After 3 hours of recording.

Never made it to the last 2D section of Seaside Hill 2.  The furthest I made it was to the side-step area where I either hit a bomb because I brain-farted or didn't jump or mis-jumped.

Normally, I could try recording a bit longer, but - I really hate this stage.  Even though it took me literally months to get down Crisis City Act 2, it didn't stress me out like this stage does.  This was the first stage to actually upset me to that extent - which is feeling stressed.  If I reach that point again, I'm just going to stop because there is frustration and then there is stress (and unlike frustration, stress kills).  After taking a break, I was too tired to try again.

So, what are my problems?  Honestly, nothing I haven't already said before, though there's more to add with one crucial discovery.  The biggest challenges is still the section after the killer whales and then grinding.

• It seems that once Sonic lands after the display of orca, if you boost too early, you will fuck up the camera which causes it to zoom more on Sonic and less on the surroundings.  This is easily avoidable if you slightly delay the boost when he lands.
• That whole part where you are aiming him to collect rings, drift over water and then smash enemies & collect rings to fill the boost meter before hopping into the cannon is very tedious and was the center of my issues this morning.  Aiming Sonic at the rings properly is a challenge.  Water treading is okay, it's just that the camera doesn't point at what's ahead of Sonic after he's done drifting on the water.  With a bit more attentiveness I believe I can fix that issue.

• However, in the first 2D section where you wall jump and air boost into the trick ring is so ununderstandable when it comes to getting Sonic consistently high enough on the wall jump platform after destroying that enemy.

Fortunately, I was able to figure out on my own why Sonic refuses to air boost after entering  the cannon and hitting the springs.  See that enemy that's standing next to the cannon - DON'T TOUCH IT.  It was only because I was killing before landing in the cannon that the air boost wouldn't work.

Unfortunately, that opened up a new problem - getting used to using it.  After the air boost, if I want to hop off the platform and on to the rail (providing I don't air boost over the platform, though that may suggest I'm doing it too late) I'm going to have to air boost again just before landing on the rail to get the most out of it.  I find this to be very tricky to simply perform since the camera is mostly above your head. If you reached the cannon with say, less than half boost meter, the two air boosts will destroy your meter, and you can forget about running on water in the next section.  Alternatively, I can just air boost immediately after hitting the last spring and land on the speed booster... and it didn't seem all that much slower, honestly (helluvalot easier.)

And of course there are times the controls don't want to respond...

All these things really make me realize that this stage is really good at revealing the problems within this gameplay from the camera to the controls.  Seaside Hill is super stingy when it comes to meter and it sometimes made me wish that Sonic's boost was more useful when it comes to magnetizing rings (not like Unleashed HD, just better balanced.).  The only reason why the last 2D section is so easy is because the top section is just so simple, all it's good for is to just prepare you for the last 3D section of running on water.  It's just wall jump, air boost, kill an enemy, go through the 180, air boost late, collect rings on rails, fall, air boost, boost, run the 3D section.

I really hate speed running this stage.  At first it was fun, but I wasn't going nearly as fast at first... and maybe Sonic Team wasn't either.  I was thinking practicing it with skills might be nice (or just doing a skilled recorded run instead).  I'm not discouraged... just frustrated.

Good night.

Seaside Hill Act 2.. Take 4...

Yeah, I know what you're thinking...

I'm on it!  The good news is that this took me less than 2 hours to pull off (for once) and I'm confident I can do it again.  Couldn't record earlier sadly.

But can it go faster?  It can, but I don't know if it will go faster than 3rd place.  Gonna test some things in the stage before I start recording to make sure everything goes as smooth as possible.

Ya!

I want the memory game.

Seaside Hill Act 2... take 3... I hate running on water.

If I ever said I liked Seaside Hill 2... I'm sorry.  I don't feel that way anymore.

First of all... I know it can't just be me (or maybe it is) but I find the stage rather boring when you're taking the speed run route.  Not that my heart doesn't beat out of my chest when things are going right and Sonic's going consistently fast, but... idk.  Maybe because the challenging areas are rather... uninteresting (not all of them).  I can't say that about the rest of the stage's alt paths because the stage is actually quite flexible overall.  Although I now completely understand what it takes to get on top of that falling orange platform after running over water (stop boosting before you turn right or you'll cause Sonic to "understeer."), I dunno... just seems so plain.  Secondly, to add insult to injury, after hitting the black speed booster that launches Sonic, you boost down to the end, only to jump and stop all of Sonic's momentum because for some reason, Sonic Team doesn't want Sonic to... go relatively fast around a corner to the left.  For a shortcut, it sure does seem rather bland to kill Sonic's flow.  Last but not least, I'm annoyed at the territory of this game when it comes to the controls in this stage.  Again, air boosting after the cannon launches you to the springs, air boosting seems to be an option on and off like.  It's just like Green Hill 2's last set of springs before hopping over the trip step which you can overcome any control issues by air boosting before hitting the springs.

Well, I've got the early morning ahead of me and after getting 6th on XBL (as I said, I should at least get 8th or 7th), I felt it was time to actually show some progress.  I actually ran out of meter in the final part of the stage and if I didn't, I possibly could've snatched 4th.  Well... that's the plan when I record the run.  The current ruler of the XBL leaderboard is none other than KYUURI999@ 1:30:44.  Right now, I don't see myself knocking 5 seconds off my time.  Still have a lot of work cut out.  Right now, my biggest concern is making the most out of the last 2D section with the wall jumping as it doesn't make much sense to me yet.

... I actually look forward to getting through this stage so I can focus on Crisis City Act 2 again.  I think this stage is definitely more fun to watch played than it is to play it as a speed run.  Maybe a red ring attack would be better...?

Just when I thought I was done with Ep2... and Let's Play?

(Thanks, Kokonoe.)

Seeing how I forgot to publish this post many stars ago (meh, I'd say roughly 6 hours+ ago) and I just got done playing through Generations, I think I'll share some of my thoughts of the game.

No, it wasn't me practicing or recording for a speed run.  This time, I thought for the second time since I've owned the game (which was on it's Xbox/PS3 release date in the US) I decided to run through the entire game from start to finish.  While in the midst of playing, it had made me wonder if I should saturate YouTube with my own "Let's Play" of it.  I honestly have no idea how that would even work out.  Pulling off commentary for instance - I'm not that big on the idea of performing it, but I do appreciate it when I know it could be helpful (and I won't be vulgar or say completely unnecessary things).  However, I don't think I'm that great at explaining things verbally.  Reason why I'd do it is because from start to finish, I must say, it is a very enjoyable game (didn't die to Time Eat once! *success kid image*).   It wasn't as enjoyable running casually as Sonic Colors was, and I mostly feel this way because I don't get a kick out of classic Sonic in Generations.  The best way to sum up Classic Sonic's gameplay is this: It is a slightly dumbed down version of the classic games.  It's not bad.  I'll gladly take this form of 2D gameplay over Sonic 4 in a Sonic second.  It has the fundamentals down pretty good, but I can't help but feel like the Generations version comes off as a whole, a gimmick.  It's much too simplified for me to take seriously.  Although the 3D/modern gameplay technically is a dumbed down version of Daytime Unleashed, for me it's offers some refinements to make up for it. Things such as the new level design and a Sonic that's easier to maneuver (for better or for worse, this one actually STOPS when you want him to) is something I can appreciate but I'm sure was a given.  I'm not praising the controls of Generations.  If you play Generations hard enough, you will eventually realize that sometimes the controls don't want to work and all you can really do is find ways to work around them next time.

Well, LPing the game is not really something to consider, but just a thought.  Come to think of it, I'm sure what would be even more appreciated would be LPing Sonic Unleashed HD because I don't think there are any HD LPs of the entire game on YT... at all, and if there are any, there aren't many.  However, I really suck at the game.  Like Generations, I've only ran through it twice and I don't find the game outside of it's Daytime stages all that entertaining.  The story is quite bland and I never really felt a sense of completion for beating the game (could be worse *coughep2cough*).  The werehog stages for me were just the worst gimmick in a Sonic game I've experienced.  Still, the game is aesthetically charming to the point one can only yearn for more... or if you're like me, personally would just wife Sachiko Kawamura. Don't know who she is?  She created one of the most loved and hated things in the Sonic franchise.

Yep, the Chao.

But yes, she is why Unleashed (and Generations) look as amazing as they do on your PS3/360.  I just checked YT and there aren't too many Sonic Unleashed LPs.  Well, that's definitely an option.  Even though the game is shunned by many reviewers, many fans... even Sega themselves, it was a step in the right direction from the previous main series game.

Between Unleashed, Colors and Generations, Unleashed seems to be favored among speed runners and it's really not difficult to see why.  Generations is still a game meant to be played hard, and Colors?  Yeah, not so much.  I see so many TAS runs on it.  It's difficult to appreciate TAS runs.  Entertaining, they can be... yes... but, it's like watching a robot that knows exactly how to do perform everything and it winds up being better than human play.  The sense of challenge seems to be dumbed down.

Wooo, this has gone on for too long and it's quite late... so I better stop while I still can.  Oyasumi~

Me vs Seaside Hill 2... part 2.

Haven't gotten a chance to play in the past few days so I'm getting used to the stage again.  I managed to complete a run that brought me to the top 15, but... if you don't know, readers... I want a top 10 run unless I don't think I can do better.  This means getting below 1:36:23 and I am currently at 1:36:88.

...

Which means if I do this right, I should get no lower than 7th or 8th.  I really want something that'll put me at 4th, but... there are a few problems.

This majority of the stage before the last 2D section is very hard on your meter.  To speed run, every 3D section requires Sonic to run over water.  The first 3D part at the beginning of the section is moderately difficult, but everything is fine if you simply collect all the rings over the water.  Sometimes I have more problems timing the jump into the cannon which seemingly works better from the water opposed to from the land around it.  (I assume that when Sonic is running on water, he is somewhat higher.)

The first 2D section is weird.  I do not try to get off a homing attack dash on the platform because if I kill the 2 enemies starting from that pillar, I cannot get Sonic high enough to land on the right wall jump pad or on the platform to the left.  Instead, I let him fall and the result to getting him high enough after defeating the second enemy seems to mostly be based on how high Sonic's jump was on the first enemy.  It's weird, but the success rate seems around 70%.

The second 3D section is ALL about meter management.  By the time you get to the 2nd cannon, you need at least 90% meter to run over the body of water to the orange platform.  Most of this will successfully depend on whether you collected enough boost energy and you'll want to collect as many line of rings you come across before the first cannon.  The first line on the beach and the second on the water are mandatory.  There are two lines of rings on the next part of the beach, but there are also two enemies together, so destroying those gathering the last line of rings before the first cannon really helps out tremendously.  Before getting on this beach area, it's a good idea to hop from the water on to the beach because sometimes Sonic flies up as if he hit a slope, and that will not help at all.  After getting into the cannon and hitting the last spring, my challenge here is whether the air boost will work or not.  It seems random.  If it does, getting the most speed out of the rails is a bit tricky as hopping on it won't give you immediate access to boosting for some reason (so I guess you have to do it right as you land on it.)  Last but not least is the water section.  In a previous entry, I stated that it wasn't too hard once you get it down, but that was then.  Today, it's a challenge. If I accidentally cause the camera to get caught behind a part of the level, I'm pretty much playing a guessing game at this point.  Other than that, I've yet to really cement it.

The rest of the stage seems pretty much like a cake walk, but that's yet to be determined because I made mistakes the last time I went through it and that only happened from lack of experience there.  Meter is no issue.  The only challenge seems to be based on whether my wall jumps will get Sonic high enough for an air boost on the top platform.

Time will tell if I get this done tonight.  If not, I'll try again tomorrow.

Is glitching automatically = cheating?

Using glitches is not cheating because it doesn’t give any advantage over the competition. Since it’s still within the framework of the game, anyone with the skill and knowledge can perform them. -SigmaAlpha via TSSZ

A lot of people tend to think that using glitches is "cheating."  To some extent, glitches can be used to cheat.  We see it a lot on the leaderboards of certain games and Sonic games are no exception (Ep1, Ep2, CD, Generations PC, etc.).  Though it will always be based on opinion, there are glitches that either take away the effort in the speed running experience in exchange to make it past the finish line (i.e. in 00:00:00).  Then there are glitches that do the opposite, being that they usually add to the effort for actually completing the stage.  There is still the possibility of error for making it through a section 00:00:50 to 00:05:00 seconds faster because of that glitch.  Basically, you're still playing the game.  Even though this is two ends of glitching where one is simply get the fastest possible time without playing the stage and the other plays the stage to exploit the stage, how far those glitches can go for the sake of shaving off time varies.  Some prefer using a glitch or glitches to conquer small bits of the stage, while others, a large chunk. (Note to reader: performing that glitch in Sonic Unleashed which skips a large chunk of the level makes your game prone to physically breaking within your console.)

Cheating is defined by breaking the rules through deceit.  When it comes to speed running... are there any rules?  Is there any form of deception being used?  First of all, if we are talking about the people who get 00:00:00ish times, well... they're not speed running at all more than they're just deceiving the game and the people that actually play the game.  Their focus is not the stage, just the leaderboard.  They want to appear superior at simply doing something not many people can do.  It's not a speed run more than it is a leaderboard hack.  Secondly, if people are conquering the stage by using glitches to go faster within the realm of the game, be it in small bits or large chunks, it cannot be considered cheating as they are doing something anyone can do.  Sometimes I feel that there is a lack of understand that goes in the word cheating where if one person sees another person perform something unusual (feeling deceived), they get labeled a cheater.  The accuser most likely never attempted to even perform such a glitch to understand the depth behind it even though the person who performed it makes it look easy when it's very possible for it to be difficult or have huge consequences if performed wrongly.  There is only one rule most speed runners go by, and that is to play the stage as fast as possible, and I personally believe that the legitimacy of the run is weighed in by the amount of effort that's put in to playing the stage.

It is just me, but I believe glitching is not always synonymous with cheating.

Not everyone is going to know the best methods for what makes a speed run faster (and developers don't always know all that's capable within the framework of their game).  There is usually a lot of knowledge that goes into speed running a stage in these types of games as it's usually never as simple as it looks.  If those methods are understood as ways to expand the experience for any competitor (opposed to taking away the experience) who's goal is to be the one to make it first to the finish line, why shouldn't people use glitches?  If we limited our efforts, the game grows stale because there would be limitations instead of plateaus.

And right now, I think that's what makes Sonic Unleashed more favorable than Sonic Generations for speed running among the top speed runners on YouTube.  It's not only allows Sonic to do a lot on his own while moving fast, but after much time, people are just finding ways to make him go faster.  It doesn't make Unleashed unique to other Sonic games, but it definitely stands out as the more complex game compared to Generations.

But if you're a fan of Generations and not Unleashed, don't worry... it's time just may come sooner than you think.

There's a war going on in Windmill Isle Act 2.

As this week, my youtube feed has been filled with so many speed runs of Windmill Isle Act 2, I can barely tell whether they are different or the same.  What I've come to find is that throughout the month ,sobatsuyu100 and Millernusgaming have posted quite a few speed runs of that stage and it's DLC sister 2-2 that have caught the attention of other players.  However, it is sobatuyu100 who's leading me through the recent confusion as yesterday I discovered he had ran Windmill Isle 2 just under 1:30... and he did it again... in the DLC stage... and he did it again in the normal stage... and 6 hours ago... he did it again taking off about 4 seconds from the initial sub 1:30 run.

Although it seems that the times improvements are largely due to the use of M-speed jumps, I'm not too convinced that those jumps are the whole story to his success as there's a lot of stomping going on in his last video.

Do check out these guy's latest efforts in tearing down the stage.

Millernusgaming: Act 2 | Act 2-2

sobatsuyu100: Act 2 | Act 2-2

Also, while I'm at it... check out this vid by Miller which he so rightfully titled, "Messing With The Game" as it is his celebratory vid for him earning his 100th subscriber.

So, it's been decided...

As I was cycling through the stages checking out leaderboard times, I was trying to figure out which stage I should perform a speed run in next, and when I decided to check the times for Seaside Hill, I accidentally chose to play the stage.

... looks like I'm practicing this one. (Almost feels like a socially awkward penguin moment lol.)

Honestly, I was quite intimidated by this stage for some reason.  Perhaps that's because I know that the fastest known route for tackling the 2nd part of the 3D section requires running on water...?  It took many times to judge where I needed to stop boosting, but it's one of those things that once you get down, it should be pretty easy afterwards.  It seems as if you'll need a full meter to make the distance (let me clarify, starting from the last rails that Sonic grinds on), but no.  Around 85-90% should suffice.

After that, I only had enough time to make it to the end once and jumped nearly 200 spots on the leaderboard.  I'm Currently at 44th now.  Other than that, I need to mess around with the first 2D section a bit more.  It's short, but getting the most out of it doesn't look simple.  In fact, I think Kakipi1000 is the only person I've seen come out of the trick ring and use a homing attack on the enemy.  Perhaps everyone is just doing the wrong trick?  The last 2D section looks easy and I assume is easy.  When I ran it, I wound up starting at the bottom of the last 2D section without really knowing where to go, but I was 20 seconds ahead of my previous time.

Not too lost on what music I'll be using, but nothing concrete yet~

Rooftop Runners.

Eventually, someone is going to break the 2 minute mark of this stage but... forget that for a second.  This guy from Japan just broke the skilled record in Rooftop Run.  Not bad for this guy's first upload.  luciferin555 takes  no prisoners here.  I'm not sure who had the record previously, but congrats to this guy.  Hopefully he won't leave us hanging with all he's capable of doing.

As for myself, I'm not sure what I'm going to speed run next.  What's left?  Chemical Plant... Seaside Hill... Crisis City... Rooftop Run and Planet Wisp.  Crisis City is the only stage I've taken seriously.  After that would be Rooftop Run (semi-serious, my time is pretty bad in it, though the stage is considerably easier).  Although I have a few okay ideas for music as far as Crisis City is concerned, I might actually just record it using just the normal stage music or a modified version of it - as it's really not a bad track at all.  Never thought what would alternatively sound nice with Rooftop Run... but it's not really a stage I had on my mind.  (Been thinking about Seaside Hill, actually.)

There have been no shortage of Generations and Unleashed speed run videos uploaded lately, which I find great.  Hope everyone keeps it up!

Sonic 4 Episode 2, Week 1 - Sonic going backwards.

With my youtube subscriptions predominantly filled with people from the Sonic fanbase, there are tons of LPs and... not as many speed runs of Sonic 4 Episode 2.  After looking at some, it actually led me to agreeing with what Copley said about Sky Fortress Act 2.  It's not hard to see that the level design here was actually... WELL THOUGHT OUT.  I mean, aside from it having the worthless spring/speed booster placement, the level itself is actually interesting as you're not faced with a huge wall, repetitive design and 360 loops.  Flaws of the game aside, this is a good stage.

Why didn't I notice this out earlier?  I've only watched one LP of the game (Beta 8) and the gameplay was so boring I fell asleep in the middle of it.  By the time I woke up, the player had reached the midst of Sky Fortress... Act 3. lol

So the first week of Episode 2 as far as Sega's ever so seemingly valuable metacritic score is concerned... hasn't at all improved very much.  If Sega employees are just sitting around their desks in Japan, pondering, "Well, what went wrong?"  But what went right?  Seemingly the sales on the iOS platforms were a success (I do not understand how they work and didn't look into it deeply if deep at all).  As of today, the PS3's score is 62 out of 100 and the 360's is 61 out of 100.  This game is stacking up to the likes of Sonic Unleashed HD's score (I have no problem with Unleashed HD's scores.  Based on my own experience, it really was not that great the first time around, but after finding the enjoyment of the Daytime stages, that just leaves half of the game left to be desired through the Nighttime stages.)  However, I find it ironic that both of these games suffer for the same reason, and it's that in their own way (in spite of their huge budget differences), they tried too hard to be casual and please the masses.

It's not that there were bad ideas implemented, just poorly executed ideas.  In Unleashed, the evidence is clear.  Most people found the werehog stages super tedious from it's ridiculous length and some poor design (where is the shadow below him when he platforms?  The camera in this game is far from being completely in your control).  When I played some of the DLC stages, I was surprised to find that they were A LOT BETTER.  They made sense as they were a lot shorter with better designs as a character that moves so slow should not have to feel as if they are getting from New York to London on foot.

Ep2 is just filled with poorly executed ideas... so many, there's really no point in going into detail with them as a lot of them are found in reviews here or on metacritic's bag of mixed reviews.  The co-op, the level gimmicks, the team gimmicks, episode metal (or episode re-colors), the physics (which I will get into) which a lot of reviewers state are fixed, but only seem to have tested them based on simply jumping forward and walking up a hill while overlooking the roll/spin dash and downhill momentum.

I would probably be prone to purchasing this game if everything I saw was an outright visual work of art depicting Sonic and Tails running through the pretty scenery - worthy of hanging on my living room wall that said, "It looks fun."  But I can't be so blind to it's purpose as most of the effort put into it are just further steps backwards than the backwards steps Episode 1 took.  Really, this game is such a tragedy.  To think that Sonic is sold merely for being a blue hedgehog that runs to springs and speed boosters is like Aston Martin selling a DBS because of it's beautiful shell, and not it's engine for it's purr as it escapes from the exhaust or it's suspension for it's comfort and sportiness or it's interior to remind you it has a sense of value... or even heritage.

Do you know how you can tell the difference between a good Sonic (in this case, 2D) game and a bad Sonic game?  The ones the fans base their games off of.  To say the least, some of them have made better examples of how the series could move forward.

From here on out, this is where I want to shift my focus away from Ep2 in my blog (really in general).  Certainly, things can change (and yes, I've ragged on the game for long enough), but I'm convinced here that what's done is done.  What Sega plans to do next with the series seeing that the reception is weighing in less and less further from what Episode 1 reached is but a timely (hopefully not a timeless) wonder.

With Sega's huge financial loss from last years sales as their company heavily relies on Sonic as their main source of income seeing that Episode 2 may not make it to it's usual financial success in the franchise, one wonders just how much longer Sega can afford to ignore their fans.

M-speed glitch in Generations.

Romanemul's back with some m-speed fun... in Generations?!

I'm not too surprised that this glitch from Unleashed is possible in Generations, although there appears to be a certain condition....

You're gonna need to use the Blast Off skill.  And that's just fine imo.  Apparently, you hold up on the stick as if you're walking and woooooooooooosh!

Looking forward to some interesting speed runs (or even other things this glitch may exploit) in the future.

Where it all began.

Once upon a time, in an alternate dimension, where everything in this dimension moved in the 2nd tense, there was a blue hedgehog who could run at the speed of sound, but was speed capped for about 80mph.  His name... was Sonic The Hedgehog.

Although Sonic was bestowed with the top speed of a Toyota Prius, like the Prius, Sonic's journey starting in the blue, green, brown, white, yellow and purple zone where the hills were most definitely green, sought out to stop the unenvironmentally friendly Dr. Eggman.

Nothing was going to stop Sonic in his quest to stop Sonic from preventing the evil doctor to prescribe trickery amongst his friends and the land.  Not even the rocky hills themselves would get in his way.

Not these spikes that grew through the plains.

Nor the doctor's underlings.

Sonic pushed on with the momentum of a pinball, the weight of a 3ft marble, and the sharpness of a blade sharpener. Always looking forward and with each step, each jump and each spin he was closer to signs that would point him towards his goal.

Sonic...

Nothing was ever so flawless as the beginning, and when you finished, you'd often return back to where you started to make sure you left it looking better than how it was at the jump.

But sometimes... things don't always remain that way.

After enough time passes, pollution eventually rears it's ugly head upon our lands again.

Things change.

You've changed.

And today, to make everything right, all you have to do is run, breaking the sound barrier at will if you must to set things straight again.

Someone... was nice enough to bestow you your true power, unaffected by 80mph speed caps and given a world where you can move more than just up, down, left and right.

Sonic...

Let us use that power...

So I can break my damn Green Hill Act 2 record!  OHHHHHH YEEEEEEEAH.

Okay, I'm done with the cut & paste dramatizations.  Yes, Green Hill Zone is definitely my favorite stage in Sonic games.  As a kid, I NEVER wanted to leave it and it still looks as profound and amazing to me 21 years later.  Gotta love the result of what Sega was scheming when they were starving for success and fame.  Green Hill in Generations was a pretty good reimagining of the stage and it really made me wish that the camera in the game was free like it was in Unleashed.  If it was, I'd probably find myself spending tons of time just staring at it like I did when I was a child.  What about the classic Sonic version, you say?  I think it's gorgeous.  Perhaps it could've felt like there were 3 levels of paths instead of just two like the original had (Acts 1 and 3), but for what it's worth, it's sheer beauty.  However, the 3D version really seems to just make you feel surrounded in it opposed to peering at it like a painting with the value of the property you sleep on.  I never ever once thought I'd see it.  Green hills, blue pools and rivers of water, pencil shaped mountains in the distance, and a blue sky... and a blue anthropomorphic hedgehog... in my most childish love for all that is Sonic...

... wouldn't ask for anything more.

Oh, am I going to talk about my speed run?  I left all that in the video description.

btw, Happy Birthday to my Dad today.  Fun fact - it was him who took me to Toys 'R Us and bought me the Sega Genesis with Sonic 1.  He hooked it up to the TV that day and as my mom told me (as I got older), he would just sit watch me play.  I love you, Dad.  If it weren't for you, I may not have been able to find the one thing that has had such a positive and profound effect on me to this day.  Thank you for providing me the opportunity to find things in life as a child that would simply make me happy for a very long time... seemingly a lifetime.  I only wish there were a way I could tell you these words as elegantly as they are typed.

(credit to: http://jasondoesjournalism.blogspot.com/ for the nice Sonic 1 screenshots I googled.)

I just read what is so far the lowest rated review for Episode 2 and... it's pretty brutal... and funny... and truthful.

Sigh.  This is such a bittersweet time in the Sonic franchise.

Oh, the reviews...

Well, it has been reported that in spite of the mobile version of Ep2 receiving more positive reception, it's sales don't seem to reflect it's success with reviewers.  Less than 500 downloads over each mobile platform?  I must say, for Sonic, those are some frightening statistics.

Although it's not all sun and berries with the mobile devices when some people on the Sega forums have reported their games lag.  Well, I'm not a mobile gaming expert so I can't say much about that.

In a previous entry, I had said something along the lines that there were only a few people who's review of Episode 2 actually mattered to me.  Well, I've finally gotten around to reading one of the reviews which I was looking forward to the most as I expected this individual would cover as many angles in the game as possible, and he delivered.  Nope, I'm not going to throw down the url to his review (yet).  This is something I want reproduced in all it's glory right here, so... grab a splash of something to sip on, for this is not short and sweet.  In fact, you may want more than a splash if it's hot where you are.

btw, I thank Copley for allowing me to post this.

Sonic 4, Episode I & II Review & Analysis

Critique is based on playthroughs of the Wii, iOS and PC

(including the Beta 8.0) versions.

Disclaimer:

The following is my own opinion of the games and their overall marketing campaign. Feel free to deconstruct, criticize and otherwise discuss the following at your leisure. 

SPOILERS FOLLOW.

Episode I 

What can I say about Episode I? The game was meant to hail a return to the classic gameplay. The spiel in the videos, commentary from community managers and others was such that you expected this. What actually happened was something very different. 

A game where most of the ingredients and ideas were right (reintroducing the classic series, a return to tropes and badniks of previous games, and bosses), but the fundamental design decisions of the game let down the whole.
The positive and negative points of this game, as I see them, are related below. 

[+] Graphics. I actually enjoyed these graphics. I know they divided opinion, but I liked the overall textures and graphics. The cel shaded look of the Badniks and Sonic/Robotnik/Eggman looked great to me. The level tropes – mostly rehashes of previous Sonic levels (Emerald Hill, Labyrinth Zone, Casino Night Zone, Metropolis Zone) were still very beautiful, particularly background and foreground components. 

[+] Super Sonic. Self explanatory – he was playable in different levels for the first time since Sonic 3 & Knuckles. Well done Sega, you listened to the calls to bring him back properly, and you provided on this one issue. 

[+] Level Design: Specific Gimmicks. I liked the Zip Lines, the Cards, the boulders and the Cogs. All well thought out and carefully placed within their acts. Mad Gear Zone Act 3 was the best act, because it used all the previous gimmicks of the two acts before it, in a well designed level with a sense of urgency. 

[+] Physics – Accelerating downhill. Now whilst it was clear that there are other portions of the game’s physics engines which were poor, they nailed accelerating downhill while running. 

[+] Music – I felt the music was very strong in the game, although I would have preferred the S3&K take on remixing tracks for the next few acts, giving a greater consistency to the overall level trope. That said, Mad Gear Zone acts 1-3 are exceptional. I didn’t particularly agree with the “dying cats” mantra the game became known for, as I felt the music just worked for me. It’s a more personal, less objective “plus” I feel here. 

[+] The concept of going back to basics, revisiting Sonic’s “Genesis” as it were, and continuing the story of the Genesis series. 

[-] Graphics – Character Models. I simply don’t understand why we were spun a line saying “Classic Sonic won’t return”, “re-design” blah blah blah, if they knew Sonic Generations was coming. I know it’s established now, but the use of a Classic Sonic, Classic Robotnik set of models would have given the game a real thrill of nostalgia for me. It’s not bad for having the modern interpretations of these characters, but it would have been a nice gesture to the older fans. 

[-] Physics – Rolling & Lack of Momentum. Rolling was pointless in this game. Sonic did not hold any horizontal momentum once the D[-]Pad was released. This meant that you would press down to roll, and Sonic would immediately stop. The momentum issue meant Sonic had to run everywhere by holding the D pad down all the time, even though the boosters throughout the game forced him to roll! 

[-] Physics – Jumping. Jumping was difficult in this game, because Sonic did not hold any momentum once the D pad was released. This meant that you had to hold the D pad in order to get Sonic over bottomless pits. See Casino Street Zone Act 2, where the cards that flip over are, for a sense of frustration with this particular problem with the physics. 

[-] Physics – Uncurling. Whether you rolled off, or ran, off a ledge, Sonic would “uncurl” into a position ready for a homing attack. This, when coupled with letting go of the D Pad, and the literal no horizontal momentum Sonic had, would cause much frustration. See “Sonic 4 Corale” on Youtube for further examples of this problem. 

This also caused some eyebrow raising when he would “uncurl” after running at high speed, down a slope, and come off a ramp. The reason being, Sonic would just go straight up in the air, without any horizontal momentum. 

[-] Physics – Homing Attack. This has been seen as the “root of all evils” and it’s not difficult to see why. It is a move which allows an easy kill of most badniks in the game, serves to be used to forgo platforming in favour of “spring corridors” (which we will return to later) and make bosses easy to hit and defeat, time and again. People have cited touch pad consoles (iPhone, iPad) as the reason for the move’s existence, but I point to the Sonic 1, Sonic 2, and Sonic CD re[-]releases on those consoles as examples of the same genre that work perfectly well without the need for a homing attack on those devices. 

The homing attack also led to “Bubbles Bridges” over bottomless pits being re[-]used in every single level of the game. This move, and the Bubbles Badnik, were two of the loudest complaints related to this game. 

[-] Level Design – U shaped undulations. We all like U shaped undulations for rolling situations in the classics – where you would roll back, and forth, gaining momentum until you could roll your way out of the pit – but in Sonic 4, Episode I, u shaped undulations were everywhere. There were very few actual slopes, it was either block to block platforming, “spring corridors” or U shaped and inverted U shaped layouts everywhere. 

This caused two minor problems. One: it’s boring to see the same shape in every level (Bar perhaps Lost Labyrinth Zone, which was probably the best in terms of overall level design, but the one which suffered most because of the physics), and two, the physics engine’s lack of momentum prevented rolling from being used – Sonic has to run everywhere in order to keep up his speed. Or spam the rolling combo. Either way, the 90 degree undulations are still absolutely everywhere and now with no momentum gained down slopes (with a low speed cap in place anyway). 

[-] Level Design – Boosters. They are everywhere. Placement of boosters was clearly to compensate for the physics and momentum being very “off”, but there were one or two occasions were you just had to scream out “WHY?” – best example is the booster placed literally two paces away from a boulder you get on to roll over a bottomless pit in Lost Labyrinth Act 1. Not the only example and throughout the game, the same booster design was repeated and placed badly everywhere. 

Felt like automation after a while – not helped by a bizarre design decision to make Sonic roll every time he went through them/ Certain levels used this as a way of destroying badniks – Sonic goes into booster, rolls, and then rolls through three badniks conveniently placed just after the booster. 

[-] Level Design – Springs. These were used to move Sonic through corridors he could have run along! Spring Chains were unnecessary, annoying, and were the same in every single level and act. Used sparingly they are excellent additions to the gameplay, but in Sonic 4 they served to give that feeling of automation that the boosters gave too. 

[-] Level Design – Badnik Placement. Bubbles Chains over bottomless pits are uninspired, homing attack centric segments which detract from the overall flow of a side scrolling Sonic platform game. Fans asked specifically for these to be removed in Episode II along with the Homing attack, and improvements to the physics engine, when feedback was for asked for. 

[-] PR & Brand Managers – Lack of consistency. Is it or isn’t it a true sequel? Are they trying to make a game which brings back the nostalgia, look and gameplay, or not? Mixed signals from the game, which professes to be a sequel to the classics, but swings, misses and falls down on the most crucial aspect – the overall gameplay – served to frustrate many fans, ranging from derision to exasperation with the game.

Episode II

Episode II was designed to tie in to Sonic 2 and Sonic CD, and in the case of the latter, this was pushed very forcefully by the use of similar trailer styles for the recent Sonic CD re-release. 

Metal Sonic, little planet, everything was designed to bring Sonic CD into the Genesis arc and in some respects, right the wrong that the superb Metal Sonic character was never a part of the Genesis saga. 

Tying this idea in with a re-imagination of the Sonic 2 Death Egg saga is genius. Episode II for me, is full of great ideas, but significantly, it falls down on the execution of many of the game’s basic design principles. 

Level design, combination moves, homing attack and combination move centric gameplay all serve up an astonishing contradictory image of the whole game. 

Moving away from the Classics by more or less ditching the things the Genesis titles are still universally praised for (rolling physics, intuitive level design, momentum) but using as much of its aesthetic qualities as possible to try and sell the game. 

The first episode was meant to hail a return to the classic gameplay, but Episode II fails to deliver on that promise and instead moves even further away from that which was desired after the more or less mediocre final result of Episode I. 

One of the few genuinely good ideas about Episode II was bringing back Tails as a playable character, and Metal Sonic as a new playable character. Neither character really had justice done to their unique movesets, as I will explain later. 

The positive and negative points of this game, as I see them, are related below. 

[+] Graphics. What can be said other than Sega did brilliantly for Episode II. The levels are gorgeous. The best I’ve seen in a Sonic side scrolling platform game. This is Sonic 4 as it should have been from the start. 

[+] Level Transitions - okay, not quite the S3&K move directly from one act to another, but it's a great start Sega. Much improved from the single transition section of Episode I. Particularly impressed by the cutscenes towards the end of the game, and the ending itself. 

[+] Level Design – some specific Gimmicks are good (oil slicks, fans), but so far nothing beats Sky Fortress Act 2. Just amazing to watch, and good to play I’ll bet with what is so very, very close to Classic level design. 

[+] Level Design – The Special Stages. I was a bit dubious having played them on the Beta 8 originally, but they have grown on me. I like the fact they’re a reinterpretation of the Sonic 2 special stages, and the new additions to this gameplay in the form of the boost and boosters enhance it greatly. I loved the last episode’s Cameltry-esque levels too, so here the improvement to the special stages is expected and welcome. 

[+] Team Moves – the ideas behind the team moves are sound principles, but (as we’ll return to later) it has implications on level design and options. 

[+] Ideas and Innovation – there are some tremendous ideas in Episode II. The Death Egg being rebuilt around the little planet, to tie in with Sonic CD. 

The Oil refinery in a desert, a natural location. The rollercoaster in the snow covered amusement park. The complete reimagination of the Wing Fortress Zone from Sonic 2, incorporating jet engines which fire up, and two run along the wall segments which really hit the Genesis gameplay ideals whilst offering something new. 

In theory, the idea of Player 1 controlling Tails’ moves in the single player mode. Metal Sonic as a playable character is a terrific idea and a freebie, no less. 

Some of the new badniks work brilliantly. There are a lot of returning Badniks, I hasten to add, some of which have been dealt with well, others poorly, and in Bubbles case, same as the last episode. 

[+] Music – I’m in love with a few tracks, Sky Fortress Act 1, Oil Desert Act II and Sylvania Castle Act III are my personal favourites, but... 

[-] Music - it’s still hit and miss for me overall. Too many short loops, pieces which don’t fit the act they’re attached to (All of White Park), and I don’t like the Stardust Speedway remix. The boss music is abysmal. Utterly, utterly abysmal. The much maligned “clown” music at least was less repetitive and less annoying than this one track and its repeated incessant noise. 

[-] Monitor screens – simply, why?! I can understand them in the first act of the first level to explain the combo moves. They are everywhere. If you haven’t understood how the moves work after the first act of the first level, you shouldn’t be playing videogames. Kids as young as 5 will have picked up the controls, understood the moves, and carried on without needing prompting. It’s a waste of resources, they are hugely distracting and ugly, and frankly are completely redundant after White Park anyway. 

[-] Bottomless Pit signs. Saying we didn’t want millions of bottomless pits last time around, Episode II has more and now ridiculous red warning signs everywhere for them. First seen in Generations, this sign outrageously overpopulates the levels in the same manner as the bottomless pits. 

This more than anything makes me question how far any feedback was taken on by Sega after Episode I. Putting warning signs over bottomless pits doesn’t fix the problem that they are there. 

Why are there bottomless pits in a temple, snow and a desert level trope anyway? Sonic 2 didn’t have bottomless pits in Aquatic Ruin or Oil Ocean, and the only bottomless pits in Sonic 3’s Ice Cap Zone came in the bottom of the level, underwater segments. 

It’s lazy, it’s poorly implemented, and it makes it awkward to get through levels since you are always looking out for the next cheap bottomless pit. Like in the first Metal Sonic boss fight (which, by the way, is out and out cheap overall). 

[-] Graphics – Character Models. I simply don’t understand why we were spun a line saying “Classic Sonic won’t return”, “re-design” blah blah blah, if they knew Sonic Generations was coming. I know it’s established now, but the use of a Classic Sonic, Classic Robotnik set of models would have given the game a real thrill of nostalgia for me. 

It’s not bad for having the modern interpretations of these characters, but it would have been a nice gesture to the older fans. Agreeably, they’re not going to have changed it from Episode I, but Metal Sonic’s model is very odd looking and not quite as awesome as his Sonic CD incarnation, which we were reminded of an reintroduced to in Sonic CD's re-release in November last year. 

[-] Characters. I’ll start with Tails.Tails has become nothing more than a tacked on gimmick of the single player mode, and in co[-]op mode, sadly gets a very poor deal by sharing a screen with Player 1. He’s teleported about, two out of three combo moves can be activated by Player 1 anyway, and overall the feeling of redundancy you get when playing as Tails – say in comparison to playing Rayman Origins’ co-op mode – is palpable. 

Tails also does not get his own single player mode, because Episode II has seen fit to make the use of the co-op moves more or less compulsory for getting through the game. 

You can’t get through Oil Ocean or White Park without Tails. If you were Tails on your own, you can get through most of the game on your own, but not where you need the combo roll with Sonic. This is poor level design, and poorly thought out for the replay value of the game. 

Metal Sonic, on the other hand, is a playable single player mode character, albeit for four paltry acts, one from each of the four zones in Episode I, in reverse order. His physics and gameplay are more or less identical to Sonic’s, and that’s where the idea falls down. 

Metal Sonic has never had a spin dash, nor a roll, but had a shield and limited boost in Sonic CD and Sonic Adventure 2 Battle. Incorporating the best of these ideas into a playable character would have introduced some truly invigorating new takes on the gameplay of Episode I. 

Using the shield to destroy enemies, along with a limited boost doing the same thing, would have made Metal Sonic unique and also give us an opportunity for a multiplayer versus mode, whereby you have the three main characters of the two Episodes, all with their own unique abilities, blasting through levels and generally balancing out their abilities by all being different. 

Imagine an online multiplayer mode whereby you have Sonic, Knuckles, Tails and Metal Sonic as playable characters, going hammer and tong through specially designed multiplayer maps to get to the finish line first whilst collecting as many rings, breaking as many item boxes, and badniks as possible to up their score. Sonic 2 esque, but designed for the modern day and giving players that option to duke it out as their favourite character. That’s the potential Sonic 4 had as a retail release. 

What we got was a slight variant on the Episode II physics engine, combined with Episode I levels thrown together with a ton more spikes and badniks. It’s a missed opportunity. A nice enough freebie, but not a “must have” nor is it particularly well designed. It’s like a taster of what could have been, and it’s a shame more of Metal Sonic wasn’t seen or utilized well enough through Episode II as a result. His death at the end of Death Egg MkII Zone (or is it? Probably) is a great oversight for the potential of the character. 

So to sum up the two characters, both secondary to Sonic, both utilized badly but both in theory had the potential to be so much more than they are. 

[-] Bosses. Some are brilliant in their aesthetic design, but they are – every single one of them – awkward to hit, sometimes thoroughly cheap, and you don’t beat bosses so much with skill, but with sheer luck and persistence. There’s a reason why lives are so easy to come by in this game – the overall cheap way of killing Sonic at every turn in every level, act and boss. 

All said, I found the final boss to be a very interesting idea, and rather well implemented. My issue with it is that it didn’t feel like a final boss. It seemed too linear in the idea and it was hampered by a physics engine which still isn’t up to scratch. 

[-] Physics – Speed Caps. They “fixed” the momentum issue by introducing another problem. When Sonic runs downhill, there is a specific, rather low, speed cap in place. This speed cap is the same whatever terrain Sonic is on. Sonic will actually spin through a booster, and slow down when he starts running. 

Rolling now has a further odd effect in that whatever speed you are running at, if you roll, the roll will stay at that speed whether going downhill or uphill. In some respects, this speed cap prevents the hilarious heights the “uncurling” was capable of when running downhill in Episode I, but also severely restricts Sonic’s top speed. 

[-] Physics – Uncurling. Whether you rolled off, or ran, off a ledge, Sonic would “uncurl” into a position ready for a homing attack. In Episode II, they’ve cured this for rolling, but Sonic still does this when running, and it results in momentum lost, and Sonic will just just go straight up in the air, without much horizontal momentum. This is an improvement which has been hampered somewhat by the introduction of the speed caps, because Sonic no longer goes flying, however… 

[-] Physics – Super Sonic. I can’t get my head round this one. The physics are almost identical to Episode. I say almost; because the uncurling off a ramp when in a roll has been fixed. However, you won’t know this as momentum is the same as it was in Episode I: non-existent. Sonic goes off a ledge and just plummets straight downwards with no horizontal momentum. 

You absolutely must hold the D pad to go everywhere, and the same tired problems of Episode I with landing, and judging platforms as a result of this oversight continues. Nobody knows if this is being deliberately implemented now, or whether it is an actual oversight on Sega’s part, but the fact of the matter remains that this was a fundamental, basic complaint of Episode I. 

Further proof, if it were needed, that the “all new physics engine” (which by the way, is part of their advertising – and is pretty much an outright lie) isn’t all new. The difference is fundamental: Super Sonic is a different object with different values to Sonic & Tails, and retains the Episode I problems. 

[-] Physics – Tails Combo moves. The first I’ll tackle is the combined roll. 

The move can be started, stopped, and turned about, very easily with the press of a button. Why run if you can combo roll everywhere? There’s little to do with physics, momentum, slopes or whatever as it gives an instantaneous boost to the player. 

It’s also impervious to spikes still, not a change from the Beta 8. In White Park, this move can be abused rather badly and is also compulsory for getting past the snow sections – there’s few if any alternate routes. 

By far the worst part of this, however, is the final Metal Sonic boss, where the combo roll eats up the level and wins the race with ease. 

This makes a mockery of Metal Sonic – whose whole role in the game is built up and built up, and then he’s killed off just as easily (if not more so) as in Sonic CD. It’s a tremendous disappointment. His role as Robotnik’s right hand man is understated, underplayed, and killed off by the overpowered combo roll. 

The swim move was a great idea, but unlike the swim move of previous games in the Genesis series, you need to hold a direction and press the jump button to swim. The subtle difference here means you can very easily – for an inexperienced gamer – get tied up in knots trying to get Tails to swim you around the narrow passages of White Park Act 3. 

If swimming upwards had been left to pressing the A button, and the left and right buttons on the D pad for adjusting the direction, and by simply not pressing the jump button, they would sink quickly, Tails would have controlled better overall. 

This is particularly noticeable on the iOS versions as there is a section of the level which contains four of the walrus badniks which freeze the water around them; and again, this is a very cheap kill for an inexperienced player. My recommendation for that section is to use the combo roll! 

Flying is just not smooth enough, nor does Tails fly for long enough. The days of exploration by flight in Sonic 3 are more or less gone in Episode II. The move is not powerful enough, in contrast with its compatriots, and more or less becomes a chore when using it to overcome obstacles in the earlier levels. 

The move can be used to save Sonic from a bottomless pit; but with bottomless pits more or less in every single level and in one particular Act (Oil Desert Zone…!) you have to rely on the wind to get you across the gap, because the flight ability itself wouldn’t manage it with the number of button presses you get. 

Tails’ lack of momentum once he runs out of breath is astonishingly poor as it means you will die a good many times from expecting to be able to glide, as you did in Sonic 3 & Knuckles. 

The flight and swim moves are good ideas, badly executed. They are good ideas because allowing Player 1 access to these moves in the single player mode is a positive idea, and could have been considered the “easy” mode for this Episode (Sonic alone could have been the hard mode, forcing Sonic to use specific routes, and so on and so forth). The rolling combo is an overpowered move which remains the purpose of running and rolling (not that normal rolling has any role to play in Episode II anyway). 

Then all three have that two second animation which freezes time in the game, and slows the pace of the game down for the player. Frustrating after a while, and very repetitive. Would have been better without the animation. It wasn't required in Sonic Heroes (!!!) or the Genesis games, so why is necessary here? Answer: it isn't. 

[-] Physics – Homing Attack. This has been seen as the “root of all evils” and it’s not difficult to see why it continues in this vein with Episode II. It is a move which allows an easy kill of most badniks in the game, serves to be used to forgo platforming in favour of “spring corridors” (which we will return to later) and make bosses easy to hit and defeat, time and again. 

People have cited touch pad consoles (iPhone, iPad) as the reason for the move’s existence, but I point to the Sonic 1, Sonic 2, and Sonic CD re[-]releases on those consoles as examples of the same genre that work perfectly well without the need for a homing attack on those devices. 

The homing attack also led to “Bubbles Bridges” over bottomless pits being re-used in every single level of the game. This move, and the Bubbles Badnik, were two of the loudest complaints related to this game in Episode I, and nothing changed for Episode II – in fact arguably, it got a lot worse, particularly if you go into White Park Act 2 or Sylvania Castle Act 1. 

[-] Level Design – Boosters. They are everywhere and more so than Episode I! Placement of boosters was clearly to compensate for the physics and momentum being very “off”, but there were one or two occasions were you just had to scream out “WHY? AGAIN?!!!” – the best example is the literal stream of boosters placed throughout White Park, but particularly in Act II. Not the only example, and throughout the game, the same booster design was repeated and placed badly everywhere. 

It is essentially automation – not helped by a bizarre design decision to make Sonic roll every time he went through them/ Certain levels still use this as a way of destroying badniks – Sonic goes into booster, rolls, and then rolls through three badniks conveniently placed just after the booster. Episode II worse than Episode I in this respect. 

[-] Level Design – Springs. These were used to move Sonic through corridors he could have run along in Episode I, and it has somehow got worse in Episode II! Spring Chains are unnecessary, annoying, and are placed in the same manner in every single level and act. Used sparingly they are excellent additions to the gameplay, but in Sonic 4 Episodes I and II they serve to give that feeling of automation that the boosters give too. 

[-] Level Design – breakable scenery. Now able to be broken simply by Sonic running through it. Uninspired, looks pretty poor when it happens, should need to at least spin, but spindashing is, thanks to the combo roll, pretty much irrelevant. 

[-] Level Design – Badnik Placement. Bubbles Chains over bottomless pits are uninspired, homing attack centric segments which detract from the overall flow of a side scrolling Sonic platform game. Fans asked specifically for these to be removed in Episode II along with the Homing attack, and improvements to the physics engine, when feedback was for asked for.
There are some positives – returns for old Badniks and a few new ones, including the giant Polar Bears – but overall the Bubbles Badnik placement is akin to water torture. Constant and irritating. 

[-] Level Design – Red Rings. They literally do nothing but unlock an achievement. I find this to be one of the emptiest ways to add “replay value” to a video game. They’re not difficult to find or reach in most cases. 

[-] Level Design – U shaped undulations. We all like U shaped undulations for rolling situations in the classics – where you would roll back, and forth, gaining momentum until you could roll your way out of the pit – but in Sonic 4, Episode I, U shaped undulations were everywhere. There were very few actual slopes, it was either block to block platforming, “spring corridors” or U shaped and inverted U shaped layouts everywhere. 

This caused two minor problems. One: it’s boring to see the same shape in every level (Bar perhaps Lost Labyrinth Zone, which was probably the best in terms of overall level design, but the one which suffered most because of the physics), and two, the physics engine’s lack of momentum prevented rolling from being used – Sonic has to run everywhere in order to keep up his speed. 

In Episode II, you now spam the rolling combo and momentum is nonexistent anyway. You don’t gain speed past a specific, low speed cap, on any slope, in Episode II. 

Either way, 90 degree undulations can still be found in most acts, as part of the “normal” terrain, and this when combined with the poor physics engine, can be frustrating. Sonic will go up, down, up, down and then go into a spring chain followed by a booster. Same old, same old. 

[-] Level Design – Combo moves. In practice, terrific, but why are these sections almost compulsory for certain levels in the game (White Park with the snow drifts, Sylvania Castle with the flight and swim sections) and perfectly balanced for others (Sky Fortress Act 2). The actual idea is sound: allowing player 1 to use Tails in first player as a co-op buddy is a terrific idea. 

The execution of it, whereby they have removed two fundamentals of the Classic games – Sonic alone and Tails alone mode – is appalling and unfathomable. The multiplayer mode also looks to be incredibly slanted in favour of player 1 – why would you bother having a friend play if he a) can’t keep up for the most part and b) is literally just there to push a button? 

But by far the worst loss as a result of this odd and pigeonholing design decision is the Versus mode, where one player can “win” a set of multiplayer matches, blasting through the levels. This should have been possible – if split screen gameplay is possible with all the other HD games for the PS3 and Xbox 360, then why not with Sonic 4? Given how utterly gorgeous some of the levels look, and how some of the levels work extremely well, this sort of multiplayer mode would have worked brilliantly. 

This was something asked for in the last round of “feedback” and would have been a great, perfect nod to Sonic 2. 

The reason it wasn’t included or considered, I suppose, is that the combo moves are more or less mandatory. Which is a shame, given that with a playable Metal Sonic, the opportunity to introduce a “Metal Tails” or similar as a sidekick could have produced a sensational versus mode opportunity, one team against another. 

Of course, it also commits the cardinal sin of producing a very powerful move – the combo roll – which has no limit to its use and also renders the spindash completely obsolete. 

[-] PR & Brand Managers – Put simply, get your stories straight. Claiming things about this game which later on are proven to either have been deliberately misleading due to design shortfalls (lack of single player Tails) or outright obfuscating the truth (is it or isn’t it a new physics engine?) make you look one of two things: incapable of selling your product without resorting to telling porkies, or incompetent because you keep getting things wrong. 

The difference between Sonic Generations PR campaign and Sonic 4’s is simple. For Generations, minute and a half long trailers showcasing as much of the gameplay as possible, and clearly, was utilized alongside catchy music. In Sonic 4’s case, as little of the gameplay was shown by cutting it into 1 or 2 second sections of footage was shown, with a huge change in emphasis from Metal Sonic, to Tails, and back again. 

Generations practically sold itself on its gameplay, and Sonic 4’s PR has been trying (and failing) to hide most of it in its trailers. Ask yourself this – which looks to be the better game, and which was the better campaign? 

Then of course, we come to my major complaint with Episode II; the outright obfuscation and misleading advertising campaign. For example, we have been spun a line of a “new physics engine” when this has more or less been debunked with careful and considered study of the Beta 8. 

(By the way, Beta 8 was more or less the final Beta. No significant changes from that game were registered). 

That the major change to the “new” physics engine was to the values of the objects which make up Sonic and Tails – and that the so called “fixes” were not also implemented for Super Sonic shows what a sham this “new physics engine” spiel is. My advice to Sega: remove that piece of advertising; it’s a lie. You know it is. You have admitted this. So to keep pumping out spin and spiel that it’s new is misleading and potentially legally dangerous for you. 

Yes there are minor improvements, and it’s a relief that Sonic doesn’t completely stop dead when you let go of the D pad in the air when jumping, but Super Sonic still does; there is, of course, more problems with the physics engine still than just the uncurling. 

Also; saying that something is “all new” and then admitting it is based on the “framework of the original” – extremely poor marketing and outright outrageous that you’re still putting out this spiel when you’ve admitted otherwise.

Overall Conclusions:

You never know where you are with Sonic 4. It’s a sequel to the classics and a rehash, and then suddenly, when it suits the PR or the designers, it isn’t. 

The fact remains, Sonic 4 as a whole reuses level tropes, characters, badniks, storylines and portions of level design in its overall makeup. You can’t get away from the Classic series because so much of the game is based on, or ideas ripped directly from, them. 

Where Episode II does brilliantly, in comparison to Episode I, is rehash certain ideas, but then put in some truly terrific level design – Sky Fortress, Act II. Looks almost perfect, bar the physics and overuse of Bubbles and Speed boosters. The right amount of platforming, speed sections and overall, just looks fun. That’s how Episode II should be as a whole. 

Then you look at the first two levels and the smile fades away. In trying to fix one problem with the physics, they introduced another (speed caps), and in introducing the combo moves, they created more linear gameplay and levels which undo some of the good work Episode I did. 

Then you look at Sky Fortress Act II again, and wonder – why isn’t the whole game designed like this level? What changed when they designed this level? Why are the levels (not acts) directly before and after Sky Fortress so full of linear level design and some blatant, unimaginative, rehashes? (Like one of the final zone bosses). 

Overall it’s clear a lot of work went into Sonic 4, Episode II’s presentation, and that is great. It looks beautiful. Then there’s the new and returning badniks – all great, bar the constant reuse of Bubbles for homing attack fodder – which I challenge, given what we saw in Sky Fortress Act II, wasn’t necessary. 

I think Episode II is a magnificent step forward in graphics, a strange sideways step in physics, a step backwards in the music, and three steps backwards, two steps forward with the awful linearity of White Park to the genius of Sky Fortress’ level design, and to wrap it up having played the final version of the game on PC and iOS formats, a big missed opportunity in terms of taking the series forward by developing the fundamental basics which make the Genesis titles universally acclaimed. 

Sonic 4 still has no idea if it’s a Classic title, or a new title, or what, but overall it is doing it better in the aesthetic areas than Episode I, missing the mark in the gameplay and physics; just confirming that Sonic 4 as a whole needed a more cohesive, consistent vision in its conception two, nearly three years ago, and above all the budget for a retail release. 

Previously on the basis of the Beta 8, I had felt that the game was overall marginally better than Episode I. Playing back through the PC and iOS versions, I have to take that back. The whole game is a side step. Sega side stepped many of the fundamental complaints of Episode I, tried to be clever with new gameplay ideas and ended up executing them badly. 

I can’t begin to describe my frustration with the majority of the level design and Tails combo moves implementation, despite the clearly improved and gorgeous graphics combined with some sincerely decent level trope ideas and developments of previous ones. 

Sega, some consistency in the level design brief, and use all of the feedback you are getting for this game. Sonic 4, Episode III could be absolutely brilliant if you use and act on all of the constructive feedback being aimed at you.
And if they do act on the feedback – they won’t need to obfuscate the truth in terms of the PR to sell the game. It’ll sell itself. 

My final word on the game – I can’t in all good conscious recommend it. It has too many flaws, too many niggles, is too automated and too reliant on gameplay gimmicks to be an invigorating platform game experience. 

It’s too short, there’s little replay value, the co-op mode has moments of brilliance but can be very frustrating, and both the PC and iOS versions have issues with their loading times, loading screens, a few graphical issues including resizing of 3D models, and generally feel much lighter in effort than what should be more or less identical games to the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions. 

Sonic 4 could have been stellar. Instead it’s always an also ran, far too many niggles for the casual gamer, far too many questionable design decisions throughout, and far too flawed and poorly thought out for the hardcore fan. It’s a mediocre title in a sea of literal thousands of downloadable games, most of which offer more replay value and content for their RRPs than Sonic 4 does in comparison.

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My man... when he puts it down, Copley puts it down.  Of course I don't agree with everything he says, especially in regards to the music for example, I think it's all executed with the intention of harming small animals that aren't children.  I was really just looking for a review that would really go in-depth about this game.  Some reviewers will state something like, "they fixed the physics but the magic is still gone" or something like that.  No one really touched up on the fact that the Rolling Combo and it's miracle making ability which wasn't difficult to see in beta 8, made the spindash obsolete.  But rewinding back to the physics... perhaps the Ep2 physics were good enough for certain players who wanted jumps with momentum and a roll that didn't uncurl as that's what seems to be the case here.  I don't believe I found one who even pointed out that Super Sonic was bestowed with Ep1 physics, so the complaint was barely addressed.

And for a metacritic update, we're at official review score: 63/user review score: 6.4.

People still hope for an Episode 3.  I mean, I'm at the point of questioning Sega's actions here as I'm in no way, shape or form, able to believe that if they make an Episode 3, it's going to mean that they will do better when overall they've brought more to the table in Sonic 4 Episode 2... and have seemingly made it worse than the controversy that Episode 1 was.  This is more than just the issue of not listening to the fans as even their new ideas and overall presentation left the building looking like John Edwards.

Really, fanbase?  IMO, this monstrosity of Sonic games that attempt to sell itself off of it's forgotten roots needs to end.

Yuji Naka speaks out on recent Sonic games.

TSSZ News released some news on Naka's reaction towards the current generation of Sonic titles and his feelings about returning to the franchise.  If you don't mind, I'm going to paste this article here:

Expresses Interest in Returning to Help with Franchise 

In an interview with GamesIndustry International, Prope’s Yuji Naka, one of the key individuals behind the creation of Sonic the Hedgehog, conceded that in his opinion, recent Sonic fare simply doesn’t compare to the past. 

“I also think that recent iterations have not been as fun when compared to those of the past,” Mr. Naka said in the interview.  “I think the number one reason for this is that the games have become much easier, so the gamer doesn’t feel that extreme joy that comes with the satisfaction of accomplishing something that was very difficult to achieve.” 

In the interview, Mr. Naka suggests Sonic games of today are tailor made to appeal to as wide an audience as possible.  He believes it would do Sega some good to up the challenge a bit. 

“Sonic has a very simple control scheme that is capable of doing a lot of advanced things while sprinting at a high speed, that’s what makes it a good game in my opinion,” Mr. Naka explained.  “I think even moderately raising the difficulty level in the future could work well.” 

Those remarks led to Mr. Naka expressing an interest in returning to Sega in the future to perhaps work on Sonic again, or properly revive another of his classic franchises, such as NiGHTS into Dreams. 

“Unfortunately, I haven’t had the opportunity to do so but perhaps at some point in the future if I could come back and contribute, that could be fun and gratifying,” he said. 

Mr. Naka also noted he’d like to see the rivalry between Mario and Sonic from the revived again.  You can read the piece in full at the link cited above.

My thoughts?  I think Sega intentionally made crappy 2D Sonic games to lure Naka back in.  I'm serious!  I think Sega plotted this since 2009 and said, "We are going to get Naka back in.  How do we do that?  We take the best parts in Sonic games and make them into something worse.  We'll get Dimps to do it w.i.t.h l.i.t.t.l.e m.o.n.e.y, make it look like an old Sonic game, and it shall be called Sonic The Hedgehog 4!  If he doesn't come back, we'll use the earnings and make another episode where we'll have room to butcher even more of his legacy!"

This has to to be the most logical reason behind those pathetic excuses for a Sonic game, to bait Naka as a plan to increase the value of the franchise by making terrible Sonic games based off of the classics that brought Naka into the limelight.

And if it works... meaning Sega gets him to work on 2D Sonic games, I'll buy Episode 2 on every platform I can play it on.  Naka working on 3D games?

(Why is that the best line in the entire game?)

But seriously, Naka and 3D games?  Lets take a stroll down memory lane, shall we?

Now, Naka may have aimed Sonic in the direction (sort of) of Sonic's future in gaming jumping from 2D to 3D, but while these games get praise for players by simply stepping outside of it's 2D boundaries being somewhat of an over-complex Mario 64 (Adventure series), the games had many design issues such as clipping through the floor to fall to your death (or fall eternally), disobedient cameras, and terrible collision detection.  After Heroes, I was done, mostly because Heroes was pretty on paper but pathetic in pixels.  Just like Sonic 4, Naka wasn't free from making games that were utterly boring that were centered around forced mechanics (but at least they didn't stop the flow of the gameplay and coated with multiple forms of automation).  Shadow The Hedgehog (game) to my knowledge was his last finished work and although I never played it, it was received as the worst game on the Adventure engine.

But who really knows?  Since he left Sega in the midst of working on 06, perhaps he's got some good ideas?  He says that the current formula isn't challenging.  Now... before I go, OMG, speed running is sooo hard, he has a point.  Have you ever just walked up to some of the enemies in the recent games to see what they'd do?  You can idle around a lot of them or just avoid them easily.  Unleashed did a decent job of enemy placement to prevent Sonic from boosting through everything.  For players who do not speed run these games, you're pretty much left with simply navigating Sonic in a comfortable, unchallenging manner.  In Generations main acts, there aren't many enemies that check you for going fast or not going fast enough.  It's mostly memorizing the level and reaching the end without any objectives within the level.

So yes.  If they bring back Naka and he throws in ideas for the 3D Sonic games, all I can say is... if it ain't broke, don't fix it.  Right now, as I've stated before, 3D Sonic is where it's at now.