Sonic Unleashed is a mobile phone game based on the console video game of the same name that was developed by Gameloft and released in June 2009.
Plot[]
The story begins with Sonic the Hedgehog attacking Dr. Eggman's spaceship. However, he is struck by the doctor, who manages to steal the seven Chaos Emeralds from him, turning him into Sonic the Werehog. In this new form, Sonic falls down to Earth. Eventually landing in Chun-Nan, the Werehog meets a mysterious creature whom he names Chip, and promises to help him regain his memory. As the sun rises, the Werehog turns back to Sonic, and he and Chip travel to a town in search of someone who might know Chip's identity.
After fighting Sonic on two occasions in Chun-Nan and dropping the blue Chaos Emerald, Eggman flees to Athens, Greece, and Sonic travels through Apotos to reach him. After another fight in Apotos, Sonic acquires the red Emerald. He later catches Eggman in the plaza of the city and defeats the Egg Fish, which drops the green Chaos Emerald. Soon after, Eggman flees to other parts of Europe. Hot on the doctor's heels, Sonic arrives in Spagonia, where he defeats his nemesis and gets the white Chaos Emerald.
Eggman's robots soon after take over the city of Mazuri, in the Middle East, in the doctor's bid to harness Dark Gaia's power. There, Sonic acquires the purple Chaos Emerald. However, Dark Gaia is eventually complete, and Eggman uses its power to unleash his most powerful robot on Mazuri. Regardless, Sonic defeats this robot and gains the yellow and orange Chaos Emeralds, thus foiling Eggman's plans.
Gameplay[]
Unlike its Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 counterpart and Wii/PlayStation 2 counterpart, Sonic Unleashed is a 2D side-scrolling platformer video game, with various elements borrowed from 2D Sonic games for the Sega Mega Drive. The game features two characters: Sonic and his Werehog form, each of whom have their own gameplay style. Sonic Unleashed has four Zones with various Levels each.
The main objective of Sonic Unleashed is to reach the goal of its Levels. Many of these Levels are designed to feature some splitting pathways and various hidden secrets. The goal of such Levels may be either a Goal Ring or beating a boss.
Like previous games in the franchise, Sonic Unleashed features Rings, which serve as Sonic's protection against most obstacles; if he gets hit while having at least one Ring, he will survive the attack, but will drop all of his Rings. Conversely, the player will lose a life, or get a Game Over if they run out of lives. In the former case, Sonic can respawn at Checkpoints scattered throughout the Levels to progress further. In the latter case, the player will be forced to replay the Level from the start.
Sonic's gameplay is similar to the one in the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 and Wii/PlayStation 2 versions of Sonic Unleashed, though it appears to be more derived from Sonic Rush and Sonic Rush Adventure. Like in these four games, Sonic can perform the Sonic Boost, which allows him to run at top speed. However, usage of this feature is not infinite, as it is powered by the Boost Gauge. The player has to collect Rings to steadly fill up this gauge and be able to use the Sonic Boost. Apart from this move, the hedgehog can also perform moves seen in previous Sonic games, like the Spin Attack, the Spin Jump, and the Sonic Ball. The design of Sonic's Levels have extensive platforming; alternate, shorter paths done by carefully moving forward; and a few sections for the player to use the Sonic Boost.
By comparison, the Werehog's gameplay is much slower-paced than Sonic's, focusing more on combat and linear platforming. Due to this, the player can use him to perform various combos and other attacks in order to defeat enemies. There are several sections in the Werehog's Levels where he has to fight against a horde of enemies to move forward.
Controls[]
Button formation | Movement |
---|---|
[4]/[6]/[←]/[→] | Move left/right |
[2]/[↑] | Spin Jump |
Move + [8]/[↓] | Spin Attack |
[8]/[↓] | Crouch |
Crouch + [2]/[↑] | Sonic Ball |
[OK]/[5] | Sonic Boost |
Objects[]
Items[]
Gimmicks and obstacles[]
Characters[]
Playable characters[]
Non-playable characters[]
- Chip
- Dark Gaia (mentioned)
- Dr. Eggman
Enemies[]
Bosses[]
- Chun-Nan boss (Chun-Nan) (only appearance)
- Apotos sub-boss (Apotos) (only appearance)
- Egg Fish (Apotos) (only appearance)
- Spagonia boss (Spagonia) (only appearance)
- Final boss (Mazuri) (only appearance)
Zones[]
- Chun-Nan
- Apotos
- Spagonia
- Mazuri
Development[]
Promotional[]
The game was announced at E3 2009 and was later released on June of the same year in Europe, Middle East, Australia and New Zealand.[2]
Reception[]
Reception | |
---|---|
Review scores | |
Publication | Score |
Pocket Gamer | [3] |
The mobile version of Sonic Unleashed received few reviews, but those who did play it enjoyed the unique style of gameplay that it brought to the Sonic series.
Unfortunately, the game suffered the same fate as its console counterpart as the nighttime levels were heavily criticized, with Jon Mundy of Pocket Gamer stating that "when you spend a good chunk of the game wishing you were playing a different section, you know something isn’t working."[3] Overall, Mundy gave the game 3.5 out of 5 stars.[3]
Trivia[]
- This is the first handheld adaptation of a main series game since Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
- Unlike other 2D Sonic games, Sonic instantly dies when colliding with a bed of spikes.
See also[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sonic Unleashed. BlackBerry App World. Archived from the original on 23 August 2009. Retrieved on 27 December 2021.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Gameloft signs multi-property agreement with SEGA® Europe Ltd.. MCV (6 May 2009). Archived from the original on 11 May 2009.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Mundy, Jon (15 June 2009). Sonic Unleashed. Pocket Gamer.
Playable characters | Sonic (Werehog) | |
Non-playable characters | Chip · Dark Gaia · Dr. Eggman | |
Enemies | Crabmeat · Egg Fighter · Egg Fighter: Shield · Egg Flame · Ptera · Bat Badnik · Triceratops Badnik · Unnamed Pirahna Badnik | |
Zones | Chun-Nan · Apotos · Spagonia · Mazuri | |
Bosses | Chun-Nan boss · Apotos sub-boss · Egg Fish · Spagonia boss · Final boss | |
Moves/techniques | Crouch · Combo · Heavy Attack · Sonic Ball · Sonic Boost · Spin Attack (Werehog) · Spin Jump | |
Gimmicks and obstacles | Checkpoint · Dash Panel · Dash Rail · Fountain · Grind Rail · High-speed warp tube · Rainbow Ring · Spikes · Spring · Vine | |
Items | Air bubble · Chaos Emerald · Giant Ring · Goal Ring · Ring · Item Box (1-Up, 5 Ring Bonus, Invincible, Shield) | |
Others | Earth · Egg Fleet |