Sonic Generations

Originally written 4-10-12

Sonic is thrown a surprise birthday party by Tails. They're having a good time until some monster appears ripping apart time and space, which leads to present Sonic and Tails meeting up with their past selves. The blue blurs takes off after this creature with no idea what it is or what's going on. -summary

When 2011 came around, the little blue blur had been around for 20 years, and to celebrate his stay in the gaming industry Sega decided to reward the fans with Sonic Generations. This wasn't only a game to further boost Sega's credibility in regards to finally getting the 3D version of Sonic down (let's thank Sonic Colors for that one), but it was meant to provide fans with the nostalgia trip by meshing three different eras together using re-imagined stages. The console version did a fine job at this, and despite its flaws that were mainly within the controls, I still enjoyed that game a lot. The nostalgic trip for me was something else, and I loved so much replaying City Escape, battling Metal Sonic, and yeah, even Crisis City has even grown on me; with that said, my expectations were through the roof once I heard this was a different game from the consoles. I was also hyped because the portable Sonic games had developed a reputation of being better than the console versions after Sonic Adventure 2. After replaying this game over the last couple of days, well I'm still disappointed with it but I enjoyed it just a little bit more this time. Still, some things just bother me more than it bothers others.

Game Play:

Published by Sega and developed by Dimps, Sonic Generations for 3DS uses the exact same concept. Sonic of the past and present must join forces to stop the Time-Eater from destroying time and space, plus erasing them from existence. The game follows them across 7 worlds with 2 stages each (two worlds shorter than the console), one being classic for past Sonic, and modern for present Sonic. This is the exact premise for the console versions, except modern Sonic is not in full 3D, and his style of play has more in common with the Sonic Rush series yet it's taking place in 2.5D. Originally I had a serious beef with this, because it really didn't seem to fit Sega's vision of combining the time periods through the two play styles, and even though it has grown me, it still bothers me for certain reasons. The 3DS version of this game is really difficult to critique, because anything negative said can be taken as harsh criticism only for the game being different; but I assure you that is not the case here. I have complaints with this game that I do think have some validity.

Now even though I'm not too crazy about modern Sonic's 2.5D transition. I will definitely admit that his worlds were fun, and even sometimes just as fun as his 3D adventure for the consoles. The stage design's feel a bit more forgiving and I found myself several times blindly boosting off without fear of dying. There are some nice additions to the re-imagined stages, plus the return of some cool ones such as the giant whale chasing Sonic across the bridge. Then you have the loop-d-loops across the platforms, and transitioning to the background plus alternate routes all adding to the fun. Sonic begins with his turbo boost and later learns how to stomp-dive, which can be used to smash crates underneath him. There are several cool moments while playing this version and the stages never felt like a chore. If anything, I will say some were on the short side, and when looking at the length of the game I find this quite disappointing.

Now don't let my praise for modern Sonic think our little blue classic got the short end of the stick. His play style and stages are vintage Sega Genesis. The re-imagine stage designs for Green Hill, Casino Night, and Mushroom Hill pushes all of the right nostalgic buttons, but I won't let that cloud my judgment. The stages are just amazingly fun to play with wire-tight platforming mechanics, plus classic Sonic later learns the "homing attack". I know of several purist to cry foul over this since he didn't have it in the earlier games. Personally, I think it adds to the game play creating some nice offensive possibilities. Shades of Sonic 2, there are special stages at the end of each world that requires Sonic to complete in order to obtain the Chaos Emeralds. These stages are alright at best; they're a race against the clock as Sonic must collect these spheres to boost his speed and grab the Emerald before it reaches the goal line. The first stage is very easy, serving more as a tutorial getting you accustomed to that play style. Eventually they become more difficult adding obstacles in the way with bombs being the most notable. Now take note, it's mandatory to pick up the Emeralds because you will not be able to face the Time-Eater without them.

There are of course boss battles present with Big Arms being the final boss in Sonic 3. It was fun fighting him again, and the same can be said in a way battling against Egg Emperor from Sonic Heroes. But for me, the bosses were quite underwhelming and they lacked the panache of the bosses found in the console versions. They were fun I guess though, but I never had the feel to battle them over again. The Rival battles were boring to me, simply because the fights against Shadow the Hedgehog and Silver the Hedgehog were rehashed races of the battle with Metal Sonic. They could have added Metal Sonic three times in a row and there wouldn't have been that much of a difference. The console version blows this away in the boss battles.

Some folks would have you believe that modern Sonic not being in full 3D is not a problem, and the games quality shouldn't be judged on that. I do get that a game should be judged on its own merits, but I do know a rushed project when I see one. I don't need anyone to tell me if it is or isn't. The special stages are in full 3D third person perspective, which means the 3DS was capable of combining both 2D and 3D. So why didn't they just do that then? I've been told the reason is because this game was meant to re-imagine Sonic across the portables. I'm willing to disregard that the Sega Genesis was not a portable, and those stages belonged here because that's where Sonic came from. But then why borrow from the Dreamcast era? The Sonic Advance series which made it to the Gameboy Advance was released roughly during that same time period, so it would have been logical to use those games as its pool source. I don't buy the argument at all, and I just feel there's a group of fans out there reaching for reasons to see both games on equal ground, even though they know this game doesn't come that close. Plus it's a lot easier than the console versions, and I personally know people whom have cited that as their reason for even favoring this one.

The main campaign took me about 2 1/2 hours to run through, and I collected 6 of the 7 emeralds on my first try. The game tries to make up for this with 100 missions to unlock. Personally, I would rather trade 50 of those missions for a longer campaign of 2 to 3 worlds any day. What can I say? In this day and age of being able to save your progress, I prefer a longer campaign at times and I wouldn't have minded an extended nostalgia trip. Plus there's online play where you can race against others over stages that were already completed. I honestly didn't have that much fun playing this and I haven't touched this mode since around the games original release date. From what I remember though, it was pretty easy to get a game and there wasn't the least bit of lag.

Controls:

This is one area I will straight up say this version murders the console in cold blood. Both Sonics play perfect for me, I had no trouble traversing through the stages and nailing one enemy after the other with the homing attack. This version of Sonic plays like the Sega Genesis, his maneuverability is wire-tight for this sort of platforming; precise jumping, I suffered no platform slip offs, and accessing different areas even before I memorized the stages was actually possible. It was even difficult for me to accidentally use the homing attack, despite needing to tap the jump button twice, and that's another thing, while the console version was sometimes laggy or unresponsive towards certain home-in's. I didn't experience that once here. The fluidity of the controls also works wonders during on-line play, because there are players out there you can't afford to slip up against. One mistake and you may never recover.

Graphics/Music/Sound:

The visuals are very good and the stage designs take advantage of them. There are various building designs in the backgrounds that reflect the look of the stage. The worlds are in 3D with a polygon look, and like the console there is a slight frame rate drop that will take the sharpest eyes to catch. Some of my favorite stages visually are the Water Palace and Tropic Resort. The former has some cool visuals with the swirly water-slides Sonic use to descend, and the latter has this one cool moment where you're dodging fireballs on a rail, plus the opening is really cool with flying cars in the background with what appears to be a big planet out there too. Now the 3D effect... I have to say I don't like it at all. Although it adds some type of stereoscopic depth that brings out a lush feel for the backgrounds. I think it clutters the screen making the action very hard to follow. I really couldn't play it like that for long. The action was too frantic. It lacked the smoothness found in Star Fox 3D, Ocarina of Time, and Super Mario 3D Land. The Special stages were especially very hard for me to play like this, and my vision felt very blurry, I had to shut that thing off.

I like the music a lot as certain tracks just bombard the senses with energetic tunes. Stages like Tropical Resort feels almost like a blend of 60's rock and 90's pop. The Shadow fight still uses the trance like theme, and Casino Night is heavily jazz oriented. One thing about Sonic games no one can really deny is that the soundtrack brings you into its world and this game does that. And who in their right Sega Genesis mind cannot love Green Hill Zone?

I'm not sure, but maybe my high hopes for the 3DS are just way too high. The removal of cutscenes in favor of bland speech bubbles and moving heads will always be a problem for me. They were cool in 1991 but definitely not in today's games, and the console has some awesome cutscenes man, they are just too many to count from Sonic and Shadow's meeting to the arrival of Perfect Chaos. I would have preferred to see some of that here and hear some actual dialog too, since Eggman had some funny lines and exchanges in the console version. The sound effects are well intact with the classic ring collecting sound, plus I still love Sonic's boost effect.

Who should I recommend this too?:

One thing for sure about this version is that it's definitely newbie and casual fan friendly, something the console really isn't so I recommend this to them. People who don't normally play games will not find this to be a real frustrating experience. Sure there are some difficult spots to weave through, but the game is pretty forgiving and most deaths will be from missing that one homing attack or just dashing off into the void. There is a difficulty spike towards the end, but this is just Dimps style of design with a heavy reliance on bottomless pits; it's nothing that can't be conquered though, and if you're well-versed in the Mario series this shouldn't even bother you. The boss battles are simple with only the final fight being the toughest, and that mainly comes from just not knowing what to do when the time comes (you'll see what I mean). The most accurate description of the difference in challenge would be looking at these games like New Super Mario Bros DS and New Super Mario Bros Wii. If you played both of those games then you know the Wii version is far tougher, it's the same between 3DS version and console version.

If you always heavily favored Sonic's 2D platforming style, you consider that true Sonic the Hedgehog, and you will always loathe his movement into 3D. Then you're not only going to like this more than I did, but you're going to love it because I think it is a return to his 2D roots.

If you're a fan of Sonic then get this anyway because it's worth checking out. If you're stuck on which one to get and you're a serious gamer; I still recommend the console version over this because it's longer, the stages and bosses are tougher, plus you get some cool cut scenes. If you already played the console version, then get this anyway since it is a different game and it can be considered an expansion.

Final Thoughts:

After my very recent replay I come to respect this game a little more. I don't think lowly of it because it's different. I think it's just rushed and it could have been different in another way without forsaking the 3D worlds. Plus the short length and boring, rehashed sub-boss battles really irritates me; and then again, there's a part of me that would like to rate this higher, since what is here in the main game can be fun, plus some people may love the online thing and unlockables. One thing is for sure, it's worth checking out.

Rating: 6/10

Pros:Some nice visuals, some fun moments, amazing music score

Cons:Short, weak sub boss battles, you will either like the extra content or not