Sonic Colors Review

Um, WTF?

Rank @ End

Summary

OH NO

Gameplay and Level Design

Sonic Colors is creative with its levels. Neat ideas and colors really bring it all to life. Yet with the exception of the Asteroid Coaster, I don't think it lives up to Amusement Theme, falling short in comparison to Eggmanland. The numerous amount of acts makes the novelty wear off incredibly quick. The menu design and Mario-like layout is disgusting. I would like a hub world a lot better, but this is the Wii I guess! 

The gameplay, on the surface, is a rip-off from the day stages of Sonic Unleashed, where Sonic utilizes the "boost to win" formula and the camera toggles between 2-D and 3-D. HOWEVER. The CONTROLS make what should be a similar experience a horrible one. For example, the quick step (which quickly dodges Sonic to the left/right) can now only be done by tilting the Wii remote. That's supposed to move him anyway, right?! The slide is by far the worst, being the B button (which is easy to accidently hit). Furthermore, the game seems over zealous with the 2-D portions, which end up being just as difficult/bothersome (if not moreso) than the 3-D parts and an annoying (rather than natural) switch. The boss fights are repeative and a nuisance.

That's only the first half. The second is the Wisps. They are supposed to break-up the formula. Instead they BREAK THE GAME. The Wispons in Sonic Forces were a gift! At least they were controllable: these are impossible. The drill and rocket are the worst. Often they are are a hindrance, and never a help. Yet they aren't optional: they're required, or at least some point in the game.     

It's just not fun. Unleashed, Rush--they were fun. 06 was glitch-ridden and it even it was fun! Colors was annoying and felt like a waste. 

Story and Characters

Horrible! The story is worthless. First, why should I care about the Wisps? There's no real bond, like with Chip or the people in hub-worlds. It's just expected. The Black Arms, Cosmo and the Meterex, the species from Sonic Chronicles...All had more to offer. Next, if the character focus is Sonic and Tails, how does it change them? It doesn't! They're exactly the same from start to finish, static! Eggman's a comedic hoot, and his new robots are the worst incarnation of his henchmen. I miss Scratch and Grounder! And how are the stakes raised, where's the Chaos Emeralds? They're not here, they're just for if you want to play as Super Sonic in the levels (which is NOT fun in these "modern" games). 

As bad as the story is, the script is even worse. Every thing is a cringe-worthy joke. It's lucky this game did not kill the series for good (though with the way it tainted the games to come, in a way it did).  

Music and Voice Acting

Horrible. Let's get voice acting out of the way first. Roger Craig Smith is not a good Sonic voice. As I've mentioned, he's not the right vocal type and he didn't have the same energy. He does sound like a late teen, but it's just not Sonic. He improved by Forces and by TSR I was actually impressed. But I have to wonder why they hired him originally. Here, he's at his worst. The silly script doesn't help, but that doesn't excuse the flat-ness from lines like "Tails, buddy, are you alright?" The sound effects (such as the dying one) are the worst in the entire series' run. 

I also can't stand the "wisp annoncer." Was that really necessary?! When I think of annoying voices, I usually expect someone high-pitched, but the low-pitched "Rocket!" "Laser!" "GAAME OFFER." are some of the worst, again, in the series run. At least Sonic Riders gave the option of shutting omachao up!  

Kate Higgin's Tails voice isn't bad, but it's not the best, either. Sure, he sounds boyish. No more complaints about Tails sounding like a girl. Now the problem? He sounds like he's 16! 14, at least, not 8! Not nearly as innocent or clever sounding as in previous games. Orbot and Cubot were not very robot-like, and Cubot's actual voice was the worst version. Eggman generally sounds the same as in other games, but doesn't have the same edge. His tone is more annoyed with Sonic than threatened.

The music, like the game in general, is clearly trying to rip-off of Unleashed. The "exploratory" vibe of the title screen, for example, is a generic attempt at surpassing Unleashed's world map theme. The levels are a diverse, good quality mesh, but it just falls flat compared to the games before it. It's not bad, but not very memorable. The vocal themes have aged terribly bad. They scream early 2010s more than Owl City's "Fireflies." Plus the lyrics just weren't very good to begin with.   

Visuals and Graphics

The visuals are not bad. The designs are fairly expressive and everything is colorful. Still, it's animation is shabby compared to Unleashed. Even it's best cutscenes are lacking compared to the opening of Sonic 06 (made 4 years prior).  

Final Thoughts

Tails: That mind control won't work! I can't turn against you, Sonic! 

Me: YOU ALREADY HAVE DUMBXXX.

:0

Game animations: let's reference Sonic X 

Sega: BTW we finally replaced those stupid Sonic X voice actors

:0

Sonic fans: boy this game is crap. 

Critics: Finally! A good Sonic game! 

Sega: Welp I guess we'll make every game like this from now on. 

:0

Final Ranking: E 

HORRIBLE. I like that they tired to focus on the "brother" relation ship of Sonic and Tails, but it did not pay off. Maybe I'm being harsh, maybe it's more of  a D-, but it's hard to ignore it's "legacy." It's easily one of the worst Sonic games of all time, and that makes it in the E category. 

Sonic Colors DS

The wisps are still a pain to control, but staying in 2-D...as a whole it's a lot better game to play. It includes some higher-quality cutscenes than the DS standard but much of the plot is the same. Limited, the voice acting is not as irritating, save for a few repetitive lines (I should never have made fun of Jason Griffith's "yo"). The music is not of the same quality, but I like it because it does not seem as over-the-top. There are improvements like the added characters and the addition of Mother Wisp that help, and the gimmicks (such as the balloon) seem more creative.

Final Ranking C

While the console version is in many ways a rip-off of Sonic Unleashed, this game is a total rip of the Sonic Rush series. If it were a Rush game, with an original story and Blaze as an alternate character, I'd be more forgiving. Still, it's a lot better than the console version.