Sonic Colours [Wii]

For context,i plan on reviewing Forces right after this because to my eyes they are the 2 most similar games in the franchise since the genesis trilogy....until they're very much not.

Sonic gets taken on many rollercoasters of automation and a whole species of creatures named Wisps decides to casually merge with him at certain points,either to take him on either an extended detour from what would be a straight line,or to suffice as both a literal and metaphorical foundation for the Amusement Park this entire game takes place on,providing spectacle with a mild level of control(that usually i do not like...looking at you Frenzy Wisp).On the downtime of that the "emergency replacement writers" Ken Pontac and Warren Graff(who wrote every game since,with the exception of Frontiers and what came after it) have tried to synthesize the overall mood of Lazytown and Happy Tree Friends(two projects each writer worked on) and have Sonic say the results of it.To me,the (occasionally) egoistic Sonic is throwing out what a hypothetical film reviewer would call Joss Whedon-isms,though it does sound mostly self-aware until the infamous Baldy McNoseHair cutscene ,though i do not hate that one either(it's almost like the average Bubsy quote in a way,and i have enjoyed these more than the average person).It also makes me think,
the Wisps are sentient beings and yet here is Sonic using them like that based on species alone.Does yet another collection of beings worship Sonic to the point some individuals argue he's actually a japanese mythology style god?.



Moving on,the way this game controls is ...i would not argue its smooth overall ,but the heft present is quite fun to master personally,though it does add to the claustrophobia this game's level geometry makes me feel quite regularly on occasion (actual amusement parks ive been to have filled with me with the whole mix of feelings this game makes me feel,except for the claustrophobia..as of now).There is a neat little air dash you can do when your boost meter is empty(most of the time,in my case) and sometimes with the right slope positioning you may even be able to gain the tiniest bit of speed,so if your interest in Sonic is dictated by elaborate physics shit like this,you may get something out of this that the other Boost games don't offer most of the time(while still having the boost as ability that is).This game has a lot of borderline puzzle structures imo and i'm not sure a physics puzzle would be worth it on top.And by puzzle structures i mean ,sometimes you gotta think,wait,use a wisp etc,and sometimes it feels like you're crammed into a jigsaw puzzle headfirst.

This game also does occasionally dip into levels i would imagine in Super Mario World romhacks or Mario Maker levels,like the autoscroller structures of Starlight Carnival act 3 and Aquarium Park act 5 ,which i vastly prefer to any autoscroller ive encountered in a mario game,EVER,or the half-insta death level that is Asteroid Coaster act 3 with its precise timed jumps against insta-death walls that honestly infuriated me even after ive already beaten this game once.

There's also the Game Land mode,used to unlock super sonic in this case,where every level is a reference to something else the franchise has done.3-1 being the Game Land level i think about the most because my god does Savannah Citadel register different without the skybox and all,this is such a strange level and almost uncanny in how it splits itself into exactly 2 paths the whole way through,i kinda doubt that i am even looking at Savannah Citadel here.



The biggest issue i have with this game is its red ring placement,it is literally *impossible* to collect every single one of them in advance,even upon memorizing the placement,bcz of how the game locks you into getting wisps only after certain zones and most of them are on wild detours that are very hard to come back from without spending even more in the level.You can add depth to a level if you want but i do not want to go near that depth because it will actively restrict me sometimes(if the depth was sentient).

The aforementioned claustrophobia is a flipside of this game's noticeably bigger presence of more basic and (some would say) "blocky" platforming and an overwhelming presence of 2D sections in what is advertised to be a 3D game .But hey i'm not here to get pissy they falsely advertised to me.The 3D sections here were slightly barren,but i appreciate the relatively increased freedom and i dig the abstract geometry and just jumping around it from time to time,especially the ones in Sweet Mountain,sometimes i wanna poke the walls of an amusement park ride,its a neat feeling.

Overall when i master this occasionally maniacal rollercoaster/funhouse of a game,it gives me the same shit eating grin Sonic had in the Advance games(sometimes it feels like the developers were having one too with these red ring placements,holy fuck,but i will never know),and i have had a blast speedrunning this game,and uncovered that the levels are quite simple and short (most of them boil down to straight lines polluted/enriched with powerups ala Kirby),some of which being completed in way shorter times than even the infamously short Sonic Forces with no wall clipping level glitches.It is as free as an amusement park ,that's for sure(not very),and you can barely boost thru it most of the time,but i loved watching what it unfolded on me.The way the zones technically have 6 acts but the surrounding 4 are usually remixes of 2 specific acts especially hones in on the maniacal part i feel,though sum of parts aside they manage to stay with me as completely different levels,and i usually played more of the experimental remixes than the original levels.

Sonic Colors is a game I never beat when I was younger. So I was excited to complete it for this retrospective and I wasn't disappointed. It is a game filled with so many great ideas that are well executed.

Sonic Colors is a direct sequel to Sonic Unleashed as it carries over the boost gameplay from Unleashed and adds to it. I still prefer Unleashed. But Sonic Colors is still a great game that actually made me audibly say "wow" which I haven't said for a Sonic game in forever.

The Plot of Sonic Colors is the most simple story we have had yet. Sonic and Tails are investigating Eggman's amusement park that was built in space. Upon discovering that Eggman is draining these aliens known as Wisps to power his theme park and a Mind-Control Ray, Sonic with the help of Tails and a Wisp named Yacker, try to foil Eggman's plans. The story is simple enough to be charming. But this is the first Sonic game where the story almost becomes obsolete, unlike the older titles. That said, this is the debut of Roger Craig Smith as Sonic. He does an ok performance in terms of the voice. But I hate the writing in this game a lot. The game tries way too hard to be funny and none of the jokes land. It's worse when they try to explain the joke which makes it even less funny. Overall, the story is tolerable. But it suffers from awful AWFUL writing.

However, the gameplay is extremely good. For starters, the level design is great and the levels look fantastic. Filled with so much color (Hence the title) and personality. And the music in this entire game is fantastic. Aquarium Act 1 and Planet Wisp Act 1 are great. As well as vocal songs like the main theme, Reach For The Stars.

The gameplay is a lot like Unleashed in the sense that you use the boost to tear through the levels while finding shortcuts and avoiding obstacles. However, there is a lot of 2D sections which I actually dislike and like. It's fine to have 2D bits but I wish there weren't so many. Anyways, the Wisps are the main gimmick and allow Sonic to go through levels in unique ways. You got the standard Wisps that power your boost, Laser which shoots you forward while ricocheting on obstacles. You have Drill which allows you to go underground, Hover which lets you float, Rocket which shoots you upward, and many others that provide so much fun and enjoyment.

Sonic Colors is easily one of the best in the series. Even if it suffers from repetitive 2D sections and a mediocre story with pretty bad writing. The game has amazing gameplay and music. Can't wait for the Remaster.

I have always wanted and will always want remappable controls in any game. Normally, though, I just bear through it. This game, however, made me wish I could change the controls constantly, especially since I played it after Sonic Generations.

This game and the 3D segments of Generations have the same basic gameplay. Basically, you run forward and press a different button to go faster. Certain segments will require you to dodge back and forth quickly to avoid pillars or walls. In Generations, this is done with the shoulder buttons.
Since Colours can be played with a few different controllers, there should theoretically be an option for everyone. But the dodging move is the main sticking point. On the sideways Wiimote, you press left and right on the d-pad, which is fine. On a controller with an analog stick, however, you have to use the analog stick. The d-pad does nothing. Despite Nintendo still being in their "notched analog stick" phase, this is still incredibly awkward. Despite having more buttons to work with, Sonic Team decided against using them.
I'd use the sideways Wiimote, but my hands are too big. I always end up hitting the B button, which causes Sonic to do a slow slide.

So, to sum it up, I hate the Wii. It had some good games, but they were good in spite of the Wii itself. (I will defend the Wii U to the death, however)
Sonic Colours would have been a far better game on a different system, as would any game, freed of forced motion controls and that awful sideways Wiimote bullshit. I thought the Wii was the dumbest shit ever when the Wiimote was first revealed to the world (I was 12 or 13), and I was right. (I was wrong about the DS, but that's a different discussion)
Every single thing I don't like about this game, aside from the final boss fight (which is always a problem in 3D Sonic games), can be traced back to the Wii itself.