The Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Megathread

It could use some tightening. Make the jump less floaty, fix the uncurling, let momentum persist without d-pad pressure, and power up the spindash a tad. Badabing. You got it. Also, is it just me, or does Sonic go too fast most of the time by himself? It looks like he could use a bit more traction in air and on the ground if you ask me. Maybe increase the gravity and acceleration values slightly.

Has anyone just typed into Google "Sonic 4 impressions" or "Sonic 4 preview" and seen the range of attitudes towards this game? It's leaning considerably towards awesome and retro, even if Sonic Colors might be a little more exciting.

 

Something I noticed about sonic 4 impressions and whatnot, when on gametrailers, was that sonic 4 videos and the overall game was rated a full point higher on gametrailers than sonic colors, and sonic colors was rated below the HD version of sonic unleashed. This was really weird, since I've never seen a score go UP after a game is released. It always starts high and then goes down. However, sonic colors is already starting below unleashed.

If you look at comments on sonic colors videos and sonic 4, it's kind of funny too, it seems the non-core sonic fanbase likes sonic 4 and the core sonic fanbase likes colors. Pretty ironic, if you ask me.

 

Yeah I have checked out reviews and such, and people do seem to have very nice things to say about it.

 

nearly every professional preview for the game has been raving

and not in the stereotypical PR way. They all begin in a decidedly unprofessional "all other sonic games have sucked" manner and then continue with "this one is actually good."

similar to the previews for colors, actually.

EDIT: Wow, I just typed in Sonic 4 into gametrailers based on what you guys said, and it's got a 9.3 rating by people who are watching it. MGS4 has a 9.2.

wow.

 

Oh, the times, they are a-changin', aren't they? Or at least they have changed recently, if this is more or less the result of classic Genesis releases, Unleashed and Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games.

Let's see how things unfold come November. It's sure to be a bang.

 

This Steve T from Nintendo Power actually knows what the fuck he's talking about. He nails everything: wonky physics, meh music and lack of charm. He also recognizes that classic Sonic was not about speed. He ends up liking the game, and maybe I will too (though I refuse to pay $15, sorry SEGA) but I have to give this guy an applause because usually mainstream video game reviewers don't understand classic Sonic and seem to emphasize a non-existing emphasis on speed.

 

I'll wager that he's just being nice because it's a preview. Previews are usually a "hooray [this game]" affair.

 

When they have the little banner on the bottom that says either "Pass" "Hmm" or "Recommend" It means it's an actual review. I'm not sure if they've changed that since the last time I've read it, but it looks like that was an actual review of the game.

 

I may have not finished it, but it doesn't need to be in order for one to figure out that Sonic Unleashed was terrible. Quite frankly I am not the least bit surprised that a Sonic game based on the automated daytime stages in unleashed is getting low impressions. What does surprise me is why Sonic fans are wanting terrible automated gameplay like Unleashed.

 

Oh, I didn't even notice that. My bad.

 

"Terrible automated gameplay" is an overstatement of its faults, that's why. It's fun. You just didn't have fun. Oh, well.

Sonic Unleashed was terrible because of the goddamn medals and the goddamn Werehog. The rest may not have been ideal, but it was still full of win in its own special way, and it deserves a chance to get better through sequels.

 

Given Sonic Team's track record with scrapping successful gameplay formulas, we should be lucky they're still using this one. We're happy with what we're getting now because we know Sonic Team could scrap it for something even worse at any moment.

[/cynical theory]

 

call it "terrible" and "automated" a few more times and it'll actually be true, we promise.

 

I also put forward that with Sonic Colors's stage count, there will be far more opportunity for the gameplay style to develop itself, because with Unleashed's limited number of stages, the difficulty curve for the daytime style was far too short-lived. The optional stages mitigated this somewhat, but a lot of them were too short or gimmick-centric (such as the stage built entirely around the spinning platforms from Chun-nan) to really count as developing the gameplay style, per se.

If there are more levels, however, there's more room to mess around with the kinds of things the player does—not so much to make it more difficult as to make it more complex.

EDIT: However, I do have a few pointed niggles with the gameplay style. One is a shortage of level-specific gimmicks. Another is the mindless ease with which the Ring Energy system allows one to keep their boost gauge up, which Colors seems to have improved on by changing the boost-source to the White Wisp capsules. A third complaint is that the 2D sections in the main story stages have a tendency to play like Rush-lite with a heavy emphasis on memorization, which Colors has certainly done something about. And then there are the gods-damned QTEs, which get really annoying at the end of the game. Colors seems to have... made them less annoying, anyway, I'm not sure I'd call those trick segments a "fix," but at least it looks like I won't be killed by a button sequence anymore.

The general boost-pad saturation also puzzles me, as the boost pads are rendered largely redundant by the boost dash. I do appreciate their helpfulness in straightening out my boost trajectory in the 3D sections, but even so, I consider the number an overdose. The overemphasis on speed is also quite overbearing on the whole; sections like Chun-nan's spinning-platform bits were tragically under-utilized.

Also, while many of the optional stages were interesting and challenging, others were frustrating and cheap. Especially when the sidescroller sections tried to combine boosting with actual gameplay. Memorization-or-bust isn't terribly over-fun.

 

Maybe if the same five people keep posting in this thread more, whatever they say will be true. I promise.

 

Oh, here's something I'm surprised to see that no one's said they're relieved about: He said that, unlike OH MAH GOD NO SONIC RUSH ITS SO BAD ARGH, there's a bigger emphasis on platforming than "automated" or "roller coaster" segments. And from what I've seen so far, there are indeed branching paths and level specific gimmicks. Yet you're complaining about menial shit as well as shit that's not even Sonic 4 related.

Quite honestly, or at least in my eyes, once you get past all the bitching and pissing and moaning, Sonic 4 actually looks good. Does that mean I should take Scratch and Grounder's advice and hang myself? No. Does it mean I should take their advice and stop posting so much? No way in hell. God dammit, before this game is relased, I swear I will have slapped some sense into at least one of you.

 

Shut up and go make me a sammich, and do it quietly. You better hope that toaster Tails built for Sonic doesn't make a sound when the toast is done or I will come in there and break your neck.

 

So your plan is to get more annoying?

Menial shit like... physics?

 

Okay, so, you're honestly telling me that sticking on walls is that noticeable? Providing you're playing the game correctly, you wouldn't even notice it. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it's not a problem, because it is. But are you honestly telling me that the physics issues aren't being blown just a little out of proportion?