Sonic Mania and Sonic Forces

[Xeogred]

Only two more trophies!

Professional Hedgehog and Collect Em' All. I've pretty much mastered Titanic Monarch Act 1 but the boss got me a few times. I'll come back to it another time. Collect Em' All is probably best done with Super Tails, but it will still be annoying since you can accidentally hit those mini robo Amy's and one hit and they're done. To get this trophy for the Metallic Madness Act 2 Robotnick fight, you have to hit the slots for all his mini robots to come out without destroying any of them. Seems like it could be kind of tough and annoying.

But yes, I got ALL THE GOLD MEDALS! The nastiest one I was stuck on was one level that only has 4 blue spheres and 16 rings, but it was so messed up. I could not figure out how to do it realistically at all, so I basically maneuvered through a maze of the bouncing spheres to get across the map so I could run through the last 4 rings before the final blue sphere. Maybe you guys know the level I'm talking about...

[Xeogred]

AMA fam.

[Gunstar Green]

I was just happy collecting all the silver medals and getting all of the chaos emeralds on every character. I might go back and try for some of the other achievements but screw the gold medals. Some of those Blue Sphere levels are stressful as hell.

Sonic Mania 2 with all original levels now plz.

[Reprise]

My copy of Sonic Forces came like 3 days early if anyone's interested in me giving my thoughts over the next few days before its release.

Yeah, I know; it's 3D Sonic and it looks a bit shit, but as a fan of Colors and Generations, I'm hopeful it's not too bad.

[pierrot]

I'm only really curious if it's actually as ass as it appeared to be from some of the level demos I saw a few months ago. It looked a bit like a significantly worse version of Sonic Heroes, to me.

[Reprise]

It's actually pretty good, in my opinion. It plays just like Colors and Generations, gameplay wise, but there is a bigger emphasis on speed running. Levels are shorter on average, although there does appear to perhaps be more of them to make up for it.

Honestly, I don't know how anyone could be a fan of Colors or Generations and not enjoy this. The gameplay is basically the same. The story is pretty cool as well, as far as Sonic games go.

My criticisms? The avatar creation tool could do with more depth. It's clearly geared towards kids, so is quite simplistic, but I'd have liked an advanced option for greater customisation. Second criticism is a some of the level design and gameplay is very safe. It doesn't have the same impact Colors or Generations had. Final criticism is the music. For a Sonic game it is strangely average and unremarkable, with exception of the Lost World music remixes I hear here and there.

In summary, if you enjoyed Colors and Generations, you will enjoy this. It's not quite as great as those two games, but it's enjoyable for what it is and those who were wanting a true follow up to that series (instead of the 'experimentation' of Lost Worlds and Boom) should not be disappointed, as long as they keep their expectations in check.

[Segata]

It's not as bad as Bubsy. Best compliment you can give to Forces.

[pierrot]

It's actually pretty good, in my opinion. It plays just like Colors and Generations, gameplay wise, but there is a bigger emphasis on speed running. Levels are shorter on average, although there does appear to perhaps be more of them to make up for it.

Good to know. I suppose I'll keep a bit more of an open mind about it, and expect something highly imperfect, along the lines of Unleashed, or something?

Second criticism is a some of the level design and gameplay is very safe.

Yeah, the preview videos I was watching had some really uninspired looking stages. Barely looked like a platform game.

Final criticism is the music.

Whatever they were using for the 'hyper mode,' or whatever, was making my brain split. I don't know if they kept that, but it was some of the most terrible butt-rock I've ever heard.

Thanks for the thoughts, Reprise. About how far do you think you've played through the game so far?

[Reprise]

Yeah, a lot of the level design is a bit bland and uninspired. Overall the game seems ok to me though. Anyone looking for a 3D Sonic that is going to break the mould should look elsewhere. This is basically an inoffensive, albeit weaker version of Colors and Generations, with the avatar gimmick tacked on. At least the actual avatar stages play fine. The game is not bad, it's just not great. Anyone who liked Generations or Colors should enjoy it imo. It's certainly no Sonic 06, Boom or the stupid parts from the Adventure titles.

As for how far I'm in, I'm on stage 20. I have no idea how many there are, but I'd guess maybe 25 or 30? I doubt the game is very long, so yeah, I'll probably complete it by tonight or tomorrow.

There's also SOS missions (basically replaying old missions to 'save' someone) and unlockable 'secret' and 'extra' stages to pad the game out a bit.

[Xeogred]

It's amazing how Sonic Mania blew my face off and is top 5 for me this year, but yeah I could not be more detached from 3D Sonic if I tried.