REJOICE EVERYONE! THE SONIC CYCLE IS BROKEN! SEGA HAS MADE A 3D SONIC GAME THAT DOESN’T TOTALLY SUCK! BUST OUT THE CHAMPAGNE!!! WOOOOOOOOO!!!

Alright, now that I have that out of my system, let’s talk about Sonic Colors, which is possibly the best 3D Sonic game to come out since … well ever. It’s not perfect, but few things are in the Sonic world. I can still find some big problems with Sonic Colors, but I admit that my normal onslaught of gamer rage is subdued simply due to the fact that Sonic Colors is a 3D Sonic game, that honestly doesn’t suck, and that’s something I have been waiting for for a long time.

Why doesn’t it suck? Because the focus of the game is once again on Sonic The Hedgehog and not Sonic and Knuckles and Chip and Jet the Falcon and Big the Goddamn Cat! Sonic isn’t a werewolf this time around, nor is he a knight, nor does he fly a giant robot or some shit. It’s just Sonic, running through beautiful stages at high speeds while kicking Robotnik’s butt in the process. The cast of characters is severely reduced, and that’s a good thing. We only get to see Sonic, Tails, and their alien buddies, the wisps, and the wisps don’t even talk! So it’s basically a Sonic game that features only Sonic in levels that feature only Sonic speed gameplay, something that hasn’t been done IN THE HISTORY OF ALL 3D SONIC GAMES! Maybe that’s why all 3D Sonic games have sucked up until this point!

The story is simple enough. Robotnik (I swear to god if they call him Eggman one more time I’m going to punch someone) has concocted another evil scheme to try and take over the world. This time around he has built an amazing orbital amusement park by tethering several alien planets to a high tech space station. This masterwork of modern engineering, is actually just a front for his real evil plan, to capture a race of tiny aliens, called wisps, which are all made of … hyper-go energy … ugh.

OK, let’s get problem 1 out of the way: the story. The story is horrible. It works fine for the younger crowd out there, but it feels as if Sonic’s storyline has become more and more juvenile as time has gone on. In Sonic 3, Robotnik was burning down entire islands to get what he wanted. Now, Robotnik somehow has managed to pull several planets out of their natural orbit, and he still can’t take over puny little Earth? Why does he want to take over the world anyway? Couldn’t he literally just charge admission to his awesome multi-planetary space amusement park and be rich beyond his wildest dreams?

Many of you are going to hate on me for nit-picking about the plot of a Sonic game, but it’s really not just the overall plot that annoys me, it’s also how the characters react to it. Sonic has become far cheesier than he has been in the past, cracking one-liners that are honestly painful to hear in a voice that doesn’t sound fitting for him at all. I don’t know what his new voice actor was going for, but it certainly doesn’t sound right and it doesn’t sit well at all with people who grew up on the old school Jaleel White voice. Tails’s voice actor is more capable, actually making Tails sound like a boy this time around, but he’s mostly the smart guy/comic relief, so his lines aren’t actually written any better than Sonic’s are. You should either turn the voice acting to Japanese so that you can’t tell what they’re saying, or hammer on the skip button as quick as possible to avoid the train wreck this game calls a plot. Just because your game is targeted to a younger audience, Sega, does not give you an excuse to skimp on the writing.

However, my rage about the plot subsides when I think about gameplay. Sonic Colors is composed of multiple worlds each housing several acts and a boss battle. When I say several acts, I mean six or seven, not two or three like the original Sonic games. Each act features stages that switch back and forth between 2D and 3D in a very thoughtful manner. The majority of the actual jumping and platforming takes place in a 2D view, while 3D sections are more about dodging enemies and traps and testing your reaction time. It’s as if the Sonic Team has accepted the limitations Sonic has in a 3D world, and the game is better off for it.

The mechanics are pretty much the same as they were in 3D Sonic games past. Sonic has lost his spin dash and light speed dash, but instead has gained a double jump that makes platforming slightly easier. He still has his homing attack and a boost meter that fills as you collect white wisps or defeat enemies. Activating Sonic’s boost makes him temporarily invincible to enemies, but not to traps, allowing you to run through whole crowds of baddies all at once, but forcing you to keep your eyes peeled for stage hazards that will be harder to avoid at his increased boost speed. Sonic can also duck and slide while running, wall jump, air-dash, and has gained a new “ground pound” that is executed by pressing the crouch button in mid-air. In certain context sensitive segments, Sonic can also quick step to the left and right, skid and drift, and do stunts in mid air which, when executed correctly, bring him to secret otherwise inaccessible paths.

The controls are solid enough, as long as you are using a classic or Gamecube controller. Once again, the motion controls in this game are totally useless but I didn’t expect anything different from a third party Wii game. The one qualm I have with the classic controls, is that sometimes buttons are reused needlessly. For example, on the Gamecube controller the B button is the button you use to boost, but it’s also the button you use to drift in drifting segments. The A button is the button you use for both double jumping and triggering the homing attack, which tends to screw up 2D platforming segments somewhat. Meanwhile, the Y, L, and R buttons don’t do anything, which is just a big waste of controller space. Pressing B to boost is actually pretty awkward and the function would have been much easier to use if it were mapped to the L or R button. Unfortunately, you can’t re-map your controls manually, which is an obvious oversight on Sega’s part.

The newest addition to this game are the eight colored wisps that Sonic can collect. When Sonic has a wisp in his possession, he can activate it with a button press (Z on the Gamecube controller) and doing so transforms Sonic into a new form for a short period of time. These new forms grant him extra abilities that aid him in getting around stages and defeating enemies. For example, Cyan wisps transform Sonic into a laser beam of light that instantly rockets him forward, bouncing him off walls and reflective surfaces until his time runs out or he reaches a dead end. Yellow wisps turn Sonic into a drill that can dig through levels while magenta wisps turn him into a buzz saw that can climb walls. The list of cool powers goes on and on, and I’ll leave you to discover a few for yourself.

It’s these powers, and the interesting interplay between 2D and 3D game modes, that make Sonic Colors’s stages so interesting. There are so many ways to reach a stage goal, many more than their used to be in older Sonic games. On your first run through a stage you will notice transparent colored capsules that don’t do anything when you run into them. Later, you realize these capsules are actually wisp containment units that you unlock as the game goes on. Your first run through a stage might be a simple dash to the finish, but on your second run you might grab hold of a yellow wisp and realize that there is a whole new stage underground. It’s kind of like Super Mario World! Each stage also challenges you to find several “red rings” which unlock even more stages when you collect them, and when you combine these with the seven chaos emeralds (which you get by playing the multiplayer co-op mode) you can unlock Super Sonic who has unlimited boost and is invincible as long as you have rings. There are also challenge modes which ask you to complete specific objectives in stages you have already played, and online leader boards if you are interested in actually being the fastest thing alive … on the internet at least.

The most common complaint I have heard about the game thus far is its difficulty, and yes there are a few difficulty spikes which get more than a little frustrating as the game progresses. However, Sonic Colors does a lot to reduce this frustration, and generally make the game more fun to play. Checkpoints are plentiful, so you’re never actually sent back too far in the level if you die. 1-ups are extremely easy to find. They are scattered around stages, given to you as a prize if you get enough rings, and you can even get them by making Sonic break the letters and numbers in your score at a stage’s end, literally.

In addition, the game’s new warning system helps out quite a bit. Whenever you are in danger of say, falling into a pit or running into an enemy a warning icon will appear at the bottom of the screen along with a short beep. Many times this icon will change form to alert you of the type of section you are entering, such as a zig-zag line for quick-step sections. If you pay attention to this warning icon, you can quickly figure out which paths will lead you onward, and which will lead you to a quick death. It’s a good system that reduces the amount of trial and error you have to go through when playing the game.

As far as graphics go, Sega did a pretty decent job. The game is a graphical masterpiece and is easily one of the best looking games on the Wii. A lot of the stages are cinematic, and you will get to see awesome segments where Sonic runs around a space ship that is warping in through a wormhole in the background as the vastness of space pans behind you in all its glory. It’s quite stunning for a game about a hyperactive blue hedgehog.

The sound is hit or miss as far as music goes. Most of the stage tunes are quite memorable and fun to listen to. Some of the arranged piano mixes are even worth adding to your iTunes collection, so I definitely give Sega major credit as far as the soundtrack is concerned. Just try and steer clear of the main theme song “Reach for the Stars” whenever you can. It’s one of the worst themes Sonic has ever had and listening it or any derivation or remix of it makes you want to go out to the park and punch babies. It’s really, just, that, bad.

If you are a Sonic fan, you should probably pick up Sonic Colors as soon as possible. You know that Sega could start regressing at any time, and before you know it we will see Sonic fighting robots in ancient china with a laser spear or something. I won’t say that Sonic Colors has definitely broken the Sonic Cycle of bad games forever, but I will say it’s a profound leap in the right direction. Let’s just hope that Sonic Team has learned from its mistakes for good this time. If the next Sonic game that comes out is Sonic Ultimate Vampire Space Battle X or some stupid shit like that, I think I’ll actually take a trip to Sega’s offices, in order to light the Sonic Team on fire.

Until next time, stay way past cool!

Related posts on 30ninjas.com:

• Sonic Colors — A Sonic Game That Doesn’t Totally Suck
• Sonic Colors DS Review — Even Better Than the Wii Version
• Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 Review — It Doesn’t Suck! Hallelujah It Doesn’t Suck!!!
• Sonic 4: Episode 2 in Early Development
• The Second Second Coming of Sonic
• Rampant Cheating Resets Sonic Scoreboard