Tag: Sonic

Sonic Forces: Carefree Critique

~ Titus Richards ~ Leave a comment

Sonic’s latest and most mediocre mainline title leaves nothing but a desire for improvement. His newest and most yawn-inducing outing on consoles has left fans stunned and worried once again about the future of our blue blur in 3D. With a story so underdeveloped, mechanics so surface-level, and level design so amateurish you’d swear it was some newbie’s first Sonic game… oh wait, it was! That was the huge and immeasurable disappointment that was Sonic Forces.

Before we chew and inevitably spit out the product itself, let’s talk about its marketing. Dear Lord, the marketing. It’s not that the marketing was bad. No, the marketing was actually exceptional in its execution, while also being one of the most deceptive marketing campaigns I’ve lived to see, barring on Bully Hunter-levels of falsities.

First of all, they claimed it was the same team that made Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations, and while that is technically true, it is not the same staff of Sonic Team that made those games. In fact, the only developer that worked on the game’s level design that was from a previous Sonic Team staff was one who worked on Sonic Lost World, a Super Mario Galaxy clone that borrows elements from everywhere but Sonic for its level design, from Donkey Kong Country to various Mario titles (though still primarily Super Mario Galaxy).

Sonic Lost World was gimmicky and had little identity outside its underutilized parkour system, so whoever assigned this guy to make the levels for a Sonic Boost series title, a game with potential, promise, and good will behind it based on the Boost gameplay alone, deserves to get thrown out of SEGA and work at a fast food restaurant alongside the guy who thought inserting his fishing peripheral in Sonic Adventure and the guy who thought Sonic being a Twilight-themed beat-’em-up was a good idea. He was given a position of power and had control over how Sonic would traverse the world. He had three solid Boost titles as reference too, so the base was there! He had the tools and power in his hands, so what do we get? Two good levels, with the rest being a blurry mediocre mess.

We weren’t advertised this, of course. Who would buy a game if they knew the Lost World level designer was the lead of the team, with the other two having never worked on a Sonic game before? Sonic fans would, but that’s only because Sonic fans aren’t normal human beings. I should know, because I am one. Barring that, no one would buy the game unless they had some extreme faith in the product, which some might considering the Boost games, with the exception of Unleashed, are pretty solid.

The other main point advertising showed us was that this story was going to be darker than recent entries in the series, and the developers did not deliver this in practice very well. Granted, the story does have an interesting twist of Eggman starting out on top and everyone banding together to take back the world in Sonic’s absence, as he’s been captured and allegedly tortured for six months. The premise is promising, but the execution is rushed, holds no weight, and wastes the near-infinite potential of the idea. This is a contention many have cited, so I won’t bother going to deep into story details. Just know that, as many have pointed out, it’s a huge disappointment.

The gameplay is split into 3 styles. Two are decent, one is unneeded filler. The kind of filler that only Colors and Generations avoided in terms of Sonic’s 3D titles. The first gameplay style is Sonic himself. He has the signature Boost formula we’re all used to at this point. However, the new physics affect Sonic in many ways. He feels stiff, and not lose and free like previous entries. His double jump has been neutered, making it feel useless when it comes to correcting movement. His last quirk is that he has no drift, and let me tell you that in some snags that’s a detriment the level designs did not account for.

The second style is the Avatar. The Avatar’s only draw is customization of clothing, and the various routes you can take with Wispons, their signature weapons. There are several Wispon types, but Lightning is the only one to truly differentiate itself, as it allows you to fly through the skies and skip the mediocre level design on Ring trails. The Avatar also has a grappling hook that in many cases is automated.

I should mention the hybrid that is Tag Team, where you play as Sonic and the Avatar simultaneously. It’s a lot less interesting than it seems, like most of Sonic Forces. It’s essentially Sonic with a Wispon, or the Avatar with a Boost. The levels play practically identically to any Sonic or Avatar stage, so just forget I mentioned it. It’s not Sonic Heroes deep or anything, and Sonic Heroes isn’t even that deep to begin with.

Then there’s Classic Sonic… He’s terrible. Inferior to Generations, inferior to the classics, inferior to Sonic Mania, in level design, music, and in any way and form possibly conceivable. Floaty, heavy, clunky, momentumless, and with absolutely horrid level design. One of the levels even features an auto-scrolling section, probably put in by the one guy who liked Bridge Zone in Sonic Game Gear, a.k.a. that one guy in my high school class that claimed SONIC THE HEDGEHOG (2006) was the best game in the franchise. Much appreciated, buddy!

The level design for all three is generally flat, predictable, and boring, with two exceptions that I won’t describe here, because if I do, it’ll sound better than the stages themselves, and I don’t want to be the one responsible for your inevitable disappointment in them, because you will be disappointed. If you aren’t disappointed, you may be an optimist, but you are no realist.

Giving a little, miniscule, tiny bit of credit to the game, its writing is a bit flat, but not nearly as unbearable as the Sonic Adventure games. The cutscene choreography, sound mixing, and music during cutscenes is executed well, and the delivery of all lines by actors is the same cheesy yet endearing kind of delivery you’d expect from these characters, even if they don’t exactly take things seriously all the time, despite their circumstances being dire throughout the whole game. That’s not much of a complaint though, as I don’t go to Sonic for overly depressing tones.

It’s so frustrating, because I know what SEGA has done to bring Sonic back to the lime-light with Generations and Mania. However, if they do what they did with Forces to fans again, my faith in 3D Sonic will be at an all time low, and I do not want that to happen. At the very least, Sonic can have a victory with Sonic Mania, and I’ll gladly play Whitehead’s passion project over Iizuka’s vain attempts at keeping fans happy any time.

Fun is only as infinite as the effort put in to make it fun.

An Opinion on Stardust Speedway (And How You Do a Climax)

~ Titus Richards ~ 5 Comments

New York, Los Angeles, Los Vegas. These cities have a reputation for bright lights and sleepless nights. The shimmering reflection of lights soar into a cloudy sky, leaving you with a sense of wonder as you peer into the night’s lively and sinister nature. We adore these cities more for their visual design, and less for the substance within them.

Indeed, a city or three with a magnificence and grandeur in design would give America a reputation for pride and bombasticism, as we often tout our achievements with these cities. Can you expect a place like this not to show at least some semblance of pride for these feats? Much like America takes pride in its cities, SEGA takes pride in its well designed Sonic levels in their games… when they’re even good to begin with that is.

Yes, the blue blur is known for his spunk, and his levels reflect his attitude in most games by being thrilling jaunts through unusual, surrealist landscapes, especially in the so-called “Modern” titles. Even the most terrible of Sonic’s levels usually have an artistic charm to them in the visual department, excluding Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), which tried to go for a more realistic, dry style to match what I call the Xbox 360 syndrome, where every game was required to have graphics that would look bland and dated in five years time.

Sonic CD is not an exception to the “unusual, surrealist” design I mentioned. Every Round in that game is vibrant, loud, and sometimes overwhelming, making the levels seem more Tokyo in design than New York. Each Round is styled in excruciating detail, from the sci-fi billboards of Collision Chaos to the glowing gemstones found in Quartz Quadrant. However, the crowning achievement in Sonic CD, in music, level design, and atmosphere is indisputably Stardust Speedway.

From a visual standpoint, Stardust Speedway hits all the right notes, whether it be the Past, Present, Good Future, or Bad Future. It has the best music, whether it be the Japanese/PAL region tracks or the United States tracks. It’s the only Round in CD where both versions of the soundtrack are loved by the majority of fans. It has the best boss fight,  but more on that later. It also has the best level design, encouraging the age-old Sonic philosophy of layout memorization and quick reaction times.

Stardust Speedway is more streamlined than most other Rounds in CD. Every level beforehand, with the exception of Palmtree Panic, the game’s first Round, is littered with confusing, maze-like design and a ton of gimmicks, making each Zone in a Round feel cluttered and claustrophobic. Stardust Speedway feels like a mad dash, keeping the verticality of the rest of the game while streamlining everything else, which sets it apart from the other levels in the series.

However, what is arguably the best part about this Round is the climactic duel with Metal Sonic, Sonic’s chrome doppelgänger. Metal Sonic is considered Sonic’s first true rival. He has a cold stare and wags his finger at you when you try to attack him, in parallel with Sonic’s own finger wag. In Collision Chaos’ first Zone, the metallic foe snatched up a pink hedgehog named Rosy (Known in Modern titles as Amy Rose), giving you more urgency to beat him.

Metal Sonic is probably the defining element that makes Sonic CD memorable to most people. No matter what region you get the game in, he’s on the front box art squaring off against Sonic. 1992’s Sonic the Hedgehog 2 had a metallic foe modeled after Sonic, so did 1994’s Sonic the Hedgehog 3, but those counterparts weren’t built for speed, the defining attribute of Sonic. They were big, bulky machines that could never match Sonic in a footrace. The Metal Sonic we see in CD can match Sonic’s speed, and to prove who’s the fastest, you have to beat Metal Sonic in a race.

This is, without a doubt, the most difficult and unique boss in CD. When you reach Metal Sonic, Dr. Eggman will show off his new ride: a machine that will instantly defeat Sonic, regardless of Ring count. The laser that follows you gives you a sense of urgency, of course, but your immediate concern should always be Metal Sonic. He has two different attacks that he uses on Sonic, depending on where Sonic is in relation to Metal Sonic. If you are behind Metal Sonic, he will create a Shocker Shield that will hurt Sonic on contact. If you are far enough ahead of Metal Sonic, he will use his special Maximum V Overdrive attack, an attack in which Metal Sonic will become an electrical fireball and zoom  ahead until he catches up with you.

The Boss is tense, dramatic, and atmospheric. It provides enough urgency to be stressful, but not stressful enough to make you through your controller. Whether it be fighting on the dark roads of the Bad Future, or securing peace for the Good Future, this Boss gives you incredible motivation. Playing sloppy here is a non-option, and anyone who plays this Round knows the feeling.

Two things are waiting for you at the end of the race track: The finish line, and Rosy. You are unable to damage Metal, and you have no choice but to move ahead to stay alive. If Metal Sonic beats you, the door leading to Rosy will close, and Metal Sonic will taunt you as the laser closes in to hit you, but if you keep cool and anticipate Metal Sonic’s attacks you will get to Rosy first, slam the door in Metal Sonic’s face, destroying him, and freeing Rosy. The only thing left to do is to take the fight to Dr. Eggman in Metallic Madness, the final Round of CD.

In my view, Stardust Speedway should have been Sonic CD’s final Round. Metallic Madness’ boss is simply Dr. Eggman trying to destroy Sonic with a D-Pad, and I think Metal Sonic would have been a more suitable finale. Metal Sonic, the game’s memorable yet secondary antagonist, made a great impression and, despite the ultimate failure of the SEGA CD, would be a main fixture in the Sonic franchise, going so far as to be the main antagonist of Knuckles’ Chaotix (A game on yet another failed SEGA Genesis peripheral, the 32X) and Sonic Heroes. Having Stardust Speedway be the game’s final Round would make the most sense, as Dr. Eggman’s ultimate countermeasure, the death laser, would make a lot more sense in this boss as a “last stand” scenario. Rosy would be rescued to close the game out, and all the ends would be tidied up in a more climactic manner.

Perhaps I’m not the only one who thought this. As the credits roll in CD, we see some amazing animations, created by the talented studio Toei, depicting the various events that took place on Little Planet, and the last Zone to be depicted was the Metal Sonic Boss on Stardust Speedway. Either way, Stardust Speedway is a testament to fundamental Sonic the Hedgehog design, as well as to how you go about making an iconic, climactic moment. Thanks for reading.