Sonic X Shadow Generations thread, movie level out on the 12th

Loving this game some of the new levels are huge and really show that Sonic Team are now at the top of their game for level design.

Music is another high point too. Roll on Frontiers 2

 

Actually, this is the one bug I have come across - first thing I tried to do on encountering the first swinging platform in Green Hill was to balance on the edge, as that's exactly what I remembered doing in the original 2011 release back in the day. Was disappointed that it didn't work, hoping they can fix that in a patch.

 

After around 18 hours over a week, I have completed Shadow Generations. What a phenomenal game. It’s got its issues for sure but most of those feel like relatively minor nitpicks. I think this is the new high water mark for 3D Sonic, albeit one that leaves plenty of room for improvement. I sincerely hope Sonic Team is able to learn what went right here (as they’ve so often only ever learned the wrong lessons, or changed tack in response to criticism) and properly build on it with whatever comes next. It’d be amazing to see standard of control be combined with a proper Adventure-style spin dash (though not nearly as spammable) and open zones on par with white space but with fully fleshed out aesthetics and locales, not to mention action stages designed as tightly as those seen here but with the breadth of alternate routes seen in the best of Sonic Generations. If Sonic Team can figure out all that stuff and Arzest is able to correct the various missteps made with Superstars, Sonic could once again become a truly pedigree gaming icon.

 

I finally got my Sonic Jam skin. It’s cute!

I’m also still loving Shadow Generations. I’ve gotten in the habit of not holding forward while boosting and this is allowing me to pull of jump lengths reminiscent of the adventure era spindash jump.

 

Heads up for anyone having issues with the PSN codes, try it again, I was just able to redeem both my Adventure skin and Jam skin without issue on the PS5 store. Idk if it's fixed for everyone yet as I still see some people asking but its worth a shot if you haven't in a few days.

 

I love the double jump for Classic Sonic so much.
Too bad it's tied to the Electric Shield.
And a Skill.
And 70 skill points.

 

This is probably the most "quality over quantity" Sonic game ever release, even tho' I agree the game is a little too short.

 

[QUOTE="Blue Blood, post: 1083822, member:
It really plainly obvious to see the visual concessions they made for this game. Is it because of the way they made the time of day change in Frontiers, with ShGens being built on that? The HE2 did have much better lighting when it was all pre-baked in Forces.[/QUOTE]

I think what took me out is that Shadow seems to have this glow on him at all times. The game doesn't look bad but it does have something that makes it look off from time to time.

 

Is anyone noticing any glitches in Sonic Generations here? I'm hoping this is finally a remaster done great. I've ran into a couple issues, like falling through the floor and getting stuck on the Rooftop Run snowboard mission, and getting stuck on the wall in the Labyrinth/Hydrocity call-back in seaside hill.

 

Nothing really that I haven’t also encountered before in the original release, it just *appears* (could just be exposure bias) that they are occurring more frequently, other than one or two small things being broken outright as mentioned over in the bugs thread.

 

this is called rim lighting and it's done to increase visibility of dark characters.

 

It's applied to most actors in the game, not just Shadow, and it looks bloody awful. Like an accessibility feature that's forcibly turned on.

 

We know, lots of stuff has it, the complaint is that it's way too aggressive and makes him too glowy.

 

Not sure if this was reported in there, but if you bought the physical edition on Playstation platforms, your Sonic Adventure skin code should work now. I tried it and it worked immediately.

 

oh shit yeah, I just got the Jam skin last night, I didn't even see the email until now.

 

Any word on how mods work in the Sonic Generations side of things yet? Hedge Mod Manager detects Shadow Generations, but I don't know if that includes the Sonic remaster since all the codes seem to be generic or specifically for Shadow.

 

I don't know if this helps, but there is a page for the Generations remaster on Game Banana. Some mods are available at the moment.

 

The decision to split the levels into all-3D and all-2D really helped, I think. Act 1 stands out as the “main” act for each stage and doesn’t feel compromised.

I just finished getting the Platinum for the game and it is encouraging how much meatier the Shadow levels were. The modern Sonic levels top out at like 3 minutes each even with a heaping amount of 2D thrown in. Still substantially better than something like Forces but even at the time I felt like it was a downgrade from Unleashed (made most apparent by Rooftop Run’s inclusion in both games, and it feeling like a more substantial level in Unleashed despite coming earlier in the game).

Speaking of Forces, I actually found Shadow’s Sunset Heights to be pretty funny, it almost feels like a parody of Forces at times. The m.o. for Generations seems to be to somewhat capture the spirit of the original game’s level design, like this is why I think Seaside Hill has so many branching paths (to represent Heroes’ three-character setup which occasionally lets you take wildly divergent paths as each character), and Sunset Heights starts with the same kind of hallway level design that Forces was infamous for, complete with spamming orange boost rings and 10-rings everywhere with zero sense of feng shui.

 

Sunset Heights Act 1 is the most corridor-y of all the levels, true to its Forces origins. But what's interesting about it is the amount of time you're heading towards something in the background that's actually part of the level and not just decoration. It's the only zone with the Badniks that fire canon balls, introduces the ninja black arms that fly and dance towards you from the opposite end of the road and off course has the Death Egg Robots that first shower your path with debris and later you see Shadow fucking with them in a mini cutscene. Instead of simply thrusting you from one cool set piece to another like Sonic games and the rest of this game typically do, it's full of all these moments of build up and pay off. You actually get to see your goals change before you reach them. All of the levels in ShGens are part good at taking you on a journey scenery that changes from start to finish, but Sunset Heights in particular has a feeling of natural progression. Seeing something in the distance and then making your way towards it anyways feels great. One of my favourite examples is the clock tower from Rooftop Run in Unleashed. That's teased for the entire level, including the climb. Sunset Height ShGen does lots of mini versions instead.

With all that said, the transition to Radical Highway definitely hurts the level. It comes out of the blue, and by this point in the game isn't surprising either because it's the third time it happens. Those Radical Highway sections are fun, and the Sunset Heights one is the best. It's just not a great addition to the level as a package. I'd love to see them take the idea of those sections and rework them into hidden, optional Special Stages in the future.

Sunset Heights Act 2 is really bloody good too. Even the "authentic Sonic Forces TM" parts where it's just a bunch of flat floating platforms in rows from left to right manage to be interesting because of the way the way that you're interacting with the background. Both the Death Egg Robots, and sewers with laterally stacked paths actually play to the strengths of 2.5D design. That level took me by surprise and I have no complaints whatsoever.

 

I've only played the first three levels of Forces, so I don't know how accurate this is, but Sunset Heights feels so expansive. What I mean is that there are multiple sections with distinct-enough looks, which I doubt was the case in the extremely short original. In all honesty, some of these level picks in Shadow Gens feel like they would be a little controversial. I've always thought that Rail Canyon, Sunset Heights, and Chaos Island were considered "low points" or "that one level". Except for maybe Sunset Heights, because that game is considered a low point to many in general. I'm so glad that they made Chaos Island more fun, made Sunset Heights more substantial, and made Rail Canyon control better. Also Kingdom Valley is a masterpiece in this game.