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Sonic Generations (PS3/360)

If anyone remembers Sonic 2006, any anniversary game shouldn't get its hopes high. Has Sonic Generations fixed that?

 

Game: Sonic Generations
Developer: Sonic Team
Publisher: SEGA
Released: November 4th, 2011
Version Reviewed: PlayStation 3


Our little hedgehog is celebrating 20 years of humorous joy in our televisions, ever since the first release of the first game on the Mega Drive (or Genesis for you Americans). It has brought many games in its series, ones that were good, others that were simply unnecesssary. (Like Shadow the Hedgehog, for example.)
Sonic Colours, so SEGA decided to make us rejoice and forget previous mistakes, compiling the most iconic levels of those games and remake them, featuring the green-eyed version of Sonic...but with a mix of the 90's version of Sonic!

But before that...
 

STORY



Well, it couldn't be an anniversary game without a story, right? Sonic's celebrating his 20th birthday with his friends, when suddenly an unknown force tried to break time and space, taking all of his friends to different levels and eras, and it's up to Classic and Modern Sonic to rescue both of them.

The story is pretty basic, and most of us just skip it, but it's fun seeing that they tried hard to make the story feel good, even if they had to turn Classic silent. All those details are fun and show that they wanted this game to feel special, in some way. And it wasn't only this bit they wanted to touch.
 

GAMEPLAY


Now here, I'll do something I've never done: Split the gameplay into 4 parts, General, Levels, Bosses and Features. Generations has TOO MUCH stuff to be discussed, and we're only at the beginning.

  • Part 1: General


In here, we'll talk about the actual core gameplay, how the modes work, etc. Starting with Classic Sonic, it's your regular 16-bit hero, but in 2.5D, with his trademark Spin Jump and Spin Dash. Classic feels more solid, his mechanics aren't on a 1:1 scale to its Mega Drive mechanics, and it didn't need to, because he plays well. The only issue is the rolling, but it's a minor, since you can Spin Dash most of the obstacles by mashing/holding the X(on the Xbox 360)/Square (on the PS3) button or the old-fashioned way, Down + A/X.

Modern Sonic, on the other hand...

...he plays really well. Colours's controls might have been more stiff, but they really made the controls better than, dare I say it, the whole 3D Sonic genre. (except Sonic Adventure 1. Big, I still <3 you)
Modern has its trademark Homing Attack and Lightspeed Dash from the Adventure series and the Boost Gauge, Stomp, Drift and Slide that were introduced in the Day levels of Unleashed, and mostly all work well, the rail switching is the same from Colours, and it has proved that Modern wasn't going to sit this one out. But the levels matter too! So...

 

  • Part 2: Levels


Sonic Generations raises the champagne glass to 9 levels in the series, from 3 different eras, starting with the first one:

Classic/Mega Drive Era

Green Hill is basically your first level, both on Sonic the Hedgehog 1 and Generations, and it features all the classic elements, the bridges and totems are as detailed as possible, and it looks really crisp and new.

Chemical Plant is the second level from Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and it features the same Badniks and platforms you could expect from it, even that pink water.

Sky Sanctuary is one of the last levels in Sonic & Knuckles, yet it's the 3rd stage in Generations. Comprehensive, because it's one of the most beautiful remakes SEGA has done recently. (And favourite one from the whole game, actually.)
In Act 1, there are a few nods to past levels, example being the platform wheel featured in Sonic 3's Marble Garden Zone.

Onward with the next era!

"Dreamcast" Era

This era works as a bridge between Classic and Modern, but worked out decently.

Starting with Speed Highway, the 6th Level in Sonic Adventure, it is really accurate, Classic has the bell from Part 2 of that level in the original, while Modern features almost everything from Part 1, including Going Down! (which doesn't require too much moving, thanks to Dodge.)

Now City Escape, I can say I liked what they did. Classic got a skateboard (90's to you!) and the GUN Truck attacking through the whole level, while Modern is the same old City Escape from Sonic Adventure 2, with a twist in the end part with the truck.

Seaside Hill, from this era, is entertaining, because of what they did with Classic, not only is it hard, but if you go via the low path, there's a nod to Hydrocity Zone Act 2 from Sonic 3, with the moving wall and the crumbling poles, and the twist in the Modern stage, without Tails & Knuckles, it actually feels enjoyable. also, people. The Kart section is STILL from Sonic Heroes, not All-Stars Racing, argh.

Modern Era

In this one, I can admit: I had too many struggles, especially in the last level. But first!

Crisis City (oh boy, here we go.) isn't... glitch-filled, for once! But it's still hard in both Sonics, due to the tornado in Classic and the GODDAMN LAVA PITS in Modern, but overall, Modern Crisis City is what the Sonic '06 version should've been.

Moving onto Rooftop Run, or also known as Spagonia from Unleashed, is actually better than the original, Modern's not that painful like the original and Classic's fun to play, thanks to the balloon gimmick.

Planet Wisp, the 4th level in Colours, is the longest and most painful 9+ minutes of your life. Although the original was good yet hard, this version takes it to the other level of hard, as in ridiculously hard. Hey, at least the Wisps work well both on Classic and Modern. (Spike and Rocket, respectively.)

 

  • Part 3: Bosses


The boss fights in each era are really throwbacks to its classic versions with a twist, Classic faces the Death Egg Robot (But got sad that you needed to wait to attack him, though.), Modern faces both Perfect Chaos (too bad Super isn't featured in this boss fight, yet it plays perfectly) and Egg Dragoon. (Which was rather tricky at first.) Of course, you had the mini boss fights of Metal Sonic, Shadow and Silver, and the only thing that bugged me, again, was the 'wait before you act' gimmick.

 

  • Part 4: Features


Now, this was the thing that surprised me. SEGA has put a lot of content on this. If you got the PS3/360 version, you'd get a free version of Sonic the Hedgehog 1 on the Mega Drive (aka the Backbone Port), which it's only problem was the sound sample. Then the Online Mode features the (not-so-unexpected) Ranking Attack and 30 Second Trial, which is basically how far can you go in 30 seconds, It's a fun mode, yet it doesn't feature that much, and it only works for one trophy/achievement. Then there's the Collection, which features a whole gallery full of Artwork for Generations and other past Sonic games and music from all previous games, along with the Character Bios and the cutscenes of Generations itself. But to unlock those, you need to get the Red Star Rings in all of the 18 levels, and clear all Challenges.
 

MUSIC


Seeing as how Unleashed and Colours turned out, Generations was no exception, as most of the tunes were redone properly and carefully, although there were a few downs in music (Chemical Plant Modern and Planet Wisp Classic, the latter because it doesn't fit the level), and you should give a listen to Sky Sanctuary ~Modern~, it's one of the examples that they wanted the music to be perfectly fitting to the environment, and have done it beautifully.

CONCLUSION


Sonic Generations, despite being too short and having a few minimal flaws, it is an enjoyable game, and rather a throwback to any moment you had with the iconic blue blur, rather it be Classic or Modern, this is for any Sonic fan or even a normal everyday gamer.

And of course, the quality of most levels are stunning, even Planet Wisp looked amazing in HD, even if it was from a Wii game.

If you want to celebrate Sonic's 20th Birthday, get this game, it's worth it!

Graphics: 4/5
It isn't jaw-breaking, but the details given in all the Mega Drive stages were phenomenal, and it's obviously one eye pleasure, even if it was played in 3D.

Gameplay: 4/5
While Classic doesn't have the roll accurate and all of the gameplay features minor glitches, it still is fun to play and one of the most, if not the best Sonic game since Sonic 3, and this was great for an Anniversary game.

Music: 5/5
Absolutely stunning, even if there's only 2 displeasing tracks, SEGA worked hard on giving an ear-pleasuring sound, and they've done it.

Longetivity: 3/5
It's a shame this was short, in one night I completed the Story mode and got at most 50% of the trophies featured on it. At least the Challenges add some replayability.

FINAL SCORE: 4/5

(Editor's Note: This was originally posted on the RadioSEGA Message Boards, found here.)

18th March, 2012 - 19:41 GMT Shadid Article viewed 1879 times 0 Comments

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