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

Don't forget Honey.

I feel like even just copying the bubble shield instead would have been more compelling since that move at least has similarities to Amy's Advance slam attack and really it's a more fun and distinctive ability to toy around with.

 

The issue arises by how much harder and slower Knuckles' character-specific paths are. At least that's how I remember them anyway. Also, if memory doesn't fail me, some bosses also get harder.

Not to mention there's an order in Sonic 3 & Knuckles -- his gameplay being generally harder is due to the fact that he's, well, the After Story in that game. The game itself understands Knuckles as its own Encore Mode or something. Here, we have a multiplayer game in which pros and cons should be even more important for people to consider how they want to play.

Of course, the drop dash balances a lot of that out, but still.

 

In this video 2 of my previous nitpicks (which, subjectively, are not really mere nitpicks for me) were confirmed:

1. Speed of movement does not alter spinning rotation speed
   
2. Speed of movement does not alter running animation speed

For some people the above may not mean much, or may even go under the radar, but in the OG games and in Mania even (which was done with a great attention to detail, mind you) the animation cycle speed was affected -- and a lot -- by how fast the player was going. And this made fast traversal all the more engaging, and enjoyable. It made the world and the physics feel all that more tied together into one final, very cohesive and neatly put together package.

I hope they fix/improve this, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

While I do think that a double-jump is uninspired, at the same time no one in the main trio has it. And Amy always had a different type of abilities in every game, so I think it's fine if she is the one to have a double-jump in the classic era.

 

Has anyone fallen from a high spot and dropped on a badnik for a huge bounce [in the footage for Sonic superstars]
I saw only one semi related scenario where the player spun off a quarter angle thing and landed on a badnik. Just gained min height and fell like a rock. Idk how the classics treat that.

 

Depends. Is Lightning Shield in this game?

Not to mention there are deceptively some points where Knuckles lower jump is a REAL pain in the ass. Sonic 2 (where both characters always follow the same route) shows it for example. Knuckles is usually easier, but then you have some real pace breaker moments and THE LAST BOSS.

 

The music for the Final Zone Fly boss still sounds Sonic 4ish though, and they thought it was perfectly acceptable to stick Sonic 4 style tracks into the Origins version of 3, which is a bad omen for the music in Superstars.

 

A reminder that this is a game with a focus on having a multiplayer mode. If Amy was deliberately more challenging to play with than Sonic in this scenario, then nobody would want to play as her. The only alternative would be bringing in someone *else* to play as that was better than Amy... In which case, Amy isn't seen as a main character.

 

Don't know, but the Lightning Shield is occasional. And Sonic is the only character who can harness the special powers of the shields.

 

In the classics, if you drop on top of a badnick from a roll, you'll bounce back high in the air, back to more or less the same height you dropped from.

If you land on top of an enemy from a jump, it will depend on whether you hold the jump button (you'll bounce back to the top height you jumped from) or you let go of it (you'll do a small bounce, around sonic's height, and drop to the ground)

 

Again though, why a DOUBLE JUMP? Even if they wanna even the difficulty, couldn't they be a BIT more creative? Surely there's a ton of unique things they could do with a hammer, they already did so after all.

Even having Amy still like Sonic but with a unique ability of the same cleverness as the Drop Dash would have been a cool draw and likely made Amy an exciting popular choice instead of a 'boring old reliable'.

 

Yeah, the differences can't be major for the critical path progression. I'm sure the ideal pathing and secrets will be arranged accordingly, but Knuckles' jump won't be a means of deficit and Tails' flight won't allow him to leave others in the dust in co-op. Maybe they'll have the New Super Mario Bros. bubble system going on as a solution, but they might also just make many of the central paths universal ones. Hey, if there are character differences that change path options, it might make co-op a good way to experience a boss or segment they wouldn't otherwise. I don't know if I'd say the drop dash balances things out in more functional terms, though it will be quite good to try and keep momentum.

 

That's good to know. I did know about the massive bounce from a jump and it's insanely satisfying to do in the classics. It's be cool to see it here but an understanding omission if it doesn't make it in

 

For E-122-Psi's frustrations in particular, I think that isn't a good thing, as the dude is contrasting Amy and Sonic in particular and Tails/Knux have permanent movement advantages.

 

I made a video where I pet my favorite cat while talking about Sonic Superstars. I'm extremely excited about this game. From everything I've seen and heard about the game, it sounds wonderful. It's unfortunate Sonic Mania didn't get the name Sonic the Hedgehog 4 because Sonic Superstars looks worthy enough of the title Sonic the Hedgehog 5.

 

That's assuming they're actually temp tracks...

 

This game is being made by Arzest, the company which seems to put their all into crafting the most offensively boring games imaginable. They could have gotten anyone but chose to go with the worst possible choice.

 

Arzest is the company owned by Naoto Ohshima, Sonic's literal creator.

 

I think what bothers the most is that Amy has a fricking hammer, so you would assume her special move should have something to do with it.
Her jumps actually use it to max out the range of her spin, but it's not something you would think as an exclusive move to have with a hammer.

But again, I don't mind her having the double jump. But I do think she should have another move with the hammer, besides the double jump.

 

Sonic Team has top billing here, it's clear they're the primary developers. To what extent Arzest is involved we're not sure yet, outside of Naoto Oshima designing a new character.