[ultima espio]

So today marks 10 years since Heroes was released in the UK. Anyone marking the occasion? :P

I'm playing through the game again, and it's so nostalgic. I remember being so excited when I came home to find it had been bought for me My view of the game has changed since it's release though, I used to think it was the best thing ever and it was so amazing, but playing it now, the dialog is so cringe worthy. I keep finding myself flying all over the stages as well, and falling into pits when in Fly formation.

The special stages are still hard as hell, only managed to get the first 2 Emeralds with Team Rose. I have no idea how I managed it all those years ago ;_;

[Conzuh]

Good grief, I feel old.

I remember playing the game on my friend's PS2 but as I had no consoles back then, I had to wait for the PC release. Finally getting it was the best thing ever, but looking back, I'm not too fond of the Plasticine character models or mediocre level design.

Also, screw Mystic Mansion.

[Jen]

Ugh, Sonic Heroes...

I distinctly remember running to GAME from college to grab my copy on release day and then running home to play it - I was so excited and really enjoyed the game.

I replayed it last year for the first time in years... My god, this game is BAD. Anyone who follows me on Twitter might remember seeing me rage on there as I was playing it =P It's a glitchy, cheesy, cheap game that I'm frankly shocked that I used to love so much back in the day. Just horrible. Which is a real shame because the concept could have been brilliant had it been executed properly.

[Covarr]

I have better things to do than replay this one. Like replaying Sonic Shuffle or Sonic 4 Episode 1.

Seriously, this game is awful. I can kinda put up with the control issues, and I could tolerate the camera issues if they didn't lead to so many blind jumps, but the problems in this game run so much deeper. The vast majority of enemies in this game take at least two hits to defeat, making nearly every encounter in the game a required homing attack spamfest. The game does everything it can to impede forward progress EXCEPT platforming challenges, instead relying on doors that won't open until you defeat all the enemies and doors that won't open until you find all the hidden switches. Holy shit, these switch puzzles. And then there's the boss stages that consist entirely of waves of multi-hit enemies. Imagine if Sonic 1 had motobug horde bosses every other stage, and they all took 2-5 hits to defeat, and half of them shoot missiles which take more luck than skill to avoid. It wouldn't be good design, so I have no clue why they thought it was good for Heroes (and why they reused this awful trope in Rush).

[Nova]

Sure, I really fancy having to violently shake the analog stick in a circle three or four times to make sure I hit a checkpoint properly.

Jesus Christ this game is slippery. I re-bought a copy on eBay lately and while the visuals and soundtrack are spot-on, the gameplay leaves a hell of a lot to be desired.

[PsuitablePseudonym]

Covarr, on 06 February 2014 - 01:21 PM, said:

homing attack spamfest

Er. I don't mean to be rude, but you are aware you're supposed to use the other characters, right? And that the game works a lot better when you engage its mechanics?

I mean, yes it's not a brilliant brawler, but it gets a little frustrating when I see folks totally disregard the brawler element of gameplay.

[Covarr]

PsuitablePseudonym, on 06 February 2014 - 01:33 PM, said:

Covarr, on 06 February 2014 - 01:21 PM, said:

homing attack spamfest

Er. I don't mean to be rude, but you are aware you're supposed to use the other characters, right? And that the game works a lot better when you engage its mechanics?

I mean, yes it's not a brilliant brawler, but it gets a little frustrating when I see folks totally disregard the brawler element of gameplay.

I'm well aware. But too many of the enemies require Sonic's tornado thing to disable them before you can do damage, and Tails' character-throw is basically homing attack only it does no damage, and Knuckles' punching moves aren't fun. Regardless, there's virtually no variety to the battles. They introduce like two things early on that can change them up a tiny bit, and then never vary from those few concepts throughout the entire game, instead choosing to "increase difficulty" by adding more of the same at once.

[RuRi]

I remember having to get it on Xbox because they ran out of Ps2 copies in the store. That sure feels like a long time ago.

On Xbox I loved it and played it a lot, then I got it afew years later on Ps2 and found it to be awful. Then it came bundled with the Gamecube I got afew years later and when I played it I was like "ey it's alright I guess".

[minichapman]

God, I was half the age I am now. I remember my dad renting it from Blockbuster the weekend it came out then I remember getting upset and started crying when I realised that I wasted my whole weekend playing it when I should have in hindsight spent it with my dad as I had to spend the weekdays with mum.

[Overlord]

I actually placed a preorder down on this, the first time I'd done so for a Sonic title, after being one of the first in the community to play the thing. Ended up with an Xbox demo and a small t-shirt, after 2 pre-orders being placed and cancelling one of them. Such a shame the game ended up being such a disappointment after our initial excitement about it.

[SpeedStarTMQ]

I still really like this game, but since Sonic Generations and subsequent games released it's easy to see it's aged. Wasn't so difficult when the more recent games were Sonic 2006, Secret Rings and Unleashed, but compared to the newer games it's flawed. Still, an 8/10 is what I'd give it, it still holds up well.

[ultima espio]

Overlord, on 06 February 2014 - 02:37 PM, said:

I actually placed a preorder down on this, the first time I'd done so for a Sonic title, after being one of the first in the community to play the thing. Ended up with an Xbox demo and a small t-shirt, after 2 pre-orders being placed and cancelling one of them. Such a shame the game ended up being such a disappointment after our initial excitement about it.

Wow I remember reading that thread :/

Yeah Heroes had a lot of hype to it back '03. The biggest issue I had with it was that you always had to fly in fly formation, you couldn't run around as Tails or Rouge. I was mostly excited about the return of the Chaotix. I was really disappointed that there was no interaction between them and Team Sonic. All we got was that one line from Vector at the very end, "Knuckles, show em your powerful punches!" or something.

[Morph]

I actually bought it as soon as it was available... for the PS2. Even then though, I don't regret it. I kinda like Heroes in a weird sort of way. I still have fun playing it even today, but I usually only play as Team Sonic. For me, the Chaotix were new characters that didn't suck, since I had no idea about Knuckles Chaotix at the time, so that was a nice bonus.

And I agree with the fly formation thing; that always bothered me too. The others were satisfying enough though. I'd love to hack this game if I could manage to. Ideally I'd set up paths which each character can comfortably go through without having to switch unless you're changing paths. That, and make turning feel less like you're turning from the center of the group of characters (typically behind the main character) and more like it should... which is, well, not that.

[Jayextee]

I get a certain masochistic thrill from Heroes. When the game stops rectally-prolapsing you due to collision and camera fuckups and you actually nail a run, it feels good enough to justify the pain. You've got to put the work in though.

I maintain, before Generations it was probably one of the better 3D Sonics, though that's not saying much.

[Qtheman]

Holy shit, ten years? Wow.

Heroes was my first Sonic game, I think. Alongside Mega Collection, used to play it all the time (never beat it though). Have to say, even if it isn't very good, I still like it.