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Sonic Superstars | Review Thread

Fake

Member
The Mania team didn't want to do a sequel, that's why it didn't happen. They are working on their own stuff out of choice.

There was an interview that show a conflict between Mania Team and Sonic Team.

Looks like Sonic Team don't like the praise Mania got and cancelled the sequel.
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Nvzman

Member
That's not really how I heard it. The Mania team was in talks to make a sequel, but they couldn't come to an agreement with Sonic Team on vision.

Mania only got made because they made a demo on their own dime, backdoored it through Sega of America, and kept it so low budget it was essentially off the radar. And that created its own set of problems, but the fact is, Sonic Team wouldn't have let it happen any other way.
No, those rumors were confirmed false by Christian Whitehead. They were in very early talks to make a Mania 2, but the Mania team wanted to make something original, rather than another 2D Sonic game.
 

Nvzman

Member
There was an interview that show a conflict between Mania Team and Sonic Team.

Looks like Sonic Team don't like the praise Mania got and cancelled the sequel.
edit:
https://zippospeaks.blogspot.com/20...fan-and-zippo-presents-why.html?m=1 [/QUOTE]
See post above, that rumor was completely false and was peddled for years. Zippo recently isn't even considered a valid source for leaks anymore.
 
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Nvzman

Member
Read between the lines. Evening Star wanted to make a 2D game and Sonic Team wanted something with more modern graphics.
... Except evening star went on to make Penny's Big Breakaway, an original 3D platformer. There's nothing to read in between the lines, you just want to be right lol
 

SF Kosmo

Al Jazeera Special Reporter
... Except evening star went on to make Penny's Big Breakaway, an original 3D platformer. There's nothing to read in between the lines, you just want to be right lol
Sorry but Penny's Big Breakaway is not the kind of 3D we're talking about, it's still a game with very limited, very retro graphics, and Sonic Team wanted something more modern looking, because they felt retro graphics limited the audience.
 
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Nvzman

Member
 
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mcjmetroid

Member
This game is £55? Same price as Elden Ring, more expensive than Remnant 2. Fuck off.
It's not worth this price, I had no idea it would this amount yikes.
I would suggest waiting until it's at least half that.

Honestly this game has the awkward time of coming out in a simlar timeframe to Mario Wonder which I believe will be scoring high 9s and 10s across the board.
 

Nydius

Gold Member
I've been playing since Friday because my usual shop (eStarland) sent it out a week early.

While it's nice enough, it's pathetically short. I couldn't tell you the exact time but here it is, Sunday evening, and I've been able to run through the main game twice -- once with Sonic, once with Tails. Levels aren't nearly as well constructed as the old Genesis games or Sonic MANIA, bosses are pathetically easy, and Chaos Emerald levels are extremely simple. I suppose the latter is because they want you to get the Emeralds easily since they unlock new powers but I can't think of a single 2 or 2.5D Sonic where I was able to get all the Emeralds on a single pass without failing at least once or twice.

It runs well enough, I don't have any complaints about the soundtrack. The sound effects are recycled from every other 2D Sonic game. Never tried battle mode or coop but if you can blow through the game quick as hell single player I can only imagine coop making it even easier. Overall it was okay but can't say I really want to play it again with Knuckles or Amy. If I had to score it, I'd give it a 6, maybe 7 out of 10. I'd rather replay MANIA.

Gotta admit, I'm glad I burned trade in credit on this rather than spending cash on it.
I'll probably be reselling it very soon.

y7pWpRe.jpg
 
Does not matter even if they do the PERFECT Sonic game. The stigma still there and will be forever for the media and trolls/haters minds...

Btw, the game is a joy to play imo!
 
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Whitecrow

Banned
This game is... incredibly disappointing.

Man, you cant make a Sonic game and give 0 fucks about the music. It's an OK platformer, but the music is very low effort, doesnt motivate you to go through the level, and the mix sounds kinda bad.
The levels look like they are made in the Little Big Planet editor, and as you can see in the trailers, the art direction leaves a lot to be desired.

And you can beat the game in about 2 or 3 hours. 60 bucks for this is a terrible joke.

In the positive side, multiple characters and the physics, but that doesnt matter if the rest of the package is bad-fangame tier.
Dont waste your money.
 
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Holammer

Member
Steam User reviews are pouring in (or a small trickle anyway) right now and it's going to be heavily coloured by the inclusion of Denuvo and the fact that the game prompts an Epic login at startup.

E205A0279461164E71FAFD161871F411209260D2

Screenshot via Nospine
 

SCB3

Member
So played maybe 45 mins and its ok, not bad, not a great but fine, if this was a lot cheaper say Mania's price, it'd do very well, a couple of things

  • The Music is not good, it feels like AI did it, there no life to it, what the hell happened, Frontiers has great music BEFORE they added the Jukebox
  • Art Direction, I kinda like it, it does feel almost like a Sonic 1 remake in a sense that way, its not for everyone though
  • Its surprisingly hard in some ways, but too easy in others, the Bosses were a bit tougher than I expected, not cruel and bs like Advance 2's are but they were better than "Hit Eggman 6 times" but the Special stages may as well not exist, like they are done in less than 10 seconds, but having Powers linked to the chaos Emeralds is a nice touch and probably why they are easy
  • The stages are, well they're fine but not really inspired, they do not seem to be able to break away from Green Hill and Chemical Plant stylings, Frontiers had this same issue, I don't wanna compare to Mania too much as that game is a masterpiece imo, but the new stages in that blow this away, the 2nd Stage being a dark jungle where you need to light up some of the way is good but in a Sonic game where you wanna go fast, it feels wrong

Overall, it feels like a solid "sale" game a 7/10 for sure, but there has been better games in recent years, this is a 3rd behind Mania and Frontiers of the last decade of Sonic games
 

Unknown?

Member
So played maybe 45 mins and its ok, not bad, not a great but fine, if this was a lot cheaper say Mania's price, it'd do very well, a couple of things

  • The Music is not good, it feels like AI did it, there no life to it, what the hell happened, Frontiers has great music BEFORE they added the Jukebox
  • Art Direction, I kinda like it, it does feel almost like a Sonic 1 remake in a sense that way, its not for everyone though
  • Its surprisingly hard in some ways, but too easy in others, the Bosses were a bit tougher than I expected, not cruel and bs like Advance 2's are but they were better than "Hit Eggman 6 times" but the Special stages may as well not exist, like they are done in less than 10 seconds, but having Powers linked to the chaos Emeralds is a nice touch and probably why they are easy
  • The stages are, well they're fine but not really inspired, they do not seem to be able to break away from Green Hill and Chemical Plant stylings, Frontiers had this same issue, I don't wanna compare to Mania too much as that game is a masterpiece imo, but the new stages in that blow this away, the 2nd Stage being a dark jungle where you need to light up some of the way is good but in a Sonic game where you wanna go fast, it feels wrong

Overall, it feels like a solid "sale" game a 7/10 for sure, but there has been better games in recent years, this is a 3rd behind Mania and Frontiers of the last decade of Sonic games
That's disappointing with how good frontiers was and how this looked.
 

Saber

Member
I honestly wonder how the heck people who praise this game said this game has good music.
The soundtrack is basically a Sonic 4 music, which is the most forgettable soundtrack of all Sonic games. All thanks to that retard who doesn't know how to make a good music, and people were expecting him to do a good work on Sonic Origins versions of S3 Mickel J. stages only for him to once again fail miserably. It's his signature.

This game screams envy for Mania. They though they were like "we finally resolve the problem with physics(that we stolen from Taxman) now everything is good, we don't need them". When the reality is that their games has a multitude of problems, one of them being level design.
 

Holammer

Member
I'm still surprised people like Frontiers. Probably the most half-baked, unfinished game in Sonic's recent history. It really only looks good next to Forces.
It is low energy IMO. Speedtrees and Quixel megascans do all the heavy lifting. You can count the actual modelled art assets (characters, bounce pads/ramps etc) on your fingers.
This upsets me almost as much as the gameplay.

 

Nydius

Gold Member
Man, you cant make a Sonic game and give 0 fucks about the music. It's an OK platformer, but the music is very low effort, doesnt motivate you to go through the level, and the mix sounds kinda bad.
The levels look like they are made in the Little Big Planet editor, and as you can see in the trailers, the art direction leaves a lot to be desired.

And you can beat the game in about 2 or 3 hours. 60 bucks for this is a terrible joke.

The soundtrack is basically a Sonic 4 music, which is the most forgettable soundtrack of all Sonic games.
Agreed entirely with both of you.

The music isn't bad but it's not good either. The best compliment I can give it is that it's forgettably inoffensive.
Meanwhile, thirty years later, I still have the Marble Hill Zone music pop into my head at random.

2-3 hours sounds about right. My first playthrough, I think, was closer to 4-5 because I was taking my time looking around the levels. Once I realized they weren't very detailed or many secret/hidden areas to find, I just stopped bothering. The unique abilities of each character feels meaningless. Every stage felt like it was designed for Sonic first and foremost, everyone else was an afterthought. Not many places to really take advantage of Tails or Knuckles' different skillsets.

I tried battle mode since my last post and I have to say... I agree with IGN's reviewer's assessment: It's something I tried once and don't want to bother with again. It's half baked and yet takes up a massive chunk of the total development time with the addition of customization options, medals you have to collect to unlock said options, and custom 'challenges' to complete. All of this could have been better spent on fleshing out a better campaign.

That they want $60 for this is highway robbery.
 

Astral Dog

Member
I'm still surprised people like Frontiers. Probably the most half-baked, unfinished game in Sonic's recent history. It really only looks good next to Forces.
Huh, curious i think Frontiers is one of the best 3D)Sonic games all around despite the flaws, this formula works and i want to see it expanded ,the tone is no longer silly saturday morning cartoon while not being overtly edgy, the music is good 👍

SEGA promised a higher budget for the next Sonic game thanks to the success of Frontiers so we will see how that goes
 

Whitecrow

Banned
Yea compared to Frontiers and Mania it is, but its leagues ahead of Forces for example, its not as bad game, just very middle of the road
Which would be OK if, let's say, was the first game of a new IP, but there are a lot of bad examples, and a few good examples they could learn from.

Being in the middle of the road NOW it's unjustifiable imo.
 

RoboFu

One of the green rats
It is low energy IMO. Speedtrees and Quixel megascans do all the heavy lifting. You can count the actual modelled art assets (characters, bounce pads/ramps etc) on your fingers.
This upsets me almost as much as the gameplay.


so you hate all the AAA games that use speed tree as well? :messenger_tears_of_joy:
 
I'm still surprised people like Frontiers. Probably the most half-baked, unfinished game in Sonic's recent history. It really only looks good next to Forces.

It's probably one of the most half-baked, unfinished AAA games I've played, period. It's just randomly generated generic art open worlds with Sonic rails and bounce pads and shit haphazardly strewn all over the place that pop into the frame when you start getting close. Terrible janky combat, brain-dead easy "puzzles", pointless exploration, laughable cut scenes. It's awful.

Any time I need a reminder not to take game "critics" too seriously I go to its Metacritic page and see there's at least half a dozen braindead idiots who straight-faced gave that trash a 9/10.
 

Holammer

Member
so you hate all the AAA games that use speed tree as well? :messenger_tears_of_joy:
I never said hate, I think it's lazy. There are so few actually modelled assets in the game they reused them as rewards for the fishing mini-game.
In fact, more work was put into the fishies than the actual game, unless they lifted them from another game.
 

RoboFu

One of the green rats
I never said hate, I think it's lazy. There are so few actually modelled assets in the game they reused them as rewards for the fishing mini-game.
In fact, more work was put into the fishies than the actual game, unless they lifted them from another game.
yeah I could tell that as well after an hour or so. i still liked the game but it was copy and paste all over the place.
 

keefged4

Member
So just finished this. Sonic Supershite more like. Awful music, shit level design, frustrating af bosses that go on forever, awful camera that's too zoomed in, Epic sign in for the Steam version for multiplayer (lol wut), the list goes on. I cannot stress enough how bad the music and sound mixing is in general. The only thing going for the game is they have absolutely nailed the physics of the classic games. Pish!
 
This game is so bad and uninspireded in every possible ways it makes love any 3D Sonic games... and I hate them with passions no matter what SonicTeam does or try (Lost Levels was okey).

Do they know what a level design is in a Sonic game? Did they play Mania? Most of the gimmicks are... stupid. The apples... why... the rolling wheels... why... the water level... why... Why Amy Rose... Why those ugly levels... and why don't we get a Sonic CD2, a Sonic and Knuckles 2 or a Sony Mania 2 or an Advance 4!
 
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TaroYamada

Member
As SF Kosmo SF Kosmo mentioned Mania was something of a fluke, Iizuka also limited them by coming up with the level remix idea. Whitehead wants the option of working with Sega in the future though so he's not going to throw Sega or Sonic Team under the bus publicly. Sonic Team has always and famously been an easily threatened team, really Sega as a whole.

This GI interview where they clarify a lack of bad blood has weird Iizuka quotes:

"When you make a 2D game using pixel art, you kind of end up targeting a very specific core audience," he says. "We wanted to bring this game to as many people as possible and in order to really make it look and feel as appealing to a wider audience, we needed to use the 3D assets to really give it that current look."
Bizarre given based on available data Mania comfortably outsold Forces and multiple other much more expensive 3D entries. Forces of course came out just 2 months after Mania and was bargain binned almost immediately and Mania physical is still on shelves at Best Buy, Walmart, Gamestop, etc. and has had three physical releases for what was intended as a digital game (Mania Plus, Mania base and dual pack with the Sonic Racing game). It very likely will outsell Superstars.

Whitehead also dashed away one of the big points of speculation among Sonic fans: that Sonic Mania 2 falling through was the result of bad blood between Sega and members of Evening Star. "Contrary to any rumors, we maintain a friendly relationship with Sega and hope fans are pumped to play both games once they release," he says.
This is what professionals do in most cases, they do not go on twitter and start dunking on former collaborators or colleagues ala Kamiya.
 

Fake

Member
Normally the best part of Sonic games are OST and jez, wtf is going on with this game?

Sonic Lost World is mid, but the OST is amazing.
 

Whitecrow

Banned
When Mania had this much success, and they didnt want to make another like it, it says everything you need to know. How misshandled can this franchise be.
 

Spukc

always chasing the next thrill
This game is fucked on steam deck.
You have to legit change controller styles to get rid of that fucking epic launcher screen. Then continue to flip back to gamepad so you can play this game 🤣
 

SCB3

Member
Which would be OK if, let's say, was the first game of a new IP, but there are a lot of bad examples, and a few good examples they could learn from.

Being in the middle of the road NOW it's unjustifiable imo.
Oh for sure, after Mania especially, Sonic Team must see what works, they were embarrassed for sure again of how well Mania did

So nearly done I think, Press Factory is a genuinely brilliant level, a highlight for sure, the basis of it is 2 fold, the first Act is all about the Press in the background slamming down which propels Sonic as you play the level, this leads to some really nice timing on jumps and twisting paths, its hard to explain but its great

Act 2 is all about getting to the bomb switches to stop Eggman from blowing up the level, there is 1 or 2 parts where you have to be perfectly timed to stop it, its harder than you'd expect, the boss fight here is also one of the best I've played, tricky but really good design for 2D Sonic, this Level is a god one to come back to if they do a 3D version or include it in a Generations type game, its that good
 

TaroYamada

Member
I just beat Zone 3, tbh I am quite enjoying myself. I like the boss fights. The level design isn't too bad but also isn't mind blowing so far. Music is pretty spotty. Visually I think this is perhaps the best Sonic has ever looked -- I think Sega's kind of crazy not to use these character models in the 3D entries too.
 

SCB3

Member
So finished this on the 19th (forgot to post, been busy with Mario and Spiderman) and will 100% a bit later but yea its a solid entry but nothing special, if they build on this then it could be a great start to 2D Sonic

I will say though, the hardest Sonic bosses are in this game, they have done a really good job, I think I may have only beat one of them first try, the rest did take a couple attempts and the Final boss is really tough tbh, not as hard as Sonic 2's but still a good challenge
 
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TaroYamada

Member
Press Factory Zone blows chunks.

As a side note, whoever decided to release this the same week as Mario wasn't the brightest bulb:

BGhtWBn.png
 
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DeVeAn

Member
Got all the achievements for this. I had a blast with this game. The mode you unlock was not done well. Impossible to not get hit. Normal play through with Sonic was fun. Hope we get a sequel with more polish.
 
Sonic mania is good ? Yes, but its just a MOD. Sega is right to go into Superstars direction.

Btw, its a crime what they are doing with this game, it is awesome. Believe in me. All works like a charm, i don't know what people want from Sonic. Like i said before, does not matter if they release a perfect Sonic game, people and media will complain about the game. Stigmatized. Period. But Don't miss this one! Its great!

In the other hand we have Mario Wonder, yeah, its good, but its the same s*** over and over again (wow mario is an elephant now), no complains and of course overrated. biased af.

Its just my opinion.
 
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Whitecrow

Banned
Sonic mania is good ? Yes, but its just a MOD. Sega is right to go into Superstars direction.

Btw, its a crime what they are doing with this game, it is awesome. Believe in me. All works like a charm, i don't know what people want from Sonic. Like i said before, does not matter if they release a perfect Sonic game, people and media will complain about the game. Stigmatized. Period. But Don't miss this one! Its great!

In the other hand we have Mario Wonder, yeah, its good, but its the same s*** over and over again (wow mario is an elephant now), no complains and of course overrated. biased af.

Its just my opinion.
It's totally OK to have fun with the game.

But 'all work like a charm' is straight up lying, and comparing this to the new Mario, is insulting the new Mario.
Superstarts could be 100 times better if someone cared about making it better, but they went the cheap route and it shows almost everywhere.

But whatever. Looks like we're having the true Sonic 4 this week.
 
It's totally OK to have fun with the game.

But 'all work like a charm' is straight up lying, and comparing this to the new Mario, is insulting the new Mario.
Superstarts could be 100 times better if someone cared about making it better, but they went the cheap route and it shows almost everywhere.

But whatever. Looks like we're having the true Sonic 4 this week.


Lying? Are u lost your mind ? It's my opinion, and insult are all Mario games be biased on media.

Don't dictate what is wrong or right, you don't have that power.

Respect other people opinions, you can't do anything about it. Your only options are sit and cry about my opinion. You won't change. And not only me, u guys love some media reviews and metacritic, so look how many reviewers loved Superstars, go there and dictate your words too.
 
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SonicJams

Member
So just finished this. Sonic Supershite more like. Awful music, shit level design, frustrating af bosses that go on forever, awful camera that's too zoomed in, Epic sign in for the Steam version for multiplayer (lol wut), the list goes on. I cannot stress enough how bad the music and sound mixing is in general. The only thing going for the game is they have absolutely nailed the physics of the classic games. Pish!
As a super sonic fan, this pretty much sums up my thoughts.
 
Sonic mania is good ? Yes, but its just a MOD. Sega is right to go into Superstars direction.

Btw, its a crime what they are doing with this game, it is awesome. Believe in me. All works like a charm, i don't know what people want from Sonic. Like i said before, does not matter if they release a perfect Sonic game, people and media will complain about the game. Stigmatized. Period. But Don't miss this one! Its great!

In the other hand we have Mario Wonder, yeah, its good, but its the same s*** over and over again (wow mario is an elephant now), no complains and of course overrated. biased af.

Its just my opinion.
You have some new levels in Sonic Mania, something you would have known if you had play it... Those levels are way better than anything Sonic Superstars has to offer.

Sonic Mania s not a just mod, old levels are redesign and rethink to ditch any problems from the originals and enhance the fun with lost of original ideas, a better physic, and new characters. The bonus stages are great this time, so is the music!
 
You have some new levels in Sonic Mania, something you would have known if you had play it... Those levels are way better than anything Sonic Superstars has to offer.

Sonic Mania s not a just mod, old levels are redesign and rethink to ditch any problems from the originals and enhance the fun with lost of original ideas, a better physic, and new characters. The bonus stages are great this time, so is the music!

I like the new levels, you are talking to a Sonic fan here. But man, its done, enough to try extract juice from the Genesis era. Those are classics, end of story.

Needs to go forward imo...Superstars makes me happy! It's on point!
 
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