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Why has Sonic Unleashed become such a 'sacred' title?


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This is going to be long so please bear with me. I have noticed that Sonic Unleashed has become a very popular title with fans. Many fans defend this game as one of the underrated gems. They say that if you ignore the Werehog then the game is an unappreciated and underrated classic. Some fans like the Werehog, but generally, the majority of Sonic fans like the Daytime stages, hub worlds and story of Sonic Unleashed. Heck, even the critics like the Daytime Stages! I think I'm the only person who absolutely hates Sonic Unleashed. To me, absolutely nothing is good about that game. It's the only Sonic game I've ever given up on, so in ways I consider it worse than Sonic 06. Don't get me wrong, Sonic 06 is a much worse game, but it has a quality of 'this game is so batshit crazy I can't wait to see what happens next'. I thought Sonic Unleashed was just incredibly boring and an outright atrocious game all around. 

 

I'll start with the gameplay because that's the most important element to me. Now, we all know that the Werehog sucked, so I won't beat a dead horse with this. But, let's talk about the Daytime stages. I will state here how I LOVE these style of stages in Generations and Colours. But Unleashed's levels are totally different despite the similarity. Firstly, there is the huge problem that the homing attack and boost are the same button. So I will go to homing attack something (over a bottomless pit), boost by accident (because the lock on homing attack button does not always work) and die. It is INCREDIBLY irritating and is a huge problem. Additionally, the homing attack is completely saved to attacking enemies and it takes complete control away from the player. You literally cannot homing attack unless you are targeting enemies because otherwise you boost, I mean that blows my mind. This makes platforming (when there actually is platforming) incredibly frustrating because you cannot homing attack/air dash to help yourself land on platforms. 

 

Secondly, the level design in the daytime stages are horrible. They are either incredibly easy 'boost-to-win' (literally nothing more than holding forward), which is fun in a cheap way, or they are incredibly irritating and, in a trial and error fashion, feature loads of bottomless pits which come from absolutely nowhere and have no warning. Take that bottomless pit near the start of Chun Nan for an example. So annoying!

 

This is weird for me because I loved the Modern Stages in Generations. People complain that they are too linear but I thought they were great, especially the more open ones. But the Daytime Stages in Unleashed felt so different. They were incredibly annoying, and I thought glossed over by the critics, actually.

 

Then there is the incredibly annoying medal collecting to progress through the levels. I'm not a fan of hub worlds but I don't mind them if they are there. But Medal Collecting, are you for real? Purely because of this scampering around for Medals, I personally find Unleashed's Hub Worlds as annoying as 06's. I mean 06's Hub Worlds are terrible but at least you aren't forced to find Medals. Sometimes, I was forced to play the Werehog stages again to find enough medals to play the next level which I was standing in front of (and the werehog levels are about 20 minutes long, don't forget that)! 

 

Lastly, there's the story. I notice that many fans praise Unleashed's story but, I really hated Unleashed's story. Now I will admit that I didn't win the game so I cannot comment on the plot but, Chip. I mean, Chip! Does he get any less annoying as the game progresses? I couldn't stand the cutscenes merely because of Chip. Personally, I hate Chip more than any other character in any Sonic game, and that's saying something. 

 

I'm not trying to just rant here, I'm seriously curious. What do people see in this game? I'm not a Classic Fanboy. I like SA1, 2 and Heroes despite the massive flaws they have. Heck, I can see some merit in Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic 06, even though they are terrible games. But I literally cannot see any good in Sonic Unleashed, aside from the graphics (which are beautiful).

 

Should I give this game another go?

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Different strokes for different folks. What you deem horrible can actually be great in another person's eyes. I personally believe that both gameplay styles were good, even if their level design needed work. 

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If I had to give a personal opinion as to why myself or anyone may hold it in high regard, it's because it marks the starting point for a new, solid type of 3D Sonic gameplay that actually works to some extent and isn't a falling-through-the-ground-horrible-camera fest.

 

Daytime stages are fun, Colours and Generations 3D stages are imo, even better (maybe a bit too short though).

Edited by SuperLink
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Because wooosh bang fast, I guess.  Or more likely it's fans felt more vested in it considering the way it was reviewed at the time.  Probably a bit of both.

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Unleashed is certainly a pretty title with a quality soundtrack.

 

I personally feel that the game just goes on way too long. The Werehog levels get longer and longer and over-stay their welcome with endless repetitive-boring combat sequences. The same can be said for some of the Sonic levels. The hub worlds (especially the ones with no rings and levels) just waist time and become very frustrating, just like the tedious task of collecting coins to unlock stages. Usually before you can play the last two or three levels in the game, you have to run around and replay previously cleared stages just to get missing coins. Who wants to replay the long Werehog stages again? Collecting coins is just unnecessary.

 

I swear that I would be able to tolerate Unleashed a lot more if it didn't have bottomless pits, which cause most of the deaths in the game, because the controls can be slightly arkward at times.

Edited by Robin John Blake
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Because wooosh bang fast, I guess.  Or more likely it's fans felt more vested in it considering the way it was reviewed at the time.  Probably a bit of both.

Its not really that at all.

Well the fact that its better than 06 and Shadow and Secret Rings as a game does help. Its flashy fast gameplay may have been exciting at first, but the reason its kind of still "loved" even after that excitement wore off, is because it had so much care and attention poured into everything (except arguably in its game design ironically). It had a budget and magnitude never since matched by a Sonic game.

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I keep raising a brow at the topic title. There is nothing sacred about Unleashed. It is constantly torn apart constantly without provocation here and everywhere else. If the mere existence of a passionate fanbase is all it takes to count something as "sacred," I'm curious as to what you'd call the more universally-liked games.

 

While Unleashed seems to get more/less (id say less) the same amount of treatment most other Sonic games get, you can't deny that those who defend Sonic Unleashed are extremely passionate about it.

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I think it's just this forum.

 

Nowhere else is Unleashed so loved. It's one of those odd quirks about certain sections of fanbases. I don't see the appeal personally, maybe it's because I didn't play it at the time, only playing it relatively recently.

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While Unleashed seems to get more/less (id say less) the same amount of treatment most other Sonic games get, you can't deny that those who defend Sonic Unleashed are extremely passionate about it.

 

And you can't deny that the attitude of a lot of Colours/Generations defenders is "Stop giving credible criticism to my beloved game!"

 

Thing about Unleashed fans is that they're not as petulant as that and stand up for things that are odiously lacking in later games whilst acknowledging the games' weaknesses, making them far less fickle and far more credible.

 

I for one am sick of this Unleashed vs Colours and Generations war because each game has it's sparkling aspects that individually make them ace. It's seemingly like choosing between Daddy and Chips for a lot of fans though (Mmmm, chips)

Edited by Vertekins
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You know, one thing I'll always really appreciate is what Sonic Team did with Unleashed. They put every last ounce of strength, effort, money and love into the game. This game could've easily been the new Mario Galaxy with how much love and care the developers put into it... it could've been art, with how much power Sonic Team forced in to make this the damn best Sonic game ever.

 

But in my most humble and controversial of opinions, it was one of the biggest and most craptacular fuck-ups in the series.

 

...

 

*runs away laughing wildly*

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And you can't deny that the attitude of a lot of Colours/Generations defenders is "Stop giving credible criticism to my beloved game!"

This is basically every fan of anything though.

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One of my absolute favorite things about Sonic Unleashed are the surrounding atmosphere and the universe surrounding it. The hub worlds are made with care, with little to no dead space within it. The hub world is largely interactive, and not to mention, the settings are fantastic to look at as well. Look at places like Spagonia or Apotos or Chun-Nan. They're lovely to walk around in, and they're filled with detail and expression, and a certain uniqueness within it as well. It's not like a ghost town like Sonic 06's hubs were, it's expressive! This kind of thing I absolutely love to see in a Sonic game, it's something I praise Sonic Unleashed highly for.

 

The music in the game as well, I found to be great in both quality and variety. Each music seems to fit the setting that it is in, while maintaining a sort of fast paced theme that really adds to both the hub worlds, and the day time stages with Sonic running around. I mean, take a look at Chun-Nan's nighttime hub world music. It has a quite relaxing theme that's pretty good and fitting with the setting that it's in. Now if you take a look at Cool Edge's day time music, that changes, providing an energetic song, that's pretty great to listen to, and to me at least, adds to just...finishing the level as well.

 

The artwork is pretty brilliant. Every single character in Sonic Unleashed (well, maybe not the Gaias) have tons of expression and are really lifelike, and combining this with the visual quality the Hedgehog Engine provides, it's a pretty good sight. The stages are really great to see both in the day time and the night time, and the sheer variety of level just add to the variety of the visuals, which to me, is fantastic.

 

The story I found to be pretty good, utilizing some pretty sweet character interaction between Sonic and Chip, and an amazing exposition and ending (see the 1st CGI of the game). Instantly, the game shows you a brilliant scene with Sonic just fighting Eggman and his robots, and in the end, Sonic's own mouth costs him the victory. Sonic then turns into a Werehog, falls from space down to the earth, and then the game begins. While, yes, the story wasn't really there towards the middle, I dunno, the story seems to pick itself back up right before the Eggmanland stage if that's anything. And the ending. That ending was a nice, bittersweet end to the game, and honestly, it's one of my favorite endings in a Sonic game. It's an effective ending given the story, and it ends with a nice scene of Sonic and Tails running/flying through a field.

 

I personally liked the gameplay, but I can certainly see why people can be turned off by gameplay like the Werehog and stuff. I found the day time stages to be quite energetic, even though you do boost a ton of the time, and I love just running through it and stuff. The night time stages, I also liked most of them, and the nighttime stages were the ones I got the medals in (this actually prevented me from having to pause the game, search for medals, since the nighttime stages have enough to let you progress). I liked the different moves the Werehog had, and random things like throwning enemies off of buildings in Skyscraper Scamper are a plus in my book too.

 

...And now typing all of this out makes me want to go and play Unleashed again.

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