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

That's a great idea imo, this way all 6 acts have a unique music track. I'd have still preferred they made 3 acts instead of 6 but remixing music is a bit easier than redesigning the entire game lol

 

What I think these reviews show is that - despite the protestations from large sectors of the fanbase - gaming critics really do appreciate quality in Sonic games. I think it's funny that they gave Forces 50-60 and Colors 70-80 when they are very similar games but Forces is just much worse in quality and desperately panders more. Forcing in Classic Sonic where it isn't needed and lazing out in level design and aesthetic will get you a lower mark!

In fact, reading some of the reviews is interesting in this light. WorthPlaying unfortunately goes off on one about Sonic's awful friends, but I think it's noteworthy that they praise Colors for not having Classic Sonic. Almost all of the critics who have praised the game single out its level design. WorthPlaying praises the multiple paths and shortcuts. IGN praises Colors for having imaginative and unusual level tropes.

Sonic fans and critics often have more in common than is often assumed. I'd say 75-80 is a pretty perfect score for Sonic Colors.

 

I think what often gets lost in the minutia of debates over Colors' quality (or other games in the series) in Sonic fan communities and such is that diehard fans of the series are going to have way more baggage with the series and what they expect from it.

Colors purely on its own merits is a competent, fun game - the journalists who aren't as heavily invested in what 3D Sonic should be are only looking at that. Iizuka said at the time of Colors' original development that they were primarily targeting Wii owners who'd never played a Sonic game before and would likely be much more familiar with Mario, and given the massive success of Mario compared to Sonic's ho-hum reception over the past decade (acknowledging that Sega's had a ton of success with things like the movie, comic books, mobile games etc., speaking strictly in terms of console/handheld releases here), that's probably not a bad bet for expanding the series' mainstream appeal.

 

Yeah, I've got to admit, after years of being plugged into The Fandom, these reviews are awfully refreshing. They're actually, by and large, a lot more nuanced than the reviews the original version got in 2010, even if we do also have a single, "This just proves again 3D Sonic was never good," take, haha. But a lot of 'em are actually giving Unleashed credit for laying a foundation for Colors and Generations to build on (NintendoLife notes that from 2008-2011, Sonic Team almost seemed to have 3D Sonic figured out), and I don't know if I've *ever* seen mainstream media treat it so kindly.

 

What the fuck did they do to Planet Wisp Act 1's music


The original game really made a moment of Sonic touching down on the Wisps' homeworld, with the tranquility of music being juxtaposed by the visuals of Eggman tearing the planet apart to create a dissonance that made the moment have that much more impact. It was a poignant snapshot of an otherwise lighthearted game. The new arrangement feels entirely unfitting and absolutely shatters the delicacy of the original. I know Sonic Colours isn't exactly high art but anyone can see just how much intention and thought was placed into that specific setup and, while the arrangement would work fine in something like Smash, it just feels like it's trampling on everything the original track achieved.

 

Some fans for some reason think gaming journalists have an agenda against Sonic when that's never really been true. They've not gotten it perfect but they're right more often than not.

Colors is reviewing with decent scores as expected because it's a decent game.

 

I have mixed feelings about this approach. Tropical Resort is an obvious case that could benefit from act merging, but Starlight Carnival and Aquarium Park have some humongous acts. The first act in Starlight Carnival in particular, contains a few scripted sections that not even skilled players can get through faster.

As for the music thing, I can think of at least 3 superior approaches:

• Sonic Generations - for the main action stages, you could change which song to play if you don't like the default background song, or if you just want to listen to something different. Not all songs are available from the start (some you need to unlock) but it's still a nice touch. I get that this was an anniversary game and that it had different bells and whistles than a normal release, but it wouldn't hurt for this feature to come back.
• Spyro Reignited Trilogy - you can switch between original or remake soundtrack on the fly, via the pause menu.
• GTA games on PC - user defined radio stations. You can basically drop songs in the correct folder, and they will be played whenever you turn on a special radio station in the game. Supported music may vary (e.g. music formats, DRM restrictions).

 

I just picked up a copy of the digital deluxe edition for Swtich. Can't wait. Reviews being good has me excited to revisit Colors with a fresh coat of paint.

 

The only thing that really annoys me with gaming journalists' attitude about Sonic is there's often a ton of revisionism baked into any series-wide analysis along the lines of "every Sonic game is terrible except possibly the Genesis games," and even then there's no shortage of shit hot takes about how even the Genesis series was terrible.

Like one thing that stuck out to me in the (otherwise very positive and even-handed) IGN review is the guy mentioned Sonic 4: Episode I as a low point in the series similar to Sonic 06... except Sonic 4 received the same 8/10 score from IGN that they handed Colors Ultimate. So it's like anytime there's a decent Sonic release you get this narrative of "ah, yes, finally, a GOOD Sonic game, unlike that trash we also said was a GOOD Sonic game back when it came out." (To be fair, the Sonic 4 review was written by a different critic, but still)

The only games where I feel there's any recognition of this are the Adventure games, where the Dreamcast releases were so highly praised and the GameCube-and-onward releases were scrutinized much more heavily, and then it's just chalked up to age or whatever. Everything else? Heroes, Shadow, Unleashed, Secret Rings, Sonic 4, etc. Even occasionally with Colors or Generations, it doesn't matter if an outlet gave them a good review at launch, you can still expect them to become the butt of the joke at some point down the line (thinking of the infamous GameTrailers video that suggested that calling Generations a good game was delusional, despite Generations receiving an 8.1/10 there, and the ensuing bickering on Twitter between the GameTrailers and official Sonic accounts).

 

Holy shit- this really is the new SADX, huh?

 

LOL! Already a list of glitches.

 

Oh boy. What an excellent use of your early access review code, in an era when games frequently receive day-one patches, and none of the actual reviews (probably paid off by Sega, right?) have made a big deal about glitches.

 

That's hilarious. And of course people will damage control, saying the day 1 patch will fix everything.

Yeah like Forces day 1 patch that fixed like... one bug?

 

Well, the nice thing about a 2021 release compared to a 2003 release is it should be a lot easier to patch that stuff out - and at least for the PC release, for the fans to take matters into their own hands if Sega leaves in major bugs.

Also, I can't say I've watched all of the video but at least for the first few minutes, while there's a few bugs that I'd consider to meaningfully affect gameplay (the camera glitching out for Jade Wisp, and Tails breaking the quick-step section), most seem audiovisual in nature which while annoying wouldn't take me out of the game. Nothing to the extent of say, dropping through a hole in the first loop in Emerald Coast if you're holding the analog stick the wrong way (as in SADX).

 

I mean, it very well could fix most of those glitches. Will it? I can wait until Tuesday to find out.

 

Yikessss some of these are really really bad. Like you better patch this shit because this just makes you look bad otherwise sort of bad.

What the fuck are even some of these glitches?

 

Please don't give Twip views.

Also what Josh said.

 

Just curious what's wrong with the guy? I know nothing about him honestly

 

Yeah, like I said, as someone who's felt, at times, quite detached from the fandom for the past year or two, seeing Colors Ultimate review this way is both refreshing and reassuring. It hasn't fallen victim to the curse where ports/remasters of 3D Sonic games tend to review significantly worse than the original release. Still breaking cycles all these years later. :P