Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric (Wii U)

[Eitarou]

The prospect of finishing moves makes me hope that certain character combinations can give you cool moves together. Like Sonic Advance 3.

 

I imagine Knuckles spiking Sonic like a basketball, or someone using the EnerBeam and spinning Amy around to increase the power of her hammer swings by giving her tons of momentum.

[Willsy]

I'm betting that GI will end up hating the game, just like they did with every other recent Sonic game.

By the way, I watched the footage in Windows Media Player and the framerate looked quite smooth in the parts that were shown. Of course, GameXplain mentioned drops in framerate but I doubt SEGA would put them in the B-roll. I wonder if they are aiming for a solid 30fps....

[TheLaw34]

While having many speed sections is good I just cant stop think that the characters normal speed should be higher.

Still I say this knowing or atleast hoping that brb has done enough testing to guarantee that this is the speed the game works best at.

 

Still im hoping there is a dash button.

 

Also looked back at some screenshot and they are better than what i initially thought but Im still hoping the enviroment texture and lighting improve by release.

 

Also really hoping you can homing attack to move from one opponent to antoher in addition to some aerial combos.

Because if I really cant get speed im putting all my hope into this game having good flow. And so far the combos look decent enough athough 

The batman arkham games made ever hit feel hard, the special effects look badly done and kind of look like they take away from the effect of hitting something instead of adding to it.

[Willsy]

Maybe running speed will be upgradable?

It's also interesting to note from GameFronts preview that there will be some arguing between the team. In the game, they are apparently not really a proper unit yet. It'll be interesting to see a dynamic develop between the team.

[SlickEvan]

It's not so much what he said; but the tone of the little soundbite; ooooh there's RINGS in here! as though he didn't know, or was surprised that an item box has items in it. Don't get me wrong, it was a well delivered line, but to me it just sounded a little "oooh, Knuckles you bonehead!"

 

I don't like that kind of humour; it's not particularly original to have a character that says dumb stuff and everyone knows they're not the sharpest pencil in the tin. I mean, he could be a little more like say, Jake the Dog who sometimes says really ridiculous, badly thought-through things, but the mannerisms of the character gives off a different air. Jake is definitely not stupid, and isn't the butt of anyone else's jokes.

 

Do you see the difference, there?

 

I get what ya mean, but I more or less am just saying I don't see why Knuckles wouldn't be that type of character. Yeah maybe from past games and such but I feel that the writers for Boom may have been smarter then that. I pretty much just mean I don't wanna jump the gun and think he's idiotic from that line. Because it probably seems he'd be knowledgeable but just say dumb stuff because that's his humor. Like in the T.V. trailer, why would he say he has cream filling, unless: A) it's a joke of his. his type of humor. B ) they mad him an idiot.

 

I totally see where you're coming from though and also hope that isn't the "Oh, Knuckles, pfft." but I'm just gonna hold my horses until I know what the context.  

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

Okay, read all 20 pages of the thread so far.

 

I'm a bit on-and-off about this game. I mean, I don't find it shit like some people, but I'm not exactly optimistic about it. I knew right from the beginning that this was going to be different from the standard Sonic, and that has probably kept me from making very cynical judgements of the game. This also made me a bit more flexible in what I would assume or expect from the game.

 

Now, I'm a fan of brawlers, I'm a major fan of Jak and Daxter esque gameplay, but this looks like a bit of an expansion and not necessarily in a good way. Combat doesn't look too special, and it kind of reminds me a bit of Heroes with it's major emphasis on combat that risks being too tedious. I've been one to advocate more combat in Sonic games, but I've had a specific way to go about it that even the strongest non-boss enemy takes no less than 3 hits to bring down. The most basic enemy looks like it might take more than that, but who knows?

 

I have to say that the enerbeam concept has some interesting parts to it, such as using it to throw back Eggman's missiles. Kind remniscent of Silver's telekinetic powers in Sonic 06 which, although that game was obviously bad, was actually a pretty interesting idea.

 

But all in all, while I was expecting a brawler out of this game, I was expecting something more fast pace by comparison. That specific expectation has likely clouded a lot of my views regarding the beat'em up nature of this game.

 

The art looks pretty decent. It lacks the same vibrancy we've gotten in games during the Unleashed-Colors-Generation era, which I prefer above all, but some of the themes, such as the ancient temple parts in the game. Some of the boss fights, such as the one chasing Amy and Sonic through the tunnels I somewhat like visually, but not so sure how that would be playing it.

 

I'm a bit "meh, but okay" side of this game. The writing looks amazing tho, which is a plus in my book, although I am fearful of how reviewers would look at this game doing this thing. I'm worried that, should they pan it, that it would signal a return to the era that some of the "Quality" Sonic fans would fear to return to with no attempt at improving these things for the original verse.

 

So, all in all, I guess your mileage may vary on this game. Especially given the responses in the topic, but some previews do seem to hold some interest in seeing how it plays out.

[Ultimate Waffle]

Well ok. This is alot of topic so I aplogize if I'm glazing over anything said already.

 

I am teetering on being excited and plain apathy. On one hand this could be a crappy licensed game adaption, but this also looks like a faster paced Ratchet and Clank (or I guess Jak and Daxter). Any reason why Tails was left out of the demo build though? Was kinda looking forward to him most.

 

Also why does the Wii U get Amy while the 3DS gets Sticks? Couldn't they both have them both?

[TheLaw34]

@ChaosSupremeSonic

I dont see where your getting that the writing is amazing. Unless im missing something we've only seen maybe 1 line from sonic knuckles and amy so I really dont know what your judging off. If that is it I will say eggmans like about the screws made me chuckle

 

Also I think that there is more to a fighting game than saying tat you want weak enemies to die this fast, but Im not about to try to say what exactly a beat em up needs to be good so I will just wait till I play it then say if I like it..

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

@ChaosSupremeSonic

I dont see where your getting that the writing is amazing. Unless im missing something we've only seen maybe 1 line from sonic knuckles and amy so I really dont know what your judging off. If that is it I will say eggmans like about the screws made me chuckle

I mean more the scenes, actually. Not the script, per se. Probably should have said that instead.

[Celestia]

I'm sure this has been pointed out already by someone, somewhere, but I was watching the GameExplain footage again and noticed that the good old 3D Sonic ranking letters are used for combos--going from C to B to A and then S the larger the combo gets. Perhaps the number of hits you need to get an "S" rank depends on the enemy/boss, and how difficult it is to hit them a bunch of times in a row?

 

 

 

Not really a big deal, but I like it as a little detail. Of course, what this game really needs is the SA2-style, cheesy ("Radical!") words with bonus points, congratulating you for doing random stuff. ;P

[SenEDDtor Missile]

From the angle of that photo, that Eggman boss kinda looks like Egg Dragoon.

[Willsy]

Wasn't it stated somewhere that the levels would be wide-linear? As long as the levels aren't barren and have lots of places to explore, I'm totally fine with this.

Also I have a question for Stephen Frost, I'm not sure you can answer this though:

In the adventure levels (outside of the speed system), can the characters run faster or can they only do a sprint? Or is the sprint only specifically for sections with platforming and combat?

[Tani Coyote]

In the adventure levels (outside of the speed system), can the characters run faster or can they only do a sprint? Or is the sprint only specifically for sections with platforming and combat?

Good question, I certainly hope so.

While Lost World didn't pull it off quite right, I thought its concept of being able to switch between a more casual, exploring speed and a higher speed was a good idea.

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

 

I wonder if they didn't want game footage out because it's from a previous build? And E3 will show the game as it currently stands?

 

Or the people they gave the demo to just weren't supposed to post gameplay footage, just their commentary?!

 

 

After reading this whole thread I was expecting a completely off-putting clusterfuck of technical and design incompetence, and instead I get a standard action-adventure platformer. I don't know what to really say other than the sheer cynicism around here seems to far proceed what's actually on the table, and beyond that there's things that I like and don't mind anyway. I like the idea of using the speed stages as access points to major areas, the creepy guardian level, and I'm still on board with the traditional platforming scope of the game and the character switching. Even the normal speed of the characters doesn't actually bother me. And the use of the Remote Play feature is freaking brilliant. The only thing that actively made me cringe was the in-level dialogue because, you know, Sonic dialogue. Otherwise, I don't empathize with anyone who's calling this outright shit.

 

 

Trying not to comment on much right now, since it always takes time for stuff to sink in and I want people to have some time with the footage and screens before I try to jump in and answer questions, etc. I did want to say, though, that speed sections are not just isolated to roads that connect hubs to levels. There are also speed sections and roads, etc. within levels and hubs. Each of the levels that you are seeing footage from has speed sections in them. We just didn't show them because they aren't going to be at E3.

 

The E3 demo covers the same areas that you have seen footage of and was chosen to clearly represent what the differences are in Sonic Boom versus a normal "Sonic" title developed by Sonic Team. The levels chosen also feature more of a dark look with very little green or natural colors because, again, we wanted to clearly show some of the differences in the game. That's not to say that we don't have greenery, water, etc. and other more-natural things. But I think that is what people generally expect, so we chose to show something different.

 

The last thing I wanted is for people who are generally not that familiar to Sonic to look at the E3 demo and just say it looks the same... I don't get how this is different. So, we erred on the side on the side of making sure everything looked different than normal. The sections chosen, such as the specific parts of the levels, the boss fight, the speed section were all chosen to represent, again, clear differences between this game and the normal branch of Sonic... and also are tuned to make sure everyone gets through them all. They do not represent final challenge, etc. that you will see in the final game. 

 

Anyway, enough with my talking... I just wanted to clear up some things. I'll let you all get back to your discussions and I look forward to popping back in after E3 to see how things have settled.

 

As always, thanks for your support and for sharing your opinions of the games.

 

 

 

Finally caught up, you guys talk a lot, spoilered my quotes for convience

 

So ya, Frost answered a lot of my questions too, and as long as the game is competent, I'm proably going to be good with it, just need to wait and see at release though

[TheLaw34]

Wasn't it stated somewhere that the levels would be wide-linear? As long as the levels aren't barren and have lots of places to explore, I'm totally fine with this.

Also I have a question for Stephen Frost, I'm not sure you can answer this though:

In the adventure levels (outside of the speed system), can the characters run faster or can they only do a sprint? Or is the sprint only specifically for sections with platforming and combat?

 

While nothing would make me happier I highly doubt it.

I feel like brb is (or should be) well aware that sonic fans would want to see sonic being able to go fast.

Therefore if its something that could be dont we would have already seen it.

 

Still really REALLY hope he says yes though. because its probably to late to easily change the level designs to work with characters who can go faster than previously anticipated.

[Indigo Rush]

So...

 

 

Who's this fella here?

 

And also...

 

 

Will the rings be getting some sort of back-story? Because I looooooove me some mythos development.

[SlickEvan]

I still stand by the thought that Speed may be increased through leveling or such like some games, Unleashed per se. Or the likes of some upgrades improving abilities like with the instance of the lightspeed dash in SA1. First you get the powerup, then you get the power up's, power up. (: P) Or like in say, Kingdom Hearts 1 (and couple of the other ones) where you get "Haste" which also you to run faster. They probably designed the levels around semi-speed, combo's, and exploration but as Mr. Frost said it was merely clips of what differs itself from Sonic and the bigger aspects of the game. So.. yeah

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

Also, the complaints about robot designs seem to be a little irrelevant, since it looks like they are going to be Lyric's rather than Eggman's, so of course they would be a different style

[Tani Coyote]

Will the rings be getting some sort of back-story? Because I looooooove me some mythos development.

That looks pretty strongly like a hedgehog on the left.

He looks like he's pulling at the ring to take it from the other person... can't get a good glimpse of them.

It looks like Knuckles and Sticks aren't the only ones with ancient ancestry.

[Eitarou]

So...

 

Who's this fella here?

 

I don't know, but he looks very, very familar.

 

[Blue Blood]

Who's this fella here?

 

I'm guessing he's a guide/assistant of sorts, not unlike Chip or Tikal because he shows up in the 3DS version on the touch screen to give you info. Now I'm wondering if he's an Eggman bot gone rogue, related Lyric in some way or if he was made by Tails.

[SlickEvan]

I don't know, but he looks very, very familar.

 

*looks at image, then looks back at gif* How do you see tha- Looks at the little helper robot thing. Oh.. lol

 

On a serious note I wonder what he does in the story, or if he's one of those gameplay exclusive only/npc's that don't show up in the story. Or if he's possibly *in game, like the sceenshot* like the Wing Item but different? lol just throwing darts at a board of ideas in my head. 

[TheLaw34]

Pretty sure we have seen that robot in concept art

[Shiny Gems]

Well personally, I actually liked what I saw for the Wii U version of the game. I don't mind the combat sections, and in fact, I like them. I can't wait to see more of the game as time goes on. I can understand why some of you don't like it, and I respect that; but to me, this could be a fun game to play.

[sonfan1984]

The gameplay is more or less what I expected it to be. Yeah, it looks different and it doesn't look like a typical Sonic Team title but it doesn't look bad to me either.