Sonic 4: Episode 2 Screens & Media Topic

[azoo]

Just about everything about this game so far makes me want to love it, but the amount of dashpads have me worried, as do the physics. If Sega can deliver something like 'classic' Gens3DS physics while going easy on the dashpads, I'll be willing to take a bite of this S4E2 sandwich.

And hold the relish while you're at it.

Edited February 24, 2012 by Azukara

[Hyper-Shan]

Just about everything about this game so far makes me want to love it, but the amount of dashpads have me worried, as do the physics. If Sega can deliver something like 'classic' Gens3DS physics while going easy on the dashpads, I'll be willing to take a bite of this S4E2 sandwich.

And hold the relish while you're at it.

I've saw around 5 in the trailer so far (3 of them were used I think). I don't know if its a lot or not considering the fast cuts & all, but I guess we'll just have to wait & see - I sure do hope they would tone it down.

[Salamander]

So I gather that there's no Tails alone or Sonic alone mode? Odd. At this point I can see that there's probably no way they can just put it in, since they seem to have built the game around the co-op feature; the question is, why did they do it that way? In fact, let me put it another way; why is there no mode in which Tails is the primary player and Sonic the CPU player? I can accept them deciding to build in the co-op as a primary feature and making it obligatory, but they really should have known people would be upset if you can't use Tails as a main character. I assume their line of thinking was that Sonic is the hero and it wouldn't make sense to have him tagging along behind Tails, but that didn't stop there from being a Tails-only mode in Sonic 3. Maybe they just need the homing attack to be on the lead player that much, but again - they didn't have to design the game that way. Very odd; I'm not sure why they went down this route.

I wonder what this says about a hypothetical Episode 3 with Knuckles as an added character? Would they add three-player co-op, or allow you to play as Sonic + Tails or Sonic + Knuckles in a sort of customisable Advance 3 set-up? Or would they make them all into independent characters? Given that there's a backlash here that will probably extend to reviews, since the Tails exclusion is somewhat illogical, I would imagine that for Episode 3 they might change their tune... but not much.

[ArtFenix]

Very odd; I'm not sure why they went down this route.

The answer is very simple: laziness.

[Buja]

Game looks really good.The running animation is much better. But I do think that they should have made it without the homing attack. It's not that I'm like anti homing attack and that it makes my life miserable, but I feel that homing attack was ment for 3D. It's a different gameplay. And to translate the 3D gampley in 2D is in my opinion wrong. That is the whole meaning of 2D gameplay. To jump right on the enemies, build a momentum. And I hope they reduced those bounce and speed things. In Episode 1 they were like everywhere. I know that Sonic is about speed, but that speed should be more like earned with momentum.

And when he jumps, I like more if he's just a blue ball, and not to see him detailed. And for physics, I'm sure they are better, but I doubt that it will be perfect. As you see on 0:26. i feel like he should have gone more in the air...but ok, I don't want to sound like I'm not loving it...just my personal taste for some things, but generaly, I love that they gave us 2D Sonic and I'm sure this will be fun

[Marcello]

OK, now I'll give my full opinion on E2.

The physics look the same as E1 to me. Maybe they are different, but until I see how they're better, I'll stay disappointed. Now, I really liked Episode 1, so I can live with the crappy physics, but I want them to be better and I really think they should be. No uncurling is nice, but after Ken constantly made such a big deal out of it, I wasn't all too interested in seeing it.

I don't like Snowy. I don't want to waste so much time on one enemy. It was annoying in Heroes and it was annoying in Rush. I don't see it being much better in this game.

Steelion seems to have some weird sonar attack. Don't really get that, but it looks pretty cool.

The floating boxes seem to just be rising platforms. I guess that can be used interestingly if they only float up once and they're used in a way that it closes off certain paths if you aren't fast enough, but opens up others.

I don't like how it seems the team attacks are forced. For one, I want to be able to play as Sonic and Tails alone. Second, I think it'll end up being annoying. It doesn't feel like it belongs in the Classics in this way.

Tails not being playable in Single Player is incredibly annoying. It feels like a step back. I guess the forced team work is to blame, but I should've been able to at least change the leader. And I'm slightly irked by SEGA making a big deal of Tails being back, just to find out he's not actually playable.

The amount of pointless boostpads and springs worries me.

The game looks really nice. I was only able to watch it in 360p due to my internet being shit at the moment, but it was nice to see it in motion. The characters have nice animations. The level diversity is nice. Sylvania Castle is looking different enough than Aquatic Ruin to me. White Park is looking awesome.

There are some nice looking level gimmicks. They should be fun. I also see quite a few slopes. Only if the rolling is gimped, those are sort of moot. We will see.

I was pretty surprised that you can go into the background. I was half-expecting it after the screens, but I was assuming it would be like Episode 1 in that matter. That's pretty cool.

I'm still definitely excited for the game, but I can't say the trailer wasn't a bit disappointing for me.

It's the Sonic 2 special stages again, there's nothing new to see in there.

There could be differences to it like in Episode 1. Maybe you control the stage again?

Edited February 24, 2012 by Marcellove

[Your Vest Friend]

Sooooo who is Kellie again? I think i'm the only one who has no idea who this person is.

She's part of the PR team at SoA.

[krazystitch]

I don't expect Sonic to gain much speed running down inclines, but I still think he'll go faster when rolling downhill.

At least, he SHOULD be going faster when rolling downhill. That's part of the whole "physics" thing that people have been talking about. The way Episode 1 tried to make it just didn't work.

Also, I think it's fascinating how SEGA is basically trying to go through the whole series again, but through episodes (Episode 1 being close to Sonic 1, Episode 2 being close to Sonic 2 by adding Tails) and even the logos are the same for the ones with corresponding numbers... But they still won't put other playable characters. Something the classic games had back in the 1990s but they refuse to put in 2012. Come on, SEGA..

[Cortez]

I'm a bit worried that the co-op moves will only be useable in certain areas, like when the game tells you to use them.

I still have high hopes for this game, I'm just a bit concerned about some of the design choices they've made. It's starting to look a bit too Sonic Advance 3: Episode 2 for my liking.

[Red Cap]

Um... the fuck?

This is the sequel to Sonic 3 & Knuckles, and therefore shouldn't be regressing gameplay mechanics to Sonic 1 territory. That would be like if the 6th Generation of Pokemon cut the roster in half, but it's okay because it's still more than Red/Blue/Yellow. Just... no. That's completely illogical.

Okay, obviously I didn't word that right or something. My point was that Sonic 1 is still a fun game without other playable characters, and I agree that they SHOULD keep things like that in the game, but it's not going to ruin the entire game (which is what it sounded like he was saying).

[Kuzu]

Okay, obviously I didn't word that right or something. My point was that Sonic 1 is still a fun game without other playable characters, and I agree that they SHOULD keep things like that in the game, but it's not going to ruin the entire game (which is what it sounded like he was saying).

Nobody is saying the game is ruined(....Ok not everybody), just that its a backwards and unneeded design choice to not have Tails playable.

[Red Cap]

Nobody is saying the game is ruined(....Ok not everybody), just that its a backwards and unneeded design choice to not have Tails playable.

I know that now, I was just saying that when I made that post it sounded like he was saying the game was ruined. That sentence is right there in the post you quoted, actually.

(And like I said before, I agree that they should have let us play as Tails only, but it's not that much of a big deal since he's still playable in multiplayer)

Edited February 24, 2012 by Red Cap-Blue Spikes

[Winston]

Sooo, is the online multi-player still there? (Because I don't have any friends and....)

[Indigo Rush]

The answer is very simple: laziness.

This is another phrase that ticks me off.

We went from this:

To this:

And you're going to say that they're being lazy? Man, forget you.

Look, few people are more somber than I am that Tails can't be playable in single-player mode without a second controller, but I'm not going to say that the developers were copping-out because they felt tired and didn't want to do a good job. That's incredibly insulting to the amount of effort and love they put into this sequel.

The reason that Tails isn't playable on his own, or at the least isn't able to be switched to in the middle of the game is because they simply didn't think to do that, and that they designed the game around the team mechanic. It's apparent that the game is entirely dependent on teamwork, so going it alone simply won't work. This is why they're going all Advance 3 on us. For once, we have a 2D Sonic game with a bran new mechanic that isn't BOOOOOOOST.

Does this mean it's okay that they missed an opportunity for us to be able to play as Tails instead of Sonic as the leader? No, it's not okay. I'm not saying it's okay. It's never going to be okay. But don't you dare say it's because Sega and Dimps have been lazy when they put SO MUCH BLOODY EFFORT into improving from the last episode. Seriously.

It's an insult to the work they did do. and it only makes you look pretentious and narrow-minded.

EDIT:

I don't know where that attitude came from, and I'm sorry. But I don't retract the point I'm trying to make. The lazy cop-out that people seem to fall back on is not only untrue this time around, but is getting really annoying.

I need some coffee. -__-

Edited February 24, 2012 by Indigo Rush

[Jeffhog]

So... co-op is a gameplay mechanic from start to finish?

Alright, I don't mind, sounds good! Can't wait to try it out for myself!

...

...wait, Tails isn't... playable at all in single player......?

...

Well, that's... legitimately disappointing. It honestly feels like all the hype build-up I've had from the trailer yesterday just died, and when it comes to Sonic games, I get really hyped too... Not to mention it really kills replay value, that's a heavy step back from the Genesis games where Tails was playable in single mode.

Just no.

[Winston]

I've honestly never liked playing as Tails that much....so I'm good.

[Blue Blood]

This is another phrase that ticks me off.

It's lazy when they still don't fix the issues with speed boosters and springs, dish up another unnecessary rehash and leave various physics problems intact.

It's lazy when, after E1 was so panned by the fanbase, they don't pull out all the stops.

Edited February 24, 2012 by HYDROCITEE

[Milo]

When I first watched this…I was surprised that I was unimpressed by it. The trailer music is kickass, and the game LOOKS a lot better than Episode I, but other than that my overall reaction was meh.

It really surprises me really. I was a lot more excited at the Sonic 4 and Sonic Generations trailers than this.

I couldn’t help but wonder why, and then it hit me when I was reading these comments-it’s pretty much the same as the Episode I Splash Hill Zone hype. Been there, done that, Sonic 4 PR. To quote Walt Disney:

“You can’t top pigs with pigs.”

Level design as mentioned looks similar to that from Episode I. Even better, it looks like level design is not only going to be advertise the HA with HA reticles appearing all-over everything, but also the “team-based” co-op gameplay (which, aside from the standard flying and swimming; is pretty much Sonic and Tails 69ing themselves into a huge sphere that has the same functions as Sonic rolling and jumping. It’s nice to know that we’re getting this instead of a playable solo Sonic and solo Tails instead.). The way the trailer is comprised, you can barely tell if the physics are fixed or not. I’m sorry Ken, but Sonic rolling upward from a large ramp doesn’t assure me that the physics are fixed. At this point I’m guessing that at best the physics will be around the quality of Sonic Generations 3DS.

So all in all, meh. The screenshots when they first appeared made me a little bit optimistic for this game, but this trailer pretty much crushed it by showing Sonic 4: Episode I with prettier graphics, new badniks, less rehash, and forced co-op with Tails.

tl;dr version is something someone posted at the TSSZ article in responce to this game:

Same shit, better graphics.

[Spooky Mulder]

It's lazy when they still don't fix the issues with speed boosters and springs, dish up another unnecessary rehash and leave various physics problems intact.

I'll agree that there's some issues with springs and boosters, but we know nothing about the physics other than what we've been told.

[Indigo Rush]

It's lazy when, after E1 was so panned by the fanbase, they don't pull out all the stops.

Which would equate to that dream game with real Mega Drive physics, I'm guessing.

Whatever, man. Call it lazy. Have fun with that.

[Blue Blood]

I'll agree that there's some issues with springs and boosters, but we know nothing about the physics other than what we've been told.

You can see at least two oddities in the trailer:

1- not gaining speed when running down hill, and not losing speed uphill (and in loops).

2- jumping off of walls sends you further vertically than horizontally.

Like I've said before, E1 was so terrible that E2 needs to have very accurate classic physics. They don't have to be completely perfect, but they shouldn't be that different. Heck they could even go about making some improvements. As it stands now, signs point to E2 being a polished E1.

Which would equate to that dream game with real Mega Drive physics, I'm guessing.

Whatever, man. Call it lazy. Have fun with that.

That dream game that doesn't leave us disappointed. For the record, the idea of co-op is a pretty fantastic one as far as developing from the classics is concerned.

Edited February 24, 2012 by HYDROCITEE

[Red Cap]

It's lazy when they still don't fix the issues with speed boosters and springs, dish up another unnecessary rehash and leave various physics problems intact.

Why are throwbacks considered rehashes in this franchise? SEGA could have waited a bit since we already got two nostalgia filled games, but having a Aquatic Ruin throwback in the game isn't really gonna harm anything especially since the rest of the levels seem pretty original.

Edited February 24, 2012 by Red Cap-Blue Spikes

[Spooky Mulder]

1- not gaining speed when running down hill, and not losing speed uphill (and in loops).

In one of the shots if Aquatic Ruin 2.0, Sonic rolls up a giant loop and starts to run. It's hard to see because of the jump cuts, but Sonic goes into his wheel-of-feet as he starts to come down the otherside of the loop—suggesting he did gain speed.

[ArtFenix]

And you're going to say that they're being lazy? Man, forget you.

yes they are. I;m not sure that the screenshots selection is right. How about this one? They look the same to me xD.

Graphics is not everything.

That's incredibly insulting to the amount of effort and love they put into this sequel.

Calling a game Sonic 4 when there are few things that made the classics great - THAT's insulting. As someone has said, they could at least make an option to make Tails the lead character. I'm sure it would calm down a lot of people myself included.

The reason that Tails isn't playable on his own, or at the least isn't able to be switched to in the middle of the game is because they simply didn't think to do that

Again, this is Sonic 4 we are talking about. And they hyped Tails's appearance so much only to tell us that we actually can't play as him aside from the co-op.

It's apparent that the game is entirely dependent on teamwork, so going it alone simply won't work.

yeah, I've figured that out myself. Read what I wrote above.

This is why they're going all Advance 3 on us.

Lol again, even in advance 3 there was an option to change the lead character.

Does this mean it's okay that they missed an opportunity for us to be able to play as Tails instead of Sonic as the leader? No, it's not okay. I'm not saying it's okay. It's never going to be okay.

Thank God. I'n glad we can at least agree on this.

But don't you dare say it's because Sega and Dimps have been lazy when they put SO MUCH BLOODY EFFORT into improving from the last episode. Seriously.

It's a new game. There HAS to be something new. They're not some kind of HEROES if they added new things in a new game. And even then they left bubbles and these marble garden badniks. They were INCREDIBLY lazy with Sonic 4 Ep 1. They are a bit lazy with this. If I think so it doesn't make me "pretentious and narrow-minded". It's my right to think that way because there are quite a few disappointments.

I don't know where that attitude came from, and I'm sorry. But I don't retract the point I'm trying to make. The lazy cop-out that people seem to fall back on is not only untrue this time around, but is getting really annoying.

Ah, it's allright^^. I was reading your post in parts so I can see this final part finally]]].

I need some coffee. -__-

I wouldn't mind it too xD. Edited February 24, 2012 by ArtFenix

[Blue Blood]

Why are throwbacks considered rehashes in this franchise? SEGA could have waited a bit since we already got two nostalgia filled games, but having an Aquatic Ruin throwback in the game isn't really gonna harm anything especially since the rest of the levels seem pretty original.

Because E1 was so unoriginal, I don't want any more of that from E2. It's certainly not the biggest issue with the game but I just have to wonder why they've done it again.

Edited February 24, 2012 by HYDROCITEE