Ah yes, Sonic Colors Ultimate. This is a game that I am very familiar with. This retrospective is going to consist of two perspectives. A standalone review covering Colors Ultimate for what it is, and a direct comparison to the Original version released on the Wii. As always, these opinions are my own but I am going to try and be as unbiased as possible.

Originally released exclusively on the Nintendo Wii back on November 11th 2010.  It was regarded as one of the best Sonic games to be released in years (Although we seem to be hearing that about nearly every Sonic game released recently). It was also criticized for only being available on the Wii. There was no doubt that Sonic games were definitely struggling during this time, with SEGA desperately trying to reinvent their leading franchise to keep up with the rapidly evolving gaming industry.

Colors managed to do a few things right that previous installments at that time were struggling from. Firstly, they brought back side scrolling elements with fairly decent platforming segments that were hardly seen anymore more in the 2000's. Most consumers praised Sonic Colors by stating the 2d platforming elements were the only good parts of the game. On the other hand, I found the 3d stages to be just as engaging if not more. I felt like they were really starting to get a handle on how to control Sonic in 3d environments. 

The graphics on this game were phenomenal considering the hardware, and being some of the best that the Wii had seen. The musical score was also a masterpiece. Myself, alongside many others consider it to be one of the absolute best soundtracks to ever grace a Sonic game. The story is light-hearted and not much to write home about. Eggman is has created a theme park and naturally Sonic and Tails do not trust the good doctor, so they go to investigate Eggman Land. Fun fact: This is the same Eggman Land that Eggman was building in the Shadow the Hedgehog game, so there was some neat, little fore-shadow-ing.

Sonic and Tails quickly discover that Eggman has started harboring an alien species called Wisps and was harnessing their energy to make a weapon strong enough to pursue world domination. You traverse through multiple areas ranging from a world made of candy, theme parks, Planet Wisp, and more.  Sonic is able to harness the powers of these wisps to aid him on his journey that give him abilities to turn himself into a drill, lazer, rocket, and various others. 

Level progression is much of the same from what players have gotten used to from Sonic games. Point A to point B levels, while gathering red rings along the way. In Sonic Colors, you collect red rings to gain access to additional levels in Game Land. These stages are how players collect the Chaos Emeralds, and ultimately reaching the true ending of the game.  

There are fully voiced cutscenes throughout Colors, but I found myself struggling to not skip most of them. The newly added Cubot and Orbot are the comedic glue that hold these together, with there only purpose seemingly to be to get under Eggman's skin. Levels and worlds are also laid out on a hub world, allowing for backtracking and taking on levels in any order that you choose. This isn't a difficult game, where the main challenge lies in collecting every red ring. Some of these won't be accessible until after you have acquired certain Wisps.

Moving on to Sonic Colors Ultimate, releasing on September 7th 2021, it had fans at ends with mixed opinions. I'm going to be talking about the Switch version because this is the one that I am familiar with. Visually, this game is supposed to be an HD remaster, but I remember it looking better on the Wii. Also, I don't remember the Wii version having nearly as many bugs. From lagging, game breaking glitches, frame drops, and even seizure inducing flickering and flashes. Thankfully, most of these issues have been patched, and from what I have heard these problems were only in the Switch version. The music has been completely redone, allowing players to use either the new rendition or the original soundtrack.

There were also a few added features to the game although the story and levels themselves are virtually the same. Oddly enough, although this is a remaster with enhanced graphics, the cutscenes are untouched, being left exactly the same as the Wii. You can no longer play as Mii's in Game Land. But they did add customization to Sonic, allowing you to change his gloves, shoes, trail, and aura. You can also choose your player icon, and unlock achievements. And they have added races against Metal Sonic in each of the games worlds.

Sonic Colors Ultimate is a bit of a mixed bag. From someone who has played both versions I would have to say if you played the Wii version and had your fill then I would skip Ultimate. Unless you just out-right love Sonic Colors(Myself included). But if you have never played Colors before then this is definitely something you might want to check out. There is enough here to keep you busy for a decent amount of time that will give you your money's worth. But just not enough new content or bells and whistles to bring back some old fans of the game. After everything is said and done, if I were to rate this game I would give Sonic Colors on the Wii a 9/10, and Sonic Colors Ultimate a 7/10. After looking back at this remaster the only thought that I have now is that I hope that SEGA will manage to do something more for Generations X Shadow than they did for this. Only time will tell if it will be a remaster with some added levels or glorified remake. But either way, Sonic has been on the move alot recently and I am just happy to be here for the ride!