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Rooftop Run: Unleashed v.s. Generations


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Hello there, y'all people at SSMB, it's your friendly neighborhood Feeeelicks. Today on this fine Thanksgiving evening, we are going to discuss the similarities and differences between Rooftop Run in both Sonic Unleashed & Sonic Generations. Before we begin, let's start with that this is my view on how I see both levels, and should not be taken as factual in any sort of sense. Rooftop Run in UnWiished will not be compared in this topic, to add. So with all that aside, let's begin.

Sonic Unleashed - Rooftop Run Day

Ahh, Rooftop Run. Probably one of the most beloved levels from Sonic Unleashed. It's setting, amazing music, and overall sense of thrill and excitement. But like every Sonic level in existence, and in every video game level in general, it has it's pros and cons, and therefore, I shall dissect them. In Unleashed's incarnation of Rooftop Run, here's one thing that it has the dominant factor over Generations' Rooftop Run. Speed. And lots of it. Unleashed's RR brings together three main elements, speed, spectacle, and sense. And by spectacle, it brings tons of it to the table, the moment from where you grind down that clock tower, the laser robot chase near the end of the level, the skydiving moment inside a large and circular building, and pretty much the entire level as a whole gives you a sense of thrill and excitement by how damn fast Sonic is moving, along with what is happening simultaneously. And let's not forget the amazing music that goes along with the level, perfectly blending electric guitar & violin, along with some European flair, makes for an amazing track. In terms of sense and reaction, out of all the daytime levels in Unleashed, it's one of them that has the fewest amounts of quick-time events in the entire game, with only about 3-4 of them, which are pretty short and easy to do, with only 2 of them actually required to pass through the level. Looking on the downsides, the level is devoid of one important element. Platforming. The level is too lenient towards speed, though while the experience is very exciting, it feels at times... how do I describe it? Shallow. Though it may just be may just be me, it also feels like at times that you can barely see at times what's ahead of you, like during the barrel scene or laser robot chase scene. So, let's put it in short

The Pros:

-Gives an amazing feel of excitement & thrill

-Amazing and addictive music

-Very few QTEs, which are incredibly easy to perform

-Level is long enough to satisfy you on the first run, along with high replay value

The Cons:

-Virtually devoid of any platforming whatsoever

-Sections such as the barrel scene & laser robot chase scene feel like they don't give you enough time to see what's coming ahead of you

Sonic Generations - Rooftop Run Modern

For Sonic Generations, in order to represent Sonic Unleashed's place in Sonic history, Rooftop Run would be the chosen as the returning level in order to represent Sonic Unleashed in Generations. It's virtually like it's other 4-year old counterpart in terms of aesthetics. The orange roofs are still there, you grind down the clock tower, you chase laser robots down to the goal, you dodge barrels, and so forth. However, unlike Unleashed's RR, it's more lenient towards more open level design and platforming. Seems like a good thing, RIGHT? Not necessarily. Despite it having level design less like "OMGBOOSTGOTTAGOFAST", the level tends to feel like a "summarized" version of the original, focusing on the most iconic moments of the original, mostly the clock tower grinding, and the robot chase near the end. The original RR takes a good 5-6 minutes to complete at most, while it takes 2-3 minutes to complete in Generations, and it in general makes it feel short and disappointing. Though the platforming is there, it tends to make it feel like it slows down the pace of the game rather than keeping it more consistent, like Unleashed did. Instead of thrill, I mostly felt... "meh" during the entire thing. It was basically what I saw before, but butchered. The remix isn't really all that swell in my opinion, though the violin is amazing, I dislike how the guitar was pretty much removed out of the entire track. Now, let's look at the pros and cons at a distance.

The Pros:

-More open level design & actual platforming

The Cons:

-Level is in general shorter and butchered down from the original

-Remix is a step down from original track

-Platforming feels like it tends to slow down the pace of the game

Well... that's my take on it at least. So, which incarnation of Rooftop Run do you prefer better. Unleashed's Rooftop Run, or Generations' Rooftop Run?

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This can be decided tomorrow when I get a chance to actually play Generations,.

But my opinion on it now is Unleashed since the level is much longer and a fun level to play.

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The original is basically a small concealed hallway that you GOTTA BOOSH through with some bad level design thrown in. The Generations version was actually enjoyable.

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Can barely remember Unleashed's Rooftop Run. beyond teh purdy graphics and music. So I'll just assume Generations is better cause I'm pretty sure Generations' everything is just inherently better than Unleashed's everything.

Edited by Chili Dawg
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Frankly, Generations' version of the stage is shorter, and a good part of that is the fact that there is less time spent with the Aero Chasers which are a total drag to deal with. Also noticed these things weren't mentioned in the OP. As far as the music goes, I find the guitars grating in the original track. I found that the remix still packed a lot of energy that people associate with Unleashed's day stages, just with a lot less cluttered sound.

I really don't have much more to say than that. To me the levels are so similar I never bothered to make much of a distinction in my mind.

Edited by Mykonos
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No option for Classic Rooftop run?

okay.

I prefer the original I got a much better thrill out of that than I did the Generations version.

Well that may be because I didn't like Sonic Generations that much anyway.

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Generations is better.

Allow me to tell you why.

See, the first, biggest reason that Rooftop Run kicks the shit out of the original is the level design. The level, while shorter, gives you more options. It's basically the equivlent of a long hallway versus a short obstacle course. The generations version of rooftop run also features LESS cheap level design. There are virtually zero bottomless pits. Most obstacles are indicated by the game instead of flat out thrown at you. Some may claim that this makes the level "piss easy", but if just throwing shit at you counts as DIFFICULTY in this game and cheap level design in Sonic Advance 3, then.... come on.

Now, for the whole music argument.. I guess that's based on opinioin, but to claim the new song isn't loyal to the original is an outright lie. The track is a sort of counterpart to the original. while the guitar was the main instrument in the original with the violin backing it up, in this version, the violin takes the lead with the guitar backing it up. Which one is better really comes down to personal preference.

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I remember a part in the generations version where you're in this two tiered alley going between eves which was neat I guess but it kind of didn't work great, it fell into that trap where the bottom route is really just a surrogate punishment in place of death, I guess it's an improvement over what they usually do, but eh. Man it's been a while since I've played either of these games, but I'm OK with this.

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I love the both of them but if I had to pick one I guess maybe unleashed since not only was the speed for it amazing, it was also a pretty fun level to play through with cool quick time events the aero chaser parts were also a little more exciting especially the last one.

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I haven't played Unleashed HD, but I love Rooftop Run in Generations. The Modern level may be my favorite level in the game. Judging from the posted video of the Unleashed version, I think I'd enjoy it less than the Gens version. It looks a lot less involved, with much less input necessary from the player. I'll have to play it myself, but that's what it looks like.

I think RR Modern does a great job of balancing speed and platforming, like it strikes a great middle ground between Unleashed and Colors. Also, I actually prefer the music in the Gens version. The violins sound even better at times, and the added piano is so uplifting.

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Hard to choose. Unleashed's version drags on too long for my taste, but at the same time I thought Generation's was too short. In the end, I prefer Generation's version for having more alternate paths and a drastic reduction in cheapness.

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I liked the original better than Generations mix and Generations Act 1 better than its Act 2.

Unleashed Act 1 VS Generations Act 2

-While the confetti, music remixes, and the Egg Fighter Blimp that's actually a Sonic Colors reference are nice, it doesn't do anything new with the level.

-the Generations version of Rooftop Run is actually bits and pieces of Unleashed's Regular and DLC Acts of the original. This causes the Generations version to become linear and give Sonic limited space to run.

-In the original level, players face the Egg Chasers (aka Aero Chasers) for the first time. They appear briefly in the middle of the level, after the first Skydiving section in the game, and in the last area.

In the first fight, you learn that they drop bombs that you can dodge or jump over and shoot lasers that you can Quickstep. You also learn that even though they're flying and attacking you, you can still fight back by boosting Egg Fighters into them or dodge their attacks until they crash into incoming obstacles. This gives a you a heads up for when you face them again at the end of the stage.

In Generations, they appear for the first time as you're running up the clocktower. Unless you're using a Skill, you can't destroy them and only learn that you can dodge the lasers. Also, it kinda takes away the challenge you had going up the clocktower in the original. The second time they appear, if you haven't played Unleashed or Colors, by the time you've figured out how the Egg Chasers work, you're going to get hit by the Egg Fighter Blimp's massive laser that takes up 2/3 of the path. Speaking of which, the Colors and Generations Egg Chasers only fire lasers while the Unleashed version can shoot lasers, drop bombs, and drops electrical traps that Sonic can't boost through.

-Besides the Egg Chasers and Egg Lanchers, which now have the ability to restock their missiles, the Egg Fighters are pretty much the same as Seaside Hill's Egg Pawns. I mean come on, some of the Egg Fighters in Unleashed had electrical shields that could stop Sonic even if he's boosting. Not to mention the Aero Cannons are slower than in Unleashed...

-In the original level, players have recently unlocked the ability to Wall Jump, allowing them to use a new move that will be helpful later on in the game.

In Generations, Sonic can't Wall Jump off of regular walls anymore, which limits where you can go

Now let's look at Generations Rooftop Act 1.

-In Sonic Unleashed and Colors, Egg Chasers only appear in 3D areas. In Generations Act 1, they appear in Classic Sonic's level as he climbs the clock and provides a new challenge for old players and new players

-Like the Egg Chasers, the barrels in Sonic Unleashed were only used in the 3D areas of the Day Acts and in the Night Act stages. In Generations Act 1, they're used in to provide another obstacle for Classic Sonic and used to create paths.

-In Unleashed, the Werehog used the Clock hands to make a path that he could grab. In Generations Act 1, you need the Clock Hands once again, but instead of moving them with a Lever and using them as a bridge, you have to grab them while they're moving and use them as an elevator.

-In Act 1 of Generations, you can actually get on top of that brand new Egg Fighter Blimp that's causing problems and destroy it from the inside out. In Act 2, you made it drop some Rings...no explosion, no crash landings, it just flies up like when you don't make it drop Rings.

Act 1 of Sonic Generations adds new elements and remixes old elements of Rooftop Run in new ways. Act 2 doesn't do anything new and is just "Everything we think you like about Rooftop Run" thrown together.

Edited by Son1ctrainer
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Rooftop Run in Unleashed is more "epic" but tbf most of that is due to the context and how it matters in the story. It's why City Escape is meaningful in SA2 and kind of just there in Generations as well.

However, I prefer the Generations version for the added confetti and less dick moves. The clock tower is less of a pay-off though. It's also a little bit more stop-start but stopping once in a while was a change of pace. It also has less of the purely "go forward chase sequences" that padded out the length of Unleashed's.

Also, I really fucking hate the part in the Unleashed version where you have to stop boosting before those rails on the last chase sequence or you'll take a hit, that's just so cheap because they fire when you go round the corner and it's hard to tell how to avoid it because often in Unleashed "slowing down" doesn't really help you a great deal unless you go to a crawl. The Night version was one of the better night levels, but the jump to the goal ring platform with those enemies can be surprisingly hard to do as it's hard to tell where you're at because of the camera angle.

I don't care for Classic's at all. It's good on paper but it's so tedious and there's just so much shit everywhere, which is annoying to play. I do appreciate the intended "breather level" that Modern goes for though, as Planet Wisp is pretty long and Crisis City is a surprising difficulty spike.

Honestly though, I play Rooftop Run the least of the Modern levels, even over both versions of Planet Wisp and especially Crisis City, which imo is the star of this game.

Really though, both this and City Escape kind of depended on their contexts and importance of their settings in their original games to the point where they don't have as much to offer here. They were both definitely the most iconic and "right" levels to pick from their games though.

Oh yeah and aside from Vector's mission and Classic's stupid balloon one the Generations Rooftop Run probably has some of the best missions in the game, with the boarding one, the Endless Boost, and Charmy's rival mission which is pretty cool. In Unleashed, the extra acts were just dickery and therefore I didn't enjoy them one bit.

Edited by Semi-colon e
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Unleashed's Day levels in general are better than Generations' Modern ones by way of their pacing and flow. They're fully dedicated to the arcade-y, twitchy nature of the gameplay style and don't really bullshit with it. Even the platforming, while not particularly inspired, caters to the nature of the game by way of placement and design. Generations suffers a bit from Colors Syndrome by way of control scheme changes and just throwing in generic platforming with little forethought towards speed-running, thus it's a merely an imitation of the original. Unleashed's levels are infinitely more fun to play than Generations'.

I half agree with this. The gameplay is perfectly suited to the level design in Unleashed, while Generations feels a bit like a hodge-podge of two opposing play styles. At the same time, though, it does give you a few more options and relies less on trial and error.

The bottom line is that I have no preference.

Edited by Pawn
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Oh, with regards to the night level, it's one of the better ones and super pretty atmospheric. I love the clock tower climb, it's really fun to speedrun once you understand how to use the Werehog's hanging to jump straight from one ledge to the next without ever stopping. However that segment roughly halfway through with is just a twisting street with a ton of enemy encounters always felt a bit unnecessary to me.

With regards to Generations' Act 1, I can agree it's very messy and cluttered with a lot of awkward starting and stopping. It's a decent level, but I prefer Act 2.

Also, I really fucking hate the part in the Unleashed version where you have to stop boosting before those rails on the last chase sequence or you'll take a hit, that's just so cheap because they fire when you go round the corner

I love that in the Generations' credits video, this bit actually happens in the footage lol.

Edited by JezMM
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I prefer the Generations version that doesn't throw surprise pits at you and masquerades it as challenge. The one that require more player input than holding X and pressing the left and right bumpers on occasion.

Both the original and the remix are great, but I think the remix is better because the bridge melody is more pronounced, whereas in the original, it was buried under everything else.

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