Lost World: Discussion, Impressions and Fan Reviews

[Soniman]

Drill Wisp is the only savegable one.

[Chooch]

Hyperbole aside, are the Wisps really that bad in this game?

Yes. They're everything wrong with them in Colors and then some.

 

They're just arbitrarily thrown into the game for no real fucking reason.

[Soniman]

Colors at least justified their used with finding tons of secret paths and shit, SLW Wisps don't do anything but stop you in your tracks and partake in bad Gyro controls.

[WarioBone]

Hyperbole aside, are the Wisps really that bad in this game?

 

 

Yes. They're everything wrong with them in Colors and then some.

 

They're just arbitrarily thrown into the game for no real fucking reason.

 

 

Colors at least justified their used with finding tons of secret paths and shit, SLW Wisps don't do anything but stop you in your tracks and partake in bad Gyro controls.

 

There you have it, Komodin.

 

There's nothing to justify using them.  Half the time you can just get through without using them.  It's like "Hey, you wanna see some flashy FX?  Just pop that capsule and wheeeeeeeeee!".

[Komodin]

... Well, this is rather disappointing.

Still, though, I'll just try to keep an open mind on them until I get my hands on the game. Heck, I might even like them... At least, I hope so.

[JezMM]

Another random annoyance is that their capsules are solid here for some ridiculous reason.  Yet another bizarre flow breaking decision (that isn't in the 3DS version though, at least).

[WarioBone]

Putting some more time into the game has given me a little more respect for it, but I still feel that the parkour is by far the weakest part of the game (that and the physics).  It's so slow and dissatisfying.

Another random annoyance is that their capsules are solid here for some ridiculous reason.  Yet another bizarre flow breaking decision (that isn't in the 3DS version though, at least).

 

That and you can't even fucking HA them.  You have to get near them and jump or bounce on them or something.

[The Deleter]

Am I the only one who uses traditional controls for the wisps whenever possible? Because half of the wisps aren't that bad with them. Pressing R1 instead of tapping the touch screen to activate them especially makes them better.

 

Rhythm is stupid, though. It's just DIMPS bottomless pits and HA chains with a dumb tapping gimmick that has nothing to do with "Rhythm" whatsoever. Huge missed opportunity there.

Edited October 30, 2013 by The Deleter

[Blue Blood]

... Well, this is rather disappointing.

Still, though, I'll just try to keep an open mind on them until I get my hands on the game. Heck, I might even like them... At least, I hope so.

 

They suck, dude. There's literally nothing salvageable about the Rhythm Wisp for exampe. You just mash the right side of the touch screen to win. Everything about them is so circumstantial and slow, even compared to Colours, you just have to wonder why the dev team bothered to include them. No part of what made them arguably fun in Colours or even in Gens returns this time (I enjoyed the Wisps in both games).

Another random annoyance is that their capsules are solid here for some ridiculous reason. Yet another bizarre flow breaking decision (that isn't in the 3DS version though, at least).

I see nothing wrong with this besides the fact that you can't home in on them. Kinda weird how you can find big 10-ring rings both on their own and in boxes in Tropical Coast (same applies to lives and one random Red Ring). Edited October 30, 2013 by Blue Blood

[JezMM]

Yeah, Rhythm would have been better off being called bob or bounce or something.  I thought we were gonna get something like a super quick Rhythm Minigame with cool music or I dunno.  Would have still been jarring and weird but I like rhythm games so at least there'd be that.

Edited October 30, 2013 by JezMM

[Semi-colon e]

Are the Wisps worse than in Generations?

 

A lot of people considered Planet Wisp in Generations to be what they feared Colours would be, where the Wisps take a huge amount of control over the gameplay (this is more in Classic, Modern's Rocket was mostly a brief few second thing each time). Colours was mostly optional with them but they were used a lot and very useful to reach certain areas, however the option was still there to not use them a lot of the time, even if it doesn't lend itself to the most interesting level design. I still liked the Wisps in Generations though, apart from being spammed a bit and being only one per level. But then I never thought Generations Planet Wisp was anywhere near as bad as others say so meh.

 

I haven't played this game, but it looks like it's somehow a combination of both.

Edited October 30, 2013 by Semi-colon e

[WarioBone]

Are the Wisps worse than in Generations?

 

You'll wish you could just Pink Spike for the rest of your life after dealing with these babies.

[Semi-colon e]

Are the Wisps just as bad in the 3DS version? It seems like they're better used but more required in that one, which probably balances itself out to the same level of bad as the Wii-U version. The Wisps really didn't need to be in this game and people will just grow to hate them after they were somewhat liked in Colours.

[The Deleter]

Are the Wisps worse than in Generations?

 

A lot of people considered Planet Wisp in Generations to be what they feared Colours would be, where the Wisps take a huge amount of control over the gameplay (this is more in Classic, Modern's Rocket was mostly a brief few second thing each time). Colours was mostly optional with them but they were used a lot and very useful to reach certain areas, however the option was still there to not use them a lot of the time, even if it doesn't lend itself to the most interesting level design. I still liked the Wisps in Generations though, apart from being spammed a bit and being only one per level. But then I never thought Generations Planet Wisp was anywhere near as bad as others say so meh.

 

I haven't played this game, but it looks like it's somehow a combination of both.

Heck to the naw, at least in my opinion. Even if some wisps in this game royally stink, none of them are taken to such extreme as the spike wisp, AKA solving spinning puzzles while searching for more capsules with wonky physics. At the very least the wisps in this game are short, controlled, and mostly optional, and the mandantory ones are somewhat decent.

[Blue Blood]

Are the Wisps just as bad in the 3DS version? It seems like they're better used but more required in that one, which probably balances itself out to the same level of bad as the Wii-U version. The Wisps really didn't need to be in this game and people will just grow to hate them after they were somewhat liked in Colours.

The Wisps a generally less offensive in the 3DS version due to not having gyro or touch controls (except Quake), although they're still super annoying cause you constantly move forward when using one. The level design forces them ten times as much, and it can become very tedious in the long sections of extended Wisp use. One or two stages are buit entirely around them. So they're just as bad, but in a different way. Ivory Lightning is the most fun you have with the Wisps in either game. Yellow Drill in 2D (ground) is just as you remember from Colours almost, so that's alright too. Edited October 30, 2013 by Blue Blood

[Dejimon11]

Are the special stages as bad as people say?

[The Deleter]

Yellow Drill in 2D (ground) is just as you remember from Colours almost, so that's alright too.

Can you breach dirt in this version? Cuz the Drill wisp isn't a drill wisp anymore if it doesn't have breaching.

[JezMM]

Rather differently from Colours, the Wisps here are mostly optional and actually provide the MORE boring routes, allowing you to skip parkour segments.  Unfortunately on your first playthrough you will probably use the Wisps more often because they're shiny and there to grab and be used, and the parkour control tutorials are downright awful.  There are a few mandatory ones but not many.  Hover literally only exists on the final stage to let confused gamers skip the final deadly parkour segments.

 

On 3DS the new ones are very platformy compared to the Wii U newcomers though they are still of course, unorthodox and not "Sonic" platforming.  Remember that Quake can be cancelled with the touch screen, and Asteroid's descent speed can be increased by pushing Y, and you'll have less grief with the "constantly going forward" thing Blue Blood mentioned.

 

 

Laser feels really weird and uninteresting on Wii U but is used fairly well on 3DS.  Drill has a cool new feature of letting you shoot out of walls and straight into another without breaking form on Wii U.  On 3DS, there are 3D underwater drill sections too (there are on Wii U too but they're pointless and have a really weird control scheme).

 

 

 

An important thing to remember in both versions that I've learned over the past few weeks though is that Lost World is FULL of weird shit that feels really unintuitive the first few times, but once you've figured it all out you'll have some fun and suddenly understand what they were going for with level designs designed around Wisp use.

 

Except Rhythm.

Are the special stages as bad as people say?

 

If you try to play them any way other than standing in the middle of the room and moving your whole body and head with the 3DS, they will be frustrating and awful to play.  If you do play as seemingly intended, they work flawlessly.

[Carbo]

Are the Wisps worse than in Generations?

The worst Wisp in Lost World, Asteroid, arguably controls worse than Generations' Spike Wisp.

With that said I'd honestly call Lost World's Wisps better on the grounds that you don't even have to deal with them. The reason I fucking hated the Wisps in Generations was because you had to use them, and they were already made worse and clunkier. Lost World still has them be clunky but one of the mandatory Wisps you'll ever have to use in the game is the one that actually controls the best (Drill), and the other one doesn't control bad as much as it's just completely pointless and devoid of challenge (Rhythm).

[Semi-colon e]

Thanks for the responses. I'll probably never play the Wii-U version, but I may pick up the 3DS version if it ever gets cheaper or goes on offer or something, or I'm at a position when I have more money, but I'm always curious to see reception, especially for such a mixed game as this.

 

It seems like from what you've all said that the Wisps seem more pointless than anything else, but the fact they are mostly optional makes the shittiness of them sting less.

 

Yeah I saw the 3DS water level with Drill in 3D, I won't lie and say it looked pretty fun.

[TheOcelot]

Thanks for the responses. I'll probably never play the Wii-U version, but I may pick up the 3DS version if it ever gets cheaper or goes on offer or something, or I'm at a position when I have more money, but I'm always curious to see reception, especially for such a mixed game as this.

 

It seems like from what you've all said that the Wisps seem more pointless than anything else, but the fact they are mostly optional makes the shittiness of them sting less.

 

Yeah I saw the 3DS water level with Drill in 3D, I won't lie and say it looked pretty fun.

 

It's mainly the lack of a good tutorial, confusing controls and poor use/placement of the wisps in LW, whereas they were so easy to use in Colours. 

Edited October 30, 2013 by -Bender-

[Blue Blood]

Once you get the hang of it properly, holy crap is the spin dash ridiculously good fun in this game. It's actually more akin to a cross between the boost than the traditional spindash this time around, because you can keep it going through jumps and it's not affected by the angle of the terrain. But you've still got total control over Sonic while using it, with limited turning of course. It's so, so fun! Now that I'm used to it in some of the 3D levels, it's proper fast too.

Guess how long it took me to realise how to use the spindash properly? Until tonight. I didn't realise that after releasing ZL, you could press it down again and hold it to keep the spindash going indefinitely. I thought you could only tap it a second time to get a slight extra boost. It does explain this in the little leaflet-manual and the e-manual. But in game it's never so clear at all.

Aaahhhhhh why don't more stages have totally unrestricted ramps in them like Desert Ruins 1? Flying through the air and controlling Sonic so that he lands on each subsequent ramp is insane. It's not rolling like the classics, but it's still momentum physics and it's just so immensely satisfying thank you Sonic Team

[Lady Soniko]

You can also rev your spindash by pressing the jump button when charging it, it's the little things that make me smile about this game.

 

Can I also say I really love the sound effect of the spindash the longer you use it? It's just so satisfying to hear it!

[Blue Blood]

You can also rev your spindash by pressing the jump button when charging it, it's the little things that make me smile about this game.

 

Can I also say I really love the sound effect of the spindash the longer you use it? It's just so satisfying to hear it!

Yeah, I know about revving it. It's just the whole keeping it going thing. Sound effects are lovely too. It's nice to have the spindash with it's proper sounds, and not the crummy SA1 'warping' sound.

I remember now that when the game was announced SEGA were talking a lot about three tiers of speed. Yeah, real good job letting the player know that once they get their hands on the game. I've been saying that it's pretty slow up until now, but with the proper spindash going it's definitely not. You've got to know what you're doing though. You'll get your arse handed to you if not.

Edited October 30, 2013 by Blue Blood

[MegasonicZX]

The worst Wisp in Lost World, Asteroid, arguably controls worse than Generations' Spike Wisp.

With that said I'd honestly call Lost World's Wisps better on the grounds that you don't even have to deal with them. The reason I fucking hated the Wisps in Generations was because you had to use them, and they were already made worse and clunkier. Lost World still has them be clunky but one of the mandatory Wisps you'll ever have to use in the game is the one that actually controls the best (Drill), and the other one doesn't control bad as much as it's just completely pointless and devoid of challenge (Rhythm).

Not to get off topic but what was so bad about the wisps in generations, they control exactly like colors (minus the spike wisp not sticking properly but even then that wasn't much of a big problem once you got used to it).