You forgot the part where a small ramp sends Sonic careening into the atmosphere, literally off screen for several seconds, until the camera coding catches up. Hows that for sound physics.
Love the momentum and balanced physics. Sonic's movements are not eratic, clumsy or broken. Now to post a video from the game's more complex platformy levels.
It looks to me like Sonic's jump momentum stops mid-air just like in Sonic 4, that being, you have control over his decent. Am I wrong? Never played the GG Sonics.
I found it pretty surprising that some reviews not only are giving it high scores (not that I thing Sonic 4 is a bad game, but is a 6 or 7 for me given the demo) but are bashing old Sonic games that are some of the most tight and wonderful 2D plataformers.
Can someone please explain the light puzzle with the timed platforms near (what I think is) the end of Labyrinth Act 2? I always seem to get it wrong and meet and impassible platform.
I found it pretty surprising that some reviews not only are giving it high scores (not that I thing Sonic 4 is a bad game, but is a 6 or 7 for me given the demo) but are bashing old Sonic games that are some of the most tight and wonderful 2D plataformers.
Particularly when you use that complaint to praise Sonic 4!
The game sounds incredibly aggravating, and it most definitely can be. However, Sonic 4 appears to get better on consecutive playthroughs, and the game's more innocent platforming sections are suitably addictive enough to warrant multiple plays. Upon the second and third play, the few frustrating Acts of the game become far more palatable as one gets used to the traps. Once you become ready for the various arbitrary ambushes that Sonic 4 throws at you, the game clicks into place and things feel great.
Set the trail to download this morning before work.
But reading all these Sonic 2 GG posts makes me want to go back and play it. Might do so tonight.
I don't remember it being that hard, but I was 12 or 13 when I played it, so maybe my memory is going.
edit: Hey mama, you like the physics on the GG Sonic? Watching that video now, those physics are WAY off. If you'd prefer those physics over Sonic 4's, then your just in denial buddy. Hating on Sonic 4 simply for the fuck of it. I played Sonic 4 before the final release, the early version and the physics THEN were better than the GG version.
Fair enough. I was trying to offer an opinion as someone with a relatively blank slate with the series, but with enough experience to know what's going on. I went in objectively and came out thoroughly enjoying the game I played, though it may not be the best Sonic game. I just think people who claim it's broken and unplayable are being a little dramatic.
If this were a new IP with no previous nostalgic iterations to compare it to, I submit this thread would have considerably less bashing in it.
Of course, if this was another Sonic spinoff, people would bash it less. But it is Sega's fault that they named it Sonic the Hedgehog 4, and marketed it as the continuation of the only good Sonic series, and ruined it.
But you also have to realize that if this wasn't a Sonic game, and they changed the character and swapped the Sonic elements for another game world, this game would still have a stupid broken engine and would get mediocre ratings. And there would be a tiny thread on it that no one would post in. Adding the Sonic name to it is good for marketing newcomers, but causes hate in original Sonic fans because it's not comparable to the 16bit games.
My impression of the trial is "yuck". I was expecting this, but was hoping to be proven wrong. When it became clear they were just cloning the Genesis Sonic games with their boneheaded idea that "well derp, the old man sonic fans just want to play the 16-bit games again!", I realized they'd probably just create something that feels like an imitation that fails.
For me, it fails. The game looks, moves, and plays like one of those mid-90s PC ports of a Sonic game that isn't a real port so much as a crude approximation. Based on the first act, there's no reason for me to play this instead of whipping out my Gamecube Sonic collection; but worse, there's no reason for new players to play this over say, nabbing the real 16-bit Sonic games off the Virtual Console (for the Wii side) and so forth.
But there's a problem. If you've been on the verge of starvation for 16 years, you might be a tad too eager to swallow any crumb that's flicked your way. And if there's one thing that Sonic the Hedgehog 4 is, it's crummy.
In an attempt to remix nostalgia and tick every box on what the survey said the fans would like, Sonic 4 never feels like a distinct game in the series, let alone a long-awaited sequel to the Genesis classics. It's not as good as any of them, and the plunder-and-update mentality leads to a game that feels more insubstantial than evocative.
What is so annoying about this game is they aren't that far away from getting it right. But in this instance a miss is as good as a mile. When compared with any of the Mega Drive Sonic games it is a disaster. It's kind of okay just a long way from great days of Sonic. Sonic running through toffee every time he starts moving is a major flaw imo. How was this not picked up on as a problem? Terrible music too. So important in a Sonic game. All feels way too clunky, not fluid enough. 4/10
I remember loving spin dashing into springs in the older ones to get more of a kick off them, the ones in this just slow you down arrrgh :lol .
Spin dashing up a hill then jumping sends you rocketing into the air, the steeper the hill the more air time you seem to get, been using this to my advantage to get to some higher platforms quicker.
Being honest here, I never thought Sonic was all that great as far as mechanics and technicalities went. It's always been a ton of fun(I completely MURDERED sonic and knuckles in particular), but even back then it was never an example of polish or perfection. They were more polished than Sonic 4 is, which is sad, but it seems like people are talking about them as if they were some sort of general example of what polish should be.
Again, I'm talking technically/mechanically...not necessarily the level layout, enemy/boss design and what not. And sonic was terrible on game gear :lol
Very very early, its strangely enough an attempt to insert the iPhone minecart level back into the Wii version. Done as an excercise to learn the file formats I think.
There's already talk on Sonic Retro of hacking the game to fix the physics, which could have potential. Interesting to see the plans in place less than a day after release.
Very very early, its strangely enough an attempt to insert the iPhone minecart level back into the Wii version. Done as an excercise to learn the file formats I think.
There's already talk on Sonic Retro of hacking the game to fix the physics, which could have potential. Interesting to see the plans in place less than a day after release.
I think the Price and the physics being so different from the originals is what knocks off a few points. After playing it a lot, I give it an 8/10. Solid Sonic game catchy music.
I unlocked Super Sonic and did a few more time trials last night and am already get bored of the game. Mad Gear showed some promise. If Episode 2 starts from the design of mad gear and keeps on advancing maybe it will be a great game, but if it restarts with a simple level its going to be the same thing.
Downloaded the trial and tried to keep an open mind this morning. Err well afternoon. Ugh late night inventory makes me backwards :lol
It was... Well it was a total turn off. As a Sonic game it's just, well I wouldn't even call it that. So it's awful. But just as a regular retro platformer, it's not terrible. I might have to replay it to get my brain wrapped around it all.
I can definitely say that the uncurling is a bitch though. Rolling off a ramp and landing on an enemy I couldn't see only to lose my rings definitely sucks. As others have said the physics feel weird. Sort of like Sonic had been eating too many chili dogs over the years and had a hard time moving around in anything other than a rascal so they turned the gravity down or something. It's really floaty, and hitting enemies doesn't have that same rebounding "pop" that made previous games (and a lot of platformers in general) so fun to play.
The fact that you agree with him makes me less inclined to agree with the review. The fact that I've played through all the 16-bit Sonic games, the advance games and Rush games, and am enjoying Sonic 4 very much adds to that disbelief.
IIRC, same reason Kotaku was banned for a while (and should be banned again): posting flamebaity, factually incorrect stories that caused a ton of GAF ire.
I played it and liked it. The only stuff I dont like is that Sonic is slow to start running and there is less "challenge" than before- even if the Sonic series was never all that challenging to begin with.
Also, they need to hire someone else to do the music. It is way too generic.
But somehow, it still manages to be good. In fact, if this weren't a Sonic title, it would be considered a top XBLA release hands down.
Keep in mind I think the overall quality of XBLA games is less than that of the 16bit era, so..........
The sad thing is, even though I downplayed this game from the beginning, I secretly hoped and had some kind of feeling it would be good, but could never agree with the believers. I think all old school sonic fans felt like this in some way.
Goddamnit. :\
Oh, and the music is fucking terrible ._.
What the FUCK were they thinking with that intro music? Sounds so much worse coming straight from my plasma.
I'm enjoying it. (Xbox 360 version)
Granted I've only played the Genesis games, Drift, R, CD, Adventure, Adventure 2, Heroes, 3D Blast, 2006, Unleashed, Rush, Advanced...among a few others. So my experience my not be as "vast" as many of you.
Playing the demo on the PS3 my verdict is..: meh, it's aight :/
-Moving Sonic around certainly felt awkward, and the weird animation didn't help either. I appreciate how they did Sonic's movement in Brawl even more.
-I think the homing attack made dealing with enemies and getting to springs too easy.
Overall they still, more or less, made a functional 2D Sonic game; just like NSMB was to the old Mario games. But they should advance a bit more into how they do 2D Sonic games. Eventually this is going get tiresome, even if it'll save SEGA from the notion of them fucking up their mascot franchise. I'm hesitant pay for something that's on the par with free fan games. But if folks want to relive official 2d Sonic games, I guess you can give this chance; but I kind of would like more now. I'm starting to get weary of this retro game remake phase, it seems more like a cop-out to please nostalgia gamers while they continue not really improve upon average/mediocre main titles.
I'm still having fun with it, I just hate the way saving works. If you go to next zone,, you go to wherever you were when you got the farthest, not the next zone after what you just played. I just start a new game every time.
I'm still having fun with it, I just hate the way saving works. If you go to next zone,, you go to wherever you were when you got the farthest, not the next zone after what you just played. I just start a new game every time.
I agree with those that say the Game Gear Sonics is better than Sonic 4. Those games had some really cool levels, which is more than I can say about Sonic 4.
Sonic 4 is not bad, just not that good either. Can anyone really say that any of the levels in Sonic 4 are better than the ones they are based on, no. Its been almost 20 years and you cant make better levels than what came before.
Playing the demo on the PS3 my verdict is..: meh, it's aight :/
-Moving Sonic around certainly felt awkward, and the weird animation didn't help either. I appreciate how they did Sonic's movement in Brawl even more.
-I think the homing attack made dealing with enemies and getting to springs too easy.
Overall they still, more or less, made a functional 2D Sonic game; just like NSMB was to the old Mario games. But they should advance a bit more into how they do 2D Sonic games. Eventually this is going get tiresome, even if it'll save SEGA from the notion of them fucking up their mascot franchise. I'm hesitant pay for something that's on the par with free fan games. But if folks want to relive official 2d Sonic games, I guess you can give this chance; but I kind of would like more now. I'm starting to get weary of this retro game remake phase, it seems more like a cop-out to please nostalgia gamers while they continue not really improve upon average/mediocre main titles.
I agree with those that say the Game Gear Sonics is better than Sonic 4. Those games had some really cool levels, which is more than I can say about Sonic 4.
Sonic 4 is not bad, just not that good either. Can anyone really say that any of the levels in Sonic 4 are better than the ones they are based on, no. Its been almost 20 years and you cant make better levels than what came before.
Mad Gear is miles better than Metropolis Zone. And Lost Labyrinth is much better than the original. The music isn't great, Senoue + too much synth = bad. But I'm using custom soundtrack option anyway, and hope they'll improve in Episode 2. they already said that ep1 had levels that re-worked the classics, and ep2 will have more original stuff. i like what they've got so far and can see them improving it in ep2.
I'll quickly type up my feelings on this game just to throw my 2 pennies into the hat as well:
Good
Graphics - Sure, there are a few things off with the design of some things compared to the older games such as Super Sonic's spines looking a little strange, but regardless, this game look damn nice and the backgrounds often look breathtaking
Special Stages - I am actually really impressed by the special stages in this game. They take the old Sonic 1 formula and expand it by so much.
Homing Attack - This surprised the hell out of me. I thought the homing attack would be so out of place in a 2D sonic, but it actually works really well and adds a lot of possibilities to the level design.
Level Design - Another surprise for me considering that this game was made by the Sonic Team of today, but I actually really enjoyed the level design in this game. There was just enough of a mix between platforming and speed to really nail that classic sonic design feel.
Animation - I absolutely love the full speed running animation and all of the blur effects that are added. They really add to the sense of speed. Hell, even the boss animations look faithful to the originals and looks pretty nice. Also, the running on cards looks really, really awesome.
Super Sonic - It's sort of sad, but super sonic feels more like the original Genesis sonic than normal sonic does in this game with his ability to speed up without running for several seconds and the fact that homing attacks actually slow him down.
Bad
Music - Don't get me wrong. The music in this game is not terrible when compared to other games coming out, but compared to those classic Genesis tunes? absolutely terrible. Every stage sounds like a constant party instead of having music based on the theme of the level, and the main theme of the game is very annoying.
Physics - Like everyone else has noticed, there something slightly off with the way everything moves in this game. Sonic being able to stop instantly, and absolutely no momentum (Curl into a ball in one of the pits in Casino act 1 and you won't be able to make it out, but just running will get you out fine, due to the "momentum railroad" set in the games programming) leads this game to feel like an imitation of the old Genesis games rather than a sequel. I shit you not, there was one point in Mad Gear where I missed a jump, got close to a gear on my descent that auto dragged me in (I assume I hit a momentum railroad again), and then the physics re-took over and slingshotted Sonic into a bottomless pit. What the hell.
Reuse, Recycle - This game doesn't feel like Sonic the Hedgehog 4 as much as it does a few parts of all of the previous Sonic the Hedgehog games pasted together. I understand they wanted to tug on the strings of nostalgia, and that Sonic games have always been formulaic in their design, but using the same general tileset designs and bosses from previous games just seems lazy as hell on their art and level design guys' parts.
Cheap deaths - Although they are a lot less prevalent than in the Rush series, there are still a lot of bullshit deaths in this game. The sets of cards near the end of Casino act 2 that sometimes get out of synch are an example as is the
suicide attack of the final final boss
The first time I went through that, I ran all the way to the left and the floor collapsed without me realising what happened. It was like everything wrong with the Sonic series summed up in one moment: an instant death QTE in which you must hold right to win. Also, too many bottomless pits.
Gimmickry - Even when trying to imitate the Genesis classics, Sega still can't help but add bullshit that no one ever asked for.
Mine carts, torch puzzles, limited lighting for an entire zone
All of these were pretty terrible ideas.
Difficulty - What chucklefuck decided to add a trophy for having 99 lives? That just means that they have to put in a way to get easy lives (As if it isn't easy enough to get lives in normal zones). This resulted in the road of cards stage, and the complete removal of any threat of game over.
In my opinion, this game is not terrible. It's not nearly as bad as the fuckups they've made on other Sonic games, such as the werehog making 66% of Sonic Unleashed awful, but it's still not quite there yet, and considering they literally promised a sequel to the Genesis games in the title of this game, it just could never have delivered enough to please the people who have been waiting 16 years for this game.
That said, the promise is there, and if Sega actually take into account a lot of the complaints about this game and fix them, without creating more problems, we might one day get a game that is as timeless as those old Genesis games.
Oh, and for those of you having trouble getting sonic to accelerate quick enough, assuming you're in a decently sized room (and if you weren't why would you want to be at top speed?), just jump and homing attack the air whilst holding the direction you want to go and it's instant top speed.
