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Sonic Rush 1up Review

http://1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3145760&did=1

8.0 DYNAMITE!

With a bright, buoyant soundtrack, sharp, eye-catching visuals, and tightly-wound responsive controls, Sonic Rush is the Sonic game Sega's needed to make for years. Don't discriminate against Rush because it's a handheld game; this might be the most significant addition to the series since the first Sonic Adventure. Not only is it a great game, it also points to Sonic Team's recent commitment to bringing the speed back to the series, which should bode well for the upcoming, next-gen Sonic game. Sonic is, after all, the true star of the series, and it's a great feeling to see him back at the front of the pack. While a few tweaks and adjustments to the game's overall fairness (or lack thereof) would have put Rush over the top, Rush is classic Sonic gaming in a brand-new pair of shoes.
 
it's no surprise that Sonic's white-knuckle pace unseated Mario's more methodical pace, however temporarily, in the very late '80s.

What a glaring mistake. Bad journalism.
 
Got it few hours ago. The vertical dual screen view is a blessing. Music is awesome. Great impressions so far.
 
Is the game a racing game like second and third GBA ones or a platformer like the Genesis ones?

I hope it's back at what is was great -- a platformer
 
Wyzdom said:
Is the game a racing game like second and third GBA ones or a platformer like the Genesis ones?

I hope it's back at what is was great -- a platformer

Most will argue that Sonic is at its core a racing game.
 
sonic 1 was a racing game. it is virtually impossible to argue otherwise. half of what made the game was flying through a level in 45 seconds.

sonic 2 and 3 were straight platformers. no two ways about it.

from everything I have read, this is more like sonic1 and the sonic advance titles. take that for what it's worth.
 
borghe said:
sonic 1 was a racing game. it is virtually impossible to argue otherwise. half of what made the game was flying through a level in 45 seconds.

sonic 2 and 3 were straight platformers. no two ways about it.

from everything I have read, this is more like sonic1 and the sonic advance titles. take that for what it's worth.

arrgh... must...resist... the urge... to... arrgh... ok i won't.
 
it's no surprise that Sonic's white-knuckle pace unseated Mario's more methodical pace, however temporarily, in the very late '80s.

Late 80s? SMB3 completely destroyed everything and anything in the late 80s in Japan leading into 1990 in the states. It's the second best selling game of all time (SMB being best).

Edit: \/--- SMB3 was still king in the early 90s :P
 
There is a minor section in the pyramid stage where Sonic is forced into a beat-em-up type brawl including Z-axis movement. So let's all shoehorn yet another generalized label for that!

The game is rad, you barrel hurriedly through stages that are practically concocted out of that old board-game mousetrap. Just so many gimmicks and animated whoodads pushing you through, and with the (albeit limited) trick-system and the awesome nitro button, it's a total riot trying to just maintain that crazy speed while contending with whatever litters the trail. In some ways it's reminiscent of keeping a long ass grind line in JGR. Some light platforming is interspersed, but nothing out of the ordinary from the Genesis games.
 
D-X said:
What a glaring mistake. Bad journalism.

Just so I'm clear, are you refering to:

-The horrible wording
-The fact that Sonic wasn't released until 1991
-Or the fact that Super Mario 3 was one of the top selling games ever?
 
how the hell was sonic 1 a racing game? the only real levels you could fly through were the thre acts in the green hill zone.
 
btrboyev said:
how the hell was sonic 1 a racing game? the only real levels you could fly through were the thre acts in the green hill zone.

Agreed.

The Starlight Zone maybe as well. The rest of which you have to pace yourself pretty carefully(Marble Zone, Scrap Brain, etc)

Speaking of which, that was a really fun zone. Almost as fun as the Stardust Speedway Zone from Sonic CD...*ramble*
 
So do i understand Sonic Rush isn't like his Genesis masterpiece older cousins?
I mean, almost no zone could be RACED through, do they dismiss completely the god damned platforming roots of Sonic? Because speed sells? Faster = cooler = more sales?
 
Wyzdom said:
So do i understand Sonic Rush isn't like his Genesis masterpiece older cousins?
I mean, almost no zone could be RACED through, do they dismiss completely the god damned platforming roots of Sonic? Because speed sells? Faster = cooler = more sales?

:lol

If you TRY to just 'race' through the levels in this game, you will get FLATTENED.

The levels are so fast paced that you just want to run through 'em, but there's so many obstacles and enemies and platforms placed in front of you that, unless you've got the course memorized, you'd better slow the fuck down! The game taunts you.
 
SonicMegaDrive said:
:lol

If you TRY to just 'race' through the levels in this game, you will get FLATTENED.

The levels are so fast paced that you just want to run through 'em, but there's so many obstacles and enemies and platforms placed in front of you that, unless you've got the course memorized, you'd better slow the fuck down! The game taunts you.

Seriously i'm extremely cautious with this issue because that simply is the only single reason why i LOVE Genesis Sonic games and HATE any other existing one.
The first Sonic Advance was cool (read - it wasn't a race) so hope this Sonic Rush will be another Sonic i like. I sooooo fear to be deceived... AGAIN :(
 
Wyzdom said:
Seriously i'm extremely cautious with this issue because that simply is the only single reason why i LOVE Genesis Sonic games and HATE any other existing one.
The first Sonic Advance was cool (read - it wasn't a race) so hope this Sonic Rush will be another Sonic i like. I sooooo fear to be deceived... AGAIN :(

If you've got a way to try it before you buy it, I suggest you do so.

There are TIMES when the game keeps the action flowing...but as you read in many of the other impressions, there are parts where the action stops and you have to do other things like defeat enemies(there are enemies with more than one hit in this one), solve simple puzzles, or navigate across narrow moving platforms.

I think you'll like it, but I don't wanna be the one responsible for you wasting 35 bucks either!
 
If you're asking if you can just hold right and watch TV while playing, then no. Most every level has several serious floating platform sections over bottomless pits to contend with, among other things that slow down the pacing here and there.
 
ManDudeChild said:
Just so I'm clear, are you refering to:

-The horrible wording
-The fact that Sonic wasn't released until 1991
-Or the fact that Super Mario 3 was one of the top selling games ever?

-The fact that Sonic wasn't released until 1991

Anyone with a basic knowledge of games should know this
 
For those who have played it - What's the floor-to-bottomless-pit ratio on the game? Sadv2 and Sadv3 was filled with them, like the whole level was floating, and was one major problem with the game. The videos I've seen show very few pits, is it like that the whole game?

Also, how do you get into the special stages this time around?
 
D-X said:
-The fact that Sonic wasn't released until 1991

Anyone with a basic knowledge of games should know this

It's mostly jetlag. I wrote the review coming back from Japan with no sleep for 36 hours. Please forgive me. I like videogames.
 
Bottomless pits are usually sectioned off and rather obvious, so for the most part you can feel relatively safe speeding around.

The special stages are activated by finding a rotating hook somewhere in each stage, they are usually placed just off the beaten path, but most often you'll just happen upon one or two in each level without searching. They require just over a full bar of boost to activate(boost is earned from tricks or boxes or killing).
 
borghe said:
sonic 1 was a racing game. it is virtually impossible to argue otherwise. half of what made the game was flying through a level in 45 seconds.

sonic 2 and 3 were straight platformers. no two ways about it.

from everything I have read, this is more like sonic1 and the sonic advance titles. take that for what it's worth.
Oh, you mean Sonic Advance...'cuz you sure as shit couldn't have played Sonic the Hedgehog (Genesis/MD) if you think it was a racing game. Good lord, it's anything but. You can fly through Green Hill, but that's about it (perhaps the Starlight Zone as well, but not to the same degree). None of the Genesis games were "straight racing" games, but Sonic 1 and Sonic CD were the games that qualified least for that name.
 
The second act of Rush is very reminiscent of the second act of Sonic 1. Not just because they are both water-ruins stages(where bubble-breathing becomes an issue), but many of the obstacles are similar.

I've not played much of the Advance series, what is it about them that has the forum spitting on Dimps?
 
I've never understood this idea that Sonic was about speed and just racing through levels as fast as you could. I certainly never played any of the Mega Drive iterations in that manner, nor were they particularly fast-paced. What the hell?
 
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