Sonic Generations

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It can hardly be argued that the past decade hasn't been very kind to Sega's blue Erinaceus mascot. For years now, the quality and direction of Sonic console games have ranged from... questionable, to put it politely, to downright terrible, to put it bluntly (His handheld titles have been consistently excellent, however). I grew up loving Sonic. His Genesis adventures were the first video games I ever played as a child, and my love and obsession for Sonic as a series continued from my toddler days throughout his stellar Dreamcast outings (I even devoured the comic series for years. Over a hundred issues are still at my parents' house). I'll be honest, Sonic Adventure 2 was the last Sonic game to hold my attention as a fan, and it was after that particular Dreamcast masterpiece that Sonic started to lose his unique way of doing "what Nintendon't" (Some argue Sonic Heroes was his last great game. I never played it myself, so I can't judge). It seemed that all was lost for Sonic, and with each lousy game his fans felt more and more disheartened and angry when dealing with the haters, more of which came out of the paneling with each crappy game.

First, a little history about Sonic's quality increasing in recent years, culminating in this disc of pure adrenaline inducing awesomeness:

Sonic Unleashed's daytime levels were a true success at retaining the past greatness of Sonic's unique, classical "fastest thing alive" approach to platforming, but overall Unleashed was an experience marred by horrendous Werehog nighttime levels that were slow and boring, the antithesis of what Sonic has always stood for. Then came Sonic 4 Ep. 1, which made even more progress to return to Sonic's 2-D roots and past glory, despite some missteps and questionable gameplay design choices (I'm a lot kinder here than a lot of 4's detractors). Sonic Colors was next, and was FINALLY a wholly stellar Modern Sonic title, of which there are few things to complain about; by far the best Sonic title in years, until now.

These three titles have set the table that Sonic Generations has come to, seen, and conquered. The fastest thing alive is back on his 20th anniversary, and to commemorate this most special occasion for their #1 mascot, Sega has invited not one, but two distinctly different Sonics to come celebrate. We are the guests of honor, and this is the best present a Sonic fan could have ever asked for. This is a long intro, I know, and this review will be a long one, but please, let me indulge the inner 4-year-old in me that would be obsessed with Sonic for years. This is the game Sonic fans have yearned for for over a decade. I will try to be as detailed as I can to give you an accurate picture of the game. Ok, here we go:

Story: Sonic and friends find themselves the target of an evil, malevolent force that threatens the universe and time itself! Amid the chaos, Sonic and Tails find themselves in some void, face to face with a chubby Sonic n' Tails from the past, from circa early-mid 1990's specifically. Both "Classic" and "Modern" Sonics team up and set off from this pure-white hub world to journey through their most memorable past exploits in order to attempt to right the wrongs and save everything they've ever known. Is it a great, ground-breaking story? No way, but it doesn't have to be. This is Sonic, and if Sonic and the Secret Rings or Sonic 06' (shudders) were games that tried to put a heavier story into the mix, I'll thank the chaos emeralds and chao that this title doesn't. The story merely gives context to the action and then steps back so the player can enjoy what you and I have always picked up Sonic the Hedgehog titles for: Excellent platforming gameplay at extreme speeds, cool style, and awesome music.

Let's talk about gameplay. I'm sure many of you out there were probably worried, first of all, about whether or not Sonic Team screwed up the gameplay/control mechanics of classic Sonic. Sonic 4 really changed the physics and control behavior from the classics and that really upset a lot of fans (not me so much, but many fans were peeved). You may confidently relax, because the classic Sonic gameplay is exactly the way it was on the Genesis. The game really rewards those who work hard to attain high speed and punishes those who are careless and slow on the uptake, just like in the good ol' days. The inertia is back, yes, the continued movement without constant d-pad pressure is back, and it is glorious. The only difference I can think of is that the classic Sonic levels here actually feel faster than the originals, and that the levels and proportions of everything ranging from platforms to loop-de-loops to spikes to enemies, seems... bigger. You may not feel that way, but I definitely did. There were also graphical tricks implemented that almost gives Classic Sonic a 2.5-D feel to them. So even though you're only running from left to right, you may hit a bounce spring that shoots you at an angled trajectory (think barrels from Donkey Kong Country Returns), or a sprint section may go through turns to the foreground to the background and everywhere else. Sonic 4 had similar tricks. These little touches really make the levels feel like living, organic worlds that Sonic is speeding through, despite the 2D "flatforming", and that is really rad.

Modern Sonic levels are characterized by maneuvering complex 3-D obstacle courses at speeds so fast, the music and outside sound literally distorts (I'm not kidding), making for an incredible effect. You have a boost function you can abuse to get Sonic up to speed again when you inevitably miss that 1/100000000th of a second you needed to react to miss a corner or ledge or enemy that stops you cold. You can even hold Sonic's boost button down to go at ultra fast speeds consistently over time. It's quite the rush, trust me. You can't abuse boost for long, however, as you need to take breathers, perform stylish moves, collect rings, or take down enemies to absorb more energy in order to replenish the boost bar. It's a nice balance. Modern Sonic gameplay really seems to push the envelope in every way, from speed level to set-piece epicness. It's all so over the top, and really captures that "HOLY CRAP!" feeling you and I probably first had when Sonic ran down that skyscraper or was chased by that killer whale in Sonic Adventure, OR the massive death truck chase from Sonic Adventure 2. Even the Modern Sonic reimaginings of classic levels have set piece moments like that, and that's really cool. Bravo Sega. I'm sorry for doubting you so much (but can you blame me?).

The presentation in this game, from the art design to its graphical presentation, is phenomenal and the definition of fan service. When I started up Sonic Generations, my brain fried a little from Nostalgia overload at the modern remix of Sonic 1's menu music and both Sonics waving their finger at me. I foamed at the mouth, a tear of pure joy and sunshine gathered in my eye, and my heart started beating in dubstep. It was... overwhelming, and probably not pretty but I make no apologies. When I started up Classic Sonic's Green Hill zone... well... gosh, this is going to be hard to describe... impossible actually, so I'll just say this and then let you discover the magic for yourselves: The graphical presentation of pretty much every Sonic level here is absolutely amazing. They all retain the spirit of their original appearances, while utilizing the power that today's consoles can afford the art design, and it is spectacular. That's no small feat! This applies to the age-old classics AND the more modern levels. I have less enthusiasm for levels from the "Post Sonic Adventure 2" section of Sonic canon, but this game's art design and gameplay mechanics are so great, I enjoyed them thoroughly too.

The classic music is enhanced, while harnessing that great ol' Genesis synthesized goodness, and the classic sound effects are all there. Same goes for the music/sound design for the modern iterations. It's quite amazing. It IS strange (and awesome) to hear "modern" versions of old tunes while playing as Modern Sonic, like Green Hill Zone from an actual rock band for instance, as opposed to the original synth stuff. One thing I *really* enjoyed were the awesome "classic Sonic" versions of newer "modern Sonic" songs. They're astoundingly awesome, seriously. Another really positive accolade for the sound is that much of the voice acting is actually tolerable now! You'll still stumble across some painfully cheesy stuff, but that's to be expected. To be mad at Sonic for campy cheesiness is like getting mad at Star Fox 64 for campy cheesiness. That would be crazy. Campiness is part of Sonic's "edge factor," so stop hating and let him cheese it up, I say. The excellent gameplay certainly affords him that right. It's definitely a vast improvement overall though.

There are levels from nine different games in Sonic's canon. That may seem paltry, but when you consider that each level has two different, and I meant very different, versions, one for classical Genesis Sonic gameplay, and one for Modern Unleashed/Colors Sonic gameplay, this is forgivable. This game has tons of replay value, as each level has several different ways to get from the beginning to the end-post/end-giant-ring. There's also tons of unlockables which not only drive the incentive for replay, but really are nice nods to Sega fans out there. This was nice. There ARE only four *true* boss fights in the entire game, however... yes, FOUR! This strikes me as odd, when you consider that the old Genesis titles literally had a boss fight after every stage. For a game trying to harness past success and design philosophy, such a small ratio of boss fights to stages seems very strange. I know a boss fight for every level is a bit much in today's age, but four still seems a bit anemic. At least they're incredibly epic, for the most part. There *are* three "rival fights" where you must battle past rivals in order to grab yourself a chaos emerald. One such rival is Metal Sonic, to give an example, and each of these rival battles are really fun and unique. I thoroughly enjoyed these cool segments. If you count these, then there are technically 7 boss fights, and that feels like a more adequate number.

"Long" review, I know, but if you're like me, you may feel a bit of trepidation about buying this game. Sonic has let us down so many times, and even though the handheld games were awesome, as well as Sonic Colors, the blue hedgehog still has an iffy reputation on console. Well, I can tell you now that, all things considered, this is an amazing game, period. It's an absolute masterpiece of a Sonic title. For years Sonic lost his way, and delivered experiences that felt NOTHING like the quintessential Sonic title. This is a return to the original, simple philosophy that Sonic always stood for: being the fastest thing alive. For that alone, this game deserves the highest recommendation. However, when you combine that with the incredible nostalgic experience this game offers, the outstanding production values and design (both in the visual and audio departments), and the absurd amount of fan service this game has to offer, purchasing this game becomes a no-brainer. Buy it, speed, dash, n' blast through it, and let yourself get lost in this celebratory sub-sonic bubble of retro Sonic glory.

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Sonic has fallen from grace and risen from the ashes more time than perhaps any video game character. Sonic Team graced us with two fantastic entries on the Dreamcast with Sonic Adventure 1&2, then burdened us with the mediocre Sonic Heroes and the god-awful Shadow the Hedgehog. Things were improved by the fantastic Sonic Rush titles, only to fall to the pits again with the notorious Sonic The Hedgehog (2006) and the middling Wii entries. However, a consistent pattern in likability reminiscent of Sonic's Genesis days has been taken up in recent years with the past two or three games. Sonic Generations continues this steady progression towards greatness, while simultaneously putting to bed something Sonic fans have begged for over the past decade: bringing back old-school Sonic gameplay.

The plot is simple enough, and voiced with perfection by the new voice cast Sega brought in with last year's excellent Sonic Colors. Sonic's friends get sucked into a sort of time vortex by an ominous enemy known as the Time Eater. In order to get them back and defeat the new villain, Sonic must travel back through some of his past adventures, teaming up with his younger (and more portly) self from the Genesis games. Nothing too deep, sure, but it's an excuse to travel back and see the best of Sonic's levels put into glorious HD.

And glorious is the best word to describe the makeover these levels have gotten. Sega didn't skimp on the budget this time around, obviously hellbent on making their mascot relevant again. Each level is filled with vibrant colors that suck you right into the cartoonish world that the blue hedgehog and company inhabit, making for a more immersive experience than past entries. This is the best-looking Sonic game in years, and the visual spectacle alone is worth the price of admission.

But looks aren't everything, which is why Sega didn't neglect the gameplay aspect of things. In order to tackle a Zone, a player must utilize both Modern and Classic Sonic in one Act each. Both Sonics control with an entirely different moveset that suits what area of the franchise they're representing.

Modern Sonic controls much like the ever-evolving character he's been since Sonic Adventure in 1999. Complete with sliding, griding, and homing attacks, this version of the hedgehog is an incredibly versatile character who seamlessly nails both 2D and 3D gameplay. This is the most refined gameplay to come out of the franchise in quite some time, and Sonic Team should be proud of the work which went into this part of the game.

What I didn't like so much, however, was Classic Sonic. I'm a sucker for the old Sonic games, I'll admit, but the inclusion of the retro controls in a new game feels done out of obligation and not out of genuine concern of whether it feels natural or not. It would be a bold-faced lie to say that these levels are bad, because they are, in fact, quite fun. It's a blast revisiting Genesis-era levels with the control scheme that they are made for, and seeing 3D levels done with 2D in mind is an interesting treat.

However, these levels never really reach the level of raw energy and speed exuded by the Modern Sonic levels. While I do acknowledge that the point of these stages was to capture the more steady pacing of the older titles, it made me want to actually play the old Sonic games instead of seeing their gameplay shoved into a new entry. Perhaps this will dispel the notion from people's heads that they want more Retro Sonic, and remind them that if the new Sonic has excellent gameplay, they won't need to sit around and wish for the "good old days" to return. Still, the notion of putting these levels in was still a nice gesture from Sega, and a good trip down memory lane for longtime fans.

Even with my gripes, Generations still stands as a great entry in the Sonic franchise, and brings together the best of both worlds from the hedgehog. Sega's commitment to restoring their flagship franchise to it's former glory is admirable, and is beginning to be what fans always wanted Sonic in 3D to be: fast, inventive, edgy, but most of all, fun. And at the end of the day, you can't find much fault in that.

Story: B+

Gameplay: B+

Graphics: A-

Sound: A-

Overall: B+

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Come on guys, sing it with me: "Sonic, he's got an attitude. Sonic, he's the fastest thing alive..."

Ahem. What were we talking about? Ah, yes, the review!

Sonic Generations. Just about brought me to tears. If you ever liked a Sonic game, from any era, you will be hard-pressed to dislike this game. Each level is based a zone from past Sonic games. Here, you can play either as "Classic Sonic" (as seen from 1991-1998), rolling through the levels in 2D side-scrolling fashion; or "Modern Sonic" (as seen from 1998 onwards), racing through the stages in 3D. One level from every major Sonic game is remade in Sonic Generations.

The fairly simple plot is concerned with the fact that during Sonic's 20th birthday, some dark creature crashes the party and takes away all of Sonic's friends. As Sonic chases after them, he finds they all have traveled through time. The mysterious being is some "Time Eater", wreaking havoc across history. To stop this threat, Modern Sonic teams up with his younger, "Classic" self.

The resulting game is fantastic. All of the levels and boss battles are beautifully rendered, featuring multiple pathways to the goal. Classic Sonic plays very closely to the way he played in the early 90s, and Modern Sonic plays like he did in Sonic Unleashed and Sonic Colors. The result is not only a great variety of level design, but also well-thought-out gameplay physics. And the music, oh, THE MUSIC! Sonic games are known for great soundtracks, and this is no exception. The remixes presented here are beautiful (Rooftop Run, how I love thee!). Classic Sonic features remixes in a early 90s techno style (in many ways mimicking the 16-bit limitations of the SEGA Genesis), while Modern Sonic features more layered, rock-inspired music(no, NOT Shadow The Hedgehog style. More in line with Sonic Unleashed).

Now as a gamer, I think this title is excellent. It is high-quality, fun, and light-hearted. As a Sonic fan, however, this game is nothing short of EPIC (even though the main story can be beaten in under ten hours. Shame)! There are so many homages to Sonic's history spread throughout this game. Not only are past titles referenced, but even (albeit in subtle ways) the classic TV show Sonic The Hedgehog The Complete Series and the comic book series are hinted at. The story is full of in-jokes known throughout the series and fandom. Plus, as you play, you unlock various bits of music from the past. These music tracks can then be selected to play during ANY LEVEL OF THE GAME! This just adds to the variety presented here.

This game, of course, is not perfect. Maybe 95% so, but like anything, it still leaves room for armchair quarterbacks to leave "helpful suggestions". Here's me being an armchair quarterback (and I don't even like football!).

Every once in a while, while traveling at high speed or transitioning to another portion of the stage, a momentary (read: fraction of a second) freeze of motion is seen. It is not common, but when it happens, it is noticeable.

On some occurences, slight framerate slowdown is apparent. Now, for me, growing up playing Sonic on the SEGA Genesis, where this was fairly common, playing "Sonic in slow-motion" was something I thought was awesome as a little kid, so even this has a tinge of nostalgia for me.

The story, like with Sonic Colors (being that the same writers worked on this title), is still very light-hearted. Nothing ----I repeat----nothing, is wrong with that. It was not terribly executed in Colors, and it was even more enjoyable here. The fact that this game's story ties directly to Sonic Colors just makes me smile with happiness (narrative continuity in a series Sonic title? Amazing!). I'm still holding out for an "epic" storyline like Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2 featured.

The game, though detailed and fairly expansive, can be completed in under ten hours (story mode). To collect all of the little souvenirs and unlockable skills will take some more time, but all in all, this is a relatively short game. Again, I'm missing that Sonic Adventure series "epicness"!

In the end, I am blown away. Now, I've spent to much time here already----gotta get back to the game!

Happy 20th Birthday, Sonic!

Ryan Robledo

Author of the Aelnathan

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Sonic the Hedgehog was my first game ever, I loved all of the titles on the Genesis/Mega Drive, with that said I've also hated most of his 3D games with the exception of Colors and strictly the Day levels of Unleashed. Most of my resentment for the 3D games were the dumb characters they tacked on which typically played poorly or were given boring objectives. Then the attempts at a serious story with our favorite cartoon Hedgehog, it just didn't work (with the exception of Sonic: SatAM). Sonic 06 being the peak of awful rushed out the door trash combined with a awful serious story trying to move us with ...what's basically cartoon characters, buggy controls, horrible loading times and lots of other nasty things.

In the adventure titles the only levels I found I enjoyed were Sonic levels while even Tails and Knuckles got just dumb levels which was fairly irritating and half the characters I wanted to find the deepest portion of Chemical Plant Zone and die under a spring (I'm looking at you Shadow, Chip, Silver). It's not that I'm against Sonic going for a new route, or you know meeting new friends it's simply the controls weren't tight enough or the game was just buggy and awful (sonic 06) and probably the weakest gripe is my dislike for Heroes, because you just can't shut the characters up, 10th time through a level and they're still talking. And on the 'new friends' note, it'd be okay if they didn't make just dumb characters or characters that are taking the darker and edgier route, it's just unneeded.

Now that I've got my reasoning for hating past games out of the way, let's start why Generations isn't garbage and why it's getting a review. Tight controls, simple and fun storyline, great platforming, lots of things to do and unlock, fun to endlessly replay levels, cheesy little jokes referring to things fans have possibly wondered and the side characters play very little roles in the overall story. Now the thing that's interesting is you go through titles from the previous games now as I said, I loved the Gen titles and Adventure was okay and (day) Unleashed was fun and Colors was great, but this game also has levels from games I hated, however they are nothing like they were and are redone to be a blast to play. Best part is they really tried to get memorable parts from levels in to parts of the redone levels and they blended them in very well.

It was quite funny to tell my cousin that I enjoyed playing a level out of Sonic 06, because they clearly listened and made the levels to pay homage but more importantly be fun. If you haven't already figured out you play through the game with Modern Sonic who plays like Sonic Colors and Classic Sonic who plays like a mix between Sonic 2 and 3 (strictly 2D gameplay), they're both playable in all levels you just play as them in different 'acts'. Both play really well and tight which is the most important thing since it's a platforming title and all the levels have many routes to take...just like the classic titles.

-Modern Sonic gets the boost, homing and stomp attacks, rail grinding, and some level specific powers like wall hopping and ring dashing

-Classic Sonic gets little more than jump and spin dash, though you can unlock the fire/water/lightning shields from Sonic 3. Though this is a good thing because his gameplay remains true to what it was, no homing attacks, just 2D platforming and speed.

Basically what I'm trying to strain here in this review is that in the years of failure in Sonics 3D titles they got their act together and put out a game that's amazing. There's lots of side-missions, optional music to unlock, the game is simply pretty as it's ever going to get. If you missed Sonic, this is the game to get, there's no gimmicks, no stupid serious story, no playing as dumb unpolished characters.

Note: I am by no means saying all his 3D games are bad, I'm saying that I personally hated them, if you disagree feel free to however this is my thoughts on it. So keep that in mind.

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My Sonic fandom has been very sporadic ever since my first experiences with the series via Sonic 2. As cliche as it seems, I was borderline rabid in my fandom until about 2004, when the game-play began to lose my interest. It was not until Sonic Colors that I regained my support for the blue blur; I saw the birth of a new formula in game-play that was innovative and more than a step in the right direction with a great balance of speed and platforming. Enter Sonic Generations: the rebirth of my adamant love for the series. From the demo onward, I saw a video game that had (and at this point has) the potential to become one of the best platformers in this era of gaming. Upon playing this game, I found that my optimistic notions were wonderfully well-founded for a multitude of reasons.

Of all of my reasons for appreciating Sega's effort in making this game, the execution of both Sonics' play styles takes the forefront. Classic Sonic plays in a way that accurately, and enhances to a degree, the game-play per the Genesis iterations (1,2,3&K). When I say that it enhances the play experience, I am referring to the upgraded spin dash (which is far from overpowered -see Planet Wisp for details), which adds a whole new level of complexity to the timing required for speedy completion of the game's many platforming elements. Also, he pays more than enough homage to the Genesis era via the intricacies of his physics. When playing in Chemical Plant Zone, I tried to replicate one of the key speed-run tactics -jumping at the very end of its curved slopes. Performing this action in Sonic 2 allowed the player to run faster upon completing the jump. To my surprise, I managed to pull the act off exactly in the manner that I had done in Sonic 2. His noteworthy zones are Crisis City, Planet Wisp, and City Escape.

Moving on to modern Sonic, his game-play was just as phenomenal, if not slightly better than his endearingly chubby former self. The platforming elements are absolutely marvelous in his levels, and the utilization of his abilities is at its zenith thus far in the latter iterations of the series. Specifically, the boost is implemented incredibly well. While many reviewers have stated that it adds to the game's supposed clunky moments, they seem to have failed to grasp that moderation is a key component to mastering the boost. It may be very tempting to "boost to win," but that mind-set will come to a halt upon reaching Sky Sanctuary. Along with his other abilities, the boost works hand in hand to create a repertoire that a player must fully master to succeed. Sonic Team has found a formula that deviates from the linear platforming that plagues the previous 3d releases save for Colors. City Escape is an exemplar of this new open environment in that the player has countless paths on which he or she can travel. Not only are there a slew of routes -the environment permits exploration.

On the topic of storyline, it is far less deep than previous modern releases', but the game is better for it. The plot is short, sweet, and a great tribute to the highs and lows of his twenty years. Many members of the series's ever-expanding cast make appearances, but Sega has managed to curb their historically annoying natures.

The only issue I have with this game is actually the boss battles. I will not spoil their contents, but they do leave me hoping for further boss content via downloadable content. The quality of the fights is not the problem as much as the fact that there are only four bosses in the game. On a brighter note, the rival battles (essentially mini bosses) are brilliantly formulated; the Shadow fight was engaging enough to make me forget about his solo release from 2006.

All in all, I highly recommend this game to anyone wishing to experience the platforming genre at its finest. Fans of the series will appreciate the references to the Blue Blur's history. On the other hand, newcomers will acquaint themselves with the essence of Sonic the Hedgehog.