35 replies to this topic

[Felix]

Sonic & the Secret Rings is the first Sonic game to be released for the Nintendo Wii. Announced during E3 2006, under the name Sonic Wild Fire, it was meant to replace a planned port of Sonic The Hedgehog (2006) to the Wii. This is also the first 3D Sonic game to have Sonic as the only playable character. When the game was released, it came to mixed to positive reviews, becoming the most positively received Sonic game since Sonic Heroes. SaTSR was the first game in a planned trilogy, The Storybook Series. The sequel to this game, and the second entry in the Storybook series is Sonic & the Black Knight.

The plot is that Sonic is sleeping in a house, bumps his hand on a ring while trying to reach his clock. A genie named Shahra, The Genie of The Ring. jumps out of one of the books of the Arabian Nights, and into Sonic's room. She tells Sonic that an evil genie named "Erazor Djinn" is erasing the pages of the Arabian Nights, and absorbing it's power. A "Legendary Blue Hedgehog" is needed to destroy Erazor, and stop him, as mentioned in the book itself. She gives Sonic a ring, which he can rub and ask for a wish from Shahra for any time, forming a contract between them. Sonic agrees to help Shahra, and then a new adventure begins.

The game has two modes. Adventure Mode (single player), and a Party Mode (multiplayer). Adventure Mode involves the single-player experience through the main story mode of the game. Along with the main story mode, it is mandatory to do missions for each level to progress through the game. (screw the pirate storm missions) This makes the story mode about 10-15 hours to complete, lots more if you want to unlock and complete everything. The Party Mode consists of several party-related minigames that you can play with up to 4 players.

The game was made to take advantage of the Wii's motion control capabilities. Due to this, the control scheme is very different from those in most Sonic game. Instead of having manual control of Sonic, he moves for you, and the game is on-rails. The basic controls Wii Remote left or right to move him, pull it back to make him slow down/go backwards, and the 2 Button to Jump. Shame there is no GameCube controller, or heck, even Nunchuk support for the single player mode.

Though controls are an obvious issue, especially if you are playing the game for the first time, you will get used to them sooner or later. There are seven levels in this game. here they are listed:

Lost Prolouge (tutorial level)
Sand Oasis
Dinosaur Jungle
Evil Foundry
Levitated Ruin
Pirate Storm
Skeleton Dome
Night Palace

Each level in the game greatly differs from each other, and are very creative. Even though it is noted most of the level names give themselves away. The game itself is influenced by Arabian culture, and it shows everywhere in the game. The game (IMO) has one of the best, heck, even THE best soundtrack in the series. Each song/piece of music is still in the rock genre, but has an Arabian spin to it. The music both excels in vocal tracks, and background music, and I put on Secret Rings just to listen to it's music. And it is literally music to your ears. The cutscenes in the game are painted to resemble that of an Arabian storybook, even showing more of it's Arabian influence. This game probably has some of the best looking stages in Sonic history. Such as Levitated Ruins & Night Palace. Not to mention this game has a FANTASTICAL art direction. And it helps it stand out from other Sonic games. I mean, look at this:





d'aww my god this is some of the best art i've ever seen

As progressing through the story, you earn EXP based on your experience in a level. EXP unlocks different abilities (or skills as they are called) for Sonic to use, such as improving his control, increasing his speed, etc. like in an RPG. (Crest of Wind is best skill) A Soul Gauge is used in this game for two functions. Speed Break & Time Break. Speed Break is used to let you go off in blazing amount of speed until the gauge runs out. (Sorta like a Sonic Boost) Time Break stops time in order for you to evade obstacles, or making quick evasions until the gauge runs out.

This game is seen by some as glimmering light during the dark ages of Sonic. Others see it as one of the worst 3D Sonic games. Aside from issues with the awkward control scheme, and the forced missions, this game succeeded in my book.

What are your thoughts and opinions on Sonic & The Secret Rings? What did you like/dislike about it? What could it have done better? What were your experiences with it?

Discuss!

Edited by Felix, 12 July 2012 - 03:03 PM.

[Soniman]

I like everything about the game that doesn't have to do with gameplay. I cant fucking stand the controls, half the time im dying constantly because of the bullshit motion controls and downright insulting enemy placement, and a bunch of puzzle/platforming segments that the controls simply weren't built for, making it an altogether frustrating experience for me.

As for stuff I actually like, the music and art direction is great, and the story is decent, but still, its held back tremendously by the frustrating controls, which is a shame.

I can at least say that it's still better than Black Knight tho.

Edited by The Noodle, 12 July 2012 - 02:14 AM.

[Wooly-Fools]

Kinda skipped over the wall of text, but anyways...

It's probably got the 3rd best soundtrack out of any Sonic game. 2nd being Generations and 1st being Black Knight, but yeah. Letting the speed mend those unawakening floats in amazing. C: HHHHHNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGG

This is probably the only game I like after Sonic Adventure 2 and before Colors. I don't know what it is about this game, but I just like the way it plays. I mean, it can be clunky at times, but otherwise it's lots o' fun!

Also I seriously like the way everything looks. The aesthetics are amazing. Everything looks so great. I mean, if you're going to make a "gritty" looking game, THIS is how you do it. I mean, everything is relatively gritty, yet it's all still bright and colorful.. :3

Oh yeah and I like the skills system. I like how you can change up Sonic's skills and make the game play almost completely differently depending on your setup. It's rather nice, especially for different types of missions. :J

[Solkia]

Game would have been perfectly fine if Sonic Team didn't just HAVE to do that on-rails autorun crap to make use of motion controls..

[Vertekins]

Oh God, where do I start?

I love this game to bits as if it wasn't obvious enough before. Also loved the way it showed '06 up. Game was like a can of air freshener after someone left a stinky do-do.

It isn't my favourite and it isn't the best game in the franchise IMO but it's a special one to me and is definately in my top 10 fave Sonic games. "Special" because me and my best friend used to play it together and I have fond memories of that and also because it's the game that started my immense liking for Sonic as a character.

It's also a game that I was initially very pessimistic about concerning 100% completion because of it's hardcore difficulty regarding Gold Medal requirements and the intricate knowledge of the missions and skill system that is an absolute requirement to achieve all Gold Medals. I did do it however

SatSR is a game that proves without a shadow of a doubt that Sonic Team are an incredibly creative bunch and that whilst it had a few bad issues (Whacked-out imprecise Controls, extremely steep learning curve, sadistic obstacle placement...), it's also refreshingly unique and because it's unique aspects were done well such as the automated running and skill system/RPG elements. It also used the Wii Remote very cleverly back in the day. The game had some truly stunning environments that utilized the Arabian Night's theme extremely well with gorgeous visuals and CGI sequences that still hold-up today in regards to the Wii's graphical power.

One of the biggest appeals to me as well is the story and characterization. Like the environments, the story used the Arabian Night's theme very well, being quite loyal to the source material with things such as the Rukh, Magic Carpet's, Genies, Sinbad, Shahryar, Ali Baba etc. And the characterization of Sonic *_* It's second only to SatBK in terms of sheer faithfulness to his established personality traits and general endearingness. Shahra was, IMO, a great character who was genuinely interesting and had such a great and pretty design and Erazor was simply a badass and incredibly competent villain who is criminally underrated.

On an ending note, I don't think that any Sonic skill can quite compare to the Crest of Wind. Playing a stage competently with that skill equipped is crazy awesome when you know how to use it well and is possibly the best speed-based move ever. If only more SatSR players got to experience it because it's unlocking requirements are fairly difficult to meet.

Edited by Verte, 12 July 2012 - 02:20 AM.

[Soniman]

Game would have been perfectly fine if Sonic Team didn't just HAVE to do that on-rails autorun crap to make use of motion controls..

Hell id say that it would have been a decent game if it had just opted for a Wiimote + Nunchuck setup like Black Knight did.

[Azure Yakuzu]

This game can be fun, but dear god it's frustrating.

[Nix]

Well, the game is kind of fun whenever you get enough upgrades to make the controls not feel like complete shit. Unfortunately, that happens damn near the end of the main story, and you probably don't want to play it anymore. The main problem is the asinine motion controls, really. Sonic isn't a fucking car, stop making us control him like one.

It's damned gorgeous for an early Wii game, it has a pretty good art direction to thank for that.

The soundtrack is kind of iffy, I think a lot of the stages that had vocals would've been better as instrumentals. The main theme is absolutely horrendous, and you hear it all the fucking time, so that doesn't help much.

Edited by Pinkamina, 12 July 2012 - 03:00 AM.

[Super Smash Wario]

I love this game. The controls are unbearable, but everything else is FANTASTIC. Story, music (except Dino Fucking Jungle), style, tropes, characters, dinosaurs...

Also, Night Palace is my dream Generations DLC.

[Stritix]

It's decent for a 3D spin-off title I guess. It's far better than the black knight though.

[VEDJ-F]

*Inserts broken record into the record player*

Nope, this is one of the very few Sonic games I really do hate. I'm not willing to compromise with those godawfuul controls, the music, from what I've heard, is pretty sub-par, and the art direction just isn't enough to sway me to go back to it and try to put up with it. Obviously can't comment on the characterisation because I haven't gotten far enough to meet any except Shaara. Also party mode is pretty bad, and the unlockable characters aren't enough to redeem it. Give me Black Knight over this any day.

*Takes out broken record and puts it away*

[Vampfox]

I hate this game's fucking mission system that you have to clear a certain amount of missions to progress through the game.

You know that you have a bad game on your hands when the developers have to pad the game out with stupid missions like the fucking god awful "Get the dinosaur eggs in the right nest" mission to make the game longer.

[Gabe]

Yeah, like pretty much everyone else has been saying; gimmicky gameplay/controls aside, the game is quite good. The soundtrack is neat, and it has some pretty nice character development to go with a decent story. I also personally think that some of the minigames in the party system were more fun than most of the minigames in Mario Party 8 (in addition, the minigames ironically have better use of the motion controls than the single player mode. lolololololol). And it has some really nice art direction too-Night Palace or Dinosaur King totally should had been in Generations instead of Crisis City IMO.

Edited by Zinos, 12 July 2012 - 10:52 AM.

[Stritix]

Sonic 06 is a main title, and the Secret Rings is a spin off. Of course they wouldn't put it in.

[Felix]

Sonic 06 is a main title, and the Secret Rings is a spin off. Of course they wouldn't put it in.

But thing is, Sonic '06 was retconned.

And besides, Secret Rings is canon. Shahra was mentioned by Sonic in Generations, and Secret Rings in in the lineup of the 20th anniversary trailer.

Edited by Felix, 12 July 2012 - 03:36 PM.

[Gabz Girl]

Great art direction, stages and music but horrible, HORRIBLE controls which made the game very frustrating to beat. Erazor Djinn is probably the hardest boss battle in any Sonic game (though that could be because I didn't level up enough >>) IMO, and some of the stages had so many bottomless pits it put Dimps' games to shame. But after Sonic 06, it was a fairly decent game. Not bad, but not great either.

I really hope SEGA never does this on rails bullcrap in the future.

[Stritix]

But thing is, Sonic '06 was retconned.

That has nothing to do with the fact that it's a main title. Whether it was retconned or not, all 3D main titles made it into the game. It wouldn't make sense for them to not put it in the game over something as small as that.

[Super Smash Wario]

That has nothing to do with the fact that it's a main title. Whether it was retconned or not, all 3D main titles made it into the game. It wouldn't make sense for them to not put it in the game over something as small as that.

What about the fact that the game is generally considered one of the worst games in the series, if not one of the worst games of all time? Or the fact that the tropes are mostly uncreative or ugly? Or the fact that the game was unplayable? You can argue that it's a main title all you want, and you'd be right, of course, I'm not arguing that, but that doesn't change the fact that it's a wart on the ass of the Sonic franchise that would've been better left alone, instead of picking at it.

But whatever.

[Stritix]

What about the fact that the game is generally considered one of the worst games in the series, if not one of the worst games of all time? Or the fact that the tropes are mostly uncreative or ugly? Or the fact that the game was unplayable? You can argue that it's a main title all you want, and you'd be right, of course, I'm not arguing that, but that doesn't change the fact that it's a wart on the ass of the Sonic franchise that would've been better left alone, instead of picking at it.

But whatever.

Where's that even coming from? No one's talking about the quality of Sonic 06, which is completely besides the point. Fact is, it's canon. Replacing the stage choice with a spin off title wouldn't make any sense.

[Sora]

Where's that even coming from? No one's talking about the quality of Sonic 06, which is completely besides the point. Fact is, it's canon. Replacing the stage choice with a spin off title wouldn't make any sense.

It may have been a spin-off title at the time but it's been put into the main timeline thanks to generations.

Hypermetalwario, Yes the game was crap but it was still a chance to show people that they know how to turn a level from a crap level into something actually fun. I'm not going to complain that the level is from a bad game if the level is actually fun. Plus THE MUSIC!