Sonic 06 is Better than Colors (Part 7)

I've started a series of blog posts to prove my point: that the most hated game--Sonic 06--is better that one of the most over-praised Sonic titles ever released--Sonic Colors.

Last time we touched on this issue a bit (with the characters of the game) but we'll be going beyond that for...

Part 7: The Conflict: bosses, villains, risks, threats...

First, let's divide this up a bit. 

1. Bosses
2. Main Villains
3. Risks to the World (universe, future, etc)
4. Threats to the Characters

Bosses

So Color's had better robot designs, honestly. Somewhat annoying, the Eggpawns were memorable. The...things in 06 were more serious but ended up rather lame and annoying themselves. But what really counts is the actual boss fights. 

06 had a couple rival battles, which are always fun. Silver's "it's no use" is infamous for it's flaws, but that fight is actually very easy. Most Sonic-fights are after a pattern is discovered--that's standard.

Iblis parts 1 and 3 were intresting. Part 2 was kind of time consuming and disappointing (it has to be done as Sonic and Shadow), but not bad. Mephiles had awesome fights, though with Omega it slows down a bit. Eggman's could be challenging, or a breeze. In all though, they were all exciting to play out. The setting, dynamic designs, and variety per character made me want to shoot for an S-rank. 

Although Colors had a variety as well, they were all the same in the end: frustrating robots. They weren't any fun, and it was hard to remember which wisp-gimmick to use to help. They aren't memorable, and are very lame when compared to bosses in other games. Really only the last battle with Eggman is worth playing.    

Main Villains

Yes, Eggman in Colors was probably better than his creepy 06 version, but what about Orbot and Cubot? They sucked and were an insult to any long-time Scratch&Grounder fan.

Iblis is neat in concept but he's not nearly as cool as Chaos. Solaris is confusing and a waste. But 06 also supplied us with one of the best villains in Sonic history--Mephiles. And I'd argue that his appearance outweighs Eggman's in Colors (which is alright but hard to take serious). 

Mephiles is skin-crawling creepy, especially for a Sonic game. He's the cause of most of the conflict in the game, and only "craves destruction." He fools Silver, taunts Shadow, and kills Sonic. Back up, did I just write that? It's still hard to accept that's what happened. I don't really consider it since they revive Sonic with the magic powers of chaos energy and  looooove, but still. Eggman's always trying to do what Mephiles did in 5 seconds! 

Many find Mephiles' motives confusing. Why not unite with Iblis right-way (since he can time-travel)? Why send Silver to kill Sonic when he could do so himself? So on. But it's clear that he enjoys the suffering of others, and most fan-explanations end the same: Mephiles did what he wanted to.

Continuity thoughts aside, Mephiles' plays his main role well. He manipulates Silver and Blaze and torments Team Dark with knowledge of the future all while keeping in control. 

So Colors vs 06? Colors is creamed. How can anyone take Eggman seriously with those two dumb-bots (or that dumb plot)?

Risks to the World (universe, future, etc)

In Colors, an entire race of beings were at stake. Unfortunately, I hate wisps. They were annoying and did nothing to make me like them. ScrXw Yacker, why should I care? 

06 starts out with concepts that continue to grow. Soleanna is at stake. The future is at stake. TIME-SPACE is at stake. So maybe Generations would have a chance, but no, not Colors.  

The past/present'future>crappy aliens 

Threats to Characters

So in each game there was a physical threat to the characters involved, but that's standard. Sonic 06 gave more purpose to those involved through personal conflicts.  

In 06, Silver had his moral questions--was killing someone to save the world the right thing to? Likewise there was more to Shadow's story. Mephiles tried to convince Shadow to turn against humanity, then caused tension for the team when he revealed not only Shadow's fate but a bit of Omega's. For Sonic's episode, conflict was mainly for Elise, who tried to balance her feeeeelings for Sonic (and a life of adventure) with her duty (and life in Soleanna). 

Colors' kept the conflict straight forward which also dumbed it down. In contrast, 06 had layers for the different characters and storylines, making the threats all the more serious.  

Conclusion

So overall the "conflict" in Colors is not serious. It does nothing to make one feel for the characters or conflicts involved. 06 was far from perfect, but it had a villain that was powerful and manipulative, it had high stakes, memorable bosses, and it added to the story instead of diluting it.  

SA2 Review

Sonic Adventure 2

A review of SA2. The game's rank will be determined at the end. 

Summary: 

Sonic Adventure 2 is a great game. It's has different gameplay-like levels, it's filled with a clever hero/dark theme, and it introduces us to characters Shadow and Rouge (as well as Maria, Gerald, etc). 

Gameplay: 

• The Sonic and Shadow levels are really fun, nice and fast.
• Light-dash has is much better than in Sonic Adventure.  
• One annoying little part is somersaulting (with the level-up needed to break containers) instead of spinning or light-dashing. Can cause an unwanted slow-down.  
• Knuckles and Rouge levels can be fun, and it's nice to be able to explore a bit, but they can get too long or tedious. Maybe if there were less emeralds to find or the hints weren't limited. 
• Attacks are pretty good. 
• The Eggman and Tails levels are horrendous. They are loud, annoying, slow, and frustrating. 
• Gamma wasn't like this! If this is the best Sega can do, just give them a gun. Please. 
• It's hover and jumping capabilities SUCK.  
• Then we get Tails/Eggman complaining all the time "My POWER! MY POWER'S FAILING!" Shut up!
• Wish their were less of these levels. Eggman in particular seems to have a lot. 
• The only time it's not a nuisance is in the battles against each other. 
• Canon's Core:
• I hated it the first time. Seemed hard as heck. Later I realized it's not so bad, but can still get on my nerves. 
• Like how every character comes together...oh wait, WHERE IS SHADOW?
• He gets a boss fight? Oh whoopee. 
• Eggman and Tails, damn it, Eggman and Tails.
• Boss Fights
• All the "rival" fights are fun.
• However, the other battles can be boring/take along time.  
• The Golem thing was annoying as heck. Eggman's version was terrible. Do-able, but terrible.  
• Biolizard is fine, but that awkward break in the ground that sweeps you into yellow-water, though...yeek. 
• Super Fight
• Fun, awesome. Switching isn't exactly made clear, but overall it's pretty easy to get past. It's challenging enough to be fun. 
• Chao Garden. 
• Cute, adorable. Unnecessary? Maybe. But I love it. 
• Gotta' love the Hero/Dark theme added. 
• Races...snooze. Kinda difficult, but if you focus on one chao (instead of the millions you may have bought/breeded), they'll really build their stats.   
• Better controls than in SA. No accidentally smashing your chao with Amy's hammer. 
• Missions
• Missions can be hard, and usually need the mystic melody at some point. I think there's too much in general/too much expected of the player. Those Route ones are awful. Oh yeah...
• Tails/Rouge in a car chase. 
• It sucks. 
• It could have been...but...no, it sucks. 

Characters: 

• Team Hero; Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. 
• Good old Team Hero, always good to see the gang together. 
• Sonic: Attitude-y, just seems like he's along for the ride. Thumbs up.
• Tails: Eh, Tails is just kind of there. He tries to helps, but...eh. 
• Knuckles: MY MASTER EMERALD. Enough said.   
• Team Dark; Eggman, Shadow, Rouge.
•  Eggman: it's the first game to show us (sort of) "behind the scenes with Eggman," but it's really not too interesting. World conquest? Whoo.
• Shadow: why play team dark? This guy, right 'ere. He may "look like Sonic," and he may have the speed to match, but he's not here to play games. He's after revenge...and has a bit of a morality conflict to figure out.  
• Rouge: why play team dark a second time? This girl, right 'ere. Rouge is often over looked, but come on. She's a treasure hunter/thief/spy. 
• And she's after Knux's jewels, lol.       
• Other characters.   
• Amy: Amy may not have her own story, and I kind missed playing as her (with her giant hammer), but she still has a pretty big impact. 
• Freed Sonic from jail (--how she do that).
• Talked to Shadow and made him realize his real promise. 
• And also hugged Shadow thinking he was Sonic--staring one of the series best running-gags and basically creating a bunch of Shadow-Amy fans (what is that one...Shadamy?)
• Maria
• Maria is kind and it's nice to see Shadow in a friendship with someone. Makes good contrast. 
• She also keeps the player hooked on "what happened 50 years ago." 
• Gerald
• Gerald is cold, creepy. It's easy to see his shift from "hero to villain" within his diary. 
• Mr. President & his secretary. 
• Pretty useless and unnecessary. Meh.  

Plot/cutscenes:

• General: 
• This was Dreamcast era, so it doesn't look very good visually.
• In these days the cutscenes were designed for Japan and dubbed over, so there are plenty of lines that overlap ("You're not even good enough--I'll make you eat those words--[same time] to be my fake!"). Not cool.
• The variety in character movements is pretty good (hand symbols, winking, etc).  
• Hero:
• This is more interesting the first time you play it. 
• Thanks, stupid humans. Thinking Shadow is Sonic--idiots. 
• Dark: 
• More interesting, awesome. Slows a bit with Eggman's stuff, though (no wonder he was cut from Team Dark). 
• What happened on Space Colony Ark, and how is that affecting today? 
• Last: 
• An ending that brings all the characters together, gets them to work together, and answers the big questions. 
• Really makes one think: What revenge will cause someone to do; how different the biolizard was from Shadow, and why; the impact of a promise...
• Yeah. Very, very good. 

Music:

• Music's awesome. Live and Learn, It Doesn't Matter, Throw It All Away. Awesome. 
• Tails and Rouge have the weaker themes. 
• Eggman's is amusing.
• Knuckles' stuff is infamous. Not a huge fan, but it's TOUGHER THAN LEATHER. 
• The levels match the characters as well as the location. 
• Though the names...Ghost Pumpkin's soap? Where does that even come from?   

Graphics/Design: 

• Graphics have not aged too well, but it's not super bothersome. It's a talking blue hedgehog it doesn't need to be super realistic. 
• Levels have some interesting layouts and looks. City Escape, Radical Highway, and some around the Space Colony are awesome.
• I like the similarities between rival-levels and close-locations.  
• The level select is pretty straightforward.
• They added soap shoes. Cool.   
• New character designs:
• Shadow looks cool, edgy. 
• Rouge looks...uh, she's a cartoon bat, so what's with the huge boobs? 
• Oh well, now it's trademark Rouge. 
• Maria looks like Alice in Wonderland a bit. Highlights her innocent and young traits. 
• Gerald looks like a gray version of his grandson. No surprise there. Kinda' skinnier though. 
• All the other humans are pretty creepy looking. What's with overhauls girl anyway? 

Final Thoughts: 

• I know some people think Shadow should have remained dead here. While I agree that it takes away from the game, Shadow has become a big part of the series. He usually adds a more mature touch to the story, and I think he's one of the more dynamic of the cast (meaning he's changes over time). 
• And compared to Sonic, for example, Shadow didn't get as many levels. Seems fair for fans to demand to bring him back. 
• The Tails/Eggman levels are often forgotten. They were 1/3 this game, and they sucked. This is the main reason this game is not perfect.    
• Also, TERRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIAAAAAA. 

Game Ranking (E is lowest, S is highest): A

It has it's flaws but it's still one of the best games in Sonic history. 

Quote of the Month

"Aw yeah, baby! This makes us a team!"
--Rouge the Bat, Sonic Heroes