User:Mystic Orb

DO NOT EDIT MY PROFILE!

General life
I was born two years exactly before the release date of Sonic Adventure for the Dreamcast (09/09/1997, Too bad I didn't get a Dreamcast and Sonic Adventure for my second birthday) in Sydney, Australia. I'm an Australian citizen with a Chinese background and although I lived in Sydney during most of my life, my family recently moved to Darwin in the 'Top End' of Australia and despite that I still miss Sydney, I'm not sad as long as I'm still in Australia. I can only understand Mandarin to a basic degree, making me a bilingual.

Besides video gaming as my obviously favourite hobby I have a musical skill on the violin which I want to develop to professional concert playing because as the modern Sonic games moves into orchestral elements in their soundtrack and in the future, there are some pieces I'd like to play and master, especially Crisis City and Rooftop Run. I'm currently a high school student which means a lot of school work that will keep me from accessing Wikia but during school, there are opportunities to access it though (from breaks etc.).

Being part of the Sonic the Hedgehog series community
I have known and became a fan of the Sonic-franchise for pretty much my entire life. I know the video games (mostly the main-series console and have almost every of them) and the anime Sonic X continuity (so don't question me about the Comics . I own the following video game consoles: Sega Mega Drive (formerly) Nintendo DS, GBA emulator on PC,PSP, Wii, Xbox, Xbox 360 and its Kinect. If any of you readers have a Xbox 360 and want to be my friend on Xbox Live, my gamertag is SpiritedOrb8307 and I'm open to any friend requests. Not trying to start a console war and please don't hate me for this but the PS3 is not recommended for Sonic gaming because every Sonic game released for that platform is also on the Xbox 360 and the Xbox 360 has two exclusive Sonic games (Sonic Free Riders and Dreamcast Collection if counting Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure DX for PC version entirely different versions) while the Wii has its' own exclusive games. Please note that my avatar image is meant to be focused on the mysterious orb and I can't really crop it but that shouldn't matter anyway.





Don't think that Australia doesn't have much to do with the Sonic the hedgehog franchise because of the following reasons:
 * Australia has a SEGA operations in Sydney (now it's named Five-Star Games but that makes no difference).
 * Echidnas are native animals to Australia.
 * Australia once had a SEGA-Sydney world (whatever the name is) in Darling Harbour, Sydney.
 * The setting of Sonic Rush Adventure is heavily based on the continent of Oceania. (The continent that Australia is in and this will be explained in the next section in further detail.)

My games and my personal reviews for them
Below is a list of all the Sonic games I currently have and their platforms (excluding Mega Drive), and also my 'unofficial' score (out of 100 to avoid using decimals). In the case of a game I have more than 1 platform of, scores are given to each individual platform based on my opinions for the game and sharing you my thoughts. Based on the score, I will also list out my top ten Sonic games I have played. Please note that these unofficial reviews are just my personal opinions so just respect that and everything should be fine and also any Sonic collection games like Mega Collection Plus or Gems Collection won't be mentioned themselves directly in this section.

Note: SMC+ = Sonic Mega Collection Plus and XBLA = Xbox Live Arcade

Main Console series games
The majority of my Sonic games are the main series console games but I do own some console spin-off games which will be listed under Spin-off Sonic games section (when I get to that). GBA version of Sonic the Hedgehog will be mentioned here though .

Sonic the Hedgehog (16-bit)


Platforms: Xbox (SMC+ ), GBA emulator (under the name Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis) and Xbox 360 (Sonic Generations)

Opinions and thoughts:

This is the first Sonic game I have played as you'd expect and the first game for SEGA to star their speedy blue mascot in. I thought that the fast gameplay and careful platforming put together in one game was an exceptional way to start things off for the franchise and SEGA had every right to boast about it. I'd admit that I wasn't that good with the bosses and was only able to do Green Hill Zone but recently along with the other classic Genesis/Mega Drive Sonic games, I've been able to boost my confidence and therefore been able to complete the game but I've yet to complete this game with all six Chaos Emeralds.

The Sonic Mega Collection Plus's port is my favourite version of this game because of the 'save and load' system which really helps to complete the game, something the Xbox 360 version lacked of but the Xbox 360 version was also had the impressive gameplay unchanged but apart from that infamous 'spike bug' and a not-so clear soundtrack, the only other improvement would be to add on the achievements from the XBLA (Xbox Live Arcade) version (treat them as secret achievements) so that the total GS (gamerscore) for Sonic Generations is 1200 and having 61 achievements (so really you don't have to buy Sonic the Hedgehog with 240 MP (Microsoft Points) as buying Sonic Generations is having two games in one). The GBA port is terrible though because of the ridiculous glitches, framerate, soundtrack and the Spin Dash 'Anniversary Mode' didn't really help to maintain that fast gameplay.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit)
Platform: Xbox (SCM+)

Opinions and thoughts:

This is the sequel to the great first Sonic game and the introduction of Sonic's best friend Tails with a whole new different level designs and also the introduction of the Spin Dash, giving an even faster gameplay. Again with the previous game, I didn't had the confidence to intially play the entire game on the Mega Drive but upon having Sonic Mega Collection Plus and its reliable 'save and load' system. I also thought that the game had a mixture of easy-to-beat bosses to the tough final bosses. This game also marks the debut of super transformation; hence Super Sonic which I probably took a lot of attempts to do the last Special Stages using the save and load.

I also heard of the prototype version of this game, the deleted levels (Dust Hill Zone, Genocide City Zone, Wood Zone and Hidden Palace Zone,, the unused badniks and the different soundtrack. I don't think the game really needs to implement the theme of time travel but I think the game would be complete if the game didn't had those levels deleted and using Yuji Naka's original concept of teleporting to Hidden Palace Zone whenever the player collects all seven Chaos Emeralds before doing the next zone (though if you start the game with all the Emeralds through Options or All Emeralds cheat (04,01,02,06), you will do Hidden Palace Zone before doing the first zone).

Sonic the Hedgehog CD(2011 remake)
Platform: XBLA (Xbox Live Arcade) Opinions and thoughts:

Out of the classic Sonic games, this was the no. 1 spot for that era because the game has the fastest gameplay thanks to the Super Peel Out and the time travel theme which is possible to play a total of 70 levels; each having a different level design. In addition, it introduces two new characters, Amy Rose and Metal Sonic. Since this is the 2011 remake, Tails becomes a bonus playable character. The JP soundtrack is far better than the US soundtrack because some of the US soundtrack doesn't seem to fit in with the theme of the stage (apart from Stardust Speedway Bad Future and Present and Metallic Madness Bad Future). Also, the special stages aren't too exciting and the bosses are way too simple to beat (apart from the last one and Stardust Speedway's boss is a race against Metal Sonic so they don't count but the other bosses are surely counted to this criticism) but the main gameplay is seemingly perfect to overcome those issues.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Sonic and Knuckles, Sonic 3 and Knuckles and Knuckles in Sonic 2
Platform: Xbox (SMC+)

Opinions and thoughts: I decided to put these four games into one sub-section because they all feature Knuckles the Echidna as a newcomer and a rival to the franchise and Sonic respectively and as everyone knows, Sonic 3 and Knuckles tell the complete story. Overall the Sonic 3 and Knuckles arc is quite positive although Sonic 3 alone receives a letdown because of common gameplay glitches. The complete version though receives the best review because of the Hyper Sonic/Knuckles and Super Tails feature keeping the game at its thrilling, hyperspeed gameplay.

As for Knuckles in Sonic 2, gameplay for Knuckles entirely in Sonic 2 remains mostly unchanged although his weak jumping and gliding abilites does set the path of certain stage accessible areas neither Sonic and Tails could reach and there aren't any hints in SMG+ to access debug mode etc. so I had to research the Web to find for myself but overall this game is the first step to know our knucklehead. This concludes the Genesis era of my games and now the sixth gen games.

Sonic Adventure DX
Platform: XBLA

Opinions and thoughts:

As the first 6th-gen, true 3D Sonic game with voice actors upon its original release, I can understand how popular game was and how I wished to have it. This game marks the debut of Big the Cat, Tikal, Chaos and E-102 Gamma which are either reoccuring characters into the later Sonic games or mentioned. But when I do have this game on the HD re-release version, I somehow lost some of my excitement some of the features of this game.

Positive gameplay features include Sonic 's gameplay and the storyline which are the main spotlights. The criticisms however are Big's gameplay, the extra stage missions (not the mission mode from DX) and mainly this game gives me headaches especially in some levels and the hub-worlds. The other playable characters' gameplay weren't too bad though Knuckles' treasure hunting levels proved to be quite fustrating with the stage exploration.

I will probably take 1-2 years for me to complete this game 100% depending on my dedication to this game. I remember one poll in this wiki surveys which Sonic game was the most over-rated and I said this game.

Sonic Adventure 2 Battle


Platform: XBLA

Opinions and thoughts:

The sequel to the popular Sonic Adventure because the gameplay here reuses Sonic Adventure's gameplay: six playable characters (although split into two story modes Hero and Dark), speed stages (from Sonic's), shooting-mech stages(from Gamma's), treasure hunting (from Knuckles') and the Chao Garden. This game also marks the debut of two new characters: Shadow the Hedgehog and Rouge the Bat and the playable appearance of Dr. Eggman, forming the Dark team that completes speed, treaure hunting and mech-shooting stages respectively.

The revised gameplay was overall much better than Sonic Adventure (especially Chao Garden and the storyline) but despite of this, the treasure hunting gameplay, (especially in the later levels) are much more annoying than Sonic Adventure's levels as the stage becomes much bigger to explore. But overall the game is still better than Sonic Adventure and I have more dedication to complete this game 100%.

I remember that when I tried to download this game off XBLM (Xbox Live Marketplace) right on the release date (05/10/2012 there was an error saying I couldn't so I still bought this game via Xbox.com and it took a night for the game to be completely downloaded though I had trouble with the Battle add-on DLC as I had to keep re-downloading it over and over again but now those issues have been resolved.

Sonic Heroes
Platform: Xbox



Opinions and thoughts:

If I recall correctly, this game has introduced many things: the debut of a Sonic game in multiple consoles (especially PS2 and Xbox), the debut of a new character (E-123 Omega), the true 3D reappearance of Metal Sonic, the debut of special stages in a 3D Sonic game (not counting spin-offs) and sadly one of the last Sonic games to have the voice acting of the 'Adventure' cast. To tell you the truth as I mentioned earlier, I didn't have the confidence to play the Mega Drive/Genesis games, so I got hooked into the 3D Sonic games and Sonic Heroes was the first of them.

I really enjoyed this game because of these positive features: gameplay mechanics (great 3D platforming/action on 14 well-designed stages), a fairly lengthy and fantastic storyline (as stated, this marks an epic, deadly return of Metal Sonic), soundtrack and voice acting (from Sonic Heroes onwards, characters' lips synchronise with the English language instead of the Japanese language). The letdown of the game is the special stages because the stages can get very glitchy and out of control; therefore making these stages hard to get to the goal/get the Chaos Emeralds.

As of now, I have completed the game 100% (all storylines complete, all emblems, all A-ranks, and cleared Super Hard Mode) which shows I am fully dedicated to completing Sonic Heroes unlike the Adventure titles which have near-impossible missions and annoying treasure-hunting levels that give me headaches and therefore I can't enjoy playing them often. So Sonic Heroes is so far one of my favourite Sonic games to play.

Sonic Unleashed
Platform: Xbox 360



Opinions and thoughts:

As said this is my favourite Sonic game to date and there is a lot to say about this. SEGA's three years of producing the Hedgehog Engine has paid off with brillant, ultra-realistic CGI-quality HD graphics in stages, hub-worlds and cutscenes. The gameplay of day stages is the best with not just 3D platforming but adds a classic element of  Sonic games: 2D side-scrolling. Because of the Hedgehog Engine which hits the 30 fraps mark gives Sonic's trademark speed the fastest I've seen in other games and very fun although the only problem with this that Sonic moves too fast and becomes uncontrollable especially when you have obstacles and platforms to jump to and occasionally the framerate may slow down in some stages.

Despite the criticism for the night stages and Werehog concept, I actually liked the Werehog's fighting gameplay style for the night stages since the game's experience points system actually keeps me wanting to play the game and in fact I have S-ranked every single night stage so far including the DLC levels (I purchased all the DLC levels). However I also didn't enjoy the narrow platform sections especially Eggmanland. But what's the highlight of this concept is Jason Griffith potraying his dark-tone voice which fitted the Werehog perfectly and with the additiion of Sonic's voice during the game, like most other fans, this game had the highlight of Jason's voice acting throughout the series we've seen so far.

What's interesting to note that the criticism regarding Chip/Light Gaia is quite rubbish because he has an interesting backstory connecting to the storyline of this game and he way better designed than most Saturday morning cartoon characters although Chip's Japanese voice actor gave him a high-pitched voice which I don't understand why when compared to his English voice he is done in a fairly deep, low pitch voice.

The soundtrack is also one of the best in the series and as I've mentioned earlier, I'm pleased that orchestral elements are brought to the tracks and mixed well with rock elements especially Rooftop Run and the orchestral theme of the game.

Despite of these minor letdowns, Sonic Unleashed is still an exceptional Sonic game to date which really brought the franchise back to its fantastic glory after some poorly rated Sonic games were released with all these magnificent features and I hope that Sonic Team can use those features to produce more Sonic games like this (hopefully on the sequel at least).

Sonic Colours
Platform: Wii

Opinions and thoughts:

This Nintendo platform-exclusive game has got me wondering whether I had the same praise for this game as what the other reviews thought. It had an unique storyline since almost the entire setting is out of Earth in other planets in outer space and this time the Chaos Emeralds play no role in this story. The voice acting of the current cast is very favourable. The soundtrack is also very impressive with a mix of rock and orchestral elements (particularly the theme for the final boss battle).

The gameplay though has some mixed reviews of positive and negatives. The good side includes Sonic's trademark platforming as we all know it but I didn't find the gameplay fast enough with the Sonic Boost mechanic, well impressively designed stages for a non-HD console. The wisps' gameplay also counts to the reviews when some wisps such as Cyan Wisps and Yellow Wisps are useful but some such as Green Wisp and Pink Spike because Sonic himself can already perform a Lightspeed Dash and Spin Dash (though maybe except performing a Spin Dash while on a wall or ceiling without a wisp's aid. Not being able to earn an extra life by collecting 100 rings also is a thumbs down.

What's interesting that this is the first 3D Sonic game that Super Sonic is playable in regular stages (except for boss battles) although I think that Super Sonic needs to move way faster especially if he is boosting while on an auto-running section.

Overall Sonic Colours is an okay Sonic game and along with Sonic Unleashed, I shouldn't always rely on what game reviewers think on a Sonic game to say whether it'd be good to me or not.

Sonic Generations
Platform: Xbox 360



Opinions and thoughts:

An interesting Sonic game that shows 20 years of the franchise featuring some of our favourite levels and boss battles through 3 eras: Genesis, Dreamcast and Modern. Two Sonics in one game, Classic and Modern Sonic with classic 2D-platforming and modern 2D-3D platforming gameplay respectively. I had very favourable reviews such as the gameplay of stages, overall stage design when compared to their respective original game's stage design and the soundtrack is brilliant. The letdown is that the storyline is too short and as Sonic says, "An adventure is no fun if it's too easy".

I find that overall, this game represents the modern era, in the following ways:
 * Sonic the Hedgehog (2006): The main antagonists (Solaris and Time Eater) of their respective games with similar powers and they are both final boss fights. Also, the Homing Attack is used to launch Sonic automatically onto a nearby rail
 * Sonic Unleashed: Overall modern Sonic gameplay originated from this game especially since both games use the same graphics engine while controls are mostly based from Sonic Unleashed (boost, Quick Step, Stomp) but the Homing Attack is not traditionally performed by pressing the Jump Button twice.
 * Sonic Colours: Although not released on the Xbox 360/PS3, Sonic Colours brought the Wisps' Colour Power and also both Colors and Generations gave Sonic the ability to switch to a parallel rail by moving the left stick left or right instead of Quick Step.

Main handheld Sonic games series
I don't have much of Sonic games that fall into the category (and since I have none of the Game Gear Sonic games and sadly, I don't play them as much frequent as the console games and even more sadly, my DS is a bit broken but still operational. Note that Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis for the GBA is not going to be listed in this section because it has already being mentioned in the console section as it's a handheld port of the original console Sonic game.

My favourite pages

 * Sonic the Hedgehog (character)
 * Sonic X
 * Shadow the Hedgehog