Sonic 4: Episode 2 Discussion

Or if you guys want more original compositions without straight up lifting the Genesis sounds...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldW2lOT-ZoM

Because Sonic 4 would honestly have been better off going in this direction.

 

From what I can see, Sega have released a grand total of three WiiWare games in the entire history of the console. One is Sonic 4 Episode I, another is Pole's Big Adventure (a retro Nintendo parody thing) and the third is Let's Catch, which they published for Prope. I don't believe the latter two have left Japan.

Dropping support for it is not in the least bit surprising because it is quite literally a case of one game being released over three and a half years. And the common consensus was that WiiWare Sonic 4 was worse than its XBLA/PSN counterparts anyway.



This is only an issue if you only own a Wii. And if you only own a Wii, that's effectively an entire generation of games you've missed out on anyway, so another additon to that pile shouldn't matter. I agree, the Wii should have pulled its weight and this shouldn't be an issue, but it hasn't and it is, and you're suffering as a result. There's a very good chance you'll get the same treatment with its successor.

I've avoided the 3DS for this reason and I can't say I regret it.

 

Surprisingly, I haven't heard as much criticism of the Episode 1 music as I thought I would hear. Maybe I've just been in the wrong places at the wrong time, but from what I can gather, it was pretty hit-and-miss. Whilst the three acts of Splash Hill remain firmly stuck in our heads, I can't imagine anyone singing the Casino theme outside of Act 1's at a push.
Strangely enough though, and this is aside from the unused Boss theme, but the soundtrack as a whole had a very Sonic 3D Blast feel to it, which is interesting because that's the last time Jun Senoue really worked on 16-Bit tracks, and I do feel like that feel came forwards in Sonic 4: Episode 1 (Lost Labyrinth Act 2, for example, could've fit in very well with Sonic 3D's soundtrack... or at worst, maybe it could've replaced one of Golden Axe's boss themes. )

Alright, time to make this EP2 relevant.
As far as Episode 2 is concerned, I'm not sure if we'll get an improvement in music quality. That's just the feeling I get at this moment. I'm imagining Jun and Dimps throwing out some tunes that fit the levels well enough to get you running through them, but nothing that's going to stick in our memories for years to come, aside from the first few act themes.
Still, that's my paranoid side coming though.
The other side of me is seeing that SEGA are actually looking as if they care. Whether that's a front put on by Ken or not, we'll have to wait and see. It will also be interesting to see how well someone like Ken gets to communicate with the Japanese Dimps staff. Food for thought anyways.

Now here's a nitpick. I'm going to hope that the Act 2 and Act 3 mixes actually sound like the same stage theme remixed.
When you listen to Splash Hill Act 2 and 3, it's hard to place their tunes as being the same as Act 1. Unlike something like Sonic & Knuckles, where you know right away that both Mushroom Hill Act 1 & 2 are the same tune arranged differently, or even Sonic Adventure 1, which had radical differences between 'act' tunes, but you could always hear the same underlying tune underneath.
Is that just me wishing for this?

Apologies if this turned into a 'Wishlist for Episode 2' post. These were just some of the thoughts racing through my head whilst looking at Ken Balough's fabulous facial hair.

 

I really enjoyed the music in Sonic 4; Episode I. I thought that on all platforms it handled the music really well. Some themes were better in the HD version, and some were just miles better in the Wii version. The Wii version itself made the themes sound more like MegaDrive tracks, but often lacked the crispness of the HD versions.

This time, I'd really like them to try mimicking the MegaDrive style even more. Generations has awesome music, but they've already begun trying to make Sonic 4 sound like a classic enough, so I can't really see them changing their minds and it being a good thing, especially for continuity's sake.

I'd be happy with them making something sound like this, giving the themes more than one round of looping, something the tracks in Ep I sorely needed, as it made them sound a bit amatuer at times.

 

No, I'd like this to, it's helped define a stage more (IMO) to have a set theme but give each Act it's own variation of it, it was kind of brought back in Sonic Generations with the Classic and Modern mixes, same song, just done differently and it reminded me how much I liked that.

 

Guys, don't forget Colors! The different act songs were done brilliantly there, with lots of variance between tracks. (with a few exceptions)

Most importantly though, all of the Act 2 and Act 3 arrangements felt like reasonable continuations of Act 1. None of them were out of place or too far separated. Planet Wisp and Asteroid Coaster are probably the best examples of this.

If the music here has anywhere near the kind of connection Colors' music had, it can only be for the better.

 

I do think no Wii version of S4E1 is kind of shitty, because when they release the first installment of a multi-part series, you go in with the impression that sequels will follow, instead of "lol buy a 360!"

If it turns out though that they're planning a Wii U version and Nintendo allows you to transfer all your VC/WiiWare content over from your Wii, I wouldn't have a problem with that.

 

This, exactly. The best example of "radical change, same melody" would be Red Mountain in Sonic Adventure. (Wildly) Different genre, different modal center, same melody (piano in Act 1, guitar in Act 2).
Sonic CD and Colors both adhered to the same principle as well.

edit: links

 

I'd be happy already if they'd compose songs with longer durations; the ones in episode 1 were far too short and didn't have any sort of build-up. This is why I personally think most of the soundtrack is mediocre.

 

I feel like I just wasted my money on Sonic 4 last year now that Episode 2 isn't coming to Wii.

Not because of your post though.

 

I'd like it if they actually made it a 16-bit game, with sprites and pixelation and everything instead of just trying to replicate the gameplay of the older games. It worked for Mega Man 9 going all 8-bit-style. At this point I'm not entirely sure whether I'd rather have that or an HD game, because they can both be really good depending on how they're executed. Although it could end up looking just like Sonic Advance given that they're most likely going to stick to Modern Sonic (not that that's necessarily a bad thing, I like how the Advance series played, especially its use of the homing attack compared to Episode 1).

Since this is Sonic the Hedgehog 4, they could build it off Sonic 3 the same way that was built off Sonic 2, and how that was built off Sonic 1. That would most definitely give it the nostalgic classic feeling they're no doubt going for with it that Episode 1 lacked. I know none of this is going to happen though, because so far they've shown that their idea of that nostalgia is copy-pasting level themes and designs from older games, and adding new gimmicks and layouts with a shiny coat of HD paint. Generations' classic levels were great, so if they could learn from those maybe there's hope.

As for the music, GeneHF said it perfectly with that example of Classic Rooftop Run. That's my favorite track from Generations, and the point about Act 2/3 being remixes of Act 1's tune is also a good one. Colours has one of my favorite game soundtracks of all time. Even though they are clearly capable of making classic-sounding music as shown by Overlord, I do think I like the high-quality orchestrated songs of Generations and Colours (and also Heroes) a little better. But it all really boils down to the music itself, and although instrumentation is important I think as long as they avoid Episode 1's style they should do fine, so I'd be happy either way.

 

Regardless of the Wii U I think the decision to skip the Wii for the second part of an EPISODIC release is a bad business decision. They should have just let out the Wii from the series altogether. THAT was the mistake. I was lucky enough to get a Wii as a gift, therefore I don't feel as ripped off, but the principal is just the same. It's interesting to see not one but 2 consoles go beyond the usual 5 year cycle. Luckily for me I happen to have an Android phone (and hopefully its new enough to even run the game). How would have everyone reacted if Sonic 3 were on the Genesis and S&K on the Saturn....only to later learn the truth about what happened? The lock on gimmick was sleazy enough in my opinion, but that is a different battle from a different day.

 

I don't understand what the fuck they were thinking by this whole episodic concept in the first place. Episode I should've just been called "Sonic Classic" or "Sonic Retro" or something of the sort, and the following game should've been the same with a "2" slapped on.

 

There being no Wii version wouldn't be an issue for me if there was also a PC release. Steam has really filled in the gaps for me. But now I just have to wait and see if the iPod version will be cheap enough that I can get it without knowing if the touch controls will be any good. Chances are it will be too much for me to justify spending on an iPod game. (Sonic CD was different - I knew what I was getting.)

 

Tails hasn't been playable in a Sonic title since 2006 (unless you count spin-offs and Sonic CD). 2012 is Tails' 20th birthday. That's kind of a nice coincidence, eh.

 

Very interesting that it supports the same platforms as Sonic CD 2011. Can't help but wonder why that is. I hope that they release Ep 1 for Android eventually, wouldn't make much sense to only have 2.

 

At this point lets leave Ep 1 behind us. Well, release it on steam for potential hacking purposes. I'm still curious if the games will have any sort of lock on, and if so, will the changes from two effect one in any way? It'd be a nice treat for Ep 2 to simply house both games only Ep 1 was edited to conform to Ep 2, yet it'd only be unlocked if you bought Ep 1. I think that'd be fair.

I suppose it really depends on how much they edit the level art. If the level artwork is the same style I suppose all that would be needed is basically a patch to alter the layouts in certain ways, and perhaps updated music. I really all depends on how much Episode 2 is actually being changed. For one thing I imagine there will be less forced bubbles chains since Tails can't homing attack. He'd smack into too many enemies.

He can't homing attack in this game right? Please no.

 

Dimps seemed content with forcing homing attack into their version of Sonic G, so I fully expect it. I guess Tails will not have it? Personally I am looking forward to the hands-holding move I saw in the trailer. Should be tonnes 'o fun! And while I doubt it, I hope the game has online co-op or at least versus racing.

As for lock-on, they already stated that the episodes are independent.

 

Sonic Rivals 2. Black Knight and Chronicles to an extend either. And Free Riders.
Same thing about Knuckles.
Oh you said that Spin-offs don't count. Sorry then!
Anyway they've been playable in a considerable amount of titles since 06. No-one but Sonic was playable after 06.

P.S. Ewww, Kogen's sig.