Sonic Colo(u)rs Impressions, Help, and Discussion Topic

[Dummy Bear]

Bought the game yesterday. Beaten it in about 4 hours, but haven't gotten all the Red Rings yet, but I've gotta say it's a blast.

The game definitely gets better when you've unlocked the wisps. I mean there's just so much to explore in the game, I think I've only hit a tip of the iceberg.

And about the platforming, it's honestly a nice break from all the boostboostboost lolspeedlol we've gotten over the years. And even if you didn't like the game, just be thankful it wasn't a digital download and that you can trade it in for something else.

[-Mark-]

Right, I just need three more Red Rings on the DS version, now!

Sweet Mountain, Mission 3, #1

Starlight Carnival, Mission 1, #2

Aquarium Park, Mission 2, #2

[speedduelist]

Drifting and level design of the 3D Section of unleashed Wii is much better than colors and unleashed 360.
50% of colors 3d areas are empty because the developers don't know what to do with them, apparently Dimps knows how to make '3D = Speed without feeling on rails'.

if Dimps made the 3d areas, the game could have been much better and the developers wouldn't have been confused of what they would do with the 3d portions.

2D = Sonic team + 3D = Dimps = Much better than colors.

Colors is still over all better than Unleashed Wii (and ofcourse 360).

Colors is using the 360 Sonic Unleashed style, and they tried to Fix the unleashed 360 style in sonic colors, and they ended up breaking other things in Unleashed 360 style.
Unleashed Wii 3D Portions is all the way better, the best of it that they were able to make sonic spin dash/roll and made the multiple paths more easier to be their.

[Kuzu]

Ok Speedduelist you don't have to keep spamming videos to make your point, its kinda of annoying now.

[Voyant]

To be honest I found the 3D parts in UnleshedHD a lot more fun that Wii Unleashed..that's just me though...they feel much more "streamlined". Wat I think they need to stop though is setting "Speed Caps" and let the player go through as fast as they want too.

[-Mark-]

Personally, I found Wii Unleashed (especially the 3D parts of the day stages) really, really dull.

[Saint Nathan]

...

What do you mean by "Other Sonic" in this.

Because while the Colors one is SEMI right (not really though) the second one describes literally none, nada, zero, zip of the 3D games, and looks more like Sonic 1 (in fact it looks like scrap brain).

And even then it's not right.

[DistantJ]

@ DistantJ

You realize that in that diagram pretty much how classic Sonic is right? Also that doesn't describe Colors in the least bit...because Colors has WAY more Alternate paths and crazy shit going on in Colors and Sonic Adventure which is linear as shit, looked dull, and boring.

Which freakin' classic Sonic games did YOU play? The Game Gear ones?

And I wasn't including alternate paths in there, I thought you'd get the picture from just one.

What do you mean by "Other Sonic" in this.

The idea is to show you guys that the other games, whether Sonic 1 or Sonic Unleashed, Sonic CD or Sonic Rush (note that in the 2D ones, the green 'automated' parts would be in red), include varied and interesting landmasses, platforms and challenges, all different shapes and sizes, whilst Colours, for the most part, uses just one level design motif: tiny little floating bricks. Considering that the green bits are all happening by themselves (or partially controllable with quick step), this leaves me with a game where I jump between tiny little floating bricks. If I wanted to jump between little floating platforms, there are much better games out there which I can do that in, and that's not what I buy a Sonic for.

(If you wanna know exactly what I was thinking, the level doodle was based on little moments in previous levels I enjoyed, it goes, green hill - casino night - spring yard - sandopolis - scrap brain - emerald hill - apotos - red mountain)

[Carbo]

The idea is to show you guys that the other games, whether Sonic 1 or Sonic Unleashed, Sonic CD or Sonic Rush (note that in the 2D ones, the green 'automated' parts would be in red), include varied and interesting landmasses, platforms and challenges, all different shapes and sizes, whilst Colours, for the most part, uses just one level design motif: tiny little floating bricks.

I don't even know how to respond to this.

Really I... what? You stereotype Colors into floating bricks yet you call Rush having a varied and interesting landmass with platforms and challenges when its pretty much catered to going straight in a complete line for a shitfucking long time while Unleashed is simply just a minor improvement upon that by adding an expanded 3D section?

Honestly at this point I'm beginning to think you're grasping for straws here.

Edited November 21, 2010 by Carbo

[DistantJ]

Would you quit with the goddamn attitude?

Yes, Sonic Rush (for fucks sake play Sonic Unleashed again, you're remembering that game as some kind of hold-right-to-win disaster, it was way more than that) is about constantly moving forward but even in this one, the challenges are varied and interesting, it is just about boosting and making jumps, but the jumps are between different objects, contraptions, shapes and motifs, things which change repeatedly, whilst every time colours gives you full control it gives you the same damn awful bunch of little floating rectangles thrown down as if nobody gave a shit.

[Kuzu]

Would you quit with the goddamn attitude?

Yes, Sonic Rush (for fucks sake play Sonic Unleashed again, you're remembering that game as some kind of hold-right-to-win disaster, it was way more than that) is about constantly moving forward but even in this one, the challenges are varied and interesting, it is just about boosting and making jumps, but the jumps are between different objects, contraptions, shapes and motifs, things which change repeatedly, whilst every time colours gives you full control it gives you the same damn awful bunch of little floating rectangles thrown down as if nobody gave a shit.

So wait..You're critcizing Colors for using Rectangular platforms, when Unleashed did the exact same thing in its platforming sections.

[Carbo]

Would you quit with the goddamn attitude?

Yes, Sonic Rush (for fucks sake play Sonic Unleashed again, you're remembering that game as some kind of hold-right-to-win disaster, it was way more than that) is about constantly moving forward but even in this one, the challenges are varied and interesting, it is just about boosting and making jumps, but the jumps are between different objects, contraptions, shapes and motifs, things which change repeatedly, whilst every time colours gives you full control it gives you the same damn awful bunch of little floating rectangles thrown down as if nobody gave a shit.

I don't see at what point I expressed any attitude. You should probably stop taking everything as an attack at you. I was just baffled by why you described it in such a sense and in line with your little chart, especially considering Rush and Unleashed are the most automated Sonic games ever made.

I never even said for that matter that it was a hold-right-to-win disaster either, but saying its varied and properly challenging feels really damn off as well if you ask me.

[Sean]

Would you quit with the goddamn attitude?

Would you, please? I honestly don't see what comments here are being hostile.

[Scar]

DistantJ.

I would like to point out that Unleashed also used "little floating bricks" Except they were larger and used less frequently due to the prevalence long straightaways and drifting sections.

So basically your main problem is that Colours used too many random floating platforms instead of pasting a different skin over the top to make it look different.

It makes no difference really; whether the platforms are "little floating bricks" or anything else, as they effectively do the same thing, but with a different texture slapped on it.

[Saint Nathan]

Would you quit with the goddamn attitude?

Yes, Sonic Rush (for fucks sake play Sonic Unleashed again,

[DistantJ]

Would you, please? I honestly don't see what comments here are being hostile.

Edited November 21, 2010 by DistantJ

[ChikaBoing]

Even if the Plattforming in Colors is rather basic, they switch up the structure good enough within those basic elements.It kinda resembles the classic games where they were obvious level-gimmicks, where every act had multiple gimmicks and obstacles but never limited to one specific game mechanic in each level that never appears in the game later again, resulting a flow that never changes up the gameplay to the point that each Level feels too drasticilly different,but still different in overall layout.Case in Point, Sonic 4 and Adventure, both had levels that solely focused on one game-mechanic in each level, not something that the classics do.

Edited November 21, 2010 by ChikaBoing

[JezMM]

I find the level aesthetic in Colours kind of annoying actually.

Yeah you can use the Wisps to explore more little squares and mazes for the spikes to go through.

Know what I want to explore? I want to run around the ships and the ports in the background on that one Starlight Carnival level with the moving spring platform (and obviously the other acts that use the same area).

I want to run around on the buildings and that sloping waterfall thing you can see in the background on Tropical Resort.

I want to traverse the hilltops and mountain paths and trees in the background of Planet Wisp. I want to climb around inside the giant tower thing, not mess around on a ton of tiny platforms moving round like conveyor belts in the foreground.

Aquatic Park and Asteroid Coaster probably came the closest to fulfilling this kind of... "interesting" exploring. Unleashed had a lot more of this, in my opinion, and is the reason I personally loved the fact that the levels were based on the real world.

A fantasy setting is fine of course, Colours has gorgeous design. But I want to play ON it, not just have it in the background while I hover/spikes/rocket around and "explore" a load of optional puzzle sections floating in the foreground.

[Voyant]

I find the level aesthetic in Colours kind of annoying actually.

Yeah you can use the Wisps to explore more little squares and mazes for the spikes to go through.

Know what I want to explore? I want to run around the ships and the ports in the background on that one Starlight Carnival level with the moving spring platform (and obviously the other acts that use the same area).

I want to run around on the buildings and that sloping waterfall thing you can see in the background on Tropical Resort.

I want to traverse the hilltops and mountain paths and trees in the background of Planet Wisp. I want to climb around inside the giant tower thing, not mess around on a ton of tiny platforms moving round like conveyor belts in the foreground.

Aquatic Park and Asteroid Coaster probably came the closest to fulfilling this kind of... "interesting" exploring. Unleashed had a lot more of this, in my opinion, and is the reason I personally loved the fact that the levels were based on the real world.

A fantasy setting is fine of course, Colours has gorgeous design. But I want to play ON it, not just have it in the background while I hover/spikes/rocket around and "explore" a load of optional puzzle sections floating in the foreground.

[SuperClassic]

This is another reason why Colors doesn't come off as exciting to people and Unleashed...because in Unleashed the game design was your play ....in Colors the game design is just "there" while you just watched a lot of cool stuff go by you. There are plenty of times in Colors where I wished the level would branch out so I could explore "that area"

Same, but I honestly find platforming that'll give me a challenge a lot better than running forward and seeing a bunch of cool effects, oh wait, Colors has both of that, never mind. Colors is just doing exactly what Unleashed's day stages are doing only with slightly more interesting 2D and 3D areas. I understand where you are going at though, especially in Sweet Rave Party zone.

Edited November 22, 2010 by SuperClassic

[Sega DogTagz]

I think Colors does lack a bit of the adrenaline of the Unleashed HD experience, but I am curious of how much of that can be rectified by simply zooming in the camera a bit on the Hedgehog (at least in the 3D spots).

[SuperStingray]

I find the level aesthetic in Colours kind of annoying actually.

Yeah you can use the Wisps to explore more little squares and mazes for the spikes to go through.

Know what I want to explore? I want to run around the ships and the ports in the background on that one Starlight Carnival level with the moving spring platform (and obviously the other acts that use the same area).

I want to run around on the buildings and that sloping waterfall thing you can see in the background on Tropical Resort.

I want to traverse the hilltops and mountain paths and trees in the background of Planet Wisp. I want to climb around inside the giant tower thing, not mess around on a ton of tiny platforms moving round like conveyor belts in the foreground.

Aquatic Park and Asteroid Coaster probably came the closest to fulfilling this kind of... "interesting" exploring. Unleashed had a lot more of this, in my opinion, and is the reason I personally loved the fact that the levels were based on the real world.

A fantasy setting is fine of course, Colours has gorgeous design. But I want to play ON it, not just have it in the background while I hover/spikes/rocket around and "explore" a load of optional puzzle sections floating in the foreground.

In all fairness, you do platform on the ship surface in Starlight Carnival in a few of the acts.

But I do agree with you on the rest. As much as I loved Sonic Colors (seriously, I loved the shit out of it), there's always the niggling feeling that something's missing and I think you hit the nail on the head there. Wisp planet didn't nearly have enough fun outside of the construction sections. That moment when the music starts in act 1 and you start rushing through the grass... very few moments in the Sonic games can really evoke as much emotion as that four seconds. But the rest of the zone didn't really seem to even try; it mostly relied on the "Eggman" sections and didn't really give you a good look on the natural state of the planet. I don't hold it against Colors, because it's a problem in a lot of 2.5D platformers. When the background's beautiful, everything there is a cocktease. Games like 'Splosion Man and Donkey Kong Country Returns do it right because everything worth caring about is in the foreground. But Kirby 64, Super Smash Bros. Brawl's campaign and to an extent Shadow Complex are all games that made me feel like I'm being held back by the game's axis of control.

Don't get me wrong, God knows I love Colors, but this is really why I want to see Sonic succeed as a true 3D platformer. Their art direction in Unleashed, Secret Rings and Colors is fucking gorgeous, really unmatched by many platformers. I'll be honest with you, in terms of the level appearance alone, I prefer Sonic Colors to Mario Galaxy because, despite its colorful and more varied level design, each planet or section just feels isolated and dissonant from the last, not to mention a lot of them use recycled platforms like bright, colored blocks without detail. After you're done on the apple planet, you move on to the egg planet, then the capsule planet, etc. In Colors, each act plays out fairly differently, but they still maintain a solid and fluid connection that revolves around the theme. Where there isn't much reason to say Beach Bowl Galaxy is more than "just another beach level" or Freeze Flame Galaxy is just a lava level and ice level that just happen to occupy the same map, you'd be hard pressed to find another game with a parade of illuminated space dreadnoughts or a military base made of food. And yet the game's setup prevents you from being able to fully appreciate that element to the same extent that you could in Galaxy, which is why the latter, while not as strong in thematic execution, is ultimately going to be the most memorable.

But I guess, if anything, the inside of the Starlight Carnival ships could be a bit more colorful and less industrial looking.

Edited November 22, 2010 by SuperStingray

[Tiller]

I want to run around on the buildings and that sloping waterfall thing you can see in the background on Tropical Resort.

I want to traverse the hilltops and mountain paths and trees in the background of Planet Wisp. I want to climb around inside the giant tower thing, not mess around on a ton of tiny platforms moving round like conveyor belts in the foreground.

A fantasy setting is fine of course, Colours has gorgeous design. But I want to play ON it, not just have it in the background while I hover/spikes/rocket around and "explore" a load of optional puzzle sections floating in the foreground.

This. If one day we get to roam like that in a Sonic game, then it will be the game I've been wanting for a long time.

Onto my first impressions of Colors. I thought it was decent. Tropical resort was too easy, Sweet Mountain was great, Starlight carnival was disappointing for exactly the reason Jez mentions above. Then the other three worlds opened up and I went ADLFJADFLJADSLFJLSDF.

To elaborate, I found challenge and some awesome fun in those stages. Unlocking the rest of the wisps didn't hurt either. Aquatic Park is probably the best area in the game. If every act was like Act 6 there, the game would be outstanding. As such it is so far my favorite act. It was long, unique, and alternated between 2D and 3D quite well.

I went back after a while with the new wisps, and I gotta say I was impressed by some of the other acts in their depth. You know, the ones I flew through because I didn't have the wisps or didn't notice alternate paths. Sweet Mountain main acts so far is king of this.

The 3D sections are my biggest beef with the game because they're hardly open or even common. They are mostly just straight aways when I want to hop off the track and explore the structures in Aquatic Park. I understand why they tied a few moves here and there to certain sections, but it kinda feels dull knowing there isn't much to do in those sections other than what is prompted.

One thing that I EXTREMELY love about this game is are slope physics. Yes, the slopes. They don't suck ass like in Sonic 4. You try to run up one without enough speed and you slide down it. You don't stick to them, and there is MOMENTUM. Find a ramp, boost, jump at peek, and you'll fly upwards and skip sections for speed running or hidden stuff.

I've also liked how the boost is way turned down is so is the speed. That can stay gone for all I care. I would prefer the spindash instead of the boost, or have the boost only activate when you hit a certain speed, but all in all it's limited to an extent. In Unleashed you were either controlled like a bullet or a bar of soap. There is none of that in this game.

So far I think the game is hurting on content. Blatant level re usage is annoying. The bosses won't be annoying if they weren't so piss easy. There is usually about 2 or 3 good acts worth playing over and over in most areas.

Co-op is fun. Rage inducing when the other person is being a massive dick.

[Blue Blood]

Know what I want to explore? I want to run around the ships and the ports in the background on that one Starlight Carnival level with the moving spring platform (and obviously the other acts that use the same area).

Oh God, THIS so much! For what you actually play through, all the level might as well look like Game Land. I think is worsened by the game's race-track design. Unleashed wasn't an awful lot better in this regard though. But I suppose the environments were as interesting as Colours...

[Saint Nathan]

Co-op is fun. Rage inducing when the other person is being a massive dick.