First Cleared on July 22nd, 2014 (Literally one day after it launched)
Recently Cleared on April 11th, 2023
Freedom Planet is a game that I've followed quite closely back in 2013. I discovered this game going down internet rabbit holes on trolls related to Sonic the Hedgehog who are long gone or irrelevant, and I was immediately invested. I played the demo and had a fun time.
When I heard it was going to be released as a full game, I got excited. I spent a lot of my 9th grade high school time thinking about it. I’ve kept up with news on the game, I’ve replayed the demo, and I was hoping the game would eventually catch on. The game, at the time, did not. But I wasn’t going to stop my excitement. When it finally came out on July 21st, 2014, I wasted no time getting into it. I installed it and spent a good amount of my week getting through all three characters, and it was worth the wait.
Freedom Planet is considered the spiritual successor to the 2D Sonic Games back before Sonic Mania was even announced. While I've always been more interested in the 3D Sonic games, I could not deny how amazing Freedom Planet looked and played. It felt more in-depth with its combat system and the other characters all felt fun to play with their own distinct style which allows you to approach levels and bosses in different angles. The three characters that you play as are Lilac the Dragon, Carol the Wildcat, and Milla the Hound.
Lilac the Dragon is the powerhouse that bears resemblance to Sonic except in place of the spindash, we have the Dragon Boost which was borrowed from Rocket Knight and, in my opinion, feels so much better to use because you don't have to stop to charge up speed. On top of being the fastest character in the game and having the extremely powerful Dragon Boost which propels you in six different directions, deals damage and gives you a few frames of invincibility, she also gets Cyclone which can be used to gain a little extra height and increase her horizontal distance while dealing damage in the way.
Carol the Wildcat is a more agile combatant of the three as her basic attacks although not as strong as Lilac's, is much faster. Her movement speed isn't as fast, but her strength over Lilac is being able to cover vertical distance much better than she can as she can climb up walls Mega Man X style. She can somersault like a traditional Sonic character could, Pounce to cover horizontal distance, Pounce + Claw combo for burst damage, and use her signature Wild Kick which lets her deal rapid damage while having invincibility. This aspect of Carol is so busted, for the record, that it might explain why they took it away from her in Freedom Planet 2 and gave her a new ability. The most notable thing about Carol, however, is that she can ride a motorcycle and by that point, she becomes even faster likely matching or even surpassing Lilac, at the least, having better initial acceleration. It gives her a double jump although it takes away her ability to Pounce. She also loses it upon taking damage with the exception of some bosses.
Milla is the explorer of the three. She is the slowest character and makes her the best character for taking in scenery and exploring, but even with her slow speed, she can be very strong in her own way. She can conjure a shield that deflects enemy projectiles, create a cube that she can either throw for long distance damage, or create a bigger shield and follow up with a massive blast that can hit multiple enemies. She can also flutter in the air. While that’s not impressive compared to what Lilac or Carol could do, it gives her much better air control in comparison.
That said, as fun as Milla is, she is very unbalanced. Her shield allows her to cheese aspects of the game that the other characters would find hellish, but Milla having much lower health means that she dies very easily. Milla has a high skill-ceiling compared to the other characters, and was even at one point considered a character of choice for speedrunners which might have to do with how her path is structured as a few segments could be considered shorter.
There were supposed to be two more characters that are playable being Torque and Spade. Torque would resemble a Gunstar Hero with a range of weaponry based on the colored orbs that he picked up, and Spade is a ranged fighter that darts around and throws cards at people. However, those two were "put on an indefinite hold" with future plans to give them their own side games instead. Kind of a shame since I was looking forward to seeing their stories unfold... that reminds me.
The story of this game is another aspect I was interested in, and it’s… interesting. The thing is, depending on who you ask, the story is either well-written and exciting, or sloggish with an inconsistent tone. Honestly, I've never really had a problem with the story's tone. Namely with the things the villain Brevon does, it was established in the intro that Brevon is a ruthless psychopath the moment that he beheaded the king of Shuigang, and even before the infamous Thermal Base cutscene, things were already getting really bad for the protagonists, anyway, and I've completely forgotten about the cootie joke that got removed in later patches in the game. And if we're going off the logic of tone inconsistency, I'd argue that Freedom Planet 2 is noteworthy sometimes in that regard and that story is praised by the same people who call Freedom Planet 1 "tonally inconsistent". I don't have a problem with Freedom Planet 2 in that regard, it's just something I wonder why people don't call into question. I think a far more pressing matter in regards to the story of Freedom Planet 1 is just the pacing as some cutscenes in the game can go on for a long while. Like I'm not even kidding when I say this, but Lilac's story alone has exactly 1 hour of cutscenes and she gets like 12 levels which could each go on for around 5-10 minutes depending on how skilled and knowledgeable you are at the game, and the cutscene to get from Level 2 to Level 3 takes like 13 minutes. If this sounds absurd, don't worry, you can just play Classic mode and ignore the story altogether.
The story is nowhere near as bad as other people say it is, but that's not to say I think the story is perfect and everybody doesn't get it. I have a few qualms with the story which include Neera Li's character, a misplaced dialogue where Lilac rants about ignorant leaders which could've been a lot better when said some time after Shang-Tu turned on Lilac and her friends, and some unanswered questions that came from the negative effect of putting Torque and Spade on an indefinite hold.
The thing that carried the story for me are the main cast, namely Lilac the Dragon. When revisiting the story, I thought maybe I was exaggerating when I believed Lilac to be one of my favorite characters in all of fiction, but when I went through it again, I realized she’s more than just one of my favorite characters, but my favorite heroine in all of fiction. It’s remarkable how she had stood the test of time in the face of new heroines because many of them are obnoxious brats like Frey (Forspoken) or just poorly written like Abbey (The Last of Us II). The writers understands that Lilac doesn’t have to sacrifice being compassionate and friendly in order to be strong. If anything, it’s because of how much Lilac cares that makes her more badass, and I think her ability to have fun and goof around gives an amazing contrast to just how pissed off she can be, making it all the more shocking. Think of it this way, when you see someone that’s usually angry get angry, you think “oh great, they’re at it again”, but when you see the person that’s usually fun and quirky get angry, you think “oh god”. Lilac is a character that can have fun with what she does, but quickly shift to serious mode when she knows the stakes. And yet Lilac is not a flawless Mary Sue character, she does display headstrong and stubborn tendencies even when her intentions are good, but it’s not overbearing like the average “stronk wooman”, and actually adds to the character that she is, the person she wants to be. A hero, and when you control her, you feel heroism and a rush to fight and save the world. And this is all just in the first game.
Anyway, Carol is funny although a bit annoying some times, and Milla is just a cute and sweet character. I don't really have as much else to say about them compared to Lilac, but they're good characters too.
Some other things I love about the game include it's visual presentation, and even now it still looks great for the developer's debut game. The music is also fantastic, and Battle Glacier in particular is an amazing song that invokes the feeling of triumph, and a final push against Brevon's armies.
The sequel may blow it out of the waters, but Freedom Planet 1 is still a good game and worth at a playthrough.
Recently Cleared on April 11th, 2023
Freedom Planet is a game that I've followed quite closely back in 2013. I discovered this game going down internet rabbit holes on trolls related to Sonic the Hedgehog who are long gone or irrelevant, and I was immediately invested. I played the demo and had a fun time.
When I heard it was going to be released as a full game, I got excited. I spent a lot of my 9th grade high school time thinking about it. I’ve kept up with news on the game, I’ve replayed the demo, and I was hoping the game would eventually catch on. The game, at the time, did not. But I wasn’t going to stop my excitement. When it finally came out on July 21st, 2014, I wasted no time getting into it. I installed it and spent a good amount of my week getting through all three characters, and it was worth the wait.
Freedom Planet is considered the spiritual successor to the 2D Sonic Games back before Sonic Mania was even announced. While I've always been more interested in the 3D Sonic games, I could not deny how amazing Freedom Planet looked and played. It felt more in-depth with its combat system and the other characters all felt fun to play with their own distinct style which allows you to approach levels and bosses in different angles. The three characters that you play as are Lilac the Dragon, Carol the Wildcat, and Milla the Hound.
Lilac the Dragon is the powerhouse that bears resemblance to Sonic except in place of the spindash, we have the Dragon Boost which was borrowed from Rocket Knight and, in my opinion, feels so much better to use because you don't have to stop to charge up speed. On top of being the fastest character in the game and having the extremely powerful Dragon Boost which propels you in six different directions, deals damage and gives you a few frames of invincibility, she also gets Cyclone which can be used to gain a little extra height and increase her horizontal distance while dealing damage in the way.
Carol the Wildcat is a more agile combatant of the three as her basic attacks although not as strong as Lilac's, is much faster. Her movement speed isn't as fast, but her strength over Lilac is being able to cover vertical distance much better than she can as she can climb up walls Mega Man X style. She can somersault like a traditional Sonic character could, Pounce to cover horizontal distance, Pounce + Claw combo for burst damage, and use her signature Wild Kick which lets her deal rapid damage while having invincibility. This aspect of Carol is so busted, for the record, that it might explain why they took it away from her in Freedom Planet 2 and gave her a new ability. The most notable thing about Carol, however, is that she can ride a motorcycle and by that point, she becomes even faster likely matching or even surpassing Lilac, at the least, having better initial acceleration. It gives her a double jump although it takes away her ability to Pounce. She also loses it upon taking damage with the exception of some bosses.
Milla is the explorer of the three. She is the slowest character and makes her the best character for taking in scenery and exploring, but even with her slow speed, she can be very strong in her own way. She can conjure a shield that deflects enemy projectiles, create a cube that she can either throw for long distance damage, or create a bigger shield and follow up with a massive blast that can hit multiple enemies. She can also flutter in the air. While that’s not impressive compared to what Lilac or Carol could do, it gives her much better air control in comparison.
That said, as fun as Milla is, she is very unbalanced. Her shield allows her to cheese aspects of the game that the other characters would find hellish, but Milla having much lower health means that she dies very easily. Milla has a high skill-ceiling compared to the other characters, and was even at one point considered a character of choice for speedrunners which might have to do with how her path is structured as a few segments could be considered shorter.
There were supposed to be two more characters that are playable being Torque and Spade. Torque would resemble a Gunstar Hero with a range of weaponry based on the colored orbs that he picked up, and Spade is a ranged fighter that darts around and throws cards at people. However, those two were "put on an indefinite hold" with future plans to give them their own side games instead. Kind of a shame since I was looking forward to seeing their stories unfold... that reminds me.
The story of this game is another aspect I was interested in, and it’s… interesting. The thing is, depending on who you ask, the story is either well-written and exciting, or sloggish with an inconsistent tone. Honestly, I've never really had a problem with the story's tone. Namely with the things the villain Brevon does, it was established in the intro that Brevon is a ruthless psychopath the moment that he beheaded the king of Shuigang, and even before the infamous Thermal Base cutscene, things were already getting really bad for the protagonists, anyway, and I've completely forgotten about the cootie joke that got removed in later patches in the game. And if we're going off the logic of tone inconsistency, I'd argue that Freedom Planet 2 is noteworthy sometimes in that regard and that story is praised by the same people who call Freedom Planet 1 "tonally inconsistent". I don't have a problem with Freedom Planet 2 in that regard, it's just something I wonder why people don't call into question. I think a far more pressing matter in regards to the story of Freedom Planet 1 is just the pacing as some cutscenes in the game can go on for a long while. Like I'm not even kidding when I say this, but Lilac's story alone has exactly 1 hour of cutscenes and she gets like 12 levels which could each go on for around 5-10 minutes depending on how skilled and knowledgeable you are at the game, and the cutscene to get from Level 2 to Level 3 takes like 13 minutes. If this sounds absurd, don't worry, you can just play Classic mode and ignore the story altogether.
The story is nowhere near as bad as other people say it is, but that's not to say I think the story is perfect and everybody doesn't get it. I have a few qualms with the story which include Neera Li's character, a misplaced dialogue where Lilac rants about ignorant leaders which could've been a lot better when said some time after Shang-Tu turned on Lilac and her friends, and some unanswered questions that came from the negative effect of putting Torque and Spade on an indefinite hold.
The thing that carried the story for me are the main cast, namely Lilac the Dragon. When revisiting the story, I thought maybe I was exaggerating when I believed Lilac to be one of my favorite characters in all of fiction, but when I went through it again, I realized she’s more than just one of my favorite characters, but my favorite heroine in all of fiction. It’s remarkable how she had stood the test of time in the face of new heroines because many of them are obnoxious brats like Frey (Forspoken) or just poorly written like Abbey (The Last of Us II). The writers understands that Lilac doesn’t have to sacrifice being compassionate and friendly in order to be strong. If anything, it’s because of how much Lilac cares that makes her more badass, and I think her ability to have fun and goof around gives an amazing contrast to just how pissed off she can be, making it all the more shocking. Think of it this way, when you see someone that’s usually angry get angry, you think “oh great, they’re at it again”, but when you see the person that’s usually fun and quirky get angry, you think “oh god”. Lilac is a character that can have fun with what she does, but quickly shift to serious mode when she knows the stakes. And yet Lilac is not a flawless Mary Sue character, she does display headstrong and stubborn tendencies even when her intentions are good, but it’s not overbearing like the average “stronk wooman”, and actually adds to the character that she is, the person she wants to be. A hero, and when you control her, you feel heroism and a rush to fight and save the world. And this is all just in the first game.
Anyway, Carol is funny although a bit annoying some times, and Milla is just a cute and sweet character. I don't really have as much else to say about them compared to Lilac, but they're good characters too.
Some other things I love about the game include it's visual presentation, and even now it still looks great for the developer's debut game. The music is also fantastic, and Battle Glacier in particular is an amazing song that invokes the feeling of triumph, and a final push against Brevon's armies.
The sequel may blow it out of the waters, but Freedom Planet 1 is still a good game and worth at a playthrough.