Sonic Generations

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Tomenaki
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Sonic Generations

Post by Tomenaki » 12 Nov 2011, 17:43

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Sonic has had a bit of a rough time of things in recent years since the horrid “game” in 2006 and the unfortunate aspect of a Werehog in Sonic Unleashed. Sonic Colors, however, was a much stronger entry into the Modern era of Sonic games, and a step in the right direction for the series in terms of using their Hedgehog Engine which allows Modern Sonic the speed and agility we’ve all grown to know and love from the blue blur.

Now, a bit of history with me and Sonic is in order. I began playing sonic on the Genesis and own Sonic 1-3 and 3D Blast (Oh god “3D” back then). After that era of gaming for Sonic, I felt the series went in a different direction than I was comfortable with. The early says of 3D Sonic were slow, unwieldy, and the voice acting added very little to the games. The Adventure games are still seen by some to be some of the better in the series, but I felt that they took too much away from Sonic to really enjoy them. Then we hit the Sonic 2006 section. While that game was half-finished, buggy as all get out, and just overall horrid, it served the purpose of being a building block for a new engine for the series. The “Hedgehog Engine” first saw its use in Sonic Unleashed with its daytime stages. This is when I started to get interested in Sonic again. The speed and agility I saw in the daytime stages of that game piqued my interest and it only continued with Sonic Colors a few years later. Both games, while not perfect, were a step in the right direction in terms of what Sonic was meant to be, fast. As a Classic Sonic fan, I wasn’t interested enough to invest in those games, though I did want to try the system out. It wasn’t until I heard of Sonic Generations that I went “I have to get this”. The mixture of a style of Sonic I remember as well as a crack at the new form of Sonic sold me on the idea, so that’s that.

Story: In Sonic Generations, a strange yet menacing, creature goes through time and not only screws up both Modern and Classic Sonic’s timelines, it steals away Sonic’s friends as well. This is, of course, an easy way to get Modern and Classic Sonic together, but you don’t expect much in the way of story from a Sonic game anyway. I mean, looking at the original game all it entailed was “Robotnik made robots out of creatures…. Stop him.” and off you went. It works, surprisingly well, though, and I was glad to see both types of Sonic in the game. One thing I’m glad for in terms of story, is that they kept Classic Sonic mute for the entire game, since he never spoke back in the Genesis days. Even the voice acting in this game is better than previous entries to the series with plenty of in-jokes spanning Sonic’s history. For example;

Modern Sonic – “This place looks really familiar.” (Talking about Green Hill Zone from Sonic 1)
Tails – “I dunno Sonic, I’ve never been here before.”

Little things like that help to connect with classic and modern Sonic fans. I know I chuckled a little when I saw the exchange. Also, you will see two versions of Robotnik/Eggman and their exchanges hark back to the whole question of the name change. It’s a nice little added bonus with the in-jokes and such.

The story is not outstanding, but it works well for what the game is going for.

Stages: Before we continue, a list of stages in the game is in order. They all have been redone, so as to not be complete copies of the originals.

Era 1:
Green Hill Zone – Sonic the Hedgehog
Chemical Plant Zone – Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Sky Sanctuary – Sonic 3 & Knuckles

Era 2:
Speed Highway – Sonic Adventure
City Escape – Sonic Adventure 2
Seaside Hill – Sonic Heroes

Era 3:
Crisis City – Sonic the Hedgehog 2006
Rooftop Run – Sonic Unleashed
Planet Wisp – Sonic Colors

The stages are all fairly well made, Classic Sonic speeds through his various ones in 2D splendor, and Modern Sonic does so as well with his. One thing to note is that some of the classic stages work very very well as Modern Sonic stages and feel perfect to how Sonic should play, regardless of Era.

Gameplay: First off, it’s good to remember that there are two types of gameplay here; Classic and Modern Sonic.

Classic Sonic plays very much like he did back in the old Genesis days, and without the sometimes clumsy Lock-On system as well as the odd momentum system from Sonic 4: Episode 1. His spin dash is still there, and affords some of the fastest speeds I’ve seen in Classic Sonic in some time. Classic Sonic is speedy, and meant for platforming much like he was originally. He stays in a mostly 2D field (obviously rendered in 3D), and they did a great job at remaking the classic and Modern stages for him. He feels a little floatier at times and sometimes heavier, but otherwise, Classic Sonic is how he should be. If you’re a fan of Classic Sonic, you’ll feel at home with his new model. One thing I like that they kept from the old Sonic days with Classic Sonic, is the fact that you can go so fast that you end up on the right side of the screen like in the Genesis days. This is most noticeable in the Chemical Plant Zone for Classic Sonic, and that little homage to the past made me smile. A word of warning about Classic Sonic, though, his stages are very difficult, even to someone who has played plenty of old Sonic games. Classic Sonic has always been a bit difficult, but you don’t realize how much more difficult it is until you try to S-rank his stages.

Modern Sonic plays as he has since Unleashed with a few additions here and there. The first thing you notice about Modern Sonic is the change in perspective. He plays in a 3D environment with the camera behind him for good stretches. He switches between 3D and 2D sections quite a bit so it’s not completely front-on the entire time. They’ve also added a fun little Combo system where you can recharge your Boost Gauge, which is how you reach maximum speeds for Modern Sonic. It can also “overcharge” your boost gauge basically giving you a bit extra boost to work with. Modern Sonic is fast and agile, though he’s not the best at slower speeds or platforming outside of 2D. Despite this, I think it comes down to how differently Modern Sonic plays compared to Classic Sonic. It will take some time to learn how to use him well but once you do, you’ll be blazing through levels at Sonic Speeds. Modern Sonic includes a Lock-on feature for attacking enemies as well, and while it’s not perfect, it works fairly well at hitting enemies and springs as well. There are a few comical instances where Sonic will hit a wall and just stop, but I find that more funny than frustrating, seeing how it’s easy to avoid. He’s somewhat floaty, but as I said above, it takes skill to really get him down.

I know it sounds like I’m slamming Modern Sonic, but in reality I really really like playing as him in the game. It’s not just that he’s different, it’s that how he plays is really fun. He has his issues, but those aside, Modern Sonic has far more play time in Generations than Classic Sonic for me. Might I remind you that I’ve been a pretty hardcore Classic Sonic fan for a while now, so this is not something I say off-hand. I’ve also S-ranked far more of Modern Sonic’s stages for the simple fact that I like playing as him regardless of any frustrations.

On top of the regular stages, you also have “Challenge” missions that you can do. Some are simple races with a shadow-clone of Sonic, while others involve Sonic’s various friends. You only need to complete one to move on in the story, but you also get skills from completing the challenges. Another thing is that you have Rival Battles for each section. Metal Sonic, Shadow, and Silver are the three that you face. I actually found these really fun and enjoyable. You also have three main bosses outside of the final boss. Death Egg Robot, Perfect Chaos, and Egg-Dragoon. Be forewarned, though, Classic Sonic only has one boss and rival battle, Death Egg Robot and Metal Sonic, respectively. Modern Sonic makes up the majority of the other bosses and rival battles. I don’t see this as a bad thing, but some may be put off by that fact. The final boss, however, could have used a bit of work, or at least a better explanation of what to do. It can take you anywhere from 5 minutes to over an hour to beat him depending on if you know what to do. That’s one of the biggest frustrations I had with the game on a gameplay level, really.

Graphics: Sonic has also been about good looking graphics, and I think this game does a very good job of graphics. Basically, it looks great in 1080p. The Classic Sonic stages look great at any speed, and really capture the feel of the old-time stages from the past. Modern Sonic’s stages look great as well, either in full boost of taking a small stroll. The stages all work very well, graphically with little slowdown in most of them. Green Hill has a slight bit of it at one point, but that’s only when you go the fastest route in the stage. The cutscenes in the game are fairly smooth with only a few that have slight tearing in them. Otherwise, they look great. There are a few moments of lag in the game for when going from standing to entering a stage, but it doesn’t affect gameplay much. I think this game could do with an install feature, or possibly some kind of patch to help the lag, but it still looks great and there’s hardly any slowdown of gameplay at all. It looks great, but could use just a bit of polish to make it perfect.

Music: Sonic fans, rejoice, for your tunes have returned in all their glory. Music has always been where Sonic shines, especially the latest few games (I include Sonic 2006 in this because it has good music despite the game being horrible). This game takes all of your favorite tunes, remixes them, and puts them in for you to enjoy. Not only have they revamped the tunes, but they’ve also made new versions for Modern Sonic (On classic stages) and for Classic Sonic (On Modern stages) to fit each character. They also allow you to change the music for any stage to various other tunes from Sonic’s history. You could play Chemical Plant Zone with Sweet Mountain from Sonic Colors if you wanted, it covers a good deal of the old tunes as well as plenty of the new ones. I’ll be giving examples of all the stage music and boss/rival battles below.

Green Hill Zone – Classic
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3V2GB5E5jq8
- Faithful to the original, while upgrading the music for the game. I love this remix a ton.

Green Hill Zone – Modern
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CicGCqUsQlI
- It feels far more like Modern Sonic but keeps the vibe of the original song.

Chemical Plant Zone – Classic
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wROAfvwgDck
- Just wait, it ramps up after a bit. What I love about this remix is that it basically puts in the deep drum beats the song needed way back.

Chemical Plant Zone – Modern
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToHKMC8uZZw
- I like this somewhat darker take on the tune, but it still fits the stage and Modern Sonic very well.

Sky Sanctuary – Classic
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3a6lv6aJOg
- Once again, very faithful to the original, but with those nice modern touches added in. I may hate the stage, but the music is pretty good.

Sky Sanctuary – Modern
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2KOJSbVbH0
- This is a nice, smoother version of the theme, where the high-pitched note has been more subdued. I like it just for the different feel.

Metal Sonic – Stardust Speedway
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsCdyOtiTKo
- I have to say I like this theme just on its own merits. It starts out somewhat chaoritc, but the piano section comes in and it turns into all kinds of groovy.

Death Egg Robot – Classic Only
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpznxm2XPUU
- A wonderful revamp and remix of the final boss battle music from Sonic 2. I mean, really, any Classic Sonic fan will enjoy this.

Speed Highway – Classic
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zY4LGUJ5r3M
- Keeps the feel of the original track, while making it more “Genesis-y” in a sense, for Classic Sonic. I have to say it still captures the feel while making it work well for Classic Sonic.

Speed Highway – Modern
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fONa6Y2V3R0
- Welcome back to Sonic Adventure 1. It’s a pretty good remix of the original tune, and I find it to be fairly catchy as well.

City Escape – Classic
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyF_mi3ndI0
- I’m not horribly keen on the original track, but this is a great remix made for Classic Sonic.

City Escape – Modern
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySUkbp-WE0c
- Sonic Adventure 2 is in the house! Ahem… Mostly it’s a nice, possibly less annoying, version of the original tune. It’s nice to hear, I can say that much.

Seaside Hill – Classic
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1dqHCymPBs
- Not a bad remix, and it fits the feel of Classic Sonic. I don’t particularly like the tune in general, but they did a good job.

Seaside Hill – Modern
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGE9iRCpvUg
- I actually like this version less than the Classic one… I dunno, I guess it’s just not a style of sonic music I enjoy. Still a good remix, though.

Shadow –For True Story/Live and Learn
Link 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7U4KJL5Prdg
Link 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnelE8Ul8lg
- I actually find that I like the first part of the music more than the short Live and Learn section. Though, I mean, who hasn’t heard Live and Learn over and over again?

Perfect Chaos – Open Your Heart/Perfect Chaos Phase 2
Link 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REpxeaWRCTo
Link 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVyPrn5xJuE
- Upgraded themes for both phases of the battle and I think they work very well. Phase 2 shows that Sonic music can be epic and just instrumental.

Crisis City – Classic
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpzWp_dOQe0
- The intro makes me think of the Mortal Kombat theme from back in the 90’s, but the song itself is amazing. While this is one of the hardest stages in the game, as well as from the worst game in the series, the music is great on either version. This keeps the feel of Classic Sonic in small doses.

Crisis City – Modern
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-J_kLvSXC5A
- Closer to the original, but with definite changes. I still really like this theme regardless of how hard the stage is.

Rooftop Run – Classic
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldW2lOT-ZoM
- While it fits Classic Sonic, I kind of feel like it misses juuuust a little from the original song. It’s still a great remix though.

Rooftop Run – Modern
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_z-sa3Tc2MU
- I love the new intro to the song and the various other changes they added to this version.

Planet Wisp – Classic
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHfNhZXy58c
- Being a fan of the original version, this is a bit change from that, but it has grown on me. Also, Planet Wisp is one of the hardest stages in the game either on Classic or Modern Sonic. It’s also one of the longest.

Planet Wisp – Modern
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LiO3rLsJ1k
- Closer to the original, though parts have changed. What I hear in this remix is that they basically took parts of Act 1, 2, and 3 from Sonic Colors and incorporated them all into this one track. It works surprisingly well.

Silver – Rival Boss
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bn4xeeF5Kr4
- I don’t know much about the original song for this, but I do like the remix quite a bit.

Egg-Dragoon
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nc5pduOlmQU
- A fairly close remix of the original song, but it has a bit more oomph to it than the original. I still like it.

Final Boss – Time Eater
Phase 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkETw9ZKOoM
- This is where the game shines in terms of music. I adore this boss theme for many reasons. 1) It’s original to this game, 2) it’s oppressive and 3) It’s just pure epic. Also, this is technically for the Modern Sonic side of the battle.
Phase 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNfsNY5i-4M
- This is actually the “Classic Sonic” mix of it, since you go back and forth between him and Modern Sonic in the level. You can definitely hear the Classic vibe to the music. That doesn’t make it any less epic, though.

As you can see, no expense was wasted on music for this game. To top off the remixes and revamps above you also have the choice of some of your favorite tunes from previous games. I really can’t think of a better mix of tracks (at least for the stages they put into the game) than this.

The game is really a shining example of what Sonic Team can do when they listen to their fans and it has already provided me with hours of entertainment. I came into this game dreading the Modern Sonic sections, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by what’s been offered. That on top of really good Classic Sonic gameplay, and the package is quite enticing. This is probably the best Modern Sonic game to come out in some time, so you owe it to yourself to get your hands on it if you’ve ever liked Sonic. If you’re new to Modern Sonic, but enjoy Classic Sonic, then give Generations a try, I promise you it’s a sound investment.

Story: 7/10
Stages: 9/10
Gameplay: 8.5/10
Graphics: 8.5/10
Music: 9.8/10

Overall Score: 8.8/10
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XxGhOsTxReCoNxX
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Re: Sonic Generations

Post by XxGhOsTxReCoNxX » 12 Nov 2011, 18:56

I'm in love with that cover

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