I’ve already played and reviewed Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2, so it’s time for me to do the same for Episode 1. The music and artstyle both feel super cheap and aren’t that good. Now, why does this game look like something made by a 14-year-old nerd? The loading screen is just a low quality gif of 2D Sonic from Sonic 1 running. Who made this, the average Sonic.exe game developer? Alright, I’m actually gonna start talking about the gameplay now.
Something I don’t really like about this game is the addition of the Homing Attack. It makes everything much easier than it should be. When you need to get over a death pit by jumping on enemies, you can just use the Homing Attack instead of manually landing on said enemies. I don’t like it one bit.
Splash Hill Zone is just your average Green Hill Zone ripoff. It is super fast, which I like, but it doesn’t really have anything good about it other than it being speed-focused. Act 1 is especially boring. The level design is bland and everything just feels empty. In Act 2, you are introduced to vines that you can jump on and use to propel yourself into the sky, but outside of that one unique aspect, this act is basically the same as its predecessor and so is Act 3. The boss battle is a ripoff of Green Hill Zone’s boss battle and can be easily defeated by spamming the Homing Attack, which is another reason why I do not like the Homing Attack being added to this game.
Casino Street Zone is even worse than Splash Hill Zone. Act 1 has you zooming through a bootleg version of Casino Night Zone and it just feels boring. Speaking of boring, Act 2 is the definition of that word. The main gimmick of this act is that you must get 100,000 points to complete it, so you must hit bumpers and get into a machine that gives you a couple thousand points over and over again. If you want something that gets repetitive and annoying very quickly, this act is perfect for you. However, I think most humans are sane enough that they don’t want something like that. Act 3 has some death pits and is just boring in general. The boss battle is partially a ripoff of Casino Night Zone’s boss battle and you can easily beat it with the Homing Attack.
Lost Labyrinth Zone is surprisingly decent. It’s probably the most original zone in this entire game and the gameplay isn’t boring for the most part. In Act 1, there are a few slow platforming segments, but there are also super fast moments. For example, there are multiple points where you must run away from a ball that is coming straight towards you and it feels so good. Also, you will have to ride a ball numerous times in Act 1. You have to attempt to stay on the ball as it zooms. It’s quite fun. In Act 2, you are placed in a cart for the entire zone. You have to tilt your device in one direction to make the cart move in said direction while jumping over pits and enemies. Act 3 is a bit of a downgrade. The water doesn’t decrease your speed that much, but there are some slow ass segments. The boss battle is super easy and repetitive. You just have to try not to get crushed by the pillars and that’s it. It’s also quite slow. Other than Act 3 and the boss battle, however, this zone is definitely an improvement from its predecessors.
Mad Gear Zone is even better than Lost Labyrinth Zone. It’s faster and more fun. Act 1 consists of extremely speed-focused gameplay and trying not to get crushed. To be honest, it’s actually pretty good. Act 2 adds wheels that you must run on to move in a specific direction and they make for extremely fun and fast moments. In Act 3, you have to go as fast as you can to outrun a wall that is slowly making its way towards you. On the way, you have to avoid being crushed, getting hit by spikes, and other things. It’s extremely exhilarating. The boss battle, on the other hand, is quite boring and easy. You just have to avoid the fake Eggmans while hitting the real one. Again, the Homing Attack makes this boss battle way easier than it should be. However, I do like how the second phase makes you start chasing Eggman.
E.G.G. Station Zone is the final zone of this game and it’s a doozy. It only has one act, which contains the final boss. Well, the final bosses. There are 5 boss battles in E.G.G Station Zone and the first 4 are from the previous 4 zones. The 5th and final boss battle is a ripoff of Sonic 2’s final boss battle. Now, I genuinely could not beat this zone and, by extension, this game. However, I’ll just say that I did complete this game since the only thing I haven’t finished yet is literally just the final boss battle. Anyway, this zone is bland, boring, and just not fun. What a bad ending.
Well, that’s Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1. I think this game is on the same level of quality as its sequel, so it shall receive 2 stars just like its sequel, although I do believe that this game is just a little bit better than what came after it.
Something I don’t really like about this game is the addition of the Homing Attack. It makes everything much easier than it should be. When you need to get over a death pit by jumping on enemies, you can just use the Homing Attack instead of manually landing on said enemies. I don’t like it one bit.
Splash Hill Zone is just your average Green Hill Zone ripoff. It is super fast, which I like, but it doesn’t really have anything good about it other than it being speed-focused. Act 1 is especially boring. The level design is bland and everything just feels empty. In Act 2, you are introduced to vines that you can jump on and use to propel yourself into the sky, but outside of that one unique aspect, this act is basically the same as its predecessor and so is Act 3. The boss battle is a ripoff of Green Hill Zone’s boss battle and can be easily defeated by spamming the Homing Attack, which is another reason why I do not like the Homing Attack being added to this game.
Casino Street Zone is even worse than Splash Hill Zone. Act 1 has you zooming through a bootleg version of Casino Night Zone and it just feels boring. Speaking of boring, Act 2 is the definition of that word. The main gimmick of this act is that you must get 100,000 points to complete it, so you must hit bumpers and get into a machine that gives you a couple thousand points over and over again. If you want something that gets repetitive and annoying very quickly, this act is perfect for you. However, I think most humans are sane enough that they don’t want something like that. Act 3 has some death pits and is just boring in general. The boss battle is partially a ripoff of Casino Night Zone’s boss battle and you can easily beat it with the Homing Attack.
Lost Labyrinth Zone is surprisingly decent. It’s probably the most original zone in this entire game and the gameplay isn’t boring for the most part. In Act 1, there are a few slow platforming segments, but there are also super fast moments. For example, there are multiple points where you must run away from a ball that is coming straight towards you and it feels so good. Also, you will have to ride a ball numerous times in Act 1. You have to attempt to stay on the ball as it zooms. It’s quite fun. In Act 2, you are placed in a cart for the entire zone. You have to tilt your device in one direction to make the cart move in said direction while jumping over pits and enemies. Act 3 is a bit of a downgrade. The water doesn’t decrease your speed that much, but there are some slow ass segments. The boss battle is super easy and repetitive. You just have to try not to get crushed by the pillars and that’s it. It’s also quite slow. Other than Act 3 and the boss battle, however, this zone is definitely an improvement from its predecessors.
Mad Gear Zone is even better than Lost Labyrinth Zone. It’s faster and more fun. Act 1 consists of extremely speed-focused gameplay and trying not to get crushed. To be honest, it’s actually pretty good. Act 2 adds wheels that you must run on to move in a specific direction and they make for extremely fun and fast moments. In Act 3, you have to go as fast as you can to outrun a wall that is slowly making its way towards you. On the way, you have to avoid being crushed, getting hit by spikes, and other things. It’s extremely exhilarating. The boss battle, on the other hand, is quite boring and easy. You just have to avoid the fake Eggmans while hitting the real one. Again, the Homing Attack makes this boss battle way easier than it should be. However, I do like how the second phase makes you start chasing Eggman.
E.G.G. Station Zone is the final zone of this game and it’s a doozy. It only has one act, which contains the final boss. Well, the final bosses. There are 5 boss battles in E.G.G Station Zone and the first 4 are from the previous 4 zones. The 5th and final boss battle is a ripoff of Sonic 2’s final boss battle. Now, I genuinely could not beat this zone and, by extension, this game. However, I’ll just say that I did complete this game since the only thing I haven’t finished yet is literally just the final boss battle. Anyway, this zone is bland, boring, and just not fun. What a bad ending.
Well, that’s Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1. I think this game is on the same level of quality as its sequel, so it shall receive 2 stars just like its sequel, although I do believe that this game is just a little bit better than what came after it.