[Adamis]

I remember being so hyped when it was announced.
There was also the fact that there was a member of a French Sonic forum who had access to unreleased art (at the time) from the game (mainly artworks of the Chaotix, Rouge and other characters) and he showed them to us secretly. He and Solly even got playable betas some time later and described some stuff (like Hang Castle, the Egg Emperor) that no one else had heard of. I remember that I used Vector's artwork as an avatar here or on Cult before I was allowed to, and had to lie that I made it myself to avoid him getting in trouble.
Fantastic memories

I've also finished the game multiple times on GC and once on X-Box. Not on PS2 because that version is the worst. I own the Japanese and Pal versions of the game on GC and PS2 and the Pal version on XBox and PC.
Yup I like the game despite its flaws.

[Dark Sonic]

The game looked so cool when it was announced. After the adventure series looking nothing like Sonic, I saw Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles flying through Green Hill zone 2. Also the Chaotix were back! It was magical. And then it came out and I loved it. Unfortunately I was only 12 at the time.

Now? I can't play it. I cannot get past the Casino Zone without being bored to death. Ya know what would have made this game better? If they kept the same 14 zones, let you pick what characters you wanted on your team, said fuck all to the different stories, and actually made some fun levels that weren't 10+ minutes long. What we got instead were levels that repeated the same geometry twice, and then you play that as 4 characters. Plus with the extra missions and the super hard mode, you essentially play each level 18 times over since you play the level twice over each time.

Last time I played more than 6 levels (because Act 1 and Act 2 did not exist despite them clearly existing) I felt sick to my stomach. Oh, and this game has by far the worst bosses to ever be in a Sonic game. Ever. I cannot express that enough. The game felt they needed a boss every 2 zone/acts, so we got 2 variations of Egg Bird, 2 Robot attacks, 2 team fights, Egg emperor, and Metal Sonic mk dragon. Top tier shit bosses.

Oh and it introduced health bars to enemies in Sonic games. Nope nope nope nope nope. This game was like someone painted the mona lisa on a turd. It stylistically was perfect for Sonic, but everything about it was ass.

This post has been edited by Dark Sonic: 07 February 2014 - 11:38 PM

[XCubed]

As broken as it was, it was the last Sonic game I actually finished besides Sonic 4 1 and 2. Granted Shadow was the last game I bought. I remember eagerly awaiting Heroes as it seemed it had been FOREVER since the release of Sonic Adventure 2. Time does funny things to you.

I loved that special stages came back, although The overall entrance and utilization in Sonic 2 was more difficult. I remember the secret to them was using Knuckles/Power character. Metal Sonic as "The Terminator" is still my favorite "Monster of the Week."

This post has been edited by XCubed: 08 February 2014 - 10:41 AM

[Dark Sonic]

XCubed, on 08 February 2014 - 10:37 AM, said:

As broken as it was, it was the last Sonic game I actually finished besides Sonic 4 1 and 2. Granted Shadow was the last game I bought. I remember eagerly awaiting Heroes as it seemed it had been FOREVER since the release of Sonic Adventure 2. Time does funny things to you.

I loved that special stages came back, although The overall entrance and utilization in Sonic 2 was more difficult. I remember the secret to them was using Knuckles/Power character. Metal Sonic as "The Terminator" is still my favorite "Monster of the Week."

I don't know why I never thought of it before, but why they didn't go the Chaotix route with Metal Sonic for the final boss is absolutely beyond me. It'd of been epic. Instead we get... a dragon. Which was a shame, since at the time seeing Metal Sonic's grand reappearance was just wonderful. He was ignored for a good 8 years, only to be ignored again for another 7. Now he has more show time than Shadow, which I approve of.

This post has been edited by Dark Sonic: 08 February 2014 - 10:59 AM

[NioZero]

Dark Sonic, on 07 February 2014 - 11:37 PM, said:

The game looked so cool when it was announced. After the adventure series looking nothing like Sonic, I saw Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles flying through Green Hill zone 2. Also the Chaotix were back! It was magical. And then it came out and I loved it. Unfortunately I was only 12 at the time.

Now? I can't play it. I cannot get past the Casino Zone without being bored to death. Ya know what would have made this game better? If they kept the same 14 zones, let you pick what characters you wanted on your team, said fuck all to the different stories, and actually made some fun levels that weren't 10+ minutes long. What we got instead were levels that repeated the same geometry twice, and then you play that as 4 characters. Plus with the extra missions and the super hard mode, you essentially play each level 18 times over since you play the level twice over each time.

Last time I played more than 6 levels (because Act 1 and Act 2 did not exist despite them clearly existing) I felt sick to my stomach. Oh, and this game has by far the worst bosses to ever be in a Sonic game. Ever. I cannot express that enough. The game felt they needed a boss every 2 zone/acts, so we got 2 variations of Egg Bird, 2 Robot attacks, 2 team fights, Egg emperor, and Metal Sonic mk dragon. Top tier shit bosses.

Oh and it introduced health bars to enemies in Sonic games. Nope nope nope nope nope. This game was like someone painted the mona lisa on a turd. It stylistically was perfect for Sonic, but everything about it was ass.

this happened exactly to me too...

[Nova]

Dark Sonic, on 07 February 2014 - 11:37 PM, said:

This game was like someone painted the mona lisa on a turd. It stylistically was perfect for Sonic, but everything about it was ass.

Exactly this. Even the final boss was pretty standard for a Sonic game. Looking back, despite finding it a bit 'meh' at the time and even worse now, literally everything about it worked for a Sonic game. It even had a few original tropes, too - ones that worked in the established universe.

I'd actually kill for a game with the same atmosphere and style these days but with better, more focused gameplay.

[Spanner]

Originally had it on PS2, there were a few frustrating things in that game:

• The rising lava part in Power Plant.
  
• The crocodile chase in Lost Jungle.
  
• Those fucking Special Stages. Honestly I hate tube based special stages with a passion but these ones? At least I managed to clear them when I got the PC version.

Either way, I wouldn't mind a Steam version. What's the hold up? There IS a PC port, but knowing SEGA they'd rather do things backwards by doing a port to the 360 THEN porting it to PC.

This post has been edited by Spanner: 10 February 2014 - 10:15 AM

[Nova]

Spanner, on 10 February 2014 - 10:15 AM, said:

Originally had it on PS2, there were a few frustrating things in that game:

Oh god, I originally played it on Gamecube at my friend's house then bought the game for PS2 as it wasn't until my birthday a few months later that I finally got a Gamecube myself.

That version had some glaring issues that begged to be fixed when compared to the GCN one. Not sure about the Xbox version but I heard it was a similar story. Graphics were washed-out, sound was delayed and the frame rate was awful.

As soon as I got my Gamecube, I immediately traded in the PS2 version for the superior one.

[Hinchy]

Jen, on 06 February 2014 - 01:07 PM, said:

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.

This is basically my exact opinion.
I've been doing a "let's play" type playthrough of it, and intending to play Shadow and '06 afterwards, called "Sonic Trilogy of Pain". The name was meant in as tongue-in-cheek a way as possible, but it's becoming interesting for reasons I didn't initially expect - the game is so glitchy and finicky and awful, so actually PAINFUL to play, that the videos are quickly becoming more and more about my horrifying descent into madness and anger. You can literally feel my jadedness increase with every episode. At the very beginning of the series, I was like "this game's not nearly as bad as the other two in this 'trilogy of pain' but it kinda belongs here" but no, it REALLY deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Shadow and '06.

This post has been edited by Hinchy: 10 February 2014 - 12:17 PM

[ICEknight]

Herm the Germ, on 07 February 2014 - 09:36 AM, said:

The game's fine to me and most of the issues people complain about (especially the special stages, which are really god damn piss easy), I don't find at all. O_o

Wasn't there a post somewhere that proved how the Special Stages were actually broken?

[Jason]

Of the "Adventure Era" games, as Generations PR called them, Heroes is my favorite, with Adventure 1 a sliver behind. The aesthetics are great, and there's the least amount of bullshit to finish the game (only 1/4 of it is boring, non-Sonic-esque gameplay, instead of 2/3 for the two Adventures). Yes, the dialogue is the some of the worst in the series ("Hmph, because we're Sonic Heroes."), and the multi-hit enemies, especially the big knight ones, were very annoying. But, getting Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles to work together was and is still pretty fun. I pop Heroes in a couple of times a year and play through Team Sonic, and find the frustrations minimal. However, I'll probably never go back and straight up collect 28 emeralds again.

[Covarr]

Jason, on 10 February 2014 - 01:13 PM, said:

But, getting Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles to work together was and is still pretty fun.

This is occasionally (rarely) used well in combat, but in level design it's usually too simple to be interesting. Switching to power formation because there's a wall in the way and a floor fan underneath you, for example, doesn't require any skill. It's a "put key in lock" puzzle except all locks take the same three keys, which you always have.

What could've made this a lot more interesting is a combo system, for example requiring Tails to carry Knuckles high enough for Knuckles to latch onto a high wall and climb the rest of the way up. But virtually none of the level design in this game actually requires two characters for layout-related reasons. Instead, what we've got are arbitrary stopping points where the game pretty much says "press X/Y to continue".

I do need to give credit where due though. I'd forgotten just how gorgeous this game is, but it really does stand up even against some of what's out today. Heck, it looked a lot better on GameCube than '06 does on 360.

This post has been edited by Covarr: 10 February 2014 - 01:29 PM

[Espyo]

ICEknight, on 10 February 2014 - 12:53 PM, said:

Herm the Germ, on 07 February 2014 - 09:36 AM, said:

The game's fine to me and most of the issues people complain about (especially the special stages, which are really god damn piss easy), I don't find at all. O_o

Wasn't there a post somewhere that proved how the Special Stages were actually broken?

Not sure about a post, but...

[KingofHarts]

Somehow I still love this game.
Make no mistake, it's pure shit... IDK I guess the love I had for the 3 character concept prevented me from ever truly hating this game. Either that or I'm biased towards anything Sonic.
Also... to the guy mentioning the "brawler mechanic"... I'd rather play as the Werehog if I wanted a real brawler mechanic...

Time to give this another playthrough.

[MartiusR]

Sonic Heroes was the first 3D platformer from Sonic's World which I've ended (not so far ago)... And it's quite surprising paradox for me. On the one hand - it's full of lacks. And it's not even about control (if you'll get accustomed to "moved to right" WASD (in this game - TFGH) + mouse, you can play without any problems even on keyboard). Not too "friendly" camera, quite annoying cases, when suddenly "not-too interactive" grinding suddenly drops you into moment, when you can easily fall, some embarassing dialogues & lines (I'm not writing about the plot, because it was never strong (or important) point of games with Sonic). But on the other hand - strong accent on "arcade-style" of gameplay (it's noticeably different from Sonic Adventure 1&2), not bad appearance of teams (Ok, two of them - Chaotix & Dark :P) and "something I can't describe" - all of these made this game surprisingly addictive for me. And even going through the same levels with all teams wasn't too tiresome for me. Maybe only in one case - Sonic Team and Dark Team had too similar way of playing through most levels. And what is more surprising, I've played in this game for the first time in this year (good it's working without problems on newer computers & system (at least in my case everything was fine), so theoretically it was "doomed to fail". But I've found out it was fun. I don't think that I'll have enough patience & skills to obtain all A ranks, but I'll probably try to collect all emblems.