Which fairly recent Sonic games invoked strong emotion when you first played it?

[Colors]

You know that feeling. You get out of bed. It's release day. You were thinking of getting your hands on that new game the whole week. Don't try and deny it. You quickly rush through the day as half assed as possible, your mind on one thing. SONIC. Finally you get your shaking paws on the disc (or your sweaty thumb on the A/Cross button about to select 'download') and you load up the game. Is this real? Am I actually playing it? Your mind thinks. You recount the many times you watched the trailers over and over again pretending you were playing it. Well now you REALLY ARE playing it. And it feels amazing.

My answers to this topic would be Sonic Generations and Sonic 4 Episode 1. That feeling when I finally got to boost through a Sonic 3 & Knuckles stage in 3D....... The Sky Sanctuary remix literally brought a tear to my eye as I crazily jogged down the spiral paths. Earlier on it was Sonic 4, that moment of "this is it, the sequel" when I launched the game. Sure the game has it's flaws but that moment I first ran through Splash Hill Zone without a care, felt just like old times.

So which Sonic games invoked strong emotion within you when you first played it? I want to hear your stories, perhaps you can recall what happened earlier in the day. For example the day I bought Generations I sprinted home and nearly squashed a squirrel (true story). Let us share our emotions like real men! *Clicks post in tears*

[Chaos Warp]

Gens.

As I was walking out with it, I was just looking at it and going...."I've been waiting months for this, and it's finally here........"

[Soniman]

That moment in Colors when I played Planet Wisp Act 1 for the first time, that beautiful music started playing and I was thrusted onto a wide beautiful field with stars shining during the daytime.

I nearly shed several tears.

[KrazyBean]

Gens.

As I was walking out with it, I was just looking at it and going...."I've been waiting months for this, and it's finally here........"

Same here man...when my Collectors Edition arrived, I was jumping up and down like a kangaroo which took 500kg of Cocaine. Words couldn't describe how happy I was. After ALL that waiting, I finally have the goddamn game!

Edited August 16, 2012 by KrazyBean

[Debug Ring]

I felt that with Generations. I downloaded the PC version and played it before school, loved it, could not stop talking about it. Then when I got home, what was there? PS3 collector's eddition of it. Unboxing that was the best thing I have unboxed yet.

[Vertekins]

SA2 man. SA2.

Back in 2002 after I got a DC for Christmas 2001, my mom bought me back a copy of Sonic Shuffle. I sooo wanted to play that game but it was faulty and my DC wouldn't play it. So I went back and got the money back, mom put about a tenner towards it and I went to Electronics Boutique and bought SA2 brand spanking new for thirty quid. I had always wanted to play SA2 after having recently completed SA and had seen it so many times on Game Clip on Sky's Game Network (A crappy Italian videogame channel that is now long defunct) and in Dreamcast magazines in 2001.

I had to wait a few hours to get home as my mom had stuff to do in B'ham's city center so I would continuously look at the instruction manual XD. I even read it in the car on the way back despite it being nighttime by then and dark, so I used the streetlamps to read it. Got back, zoomed upstairs, put it in my DC and sat back open-jawed at the first Hero Side story cutscene. The rest of it...splendid and absorbing, every bit of it.

I even remember my first good Chao (I never really did embrace the Chao in SA), a Hero-Run Chao that didn't reincarnate T_T and that ending was so unexpected considering that I had never seen such a downer ending in a Sonic game before. I spent hundreds of hours on that game. I accomplished all 180 emblems too, which was a huge bit of pride to me

[...]

Sonic Unleashed. God. I was SOOOOOO hyped for this game. I followed EVERYTHING on it before release. News articles, trailers, interviews, magazine sections. And how could we forget, Camp Sonic? I literally COUNTED the weeks and days until the release of the game for the PS3. I was just THAT excited for the game.

And then, in December 2008, just the end of a school day in 4th grade, I arrived home, and my mother had gotten me a copy of Sonic Unleashed for the PS3. I put it in my PS3, and I was literally wowed. The opening cutscene, the graphics & visuals, the blazing sense of speed of the daytime levels. I also loved talking to people in the hub worlds. The game was oozing with tons of effort into it, and it easily showed. It was truly amazing for something for me to play at my age.

[Diogenes]

Well, Sonic 4 certainly brought up some strong emotions. And my lunch...

[---]

Sonic Generations made me excited, Sonic 4 made me disgusted, and Before the Sequel had me in awe and enjoyment, also frustration from the cheapness. After the Sequel had me in shock and amazement at the cutscenes and new character, and Sonic Colors boredom because I haven't gone back to touch it in forever.

Edited August 16, 2012 by Extruder

[Indigo Rush]

A couple games did this. Sonic Colors for one made me feel as if, for the very first time, I was playing a Sonic game that was as straightforward and classic as the Genesis ones. While it wasn't without it's shortcomings, it was genuinely FUN. Sonic 4 sometimes brought me into some nostalgia rushes, but the poor controls and physics kind of shortened that feeling. Episode 2 did a far better job, and White Park Zone Act 1 will always be my favorite in that one.

[Sarah Jane Smith]

Generations. It was almost like they managed to bottle liquid nostalgia and pour it into the game, and I couldn't help but grin like an idiot the entire time. Tons of missed potential, but I still loved it to bits.

[Tornado]

Sonic Heroes inspired a state of euphoria that few games since (none of them Sonic related) have managed for me.

Granted, it wore off pretty damn fast, but man. That first couple of days was great. All of the sights and sounds and atmosphere had me totally immersed, and it invoked nostalgia in me without really being nostalgic.

Edited August 16, 2012 by Gilda

[Law]

Sonic Heroes, I played the game until midnight.

[SonikkuForever]

That moment in Colors when I played Planet Wisp Act 1 for the first time, that beautiful music started playing and I was thrusted onto a wide beautiful field with stars shining during the daytime.

I nearly shed several tears.

[MegaMan_EXE]

Colors. I had no hope for it, and barely followed any information because the gameplay footage I saw didn't impress me. I thought that the Wisps would be a gimmick, and the 2D platforming will be loose and faulty. Those worries went away when playing the game for the first time. I love Colors, and it surprised me that the Wisps enhanced the platforming, as well as the soundtrack is my favorite out of any Sonic game. I was just wowed.

4 Episode 1 is another game I had emotion for. In a negative way. I was hoping the game would be awesome. But, I got a completely different result. I was angered. This game was a massive, fucking letdown. The platforming was boring, the music sounded like dying cats, the physics felt broken, and didn't have that Classic charm. The level design was too linear, and the boss fights were embarrassingly easy.

[Old dead account]

Generations. I had been waiting months for that game and it did not disappoint too much. Now all it needs is DLC that will never come.

[Debug Ring]

Colors. I had no hope for it, and barely followed any information because the gameplay footage I saw didn't impress me. I thought that the Wisps would be a gimmick, and the 2D platforming will be loose and faulty. Those worries went away when playing the game for the first time. I love Colors, and it surprised me that the Wisps enhanced the platforming, as well as the soundtrack is my favorite out of any Sonic game. I was just wowed.

4 Episode 1 is another game I had emotion for. In a negative way. I was hoping the game would be awesome. But, I got a completely different result. I was angered. This game was a massive, fucking letdown. The platforming was boring, the music sounded like dying cats, the physics felt broken, and didn't have that Classic charm. The level design was too linear, and the boss fights were embarrassingly easy.

[Sega DogTagz]

Generations

The first mission act of Green Hill Zone featured a race between Sonic and Tails. I went into the loading screen well enough, looking forward to a fun little sprint between Sonic and his bro. Little did I know that as soon as the stage began, an all too familiar tune would rear its head.

Now, I don't know if the rest of you knew whether or not Gens re-used old classic songs before you started, but I certainly didn't. So when super sonic racing started pumping through my speakers... I lost it a little bit. I was forced to hit pause, lean back in my seat and prepare myself for the fond memories that would no doubt come rushing back every time I unlocked a new tune.

With almost every new mission, my ears and my soul were treated with the vibrant melodies of my youth. The upbeat tracks from the S3 multiplayer maps were great to hear again, and the stage BGMs to some old favorites came storming back for another bout with my ear drums. I've always liked the music that the Sonic series brought to the table, but to be honest it wasn't until Generations compiled them and put them all in once place that I realized how important they were to the franchise. It was glorious. It was a feeling of fascination and fondness that very few video-games have ever managed to achieve in my eyes. Off the top of my head... I can maybe name three. Ecco The Dolphin, Okami and Valkyria Chronicles.

Oh, and I'll throw Sonic 4 out there too. It may not have been perfect, but man did it feel good to use the spindash again. Co-Oping Ep II with my bro took me back to the early 90s too. ^^

.

Edited August 17, 2012 by Sega DogTagz

[Soniman]

Also chock me among the Heroes players, I can play the fuck out of Ocean Palace because it's such a wonderful level, as was Grand Metropolis and Casino Park. As Gilda said, the sights and sounds in these levels gave me emotions that I can't even explain.

[Blacklightning]

Perfect Dark Gaia.

And by "strong emotion" I refer to the final QTE, which can basically be summed up as: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAFUCKINGBUTTONMASH

I ain't mad though - Egg Dragoon was so badass it almost made up for it. Almost.

Edited August 17, 2012 by The Cheese

[NoahTH]

Sonic Generations' credits music. There it was, all the great music from my childhood, which technically ended only a few years ago, right there, mixed into one package. After doing a straight, nonstop playthrough of the game and winning like a boss, it was very satisfying.

[Brad]

Sonic 06 made me cry. For all the wrong reasons.

WHY WHY WHY WHY

[Kiah]

The first game that comes to mind is Sonic Colors, as it was the first Sonic game that I played after being away from the Sonic series for 15 years. This game was an absolute beauty to look at with graphics and level design, all the more impressive considering it was made for the Wii. Everything, from Tropical Resort to Terminal Velocity was a true delight to look at in my opinion and having Sonic ripping and running through them all with the Wisps was pure fun. The soundtrack for the game was downright goregous; every single track made me happy. And that Planet Wisp Act 1! Hearing it for the first time left me emotional, as that has to be one of the most beautiful pieces of music that I have ever heard. My favorite part of the whole game was listening to the music while playing. All the jokes didn't bother me any; I didn't really find them bad nor excessive. I enjoyed the jokes actually, as they gave me a good case of the giggles. The bromance between Sonic and Tails left me feeling good as I found it well done by the writers along with Tails' characterization. Sonic had his good points in characterization too. That made me so happy. Sonic Colors as a whole made me happy overall, as it was short, yet sweet. I just wish there was more of it to enjoy...

Then I remember when Sonic Generations came out. There was a midnight release of the game in my hometown at the Gamestop, and I was right there when the doors opened at midnight to pick up my reserved copy. I finally had the game in my hands! I was thrilled, as I was very hyped with the previews and demos and others of the game that I had seen. But I had also ordered the Collector's Edition of Sonic Generations, so I was going to end up with 2 copies of the game. It was unknown at the time if the PAL version would work on my Xbox 360 over here in the states, so I was left wondering if I had wasted money on getting a game that I couldn't play that I imported. So I decided to wait for my Collector's Edition and see if it would work on my Xbox 360. If it didn't work I would of been okay with that as I couldn't wait to have the other items that the CE had. Imagine my joy when not only I got the Collector's Edition, even more so when the PAL game worked! As for the other copy of the game, I gave it to my nephews. I wanted them to experience the same joy that I did with Sonic Generations.

Sonic Generations was a true delight, as it provided me with an opportunity to experience levels from games that I have yet to play due to my hiatus from the series, filling me with awe and excitement. It also provided nostalgia for the Sonic games and tunes that I was familar with and had played before such as the Classics. A lot of love was put into Sonic Generations, I could definitely sense that with all the fun that I had with it, even though I thought it sold itself short with content. It was another sweet, yet short experience that overall I very much enjoyed. Again, I just wished that there was more of it to enjoy as well.

[UltDevilDoom]

Sonic Adventure 2.

The Dreamcast had just come out, and I remember playing the demo in a department store and getting that "I must get this game now" feeling. Soon after, I was a proud owner of a Dreamcast and Sonic Adventure was mine as well. Have you ever played that game to a point where your live counts cannot drop below 99? I did.

I was stoked for Adventure 2. I looked for whatever information I could find on the internet. I bought it on release day, and I played it until about midnight. It was even better than the first. It also made me a strong Shadow fan from then on.

So yeah, Sonic Adventure 2 is my choice.

[Speederino]

Generations and Sonic 4, both for more or less the same reason: nostalgia. I had been anticipating Sonic 4 for so long that when it finally came out it felt so unreal. Yet here it was. New Genesis style 2D Sonic game, the first of its kind in nearly a decade. I felt like I was five years old playing Sonic 2 again. It just brought back powerful memories.

Generations is the same, but a bit more potent. This is going to sound odd, but I look at Sonic's history and see a reflection of my own life. I'm only a year older then Sonic and I've always been a fan, so it's kind of like growing up with a best friend, and Generations is a photo album of the memories we share together. The classic era reminds me of my early childhood, Dreamcast is my elementary school and middle school years, and modern is high school to the present. And seeing some of my favorite stages revisited for the first time in years is kind of like going back in time to when they were fresh and new. I mean I haven't been able to say "I just beat Chemical Plant for the first time!" since 1994. Saying it again 17 years later is just...wow.

Edited August 17, 2012 by Speederino