Do prices ever drop for downloadable games? Having played Sonic 4 to death on my iPod for the last nine days, I bought it again upon release on the Wii, and again completed it on launch day. It's a very good game, although having spent a lot more time with it, and having gone back to the other games for a while to jog my memory (Which is odd, seeing as I only played the classics the other week in the count down thread), it's lacking severely in overall polish. The physics needed polishing, which unfortunately sometimes means you'll be slowed down, especially in speedruns. I have had times where I've had to mess about getting myself off a verticle wall, which is not something you'd ever hear someone say playing another other Sonic game. I've also had times, particulary in Splash Hill and those chase sections, where I've instinctively tried spin dashing, only to not actually make it up the wall, or curled into a ball to fly up and down a half-pipe, to realise that actually, the physics don't allow me to gain momentum past a certain degree, which is what Sonic has generally always been about. I was surprised with the amount of nice little things they added to the console versions, like interactive backdrops, and the way Super Sonic affects Lost Labyrinth Act 2. I do wish Sonic would go from a stand still to a run a lot quicker, because it he barely just makes it on some jumps, and it can be awkward, and I also think that lives are too easy to come by- there's a large portion of Casino Street Act 2 where you basically run past some cards in the scenery and gain about 5 lives for doing nothing. Other than that, it's a fun, colourful and competent game, with enough to keep you going back for at least 10 to 20 hours. It'd say it's as good as Sonic 1 and possibly even 2, but they're in a league of their own in terms of what they bring to the table, and how they work. It's very difficult to compare it to the old games. Everyone's mentioned it, but I really want my (at least basic) physics back next time. The game stands up well on its own, but it also falls short in some areas.
Yea but you seemed so angry. You even scared my puppy! But yea, does it seem to anyone else that they kinda skipped over Sonic 3? They took all their references from the first 2 games, and kinda gave the game that practically everyone says is the best of the bunch the cold shoulder. Maybe they'll add some Sonic 3&K influences in Episode 2?
People remember Sonic 1 and 2 more. Thus more references. Hell if there was a useless enemy in Sonic 2 they would have used that instead of our friend bubbles. But they did reuse the Sonic 3 Game over and 1 up themes, as well as the wall chasing segments which could be loosely connected to Hydrocity Act 2
I think it has enough influences from all of the classic games equally. You have the rebuilding of the mechs and vehicles again, and a sway from the basic attack patterns of bosses. You have them giving Sonic some new moves too, and there are little things which make the game stand out from Sonic 1 & 2, like the way + - Super Sonic doesn't drown , and the fact that + - Super Sonic has his own unique music , which is obviously a step up from all the previous games. What it seems like they're trying to do is create a different type of atmosphere for each episode, so expect episode 2 and 3 to get a bit more Sonic 3-ey. Also, I don't know about you guys, but the levels I played don't really make me think of any previous zones, I mean, I don't get that 'old school' vibe from them. I know they're meant to be homages, but they seem like they're totally seperate from the old games, like the transition from Sonic 2 to Sonic 3, which for me feels like a good thing. Edit; And what the hell is with this level size comparing? We don't want to know which Sonic game has the bigger penis, we know that Sonic 1 & 2 have relatively shorter levels, and that's possibly not from a technical standpoint, but by the way in which the player navigates the levels due to level design, and of course, this is linked to how fast you do it.
The barrier shield system in 3 was great. The Fire/Water/Lightning double jumps were a lot of fun, and the fact that they've never returned in any game since is an atrocity.
@SpeedStarTMQ: Two things, + - super sonic does have his own music in Sonic 2. Secondly, the discussion over stage size was in relevance to the argument that Sonic 4 isn't the length of a full game.
I did actually mean Sonic 3 & Knuckles, and I can honestly say I don't know why I put what I did on that part. It stands that Sonic 4 is pretty similar in size to Sonic 3. Sonic 3 has 12 levels. Sonic 4 has 12 also. Then it also adds boss acts on top of that to make 16, as well as E.G.G Station, to make 17. Some of the levels may not be as large as in 'width', but they still take as much time to complete, so Sonic 4 is the size of a 'regular' Sonic game. Seeing as it's only one episode, I'm not sure why this discussion is continuing further.
Because that's precisely the argument. The argument is that Sonic 4 stages don't take as long to complete as Sonic 3 stages do.
http://www.sapphirecontrol.net/music/vg/so...splashhill3.mp3 Eh. Wasn't sure how to improve on the original piece much, so I took the mostly conservative route on this.
Damn, I LOL'd quite a bit. Sigged. Oh, and I pretty much agree entirely with the rest of your post. Just because a level is bigger does not mean it is automatically slower to get through, it depends on the contents of the level (Springs, boosters, floating platforms, etcetera.), not just the basic structure and pathways.
Yes, this should not be up for discussion. The acts in 4 are shorter. It's simply a shorter game. I don't know what you're trying to say about the final boss. That's not exactly a special thing. 3 had a difficult final boss of its own, and knowing how to beat the boss of a previous Sonic game wouldn't help you, unlike 4.
Let's go by total time basis. Acts in Sonic 3 take a speedrunner about 2.5 minutes to complete on average. Acts in Sonic 4: Episode 1 take a speedrunner about 1.5 minutes to complete on average, with boss battles that take about 45 seconds, plus the 5-minute final stage. 2.5 * 12 = 30 minutes (for a speedrunner) 1.5*12 + 4*0.75 + 5 = 18 + 3 + 5 = 26 minutes (for a speedrunner) There's not that much difference there, even if Sonic 3's stages are 66% longer.
Hmm. I guess I was right to begin with? I only conceded cause I haven't played Sonic 4 all the way through at full speed (lol Porpoise) so I figured maybe my judgement was just off. Pray tell, where did you get these numbers?
Well, I've 100% cleared out Sonic 4 Episode 1; all trophies, all chaos emeralds, the secret ending, the whole bit. It was pretty great! Kudos to all involved. Bring on Episode 2!
