Gaming Sonic Colors

[James]

[center][font="Microsoft Sans Serif"]Wii[/font]
[font="Microsoft Sans Serif"][size="5"]Sonic Colors[/size][/font]

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[font="Palatino Linotype"]I have to start by saying that I'm a [i]huge[/i] Sonic fan. I owned all of the original 2D Sonic platformers (sans Sonic 2 on Master System) and I've bought probably two of those "Sega Collections" compilations. I even owned Sonic CD on the Sega Mega CD - now I really wish I hadn't sold it, but that's another story.

I remember being really eager to play Sonic Adventure on Dreamcast when it came out in 1999. For the most part, I really enjoyed Sonic Adventure. It did feel somewhat rough though, compared to Nintendo's first 3D Mario. That is to say...there were things about it that felt very un-Sonic. I didn't like the fact that it was set in the real world (or something close to it - whatever happened to the alien landscapes of Moebius, with the grid-patterned earth and the vivid colours?) I also didn't particularly like Sonic Team's attempts to add complexity to the plot where none as needed. And I [i]really[/i] didn't like many of the additional characters - Amy and Big were, for the most part, completely un-fun. I actually thought they were horribly designed segments with shoddy/slow controls and very bland challenges. Yuck. At least the actual Sonic and Tails levels were generally fantastic; they also displayed the clear potential that Sonic had in a 3D environment.

Sonic Adventure 2 improved the "Sonic" levels (or at least, Sonic and Shadow). But that was about it. The rest of the game was slightly improved over the first title, but it still seemed that Sega weren't bold enough to [i]just design a damn Sonic game in 3D![/i] After all, they had basically skipped the Saturn (Sonic Jam wasn't a serious attempt and Sonic 3D Blast was shockingly awful - thanks, Traveller's Tales).

Without detailing the subsequent horrors that Sonic endured (Sonic the Hedgehog on Xbox 360/PS3, Shadow the Hedgehog and many others - although I heard Sonic Heroes had its great moments), I think it's fair to say that Sega produced several write-offs as far as Sonic goes.

I may sound harsh, but honestly, I think if you grew up with the 2D Sonic titles, it's hard to be very forgiving of the rocky road that Sonic has traveled in the 3D world. Given that Mario managed such a seamless transition (Mario and many other classic franchises), I can't really give Sonic Team a pass on this.

Anyway, the one savior of Sonic seems to have been developer DIMPS. They were responsible for the Sonic Rush series on Nintendo DS (I've only played the first Sonic Rush, but it was absolutely true to the 2D Sonic of old).

And it looks like DIMPS really came to the rescue in terms of Sonic in 3D. They partnered with Sonic Team to create [b]Sonic Colors[/b], which is now available for Wii and will hopefully become available for the HD consoles soon (I share IGN's hope with that).

Apart from the fact that DIMPS seem to know what they're doing, it seems to me that Sonic Colors could almost be called [i]the first true 3D Sonic game[/i]. I say that even having played and enjoyed Sonic Adventure more than a decade ago.

Sonic Colors does away with the peripheral characters and their terrible gameplay and focuses its attention on Sonic. Speed seems to be emphasized as you would expect, but Sonic Team/DIMPS have also expanded Sonic's platforming environments slightly, providing a bit of a hybrid Sonic/Mario feel (or at least borrowing some elements from the latter).

A subtle (or not so subtle, depending on your perspective) element has been added as well: Wisps. These are essentially power-ups that allow Sonic to perform different actions for a limited period (like drilling through rock or bouncing from enemy to enemy). Apparently they aren't necessary to finish a level, but they do allow Sonic to access branching paths that may otherwise be difficult or impossible to find.

Even a cursory glance at this game gives me the impression that DIMPS and Sonic Team are serious about both providing new experiences for Sonic fans, while also bringing Sonic back to the essential elements that make up a true Sonic game.

Even the little things catch my attention - a return to whimsical/fantastical environments, a dramatic soundtrack improvement (not perfect, but so far no awful cheesy 80's rock), an emphasis on both full 3D and "2.5D" platforming and, as I mentioned above, a principal focus on Sonic himself.

I haven't yet played Sonic Colors, but I'm intending to buy it. I'm keen to try it and see if, finally, I'm not going to be somehow let down by a 3D Sonic title (and I'll post my thoughts here, whether they are good, bad or ugly).

What about you guys? Any interest in this one?[/font]

[CaNz]

AAAAHH!
a sonic game that looks good! the end of the world is upon us, the Sega messiah that died has come once again to judge our souls!

i will definitely look into this more.

[Sangome]

[color="#9932CC"][font="Microsoft Sans Serif"]I loved both of the Adventure games. 2 actually has my favorite game soundtrack of all time. But I digress.

I played the DS demo of Colors last week and was really impressed. The Wii version looks like something I'd enjoy more, though. [/font][/color] Edited November 12, 2010 by Sangome

[James]

[font="Palatino Linotype"]Sonic Adventure 2 has your favourite soundtrack of all time?

o_O;;

Okay, moving on, heheh. I haven't played Sonic Colors on DS yet - I'm wondering if I should get that too. Honestly I haven't played my DS in months and months. Not that there hasn't been anything worthwhile on DS (quite the contrary) but I've really focused on PC and consoles lately.

Actually, coming back to the soundtrack - my objection with Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2 wasn't so much that the soundtrack was [i]bad[/i] per-se (although I definitely didn't like the cheesy rock bits - there were a couple of okay tracks on some non-Sonic levels from memory), it was more that...well, it wasn't Sonic. It didn't bear any real relationship with the earlier Sonic soundtracks. That, combined with a number of other major changes, really took way the whole Sonic vibe for me.

I blame this change in direction, in part, on the absence of Naoto Å?shima. Granted, he was involved with Sonic Adventure, but he also directed some of Sonic Team's greatest games - Sonic CD and Nights into Dreams. The team changed a great deal over the last decade and something went very wrong at Sega from a corporate level.

Anyway, based on some recent comments from Sega, they seem to be pretty committed to bringing Sonic back to the AAA status it once had. Sonic Colors looks to be a first step, at least according to the reviews. So I'm very eager to pick this up - maybe next week.

For anyone else who has played, I'd love to read your impressions here. [/font]

[Sangome]

[color="#9932CC"][font="Microsoft Sans Serif"]Okay, maybe I was slightly exaggerating. It's [i]one[/i] of my favorite soundtracks, at least. I never claimed for it to be great or not cheesy, but I still enjoy many of the songs in the game. That better?

Query, have you played Sonic the Hedgehog 4 at all? From what I've heard, that was what was meant to bring Sonic back to his former glory, as opposed to this. That's not to say this won't be any good, but I've just not heard Colors being touted as "the return to the roots" as I have for 4. [People are pitching a fit to the contrary, natch, but...that's the Sonic fandom for you.][/font][/color] Edited November 14, 2010 by Sangome

[James]

[quote name='Sangome' date='14 November 2010 - 11:36 AM' timestamp='1289698574' post='701821']
[color="#9932CC"][font="Microsoft Sans Serif"]Query, have you played Sonic the Hedgehog 4 at all? From what I've heard, that was what was meant to bring Sonic back to his former glory, as opposed to this. That's not to say this won't be any good, but I've just not heard Colors being touted as "the return to the roots" as I have for 4. [People are pitching a fit to the contrary, natch, but...that's the Sonic fandom for you.][/font][/color]
[/quote]

[font=palatino linotype]Well, you can pretty much read any review and you'll find just about everyone saying that Sonic Colors is a return to form for Sonic. That is to say, it is a reversal of years of badly-designed 3D Sonic games and a re-establishment of a solid path for Sonic in 3D. To some degree this comes from returning to Sonic's roots, but it also comes from (relatively speaking) solid game design.

I mean, I may play it and not like it at all... but after playing Sonic and the Secret Rings on Wii, I can't really imagine that it can disappoint me. Heh.

I think that Sonic 4 is more a direct link to the classic 2D Sonic games. It's essentially Sega's answer to New Super Mario Bros.

I tend to view Sonic 4 as being more about directly bringing the 2D Sonic titles into a newer generation, whereas Sonic Colors is kind of "what Sonic Adventure & Co. should have been all along". [/font]

[Boo]

Well, speaking of soundtracks: the song they're using in the above video is absolute rubbish. It kind of kills any possible enthusiasm I might have had for the game.

[James]

[quote name='Boo' date='15 November 2010 - 04:19 AM' timestamp='1289758770' post='701837']
Well, speaking of soundtracks: the song they're using in the above video is absolute rubbish. It kind of kills any possible enthusiasm I might have had for the game.
[/quote]

[font=palatino linotype]Haha, I don't want to overstate the importance of the soundtrack.

I guess what I mean is that previous Sonic soundtracks have been [i]so[/i] far removed from traditional Sonic themes that they don't bear much resemblance to anything Sonic-related. When I talk about the music in Sonic Colors, I'm talking primarily about tracks that don't contain lyrics - because there are, still, a few junk tracks in Sonic Colors (and these are mostly the tracks with some sort of lyrics).

I highly recommend checking out some of the other Sonic Colors clips on YouTube - you'll get a better sense of the new soundtrack as well as all the far more important stuff (like actual gameplay, for example).

But anyway, I did buy this game last night and I played through a few levels. I don't think I've played enough to write an actual review, but I can definitely give some early impressions.

The general presentation of Sonic Colors is actually a lot like a Mario game - specifically, Super Mario Galaxy. The game seems to take place in outer space and there are various hub-worlds with individual "Acts" inside them.

I'd say there are normally six or seven Acts in a world, with a boss level at the end.

The gameplay is probably most akin to the Sonic-only levels in Sonic Adventure. So often the camera is behind Sonic and you're running forward - just as with Sonic Adventure, there are boost pads and you can do a homing attack on enemies and objects.

But a key difference is that the camera will regularly swing to the side and you'll be playing these kind of "2.5D" segments. These bits feel even more like "traditional" Sonic levels and they incorporate a lot more platforming segments.

There are also the Wisps that I mentioned earlier - I would tend to think of them like Mario's suits. They are basically power-ups that provide a certain ability for a limited period of time. So far the drill has been my favourite. Unlike the drill in Super Mario Galaxy 2, where you pretty much dive from one side of a planet to the other, you can actually control the drill power-up in Sonic Colors. And it's really fun. Levels that contain the drill tend to have a lot of little hiding places for you to explore - best of all, this power-up doesn't really disrupt the flow of the game. It still feels very fast and smooth.

Mixed in with all of this are a few of those semi-on-rails segments. In Sonic Adventure there are moments where you have very limited control over Sonic (like with, say...grinding on bars or moving from boost pad to boost pad). Those moments appear in Sonic Colors, except that for the most part the game gives you a greater degree of control. With some of those on-rails bits, you'll be able to dash left/right to avoid enemies (or to bump them over). It works pretty well, mostly because the camera can do all kinds of crazy cinematic stuff without you being too worried that you'll lose control and fall into a ditch or something.

Anyway, so far, so good. Sonic Colors feels about right. It definitely lacks Super Mario Galaxy's polish, but it's head and shoulders above all previous 3D Sonic titles at this point. It just feels a lot more fun - the controls are solid, the level design has been great so far and the graphics are really pushing what the Wii is capable of.

Also, I know that most Sonic fans probably don't care much about the story, but I have to say...it's surprisingly good. Not so much the plot itself, but the actual voice-acting and the cut-scenes are absolutely miles ahead of Sonic Adventure. Surprisingly, some of the cut-scenes are genuinely funny or interesting - the game is quite self-referential and makes fun of the genre conventions [spoiler](like when Eggman absolutely swears that he has no evil intentions [i]whatsoever[/i] and that he's dedicated to making up for his past evil deeds).[/spoiler]

So, yeah, even at this early stage... I'd say if you're into Sonic, this is definitely worth picking up. I'm kind of relieved that this time, somebody actually made a real attempt to push Sonic in new directions without hanging weights around his neck.[/font]