Sonic Colo(u)rs Ultimate released for Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Epic Games Store

Yeah, we always think of the difficulty of Sonic games based on what WE consider difficult, not the regular people that don't play as much Sonic games as we do.

 

I'll add that even Sonic fans have difficulty with them.

This is of course just experiences so no stats to back it up, but I remember seeing a lot of fans not being able to clear the Sonic Generations demo during the first Sonic Boom event in L.A.

Whether they would get lost or die a lot during Classic Sonic's Green Hill, or not knowing how to control Modern Sonic's boost and dying because of it during his level.

Same thing happened with seeing people play Mania during the 25th Anniversary party as well.

And these were fans all decked out in Sonic gear and everything.

I still meet a lot of fans that never finished games like the classic trilogy because they were not able to pass levels like Metropolis or Scrap Brain. Or being able to get the Chaos Emeralds.

I remember when Lost World got a patch that fixed some of the controls, but thought it was unnecessary that they gave you more opportunities to get lives. I know getting a life after 100 rings is tradition and should've been there since the beginning, but at the same time thought the game was way too easy and gave you enough chances to get a life before the update.

Though I started to change my mind when I started reading people's experiences and understanding that sometimes people just have a hard time with stuff.

If it helps people have a fun time then why not? Seems like the Tails assist is something you have to get as well so that to me makes it even better since it's something optional.

 

When I was a little kid I just couldn't beat Sonic 2's final boss. And i'm not gonna lie, I still get nervous today when I jump on his chest because of those claws. That 0 ring is a pain.

 

I do think the above post has the right of it: games (especially on Steam) are left unbeaten for any number of reasons.

That said, I’ve got a thirteen year old sister who struggles to play any platformer/action games beyond Kirby, and even then she needs help with the bosses. I’ve no doubt there are not only thousands of kids out there just like her, but many adults too. I think making the game more accessible for those people is only a good thing. I just hope it’s an option that we more experienced players will be able to turn off.

 

Nono lol, the worst part for me wasn't just dodging the claws, it was how even if you did, sometimes instead of bouncing off the chest while it's moving, you'll pass right through into an unavoidable death. (Shudders)

Yeah, ease of accessibility can be a good thing. Games shouldn't be frustrating to the point of impossibility. Most of us are just here to have fun, yeah? Not grind our teeth. :p

 

I literally never beat Knuckles in Sonic 2 because I ALWAYS attack the Death Egg Robot from behind by jumping into the jetpack.

 

In all fairness, Knuckles in Sonic 2 is legitimately hard even for long time players. Only more experienced/skilled players can easily manage his lower jump height against the boss. It's very easy to royally screw up and you only need to do it once.

I have friends who watch me play Mania, which I consider to be a fairly easy Sonic game, who say how much they struggle with it themselves. These are relatively skilled 90s Nintendo gamers themselves, and yet they consider Sonic games hard, whereas I consider a lot of classic Mario or Dokey Kong levels to be frustrating, and consider Sonic to be an easy franchise by comparison.

But I guess skill is relative in all these things.

 

Did someone notice that rainbow/red rings and dash panels now have the spring sound mixed in? Could get a little annoying

 

All this brings me back to a party we had like 10 years ago. Six of us taking turns playing Sonic 2. Despite all of us being fairly proficient at the game and having completed it multiple times before, we all died at the final boss.

Twice.

Took like 15 lives before someone managed to beat him. A day of shame, indeed.

 

I can count on one hand the number of times I've beaten the final boss in S2 as Sonic (or Tails), and I know for a fact that I've only managed it once as Knuckles. It's bullshit. Fighting the boss isn't that hard in itself once you know how to do it, but it's not a particularly fun post of the game. And you can't spend any time at all trying to figure out how to fight the boss because a single misplaced jump, in a game that's otherwise incredibly lenient the whole way through, will cost you a life and you have to fight another boss with zero rings before you get another attempt. The S2 final boss, and to a lesser extent the SK and S1 final bosses too, don't test your skills with the game. They don't even let you figure out how to play. It's really bad design.

EDIT: The fuck has this got to do with Colours Ultimate? Lol, thought this was the Origins thread. Tails save is a nice new feature. It's a welcome modernisation, I think. Colours doesn't have any of the cheap difficulty of the Classic final boss fights, but I do remember a few unwelcome pits, especially in the gimmick acts. Tails ought to help with that.

Spoiler

There's my meagre attempt at staying barely on-thread. Sorry for the OT discussion.

 

Really not a fan of the lighting and seemingly new skybox in that Tropical Resort... Everything’s so dark, and the earth—er, Sonic’s world is nowhere to be seen. I’m guessing the former is due to the lighting engine, but I was hoping they’d like, use shaders that let the colors pop out more or something like that.

The music kicks major ass though! I wonder if each song is being redone by the original composers or if it’s just Ohtani. At least one of them is no longer with SEGA, right?

 

Bottomless pits don't belong in a Sonic Game.

 

SA2 and Heroes beg to differ (Heroes is just bottomless pits the game)

Anyways, Colors Ultimate. Ngl I really like how this game's looking now, I'm looking forward to getting it. I can't tell if those jerky transitions are youtube or the game though. Also, I'm glad this Sonic model uses the painted on smile still. You can tell he still has a mouth that can open, this must have been an intentional design choice. The painted smile looks better anyway, his natural lips on models can look kinda... odd

 

Has there been a single Sonic game that didn't feature them, at least in later levels? Even Scrap Brain/Wing Fortress/Death Egg Act 2 had them.

 

Sonic 2 Master System technically? I think all the pits are covered in spikes? Oh and Chaotix, that game has no pits from what I recall (vertical level designs don't lend themselves to pits, just falls that bring you back to lower levels). In fact I think both games, if you somehow manage to go past the bottom of the screen, you won't die because the games weren't programmed to do that.

And pits make sense in levels like Wing Fortress and Flying Battery at least. It's a floating ship, there's nothing below.

Did Sonic and the Secret Rings have bottomless pits? I don't recall, I mean I'd hope not that type of game does not need bottomless pits. Can't say about Black Knight one way or the other though, never played it.

EDIT: Oh Sonic 3D Blast didn't have pits either, but how would pits have even worked in that game?

 

Exactly! and they're worse because of it. Sonic Heroes kinda sucks.

The Genesis game had bottomless pits, but they were very few and far between. Usually a pit led to a lower path that was harder and slower. That's what pits should do. The last 20 years of level design that feature bottomless pits are a crutch to avoid having to make bigger levels with branching layouts. I'm going to stick by my assertion that bottomless pits should be in a Sonic game.

 

The sky with stars so dim!
The colours feel so grim!
Just take my hand we're gonna reach for the stars...
Tonight 11-years-ago-on-the-superior-looking-Wii-version!

Wii:


PS4/XB1:


I appreciate that they've made certain objects glow like actual lights, but holy hell is Tropical Resort looking all kinds of bad right now. It's so dark. The entire level is cast in shadow. The vibrant colours are not only washed out, but they're darkened too. It's like the contrast has been turned up to 11.

Seriously, what the fuck? If we're to believe that this was supposed to be released in 2020, God knows how bad it must have been back then.

 

The entire game looks like Mystic Jungle now, and Mystic Jungle looks AWFUL.