Sonic Superstars: A New 2D Sonic Game (Fall 2023)

Agreed. Though at least to the point I'm at it isn't too too bad. I think the worst of it was the Sky Temple, that boss (though I thought it was a good boss overall) had multiple moments where I could easily reach him but since it wasn't time the game didn't let me. That can get annoying but so far it's not as bad as I expected from the reviews and others opinions on it. I think I might prefer a lot of these to Mania's. Though Mania had some really cool bosses (I actually liked the FBZ Spider boss) they always felt generally underwhelming, especially the end game bosses. Though I haven't made it to the end yet, here so far they feel like actual bosses.

 

So is there actually a trick to the special stages? Got all the emeralds on my first run anyway, but my different approaches didn't really seem to have any bearing on the outcomes. Was hoping you'd be able to get huge forwarded momentum by letting go near the trough of the swing, but nope.

 

I do find it interesting how half of the people playing this feel its way too hard and unfair while others love the game for those very reasons.

Guess the game hits differently for you depending on how much you don't mind the boss fights and the very long levels.

 

I have yet to fully form my opinions so I could go lower for sure. But my first impressions are that most the levels are enjoyable and the bosses are absolutely woeful. I'm not at all discounting what you say. I just might find some of the levels you find mid to be fun, like Lagoon City.

I'll post my full thoughts after taking the game in. But rest assured there is no apologism for the bosses from me. Atrocious stuff.

 

Everyone seems not to like the soundtrack and while I agree that some of them feel bland, I'd say they still fit pretty nicely in a modernized Classic Sonic game just like how the Sonic 4 soundtrack sounded alright. But I also enjoy autism music so I can't really be the best say of music quality lmao

 

1. Bombs are great for short hops of forward-upward momentum, but you need to tap the button a second time early so the bomb doesn't blow up in your face. Get the timing right and it gives you a nice quick hop.
2. prioritize rings and the dash lines as much as possible, even if you have to go out of your way to reach the latter, as they always zip you closer to the emerald/token.
3. Move the stick around quickly after getting the dash line, as you may instantly be in range of the emerald if you're close enough.
4. Move high, then watch the pattern of the emerald and try to fall into it if it's moving in a loop.
5. It's all momentum based. Get used to it, and it becomes much easier after awhile. Practice on the tokens. I did them all but the 7th one in one go (7th took 2 tries).

 

Someone said long levels?

I can get why the bosses can be tedious because they make you wait too long to let you hit them, and I'm feeling this in my second playthrough.

But long *levels*?

I've genuinely felt wanting more *after every single act* in this game.

I finished the main story, playing straight from when the game unlocked (1 AM in my country) and arrived at Egg Factory 3 hours later before I gave in to sleep and was disappointed the levels and the game overall were so short.

My biggest disappointment was that there were so many 1-act zones. I expected 12 2-act zones, so 24 acts and I think the game has like 16? I didn't care for the fruit/character-themed acts, I really wish they were all regular acts.

Also, about the music, I was only offended by the Jun instrumentations and the fact the act 2's weren't based on the previous act (minus BIZ, SJZ and PCZ) but were just random tracks, unlike Mania.

Sorry if my thoughts sound like random ramblings. I think when the game feels less recent and I'm less hyped about the things I liked / sore about the things I didn't, and I'm able to re-play it a few times, I'll be able to give a more realistic and collected opinion.

 

Tee Lopes has confirmed which songs he worked on:
https://twitter.com/TeeLopes/status/1714807990312693904

- Opening/Title Screen (Arranger)*
- Bridge Island Act 1 (Arranger)*
- Bridge Island Act 2 (Arranger/Co-composer)*
- Speed Jungle Act 1 (Composer)
- Sand Sanctuary Act 1 (Composer)
- Lagoon City Act 2 (Composer)
- Chaos Emerald Special Stage (Composer)
- Super Sonic (Co-composer)*
- Invincibility (Co-composer)*

* with Jun Senoue

 

Haven't gotten too far into the game, only got through speed jungle 2, but I have to say I am pleased that we have a game with 2D boss designs that finally surpass the cleverness of S4:E2

Like I think S4:E2 is consistently worse than S4:E1 but the bosses in it were all pretty clever and almost made it worth muddling through.

 

Lagoon City Act 2 is so damn good. It's purchased real estate in my head.



Seriously, can we kill the "Mega Drive-Sounding" style and just let everyone compose? Honestly, the only zone that COULD/SHOULD have spun the motif is the cyber zone.

 

I seriously don’t understand why they’re in there when it’s not the entire OST’s direction. That style of production only makes sense when it’s part of a whole, “throw-back” approach (and even then, it’s not great). When you have some CD-quality tracks thrown in, it just makes those other ones sound so much worse.

 

Lagoon City Act 2 is so good, you could tell me it's a scrapped track from Sonic CD and I'd believe you 100%.

I really like Speed Jungle Act 2, which is composed and arranged by Hidenori Shoji I think. It doesn't have much in common with Act 1 but it's still pretty cool.


Sky Temple is also great, for some reason it reminds me of Chrono Trigger. Would've been even stronger with real instruments.

 

This feels like a lifetime ago but I just remembered LEGO Dimensions' Sonic music.

And yeah Chiptune seems like the go to for nostalgic throwback Sonic stuff, even outside SEGA.
Ironically even still they used other Sonic tracks that fit the themes. Mostly a bunch of sa1 and 2 tracks, and Lost Labyrinth instead of making their own Labyrinth track.

 

Hi that was me. I don't really think the stage traversal itself is too long, but I was including the boss fights as part of the levels to be concise, and those very much give me the same feeling as Mega Man 11's stages in the "jesus christ END already" department.

 

GameSpot gave it 7/10.

 

I straight up don't care how a given game rates compared to another game LMAO

 

Confused as to why this isn't in the digital soundtrack that came with the digital deluxe edition.

 

Got all seven emeralds! I really like these special stages.

For those struggling with #5, here's the trick: unlike the other special stages, the strategy isn't to play catch up. You have to figure out the emerald's path and get yourself to a position where you can catch it as it flies by.

 

So far I do actually like this game a bit. It's definitely not Mania-tier but it's actually a worthy successor to the classic games. It gives me very heavy Sonic 1 and CD vibes which I like. I haven't beaten the game yet but it's definitely a HUGE step up from the Sonic 4 crap over a decade ago. It plays, looks, and sounds good, but imo I'm actually finding the game fairly easy, Im on world 7 (I'm forgetting the name, I think it's the Press Garden one?) and I haven't struggled with anything at all.

 

https://twitter.com/AllCristina2/status/1714736611643003086?t=d_qjL94GUxcimvXFB7KTwg&s=19

A pretty good indicator on what Iizuka meant when he was talking about 2D pixels art earlier this year.


Glad Superstars is doing well tho...