Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-24012316-20141025031057

             Okay, so Colors was a fantastic game in every regard. If it wasn’t for some questionable levels, it’d be perhaps the Best 3D Sonic title, maybe even THE best. However, what’s done is done, and before we knew it, we were at Sonic’s 20th anniversary. Hot damn, WHY DO I FEEL SO OLD?!?

             Either way, with Sonic climbing back up, will the trend continue, or does this game undo all the hard work Sega had in Colors? Well, it’s time to find out. This, is

 SONIC GENERATIONS

 Prologue Zone;

 HISTORY! YAY!

             So then, how we should put this, for a long time, Sonic’s franchise was in a “Dark Era”. Sonic 1 was a great start to Sonic, with its wacky, momentum based speed being put to great use in excellent platforming segments. Sonic 2 does what a good sequel should do, expand on what worked in Sonic 1, all the while making an experience fresh and new, with its arcade quality action; fast and furious to the end. This is the first Sonic game I gave the perfect 10/10 score, along with the title “Untouchable”. However, right after, Sonic 3&Knuckles came, which made Sonic even more immersive than before, with some of the biggest levels ever, perfect controls, graphics, and music. It also scored a 10/10, along with the title “Untouchable”. Which one is better? I’ll get into that later down the road.

 After Super Mario 64 hit shelves with its new fangled “3D” aspect, Sonic… kinda didn’t do much to fight. Sonic Spinball was a nice game, but nothing more than a time waster, Sonic 3D Blast for both the Genesis and Saturn were not what we wanted at all, Sonic X-Treme went through development hell and got canceled, Sonic R was… actually pretty damn swell, but overly complicated in the control aspect, and Sonic World was just a mission-based HUB fetch quest that, admittedly is a guilty pleasure of mine. Dare I mention Sonic the Fighters? An arcade Street Fighter styled beat’em’up that was a roaring good time with friends.

 So yeah, Sonic went through HELL trying to transition to 3D, but in 1998, it finally happened. THE SEGA DREAMCAST!!! Yes ladies and gentlemen, Sonic Adventure was a launch title for the swansong Sega Dreamcast. I think I should make a typed review of the Dreamcast; after all, my review on YouTube had my voice compressed so badly I sound like a 9 year-old school girl. Nothing against 9-year school girls, but you guys know. An adult just can’t sound like a kid… unless you’re Justin Bieber. Anyway, Sonic Adventure was a brilliant game, and I still can’t get enough of it. Then, two years later, we got Sonic Adventure 2, which was ALSO kickass.

 However, the Dreamcast sadly went under in a measly 18 months, selling 10.6 million units in that time if I may add. Sonic was then no longer Sega exclusive, and due to fans wanting more of the blue blur, Sega was forced to make Sonic Heroes on multiple platforms. And this was what many considered the first Dark Era title. But you know what? I like it, a lot. Overall, very fun game, that has its bran farts. But after that, Sonic kinda… slumped. Shadow the Hedgehog came out in 2005, which was… mediocre at best. Now call me a biased idiot if you want, or say I have Stockholm syndrome, but I did NOT hate the likes of SONIC THE HEDGEHOG. I love the Sonic stages, but everything else was… passable. Sonic Riders wasn’t THAT bad, just a bit forgettable. Still, it’s a fun arcade styled racer. I need to look into these games…

 However, it wouldn’t be until 2008 that we got our first good mainstream Sonic title, Sonic Unleashed. It was refined, polished, and really was a fast and fun Sonic game. However, the Werehog stages were absolutely horrific, and in the HD version? Lemme tell you, Sonic Unleashed for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 is my least favorite Sonic game of all time.

 But finally, at the tail end of 2010, it finally happened. Sonic got a great game, a damn flawless one. That game was Sonic Colors. For all you DS owners, SUCKS TO BE YOU! But the block-buster title was simply amazing. Great story, catchy and upbeat music, controls that are so good, level design that brings the roof down, and overall, this game is just so much fun, and I say it doesn’t get ENOUGH accolades.

 With that said and done, anniversary titles for the hedgehog have been, let’s say, polarizing. In 2001, we got Sonic Adventure 2 for Sonic’s 10th anniversary title, which was great. Then, on his 15th, we got… Ugh. Two of them were at best, alright, but the other one… whoa. Now it’s his 20th. No more history babble for now, let’s go!



 Story Hill

 Simple isn’t BAD guys

 Sonic Generations keeps things very simple for the sake of entertaining newcomers to the franchise, but with some throwbacks that will warm even the most hardcore Sonic fans. I think this story is really great, it keeps things extremely simple, and allows room for imagination. Overall, this is one of the best plots we’ve had so far. The cutscenes, to me, are more like skits, and damn good ones to add. The voice acting is still awesome, though I have to say Sonic and Tails are noticeably blegh and some of their friends flat out rape your ears. Other than that, it’s all fine and dandy.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"> Classic Sonic is seen running around in Green Hill Zone, exploring the world when all of a sudden, a giant beast appears, and does something. Meanwhile, in the modern day, Sonic is celebrating his 16th birthday, and he gets a chili dog! Sigh, they HAD to make that canon.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"> However, that same beast comes to crash the party, sucking all of Sonic’s friends into different time periods. Sonic attempts to fight, but is knocked senseless by the monster. Why it didn’t finish Sonic there and then, we will never know, but we now have another 4 hours to fill.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"> Sonic wakes up in this white nega-space world, and after running through Green Hill Zone, Tails is restored. Both eventually meet up with past versions of themselves, and now both Sonics must race through their past/future (screw time travel) to save the day AND their friends!

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"> Eventually, both hedgehogs run across the Time Eater. Attempting to fight, they once again are beaten down. However, as tradition has it, it’s Super time. They defeat both Eggmans; restore time, and Classic Sonic returns to his period.

<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center;text-indent:.5in"> Presentation Plant

<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center;text-indent:.5in"> … Whoa

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"> Sega always knows how to make their games look absolutely gorgeous, and this game is perhaps the best looking. It has a consistent framerate of 30 frames per second, and on the PC, it’s capable of going to 60 frames. THAT is seriously kickass. The environments are lush, gorgeous, and nicely detailed, and always make me immersed with the game’s world. All sorts of nice little details without a doubt help, with the pinochle probably being Modern Sky Sanctuary, though it’s hard to say. The characters animate smoothly, and never do I see a serious frame drop. Everything about the game’s presentation, minus some character models, is gorgeous.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">   The music is also simply amazing. I love it SO MUCH! This is one of my favorite Sonic soundtracks of all time hands down, and I actually have the soundtrack in mp3, as well as downloading some fan remixes. Don’t wanna make you stay for hours, but I’d like to bring up the Smooth4lyfe remixes. They added vocals to the songs that didn’t, and while his voice takes time to get used to, I love it overall. I have to say, Modern Crisis City might be my favorite.

<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center;text-indent:.5in"> Gameplay Sanctuary

<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center;text-indent:.5in"> And THIS is the best 3D Sonic title!

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"> Yup, it is. Sonic Generation’s gameplay is oddly familiar yet new. It has two different styles, but both are traditional styles that don’t feel like experiments or tests, no, these are tried and true formulas. Classic Sonic is back, pudgy as ever, and I have to say, his controls are great, much better than Sonic 4: Episode 1. He is equipped with his trademark spin jump, roll, and spin-dash. The insta-shield is nowhere in sight, and the super-peel out is gone, so I assume this is the Sonic of Sonic 2. You will traverse wonderfully wacky 2D side-scrollers that I think are on-par with the likes of the classics. His roll is sadly no use for momentum based gameplay for the most part. FOR THE MOST PART, as I swear there are some parts it works and others not so much. And the spindash, it is overpowered. Literally, by holding X, you can perform it anywhere as long as your feet touch something, and you can get some serious distance.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"> If you’re wondering where the hell the elemental shields from Sonic 3&Knuckles are, well, there’s a skill shop that allows you to buy and equip certain abilities. You have the standard shield, which can be used twice in a stage, acting as an extra hit. The bubble shield reacts just like how it did back then, and is even better here, as you can get much more hang-time in this game. AWESOME! The Electric Shield retains its properties from 3&Knuckles, and now doesn’t dissipate under water. Cool! Finally, we have the Fire Shield. Its fire-dash is overpowered, and you can kill a lot of enemies, as well as get a lot of distance. Overall, I welcome these with open arms. The other skills aren’t half-bad, though most of them I can’t care.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"> Then, Modern Sonic comes to play. He’s all about fast paced behind the back 3D runs, which would sometimes switch to a 2D perspective, giving you a feeling that it’s a combination of all 2D Sonic. Modern Sonic doesn’t NEED any skills, in fact, any of the skills equip-able just detract from the experience (with a few exceptions), and make the game horribly boring. With that said, everything Sonic could do in Colors, he can do here. With that said, the homing attack has been sped up from Unleashed for the Xbox 360/ PlayStation 3, but probably slower than Colors. The slide now feels much more natural, the stomp is put to some creative use, the light-speed dash is now context sensitive (damn), and the boost is back.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"> With that said, THIS is in my opinion, the best use of the boost. Take that back from Colors, Generations has that beat. Colors had the boost nerved, and tamed it. I still LOVE that approach, but Generations not only brings the boost back and much more useful, it never feels like the game revolves around it. Exploring the surprisingly vast and wide worlds requires Sonic to slow down and be the platformer he really is. The boost does not detract from the game, and there is just so much more to it than just a “win them all” button. Shortcuts with the boost are very satisfying to pull off, as hopping from one section of the level and landing on the other side is just amazing. Not only that, needling enemies with precise aiming or skipping a homing attack chain is rewarding as all hell, and I love the boost in this game.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"> However, with those splendid playstyles out of the way, the level designs are some of the best in the series. Classic level designs are about on-par with Sonic CD and 1, and I consider it a great experience. They are fast paced and action packed but is brimming with brilliantly open level design. The more and more I play this game, the more and more I find new pathways. THAT is like Sonic 2 and 3&Knuckles. Yes, I just made a comparison to the greats.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"> Nothing about these stages ever feel jarring at all, and I love them except Planet Wisp, which I just felt was a clusterf*ck of a stage, with just a bunch of filler. It isn’t TERRIBLE, but I certainly don’t like it. Overall, great job Sonic team.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"> Modern Sonic however, is just as good, maybe better. His stages are electric and fast. I love the stage layouts, as they offer so many options to the player, and as a result make them feel like a WORLD. THIS, is the best level design to grace 3D Sonic (ok, maybe Adventure and Colors stand a chance), and I never get sick of replaying ANY of them, though some of them are better than others. Overall, this is just marvelous in the end.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"> The progression in the game is that both acts have to be completed, and then you must finish a certain amount of special missions to get a boss key. I’m okay with this, it’s not intrusive, and I normally just go ahead and do a beat the rival mission. That way, it doesn’t feel so much of a hassle. Even then, most of them are simply harder versions of a stage, and most are just get to the goal. I have no issue with this, and I feel they never break the flow.

<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center;text-indent:.5in"> Till’ the Next Marathon Guys

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"> With that said, THIS is the EVIDENCE that Sonic can still kick major ass. With Classic Sonic being on par with most of the classics, and Modern Sonic climbing to the top spots of 3D Sonic, combined, this is one of the best Sonic games of all time. Sonic Adventure may have been a kickass jump, and Colors was amazing as well, but Generations, I feel that there is something here for everyone. With that said, this concludes my Sonic the Hedgehog marathon. The final scores for each title are up. DUCK FOR COVER!

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"> 5th place; Sonic 1 - 9.5/10: Over two decades later, and still a great platformer. Sonic entered the world with a boom.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"> 1st place; Sonic 2 – 10/10: Doing what all good sequels do, all the while making the Sonic experience not only better than before, as well as making it one of the best experiences overall.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"> 8th place; Sonic CD - 8.7/10: If the level design wasn’t as cheap, confusing and poorly designed, I might’ve given it a higher score. It is STILL a great Sonic title, just a step down from the others.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"> 1st place; Sonic 3&Knuckles - 10/10: Expanding even further in the Sonic franchise, as well as being the biggest Sonic game out there, this is perhaps the best Sonic title ever, though Sonic 2…

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"> 4th place; Sonic Adventure - 9.5/10 – When I stated that none of the 3D titles for a long time stood a chance against the classics, I was wrong. I prefer Sonic Adventure over Sonic CD, and even more than Sonic 1. This is an amazing Sonic game, and I want to see an improved take on this formula.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"> 6th place; Sonic Adventure 2 - 9.3/10 – Streamlined, focused, and polished, this was going to be the final Sonic game EVER. And if it was, I wouldn’t have been disappointed. Sonic Adventure 2, had it not been for some rather cheap and stupid design choices, could’ve been the best 3D Sonic game ever. But as of now, it would’ve been a grand closing to the franchise.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"> 10th place; Sonic and the Secret Rings – 7.6/10 – After the Dark Age, we got the transition phase. Secret Rings overall, while hard to describe, is overall a damn fine game, and fun to play. Missed potential? Indeed. Good, solid experience overall? Hell yeah.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"> 7th place; Sonic Unleashed (Nintendo Wii) - 8.9/10 – This was the first GOOD Sonic game out of his dark age. Half of the game is great stuff, and the other half… getting there. Overall, a proficient Sonic title.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"> 9th place; Sonic and the Black Knight - 8.5/10 – Is it a terrible Sonic game that doesn’t follow ANYTHING from the mainstream titles? Yes. But is it a great, overlooked spin-off that has its own charm? Yes. Overall, a good spinoff, ad a fun experience.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"> 3rd place; Sonic Colors - 9.7/10 – I BELIEVED! As soon as I beat the game, I knew Sonic was back on track. Colors did just about everything right and I honestly can’t come up with any flaws that hindered my experience. Put anything good about Sonic on a wish list, and with this game, check all of the above

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"> 2nd place; Sonic Generations - 9.8/10 – And now, it’s final. Sonic has finally escaped his dark era, and is now back as some of the best games out there. Both incarnations of Sonic are amazing, and everything about the game is wonderful. It was tough between this Colors, but Generations overall won. If it had a better story, and more levels, this would be even better. <ac_metadata title="Reviewed; Sonic Generations"> </ac_metadata>