friendofdonphan
2023
Sonic Superstars is a frightful sequel to the blue blur’s esteemed 2D outings; nobody likes to see something played so safe that it’s painful, but at its best, that is what Sonic Superstars is. The first few zones are relatively reminiscent of the brisk platforming the series is known so well for, even giving you some useful and fun Emerald Powers to mess around with that help with bosses or enhance your character’s mobility. Speed Jungle is especially a favorite for its variety of grind rail-like vines and fun vertical platforming bits.
Unfortunately, as you progress through the game, the level design begins to feel extremely forgettable and blocky, with few opportunities for fun Sonic action and more of a reliance on strange gimmicks, with a special mention to Cyber Station’s strange “pick a path” vertical section that just feels so… not-Sonic. I found that most of the new level gimmicks felt a bit intrusive or unfun and that most of the gimmicks were lifted from previous games, such as the Sandopolis rising sand pillars. The Emerald Powers also begin to feel situational at best; Water gets a special mention for being one of the most niche powerups I have seen in a game for a long time, only allowing you to ascend up waterfalls that are scarcely seen throughout the game’s levels.
At its worst, Sonic Superstars an exercise in frustration; the game is home to some surprisingly poorly designed bosses that take far too long to complete. This issue shows itself early with bosses having many phases where they are unhittable, requiring a solid amount of waiting, but I didn’t think too much of it at first. It isn’t until the autoscroller boss with Fang in the late game where things start to feel really ugly, with such a long-winded, downright tedious fight with the cunning weasel.
Then you reach the final boss, which I would argue is the worst boss in Sonic history. Combining long stretches of waiting between phases, a ridiculous amount of hits required for victory, and one-hit kill attacks late into a boss that already takes far too long, the final showdown with Eggman is some of the least fun I have ever had with the Sonic franchise. I wish it wasn’t, but this is one of the first things I think of when I think of Sonic Superstars. (Apparently, this boss essentially returns in an even-worse form in Trip’s Story, which I did not complete for this review. Kind of mind-boggling.)
The music of the game is an extremely mixed bag; the second act of the sand zone is a highlight, however, I feel the majority of the OST is forgettable at best. The artstyle is decent-enough and can look pretty nice at times but is generally also something I feel is played a bit too safe - I found myself missing the beautiful pixel art found in Mania by the late-game zones.
I wasn’t able to try out the multiplayer mode for this review - i’m sure it’s more fun than playing alone, because things are always more fun with friends, but it also doesn’t sound like it would work too well in a game with such variable speeds and movements between players and characters like Classic Sonic. Maybe someday, but i’m certainly not itching to play this one again very soon.
Superstars feels like it is trying to emulate what made previous entries so fun, whilst not having strong enough ideas of its own to deliver an interesting experience that feels worth its $60 price tag. At its earliest and best moments, it’s a decent classic Sonic experience, but that feeling did not last for long, and I found myself left with a sour taste in my mouth by the end of the game. I’d only suggest this game for Sonic fans, and only on a sale. Play Mario Wonder or Sonic Mania instead.
Unfortunately, as you progress through the game, the level design begins to feel extremely forgettable and blocky, with few opportunities for fun Sonic action and more of a reliance on strange gimmicks, with a special mention to Cyber Station’s strange “pick a path” vertical section that just feels so… not-Sonic. I found that most of the new level gimmicks felt a bit intrusive or unfun and that most of the gimmicks were lifted from previous games, such as the Sandopolis rising sand pillars. The Emerald Powers also begin to feel situational at best; Water gets a special mention for being one of the most niche powerups I have seen in a game for a long time, only allowing you to ascend up waterfalls that are scarcely seen throughout the game’s levels.
At its worst, Sonic Superstars an exercise in frustration; the game is home to some surprisingly poorly designed bosses that take far too long to complete. This issue shows itself early with bosses having many phases where they are unhittable, requiring a solid amount of waiting, but I didn’t think too much of it at first. It isn’t until the autoscroller boss with Fang in the late game where things start to feel really ugly, with such a long-winded, downright tedious fight with the cunning weasel.
Then you reach the final boss, which I would argue is the worst boss in Sonic history. Combining long stretches of waiting between phases, a ridiculous amount of hits required for victory, and one-hit kill attacks late into a boss that already takes far too long, the final showdown with Eggman is some of the least fun I have ever had with the Sonic franchise. I wish it wasn’t, but this is one of the first things I think of when I think of Sonic Superstars. (Apparently, this boss essentially returns in an even-worse form in Trip’s Story, which I did not complete for this review. Kind of mind-boggling.)
The music of the game is an extremely mixed bag; the second act of the sand zone is a highlight, however, I feel the majority of the OST is forgettable at best. The artstyle is decent-enough and can look pretty nice at times but is generally also something I feel is played a bit too safe - I found myself missing the beautiful pixel art found in Mania by the late-game zones.
I wasn’t able to try out the multiplayer mode for this review - i’m sure it’s more fun than playing alone, because things are always more fun with friends, but it also doesn’t sound like it would work too well in a game with such variable speeds and movements between players and characters like Classic Sonic. Maybe someday, but i’m certainly not itching to play this one again very soon.
Superstars feels like it is trying to emulate what made previous entries so fun, whilst not having strong enough ideas of its own to deliver an interesting experience that feels worth its $60 price tag. At its earliest and best moments, it’s a decent classic Sonic experience, but that feeling did not last for long, and I found myself left with a sour taste in my mouth by the end of the game. I’d only suggest this game for Sonic fans, and only on a sale. Play Mario Wonder or Sonic Mania instead.
This review contains spoilers
100% completed outside of standee farming
At its core, Mario Wonder feels like a successful attempt to recapture the giddy whimsy of 2D Mario that the New Super Mario Bros. series has sorely lacked for the past 20 years. Gone are the enemies dancing to the ever-dreaded “bah”s heard constantly throughout the soundtrack, gone with the strangely janky looking animations on the playable characters, and gone with world 1 grasslands and world 2 deserts. Wonder manages to set itself apart with its inventive level design, interesting world biomes, amazing animation harkening back to 2D sprites/artwork of classic Mario, and a whole three brand new power-ups to play with in Elephant, Bubble, and Drill.
Elephant and Bubble steal the show to me, with Drill feeling surprisingly clunky and not all that useful compared to the other power-ups, but the former two carry their weight nicely with a surprising amount of depth to them for Mario power-ups.
The main new mechanic, the Wonder Seeds found in each level, range from mildly interesting to incredibly fun. There aren’t many stinkers that come to mind, although there are many that probably won’t linger in your mind too much afterward. My favorites are probably the Metal transformation (a cool call-back with interesting gameplay mechanics I desperately wish they messed around with more) and the rolling spike ball, which allowed for some really fun momentum-based speed platforming, with one Special World level especially dialing it up to 11. Overall, a fun mechanic that felt well-executed.
What I consider the other main appeal of Wonder, especially on replays, is the all-new badge system that allows you to equip a modifier before each level. These range from simply giving you a Mushroom at the start of a course to constantly locking you into a dash in return for an increase in speed, a speedrunner’s dream. I thoroughly enjoyed messing around with the badges, particularly the ones that altered movement in some way - special shoutouts to the Mario 2-style charge jump, which I shamelessly used to cheese countless gold flagpoles. Badges are an addition that I personally hope sticks around for 2D Marios to come.
Additionally, Nintendo has allowed for this game to be played with up to 4 players at once in local multiplayer, which has been a pretty fun time when I’ve gotten to try it. The tougher levels are certainly a struggle with more than one person, however, and it may be best left to the less-precise levels to reduce frustration. Thankfully, the characters that would normally be multiplayer-only in previous 2D Mario titles are playable for any player, and this game’s roster is packed with more characters than ever, which allows for some much-appreciated customization and variety.
However, it isn’t all wondrous - much of a Mario fan as I am, I still have some (mostly minor) issues with the game. Bosses feel rather uninteresting and easy with a surprising amount of waiting involved. I can’t think of a boss that really gets me thinking of how fun or interesting it was (besides maybe the final boss, but not much) - the Bowser switch bosses are particularly boring, being simple platforming rooms.
The music, while pretty nice at times, feels rather forgettable for a Mario game, and with the last main entry in Mario Odyssey having such an incredible soundtrack, it is slightly underwhelming to go down a bit in catchiness. Golden Falls probably has my favorite music, genuinely was caught off by its overworld theme.
Lastly, I do feel the difficulty was a bit too easy in even the Special World - turning Online Mode off helps to avoid reviving off of other players but the level design only felt genuinely challenging in a number of levels you can count on one hand. The levels that gave a challenge were really fun to crack away at and I hope Nintendo finds it in themselves to create more of these tough masterpieces for dedicated gamers going forward.
Overall, though, Mario Wonder feels like an amazing return to form for 2D Mario that I desperately would love to see more of in the future. A great game and a must-play for any Nintendo fan!
At its core, Mario Wonder feels like a successful attempt to recapture the giddy whimsy of 2D Mario that the New Super Mario Bros. series has sorely lacked for the past 20 years. Gone are the enemies dancing to the ever-dreaded “bah”s heard constantly throughout the soundtrack, gone with the strangely janky looking animations on the playable characters, and gone with world 1 grasslands and world 2 deserts. Wonder manages to set itself apart with its inventive level design, interesting world biomes, amazing animation harkening back to 2D sprites/artwork of classic Mario, and a whole three brand new power-ups to play with in Elephant, Bubble, and Drill.
Elephant and Bubble steal the show to me, with Drill feeling surprisingly clunky and not all that useful compared to the other power-ups, but the former two carry their weight nicely with a surprising amount of depth to them for Mario power-ups.
The main new mechanic, the Wonder Seeds found in each level, range from mildly interesting to incredibly fun. There aren’t many stinkers that come to mind, although there are many that probably won’t linger in your mind too much afterward. My favorites are probably the Metal transformation (a cool call-back with interesting gameplay mechanics I desperately wish they messed around with more) and the rolling spike ball, which allowed for some really fun momentum-based speed platforming, with one Special World level especially dialing it up to 11. Overall, a fun mechanic that felt well-executed.
What I consider the other main appeal of Wonder, especially on replays, is the all-new badge system that allows you to equip a modifier before each level. These range from simply giving you a Mushroom at the start of a course to constantly locking you into a dash in return for an increase in speed, a speedrunner’s dream. I thoroughly enjoyed messing around with the badges, particularly the ones that altered movement in some way - special shoutouts to the Mario 2-style charge jump, which I shamelessly used to cheese countless gold flagpoles. Badges are an addition that I personally hope sticks around for 2D Marios to come.
Additionally, Nintendo has allowed for this game to be played with up to 4 players at once in local multiplayer, which has been a pretty fun time when I’ve gotten to try it. The tougher levels are certainly a struggle with more than one person, however, and it may be best left to the less-precise levels to reduce frustration. Thankfully, the characters that would normally be multiplayer-only in previous 2D Mario titles are playable for any player, and this game’s roster is packed with more characters than ever, which allows for some much-appreciated customization and variety.
However, it isn’t all wondrous - much of a Mario fan as I am, I still have some (mostly minor) issues with the game. Bosses feel rather uninteresting and easy with a surprising amount of waiting involved. I can’t think of a boss that really gets me thinking of how fun or interesting it was (besides maybe the final boss, but not much) - the Bowser switch bosses are particularly boring, being simple platforming rooms.
The music, while pretty nice at times, feels rather forgettable for a Mario game, and with the last main entry in Mario Odyssey having such an incredible soundtrack, it is slightly underwhelming to go down a bit in catchiness. Golden Falls probably has my favorite music, genuinely was caught off by its overworld theme.
Lastly, I do feel the difficulty was a bit too easy in even the Special World - turning Online Mode off helps to avoid reviving off of other players but the level design only felt genuinely challenging in a number of levels you can count on one hand. The levels that gave a challenge were really fun to crack away at and I hope Nintendo finds it in themselves to create more of these tough masterpieces for dedicated gamers going forward.
Overall, though, Mario Wonder feels like an amazing return to form for 2D Mario that I desperately would love to see more of in the future. A great game and a must-play for any Nintendo fan!
2019
disappointing