- A truly baffling yet oddly admirable entry in the Sonic franchise
- I think it’s about as mixed of a bag as you can get in all honesty, for as wildly interesting and ambitious the game can be I still found most of it to be unfortunately boring and even frustrating
- The best way I can describe how I feel is by talking about how the level structure is simultaneously really unique and admirable in its art direction and theming yet most of the time also extremely linear to the point of practically no difficulty aside from holding forward and pressing B
- And while there are definitely some levels that break this convention and try to go for something more open ended or cyclical (Mad Matrix or Lost Impact), I do have to admit that it’s a breath of fresh air to have something so simple and easy after Heroes
- Any route you do in the game will take at most 90 min to 2 hours (maybe) if you count cutscenes, outside of that, most playthroughs are like 40 min which isn’t necessarily a bad thing
- I’ll be the one to defend the multiple path mechanic, at least in concept, as I feel it does provide a level of replayability that “collecting the Chaos Emeralds” or even “replay the same levels but as slightly different characters” don’t
- I really like this idea because it promotes playing each level in a slightly different way each time you want to shift routes, also you can have basically any level path you want and still be able to get to your desired ending without much strain (you of course have to do it within a 6 level structure, and I only ran into an issue one time due to poor goal placement)
- I also will defend the ending cutscenes even if they are arguably way too similar in nature and ultimately don’t resolve anything outside of just having Shadow convey a slightly different emotion
- Most are cut and dry, but some do standout as actually great character moments (like both Semi-Hero endings)
- I think that the true problem arises when you have to do each of these paths another time each just to switch up the objective in the last mission for a boss that may or may not be different. That’s when it really becomes tedious for me.
- I also think that they really skimped on the bosses as there are probably only 6 in the game minus the final (3 for the middle levels, and 3 for the finals).
- And these bosses in general are pretty boring as all of them require you to just wait for the opening and then shoot or attack, but some of the early ones (Egg Breaker and Black Bull 2) are so easy as they can be taken down with whatever gun you have in under a minute
- Also Egg Dealer is annoying as hell and easily the worst of them all.
- I do like the final boss tho, even if he does take a little too long and is ultimately kinda the same as the rest
- From a gameplay perspective, I think I can wrap up my thoughts nicely just by saying that while I appreciate the attempt at something new and weird, I ultimately think that gunplay simplifies the sonic formula to such an insane degree that it’s really hard for me to say it’s “good”, “satisfying” is a slightly better term to describe it (except for Lost Impact which is, again, the worst level in the game)
- Now on a story front, I think this game is extremely interesting and almost brilliant, but just falls short and becomes kinda dumb trash that I like
- Keep in mind that I’m extremely biased not only towards Shadow and this era of sonic games, but also to the fact that this is technically a direct follow-up to Sonic Adventure 2 (my favorite game ever possibly)
- It honestly doesn’t go that far with building upon the groundwork of what that game offered, only really trying to expand on upon Shadow’s character after his death as well as his full past. I think it’s an admirable story to tell, but ultimately it just kinda feels a bit pointless at the end.
- I do like having Shadow question his purpose and identity after “dying” and getting amnesia in SA2, as well as how each path will lead him to learn different truths about his past that’ll lead him to a specific conclusion (despite these endings being non-canon.
- Also, and this is where the bias comes in, I just really like the references and set pieces that bring us back to the Space Colony ARK and the surrounding area. I love how the outside ARK levels take heavy art direction cues from Final Rush and Final Chase with the specific platform design (and going off that I really love the Space Gadget level as it can be completed as a “race to the finish” with Sonic, bringing back such great memories)
- And, even though her levels suck, I do like the two stages where Maria is along your side as it adds a bit more to her character and attachment to Shadow (even if she is still underdeveloped)
- Btw Shadow’s controls are very slippery and sometimes slow/unresponsive but it’s honestly easy to get used to
- Though I think my problems come from how shallow it still feels by the end.
- Again, every ending is technically non-canon minus the final one, so that just leaves me wondering just how much of the game is actually left up in the air and how much really did happen. Did Shadow learn about the ARK? Did he help out Black Doom? Is GUN still after him? Did Eggman tell him that he was an android? All of that is kind of swept under the rug in a finale that lumps everything together in a very general lukewarm stew of trying to make an appropriate ending.
- Though I do like some ideas coming from the final ending, mainly Shadow outright putting his past behind him and going his own way, as well as an optional line from Eggman that states how this IS the real Shadow, I ultimately find it to just be a little pointless by the end. Feeling like a side story for what was essentially a non-essential game.
- (final gripes are mainly just that I prefer Shadow to be caring and understanding above all else, and that having him reject Maria at the end makes sense but feels a bit like a disservice to his arc in SA2. Also Black Doom’s involvement in shadow’s creation feels like a dumb retcon that only lives to explain why he’s black and red)
- On an aesthetic level I think this game rocks, the pre rendered cutscenes look fantastic and the in-game models/animation are (while a bit janky) look expressive and fluid enough to sell the idea that this game had some love put into it.
- Also the music is mostly okay or laughable (80% of the vocal tracks), but there are still some real bangers like Digital Circuit, Lost Impact, Central City, and of course, I Am… All of Me
- Overall, I’m glad it exists
- I think it’s about as mixed of a bag as you can get in all honesty, for as wildly interesting and ambitious the game can be I still found most of it to be unfortunately boring and even frustrating
- The best way I can describe how I feel is by talking about how the level structure is simultaneously really unique and admirable in its art direction and theming yet most of the time also extremely linear to the point of practically no difficulty aside from holding forward and pressing B
- And while there are definitely some levels that break this convention and try to go for something more open ended or cyclical (Mad Matrix or Lost Impact), I do have to admit that it’s a breath of fresh air to have something so simple and easy after Heroes
- Any route you do in the game will take at most 90 min to 2 hours (maybe) if you count cutscenes, outside of that, most playthroughs are like 40 min which isn’t necessarily a bad thing
- I’ll be the one to defend the multiple path mechanic, at least in concept, as I feel it does provide a level of replayability that “collecting the Chaos Emeralds” or even “replay the same levels but as slightly different characters” don’t
- I really like this idea because it promotes playing each level in a slightly different way each time you want to shift routes, also you can have basically any level path you want and still be able to get to your desired ending without much strain (you of course have to do it within a 6 level structure, and I only ran into an issue one time due to poor goal placement)
- I also will defend the ending cutscenes even if they are arguably way too similar in nature and ultimately don’t resolve anything outside of just having Shadow convey a slightly different emotion
- Most are cut and dry, but some do standout as actually great character moments (like both Semi-Hero endings)
- I think that the true problem arises when you have to do each of these paths another time each just to switch up the objective in the last mission for a boss that may or may not be different. That’s when it really becomes tedious for me.
- I also think that they really skimped on the bosses as there are probably only 6 in the game minus the final (3 for the middle levels, and 3 for the finals).
- And these bosses in general are pretty boring as all of them require you to just wait for the opening and then shoot or attack, but some of the early ones (Egg Breaker and Black Bull 2) are so easy as they can be taken down with whatever gun you have in under a minute
- Also Egg Dealer is annoying as hell and easily the worst of them all.
- I do like the final boss tho, even if he does take a little too long and is ultimately kinda the same as the rest
- From a gameplay perspective, I think I can wrap up my thoughts nicely just by saying that while I appreciate the attempt at something new and weird, I ultimately think that gunplay simplifies the sonic formula to such an insane degree that it’s really hard for me to say it’s “good”, “satisfying” is a slightly better term to describe it (except for Lost Impact which is, again, the worst level in the game)
- Now on a story front, I think this game is extremely interesting and almost brilliant, but just falls short and becomes kinda dumb trash that I like
- Keep in mind that I’m extremely biased not only towards Shadow and this era of sonic games, but also to the fact that this is technically a direct follow-up to Sonic Adventure 2 (my favorite game ever possibly)
- It honestly doesn’t go that far with building upon the groundwork of what that game offered, only really trying to expand on upon Shadow’s character after his death as well as his full past. I think it’s an admirable story to tell, but ultimately it just kinda feels a bit pointless at the end.
- I do like having Shadow question his purpose and identity after “dying” and getting amnesia in SA2, as well as how each path will lead him to learn different truths about his past that’ll lead him to a specific conclusion (despite these endings being non-canon.
- Also, and this is where the bias comes in, I just really like the references and set pieces that bring us back to the Space Colony ARK and the surrounding area. I love how the outside ARK levels take heavy art direction cues from Final Rush and Final Chase with the specific platform design (and going off that I really love the Space Gadget level as it can be completed as a “race to the finish” with Sonic, bringing back such great memories)
- And, even though her levels suck, I do like the two stages where Maria is along your side as it adds a bit more to her character and attachment to Shadow (even if she is still underdeveloped)
- Btw Shadow’s controls are very slippery and sometimes slow/unresponsive but it’s honestly easy to get used to
- Though I think my problems come from how shallow it still feels by the end.
- Again, every ending is technically non-canon minus the final one, so that just leaves me wondering just how much of the game is actually left up in the air and how much really did happen. Did Shadow learn about the ARK? Did he help out Black Doom? Is GUN still after him? Did Eggman tell him that he was an android? All of that is kind of swept under the rug in a finale that lumps everything together in a very general lukewarm stew of trying to make an appropriate ending.
- Though I do like some ideas coming from the final ending, mainly Shadow outright putting his past behind him and going his own way, as well as an optional line from Eggman that states how this IS the real Shadow, I ultimately find it to just be a little pointless by the end. Feeling like a side story for what was essentially a non-essential game.
- (final gripes are mainly just that I prefer Shadow to be caring and understanding above all else, and that having him reject Maria at the end makes sense but feels a bit like a disservice to his arc in SA2. Also Black Doom’s involvement in shadow’s creation feels like a dumb retcon that only lives to explain why he’s black and red)
- On an aesthetic level I think this game rocks, the pre rendered cutscenes look fantastic and the in-game models/animation are (while a bit janky) look expressive and fluid enough to sell the idea that this game had some love put into it.
- Also the music is mostly okay or laughable (80% of the vocal tracks), but there are still some real bangers like Digital Circuit, Lost Impact, Central City, and of course, I Am… All of Me
- Overall, I’m glad it exists