Sonic Lost World - Previews

[Badnik Mechanic]

Why are some people getting so worked up? The preview had no new information in it.

[Celestia]

I had actually forgotten about the "Sonic Cycle". Heck, I can't even remember exactly what it was...doesn't it essentially boil down to "some fans will buy this game they were excited for but end up not liking it"? Can't that be said about literally any game in any series? I actually see why a lot of people believe in it, the problem is if they think it only applies to Sonic.

 

I just don't see what there is to get upset about. They said something dumb, okay. Just chalk it up to >gaming journalism and call it a day.

Edited September 26, 2013 by ElementofChaos

[VGamer]

Eh I just think they were joking and wanted to piss a few people off for some chuckles.

What I REALLY don't want to happen is reviewers starting off their reviews of the game with something like "Sonic has had a rough 20 years, blah blah blah". It was brought up in Colors and Generations, let's forget it now please.

[BlueTidalGamer]

After getting to play Sonic Lost World a total of 4 times on Wii U and 3 times on 3DS at Summer of Sonic and Eurogamer respectively, I feel I can finally talk about my impressions of the game so far.

 

 

 

Wii U Version

 

 

Short and sweet answer: I love it the more I play it. I can see this being my favourite 3D Sonic game.

 

 

Long answer:  I have played Windy Hill Act 1, Dessert Ruins Zone and Frozen Factory Act 3 out of the available levels. So far Windy Hill is favourite level of the bunch. It’s a great opening to the game introducing the new approach to the gameplay and the many optional paths. I found myself playing this level twice just to see what I could find and it was a lot of fun exploring. Dessert Ruins Zone was good for the platforming and getting the hang of the kick move on the badniks. Not much else to say on this one since it’s pretty straight forward. Frozen Factory had a neat little gimmick with the pinball. I found myself going back and forth in the level to try and use the parkour moves. I kept getting hit by the floor lazers without realising they were there lol. It was pretty obvious where they were when I looked properly. Really enjoyed the levels overall. Each felt completely different from the others so yay for variety.

 

Graphically this game is gorgeous. I myself do really like the art style of this title. Everything feels full of life and oh man the 60 frames per second only add so much more to the style. You really need to play the game yourself to really appreciate the visuals.

 

Now comes the part most are curious about. How does the game feel in terms of the controls? Ok from playing it a lot I can say that this is not your normal Sonic experience. At first it really does take time to adjust to. There’s a lot to work with compared to previous games as you have a bigger moveset this time. It does feel that at first Sonic has a lot more weight to him when you platforming without the run button. However once you play it for a while and get enough practice, it starts to feel pretty natural. Having a run button is what I’ve wanted to see in this series for a while. It makes a lot of sense and it makes the platforming a lot better than before. Wither using the run button during your jumps or not, it does give you much more control in the flow of each jump you make.

 

One feature that will take a bit more ties to get used to is how the spin dash handles. It’s faster than the run button however it does not rev up like the old games. You only get one charge of it by holding the button down and then release. Sometimes it can last a while and others it will last quickly. I’m still not sure how to use the spin dash more effectively so it’ll probably take another few goes. I didn’t use it all that much so you may get better with it more than I did if you aim to do so.

 

The tutorials for the game like what has been said has been designed to not shove it in your face all the time. Now you use the gamepad to activate the tutorials when the option is available. I can see people who don’t play a lot of games to never notice that the option is there if they never check the touch screen while playing and the same goes for activating wisps. I’m wondering if the final game will have an option to make the tutorials easier to tell the player how to activate them.

 

So my overall impressions of the Wii U version. I love this game from what I’ve played so far. This has the potential to be my favourite 3D Sonic game. So I’ll see once the final game is within my hands.

 

 

 

 

3DS Version

 

 

Short and sweet answer: Wow! I’m really surprised how Dimps have done with this one. It possibly on par with the console version.

 

 

Long answer: Ok so I didn’t have as much time with this one as I did with the Wii U version. I managed to play Windy Hill Act 1 and Frozen Factory Act 1. Windy Hill like its console counterpart is pretty open to move around in. I didn’t search a lot for optional paths in this one so I took the linear path. Not much to say with this one but it was good.

 

Frozen Factory is what impressed me the most. First off the snowboarding is awesome! Not only is it easy to control, getting to do tricks is great and the extra speed you get from them is epic! I found myself loving this section a lot. The platforming was really fun too. The level was nice and big and I did like the snowball parts. The electric wisp was really awesome. I didn’t know a lot about this one up until now and it’s really fun to use. It did take me a bit to understand how it handles but once I did I was having a blast.

 

The game looks very nice graphically. I didn’t expect them to look this good. The huge levels really add to it.

 

The controls like the Wii U version will take a few tries to get the hang of. Once you do it feels natural and after playing this on a normal 3DS and the XL, I can say that this game feels the most comfortable on the XL. The smaller one feels a little awkward when using the run button.

 

So overall I’m very impressed with the 3DS version so far. Frozen Factory really left a massive impression on me and if the levels get better from there, Dimps could have themselves their best handheld Sonic game yet.

 

 

 

So bring on Sonic Lost World! The hype continues to grow and my experience of playing it only adds to it. 

Edited September 28, 2013 by BlueTidalGamer

[SilentDoom]

I heard you charge the spindash by holding the LT and mashing A (like a 3D classic spindash rather than an Adventure one). I'm pretty sure that was in a preview a couple of months ago.

Edited September 29, 2013 by SiLeNtDo0m

[BlueTidalGamer]

I heard you charge the spindash by holding the LT and mashing A (like a 3D classic spinach rather than an Adventure one). I'm pretty sure that was in a preview a couple of months ago.

Something I was not aware of. I really wish I knew that before.

[Straw Hat]

I heard you charge the spindash by holding the LT and mashing A (like a 3D classic spinach rather than an Adventure one). I'm pretty sure that was in a preview a couple of months ago.

Wow.... this makes me wish the Spin Dash was on the Left Trigger since Sonic Adventure. I always loved being able to rev the Spin Dash as many times as possible to blast off at full speed.

[StaticMania]

I think doing the Spindash this way works better for the player. In Sa1, Sa2, etc. you had to charge it by just holding the button and most people would just press it and let it go not really knowing how long it would last(Never mind it being useless). Plus its nice having a rev sound to let you know how much you charged it up or that you are charging it up.

[Tails spin]

 

http://www.sonicparadise.net/2013/09/nuevos-detalles-revelados-sobre-sonic.html

 

new details on Sonic Lost World

 

TSSZ has a better explanation but I won't link it since I don't want to get in trouble for it.

[Balding Spider]

They really saw fit to bring in a super guide?

[Komodin]

They really saw fit to bring in a super guide?

 

What would be the problem, exactly? It's not like one is actally forced to use such a feature. Besides, it'll actually help newcomers who are trying to get into the game, but just need a little help with getting things done.

Edited September 29, 2013 by Komodin

[Tails spin]

They really saw fit to bring in a super guide?

The super guide is the talk of the town these days. You  can literally beat a game without having to touch the controls after losing 10000000 times in every single level.

 

 

So four acts plus missions sounds interesting. The bonus stages to me sound extremely like Sonic Simulator from Colors for the Chaos Emeralds in the Wii U version while it sounds like special stages for the 3DS version.

 

the part were it says that the 3DS version's flow of level progress is like old school Sonic as in no overworld map. I hope this doesn't affect cut scenes  I hope they make the cut scene flow like in SA2.

 

Speaking of not having an Overworld in the 3DS version I guess that saves some space to have other stuff.

[Balding Spider]

What would be the problem, exactly? It's not like one is actally forced to use such a feature. Besides, it'll actually help newcomers who are trying to get into the game, but just need a little help with getting things done.

 

It's not that I find it a real problem, it's more like from what I've seen the stages seem simple enough and more forgiving then some games.

 

Though the part about the player loosing their red rings if they die sounds like a fun challenge for me

The super guide is the talk of the town these days. You can literally beat a game without having to touch the controls after losing 10000000 times in every single level.

So four acts plus missions sounds interesting. The bonus stages to me sound extremely like Sonic Simulator from Colors for the Chaos Emeralds in the Wii U version while it sounds like special stages for the 3DS version.

the part were it says that the 3DS version's flow of level progress is like old school Sonic as in no overworld map. I hope this doesn't affect cut scenes I hope they make the cut scene flow like in SA2.

Speaking of not having an Overworld in the 3DS version I guess that saves some space to have other stuff.

Sort of expecting cutscenes similar to Generations 3DS, and I'm not really sold on the description of special stages for the portable version.

Edited September 29, 2013 by Master Zik

[Celestia]

I wonder how the super guide activates, that is, what button do you press? Is it something on the Gamepad's screen, or one of the shoulder buttons (the latter of which I don't think are used for anything else)?

[VGamer]

As long as the game doesn't constantly give you pop-ups telling you to use the super guide (kinda like DK), I'm fine with it.

[WhoWhatMan]

I don't get it about the "old school progress", does that mean we have to replay the WHOLE game to go back to a level that I like replaying?

[Tails spin]

As long as the game doesn't constantly give you pop-ups telling you to use the super guide (kinda like DK), I'm fine with it.

 

What the pig? I completely ignore him and keep on truckin'

[Indigo Rush]

It means you go through the stages in a linear fashion instead of picking them out of order, like in Sonic 4.

 

That's all.

[Tails spin]

I don't get it about the "old school progress", does that mean we have to replay the WHOLE game to go back to a level that I like replaying?

 

Not really I kind of see it like SA2. where if you lose you still are at the point where you left off. I doubt this game will regress back to beating the whole game in one sit in.

[Balding Spider]

I don't get it about the "old school progress", does that mean we have to replay the WHOLE game to go back to a level that I like replaying?

Go play the original Sonic The Hedgehog to find out what "old school progression" means. And it think at this point it's a safe bet to assume that eventually there will be stage select option for the 3DS version. Most likely unlock able.

Edited September 29, 2013 by Master Zik

[WhoWhatMan]

Yea, I know, you just finish the level and go on to the next one.

[SilentDoom]

Hold on, EIGHT worlds? We initially thought 6, then 7 and now 8. What could the 8th zone be like? Personally I hope it's something mechanical and really 'Sonic final area' feeling. All the other zones are more organic so it will be a nice contrast.

[Bouldergeist]

Wait so there's eight zones altogether that means.....
Desert ruins
Silent forest
Windy Hill
Lava Mountain
Sky Road
Tropical Coast
Frozen Factory
Does that mean there's a Space Zone, mountains or underground for the 8th zone?
So those fights with the deadly six throughout the stages themselves are just to slow you down until the build up for the encounter with them also I hope the special stages are different besides a halfpipe something like blue spheres or something new also I'm guessing those tents are the special stages.

 

It has to be a space zone nearly all main sonic games final stages were fought in space.

Edited September 29, 2013 by Time Eater

[PickleBrows]

Just to do some maths and such for a minute. In terms of the main stages, ignoring the side ones since we don't have a solid number for them yet...

 

4 main stages per world X 8 worlds = 32 main levels

 

For comparison:

 

Sonic Unleashed-   15 main levels (including sonic, Werehog and Eggmanland).

Sonic Colours-       36 total levels (I've included all of them for fairness but when you consider how many were                                                           short 2 minute levels, it's probably a fair bit less than that).

Sonic Generations-19 main stages (classic and modern)

 

Looks like Lost World isn't doing too bad in terms of content.

Edited September 29, 2013 by Liam The Animator

[Salamander]

Is it really safe to assume that the eighth world would be a full world and not just, say, a single stage followed by the final boss?  SLW still wouldn't be doing badly on the figures, though.