- Joined
- May 16, 2008
- Location
- Kentucky, USA
With a 9:30 a.m. class the next day, I found myself staying wide awake at 12 a.m., right when October 13th was fresh outta the oven and Sonic 4 should have been put on Xbox Live Arcade. Unfortunately, it wasn't, and I ended up instead discussing life matters with my friend over XBL until 4 a.m. That was the point when I decided it was time to try and get some rest. I set my alarm clock for 8:30 a.m., but woke up an hour early on my own. I got on Xbox Live to find that Sonic 4 had finally been added... *Download*
I have, at this point, completed all levels of Sonic 4 and obtained all but the last Chaos Emerald. Earlier today, I typed a huge review and, being that I was at the college on a computer I'm not normally on, the system had logged me out before I had the chance to click "Post Thread", resulting in a very angry Mr. Mosley who had wasted 30 minutes of his good time posting a review that became non-existent in about a half a second. Anyway, my opinion has only slight changed about Sonic 4 since the, so my review will stay relatively the same. The big problems I have with Sonic 4 are still big problems, but I do have to admit that after playing the game for a while longer, you get used to it and stop comparing it so much to the days of old. The only problem is, we were promised that this would be like the days of old.... And that is where our tale begins...
Sonic the Hedgehog 4 is a decent game in itself. Nice musical score, nice level design, fabulous graphics (especially in 1080p HD), and of course, its a 2D side-scrolling Sonic title, so there are many reasons to be happy about this one. However, those are about the only reasons, and some/most of them are loomed over by a couple of issues which I find painfully obvious and aggravating.
The first of these issues is Sonic's controls and overall speed. Why they couldn't just create or port a copy of the Genesis' titles engine and build the game from it is beyond me. Sounds like a simpler way to go and a sure-fire way to send Sonic "back to its roots". However, when playing this game, Sonic feels almost sluggish in his movement. He is not very fast, certainly doesn't seem as fast as he did in the Genesis era, which becomes a major problem when that is the very basis, the very heart and soul, the bread and butter of classic Sonic. This game does not control like a classic 2D title, and it is rather obvious IMO. Has anyone here ever played those flash games with the bubble graphics, usually theres a motor cycle one where you race on a course? Well, it kinda reminded me of that. There are many moments where, if you do have a bit of "jogging" going on, it is halted by enemies which have targets showing up on them. Oh yeah, the Homing Attack.. I'll save that one for later. The brilliant, magical thing about Sonic 1, 2, 3, and Knuckles, is that no matter what each new game introduced, the mechanics/controls/speed of the characters was always the same. Sans the extra power-ups and improved graphics, all of those games still felt the same while playing them. Sonic 4 does not feel like any of those, and being that it should be a continuation, I think that Sega really dropped the ball by not making it identical to its predecessors as far as controls go.
The second major complaint I have with Sonic 4 is its randomly placed, extremely aggravating difficulty. Sonic is a game that, as a kid and even today, I loved and could really breeze through. Usually, when a game is easy, it becomes boring. But classic Sonic never got boring for me, no matter how easy it got. Keeping in mind that I am a seasoned classic Sonic veteran, I think that when placing Sonic 4 with the others, it is easily the most difficult overall IMO. Sonic 1 was pretty difficult in comparison to the others, in particular with the Special Levels, lack of spin-dash, and lack of Super Sonic (which isn't really an issue at all). But Sonic 4 takes the cake. It starts off kinda hard considering the controls are not what one used to the classics would expect them to be. But its core difficulty doesn't come with the progression of Zones necessarily, nor is the difficult parts a "good thing". Trust me, I know good difficulty when I see it. Even Zelda 2 is reasonable for me I think. Sonic 4 has parts where you will fall to the bottom of a pit, and it is almost uncontrollable. You will find yourself trying to cross the same obstruction time after time, falling to your death each one until you finally get it right. This can become excruciatingly aggravating when trying to finish a level and get a Chaos Emerald at the end, as your 50 rings resets and for some, the last Signpost that you hit prevents you from going back and there are less than 50 rings from it to the end of the level to make the big ring appear. Even if you manage to access those Special Levels, you will find that they are absolutely terrible in about every way possible. From the musical score, reminiscent of the original Sonic 1 Special Level music, yet somehow sounding like it is coming from a baby's cradle or something... to the ridiculousness of moving the level itself with the control stick instead of Sonic, as Sonic is free falling through the level... By about Level 3, they get super difficult and tedious, and they do not let up. This is why I still have yet to get the final Chaos Emerald, after spending at least 2 hours trying earlier.
Now, those are just the major things I find wrong with Sonic 4... Things that I feel should have definitely been different, and things that I feel take away any glory given to this game by slapping the title "Sonic the Hedgehog 4" on it. However, there are a few more things that are okay, but I feel should have been different. They are as follows:
The Homing Attack - I'm all for additions to the old formula. Like I said, I loved the old Genesis games, even when all those extra Shield variations were added to Sonic 3. I loved that, and it worked really well. In Sonic 4, the Homing Attack is the only addition and it sucks because it is absolutely necessary in almost every point in a level. Enemies, boxes, vines to swing from... If you can hit it, use it, or get some kind of other reaction out of it, chances are you can target it and use the Homing Attack on it. This becomes a problem when you happen upon an area full of things you don't necessarily wan't to target, as the game auto-targets which leads to an accidental button press and having Sonic go flying somewhere you don't want him to be. But, I think it is okay that this game is centered around this function. Its one of those things that you just get used to with time, though I hate that the entire game is basically using this one attack continuously.
Picture Size - Sonic 4 is huge. Sonic himself looks huge in comparison to the older days, which becomes a problem in the Special Levels where there may be bumpers or obstructions that you have to go through the middle of. Sonic will end up bouncing around on bumpers, wasting time.. OH YEAH, did I mention that the insanely difficult Special Zones have a timer? They do, and there are additional "seconds" you can obtain throughout the maze, but generally, Sonic will waste so much time bouncing around that they end up being all but helpful. Anyway, back to what I was saying... The game is too "zoomed-in", and it just makes it seem like a different game. Its bulky and very much unlike the Genesis era titles. This seems like a useless gripe, but when you play it, you will understand.
Special Zones - I've ranted off and on about these through this entire thread, but I wanted to make sure everyone knew how much these absolutely suck. I played Sonic Rush, which took Sonic 2's Special Zone style and changed it up a bit, and thought it was fantastic. Sonic 4 tries to do the same with Sonic 1's Special Zone style, having you control the level (move it in circles) as Sonic free-falls through. Bouncing off the walls wasting time, running into bumpers, being thrown very easily into what used to be the GOAL area, now a bunch of !'s in red circles, which sends you out of the Special Zone. This is all-the-more aggravating because of the fact that you have to complete and entire level, successfully making it to the end with 50 rings (as old Sonic 1 fashion) and hop in the big ring to access the Zone. Since the Zones are very difficult, this becomes a tedious, disgusting process that is almost too ridiculous to want to complete.
Overall Character Design - In particular, Dr. Robotnik. Or should I say, Eggman? :sick: I hate calling him that. For one, they should have called in Dr. Robotnik again, and Two, he shouldn't be wearing those clothes. Those aren't Robotnik's clothes, they are Eggman's clothes, and though the two are the same man, I feel that Robotnik has been all but erased from Sonic history. His classic look, classic name, what all should have been in Sonic 4, is not there. You will find that other things kind of mimic this as well. While there are tons, and I mean tons, of throwbacks to the old games, design generally seems too new or based on new Sonic rather than old.
Now, by this point, if you have even read all of this, you will probably deicde to download the demo to Sonic 4 instead of going through with about a $15-$20 purchase, depending on your country's currency and the console for which you might buy this game on. If you have came to that conclusion, then good for you. If you are an avid classic Sonic fan like myself and can't help but to be swayed by this game's title and decide to purchase regardless, then good for you too. I respect that there are still those of us who remember a time when Sonic really was good; When the name Sonic didn't bring dozens of different, terrible games to mind, all with varying styles, but when it evoked a memory of a fast-paced, 2D side-scroller with excellent graphics and color for a Genesis title... When the name Sonic used to mean a game that was beating Super Mario Bros. at one point, in particular SMB3, which is widely considered by many to be the best of that series.
I encourage anyone who has 1200 Microsoft Points to waste to pick this title up, as it is a decent game in and of itself. But a continuation of the Genesis era, it is not. I find it having too many issues with gameplay and difficulty, stemming from an apparent lack of attention to what the fans want and what those 16+ year old titles still have that beats the piss out of everything Sonic Adventure and above, to consider it even on par with the good ol' days. This is just a classic Sonic fan ranting about how a new Sonic game, supposidly a continuation of the classic days, fell very, very short of its mark in comparison... But I am not saying that Sonic 4 is a terrible game, nor am I saying that people shouldn't try it out. What I am saying, to all you classic Sonic fans, is that this game will crush your hopes. There will be tons of throwbacks, from the look and design of levels to Robotnik's various machines to attack you with at the end of the Zone. Sonic 4 easily comes off as a collective remake almost of the classic titles, but it leaves out the core controls, the core speed, the core everything that made the classic Sonic games what they were.
Sonic 4, in comparison to the Genesis titles, is much like a replica of an old car you might remember from your childhood. A car that used to blaze down the highway, top down, cruisin' and listening to music and just enjoying life... But this replica only lets you drive in 1st gear, which will get you tops of about 15-20 miles-per-hour. Its the same car, but what really made that car great is toned down so much that it seems non-existant. I won't say that I am unsatisfied with the fact that I paid $20 on a Microsoft Points card and spent the majority of it on this game. Sonic 4 is Sonic 4 and whether or not reviews were bad or good, I was liable to buy this game just for what it was promoting itself to be. I have spent many hours playing it as well, which goes to show that it isn't a terrible game. Again, it just let me down with my expectations of what I thought it should have been, could have been, and what Sega told us it was going to be.
I have, at this point, completed all levels of Sonic 4 and obtained all but the last Chaos Emerald. Earlier today, I typed a huge review and, being that I was at the college on a computer I'm not normally on, the system had logged me out before I had the chance to click "Post Thread", resulting in a very angry Mr. Mosley who had wasted 30 minutes of his good time posting a review that became non-existent in about a half a second. Anyway, my opinion has only slight changed about Sonic 4 since the, so my review will stay relatively the same. The big problems I have with Sonic 4 are still big problems, but I do have to admit that after playing the game for a while longer, you get used to it and stop comparing it so much to the days of old. The only problem is, we were promised that this would be like the days of old.... And that is where our tale begins...
Sonic the Hedgehog 4 is a decent game in itself. Nice musical score, nice level design, fabulous graphics (especially in 1080p HD), and of course, its a 2D side-scrolling Sonic title, so there are many reasons to be happy about this one. However, those are about the only reasons, and some/most of them are loomed over by a couple of issues which I find painfully obvious and aggravating.
The first of these issues is Sonic's controls and overall speed. Why they couldn't just create or port a copy of the Genesis' titles engine and build the game from it is beyond me. Sounds like a simpler way to go and a sure-fire way to send Sonic "back to its roots". However, when playing this game, Sonic feels almost sluggish in his movement. He is not very fast, certainly doesn't seem as fast as he did in the Genesis era, which becomes a major problem when that is the very basis, the very heart and soul, the bread and butter of classic Sonic. This game does not control like a classic 2D title, and it is rather obvious IMO. Has anyone here ever played those flash games with the bubble graphics, usually theres a motor cycle one where you race on a course? Well, it kinda reminded me of that. There are many moments where, if you do have a bit of "jogging" going on, it is halted by enemies which have targets showing up on them. Oh yeah, the Homing Attack.. I'll save that one for later. The brilliant, magical thing about Sonic 1, 2, 3, and Knuckles, is that no matter what each new game introduced, the mechanics/controls/speed of the characters was always the same. Sans the extra power-ups and improved graphics, all of those games still felt the same while playing them. Sonic 4 does not feel like any of those, and being that it should be a continuation, I think that Sega really dropped the ball by not making it identical to its predecessors as far as controls go.
The second major complaint I have with Sonic 4 is its randomly placed, extremely aggravating difficulty. Sonic is a game that, as a kid and even today, I loved and could really breeze through. Usually, when a game is easy, it becomes boring. But classic Sonic never got boring for me, no matter how easy it got. Keeping in mind that I am a seasoned classic Sonic veteran, I think that when placing Sonic 4 with the others, it is easily the most difficult overall IMO. Sonic 1 was pretty difficult in comparison to the others, in particular with the Special Levels, lack of spin-dash, and lack of Super Sonic (which isn't really an issue at all). But Sonic 4 takes the cake. It starts off kinda hard considering the controls are not what one used to the classics would expect them to be. But its core difficulty doesn't come with the progression of Zones necessarily, nor is the difficult parts a "good thing". Trust me, I know good difficulty when I see it. Even Zelda 2 is reasonable for me I think. Sonic 4 has parts where you will fall to the bottom of a pit, and it is almost uncontrollable. You will find yourself trying to cross the same obstruction time after time, falling to your death each one until you finally get it right. This can become excruciatingly aggravating when trying to finish a level and get a Chaos Emerald at the end, as your 50 rings resets and for some, the last Signpost that you hit prevents you from going back and there are less than 50 rings from it to the end of the level to make the big ring appear. Even if you manage to access those Special Levels, you will find that they are absolutely terrible in about every way possible. From the musical score, reminiscent of the original Sonic 1 Special Level music, yet somehow sounding like it is coming from a baby's cradle or something... to the ridiculousness of moving the level itself with the control stick instead of Sonic, as Sonic is free falling through the level... By about Level 3, they get super difficult and tedious, and they do not let up. This is why I still have yet to get the final Chaos Emerald, after spending at least 2 hours trying earlier.
Now, those are just the major things I find wrong with Sonic 4... Things that I feel should have definitely been different, and things that I feel take away any glory given to this game by slapping the title "Sonic the Hedgehog 4" on it. However, there are a few more things that are okay, but I feel should have been different. They are as follows:
The Homing Attack - I'm all for additions to the old formula. Like I said, I loved the old Genesis games, even when all those extra Shield variations were added to Sonic 3. I loved that, and it worked really well. In Sonic 4, the Homing Attack is the only addition and it sucks because it is absolutely necessary in almost every point in a level. Enemies, boxes, vines to swing from... If you can hit it, use it, or get some kind of other reaction out of it, chances are you can target it and use the Homing Attack on it. This becomes a problem when you happen upon an area full of things you don't necessarily wan't to target, as the game auto-targets which leads to an accidental button press and having Sonic go flying somewhere you don't want him to be. But, I think it is okay that this game is centered around this function. Its one of those things that you just get used to with time, though I hate that the entire game is basically using this one attack continuously.
Picture Size - Sonic 4 is huge. Sonic himself looks huge in comparison to the older days, which becomes a problem in the Special Levels where there may be bumpers or obstructions that you have to go through the middle of. Sonic will end up bouncing around on bumpers, wasting time.. OH YEAH, did I mention that the insanely difficult Special Zones have a timer? They do, and there are additional "seconds" you can obtain throughout the maze, but generally, Sonic will waste so much time bouncing around that they end up being all but helpful. Anyway, back to what I was saying... The game is too "zoomed-in", and it just makes it seem like a different game. Its bulky and very much unlike the Genesis era titles. This seems like a useless gripe, but when you play it, you will understand.
Special Zones - I've ranted off and on about these through this entire thread, but I wanted to make sure everyone knew how much these absolutely suck. I played Sonic Rush, which took Sonic 2's Special Zone style and changed it up a bit, and thought it was fantastic. Sonic 4 tries to do the same with Sonic 1's Special Zone style, having you control the level (move it in circles) as Sonic free-falls through. Bouncing off the walls wasting time, running into bumpers, being thrown very easily into what used to be the GOAL area, now a bunch of !'s in red circles, which sends you out of the Special Zone. This is all-the-more aggravating because of the fact that you have to complete and entire level, successfully making it to the end with 50 rings (as old Sonic 1 fashion) and hop in the big ring to access the Zone. Since the Zones are very difficult, this becomes a tedious, disgusting process that is almost too ridiculous to want to complete.
Overall Character Design - In particular, Dr. Robotnik. Or should I say, Eggman? :sick: I hate calling him that. For one, they should have called in Dr. Robotnik again, and Two, he shouldn't be wearing those clothes. Those aren't Robotnik's clothes, they are Eggman's clothes, and though the two are the same man, I feel that Robotnik has been all but erased from Sonic history. His classic look, classic name, what all should have been in Sonic 4, is not there. You will find that other things kind of mimic this as well. While there are tons, and I mean tons, of throwbacks to the old games, design generally seems too new or based on new Sonic rather than old.
Now, by this point, if you have even read all of this, you will probably deicde to download the demo to Sonic 4 instead of going through with about a $15-$20 purchase, depending on your country's currency and the console for which you might buy this game on. If you have came to that conclusion, then good for you. If you are an avid classic Sonic fan like myself and can't help but to be swayed by this game's title and decide to purchase regardless, then good for you too. I respect that there are still those of us who remember a time when Sonic really was good; When the name Sonic didn't bring dozens of different, terrible games to mind, all with varying styles, but when it evoked a memory of a fast-paced, 2D side-scroller with excellent graphics and color for a Genesis title... When the name Sonic used to mean a game that was beating Super Mario Bros. at one point, in particular SMB3, which is widely considered by many to be the best of that series.
I encourage anyone who has 1200 Microsoft Points to waste to pick this title up, as it is a decent game in and of itself. But a continuation of the Genesis era, it is not. I find it having too many issues with gameplay and difficulty, stemming from an apparent lack of attention to what the fans want and what those 16+ year old titles still have that beats the piss out of everything Sonic Adventure and above, to consider it even on par with the good ol' days. This is just a classic Sonic fan ranting about how a new Sonic game, supposidly a continuation of the classic days, fell very, very short of its mark in comparison... But I am not saying that Sonic 4 is a terrible game, nor am I saying that people shouldn't try it out. What I am saying, to all you classic Sonic fans, is that this game will crush your hopes. There will be tons of throwbacks, from the look and design of levels to Robotnik's various machines to attack you with at the end of the Zone. Sonic 4 easily comes off as a collective remake almost of the classic titles, but it leaves out the core controls, the core speed, the core everything that made the classic Sonic games what they were.
Sonic 4, in comparison to the Genesis titles, is much like a replica of an old car you might remember from your childhood. A car that used to blaze down the highway, top down, cruisin' and listening to music and just enjoying life... But this replica only lets you drive in 1st gear, which will get you tops of about 15-20 miles-per-hour. Its the same car, but what really made that car great is toned down so much that it seems non-existant. I won't say that I am unsatisfied with the fact that I paid $20 on a Microsoft Points card and spent the majority of it on this game. Sonic 4 is Sonic 4 and whether or not reviews were bad or good, I was liable to buy this game just for what it was promoting itself to be. I have spent many hours playing it as well, which goes to show that it isn't a terrible game. Again, it just let me down with my expectations of what I thought it should have been, could have been, and what Sega told us it was going to be.
