Sonic Superstars: A New 2D Sonic Game (Fall 2023)

I agree with your points, and the bosses are my biggest problem with the game too. But will say this is something time attack is good for, replaying the game without bosses.

 

Yes, but also no. Time Attack isn't the same.

• It will always frustratingly boot you back to the menu after clearing a stage, rather than moving to the next act.
• It has no checkpoints. One death and you're back to the start of the level.
• No bonus stages. I actually quite like both the Emerald chase levels and the rotating mazes!
• No Emerald Powers and Super Forms. I think this is self-explanatory. They're a big part of the game that you can't engage with in Time Attack.

 

The Sonic style guide needs to be thrown out of the window. If it fits, it fits. Put creativity front and centre, With Ohshima-san at the helmet, you can't do anything wrong.

Regarding Jun Senoue: I think he does Anti-Pop music. The melodies are great, but they're overproduced. Don't rationalize the ear.

 

Hmm. It's not perfect, but you could use the debug menu to jump from level to level a bit faster. When you exit (or complete) a level from there, you always go back to the menu. So you could play up to the boss, pause, and select "exit to world map," or whatever, which will take you back to the menu. You still have your emerald powers this way. Not sure if you retain the medals you earn, though.

 

I'm going to Rome soon! Will get my Sonic Superstars rant out of my system now. A 6/10 game which is dragged down to 5/10 because of the awful bosses. But as a hardcore Sonic fan I get a lot of enjoyment from it.

Graphics

This is in my opinion the ugliest Sonic game ever made. It looks like Little Big Planet but with all the joy taken out of it and a lifeless husk. Or a toy box where all the fun is taken out and you only have cheap plastic plain objects. Sonic is tiny, everything around him is massive, but in a way that looks cheap, undetailed and often almost textureless. There are garish colours everywhere and a horrible bloom smeared over the screen. I genuinely think the game is disgusting visually and I find it hard to play. Gameplay trumps graphics but this takes it to another levels.

The character models look great and their animations are amazing. But they stand out eerily against the horrible backdrops.

I also haven't seen anyone post this but I think the new badnik designs are complete trash and don't look anything like Sonic.

Sound

This game has a weak soundtrack. I will also say something controversial here in that I think this is easily Tee's worst composition output in Sonic. I find his tunes bland and uninspired despite his prior amazing work. Some of the other tracks are enjoyable, but none stand out as amazing to me.

Story

A great idea that is utterly squandered. The story is barely there. Fang and Trip have some good moments. Trip knocking Fang over in Speed Jungle is funny. Amy's interaction with Trip is entertaining. But neither Fang or Trip are ever introduced as serious antagonists. They just kind of show up. And in the main story Fang just disappears. Baffling. God also knows what Eggman is doing. Just seems along for the ride. It's far below the level of S3 and even Sonic 4 E2 honestly. I believe that game had a more engaging antagonist with Metal Sonic.

The plot beats are also all over the place. Knuckles taking all the emeralds and losing them....I genuinely don't understand the point other than to give Trip a silly plot scene. Press Factory serves as a serious middle section ala S3 and Mania. It's a really great menacing tone. But there's no lead up to it and it just peters away. The final stretch of the game also has several levels which seem relaxed and like any other level. So after the menace of Press Factory they just seem tame. And while Egg Factory 2 is cool, I have no idea what is happening in it.

Gameplay

Bosses are horrible as has been mentioned. @Blue Blood is correct there should be a way to turn them off. He is also correct that while Time Attack does remove them, this game has many levels which are not well suited to it for the average gamer.

The actual levels are fairly fun and gave a route of paths. There are some unfair moments (Cyber's dumb mouse section) but on the whole I don't think their challenge seems unfair. But nothing really stands out either. Just pretty fun. I actually found the standout levels to be dumb fun, like Amy Lagoon City. But fun nonetheless.

I like the character movement as everyone does. But special shout out to Amy. She's incredibly fun and way better than her Origins incarnation. I honestly think she the best way to play the game casually. Trip is also very fun.

I like the concept of collecting medals but think it is a huge shame that the robot Sonics are not playable in the Story Mode. Seems like a huge missed opportunity for extending game length and making medals really rewarding.

I thought the emerald powers are useful if very unbalanced. Bullet and clone are so strong while the magic eye one is very weak in comparison. But honestly I think I got more use and enjoyment out of these powers than most. I just spammed them constantly.

One thing I haven't seen many people discuss is how unoriginal this game is. New level tropes based on the most cliche ones imaginable (snow and desert because of course). But even worse, the game clearly rips off other Sonic games gimmicks, especially Mania, throughout. Doesn't seem confident or even interested in staking its own identity.

 

I guess I'm going to be that guy and say that I feel like Superstars' design problems honestly strike me more as decisions made by Sonic Team rather than decisions made by Arzest; because outside of maybe the graphics, the biggest problems with Superstars seem more characteristic to me of games made by the former as opposed to games by the latter. People are still raging about the the insane difficulty spike that is Frontiers' Final Horizon DLC and much of the frustration with the inconsistent soundtrack is because Senoue is at this point deliberately refusing to change his approach to mixing and composing MD-styled music, despite years of complaints--and all of the sound design is from the Sega half anyway. Even stuff like bosses with small windows and/or unclear mechanics showed up in stuff like Sonic 4 (Epi. II especially) and Lost World.

What I will cite as a criticism against Arzest though is that between Superstars as it stands, and where their past gameography is concerned. I don't believe in them as a team you can count on for either great execution or contributing great ideas on their own. (And if Naka's complaints about them regarding Balan Wonderworld are to be believed, they also are not a team that will fight for additional time to improve their work either.) If you give them a design brief; they'll implement it down to the letter and by the set deadline, for better and for worse; instead of trying to make changes or suggestions to either improve it or make it unique. Odd quirks aside, the physics was probably the only area where that kind of unquestioning attitude actually worked out for the better.

IF ONLY Senoue "didn't even try" for Superstars as sound director in the same way he "didn't even try" for Generations. Generations' classic half remixes I wouldn't describe as (wholly) MD-accurate, but they easily kick many of Superstars' tracks in the teeth. If he had allowed to just let all of the other composers cut loose like they did there, people wouldn't be stuffing cotton in their ears for, what, the fourth or fifth time in a row.

As weak as the presentation is, I heavily disagree there. Superstars is definitely low on the totem pole, but I think Sonic 4: Episode I handily has it beat as the worst-looking Sonic game as far as modern/recent titles go. At least Superstars is mostly consistent in its looks; Episode I has a lot of different aesthetic choices (pre-rendered 2D sprites, 3D models, environment art that's sometimes realistic and sometimes stylized like the MD games, cel-shaded characters, completely-robotic --in a bad way-- looking badniks, etc.), that are in blatant conflict with each other. That game is the definition of thrown together assets that arguably no other Sonic game besides Forces comes close to matching.

What really underlined Episode I looking so cheap even back then was the various platforming games/demos released around that time--competing games (Kirby's Epic Yarn, DKCR, LBP2, Super Meat Boy), unofficial Sonic works at the time it was revealed (Sonic Fan Remix, Sonic 2 HD), and even Sonic Team themselves (Colors). Superstars is actually on easy mode with it being released now, where Mario Wonder is the only other major new 2D platforming game arriving to town.

I also thought the new and repurposed badnik designs was actually one of the game's best properties. The only time I thought they didn't match up with the rest of the game's aesthetic was when you had the boss designs (and I think a few badniks) that were clearly cribbed more from "modern" games like Colors and Generations.

I'm going to say Superstars is getting a pass here because the bar has been set with years of seemingly corporate-mandated inclusions of remakes/rehashes of Green Hill, Chemical Plant, Death Egg, and the like; and verbatim recycling of stage mechanics (appearance and function) as in Sonic 4 and Forces. Superstars IMO tried a little more to put up a front about these levels at least feeling somewhat fresh in their presentation and design. And I think there are some smatterings in Superstars where they do go the Mania route of taking an old stage mechanic, but putting it in a new context; or actually implementing a formerly-scrapped level concept.

Otherwise, not much disagreement there. All of Mania's new levels, and even some of the Act 2 "remixes" of old levels, featured level themes and/or contained level gimmicks that were very specific ideas, and were genuinely new to the series. Superstars in contrast doesn't have much originality to offer, even if its more competently done than the past efforts. Most of the level themes here are pretty broad interpretations, and there's not enough of a spin to make them more distinct.

 

The game's Steam page has a new announcement:

EDIT: I've seen claims that the game was actually updated to remove the prompt on startup extremely recently, though I can't verify this beyond what this one person said.

 

Cool, but are the EGS services still required for the online Battle Mode? My assumption is yes and they're not going to do anything about it. They're just going to hide the prompt. I've also heard that there is no actual cross-platform multiplayer with console players, just between the Steam and EGS storefront. Can anyone confirm that?

They made a new post

 

I'm really liking this game so far, but the music is pretty weak for reasons already mentioned here.

Here's some selected links for an anti Senuoe pack, with custom tracks made by the community to replace all the Sonic 4-esque tunes. It would be great to see someone taking the next step and turning this into a fully fledged mod.

Sky Temple Zone
Act 1

Press Factory Zone
Act 1
Act 2

Golden Capital Zone
Act 1
Act Knuckles
Act 2

Frozen Base Zone
Act 1
Act Tails

Others
Fang Boss (Speed Jungle)
Miniboss
Eggman Boss 1
Eggman Boss 2 (Press Factory, Cyber Station)
World Map

 

My opinion on everything I don't love but can forgive about the game is being completely soured by Trip's story. Spending so much more time with stuff I happened to tolerate the first time around pushed it over the edge. For example:

• Thank God I didn't need to play Frozen Base Act 1 as Sonic, because it's a horrible, horrible level. Frozen Base as a whole is just the worst level in the game by a large margin, and there are a few stages I didn't quite like there. Having to play Act Tails again, an in a harder version of itself -- being crushed in the end despite being at max speed an all that -- felt like a horrible episode of false awakening;
• I had even enjoyed a few bosses everyone hated, in spite of the waiting times. I like what they do and, sometimes, what you have to do to hit them. But here? They just take longer, and defeating them becomes even more of just a chore. The inconsistencies in how you're supposed to take shortcuts only get more annoying: some badniks and projectiles just have to be hit from below, others have to be aimed, and some badniks have no effect like that at all. In Trip's final boss, sometimes the summoned badniks simply... phase out. You hit them, but nothing happens, which is honestly maddening;
• Speaking of the final boss, I hate it. I didn't mind the main story final boss. There was a clear advantage to playing well in the earliest stages: you save emerald powers and retain rings that will be needed for the autoscroller phase. Trip's final boss is just unbearable, and clearing phase 1 means nothing. I realized I needed to take a break when I stopped avoiding the missiles altogether. What's the point? Having more rings doesn't mean you'll survive more later on, and emerald powers just get replenished, so it's best to just get it over with;
• Unlike basically everyone else, I liked Super Trip. You know, abstractly speaking. I think her animations are cute. But playing as her and her free flying gimmick is miserable, because the levels aren't suited to her at all. Golden Capital is particularly impossible to enjoy with her, because the foreground/background transitions are simply annoying t pull off as her;
• Speaking of Super Trip, levels actively force you to use emerald powers in the levels. That sucks. I understand why they'd do that I guess, but it just sucks.

 

Fixed some links on my post that I got wrong. Sorry for the mistake

 

Yeah, I really hate this. Battle Mode sucks, so I'm given practically no incentive to farm a ton of rings to buy parts. In Forces, I 100%'d it to unlock all the gear for my OC, because I could take him out in the main game. If I could take my own custom robot OC out and play through the whole game as him, Superstars would have a nice and addictive wider gameplay loop.

 

Just obtained a copy of Sonic Superstars and about to fire it up right after I smoke a bowl and have a few beers.

 

https://twitter.com/BeatzYT3/status/1715522283140182080

Not even a week and we have a mod that makes the game Sonic Rush

 

Inaccurate. The roll is actually useful and makes you go faster downhill

 

It's a shame Sega went ahead with Denuvo AND requiring an external account for the Steam release, because people are complaining about the framerate on the Switch version.

I might as well get one that can play Blu-Ray discs. The PS5 and Xbox Series X are way too bulky and expensive, the PS4 can't play 4K BDs, and the Xbox One refuses to play BDs if it can't connect to the internet.

Does anybody have a recommendation? Better yet, does anybody know of a good way around Denuvo and the Epic Games account requirement? I might not buy this game until I can circumvent the spyware and malware.

 

The epic games requirement only applies to the online battlemode, while it DOES launch epic, you can go into files and delete them and the game runes just fine. Denuvo though, no luck, though ive heard its a less intrusive denuvo?

 

I'm playing Trips mode now, and the design of all the stages shits the bed.

I actually have done just fine against the bosses, but once I made it to Press Factory? The game's designers completely lost their mind.

Trip's stages are Sonic Heroes Hard mode, and I never bothered playing Hard Mode on Heroes because a lot of the difficulty is straight up cheap. They punish you so hard for even thinking of going fast it's absurd.

Trip's story was obviously created to pad the length of the game, and unlike the main campaign is, bluntly put, very poorly designed. I actually may not even bother to finish it now. I'm kind of shocked at how poorly handled this part of the game is.

They just patched it so the Epic store will only show up when you start battle mode now. And the version of Denuvo is not a version known to cause performance issues. It's not even in the exe.

I understand not wanting to support the PC version on principal (especially when they patched in Denuvo on release day), but I will say that practically speaking, it's not the house of horrors version people should freak out about.

 

Playing. Knee deep. This game is fantastic. I would rank it slightly better than Sonic CD. Only Sonic 3 & Knuckles is better.

 

I keep forgetting which levels have Act 2s and which don’t and I think, as much as the game’s weird, inconsistent structure and overly long levels are a big part of that, another factor is that a lot of these levels really lack visual identity. There’s basically no difference between Golden Capital Act 1 and Act 2. Lagoon City 2 is only distinct because it features much more water, but otherwise it’s aesthetic doesn’t change, likewise with Frozen Base only being distinguishable by you always playing as Tails for one of the acts…I think? I remember doing only Act Tails in my main story playthrough and frankly being able to access all the character exclusive acts regardless of who I’m playing felt unintended in a way, even if it is convenient.

Mania might be predominantly reused locales, but every single act (except perhaps Titanic Monarch) is visually distinct and makes a lasting impression. Chemical Plant 2 takes you into the factories, Flying Battery 2 is set during a storm, Oil Ocean 2 has the whole refine covered in fumes. Of course, it’s a trend Sonic 3 started, but Mania takes the concept and really runs with it where Sonic 3 only did it sometimes (for example, both acts of Marble Garden look the same). In Mania, you can show me a screenshot of any part of the game and I can tell you exactly what level it is, even if I’ve not encountered or don’t remember the piece of level design being shown.

And now @Laura has mentioned it, I realise this also extends to the music. A lot of it is sliding off my brain to begin with and, even if I like Tee Lopes’ contributions here, they don’t enhance the atmosphere of the levels in remotely the same way his tracks in Mania do (once again, Act 2 of Flying Battery and Oil Ocean are standouts, but see also Studiopolis and Press Garden, as well as Lava Reef).

The best thing Superstars does is getting me to appreciate and find joy in Mania even more than I already did. It’s remarkable how much of that game I’ve been taking for granted all these years. I can understand the team want to leverage 3D to enable concepts more easily executed in that space, but the presentation isn’t even a shadow of what Mania offers. If Arzest continues doing these, the art direction needs to be handled by someone else, because everything I’ve seen of their catalogue betrays a distinct lack of visual creative and auditory cohesion.