Bah, youtube... I am disappoint.

Really wonder how in the world my speed run playlist got de-sorted.  All of the videos are there, but it's like the order reverted to an old order, so all the videos I added at a certain point wound up at the bottom.  Damn this first world problem.  There are 160 videos and I assume it occurred when I told it to auto-delete some files or maybe from me logging on to youtube via xbl, idk.

Oh... so, anything worth talking about in the Sonic world?  Of course there is.  I just didn't plan on making an entry... just needed to vent.  So now that that's over...

Ep2 has been "professionally" reviewed lately.  Yeah, I haven't heard much about this guy until recently, but me personally, I'm not big on reviews.  Some people can do it, while most simply suck about being objective and going into detail though they can make good points.  In the end, I don't really base my judgement for getting games based solely on reviews.  Sure, I look at them - lots of them.  Another thing I prefer to do is watch people play the games as well as commentate them (if possible) so I can learn even more about the game.  Demos are nice, though sometimes I'm convinced that one level demo wound up being better than the full 7 level product.  (I used to think this about Unleashed after my first playthrough.)  When it comes to Episode 2, reviews are really at the bottom of my priority.  Getting my hands on the demo is really all that matters as well as hearing the opinions of a select few people who I see eye to eye mostly about Sonic 4 as a whole.

It is pretty easy to sum up everything I liked about Episode 1 because there were only 2 things I liked about the game and that was:

• the sound effects
• the special stages

And sadly, that's it.  Everything else weld up the entire experience as an utter bore.  The release of Sonic 06 - a severely unfinished product, was a time when everyone paid for Sega's struggle with themselves and with Microsoft.  It was supposed to be... a lot better than it turned out when it was released.  Sonic 4 Episode 1 was just a slap to the face of the classic fanbase through false marketing tactics.  It wasn't like Chrono Trigger->Chrono Cross where the latter was deserving to be Gamespot's GOTY in 2000 even though the former still upheld its legacy.  Sonic 4 Episode 1 was Dimps/Sonic Team simply looking at pictures of Sonic 1 and 2 and making a Sonic game around Rush's level philosophy and physics.

And there goes the classic fanbase in an uproar.

The only time I remotely enjoyed playing Episode 1 was when I put on some real Sonic music.  To this day, I disliked every single track Ep1 had and I was convinced the instruments were likeable, but the composition was trash.  A lot of people who didn't like the music felt the exact opposite.  It wasn't until recently that this was brought up again in regards to episode 2 and I realized it was even more prominent that the instrumentation really sucks.  Ep1's Splash Hill sounds disgusting to me... but in the midst of replying about Ep2's instrumentation, I decided to imagine how Splash Hill would sound if it happened to be played as a piano solo...

And WOW...

I mean, I don't really need to actually hear it played by someone, but I just had that realization face Lightning (from FFXIII) had where it all made sense. O_O  Guess that explains why the theme itself is difficult to forget.

Don't worry, I'm not going to go on an all-out anti-Episode 1 rant about everything else I disliked about it, but this is probably the most I've actually said something good about it.  Don't really need to go into detail about the Special Stages.  It was a fair challenge and it didn't feel as bad as the rest of the game.  I can't say it was much better or worse than Sonic 1's special stages, so progression of it was rather... minimal.

Man... 4 is so controversial... and I feel Sega will continue to keep it a controversial game even if it means core fans give up the hope that things could be different.  If Sega's not getting paid from 4, then surely it isn't worth it.  But if people are talking about it (like myself) en masse, then there's that possibility it'll be worth the few dollars its sold for.

Episode 3?  Shit, I've got better things to worry about... such as if the next console Sonic game will be on the current systems, and if they are, how will they have evolved the gameplay from Generations?

Sky Sanctuary 2 update.

I made a few mistakes, so 1:31 was definitely possible.  It was enough to take me from 7th to 6th on XBL if that means anything.  I missed that jump like 100 times, but at least I understand it much better now.  Aim for the center of that square platform, boost as late as possible from the trick ring.  Still a bitch to do.

Was aiming for a second update but I only managed another 1:32.  My hand is worn from hitting the buttons so firmly out of determination, I thought I was gonna break my pad.  Hopefully it doesn't come to that, though I've never broken a pad out of sheer force before.  This will have to do.

Well, well Generations~

So I decided to load up Generations again.  Why?  Because yesterday I ordered this and the first thing I plan on recording that's Sonic related are Generations speed runs.  Maybe some time later I'll do some Unleashed stuff when I'm better at it, but for now, Generations is probably going to have my undivided attention for a while.  The real pleasure in recording stuff like speed runs or challenges in games (especially fighting games) is you can go back and look at your mistakes.  In the case of Sonic games where things move pretty fast, I'll actually get a chance to actually slow things down and analyze stuff.  In fact, there is one thing I want to analyze today which I'll get to in just a bit.

Last night I decided to mess around with Speed Highway 2 again because I learned just a few new tricks to beating my time and I've NEVER made a seamless run of the stage.  It's an easy stage, yes.  However, I rarely run it because it really is the easiest stage to speed run in the game and I don't know many other ways to improve my time.  The last time I did it, I ran it with perhaps no mistakes that I could think of, really.

Just jumped from the 1:38 to the 1:36 territory.  I really don't know how people run it faster (not including doing that level skip glitch.)  Also, I did the 30 second trial of the stage and pretty much took Sonic as far as he could possibly go in the stage.


But the stage that I've really been focused on is Sky Sanctuary 2.  At first I didn't see myself being interested in taking it seriously until I saw it seriously ran and it is... REALLY FUN.  My favorite aspect about speed running this stage is the use of the enemy placement that challenges you to bounce off enemies to advance through the stage as well as destroy them with the air boost.  Bouncing off of enemies in the stage really makes the game feel like the classics in a sense because you're not depending on the homing attack.  You don't want to use the homing attack in some parts because after you do it, Sonic loses all forward momentum.  Maintaining that momentum will yield Sonic opportunities to keep going forward after simply jumping on the enemies.  Air boosting through enemies isn't always a free kill.  Sometimes I wind up sending Sonic into their hitbox and losing rings and recently Sonic won't destroy them, but will just get pushed aside after making contact with them.  It's weird, yet amusing.

But the hardest thing about Generations modern Sonic is simply the precision platforming and Sky Sanctuary 2 has up to this point the most difficult jump in the game, and last night I took a lot of time trying to figure out how in the world Kakipi1000 pulls it off in his recorded run of the stage.

I'm talking about the orange trick ring-> air boost boost-> jump from the square platform-> air boost at 0:12 in this video.

It looks simple, but you REALLY have to be exact with how you pull this off because it's easy to screw up.  Fortunately, when I paused the video, I did it at the EXACT moment you need to air boost to that platform, because I know if I press play from that point, the air boost will immediately happen... and it did.  So here's the deal.  If you air boost, land on the platform, jump and air boost but aren't high enough, your first air boost from the trick ring was too early.  Now, you'll know that you boosted too late if you find yourself boosting beneath the square platform and this is where you strike your medium.  But look at the picture real good, specifically the relationship of Sonic and that platform as he's falling down.  Sonic's mid-section should NOT go below the green stripe on the left of the platform.  In fact, you should almost be aiming for the center of the platform with the analog stick tilting ever so slightly to the right (if you're not holding forward doing this, Sonic won't air boost at all.)

I really don't understand how this works technically because if you land on the platform, it seems logical that Sonic would be able to make the jump, right?  Well, how I understand this is that Sonic's height from an air boost relates to his speed when he lands.  The more Sonic falls, the more speed/momentum he loses (which is why you really have to do this as late/low as possible as if you air boost too early, land on square platform and jump, he won't reach it and you'll have to settle for jumping and stomping on the next floating platform). It's weird because if you do it too early, Sonic not only will have less momentum but his jump won't have the height to make it over as well.  It's quite rewarding to make this jump.  If you're forced to use both floating platforms, you'll lose about .50-.80 seconds and meter wise, there is no difference.

Personally, I find that this is the charm of Sonic games since Sonic 1 - you get the tools at your disposal, but what can they do and to what extent?  I really love the high-risk/high-reward aspect of this game.  It may have dumbed down a bit from Unleashed, but it's still got that aspect of a Sonic game that deepens the gameplay.  It just has a bit more of a "classic" gameplay-like focus.

Also I had been trying to take advantage of the 3D->2D glitch and unlike my 3D->2D glitching in Jungle Joyride 1-2 in my previous entry, pulling this one off was a lot easier.  Unfortunately, that's the only easy part about it, which is making that jump.  On my 360 version of the game (yeah, I own the PC version, too) if you jump off the rail after the glitch and make it to the side where the speed booster is and jump over the booster - the stage won't load visually.  Unfortunately, I didn't get very far with the glitch but I'll keep trying.  Controlling Sonic in 2D with 3D controls?  Yeah, ever since the N64, using analog sticks for precise movement has never been something I was ever entirely comfortable with and, well... what can I say?

You CAN 3D to 2D glitch Jungle Joyride 1-2!

So a while back, Kakipi1000 make a very impressive run of Jungle Joyride 1-2 and in the info of his video, he says:

In the original stage, you can 3D->2D glitch the first 2D section of the level.  In fact, you can also do it later in the level (although I'm not sure just how useful that is.)  If you try pulling off the glitch and going into the water like Kakipi did in the 1-2 stage, you will run into an invincible wall and die.  However, there IS an exception.

When I pulled this off, I took out my HD camcorder and started recording and I spent about an hour trying to duplicate the glitch with NO success.  I have no idea how in the world you even glitch that part on purpose.  It always happens on accident and the very moment I decide to record it, I can't get it to work.  That's the hard part.  If I can figure out how to glitch it, or get lucky doing it (because the section remains glitched if you die after the lamp post before the spring) then I'll record it.

So what do you do once you find Sonic with 3D controls in the 2D section?  Firstly, you need to get him to the first orange trick ring and the safest way to do that (if you're not confident manually moving him) is to simply slide, then jump into the ring.  After that, hold right and air boost.  This should send you far ahead to the right of the stage and the camera will shift into full 3D.  From here, you can drift past that entire 2D section in literally a few seconds.  It's a ridiculously good time saver.  Before I started recording, I was fortunate to actually complete the stage using that glitch with lots of mistakes.  Getting hit by the beams from that one robot during the chase scene and fucking up the last shortcut by accidentally performing two homing attacks on two enemies instead of air boosting to the rail.  I literally penalized myself by at least a good 4 or 5 seconds.  Plus, I don't know the best path over the second body of water section yet which adds even more time.  It was really a mess.

BUT I STILL SHAVED ABOUT 20 SECONDS OFF MY PREVIOUS TIME. LOL

So yeah, this is definitely to be continued.  I was supposed to post this yesterday but it wasn't possible.

Still so much to learn about Unleashed.  I should really take my Generations disc out of my 360.  It's earning a lot of scratches and I really can't be bothered to play it.

EDIT:  So I was browsing through the comments of Kakipi1000's run and apparently someone by the name of SHINTARO917 beat Kakipi's run by about 15 seconds (for the record, sobatsuyu100 recently beat Kakipi's run of this stage, too).  Once I checked the video, I wasn't surprised to find that this guy pulled off the glitch - not exactly how I did it, but actually better.  He took full advantage of it just the same.  I'm surprised he avoided that invisible wall since he appears to have performed the glitch no differently than Kakipi did for the normal stage.

Shoutouts to this guy... and this was 2009! *hides*  There were some things he could have done to make the run faster, but the way he pulls off the last shortcut is a MUST SEE.  I totally didn't see that one coming.

At least I don't have to go through the trouble of recording it, but it's definitely worth exploring still!  And I will say this... WHY DOES NOBODY TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE HIDDEN SPRING AT THE 2ND 3D SECTION?  You can save at least a good second or two.  I'll take a picture of it, or record it or something.

Arid Sands Act 1 - y u so fun?

sobatsuyu100 seems to now have the fastest, non-glitched/level skip run of this stage now.  He sure does make his runs look so efficient.  By efficient I mean, he will not use boost if it's not going to help him go faster.  A REALLY good example would be his Windmill Isle Act 2 run.  As far as Arid Sands 1, it's nice that he uses the E3 version of "His World".  Have to admit, it took a while for that song to catch me and I think as a theme for Sonic, it tops my previous favorite, "It Doesn't Matter", from SA1.  Though, my favorite version of His World will forever be the Zebrahead version.  Rock music really suits Sonic's character... or maybe just the sound of the electric guitar.

So, after deciding whether I should try and break my Speed Highway 2 time tonight or play some Unleashed... I decided to go for Unleashed and what a frustrating night it was - and yes, I can proudly laugh at it now.  Lately I've been focused on my beloved Jungle Joyride 1-2, but it was going so bad, I decided to take on Arid Sands 1.  After  looking at sobatsuyu's run, I realized that I could do a few things to clean up my run.  I have been playing the first 3D and 2D sections a LOT better lately and by the time I reached the end of the second 2D section, I realized that I was consistently cutting my time down by 2 seconds.  Every second counts!!!!  sobatsuyu's run in the third 2D section helped me out as well by using that speed booster more efficiently (though by accident, I found my own way to use it).  That was pretty much it, but...

omg, not once, not twice, but THREE TIMES, I missed the goal ring and each time I missed it, I was substantially faster than my last recorded run.  The first two misses, I ran back to back.  As infuriating as it seems, it wasn't as infuriating as the certain execution errors I was making, but it just made me more determined to pull it off and in the end...

It was faster than my fuck ups. :3

Well, in a few weeks, hopefully I'll have less fuck ups because I'll have a shiny, plastic, new DVR to record my runs and of course post them.  I could record from some HD handycamcorder thing, but... no.  With Unleashed?!  This game is really starting to win me over... I really hate to say it, but it is.  I hated it the first time I played it through because it didn't make sense to me (and in many ways, it still doesn't!)  But that's probably why I'm so inclined to understand it.  Once you get it and you pull off that as-perfect-as-you-can-get speed run, as punishing as the game can be, it's soooooooooooo rewarding when you get the most out of it.  It's been like an hour since I've did this speed run and I can still sense the adrenaline in my head, the glee of all the speed cap breaking stunts I pulled off to get a sub 2 minute run.  Also, I'm starting to notice how pretty the game is.  No, this game deserves to be captured properly in HD straight from the console.

Funny thing is... Arid Sands is the only stage I've really focused on.  Dragon Road Act 1 was the second stage I took seriously and there were some glitches in the stage (good ones, actually) that occur in 3D (similar to the super speed glitch) that I do not understand and since it occurs randomly, I gave it a rest.  If/When I do figure out how those ridiculous jumps in 3D work... oh man... I will do my best to break the hell out of that stage.

No, I don't want to compare it to Generations.  I'm beat.

However, I do want to give an honorable mention to the player KYUURI999 for speed running the Werehog.  One thing I will say about the Werehog gameplay in Unleashed HD - is that the DLC stages aren't half bad.  Not really a fan of that gameplay (though I'm gonna have to bend over and put up with it if it means 100% achievements for the game) but it's not entirely terrible... just 90% terrible... huehuehuehue.

URL since blogger can't find it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WW-kjWmNtDQ&feature=plcp

Seems legit.

If Classic Sonic found himself in Sonic 4, without waiting 3 minutes but 3 seconds, he'd jump off the stage and say, "I'm outta here!"

I know you had to be thinking the same thing.

JUNE! HURRY UP! IT'S GOING TO COME.

http://www.tssznews.com/2012/05/02/report-english-pixn-love-sonic-book-planned-for-june-release/

Just READ THE URL.

IGN's preview of Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing Transformed.

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/122/1223896p1.html

There is a video if you want to feed your eyes more than your imagination from reading.

There's not much for me to say.  It seems like it's going to be quite interesting how the race tracks will work along with the transformations.  There are some hints of some old Sega chars to be in the game.  Guess time will tell with that.  Aside from that, I wonder if the original gameplay with the cars will undergo any improvements?  For a racing game (though not a racing sim) I would expect such.

Nice random Sonic fan art.

Yeah, I've been meaning to surf through the endless amount of Sonic fanart over the internets and throw in my blog what I like.  Not too sure how I should go about it.

I am a sucker for cute classic Sonic anything.