was exceptionally great). There's some things to like about this game, the last half genuinely being the way it is ultimately keeps me from recommending this however, especially at it's price point of $60. If you're wanting to give it a go, wait on a very big sale.
Umbrella Corps
2016
My favorite tidbit about this game is that one of the stage description claims the T-virus "first began" in the pueblo village of Resident Evil 4. Yep, according to the dumpers that wrote this game's descriptions, the virus that's the centerpiece of the franchise started in the 4th main entry. The 4th main entry that, mind you, famously had 0 enemies infected with the T-Virus.