Sonic and Sega Retro Message Board: FollOw - Viewing Profile - Sonic and Sega Retro Message Board

The game is now out on the Japanese store. Since I've recently invested in a Japanese 3DS, I got the game right away.

Since we've already played Sonic 2 to death, I'm only going to comment on the 3D additions / whats new.

- Sega yell sounds broken right off the bat. Funny that the most striking part of the boot-up sequence didn't get attention.
- Emerald Hill has had the most love, with tiles in the solid rock areas sticking out, staggered 3d palm trees and flowers, and the backdrop in 3D. This level is probably the most balanced in terms of 3D usage.
- The special stages appear to either be remade and rendered in 3D, or possibly redrawn as 3D. Its obvious it switches between the original and old when you turn 3D off and on. The resolution on both is not enhanced however. I wonder how this is being done, it would be nice to see the code.
- Chemical Plant receives the least 3D love to my disappointment. The BG is on one layer and the level is on another. The water isn't on a different level and neither are the pipes. At the very least the mesh could have been in 3D like Metropolis zone is.
- Aquatic ruin isn't much better, however the BG is parallax at least.
- Casino night is just 'ok' with the neon lights and pinball table on one layer, level layout on another. The stars in the sky stand out pretty well.
- Hill top is a downer because most of the extra 3D goodies from Emerald Hill are not here. That doesn't make sense to me. Also, the cave sections in 3D are slightly odd as the grass floor tiles overlap and can be seen squarely cut between two 3D layers.
- Mystic Cave is fantastic! This was very surprising to me. They put effort into making the rocks stick out, and the backdrop looks beautiful in 3D. For the first time ever I feel like I'm in a deep dark 'mystic' (lol) cave. The detail in the purple rock background hasn't stood out to me so wonderfully before.
- Oil ocean is nothing amazing in 3D. Some poles are on a different layer.
- Metropolis is great. The 3D mesh wheel has had some love. And the level geometry has depth.




- Sky chase clouds are in 3D layers but thats it.
- Wing Fortress has 3D layers on the plane parts but it looks kinda odd. Nothing special. The chase up to space is pretty flat with the exception of sonic appearing closer than Eggmans ship. The conveyor belt is not fixed. ( no movement )
- Death egg inst very 3D but you can catch a glimpse of the space layer outside, moderate depth but still not on the Mystic Cave level.
- The ending is still black and white. The plane, propeller, and sonic are on different layers.

So all in all, 3/11 Zones actually look good in 3D. In comparison, I thought all the levels in Sonic 1 looked amazing in 3D. This has actually made me less excited for a port of Sonic 3 - I believe with the increase in level detail and the amount of levels has caused M2 to get a little lazy - not all levels have the polish they need. I think If they attempted something as large and detailed as Sonic 3 / Knuckles they would have even less time to make the effect warranted.

Hell, it may not even be possible with the 'GigaDrive' setup they have going with all the detail in Sonic 3. Maybe a palm tree here or there.

The problem is that they're not going to break the cycle until they release something worthwhile, like they did with Sonic Generations in 2012.

I look forward to seeing what they've got under their sleeve for the main series.

Interesting interview with the producer of Sonic Boom, Stephen Frost. Some highlights:

Quote

Developing a game within a series made to appeal to "non-fans" of the series. What could possibly go wrong.