Episode 2: One Year Later

[T-Min]

So yes.

 

 

On the mystical date of May 15, 2012, Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2 graced the PlayStation 3 console and the Xbox 360 a day later, and as expected from the sequel to one of the most hated (by the fanbase) 2-D Sonic games of all time, it received some pretty mixed reactions. A lot of people hated it, most thought it was just "meh", and then there were a handful of people, such as myself, who thought it was pretty good. At the very least, there was one thing that most of us could agree on: it was a big improvement over Episode 1, but still failed to even sniff the Classics' collective anus. The amount of which the latter point bothered people varied - some would dismiss the game entirely on that account, while others would prefer to appreciate a genuinely good game...but then there was a lot of debate over whether or not Episode 2 can even be granted that. I'll say that I believe it can, but I'll get into that in a minute.

 

So, with all that said, one year has passed and Sonic 4: Episode 2 is still the latest Sonic game to date, unless you count that mediocre iPhone game no one cares about, because I most certainly don't. Since this is the most "current" topic to discuss at the moment, let's do that, why don't we? After one year, has your opinion on Sonic 4: Episode 2 changed at all? Is there perhaps anything you appreciate more about it? Or anything that you'd be a bit less forgiving of than you were at the time? Do you like the game any more? Hate it any more? Or do you feel the same about it as you did in the strange, far away land of 2012?

 

Personally, my opinion hasn't changed that much, though I suppose there are a few things I'm a bit less tolerant of than I was back then. Even as someone who enjoyed the game, the continued overuse of LOLBOOST DASHBOOST BOINGBOINGBOOST is frustrating, but...honestly, I think my biggest problem with the game now is the awful soundtrack. Many people mocked Oil Desert Act 2's dying ducks while forgetting that most of the soundtrack seems to have been composed with dying bees. There are a few decent tracks I suppose, but most of it is frustratingly ear-grating.

 

Aside from that, though, I stand by most of what I said before. The levels may not be brimming with originality, but they at least show a lot more inspiration in the use of their tropes than Episode 1 did. White Park has a level that's a freaking rollercoaster, using the co-op spin to drill through the snow, swimming through an ice-breathing walrus cave...in fact, the variety is one of the big things I really like about the game. Even in Episode 1, I really liked how every level had something different to offer in comparison to the last. Episode 2 does this, but some of the gimmicks are even pretty unique, and even the ones that have been seen in the past are used to some pretty good effect. The levels all feel very inspired visually, as well, even if they're drawing more from past Sonic games than would be ideal.

 

On top of that, when it's not just throwing bland booster spam at you, the level design does show a bit of ingenuity. Maybe that word is a bit too strong to describe it, but some thought did go into the way the levels were put together, especially, I feel, with how they use the co-op gimmick. Oil Desert stands out to me, personally, with the placement of the ball-rolling dung beetle Badniks and the areas where you have to use Tails to carefully fly across a massive, gaping bottomless pit carried by the wind while making your way around the enemies and such in your way, and Sky Fortress also had some moments where it used the co-op gimmick really well. It's never really brilliant, but at the very least, it shows more cleverness than the generic slapdash work of Episode 1. Besides that, there's a lot more actual platforming to speak of - in the second half of the game, at least - and the way the levels are layered leads to a lot more exploration and branching paths and such, and that's really great and stuff. Regarding the co-op gimmick, though, I do suppose the spin attack is just a tiiiiny bit broken. Just...a little bit, maybe. Oh, well. I think it's fun to use, so I'll forgive it.

 

What I think I still enjoy most about Episode 2 (with some major exceptions) is the boss design. Aside from the bafflingly broken snoozefest that is the first boss and the crude bastardization of the iconic Stardust Speedway race that calls back to the half-hearted rehashes that comprised Episode 1's boss fights, most of them are really cool. They all show a surprising amount of creativity and are even genuinely challenging. In particular, I really love Oil Desert's boss, which is probably one of the most original bosses I've seen in a Sonic game since...Unleashed, maybe? I don't know, it was freaking cool.

 

So yeah, back then I would have given the game about an 8 or 7.5 out of 10, and now I'd say it's still around a solid 7. It's not really a great game, but I think it's pretty good to run through every now and then. But that's just me. What about you guys, HHHMHMMMMNNMM???

[Carbo]

Still a dull game that can't rely on nostalgia this time around to save it and is instead weighed down by boring and predictable design.

[BlueTidalGamer]

I still really enjoy the game. It's great fun to blast through and I never find myself getting bored of it. I've replayed it so many times now that I've got to 999 lives on one version and in the 600 area on another. I love the soundtrack in this game. I still find myself listening to it often. Sylvania Castle Act 1 especially. It may have it's problems but I still have fun with it. Still an 8 in my eyes.

Edited May 15, 2013 by BlueTidalGamer

[Soniman]

Still a dull game that can't rely on nostalgia this time around to save it and is instead weighed down by boring and predictable design.

 

And this is probably the nicest comment ill see regarding this game lol.

 

Either way, yeah I agree, I was kind of hyped initially when the graphics didn't look shitty and the badniks were actually original, but all in all it's still a mediocre looking game with nothing to help it stand out. I occasionally forget this game exists it's so forgettable.

[Old dead account]

Shit then, shit now. /thread

[Semi-colon e]

Actually I found most of the bosses besides Metal Sonic in White Park and the final boss tedious as hell. Dimps have created amazingly fun and fast paced bosses in Rush Adventure, so I don't know why these are so boring.

 

Overall, I enjoy it considerably more than Episode 1 but there's so many things wrong with it still. The boosters, the 69 attack that breaks everything, Super Sonic having Episode 1 physics, the physics being so useless despite the improvements that they might as well have not bothered for how few instances they are more useful than the dash pads or the 69 attack, a stiff homing attack, and a lot of rehashes.

 

The rest of the time? It's alright, I guess. White Park really showed that there are decent ideas over there but it felt so neutered by having every section be in a separate act rather than integrating the whole thing in one that it was a wasted opportunity. There were also a lot more clever badniks, like Snowy amounting to a mini-boss (until you know to 69 it), Scarabesque being a fucking dick with his balls, and Steelion creating obstacles by freezing the water. Things like this were really clever, but often placed in really dickish ways.

 

As for how I feel about it now compared to then, I feel pretty much the same, only more negative about this game. I'm still much more willing to pick it up over Episode 1 though. I played Episode 2 a lot initially but quickly grew bored of it, while I still play Generations or CD, or Colours and the other classics (1-3&K) when I can (not as easily accessible for me atm). I often forget this game exists honestly, it's just there.

 

I think Sylvania Castle was the best designed level, lots of alternate pathways, underwater stuff, variety, fantastic visuals, and a lot to see and do compared to later levels being more linear. Only White Park Act 3 really gets less linear, and I quite enjoy it for some reason (weird tastes?).

 

In summary, better than Episode 1, and it does a lot of things well or better, but not enough things, or to enough of an extent that I'd say it's good. It also doesn't do enough different to it's predecessors to stand out. I mean Generations was almost entirely old stuff but that was not only the whole point, but it also called from more sources than being yet another Sonic 2 rehash.

Edited May 15, 2013 by Semi-colon e

[Eternal EX]

It's just an okay game to me. The only thing I still like about it is the visuals. Except that, it's pretty blah. Final boss was a major pain, the soundtrack minus one or two songs is trash and the rest of the game has already been done. 

[Chili Dawg]

I still haven't bought the thing TBH. I played through the bulk of it at a friends' place once tho, and I honestly thought it was kind of not shit. But that's about all I can say about it.

[TheOcelot]

Why was the Sonic 4 brand created in the first place? Surely it was to make a long and overdue worthy sequel to the much beloved Sonic 3 & Awesome Knuckles? Sadly no. It's a short digital download title. Nice online co-op feature. Good short term replay value but not much for long-term. It was at least better than Episode meh 1. Interesting boss designs, Sky Fortress zone and Metal Sonic boss music were the highlights. I still play it, but only very occasionally.

 

The best thing to come out of Sonic 4 Ep2 being made was.......well watch Johnny's review from 11:38 to 13:07....

 

 

If Sonic 4 had never been made I doubt we would have gotten the enhanced version of Sonic CD, or would be getting the new versons of Sonic 1&2. So I am grateful to Sonic 4 for that.

Edited May 15, 2013 by -Bender-

[Semi-colon e]

On a side note, I'm not sure if it feels like it's been so long since this game came out, or if it's already passed really quickly or something. It's weird.

It's also amusing how we've all pretty much forgotten this exists and have counted Generations as the latest Sonic game.

[Solkia]

It's as shit as it was one year ago. It will still be shit 10 years from now. It would have been shit 10 years ago.

[TheOcelot]

On a side note, I'm not sure if it feels like it's been so long since this game came out, or if it's already passed really quickly or something. It's weird.

It's also amusing how we've all pretty much forgotten this exists and have counted Generations as the latest Sonic game.

 

I was just thinking about how the year has gone by so quickly. I mean we've had SA2, Sonic Jump, SASRT, Sonic Dash and Sonic 1&2 confirmed. So it was easy to forget about Sonic 4.

 

The sad (or good thing) is that SEGA don't need the Sonic 4 brand anymore. Their push for digital and mobile titles is going well, so perhaps they should let Sonic 4 die. Still.......an Ep3 would be nice just to round off the series.

Edited May 15, 2013 by -Bender-

[Crash]

I don't like the game still.

 

I hated it from the start, it was okay, I just did a playthrough of the original before playing Episode 2 so I liked it more than playing it normally.

 

Playing it just for fun is not fun.

[a mystery]

I've played Episode 1 back around 2011/12, and I remember liking it quite a bit, so I picked up Episode 2 a few months ago. I've already gotten used to its terribly-instrumentated-but-halfdecent-composition soundtrack due to listening to it on YouTube, so I was easily able to get by that. (played my tracks over them, lul) I tried Rayman Origins (my favorite game to this day) shortly before that, which I think added to, though not caused, my disappointment.

The level design is way too springy-and-dashpadddy, and I really don't like how Tails is forced. The Special Stages were a bit unfair, especially #6, too. The game really felt like it lasted way too long overall, despite the game only having 17 (DEmk2 and Ep. Metal included) Acts, 5 bosses and 7 Special Stages. I dunno - It felt... bland, I guess.

 

Also I will strangle a cat every time someone claims Sonic 4's music was done with a soundfont. It's been done primarily with a synthesizer that Jun physically owns and is almost impossible to find a digital version of, (especially if you like your soft synths supported by FL, or anything that isn't PROPELLERHEAD REASON AIHGJSKHKAJSHGA) and there's

Edited May 15, 2013 by Can of Nothing

[SkyLlama]

S4E2 was the first HD game I ever played and by extension the first Xbox game I'd ever owned when I bought it in June of last year. I was amazed by the game at first, but I think this had more to with the visuals then anything, because I was impressed how nice it looked and how smooth it played.

 

One year later and while I still enjoy the game it's flaws have become more apparent and I don't see it in the same way I did then. The level design of the game is weak, a lot of the levels are themselves not very interesting or are simply rehashes, the mutliplayer still isn't that great for a 2d Sonic game and while I enjoyed the soundtrack it had it's moments. Oh, and the game was too damn easy.

 

I can still play and enjoy the game, but the novelty wore off really fast, not to mention I bought Generations a month later only making the issues with S4 stand out more.

 

The worst thing this game did was cause me to buy S4E1 thinking I'd enjoy it as well...

 

Yah...about that.

Edited May 15, 2013 by SkyLlama

[Semi-colon e]

The worst thing this game did was cause me to buy S4E1 thinking I'd enjoy it as well...

 

Yah...about that.

 

Oh, now there's a thing.

 

Episode Metal is fucking trash. Metal Sonic gets this cool purple orb power thing from the emerald in Lost Labyrinth. Can you do it ingame, no! You can't do anything that Sonic can't, except play singular acts from Episode 1 that are even less enjoyable to play than the original versions of them. Some lock on eh.

[Chaos Warp]

Better then Episode 1 (which is trash), but in the end it only raised itself from "trash" to "medicore". It's a meh game then and it's meh now. 

[Nix]

Episode 2 is a horrible horrible game.  It's one of the very few games that I never finished and probably will never finish just because of how much I hate it.  All of the problems Episode 1 had migrated to Episode 2, and Episode 2 gets rid of the very few things Episode 1 got right to make more room for even more stupid ideas.  Many of said stupid ideas just give me flashbacks of Sonic Advance 3, except now you have to use the shitty flow breaking teamwork gimmick moves to progress through the levels.  The bosses are horribly dull and last too goddamn long for their own good, when they're not dull they're outright unfair with one hit kill moves that require clairvoyance to avoid it on your first go (and then you have to do the entire shitty fight all over again).  I can't even remember the game's soundtrack at all except for the beginning of an Oil Desert act because of how embarrassingly bad it was.

 

It was shit and I don't regret deleting it the fuck off my hard drive to make room for more deserving games.

Edited May 15, 2013 by Nix

[spinny]

It's alright. Better than Episode 1 by far, but it's still dull nonetheless. To be honest, I don't even wanna see an Episode 3. I'm sick of 2D Sonic, really. I want a fresh, new game.

 

Or Sonic Team could make Sonic 5. I wish they would just fucking end their relationship with Dimps, already. Why?

 

Because of these fuckers.

 

 

 

 

That is all I need to say.

Edited May 15, 2013 by Super Spindash

[Abominal SnowTaz]

Back then reaction:

"A+++! I love it!! Hatez gonna hate!!!"

 

Today's reaction:

"Meh..."

 

I used to think it was a fucking revolution over episode 1 and I could see myself playing it all the time, but as I played it more and more, it got weaker and weaker. Good example of this saying; You can polish shit all you want, it's still gonna stink.

[spinny]

*ducks*

 

This song describes the entirety of Sonic 4. In my opinion Sonic 4 is the worst Sonic game of all time. Sonic 06 was an awful mess, but this is just sad.

 

I wish other games could start out as a cat and a year and a half later morph into a duck. That'd be awesome.

[Kuzu]

Wasn't interested a year ago, not interested now.

[Chaos Warp]

 

This song describes the entirety of Sonic 4. In my opinion Sonic 4 is the worst Sonic game of all time. Sonic 06 was an awful mess, but this is just sad.

So a absolutely broken game with bad gameplay is better then a technically competent game with bad gameplay?

[T-Min]

So a absolutely broken game with bad gameplay is better then a technically competent game with bad gameplay?

I think Sonic and the Secret Rings is the worst Sonic game of all time even if it's objectively more competent than 06.

 

I ain't judgin'.

 

That said, some elaboration would be appreciated. Knowing Steve, this will be fun. :V

Edited May 15, 2013 by T-Man

[t0ms0nic]

I still play the game every few weeks or so and do either a completely playthrough, or go through purely White Park, Oil Desert and Sky Fortress, then either skip straight to the Final Boss and/or play through a few random acts (generally White Park Act 1, any of Oil Desert and Sky Fortress Act 2) then call it quits. While it's not an amazing game by any means, I find it pretty enjoyable from a casual play viewpoint and hold it in a higher regard than Sonic 2 or 3 for it's more pick-up-and-play style, being more upfront about it's automation sequences and not trying to sugarcoat it.

 

I'd say that Sky Fortress Acts 1 and 2 are some of the best 2D levels in the series, taking the core concepts from the boring levels that are Sky Chase and Wing Fortress then making entire proper levels out of them. Act 1's a pretty good example of Sonic's very few autoscrolling levels (I'd say more so than Bridge), while Act 2 in particular is kind of the showstealer of the game; even with the boost pads, there's some genuinely good level design full of alternate paths and good enemy/obstacle placement, far exceeding anything they did in Pocket Adventure or Advance 1. Act 3's definitely a pretty big case of bleh design in comparison, especially with the automated flying sequences... but at least the backdrop's pretty gorgeous, I suppose? It's a shame we'll likely never see a sunset level with those visual effects again, much like White Park's northern lights...

 

More controversially speaking, I'm quite fond of the soundtrack and it's overall style. While a number of the tunes are quite the letdowns (White Park Act 3 has some of the best aquatic atmosphere ever, but it's horribly crammed into 16 seconds), the rest are some of my favourite in the series; Sylvania Castle Act 1 & 2, White Park Act 1 & 2, Oil Desert, Sky Fortress, Metal Sonic and the Final Boss are music I regularly listen to among some of the other great Sonic music, really dig the pounding Episode 2 instruments accompanied by that iconic Sonic 1/2 drum. Final Boss in particular is my favourite boss song in the series, really fast paced without losing it's flow to leave that impression that Eggman's confidence is through the roof this time around (to the point where he never directly attacks you!) after accomplishing quite a bit across Episode 1, CD and Episode 2.

 

I'd say it's at the very least an alright game. It does nothing too amazing, but it has it's moments that overtake Sonic 2 and 3 for me and generally make it worth replaying. They've got the 2D physics down better than Sonic Team at this point, so I'd love if more was done to use those... wishful thinking in the grand scheme, but I'd at least be pretty optimistic about another psuedo-classic game to wrap up this saga.