Sonic After the Sequel

[SilentDoom]

 

Release Trailer (with Download): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TesdgOUB5f4

 

The long awaited sequel to LakeFeperd's Sonic Before the Sequel (or BtS for short) has finally been released!  Sonic After the Sequel is set after the events of Sonic 2 (as the name indicates), designed to fill the gap between the events of Sonic 2 and Sonic 3.  

 

It's a simple to the point plot expressed nicely through its cutscenes and whilst not as engaging a plot as BtS, the cutscenes are more charming and are really brought to life more thanks to each one having its own individual composition.

 

This game runs off the Sonic Worlds engine just as the previous did so it feels for the most part pretty tight and whilst not 1:1 with the classic titles still functions very well for the most part and offers a satisfying gameplay experience.  The game also contains a number of the power-ups and items familiar to the Sonic series.  There's Ring Boxes, Speed Shoes, Invincibility, Fire and Bubble Shields (though the Bubble Shield gives you a light double jump instead of a bounce attack) as well as the Spike Shield which allows you to safely walk on spikes as well as rocket yourself straight down if you press jump again in mid-air.

 

Sonic and Tails are both playable again only this time you can choose from the very beginning which you want to play as and you'll pretty much stick with them until you exit the game and choose the other character in the Options menu.  Both play like they did in BtS though Tails as a brand new wonderful looking sprite this time round to better match Sonic's.

 

There are 9 main zones in this game each with 3 acts each and a boss act.  Horizon Heights, Sugar Splash, Cyan City, Foliage Furnace, Technology Tree, Moon Mansion, Redhot Ride, Parhelion Park and Storm Station.  Comparative to BtS, the level trope variety is much broader this time round, and clear inspiration has been drawn from Sonic Heroes for a lot of it (Moon Mansion probably being the most notable example taking inspiration from Heroes' haunted house stages).  The level art is just as vivid and crisp as the previous game if not moreso.  Each location is striking and carves more of its own identity comparative to BtS.

 

The level design itself is a definite improvement over Before the Sequel.  Each level introduces its own unique gimmick and level structure in general is more memorable and more interesting.  There's a good blend of speed, platforming and exploration.  Redhot Ride and Parhelion Park in particular are my favourite zones.  Unfortunately, however, much like Before the Sequel there is an over-abundance of cheap enemy and spike placement particularly in the earlier zones (yes, EARLIER zones) which more than anything is really jarring.  The placement actually steadily improves throughout the course of the game though and whilst causes various moments of frustration and makes difficulty seem artificial at times, to me it didn't offset the clever design too much.

 

Special Stages also make a return except this time they're a brand new concept.  They're again similar to Heroes except instead of collecting orbs to boost your way through, you're instead trying to time jumps to hit springs to make you go faster as you chase the Chaos Emerald (however you'll want to avoid green orbs as they slow you down).  It's very much reliant on your reactions, and consequently are a bit sketchy in their design (sort of like Sonic 2's special stages).  However, unlike Sonic 2's stages, these ones for the most part are very easy and you could probably beat a number of them the first time you play.

 

One of the major triumphs of BtS was its soundtrack composed by Falk, KgZ, Funk Fiction and more.  This time round there are a couple more composers including DJMaxie and the results of this collaborative effort are astounding.  The soundtrack is truly top notch.  Diverse and each composer adds their own person spin to each track yet overall keeps a level of consistency.  There's a wonderful diversity of genres and pretty much each track is a joy to listen to.  Once the soundtrack is released in full, I can only recommend that everyone has a listen.  

 

There are also a few unlockables in the game, however I won't get into those.  Don't want to spoil anything but all I can say is keep on the look out in levels.

 

Screenshots:

 

 

 

Overall I'd definitely recommend giving it a go.  I personally just had a lot of fun with it.  For a fangame it's very well constructed and it's clear that a lot of time and effort was put into it (especially considering the main bulk of the game was made by one guy).  

Edited June 16, 2013 by SiLeNtDo0m

[Jango]

It's really good, actually better than Sonic 4 Episode 2, I'm totally serious here. It's also better than BTS already, better level design, even better music, cool story, fun gimmicks. The game is really impressive, probably the best fan-game I've ever played. I'm still on Parhelion Peak, and the game is tons of fun. I recommend.

[Chaos Warp]

So the soundtrack to this is done as well as the game now? Cool, I'll download this as soon as I'm home on my actual computer.

[SilentDoom]

So the soundtrack to this is done as well as the game now? Cool, I'll download this as soon as I'm home on my actual computer.

 

The soundtrack itself hasn't been released yet, but it will be released very soon.

[t0ms0nic]

Played through it already and been listening to Horizon Heights Act 3 for about an hour on end. Just gonna lazily copy my post from TSSZ;

 

Man, that was fantastic! Just come out of three hours of playing the whole game all the way through; still have a lot left to do (Classic Mode, Special Acts…) but I’m raring to go back in when I’m not so tired and even more excited for exploring the levels than just pushing forward. Lake’s design theories are really starting to inch past that gray area and be something I’d like to see officially, especially if the music team is brought along.

[Chaos Warp]

The soundtrack itself hasn't been released yet, but it will be released very soon.

So right now the game itself doesn't have it`s OST yet?

[DemonShad716]

Gotta say this game is absolutely AMAZING! The music is epic, the levels and gimmicks are fun. This is a VERY well made game and I'm definitely spending more hours on it. Can't wait for that OST to come out.
 

This face cracks me up every time on Zone 2! XD (pun intended)

Edited June 16, 2013 by DemonShad716

[Linkabel]

I played the game and all I got to say is that it didn't do anything for me. It's not bad but it's not great. I think it still carries a lot of the problems that plagued Before the Sequel and while a little bit better they are still there.

 

Some of the gimmicks while are a cool concept sometimes they don't work or add anything significant to the classic gameplay. Honestly the levels all look the same to me except for a different color or gimmick here an there. And by I am talking more about the style of the levels. The bosses are somewhat better than the first game so I'll give it that.

 

Like I said in the status updates, I think something went wrong in the development of the game when people are more excited about the soundtrack than the actual game.

 

I think it's really cool that Lake built this game all by itself, but at the same time I think this works against him as well. You can tell when he repeats ideas or uses assets again and again which makes the game feel uninspired sometimes. He will really benefit from having people going. "you know this is a good idea but I think it would work better this way" or "let's try something else."

 

The game, at least to me, reaches the point when it just drags on and on till it reaches the point when it starts to get boring. Again this is where having other people around will benefit him.

 

If I had to give a rating to this game it would be a 6/10: Good and kind of solid for your free time and don't have nothing to play but it still needs polish and more focus.

Edited June 16, 2013 by El Driver

[Jeffhog]

Like I said in the status updates, I think something went wrong in the development of the game when people are more excited about the soundtrack than the actual game.

 

Well, to be fair, the game at its core was mostly finished months and months ago - not long after its SAGE demo, if I recall. The OST was still being worked on at the time.

 

With people hyped for the OST, hype for the complete game exists because it meant its release was nearing.

[Linkabel]

Well, to be fair, the game at its core was mostly finished months and months ago - not long after its SAGE demo, if I recall. The OST was still being worked on at the time.

 

With people hyped for the OST, hype for the complete game exists because it meant its release was nearing.

 

I think I'm going to have to disagree. Every time I hear about this game or Before the Sequel is about the soundtrack. People do tend to describe a particular part of the game they like but it's always about the soundtrack.

 

Keep in mind though that it happens to mainstream games and even official Sonic games to some extent. But to me it feels like the people like the soundtrack more than the game itself.

[Autosaver]

designed to fill the gap between the events of Sonic 2 and Sonic 3.

 

Didn't Sonic 2 lead right into 3? *killjoy*

 

Looks nice, may have to try it.

[a mystery]

The Japanese manual to Sonic 3 states that it's set several months after Sonic 2.

 

It's pretty much midnight here - per usual, opinions tomorrow.

[Jeffhog]

Just spent all night putting the news article together. Ayayay, I gotta get some sleep...

[SilentDoom]

So right now the game itself doesn't have it`s OST yet?

What I mean is that the game itself has the full OST but the OST hasn't been released by itself yet. Sorry for any confusion. Also, download was updated to fix some glitches in the game so I'd recommend redownloading for people who downloaded already.

[Amomynous]

Having such fun with this, having Sonic get high on sugar mid-gameplay was pretty amusing. 

[Spooky Mulder]

As someone who has never played a fangame before and has no idea how this works...do I just need to download the game or do I need to download a second program to run it? Also does it have to be played using keyboard controls or is it possible to hook up a controller? Regardless this looks fantastic and the devs should be proud

[Cola]

The game's okay. It's better than Before the Sequel, but carries over a lot of the problems I had with the original.

 

 

Music is top notch, though.

[a mystery]

Well!

So this is quite an anomaly - it's more or less an original soundtrack with tie-in video game as an added bonus. I kind of have the feeling that quite frankly, people just care about the music. Well, that's certainly new.

I've only gotten to Redhot Ride, but I can say everything so far at least is a decent experience, and everything up to this point (bar Horizon Heights, but it's my favorite zone ironically, thanks to being done by KgZ) feels very unique and original - I don't recall things like these done in a 2D Sonic fangame with this much quality and effort put in.

 

I really love the music so far - If I have to name favorites, I'd name... all of KgZ's stuff, really. It's weird how I didn't really care much for Wood Zone at first (and absolutely loved all of Falk's stuff) and then started picking opinions about his stuff up with Perilous Paradise, finally to peak as it has now, now that everyone's given enough attention instead of Falk brutehousing his way through. (not that that's a bad thing)

I really like the new power-ups, Beam Sonic and Mirror Tails, too - of course, not really the way Sega would have went for an After the Sequel, but really, I get the impression that this interquel is, instead of a perfect recreation of what Sega would have made, a dedicated fan's interpretation, adding in things he love as a tribute. It's obvious in the Zone selection, even from BtS - Fortress Flow, Perilous Paradise and Metro Madness... Something gives me the feeling they wouldn't have used those kind of zones - I don't think they use them even now.

 

The cutscenes are charming too - while not as action-packed as BtS, I frankly feel his storytelling improved a bit - For just how little Sonic and Tails interact with their nemesis, the story goes well enough. I especially like the two more simpler cutscenes - after Foliage Furnace and before Moon Mansion. I'd really love to see his original games after Chrono Adventure and the other fangame, the only two he's going to be working on for now.

 

So yeah... overall, I think it's a very fun, if not well made, experience, and I'm looking forward to Chrono Adventure! srslygetanostforthattho

Edited June 16, 2013 by Korg M1

[McGroose]

Much better than Before the Sequel I must say. Some of the levels have some cheap enemy placement and Technology Tree has the worst level design in the game IMO, but those are my only main gripes with the game.  The soundtrack is fantastic, and I look forward to seeing the full soundtrack being released.

 

One thing I'm really thankful for is that instead of having to switch between Sonic and Tails between levels like in Before the Sequel, you can choose to play as either Sonic or Tails throughout the entire game. I don't really like playing as Tails, and I prefer to just play as Sonic, so this is definitely a welcome change in my book.

 

Overall, it's great as far as Sonic fan games Come along. I thought Before the Sequel was just an OK game, so I started the game with low expectations. I'm happy to say that this game took me by surprise with how good it was. Some might like it, some might not, but at least give it a try.

[Jango]

I just wish the game had a manual, I just don't know what some stuff do, like the big star ring. Also, the Special Stage requires 30 rings to enter, not 50, is this intentional? Anyway, I'll head back to Parhelion Peak now, already got 6 emeralds, the last one is tough. The game is really fun, some weird wall running at times, but nothing game breaking, at least I can use momentum and bouncing much better than in Sonic 4.

 

Edit: finished the game with all the Chaos Emeralds, and now I know what the big star ring does!

 

It unlocks a secret level from the world you got it from! I only unlocked Fornace Foliage and Cyan City.

 

 

"I wonder how many people will see this screen..."

Edited June 16, 2013 by Jango

[SilentDoom]

Only level I really actively dislike at the moment is Sugar Splash Act 3.  The tidal wave gimmick is extremely annoying and adds very little to the gameplay.  Too often would I do a jump and get ready to hit an enemy only for the stupid tidal wave to throw me off my trajectory and out of my ball animation and make me lose all my rings.  

[McGroose]

The bosses in this game are much better than the bosses in Before the Sequel. I hated that game's bosses. 

[Mauro Fonseca]

Should be noted the last screenshot on the OP is actually from another game Lake's releasing next SAGE, Sonic Chrono Adventure.

[SilentDoom]

Should be noted the last screenshot on the OP is actually from another game Lake's releasing next SAGE, Sonic Chrono Adventure.

 

Don't know how I didn't notice that XD  Edited.

[Kevin]

I just played through a bit of the game and despite its flaws, it's very enjoyable to play through and I especially love the game's soundtrack which I'm hoping to see a release of the near future. Personally I think it's a lot better than Before The Sequel.