What was your most frustrating/difficult experience with a Sonic game?

[Ghelatlishol]

Please describe in detail, if you wish, what your most difficult experience playing a Sonic game was like: what game, what console/platform, how old were you, how did you feel at the time, how did you get past it? 

I'm curious! 

[GX -The Spindash-]

 

[Cosmos Rogue]

Off the top of my head, the final boss of the Sonic Frontiers DLC.

Spoiler

You can't reliably target the boss' weak point, but the boss can heal itself, erasing any progress you might have made fighting it. Fuck that noise.

 

[HywelAtTheMoon]

Took me a fair while of repetition and memorisation, but the Underground Zone boss in the Game Gear version of Sonic 2.

The way the screen is means that you have very little time to react and move.

I didn't defeat it until I hit 30...

[castell-neath]

100% a toss up between Underground Zone boss on Origins plus or the Final Horizon DLC as a whole.

The boss on a reduced screen is so, so, so unfair and is almost game breaking. The DLC is just not fun for a wide range of reasons. When I cant be bothered to complete a SONIC game due to unfair boss battles, stupid combat controls, OTT trials, jonky camera angles and fire up Forbbiden West instead, you know its not fun, not enjoyable and just not good.

[Ghelatlishol]

This probably doesn't count as my MOST frustrating experience, but one moment I remember vividly is 10 year old me FINALLY getting through Sonic's journey on Sonic Adventure, getting through the Final Zone, beating the Egg Viper, and then out of nowhere, Eggman does that last minute desperation attack where he flies into the remaining platform. I did not survive that the first time. I don't remember how many times I died trying to beat the boss in the first place, but I do remember almost breaking the Dreamcast.

Beat it the next time though, and was in too much of a blind rage to remember what happened after that.

[moonarcana]

There's a LOT of moments I can think of unfortunately, Sonic games are too reliant on cheap BS sometimes. The most vivid instances I can remember were with Sonic Heroes (when i was 12), Sonic Unleashed (when I was 12) and Sonic Colors (I was 14-15 then).

With heroes, I got stuck on casino park (do i need to explain more) and later the vine swinging crocodile chase in Lost jungle, I wasn't confident in my input timings and didn't realize how easy it was to do it so I kept dying and dying until I figured it out. 

With Sonic Unleashed, I'd never used an Xbox 360 before so the controls were completely unfamiliar to me. The game was already kinda miserable just trying to get used to the homing attack mapping and struggling through the QTEs, then the Tornado Defense mission popped up and that almost made me quit the game. Eventually I managed to get past it with my brother and I tag teaming, but the rest of the game (until the Jungle Joyride roadblock) still wasn't a great experience. QTEs suck so much.

 

As for Colors, I'm always confused when people say the game is easy because it kicked my ass first time through. Planet Wisp was a major roadblock for me, especially act 4 and act 6. Precision platforming on tiny moving platforms over bottomless pits while using Wiimote+Nunchuck (which I wasn't used to all) was miserable and tainted my impression of the game for a long time. Then I played it again with a GC controller a few years later and not only had a better time but loved it a lot. 

[regularmilo]

When I was a kid, I couldn't get past Wing Fortress Zone in Sonic 2. One of those launcher thingies really confused me and it kept not flinging me far enough to make the gap and I'd fall off and die. My uncle came over one day and showed me how to get past it. Apparently, I was holding right as it launched me which caused weird physics that interfered with the launch trajectory. You're supposed to not press anything and just let it throw you. For the longest time that level was this insurmountable obstacle to me because of that one little quirk.

Also Sonic 2 related. One time as a kid I spent all day trying to get through Knuckles' story. Got to the final boss and mom called me to eat dinner. I was feeling really confident so I paused the game right as the final boss appeared and went to go eat dinner. My mom came back into the room with me to watch me beat the game and the game had just... frozen. Just like that. Crashed and frozen. I was so upset I almost started crying.

Edited October 27, 2023 by regularmilo

[Ghelatlishol]

4 hours ago, moonarcana said:

There's a LOT of moments I can think of unfortunately, Sonic games are too reliant on cheap BS sometimes. The most vivid instances I can remember were with Sonic Heroes (when i was 12), Sonic Unleashed (when I was 12) and Sonic Colors (I was 14-15 then).

With heroes, I got stuck on casino park (do i need to explain more) and later the vine swinging crocodile chase in Lost jungle, I wasn't confident in my input timings and didn't realize how easy it was to do it so I kept dying and dying until I figured it out. 

With Sonic Unleashed, I'd never used an Xbox 360 before so the controls were completely unfamiliar to me. The game was already kinda miserable just trying to get used to the homing attack mapping and struggling through the QTEs, then the Tornado Defense mission popped up and that almost made me quit the game. Eventually I managed to get past it with my brother and I tag teaming, but the rest of the game (until the Jungle Joyride roadblock) still wasn't a great experience. QTEs suck so much.

 

As for Colors, I'm always confused when people say the game is easy because it kicked my ass first time through. Planet Wisp was a major roadblock for me, especially act 4 and act 6. Precision platforming on tiny moving platforms over bottomless pits while using Wiimote+Nunchuck (which I wasn't used to all) was miserable and tainted my impression of the game for a long time. Then I played it again with a GC controller a few years later and not only had a better time but loved it a lot. 

Yeah, Casino Park definitely wasn't the easiest to figure out how to control. I think Sonic Spinball had better control! And the crocodile chase part of Lost Jungle...you are not alone in that one. 

As far as the others I can't empathize (don't remember much)! 

2 hours ago, regularmilo said:

When I was a kid, I couldn't get past Wing Fortress Zone in Sonic 2. One of those launcher thingies really confused me and it kept not flinging me far enough to make the gap and I'd fall off and die. My uncle came over one day and showed me how to get past it. Apparently, I was holding right as it launched me which caused weird physics that interfered with the launch trajectory. You're supposed to not press anything and just let it throw you. For the longest time that level was this insurmountable obstacle to me because of that one little quirk.

Also Sonic 2 related. One time as a kid I spent all day trying to get through Knuckles' story. Got to the final boss and mom called me to eat dinner. I was feeling really confident so I paused the game right as the final boss appeared and went to go eat dinner. My mom came back into the room with me to watch me beat the game and the game had just... frozen. Just like that. Crashed and frozen. I was so upset I almost started crying.

The launch pads, yes I remember those! I called them "skates" for some reason...  Luckily I never had a good reaction time with those so I didn't fly off the screen. Sorry to hear about your struggle! 

And oh my gosh, if the damn thing froze on me too after all that I'd go ballistic. Keep strong! Lol

[A super No.1 washedupgamer]

That barrel of doom frustrated me to tears until I learned about a cheat code website called game wimners.

[Indigo Rush]

In recent memory, the final bosses in Sonic Superstars really tested my patience, and Sonic Frontiers' last update with the Master Koko trials actually killed my desire to see it through to the end, and I'm not interested in playing it ever again. I don't have time like I used to.

Growing up, Sonic 2's final boss was my bane. You have to remember that back then, you had a standard life system with no saves. If you botch it, you don't start the stage over, you start the entire game over. The concept of level select cheat codes wasn't available to me in the 90s, so I just had to suffer. 

Other than that, not so much difficulty as it is the destruction of my resolve was replaying Sonic Unleashed (360) was aggravating and it's just not very fun. Constant roadblocks for not having enough medals and having to meander around different stages (especially 30-minute long underleveled Werehog stages) made me give up early on. That games not being touched again, either.

[Ghelatlishol]

9 hours ago, A super No.1 washedupgamer said:

That barrel of doom frustrated me to tears until I learned about a cheat code website called game wimners.

Yeah...I think SEGA thought the barrel would be far more intuitive than that, and it wasn't! 

9 hours ago, Indigo Rush said:

In recent memory, the final bosses in Sonic Superstars really tested my patience, and Sonic Frontiers' last update with the Master Koko trials actually killed my desire to see it through to the end, and I'm not interested in playing it ever again. I don't have time like I used to.

Growing up, Sonic 2's final boss was my bane. You have to remember that back then, you had a standard life system with no saves. If you botch it, you don't start the stage over, you start the entire game over. The concept of level select cheat codes wasn't available to me in the 90s, so I just had to suffer. 

Other than that, not so much difficulty as it is the destruction of my resolve was replaying Sonic Unleashed (360) was aggravating and it's just not very fun. Constant roadblocks for not having enough medals and having to meander around different stages (especially 30-minute long underleveled Werehog stages) made me give up early on. That games not being touched again, either.

Sonic 2's final boss was definitely horrible and hard to figure out. I remember watching my Mom and Dad try to figure out how to beat it (they used the level select cheat code to get to Death Egg.) I still use their strategy (wait until the robot leans over/recoils to hit it.) Over time I figured out you can sneak behind and hit him in the rear (literally) a few times, and jump over the jet pack and get in up to seven hits to start, but it's still difficult. And I can't figure out how to jump high enough to attack him from the front while he's just walking.  

[joe_schmoe99]

When I was a kid, it was Knuckles' section of Flame Core in '06 because I couldn't figure out what the hell I was supposed to do. I also had trouble in the first Savannah Citadel Night level in Unleashed. That fight on the tiny roof near the middle of the stage is ridiculous. You know the one I'm talking about.

I don't think I've had trouble with anything since, though. I remember feeling really satisfied coming back to Unleashed and 100%'ing it.

[Ghelatlishol]

38 minutes ago, joe_schmoe99 said:

When I was a kid, it was Knuckles' section of Flame Core in '06 because I couldn't figure out what the hell I was supposed to do. I also had trouble in the first Savannah Citadel Night level in Unleashed. That fight on the tiny roof near the middle of the stage is ridiculous. You know the one I'm talking about.

I don't think I've had trouble with anything since, though. I remember feeling really satisfied coming back to Unleashed and 100%'ing it.

In some deep recess of my memory, I know what you are talking about concerning Unleashed...might have repressed that 

[SKSpawn]

Nearly every single aspect of Sonic '06. That game was broken in every sense of the word.

[Ghelatlishol]

4 hours ago, SKSpawn said:

Nearly every single aspect of Sonic '06. That game was broken in every sense of the word.

Nothing to add here! I bought it and tried it out, couldn't make it past the first level. Sent it right back.

[Promethean0416]

Off the top of my head, the Labyrinth Zone (as a kid, managed to beat it 20 years later)

And currently, collecting the Chaos Emeralds via bonus stages and the limited opportunities to do so.

[castell-neath]

I'm going to break this down in to eras with an overall winner.

Classic Era - Spinball, every aspect of it. Shoddy controls, multiple emeralds to unlock progression, the inclusion of Cartoon characters and an Eggman redesign from a rubbish Cartoon thatbtotally contradicted canon.  In the EU release the Eggman on the cover didnt even match up. Just feels like an unoffical quick cash in with no love or polish to it.

Adventure Era - Pinball Highway in Heroes. Stages are far too long, again shoddy controls for the flippers and gravity that just feels off when bouncing around. The narrow corridors with insta death were just frustrating to tears.

Modern Era - Lost world being locked to Wii. Never been able to play it as a result. 

Overall winner - superstars' lack of save that even Sonic 04 had where you can restart from the last star post you pass if you switch off the game. How and why this feature is not there in 2023 is inexcusable

 

Edited November 1, 2023 by castell-neath

[an idiot]

Yeah, the Frontiers DLC was brutal, and I initially hated it, but once I figured out how to (totally not skip all the platforming by ascending to the heavens with Knuckles) control each character(and totally not watch a tutorial on the final boss), it was okay at best. 

I've personally never been super great at 2D Sonic games(unless it's Sonic 3 & Knuckles I have that game MEMORIZED), so Superstars has been a pain recently, but I think the most frustrated I've ever been with a Sonic game is SatBK's King Arthur fight. The one right before Merlina. I have no idea why, but I could never get the timing with the sword right. I would always swing just a SECOND too early or a SECOND too late, and then I'd be dead before I even got to hit him once. I remember my grandma trying not to laugh as she watched me fail again and again, and I'm pretty sure she was the only reason I had enough patience to persevere through this fight. But, other than the King Arthur fight, it is one of my favorite Sonic games, so. 

That, or Sonic Unleashed. Just, like, as a whole. It's a good game, but it gives you little to no direction in the hub world, so if I come back to the game after a month or two, I have no idea what I'm doing. Also, it gets a bit tedious after a while if you're not playing the regular Sonic stages. I want to finish it because of how awesome the Dark Gaia fight is, but it's just not...fun to me, I guess.

[Noah]

oil ocean act 2 in sonic mania

[Shade Vortex]

The final boss in the Hard Mode campaign of Sonic Superstars is certainly up there, but I also want to give a noteworthy mention to Eggmanland. A sonic stage should never be more than 10 minutes long...

[sonicclaasic]

My frustration was the final boss In Trips story mode campaign In Sonic Superstars It was going far too long In that Final Boss fight for sure.

[an idiot]

On 11/1/2023 at 6:50 AM, castell-neath said:

Adventure Era - Pinball Highway in Heroes. Stages are far too long, again shoddy controls for the flippers and gravity that just feels off when bouncing around. The narrow corridors with insta death were just frustrating to tears.

Oof, I feel that one. I like the concept of Heroes, but the execution of the game is just...yikes. I haven't finished it yet, and there's no way I'm going to waste more than 7 hours of my life trying to get ALL 7 emeralds in EACH team storyline. Pretty sure I was only able to 100% Team Rose and then I just never really got back into the game. I think I left off in Team Sonic's story in that stage that was kind of like Pumpkin Hill but in the sky? I can't remember what it's called, lol.  Sucks because Metal Overlord/Madness/whatever he's called nowadays is SUCH a cool boss concept.

[Knight Terror]

The sonic 2 special stages. You have about half a second to react to whatever is oncoming, or memorize the layout. This is not skill.

[SKSpawn]

On 10/31/2023 at 8:16 PM, Ghelatlishol said:

Nothing to add here! I bought it and tried it out, couldn't make it past the first level. Sent it right back.

I've played through the entire game twice, about ten years apart, and it hasn't gotten any better. It's been really weird for me in the last few years to see people praising it and actually preferring it to something like Sonic Colours when Sonic '06 is such a mess.