Sonic Forces Review

Still considered one of the newest Sonic games, SONIC FORCES. The total rank  is gonna' be at the end if you prefer to skip all reasoning :P

Summary

I enjoyed Sonic Forces and was rather surprised by the general backlash. But I can defiantly understand. Heh, maybe the key to liking a game is low expectations (I thought this game would be crap but liked it, everyone else thought it would be SA3 and hated it, haha).

Gameplay

• Sonic
• Sonic's style mimicks the same "Boost to Win" formula it's been using for a while now. 
• Although this was "playing it safe," the style is becoming very repetitive and hasn't been cool since Unleashed (and remember, it debuted in Rush, making it over 10 years old).
• Meh. 
• Avatar 
• The Avatar is a nice blend of Sonic's speed and unique gimmicks such as the wispons or the species-exclusive skills like the double-jump.
• Good except for the occasional mishap (usually missing a target-lock, etc). 
• Avatar-Sonic (etc)
• Double boost was cool. 
• Like the idea of "tag"ing between characters. Like Heroes but less complicated. 
• Classic Sonic 
• Very close to Generations but the buttons are different, which can either be good (for a long time classic fan) or bad (for the poor soul who got used to the square button in Generations)
• Pretty boring, nothing seems new. 
• Shadow
• Unfortunatly it's pretty much a clone of Sonic's style. No Chaos Spears or Guns. Not even a "Wispon."
• On the other hand, this is the first time Shadow has a Boost like Sonic and is playable.  

Characters 

• Sonic
• Although it was nice to see Sonic in a darker plot, he's the same jerk he's been since Sonic Colors. Crappy jokes, brushing things off as nothing...
• However it was nice to see him bond with the Avatar and the ending was...yeah, nice. 
• Avatar
• Surprisingly good for a mostly mute character. Shows character development yet leaves details open for the player's imagination. 
• Fun to customize, very creative and a nice nod to the fans. 
• Don't like that in order to change the species, the story had to be completed. But that didn't take long, so... 
• Classic Sonic
• Why is he here? Ratings boost, much?
• Classic honestly probably hurt the story more than helped it, the little attention hog. 
• Despite this, the tie-in with Forces was a neat idea and his role in the end was also a nice goodbye. 
• Tails
• WTF?
• Seriously. 
• WTF?
• Sonic gets his butt kicked and Tails just sits there. I could buy him "being in shock" if they showed more--I don't know--emotion? It's just...he hangs out with Classic for the entire game and pretty much ignores the "Real" Sonic. That ain't right.  
• Knuckles
• In the mean time Knuckles apparently became this great "leader," but we don't see too much of that. In fact...didn't his plan suck? 
• Amy
• You'd expect Amy, if anyone, to go crazy over Sonic being saved. But she just brushes it off with a rude remark. Think all that rejection's starting to wear the girl down. 
• Silver
• Okay, why is he here? WHY SILVER AND NOT BLAZE????
• Seriously. He's from the future. They don't talk about it. We have to look at the comics for an explanation. What does that tell you? 
• Then he has about one "shinning moment"...and he gets beat up by Infinite. Is he only here for the Worf Effect, or...
• Chaotix (Vector, Espio, Charmy)
• They are just there. They don't do much. No mystery solvin'. 
• Shadow
• It was great to see Shadow have a role, and to be playable. 
• However many people were upset there wasn't a rival fight, even with the replica. I get that, but honestly I did like the cutscene where he finally shows up.
• Also, is he still workn' for GUN now, or...
• Rouge
• Same about GUN.
• I'm a little confused on why she didn't just tell Sonic and the others that Shadow was still on their side. 
• Omega
• Being shut down was a clever call back to 06, and I like when he shows up in the end, but otherwise he's useless. 
• Eggman
• As interesting as it is to see Eggman take the stage as main villain, it feels more like Infinite is. 
• Orbot & Cubot
• ...they were in this game? I remember...nothing?
• Lame. Bring back Scratch and Grounder. 
• Infinite
• Ah, Infinite. Perhaps the most over-hyped character yet. 
• Extremely disappointing. Easy boss fights, lame motivations and background...very weak. WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAKKKKKKKKK
• I was never a huge fan of his design, but it does have a sense of mystery that was unfortunately only WEAKness.  
• Not a good rival, a weak villain. 
• He runs away. That weak little coward...
• Replicas
• Lame. Very Lame. Could have been used in an interesting way, but they were mostly for show. 
• Etc
• Talking to the other "resistance" members was kind of cool, but it got annoying after awhile. 

Plot/Cutscenses/Voice Acting

Voice Work:

• It's no secret I hate most of the current voice actors, but I was impressed this time. Working on Sonic Boom must have really helped some of them. Good improvement.
• Oh! and Infinite sounds kind of like Mephlies--interesting. 

General:

• The cutscenes are animated fairly well. Expressive. 
• Visually, though, not perfect. Not in this day and age, but good compared with older games. 
• Have to enjoy seeing the avatar in the cutscenes--pretty cool. 
• The absence of humans (aside from Eggman) is confusing. Even if there was a simple explanation or a small refrenece to GUN, it would have helped. 
• Plot could have been very serious, but was rather bland instead. 

Sonic's Role:

• Sonic's story starts out disappointing. Was he "tortured," or was he just sitting in a cell for 6 months? He sure acts the latter. 
• It's nice to see him encourage the avatar. And defeat Infinite. And Eggman. So it ends a bit better than it starts. 

Avatar's Role:

• Interesting concept, nice little plot about friendship, getting past fears, and learning from others. 

Classic's Role:

• The only thing I like is the tie-in with Mania. It's like a crossover...sorta. But does mute-Sonic use sign language and warn Tails about this "Phantom Ruby?" Hehe, nope.  

Episode Shadow:

• This plot was disappointing. Not on Team Dark's end, but with Infinite's backstory. It's very weak. 
• And it was too short. 

Music

• The music was impressive on several accounts. 
• The vocal themes were not only good, but it was the first time in a long time that the main theme wasn't instrumental.
• Fist Bump was great, although I was kind of expecting Crush 40 for the 25th anniversary. Maybe they should have put in a "Sonic Youth" Easter Egg somewhere.  
• The Avatar's levels having both male/female tracks supported the flexibility of the character (because it could have been a girl or boy).
• The Stardust Speedway Remix was not only a good reference, but a serious break for those of us who prefer the US music from Sonic CD. 
• WHY, Mania, did you torture us with the JPN Stardust Speedway. UUUUGH!
• The remixes in Shadow's episode were awesome (including remixes from SA2 and Shadow's own game).  
• I'd say the one con is that all have a modern ring to them. It's fine, but a mix of styles would have been cool. 
• Also, it was a little weird for Chemical Plant and Green Hill to have different music than their traditional ones. 

Graphics/Design

• Graphics are pretty good, for a Sonic game. Sonic Generations probably looks just as good, though, and that game is from 2011.
• Most if the designs were awesome. The city and bridge area, such as Park Avenue, was perhaps the best. 
• However, bringing back Green Hill, even as "Sand Hill," was redundant. Same for Chemical Plant. The Death Egg? Fine. But they could have at least used zones that don't get as much attention, like Springyard, Starlight, Aquatic Ruin, Mystic Cave... 

Final Thoughts

• I think Infinite's background could have been tweaked...ha-ha, tWEAKed. Anyways, they could have at least given a bit more in the "digital comic" about why it he would take so much offense at the term "weak."
• The game's plot ("resistance") was a nice nod to the old Sonic media (SatAm, Underground, the comics). It's be cool to see more of this make-shift team-up. 
• I really hope the excuse for lack of humans isn't "it's a separate planet." That makes no sense. I'm just assuming South/Westside Island have a high "mobian" population and that the human populations aren't really seen because they're on the other side of the map.
• Levels seemed...too easy? 
• It was good to see a plot that:
• wasn't 100% Sonic
• was a bit more "serious"  

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

This game isn't bad. But it also fails to take advantage of "what could have been." It's average.

Quote of the Month

"Ah! The dirt suits you so well!"
--Jet the Hawk, Sonic Riders

What Sonic Generations 3DS Should Have Been...

Sonic Generations was amazing. It united the "classic" style with "modern" for the first time. The game was filled with Easter Eggs, remakes of fan-favorite levels, and a plethora of supporting characters and cameos. It celebrated the blue-blur's 20th anniversary with a bang.

Generations was released for main consoles, but it also had a version for the 3DS. Now, I admit, this is one of the few games I haven't played--but why would I?

Like Colors, the main plot is the same as between versions. Although some levels are different, the port is obviously weaker compared to the console version. 

To me, the portable version of Sonic Generations should have reflected the years of games released on the Game Gear (Sega), the GameBoy (Nintendo), the DS (Nintendo), and the PSP (Sony).

Green Hill...HOW MANY TIMES, SEGA?

Instead it just felt like overflow from the main game. Water Palace (Sonic Rush; DS) is the only level from any of those systems. Green Hill supposedly resembles the 8-bit version, but that version itself was off the original Green Hill. And as much as I like Radical Highway, isn't that Shadow's level?

The "Classic" section could have been filled with those old 8-bit levels re-imagined. Stuff from games like Sonic Chaos and Sonic Tripled Trouble.

StH 8-bit: DO NOT play this game. It's NO GOOD.

Okay, the 8-bit ones kinda sucked. Some REALLY sucked. But it would be accurate.

Meanwhile the "Transitional" section could have levels from the Advance series, and the "Modern" spots could have been filled with ones from the Rush and Rival series. Maybe The Dark Brotherhood somehow or Colors.

Blaze and Sonic were rivals in the original Sonic Rush

Then the rival battles could have been switched for others, too. Classic could have fought Nack the Weasel, or Knuckles if that character was too obscure. The transitional fight could have been Emerl (representing Sonic Battle), and the modern fight against Blaze the Cat. The boss fights with Eggman could be changed as well. 

Boss from Sonic Advance

Something else that bothered me since Colors--why were they replicating plots (Colors, Generations, later Lost World) instead of creating new ones for the DS/3DS? It's unoriginal and it doesn't make me want to buy it or even care to play. If Generations 3DS is better in some way, I'll never know because on the surface all it looks like is a dumbed-down clone.

At least if they had kept the theme on the years of handheld games, it would have seemed more creative and more like a new game. 

My point here is that they chose what was recognizable over what made sense. I like some of the levels they picked, but Silver in Tropical Resort? Does that make any sense?

Silver fought Sonic in 06 and later in Rivals 1 & 2

I think most of the handheld games are underrated, and this would have been a cool way to draw attention to them.   

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

Quote of the Month

"You know what they say--the more the merrier!"

--Dr. Eggman, Shadow the Hedgehog