Sonic Lost World OST Review

 

Summary

I was not expecting much from Sonic Lost World's soundtrack. The game debuted the mediocre Deadly Six and, from what I've seen, fell into the same mistakes as Sonic Colors. 

However, this music really caught me by surprise. It was not the cringe-inducing, overly happy/poorly aged mess I was expecting. Not at all. 

The small bits of "Colors syndrome" (music that is 100% of the 2010s) was oddly refreshing in songs like Frozen Factory and even with the Color powers. The underwater Yellow Drill, Grey Quake, and Red Burst were all actually pretty cool. 

Overall it is much more atmospheric and cinematic than Colors, instead having much more in common with Sonic Unleashed. In fact, musically it's more like a sequel to that game. The locations have an uplifting mix of different instruments that evolve and adopt new themes through the different Zones. I haven't played this game, but the BGM defiantly gives me an idea of what the settings are like. They did not skimp on the dramatic cutscene music, either.  

Unfortunately there are no vocal themes, a major problem in this era. The main theme did kinda' grow on me. Happy, explore-y. The Deadly Six theme is powerful but repeated many times in the game, to the point of becoming silly.   

 

Best Song: Windy Hill Zone 2

Runner-Up (s):Sea Bottom Segue (Tropical Coast 3), Windy Hill Zones, Desert Ruins Zones, Silent Forest Zones, Lava Mountain Zone 4, Hidden World, Tornado, Red Burst, Eggman's Secret Weapon   

ARE YOU SURE THIS ISN'T WINDMILL ISLE ZONE 2? Ahem. Windy Hill is really beautiful, string-lead piece, and Zone 2 is an enhanced, lovely version of the first. The bongos are a nice touch, as is the gentle guitar in the background.  

Worst Song: Tropical Coast Act 1

Runner Up (s): Tropical Coast Zones 2, Sky Road Zones (except 4), Lava Mountain Zones (except 4), Frozen Factory Zone 3s, Sky Road Bonus, Cutscene music with: Master Zik, Who Got Us Into This Mess? Cyan Laser, Black Bomb, Hurry Up!, Reach for the Stars Jingles

The jingle for "Reach For The Stars" is by far the worst song in this game. However, I felt like naming that would be a bit of a cheat since that was only for the 3DS version and the console version was "Sonic Heroes" (a way better choice).  

Tropical Coast certainly sounds the part. It seems much too slow, though, and the funky parts mixed in just weigh it down further. Disappointing, especially compared to act 3.  

Final Ranking: B

This soundtrack is incredibly rich. It has a lot of atmosphere and depth with layers of beautiful instruments. 

However, aside from it's similarity to Sonic Unleashed, it just doesn't have the personality I expect. As stunning as these make the settings, Sonic's edgy/cool attitude seems absent. 

Games in the past had a lot of ambience to them, too, but they still added in hints of Sonic's personality. Maybe it's the lack of a main theme, but I find myself wondering if these tracks would easily fit Mario or some other game series. 

It's still really good, and some of the tracks have the right idea (Lava Mountain 4, Silent Forest 4, etc). But it feels like is something missing overall. 

Regardless, the arrangement is still quite engaging and nothing short of professionalism.

also. 

THE MAGIC CONCH.

...

Why is Yoshi in a Sonic game? 

Changes: New Voice Cast

Roger Craig Smith has been Sonic's voice actor since 2010 (starting with Sonic Free Riders/Colors). He recently hinted (that after 10 years) he's departing the role. 

Sonic Colors

I've never really been a huge fan of Smith's job as Sonic. To this day he remains in the "worst voice actor" category in the left panel of this blog. In the old days I thought he just plain horrible, but the truth is he isn't a bad voice actor. Just a bad Sonic.

Still Sonic Colors

I did not like that they replaced Jason Griffith (who I've often sighted as my favorite voice for Sonic), but in retrospect I don't think that had the biggest impact. 

As I mentioned in my review for Shadow the Hedgehog, I don't think the switch from Ryan Drummond to Jason Griffith was nearly as strange as the change from Griffith to Smith. After all, part of the reason Griffith ended up voicing Sonic was because they [4kids] thought he sounded like Sonic (/presumably like Drummond). 

Smith's take did not sound like any of the previous actors in pitch or attitude/tone. When combined with the crappy scripts of the 2010s, it was hard to realize that it wasn't necessarily bad acting, but a crushing miscast.   

STOP REMINDING ME OF THAT HORRIBLE GAME

Despite all that, Roger Craig Smith showed real improvement over the years. Sonic Boom gave him an opportunity to work more with the character, and it showed in the transition from Lost World to Forces. 

I felt that Team Sonic Racing, apparently his last game, was his best work. Even though the voice itself was generally same, I thought he finally got Sonic's personality down pat and was acting with the right attitude. For the first time, I was content knowing Smith would be voicing the character in the next game.    

"Hey, who needs their bacon saved?" YAY! This line is somehow not cringy!

Even though part of me is celebrating, I feel bad for the fans who grew up in "this era" and got used to his voice. I've said that every time a VA seems to master the character, they get replaced (Drummond in Heroes, Griffith in Black Knight, and now Smith in TSR). But Smith got 10 years and not one but TWO anniversary games. And half the 2010 cast was replaced by TSR. It was kinda' waiting to happen. 

Sonic Generations

That opens the door: will there be an entirely new voice cast? Or just a new Sonic? I'd love to see Griffith return to the role (just as half the fan base would love to see Drummond return, too). But if the VA's going to be familiar, I have a feeling it will be Ben Schwartz, "movie" Sonic. Sega's got some weird rule about Sonic sounding the same in all media, and even if that's not the reason: the Sonic movie did good. Better than anyone probably thought, so the switch would make sense. On the other hand Sega considered Lacey Chabert* a celebrity, so who knows if they'd be willing to hire Schwartz for years to come? 

*Chabert did voice work for The Wild Thornberrys, The Spectacular Spiderman, Family Guy, and other shows while also appearing in movies (such as Mean Girls). I mean, I guess she's more famous than most Sonic VA's, but if asked to name "celebrities" (and I don't mean this as an insult, just a fact) she's not the first name that comes to mind. Or the second. Or the third. Chabert voiced Princess Elise in Sonic 06.  

Sonic Forces

With a new game for the series' 30th anniversary bound to become a reality, I'm sure we'll find out if its someone old or new in the near future. But what of the game itself? Is this the end of the "current" era? Is the style going to be changed into something new...the "next level?" Will the scripts be any better?!

Regardless of my thoughts on his voice-work, Roger Craig Smith contributed 10 years to the franchise, and for that he deserves respect.

SAYONARA Roger Crap Smith! I'm sorry

   

Best Villain? Part 2: B Villains

Eggman aside, there have been more villains in the series than most causal fans realize. Some of these were interesting and give Eggy real competition. Others fall a little flat...

I define this type of villain as "Erazor Djinn level," so it seems only fair to start with him. 

The Erazor Djinn has the makings of a good foe. And he is threatening. He's powerful. He's already wiped out half of the "storybook" world as Sonic's jumping to the rescue. After hitting Sonic with a flaming arrow, he basically blackmails Sonic and his new friend Sharah into finding specail items ("World Rings"). 

Still, he is hard to take serious--even Sonic seems to think so. He's way overconfident and continues to call Sonic a "filthy rat." His insults, while humorous, are pathetic. While he does gain a considerable point of power near the end of the game the moment later backfires on the Erazor since he cannot even control his transformation.

The Erazor's end, while satisfying, only further pushes back on his credibility. It's only Sonic dumping the magic lamp into lava (in Sharah's epilogue) that solidifies how serious a threat the villain actually was.  

I KID YOU NOT.

Although the Erazor had the bite, he didn't have the bark, as silly as that sounds. The character was powerful, but strip away his actions and powers and he's nothing more than childish bully. 

Unfortunately the Erazor Djinn is not the only enemy to, despite potential, become lame and easily forgotten. 

Black Doom was an early example of this. His threatening voice and alien appearance fit well with the idea of the character, but his constant nagging and cruel behavior made him an oddity. There is not much of a reason for Shadow to side with Black Doom, and even if he does the alien leader does little to applaud such a thing.

Like the Erazor, Black Doom is strong and manipulates Shadow in different ways like planting false memories or concealing information. At the end of the day, though, he is hard to take seriously and more of a nuisance. 

This is also seen with the Deadly Six. I know less about them than most, but they do little to stand out and behave annoyingly. Zavok appears often in recent times, but is he's far worst than either Black Doom or Erazor Djinn. I don't know if they could get any lamer, and don't get me started on the magic conch...

Infinite is portrayed more as a rival, but unlike Shadow or Jet, he's clearly with Eggman and wants to be evil. His appearance is an odd mesh that may have been inspired by Kylo Ren (who was a wannabe himself). Not the best start. His voice acting is good, able to have an edge to it but also be calm and in control. Not unlike Mephiles. His epic theme song is reminiscent of rivals of the past, like Shadow. But in game he does not take control. 

He's content with working for Eggman; he doesn't even attempt to break away, leaving his motives a mystery. He bullies various characters and makes use of his flashy illusionary powers, but he is a complete coward. He RUNS AWAY. Instead of revealing a tragic, determined, or even greedy past, the cause of Infinte's path to the dark side is that he can't handle losing and doesn't like being called weak. He throws a tantrum. Over being called WEAK.   

"King Arthur" doesn't seem to have much of a personality or an emphasis on turning evil, but at least he's actually revealed as a simple pawn in the Dark Queen's plans. There are a few others, like IX, who also fail to step up.  

So even though I generally think of the Erazor first, there are many other candidates that are arguably more deserving of the title. Like with the games in general, Sega had grand plans that didn't quite work out right. 

Sonicomics: "Sonic Lost World" Review

Lost World is one of the few Sonic games I've never played and know little about. So this comic adaption seemed mildly interesting.

I watched the first cutscene since then and was dismayed to find a lot of similarities. However, it's not a simple remake like some of the other "in another time/place" stories. It tries to give the game more background with some flashbacks for Sonic and Eggman, but it's nothing much. Another improvement was mentioning that the animal capsule was falling on the Lost Hex too--in the game they seem to completely forget it's existence.

Ryan Jampole manages to do a decent job with the pencils, but some of the "action" moments from that first cutscene are slower and clunky. Most impressive is his work with Eggman's expressions, even improving upon the game. The colors (Dustin Evans) are bright and lively.

Final Ranking (S is beset, E is worst): C

It's longer than most and it's art is nice. It tries to add more, but over all it's lackluster.