Note: To make my replay of this game more comfortable, I decided to install 2 major mods for the game that will help improve my experience of the game overall.
No Medal Requirements - Basically removes any need to collect any medals to unlock any stages and progress the game, cutting any unnecessary backtracking the game had to nothing.
Battle Music Fix - Removes the trigger for the Werehog battle music to play whenever enemies are fought, purely there to make sure I don't crazy listening to the song again and again and can enjoy the actual stage music.
With that out of the way, I was pleasantly surprised about how much I enjoyed this way more compared to my previous playthrough back in 2020, with things feeling a lot more consistent than I remembered and overall having a better time with the game, though it is still not perfect.
Day Time Stages:
- While I still felt the control and gameplay for the 3D Boost gameplay felt more refined in Colors and especially Generations, I still had a pretty good time with them.
- I didn't have issues with many of the daytime stages, and what issues I had mainly came down to either very minor difficulty spikes or platforming that didn't work due to the game's slippery controls when trying slowly platform in the daytime stages (Though it was only bad in Chun-Nan and Adabat where they were the most prevalent)
- Finally, I felt that the upgrades for Day Sonic, while a bit noticeable especially in the Ring meter upgrades, didn't feel quite as drastic as the Werehog upgrades, which I'll get into shortly.
Night Time Stages:
- This was the part of the game I was most curious about when replaying it, mainly since I've played so many proper action games when I last played Unleashed (Devil May Cry series, Bayonetta 1, Metal Gear Rising, Transformers Devastations) that I wondered if the Werehog sections still hold up or aged poorly.
- First of all, I'm happy to report that I still got plenty of enjoyment from the level design, with its varied locations, puzzles, and the game rewarding you for exploring around, I especially like it more now since I didn't feel like the game didn't throw as many cheap tricks as I remembered before (Though Chun-nan and Holoska were minor exceptions to this).
- More importantly, though, I ended up enjoying the Werehog gameplay just as much if not slightly more than the Day Time gameplay. While the Werehog does start a bit unimpressive with having a very limited movelist, if you take the time to upgrade his moveset (And by that, I mean taking advantage of an exploit with the Wandering Salesman that allows you to gain infinite money and buy a shit ton of exp food which I did) then the Werehog ends up becoming way more fun to use. There are so many cool moves and combinations to use on the character that it made me wish there was an entire game dedicated to this playstyle (Which will probably never happen but that's beside the point).
Overall, while I still don't think it deserves the hidden masterpiece status that so many Sonic fans have claimed it to be, I still think it's a pretty great game on its own. I'm still able to enjoy the simple yet great story, its incredible worldbuilding, great-looking graphics, and amazing music along with being much more appreciative of both of its gameplay styles, even if the game needed some refining on its level design and progression with the sun and moon medals.
Also, Eggmanland isn't that hard, you all just need to get good.
No Medal Requirements - Basically removes any need to collect any medals to unlock any stages and progress the game, cutting any unnecessary backtracking the game had to nothing.
Battle Music Fix - Removes the trigger for the Werehog battle music to play whenever enemies are fought, purely there to make sure I don't crazy listening to the song again and again and can enjoy the actual stage music.
With that out of the way, I was pleasantly surprised about how much I enjoyed this way more compared to my previous playthrough back in 2020, with things feeling a lot more consistent than I remembered and overall having a better time with the game, though it is still not perfect.
Day Time Stages:
- While I still felt the control and gameplay for the 3D Boost gameplay felt more refined in Colors and especially Generations, I still had a pretty good time with them.
- I didn't have issues with many of the daytime stages, and what issues I had mainly came down to either very minor difficulty spikes or platforming that didn't work due to the game's slippery controls when trying slowly platform in the daytime stages (Though it was only bad in Chun-Nan and Adabat where they were the most prevalent)
- Finally, I felt that the upgrades for Day Sonic, while a bit noticeable especially in the Ring meter upgrades, didn't feel quite as drastic as the Werehog upgrades, which I'll get into shortly.
Night Time Stages:
- This was the part of the game I was most curious about when replaying it, mainly since I've played so many proper action games when I last played Unleashed (Devil May Cry series, Bayonetta 1, Metal Gear Rising, Transformers Devastations) that I wondered if the Werehog sections still hold up or aged poorly.
- First of all, I'm happy to report that I still got plenty of enjoyment from the level design, with its varied locations, puzzles, and the game rewarding you for exploring around, I especially like it more now since I didn't feel like the game didn't throw as many cheap tricks as I remembered before (Though Chun-nan and Holoska were minor exceptions to this).
- More importantly, though, I ended up enjoying the Werehog gameplay just as much if not slightly more than the Day Time gameplay. While the Werehog does start a bit unimpressive with having a very limited movelist, if you take the time to upgrade his moveset (And by that, I mean taking advantage of an exploit with the Wandering Salesman that allows you to gain infinite money and buy a shit ton of exp food which I did) then the Werehog ends up becoming way more fun to use. There are so many cool moves and combinations to use on the character that it made me wish there was an entire game dedicated to this playstyle (Which will probably never happen but that's beside the point).
Overall, while I still don't think it deserves the hidden masterpiece status that so many Sonic fans have claimed it to be, I still think it's a pretty great game on its own. I'm still able to enjoy the simple yet great story, its incredible worldbuilding, great-looking graphics, and amazing music along with being much more appreciative of both of its gameplay styles, even if the game needed some refining on its level design and progression with the sun and moon medals.
Also, Eggmanland isn't that hard, you all just need to get good.