Sonic 4 Episode 2 Reviews

[Milo]

Current scores:

Metacritic:

iOS: 70 (based on 6 reviews)

360: 62 (based on 15 critics)

PS3 61 (based on 5 critics)

PC: None

Average of scores: 64.33

GameRankings

360: 62.50% (based on 10 reviews)

PS3: 61.33% (based on 3 reviews)

PC: None

IP (iOS): None

Average of scores: 61.915%

Average of MC avg. and GR avg.: 63.1225%

Both sites for some reason list the game on the Wii platform, even though the game was stated to not be coming on the Wii shortly after it's reveal months ago.

Edited May 20, 2012 by Top Cat

[Tails spin]

Until I hear an official word, I'm going to assume that Sonic Team had the final say in things despite Dimps working on the game, and that things like Ep I physics surely could have been fixed by Sonic Team had they ordered it. But instead they signed off on the game as it was, and in that regard I think Sonic Team deserves more blame than Dimps. It's like blaming a lower level employee for mistakes when really their manager should have done their job. I think Dimps + Sonic Team giving direction and ordering changes can = a good game.

In fact, thats what I think Episode II is. Still not at 100%, but much improved.

This. A thousand times this. This was my exact though when everyone was placing the whole blame on Dimps for Generations 3DS. Down to the level selection in said game . Sonic Team as a whole needs to reflect on how they manage the way Dimps make their games.

Both sites for some reason list the game on the Wii platform, even though the game was stated to not be coming on the Wii shortly after it's reveal months ago.

Some one should troll and give the Wii verison a 100% average score.

[Salamander]

Even if you'd preferred it (I probably would have too) I don't think it's legitimate grounds to criticise the game as a game.

"If it's a classic sequel it should look like this!!" isn't really a valid or professional point imo- and it's something Nintendo are pretty good at disproving anyway.

Nonetheless, I think there's a high chance that Sega were influenced by the popularity of Mega Man 9 (and to a lesser extent the likes of New Super Mario Bros.) in making/titling Sonic 4. The similarities are fairly obvious. It's just that the product itself didn't get the same kind of... coherent conception, I guess you could call it. For instance, what's up with combining HD graphics and faux-old-school music? It's like they didn't know whether they wanted to create a new or an old game.

[SolidSurgeTT]

Is this thread here for US to review Sonic 4:E2?

[DistantJ]

Hey guys! Popping in for a while as I always do when a game comes out... Wanted to give my opinon on the S4e2 reviews...

I think, hmm... I find Ep 1 vs. 2 to be swings and roundabouts. The physics really weren't the issue some people made them out to be and they just needed to man up and learn the new play style, it would have been nice for it to play with more momentum like the original games but to those who haven't played the originals repeatedly for over 20 years the Megaman-like rigid controls weren't a huge issue. The issues in Ep 2 are arguably less bothersome for fans since the game looks and plays a lot like the 4th Mega Drive game we never had (vs. Ep 1 being more of a 'greatest hits cover album') but it doesn't really do any more than that, so a lot of the modern-day exhilaration and stylishness people expect from Sonic and other games alike is gone. It's an all round slower, quieter and more modest platform game, which is what long-time fans wanted from Sonic 4 but is less than what people have come to expect from Sonic as a series in 2012. I'd say Ep 2 is the most solid Sonic game in years, but also the least exciting and interesting.

With no less than 5 partially underwater levels, including the first 3 levels of the game, a nauseating topsy-turvy spinning camera in the final level, a forced co-op mechanic and a Colours-like reliance on self-playing speed sections between straight-up platforming, I can completely understand the less favourable reviews. As a long-time Sonic fan, I joygasmed at most of Episode 2 for basically being the manifestation of that phantom game which lived in my imagination since the last days of the Mega Drive, but as a modern platform game it just doesn't stand up like Ep 1 did.

So I'm not angry at the reviews at all... Not like I was with Unleashed.

[Jix Hedgehog]

What I liked -

The team moves, I don't need to bust out a second controller to get Tails to give me a lift

The level designs are gorgeous, not sure on combining 2 to get 1 thou

The fixed (but not completely) feeling of character movement

Episode Metal

What I didn't like -

Most of the music, after a while I had to mute the special stage

The Special Stages, Episode 2 is supposed to be based of Sonic 2 with the Star Post Special Stages, not the giant ring at the end of the act, denying us Super Sonic until half way through the game

Episode Metal was too short

Still too many springs forcing us along

[---]

What I liked -

The team moves, I don't need to bust out a second controller to get Tails to give me a lift

The level designs are gorgeous, not sure on combining 2 to get 1 thou

The fixed (but not completely) feeling of character movement

Episode Metal

What I didn't like -

Most of the music, after a while I had to mute the special stage

The Special Stages, Episode 2 is supposed to be based of Sonic 2 with the Star Post Special Stages, not the giant ring at the end of the act, denying us Super Sonic until half way through the game

Episode Metal was too short

Still too many springs forcing us along

So you're griping about not being able to break the game in half on the first level like in a Genesis title?

[MugiMikey]

What I didn't like -

Most of the music, after a while I had to mute the special stage

The Special Stages, Episode 2 is supposed to be based of Sonic 2 with the Star Post Special Stages, not the giant ring at the end of the act, denying us Super Sonic until half way through the game

Episode Metal was too short

Still too many springs forcing us along

I wouldn't complain about something that actually should be consistent with the first episode.

Edited May 20, 2012 by MugiMikey

[Solid SOAP]

I prefer the big ring at the end of the stage, it challenges you to keep all your rings throughout the level and it encourages you to take the game at whatever pace you like, as opposed to forcing yourself to stop at all sign posts.

[speedfreak]

The retry option for special stages is the best idea in Sonic 4. I honestly don't thnk I would have bothered to get all the emeralds if I had to play through a level with 50 rings only to fail on the final special stage a shit ton of times. I was pissed when I kept failing, but once I did it I was happy the final special stage wasn't a push over.

[Tiller]

I'm actually pleasantly surprised people are catching on to the 2D side of things. Before it was "BAAWWW SONIC IN 2D IS ONLY GOOD SONIC" that was used as a basis for decrying any new game. Once people thought they would be shitting their pants over the prospect of a new 2D game, Sonic 4 no less, they see that just tossing him in two dimensions without regard to anything else doesn't work. Of course this has started the "Sonic is shit and doesn't work" ball rolling, but at least people are now seeing what isn't working in the design. Sega and Sonic Team are more likely going to listen to the critic scores unified rather than the fractured Sonic fanbase that's hostile to anything.

Episode 2 has a lot of great ideas. I very much like some of things it brings to the table. I like the act tropes, I like some of the character in the special stages, I really dig the artstyle and how much better it looks for it, the badnik and boss design are great scratch the last one. But seriously, the execution just falls flat. Level design being the largest offender. Doesn't matter if you "fix" the physics if you aren't going to use them for anything but mindless automation and static forced design. Hell they didn't even fix them at all if you ask me. Oil Desert's diagonal catwalks you run down won't gain you any momentum and spindashing is useless. The music is mostly squaking and annoying, the whole team attack oversights and pretty poor co-op isn't helping things either. It's a better attempt then Episode 1 for sure, but it is nowhere near good enough.

[Blue Blood]

I prefer the big ring at the end of the stage, it challenges you to keep all your rings throughout the level and it encourages you to take the game at whatever pace you like, as opposed to forcing yourself to stop at all sign posts.

It's not a challenge when the games are as loaded with rings as they are these days.

[Jix Hedgehog]

So you're griping about not being able to break the game in half on the first level like in a Genesis title?

I wouldn't complain about something that actually should be consistent with the first episode.

Not griping or complaining, I just feel like the Sonic 2 special stages should've been kept in Star Posts

[Neon]

GameTrailers Review:

http://www.gametrail...onic-the/730326

5.5/10

[Barry the Nomad]

I know I'm in the minority, but these 5/10 review scores are bullshit.

[Blue Blood]

I know I'm in the minority, but these 5/10 review scores are bullshit.

I dunno. It's a weird one to judge. You've got to consider all of this...

• It's the second in an episodic title, yet it bears very little relation to the first one.
  
• The time between the two episodes is pretty excessive for such small titles.
  
• Again, between the two episodes came Generations, which tries to do the same things as Sonic 4 and manages it so much better.
  
• Then there's also other games, downloadable and otherwise, that have been released between the episodes that are much better than S4 in every way. It doesn't compare.
  

I'd say all that warrants these low scores even if you do like the game.

[Pawn]

I must admit I almost laughed when the GT review opened with the dying ducks...

Again I take issue with the odd offhand comment, but I can't say that the majority of the complaints in these reviews aren't justified.

[Barry the Nomad]

I dunno. It's a weird one to judge. You've got to consider all of this...

• It's the second in an episodic title, yet it bears very little relation to the first one.
  
• The time between the two episodes is pretty excessive for such small titles.
  
• Again, between the two episodes came Generations, which tries to do the same things as Sonic 4 and manages it so much better.
  
• Then there's also other games, downloadable and otherwise, that have been released between the episodes that are much better than S4 in every way. It doesn't compare.
  

I'd say all that warrants these low scores even if you do like the game.

I'd argue that a few of those bullet points don't even apply to the game itself, which is one reason the low scores are pissing me off. They should review the game itself, not the duration between episodes or Generations or other downloadable titles (because to be honest, there are very few downloadable platformers that compare to Sonic games. Rocket Knight, maybe?)

I have a very strong feeling that we're seeing a return the attitude reviewers had in that 2005-2008 era. Why? Perhaps, like you noted, its a step down from Generations. Maybe reviewers are punishing the game for this step down, despite the fact that it is far from a major step down and in fact Episode II itself is a big step UP from Episode I. Maybe they're thinking "oh look, the game isn't as good as the last one I played. Better punish it." Perhaps they're remembering the bitterness they felt in the mid-00's and it feels so good to write angry Sonic reviews again, even if the level of hate is a bit extreme.

And before my post is quoted and I hear a cheeky reply of "oh maybe the game sucks and deserves a 5/10?" No. I'm not buying that nonsense. I'm not saying Episode II doesn't have its flaws, but it (and the franchise) does not deserve these 5/10 scores.

I'm a part of a number of fandoms in which a LOT of negativity is thrown at modern releases, like The Simpsons which gets kicked around for being not as good as the golden age and Star Wars which gets shit for the prequels, especially Phantom Menace. However, in those fandoms I read negative reviews and I get why they are disliking things. In the case of Sonic, namely Sonic 4 Episode II, I'm finding it impossible to get the 5/10 (or lower) scores like I could get when it came to stuff like Unleashed and '06. Like, I can't see what they see even when they write it out or show it off in a video. All I hear is bullshit. The video reviews especially show this off, because I can plainly hear the snark from the GT reviewer, and I can see him playing really poorly. Not to mention the editing and choices of music. Show Sonic getting hit a lot by enemies, play the duck music from Oil Desert and it'll look like a shitty game hur durr.

Personally, the game teeters between a 7.5/10 and a 8/10 for me. Like Colors was a step up from Unleashed, Episode II is a step up from Episode I. And given Sonic Teams seemingly newfound ability to make fun 2D stages in Generations, perhaps this "up stepping" can only mean an Episode III will be even better.

I must admit I almost laughed when the GT review opened with the dying ducks...

Again I take issue with the odd offhand comment, but I can't say that the majority of the complaints in these reviews aren't justified.

I agree, some complaints are justified, and of all the negative reviews, Sonic Retro has the best written one. At least they say what place they're coming from (Genesis era fanboys), and when I read it I get it.

I've come to the conclusion recently that I really am not letting reviews from commercial sites dictate my purchases. The best reviews I've read (and this goes outside of Sonic games too) have been from forum members (here, Retro, SEGAbits) and community writers who write reviews simply because they want to share their opinion and not because they do it for a paycheck/site hits/deadline/their boss threw the game or digital code on their desk and said "have it done by Friday".

At most, the only reason I still pay attention to reviews from commercial sites are because they (sadly) make or break games in terms of sales and potential sequels.

[Ming Ming Hatsune]

Ep II deserves the 5/10 scores personally. The reason why Ep I did so much better in scores because the reviewers were excited that 2D Sonic is coming back, and assuming by the next episode Dimps will get everything right.

They didn't. As what reviewers said time and time again, Ep II looks better on paper, but it doesn't cut it. This is Sonic 4, the sequel to S3&K. It should ACT like a true sequel to S3&K. It's not, even by the slightest. Since when the S3&K have all this automation, and spring-to-spring-to-spring nonsense?

You can't help but feel disappointed in the end. I'm not disappointed, because I knew from the very beginning this game is a fail. However if I don't look at it as Sonic 4, and look at it as Sonic Dimps Ep II, then I'll enjoy it more.

Edited May 22, 2012 by Ming Ming Love

[Voyant]

If anything now...this shows that now that Sonic Team has been making more quality titles...they can't afford to backtrack.

They can't hide behind the fact that they have been making mediocre titles so people are just USED to Sonic being bad....now that Sonic is much better they expect that consistency to stick. I honestly think this is a good thing...this will motivate SEGA and ST to put more work in there games.

If Sonic Team mess up their next game...all that they have been working for will be lost. The only reason epsiode 2 will get a pass is because gamers know it was made by outsourced company and its just a downloadable title cause like portable gaming....is not taking nearly as seriously.

Edited May 22, 2012 by Voyant

[Carbo]

And before my post is quoted and I hear a cheeky reply of "oh maybe the game sucks and deserves a 5/10?" No. I'm not buying that nonsense. I'm not saying Episode II doesn't have its flaws, but it (and the franchise) does not deserve these 5/10 scores.

Didn't we argue this same point at least 10 pages ago?

You can't objectively prove that Sonic 4 Episode 2 doesn't deserve a 5/10. No one can. What can be proven on the other hand is a prevalent, recurring common consensus of it being bland, uninspiring, lazy and inoffensive, a title that sits in the realms of the half-assed and has neither enough playable time available or even content to improve, being sold at a price only some of the highest digital title bidders are honored to have. Oh, and they also offer more than one hour of game play.

And if that is a common consensus of all things, you can hardly say that these arguments are not founded within reason. Is it okay to assume sometimes reviewers are full of shit? Of course, that's one of the many reasons why cult favorites spawn. But if the reactions on the board are anything to go by, this title could only hope to achieve a cult status in it's wildest dreams, and eventually what this amounts to is an innate self-defense mechanism seemingly justifying your opinions through denial of others.

Does any of the above invalidate what you think of the game? Of course not, that'd be ridiculous. But the inverse also applies, because what you think of this game doesn't invalidate what others believe.

[Barry the Nomad]

The idea of using a review score to send a broader message is what I disagree with. The score should represent the game itself, not some grander perspective of the franchise.

It would make more sense to review the game itself, and leave the franchise commentary for an op-ed. Better yet, sites should just review franchises instead of games, because thats that a lot of reviews read like.

--

As for the "this is a sequel to Sonic 3! It needs to meet and exceed the previous titles.", I guess some still hold onto that notion and some don't. I look at the gaming world NOW and I do not see the gaming world that existed at the time of the Genesis originals. Back then, Sonic 1-3&K were the big budget AAA titles. Now, stuff like Generations and Colors are the big budget AAA titles. Something like Sonic 4 just would not work as a AAA big budget title. SEGA *could* pour the time and money it takes to make a game like Unleashed or Generations into a long 2D Sonic 4, but I think that's just not something the company would do and I think it's something they can't do. It's unfortunate that SEGA can't take these gambles, but its true. Especially after their recent restructuring.

I guess that means there are a few roads to take with this:

• Continue to hate Dimps, Sonic Team and SEGA for not putting a large budget and Generations levels of effort behind Sonic 4 in the first place. Begrudgingly buy the Episodes anyway due to feeling committed as a fan, but continue to be negative towards the situation.

• Continue to hate Dimps, Sonic Team and SEGA for not putting a large budget and Generations levels of effort behind Sonic 4 in the first place, but understand that the gaming landscape has changed and things like 2D titles are not considered AAA titles worthy of a large budget and team.

• Blindly love everything SEGA does and not throw any criticism their way, but start flame wars on forums <- NOT ADVISED

I guess the conclusion I'm trying to get to is that, yes, Sonic 4 deserved more (budget, larger team) but SEGA and the gaming industry are not suited for such a thing.

[Carbo]

The idea of using a review score to send a broader message is what I disagree with. The score should represent the game itself, not some grander perspective of the franchise.

It would make more sense to review the game itself, and leave the franchise commentary for an op-ed. Better yet, sites should just review franchises instead of games, because thats that a lot of reviews read like.

I'm sorry, but this is literally impossible, and as far as regurgitated suppositions go in terms of criticizing reviews, this is a stupidly hard point to circumvent, and a vastly hypocritical one, especially if one is to assume that Sonic 4 Episode 2 in any way having better "mechanics" than it's predecessor means it must be rated higher than it as well.

A review is not objective, and a review is based on a set standard. What is that standard based on? Opinions. What shapes opinions? Experiences. Why do they exist? What do their opinions represent, and how can one say it's as good as it can be? Episode 2 fixed some broken mechanics. Good. But what does it ultimately have that other games don't? What makes it stand out above the crowd? It's ridiculously easy to dismiss negative reviews that end up "comparing reasons", but by saying "Sonic 4 Episode 2 is better than Episode 1 because of this" you're doing the same thing but vouching for a different spectrum of opinions, and that isn't exactly justifiable.

[Voyant]

Well now that Sega has less money to deal with...perhaps now they can focus more on making their games FUN and MEMORABLE to appeal to others...instead of running on the nostalgia crutch...Sonic is one of the only money cows they got left.....they need to figure something out soon because we JUST MIGHT not see Sonic anymore in the future.

Games like episode 2...despite the small amount of fun I had with it...doesn't cut it. They cannot afford right now to have hiccups...its just that simple. And I hope that this is a eye opener for SEGA to ditch Dimps. I'd like to see another development team like Platinum Games who still love to put heart and effort in their games, take risk, and bring new ideas to the table.

Edited May 22, 2012 by Voyant

[Nix]

As for the "this is a sequel to Sonic 3! It needs to meet and exceed the previous titles.", I guess some still hold onto that notion and some don't. I look at the gaming world NOW and I do not see the gaming world that existed at the time of the Genesis originals. Back then, Sonic 1-3&K were the big budget AAA titles. Now, stuff like Generations and Colors are the big budget AAA titles. Something like Sonic 4 just would not work as a AAA big budget title. SEGA *could* pour the time and money it takes to make a game like Unleashed or Generations into a long 2D Sonic 4, but I think that's just not something the company would do and I think it's something they can't do. It's unfortunate that SEGA can't take these gambles, but its true. Especially after their recent restructuring.

I think this is less about getting a bigger budget, and more about using the budget they already have on things that actually matter. Sonic 4 Episode II is a damn fine looking game graphically, and with the gameplay tweaks that were made, has potential to be something great. Said potential was wasted on making some of the same asinine mistakes Episode I made and more. I don't care if they pour tons of money into it, if they make stupid choices with it, the game is going to be bad anyways.