Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-24012316-20141002003247

                Yeah, I probably am jumping the gun a bit. After my review of Sonic Adventure 2, I guess you all thought the next logical step would be Sonic Heroes. Well, I’ll actually stay away from the touchy subject known as the “Dark Age of Sonic”. Let’s just say I’m probably the most positive ANY man has been about that period. With that said, I decided to go ahead and review my FIRST Sonic game that I owned, Sonic and the Secret Rings. That, amongst two other titles, but that’s beside the point. I know this is technically considered part of the dark era, but hey, judging by these reviews I’m seeing, it looks pretty swell. So, how about it? It’s time for

 SONIC AND THE SECRET RINGS

 Story Oasis

             Sonic and the Secret Rings was the point in time Sega realized dark stories isn’t getting them ANYWHERE. So, they loosened up a bit. That’s cool with me. Wanna know why? Wait for my reviews on Shadow the Hedgehog and SONIC THE HEDGEHOG.

             Sonic is actually seen inside a house. You know, I love Sonic as much as the next guy, but lemme just get this out here; I always thought Sonic was the fastest hobo alive. I’ll just assume Tails was letting Sonic relax. So then, after getting woke up from a snooze by a voice, Sonic pulls out a ring from FREAKING NOWHERE, and out comes a FREAKING SCANTILY CLAD GENIE. Okay, what the heck? I know Sonic’s supposed to be about wacky and vibrant worlds, but this is… something else. Whatever, better than freaking aliens and- oh, better wait.

             Being the lazy bum I am, I’ll once again redirect you guys to SomecallmeJohnny. I’ll TRY to put a lid on that from now on. No promises. In the end, I actually think the voice acting is pretty swell. Introduced in Shadow the Hedgehog, replacing Ryan Drummond is Jason 4heez. Ok, sorry, Jason Griffith. He’s a really cool voice actor, and I say he’s my preferred Sonic. The calm, matured and noble personality given makes Jason standout as the best. Aside from that, everyone is hit and miss. I think Johnny displayed them best.

 Presentation Jungle

             The game’s presentation is splendid. I love the art-style, as all the gorgeously carved worlds of the Arabian Nights comes alive, with surprisingly high res graphics, and wonderful art direction. This is coupled nicely with an extremely smooth framerate. I have NO idea if this is 60 FPS, but I have never seen the framerate dip ONCE. This is all good stuff, especially considering the fact this was considered a launch title/window. With that said, the graphics are amazing even today, and I will always be impressed by that intro CGI.

             However, the music is amongst the weaker of the series. I have them all stuck in my head, FOR VERY WRONG REASONS. A handful of them are actually pretty damn swell, though I have to say most of them I want to forget. The main theme, Seven Rings in Hand, is at best, alright. Everything else… Well, Night Palace has a pretty good theme, I kinda like Dinosaur Jungle (even if it’s so damn repetitive), “Let the Speed Mend It” is alright, but that’s pretty much where it stops.

 Gameplay Ruins

             Sonic and the Secret Rings has two different descriptions; Optimists would say it’s a focused and streamlined formula that resembles Sonic’s style from Sonic Adventure 2 and Heroes, and skeptical ones would probably say it’s a watered down bare bone on-rails platformer. Me? I’m kinda torn. On one hand, the lack of multiple playstyles is something I’m glad they did for the time being. Again, wait for my reviews of the Dark Age of Sonic. Sonic and the Secret Rings is a linear on-rails platformer.

             Confused? Simple, that means Sonic will continuously move forward no matter what. This is actually the deciding factor between hate and love for many people. Some people are perfectly fine with the on-rails function, while others hate the game because of it. Again, I’m mixed. The level designed is now pretty damn forced, but later can be quite open. The world is still essentially a giant hallway, but at least let it be a WIDE hallway, with so much space to roam in. Frankly, I wouldn’t mind Sonic and the Secret Rings taking a note from SONIC THE HEDGEHOG. I would like to see something like this; the on-rails running is saved for those fleeting, fast, and furious running segments, which will transition to a free-roam Sonic for the more spacious areas. Let me explain; Sonic in the “Mach Speed Sections” would control like he does, but in the true 3D, he should control like this; the camera is permanently fixed behind Sonic. Turning the wiimote now makes Sonic spin all the way if tilted long enough. On-rails controls are still fine, as long as Sonic now has a better camera and better mobility.

             However, that’s not the case. Sonic constantly runs forward, with the only mobility he has in terms of movement being a forced and linear tilt, walking backwards which sucks due to the terrible camera, and a back step, which is great for fast and frantic combat, but again, you probably will run into some sort of enemy. Sonic’s jump is also very different. He doesn’t even curl into a ball at all. Instead, simply tapping the button will let Sonic do a quick hop, which is great for getting a move on, as well as offensive measures for on-the-go combat, but is pretty darn useless for combat. No, to do a REAL jump, you got to hold down 2, charge up the jump, and release to jump STRAIGHT UP. Luckily, the game never really demands what Sonic doesn’t have. That’s the thing about the game. The control scheme in here would be absolute crap in another Sonic game, but as long as you don’t try and do more than needed, I normally had a comfortable time in the worlds. IN THE GO FOR THE GOAL MISSIONS.

             See, Secret Rings is a mission based game. To complete a certain world and advance, you have to complete certain missions to advance, which range from racing the Wind Spirit in races to the finish (which always aggravate me), to not breaking a single jar (which always aggravate me). Yeah, not a lot of these missions are remotely fun, and I have to say, that’s a true shame.

 Sonic and the Secret Rings actually have a lot of potential in the works. See, The Go for the Goal Missions always seem to be a great example. They are brilliant platformers, with a great sense of refreshing speed, coupled with demanding levels, which always feel demanding of player input. Even something as dodging an upcoming chain of hazards can be tricky with the game’s input heavy controls and even grinding requires lots of skill and finesse to pull off.

 I even managed to like the “Die Hard” missions, which require Sonic NOT, to die. I rarely die in regular stages anyway, so I like to think of this as how missions should be; replaying the level with fresh level design, maybe with revamped difficulty, but they all have the same task; use the skills given to you to fight your way to the goal. THAT is how this game should’ve handled. However, this simply isn’t the case, whether it’d be the wonky camera or clunky on rails system, Sonic and the Secret Rings completely shoots itself in the leg with missions that ask too much of too little.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"> If it wasn’t for B.S. like racing Uhu, not killing enemies, hunting for eggs, etc, etc, this would be my favorite Sonic game. I’m not trying to be funny. The Go for the Goal missions are simply amazing, which challenge you in fair ways that just fits so well with Sonic’s nature. But with terrible progression, lackluster music, and awful missions, I can’t say I enjoyed Sonic and the Secret Rings as a whole, far from it. But what I enjoyed, I enjoyed quite a lot. This is indeed a solid game, and one I believe Wii users should own. With that in mind, I’m Dream Era of SNN, you guys, have yourselves a great night, and take care.

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