While serviceable platformers in their own right, neither recaptures the physics, level design or scope of the classic games, making both episodes feel like graphically enhanced shells of their peers.
With that said, Episode 2 does improve upon the first episode in a few ways slightly better music , more-imaginative zones, etc. The plot's a mess and the interspecies romance is uncomfortable. The glitches are superabundant. The graphics are strange and character designs unsettling. Sonic '06 has a lot of issues, most of which aren't easy to look past.
Still, you can't deny the raw ambition of this game, as it tackles nine different gameplay styles, all linked to the same core physics and movement system. Its most risky inclusions, Silver the Hedgehog and his telekinetic gameplay, could've been awful — but, in actuality, are pretty interesting. And as for the other styles — Sonic's, Blaze's, Shadow's and Tails' — they're all varying degrees of fun for those who didn't mind the janky speed of Sonic Adventure. When you combine that diversity of gameplay with boatloads of content and a surprisingly elaborate, fully fleshed-out story, there's no arguing that the game delivers ample bang for your buck.
Add in its bright spots, like the killer soundtrack and imaginative zone aesthetics, and this title is definitely not the worst of Sonic's track record, despite its faults. Character animations are amusing, the controls are simple, and executing combos is fun enough.
Plus, Fighters remains the only game where you can play as fan-favorite characters Nack the Weasel, Bark the Polar Bear and Bean the Dynamite check the Archie comics for proof of their cult status. This game's biggest drawback is its blatant lack of content. Sonic the Fighters was originally built for arcades, so this shortcoming is understandable, but this game remains nothing more than a shallow, passing fancy on the timeline of Sonic's history.
Though it has just about as much 3D gameplay as Sonic Colors and retains the core 2D speed-platforming of the first Sonic Rush, Adventure's weirdly prominent boating minigame and generally uninspired level design and equally forgettable music sink an otherwise-capable ship.
If you can overlook these shortcomings, though, this is still a high-profile Sonic handheld game worth grabbing for cheap. Sonic and the Black Knight's pretty graphics and occasional bouts of exciting speed aren't enough to justify the swordplay — or even the presence of swordplay in the first place. The franchise is no stranger to odd gimmicks, but this particular entry doesn't build upon its Wiimote-waggling nonsense enough to warrant a peculiar detour down the Arthurian trail.
The story delivers some surprises, especially in an uncomfortable moment when Sonic's wolf-in-sheep's-clothing wizard companion, Merlina, domestically abuses him toward the finale. Still, despite crisp visuals, a great soundtrack and a neat medieval aesthetic that reimagines characters like Knuckles, Blaze, Shadow and Jet as Knights of the Round Table, style can't overshadow this game's fundamental lack of substance. Though Sonic CD has awesome cinematics, unique zone concepts, dope soundtracks both the U.
Sonic's Super Peel Out move is classic, and the game's overarching time-travel gimmick leads to a lot of interesting environment variations, but none of that fixes the obnoxiously vertical, spring-loaded level design that makes moving forward a hassle. Even worse, the special stages are 3D spaces rendered with 2D sprites, and janky animation means these environments haven't aged all that well. Lost World is a game with interesting ideas and middling execution.
While the solid controls make good on the promise of Lost World's parkour system, the level design does not. It constantly relegates the game to 2D, where half of Lost World's mechanics are useless. Even in 3D levels, this game rarely uses its tools to the fullest. Couple the underbaked level design with a short runtime, and Lost World ultimately falls flat as a cohesive experience. However, when glimpses of the parkour system's true potential do appear, it's an absolute blast. Standing alongside Sonic '06 as one of the only main Sonic games to be entirely 3D from start to finish, Sonic Heroes gains massive brownie points for not lazily resorting to 2D padding.
And within this game's 3D geometry, it provides engaging level design and solid stage length in order to make each and every zone a worthy and memorable inclusion. Mind you, zones might be memorable only because the game forces you to venture through each one four separate times to unlock the game's true ending, but that's just one big gripe in an otherwise-solid game.
While the controls are a little slippery, the combat dull and some stages a bit too long for comfort, the overall package is a competent trio-themed adventure that gives some underloved franchise characters their due time in the limelight. Though a big letdown in the story and runtime departments and only a partial victory in the gameplay sector, when Forces works, it works.
While Classic Sonic's stages are a mess due to strange physics, Modern Sonic's are often quite fun albeit terribly brief and the Avatar's stages feature some real flair. Plus, in a handful of levels, you can control Modern Sonic and the Avatar at the same time.
These levels are expansive, speedy and everything else you'd want in a Modern Sonic game, and they're easily the crown jewel of Forces' content. Plus, Forces features a fun character creator and a jammin' soundtrack, making the game's numerous shortcomings a bit easier to swallow.
Team Sonic Racing is by no means a bad kart racer, just an underwhelming one. In place of that game's features, we have a new cooperative style of gameplay that, to its credit, brings a dash of novelty to an otherwise-staid genre by encouraging teammates to work together to slip by the competition. Unfortunately, team play is really fun only when racing with friends, and the Story Mode — though well voice-acted and full of cute little jokes — simply fails to engage.
At least the soundtrack is on point, with an excellent theme courtesy of franchise musician Jun Senoue and his band, Crush This ensemble kart racer has tight controls, satisfyingly weighty physics, high speeds and loads of content.
If you ever wanted to see Sonic go wheel to wheel with Samba de Amigo, that weird spaceship thing from Fantasy Zone and other ghosts of Sega past, this is the game for you. It's polished, packed with personality and a worthwhile purchase for fans of Sega, Sonic or good racing games in general. It's also the most straightforward "what you see is what you get" experience on Sonic's resume. But most of all, Sonic Unleashed introduced the Werehog, an abominable transformation that occurs at night that changes the game completely.
Movement becomes slower while exploration gets replaced with beating up enemies. As the title suggests, Sonic Heroes is a game built around teamwork, and the game demands that players switch between characters on the fly to make the best use of their abilities. Confusing camera controls and questionable voice acting still plague the experience, but the focus on groups makes for a welcoming change nonetheless and was probably a big inspiration for fan artists.
Sonic Generations does the unthinkable and mixes classic and modern Sonic experiences together in the same game. The first half presents 2. Meanwhile, the other half is all about the 3D behind-the-character perspective, moving Sonic through a crumbling city and bumping Sonic against flying enemies made of lava.
Its camera is confusing and hard to control. But upon release, Sonic Adventure marked a new phase for the franchise on Dreamcast. I mean, why not? Classic elements like power-ups and golden rings were present, and while there were familiar faces almost everything else felt new. The transformation to a 3D plane set the standard for Sonic games going forward, and luckily for fans and for the criteria of my list, it was still all about going fast.
Sonic Adventure 2 is similar enough to its predecessor, though this time the story takes some unexpected turns. Eggman, and Rouge on the other, offering parallel perspectives. Perhaps most notable, however, is the revamped version of the Chao Garden from Sonic Adventure. Way before Ooblets , the blue hedgehog was harvesting and watching Chao creatures hatch, each with their own alignment towards either hero or dark directions.
They all have five stat attributes and can evolve over time but also die and reincarnate for some reason? It starts with Dr. Eggman presumably dead, Knuckles being kidnapped by a group called the Marauders, and the Chaos Emeralds compromised once more. Gameplay is as you might expect, divided into exploration and turn-based combat moments.
The music is stellar. Its gameplay and frame rate are buttery smooth for its time. It put Sega on the map and made it a serious contender for the gaming throne in its early days going up against Nintendo.
It perfectly lends itself to speedruns. Like Sonic Advance 2 , it outdid its predecessor in every conceivable way and then some. The game is still a shining beacon of light for modern Sonic. This is the one title that undeniably did 3D Sonic stages justice without the need for any qualifying statements.
Classic stages like Green Hill Zone are flawlessly re-imagined and rendered in both 3D and 2. And somehow, it makes all of them work. Finally, we get a chance to play these levels as they were meant to be played. Finally, we can see the vision all of the previous creators, developers, and programmers had after all these years later. Even stages from disgraced titles like the infamous Sonic the Hedgehog find a new lease on life here, trimming out all of the unnecessary fat to a deliciously lean slab of gaming steak.
It really is something of a miracle that this game even exists. Plus, the 2. Robotnik are a sight to behold. The fact that each stage has both a modern and classic rendition spoils the player with levels of high-grade nostalgia that had never been seen before.
Sonic Mania is stupidly good. It took me a few months to get around to it — and even then, I only got around to it because literally everyone I know who plays video games, Sonic fan or not, would not shut up about how good it is. Turns out, I was wrong. There was, and is, plenty of room left in the tank — and Sonic Mania proves it. What began as a fangame called Sonic Discovery quickly evolved into a full-blown official Sonic title after Sega had the good sense to give said fan full reign over a remastered and remixed version of all things 2D Sonic.
The Plus update added Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel as playable characters, along with new game modes. With four original stages and eight redesigned stages from previous games, Sonic Mania is a work of passion that never fails to surprise the player even while traversing well-treaded ground.
It sums up everything that people love about Sonic and delivers it in a neat little package with a beautiful bow on top. After some creative misfires, Sonic Colors signaled a return to form for the character and served as step in the right direction that would eventually lead to Sonic Generations.
It also introduced Wisps to the franchise, which have gone on to serve major functions in both the comic books and spin-off titles like Team Sonic Racing. However, the game was plagued with bugs and glitches that held it back from being a veritable classic.
Of course, the original Sonic the Hedgehog on the Sega Genesis earns an honorable mention too. The best Sonic video game is….
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