There IS a lot to like in here, but holy shit is it buried under piles and piles of problems. I was kinda grumpin' on how Tails and Knuckles controlled early on, if only I knew how inconsequential my issues with those two would be in the grand scheme... Just what the hell happened to the difficulty here? I don't really know why people kept going on about how the original was so easy (because it was balanced fine for the most part), and I get the feeling this is a direct response to those criticisms. Basic puzzles in the main game are made incredibly over-the-top here for... what reason exactly? Padding's the only one that I can even think of, but why bother padding free DLC? The towers are fine... until you fall and then you repeat the same BS 3 times over until you get to the top and then get absolutely smothered by the Trial. Oh, but then the next Trial is piss easy. WHOOPS sorry about that how about fighting 3 titans back to back with 400 shared rings and minimum level everything... will that do?
All topped off by one of the most cryptic final boss fights I've ever experienced. Not cryptic because the "epic lore" or some aura it gives off... cryptic as in "I spent 40 minutes attacking before someone told me you need to use the DODGE BUTTON to change the reticle" (a game of telephone happened behind the scenes in my extended circles of people messaging each other telling them this fact because the ONLY way the game hints this to you is locked behind 100% completion of the DLC, always signs of absolutely top-tier design). WTAF?? Also, required cyloops but no visual indication of that fact, and a severe lack of visual communication about ANYTHING that you're meant to do. Just a bombardment of projectiles and a constantly regenerating boss.
A little time on the good now... Cyberspace is a legit improvement! The levels are huge, fleshed out considerably and lend themselves much better to exploration but still quick time attack perfection. The new characters do each have their own fresh flare which I can appreciate. Great presentation for the most part too, and that extends to the phenomenal as always soundtrack (the true standout for any Sonic game, but more than usual here). And also, minus playing it, everything about the Super Sonic boss fight and Ending rules and is a massive improvement over the ending sequence it attempts to retcon (honestly the entire sequence is peak Sonic fiction). But once again, everything but the actual playing of said boss. But I guess that also applied to the original boss too... at least with that one all you had to do was shoot missiles and not guess that you had to press a rarely used button to actually hit the boss...
There I go again.
All in all, the entire package gets so fixated on the concept of being this extremely difficult kaizo finale that it completely loses focus on making an enjoyable game in the process. Half the issues come with the amount of time it wastes. The worst challenges actually come from how long they take and how many times you have to sit through the same experiences again to get another go at the thing you're struggling with. It spends so much time trying to be Sonic Souls that it completely loses focus on what it actually wants to be, and what results is a package full of great ideas, but far too much time was spent thinking how to make this frustrating through wasting the player's time instead of thinking of more rewarding and creative scenarios. A hell of a lot of wasted potential gonna be left to rot here. What a sour note to end Sonic Frontiers' time in the limelight oh.
All topped off by one of the most cryptic final boss fights I've ever experienced. Not cryptic because the "epic lore" or some aura it gives off... cryptic as in "I spent 40 minutes attacking before someone told me you need to use the DODGE BUTTON to change the reticle" (a game of telephone happened behind the scenes in my extended circles of people messaging each other telling them this fact because the ONLY way the game hints this to you is locked behind 100% completion of the DLC, always signs of absolutely top-tier design). WTAF?? Also, required cyloops but no visual indication of that fact, and a severe lack of visual communication about ANYTHING that you're meant to do. Just a bombardment of projectiles and a constantly regenerating boss.
A little time on the good now... Cyberspace is a legit improvement! The levels are huge, fleshed out considerably and lend themselves much better to exploration but still quick time attack perfection. The new characters do each have their own fresh flare which I can appreciate. Great presentation for the most part too, and that extends to the phenomenal as always soundtrack (the true standout for any Sonic game, but more than usual here). And also, minus playing it, everything about the Super Sonic boss fight and Ending rules and is a massive improvement over the ending sequence it attempts to retcon (honestly the entire sequence is peak Sonic fiction). But once again, everything but the actual playing of said boss. But I guess that also applied to the original boss too... at least with that one all you had to do was shoot missiles and not guess that you had to press a rarely used button to actually hit the boss...
There I go again.
All in all, the entire package gets so fixated on the concept of being this extremely difficult kaizo finale that it completely loses focus on making an enjoyable game in the process. Half the issues come with the amount of time it wastes. The worst challenges actually come from how long they take and how many times you have to sit through the same experiences again to get another go at the thing you're struggling with. It spends so much time trying to be Sonic Souls that it completely loses focus on what it actually wants to be, and what results is a package full of great ideas, but far too much time was spent thinking how to make this frustrating through wasting the player's time instead of thinking of more rewarding and creative scenarios. A hell of a lot of wasted potential gonna be left to rot here. What a sour note to end Sonic Frontiers' time in the limelight oh.
FINALReNIX
8 months ago
Also that second phase??? You're supposed to dodge in the same fashion to climb up Supreme's back and then parry on top of it for ???reasons??? Even when I figured it out, it still made no sense. All of it wasn't helped by the fact that the camera positioning as well as the trees acted as a constant obscurer as to what was happening on screen. Whenever the camera would go into the trees, it made it damn near impossible to see the incoming orbs and parry them properly.