Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I

While I don't agree with the reception this has gotten over the years, I can't really defend it much. The soundtrack is a huge mixed bag, I love Splash Hill Zone Act 1, the rest of the zone is good too, but the rest of it is either forgettable or just awful. The physics, as mentioned a plethora of times, is seriously stupid. My advise if you want to try it out, just take it easy and don't use the lock in mechanic, it will make it a bit more tolerable.

Sonic 4 was released in 2 parts, with years between the episodes. It is a return to the 2D gameplay.

The game didn't give a good first impression. First I had to install Java which it needs for the config launcher. Then, when the game does launch, “Enter” took me into the menu, but I had to use “Spacebar” to select items in the menu, and “D” went back. The controls say to use a Red and Green button which is nonsensical. It's like it wanted you to use an Xbox controller, yet Keyboard was the default. The music seemed set insanely loud too.

Like most Sonic games, it starts easy and based on speed, then gets tough with many aspects to slow you down.

I played Sonic Advance recently and one flaw is that the camera is quite zoomed in and Sonic is central which doesn't give you a lot of viewing range. Despite being played on a large TV, this suffers from the same design so you still don't get a good view at what lies ahead. Weirdly you can hold Up and Sonic will have an animation of him looking up, but the screen doesn't pan.

The graphical style doesn't seem to know what it wants to be. It's kind of a retro throwback, but a bit more arty, yet looks a bit low resolution. Sonic looks very shiny, and some animations seem janky (which was also a flaw of Sonic Advance).

The stages are reminiscent of past games but with some new mechanics like the torch puzzles and mine carts within Lost Labyrinth. I think some parts are just directly stolen though. The Lost Labyrinth zone where Sonic slides down a waterfall in an infinite loop until you leap onto the correct platform.

The boss in this zone is so frustrating. You have to do platforming underwater for up to 1.5 minutes. Then when you reach the boss, Robotnik raises pillars in a random pattern and it is one-hit-KO for you. So to try again, you have to do the platforming all over again. All the bosses in the game seem very familiar.

The menu has a level select so you don't even need to play them in order. I'm not sure what advantage the lives system has. If you aren't good at the game, you could run out of lives and then have to restart the level from the start, but with a small stock of 3 lives.

The physics seem a little strange. Firstly, Sonic seems a bit slower and takes longer to reach his peak speed. Secondly, you can stop suddenly rather than gradually slowing down based on your momentum.

If you are a Sonic fan, then you will like this game more than I did. It's not the worst thing to happen to Sonic, but the lack of original ideas makes this game seem very lazy.

Year: 2010
Developer: Sonic Team
Publisher: Sega
Console Played: Playstation 3


The Sonic Mega Drive games are amongst the finest platforming games of all time (and for you Kanye fans... OF ALL TIME!!!) Genre defining, console defining, nostalgic and cool as fuck! Then came 3D gaming, and ever since we have been plagued with abomination after abomination of 3D Sonic with stories and talking and cutscenes and all that bullshit. Basically Sega fucked up Sonic bad, to the point where there was a lack of interest in what used to be one of the most popular gaming icons ever. Crash Bandicoot, Mario, Tomb Raider and even the forgettable Sonic Rip Offs seemed to be doing Sonic better than Sonic was in the 00s. Sega eventually realised they had fucked up Sonic for good, and tried to reverse the damage. The first significant step was Sonic Unleashed on the PS3, which stripped the gameplay back to the basics, spin attacks, platforming and even the odd pseudo 2D sections for nostalgia sake. It still wasn't really a great game, but at least it was a step in the right direction... And then came Sonic 4, getting rid of the 3D bits entirely, good ol' simplicity, just trying to get from left to right, no storylines, no shitty gimmicks and fads, just pure Sonic platforming mayhem. But how is it?

Well... First off, what it does get right. It looks beautiful, basically just imagine classic Sonic, but in HD graphics and pseudo 3D visuals but still with strictly 2D gameplay. The controls are also wonderful, Sonic moves with grace and fluidity, and as trivial as a control scheme may sound, it really is one of the best parts of this reboot, as it just feels spectacular to play. The spin attack is back, even the classic locations, bad guys and sound effects all make an appearance, making the game irresistable to die hard REAL Sonic fans. In many ways this is the Sonic game that us die hard fans have been waiting over a decade for. After so many let downs, so many promises of "We've finally got it right this time", FINALLY those words have practically come true. For some, this will bring tears to your eyes, tears of joy in just how good it feels to be playing a GOOD modern Sonic game, with gameplay that is actually exhilerating and enjoyable once again.

BUT, I can't let the game off that easily. And here is my dreaded list of what the game doesn't get right. I wish I could have ended my review right there and told you that Sonic 4 is the best thing since... The other Sonic 4 (Sonic & Knuckles), but unfortunately that isn't quite the case. Sure the gameplay is magnificent, that can't be touched, but the game has a MASSIVE problem with A) Originality and B) Longevity.

Sonic 4 almost seems like an incorrect title, because there is literally one thing that has changed from the original Sonic games. The new homing feature, which itself is decent, but unnecessary. It's not the most exciting new feature, but it's tolerable. It doesn't improve the gameplay in any way, it's just kind of there. Aside from that this isn't a new game whatsoever, but a rather a pick and mix remake of parts of the first two games. The bosses for instance, are IDENTICAL to some of the bosses we have already fought in Sonic 1 and 2. The special bonus stage where you collect the chaos emeralds is a carbon copy of the Sonic 1 bonus stage. The level designs are nearly identical to some of the levels found in 1 and 2, just with the names and colour schemes changed slightly. Serious Sonicheads will be feeling a lot of deja vu whilst playing this game. The title Sonic 4 seems to imply a continuation of the series, a new chapter in the saga, full of unique ideas. But that isn't the case whatsoever. If the game was pitched as a remake of Sonic, I might understand, but the fact that they are pitching the game as a brand new Sonic makes me think one thing, the developers are LAZY. Would it really have been hard to come up with completely new stages, level designs and boss fights. I feel like I've already played this game, just not with the swanky new visuals. And this lack of originality has a knock on effect to how much you want to play the game. I've stopped playing this game already. Yet in the 15 odd years that the original Sonic games have been out I've never gone more than a few months without having to dig them out again!

And so this game gives its audience the most frustrating Catch 22 of opinions there is. We are simultaneously so ecstatically greatful that a new Sonic game has come out that feels absolutely fantastic to play, and gets almost everything right gameplay wise, and yet we are so infuriated that Sega decided to cheap out and rush out a game with absolutely no new ideas of its own to express. The end result is a game that is certainly great to play, but also extremely and unnecessarily flawed out of plain laziness and ignorance, that this game is still a disapointment in some ways, and will never be a classic game. And it was SOOO FUCKING CLOSE!!! I pray that Sonic 4: Episode 2 actually has something original to say, whilst keeping the great gameplay mechanics, otherwise this time I really am going to give up all hope of there ever being a great Sonic game once again.