Speedy
I genuinely can’t tell for the life of me if this is better, worse or just as good as the original, while I appreciate the ambition and passion this remake has, there’s some problems that I really can’t ignore.
If you want my thoughts of the game itself, check here but in short, BFBB is a super fun Platformer that uses its strength as one well while being a great love letter to the series. I neglected to really mention the surprisingly really dedicated speedrunning community that this game has, due to being a tie in game (being rushed) BFBB has an insane amount of exploits that can be used for speedrunning, in terms of technical issues, BFBB was pretty airtight though you could tell there was a few Sixth-Gen issues.
But anyway, Remakes themselves are such a hot topic in gaming right now, I am currently thinking about a way to mass share my thoughts on the countless remakes on this site but in short, I feel while some of them are mostly fine, the eraser of an entire type of game from that era can’t be ignored, i feel if it’s either a remake that’s mostly faithful to the original game in terms of artstyle/game design or the best option, has the original game in it like Medievil, then i feel that’s an definitive experience.
Rehydrated feels like an attempt to capture that Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon remake money, Lots of people really underestimate how well these 2 remakes did, they sold like Gangbusters with a combined of nearly 20 Million for both games, so it’s clear that reviving this game was both sort of an monetary and community reason.
So, how’s the remake itself? Well in all honesty the core experience of BFBB is still intact and accounted for, the game is still a lot of fun with airtight level design and mechanics, however it feels like the game is both simultaneously slower and faster.
The characters feel off, they are way too slow in my opinion but then like, the acceleration is also notable faster, i think it might be the turning speed, this also goes for the ball power up that Spongebob has, it’s just not fun to use here, it feels way too finicky where if you use the joystick slightly, it’ll turn way too much.
The slide sections oh dear what did they do to you, they feel so off, like there’s no momentum or flow to whenever you jump or move, this also goes double for Sandy’s swinging her floating Texas flags. This might sound like a deal breaker like how people think of N.Sane Trilogy’s movement issues, but it’s not for the most part, I feel like there are just things I noticed when playing these game’s back to back at around the same time both now and even back when it was released.
When I mean being faster, I mean Bosses phases are normally quicker, wall-jumping and best of all, the combat, some combat sections have been rebalanced to be much more fair or even challenging, but on all the combat and general moveset options are a lot faster.
One of the other big talking points is the new spiffy presentation, the game has had a massive graphic overhaul to be more in line with the series' new artstyle, it’s nice. I (unfortunately) played on Nintendo Switch so i really couldn’t fully admire the beauty of this game fully for reasons I’ll get into later but it looks nice i guess, It’s not as perfect as how Spyro Reignited was translated, taking its own liberties while still being faithful nor is it as bad as an eraser as N.Sane Trilogy. But then this where I feel more mixed, the excellent sound design from the original game is straight up broken, some sound effects last too long, some are way too loud and some (mainly the dialogue) are too quiet, there’s even an issue where some actual cutscenes have its dialogue unsynced.
Speaking of dialogue, despite most of the models looking great barring some uncanny textures, the character animations feel stiff. Like there’s game called Spongebob Truth of Square that while isn’t the best game i’ve ever played, is insanely charming and a part of that is due to the character animations, they really stepped up their game for these and they work so well, this is 2009 game i’m talking about.
Of course, I can’t compare this to Spyro since that was noticeably made with a bigger budget and more time but like, I feel they could have made the characters slightly more expressive and fitting their dialogue, while most games even now have subpar voice movements out of cutscenes i feel they could have been a slightly better attempt at making them more fitting for the character animations, since most of the models themselves are on point in my opinion.
Something about the lighting of this game feels off, What were once dark, malnourished areas have turned into super bright, colourful and vibrant places filled with pigmentation, This works for most stages, but some stages like Rock Bottom and especially the Flying Dutch’s Graveyard are way too well lit and lose the erie atmosphere that these stages have.
I feel on of the main issues is the technical issues, again, BFBB wasn’t the most polished game but it was probably more polished than Super Mario Sunshine so it’s all good, but here it may have that i played on the Switch Version (even the Mobile Version runs better than it) but there’s an insane amount of Pop in in this game, as well as insanely low res textures, clipping into objects and just a lack of polish that feels missing in this game.
Now, let me stress enough, this game is still good, great even! This remake feels like a remaster with a few core issues, just like N.Sane Trilogy in my opinion, both are interchangeable playable and i would not press any issues if one choose the other unlike say Ratchet 2016 or Yakuza Kwami, now there is one major addition that they prided themselves into adding, that being the new Multiplayer.
It sucks ass
They really hyped up how this game had a ton of “Cut Content”. I thought they would be adding additional phases to the final Boss, adding Glove World to the game, Putting Robo Squidward in the game and actually finishing Patrick’s Dream stage level along with the cut Power Ups being added back, nope! Instead they decided to make Plankton’s Robotic Revenge 2 with this awful gather horde battle mode, Me and my brother both agreed when playing that it sucked, the main issue is that it’s too long, it’s nice i guess that you can play as other characters, but the phases go on for way too long and the combat in this game isn’t interesting enough to carry a whole mode, I never bothered to continue with the mode after that initial playthrough with my Brother and a few occasional Online matches here and there that’s surprisingly active, but overall I would have rather had some new Single player substantial content, rather than this.
In Conclusion, I wouldn’t say Rehydrated is better or worse than the original despite this admitally pretty negative review, it’s still a fun game that I’d highly recommend and I’m happy to say that Rehydrated mostly keeps that core experience there, just don’t bother with the Switch Version or Multiplayer.
If you want my thoughts of the game itself, check here but in short, BFBB is a super fun Platformer that uses its strength as one well while being a great love letter to the series. I neglected to really mention the surprisingly really dedicated speedrunning community that this game has, due to being a tie in game (being rushed) BFBB has an insane amount of exploits that can be used for speedrunning, in terms of technical issues, BFBB was pretty airtight though you could tell there was a few Sixth-Gen issues.
But anyway, Remakes themselves are such a hot topic in gaming right now, I am currently thinking about a way to mass share my thoughts on the countless remakes on this site but in short, I feel while some of them are mostly fine, the eraser of an entire type of game from that era can’t be ignored, i feel if it’s either a remake that’s mostly faithful to the original game in terms of artstyle/game design or the best option, has the original game in it like Medievil, then i feel that’s an definitive experience.
Rehydrated feels like an attempt to capture that Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon remake money, Lots of people really underestimate how well these 2 remakes did, they sold like Gangbusters with a combined of nearly 20 Million for both games, so it’s clear that reviving this game was both sort of an monetary and community reason.
So, how’s the remake itself? Well in all honesty the core experience of BFBB is still intact and accounted for, the game is still a lot of fun with airtight level design and mechanics, however it feels like the game is both simultaneously slower and faster.
The characters feel off, they are way too slow in my opinion but then like, the acceleration is also notable faster, i think it might be the turning speed, this also goes for the ball power up that Spongebob has, it’s just not fun to use here, it feels way too finicky where if you use the joystick slightly, it’ll turn way too much.
The slide sections oh dear what did they do to you, they feel so off, like there’s no momentum or flow to whenever you jump or move, this also goes double for Sandy’s swinging her floating Texas flags. This might sound like a deal breaker like how people think of N.Sane Trilogy’s movement issues, but it’s not for the most part, I feel like there are just things I noticed when playing these game’s back to back at around the same time both now and even back when it was released.
When I mean being faster, I mean Bosses phases are normally quicker, wall-jumping and best of all, the combat, some combat sections have been rebalanced to be much more fair or even challenging, but on all the combat and general moveset options are a lot faster.
One of the other big talking points is the new spiffy presentation, the game has had a massive graphic overhaul to be more in line with the series' new artstyle, it’s nice. I (unfortunately) played on Nintendo Switch so i really couldn’t fully admire the beauty of this game fully for reasons I’ll get into later but it looks nice i guess, It’s not as perfect as how Spyro Reignited was translated, taking its own liberties while still being faithful nor is it as bad as an eraser as N.Sane Trilogy. But then this where I feel more mixed, the excellent sound design from the original game is straight up broken, some sound effects last too long, some are way too loud and some (mainly the dialogue) are too quiet, there’s even an issue where some actual cutscenes have its dialogue unsynced.
Speaking of dialogue, despite most of the models looking great barring some uncanny textures, the character animations feel stiff. Like there’s game called Spongebob Truth of Square that while isn’t the best game i’ve ever played, is insanely charming and a part of that is due to the character animations, they really stepped up their game for these and they work so well, this is 2009 game i’m talking about.
Of course, I can’t compare this to Spyro since that was noticeably made with a bigger budget and more time but like, I feel they could have made the characters slightly more expressive and fitting their dialogue, while most games even now have subpar voice movements out of cutscenes i feel they could have been a slightly better attempt at making them more fitting for the character animations, since most of the models themselves are on point in my opinion.
Something about the lighting of this game feels off, What were once dark, malnourished areas have turned into super bright, colourful and vibrant places filled with pigmentation, This works for most stages, but some stages like Rock Bottom and especially the Flying Dutch’s Graveyard are way too well lit and lose the erie atmosphere that these stages have.
I feel on of the main issues is the technical issues, again, BFBB wasn’t the most polished game but it was probably more polished than Super Mario Sunshine so it’s all good, but here it may have that i played on the Switch Version (even the Mobile Version runs better than it) but there’s an insane amount of Pop in in this game, as well as insanely low res textures, clipping into objects and just a lack of polish that feels missing in this game.
Now, let me stress enough, this game is still good, great even! This remake feels like a remaster with a few core issues, just like N.Sane Trilogy in my opinion, both are interchangeable playable and i would not press any issues if one choose the other unlike say Ratchet 2016 or Yakuza Kwami, now there is one major addition that they prided themselves into adding, that being the new Multiplayer.
It sucks ass
They really hyped up how this game had a ton of “Cut Content”. I thought they would be adding additional phases to the final Boss, adding Glove World to the game, Putting Robo Squidward in the game and actually finishing Patrick’s Dream stage level along with the cut Power Ups being added back, nope! Instead they decided to make Plankton’s Robotic Revenge 2 with this awful gather horde battle mode, Me and my brother both agreed when playing that it sucked, the main issue is that it’s too long, it’s nice i guess that you can play as other characters, but the phases go on for way too long and the combat in this game isn’t interesting enough to carry a whole mode, I never bothered to continue with the mode after that initial playthrough with my Brother and a few occasional Online matches here and there that’s surprisingly active, but overall I would have rather had some new Single player substantial content, rather than this.
In Conclusion, I wouldn’t say Rehydrated is better or worse than the original despite this admitally pretty negative review, it’s still a fun game that I’d highly recommend and I’m happy to say that Rehydrated mostly keeps that core experience there, just don’t bother with the Switch Version or Multiplayer.
1983
Mario Bros, the game where Chris Pratt stomps Koopas and flips his turtle.
It's not good
I don't want to be a Bully Scholarship Edition and pick on this bad arcade game but I think the comparison I can put this is a mediocre burger from a fast food restaurant, The Buns (presentation) is charming albeit dated with colourful and varied sprites, the cheese (the plot) is simple and gets the job done, Mario and his little brother Luigi are doing simple odd jobs in New Donk City, now find themselves plumbers locked in a battle with Shellcreepers, Sidesteppers and Fighterfiles. Now, when it comes to the meat, it absolutely stinks. Most arcade games are like this, if the core mechanics have one or two issues, then the entire game is ruined.
Mario Bros is a game where you run through sewers which is a never ending hell I guess and stomps on Koopas and Crabs and flies I guess, there's also bonus rounds too sometimes where you collect coins. You can't actually stomp on Koopas, you actually have to jump on blocks them kick them. The reason why it's so putrid is for 2 reasons.
1. The controls feel awkward, way too slippery in my opinion
2. There's no damn variety, Mario Bros unlike most games I've played doesn't end, you have the same 3 enemies and mostly the same aesthetic and level design, it loses it's fun factor quickly
Overall, Mario Bros is not very good, I say stick with the GBA Version in my opinion since it feel more like an actual fun game with Good controls, Bowser and wacky 4 player hijinks, this one was certainly a game alright.
It's not good
I don't want to be a Bully Scholarship Edition and pick on this bad arcade game but I think the comparison I can put this is a mediocre burger from a fast food restaurant, The Buns (presentation) is charming albeit dated with colourful and varied sprites, the cheese (the plot) is simple and gets the job done, Mario and his little brother Luigi are doing simple odd jobs in New Donk City, now find themselves plumbers locked in a battle with Shellcreepers, Sidesteppers and Fighterfiles. Now, when it comes to the meat, it absolutely stinks. Most arcade games are like this, if the core mechanics have one or two issues, then the entire game is ruined.
Mario Bros is a game where you run through sewers which is a never ending hell I guess and stomps on Koopas and Crabs and flies I guess, there's also bonus rounds too sometimes where you collect coins. You can't actually stomp on Koopas, you actually have to jump on blocks them kick them. The reason why it's so putrid is for 2 reasons.
1. The controls feel awkward, way too slippery in my opinion
2. There's no damn variety, Mario Bros unlike most games I've played doesn't end, you have the same 3 enemies and mostly the same aesthetic and level design, it loses it's fun factor quickly
Overall, Mario Bros is not very good, I say stick with the GBA Version in my opinion since it feel more like an actual fun game with Good controls, Bowser and wacky 4 player hijinks, this one was certainly a game alright.
1985
“It’sa Wrecking Time!” Mario said in the early noon of New Donk City wrecking the building walls, he then wrecked all of the building. Mario was working with his Brother Luigi on a new fangled construction site from the orders of the malicious Foreman Spike, who wants to fire them and will do anything in his power to do so.
Wrecking Crew is actually somewhat, kinda okay! It has a simple alluring gameplay loop of wrecking buildings blocks while avoiding enemies, Ladders here are your best friend, Mario here can’t jump due to the Hammer’s weight and so there must creative ways/solutions to get to the destructible object. It also helps that fall damage here is completely removed, allowing for way better mechanics in my opinion. There’s even a level maker, it’s not very good no but the effort counts at least.
I think what makes the game slightly addicting is the vibe, the sprite art is generally pleasing and I love the music, really sells the idea that Mario was just one simple dude working a 9-5 on Minimum wage before his ventures through the Mushroom Kingdom.
It’s overall an okay game, it’s fun and gives me really huge Lego Movie vibes for some reason, great movie I should rewatch it some time. I do wish this one got a sequel/spiritual successor, Wrecking Crew 98 is more of a puzzle game so I do wish at some point they can revisit this concept or remake it for some retro game remake line, or rerelease it for the hundredth time whatever works for you Nintendo!
Wrecking Crew is actually somewhat, kinda okay! It has a simple alluring gameplay loop of wrecking buildings blocks while avoiding enemies, Ladders here are your best friend, Mario here can’t jump due to the Hammer’s weight and so there must creative ways/solutions to get to the destructible object. It also helps that fall damage here is completely removed, allowing for way better mechanics in my opinion. There’s even a level maker, it’s not very good no but the effort counts at least.
I think what makes the game slightly addicting is the vibe, the sprite art is generally pleasing and I love the music, really sells the idea that Mario was just one simple dude working a 9-5 on Minimum wage before his ventures through the Mushroom Kingdom.
It’s overall an okay game, it’s fun and gives me really huge Lego Movie vibes for some reason, great movie I should rewatch it some time. I do wish this one got a sequel/spiritual successor, Wrecking Crew 98 is more of a puzzle game so I do wish at some point they can revisit this concept or remake it for some retro game remake line, or rerelease it for the hundredth time whatever works for you Nintendo!
1982
Meh (2)
Donkey Kong Jr is once again a competent enjoyable Arcade game, following Mario trapping Donkey Kong, which leads to his son to go rescue him. DKJR is all honesty more of the same 4 stages and a slight boss fight at the end, Jr is slightly more nimble than Mario and there’s a bigger emphasis on climbing and elevation, thanks to more vines and pushing objects down but other than that, that’s it? It’s not a particularly bad game but it feels like after the success they didn’t know what to do with the series and instead just made more Donkey Kong stuff without doing anything more unique.
Donkey Kong Jr is once again a competent enjoyable Arcade game, following Mario trapping Donkey Kong, which leads to his son to go rescue him. DKJR is all honesty more of the same 4 stages and a slight boss fight at the end, Jr is slightly more nimble than Mario and there’s a bigger emphasis on climbing and elevation, thanks to more vines and pushing objects down but other than that, that’s it? It’s not a particularly bad game but it feels like after the success they didn’t know what to do with the series and instead just made more Donkey Kong stuff without doing anything more unique.
1981
Meh
Donkey Kong is certianly pretty ambitious for it's time, it tells a simple but quaint story about a Carpenter named Mario in New Donk City trying to save his Girlfriend (Pauline) from a raging droopy ape named Donkey Kong. Apart from this game being copyright infringment city for the creators of King Kong and Popeye, it's certiantly a game released in 1981!
It's not a bad game persay, there's 4 levels (3 in the shitty NES Version) with each one being scattered with Items that Pauline left and Barrels, Springs and Sentient Fire Balls tie avoid.
Honestly, this would be a comfortable 6/10 if it wasn't for the controls, they aren't good, Mario feels way too slow and his jumping feels insanely shallow, I don't mind that there's fall damage but sometimes the fall height is way too finicky at points, Mario will die just in at a height of a single platform from the ground.
In short that's just it, Donkey Kong is a simple fine game but not anything more, It's fun I guess for a bit but really, there's no point to play this with Donkey Kong 94 having this game and another better game.
Donkey Kong is certianly pretty ambitious for it's time, it tells a simple but quaint story about a Carpenter named Mario in New Donk City trying to save his Girlfriend (Pauline) from a raging droopy ape named Donkey Kong. Apart from this game being copyright infringment city for the creators of King Kong and Popeye, it's certiantly a game released in 1981!
It's not a bad game persay, there's 4 levels (3 in the shitty NES Version) with each one being scattered with Items that Pauline left and Barrels, Springs and Sentient Fire Balls tie avoid.
Honestly, this would be a comfortable 6/10 if it wasn't for the controls, they aren't good, Mario feels way too slow and his jumping feels insanely shallow, I don't mind that there's fall damage but sometimes the fall height is way too finicky at points, Mario will die just in at a height of a single platform from the ground.
In short that's just it, Donkey Kong is a simple fine game but not anything more, It's fun I guess for a bit but really, there's no point to play this with Donkey Kong 94 having this game and another better game.
I feel a immense amount of nostalgia for this game, not back then since i was still a fucking sperm cell at the time but back in 2020, we obviously had Covid fucking everything up, so we had to stay at home for a few months, I modded my Wii just in time so i could finally touch some games that i had on my Backlog for while, mostly GameCube games and this was one of the premier games i played, everytime i would finish some work i'd play hours upon hours of this game, evene beating the final boss and 100% the game, so revisiting this game keep in mind this sorta bias.
Also fun fact, i didn't even actually grow up with this version realistically, i grew up with the PC Version, which was more of a point and click mini game adventure game, i would say more on it, but i can't remember anything about it so, eh.
Anyway, Spongeboi. I like him. I grew up prominently in the "Dark Age'' of Spongebob but I do enjoy a lot of the episodes, especially in later seasons and Season 2, 3 and 4. And the movie is really great though but anyway, Video Games.
Spongebob has had a rough transition into 3D, his track record started with an awful tie in game named Curse of the Flying Dutchman, it's the type of game where everything that would go wrong, does go wrong. So what do you do after a middling to awful reception with this game?
You make one of the best damn tie games and platformers in that generation.
Originally getting slightly middling reviews at the time, Battle for Bikini Bottom has since received critical acclaim from fans everywhere, Speedrunners, general platformer fans and even casual Spongebob fans.There's some jank to be had of course and there's a lot of cut content in this game but I can't deny how good Heavy Iron studios translated the world of Spongebob into a great 3D Platformer that rivals the greats.
Story wise, It's not deep, far from it, Plankton has a robot army that turns on him and destroys his culinary, You and your friends go stop him and get Golden Spatulas The premise allows for the game to go through a bunch of locations from the series such as the Krusty Krab, Jellyfish fields, Rock Bottom, the Poseidome, Kelp Forest, Goo Lagoon, The Flying Dutchman Shipyard and the Mermalair along with other locations made for this game such as Sand Mountain, Spongebob’s Dream and Downtown Bikini Bottom based on locations from the series but are original stages. It's just also an excuse for a bunch of characters to be in the game, the interactions with the characters are insanely funny, quotable and charming, it's definitely not the funniest platformer of this era and the episodes themselves probably have better writing, but it's solid stuff.
That being said though, i do have to dock some points for the presentation, while the voice acting is on point for most of the game, the infamous example is Mr Krabs, Clancy Brown was probably to busy destroying his voice for Uka Uka in Crash Nitro Kart, or something like that, point was he wasn't available for this game and instead a very noticeable stand in was used, this stand in was also used for Mermaid Man, I'll allow since Mermaid Man is a bit of a bigger voice actor to get to voice for this game but i'm sure the stand in is a nice voice actor with good talent, but wow is he bad at replicating their voices.
Another issue is how dark it is, it looks on par with most games of this generation barring the repeated mouth movements and janky models (just look at the npc character models for pure nightmare fuel), but for some reason the game looks incredibly dark, distractingly so which is a shame because a lot of the environments look great and varied and just look straight out of the show, it's odd that there's also a lack of cel shading, while the game looks good it's weird a prominently 2D Show has no Cel shading in a 3D setting.
But to be more positive, I really like the music of this game. It's all in all pretty catchy and fits the tone of the series and stage, at hand, a lot of the tunes, despite some of them being repeated, manage to stick in my head even after I play them. It’s not anything I listen to outside of the game since I have too much self respect to do that but it is surprisingly robust with a wide array of feelings other than jolly music. There’s also the sound design, being surprisingly accurate to the show, with bubble transitions and sound effects from the show as a whole being used at verbaten, there’s unfortunately an issue that a lot of 2000’s platformers run that being repeating voice lines nearly all the time, while not too annoying, it does get on my nerves at times especially in some cases where they can say the same line in just a few seconds apart.
In terms of gameplay, Battle for Bikini Bottom is a collectathon, and it’s proud of that fact, levels have a certain amount of Golden Spatulas to unlock levels, You’ve got Patarick’s Socks as the obligatory secondary collectibles which also give you Golden Spatulas when collecting a certain amount of them, there’s also Shiny Objects (yes those are names) which act as the major recurring currency of the game, there’s also Golden Underpants which increase health. All of these and a wide array of boxes to break like you’re a crazed marsupial, makes Spongebob Battle for Bikini Bottom one of the Collectathons ever, In all seriousness BFBB is a sorta beginners Collectathon due to level design being somewhat inherently linear like Spyro with one set path that gives you a good chunk of Spatulas but has extra sections around the main beaten path that are harder but allow players to get more Spatulas. It helps people ease into Banjo Kazooie, Donkey Kong 64 and even 100% Spyro the Dragon, it’s not a heavily tasking game to 100% in all honesty, heck it’s not even a tasking game as whole, it remains pretty easy throughout apart from some jarring difficulty spikes like the dread ball sections and some stages overloading the place with a tone of enemies.
But in all honesty, it doesn’t really matter, the reason why this, Kirby and de Blob work so well despite being on the easier side is that they’re always adding something new and fresh to the table, whether it be a plethora of new robots to fight in each stage adding to the arsenal, the 6 bosses being a test on platforming and jumping, or a new gameplay gimmick in the way of Spongebob’s Bubble abilities, Slide/bungie sections, each stage having something new to offer like Sand Mountain being Slide Section heaven, The Mermalair being more puzzle oriented, Downtown Bikini Bottom being focused on tight platforming and Spongebob’s dream being a complete compendium of all the things the game had offered so far, or best of all the, 2 additional playable characters.
Spongebob is the character that players primarily play, he can uses a plethora of bubble abilities that he unlocks throughout the game from Bubble Buddy such as an upward airdash with a Viking helmet, a ground pound attack with big bubble feet and a remote controlled missile, He can also turn into a Ball for a limited amount of time like a bad Super Monkey Ball clone.
It’s important in Platformers and games as a whole to keep the high standard of a main playable character. It feels like most games, even good ones, fumble at this, and for some reason, the tie in game got it right. Patrick is the strong character of the group, While being less nimble than Spongebob, he is way more powerful, allowing him to take out Robots more quickly, he can also carry watermelons and ice cubes (that freezes water for a limited amount of time) and throw them, Sandy is the opposite of Patrick as she’s a lot more nimble than Spongebob, she can glide using her lasso and swing on floating texas flags. While they aren’t too terribly in depth, they don’t need to be, using the same base as the same character while adding to it which in turn makes them unique is what playable characters should be in my opinion. There’s also the fact that the way they handle multiple playable characters, with the infamous exception of Kelp Forest which has Donkey Kong 64 ass backtracking, most times extra playable characters serve as pace breaker to the main game.
I think in Conclusion, Battle for Bikini Bottom while not the greatest platformer ever, it’s probably one of the most well made in terms of game mechanics and pure fun, it takes all the tropes of a great collectahon and turns it into a fun tribute to the series before it was supposedly going to end, it’s not the greatest game like I said and it’s not a masterpiece but I highly recommend it.
I find it funny that a tie-in game is better than the Mario game released the previous year that’s crazy.
Also fun fact, i didn't even actually grow up with this version realistically, i grew up with the PC Version, which was more of a point and click mini game adventure game, i would say more on it, but i can't remember anything about it so, eh.
Anyway, Spongeboi. I like him. I grew up prominently in the "Dark Age'' of Spongebob but I do enjoy a lot of the episodes, especially in later seasons and Season 2, 3 and 4. And the movie is really great though but anyway, Video Games.
Spongebob has had a rough transition into 3D, his track record started with an awful tie in game named Curse of the Flying Dutchman, it's the type of game where everything that would go wrong, does go wrong. So what do you do after a middling to awful reception with this game?
You make one of the best damn tie games and platformers in that generation.
Originally getting slightly middling reviews at the time, Battle for Bikini Bottom has since received critical acclaim from fans everywhere, Speedrunners, general platformer fans and even casual Spongebob fans.There's some jank to be had of course and there's a lot of cut content in this game but I can't deny how good Heavy Iron studios translated the world of Spongebob into a great 3D Platformer that rivals the greats.
Story wise, It's not deep, far from it, Plankton has a robot army that turns on him and destroys his culinary, You and your friends go stop him and get Golden Spatulas The premise allows for the game to go through a bunch of locations from the series such as the Krusty Krab, Jellyfish fields, Rock Bottom, the Poseidome, Kelp Forest, Goo Lagoon, The Flying Dutchman Shipyard and the Mermalair along with other locations made for this game such as Sand Mountain, Spongebob’s Dream and Downtown Bikini Bottom based on locations from the series but are original stages. It's just also an excuse for a bunch of characters to be in the game, the interactions with the characters are insanely funny, quotable and charming, it's definitely not the funniest platformer of this era and the episodes themselves probably have better writing, but it's solid stuff.
That being said though, i do have to dock some points for the presentation, while the voice acting is on point for most of the game, the infamous example is Mr Krabs, Clancy Brown was probably to busy destroying his voice for Uka Uka in Crash Nitro Kart, or something like that, point was he wasn't available for this game and instead a very noticeable stand in was used, this stand in was also used for Mermaid Man, I'll allow since Mermaid Man is a bit of a bigger voice actor to get to voice for this game but i'm sure the stand in is a nice voice actor with good talent, but wow is he bad at replicating their voices.
Another issue is how dark it is, it looks on par with most games of this generation barring the repeated mouth movements and janky models (just look at the npc character models for pure nightmare fuel), but for some reason the game looks incredibly dark, distractingly so which is a shame because a lot of the environments look great and varied and just look straight out of the show, it's odd that there's also a lack of cel shading, while the game looks good it's weird a prominently 2D Show has no Cel shading in a 3D setting.
But to be more positive, I really like the music of this game. It's all in all pretty catchy and fits the tone of the series and stage, at hand, a lot of the tunes, despite some of them being repeated, manage to stick in my head even after I play them. It’s not anything I listen to outside of the game since I have too much self respect to do that but it is surprisingly robust with a wide array of feelings other than jolly music. There’s also the sound design, being surprisingly accurate to the show, with bubble transitions and sound effects from the show as a whole being used at verbaten, there’s unfortunately an issue that a lot of 2000’s platformers run that being repeating voice lines nearly all the time, while not too annoying, it does get on my nerves at times especially in some cases where they can say the same line in just a few seconds apart.
In terms of gameplay, Battle for Bikini Bottom is a collectathon, and it’s proud of that fact, levels have a certain amount of Golden Spatulas to unlock levels, You’ve got Patarick’s Socks as the obligatory secondary collectibles which also give you Golden Spatulas when collecting a certain amount of them, there’s also Shiny Objects (yes those are names) which act as the major recurring currency of the game, there’s also Golden Underpants which increase health. All of these and a wide array of boxes to break like you’re a crazed marsupial, makes Spongebob Battle for Bikini Bottom one of the Collectathons ever, In all seriousness BFBB is a sorta beginners Collectathon due to level design being somewhat inherently linear like Spyro with one set path that gives you a good chunk of Spatulas but has extra sections around the main beaten path that are harder but allow players to get more Spatulas. It helps people ease into Banjo Kazooie, Donkey Kong 64 and even 100% Spyro the Dragon, it’s not a heavily tasking game to 100% in all honesty, heck it’s not even a tasking game as whole, it remains pretty easy throughout apart from some jarring difficulty spikes like the dread ball sections and some stages overloading the place with a tone of enemies.
But in all honesty, it doesn’t really matter, the reason why this, Kirby and de Blob work so well despite being on the easier side is that they’re always adding something new and fresh to the table, whether it be a plethora of new robots to fight in each stage adding to the arsenal, the 6 bosses being a test on platforming and jumping, or a new gameplay gimmick in the way of Spongebob’s Bubble abilities, Slide/bungie sections, each stage having something new to offer like Sand Mountain being Slide Section heaven, The Mermalair being more puzzle oriented, Downtown Bikini Bottom being focused on tight platforming and Spongebob’s dream being a complete compendium of all the things the game had offered so far, or best of all the, 2 additional playable characters.
Spongebob is the character that players primarily play, he can uses a plethora of bubble abilities that he unlocks throughout the game from Bubble Buddy such as an upward airdash with a Viking helmet, a ground pound attack with big bubble feet and a remote controlled missile, He can also turn into a Ball for a limited amount of time like a bad Super Monkey Ball clone.
It’s important in Platformers and games as a whole to keep the high standard of a main playable character. It feels like most games, even good ones, fumble at this, and for some reason, the tie in game got it right. Patrick is the strong character of the group, While being less nimble than Spongebob, he is way more powerful, allowing him to take out Robots more quickly, he can also carry watermelons and ice cubes (that freezes water for a limited amount of time) and throw them, Sandy is the opposite of Patrick as she’s a lot more nimble than Spongebob, she can glide using her lasso and swing on floating texas flags. While they aren’t too terribly in depth, they don’t need to be, using the same base as the same character while adding to it which in turn makes them unique is what playable characters should be in my opinion. There’s also the fact that the way they handle multiple playable characters, with the infamous exception of Kelp Forest which has Donkey Kong 64 ass backtracking, most times extra playable characters serve as pace breaker to the main game.
I think in Conclusion, Battle for Bikini Bottom while not the greatest platformer ever, it’s probably one of the most well made in terms of game mechanics and pure fun, it takes all the tropes of a great collectahon and turns it into a fun tribute to the series before it was supposedly going to end, it’s not the greatest game like I said and it’s not a masterpiece but I highly recommend it.
I find it funny that a tie-in game is better than the Mario game released the previous year that’s crazy.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is the pinnacle of 2D Sonic and probably one of the spot’s for the series magnum opus, not necessarily the best game in the series but the most important. You could argue that the entire trilogy and maybe even the Adventure games have that magnum opus status but Sonic 3 is the amalgamation of everything they’ve learned so far in this series. Being more ambitious, bold and bigger than any other game in the series of even the Sega Genesis, so much so that this was planned to be a fully 3D game.
Developed by the same peeps who made Sonic 2, (Sega Technical Institute) helemed development this time and had the same goal as they did with Sonic 2, make it bigger. Bigger story, levels, more things to do and so much more, Sonic 3 was a game that may have been too ambitious, with possible cartridge limitations without having NVRAM (which was very expensive).
Then Mcdonalds came along.
The funniest thing is that without a Mcdonalds promotion, Sonic 3 would not have been split into and the team would have possibly figured out a way to get both ends of the game in one cartridge but I guess that Mcdonalds money was too tantalising. Sonic 3 didn’t end being such a breakout success commercially as Sonic 1 or even 2 since it was released on it’s own only selling 4 Million combined sales with both parts but received critical acclaim both then and now, with many fans considering it the best sonic game, i don’t think that but it’s still pretty damn good.
One thing before i go into this game’s story and such is the amount of ports this game received, I played this game one of the best ways possible via Sonic 3 Complete, keeping the core experience the same while adding a few quality of life changes such as unique zone icons, fixing up the sprites for Super Sonic, Egg Robo in Flying Battery (you can also put Flying Battery before Ice Cap, which is the better order in my opinion), skippable cutscenes, new Knuckles intro, correct colour palette for Knuckles, Big Ars Boss, Tails being playable in Blue Spheres and a heap of customisable options, there’s also Sonic 3 AIR which has all of these as additional mods or features in it along with 16:9, Achievements, and the Drop Dash. But yeah, onto the actual review.
The Story of Sonic 3 begins immediately after Sonic the Hedgehog 2, When the Blue Blur kicked the absolutely shit out of Robotnik, his Space Station “The Death Egg” crash lands on a remote floating Island named Angel Island, which then shortly falls into the Ocean, causing a Tsunami. Robotnik investigates the crash and finds the guardian of the Island, a Stocky Jamaican Red Echidna called Knuckles. Realising he’s on the Island with a Giant Emerald of limitless power, he creates a plan to once again put his floating masterpiece in space, tricking the gullible Echidna that an evil Hedgehog named “Sonic” with his cowardly 3 tailed named “Tails” who will steal his Giant Green Emerald as they have already stolen 7 other Emeralds. Knuckles stays on guard on the Island while Robotnik captures the Animals in the Island to convert them into Badniks once again. A few days later, the duo investigate the island after Tails notes of a large chaos energy surge while Sonic finds a ring with ancient inscriptions, knowing where this ring comes from. Using the Tornado and Super forms, the duo rush to the island but are ambushed by Knuckles, who then steals the Emeralds, the duo are thrusted into another high octane adventure, now with a red rat on their tail.
Sonic 3’s story is bigger than any other game before despite Sonic CD having fully animated cutscenes, but you can tell there’s a vision to feel like Sonic 3 was one big interconnected adventure feels fulfilled, since i played 3 Complete, having that transition cutscene using the Sonic & Knuckles feels so right and slips right into the game, there’s also transition cutscenes for each Act to make getting to the stages feel more natural, some points have Eggman fuck with something in the middle of the stage and most transitions are caused by that red rat named Knuckles, i like this little rascal. He has a funny design and they can’t figure out if he’s Red or Pink, hell since he also made a playable debut, they made an extra campaign about an rogue Egg Robo raising an Army to finish the fight that Eggman has done.
It feels like the themes (jesus what am I doing with my life of examining the thematic story elements of a Genesis game released in 1994) of previous games have all culminated into one, the idea of nature vs technology and how both serve as the perfect utopia and solution and the positive impact that Sonic has on people, excellently shown through the sequence after the Sonic and Knuckles boss fight, showing how Knuckles will put aside having a rivalry with the blue blur for the entire game and will help him to the greater good. It’s simple but effective, it really makes Sonic 3 feel grander than all of the other games, having one Act Zones that act as more as set pieces such as Hidden Palace and Sky Sanctuary while still remaining enjoyable in its own right. Sonic 3 feels like a pure culmination of what has come before just in terms of story being bigger, bolder and more involved, and it’s just getting started.
Presentation wise, it feels like Sonic the Hedgehog 3 feels like a swansong game to the Genesis despite the thing running for 3-4 years after this game, I’d say Sonic’s sprite is slightly rough in this game, it doesn’t look bad but compared to previous games something does look wrong in opinion but other than that in terms of presentation, i don’t have much complaints. The environments look more alive (as much as a Genesis game could) than ever before while still maintaining a great balance between cartoony and realism, the sprite art has been polished to perfection with the best roster of design badniks, the backgrounds genuinely look great and varied, you can tell the team really wanted to use the more realistic world of Angel Island to sell this Island and how it connects all together despite their being so many different ecosystems like previous games. One thing i’d also be hard pressed not to mention is the soundtrack which was infamously composed by 6 people, 7 if the “rumours” are true that Micheal Jackson did contribute somehow (I mean if Yuji Naka went to his house then i’m pretty sure he did have some involvement), I don't know if the 6 composers helped, but this soundtrack slaps. Each zone now has 2 unique tracks, making this easily the largest soundtrack in the Genesis trilogy, all the tracks are good. All. of, them. The Soundtrack also started the career of the greatest Sonic musician, Jun Senoue, so it’s fitting the soundtrack is so good. I’d say the Sonic 3 half has the better songs overall but the Knuckles part is great too! I’ll go in depth on the Ost when I go over the stages, but just so you know, while Sonic 1 and 2 have some more iconic tracks like Green Hill, Chemical Plant and other tracks, I feel Sonic 3 has the better score overall.
Finally, onto the game itself, Sonic 3’s gameplay is, once again, more of the same from previous Sonic games, Linear Stages scattered with rings which you collect as health, allowing Sonic to have one extra hit before the rings scatter everywhere, once he’s hit again, he will lose a life. There’s a lot of new features to the core Sonic gameplay. One being Sonic’s new move, The Insta Shield/The Air attack, the spin dash (more based on it’s incarnation from Sonic the Hedgehog 2) returns alongside the super peel out in Sonic 3 Complete, being the literal game changer here is the Insta Shield, by a press of a button, Sonic will gain a white “air” shield for a split second, allowing him to deflect certain projectiles and (more importantly) increases his hit box, allowing for more reach to hit objects, Badniks and Bosses. This feels like a technique that’s easy to learn but hard to master, i never really used it when i first played Sonic 3 but i regularly use it, while not as much of a game changer as the Spin-Dash does help to fully widen Sonic’s Arsenal and make it accessible for all situations.
Another new aspect of Sonic 3 is its playable characters, Tails and Knuckles. Tails is essentially the easy mode allowing players to fly for a limited time, though doesn’t have any flight cancel options which is a weird omission , and Knuckles, who can’t jump as high as the 2 characters but can glide, break certain objects just by walking and can climb on walls. While I still prefer Sonic, I can't deny how well that these characters feel natural to the Sonic gameplay and lend themselves well to multiple playthroughs.
The Biggest and best new addition are the Elemental Shields, once again Speed Sneakers, Invincibility Power Ups return but the Shield power is removed and is in place for 3 new Shields that only Sonic can fully utilise, all of which provide some kind of immunity to the environment. The Fire shield allows for Sonic to air dash and gives him immunity to fire, but at a cost will instantly deactivate when he comes in contact with water, The Bubble Shield allows for a bounce attack, instantaneously making Sonic lose all momentum and drop to the floor, also making Sonic immune to water and in turn, can’t drown, and finally, the Thunder Shield allows Sonic to Double Jump, absorb rings and be immune to the very scarce electrical attacks. I feel, once again, all of these new gimmicks add a ton to the game in terms of variety and ways to play, and they’re also just fun to use whenever they scarcely appear in the stages.
But enough about the new fangled gimmicks that Sonic 3 gladly has, the core gameplay of Sonic 3 is just fun, there’s no other way to explain, it’s just fun. Sonic 3 perfectly mixes all 3 level design philosophies from previous games, the platforming of 1, the speed of 2 and the exploration of CD, all of these are mixed into one nice concoction, all elements feel prevalent in the entire game and doesn’t feel like there’s too much of one element nor to little. The Zone roster this time includes:
-Angel Island Zone: Great opening Zone for the game, definitely not as iconic as Green/Emerald Hill but it’s a fun zone and shows how much grander and better Sonic 3 is compared to Sonic 2 and 1 with great tropical visuals and that iconic 16-bit Music, This is also where another one of Sonic 3’s new gimmicks comes into play, each zone now is capped by a Boss. The Act 2 Boss is slightly frustrating at points and the 1st Act is way too easy, there’s also what i like to call the “play Sonic Forces demo” with that ship section
-Hydro City Zone (It’s called Hydro City!): This keeps the momentum (literally) that Angel Island Zone has and manages to be better, the music goes hard especially in the 2nd Act, I love the aesthetic of the lost ancient city and the bosses here are fun despite there being some jank in the 2nd Act for the boss, the best part in my opinion is how it mixes platforming underwater and full on high octane action in the surface, both feeling naturally woven into the level design. It's overall a great Zone and sorta feels like a slightly better version than Chemical Plant
-Marble Garden Zone: Honestly, this is the only Zone in the entire game that sorta turns me off, well the first Act at least, the 2nd Act is actually pretty decent, the first act is really boring, despite a cool aesthetic and admittedly decent music. But the main issue is that a lot of the Zone just wastes your time, whether it be the moai mini bosses, running down long slopes or the annoying top spin gimmick, in a game where the pace is always going, it doesn't feel smooth whenever it leans into it's gimmicks, the bosses are also not very interesting or memorable in this zone and can be pretty frustrating in Act 2's case. It's not a bad stage but is pretty boring and a noticeable low point in this game
-Carnival Night Zone: Is it weird to call this Zone underrated? The Red Barrel of Doom isn't really that bad (maybe it's because when I was younger I watched a Sonic Paradox short that featured it so I had foresight beforehand but I digress), i really dig the aesthetic they were going for here of a fun filled park, however i don't really like the original Music that this stage offers and i vastly prefer the prototype music for this stage only, the original music is way too repetitive in my opinion but the prototype music fits the stage a lot better with its upbeat tone. The Bosses also are really enjoyable in this act and actually give some good challenge, overall while not as good as the other Zones, it's nice to see the game picking up steam after Marble Garden
-Flying Battery Zone: Playing the game in the intended Zone order is way more fun in my opinion, since it naturally progresses in terms of difficulty, it felt too much like a difficulty increase after Mushroom Hill but onto the actual zone itself, it's fun, as said before in terms of difficulty this is where Sonic 3 really ramps up especially in the 2 Bosses, a lot of the fun with this zone is with gaining speed and platforming, it feels rewarding fully speeding through the stage after a tough platforming section. The aircraft setting really allows for all of the cool set pieces such as bursting through the skies or hastily switching between the inside and outside, the music is also great, feeling dire yet energetic, especially in the 2nd Act. Overall it's a great zone, though the Mania version is far superior
-Ice Cap: It's fucking Ice Cap Zone, the music is the best in the game, it's essentially one of the first songs that come into whenever i think of Sonic, while the original prototype track probably fits the stage slightly more, the MJ Track we got fits perfectly unlike Carnival Night despite balantly coming from an unreleased Song that also slaps. The stage itself is also great, I love the iconic snowboarding section, the cold winter aesthetics looks great and the platforming is challenging yet fun/fair. I'd say some gimmicks that this stage brings can be annoying but its overall a fun stage with great music
-Launch Base Zone: This act in this game that acts as the final Zone of the standalone Sonic 3 works pretty well though is probably slightly weaker then a lot of the other Zones, especially in the 2nd Act, but it's fun. It's a satisfactory ending to the original game with the great and challenging Big Arms boss and the wrap up to Knuckles character, but it's missing the special sauce that all the other final zones had that made it so great and unforgettable, but since it isn't the actual final zone it's cool, i like the both versions of the music and the aesthetic of a ancient city being hastily turned into a rocket station, the difficulty is hit or miss, sometimes it gives a good challenge with fun in terms of platforming and the gimmicks it has, but i feel the stage does have a weird lack of rings, especially in Act 2. It's not a bad Zone, far from it, but it definitely feels slightly weaker than the other stages
-Mushroom Hill Zone: After the consistent difficulty increase in the stages, Mushroom Hill is suppose to be a short little break before the game ramps up in difficulty again as well as being as an introductory zone for the & Knuckles part of the game, it's a fine zone, i love the stoner ass music they gave for it and the 4 seasons forest aesthetic is unique, i love the bosses in this zone for being unique and challenging, it's a fun zone, though i don't have much to say on it.
-Sandopolis Zone: I'm usually the one only fan of Desert stages and yeah, this is one of the Desert stages, Sandopolis is a good fun yet challenging stage, Act 1 is really fun and i found the Boss in Act 1 to be a neat little change of pace but Act 2 is slightly annoying with that ghost gimmick, It's not too bad but at points nuking the ghosts with the light gets too far at points, overall a weaker zone in this game but a good zone nonetheless
-Lava Reef/Hidden Palace Zone: I feel a lot of nostalgia with this Zone. A lot of flash media extensively used this Stage's cool ass volcano setting for stages and animation along with the music, so it does hold a special place in my heart. That being stage this stage is just okay, other than the nostalgia i hold for the aesthetic and music, it's really a zone that i draw a blank when thinking about the level design in this version of the game at least, a fun zone but sorta forgettable, with the exception of the boss in Act 2 and the part leading up to that with the Death Egg, I additionally lumped Hidden Palace into this Zone because it uses the same aesthetic from Act 2, it's not really a zone per say more so a Boss Act like Death Egg from Sonic 2, this boss itself is piss easy though so I don't really get the point so yeah onto the next Zone.
-Sky Sanctuary: A One act Zone this time that acts as the transitory act for Death Egg or as a climactic final stage for Knuckles, either way this stage is fantastic. I love how it feels like a mad dash to stop that Egg Fucker from unleashing that Egg Shapped space station or a mad dash to protect the Master Emerald from Mecha Sonic (another Metallic Sonic Eggman mad) fitting with the great hevenly yet forbidding music playing as Sonic or Tails it has a short section of 2 Bosses from previous games from Green Hill Zone and Metropolis respectively before the actual boss happens which is pretty fun. Mecha Sonic for Knuckles is the final Boss for him, surprisingly fitting well especially in the 2nd Phase when it uses the Master Emerald for power. Despite being a shorter Zone, it packs a punch both story wise and gameplay wise, a great zone to get us ready for the final frontier.
-Death Egg Zone/Doomsday Zone: Damn what a way to cap of a game, now being promoted from an actual 2 Act Zone with a optional final boss zone, Death Egg rules in this game, i love the music and the aesthetic of the space station, the sub bosses here are pretty fun, it's fairly challenging with its unique gimmicks though some jank is linked with gimmicks and can waste your time such as the gravity not fully working as intended. The extra final boss is really fun and challenging and really exemplifies the mad dash nature with Robotnik, i love the design of the new Death Egg Robot and the music is so insanely unnerving yet somewhat powerful. It's overall a great way to cap off the game and the Classic Sonic series on Genesis as a whole.
All in all, it feels genuinely fun and challenging to explore all these stage since you can find a plethora of collectibles such as the aforementioned items, Rings, Special Stage Rings which warp to the Special Stages, The Blue Sphere stages, where you’d have to get a certain amount of Blue Spheres (or rings as an optional bonus) while the stage speeds up, these special stages are easily the best in the series so far since they’re actually fun! The Simple fun of trying to collect all the Blue Spheres while trying to avoid the red spheres, all of the stages feel fair yet challenging, which was a balance that Sonic 1 and 2’s Special stages wished they had, once again giving you Chaos Emeralds and even Super Emeralds past Mushroom Hill, The Super forms feel a lot better and more fleshed out here especially with Hyper Sonic, Tails and Knuckles also get Super and Hyper forms (Though Tails only gets a Super from from the Super Emeralds i guess), it's not a super amazing award but i do like the better endings and plus, doing the special stages aren't as much as a pain so it's not a big deal. There’s also Bonus Stages, taking the place of Sonic 2’s methods of Special Stages which uses 50 rings for entry, consisting of a few Minigames not too dissimilar to Casino Night Zone, allowing players to get Shields, Continues and Lives.
Overall, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is great. It's the culmination of everything that the series has done and set out to do so far, if your not even a fan of sonic, a fan platformers or just games in general. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Angel Island Revisted and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Complete get my earnest recommendation.
Developed by the same peeps who made Sonic 2, (Sega Technical Institute) helemed development this time and had the same goal as they did with Sonic 2, make it bigger. Bigger story, levels, more things to do and so much more, Sonic 3 was a game that may have been too ambitious, with possible cartridge limitations without having NVRAM (which was very expensive).
Then Mcdonalds came along.
The funniest thing is that without a Mcdonalds promotion, Sonic 3 would not have been split into and the team would have possibly figured out a way to get both ends of the game in one cartridge but I guess that Mcdonalds money was too tantalising. Sonic 3 didn’t end being such a breakout success commercially as Sonic 1 or even 2 since it was released on it’s own only selling 4 Million combined sales with both parts but received critical acclaim both then and now, with many fans considering it the best sonic game, i don’t think that but it’s still pretty damn good.
One thing before i go into this game’s story and such is the amount of ports this game received, I played this game one of the best ways possible via Sonic 3 Complete, keeping the core experience the same while adding a few quality of life changes such as unique zone icons, fixing up the sprites for Super Sonic, Egg Robo in Flying Battery (you can also put Flying Battery before Ice Cap, which is the better order in my opinion), skippable cutscenes, new Knuckles intro, correct colour palette for Knuckles, Big Ars Boss, Tails being playable in Blue Spheres and a heap of customisable options, there’s also Sonic 3 AIR which has all of these as additional mods or features in it along with 16:9, Achievements, and the Drop Dash. But yeah, onto the actual review.
The Story of Sonic 3 begins immediately after Sonic the Hedgehog 2, When the Blue Blur kicked the absolutely shit out of Robotnik, his Space Station “The Death Egg” crash lands on a remote floating Island named Angel Island, which then shortly falls into the Ocean, causing a Tsunami. Robotnik investigates the crash and finds the guardian of the Island, a Stocky Jamaican Red Echidna called Knuckles. Realising he’s on the Island with a Giant Emerald of limitless power, he creates a plan to once again put his floating masterpiece in space, tricking the gullible Echidna that an evil Hedgehog named “Sonic” with his cowardly 3 tailed named “Tails” who will steal his Giant Green Emerald as they have already stolen 7 other Emeralds. Knuckles stays on guard on the Island while Robotnik captures the Animals in the Island to convert them into Badniks once again. A few days later, the duo investigate the island after Tails notes of a large chaos energy surge while Sonic finds a ring with ancient inscriptions, knowing where this ring comes from. Using the Tornado and Super forms, the duo rush to the island but are ambushed by Knuckles, who then steals the Emeralds, the duo are thrusted into another high octane adventure, now with a red rat on their tail.
Sonic 3’s story is bigger than any other game before despite Sonic CD having fully animated cutscenes, but you can tell there’s a vision to feel like Sonic 3 was one big interconnected adventure feels fulfilled, since i played 3 Complete, having that transition cutscene using the Sonic & Knuckles feels so right and slips right into the game, there’s also transition cutscenes for each Act to make getting to the stages feel more natural, some points have Eggman fuck with something in the middle of the stage and most transitions are caused by that red rat named Knuckles, i like this little rascal. He has a funny design and they can’t figure out if he’s Red or Pink, hell since he also made a playable debut, they made an extra campaign about an rogue Egg Robo raising an Army to finish the fight that Eggman has done.
It feels like the themes (jesus what am I doing with my life of examining the thematic story elements of a Genesis game released in 1994) of previous games have all culminated into one, the idea of nature vs technology and how both serve as the perfect utopia and solution and the positive impact that Sonic has on people, excellently shown through the sequence after the Sonic and Knuckles boss fight, showing how Knuckles will put aside having a rivalry with the blue blur for the entire game and will help him to the greater good. It’s simple but effective, it really makes Sonic 3 feel grander than all of the other games, having one Act Zones that act as more as set pieces such as Hidden Palace and Sky Sanctuary while still remaining enjoyable in its own right. Sonic 3 feels like a pure culmination of what has come before just in terms of story being bigger, bolder and more involved, and it’s just getting started.
Presentation wise, it feels like Sonic the Hedgehog 3 feels like a swansong game to the Genesis despite the thing running for 3-4 years after this game, I’d say Sonic’s sprite is slightly rough in this game, it doesn’t look bad but compared to previous games something does look wrong in opinion but other than that in terms of presentation, i don’t have much complaints. The environments look more alive (as much as a Genesis game could) than ever before while still maintaining a great balance between cartoony and realism, the sprite art has been polished to perfection with the best roster of design badniks, the backgrounds genuinely look great and varied, you can tell the team really wanted to use the more realistic world of Angel Island to sell this Island and how it connects all together despite their being so many different ecosystems like previous games. One thing i’d also be hard pressed not to mention is the soundtrack which was infamously composed by 6 people, 7 if the “rumours” are true that Micheal Jackson did contribute somehow (I mean if Yuji Naka went to his house then i’m pretty sure he did have some involvement), I don't know if the 6 composers helped, but this soundtrack slaps. Each zone now has 2 unique tracks, making this easily the largest soundtrack in the Genesis trilogy, all the tracks are good. All. of, them. The Soundtrack also started the career of the greatest Sonic musician, Jun Senoue, so it’s fitting the soundtrack is so good. I’d say the Sonic 3 half has the better songs overall but the Knuckles part is great too! I’ll go in depth on the Ost when I go over the stages, but just so you know, while Sonic 1 and 2 have some more iconic tracks like Green Hill, Chemical Plant and other tracks, I feel Sonic 3 has the better score overall.
Finally, onto the game itself, Sonic 3’s gameplay is, once again, more of the same from previous Sonic games, Linear Stages scattered with rings which you collect as health, allowing Sonic to have one extra hit before the rings scatter everywhere, once he’s hit again, he will lose a life. There’s a lot of new features to the core Sonic gameplay. One being Sonic’s new move, The Insta Shield/The Air attack, the spin dash (more based on it’s incarnation from Sonic the Hedgehog 2) returns alongside the super peel out in Sonic 3 Complete, being the literal game changer here is the Insta Shield, by a press of a button, Sonic will gain a white “air” shield for a split second, allowing him to deflect certain projectiles and (more importantly) increases his hit box, allowing for more reach to hit objects, Badniks and Bosses. This feels like a technique that’s easy to learn but hard to master, i never really used it when i first played Sonic 3 but i regularly use it, while not as much of a game changer as the Spin-Dash does help to fully widen Sonic’s Arsenal and make it accessible for all situations.
Another new aspect of Sonic 3 is its playable characters, Tails and Knuckles. Tails is essentially the easy mode allowing players to fly for a limited time, though doesn’t have any flight cancel options which is a weird omission , and Knuckles, who can’t jump as high as the 2 characters but can glide, break certain objects just by walking and can climb on walls. While I still prefer Sonic, I can't deny how well that these characters feel natural to the Sonic gameplay and lend themselves well to multiple playthroughs.
The Biggest and best new addition are the Elemental Shields, once again Speed Sneakers, Invincibility Power Ups return but the Shield power is removed and is in place for 3 new Shields that only Sonic can fully utilise, all of which provide some kind of immunity to the environment. The Fire shield allows for Sonic to air dash and gives him immunity to fire, but at a cost will instantly deactivate when he comes in contact with water, The Bubble Shield allows for a bounce attack, instantaneously making Sonic lose all momentum and drop to the floor, also making Sonic immune to water and in turn, can’t drown, and finally, the Thunder Shield allows Sonic to Double Jump, absorb rings and be immune to the very scarce electrical attacks. I feel, once again, all of these new gimmicks add a ton to the game in terms of variety and ways to play, and they’re also just fun to use whenever they scarcely appear in the stages.
But enough about the new fangled gimmicks that Sonic 3 gladly has, the core gameplay of Sonic 3 is just fun, there’s no other way to explain, it’s just fun. Sonic 3 perfectly mixes all 3 level design philosophies from previous games, the platforming of 1, the speed of 2 and the exploration of CD, all of these are mixed into one nice concoction, all elements feel prevalent in the entire game and doesn’t feel like there’s too much of one element nor to little. The Zone roster this time includes:
-Angel Island Zone: Great opening Zone for the game, definitely not as iconic as Green/Emerald Hill but it’s a fun zone and shows how much grander and better Sonic 3 is compared to Sonic 2 and 1 with great tropical visuals and that iconic 16-bit Music, This is also where another one of Sonic 3’s new gimmicks comes into play, each zone now is capped by a Boss. The Act 2 Boss is slightly frustrating at points and the 1st Act is way too easy, there’s also what i like to call the “play Sonic Forces demo” with that ship section
-Hydro City Zone (It’s called Hydro City!): This keeps the momentum (literally) that Angel Island Zone has and manages to be better, the music goes hard especially in the 2nd Act, I love the aesthetic of the lost ancient city and the bosses here are fun despite there being some jank in the 2nd Act for the boss, the best part in my opinion is how it mixes platforming underwater and full on high octane action in the surface, both feeling naturally woven into the level design. It's overall a great Zone and sorta feels like a slightly better version than Chemical Plant
-Marble Garden Zone: Honestly, this is the only Zone in the entire game that sorta turns me off, well the first Act at least, the 2nd Act is actually pretty decent, the first act is really boring, despite a cool aesthetic and admittedly decent music. But the main issue is that a lot of the Zone just wastes your time, whether it be the moai mini bosses, running down long slopes or the annoying top spin gimmick, in a game where the pace is always going, it doesn't feel smooth whenever it leans into it's gimmicks, the bosses are also not very interesting or memorable in this zone and can be pretty frustrating in Act 2's case. It's not a bad stage but is pretty boring and a noticeable low point in this game
-Carnival Night Zone: Is it weird to call this Zone underrated? The Red Barrel of Doom isn't really that bad (maybe it's because when I was younger I watched a Sonic Paradox short that featured it so I had foresight beforehand but I digress), i really dig the aesthetic they were going for here of a fun filled park, however i don't really like the original Music that this stage offers and i vastly prefer the prototype music for this stage only, the original music is way too repetitive in my opinion but the prototype music fits the stage a lot better with its upbeat tone. The Bosses also are really enjoyable in this act and actually give some good challenge, overall while not as good as the other Zones, it's nice to see the game picking up steam after Marble Garden
-Flying Battery Zone: Playing the game in the intended Zone order is way more fun in my opinion, since it naturally progresses in terms of difficulty, it felt too much like a difficulty increase after Mushroom Hill but onto the actual zone itself, it's fun, as said before in terms of difficulty this is where Sonic 3 really ramps up especially in the 2 Bosses, a lot of the fun with this zone is with gaining speed and platforming, it feels rewarding fully speeding through the stage after a tough platforming section. The aircraft setting really allows for all of the cool set pieces such as bursting through the skies or hastily switching between the inside and outside, the music is also great, feeling dire yet energetic, especially in the 2nd Act. Overall it's a great zone, though the Mania version is far superior
-Ice Cap: It's fucking Ice Cap Zone, the music is the best in the game, it's essentially one of the first songs that come into whenever i think of Sonic, while the original prototype track probably fits the stage slightly more, the MJ Track we got fits perfectly unlike Carnival Night despite balantly coming from an unreleased Song that also slaps. The stage itself is also great, I love the iconic snowboarding section, the cold winter aesthetics looks great and the platforming is challenging yet fun/fair. I'd say some gimmicks that this stage brings can be annoying but its overall a fun stage with great music
-Launch Base Zone: This act in this game that acts as the final Zone of the standalone Sonic 3 works pretty well though is probably slightly weaker then a lot of the other Zones, especially in the 2nd Act, but it's fun. It's a satisfactory ending to the original game with the great and challenging Big Arms boss and the wrap up to Knuckles character, but it's missing the special sauce that all the other final zones had that made it so great and unforgettable, but since it isn't the actual final zone it's cool, i like the both versions of the music and the aesthetic of a ancient city being hastily turned into a rocket station, the difficulty is hit or miss, sometimes it gives a good challenge with fun in terms of platforming and the gimmicks it has, but i feel the stage does have a weird lack of rings, especially in Act 2. It's not a bad Zone, far from it, but it definitely feels slightly weaker than the other stages
-Mushroom Hill Zone: After the consistent difficulty increase in the stages, Mushroom Hill is suppose to be a short little break before the game ramps up in difficulty again as well as being as an introductory zone for the & Knuckles part of the game, it's a fine zone, i love the stoner ass music they gave for it and the 4 seasons forest aesthetic is unique, i love the bosses in this zone for being unique and challenging, it's a fun zone, though i don't have much to say on it.
-Sandopolis Zone: I'm usually the one only fan of Desert stages and yeah, this is one of the Desert stages, Sandopolis is a good fun yet challenging stage, Act 1 is really fun and i found the Boss in Act 1 to be a neat little change of pace but Act 2 is slightly annoying with that ghost gimmick, It's not too bad but at points nuking the ghosts with the light gets too far at points, overall a weaker zone in this game but a good zone nonetheless
-Lava Reef/Hidden Palace Zone: I feel a lot of nostalgia with this Zone. A lot of flash media extensively used this Stage's cool ass volcano setting for stages and animation along with the music, so it does hold a special place in my heart. That being stage this stage is just okay, other than the nostalgia i hold for the aesthetic and music, it's really a zone that i draw a blank when thinking about the level design in this version of the game at least, a fun zone but sorta forgettable, with the exception of the boss in Act 2 and the part leading up to that with the Death Egg, I additionally lumped Hidden Palace into this Zone because it uses the same aesthetic from Act 2, it's not really a zone per say more so a Boss Act like Death Egg from Sonic 2, this boss itself is piss easy though so I don't really get the point so yeah onto the next Zone.
-Sky Sanctuary: A One act Zone this time that acts as the transitory act for Death Egg or as a climactic final stage for Knuckles, either way this stage is fantastic. I love how it feels like a mad dash to stop that Egg Fucker from unleashing that Egg Shapped space station or a mad dash to protect the Master Emerald from Mecha Sonic (another Metallic Sonic Eggman mad) fitting with the great hevenly yet forbidding music playing as Sonic or Tails it has a short section of 2 Bosses from previous games from Green Hill Zone and Metropolis respectively before the actual boss happens which is pretty fun. Mecha Sonic for Knuckles is the final Boss for him, surprisingly fitting well especially in the 2nd Phase when it uses the Master Emerald for power. Despite being a shorter Zone, it packs a punch both story wise and gameplay wise, a great zone to get us ready for the final frontier.
-Death Egg Zone/Doomsday Zone: Damn what a way to cap of a game, now being promoted from an actual 2 Act Zone with a optional final boss zone, Death Egg rules in this game, i love the music and the aesthetic of the space station, the sub bosses here are pretty fun, it's fairly challenging with its unique gimmicks though some jank is linked with gimmicks and can waste your time such as the gravity not fully working as intended. The extra final boss is really fun and challenging and really exemplifies the mad dash nature with Robotnik, i love the design of the new Death Egg Robot and the music is so insanely unnerving yet somewhat powerful. It's overall a great way to cap off the game and the Classic Sonic series on Genesis as a whole.
All in all, it feels genuinely fun and challenging to explore all these stage since you can find a plethora of collectibles such as the aforementioned items, Rings, Special Stage Rings which warp to the Special Stages, The Blue Sphere stages, where you’d have to get a certain amount of Blue Spheres (or rings as an optional bonus) while the stage speeds up, these special stages are easily the best in the series so far since they’re actually fun! The Simple fun of trying to collect all the Blue Spheres while trying to avoid the red spheres, all of the stages feel fair yet challenging, which was a balance that Sonic 1 and 2’s Special stages wished they had, once again giving you Chaos Emeralds and even Super Emeralds past Mushroom Hill, The Super forms feel a lot better and more fleshed out here especially with Hyper Sonic, Tails and Knuckles also get Super and Hyper forms (Though Tails only gets a Super from from the Super Emeralds i guess), it's not a super amazing award but i do like the better endings and plus, doing the special stages aren't as much as a pain so it's not a big deal. There’s also Bonus Stages, taking the place of Sonic 2’s methods of Special Stages which uses 50 rings for entry, consisting of a few Minigames not too dissimilar to Casino Night Zone, allowing players to get Shields, Continues and Lives.
Overall, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is great. It's the culmination of everything that the series has done and set out to do so far, if your not even a fan of sonic, a fan platformers or just games in general. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Angel Island Revisted and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Complete get my earnest recommendation.
1993
Quick Prelude before i begin this review, this long gap of reviews shouldn’t have taken this long, the reason why i had a big gap of reviews is due to me wanting to do Sonic Generations as my 50th review, My Generations review was shaping up to be one of my longer review but i decided to shelf my Generations review until i cover the boost games in the near distant future, apologies for not putting out content enough, Anyway onto the review.
Sonic CD is a game alright, i sorta have a bit of a soft spot for this game, i played it in my IPad back in 2012 which i still have now and installed but don’t used it because it’s an Ipad from 2010, what was the “secret classic sonic game” is now sorta a divisive game in the Sonic series, some like it, some hate it and i just think it’s okay, Sonic games have a habit of being really great, decent, okay/mediocre to one of the worst things i have ever played and all of the above and this one of the sonic games! Before this playthrough i initially thought Sonic CD was around the same rating i gave Sonic 1 but, nope it’s just okay, this won’t really be a positive review so if you want a reviews that would break down what makes Sonic CD tick for them then i can’t recommend enough Luke’s Video on the game and one of my personal friends/mutuals (ShinGenX) review on Sonic CD. But anyway, with that i’m just gonna get straight into it.
Sonic CD is confused
Everything about this game screams confusion, again this is a game i barely like and i sorta understand it’s appeal but good lord, sometimes whenever it’s just as good as the previous Sonic games i then run into it’s baffling design choices that absolutely ruin its flow and fun factor, it’s like if the crisp company wanted to adhered to it’s previous crisps but also want to do something new, It’s weird that the Japan Team who made this game once considered it to be a sequel to Sonic 2 after they binned the CD Version of Sonic 2 idea but it more so feels like an Expansion of Sonic 1 with the same levels themes and similar design choices with a few of Sonic 2s cut concepts such as Time Travel being present.
Before i begin i should say, if you are curious enough to play this game, it’s safe to say that the Remaster released on mobile/Origins (and maybe if you’re likely enough to scrooge up the original PC Version so you can mod it) is the way to go, the original CD has a gimped Spin-Dash to make the Super Peel-Out look better, Worse looking FMVs and long loading times, The Remeaster gives playable Tails (& Knuckles if you have the mods), 16:9, Ability to swap the osts, a more accurate (and therefore) better Spin-Dash and other Quality of Life Additions/changes. If you want to play CD (Which is highly recommended since you should form your own opinion instead of parroting others) then Play the remaster, with that being said let’s dive into the weird and wonderful world of Sonic CD.
Sonic CD takes place after Sonic 1, Sonic dashes to Never Lake to visit Little Planet, a Planet that comes to Earth every year on the last month on the last day. As Sonic runs through the forest and to the lake, he sees the planet chained to the lake and a mountain in Robotnik likeness, Sonic runs into action as he is forced in another battle of Nature vs Industrialization, not before a spunky pink hedgehog called Princess Sally (who proclaims to be his girlfriend). As he ventures through Little Planet, he faces a Metal copy of himself aptly named Metal Sonic who captures Sally. Sonic is thrust into a new Adventure as he travels through time to collect the Time Stones, Destroy the Robot Generators and save Sally. Sonic CD is a pretty standard Sonic Story for the time but one important thing that sets this game apart from the other games is it shows the perfect utopia Sonic should be fighting for, a Balance. A Balance between Nature and Indrutslisarion in a Good Future. A Future that Sonic & his friends should all be fighting for, that benefits nature and doesn’t destroy it, I sorta headcanon that because this game is before Sonic 2, Sonic made the Tornado in response to seeing the Good Future, inspired after seeing how a balance can benefit a good future. With the gorgeous/timeless 2D Animated cutscenes, it feels like this is the game where they nailed Sonic’s Attitude and world, his design while unchanged in moment to moment gameplay has been refined to have a bit of an edge to it while being cute at the same time, Metal Sonic in the brief appearances in these cutscenes looks threatening as all hell and the environments are full of life.
And on that note, Sonic CD is full of life, everything in this game is blooming with soul, colour, vibrance, life and pigmentation. Sonic CD is a beauty to look at, I know some people are gonna say that it looks too colourful and that’s always a weird complaint i’ve heard, Little Planet is another planet, it’s supposed to be different than South & Westside Island, the out of the box aesthetics makes Sonic CD into the game it is. The Time Travel gimmick (which i have my issues with) really shows how full of life these areas are in the Past and Good Future, And How Robotnik royally fucked it up in the Bad Future, it really shows how Robotnik isn’t a man to messed with despite his goofy nature, feeling like the first game that shows us how Personal the struggle is between them. The Sprite art however, i feel quite mixed about, i don’t like Robotnik’s Hunchback design and Sally just looks off in my opinion, It’s also jarring playing this after Sonic 2 where they changed Sonic’s design there and now it’s back to the Sonic 1 design, i also don’t think the Badnik designs aren’t as memorable as the other games though are fine i guess, it mostly shines in its Backgrounds and Aesthetics and not really the Sprite Art.
When it comes to the music, Sonic CD’s Confusion begins to reap its ugly head in, You see they had a perfectly fine Japanese Soundtrack that amplifies the previous osts, using the Compacted Disc technology that was capable with the new Console, The Japanese/European Ost is fantastic, it’s varied, funky, energetic and feels like a natural evolution of the tracks from the previous games, not to mention since there’s 3 other variants, the ost is a lot blogger and more ambitious than the other soundtracks in the series so far, it can convey a wider way of emotions, happy and fun filled with Palm Tree Panic, slightly foreboding with Tidal Tempest and the Boss theme, full of wonder making you really want to explore the stage with Collision Chaos & Quartz Quadrant and so much more, the short vocal themes of “You can do anything” and Cosmic Eternity shows Sonic’s personality and how people feel about him, how he inspires positivity in other people’s lives, I could go on and on about Sonic CD’s Japanese soundtrack but i think you get the point.
Then Amercians said fuck that and decdied to make their own soundtrack because why not?
Seriously though, there's no real reason why they decided to make their own soundtrack and inadvertently delayed the game to do this, but it’s way way worse! It’s not bad per say and there’s some tracks i like such as Collision Chaos and of course, Sonic Boom is a great and iconic track but on the whole it feels a lot weaker, It’s mainly that the soundtrack all invoke the same feeling of funky 90’s music, with the exception of the Boss/Game Over themes which are threatening pieces of music but i don’t know, i’m struggling to remember one other track apart from Collision Chaos.. Except the Past music which is the same from the European soundtrack, why? Did they not have enough time to compose those other themes or pure laziness? I feel the Soundtrack, while at the very least, fine to listen to doesn’t fit the game overall and feels tacked on, sorta like Sonic R’s Vocal Themes, good but don’t fit the game.
That being said, the game itself is fine? It’s weird to put how i feel about this game since at its core, it seems to be a fine enough “expansion” of Sonic 1, Sonic controls around the same, Rings serve the same health purpose with a risk reward system, there’s Shield, Speed Sneaker and Invincibility Power Ups, it’s standard stuff, those there’s one thing that set’s Sonic CD apart, You see, Each Classic Sonic game emphasis 3 of the tropes amd until Sonic 3 achieved a perfect balance, Sonic 1 focused on Platforming, Sonic 2 focused on Speed filled reaction time and Obstacle Courses and this game, focuses on exploration, of course all 3 elements pop up in each game before but those are the main elements of each game, I wouldn't mind if it was based on exploration
You see, Sonic CD has a few new gimmicks, each Act has a Robot Generator in the past, you go back in time to the past and find Robot Generator, then travel to the future to see the good future you have made, this sounds cool and all but in execution it's not very good. The Time Travel gimmick is so tedious in my opinion, i get it's to emphasise Sonic's speed elements but given other issues with the game i'll mention soon it just doesn't work well, if this was Sonic 1 or 2 then i wouldn't mind this but given how CD wants to use it's level, it feels so unorthodox, I think it would have benefited from having an alternative way to time travel, maybe there’s a time travel method that can get to a time period easily but it’s one that’s always set, then if you find the post and gain enough speed, then you can choose your own Time Period. Finding the Robot Generator is a bit of a pain too, there's no map or indicator anywhere in the game and it just feels so aimless looking for it, it's odd to me that CD prides itself on being a game based on exploration but wants to also be a linear experience like previous games.
It's so odd to me, it's like they had all these levels that were clearly meant to be explored but at the last minute, copped out and had a goal post just for fans who didn't want to explore the zones, it's commendable i guess for having such a versatile way to play but it feels half baked when playing it in both ways.
Trying to play Sonic CD like Sonic 1 or Sonic 2 doesn't hold a candle to the experience you’d have with the previous games, But it’s fun I guess. But you i feel like the game is probably best played when possible searching for the Robot Generators, I’d say the levels are more suited for exploration but again, it’s not nearly as fun as it should be, sometimes Robot Generators are hidden in the most obtuse places, not to mention that the already pre existing issues in terms of time travelling, i feel it’s not as fun as it should be, because of this confusion, Sonic CD never really hits it’s true potential, a thing that will be common for this series.
That isn’t to say Sonic CD is a bad game per say, far from it! I really dig some the levels here, Palmtree Panic is a great bright, vibrant first stage that gives Green Hill a run for its money in terms of gameplay and environments, Collision Chaos has an neat little stage with a good theme of being a Chaotic Casino and Forest, Tidal Tempest feels like the only stage that benefits from this weird hybrid of level design philosophy’s, Quartz Quadrant is busy but in a good way, it feels so full of ideas and Stardust Speedway is iconic and easily one of the best stages in not just this game, but Sonic in general. And with the Time Travel gimmick we get some really unique takes on the same stage, it may be more prehistoric or untouched in the Past or a mechanical cynical hellscape in the future (so Twitter) in the Bad Future and a perfect utopia like balance between both ideas in the Good Future
You’ll notice that some stages i’ve emitted, and that’s because they are the bane of my existence, Wacky Workbench is just annoying, in all incarnations of the stages, The Gimmicks in Sonic CD are mostly hit and miss, but the whole bouncy floor gimmick because it doesn’t suit the stage at all, Metallic Madness is just Scrap Brain but even more annoying, the badniks as just as bad as Act 3 Metropolis Zone too, it’s also just confusing to navigate through, even more than the other stages. It also has Chibi Sonic, An incredibly underdeveloped gimmick but, like honestly, do you really care because it’s Chibi Sonic, but unfortunately, Chibi Sonic aside, it’s such a shame Sonic CD ends on a whimper instead of a bang.
This is partly due to the Bosses, Sonic CD’s Bosses are weird. Instead of being a battle of attrition, a lot of Sonic CD’s Bosses are puzzles or short form challenges. On one hand, these lead to some of the best encounters in the game and even the series this far, Egg Tilter, Egg Conveyor, Egg Razer and of course, Metal Sonic are great and experimental bosses. On the other hand they are laughably easy when they do go for the old boss format, it’s laughably easy, this unfortunately includes the final boss, which were a highlight of previous games but here it’s so forgettable.
There’s also Special Stages and look, I can appreciate their ambition of being semi 3D and explorable. Essentially it follows Sonic trying to destroy a certain amount of UFOs on a time limit, and if you go on the water, your time runs out. These Special stages are the best ones i played so far and they still suck, the obvious answer which Sonic Mania even does is that the Ring count should have been the time limit, otherwise the Ring count is useless, there’s no Badniks and the things that do deplete Ring counts are easily avoidable. But the main issue is that Sonic controls so weirdly in the stages, he feels too stiff to turn and oddly enough, speed feels inconsistent,, there’s also a lot of depth perspective issues when trying to destroy the UFOs or get on another piece of ground. That being said, if you don’t want to go for the Robot Generators and still want to get the good ending, then I wouldn't say it’s a bad choice.
Looking back at this review, i feel the elements of a great game are right there and sometimes i can see that vision sometimes in it’s presentation and even the level design, but like, nah man i can’t completely vibe with this game, it’s not bad, far from it and i recommend a play with the Japanese ost on the remaster but on the whole, Sonic Compacted Disc is confused
Sonic CD is a game alright, i sorta have a bit of a soft spot for this game, i played it in my IPad back in 2012 which i still have now and installed but don’t used it because it’s an Ipad from 2010, what was the “secret classic sonic game” is now sorta a divisive game in the Sonic series, some like it, some hate it and i just think it’s okay, Sonic games have a habit of being really great, decent, okay/mediocre to one of the worst things i have ever played and all of the above and this one of the sonic games! Before this playthrough i initially thought Sonic CD was around the same rating i gave Sonic 1 but, nope it’s just okay, this won’t really be a positive review so if you want a reviews that would break down what makes Sonic CD tick for them then i can’t recommend enough Luke’s Video on the game and one of my personal friends/mutuals (ShinGenX) review on Sonic CD. But anyway, with that i’m just gonna get straight into it.
Sonic CD is confused
Everything about this game screams confusion, again this is a game i barely like and i sorta understand it’s appeal but good lord, sometimes whenever it’s just as good as the previous Sonic games i then run into it’s baffling design choices that absolutely ruin its flow and fun factor, it’s like if the crisp company wanted to adhered to it’s previous crisps but also want to do something new, It’s weird that the Japan Team who made this game once considered it to be a sequel to Sonic 2 after they binned the CD Version of Sonic 2 idea but it more so feels like an Expansion of Sonic 1 with the same levels themes and similar design choices with a few of Sonic 2s cut concepts such as Time Travel being present.
Before i begin i should say, if you are curious enough to play this game, it’s safe to say that the Remaster released on mobile/Origins (and maybe if you’re likely enough to scrooge up the original PC Version so you can mod it) is the way to go, the original CD has a gimped Spin-Dash to make the Super Peel-Out look better, Worse looking FMVs and long loading times, The Remeaster gives playable Tails (& Knuckles if you have the mods), 16:9, Ability to swap the osts, a more accurate (and therefore) better Spin-Dash and other Quality of Life Additions/changes. If you want to play CD (Which is highly recommended since you should form your own opinion instead of parroting others) then Play the remaster, with that being said let’s dive into the weird and wonderful world of Sonic CD.
Sonic CD takes place after Sonic 1, Sonic dashes to Never Lake to visit Little Planet, a Planet that comes to Earth every year on the last month on the last day. As Sonic runs through the forest and to the lake, he sees the planet chained to the lake and a mountain in Robotnik likeness, Sonic runs into action as he is forced in another battle of Nature vs Industrialization, not before a spunky pink hedgehog called Princess Sally (who proclaims to be his girlfriend). As he ventures through Little Planet, he faces a Metal copy of himself aptly named Metal Sonic who captures Sally. Sonic is thrust into a new Adventure as he travels through time to collect the Time Stones, Destroy the Robot Generators and save Sally. Sonic CD is a pretty standard Sonic Story for the time but one important thing that sets this game apart from the other games is it shows the perfect utopia Sonic should be fighting for, a Balance. A Balance between Nature and Indrutslisarion in a Good Future. A Future that Sonic & his friends should all be fighting for, that benefits nature and doesn’t destroy it, I sorta headcanon that because this game is before Sonic 2, Sonic made the Tornado in response to seeing the Good Future, inspired after seeing how a balance can benefit a good future. With the gorgeous/timeless 2D Animated cutscenes, it feels like this is the game where they nailed Sonic’s Attitude and world, his design while unchanged in moment to moment gameplay has been refined to have a bit of an edge to it while being cute at the same time, Metal Sonic in the brief appearances in these cutscenes looks threatening as all hell and the environments are full of life.
And on that note, Sonic CD is full of life, everything in this game is blooming with soul, colour, vibrance, life and pigmentation. Sonic CD is a beauty to look at, I know some people are gonna say that it looks too colourful and that’s always a weird complaint i’ve heard, Little Planet is another planet, it’s supposed to be different than South & Westside Island, the out of the box aesthetics makes Sonic CD into the game it is. The Time Travel gimmick (which i have my issues with) really shows how full of life these areas are in the Past and Good Future, And How Robotnik royally fucked it up in the Bad Future, it really shows how Robotnik isn’t a man to messed with despite his goofy nature, feeling like the first game that shows us how Personal the struggle is between them. The Sprite art however, i feel quite mixed about, i don’t like Robotnik’s Hunchback design and Sally just looks off in my opinion, It’s also jarring playing this after Sonic 2 where they changed Sonic’s design there and now it’s back to the Sonic 1 design, i also don’t think the Badnik designs aren’t as memorable as the other games though are fine i guess, it mostly shines in its Backgrounds and Aesthetics and not really the Sprite Art.
When it comes to the music, Sonic CD’s Confusion begins to reap its ugly head in, You see they had a perfectly fine Japanese Soundtrack that amplifies the previous osts, using the Compacted Disc technology that was capable with the new Console, The Japanese/European Ost is fantastic, it’s varied, funky, energetic and feels like a natural evolution of the tracks from the previous games, not to mention since there’s 3 other variants, the ost is a lot blogger and more ambitious than the other soundtracks in the series so far, it can convey a wider way of emotions, happy and fun filled with Palm Tree Panic, slightly foreboding with Tidal Tempest and the Boss theme, full of wonder making you really want to explore the stage with Collision Chaos & Quartz Quadrant and so much more, the short vocal themes of “You can do anything” and Cosmic Eternity shows Sonic’s personality and how people feel about him, how he inspires positivity in other people’s lives, I could go on and on about Sonic CD’s Japanese soundtrack but i think you get the point.
Then Amercians said fuck that and decdied to make their own soundtrack because why not?
Seriously though, there's no real reason why they decided to make their own soundtrack and inadvertently delayed the game to do this, but it’s way way worse! It’s not bad per say and there’s some tracks i like such as Collision Chaos and of course, Sonic Boom is a great and iconic track but on the whole it feels a lot weaker, It’s mainly that the soundtrack all invoke the same feeling of funky 90’s music, with the exception of the Boss/Game Over themes which are threatening pieces of music but i don’t know, i’m struggling to remember one other track apart from Collision Chaos.. Except the Past music which is the same from the European soundtrack, why? Did they not have enough time to compose those other themes or pure laziness? I feel the Soundtrack, while at the very least, fine to listen to doesn’t fit the game overall and feels tacked on, sorta like Sonic R’s Vocal Themes, good but don’t fit the game.
That being said, the game itself is fine? It’s weird to put how i feel about this game since at its core, it seems to be a fine enough “expansion” of Sonic 1, Sonic controls around the same, Rings serve the same health purpose with a risk reward system, there’s Shield, Speed Sneaker and Invincibility Power Ups, it’s standard stuff, those there’s one thing that set’s Sonic CD apart, You see, Each Classic Sonic game emphasis 3 of the tropes amd until Sonic 3 achieved a perfect balance, Sonic 1 focused on Platforming, Sonic 2 focused on Speed filled reaction time and Obstacle Courses and this game, focuses on exploration, of course all 3 elements pop up in each game before but those are the main elements of each game, I wouldn't mind if it was based on exploration
You see, Sonic CD has a few new gimmicks, each Act has a Robot Generator in the past, you go back in time to the past and find Robot Generator, then travel to the future to see the good future you have made, this sounds cool and all but in execution it's not very good. The Time Travel gimmick is so tedious in my opinion, i get it's to emphasise Sonic's speed elements but given other issues with the game i'll mention soon it just doesn't work well, if this was Sonic 1 or 2 then i wouldn't mind this but given how CD wants to use it's level, it feels so unorthodox, I think it would have benefited from having an alternative way to time travel, maybe there’s a time travel method that can get to a time period easily but it’s one that’s always set, then if you find the post and gain enough speed, then you can choose your own Time Period. Finding the Robot Generator is a bit of a pain too, there's no map or indicator anywhere in the game and it just feels so aimless looking for it, it's odd to me that CD prides itself on being a game based on exploration but wants to also be a linear experience like previous games.
It's so odd to me, it's like they had all these levels that were clearly meant to be explored but at the last minute, copped out and had a goal post just for fans who didn't want to explore the zones, it's commendable i guess for having such a versatile way to play but it feels half baked when playing it in both ways.
Trying to play Sonic CD like Sonic 1 or Sonic 2 doesn't hold a candle to the experience you’d have with the previous games, But it’s fun I guess. But you i feel like the game is probably best played when possible searching for the Robot Generators, I’d say the levels are more suited for exploration but again, it’s not nearly as fun as it should be, sometimes Robot Generators are hidden in the most obtuse places, not to mention that the already pre existing issues in terms of time travelling, i feel it’s not as fun as it should be, because of this confusion, Sonic CD never really hits it’s true potential, a thing that will be common for this series.
That isn’t to say Sonic CD is a bad game per say, far from it! I really dig some the levels here, Palmtree Panic is a great bright, vibrant first stage that gives Green Hill a run for its money in terms of gameplay and environments, Collision Chaos has an neat little stage with a good theme of being a Chaotic Casino and Forest, Tidal Tempest feels like the only stage that benefits from this weird hybrid of level design philosophy’s, Quartz Quadrant is busy but in a good way, it feels so full of ideas and Stardust Speedway is iconic and easily one of the best stages in not just this game, but Sonic in general. And with the Time Travel gimmick we get some really unique takes on the same stage, it may be more prehistoric or untouched in the Past or a mechanical cynical hellscape in the future (so Twitter) in the Bad Future and a perfect utopia like balance between both ideas in the Good Future
You’ll notice that some stages i’ve emitted, and that’s because they are the bane of my existence, Wacky Workbench is just annoying, in all incarnations of the stages, The Gimmicks in Sonic CD are mostly hit and miss, but the whole bouncy floor gimmick because it doesn’t suit the stage at all, Metallic Madness is just Scrap Brain but even more annoying, the badniks as just as bad as Act 3 Metropolis Zone too, it’s also just confusing to navigate through, even more than the other stages. It also has Chibi Sonic, An incredibly underdeveloped gimmick but, like honestly, do you really care because it’s Chibi Sonic, but unfortunately, Chibi Sonic aside, it’s such a shame Sonic CD ends on a whimper instead of a bang.
This is partly due to the Bosses, Sonic CD’s Bosses are weird. Instead of being a battle of attrition, a lot of Sonic CD’s Bosses are puzzles or short form challenges. On one hand, these lead to some of the best encounters in the game and even the series this far, Egg Tilter, Egg Conveyor, Egg Razer and of course, Metal Sonic are great and experimental bosses. On the other hand they are laughably easy when they do go for the old boss format, it’s laughably easy, this unfortunately includes the final boss, which were a highlight of previous games but here it’s so forgettable.
There’s also Special Stages and look, I can appreciate their ambition of being semi 3D and explorable. Essentially it follows Sonic trying to destroy a certain amount of UFOs on a time limit, and if you go on the water, your time runs out. These Special stages are the best ones i played so far and they still suck, the obvious answer which Sonic Mania even does is that the Ring count should have been the time limit, otherwise the Ring count is useless, there’s no Badniks and the things that do deplete Ring counts are easily avoidable. But the main issue is that Sonic controls so weirdly in the stages, he feels too stiff to turn and oddly enough, speed feels inconsistent,, there’s also a lot of depth perspective issues when trying to destroy the UFOs or get on another piece of ground. That being said, if you don’t want to go for the Robot Generators and still want to get the good ending, then I wouldn't say it’s a bad choice.
Looking back at this review, i feel the elements of a great game are right there and sometimes i can see that vision sometimes in it’s presentation and even the level design, but like, nah man i can’t completely vibe with this game, it’s not bad, far from it and i recommend a play with the Japanese ost on the remaster but on the whole, Sonic Compacted Disc is confused
1992
Sonic The Hedgehog 2 is one of gaming’s best achievements, a game that managed to improve on everything it’s predecessor has done while also being so great, it’s no secret that I prefer this game to the first one but like, Sonic 1 was already very good and a solid start to the series, but this game is pure Sonic Euphoria, the pinnacle of the series, and while it has some flaws, it has some of the best stuff in the history of the series and what better time to look at this great game at it’s 30th Anniversary.
It’s no secret that the original Sonic The Hedgehog was a huge success, so to capitalise on that, a sequel was in order to be made right? Well not immediately as Sega thought it was “too soon” for a sequel though probably after seeing the money that the first game made, they were probably quickly persuaded to make a sequel, however while the original game was handled by Japan, Sonic 2 was handled by the United States from the team dubbed the Sega Technical Institute which was lead by Sony’s Mark Cerny, some developers from Japan did help however, namely recent Convict Yujii Naka who left Sega of Japan after pay disputes. The goal of Sonic 2 was to go all out with everything, Story, characters, gameplay, levels, music, everything and Sonic 2 succeeded with that but not what many people have thought, this game was hell to develop for. Sonic 2 would have been thrice as larger if the team had enough time, but cutbacks had to be done to get the game for that November 92 release, Stages such as the Hidden Palace Zone which would have big story beat for the New Chaos Emeralds was cut due to time and hardware limitations despite it being in a lot of marketing and a multitude of other zones including Dust Hill, Genocide/Cyber City Zone and Wood Zone.
Sonic 2 was such hell to develop with as multiple team members left during the development due to language and cultural barriers, while with the crunch and crumbling expectations at the time set by Sega and the Team themselves, (so much so the game was borderline unplayable 48 Hours before release). Sonic 2 sounded like a disaster, a game that would be ridiculed and mocked for trying something new. But by all miracles, it succeeded. Sonic 2 despite not having as many zones they planned and the insane amount of crunch, was considered a great game both then and now and is arguably the best in the series and kept Sega afloat with 6 Million copies sold and made them a worthy rival to Nintendo. In a series inFamous for its disasters, who knew the best game in series would be subject to the things that caused the eventual downfall of Sonic, but that’s neither here nor there so the question is, what do I think? Sonic 2 is pretty good, like really good not my favourites in the series, but a mighty fine good Sonic game.
Sonic 2 happens a good while after Sonic 1 and other miscellaneous misadventures, Sonic at this point has meet with his 2 tailed protege/best friend, Miles Prower (who was subject to a similar competition that Sonic had) who’s nickname is Tails (he doesn’t do much in this game, he has some half assed flying gimmicks in the remeaster but that’s about it, his AI is funny though so i play as the duo), the 2 investigate Westside Island after Dr Robotnik has set his eyes in finding all 6 Emeralds with a mysterious 7th Emerald on the Island, from there Sonic & Tails are quickly thrusted into an new high octane adventure as the endless Battle against Nature vs Machines are strengthened.
Sonic 2 obviously doesn’t have the best or most in-depth story, but the 3rd Act of the game is surprisingly strong, there’s a neat little progression that shows us the Industrial side of Eggman’s tricks, which eventually leads us to Sky Chase and Wing Fortress as Sonic’s new friend, Tails is shoot down leaving Sonic alone to face of against Egggman, leading to a fight in the Death Egg Zone with Silver Sonic and Eggman’s new invention, the Death Egg Robot. Both endings are really strong, while the canon/good ending isn’t as good as the “bad” ending both endings still are great, it shows that even at this point early on that Sonic inspires the people in his life positively which changes the world for the better around them, even with all 7 Emeralds collected and how Sonic is still fine, the fact that he still went to see Sonic, strengthens their brotherly relationship. It’s overall a good story that is still simple while adding that complexity that games after this will improve upon.
But it’s no secret that in terms of gameplay, Sonic 2 is just outstanding, a fast furious, 2D Platformer that prioritises speed above all else, while i like Sonic 1’s more slower pace and emphasis on keeping your flow and naturally gaining your speed, i can’t deny that this more high octane gameplay form is way more fun, this is partly due to the Spin-Dash, when you hold down and spam one of the buttons, you get a big burst of speed but as a trade of, you have to be still. This gives a good little tradeoff and strategy to how, like the original game you collect Rings as health or as extra lives which act as a 2 hit mechanism, one hit you lose all of them and then the next hit you're dead unless you collect more rings, there’s also more Enemies or "Badniks" than the first game which while taking one hit there's a good amount of variety and strategy to them about the way you approach them and how they behave, there’s also a few power ups that return from Sonic 1 that spruce up the Gameplay such as a Shield which acts as an additionally with no extra ring costs, speed shoes which increase Sonic's acceleration and speed and finally, the invincibility which makes Sonic invulnerable for a short period.
All of this is complemented by the biggest improvement, the Zones and Bosses, they downsized the majority of Zones to 2 Acts, which i’m honestly not a fan of, i prefer having longer zones though i do understand why some may like it the changes, the Zone roster this time includes:
-Emerald Hill Zone: A pretty fun zone, while not as graphical as strong as Green Hill, i find more fun speedrunning and exploring the stage due to more loop de loops and fun gimmicks, the boss is laughably piss easy though
-Chemical Plant: Such an iconic and great Zone, especially with Act 2 where you run down a long tube and then gain a ton of momentum when rolling down it, perfectly balances speed, platforming and fun and interesting gimmicks with the Mega Mack and Cubes, the boss however is slightly janky because of the way it works, i don’t it should have had falling platforms, otherwise it would be a pretty fine boss fight, chemical plant itself is the shining example of why Sonic is so great and why i’m still a fan, this stage is the pinnacle of Sonic designs and showcases why i love the series so much, high speed antics, great music, the prevalent themes of Nature Vs Machines through the environments, etc, Chemical Plant is the complete package
-Aquatic Ruins: A Great Stage in my opinion, better than Emerald Hill but not quite as good as Chemical Plant, the parts on land are fun but the arrows are bit overpowered in my opinion, i actually prefer going into the water since it feels a lot better designed and more fairly challenged than the parts on land due to that constant fear of drowning bring back that risk reward system of stopping to get bubbles or speeding ahead to get a higher score/mitigation of a Time over, the falling pillars are a bit janky and the boss is once again too easy but this overall another great Zone
-Casino Night Zone: This is like they saw what Spring Yard Zone was and overdosed it on Crack, more pinball gimmicks along with a pretty fun new Slot Machine gimmick that sure started many gambling addictions in 1992, some abrupt pacing moments but this and chemical plant is pure Sonic euphoria
-Hilltop Zone: This is the where i put the controller down for Sonic 2, not really a bad zone i like i think it’s decent overall, Great Aesthetics (despite it being literally and music as always but it’s sorta forgettable barring the parts where you escape the lava, i don’t like the seesaw gimmicks, the badniks really get on my nerves and the boss borders a weird line between easy and frustrating, still it’s a good zone just overall forgettable
-Mystic Cave Zone/Hidden Palace Zone: This middle part of Sonic 2 isn’t very strong in my opinion, while not bad this is more forgettable part and Mystic Cave Zone strengthens this belief, it’s a very slow zone, the aesthetics while look great, it’s gimmicks are inherently frustrating, resulting in some unfair deaths. I honestly don’t have much to say about this zone, the boss is fine albeit a bit too easy and the music gets on my nerves but other than that, the weakest zone in the game, However this is where i would move onto Oil Ocean but since i also played the Whitehead version i got to play Hidden Palace Zone, it’s a great stage, very colourful and full of life with the best Badnik roster of the game, The Boss however is just awful, it’s attacks and movement are way too unpredictable and it throws way too much on you, despite this, i feel this Zone managed to pick up Sonic 2 to it’s admittedly mediocre slump
-Oil Ocean Zone: I like this one, doesn’t hold a candle to the Mania counterpart or even the first half of Sonic 2, i think this one is mostly fun aesthetically and in its 2nd Act with the Oil gimmick, there’s a lot of doing nothing in this stage especially with a lot of automation with the cannons and propeller gimmick, The Boss is also probably my favourite in the game, while being basic there’s a good layer of strategy and challenge to the boss that most in this game haven’t seen
-Metropolis Zone: I don’t know if this is a hot take but Metropolis slaps and is the best Zone since Casino Night Zone, it balances speed, platforming and exploration with multiple roots with a good sense of challenge while giving us the hardest Badniks to fight so far, the gimmicks are also fresh and interesting throughout the Acts, The biggest issue is that it’s 3rd Act, i get why it needed a 3rd Act, it’s the final main zone and it needed to go on a bang, plus it sorta feels like from a possible time when Sonic 2 was planned witn 3 Acts but this Zone is insanely frustrating and unfair, the platforming feels sorta half baked and the enemies are probably at its worst here but despite this i was sorta surprised by Metropolis Zone, maybe i was expecting the worst, but not a half bad Zone.
-Sky Chase/Wing Fortress: Worst part of the game, Sky Chase is fine just insanely slow and boring and Wing Fortress, this Zone is horrendous, not only is there a cheap start to the zone where you’re forced to jump but the level design here is just Metropolis Act 3 but even worse, so many times i got softlocked with the start as i was stuck on the big propeller as i bounced off the Shield power up, Platformingg feels incredibly unnatural anc way too tight and it’s overall a confusing zone to navigate through, Boss is decent though
-Death Egg Zone: Does this count as a Zone? It’s not really one seeing as it’s just 2 Bosses, My guess was that this would have been a full 2 Act Zone, using Silver Sonic and the Death Egg Robot as Bosses but due to time constraints was rushed, reusing Chemical Plants assets but whatever sorta anticlimactic, I think Silver Sonic is a good boss, maybe to easy but it’s a fun boss, it feels like you have think for it’s gonna do next and then act fast before he attacks again, The Death Egg Robot is not as good, i feel it would be a decent boss if the hitbox wasn’t as janky or his attacks were slightly more predictable or varied, i don’t think the Lack of Rings is too unfair since Sonic 1 also had no Rings though possibly that Boss being in a different context may have had something to do with it
Sonic 2 Zones are a huge step up from Sonic 1, though you can tell there’s a huge drop-off in quality in the later act, nothing bad (Apart from Wing Fortress) but certainly not as bad as Sonic 1’s worst, it feels like Sonic 2’s development may have had a part in this game dropping in quality, which i can now somewhat appreciate the game being like this, since i was more mixed on this game before. But like the biggest issue just like Sonic 1 is the Special Stages, the original version was possibly even worse due to not being able to properly see the rings but the Remaster fixes this, however they’re still bad, the ring requirements are way too strict in most cases however it may be due to the fact that entering the Special Stages are different, instead of a Giant Ring at the end of the stage, you have to get 50 Rings to the Checkpoint then entering a small portal, Tails is also another issue, he has this long delay which i wouldn’t mind and got used to, but in later stages you have to be near laser focused on your reaction time and you just can’t do that with Tails, you may ask why play the game with him if he’s such a hindrance but even without him the stages would still be bad, especially if he’s not getting extra rings you missed, i just feel these Special Stages were more for spectacle rather than practicality because i’d say Sonic 1’s special stages are better due them being more varied and slightly more fun in them (i stress the word slightly be it is a slight difference). The reward for getting them is Super Sonic, which is just having infinite invincibility along with a broken yellow Sonic Sprite, not too much of a great reward in my opinion.
However like Sonic 2, it’s presentation is steller, it probably has my favourite Classic Sonic art style in the series, great character and badnik designs that fit right into Sonic 1’s pre established artstyle and world, Environments look even more lush & colourful with that serialised storytelling of progressing through a natural world that turns more industrialised. Plus the music is great as always, Dream Comes True returned to headline the ost and it’s as great as ever, a vocal song at the band made is present in ending at fits right in with the rest of the great soundtrack with the only stage theme i don’t really like is Mystic Cave, each of them also have a wider themes of emotions and really connect to the stages aesthetics much better than Sonic 1’s Soundtrack, I think my favourite track is probably the ending melody, something about that really feels like a great reflective story and adventure that we went through.
But just reflecting on Sonic 2, Sonic 2 (for the most part) is what a sequel should strive for, bigger, better, bolder and faster, it’s a game that’s just perfect for newcomers, not too hard or easy, not too long though not insulting short either, it’s definitely not a perfect game but it’s essentially a perfect sequel, it feels the Crisp company had really listened to the feedback and made a great packet of them, while not perfect is a great improvement of the last bag of crisps that while good, left a lot to be desired, however while the Crisp company go Beyond and above next time delivering an even better packet, or take a detour and try a new but familiar flavour?
It’s no secret that the original Sonic The Hedgehog was a huge success, so to capitalise on that, a sequel was in order to be made right? Well not immediately as Sega thought it was “too soon” for a sequel though probably after seeing the money that the first game made, they were probably quickly persuaded to make a sequel, however while the original game was handled by Japan, Sonic 2 was handled by the United States from the team dubbed the Sega Technical Institute which was lead by Sony’s Mark Cerny, some developers from Japan did help however, namely recent Convict Yujii Naka who left Sega of Japan after pay disputes. The goal of Sonic 2 was to go all out with everything, Story, characters, gameplay, levels, music, everything and Sonic 2 succeeded with that but not what many people have thought, this game was hell to develop for. Sonic 2 would have been thrice as larger if the team had enough time, but cutbacks had to be done to get the game for that November 92 release, Stages such as the Hidden Palace Zone which would have big story beat for the New Chaos Emeralds was cut due to time and hardware limitations despite it being in a lot of marketing and a multitude of other zones including Dust Hill, Genocide/Cyber City Zone and Wood Zone.
Sonic 2 was such hell to develop with as multiple team members left during the development due to language and cultural barriers, while with the crunch and crumbling expectations at the time set by Sega and the Team themselves, (so much so the game was borderline unplayable 48 Hours before release). Sonic 2 sounded like a disaster, a game that would be ridiculed and mocked for trying something new. But by all miracles, it succeeded. Sonic 2 despite not having as many zones they planned and the insane amount of crunch, was considered a great game both then and now and is arguably the best in the series and kept Sega afloat with 6 Million copies sold and made them a worthy rival to Nintendo. In a series inFamous for its disasters, who knew the best game in series would be subject to the things that caused the eventual downfall of Sonic, but that’s neither here nor there so the question is, what do I think? Sonic 2 is pretty good, like really good not my favourites in the series, but a mighty fine good Sonic game.
Sonic 2 happens a good while after Sonic 1 and other miscellaneous misadventures, Sonic at this point has meet with his 2 tailed protege/best friend, Miles Prower (who was subject to a similar competition that Sonic had) who’s nickname is Tails (he doesn’t do much in this game, he has some half assed flying gimmicks in the remeaster but that’s about it, his AI is funny though so i play as the duo), the 2 investigate Westside Island after Dr Robotnik has set his eyes in finding all 6 Emeralds with a mysterious 7th Emerald on the Island, from there Sonic & Tails are quickly thrusted into an new high octane adventure as the endless Battle against Nature vs Machines are strengthened.
Sonic 2 obviously doesn’t have the best or most in-depth story, but the 3rd Act of the game is surprisingly strong, there’s a neat little progression that shows us the Industrial side of Eggman’s tricks, which eventually leads us to Sky Chase and Wing Fortress as Sonic’s new friend, Tails is shoot down leaving Sonic alone to face of against Egggman, leading to a fight in the Death Egg Zone with Silver Sonic and Eggman’s new invention, the Death Egg Robot. Both endings are really strong, while the canon/good ending isn’t as good as the “bad” ending both endings still are great, it shows that even at this point early on that Sonic inspires the people in his life positively which changes the world for the better around them, even with all 7 Emeralds collected and how Sonic is still fine, the fact that he still went to see Sonic, strengthens their brotherly relationship. It’s overall a good story that is still simple while adding that complexity that games after this will improve upon.
But it’s no secret that in terms of gameplay, Sonic 2 is just outstanding, a fast furious, 2D Platformer that prioritises speed above all else, while i like Sonic 1’s more slower pace and emphasis on keeping your flow and naturally gaining your speed, i can’t deny that this more high octane gameplay form is way more fun, this is partly due to the Spin-Dash, when you hold down and spam one of the buttons, you get a big burst of speed but as a trade of, you have to be still. This gives a good little tradeoff and strategy to how, like the original game you collect Rings as health or as extra lives which act as a 2 hit mechanism, one hit you lose all of them and then the next hit you're dead unless you collect more rings, there’s also more Enemies or "Badniks" than the first game which while taking one hit there's a good amount of variety and strategy to them about the way you approach them and how they behave, there’s also a few power ups that return from Sonic 1 that spruce up the Gameplay such as a Shield which acts as an additionally with no extra ring costs, speed shoes which increase Sonic's acceleration and speed and finally, the invincibility which makes Sonic invulnerable for a short period.
All of this is complemented by the biggest improvement, the Zones and Bosses, they downsized the majority of Zones to 2 Acts, which i’m honestly not a fan of, i prefer having longer zones though i do understand why some may like it the changes, the Zone roster this time includes:
-Emerald Hill Zone: A pretty fun zone, while not as graphical as strong as Green Hill, i find more fun speedrunning and exploring the stage due to more loop de loops and fun gimmicks, the boss is laughably piss easy though
-Chemical Plant: Such an iconic and great Zone, especially with Act 2 where you run down a long tube and then gain a ton of momentum when rolling down it, perfectly balances speed, platforming and fun and interesting gimmicks with the Mega Mack and Cubes, the boss however is slightly janky because of the way it works, i don’t it should have had falling platforms, otherwise it would be a pretty fine boss fight, chemical plant itself is the shining example of why Sonic is so great and why i’m still a fan, this stage is the pinnacle of Sonic designs and showcases why i love the series so much, high speed antics, great music, the prevalent themes of Nature Vs Machines through the environments, etc, Chemical Plant is the complete package
-Aquatic Ruins: A Great Stage in my opinion, better than Emerald Hill but not quite as good as Chemical Plant, the parts on land are fun but the arrows are bit overpowered in my opinion, i actually prefer going into the water since it feels a lot better designed and more fairly challenged than the parts on land due to that constant fear of drowning bring back that risk reward system of stopping to get bubbles or speeding ahead to get a higher score/mitigation of a Time over, the falling pillars are a bit janky and the boss is once again too easy but this overall another great Zone
-Casino Night Zone: This is like they saw what Spring Yard Zone was and overdosed it on Crack, more pinball gimmicks along with a pretty fun new Slot Machine gimmick that sure started many gambling addictions in 1992, some abrupt pacing moments but this and chemical plant is pure Sonic euphoria
-Hilltop Zone: This is the where i put the controller down for Sonic 2, not really a bad zone i like i think it’s decent overall, Great Aesthetics (despite it being literally and music as always but it’s sorta forgettable barring the parts where you escape the lava, i don’t like the seesaw gimmicks, the badniks really get on my nerves and the boss borders a weird line between easy and frustrating, still it’s a good zone just overall forgettable
-Mystic Cave Zone/Hidden Palace Zone: This middle part of Sonic 2 isn’t very strong in my opinion, while not bad this is more forgettable part and Mystic Cave Zone strengthens this belief, it’s a very slow zone, the aesthetics while look great, it’s gimmicks are inherently frustrating, resulting in some unfair deaths. I honestly don’t have much to say about this zone, the boss is fine albeit a bit too easy and the music gets on my nerves but other than that, the weakest zone in the game, However this is where i would move onto Oil Ocean but since i also played the Whitehead version i got to play Hidden Palace Zone, it’s a great stage, very colourful and full of life with the best Badnik roster of the game, The Boss however is just awful, it’s attacks and movement are way too unpredictable and it throws way too much on you, despite this, i feel this Zone managed to pick up Sonic 2 to it’s admittedly mediocre slump
-Oil Ocean Zone: I like this one, doesn’t hold a candle to the Mania counterpart or even the first half of Sonic 2, i think this one is mostly fun aesthetically and in its 2nd Act with the Oil gimmick, there’s a lot of doing nothing in this stage especially with a lot of automation with the cannons and propeller gimmick, The Boss is also probably my favourite in the game, while being basic there’s a good layer of strategy and challenge to the boss that most in this game haven’t seen
-Metropolis Zone: I don’t know if this is a hot take but Metropolis slaps and is the best Zone since Casino Night Zone, it balances speed, platforming and exploration with multiple roots with a good sense of challenge while giving us the hardest Badniks to fight so far, the gimmicks are also fresh and interesting throughout the Acts, The biggest issue is that it’s 3rd Act, i get why it needed a 3rd Act, it’s the final main zone and it needed to go on a bang, plus it sorta feels like from a possible time when Sonic 2 was planned witn 3 Acts but this Zone is insanely frustrating and unfair, the platforming feels sorta half baked and the enemies are probably at its worst here but despite this i was sorta surprised by Metropolis Zone, maybe i was expecting the worst, but not a half bad Zone.
-Sky Chase/Wing Fortress: Worst part of the game, Sky Chase is fine just insanely slow and boring and Wing Fortress, this Zone is horrendous, not only is there a cheap start to the zone where you’re forced to jump but the level design here is just Metropolis Act 3 but even worse, so many times i got softlocked with the start as i was stuck on the big propeller as i bounced off the Shield power up, Platformingg feels incredibly unnatural anc way too tight and it’s overall a confusing zone to navigate through, Boss is decent though
-Death Egg Zone: Does this count as a Zone? It’s not really one seeing as it’s just 2 Bosses, My guess was that this would have been a full 2 Act Zone, using Silver Sonic and the Death Egg Robot as Bosses but due to time constraints was rushed, reusing Chemical Plants assets but whatever sorta anticlimactic, I think Silver Sonic is a good boss, maybe to easy but it’s a fun boss, it feels like you have think for it’s gonna do next and then act fast before he attacks again, The Death Egg Robot is not as good, i feel it would be a decent boss if the hitbox wasn’t as janky or his attacks were slightly more predictable or varied, i don’t think the Lack of Rings is too unfair since Sonic 1 also had no Rings though possibly that Boss being in a different context may have had something to do with it
Sonic 2 Zones are a huge step up from Sonic 1, though you can tell there’s a huge drop-off in quality in the later act, nothing bad (Apart from Wing Fortress) but certainly not as bad as Sonic 1’s worst, it feels like Sonic 2’s development may have had a part in this game dropping in quality, which i can now somewhat appreciate the game being like this, since i was more mixed on this game before. But like the biggest issue just like Sonic 1 is the Special Stages, the original version was possibly even worse due to not being able to properly see the rings but the Remaster fixes this, however they’re still bad, the ring requirements are way too strict in most cases however it may be due to the fact that entering the Special Stages are different, instead of a Giant Ring at the end of the stage, you have to get 50 Rings to the Checkpoint then entering a small portal, Tails is also another issue, he has this long delay which i wouldn’t mind and got used to, but in later stages you have to be near laser focused on your reaction time and you just can’t do that with Tails, you may ask why play the game with him if he’s such a hindrance but even without him the stages would still be bad, especially if he’s not getting extra rings you missed, i just feel these Special Stages were more for spectacle rather than practicality because i’d say Sonic 1’s special stages are better due them being more varied and slightly more fun in them (i stress the word slightly be it is a slight difference). The reward for getting them is Super Sonic, which is just having infinite invincibility along with a broken yellow Sonic Sprite, not too much of a great reward in my opinion.
However like Sonic 2, it’s presentation is steller, it probably has my favourite Classic Sonic art style in the series, great character and badnik designs that fit right into Sonic 1’s pre established artstyle and world, Environments look even more lush & colourful with that serialised storytelling of progressing through a natural world that turns more industrialised. Plus the music is great as always, Dream Comes True returned to headline the ost and it’s as great as ever, a vocal song at the band made is present in ending at fits right in with the rest of the great soundtrack with the only stage theme i don’t really like is Mystic Cave, each of them also have a wider themes of emotions and really connect to the stages aesthetics much better than Sonic 1’s Soundtrack, I think my favourite track is probably the ending melody, something about that really feels like a great reflective story and adventure that we went through.
But just reflecting on Sonic 2, Sonic 2 (for the most part) is what a sequel should strive for, bigger, better, bolder and faster, it’s a game that’s just perfect for newcomers, not too hard or easy, not too long though not insulting short either, it’s definitely not a perfect game but it’s essentially a perfect sequel, it feels the Crisp company had really listened to the feedback and made a great packet of them, while not perfect is a great improvement of the last bag of crisps that while good, left a lot to be desired, however while the Crisp company go Beyond and above next time delivering an even better packet, or take a detour and try a new but familiar flavour?
2022
Sonic Frontiers is Sonic’s next foray into a new era that will set the template for the Sonic games for the foreseeable future but is it any good? Bottom line, Yes & No, as a person who has played all 3D Sonic Games and a fan of this wonderfully flawed series, Frontiers is very and I mean very flawed I can’t deny there’s a good no, great foundation to plot an amazing game but Frontiers is not that game and that’s okay, especially since it feels the team who made this game really want it to succeed and be that formula for success, so much so they delayed the game from it’s initial Holiday 2021 release and really listened to player and fan feedback, so while I don’t love this game a whole lot, I feel I can appreciate it’s scale and ambition for what it wants to set out to do.
First the plot of this game, without spoiling details I find the plot to be… good, not great but a solid romp and return to the more shonen styled Sonic stories. It follows Sonic, Tails and Amy investigating the disappearance of the Chaos Emeralds, they find that it’s on the mysterious Starfall Islands, after they get sucked into a wormhole, Sonic is quickly enwrapped in a Race against time to save his friends and collect the emeralds while a mysterious new girl, named Sage tries to warn him to leave the islands. The plot is good mostly due to the character interactions, I think that’s mostly what Ian Flynn is great at it’s just fun to see these characters interact, again I gotta keep it a bit vague here but I love while Sonic doesn’t go through a major arc, he’s just a static character, his personality inspires those around him in a positive light, in turns it also sorta fixes some of the character issues in the Mainline games that are sorta inFamous in the Sonic community now, I do have a few gripes with the story however, for one i think it relies a bit to much on references in my opinion, like there’s a few lines in the game that sorta caught me off guard (in a good kind of way) that sorta did shape the world of the game and series upside down but I feel others come off as a bit unnecessary and shoe horned in. My other gripe is that I feel like the twists and such don’t really work and feel a bit anticlimactic, again gonna be a little vague here but while the stuff with the “ancients” and Koco where well done, I didn’t really found Sage to be a terribly interesting character and the pay off to her is pretty underwhelming despite there being a solid idea, it just feels rushed, plus it gets so insanely melodramatic at points even for Sonic standards, though the ending itself is well written enough. Overall I found the story while not the best in the series as I think the Adventure Games, Battle, Rush Adventure, both versions of Colours and maybe Black Knight edges out, is a fun time with likeable character that are some of the best in the series, great dialogue and overall a great tone that says prevalent throughout the game, if the twists were better, a bit more well paced, had better voice acting and maybe dialled back a bit on the references and the just talking scenes, I think this could be one of the best in series, but as it is it’s a solid enough story and better than anything in the past decade, so I’m content with it.
As in terms of Presentation of Frontiers, this is unfortunately where my more mixed thoughts on the game start to pop up, literally i mean because the pop in in this game is absurd, i don’t know if this was an [REDACTED] issue or my issues with the presentation can be linked to this but the point is, the Pop in in this game go beyond the standard Open world affair but rather something that is insanely common that it hinders gameplay. I also found the artstyle to be bland and boring, while it looks perfectly fine and i can sorta see what they’re going for especially with those enemy designs but the actual open zone looks so forgettable and bland for a Sonic game though does look fine in the grand scheme of things, i much prefer how Cyberspace looks, despite the inane reuse of these stage themes i have to admit they haven’t looked better before, they look really beautiful especially in the night. One aspect of the game that is a bit mediocre is the voice acting, while i dig Roger’s more serious direction as Sonic (which is literally Crane from Dying Light) other actors sound incredibly bored especially Sage and Eggman, The music is pretty strong, I’m Here & the Titan Bosses aren’t very good songs in my opinion but Vandalize and One way Dream are incredible tracks, Cyberspace music is great as well though the Open Zone music is a bit forgettable.
But I know what y’all here for, the gameplay and… it functions? Frontiers is essentially Sonic Forces but in an Open World, not really a bad thing but i wouldn’t say it’s a huge improvement from Forces apart from Controls which feel really nice to play around with especially using the Cyloop, just speeding through these fast lands at rocket speeds, platforming around the world in these weird sprawling sandboxes filled with Sonic iconography while using the drop dash and boosting feels so good. Sonic can use most of his arsenal from the Boost games along with the drop dash from Sonic Mania and the lightspeed dash, Sonic can also level up his speed, defence, ring capacity and power by either collecting fruit or Koco (very slowly might i add), Throughout the Islands you need to collect Memory Tokens to free your friends or talk to them, Portal Gears to Unlock Cyberspace levels, short bitesize 3D or 2D linear stages from previous games and Vault Keys to unlock the 7 Chaos Emeralds as well as Egg Memos, optional Voice recorded notes created by Eggman that expand on the lore of the series. This formula works in my opinion but the issue is, there’s not much variation, you’re mostly doing the same thing over and over again without much challenge for at least 11 Hours as a hardcore Sonic Fan, especially with the fact that the Islands don’t have much variety apart from aesthetics, There’s a fishing minigame and a casino gimmick at night and for a few missions there’s a few timed challenges, but it isn’t enough in my opinion and sometimes feel like variety for the sake of variety.
Supposedly the combat and puzzles was supposed to be the big solution to this however while fun, i think both are way too simple and the challenge is essentially nonexistent, especially in terms of combat with by light speed dashing rings or infinitely Cylopping Rings with no penalty, Combat feels it puts above all else spectacle rather than practicality which is shame, because with more challenge and less button mashy gameplay this could very be the best combat in the series, standing next to Heroes, however as it is it’s sorta just… there.
Cyberspace is one of the aspects of the game that I feel the most mixed on. While I grew to “like” cyberspace, whenever I was liking the stages, they ended just like Sonic Forces. There’s a few lengthy ones sure but they mostly value replay value with getting multiple keys by doing challenges, it’s just the controls are really bad in Cyberspace plus the 4 themes that are reused over and over for all 5 Islands again with level design from better games with better controls and aesthetics makes Cyberspace such a weird aspect for me, they serve as neat little peacebreakers at most and at worst, Sonic Forces 2.
Speaking of the 5 Islands, while i won’t spoil details i found the 4th and 5th Islands to be incredibly disappointing, one of them is insanely short and is basically a story beat island while one is a full fledged island but still has that disappoint aspect, it sorta ruined the game for me since it shows that Sonic games are still falling in the same traps over and over again. This is no more apparent in the polish of the game, the game feels unfinished at points, i already talked about the Pop-In but there’s a layer of jank in this game despite a delay and 5 year development cycle, animations and textures being incredibly inconsistent, 2D Sections in the Open World feel so jarring and janky whenever they happen, especially in Chaos Island, easily the worst and most janky island in the game and the camera in both Cyberspace and the Open World is awful, i know cameras in 3D Sonic games aren’t the best but this is absurdly bad even for those standards, it regularly clips on objects and is way too zoomed out.
I feel the camera issues are at it’s worst with the titan bosses, the minibosses are probably the best part of the game since they’re challenging while providing a bit of variety to the game, but the Titans while in terms spectacle go so hard with it’s music and designs, functional they feel really jank and way too easy, the final boss is just a shitty QTE, even if you play on hard which i did, it’s still the easiest boss in the game and it really soured the sorta solid ending the game has.
Overall Sonic Frontiers is good, and not much else? You might a 6/10 is a bit too high in your opinion with this mostly negative but that’s because, this game shows an insane amount promise and when it works, the game is a blast but as i progressed through the game it was doing the same thing over and over again and especially with the 4th and 5th Islands being so disappointing, I can’t bring myself to say i love Frontiers, nor i can’t say i hate it, it’s just okay. This is the type of game where some people might like it but hate a lot of aspects, and some people might hate this game but like a lot aspects and i think i lie on a middle, though the fact is, despite any opinions on it, everyone agrees there’s a potential for a great follow up or even for some great DLC, i really hope that the average reviews doesn’t mean the game’s will be scrapped but rather improved upon for a great new sequel, i may seem alone on my stance of this game but i feel Frontiers is comparable to Sonic 1, Sonic Rush or Colours Wii where it’s the exact game we needed at the time and while very, very flawed, the foundation is there for a great sequel. All i can hope is that these new Frontiers, won’t be forgotten.
First the plot of this game, without spoiling details I find the plot to be… good, not great but a solid romp and return to the more shonen styled Sonic stories. It follows Sonic, Tails and Amy investigating the disappearance of the Chaos Emeralds, they find that it’s on the mysterious Starfall Islands, after they get sucked into a wormhole, Sonic is quickly enwrapped in a Race against time to save his friends and collect the emeralds while a mysterious new girl, named Sage tries to warn him to leave the islands. The plot is good mostly due to the character interactions, I think that’s mostly what Ian Flynn is great at it’s just fun to see these characters interact, again I gotta keep it a bit vague here but I love while Sonic doesn’t go through a major arc, he’s just a static character, his personality inspires those around him in a positive light, in turns it also sorta fixes some of the character issues in the Mainline games that are sorta inFamous in the Sonic community now, I do have a few gripes with the story however, for one i think it relies a bit to much on references in my opinion, like there’s a few lines in the game that sorta caught me off guard (in a good kind of way) that sorta did shape the world of the game and series upside down but I feel others come off as a bit unnecessary and shoe horned in. My other gripe is that I feel like the twists and such don’t really work and feel a bit anticlimactic, again gonna be a little vague here but while the stuff with the “ancients” and Koco where well done, I didn’t really found Sage to be a terribly interesting character and the pay off to her is pretty underwhelming despite there being a solid idea, it just feels rushed, plus it gets so insanely melodramatic at points even for Sonic standards, though the ending itself is well written enough. Overall I found the story while not the best in the series as I think the Adventure Games, Battle, Rush Adventure, both versions of Colours and maybe Black Knight edges out, is a fun time with likeable character that are some of the best in the series, great dialogue and overall a great tone that says prevalent throughout the game, if the twists were better, a bit more well paced, had better voice acting and maybe dialled back a bit on the references and the just talking scenes, I think this could be one of the best in series, but as it is it’s a solid enough story and better than anything in the past decade, so I’m content with it.
As in terms of Presentation of Frontiers, this is unfortunately where my more mixed thoughts on the game start to pop up, literally i mean because the pop in in this game is absurd, i don’t know if this was an [REDACTED] issue or my issues with the presentation can be linked to this but the point is, the Pop in in this game go beyond the standard Open world affair but rather something that is insanely common that it hinders gameplay. I also found the artstyle to be bland and boring, while it looks perfectly fine and i can sorta see what they’re going for especially with those enemy designs but the actual open zone looks so forgettable and bland for a Sonic game though does look fine in the grand scheme of things, i much prefer how Cyberspace looks, despite the inane reuse of these stage themes i have to admit they haven’t looked better before, they look really beautiful especially in the night. One aspect of the game that is a bit mediocre is the voice acting, while i dig Roger’s more serious direction as Sonic (which is literally Crane from Dying Light) other actors sound incredibly bored especially Sage and Eggman, The music is pretty strong, I’m Here & the Titan Bosses aren’t very good songs in my opinion but Vandalize and One way Dream are incredible tracks, Cyberspace music is great as well though the Open Zone music is a bit forgettable.
But I know what y’all here for, the gameplay and… it functions? Frontiers is essentially Sonic Forces but in an Open World, not really a bad thing but i wouldn’t say it’s a huge improvement from Forces apart from Controls which feel really nice to play around with especially using the Cyloop, just speeding through these fast lands at rocket speeds, platforming around the world in these weird sprawling sandboxes filled with Sonic iconography while using the drop dash and boosting feels so good. Sonic can use most of his arsenal from the Boost games along with the drop dash from Sonic Mania and the lightspeed dash, Sonic can also level up his speed, defence, ring capacity and power by either collecting fruit or Koco (very slowly might i add), Throughout the Islands you need to collect Memory Tokens to free your friends or talk to them, Portal Gears to Unlock Cyberspace levels, short bitesize 3D or 2D linear stages from previous games and Vault Keys to unlock the 7 Chaos Emeralds as well as Egg Memos, optional Voice recorded notes created by Eggman that expand on the lore of the series. This formula works in my opinion but the issue is, there’s not much variation, you’re mostly doing the same thing over and over again without much challenge for at least 11 Hours as a hardcore Sonic Fan, especially with the fact that the Islands don’t have much variety apart from aesthetics, There’s a fishing minigame and a casino gimmick at night and for a few missions there’s a few timed challenges, but it isn’t enough in my opinion and sometimes feel like variety for the sake of variety.
Supposedly the combat and puzzles was supposed to be the big solution to this however while fun, i think both are way too simple and the challenge is essentially nonexistent, especially in terms of combat with by light speed dashing rings or infinitely Cylopping Rings with no penalty, Combat feels it puts above all else spectacle rather than practicality which is shame, because with more challenge and less button mashy gameplay this could very be the best combat in the series, standing next to Heroes, however as it is it’s sorta just… there.
Cyberspace is one of the aspects of the game that I feel the most mixed on. While I grew to “like” cyberspace, whenever I was liking the stages, they ended just like Sonic Forces. There’s a few lengthy ones sure but they mostly value replay value with getting multiple keys by doing challenges, it’s just the controls are really bad in Cyberspace plus the 4 themes that are reused over and over for all 5 Islands again with level design from better games with better controls and aesthetics makes Cyberspace such a weird aspect for me, they serve as neat little peacebreakers at most and at worst, Sonic Forces 2.
Speaking of the 5 Islands, while i won’t spoil details i found the 4th and 5th Islands to be incredibly disappointing, one of them is insanely short and is basically a story beat island while one is a full fledged island but still has that disappoint aspect, it sorta ruined the game for me since it shows that Sonic games are still falling in the same traps over and over again. This is no more apparent in the polish of the game, the game feels unfinished at points, i already talked about the Pop-In but there’s a layer of jank in this game despite a delay and 5 year development cycle, animations and textures being incredibly inconsistent, 2D Sections in the Open World feel so jarring and janky whenever they happen, especially in Chaos Island, easily the worst and most janky island in the game and the camera in both Cyberspace and the Open World is awful, i know cameras in 3D Sonic games aren’t the best but this is absurdly bad even for those standards, it regularly clips on objects and is way too zoomed out.
I feel the camera issues are at it’s worst with the titan bosses, the minibosses are probably the best part of the game since they’re challenging while providing a bit of variety to the game, but the Titans while in terms spectacle go so hard with it’s music and designs, functional they feel really jank and way too easy, the final boss is just a shitty QTE, even if you play on hard which i did, it’s still the easiest boss in the game and it really soured the sorta solid ending the game has.
Overall Sonic Frontiers is good, and not much else? You might a 6/10 is a bit too high in your opinion with this mostly negative but that’s because, this game shows an insane amount promise and when it works, the game is a blast but as i progressed through the game it was doing the same thing over and over again and especially with the 4th and 5th Islands being so disappointing, I can’t bring myself to say i love Frontiers, nor i can’t say i hate it, it’s just okay. This is the type of game where some people might like it but hate a lot of aspects, and some people might hate this game but like a lot aspects and i think i lie on a middle, though the fact is, despite any opinions on it, everyone agrees there’s a potential for a great follow up or even for some great DLC, i really hope that the average reviews doesn’t mean the game’s will be scrapped but rather improved upon for a great new sequel, i may seem alone on my stance of this game but i feel Frontiers is comparable to Sonic 1, Sonic Rush or Colours Wii where it’s the exact game we needed at the time and while very, very flawed, the foundation is there for a great sequel. All i can hope is that these new Frontiers, won’t be forgotten.
1991
Ah Sonic The Hedgehog, it's a series that needs no introduction, or does it? Its a series that while incredibly, and i mean incredibly flawed holds a near and dear place in my heart and in spite the series glaring flaws i keep coming back to it, so in prepartion of Sonic's new Open Zone foray into next generation consoles let's take run down memory lane to Sonic's Origins, oh yeah i was originally planning on this to be my 50th review but i felt my other reviews of the games i was doing wasn't really going anywhere so fuck it, we're doing it now, so, order a Chili Dog, Scrape your Knuckles and grab some tails as we dive into the world of Sonic The Hedgehog
It's no secret that Sega is a very flawed company, more than most, the master system was a big ol flop due to the mascot (Alex Kid) just not gelling well with people and so Sonic The Hedgehog was born! Except not really, you see the tean wanted to make a Protagonist that was both really fast, appealed to a newer generation while still respecting that more Mickey Mouse kinda design philosophy, many character designs were created that would be later brought back into the series, such as Teddy Roosevelt in PJs being the main base of Dr Robotnik, Feels the Rabbit and an unnamed armadilo protype designs for Sonic possibly being the main base for Cream the Rabbit and Mighty the Armadilo, A Band that included a Crocdile which became Vector with the Band concept being reused for Sonic Underground and lastly, Sonic's human girlfriend, Madonna who may have been reused as concept for 06 (?). Whatever it is to me its so incredibly fascinating that these early concepts all came back one way or another and these concepts in general just being a thing, but whatever the point is Sega had many ideas for what the next mascot here, that a competition was held to see which design was best fit, After a close bout between Feels the rabbit and Sonic the hedgehog, Sonic obviously won. Sonic was the perfect thing Sega was looking for, someone with attuide, an edge, his speed all of that could act as suffient rival to Mario, in second place was Teddy Roosevelt in PJs who manifested into the iconic villain we know today, Dr Robotnik in American or Dr Eggman in Japan which was later adopted to his nickname worldwide. The man who created Sonic's design, Naoto Oshima worked closely along with Phatasy Star dev Yuji Naka (who had a concept for a fast character from speedrunning Super Mario Bros 1) to fully develop Sonic 1 along with a small team of devs, despite how much i made fun of him in the Balan Review and his wild ass ramblings on the Toxic Bird App, i can't deny he had a big handing into making Sonic 1 into the game it is today, that being said one of the biggest factors that really made Sonic 1 so iconic was it's marketing push, being a pack in title for the Genesis it was bound to do well but i don't think they realised how well Sonic 1 would do, that attuide and design along with that bright green background must of caught so many childrens eyes back then, course for the parents it was the price but probably seeing that design must have memorizing to say the least, of course for some reason Sega felt the need to very slightly and i mean slightly redesign Sonic for the American regions, having an disney artist, Greg Martin comprise the art for all American Sonic Media, including the basis for all 3 sonic cartoons. I love this art even though it kinda sucks, like the Japan stuff still looks cool but the American art just envokes a great sense of nostalgia and warmth to me unlike the Japan art despite me not being born at the time, might be bias due to AOSTH being my favourite series of all time? (Even though it really sucks) Sure maybe it's that but i always feel the Japanese design doesn't evoke that same edge as well as the American design while still keeping that cutesy Mickey Mouse design, again both look great just i personally prefer Greg Martin's take. But anyway, the length preamble aside Sonic 1 was a critical and commercial sucess but does it hold up today? Look no 2000s edgecore Youtuber broad statments, yeah Sonic 1 is pretty good while the cracka do show at points i can't deny that i just had some unadulterated fun with this game.
Getting to the game itself, it tells a simple story of nature vs industrialization or what it means to have power, does one use it for the greater good? Or nefarious deeds (or whatever the fuck the American Sonic Bible was), it follows a free spirted teenager named Sonic The Hedgehog, originating from Christmas Island but left due to his love for Adventure, as he battles for the first time the evil Dr Robotnik as the race through South Island to find all 6 Chaos Emeralds, Sonic has the incredible power of going extremely and cartoonishly fast, using his powers for good while Robotnik is incredibly smart with an IQ of 300 but decides to use his power for evil and destruction by capturing the inhabitants of the Island and turning them into robots, only amplfied by his want for the Chaos Emeralds. Again a simple story but it's effective with a strong but simple ending, depsite there being no game reward with getting all the emeralds, i still do because i like the ending, Sonic doesn't get any grand power but only has flowers blooming around, fully affirming that Robotniks gone for good (for now).
Gameplay wise, Sonic 1 is a simple 2D Platformer, you collect Rings as health or as extra lives which act as a 2 hit mechanism, one hit you lose all of them and then the next hit you're dead unless you collect more rings, it's a unique formula that works in the game favour as it can act as risk reward system, damage boost when hit to go as fast as possible or collect enough rings so you can be as safe as possible. Enemies or "Badniks" take one hit but there's a good amount of variety and strategy to them about the way you approach them, Sonic 1 also has a few power ups that spruce up the Gameplay such as a Shield which acts as an additonally with no extra ring costs, speed shoes which increase Sonic's acceleration and speed and finally, the invincibility which makes Sonic invulnerable for a short period. It feels like everything in Sonic 1 personifies more than anything, a sense of flow, while speed is important having this sense of flow or kinetic energy feela good to pull off, though playing this game without the Spin Dash added in later ports (which gives you a big burst of speed) and lack of speed cap does feel clunky at that since it feels so made with it in mind.
Of course, having a flow wouldn't be any good if the Zones were fun and, uh they kinda are? Easily the most contentious atturbute to Sonic 1 is it's levels with 3 acts, most people would say play Green Hill then skip to Sonic 2 but i don't know i had a lot lf fun with most of these stages:
-Green Hill is just amazing, keeps the flow and speed going while also providing multiple routes
-Marble Zone is good! It's not as good as Green Hill but i find it's design while slower to be fun, Act 3 can be pretty frustating though, especially at the end when you can lose all your progress with one misjump at the end
-Spring Yard Zone is a bit of a mixed bag though still fun overall, it keeps the speed and the flow of Green Hill intact, and using momentum to roll around the stage is pretty fun but the slower sections with spikes and the moving blocks do get a bit tedious at times
-Labyrinth Zone... Yeah no can't really defend this one it sucks balls, it's way too slow, hate how they discarded the suba mask (An item that would have helped in underwater) for the bubbles, while it keeps the anxiety and pace going, adding that risk reward setting of getting bubbles to stay safe or rush ahead, the water physics being way too slow dampers this zone, especially in later acts
-Starlight Zone is alright, a cool city area with some annoying fans and walking bombs but sorta forgettable, it's probably the most well designed stage since Green Hill but feels pretty forgettable all things considered
-Scrap Brain Zone is easily the worst zone in the game, hellish and unfair enemy placements, straight up cat mario esuqe traps and level design plus Labyrinth Zone Act 4! Wow game i really wanted more of Labyrinth Zone
So depsite 2 stinkers, i still think Sonic 1's Zones are fun though they aren't the biggest issues with the game, the bosses are either way to easy with simple patterns to read (Green Hill, Marble Zone, Spring Yard and the Final Boss) or are unfeasibly unfair like Labyrinth Zone with it's chase sequence or Starlight Zone with those seesaws. I also feel the Special Stages aren't very fun getting to them is pretty easy though there did needed to be a chance to get them in Act 3 and Scrap Brain but visually they look great and weird but gameplay wise they rely to much on luck/RNG to be considered fun. But depsite my issues i still i had a lot fun with the moment to moment Gameplay, most other zones, it sorta feels like some zones were easily better designed than others while some were just straight up unfair.
But putting aside the issues that the biggest plus with Sonic 1 is the presentation, it's absolutely steller, they collaborated with the band Dreams come true to deliver a great and unforgettable soundtrack, environments look colourful and brimming with life, Green Hill has cemented it's name in history because of it's great music and unique albeit overused visuals, Sonic 1 unlike most Sonic games, feels like you're going on a seriouziled adventure as you see the world naturally turn more artificial, from the lush plains of Grewn Hill to the sacred ruins of Marble Zone, to the Las Vegas esque omnious city of Spring Yard Zone to the other sacres ruins of Labyrinth Zone (in my opinion they should put it after Marble Zone but okay) to the city ruled by night in Starlight Zone then to finally, Robotniks domain that is completely artificial and mechanized named Scrap Brain Zone. It shows the Genesis strengths as a 16-bit console in terms of music and graphical fediality that still somewhat holds up today.
Overall, i kinda feel Sonic 1 gets a lot of uneeded flac, there’s some issues sure but i feel like the Classic era more than anything had such a clear identity and personality of what it wanted to be, while Sonic 1 is certainly more subdued and diled back than it's sequels, its still a game that gets better and better as a i replay it and has aged very well and i urge you should play it since in my opinion, it definitely gets better as you replay it (though play any version with Spin Dash, Super Sonic Multiple playable characters and Elemental Shields), while it hasn't aged like fine wine or like bad milk, sorta like the crisps you've had for 2 years, doesn't have the greastest taste and might give you a bit of a stomach ache but it tastes good nonetheless, plus the other brands that the crisps have made have infinitly improved on them in every way.
It's no secret that Sega is a very flawed company, more than most, the master system was a big ol flop due to the mascot (Alex Kid) just not gelling well with people and so Sonic The Hedgehog was born! Except not really, you see the tean wanted to make a Protagonist that was both really fast, appealed to a newer generation while still respecting that more Mickey Mouse kinda design philosophy, many character designs were created that would be later brought back into the series, such as Teddy Roosevelt in PJs being the main base of Dr Robotnik, Feels the Rabbit and an unnamed armadilo protype designs for Sonic possibly being the main base for Cream the Rabbit and Mighty the Armadilo, A Band that included a Crocdile which became Vector with the Band concept being reused for Sonic Underground and lastly, Sonic's human girlfriend, Madonna who may have been reused as concept for 06 (?). Whatever it is to me its so incredibly fascinating that these early concepts all came back one way or another and these concepts in general just being a thing, but whatever the point is Sega had many ideas for what the next mascot here, that a competition was held to see which design was best fit, After a close bout between Feels the rabbit and Sonic the hedgehog, Sonic obviously won. Sonic was the perfect thing Sega was looking for, someone with attuide, an edge, his speed all of that could act as suffient rival to Mario, in second place was Teddy Roosevelt in PJs who manifested into the iconic villain we know today, Dr Robotnik in American or Dr Eggman in Japan which was later adopted to his nickname worldwide. The man who created Sonic's design, Naoto Oshima worked closely along with Phatasy Star dev Yuji Naka (who had a concept for a fast character from speedrunning Super Mario Bros 1) to fully develop Sonic 1 along with a small team of devs, despite how much i made fun of him in the Balan Review and his wild ass ramblings on the Toxic Bird App, i can't deny he had a big handing into making Sonic 1 into the game it is today, that being said one of the biggest factors that really made Sonic 1 so iconic was it's marketing push, being a pack in title for the Genesis it was bound to do well but i don't think they realised how well Sonic 1 would do, that attuide and design along with that bright green background must of caught so many childrens eyes back then, course for the parents it was the price but probably seeing that design must have memorizing to say the least, of course for some reason Sega felt the need to very slightly and i mean slightly redesign Sonic for the American regions, having an disney artist, Greg Martin comprise the art for all American Sonic Media, including the basis for all 3 sonic cartoons. I love this art even though it kinda sucks, like the Japan stuff still looks cool but the American art just envokes a great sense of nostalgia and warmth to me unlike the Japan art despite me not being born at the time, might be bias due to AOSTH being my favourite series of all time? (Even though it really sucks) Sure maybe it's that but i always feel the Japanese design doesn't evoke that same edge as well as the American design while still keeping that cutesy Mickey Mouse design, again both look great just i personally prefer Greg Martin's take. But anyway, the length preamble aside Sonic 1 was a critical and commercial sucess but does it hold up today? Look no 2000s edgecore Youtuber broad statments, yeah Sonic 1 is pretty good while the cracka do show at points i can't deny that i just had some unadulterated fun with this game.
Getting to the game itself, it tells a simple story of nature vs industrialization or what it means to have power, does one use it for the greater good? Or nefarious deeds (or whatever the fuck the American Sonic Bible was), it follows a free spirted teenager named Sonic The Hedgehog, originating from Christmas Island but left due to his love for Adventure, as he battles for the first time the evil Dr Robotnik as the race through South Island to find all 6 Chaos Emeralds, Sonic has the incredible power of going extremely and cartoonishly fast, using his powers for good while Robotnik is incredibly smart with an IQ of 300 but decides to use his power for evil and destruction by capturing the inhabitants of the Island and turning them into robots, only amplfied by his want for the Chaos Emeralds. Again a simple story but it's effective with a strong but simple ending, depsite there being no game reward with getting all the emeralds, i still do because i like the ending, Sonic doesn't get any grand power but only has flowers blooming around, fully affirming that Robotniks gone for good (for now).
Gameplay wise, Sonic 1 is a simple 2D Platformer, you collect Rings as health or as extra lives which act as a 2 hit mechanism, one hit you lose all of them and then the next hit you're dead unless you collect more rings, it's a unique formula that works in the game favour as it can act as risk reward system, damage boost when hit to go as fast as possible or collect enough rings so you can be as safe as possible. Enemies or "Badniks" take one hit but there's a good amount of variety and strategy to them about the way you approach them, Sonic 1 also has a few power ups that spruce up the Gameplay such as a Shield which acts as an additonally with no extra ring costs, speed shoes which increase Sonic's acceleration and speed and finally, the invincibility which makes Sonic invulnerable for a short period. It feels like everything in Sonic 1 personifies more than anything, a sense of flow, while speed is important having this sense of flow or kinetic energy feela good to pull off, though playing this game without the Spin Dash added in later ports (which gives you a big burst of speed) and lack of speed cap does feel clunky at that since it feels so made with it in mind.
Of course, having a flow wouldn't be any good if the Zones were fun and, uh they kinda are? Easily the most contentious atturbute to Sonic 1 is it's levels with 3 acts, most people would say play Green Hill then skip to Sonic 2 but i don't know i had a lot lf fun with most of these stages:
-Green Hill is just amazing, keeps the flow and speed going while also providing multiple routes
-Marble Zone is good! It's not as good as Green Hill but i find it's design while slower to be fun, Act 3 can be pretty frustating though, especially at the end when you can lose all your progress with one misjump at the end
-Spring Yard Zone is a bit of a mixed bag though still fun overall, it keeps the speed and the flow of Green Hill intact, and using momentum to roll around the stage is pretty fun but the slower sections with spikes and the moving blocks do get a bit tedious at times
-Labyrinth Zone... Yeah no can't really defend this one it sucks balls, it's way too slow, hate how they discarded the suba mask (An item that would have helped in underwater) for the bubbles, while it keeps the anxiety and pace going, adding that risk reward setting of getting bubbles to stay safe or rush ahead, the water physics being way too slow dampers this zone, especially in later acts
-Starlight Zone is alright, a cool city area with some annoying fans and walking bombs but sorta forgettable, it's probably the most well designed stage since Green Hill but feels pretty forgettable all things considered
-Scrap Brain Zone is easily the worst zone in the game, hellish and unfair enemy placements, straight up cat mario esuqe traps and level design plus Labyrinth Zone Act 4! Wow game i really wanted more of Labyrinth Zone
So depsite 2 stinkers, i still think Sonic 1's Zones are fun though they aren't the biggest issues with the game, the bosses are either way to easy with simple patterns to read (Green Hill, Marble Zone, Spring Yard and the Final Boss) or are unfeasibly unfair like Labyrinth Zone with it's chase sequence or Starlight Zone with those seesaws. I also feel the Special Stages aren't very fun getting to them is pretty easy though there did needed to be a chance to get them in Act 3 and Scrap Brain but visually they look great and weird but gameplay wise they rely to much on luck/RNG to be considered fun. But depsite my issues i still i had a lot fun with the moment to moment Gameplay, most other zones, it sorta feels like some zones were easily better designed than others while some were just straight up unfair.
But putting aside the issues that the biggest plus with Sonic 1 is the presentation, it's absolutely steller, they collaborated with the band Dreams come true to deliver a great and unforgettable soundtrack, environments look colourful and brimming with life, Green Hill has cemented it's name in history because of it's great music and unique albeit overused visuals, Sonic 1 unlike most Sonic games, feels like you're going on a seriouziled adventure as you see the world naturally turn more artificial, from the lush plains of Grewn Hill to the sacred ruins of Marble Zone, to the Las Vegas esque omnious city of Spring Yard Zone to the other sacres ruins of Labyrinth Zone (in my opinion they should put it after Marble Zone but okay) to the city ruled by night in Starlight Zone then to finally, Robotniks domain that is completely artificial and mechanized named Scrap Brain Zone. It shows the Genesis strengths as a 16-bit console in terms of music and graphical fediality that still somewhat holds up today.
Overall, i kinda feel Sonic 1 gets a lot of uneeded flac, there’s some issues sure but i feel like the Classic era more than anything had such a clear identity and personality of what it wanted to be, while Sonic 1 is certainly more subdued and diled back than it's sequels, its still a game that gets better and better as a i replay it and has aged very well and i urge you should play it since in my opinion, it definitely gets better as you replay it (though play any version with Spin Dash, Super Sonic Multiple playable characters and Elemental Shields), while it hasn't aged like fine wine or like bad milk, sorta like the crisps you've had for 2 years, doesn't have the greastest taste and might give you a bit of a stomach ache but it tastes good nonetheless, plus the other brands that the crisps have made have infinitly improved on them in every way.
Ratchet and his buddy Clank are back, Locked and Loaded going on a new action packed adventure as they venture through the even weirder and more corrupt Bogon Galaxy. Ratchet 2 is a very weird game for me especially since I loved the first game so much, i don't hate it in fact there's a lot to love about this game but there's a few fatal flaws that kept it from being a perfect sequel, I don't know if this game deserves an 7 or 8/10 but i think I'll give it an 7 just due to those good moments really hitting but there's unfortunately many flaws that hurt this game.
Looking at the development of this game, Ratchet 2 was greenlit just months before the original game's release with Visual Production of the world and setting starting in August 2002, The team had one goal in mind: Make it Bigger. They wanted to add so much to the original game while also fine tuning those elements that needed a bit of work in the first game, adding things such as newer and more ambitious Gadgets and Weapons, RPG Elements, more variety, a better and more comedic story. The answer is did they succeed? The answer is Yes and no (but mostly Yes). With only 8 months to develop this game along with doubling up the team it's impressive how well this game managed to be however it does have a few trappings around the 2nd and especially the 3rd Act.
This can be seen in the Story, it perfectly follows up the first game though not as well as Sly 2. Taking place a few months after the first game, Ratchet and Clank are being interviewed by someone (which i headcanon is the same guy from Spyro 1), while Clank is somewhat content with not doing much, Ratchet seems physically and audible disappointed not doing much of worth, luckily he wish of doing something greater as they are quickly teleported to the Bogon Galaxy by a man by the name of Abercrombie Fizzwidget, the founder and CEO of Megacorp who informs the duo of a Thief who had stolen Megacorp's most valuable experiment, The Proto-Pet. The Plot starts really strong, giving "Commando Training" to Ratchet to iron out his character from the first game while giving us 2 Comedic Villains (The Thief and the Thugs of Less Leader) that know how to get shit done to face off, one thing that they wanted to avoid in this game is having the pitfalls of Ratchet's so much so that they decided to quickly recast, I don't get the criticism of Ratchet undergoing an Arc, they may have overdone it a tiny bit but the complaint at the time was aimed at Ratchet having the arc in the first place, which is like complaining about how the Chris Tucker dude from Rush Hour isn't likeable from the start, due to this the character arcs are gone till Deadlocked which is a shame in my opinion since i feel it would have given the characters a bit more edge, but in favour the comedy here is amped up, the first game was funny but this game is on another level, Satirical Humour, Slapstick, 4th Wall Breaking, References etc, It's more of a treat to see these one off characters since you never know what your gonna get, however while the comedy is top tier the story just stops? It's weird after the Desert Planet you find out the thief is a female Lombax (Angela) who I don't really like since after her unveiling she's kinda used as a clumsy plot device and clearly didn’t get enough time to be her own character, and that Fizzwidget is a bit sus after "accidentally" injecting them/crushing their ship and "accidentally" giving them the wrong password. The game also gives some cutscenes of what happened to Qwark after the events of the first game, look if it wasn't clear enough along with Fizzwidget saying "Qwarktastic'', Fizzwidget is Qwark, but you have to wait till the last few minutes to find that out, one of the main reasons why the first game's story worked so well is that it felt so tightly written, every planet had agency and there was a sense of urgency as you progressed. In 2 you have a few stages with little to no story apart from "lol Megacorp is fucked up" then all of sudden something like the duo getting arrested or Angela getting captured, or them confronting Angela and realising they helped the villains, or the Proto Pet meance finally getting released into the world, these are good story moments both comedically and character wise but it takes a while to get to, plus the last 3rd of the game has this dumbass fetch quest of a Gadget only used twice, it just feels like they had all these cool planets and characters they wanted to use but didn't make a compelling story or reason to have them be in the game, like of course the Plumber returns which is cool since he isn't used as the almighty Chekvo's Demigod but they also use the RYNO Vender again from the first game to give you the 2nd flying gadget of the game (oh by the way he's really big now i guess). I feel the Plot could have tighten itself through having the Proto Pet Menace be released way earlier, also there's no Infobots, which was a great way to bridge gaps between Planets organically, Instead the characters either find these Floating Flat Screen LCD TVS or magically pull them out, it feels messy and like they ran out of Plot throughout the game so much to the point where the finale feels rushed with Chekvo's Infobot coming in at the last second, like with this definitely not thought out twist they have the original Fizzwidget come in and says Thank You for releasing me!, now being more posh than Qwark's impersonation but they presented that Megacorp was a rotten company for some time even if we assume Qwark did all those heinous stuff in a matter of a few months (which it wasn't) like they left employees to die in a swamp, drove Gadgetron (the company from the first game) out of business but maybe you could say Fizzwidget had a hard look at himself while inside the closet and evaluated all the bad stuff he did in the past now so it’s okay i guess.
I feel some fixes i would have done would be either keep the Qwark Twist but have it happen either when the duo get stranded in the Desert or when they get arested or just ditch Qwark for the next game since i still think his multi game arc could still work since let's be really he isn't really that funny or even threatening as a villain here since he isn't given the time needed to thrive or maybe tease him at the end of this game like Deadlocked and instead make Fizzwidget the villain like was intended, have Fizzwidget personally tell them that he's the big bad guy before they're arrested and despite the hold he has on the Galaxy, he just wants more money with the Proto Pet and the people of the Bogon Galaxy to respect Megacorp as company even more, present Megacorp as a company that was rotten from the start of the game instead of slowly dripping it any of the NPCs you talk to so resentment to Megacorp but can't do anything due to Megacorp being that Big, make Ratchet fully realise that in his pursuit of wanting to live the glory days, he accidentally helps the Villain fulfil his goal and should have had more light shed on it, realising that he needs to make it right, have this realisation after they get arrested, also in the Desert Stage Ratchet is fulling trusting of Megacorp and Clank is a lot more less distrusting, a sort of role reversal of the first game, and instead of a confused old guy he's more akin to how Drek was in the first game and will do anything in order to get what he wants, including kidnapping Angela or releasing the Proto Pet Meance early. Then at the end of the game we see him through everything at Ratchet, then after the final boss, we have Fizzwidget pleading Ratchet that all he wanted for people to respect his company again as it's been passed from Fizzwidget to Fizzwidget and as his duty he needs to preserve it for future generations, Ratchet lets Fizzwidget go and the ending (set few months after) shows that Megacorp is slowly but surely recovering to its former glory. I think the scenes with the Thug 4 Less Leader with Fizzwidget could show that he's more sympathetic about his actions, making the ending feel a lot more earned. I think that would work better than "Megacorp is bad or is it?" like they kinda discard it at the end for a cheap twist but while i do think my rewrite fixes a lot of the issues of this story, i feel it doesn't really matter? Like you can tell the animators (Yes Animators wrote this and the previous game) wanted to focus on comedy above all else which while is disappointing i can't complain here since the story isn't take as seriously as say the 3 Future games or Sly 4 where critique is warranted but since the comedy is done so well, i feel it shortcomings are sorta made up for.
But in terms of it's presentation, i feel Locked and Loaded keeps the same bar of the original while slightly dropping it, compared to the first game and let's be honest, apart from animation which is just as great as the first game if not more so is slacking compared to its other PS2 contemporaries, not bad by any means but i just find Sly 2 or even Jak 2 to look more aesthetically pleasing, the game looks good but i find more often that the colours look washed out, the game trades the rustic/cyberpunk aesthetics to a more clean and sterile aesthetic and this plus environments make it not as memorable as the first game, like for instance the game's take for Metropolis (Megapolis) is a great level with strong level design and an pretty cool and funny game mechanic of the robotic cleaners topped with some great callbacks, a decent boss and a nice Clank section but pales in comparison to Metropolis in terms of it Vibes and Level design, a lot of areas look great such as exploring an Illegal sky port, a large desert/tundra filled with crystals, the countless of unique factorys/test facilities that Megacorp owns, the beautiful greenary/forest areas, space vegas and even a not as cool "we reuse the first level but harder" thing from Ratchet 1 now with the airship from the beginning, however i feel a lot of the City's apart from Megapolis blend together into one Beige mess that while have great level design, don't do much to differentiate themselves from each other. I think this also goes for music, not bad, some great but mostly forgettable, again I don't have much to say about the Ost of most Ratchet games since they only really fit the mood/atmosphere of the stage and aren't my kind of thing anyway, but one thing that sorta stays same is the Voice acting, Mikey Kelly is replaced with James Arnold Taylor of Johnny Test fame and i think he does a mighty fine job doing his voice though i felt it was bit to far in order to make Ratchet have less of his edge, the voice acting is as good as the first game but there's some standouts like Steve Blum as the Thugs for Less leader, not only is he already a funny character but the delivery absolutely sells it for me, he manages to perfectly balance between threatening and insanely comedic, it's quite a shame he's barely used in the series again since he perfectly does what a Ratchet Villain is suppose to do.
But in terms of gameplay it's kinda like the story, while one core element really works, the rest feel a bit half-baked. When it comes to the moment to moment gameplay in terms of level design and gameplay mechanics Locked and Loaded hits it out of the park and manages to be as good as Ratchet 1 and even better sometimes, the game uses a lot of the same structure as the first game but fully merges both platforming and shooting into one little glorious mix of 3rd Person shooter goodness and some solid platforming, with Ratchet's new tighter movement and strafing it makes combat so much more frantic and controlled, the strategic feeling of the first game isn't lost however since new to this game is Weapon and Nanotech upgrades, While i welcome the Nanotech upgrades with wither fighting enemies or collecting them, i feel the Weapon Upgrades and the weapons themselves could have used a bit more work, I don't want to overwhelming negatives but the Weapons are handled a bit poorly, they only level up once and hell sometimes they completely change the function, like the Lava Gun which while still a decent level up feels way too different from the original use, also don't like how the Slim Cognito Mods you need to seek out and use Raritanium (which isn't very rare by the way). Most of the time however, the Weapon Upgrades come in handy mostly notably the Bouncer which becomes an absolute beast.
But i mean apart from that i don't have much to say about the weapons of Locked and Loaded, a lot use the same tropes from the first game, normal shooting weapons, crowd control, bots, remote control weapons, long shot beam weapons etc. The newer weapon ideas are pretty hit and miss unfortunately, having Gadgetron weapons is nice i suppose but it's obvious they were more for contextual reasons rather than any good feasible reason for gameplay, i found some weapons like the Chopper or Hoverbomb Gun feel like Weapons that were supposed to be in the first game since they feel more fit for that slower strategic gameplay instead since both trade off speed for stronger attacks making them feel insanely situational but other like the Bouncer, Blitz Gun, Zodiac, Pulse Rifle etc really work for this more action packed platformer while also keeping the strategy elements from the previous game intact, but i do have a few issues with the weapons and other RPG aspects of this game, for one i feel levelling them up takes a bit of time, not too much but just enough where there’s the feeling off “When can this level up?”, the other issues with levelling up is how they handled having Weapons, in the first game each weapon was useful throughout from the start right to end with maybe the exception of the Bomb Glove, In 2 first game Weapons are completely useless as the game progressed, while we're not there yet despite me feeling so luckwarm about Ratchet 3 I find how they handled weapons there to be better since they allow for 5 Levels while also balancing older weapons in the first act for other enemies in later stages, again not too huge of a fan of Up Your Arsenal but this is one aspect that UYA actually improves on previous games, but here not only are some Weapons are in danger of being completely outclassed but the encomny and enemy balance of this game is completely wack, sure you get more Bolts from enemies and Boxes since they are now Gold Bolts, this makes the original Gold Bolts to Titanium Bolts now which is neat I guess, but for some reason Bolt prices for Weapons and especially armour (another new RPG mechanic) are insanely expensive, unless you grind with the Maxi Games and Ship games good luck on getting all the Main Weapons in a first playthrough, speaking of Armour while I like the idea of Armour upgrades, again the economic issues really hold them back from being anything other than a neat little novelty, though they look really bad especially in the PS3 Version were the helmet isn't even on Ratchet's head and it's too big for him.
Also, it just feels like Locked and Loaded losses ideas and steam as it goes along, it gets better during the Hypnomatic quest since I find those levels to be a blast and the aforementioned Sky Port stage but Locked and Loaded 2nd Act levels never get bad per say but a bit boring, in 1 it felt each level was of a consistent quality expect maybe if it was a more obstacle like stage were some frustration could be had, each of them had interesting ideas with Gadgets while also balancing platforming and shooting but in Locked and Loaded 2nd Act levels just kinda don't do that? Again I can't stress enough they aren't badly designed levels but i just feel naturally blending the routes into 2 just makes them less memorable than the first game, this could also be attributed to the Gadgets but one thing that you can clearly show the devs losing steam are the bosses, The Maxigame bosses are inoffensive since they’re just suppose to be an sendoff to the challenge as well as the crystal hunting minibosses but as the game progresses each boss just get worse and worse, from the decent fights with the swamp monster and Helicopter to the great Uncharted esque chance with Angela or giant mech fight (if you’re using V2 Bouncer) to the unfair saucer fight, boring Thugs for Less leader Clank fight and the laughably anti-climatic final boss that you can snipe from a mile away which feels like a boss found in the Maxigames, it’s sucks because they have this great idea of using weapons/ammo from the game but you barely see it since it doesn't take long to beat him, i guess they wanted to make up from the final boss of Ratchet 1 huh?
The Gadgets and extra gizmos you get in this aren't as interesting as the first game unfortunately, first Clank gameplay has gotten a huge downgrade atmospherically, it seems that it felt like they wanted to get it over with since "Oh the first game had it so this one has to have it to" in the 2 scenarios (I.e Megapolis and the Prison Break) there's a lot less going on and your essentially just freeing Ratchet instead of soaking in the atmosphere of challenges that may seem easy for Ratchet but harrowing for Clank. Giant Clank however is the complete opposite, they introduced these Spherical world's which are neat little pace breaker that are unfortunately used once for normal Ratchet but they used like 2 or 3 times for Giant Clank, and it is awesome, they added strafing, a bunch of new moves and best of all, the frame rate doesnt shit itself! Now where I’m where I’m really baffled about Locked & Loaded is it’s Gadget line-up, of course you have a few returning ones like the Packs, Swingshot and Grind Boots when you save Clank and also a new version of the Gravity Boots which makes combat a lot better there but a lot of times the new Gadgets in 2 feel like there should be merged in some instances, like the Dynamo and Tracker Beam are 2 Beam gadgets but one is for Bots and Bombs and one is for platforms, could they not have been merged? Another example are 2 Flying Gadgets, The Levitator and Momentum Glider, while these work differently and are very fun i just found them weird since i feel the Momentum Glider is useless since the Levitator is just a better version of it, you also got 2 hacking minigames which while serviceable feel way too trial and error to be considered that fun or even puzzles for that matter. You also get the returning extra items from Ratchet 1 like the Mapper or Bolt Magnetic and even new ones like the Charge Boots which give you a long boost and the Box Breaker that breaks boxes upon slamming. Finally these 2 Gadgets have such cool ideas but aren’t executed the best, these being the Thermanotor and the Hyponomatic, the Thermantor allows you to freeze and refreeze water, this is such a cool idea but in the segments you have to use them in you have to be unfeasibly precise with when you time you shoot the Ice, and the Hypnomatic essentially allows you to be a twin stick shooter robot, while it’s fine and inoffensive it just feels like a waste due to how the 3rd Act is just dedicated to getting all the parts and especially since it’s used twice in the game, one being a tutorial and one being the final, not to mention there’s already a remote control robot in this game.
However despite how I’ve felt throughout this review, one thing that Locked & Loaded nails are the new Maxigames which are new side content ventures that allow you to obtain more bolts that may be mandatory once or twice they are introduced, everyone of these is great apart from Ship stuff which is just ranges kinda boring and really bad with the racing sections, all of these new additions are top-tier, the Hoverbike races are a lot more instance than the Hoverboard in Ratchet 1, you are always in your feet since you could flying through and then one crash could ruin everything, not to mention later on the Power-Ups you use in the stages can be used against you, and the Crystal Hunting stages, yes fuck the snowbeast but these are great, allowing you to explore these giant battlefields finding sellable, fighting enemies and bosses while also leveling up everything and oh the Arenas, fantastic addition, pure fighting bliss filled with non-stop action packed euphoria with each challenge being more unique and gruelling more than the last, this is how any platformer should do variety (mostly), keeping the core fundamentals and gameplay of the main game while also adding upon it and giving the player new and exciting challenges.
But overall looking at Locked & Loaded in a vacuum, yeah it’s pretty good but i feel it could have been better if they had more time to fully develop it’s ideas, when Locked & Loaded gets going with it’s core mechanics like the comedy, music, level ideas and action-packed gameplay, it’s a blast and even matches and surpasses to the first game but when it stumbles, it just kinda falls, it never gets awful which is why i may retract that 7/10 to an low 8/10 since that core is so strong but it’s flaws can’t be overlooked, yeah it’s funny but the story is a bit messy, yeah the music & level ideas slap sometimes but more times than not they mush together and feels a lot less unique that the first, yes that euphoric action-packed gameplay is redefined from the first game with better controls and bigger bolder action setpieces, but it feels like it’s just throwing ideas on a wall and seeing what sticks making for such an inconsistent experience when some stuff lands and some stuff don’t (like there’s Wrench Upgrades in this game why do you need Wrench upgrades???), in spite it all though, Locked & Loaded is still a good game with that core gameplay more than times that not being that fun and is also a solid entry in the series and this genre as a whole but the first game is better, Yeah i just found the first game’s presentation, levels and story to beat this one out due to how much more refined and unique they are, but hey, it’s better than Ratchet 2016 and Up Your Arsenal, so that’s something.
Looking at the development of this game, Ratchet 2 was greenlit just months before the original game's release with Visual Production of the world and setting starting in August 2002, The team had one goal in mind: Make it Bigger. They wanted to add so much to the original game while also fine tuning those elements that needed a bit of work in the first game, adding things such as newer and more ambitious Gadgets and Weapons, RPG Elements, more variety, a better and more comedic story. The answer is did they succeed? The answer is Yes and no (but mostly Yes). With only 8 months to develop this game along with doubling up the team it's impressive how well this game managed to be however it does have a few trappings around the 2nd and especially the 3rd Act.
This can be seen in the Story, it perfectly follows up the first game though not as well as Sly 2. Taking place a few months after the first game, Ratchet and Clank are being interviewed by someone (which i headcanon is the same guy from Spyro 1), while Clank is somewhat content with not doing much, Ratchet seems physically and audible disappointed not doing much of worth, luckily he wish of doing something greater as they are quickly teleported to the Bogon Galaxy by a man by the name of Abercrombie Fizzwidget, the founder and CEO of Megacorp who informs the duo of a Thief who had stolen Megacorp's most valuable experiment, The Proto-Pet. The Plot starts really strong, giving "Commando Training" to Ratchet to iron out his character from the first game while giving us 2 Comedic Villains (The Thief and the Thugs of Less Leader) that know how to get shit done to face off, one thing that they wanted to avoid in this game is having the pitfalls of Ratchet's so much so that they decided to quickly recast, I don't get the criticism of Ratchet undergoing an Arc, they may have overdone it a tiny bit but the complaint at the time was aimed at Ratchet having the arc in the first place, which is like complaining about how the Chris Tucker dude from Rush Hour isn't likeable from the start, due to this the character arcs are gone till Deadlocked which is a shame in my opinion since i feel it would have given the characters a bit more edge, but in favour the comedy here is amped up, the first game was funny but this game is on another level, Satirical Humour, Slapstick, 4th Wall Breaking, References etc, It's more of a treat to see these one off characters since you never know what your gonna get, however while the comedy is top tier the story just stops? It's weird after the Desert Planet you find out the thief is a female Lombax (Angela) who I don't really like since after her unveiling she's kinda used as a clumsy plot device and clearly didn’t get enough time to be her own character, and that Fizzwidget is a bit sus after "accidentally" injecting them/crushing their ship and "accidentally" giving them the wrong password. The game also gives some cutscenes of what happened to Qwark after the events of the first game, look if it wasn't clear enough along with Fizzwidget saying "Qwarktastic'', Fizzwidget is Qwark, but you have to wait till the last few minutes to find that out, one of the main reasons why the first game's story worked so well is that it felt so tightly written, every planet had agency and there was a sense of urgency as you progressed. In 2 you have a few stages with little to no story apart from "lol Megacorp is fucked up" then all of sudden something like the duo getting arrested or Angela getting captured, or them confronting Angela and realising they helped the villains, or the Proto Pet meance finally getting released into the world, these are good story moments both comedically and character wise but it takes a while to get to, plus the last 3rd of the game has this dumbass fetch quest of a Gadget only used twice, it just feels like they had all these cool planets and characters they wanted to use but didn't make a compelling story or reason to have them be in the game, like of course the Plumber returns which is cool since he isn't used as the almighty Chekvo's Demigod but they also use the RYNO Vender again from the first game to give you the 2nd flying gadget of the game (oh by the way he's really big now i guess). I feel the Plot could have tighten itself through having the Proto Pet Menace be released way earlier, also there's no Infobots, which was a great way to bridge gaps between Planets organically, Instead the characters either find these Floating Flat Screen LCD TVS or magically pull them out, it feels messy and like they ran out of Plot throughout the game so much to the point where the finale feels rushed with Chekvo's Infobot coming in at the last second, like with this definitely not thought out twist they have the original Fizzwidget come in and says Thank You for releasing me!, now being more posh than Qwark's impersonation but they presented that Megacorp was a rotten company for some time even if we assume Qwark did all those heinous stuff in a matter of a few months (which it wasn't) like they left employees to die in a swamp, drove Gadgetron (the company from the first game) out of business but maybe you could say Fizzwidget had a hard look at himself while inside the closet and evaluated all the bad stuff he did in the past now so it’s okay i guess.
I feel some fixes i would have done would be either keep the Qwark Twist but have it happen either when the duo get stranded in the Desert or when they get arested or just ditch Qwark for the next game since i still think his multi game arc could still work since let's be really he isn't really that funny or even threatening as a villain here since he isn't given the time needed to thrive or maybe tease him at the end of this game like Deadlocked and instead make Fizzwidget the villain like was intended, have Fizzwidget personally tell them that he's the big bad guy before they're arrested and despite the hold he has on the Galaxy, he just wants more money with the Proto Pet and the people of the Bogon Galaxy to respect Megacorp as company even more, present Megacorp as a company that was rotten from the start of the game instead of slowly dripping it any of the NPCs you talk to so resentment to Megacorp but can't do anything due to Megacorp being that Big, make Ratchet fully realise that in his pursuit of wanting to live the glory days, he accidentally helps the Villain fulfil his goal and should have had more light shed on it, realising that he needs to make it right, have this realisation after they get arrested, also in the Desert Stage Ratchet is fulling trusting of Megacorp and Clank is a lot more less distrusting, a sort of role reversal of the first game, and instead of a confused old guy he's more akin to how Drek was in the first game and will do anything in order to get what he wants, including kidnapping Angela or releasing the Proto Pet Meance early. Then at the end of the game we see him through everything at Ratchet, then after the final boss, we have Fizzwidget pleading Ratchet that all he wanted for people to respect his company again as it's been passed from Fizzwidget to Fizzwidget and as his duty he needs to preserve it for future generations, Ratchet lets Fizzwidget go and the ending (set few months after) shows that Megacorp is slowly but surely recovering to its former glory. I think the scenes with the Thug 4 Less Leader with Fizzwidget could show that he's more sympathetic about his actions, making the ending feel a lot more earned. I think that would work better than "Megacorp is bad or is it?" like they kinda discard it at the end for a cheap twist but while i do think my rewrite fixes a lot of the issues of this story, i feel it doesn't really matter? Like you can tell the animators (Yes Animators wrote this and the previous game) wanted to focus on comedy above all else which while is disappointing i can't complain here since the story isn't take as seriously as say the 3 Future games or Sly 4 where critique is warranted but since the comedy is done so well, i feel it shortcomings are sorta made up for.
But in terms of it's presentation, i feel Locked and Loaded keeps the same bar of the original while slightly dropping it, compared to the first game and let's be honest, apart from animation which is just as great as the first game if not more so is slacking compared to its other PS2 contemporaries, not bad by any means but i just find Sly 2 or even Jak 2 to look more aesthetically pleasing, the game looks good but i find more often that the colours look washed out, the game trades the rustic/cyberpunk aesthetics to a more clean and sterile aesthetic and this plus environments make it not as memorable as the first game, like for instance the game's take for Metropolis (Megapolis) is a great level with strong level design and an pretty cool and funny game mechanic of the robotic cleaners topped with some great callbacks, a decent boss and a nice Clank section but pales in comparison to Metropolis in terms of it Vibes and Level design, a lot of areas look great such as exploring an Illegal sky port, a large desert/tundra filled with crystals, the countless of unique factorys/test facilities that Megacorp owns, the beautiful greenary/forest areas, space vegas and even a not as cool "we reuse the first level but harder" thing from Ratchet 1 now with the airship from the beginning, however i feel a lot of the City's apart from Megapolis blend together into one Beige mess that while have great level design, don't do much to differentiate themselves from each other. I think this also goes for music, not bad, some great but mostly forgettable, again I don't have much to say about the Ost of most Ratchet games since they only really fit the mood/atmosphere of the stage and aren't my kind of thing anyway, but one thing that sorta stays same is the Voice acting, Mikey Kelly is replaced with James Arnold Taylor of Johnny Test fame and i think he does a mighty fine job doing his voice though i felt it was bit to far in order to make Ratchet have less of his edge, the voice acting is as good as the first game but there's some standouts like Steve Blum as the Thugs for Less leader, not only is he already a funny character but the delivery absolutely sells it for me, he manages to perfectly balance between threatening and insanely comedic, it's quite a shame he's barely used in the series again since he perfectly does what a Ratchet Villain is suppose to do.
But in terms of gameplay it's kinda like the story, while one core element really works, the rest feel a bit half-baked. When it comes to the moment to moment gameplay in terms of level design and gameplay mechanics Locked and Loaded hits it out of the park and manages to be as good as Ratchet 1 and even better sometimes, the game uses a lot of the same structure as the first game but fully merges both platforming and shooting into one little glorious mix of 3rd Person shooter goodness and some solid platforming, with Ratchet's new tighter movement and strafing it makes combat so much more frantic and controlled, the strategic feeling of the first game isn't lost however since new to this game is Weapon and Nanotech upgrades, While i welcome the Nanotech upgrades with wither fighting enemies or collecting them, i feel the Weapon Upgrades and the weapons themselves could have used a bit more work, I don't want to overwhelming negatives but the Weapons are handled a bit poorly, they only level up once and hell sometimes they completely change the function, like the Lava Gun which while still a decent level up feels way too different from the original use, also don't like how the Slim Cognito Mods you need to seek out and use Raritanium (which isn't very rare by the way). Most of the time however, the Weapon Upgrades come in handy mostly notably the Bouncer which becomes an absolute beast.
But i mean apart from that i don't have much to say about the weapons of Locked and Loaded, a lot use the same tropes from the first game, normal shooting weapons, crowd control, bots, remote control weapons, long shot beam weapons etc. The newer weapon ideas are pretty hit and miss unfortunately, having Gadgetron weapons is nice i suppose but it's obvious they were more for contextual reasons rather than any good feasible reason for gameplay, i found some weapons like the Chopper or Hoverbomb Gun feel like Weapons that were supposed to be in the first game since they feel more fit for that slower strategic gameplay instead since both trade off speed for stronger attacks making them feel insanely situational but other like the Bouncer, Blitz Gun, Zodiac, Pulse Rifle etc really work for this more action packed platformer while also keeping the strategy elements from the previous game intact, but i do have a few issues with the weapons and other RPG aspects of this game, for one i feel levelling them up takes a bit of time, not too much but just enough where there’s the feeling off “When can this level up?”, the other issues with levelling up is how they handled having Weapons, in the first game each weapon was useful throughout from the start right to end with maybe the exception of the Bomb Glove, In 2 first game Weapons are completely useless as the game progressed, while we're not there yet despite me feeling so luckwarm about Ratchet 3 I find how they handled weapons there to be better since they allow for 5 Levels while also balancing older weapons in the first act for other enemies in later stages, again not too huge of a fan of Up Your Arsenal but this is one aspect that UYA actually improves on previous games, but here not only are some Weapons are in danger of being completely outclassed but the encomny and enemy balance of this game is completely wack, sure you get more Bolts from enemies and Boxes since they are now Gold Bolts, this makes the original Gold Bolts to Titanium Bolts now which is neat I guess, but for some reason Bolt prices for Weapons and especially armour (another new RPG mechanic) are insanely expensive, unless you grind with the Maxi Games and Ship games good luck on getting all the Main Weapons in a first playthrough, speaking of Armour while I like the idea of Armour upgrades, again the economic issues really hold them back from being anything other than a neat little novelty, though they look really bad especially in the PS3 Version were the helmet isn't even on Ratchet's head and it's too big for him.
Also, it just feels like Locked and Loaded losses ideas and steam as it goes along, it gets better during the Hypnomatic quest since I find those levels to be a blast and the aforementioned Sky Port stage but Locked and Loaded 2nd Act levels never get bad per say but a bit boring, in 1 it felt each level was of a consistent quality expect maybe if it was a more obstacle like stage were some frustration could be had, each of them had interesting ideas with Gadgets while also balancing platforming and shooting but in Locked and Loaded 2nd Act levels just kinda don't do that? Again I can't stress enough they aren't badly designed levels but i just feel naturally blending the routes into 2 just makes them less memorable than the first game, this could also be attributed to the Gadgets but one thing that you can clearly show the devs losing steam are the bosses, The Maxigame bosses are inoffensive since they’re just suppose to be an sendoff to the challenge as well as the crystal hunting minibosses but as the game progresses each boss just get worse and worse, from the decent fights with the swamp monster and Helicopter to the great Uncharted esque chance with Angela or giant mech fight (if you’re using V2 Bouncer) to the unfair saucer fight, boring Thugs for Less leader Clank fight and the laughably anti-climatic final boss that you can snipe from a mile away which feels like a boss found in the Maxigames, it’s sucks because they have this great idea of using weapons/ammo from the game but you barely see it since it doesn't take long to beat him, i guess they wanted to make up from the final boss of Ratchet 1 huh?
The Gadgets and extra gizmos you get in this aren't as interesting as the first game unfortunately, first Clank gameplay has gotten a huge downgrade atmospherically, it seems that it felt like they wanted to get it over with since "Oh the first game had it so this one has to have it to" in the 2 scenarios (I.e Megapolis and the Prison Break) there's a lot less going on and your essentially just freeing Ratchet instead of soaking in the atmosphere of challenges that may seem easy for Ratchet but harrowing for Clank. Giant Clank however is the complete opposite, they introduced these Spherical world's which are neat little pace breaker that are unfortunately used once for normal Ratchet but they used like 2 or 3 times for Giant Clank, and it is awesome, they added strafing, a bunch of new moves and best of all, the frame rate doesnt shit itself! Now where I’m where I’m really baffled about Locked & Loaded is it’s Gadget line-up, of course you have a few returning ones like the Packs, Swingshot and Grind Boots when you save Clank and also a new version of the Gravity Boots which makes combat a lot better there but a lot of times the new Gadgets in 2 feel like there should be merged in some instances, like the Dynamo and Tracker Beam are 2 Beam gadgets but one is for Bots and Bombs and one is for platforms, could they not have been merged? Another example are 2 Flying Gadgets, The Levitator and Momentum Glider, while these work differently and are very fun i just found them weird since i feel the Momentum Glider is useless since the Levitator is just a better version of it, you also got 2 hacking minigames which while serviceable feel way too trial and error to be considered that fun or even puzzles for that matter. You also get the returning extra items from Ratchet 1 like the Mapper or Bolt Magnetic and even new ones like the Charge Boots which give you a long boost and the Box Breaker that breaks boxes upon slamming. Finally these 2 Gadgets have such cool ideas but aren’t executed the best, these being the Thermanotor and the Hyponomatic, the Thermantor allows you to freeze and refreeze water, this is such a cool idea but in the segments you have to use them in you have to be unfeasibly precise with when you time you shoot the Ice, and the Hypnomatic essentially allows you to be a twin stick shooter robot, while it’s fine and inoffensive it just feels like a waste due to how the 3rd Act is just dedicated to getting all the parts and especially since it’s used twice in the game, one being a tutorial and one being the final, not to mention there’s already a remote control robot in this game.
However despite how I’ve felt throughout this review, one thing that Locked & Loaded nails are the new Maxigames which are new side content ventures that allow you to obtain more bolts that may be mandatory once or twice they are introduced, everyone of these is great apart from Ship stuff which is just ranges kinda boring and really bad with the racing sections, all of these new additions are top-tier, the Hoverbike races are a lot more instance than the Hoverboard in Ratchet 1, you are always in your feet since you could flying through and then one crash could ruin everything, not to mention later on the Power-Ups you use in the stages can be used against you, and the Crystal Hunting stages, yes fuck the snowbeast but these are great, allowing you to explore these giant battlefields finding sellable, fighting enemies and bosses while also leveling up everything and oh the Arenas, fantastic addition, pure fighting bliss filled with non-stop action packed euphoria with each challenge being more unique and gruelling more than the last, this is how any platformer should do variety (mostly), keeping the core fundamentals and gameplay of the main game while also adding upon it and giving the player new and exciting challenges.
But overall looking at Locked & Loaded in a vacuum, yeah it’s pretty good but i feel it could have been better if they had more time to fully develop it’s ideas, when Locked & Loaded gets going with it’s core mechanics like the comedy, music, level ideas and action-packed gameplay, it’s a blast and even matches and surpasses to the first game but when it stumbles, it just kinda falls, it never gets awful which is why i may retract that 7/10 to an low 8/10 since that core is so strong but it’s flaws can’t be overlooked, yeah it’s funny but the story is a bit messy, yeah the music & level ideas slap sometimes but more times than not they mush together and feels a lot less unique that the first, yes that euphoric action-packed gameplay is redefined from the first game with better controls and bigger bolder action setpieces, but it feels like it’s just throwing ideas on a wall and seeing what sticks making for such an inconsistent experience when some stuff lands and some stuff don’t (like there’s Wrench Upgrades in this game why do you need Wrench upgrades???), in spite it all though, Locked & Loaded is still a good game with that core gameplay more than times that not being that fun and is also a solid entry in the series and this genre as a whole but the first game is better, Yeah i just found the first game’s presentation, levels and story to beat this one out due to how much more refined and unique they are, but hey, it’s better than Ratchet 2016 and Up Your Arsenal, so that’s something.
Honestly it feels great when a hyped up game manages to live up to your expectations and even overdelievers
Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope is a really great Indie 2D Platformer made by former Wayforward employees called Yacht Club Games, after a successful Kickstarter, this game was graced to the many consoles it's on. Shovel Knight I feel not only does exactly what it sets out to do (I.E being a modern styled NES Platformer) but is one of the best 2D Platformers I've ever played.
The game takes a lot of inspiration from the world/level structure from Mega Man and Super Mario Bros 3 along with movement from Ducktales while standing on its own and being better than all 3 of these inspirations. Shovel Knight's level design is great as it feels pretty challenging and fair while using Shovel Knight's simple, tight and fun movement as you traverse these mystically 8 levels with many enemies and unique landscapes as this game will test all of your platforming skills ending with some gruelling yet fair boss fights (apart from Propeller Knight he sucks)
While it's reminiscent of a late 80's NES Game, the game isn't stuck in the past unlike say Sonic Mania, Mega Man 9 or 10, which are the pinnacle of the series (not Sonic Mania lol) but admittedly don't advance the series in any way at all. Shovel Knight obviously isn't a part of the series but does this for these types of platformers in general, many tropes in this game are either gone or completely subverted.
Most notably, lives are gone and the punishment is losing at a maximum of 3 Bags of the Treasure. I'm not gonna talk about whether or not lives belong in games or not since it depends on the game, but it works in its favour like Super Mario Odyssey which shamelessly stole this system. You don't need to get the Treasure but you probably want to, since you need them for buying shovel/Health/Armour/Magic upgrades or relics, optional items which can be bought by a vendor. These are pretty hit and mis. and one of the only major issue with the game, on one hand they can provide a nice little game changer such as the Mobile Gear, Phase Locket and Propeller but most of them come of sort and are very situational. Another issue is that i kinda feel there needed to be a bit more enemy variety and how you approach them since a lot of the encounters feel really one note.
Shovel Knight also adds a few other new ideas that makes it really feel like a great follow up to this enjoyable while dated era of games, such as digging stuff with your shovel, collecting music notes which can unlock music to be played in the Hub World earned by doing a challenge in the stage, along with the World Map system that's sorta a mix between Mega Man & Basa of all games and Super Mario Bros 3 where you unlock multiple boss stages at once, this allows for a good amount of choice/replayability while also increasing the challenge significantly, You've also got 3 Hub Worlds (4 with an exclusive Streetpass Arena from the 3DS) which allow you to talk to NPCs and upgrade your equipment, finally similar to Super Mario Bros 3 you've got optional Boss fights with characters such as Solar Strike or Black Knight which are harder than the main bosses but give you a lot of treasure, There's even a neat risk reward system with the Checkpoints where you can break them to gain a Gem but you can't spawn there anymore.
One last thing that Shovel Knight excels at is its presentation and surprisingly the story. The game has this really charming 2D Pixel art that doesn't hold back with a colour palette that's not limited by Console limitations and with great animation , along with great designs for the main knights and even with the unique side characters. The music is also pretty great and memorable, i find music that's trying to element an older soundfont doesn't sound that great in my opinion but here the soundtrack uses the limited soundfont to produce some amazing themes. But lastly, the story isn't anything amazing but it's surprisingly in depth, it follows Shovel Knight going on one last adventure after finding out the Enchantress has gathered 7 Knights to take over the land it has a lot of charming dialogue with the main theme of what it means to be a Knight/Adventurer and without delving into spoilers, there's a lot of moments where there's a good amount of character development/moments, it's not super in-depth but it's definitely admirable that the game wants to develop it's world and characters such as every boss having a Mega Man Powered Up of Boss Preludes.
So overall Shovel Knight is a great 2D Platformer that isn't a major game changer but definitely shakes up a lot of NES Platforming tropes making it probably better than any of the games it's taking inspiration from so I'll give it a good recommend if you haven't played it already, if this is how good the first game is then i hope the DLC can uphold or even surpass this game.
Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope is a really great Indie 2D Platformer made by former Wayforward employees called Yacht Club Games, after a successful Kickstarter, this game was graced to the many consoles it's on. Shovel Knight I feel not only does exactly what it sets out to do (I.E being a modern styled NES Platformer) but is one of the best 2D Platformers I've ever played.
The game takes a lot of inspiration from the world/level structure from Mega Man and Super Mario Bros 3 along with movement from Ducktales while standing on its own and being better than all 3 of these inspirations. Shovel Knight's level design is great as it feels pretty challenging and fair while using Shovel Knight's simple, tight and fun movement as you traverse these mystically 8 levels with many enemies and unique landscapes as this game will test all of your platforming skills ending with some gruelling yet fair boss fights (apart from Propeller Knight he sucks)
While it's reminiscent of a late 80's NES Game, the game isn't stuck in the past unlike say Sonic Mania, Mega Man 9 or 10, which are the pinnacle of the series (not Sonic Mania lol) but admittedly don't advance the series in any way at all. Shovel Knight obviously isn't a part of the series but does this for these types of platformers in general, many tropes in this game are either gone or completely subverted.
Most notably, lives are gone and the punishment is losing at a maximum of 3 Bags of the Treasure. I'm not gonna talk about whether or not lives belong in games or not since it depends on the game, but it works in its favour like Super Mario Odyssey which shamelessly stole this system. You don't need to get the Treasure but you probably want to, since you need them for buying shovel/Health/Armour/Magic upgrades or relics, optional items which can be bought by a vendor. These are pretty hit and mis. and one of the only major issue with the game, on one hand they can provide a nice little game changer such as the Mobile Gear, Phase Locket and Propeller but most of them come of sort and are very situational. Another issue is that i kinda feel there needed to be a bit more enemy variety and how you approach them since a lot of the encounters feel really one note.
Shovel Knight also adds a few other new ideas that makes it really feel like a great follow up to this enjoyable while dated era of games, such as digging stuff with your shovel, collecting music notes which can unlock music to be played in the Hub World earned by doing a challenge in the stage, along with the World Map system that's sorta a mix between Mega Man & Basa of all games and Super Mario Bros 3 where you unlock multiple boss stages at once, this allows for a good amount of choice/replayability while also increasing the challenge significantly, You've also got 3 Hub Worlds (4 with an exclusive Streetpass Arena from the 3DS) which allow you to talk to NPCs and upgrade your equipment, finally similar to Super Mario Bros 3 you've got optional Boss fights with characters such as Solar Strike or Black Knight which are harder than the main bosses but give you a lot of treasure, There's even a neat risk reward system with the Checkpoints where you can break them to gain a Gem but you can't spawn there anymore.
One last thing that Shovel Knight excels at is its presentation and surprisingly the story. The game has this really charming 2D Pixel art that doesn't hold back with a colour palette that's not limited by Console limitations and with great animation , along with great designs for the main knights and even with the unique side characters. The music is also pretty great and memorable, i find music that's trying to element an older soundfont doesn't sound that great in my opinion but here the soundtrack uses the limited soundfont to produce some amazing themes. But lastly, the story isn't anything amazing but it's surprisingly in depth, it follows Shovel Knight going on one last adventure after finding out the Enchantress has gathered 7 Knights to take over the land it has a lot of charming dialogue with the main theme of what it means to be a Knight/Adventurer and without delving into spoilers, there's a lot of moments where there's a good amount of character development/moments, it's not super in-depth but it's definitely admirable that the game wants to develop it's world and characters such as every boss having a Mega Man Powered Up of Boss Preludes.
So overall Shovel Knight is a great 2D Platformer that isn't a major game changer but definitely shakes up a lot of NES Platforming tropes making it probably better than any of the games it's taking inspiration from so I'll give it a good recommend if you haven't played it already, if this is how good the first game is then i hope the DLC can uphold or even surpass this game.
2022
Pac-Man's limited run of platformers or "Pac-formers" as i like to call them has been very hit or miss, the only one that I'd say is up to par with other Platformers is possibly Pac Man World 2 without 100% the game, World 1 is decent albeit poorly aged and World 3 is a classic 2000 mess despite it's writing being surprisingly funny and the Ghostly Adventures games while serrviceable, feel generic and don't use Pac Man's character to his strengths and also have awful production values.
This is where Pac Man World: Repac comes in, a remake of the first world game now modernized for modern consoles, the game showed a lot of promise when first shown but i did have some reservations after the Klonoa remasters had some backlash along with other recent remakes.
I'm glad to report this remake not only improves on an original game but is a pretty decent time like the first. There are some issues but i feel Repac shows an insane amount of promise if this is way that the world games can be ported.
Going on a tangent here, the original Pac Man World games with maybe the exeception of Pac Man World 2 can't be ported due to using Ms Pac Man which has some weird legal jargon, and now is replace with Pac-Mum which i gotta be honest, isn't a good design but is a small price to pay to have these games on modern consoles.
In terms of being a remake, this game looks and feels great! What surprised me is that the game actually has a performance mode on switch that runs at a lower resolution but runs at 60fps so that's nice, but the remake's artstyle is really good, I love a lot of the new designs except Pac-Mum, it's bright and colorful while also staying true to the original game, they did redesign Pac's Family and some Bosses along with changing cutscenes/level environments but a lot of them are for the better, like for example, if you don't save all his family members which are now optional to save, the original ending plays of Pac Man eating Orson which is now framed as the bad ending, the new ending follows the new cutscene where they celebrate the party but now the ghosts are there, wholesome.
Despite how good of a remake it is, there are some issues, they removed the fake bloopers as a 100% reward, they changed the power pellet ability so now Pac-Man grows big for some reason and the bonus mazes are still annoyning, however i think the good outweighs the bad such as the new hover power-up, new cutscenes with Toc-Man introducing the bosses, better and smoother controls, songs remain faithful to the original game while also improving on the sound design of the game as a whole and the best change, Bosses are now a lot more fair, gone is the one hit BS from Toc-Man'a final Boss and the annoying Anubis feels fun to fight due to the new platforms on ground, hell they even added some pinch modes to some other unremarkable Bosses in the game, making them more memorable, as far as remakes go this is good as it's gets.
The game however is decent enough, it follows Pac Man as he journeys through Ghost Island from an robotic imposter (Toc Man) as he saves his family after they're captured from his surpise Birthday. What makes Pac Man World great is Pac's movement, collecting items such as the fruits or PACMAN letters and level design, they use his design to it's fullest potential, though not to the extent of Pac Man World 2, Pac can butt bounce, roll and throw pellets he can collect. You also have Mazes which can be unlocked by collecting a certain fruit in a stage, the mazes aren't really that fun unfortunately, they rely way too heavily on gimmicks which hurst them heavily since they're pretty unprediactable most of the time.
Level design wise, this game is decent enough, it's not going to shake up the genre but is servicable enough and uses Pac-Man's abilities very well, it throws enough gimmicks such as racing, revving and using some of the power-ups in the game such the totally not stolen from Mario power-up the metal pellet, used for water sections.
This would be the part of the review where I'd listed some flaws but since the remake fixes most of them, i don't have many! In the original game some Bosses had some pretty unfair moments and the controls and camera (especially in the Racing sections) feeling off but a lot of these are thankfully fixed.
Overall, Pac Man World Repac is a great remake of an already solid game, it shows what a remake should do and does have some the pitfalls of some remakes such as unneeded fluff/changes but more than makes up for the fixes it does do and having a great artstyle, the Pac is actually back and I couldn't be happier.
This is where Pac Man World: Repac comes in, a remake of the first world game now modernized for modern consoles, the game showed a lot of promise when first shown but i did have some reservations after the Klonoa remasters had some backlash along with other recent remakes.
I'm glad to report this remake not only improves on an original game but is a pretty decent time like the first. There are some issues but i feel Repac shows an insane amount of promise if this is way that the world games can be ported.
Going on a tangent here, the original Pac Man World games with maybe the exeception of Pac Man World 2 can't be ported due to using Ms Pac Man which has some weird legal jargon, and now is replace with Pac-Mum which i gotta be honest, isn't a good design but is a small price to pay to have these games on modern consoles.
In terms of being a remake, this game looks and feels great! What surprised me is that the game actually has a performance mode on switch that runs at a lower resolution but runs at 60fps so that's nice, but the remake's artstyle is really good, I love a lot of the new designs except Pac-Mum, it's bright and colorful while also staying true to the original game, they did redesign Pac's Family and some Bosses along with changing cutscenes/level environments but a lot of them are for the better, like for example, if you don't save all his family members which are now optional to save, the original ending plays of Pac Man eating Orson which is now framed as the bad ending, the new ending follows the new cutscene where they celebrate the party but now the ghosts are there, wholesome.
Despite how good of a remake it is, there are some issues, they removed the fake bloopers as a 100% reward, they changed the power pellet ability so now Pac-Man grows big for some reason and the bonus mazes are still annoyning, however i think the good outweighs the bad such as the new hover power-up, new cutscenes with Toc-Man introducing the bosses, better and smoother controls, songs remain faithful to the original game while also improving on the sound design of the game as a whole and the best change, Bosses are now a lot more fair, gone is the one hit BS from Toc-Man'a final Boss and the annoying Anubis feels fun to fight due to the new platforms on ground, hell they even added some pinch modes to some other unremarkable Bosses in the game, making them more memorable, as far as remakes go this is good as it's gets.
The game however is decent enough, it follows Pac Man as he journeys through Ghost Island from an robotic imposter (Toc Man) as he saves his family after they're captured from his surpise Birthday. What makes Pac Man World great is Pac's movement, collecting items such as the fruits or PACMAN letters and level design, they use his design to it's fullest potential, though not to the extent of Pac Man World 2, Pac can butt bounce, roll and throw pellets he can collect. You also have Mazes which can be unlocked by collecting a certain fruit in a stage, the mazes aren't really that fun unfortunately, they rely way too heavily on gimmicks which hurst them heavily since they're pretty unprediactable most of the time.
Level design wise, this game is decent enough, it's not going to shake up the genre but is servicable enough and uses Pac-Man's abilities very well, it throws enough gimmicks such as racing, revving and using some of the power-ups in the game such the totally not stolen from Mario power-up the metal pellet, used for water sections.
This would be the part of the review where I'd listed some flaws but since the remake fixes most of them, i don't have many! In the original game some Bosses had some pretty unfair moments and the controls and camera (especially in the Racing sections) feeling off but a lot of these are thankfully fixed.
Overall, Pac Man World Repac is a great remake of an already solid game, it shows what a remake should do and does have some the pitfalls of some remakes such as unneeded fluff/changes but more than makes up for the fixes it does do and having a great artstyle, the Pac is actually back and I couldn't be happier.
2002
Will never understand why I gave some my favourite games of all time some pretty underwhelming quick looks, so I'm gonna be doing some rereviews of some of my first few reviews on this site, mainly this one since I finished Going Commando so I need some ground to base on why I didn't love Going Commando as much as this game, speaking of.
Yeah I really like Ratchet and Clank, yes I know it's pretty jank, yes I know the controls don't feel that good when playing plus the lack of strafing hurts this game age, yes Ratchet's is a near irredeemable asshole in most of the middle act of the game and yes, The Boob Easter egg is is cool but like, this game is brilliant, obviously it has many flaws but I'm willing to forgive them for reasons I'll get into later.
Development wise, Insominac made a trilogy of great Platformers, Spyro The Dragon and Disruptor, after Year of the Dragon, they lost the rights to Universal, which was a blessing in disguise since they didn't really have much ideas for the Purple Dragon, I mean don't get me wrong, Spyro 3 is a great especially in Reignited where the extra playable characters are actually fun to play as but you can definitely tell they're were lossing ideas fast, so they were making a new ambitious next generation game, that's not Ratchet & Clank, you see originally they're making a game called I5/Girl with a Stick, while Sony liked the game, Ted Price and most of Insomniac weren't that happy with the game so scrapped it in favour of a action packed space adventure using the wacky weapons of Disruptor and the collectahon aspects of Spyro along with more Zelda akin puzzle solving and exploration to the dismay of Sony, which meant they had a short amount of time to develop the game, despite all the odds against them when doing a few playtests the game received much praise which would continue on to the release though was heavily criticised for things that I'll get into later.
So this why I'm more forgiving of the game's flaws then most people, this franchise has probably the most fucked development cycle out of most other franchises until now and while this one is more tame it's a miracle how this game had such a quick development cycle and managed to become some what unscathed, though the cracks will show at points like with the HUD having some miscolored text, some glitches during a normal playthrough (which is not the case in terms of Speedruning) and some odd gameplay omissions.
The story and writing of this game is pretty decent though there's one fatal flaw that dampers the entire story, the Year is 5354, there's this little mechanic guy called Ratchet who is lombax (a weird lion monkey thing) who wants to explore the galaxy but is stuck on a shitty mud planet, Veldin, he gets his chance when he meets Clank, a defect from the Main Villain, Chairman Drek who wants to create his own planet from using other planets, so the duo decide to have an agreement after realising they can both have their goals fulfilled, essentially it's just the phrase "help me help you". While it sounds straightforward, the journey is far from that throughout each planet you meet a variety of characters from robots, humanoids and a plethora of unique aliens and anthro characters, while I could list my favourite characters there's just too many to choose from as lazy as that may sounds, but if I had to choose my favourite interactions, just anyone from Qforce in Up Your Arsenal lol and the Plumber ig he's pretty funny (but while we're here let's savour the time he isn't used as an almighty demigod), but every single one of them depsite their short time show a lot of personality in terms of their writing and voice acting, most of their purposes revolve around the paywalls and to serve as natural exposition for the world (and for insufficient padidng) which they do pretty well explaining the political and commercial satire of the world in a funny and fresh way, but the main characters are written well for the most part until the first boss with Qwark, Ratchet's characters gets so insufferable inFamously annoying too Clank, I kinda dig his character initially and the dynamic between Clank, he's not so willing to be a Hero unlike the 2016 game where he's a wide eyed naive nerdy scout, he's also just done with everyone's shit possibly due too his secluded nature, like the Mayor of Novalis, talking badly about his idol, Qwark and the other character interactions, this only becomes a problem after the 2nd Boss, his attuide until the last few levels isn't very fun to watch, while the set up is there better than most media with this, the execution is not very good. I don't mind it when Clank spouts back at Ratchet but when the dude is just minding his own business, it's just insufferable to see him do it, i feel like there should have been at least another incident a little bit after the Qwark Boss that sets Ratchet fully into dick mode, along with more clapbacks with Clank and more people calling him out on his attitude, I also think the turnaround is a bit too quick and segmented since depending on the story could not make sense after but i feel as if Ratchet should realise that he needs Clank more than he realises knows it. I feel you could make the argument that Ratchet doesn't know many people but I feel they should have played more into this maybe touching a bit on his Origins though maybe still keeping a bit of the mystery. I also think giving Clank a bit of an arc about how staying by book won't get results since he is basically a newborn at this point with not much of a moral compass would be better since he just says static throughout, though is still an enjoyable character. But Ratchet's character issues don't take away for what is a pretty solid story overall and i can at least appreciate them trying to develop the main playable characters and give them an arc which apart from Sly and uh Sonic Lost World (for the wrong reasons) do that but anyway, this is mainly due to the 2 villains of the game, Chairman Drek, an evil businessman who is a bit of an outlier in the series since he isn't a sole comedic villain but when he does have his funny moments, it doesn't undermine the threat he poses since the dude is literally is destroying thousands of ecosystems for his own secret monetary gain, displacing millions of his own people by his own violation and will do it again, I mean it would be a horrible idea to make him into an overly comedic and forgettable villain with a phoned celebrity performance and brushing the whole entire twist as a joke while also not being the main villain of the game i mean that would be a terrible idea. Luckily to balance the seriousness of Drek, we got Captain Qwark, a washed up hero who decides to endorse Drek's new Planet to spice up his image, he's a pretty funny character and plus unlike other games in the series, they use him very sparingly plus the twist being at the start of the game when we first meet him in person gives us a huge amount of time to give us some pretty interesting and comedic interactions with the Heroes also showing us how everyone in the Galaxy is out of their own hind and there's no true heroes, I love how they don't shy away from makings him as irredeemable as possible yet still make hin funny all emblematic through his penultimate appearance where he's only selling us a Gadgetron PDA as Steve McQwark no big death or sting operation just this which is pretty great seeing as it also strengthens Ratchet's character since he knows Qwark's is not worth seeing as they have bigger and more important fish to fry instead of trying to tell us Qwark was a really great guy and deserves redemption, yeah I've insinuated this but yeah the 2016 reboot sucks, not only is Drek and everyone else has some good ol character assassination but they add some pointless fluff to the story, you see there's a reason why there's 2 villains in Ratchet 1 that are both radically different and it's kinda genius. They both represent the satire of this world, Drek politically and Qwark commercially, so then why make both of them into commercial wacky characters and also having a definitely not obvious twist villain from the 3rd game who has nothing to do with the story. I know this is a review about the 2002 game and not the remake but I feel it's important to mention seeing just how bad they screwed up the story, but that's for another time. So Ratchet 1's story is solid, Ratchet's character is pretty annoying and has a underwhelming make of for it apart from the ending which is really great however barring that it's a solid story, it's a simple story about how friendship can come from the oddest of people, the dangers of greed/popularity and how it doesn't matter where you come from, you can anything great no matter how small or big that may be and oh yeah it talks about commercialism i guess, It's not as thematically deep as Sly or heck even as funny intentionally or unintentionally as the Jak series but i think mainly for it's fun and satirical writing and the great zany cast of the one off characters and villains, though our Heroes and structure need a bit of work before i can truly call this story great.
The presentation of the game is pretty good, I wouldn't say it holds up incredibly well but is serviceable enough but I'd say out of the holy triforce of PS2 Platformers first entries, i think this may have the worst presentation out of them, despite Sly not really pushing the hardware as much as the other too. First of all the PS3 Port of this game fares better than entire trilogy and looks pretty nice on there, though the suck/water HUD sticking out is pretty glaring despite being in the original too, the music doesn't loop properly and some models look bad like what the hell happened to Al and Moby to the transition good lord but 16:9, the framerate being smooth, skippable cutscenes and the resolution increase is all i need so I'm fine but anyway speaking of HUD i really like the haphazard and rusted UI it makes the game have it's own unique feel too it, this is turn goes to the music and… yeah I'm not really a fan, like it definitely fits the stage and game as a whole pretty well and some tracks go hard like Veldin/Pokitaru, Novalis, Rilgar, Kerwan and other tracks but on the whole while it's a good ost, it's just not all that memorable. But what is memorable is the voice acting, i feel like this was the era were video games started getting considerable better at Voice Acting (mostly) and this is no exception, Mikey Kelley definitely has an odd line here and there but does a solid job as Ratchet, David Kaye gives my favourite iteration of Clank he has done being a lot more robotic yet still giving some personality, Jim Ward's performance as Qwark sells the washed up and pompous Hero pretty well and Kevin Michael Richardson uses his well known deep voice to sell the satirical yet sneed remarks of Chairman Drek along with all the NPCs not slacking one bit with their one off performances, selling the characters pretty well, i feel that was a bit of an issue with the Spyro trilogy which is why I'll always prefer the Reignited Trilogy lol, but they pull of the performances pretty well. However they didn't skip out on the next generation appeal of the game in terms of the artstyle, i really dig it, character animation and designs despite some odd moments, look really great and expressive, each stage looks amazing, no wonder why each stage opens with one shot to showcase what it entails, they take normal conventions of a platformer (I.e Plains, Desert, Ice, Forest, Beach and Lava) and make them really unique due to the more, I don't think it's the right word but Cyberpunk aesthetic and also due to actually being conjectural and important to the plot and enemies living there, the enemies don't feel like they're just plopped in there for wacky gameplay reasons but rather if it fits the world or even plot at some points, like all of them feel unique despite having some repeated themes, like a desert/canyon of Veldin, Umbris and Arida or a City like Kerwan, Rilgar and Olantis or a Green Plains like Novalis or Eudora and makes them unique such as Veldin being both homely and yet mysterious at the same time, both masterfully working as a starting level and an ending level despite Drek's Planet being right there, Umbris being a mechanical obstacle course built on a Volcano, Rilgar being City built on the Ocean, Olantis being essentially destroyed in a thunderstorm while serving as a neat little obstacle course, and Eudora being a forest deprived of its trees while Novalis is more of a Canyon setting. So overall despite some rough points the presentation is really nice.
And that is comparable to the gameplay, pretty noticeable rough points but very fun overall. The game is a simple platformer with some quaint third person shooter elements, you have main and side missions that can either advance the story opening new planets through getting/buying Infobots (the stars of this game but inside of a counter you get a cutscene either as a message or a commercial), or can give you a new item like the Bolt Grabber,Gadgetron PDA, Map-O-Matic, Persuader, and Nanotech Upgrades, the gameplay loop of this game is very satisfying and kinda reminds me of a Zelda styled Metroidvania with a lot of platforming and shooting mechanics which is exactly what they were going with, i feel Ratchet & Clank unlike the other games in the series isn't trying to be a third person shooter, more so it's the only game that's solely a platformer through and through. Now I've heard a few issues with the game in terms of the combat and controls, I don't see it. Like I don't know but i feel the issue might come down to playing future games before this and expecting that perfect blend that Going Commando does when this one is trying to do something a lot different, that being said i do like the combat in this game but admittedly it could be somewhat better and more well suited to fully balance the platforming and shooting gameplay which I don't think apart from maybe Going Commando and Into the Nexus, the series doesn't really attempt to balance them ever again to this degree, though is still prevalent throughout the series. The game for most of its levels has a pretty strict separation in terms of Platforming, Puzzle Solving and Shooting along with completing Skill Points and finding Gold Bolts to purchase stronger weapons. The Main story route may entail 2 of these but apart from very few instances most notable and inFamously the final level, all 3 aren't mixed unlike Going Commando which does it for the main route.
The platforming of this game is really good, they complement Ratchet's movement which could be better, his turning speed is way too slow and pulling off advanced moves is a bit taxing sometimes but i think it comes down from how well designed it is, it's the right amount of challenging and fairness along with using the Grapple hook and Heli/Thruster Pack in order to give the player a more interesting experience, it's not like it's up to Galaxy 2 or Generations levels of platforming but i feel it remains fun and interesting enough throughout.
Shooting wise I feel it could be better (especially with particular levels), but i still I really like it, I feel the lack of strafing isn't as much as a design problem as people think due to the game mostly being designed around it, the "strafing" that is there is so slow and clunky that it can't really be used on a regular combat basis, like i feel as if instead of a strafe, i feel the game should have had the camera focus on the enemies and a better lock on system since the camera while serviceable is so slow which is especially showcased in the combat sections but nonetheless, this combat is really fun to play around , I don't know if it was intentional or not but it feels very strategic to get around, not every situation can be fixed running and gunning like the other games especially with the 2016 game, you could go for a sneaking approach, go on the move with the thruster pack, use the Pryociter, Suck Cannon and Bomb Glove to control the crowd, use the variety of drones too either have a shield, control a remote control drone or have the agents of doom wreck everything in site, want to get in close? Use the Wrench and Walloper, need to distract the enemies? Pull out the decoy’s and use the Taunter in order to fully take advantage of the enemies at hand, want to go a long distance for those annoying agents Chairman Drek has sent? Use the Blaster, Devestor, Visibomb and Tesla Claw to stay far away from your enemies as you decimate them into dust. You can’t just stick to one strategy for the entire game, rather experiment with each weapon. I love how each Weapon is useful throughout, they don’t become over or underpowered, unless you’re talking about the RYNO which can be useful in every situation. Each weapon feels fairly priced in terms of their ammo and cost, though it’s not helpful since a lot of the time your Weapons have half the ammo when you purchase them.
This also holds true to the Gadgets, each of them are used as either an additional movement for Ratchet or as some variety to spruce up the game, The 2 Boots allow either allow for grinding on rails Sonic Adventure 2 style or stick on metallic surfaces, i feel while they have good ideas kinda boil down to the same thing whenever they pop their head up, Grind Rails feel a bit too mindless even with enemies and the spectacle doesn’t really make these sections any better, Magna Boots aren’t really that fun too use, since you move really slowly and you can only use the Wrench which is annoying in a stage like Orxon, the three Packs that Clank make movement more fun, especially the Hydro-Pack which make the water segments along with the O2 mask a blast to play, lastly i feel the Hydro-displacer, Holo-Guise and especially the Metal Detector feel way too situational in my opinion, You never really need the Metal Detector since the game gives you enough Bolts already for the paywalls and weapons you need to buy but the Hydro-displacer and Holo-Guise only really has a binary use, which is fine but i feel it could have been a fludd type of deal where you can shoot water, maybe it could act as a Weapon that pushes enemies off the stage or stun them or maybe for the Holo-Guise of having more of the robots attributes.
But there’s still a lot more variety in this game, you’ve got the covenanted Turret section in every platformer of course can’t forget about that, You’ve got some admittedly decent ship sections with the sparse amount of times you use it mainly with Qwark's Boss, 2 times you also have some Hoverboard races, these are decent especially with gaining your speed throughout and performing tricks but they do have some trial and error here and there. There's also the trespasser gadget which serves as a neat little challenging puzzle minigame that doesn't overstay its welcome most of the time it's introduced in a stage and gives a good enough pace breaker of the non-stop action in each stage.
Speaking of pace breaker, Clank's gameplay is the definition of a pace breaker but in a good sort of way, i feel the main appeal of these is the context surrounding them, the first Clank stage is the first Clank's separated from Ratchet since his birth and is exploring the vast vacuum of space with only a few Gadget Bots in site, the second context shows us the destruction of the planet, Orxon, a toxic wasteland that evolved seemingly normal creatures into insane beasts of nature (So Twitter) so much so that Ratchet couldn't leave the ship, Orxon is a bit annoying due to the lack of checkpoints and the Gadget Bot AI being a bit finicky sometimes, but the entire stage's atmosphere is amazing being forbidding and showing us how much greed has affected the society of this series, but that's all you can do with this little buddy, making him better than any Kazzoie, Daxter and Tails. He can turn big, Giant Clank is awesome, he's admittedly used for spectacle and the framerate chugs really heavily but it will never not be fun smashing stuff as a neat little role reversal at the end of the game.
However despite my overwhelming positive feelings on Ratchet 1 i have a few issues is that I feel some levels have some insanely strict and sparse checkpoint positions, these are mainly in the more obstacle course levels such as Orxon, Umbris, Kaleebo, Olantis and Veldin Part 2, these are well designed stages, especially Veldin which while does have so Bullshit moments with Drek's Agents but is incredibly well designed putting everything to the test you've had on your journey while acting as an amazing callback to the first stage being the last stage, but the issue with these stages (especially with Veldin) is that when you make one tiny mistake it's back to either the beginning or a considerable amount of progress lost which i guess amounts to the unlimited lives and quick loading, it doesn't help when they're invisible and you don't know the progress in the stage. One other issue is the boss fights, apart from the final boss which is a tough as nails and unforgettable boss fight with a bullshit final phase, a lot of them boil down to the simple Platforming affair now with shooting, they don't use the strategic nature of this game to any use plus there's not many of them, hell one of them you can even skip.
But on the whole, Ratchet & Clank is a pretty fun time, it may show its age at points for not commiting to a blend of Platforming and a 3rd Person Shooter and being an early PS2 game, which may drive some people away then I guess Rift Apart (?) Going Commando, Into the Nexus and the remake (albeit heavily dumbed down) is going with but looking past that, Ratchet 1 is quite a unique experience that can't be replicated anywhere else especially in it's own series, with a good dry satirical, witty and great humor yet surprisingly emotionally story that has a lot to say in terms of our world while not shoving in it down our throat/making it still enjoyable for all ages, the strategic and infinitely replayable gameplay that remains challenging and fun throughout with impeccable and memorable level design for a reason, (there's a reason why Metropolis is so famous throughout the gaming landscape and has been used countless times throughout the series) topped with a unique and slick presentation, Ratchet & Clank is an amazing 3D Platformer.
Yeah I really like Ratchet and Clank, yes I know it's pretty jank, yes I know the controls don't feel that good when playing plus the lack of strafing hurts this game age, yes Ratchet's is a near irredeemable asshole in most of the middle act of the game and yes, The Boob Easter egg is is cool but like, this game is brilliant, obviously it has many flaws but I'm willing to forgive them for reasons I'll get into later.
Development wise, Insominac made a trilogy of great Platformers, Spyro The Dragon and Disruptor, after Year of the Dragon, they lost the rights to Universal, which was a blessing in disguise since they didn't really have much ideas for the Purple Dragon, I mean don't get me wrong, Spyro 3 is a great especially in Reignited where the extra playable characters are actually fun to play as but you can definitely tell they're were lossing ideas fast, so they were making a new ambitious next generation game, that's not Ratchet & Clank, you see originally they're making a game called I5/Girl with a Stick, while Sony liked the game, Ted Price and most of Insomniac weren't that happy with the game so scrapped it in favour of a action packed space adventure using the wacky weapons of Disruptor and the collectahon aspects of Spyro along with more Zelda akin puzzle solving and exploration to the dismay of Sony, which meant they had a short amount of time to develop the game, despite all the odds against them when doing a few playtests the game received much praise which would continue on to the release though was heavily criticised for things that I'll get into later.
So this why I'm more forgiving of the game's flaws then most people, this franchise has probably the most fucked development cycle out of most other franchises until now and while this one is more tame it's a miracle how this game had such a quick development cycle and managed to become some what unscathed, though the cracks will show at points like with the HUD having some miscolored text, some glitches during a normal playthrough (which is not the case in terms of Speedruning) and some odd gameplay omissions.
The story and writing of this game is pretty decent though there's one fatal flaw that dampers the entire story, the Year is 5354, there's this little mechanic guy called Ratchet who is lombax (a weird lion monkey thing) who wants to explore the galaxy but is stuck on a shitty mud planet, Veldin, he gets his chance when he meets Clank, a defect from the Main Villain, Chairman Drek who wants to create his own planet from using other planets, so the duo decide to have an agreement after realising they can both have their goals fulfilled, essentially it's just the phrase "help me help you". While it sounds straightforward, the journey is far from that throughout each planet you meet a variety of characters from robots, humanoids and a plethora of unique aliens and anthro characters, while I could list my favourite characters there's just too many to choose from as lazy as that may sounds, but if I had to choose my favourite interactions, just anyone from Qforce in Up Your Arsenal lol and the Plumber ig he's pretty funny (but while we're here let's savour the time he isn't used as an almighty demigod), but every single one of them depsite their short time show a lot of personality in terms of their writing and voice acting, most of their purposes revolve around the paywalls and to serve as natural exposition for the world (and for insufficient padidng) which they do pretty well explaining the political and commercial satire of the world in a funny and fresh way, but the main characters are written well for the most part until the first boss with Qwark, Ratchet's characters gets so insufferable inFamously annoying too Clank, I kinda dig his character initially and the dynamic between Clank, he's not so willing to be a Hero unlike the 2016 game where he's a wide eyed naive nerdy scout, he's also just done with everyone's shit possibly due too his secluded nature, like the Mayor of Novalis, talking badly about his idol, Qwark and the other character interactions, this only becomes a problem after the 2nd Boss, his attuide until the last few levels isn't very fun to watch, while the set up is there better than most media with this, the execution is not very good. I don't mind it when Clank spouts back at Ratchet but when the dude is just minding his own business, it's just insufferable to see him do it, i feel like there should have been at least another incident a little bit after the Qwark Boss that sets Ratchet fully into dick mode, along with more clapbacks with Clank and more people calling him out on his attitude, I also think the turnaround is a bit too quick and segmented since depending on the story could not make sense after but i feel as if Ratchet should realise that he needs Clank more than he realises knows it. I feel you could make the argument that Ratchet doesn't know many people but I feel they should have played more into this maybe touching a bit on his Origins though maybe still keeping a bit of the mystery. I also think giving Clank a bit of an arc about how staying by book won't get results since he is basically a newborn at this point with not much of a moral compass would be better since he just says static throughout, though is still an enjoyable character. But Ratchet's character issues don't take away for what is a pretty solid story overall and i can at least appreciate them trying to develop the main playable characters and give them an arc which apart from Sly and uh Sonic Lost World (for the wrong reasons) do that but anyway, this is mainly due to the 2 villains of the game, Chairman Drek, an evil businessman who is a bit of an outlier in the series since he isn't a sole comedic villain but when he does have his funny moments, it doesn't undermine the threat he poses since the dude is literally is destroying thousands of ecosystems for his own secret monetary gain, displacing millions of his own people by his own violation and will do it again, I mean it would be a horrible idea to make him into an overly comedic and forgettable villain with a phoned celebrity performance and brushing the whole entire twist as a joke while also not being the main villain of the game i mean that would be a terrible idea. Luckily to balance the seriousness of Drek, we got Captain Qwark, a washed up hero who decides to endorse Drek's new Planet to spice up his image, he's a pretty funny character and plus unlike other games in the series, they use him very sparingly plus the twist being at the start of the game when we first meet him in person gives us a huge amount of time to give us some pretty interesting and comedic interactions with the Heroes also showing us how everyone in the Galaxy is out of their own hind and there's no true heroes, I love how they don't shy away from makings him as irredeemable as possible yet still make hin funny all emblematic through his penultimate appearance where he's only selling us a Gadgetron PDA as Steve McQwark no big death or sting operation just this which is pretty great seeing as it also strengthens Ratchet's character since he knows Qwark's is not worth seeing as they have bigger and more important fish to fry instead of trying to tell us Qwark was a really great guy and deserves redemption, yeah I've insinuated this but yeah the 2016 reboot sucks, not only is Drek and everyone else has some good ol character assassination but they add some pointless fluff to the story, you see there's a reason why there's 2 villains in Ratchet 1 that are both radically different and it's kinda genius. They both represent the satire of this world, Drek politically and Qwark commercially, so then why make both of them into commercial wacky characters and also having a definitely not obvious twist villain from the 3rd game who has nothing to do with the story. I know this is a review about the 2002 game and not the remake but I feel it's important to mention seeing just how bad they screwed up the story, but that's for another time. So Ratchet 1's story is solid, Ratchet's character is pretty annoying and has a underwhelming make of for it apart from the ending which is really great however barring that it's a solid story, it's a simple story about how friendship can come from the oddest of people, the dangers of greed/popularity and how it doesn't matter where you come from, you can anything great no matter how small or big that may be and oh yeah it talks about commercialism i guess, It's not as thematically deep as Sly or heck even as funny intentionally or unintentionally as the Jak series but i think mainly for it's fun and satirical writing and the great zany cast of the one off characters and villains, though our Heroes and structure need a bit of work before i can truly call this story great.
The presentation of the game is pretty good, I wouldn't say it holds up incredibly well but is serviceable enough but I'd say out of the holy triforce of PS2 Platformers first entries, i think this may have the worst presentation out of them, despite Sly not really pushing the hardware as much as the other too. First of all the PS3 Port of this game fares better than entire trilogy and looks pretty nice on there, though the suck/water HUD sticking out is pretty glaring despite being in the original too, the music doesn't loop properly and some models look bad like what the hell happened to Al and Moby to the transition good lord but 16:9, the framerate being smooth, skippable cutscenes and the resolution increase is all i need so I'm fine but anyway speaking of HUD i really like the haphazard and rusted UI it makes the game have it's own unique feel too it, this is turn goes to the music and… yeah I'm not really a fan, like it definitely fits the stage and game as a whole pretty well and some tracks go hard like Veldin/Pokitaru, Novalis, Rilgar, Kerwan and other tracks but on the whole while it's a good ost, it's just not all that memorable. But what is memorable is the voice acting, i feel like this was the era were video games started getting considerable better at Voice Acting (mostly) and this is no exception, Mikey Kelley definitely has an odd line here and there but does a solid job as Ratchet, David Kaye gives my favourite iteration of Clank he has done being a lot more robotic yet still giving some personality, Jim Ward's performance as Qwark sells the washed up and pompous Hero pretty well and Kevin Michael Richardson uses his well known deep voice to sell the satirical yet sneed remarks of Chairman Drek along with all the NPCs not slacking one bit with their one off performances, selling the characters pretty well, i feel that was a bit of an issue with the Spyro trilogy which is why I'll always prefer the Reignited Trilogy lol, but they pull of the performances pretty well. However they didn't skip out on the next generation appeal of the game in terms of the artstyle, i really dig it, character animation and designs despite some odd moments, look really great and expressive, each stage looks amazing, no wonder why each stage opens with one shot to showcase what it entails, they take normal conventions of a platformer (I.e Plains, Desert, Ice, Forest, Beach and Lava) and make them really unique due to the more, I don't think it's the right word but Cyberpunk aesthetic and also due to actually being conjectural and important to the plot and enemies living there, the enemies don't feel like they're just plopped in there for wacky gameplay reasons but rather if it fits the world or even plot at some points, like all of them feel unique despite having some repeated themes, like a desert/canyon of Veldin, Umbris and Arida or a City like Kerwan, Rilgar and Olantis or a Green Plains like Novalis or Eudora and makes them unique such as Veldin being both homely and yet mysterious at the same time, both masterfully working as a starting level and an ending level despite Drek's Planet being right there, Umbris being a mechanical obstacle course built on a Volcano, Rilgar being City built on the Ocean, Olantis being essentially destroyed in a thunderstorm while serving as a neat little obstacle course, and Eudora being a forest deprived of its trees while Novalis is more of a Canyon setting. So overall despite some rough points the presentation is really nice.
And that is comparable to the gameplay, pretty noticeable rough points but very fun overall. The game is a simple platformer with some quaint third person shooter elements, you have main and side missions that can either advance the story opening new planets through getting/buying Infobots (the stars of this game but inside of a counter you get a cutscene either as a message or a commercial), or can give you a new item like the Bolt Grabber,Gadgetron PDA, Map-O-Matic, Persuader, and Nanotech Upgrades, the gameplay loop of this game is very satisfying and kinda reminds me of a Zelda styled Metroidvania with a lot of platforming and shooting mechanics which is exactly what they were going with, i feel Ratchet & Clank unlike the other games in the series isn't trying to be a third person shooter, more so it's the only game that's solely a platformer through and through. Now I've heard a few issues with the game in terms of the combat and controls, I don't see it. Like I don't know but i feel the issue might come down to playing future games before this and expecting that perfect blend that Going Commando does when this one is trying to do something a lot different, that being said i do like the combat in this game but admittedly it could be somewhat better and more well suited to fully balance the platforming and shooting gameplay which I don't think apart from maybe Going Commando and Into the Nexus, the series doesn't really attempt to balance them ever again to this degree, though is still prevalent throughout the series. The game for most of its levels has a pretty strict separation in terms of Platforming, Puzzle Solving and Shooting along with completing Skill Points and finding Gold Bolts to purchase stronger weapons. The Main story route may entail 2 of these but apart from very few instances most notable and inFamously the final level, all 3 aren't mixed unlike Going Commando which does it for the main route.
The platforming of this game is really good, they complement Ratchet's movement which could be better, his turning speed is way too slow and pulling off advanced moves is a bit taxing sometimes but i think it comes down from how well designed it is, it's the right amount of challenging and fairness along with using the Grapple hook and Heli/Thruster Pack in order to give the player a more interesting experience, it's not like it's up to Galaxy 2 or Generations levels of platforming but i feel it remains fun and interesting enough throughout.
Shooting wise I feel it could be better (especially with particular levels), but i still I really like it, I feel the lack of strafing isn't as much as a design problem as people think due to the game mostly being designed around it, the "strafing" that is there is so slow and clunky that it can't really be used on a regular combat basis, like i feel as if instead of a strafe, i feel the game should have had the camera focus on the enemies and a better lock on system since the camera while serviceable is so slow which is especially showcased in the combat sections but nonetheless, this combat is really fun to play around , I don't know if it was intentional or not but it feels very strategic to get around, not every situation can be fixed running and gunning like the other games especially with the 2016 game, you could go for a sneaking approach, go on the move with the thruster pack, use the Pryociter, Suck Cannon and Bomb Glove to control the crowd, use the variety of drones too either have a shield, control a remote control drone or have the agents of doom wreck everything in site, want to get in close? Use the Wrench and Walloper, need to distract the enemies? Pull out the decoy’s and use the Taunter in order to fully take advantage of the enemies at hand, want to go a long distance for those annoying agents Chairman Drek has sent? Use the Blaster, Devestor, Visibomb and Tesla Claw to stay far away from your enemies as you decimate them into dust. You can’t just stick to one strategy for the entire game, rather experiment with each weapon. I love how each Weapon is useful throughout, they don’t become over or underpowered, unless you’re talking about the RYNO which can be useful in every situation. Each weapon feels fairly priced in terms of their ammo and cost, though it’s not helpful since a lot of the time your Weapons have half the ammo when you purchase them.
This also holds true to the Gadgets, each of them are used as either an additional movement for Ratchet or as some variety to spruce up the game, The 2 Boots allow either allow for grinding on rails Sonic Adventure 2 style or stick on metallic surfaces, i feel while they have good ideas kinda boil down to the same thing whenever they pop their head up, Grind Rails feel a bit too mindless even with enemies and the spectacle doesn’t really make these sections any better, Magna Boots aren’t really that fun too use, since you move really slowly and you can only use the Wrench which is annoying in a stage like Orxon, the three Packs that Clank make movement more fun, especially the Hydro-Pack which make the water segments along with the O2 mask a blast to play, lastly i feel the Hydro-displacer, Holo-Guise and especially the Metal Detector feel way too situational in my opinion, You never really need the Metal Detector since the game gives you enough Bolts already for the paywalls and weapons you need to buy but the Hydro-displacer and Holo-Guise only really has a binary use, which is fine but i feel it could have been a fludd type of deal where you can shoot water, maybe it could act as a Weapon that pushes enemies off the stage or stun them or maybe for the Holo-Guise of having more of the robots attributes.
But there’s still a lot more variety in this game, you’ve got the covenanted Turret section in every platformer of course can’t forget about that, You’ve got some admittedly decent ship sections with the sparse amount of times you use it mainly with Qwark's Boss, 2 times you also have some Hoverboard races, these are decent especially with gaining your speed throughout and performing tricks but they do have some trial and error here and there. There's also the trespasser gadget which serves as a neat little challenging puzzle minigame that doesn't overstay its welcome most of the time it's introduced in a stage and gives a good enough pace breaker of the non-stop action in each stage.
Speaking of pace breaker, Clank's gameplay is the definition of a pace breaker but in a good sort of way, i feel the main appeal of these is the context surrounding them, the first Clank stage is the first Clank's separated from Ratchet since his birth and is exploring the vast vacuum of space with only a few Gadget Bots in site, the second context shows us the destruction of the planet, Orxon, a toxic wasteland that evolved seemingly normal creatures into insane beasts of nature (So Twitter) so much so that Ratchet couldn't leave the ship, Orxon is a bit annoying due to the lack of checkpoints and the Gadget Bot AI being a bit finicky sometimes, but the entire stage's atmosphere is amazing being forbidding and showing us how much greed has affected the society of this series, but that's all you can do with this little buddy, making him better than any Kazzoie, Daxter and Tails. He can turn big, Giant Clank is awesome, he's admittedly used for spectacle and the framerate chugs really heavily but it will never not be fun smashing stuff as a neat little role reversal at the end of the game.
However despite my overwhelming positive feelings on Ratchet 1 i have a few issues is that I feel some levels have some insanely strict and sparse checkpoint positions, these are mainly in the more obstacle course levels such as Orxon, Umbris, Kaleebo, Olantis and Veldin Part 2, these are well designed stages, especially Veldin which while does have so Bullshit moments with Drek's Agents but is incredibly well designed putting everything to the test you've had on your journey while acting as an amazing callback to the first stage being the last stage, but the issue with these stages (especially with Veldin) is that when you make one tiny mistake it's back to either the beginning or a considerable amount of progress lost which i guess amounts to the unlimited lives and quick loading, it doesn't help when they're invisible and you don't know the progress in the stage. One other issue is the boss fights, apart from the final boss which is a tough as nails and unforgettable boss fight with a bullshit final phase, a lot of them boil down to the simple Platforming affair now with shooting, they don't use the strategic nature of this game to any use plus there's not many of them, hell one of them you can even skip.
But on the whole, Ratchet & Clank is a pretty fun time, it may show its age at points for not commiting to a blend of Platforming and a 3rd Person Shooter and being an early PS2 game, which may drive some people away then I guess Rift Apart (?) Going Commando, Into the Nexus and the remake (albeit heavily dumbed down) is going with but looking past that, Ratchet 1 is quite a unique experience that can't be replicated anywhere else especially in it's own series, with a good dry satirical, witty and great humor yet surprisingly emotionally story that has a lot to say in terms of our world while not shoving in it down our throat/making it still enjoyable for all ages, the strategic and infinitely replayable gameplay that remains challenging and fun throughout with impeccable and memorable level design for a reason, (there's a reason why Metropolis is so famous throughout the gaming landscape and has been used countless times throughout the series) topped with a unique and slick presentation, Ratchet & Clank is an amazing 3D Platformer.