Which elements of SLW resonated with you?

[azoo]

Since Lost World's release, we've all been a pretty bitter bunch of folk, and with the announcement and developments of Sonic Boom, we've been especially bitter towards Sonic Team; showing all signs of being tired of their crap and SLW's "two steps forward three steps back" schtick.

 

But I have an honest question: what parts of the game did you legitimately like? As in, what things, if anything actually made you go "yes, this is good" so much that you want to see more of it?

 

First thing I can think of I mentioned months ago, but I suppose the idea of bringing back the Spin Dash and introducing parkour to Sonic is what I felt was absolutely in the right direction. I've been waiting for parkour to be in Sonic games for a dang long time, and although it was rather finicky, the concept of wall running and vaulting with Sonic was like a somewhat haphazard dream come true. And Spin Dashing making a comeback certainly was too; I'd grown to miss the move to an extreme amount, and even if the rolling mechanics binded with it were very strange to say the least, the actual Spin Dash controls were pretty ace. Chaining them together by holding the trigger while hopping across terrain was a blast when I could get it going, and Spin Dashing while wall running just sorta "clicked" with me.

 

Another thing I thought was a really nice addition were the animal capsules. While locking later levels to require a certain amount of Flickies was pretty annoying, the overall concept was something I really loved. Those little capsules scattered across the stages were probably more fun to explore the stages for than the red rings ever were, and I don't know why but bopping them all just seems so satisfying. It's a welcome addition to the series for me as long as it doesn't heavily interfere with progress.

 

And of course I have to mention how glad I am to see how bouncy and lively Sonic's animations are. It's so nice to see Sonic's peelout animation again in-game, as well as his more bloopy jumpball. All the emphasis on color in this game too was generally a treat, and I thought the stages' foliage and objects (like springs and dash pads) keeping that "classic" look was really nice, even if I thought the game went wayyyyy overboard with the simplicity.

 

So yeah. Even though I don't like many things about this game, I feel like I've spent too many posts talking about what I didn't like. Since this is the only Sega!Sonic game until presumably 2015, let's try looking at we enjoyed from this game and would like to see in future titles.

 

Oh yeah, and to help churn that, here's what's easily one of the best songs in the game, as well as IMO one of the best Sonic songs in recent years:

 

 

Discuss!

[Gregzilla]

I liked the Spin Dash.  There were only like 2 levels where it felt like you had a good amount of room to play with it, but when it worked I really enjoyed it.  Just put it in better level design and it'll be way better than the boost.

[Kuzu]

Parkour was a nice idea on paper honestly; all of my life I've wanted Sonic to be able to just bypass an obstacle with no effort.

[Gabz Girl]

The spin dash was a welcome return and works quite well if you know how to handle it, the stages are colourful and cartoony and i love the animations on Sonic's model and the enemies! I also thought stages like the Honeycomb and furry Pacman on acid were great fun and highly original!

Honestly SLW is not terrible, it's just...okay. There are some things I like about it but many other things I hate or really frustrate me!

[MegasonicZX]

I liked the Spin Dash.  There were only like 2 levels where it felt like you had a good amount of room to play with it, but when it worked I really enjoyed it.  Just put it in better level design and it'll be way better than the boost.

Only two levels you say?

 

Honestly, I think level variety and the parkour could be good things to keep for the future, even though the levels weren't exactly everyones cup of tea, I think that if they continued on with more varied level design like this game has (minus the gimmicks) it could make the levels feel like more unique experiences and the parkour has lots of potential for shortcuts and speed runs if utilized correctly.

[Vertekins]

The visuals and sumptuous frame rate

 

Initially I didn't particularly prize it because of some graphical sameyness and the lighting not being particularly dynamic but you know what? It works for me regardless.

 

It's very pretty and vibrant and to me feels like a pretty good approximation of incorporating the Classic game's take on detail in a Modern game. And that frame rate makes it all run as smooth as the finest silk. Character models and animation is excellent and the visual effects are lovely such as flying embers in Lava Mountain, leaves blowing on the wind in Windy Hill and beams of light cascading through foliage in Silent Jungle.

 

The level tropes exhibit a good level of creativity despite abiding by many platform level cliches.

 

The story and Sonic's characterization in particular.

 

Sure the story had it's shortcomings such as the lack of focus on the fates of the Zeti but for the most part it was quite competently-written and was charming and a large improvement on the stories of Colours and Gens. And Sonic's characterization is to date second only to the Storybook games in my view. In particular I liked how willing he was to admit to his foibles and take culpability for his mistake. Not to mention the feels given-off by his very palpable sadness and loneliness when he's standing along in Lava Mountain trying in vain to contact anybody through the Miles Electric   And I just love how he acts not the least bit intimidated by Zazz and Zavok, giving back to them as good as he gets.

 

...

 

I suppose those are the elements of this game that positively resonated with me. Other aspects were alright but not what I'd class as being something that particularly "resonated" with me.

[Soniman]

-Silent Forest 1 is a great level and it has a perfect mix of good parkour elements (especially towards the end) and fun enemies and hazards. The only issue with it i had was the pointless spider sections. Tropical Coast 1 also gets points for how open the level is and has that one section where there's sick slope that isn't impeded by dash pads

 

- I found the parkour very fun when you had the opportunity use it, it's a bit janky but with the rough edges removed it could finally be Sonic's "thing" that won't have a reason to be replaced with something new.

 

-Enemy variety is amazing and they actually feel like enemies as opposed to "obstacles Sonic boosts and homing attacks through".

 

-Zavok is a cool villain and I wish he got more closure, the other D6 I can take or leave but I thought he was a very imposing villain that does well to distinguish himself from Eggman

 

-I also liked the story, but that's all ill say about that. Ill just say that like Colors it was a story where I cared more about the characters then usual.

 

-Spindash is great, way more versatile, and way more satisfying to use then the boost. I just wish there was more places to use it, like ramps and such (Desert Ruins 1 uses it rather well in that regard).

 

-Music is good, a bit weaker then other Sonic OSTs but still overall solid. Dragon Dance, Sea Bottom Segue, Silent Forest 1, Desert Ruins 1 are all great, and Windy Hill 1 is probably one of my favorite Sonic tracks ever for a opening stage. 

[Diogenes]

I liked the story. The ending was kind of weak, but aside from that, I was really happy having a story that focused on the main characters and explored them in a new way, and wasn't just the story of New Character that Sonic and co happened to stumble into. Tails, especially, is more interesting than he's been in a long time.

Conceptually I liked the parkour mechanics, the return of the spindash, and the run button...but I'm actually pretty disappointed in the execution. The ideas deserve a second chance but they need to change how they use them.

[Blue Wisp]

The entirety of Tropical Coast and Honeycomb Highway are one of the best things I've seen from any of the latest Sonic games.

 

But other than that, I'd have to say that Eggman and Sonic's interaction with each other was just amazing.

[Celestia]

Running on walls. The parkour mechanic wasn't without flaws, but it resonated with me and I feel like if they ditch it just like that, it'll be a disservice to the series. If they stick with it, I want to see the level design be built more around doing cool stuff with the parkour, because the moments like that were some of the best in the game.

 

Also echoing what people are saying about the Spindash, it was really satisfying to use in my experience.

[VGamer]

Parkour was honestly really fun to use, even if the game didn't really tell you to that much. I felt it controlled amazing for their first try, and I'd love to see it return in more expansive and not-so-confined levels, like the tubular ones. There's so much potential to be reached with the Parkour the way I see it.

[Kiah]

Things such as the parkour, story, characterization, music, visuals and the iconic Spindash have already been mentioned, so I won't repeat those things. I'll go along the line of little details that left a big impression on me that Sonic Lost World contained, for starters. Little things such as:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKz-le5IqoQ

 

When the Circus stage ends, either by freeing all the animals or by time running out, Sonic does a celebratory spin move followed by a bow, as if the stage was some kind of performance, being in a circus and all. The Circus stages seems to be the only place that Sonic does bow, as he doesn't do that at the end of the regular stages. I'm not sure if Sonic is bowing to thank the player, or is just showing off. Knowing Sonic and his silly, show-boating self, it's the latter more than likely. 

 

Here's a still image of Sonic bowing in case you missed it from the clip:

 

The idea of progressing from day to night via progressing through the zones. I really like how Sonic Lost World did it with Windy Hill:

 

Starting off with sunny skies...

 

To a gorgeous orange sunset...

 

To a starry-filled night...

 

It's realistic, varied, beautiful and even animated details like this that causes me to really admire and enjoy what I see in Sonic games and Sonic Lost World was no exception to that. 

 

I can't help but to bring up characterization, as it is a main draw for me. But instead of acknowledging and praising Sonic like I usually do (his characterization was great in SLW, by the way), I want to mention an example of how SLW gave Dr. Eggman an excellent portrayal:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-rrDA-dt_w

 

What impressed me that even amid all that chaos with missiles and lasers firing everywhere and Dr. Eggman running for his life in a very dangerous situation, he was able to tell Orbot and Cubot to flee as the two seemed uncertain what to do (Cubot really couldn't do anything but talk at this point) in the midst of everything going on and panicking. The fact that Dr. Eggman said "We are leaving!" implied to me that he, Orbot and Cubot were a unit or a team, and that they all needed to escape that chaotic scene together as opposed to Dr. Eggman (understandably) fending for himself.

 

Speaking of characters, I love how Sonic Lost World gave us some actual character interaction:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9B2uRi8zts

 

There was so much going on in that cutscene and I just loved the interaction between everyone. Amid the banter, the conversations, jabs and interactions between Sonic, Tails, Dr. Eggman, Orbot and Cubot just felt normal, yet it was so great to see. Then Dr. Eggman saves Tails from getting crushed by the robot with Cubot and then Sonic freed Cubot from being under the robot. I just loved Cubot's genuine apology after Sonic set him free. And that "scolding" from Sonic to Tails-that higher-pitched tone full of worry was perfect as it was very paternal/big brother-like. It sounded like Sonic was freaked out over the matter. And of course Tails was very sorry and you couldn't help to feel bad for him as all Tails wanted to do was help Cubot out, which speaking positively about Tails' character in itself. I love how this cutscene in the midst of giving us character interaction, characterization was demonstrated as well. It was like the best of both worlds. 

 

Seriously I could go on and on about what resonated with me well in Sonic Lost World. The game's issues and difficulties aside, I really did enjoy this game for these reasons that I mentioned in detail here plus a lot more. 

[Salamander]

As many have said, while the execution of parkour may have been lacking - specifically, I thought it was highly limiting that you could only run in straight lines, and the direction differed depending on where the camera was pointing - then being able to run on walls as Sonic in a 3D game is a great idea.  Greater freedom of movement, basically.

 

Also, though this is totally a Marmite issue, I thought the gyro-controlled special stages in the 3DS version worked really well.  I take issue with some points of their level design - specifically, one of the later ones that was just a maze of barrier walls that you had to scramble around - but I found it genuinely fun to control.  And I also think it was in the spirit of the series for the special stages to be unconventional in how they're played, too.

[Spin Attaxx]

The gameplay is pretty good in my opinion. It feels like it could do with some tweaking in some places, and I like how the level design isn't just Hightail Hallway Zone like how it was in the Boost games. Also, say what you will about their personalities, but I think the Deadly Six are the best non-Eggman villains in the series since... well, since Metal Sonic (I kinda question Orbot/Cubot's status, seeing how they're more of a dick to Eggman than to Sonic). Again, give them more depth than "Zomom luvs sandvich" and I'll be happy to see them again.