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

[JezMM]

I don't know if this was said, but is anyone kind of let down how they cock-teased us with having Sonic fight Tails?

Seriously, Tails get's blasted by the mind-control ray, Eggman suggests that they fight, and then the energy runs out which turns Tails back to normal. And there I though we were actually going to get it.

...bastards.

Yeah, that bothered me too. All the most dramatic moments just feel out of place because there's no build-up with the storyline. That's what bothered me when I said it lacked "epicness". Every cut-scene was incidental and had little to do with what came before it. Another example is the super cool moment where Sonic pushed Tails back into the elevator... Would have been cool if not for the fact that the threat in question was not that threatening at all. Eggman in a big mech (and not even his biggest)... Gee, Sonic's never taken something like that down before. What will he do. =|

They do have a lot of abilities they can expand on, let's make a list shall we:

Homing Attack

Spin Dash

Stomping

Drift

Quick Step

Sliding

Surely they can expand on a few of those.

Indeed they can. That's exactly what I'm saying. *claps hands* Chop chop Sonic Team, get on it.

And don't call me Shirley.

Edited December 5, 2010 by JezMM

[Kuzu]

Yeah, that bothered me too. All the most dramatic moments just feel out of place because there's no build-up with the storyline. That's what bothered me when I said it lacked "epicness". Every cut-scene was incidental and had little to do with what came before it. Another example is the super cool moment where Sonic pushed Tails back into the elevator... Would have been cool if not for the fact that the threat in question was not that threatening at all. Eggman in a big mech (and not even his biggest)... Gee, Sonic's never taken something like that down before. What will he do. =|

I don't know about you, but I liked the idea of Eggman being the final boss.

[Emmett L. Brown]

Yeah, that bothered me too. All the most dramatic moments just feel out of place because there's no build-up with the storyline. That's what bothered me when I said it lacked "epicness". Every cut-scene was incidental and had little to do with what came before it. Another example is the super cool moment where Sonic pushed Tails back into the elevator... Would have been cool if not for the fact that the threat in question was not that threatening at all. Eggman in a big mech (and not even his biggest)... Gee, Sonic's never taken something like that down before. What will he do. =|

I completely disagree on all points. The incidental scenes restored a great deal of characterisation between Sonic and Tails abscent ever since the pair got voice actors.

And the final scenes had tons of epic, because for once Eggman decided to drop all pretenses and focus solely on killing Sonic to the exclusion of all else. Think about it: His doomsday weapon is ruined and the space station is falling apart - so defeating Sonic won't put him any closer to conquering the world, it's simply revenge. It was personal, and awesome for it! Not "I'll defeat Sonic before he thwarts my evil scheme!" but rather simply "Kill that annoying hedgehog already"

And please don't forget that Eggman wasn't the sole threat when Sonic pushed Tails into the elevator. The station was also falling apart at the moment, and as it turns out it imploded without Sonic escaping in time. Thank goodness for regularly-schedueled deus ex machina.

Now that's epic, sir. Epic and awesome.

Edited December 5, 2010 by Grumpy Old Guy

[SuperClassic]

I don't know if this was said, but is anyone kind of let down how they cock-teased us with having Sonic fight Tails?

Seriously, Tails get's blasted by the mind-control ray, Eggman suggests that they fight, and then the energy runs out which turns Tails back to normal. And there I though we were actually going to get it.

...bastards.

Not really, considering how light hearted the game is, I think Sonic beating up a mind controlled Tails would be kind of out of place.

[sonfan1984]

I completely disagree on all points. The incidental scenes restored a great deal of characterisation between Sonic and Tails abscent ever since the pair got voice actors.

And the final scenes had tons of epic, because for once Eggman decided to drop all pretenses and focus solely on killing Sonic to the exclusion of all else. Think about it: His doomsday weapon is ruined and the space station is falling apart - so defeating Sonic won't put him any closer to conquering the world, it's simply revenge. It was personal, and awesome for it! Not "I'll defeat Sonic before he thwarts my evil scheme!" but rather simply "Kill that annoying hedgehog already"

And please don't forget that Eggman wasn't the sole threat when Sonic pushed Tails into the elevator. The station was also falling apart at the moment, and as it turns out it imploded without Sonic escaping in time. Thank goodness for regularly-schedueled deus ex machina.

Now that's epic, sir. Epic and awesome.

Yeah, not to mention that Sonic has himself and Tails to worry about if he didn't push Tails into that elevator for safely. Just imagined Sonic trying to escape that black hole while dragging Tails along with him.

[Silver*]

From what I have seen, this game is alot like Sonic Unleashed and the DS version is like Sonic Rush.

I'd love to play this game, bit I dislike that it is an exclusive for the Wii I only have a PS2

[Blue Blood]

Yeah, not to mention that Sonic has himself and Tails to worry about if he didn't push Tails into that elevator for safely. Just imagined Sonic trying to escape that black hole while dragging Tails along with him.

Yeah, cause Tails it totally a dead-weight who always slows Sonic down. Oh wait, no he isn't. Tails can hold his own. Even if he is more interested in his gears and gizmos than being out in the action, he's not weak and defenceless. Having him worry about not being able to defeat Eggman and being shoved into the elevator sucked.

[SuperClassic]

Yeah, cause Tails it totally a dead-weight who always slows Sonic down. Oh wait, no he isn't. Tails can hold his own. Even if he is more interested in his gears and gizmos than being out in the action, he's not weak and defenceless. Having him worry about not being able to defeat Eggman and being shoved into the elevator sucked.

Actually, in Sonic 2, he sort of is always slowing Sonic down(Special stages), but whatever. It would have been nice to play as Tails once or to see him have a bit of action, but it's nice to see that Sonic cares if Tails gets hurt, they are best friends after all, and Tails is, in fact, the weaker one of the two.

Edited December 5, 2010 by SuperClassic

[Core]

Yeah, cause Tails it totally a dead-weight who always slows Sonic down. Oh wait, no he isn't. Tails can hold his own. Even if he is more interested in his gears and gizmos than being out in the action, he's not weak and defenceless. Having him worry about not being able to defeat Eggman and being shoved into the elevator sucked.

I think they retconned some of Tails's abilities. Remember how scared he was in Sonic Unleashed? Maybe they want him to be weak and defenseless from now on. When was the last time he fought?

[Blue Blood]

Actually, in Sonic 2, he sort of is always slowing Sonic down(Special stages), but whatever. It would have been nice to play as Tails once or to see him have a bit of action, but it's nice to see that Sonic cares if Tails gets hurt, they are best friends after all, and Tails is, in fact, the weaker one of the two.

Reason for Tails slowing Sonic down back then was bad AI, nothing else. And yes he is weaker but he's not pathetic. In fact, none of the main characters in the games are pathetic. Not even Cream.

@ Core: Yes, that cutscene in Unleashed ticked me off too. And I think the last time he actively got into the action was Rivals 2 (or the Riders games and Chronicles if you want to count those).

Edited December 5, 2010 by Blue Blood

[Scar]

Yeah, cause Tails it totally a dead-weight who always slows Sonic down. Oh wait, no he isn't. Tails can hold his own. Even if he is more interested in his gears and gizmos than being out in the action, he's not weak and defenceless. Having him worry about not being able to defeat Eggman and being shoved into the elevator sucked.

I really just thought they did that to show that Sonic really cared about Tails' safety.

Besides Tails is strong enough to defend himself, as implied when Tails didn't want to be rescued and sent in the elevator.

[Blue Blood]

I really just thought they did that to show that Sonic really cared about Tails' safety.

Then I must laugh at Sonic leaving Tails to die at the start of Wing Fortress. Seriously though, they've been through worse. And let's not forget how Tails saved Station Square from being blown up, and then how he even took the lead in some parts of SA2.

Edited December 5, 2010 by Blue Blood

[sonfan1984]

Yeah, cause Tails it totally a dead-weight who always slows Sonic down. Oh wait, no he isn't. Tails can hold his own. Even if he is more interested in his gears and gizmos than being out in the action, he's not weak and defenceless. Having him worry about not being able to defeat Eggman and being shoved into the elevator sucked.

You're missing the point. If Sonic let Tails stick around, then will Tails be able to try and outrun the black hole while the park is falling apart if Sonic didn't push him into the elevator? No he wouldn't. Sonic himself wasn't able to do it. So I think it made sense that Sonic did what he did to keep Tails safe and out of danger.

I mean seriously, I wasn't even talking about Tails being a dead weight and that he's weak and can't defend himself. You've misunderstood me. I was talking about Tails being able to keep up with Sonic while escaping the black hole which he can't. So if Tails was there then Sonic have himself and Tails to worry about.

Edited December 6, 2010 by sonfan1984

[SuperStingray]

Brawl in the Family took on SC this week. And Epic Mickey as well.

[Gamenerd]

I think Tails has great character in Colours; the only shame is that he isn't playable. The ways I see it, being a complete pansy as he was when he was bawwing about being his own man in Adventure was a massive injustice to the character, and the whole "independent tech head" thing was a bit of a dead end.

Tails in Colours on the other hand is a mix between immaturity, a quiet amount of confidence and occassionally sarcasm, and of course he actually seems to have a brotherly relationship with Sonic, as he was always supposed to. His new character fits him quite well, and all I could ask for now is to see him as a playable character again so his physical abilities can be clearly defined and re-established.

[Emmett L. Brown]

Yeah, cause Tails it totally a dead-weight who always slows Sonic down. Oh wait, no he isn't. Tails can hold his own. Even if he is more interested in his gears and gizmos than being out in the action, he's not weak and defenceless. Having him worry about not being able to defeat Eggman and being shoved into the elevator sucked.

Och, yer so harsh.

Sonic pushing Tails out of the way counts as a selfish action on his part, so it totally can be criticised. But I can see the reasoning quite easily. Sonic figures that if the elevator gets broken due to sticking around to fight Eggman, then he can probably make it back to Earth by running straight down the outside of the shaft (ignoring all physics that'd render that suicide in real life). Tails, while able to hold his own against Eggman, would definitely not be able to run down the space elevator.

EDIT: I forgot to spoiler tag, but this thread is already spoilered all over, so meh.

Edited December 5, 2010 by Grumpy Old Guy

[JezMM]

I completely disagree on all points. The incidental scenes restored a great deal of characterisation between Sonic and Tails abscent ever since the pair got voice actors.

And the final scenes had tons of epic, because for once Eggman decided to drop all pretenses and focus solely on killing Sonic to the exclusion of all else. Think about it: His doomsday weapon is ruined and the space station is falling apart - so defeating Sonic won't put him any closer to conquering the world, it's simply revenge. It was personal, and awesome for it! Not "I'll defeat Sonic before he thwarts my evil scheme!" but rather simply "Kill that annoying hedgehog already"

And please don't forget that Eggman wasn't the sole threat when Sonic pushed Tails into the elevator. The station was also falling apart at the moment, and as it turns out it imploded without Sonic escaping in time. Thank goodness for regularly-schedueled deus ex machina.

Now that's epic, sir. Epic and awesome.

Good point and well made. You know it DOES sound epic when put into words like that, but the lack of emotional connection to the Wisps, in combination with the fact that Sonic and Eggman were joking just like they were in the very first cut-scenes of the game, made the whole moment a bit lost on me.

And yes it's just due to the established Super Sonic battle clichés, but until the main theme started playing, I was honestly in the mindset that I was only facing a penultimate boss too.

I agree that the characterisation is beautiful in Colours. I have no problem with the cut-scenes themselves as they are, I just wish the story itself had been more exciting. What we got instead was a Mega Drive-era plot (which a good amount of fans have been clamouring for so fair enough) with Sonic and Tails doing stand-up routines before and after every boss. It was enjoyable yes but I kind of got used to having an emotional connection to the storylines of the last era of games, even if they have been handled poorly, I worked around that just as I worked around gameplay glitches to find fun.

[Scar]

Good point and well made. You know it DOES sound epic when put into words like that, but the lack of emotional connection to the Wisps, in combination with the fact that Sonic and Eggman were joking just like they were in the very first cut-scenes of the game, made the whole moment a bit lost on me.

And yes it's just due to the established Super Sonic battle clichés, but until the main theme started playing, I was honestly in the mindset that I was only facing a penultimate boss too.

I agree that the characterisation is beautiful in Colours. I have no problem with the cut-scenes themselves as they are, I just wish the story itself had been more exciting. What we got instead was a Mega Drive-era plot (which a good amount of fans have been clamouring for so fair enough) with Sonic and Tails doing stand-up routines before and after every boss. It was enjoyable yes but I kind of got used to having an emotional connection to the storylines of the last era of games, even if they have been handled poorly, I worked around that just as I worked around gameplay glitches to find fun.

So what you want is an actual plot connecting the events?

Geez you could have said that earlier. We all want that. Yes this game's plot is as thin as you could possibly imagine a plot could be, but the plot was downplayed, because of the massive focus on gameplay.

[SuperStingray]

I agree that the characterisation is beautiful in Colours. I have no problem with the cut-scenes themselves as they are, I just wish the story itself had been more exciting. What we got instead was a Mega Drive-era plot (which a good amount of fans have been clamouring for so fair enough) with Sonic and Tails doing stand-up routines before and after every boss. It was enjoyable yes but I kind of got used to having an emotional connection to the storylines of the last era of games, even if they have been handled poorly, I worked around that just as I worked around gameplay glitches to find fun.

[Emmett L. Brown]

Good point and well made. You know it DOES sound epic when put into words like that, but the lack of emotional connection to the Wisps, in combination with the fact that Sonic and Eggman were joking just like they were in the very first cut-scenes of the game, made the whole moment a bit lost on me.

And yes it's just due to the established Super Sonic battle clichés, but until the main theme started playing, I was honestly in the mindset that I was only facing a penultimate boss too.

I agree that the characterisation is beautiful in Colours. I have no problem with the cut-scenes themselves as they are, I just wish the story itself had been more exciting. What we got instead was a Mega Drive-era plot (which a good amount of fans have been clamouring for so fair enough) with Sonic and Tails doing stand-up routines before and after every boss. It was enjoyable yes but I kind of got used to having an emotional connection to the storylines of the last era of games, even if they have been handled poorly, I worked around that just as I worked around gameplay glitches to find fun.

Thank you, and that's a viewpoint I can agree with, even if I personally appreciate the lighter and softer approach. The Sonic Colors team weren't subtle about their target audience being slightly younger than that of Sonic Unleashed and Sonic 06 (insert snide joke here).

And yet, at the same time, the creators kept the older crowd who'd grown up playing the Mega Drive games in the back of their minds all along. This game is stuffed to the brim with continuity nods, and yes very much a Mega Drive era plot, which also hits just the right spot in my crudgy and nostalgic heart. It's the Adventure to Unleashed era that gets ignored, with its serious plots - so I see your point, and yet I'm happy you were disappointed, 'cause a meeting between the oldies and the new kids is exactly right for Sonic right now I think.

[Mystwalker]

So yesterday evening I got all 180 Red Rings, with the gameplay clock ticking at around 19 hours.

Darn, I really, really felt tempted to resort to a guide to find Ring #3 in Aquarium Park 6. After almost an hour I noticed that the regular Wisp container on the right route where you have a route split kept respawning, so I somehow thought I had to ignore the ring trail with the Hover Wisp and instead do a leap of faith forward with the help of the air boost. It was a good guess, even though it took a 2nd attempt to get there... but wow, you really had to have a keen eye for this one. ._.

Having vented my trouble for that last ring,

I got Super Sonic unlocked. First time I activated him sure gave me that nostalgic feeling of when I activated Super the first time in S3&K. Rather crazy acceleration makes him hard to control (but it's a trait he usually carried along), but overall pretty cool, if just cool-looking reward.

I don't quite understand how this unlockable makes some Acts unplayable though. I played a couple of Acts under this mode and I noticed that on Starlight Carnival 1 and Planet Wisp 3 there are a couple of extra springs placed around just to help Sonic overcome obstacles which would otherwise be impossible given the lack of ability to use Wisps. Granted, I haven't played every act yet, and without the Wisps it surely feels like something has been taken out, but so far I'm having no trouble with it.

And speaking of Starlight Carnival Act 1,

it feels so great using Super Sonic to boost through the descending set of ceilings on the final room without having to halt once. Well, not quite great, but dammit, when I first reached that area I had in mind it was possible to do as Sonic all along. x)

Overall I really enjoy this game! With the Red Rings on my belt I'm afraid I won't have as many reasons to come back now, but hell, I see myself enjoying it so much I really don't mind the flaws in it. If Sonic Team keeps this path I surely will look forward to them a lot more.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

So what you want is an actual plot connecting the events?

Geez you could have said that earlier. We all want that. Yes this game's plot is as thin as you could possibly imagine a plot could be, but the plot was downplayed, because of the massive focus on gameplay.

That's selling the plot a little too short the way you make it out.

Sure the plot wasn't as big as Unleashed or the Adventures, but honestly Colors' plot is much more fleshed out than the likes of Heroes. For a small plot, it did everything Heroes failed to do on a similar scale.

[JezMM]

I don't quite understand how this unlockable makes some Acts unplayable though. I played a couple of Acts under this mode and I noticed that on Starlight Carnival 1 and Planet Wisp 3 there are a couple of extra springs placed around just to help Sonic overcome obstacles which would otherwise be impossible given the lack of ability to use Wisps. Granted, I haven't played every act yet, and without the Wisps it surely feels like something has been taken out, but so far I'm having no trouble with it.

Wait til you see Asteroid Coaster Act 3. The entire level previously consisted of nothing but cubing and spiking your way through - now there's a spring that is right next to the start point and literally just sends you straight to the goal.

Get ready to say goodbye to the game ever keeping a time record of normal Sonic for that stage.

[Mystwalker]

Wait til you see Asteroid Coaster Act 3. The entire level previously consisted of nothing but cubing and spiking your way through - now there's a spring that is right next to the start point and literally just sends you straight to the goal.

Get ready to say goodbye to the game ever keeping a time record of normal Sonic for that stage.

Oh, so unplayable in a sense the Acts become pointless? Now I get it, thanks.

Yeah, at least level designers should have made Sonic travel to the far right as usual, yet have the button switch open up a few platforms and blast some boxes to reach the goal instead (or just have return platforms and give 50 rings so Sonic could blast through said boxes anyway). Would have been a better idea.

[JezMM]

Yeah pretty much. I guess "Unplayable" could also apply in that some routes are completely off-limits to Super Sonic due to requiring Wisps to get there.

Man they could at least have given Super Sonic wisp abilities. Like if you stomp it toggles cubes... you can boost into rings to chase them hover wisp style... boost while on a wall-jump to stick to the wall spikes style etc. Like a true "do everything" god mode.